A lightning-quick experimental aircraft made history when it sped more than 3,000 mph above the Pacific Ocean in a test flight, reigniting decades-long efforts to develop a vehicle that could travel faster than a speeding bullet.
The unmanned X-51A WaveRider, which resembles a shark-nosed missile, was launched midair Wednesday off the coast near Point Mugu. It sped westward for 240 seconds, reaching Mach 5.1, or more than five times the speed of sound, before plunging into the ocean as planned.
Experimental aircraft speeds to more than 3,000 mph in test flight
UK may plead for release of the last British-resident Guantánamo inmate
Foreign secretary William Hague is considering making a dramatic public plea for the return of the last former British resident held inside Guantánamo Bay, as fresh reports indicate that the treatment of prisoners within the camp continues to deteriorate.
In the wake of President Barack Obama's renewed promise on Tuesday to close the prison, the foreign secretary has told MPs that he will escalate efforts to bring Shaker Aamer home to his family in south London.
Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government?
The real capabilities and behavior of the US surveillance state are almost entirely unknown to the American public because, like most things of significance done by the US government, it operates behind an impenetrable wall of secrecy. But a seemingly spontaneous admission this week by a former FBI counterterrorism agent provides a rather startling acknowledgment of just how vast and invasive these surveillance activities are.
Over the past couple days, cable news tabloid shows such as CNN's Out Front with Erin Burnett have been excitingly focused on the possible involvement in the Boston Marathon attack of Katherine Russell, the 24-year-old American widow of the deceased suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Bangladesh building-collapse toll tops 600
More than 600 bodies have been recovered from the garment-factory building that collapsed well over a week ago, police said Sunday as the grim recovery work continued in one of the worst industrial accidents ever.
Police said Sunday evening that the death toll had reached 610. More than 200 bodies have been recovered since Wednesday, when authorities said only 149 people had been listed as missing. The stench of decomposing bodies remains amid the broken concrete of the eight-story Rana Plaza building, and it is anyone's guess how many victims remain to be recovered.
They're back: 17-year cicadas to swarm from Georgia to New York
Colossal numbers of cicadas, unhurriedly growing underground since 1996, are about to emerge along much of the U.S. East Coast to begin passionately singing and mating as their remarkable life cycle restarts.
This year heralds the springtime emergence of billions of so-called 17-year periodical cicadas, with their distinctive black bodies, buggy red eyes, and orange-veined wings, along a roughly 900-mile stretch from northern Georgia to upstate New York.
Syrian report: Israel bombs outskirts of Damascus for second time in recent days
Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of Damascus early Sunday for the second time in recent days, according to Syrian state media and reports from activists, signaling a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries that had already been exacerbated by the conflict raging in Syria.
Though there was no official confirmation that Israel had carried out the attack, the Israeli military later announced that it had deployed two of its Iron Dome rocket defense batteries near its northern border, in response to what it called “ongoing situational assessments.”
Appeals court says NY towns can ban fracking
A mid-level appeals court on today said local governments in New York can ban hydraulic fracturing and shale-gas drilling within their borders, delivering a major blow to the natural-gas industry and landowners who had sought to have the bans overturned.
The state Appellate Division ruled unanimously in favor of the Tompkins County town of Dryden and the Otsego County town of Middlefield, both of which passed zoning laws that prohibit natural-gas drilling. The rulings upheld decisions last year from a lower court.
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Florida restores early voting days, moves back primary
Still smarting from jokes about Florida's inability to run statewide elections, Florida lawmakers approved a package of revisions on Friday to give voters more time and locations to cast their ballots.
"We all took a lot of flak for elections last year," said Senator Jack Latvala, a Republican who chairs the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. "We were the butt of jokes on late night TV."
Karzai acknowledges CIA payments
Afghan President Hamid Karzai acknowledged Saturday that he has frequently received money from the CIA and that he had been promised the agency would continue making such payments.
At a news conference, Karzai said the payments amounted to “a government institution helping another government institution, and we appreciate all this assistance and help.”
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