Breaking News

This page features brief excerpts of stories published by the mainstream media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in each source note. Quotation marks are not used.

Source: New York Times

2-4-14

Frost’s letters could soften a battered image

Volume of Robert Frost’s letters renews debate about his character.

Source: The New Civil Rights Movement

2-4-14

Coke ad pro-gay? Colbert notes that makes sense

“I mean, if the woman who wrote the song, Katharine Lee Bates saw this ad, she would be disgusted, and so would have life partner Katharine Coman, with whom she lived for 25 years, in then what was referred to as a ‘Boston Marriage.’”

Source: Phys.org

2-4-14

German researchers near certain remains are those of Charlemagne

The researchers obviously can't prove without a shadow of a doubt that the bones they've been studying are indeed those of Charlemagne, but insist that there is a "great likelihood" that they are, based on their research efforts.

Source: Haaretz

2-4-14

Toys belonging to Anne Frank discovered, to be put on display

Woman finds marbles, a doll's tea service and a book given to her for safekeeping by the Jewish girl in 1942.

Source: Phys.org

2-4-14

Researchers find signs of western Eurasian genes in southern African Khoisan tribes

The Khoisan are most familiar to Westerners as the people who speak with distinctive clicking noises.

Source: Washington Post

2-3-14

Joan Mondale, political wife and culture maven, dies at 83

Mondale was recognized as one of the most prominent political spouses of her era.

Source: The Guardian

2-4-14

Rwanda genocide trial opens in France

Trial of Pascal Simbikangwa is first case in France linked to the slaughter of 500,000 people after 20-year wait.

Source: Washington Post

2-4-14

Maryland bill targets Purple Line bidder’s ties to Holocaust

SNCF is one of the Purple Line bidders.

Source: Washington Post

2-4-14

Hero or traitor? Pope’s aide in Polish controversy

John Paul II's confidant has published personal notes the late pope wanted burned.

Source: Associated Press

2-4-14

Britain admits role in 1984 India temple raid

The Golden Temple massacre was one of India's bloodiest episodes in recent history.

Source: New York Times

2-2-14

In China, ‘Once the Villages Are Gone, the Culture Is Gone’

Chinese folk culture faces pressure in the light of rural development.

Source: New York Times

2-2-14

Raiding Japan on Fumes in 1942, and Surviving to Tell How Fliers Did It

At 93, Edward J. Saylor is one of the few remaining participants in the 1942 Doolittle raid over Tokyo.

Source: New York Times

2-3-14

Unpublished Chaplin Novella to Be Released

On Tuesday, the Cineteca di Bologna, an Italian film restoration institute, will release a previously unpublished novella by Charlie Chaplin.

Source: The Guardian

1-29-14

Harry Shearer: 'Richard Nixon wanted my ass in Vietnam'

If the U.S. president had had his way, the actor, best known for Spinal Tap and The Simpsons, might have had a much shorter, more brutal life.

Source: Time Magazine

1-29-14

U.S. Rejects Japanese Broadcaster’s Claim It Used ‘Comfort Women’ in World War II

Katsuto Momii, the head of Japan's main public broadcaster, said Japan was hardly the only nation whose soldiers forced women to work as prostitutes during World War II.