US wins Math Olympiad for first time in 21 years. Is math education improving?

The US team consisted of six high school boys selected for the competition. The US team has a final score of 185, edging out the Chinese team which fi... Read more

High 401(k) fees? Your employer could be liable.

High fees in a 401(k) or other retirement plan aren't just bad for employee participants. A recent Supreme Court ruling shows they can spell trouble f... Read more

Ford's smart headlights swivel to identify road hazards

Innovations such as Ford's new lighting technologies are a critical component for improving road safety. ... Read more
https://youtu.be/klkqOO7EaW0

Former Pastor Suggests Christians Should Fight Gay Rights With Guns

“They are coming after our First Amendment constitutional rights,” Feuerstein puffs. “Well, check this out. This is one pastor that will not bow. Why? Because my First Amendment right is guaranteed by my Second Amendment right.” He then brandishes what appears to be an assault rifle.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/christians-gay-rights-guns_55abeacee4b065dfe89e989a

Marco Rubio says Iran deal breaks 'anytime, anywhere' inspection promise by Barack Obama (PolitiFact.com)

In general, the message from senior White House officials has been that the inspections regime in the deal would be strong by historical standards -- and strong enough to achieve its goals -- but not allowing "anytime, anywhere" inspections...
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jul/19/marco-rubio/rubio-iran-deal-breaks-anytime-anywhere-inspection/

2 guys pretended to be homosexuals in Russia. The pedestrian reactions...

https://youtu.be/wgm3lb9JUU0

Lawmaker wants "sanctuary cities" in Michigan to lose state funds | Michigan Radio

Senate Majority Leader Mike Kowall plans to introduce legislation to reduce state funding to cities that have policies discouraging police officers from asking people about their immigration status...
http://michiganradio.org/post/lawmaker-wants-sanctuary-cities-michigan-lose-state-funds#stream/0

TIL in 2012 a charity dropped off boxes in a remote African village containing Xoom tablets with no instructions.

...Within 4 minutes a child turned one on. Within 5 days, kids were using 47 apps per child, per day. Within 2 weeks they were singing ABC songs. Within 5 months they had hacked Android.
Read more

So Republicans Want Us To Believe They Care About Attacking Veterans?

As John Amato discussed here yesterday, the Republicans are supposedly outraged over Donald Trump's remarks about John McCain, with the 2016 GOP clown...  Read more

Republican Candidates In Iowa Renew Calls To Fight Same-Sex Marriage

"Did Frederick Douglass give up when he was fighting against slavery?" One conservative said. ... Read more

Ruth Marcus: 'Black Lives Matter' is 'unreasonableness on the left'

https://youtu.be/W86M-DzwgwQ

Fox News Contributor Calls Out The Republican Party For Welcoming Trump's 'Douchebaggery'

Liberal Fox News contributor Jehmu Greene encouraged Republicans to "own up to the fact" that GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's "douchebaggery...  Read more
https://youtu.be/Ffpfl0c4-ds

Best of Christopher Hitchens Jokes

https://youtu.be/OyQkP6o7v-M

Closer Iran-US relations? Why Ayatollah Khamenei says, 'No.' (+video)

Iranian Supreme Leader says Tehran will have no negotiations with the US over bilateral issues, but other Iranian officials do not dismiss the possibi... Read more

Watch ‘Straight News Anchor’ Megyn Kelly’s Vicious, Dishonest Attack On Planned Parenthood

Megyn Kelly didn't let a little thing like integrity stand in the way of her vicious grandstanding against Planned Parenthood after a deceptively edit...  Read more

Iran nuclear deal: Does Rouhani 'win' open door to social changes?

Iran's centrist president should get a political 'bounce' after delivering on his campaign pledge of ending sanctions, but he faces a long, uphill bat... Read more

Israel's Netanyahu is pushing hard against Iran nuclear deal. But others are pushing back.

For now, the Obama administration is sticking to its guns. ... Read more

The U.S. And Five Other World Powers Reach A Nuclear Agreement With Iran (Diane Rehm Show)

After 18 days of marathon negotiations in Vienna, the U.S. and other world powers reached a historic agreement with Iran. The deal would put limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for ending economic sanctions. Now, President Barack Obama must sell the agreement to congress and the American public. He faces strong pushback from many in Congress, where key Republicans have strongly opposed a deal with Iran. In a televised news conference this morning, President Barack Obama made clear he would veto any move by congress to block it. We take a look at the Iran nuclear agreement and how Congress will react.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-07-14/the-u-s-and-five-other-world-powers-reach-a-nuclear-agreement-with-iran

Paul Ryan: Calm Down Bro, No Way The Gov’t Will Shut Down With Republicans In Charge (VIDEO)

On Friday, failed vice presidential candidate and creator of the most draconian budget ever, told reporters that nobody should worry about the possibility of a shutdown, because Republicans have come to America’s rescue...
Read more

Historic Iranian Nuclear Deal Relies On ‘Verification,’ Not Trust (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

The news broke out of Vienna very early this morning that there is a new nuclear deal between the so-called P5-Plus-One and Iran. The stock journalistic phrases apply: Marathon negotiations. Historic agreement. But is it a good deal? Well, that conversation begins now. You can be certain that today, nuclear experts, diplomats, and a lot of folks on Capitol Hill are all poring over the one-inch thick document, trying to figure out whether it amounts to a rock-solid clampdown on Iran’s nuclear research –or a big mistake. This hour On Point: an Iranian nuclear deal has been struck.
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/07/14/historic-iranian-nuclear-deal-relies-on-verification-not-trust

Graham Throws 'Not A Scientist' Line Back At GOP Climate Change Deniers

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a shot at Republican climate change deniers Tuesday, throwing the "I'm not a scientist" line back at those in his own ... Read more

Santorum: Walker Whipt on Marriage?

...Santorum says that he's seen that when a candidate's wife doesn't agree with him on sexual politics or sexual traditionalism issues, the candidate tends to ignore the issue in order to avoid "disharmony" at home...
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/santorum-walker-whipt-on-marriage

As Voting On No Child Left Behind Fix Ends, Democrats Hope To Win Universal Pre-K

Democrats hope to include a universal pre-K amendment in the No Child Left Behind rewrite after a couple chief amendments ... Read more

Dick Cheney: Iran Deal Brings The World Closer To Nuclear War

Sean Hannity apparently believes we need to hear from the man who helped lie us into invading Iraq now that the Obama administration has chosen diplom...  Read more

Fox Pundits Attack Clinton's Profit Sharing Proposal

It's always a safe bet to make that any time someone proposes something that might level the playing field and decrease the problem we have with incom...  Read more

Rep. Kinzinger Uses Iran Presser As Excuse To Call President Obama Angry And Arrogant

I don't know how many people watched President Obama's entire press conference this Wednesday on the Iranian nuclear deal, but I caught most of it, an...  Read more

The Minarets out of Mammoth, CA.

http://i.imgur.com/N9lyIpj.jpg

It's Heritage, All Right: What the Anti-Obama Confederate Flag Protests Really Mean

As Confederate flag defenders spread beyond the old Confederacy, the banner becomes a national symbol of racism ...  Read more

A Staggering Number of Rape Kits — About 70,000 Nationwide — Languish Untested

Traumatized women and their families sometimes wait decades...
...  Read more

John McCain Frets That Donald Trump Has Been Firing Up ‘The Crazies’

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said real estate mogul and presidential candidate Donald Trump has galvanized "the crazies" in the Republican party, in an int... Read more

Stem-Cell Dental Implants Grow New Teeth Right In Your Mouth

Dr. Mao's technique not only eliminates the need to grow teeth in a Petri dish, but it is the first to achieve regeneration of anatomically correct teeth by using the body's own resources...
Read more

‘Hands off my church’ petition plays on French worries about Islam

PARIS — More than 40,000 French have signed a rousing “Hands off my church” petition in recent days denouncing a Muslim leader’s casual remark that some of France’s many empty or underused churches could be turned into much-needed mosques...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/hands-off-my-church-petition-plays-on-french-worries-about-islam/2015/07/15/e494bf02-2b26-11e5-960f-22c4ba982ed4_story.html

The Confederate Flag and the 10 Commandments (Herb Silverman)

"South Carolina finally did the right thing by removing the Confederate battle flag from capitol grounds. The state had been bitterly divided about whether the flag represents heritage or hate, while I believe it represents heritage and hate. There is nothing in the South Carolina or U.S. Constitutions that prohibits flying the Confederate flag on public property, but the court of public opinion changed after a Confederate flag-promoting racist murdered nine African Americans recently in a Charleston church..."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/herb-silverman/the-confederate-flag-and-_3_b_7804744.html

Debate over Satanic statue devolves into shouting match as Detroit pastor berates ‘non-theist’ Satanist

A discussion between the Satanic Temple’s Detroit chapter president and a local Christian pastor devolved into a shouting match as tempers flared over the Temple’s planned unveiling of a goat-headed Baphomet sculpture this month...
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/debate-over-satanic-statue-devolves-into-shouting-match-as-detroit-pastor-berates-non-theist-satanist/

Why Religiously Unaffiliated Americans Support Death with Dignity

"Other opponents to death with dignity cite the religious tenet of the sanctity of life. One’s preferences for the condition of his or her own death are based on deeply, sincerely held beliefs and values. These beliefs are just as valid and sincere as others’ religious beliefs and should be treated respectfully with equal standing before the law. It is wrong and unconstitutional to allow the religious beliefs of some to trump the personal, nonreligious beliefs of others."
http://www.deathwithdignity.org/2015/07/15/why-religiously-unaffiliated-americans-support-death-with-dignity#sthash.9g1Z353R.dpuf

A calm Canadian summer night near Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. [OC] [1500x1000]

Read more

Hadron collider discovers new particle the pentaquark

The discovery, which amounts to a new form of matter, was made by the Hadron Collider's LHCb experiment.
Read more

Restaurant food not much healthier than fast food

(Reuters Health) - Home cooking is still the best way to control the calories, fat, sugar and other nutrients that families consume, a new U.S. study suggests...
Read more

Scientists and Atheism

http://youtu.be/u18NGyQJ6D4

Nate Silver: Being Black In The US Is About As Perilous As Living In Myanmar

Being black in America is about as perilous as living in war zones and developing countries like Rwanda and Myanmar, stats whiz and FiveThirtyEight ed... Read more
Interview:

Obama Delivers Searing Speech on Race in Eulogy For Rev. Clementa Pickney and Church Shooting Victims (repost)

Obama praises their grace while telling unvarnished truths.
...  Read more

Politics, Tragedy And Religion In The Public Sphere (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

For millions of Americans faith is fundamental; the freedom to worship and to worship as they choose is as important as any other right. Yet increasingly many Americans are choosing not to worship at all, and some of these Americans see religious expression, especially in the public arena, as distasteful, even oppressive. In the wake of the Charleston church shootings and the Supreme Court decision on same sex marriage, expressions of faith are in the forefront, are they causing Americans to rethink their beliefs or just reinforcing them. This hour On Point: faith revisited. / Michel Martin
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/07/06/god-public-life-united-states-scotus-charleston

Foster Children, Disjointed Families (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

All too often the evening news carries some gut wrenching story of children mistreated by their parents. But abuse is actually not the reason most children go to foster care: they are there because of neglect. But what does that actually mean? And do parents get a chance to clean up their act? And does anybody help them? Those were the kinds of questions filmmaker Stephanie Wang Breal tried to answer in her new documentary, “Tough Love.” This hour On Point: an inside look at the child welfare system through the eyes of two parents trying to get their children back. / Michel Martin
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/07/06/tough-love-foster-care-pbs-documentary

Taslima Nasrin: A Woman of Courage without a Country (Point of Inquiry)

Taslima Nasrin is a world-renowned author and secular activist from Bangladesh. A physician by training, she has written a plethora of novels, poems and papers standing for the rights of women and criticizing religious extremism. Nasrin’s brave and influential writings have angered both governments and Islamists, forcing her to leave her home country, and take up residence in several different countries, at one point settling in India until very recently.

Dr. Nasrin tells her story in this special episode of Point of Inquiry, recorded before a live audience at the Center for Inquiry’s Reason for Change conference. In conversation with Lindsay Beyerstein, she discusses her life as a skeptical child in Bangladesh, her perspective on the Islamisation of her home country, and her rise to the dangerous status of human rights hero and “enemy number one” of Islamic extremists.

To this day her writing still causes outrage in Islamic extremists, and she was recently named as a target for murder by the same Al Qaeda-linked Islamists who claimed responsibility for the deaths of other secular bloggers, including Avijit Roy. In response to this threat, the Center for Inquiry took action to bring her to safety in the United States. Even thought Nasrin has lost the home she knows and loves but the Bangladeshi government and Islamic regime will never be able to take away her pen. Nasrin continues to write for freedom and justice, offering a voice to millions who do not have one.
http://www.pointofinquiry.org/taslima_nasrin_a_woman_of_courage_without_a_country/

Lawyer Argues That Virtual Trials Would Make Justice System More Fair (Fresh Air)

Drexel University law professor Adam Benforado has written a new book about what he sees as the flaws and prejudices of the American criminal justice system. It's called Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice. He tells NPR's Scott Simon why false confessions happen and how the trial system could be reformed to acknowledge bias...
Interview:
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/13/413912073/lawyer-argues-that-virtual-trials-would-make-justice-system-more-fair

Adolescent Alcohol Exposure leads to Brain Abnormalities in Adulthood

"Human adolescence is a crucial stage of neurological development during which ethanol (EtOH) consumption is often at its highest. Alcohol abuse during adolescence may render individuals at heightened risk for subsequent alcohol abuse disorders, cognitive dysfunction, or other neurological impairments by irreversibly altering long-term brain function. To test this possibility, we modeled adolescent alcohol abuse (i.e., intermittent EtOH exposure during adolescence [AIE]) in rats to determine whether adolescent exposure to alcohol leads to long-term structural and functional changes that are manifested in adult neuronal circuitry."

Read more

Jesus Versus Republicans: On Hypocrisy

We could fill a book with the contradictions between what Jesus stood for and what his supposed followers on the right stand ... Read more

The Disturbing Subtext Of The GOP Opposition To The Iran Deal

...The uncomfortable (and unpopular) subtext of many opponents’ public statements is clear: Despite the immense amount of blood and treasure spent in Iraq, some have still not learned the lesson that wars in the Middle East fought in the name of nuclear non-proliferation are best avoided if there is a better option...

Also see the comments after the article.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/republicans-opposition-to-iran-deal

The President Holds a Press Conference on the Nuclear Deal with Iran (repost)

President Obama answered questions from the press corps on the historic nuclear agreement with Iran in the East Room of the White House. July 15, 2015.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/wsPHjI6pCbo

Week In The News: Iran Deal, Scott Walker, ‘El Chapo’ Escapes (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

No lazy days of summer again this week. An Iran deal, with sparks flying all over the place. A Greek capitulation and bail-out on tough, tough terms in Europe. Super drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman waltzes out a prison escape tunnel in Mexico. Four US Marines die in a hail of bullets – domestic terrorism, the Feds say – in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pluto pics. And points made. President Obama, on America’s groaning prison population. Scott Walker, on his readiness to fight. Hillary Clinton on the economy. This hour On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.
Interview:
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2015/07/17/scott-walker-iran-nuclear-deal-el-chapo-escape

Friday News Roundup – Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

President Obama begins a 60-day campaign to convince skeptics in Congress and the American public to support the nuclear deal with Iran. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker officially joins the crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls. A gunman kills four marines Thursday in a shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee; officials are treating the attack as a possible act of domestic terrorism. And President Barack Obama becomes the first American president to visit a federal prison, aiming to rally support for an overhaul of the U.S. criminal justice system. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week’s top national news stories.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-07-17/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup – International (Diane Rehm Show)

Nations react to an historic deal reached with Iran on its nuclear program. Germany’s parliament approves opening up negotiations on a new Greek bailout package. Greek banks prepare to reopen after European officials remove key obstacles to desperately needed loans. Mexican authorities continue the search for the drug kingpin known as “El Chapo,” who escaped from prison. And a German court convicts a former SS soldier for complicity in mass murder at the Auschwitz death camp. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week’s top international news stories.
Interview:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2015-07-17/friday-news-roundup-international

Paul Krugman: Why Conservatives Reject Reality About Wage Increases

Hillary Clinton showed she can evolve on the issue. Conservatives, not so much.
...  Read more

Sunrise over the Grand Canyon, Desert View entrance (OC) [3872x2592]

http://i.imgur.com/m9KiEJs.jpg

On the Resurrection of Jesus

History as science, understanding how it works and is applied to the Gospels...
https://youtu.be/Ms8Ul_0PdGk

Elizabeth Warren Challenges Presidential Candidates to Stop Revolving Door Between Wall St. and Government

“We have a presidential election coming up. I think anyone running for that job—anyone who wants the power to make every key economic appointment and nomination across the federal government—should say loud and clear that they agree: we don’t run this country for Wall Street and mega corporations. We run it for people,” Warren said, according to a draft of her speech...
...  Read more

Climate change must be taken as seriously as nuclear war, says UK foreign minister

In foreword to Foreign Office report, Baroness Joyce Anelay highlights holistic risks of global warming, including food security, terrorism and lethal heat levels...
Read more

Methane Leakage from Natural Gas Production Could Be Higher Than Previously Estimated

...Even in small quantities, methane leakage is an important part of the climate change equation for natural gas because methane (the primary component of natural gas) is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Different greenhouse gases are ranked according to their Global Warming Potential (GWP), which describes their warming impact as a multiple of the impact caused by carbon dioxide, the most prevalent greenhouse gas....
Read more

White House Finds Way Around Hobby Lobby Birth Control Decision

The Obama administration on Friday issued its final rules for employers who morally object to covering birth control in their health insurance plans. The accommodation ensures that all employed women, unless they work for a place of worship, will still have their birth control covered at no cost to them, even if their employers refuse to cover it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/10/white-house-birth-control_n_7771004.html

Seattle Kids Have Lower Polio Vaccination Rate Than Rwanda

“It's a real puzzle for us why people haven't responded better to the news about this disease,” said Paul Throne of the state Office of Immunization and Child Profile. He thought the news reports would have scared parents. Rather, studies found the dire news appears to have emboldened them...
Read more

Ireland passes law allowing trans people to choose their legal gender.

“Trans people should be the experts of our own gender identity. Self-determination is at the core of our human rights.”Read more

Kid steals his bike back

https://youtu.be/lqGbJXPDndg

Afghanistan's first solar-powered car rides on hope

Man behind solar car believes the cars can be mass produced to make it affordable to ordinary Afghans.  Read more

US doubles air strikes in Afghanistan

Drone and warplane raids doubled in June due to intensified campaign that includes ISIL targets, US newspaper reports.  Read more