More than 12% of youths in juvenile prisons are sexually abused while in custody there, according to a Justice Department study out Thursday, and the vast majority of cases involve female staff and boys under their supervision.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-01-07-juvenile-prison-sexual-abuse_N.htm
For the second time this year the House voted to dismantle the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, giving the Senate a final shot in the waning days of this Congress at changing a law requiring thousands of uniformed gays to hide their sexual identity.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40685768/ns/politics-capitol_hill
A new survey of American voters shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources.
http://www.alternet.org/story/149193/study_confirms_that_fox_news_makes_you_stupid
In the midst of global climate change talks last December, a top Fox News official sent an email questioning the "veracity of climate change data" and ordering the network's journalists to "refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question."
You may want to brace yourself before clicking on this video. It’s not for the faint-hearted. It depicts a defenceless women being brutally whipped by a laughing, Sudanese policeman. When a second policeman realises his colleague is being filmed, he decides to join in. The woman’s crime? She was wearing trousers, a breach of Sudan’s Islamic Legal Code.
More high school seniors this year used marijuana than smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days, according to government data released Tuesday.
http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/2010-12-14-teen-marijuana-study_N.htm
This case paves a path for constructing a permanent cure for HIV through genetically-engineered stem cells.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/hiv-cure-berlin-patient_n_796521.html
"Republicans putting Spencer Bachus in charge of financial regulation is voting for the fox to guard the henhouse," said Ryan Rudominer of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2010/12/spencer_bachus_finally_gets_hi.html
Check out this hilarious gallery of fifty absolutely terrifying Santas, and promise me you'll be good little boys next year.
Every year, thousands of incredible images of the sky are taken from observatories on the ground and in space, from spacecraft, and from amateur astronomers. And it seems that the people who make these images are getting better with time, creating nothing short of art.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/14/the-top-14-astronomy-pictures-of-2010
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize seven times, Holbrooke joined Obama's administration in January 2009 as special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, dealing with two of Washington's most vexing foreign policy challenges.
Those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to believe that most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely), most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points), the economy is getting worse (26 points), most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points), the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points), their own income taxes have gone up (14 points), the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points), when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points) and that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points). The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it--though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican.
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brunitedstatescanadara/671.php?nid=&id=&pnt=671&lb=
In a show of unity, top diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan met in Washington last week and said they would not resume negotiations aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program until the country's behavior changes. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited South Korea last week and warned Pyongyang to stop its "belligerent, reckless behavior."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/13/AR2010121300133.html
The world honey bee population has plunged in recent years, worrying beekeepers and farmers who know how critical bee pollination is for many crops. A number of theories have popped up as to why the North American honey bee population has declined--electromagnetic radiation, malnutrition, and climate change have all been pinpointed. Now a leaked EPA document reveals that the agency allowed the widespread use of a bee-toxic pesticide, despite warnings from EPA scientists.