News

Chris Wasil, a forest area supervisor for Palm Beach County, demonstrates how satellite maps depict the location and movement of fire equipment.

National

Technology Tracks Crews Through The Fog Of Wildfire

9:04pm February 07, 2014

by Greg Allen

Communication breakdowns can be fatal for firefighters, but are all too easy when crews are shrouded in smoke and a blaze is moving fast. Florida, with its millions of acres of forest and grassland, has rolled out a new system that can pinpoint crews without relying on voice communication.

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Susan Crawford says that in cities like Seoul and Stockholm, high-speed, high-capacity networks are taken for granted. "It really is astonishing what's going on in America," she says. "We're falling way behind in the pack of developed nations when it come

National

Author: When It Comes To High-Speed Internet, U.S. 'Falling Way Behind'

12:41pm February 07, 2014

The U.S. needs to start treating the Internet like electricity or railroads, law professor and author Susan Crawford says. "We can't create a level playing field for all Americans or indeed compete on the world stage without having some form of government involvement," she says.

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Olympic volunteers pet a stray dog in downtown Sochi, Russia, on Tuesday. The city's long-standing contract with a pest control company has animal right groups concerned about the fate of the many strays roaming the area.

Sochi's Stray Dogs Melt Hearts, And Put Officials On Defensive

8:28pm February 06, 2014

by Tamara Keith

The stray dogs roaming Russia's Olympics venues have already become the unofficial mascots of the Winter Games. Olympics officials say no healthy dogs will be destroyed, but animal rights groups worried about the fate of the dogs are taking in as many as they can.

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Music & Culture

Violin Worth $5 Million Makes A Safe Return Home

7:55pm February 06, 2014

by Mitch Teich

Police in Milwaukee have recovered a Stradivarius violin and arrested three suspects in its theft. The instrument, said to be worth approximately $5 million, was stolen in a brazen armed robbery from the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra late last month. Mitch Teich of WUWM in Milwaukee reports on the violin's recovery.

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President Obama tours a Costco location in Lanham, Md., on Jan. 29, before speaking about raising the federal minimum wage.

As Deficit Anxiety Fades, Debt Rears Its Ugly Head

7:55pm February 06, 2014

by Mara Liasson

Cutting the national debt and deficit used to be the most divisive political debate in Washington. These days, not so much. Both parties have agreed to move on and focus on issues they largely agree on: income inequality and social mobility. But there's not much they can do without a sustainable budget.

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Michael Dunn (right), who faces first-degree murder charges in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, stands with his attorney Cory Strolla (left) at Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.

National

Another Florida Case Puts 'Stand Your Ground' Back In Court

7:55pm February 06, 2014

by Greg Allen

In a courtroom in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday, prosecutors and the defense laid out different versions of how 47-year-old Michael Dunn, who is white, came to shoot and kill Jordan Davis, a black 17-year-old.

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As Satya Nadella becomes the new CEO of Microsoft, company founder Bill Gates is moving from chairman to

What Bill Gates' New Role Could Mean For Microsoft

10:23pm February 05, 2014

by Laura Sydell

In recent years, the Microsoft co-founder has pulled back from his work at the company to focus on his foundation — improving global health and reducing poverty. But his hands-on days at Microsoft are not over. Gates is stepping down as chairman but moving into a part-time role as technology adviser.

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Volunteers with the Dan River Basin Association, graduate students from Duke University and staff with the environmental group Appalachian Voices collect water samples on the Dan River after a massive coal ash spill.

More Than 80,000 Tons Of Coal Ash Flow Into N.C. River

10:23pm February 05, 2014

by Jeff Tiberii

A broken stormwater pipe in North Carolina has sent the waste into the Dan River, which flows through Virginia and out into the Atlantic. Officials say the drinking water is safe, but environmental questions linger.

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Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys in California, looks at wind speed, snow depth and moisture data collected at a survey site in Yosemite National Park.

National

Scientists Help Western States Prepare For Drought As New Norm

10:23pm February 05, 2014

by Kirk Siegler

In a warming world, extreme droughts are predicted to become more common. Amid the historic drought gripping California and much of the West Coast, scientists are studying how states can manage with a lot less water in the future.

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detail from cover of The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles

Books
Arts

Triumph Of The Bookworms: Two Novels To Cure Your Winter Blues

5:19pm February 05, 2014

by Maureen Corrigan

Alena, a reworking of Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, takes place in the contemporary art world, while The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles is a "delicious French romp." Critic Maureen Corrigan says both novels are "exquisite vehicles of escape fiction."

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