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Who gained, and what, at Ukraine talks
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:55:03 -0400

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before a bilateral meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine as diplomats from the U.S., Ukraine, Russia and the European Union gather for discussions in Geneva Thursday, April 17, 2014. Ukraine is hoping to placate Russia and calm hostilities with its neighbor even as the U.S. prepares a new round of sanctions to punish Moscow for what it regards as fomenting unrest. (AP Photo)Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and EU each achieved initial satisfaction on some issues in Geneva talks.


Nigerians search dangerous forest for 100 abducted girls
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:25:09 -0400

Security men stand guard in front of a bus conveying All progressives Congress opposition governors after visiting victims of at the Accident and Emergency unit of Asokoro hospital where injured people from Monday's explosion at a bus station are receiving treatment in Abuja, Nigeria, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Scores of peopledied in the the blast that destroyed more than 30 vehicles and caused secondary explosions as their fuel tanks exploded and burned. The Monday attack just miles from Nigeria's seat of government increases doubts about the military's ability to contain an Islamic uprising that is dividing the country on religious lines as never before. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba)MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Able-bodied men from the Nigerian town of Chibok have taken to the dangerous Sambisa Forest to search for more than 100 abducted girls and young women whom the military claimed to have freed from their Islamic extremist kidnappers, an education official said Thursday.


Old-timey car pitched to replace NYC's horse-drawn carriages
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:04:56 -0400

A prototype of an electric carriage is displayed at the New York International Auto Show in New York, Thursday, April 17, 2014. A prototype of the old-timey electric cars that Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to take the place of horse-drawn carriages on New York City streets will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)An electric car that proponents hope will replace horse-drawn carriages in New York City was presented Thursday at the New York International Auto Show, as critics expressed their distaste for the idea. ...


Wikipedia beats Google in helping researchers track flu season
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 17:50:29 -0400

A flu vaccine rests on a table with a bandage during the Flu + You clinic sponsored by the National Council on Aging and Sanofi Pasteur on Friday, September, 6, 2013 at the Williams YMCA in Jacksonville, Fl. The goal of the Flu + You program is to educate older adults about influenza and prevention as well as provide vaccines. (Rick Wilson/AP Images for Flu + You)By monitoring the number of times people look for flu information on Wikipedia, researchers may be better able to estimate the severity of a flu season, according to a new study. Researchers created a new data-analysis system that looks at visits to Wikipedia articles, and found the system was able to estimate flu levels in the United States up to two weeks sooner than the flu data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were released. The new system examined visits to Wikipedia articles that included terms related to flulike illnesses, whereas Google Flu Trends looks at searches typed into Google. The research team wanted to use a database that is accessible to everyone and create a system that could be more accurate than Google Flu Trends, which has flaws.


Judge in gay marriage case asks pointed questions
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 18:08:10 -0400

Plaintiffs challenging Oklahoma's gay marriage ban arrive in court following a hearing at the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Thursday, April 17, 2014. They are, left to right, Dr. Gay Phillips, her partner Sue Barton, Sharon Baldwin and her partner Mary Bishop. The court is to decide whether to overturn a federal judge's decision to strike down. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)DENVER (AP) — A judge in Colorado who will play a pivotal role deciding whether gays should be allowed to wed in the United States asked pointed questions Thursday about whether Oklahoma can legally ban the unions.


On Politics: Democrats hark back to the politics of race
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 05:58:09 -0400

Rep. Steve IsraelSo now it's out there. After five years of studied reticence, Democratic leaders in Washington finally went public last week with what they really think is motivating Republican opposition to Barack Obama. As Steve Israel, one of the top Democrats in Congress said the Republican base, "to a significant extent," is "animated by racism."