News.WBRU » National News

BP Halts Oil Flow in Gulf of Mexico

Drew Morrill — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:48:03 +0000

Oil has stopped flowing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April.

A top BP executive says the company’s success in halting the flow of oil is a “great sight,” but not cause for celebration. Doug Suttles, the company’s chief operating officer, told reporters that the effort to permanently stop the flow is “far from the finish line.”

President Obama says news that BP has succeeded in capping the oil spill is a “positive sign,” but added that “we’re still in the testing phase.” The president says he will have more to say on the development Friday.

Mass. gay marriage ruling could have wider implications

Ethan Hammerman — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:36:11 +0000

Legal experts say a judge’s rulings in Massachusetts that the federal law banning gay marriage is unconstitutional could have implications beyond the state if upheld on appeal.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro says the Defense of Marriage Act interferes with a state’s right to define marriage and denies married gay couples some federal benefits. He ruled Thursday in favor of gay couples’ rights in two challenges to the law, which the Obama administration has argued for repealing.

A repeal of such a law would affect all the states in the First Circuit, including Rhode Island.

-AP

Blajogevich trial heating up with former COS’ testimony

Ethan Hammerman — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:10:46 +0000

Rod Blagojevich’s former chief of staff returns to the stand to testify about how the then-governor allegedly plotted to parlay his authority to name Barack Obama’s Senate replacement into a new life. According to employee John Harris’ testimony and the recordings made by authorities, Blagojevich talked about the possibility of several positions, such as a Cabinet job, U.N. ambassador or ambassador to a host of countries, Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to charges including scheming to sell or trade the Senate seat and racketeering.

Space shuttle Atlantis retires after 32 years

Vasundhara Prasad — Fri, 28 May 2010 21:37:35 +0000

Gliding into retirement after 32 missions covering 120 million miles, the shuttle Atlantis dropped out of orbit and returned to Earth, wrapping up a 25-year career with a near-flawless space station assembly mission. Atlantis also flew 11 missions to the International Space Station and visited the Hubble Space Telescope last year for a final overhaul.

Information taken from NYTimes.

Dairy farmers to entrepreneurs

Vasundhara Prasad — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:38:56 +0000

America’s dairy farmers could soon find themselves in the computer business, with the manure from their cows possibly powering the vast data centers of companies like Google and Microsoft. According to Hewlett-Packard, in research paper made public today, a dairy farmer could rent out land and power to technology companies and recoup an investment in the waste-to-fuel systems within two years.

Information taken from NYTimes.

No link found between cell phones and brain cancer

Eric Johnson — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:09:25 +0000

Photo licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy Samantha Celera.

A ten-year study by the World Health Organization has produced no clear link between cell phone use and brain cancer. Experts studied about 13,000 cell phone users in the study and couldn’t determine any risk of tumors.

General Motors could be profitable again soon

Eric Johnson — Mon, 17 May 2010 21:04:21 +0000

General Motors could be on the road for its first full year of profitability since 2004.

The automaker posted first-quarter profits of $865 million. By contrast, last year they posted a $5.9 billion loss. The U.S. government owns a 61 percent stake in GM, which received $50 billion from the government in restructuring money.

Parking attendants to fight terrorism

Marielle Segarra — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:47:49 +0000

photo licensed by creative commons courtesy of flikr user mil8

Parking attendants and meter maids could be the nation’s latest line of defense against terror attacks. A new government program aims to train thousands of parking industry employees nationwide to watch for and report anything suspicious. They’re being told to look for abandoned cars, and people hanging around garages, taking photographs or asking unusual questions.

Pakistan faces heat post the failed NY bombing

Vasundhara Prasad — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:12:54 +0000

American drone aircraft fired 18 missiles at militants in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region today, killing at least 14 fighters and wounding 4. The missiles struck a region on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border where Taliban and Qaeda fighters prepare for operations against United States and NATO troops in Afghanistan. The unusually intense drone attack was the third since a failed car bombing in Times Square 10 days ago.

Information taken from NYTimes.

Obama nominates Elena Kagan to Supreme Court

Sophia Lin — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:09:50 +0000

(Metro) President Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Senate Judiciary Committee member Orrin Hatch says her judicial philosophy is important.

In her current post, Kagan is the government’s top advocate at the Supreme Court. The 50-year-old New York native also is a former dean of Harvard Law School and could succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. If Kagan is confirmed, there will be three women on the nation’s high court for the first time in American history.