SpaceX launch: private industry inspires new generation of rocketeers
If SpaceX's destination — the International Space Station in “ho hum” low-Earth orbit – is certain to be uninspiring to a new generation of would-be rocketeers, someone forgot to tell many of those...
View ArticleEnormous forest fire in New Mexico sets state record for acres burned
For the second year in a row, firefighters in New Mexico find themselves battling a record-breaking blaze.Wednesday morning, fire officials reported that the Whitewater-Baldy fire had torched 170,272...
View ArticleWill scientists announce discovery of Higgs boson? Buzz is building
The buzz is building as physicists prepare to present the latest results in their hunt for the Higgs particle — the key to answering the question: Why does matter have mass?The definitive statement...
View ArticleHey, is that Mars or the Mojave in NASA rover's photo?
It could be an old postcard from Earth – a detailed black-and-white picture showing a barren, subtly undulating landscape stretching to a mountain range in the distance.Looking at the scene, "you would...
View ArticleHurricane Isaac: New Orleans braces for test of its storm preparations
Tropical storm Isaac reached hurricane status early Tuesday afternoon as it bore down on a shuttered southeastern Louisiana.And while the storm is expected to make landfall Thursday night with maximum...
View ArticleNow surge-tested, levees around New Orleans get post-Isaac inspections
Hurricane Isaac has come and gone. Floodwaters in southeastern Louisiana are receding. For Chris Gilmore, it's time to take initial stock of how his segment of a $14.5-billion, 133-mile defensive wall...
View ArticleLab that made tainted steroid shots to get 'CSI' treatment
Investigators are sifting through records and testing a Massachusetts lab to determine how a fungus associated with a form of meningitis worked its way into products that should have been sterile."It's...
View ArticleHurricane Sandy is already setting records
Hurricane Sandy is working its way up the US East Coast, yet even before it moves ashore it's a storm for the record books.The storm already has surpassed hurricane Lili in 1996 as the second largest...
View ArticleWinter storm update: Massive nor'easter could drop 36 inches in spots
Blizzard and coastal-flood warnings have been posted from New York City to Rockland, Maine – a wide ground zero for the merger of two powerful winter storms that forecasters say could yield a single...
View ArticleWildfire wildcard: How weather can help trigger an explosive fire
The loss of 19 experienced firefighters battling an explosive wildfire outside Yarnell, Ariz., highlights the difficulty – and danger – involved in halting the growth of fires burning through rugged,...
View ArticleMidwest tornado: Powerful storm heads east from Great Lakes
A powerful, fast-moving storm swirling across the Great Lakes region triggered morning tornado warnings in parts of southern Wisconsin and central Illinois on Sunday, part of a system expected to bring...
View ArticleCan mudslides be predicted? Washington site's history highlights challenge.
The mile-long mudslide that buried homes along a bend in the Stillaguamish River near Oso, Wash., some 55 miles north of Seattle, leaving at least 14 dead and more than 100 missing, occurred at a site...
View ArticleExtinction rates higher than thought, but not all gloom and doom
Earth's plants and animals are vanishing at a rate that's 10 to 100 times faster than previous estimates suggested, according to a new analysis of changes to the planet's biodiversity.Yet even the new...
View ArticleHey, is that Mars or the Mojave in NASA rover's photo?
Pete SpottsIt could be an old postcard from Earth – a detailed black-and-white picture showing a barren, subtly undulating landscape stretching to a mountain range in the distance.Looking at the scene,...
View ArticleHurricane Isaac: New Orleans braces for test of its storm preparations
Pete SpottsTropical storm Isaac reached hurricane status early Tuesday afternoon as it bore down on a shuttered southeastern Louisiana.And while the storm is expected to make landfall Thursday night...
View ArticleNow surge-tested, levees around New Orleans get post-Isaac inspections
Pete SpottsHurricane Isaac has come and gone. Floodwaters in southeastern Louisiana are receding. For Chris Gilmore, it's time to take initial stock of how his segment of a $14.5-billion, 133-mile...
View ArticleLab that made tainted steroid shots to get 'CSI' treatment
Pete SpottsInvestigators are sifting through records and testing a Massachusetts lab to determine how a fungus associated with a form of meningitis worked its way into products that should have been...
View ArticleHurricane Sandy is already setting records
Pete SpottsHurricane Sandy is working its way up the US East Coast, yet even before it moves ashore it's a storm for the record books.The storm already has surpassed hurricane Lili in 1996 as the...
View ArticleWinter storm update: Massive nor'easter could drop 36 inches in spots
Pete SpottsBlizzard and coastal-flood warnings have been posted from New York City to Rockland, Maine – a wide ground zero for the merger of two powerful winter storms that forecasters say could yield...
View ArticleWildfire wildcard: How weather can help trigger an explosive fire
Pete SpottsThe loss of 19 experienced firefighters battling an explosive wildfire outside Yarnell, Ariz., highlights the difficulty – and danger – involved in halting the growth of fires burning...
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