United States

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Four Ways America Could Completely Fall Apart by 2025

Demise 'could come far more quickly than anyone imagines'

(Newser) - The United States' power is declining, and its total demise as the global superpower could be here by 2025, asserts history professor and author Alfred W. McCoy. On Tom Dispatch , he offers four scenarios detailing how that could happen:
  • Economic decline: Years and years of foreign wars swell the deficit,
...

Assange's Prison Reality: Limited Internet Access, Bad TV

He can't stand daytime TV at prison

(Newser) - WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has been transferred to a segregation unit at Britain's Victorian Wandsworth prison, where his Internet access will be restricted, reports the Guardian . He's "quite chipper" and seems to be "bearing up," said attorney Mark Stephens. Assange, who's wearing standard-issue gray track-suit prison duds,...

US No Longer One of 20 Least Corrupt Nations

Falls to new low in global corruption rankings

(Newser) - For the first time ever, the US has fallen out of the top 20 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, thanks to financial scandals and the growing influence of money in our politics, Reuters reports. The US is now seen as the 22nd-least-corrupt country in the world, down from...

Karzai: Iran, US Give Me Bags of Money

Afghan president confirms NYT report; says several countries donate

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s president confirmed a New York Times report that his office gets bags of cash from Iran, saying the US has long known about it—and that the US also provides “bags of money," the AP reports. The Iranian money comes in batches of some $700,000...

Colbert: Finland Is Better Than the US?!

 Colbert: Finland Is 
 Better Than the US?!  
RANKINGS, SCHMANKINGS

Colbert: Finland Is Better Than the US?!

The Newsweek ranking is BS!

(Newser) - It's pretty darn obvious that the USA is the greatest country in the world, said Stephen Colbert in an especially hilarious segment last night : "We invented cars, we invented TVs, and we invented bragging!" This week's issue of Newsweek ranks the best countries in the world, and "...

Northern Lights Head South—for 1 Night

Aurora borealis may be visible in northern US tonight

(Newser) - Thanks to a plasma eruption that roiled the surface of the sun, residents of the northern US and Canada may be able to enjoy a spectacular show tonight—the Northern Lights. "This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on...

Space Station Cooling System Malfunctions

Spacewalks may be necessary to perform repairs

(Newser) - Half of the International Space Station's cooling system has suddenly shut down, forcing the astronauts on board to power down equipment and face the likelihood of urgent spacewalking repairs. After huddling today, NASA managers gave preliminary approval for a pair of spacewalks, the first of which would take place later...

Twitter Visualization Shows Detroit Is Never Happy

(Newser) - Some intrepid researchers at Harvard and Northeastern culled hundreds of millions of tweets over the past three years and analyzed the language to put together a handy YouTube visualization of people's moods across the country. Essentially, everyone's happiest when they wake up or are about to fall asleep and they're...

China Passes US in Energy Consumption

Consumed equivalent of 2,252 million tons of oil last year

(Newser) - China has passed the US as the world’s most energy-hungry country, according to new data from the International Energy Agency. China consumed the equivalent of 2,252 million tons of oil last year, about 4% more than the 2,170 million tons the US guzzled. The US is unlikely...

Missing Iranian Scientist Turns Up in DC

Iranians claim Shahram Amiri was abducted by US

(Newser) - A missing Iranian nuclear scientist, who Tehran claims was abducted by the US, has taken refuge at the Pakistani embassy in Washington and is asking to return to his homeland. Iranian state TV reported that the scientist, Shahram Amiri, entered the embassy's office representing Iranian interests in the US last...

The 50 States' Grossest Dishes
 The 50 States' Grossest Dishes 
that's a doughnut bun

The 50 States' Grossest Dishes

From reindeer fat ice cream to 2-foot-long hot dogs

(Newser) - Some states are pudgier than others—here's looking at you, Texas—but none escapes this list of beloved yet fat-filled dishes. Health.com tracked down the worst offender in each of the flabby 50:
  • Alaska: Eskimo Ice Cream, a mix of blackberries and salmon berries—in reindeer fat and seal
...

US Faces Decisive Match Against Algeria
 US Faces Decisive Match 
 Against Algeria 
It's Do-or-Die Day

US Faces Decisive Match Against Algeria

It's probably a win-or-go-home scenario

(Newser) - One more game, one last chance to make their reputation. When the Americans play Algeria at the World Cup today (10am Eastern), they'll either live up to all the hype and earn a spot among the final 16 teams—or lose a watershed opportunity. "It's important for us because...

US-Slovenia Spotlight Shines on Ref
 US-Slovenia Spotlight 
 Shines on Ref 
world cup

US-Slovenia Spotlight Shines on Ref

Koman Coulibaly of Mali stirs controversy by nullifying late goal

(Newser) - The most famous person in American soccer today isn't an American or a soccer player: He's Koman Coulibaly, a World Cup referee from Mali. In today's US-Slovenia match , a 2-2 draw, Coulibaly awarded a free kick on an obvious dive, then negated a goal that would have given the Americans...

US, England Tie 1-1

 Goalie Gaffe Helps 
 US Tie England, 1-1 
world cup

Goalie Gaffe Helps US Tie England, 1-1

Easy shot somehow goes in

(Newser) - Oops. The United States played to a 1-1 draw with England today after a stunning mistake by English goalie Robert Green, reports AP . With his team trailing 1-0, USA's Clint Dempsey put an apparently harmless 25-foot shot on net that Green bumbled and fumbled and let slip in late in...

Israel Looks a Lot Like North Korea
Israel Looks a Lot
Like North Korea
opinion

Israel Looks a Lot Like North Korea

Both are isolated except for a superpower

(Newser) - Be careful, Israel, you're starting to look like "gulp—North Korea," writes Daniel W. Drezner. Israel may not be in similarly dire financial straits, but the parallels are "pretty eerie" beyond that, writes Drezner in Foreign Policy . Let us count the ways:
  • "Both countries are diplomatically
...

Raleigh Tops in Quality of Life
 Raleigh Tops 
 in Quality of Life 
survey says

Raleigh Tops in Quality of Life

(Newser) - Raleigh, NC, is the American city with the highest quality of life, according to a new survey by Portfolio magazine . With its low unemployment rate, quality housing stock, and rapid pace of growth, Raleigh beat out the other 66 largest metro areas in a comparison of 20 statistical measures of...

Obama's Aunt Can Stay in US
 Obama's Aunt Can Stay in US 

Obama's Aunt Can Stay in US

Zeituni Onyango granted asylum

(Newser) - Barack Obama's aunt, has received permission to stay in the US. An immigration judge granted Zeituni Onyango's plea for asylum today, agreeing with her lawyer's arguments that she would face tribal violence if she returned home to Kenya. Oyanga was not well known to her nephew, but she became a...

Medvedev: Obama's Smarter Than...'Someone'

Russian president seems to get in subtle dig at Bush

(Newser) - Dmitry Medvedev just loooves Barack Obama…and wasn’t too fond of some other person who shall remain nameless. In an interview with George Stephanopolous on Good Morning America , the Russian premier said Obama is “a very comfortable partner. … The most important thing that distinguishes him from many...

Call Centers Return to US, With a Twist

More companies hire trained operators to work from home

(Newser) - It’s still not as cheap as outsourcing to India or the Philippines, but US companies are increasingly choosing homegrown telephone operators to handle their customer service needs. The trend is fueled by the advent of “phonesourcing” or “homesourcing,” which uses linkups to allow trained operators to...

Back From Brink, Eastern Forests Face New Threats

Damage from early colonization recouped, but other forces conspire

(Newser) - In the early days—or, rather, centuries—of the American experiment, the vast Eastern forests were logged almost to oblivion. But with the opening of the frontier to the West, trees from the Northeast to the Gulf Coast rebounded, and by 1997 the forests had regained almost 70% of their...

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