Shorts (right)
Officials trying to prop up the sagging economy here are convinced they have found a remedy: annexing a piece of Red Sox Nation.
Obama Secures Democratic Presidential Nomination
When Sen. Barack Obama announced in early July that he would give his nomination address in an outdoor stadium in front of 75,000 people, he wowed members of both parties who saw it as an inspired stroke of campaign image making.
McCain Set to Announce Running Mate on Friday
Sen. John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with McCain’s campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Still Sunny and Dry
As the summer comes to an end, we are still enjoying a rare sight for this season: sunny and dry days. The rest of the summer was in contrast very wet and stormy. July is climatologically the driest month of the year in Boston with a normal total of about 3.06 in (78 mm). This year the accumulated rain during July was 6.00 in (152 mm) with a total of 17 days with rain making it the 6th wettest July since 1872. June and August so far have also been wetter than normal. The total seasonal rainfall (13.9 in) is far from record breaking (24.89 inches in 1955) but it is still remarkable, making it at least within the 15 percent of the rainiest summers in Boston.
Markets React to Russia’s Recognition of Separatists
The effects of Russia’s first foreign war as a capitalist country rippled Tuesday through the Moscow stock markets, which dipped to their lowest level since 2006. The loss of billions of dollars in paper value is confronting the Kremlin with a dimension to its geopolitical posturing that never existed during the Cold War, even as Russia seemed to be consolidating its gains after the Georgia conflict.
Taliban Victory Underscores Weakness of Afghan Forces
The Taliban bomber calmly parked a white fuel tanker near the prison gates of this city one evening in June, then jumped down from the cab and let out a laugh. Prison guards fired on the bomber as he ran off, but they missed, instead killing the son of a local shopkeeper, who watched the scene unfold from across the street.
North Korea Threatens to Reactivate Nuclear Facilities
North Korea said Tuesday that it had stopped disabling its main nuclear complex, and threatened to restore facilities there that the North has used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons unless the United States removed it from a terrorist list.
Increase in Government Health Plans Helped Turn Tide in 2007
After climbing steadily for six years, the number of Americans without health insurance dropped by more than a million in 2007, to 45.7 million, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
Kennedy Left Hospital Bed to Give Talk at Convention
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy had just left a hospital bed here when he delivered his speech to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, after suffering a debilitating bout of kidney stones on Sunday upon arriving in town, aides said.
Shorts (left)
In a blow to Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick’s tenuous grip on his job, Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan announced on Tuesday that she will hold proceedings next week that could result in the Detroit mayor’s removal.
Shorts (right)
Home sales have begun to stabilize as sharply reduced prices lured buyers back into the market in July, according to a pair of reports issued this week. And prices, once plummeting at a breakneck pace, fell in June at a more moderate clip.
Martian Weather Report
You may have heard in the news about the Mars Phoenix Lander, currently taking soil samples near the Martian north pole. A somewhat less publicized fact is the temperature data being taken by its weather sensor. At the lander site, yesterday’s high temperature was -17°F (-27°C) while the low temperature was -117°F (-83°C). And this is in the middle of summer! It is estimated that the record maximum temperature on Mars, say, on the hottest summer day at the equator, would be around 70°F (21°C). The coldest day at the winter pole can only fall to the carbon dioxide frost temperature of -190°F (-123°C), since then Mars’ carbon dioxide atmosphere begins to sublimate. No equivalent exists on Earth, since it never gets cold enough for our predominately nitrogen atmosphere to freeze out. At least there’s no rain, but you might get stuck in a dust storm that can last for several months!
Kennedy Provides Early Spark as Democrats Convene
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, struggling with terminal brain cancer, arrived on Monday night at the Democratic National Convention in a triumphant appearance that provided an emotional start for the event as the party turned to a new era and gathered to nominate Sen. Barack Obama for president.
Pakistan’s Civilian Government Collapses After Party Leaves
Pakistan’s fledgling civilian government collapsed on Monday, as the leaders of the main two coalition parties turned their sights on each other, only a week after banding together to force the resignation of Pervez Musharraf.
Iraq’s al-Maliki Pushes for U.S. Troop Withdrawal Date
Days after top Iraqi and U.S. officials suggested that a draft of the security pact between the countries was close, Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki toughened his language, reiterating earlier Iraqi demands for a fixed date for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Shorts (left)
Jubilant opposition legislators in Zimbabwe’s parliament broke into song and dance on Monday after their candidate won the powerful position of speaker of parliament, defeating a nominee backed by President Robert Mugabe’s party, ZANU-PF.
In Separatist Area of Georgia, Residents Cheer Russian Support
The last time South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia — the last three times, actually — hardly anyone noticed. Even Russia, its great friend to the north, declined to take up the cause.
Shorts (right)
Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 were injured Monday in a government assault on a huge camp for displaced people in Darfur, the conflict-riddled region in western Sudan, according to witnesses and leaders at the camp.
As Democrats Take the Stage, GOP Prepares to Respond
In a modern production studio about a mile from where the Democrats were opening their convention here Monday, a SWAT team of Republican operatives dispatched to crash Sen. Barack Obama’s party was reveling in its accomplishments.
Shorts (left)
In mid-2005, Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Sports, had secured the support of the International Olympic Committee for the critical move of the finals of the key television sports of swimming and gymnastics to morning hours in China so they could be shown live in prime time in the United States. But he had one more person he needed to consult: Michael Phelps.