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The Obama administration is seeking changes to the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law and proposing to eliminate provisions that have labeled one in three schools as failing.

The proposal, to be unveiled on Monday, expands on shareholder provisions and hews in many ways to a proposal advanced by the White House, said people briefed on the legislation.

Chaos, weak oversight and wide use of cash payments in the Iraq reconstruction program allowed Americans who took bribes to get off scot-free.

As Manny Pacquiao easily dispatched another welterweight contender, the talk turned immediately to Floyd Mayweather Jr. once again.

As the health care drama enters its final act, Alan S. Frumin, the Senate parliamentarian, is in a starring role.

Jamie Paulin-Ramirez’s relatives said they had not heard from her since learning she was released without charge.

Passengers were not shocked by officials’ report that thousands of drivers gouged millions of dollars by setting taxi meters at too high a rate.

Bald eagles have made a comeback in New York State. They can even be seen in the city — but they’re just visiting. They choose to nest elsewhere.

Premier Wen Jiabao charged that the developed world seeks to force unfair changes in China’s economic policies “just for the purposes of increasing their own exports.�

A nor’easter was blamed for three deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power in New Jersey, metropolitan New York and Connecticut.

Once allies, Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt are now engaged in a gritty fight over mobile computing and cellphones.

Commercial trade schools are under fire because they are attracting more students and Pell grants.

Top Breaking News Stories from CBSNews.com

Weapons Used in Pentagon, Las Vegas Shootings Traced to Evidence Vault; Some States Restrict Destroying Confiscated Guns

Colo. Woman Freed After Being Held in Probe of Cartoonist Murder Plot   |   Woman's Mother Tells Her Story

A Teenage Girl is Discovered in Her Car, Brutally Murdered; Was She Running For Her Life?   |   Watch Story

Founder of Bicycle Charity 88Bikes Driven to Provide Children of Third World a Vehicle to Regain Lost Bits of Childhood

Aid Groups Say Gov't Slow to Relocate Those in Squalid Camps; Several Hurt in Building Collapse

Magnitude 6.6 Quake Sways Buildings in Capital, No Immediate Reports of Damage or Casualties

Colo. Woman Freed After Being Held in Probe of Cartoonist Murder Plot; Investigators Looked for Links to "Jihad Jane"

Congressional Spokesman Says Investigation's Findings Casts Doubt on Calif. Driver's Harrowing Tale

Aid Groups Say Gov't Slow to Relocate Those in Squalid Camps; Several Hurt in Building Collapse

Weapons Used in Pentagon, Las Vegas Shootings Traced to Evidence Vault; Some States Restrict Destroying Confiscated Guns

At Least 30 Dead as Explosions, Gunfire Erupt in Kandahar

Returns From Capital Could Boost Maliki Coalition, but Partial Vote Count Marred by Disorganization

But Some in House Suspicious That Senate Will Not Pull Through; White House Says Public Support Is on Rise

Flights Delayed, Trains Stalled as Wind, Rain Batter Northeast

Founder of Bicycle Charity 88Bikes Driven to Provide Children of Third World a Vehicle to Regain Lost Bits of Childhood

Others, Also Feeling Budget Woes, Mulling Same; How Can You Avoid It?

A Teenage Girl is Found in Her Car, Brutally Murdered; Was She Running For Her Life?

Moneywatch.com: Sure-Fire Strategies to Claim Victory in the Office NCAA Brackets Competition

Msnbc.com is a leader in breaking news and original journalism.

At Afghan outpost, troops battle Taliban with an autonomy that riles many higher up in chain of command but may offer model for future missions.

Utility crews push through fallen trees and debris to reach downed power lines, working to restore electricity after a deadly storm wreaked havoc in the Northeast.

Tens of thousands of protesters converge in Bangkok to give Thailand's military-backed government an ultimatum: either call elections or face more demonstrations.

Opinion: Illinois was eliminated from this tournament (and possibly the bigger one) by a team that is the closest thing we've seen in more than 20 years to a reincarnation of the eternally beloved Flyin' Illini. That's Ohio State.

Thirteen people are killed in and around Acapulco, with four victims found beheaded, security officials say. Another gunbattle in the state leaves 11 people dead.

After easy victory at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday night, top pound-for-pound fighter says ‘world wants’ fight with Mayweather next.

An avalanche strikes a rally of up to 200 snowmobilers in Canada's Rocky Mountains, killing at least three people and leaving an unknown number missing, police say.

Investigators with Toyota and the federal government were unable to make a Toyota Prius speed out of control as its owner said it did on a freeway, according to a memo.

A strong earthquake hits off the eastern coast of central Japan, rattling buildings across a broad swath of the country, including Tokyo.

Da’Sean Butler’s second game-winner in three days gave West Virginia its first Big East title. The senior guard, who banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give West Virginia a quarterfinal win, scored in the lane with 4.2 seconds left and the No. 7 Mountaineers beat No. 22 Georgetown 60-58 on Saturday night.

An American woman and three others arrested in Ireland over an alleged plot to assassinate Swedish artist Lars Vilks have been freed without charge.

Brian McNamee’s defense attorneys might call on Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera to testify about former their New York Yankees teammate Roger Clemens as the ex-pitcher attempts to appeal a judge’s decision to dismiss his defamation suit against his former trainer.

Thousands of teachers, classmates and neighbors filled a San Diego-area high school football stadium to honor a 17-year-old girl allegedly killed by a registered sex offender.

It’s that time of year again, when most Americans lose an hour’s sleep setting their clocks ahead. Here are answers to your questions about the time switch - and about sleep.

Bill Walker scored a career-high 23 points, Wilson Chandler added 22 and the New York Knicks snapped Dallas’ 13-game winning streak and avenged a 50-point loss to the Mavericks earlier this season with a 128-94 victory on Saturday night.

Panic grips Georgia when a pro-government television station broadcasts a fake report that Russian tanks had entered the capital and President Mikhail Saakashvili had been killed.

Instead of requiring schools to meet annual benchmarks, President Barack Obama's plan would encourage school improvement based on a system of incentives for the best schools and teachers.

A Venezuelan police official says security forces have seized two tons of cocaine that was intended to be smuggled to the Netherlands.

California-based SpaceX says it has conducted a successful engine test for its Falcon 9 launch vehicle, a key milestone on the way to the inaugural launch of a rocket that could one day ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

A series of suicide bombings in Kandahar leave at least 30 people dead and dozens injured.

For all the evidence of a divided Republican Party, the Democratic Party has its own widening cracks that could make a potentially bleak election year even more dour.

An Air Force sergeant blames Rapid City, S.D., police officers for ending her military career by telling her military bosses about her sexual orientation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's wife has been transferred out of a Virginia hospital's intensive care unit and is improving after she was seriously injured in an auto accident.

FOX News Channel - We Report. You Decide.

Christine Mott described her daughter as a troubled single mother who had the "mentality of an abused woman" and who, in trying to escape her loneliness, may have spiraled into the depths of Islamic extremism.

House speaker says lawmakers are 'on the verge of history,' but doesn't say how many votes she has secured
• Dems, GOP Pressure Fence-Sitters Over Health Care
• Dem Takes on Party Over Abortion Language in Bill
• YOU DECIDE: If Health Reform Passes, Who Wins?

Powerful storm wreaks havoc on the Northeast, delaying flights and stranding hundreds on a train for over six hours

The governor of Kandahar province demanded more security around Afghanistan's largest southern city Sunday after a series of explosions killed dozens of people in the Taliban heartland.

A strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit off the eastern coast of Japan on Sunday, rattling buildings across a broad swath of the country, including the crowded capital.

Vandals sprayed anti-Semitic graffiti on Holocaust memorials at a former Nazi concentration camp in Poland, desecration that authorities discovered Saturday and are investigating.

Dov Litvinoff, head of the Tamar Regional Council, vowed he wouldn't support the project "logistically nor in terms of budget."

A judiciary statement says the networks were set up by Iranian opposition groups, including the armed People's Mujahedeen, and that 30 of their members were arrested.

An avalanche struck a rally of up to 200 snowmobilers in Canada's Rocky Mountains on Saturday, killing at least three people and leaving an unknown number missing, police said.

Authorities say the body of a missing 24-year-old Portland woman has been found.

Nearly half died in one shootout between soldiers and armed men

Authorities say a 55-year-old woman died alone in a bedroom of her central Florida home after locking herself in the room for several weeks for a lengthy religious fast.

Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

TOP 30: With 'The Pacific' and 'The Green Zone' coming out, we take a look back at the best war movies of all time | IS GREEN ZONE WORTH SEEING?

SLIDESHOW: What would Pelosi and fellow lawmakers do if they had to take a pay cut? Check out YOUR take on this and other stories in the news

Wish you had personal stylist but can't pay the hefty price? New Web site 'Go Try It On' promises free wardrobe feedback, from both friends and strangers | SLIDESHOW

Jetsons-era vision of the future is very real: Soon you'll be able to buy your own strap-on jetpack | SLIDESHOW

THEN/NOW: Frederique van der Wal was the hottest swimsuit and undies model of the 1990s. What's the statuesque stunner doing these days?

The 41-year-old star looks better than ever, and BFF Courtney Cox wants her on her new show, 'Cougar Town,' pronto | ANISTON HOT SHOTS

Some critics are seeing red over 'The Green Zone' and the blame it puts on U.S. | FOX FORUM: The Truth About 'Green Zone'

SINGER SHOCKER: Lady Gaga set her new 9-minute long video in a women's prison, wears headgear made of Marlboro's, and leaves most of her clothes at home

SLIDESHOW: Mother Nature's creatures are both beautiful and bizarre. From the furry to the feathered, our favorite pictures of the planet's diversity of animals

William Shatner competes with Facebook with new social network site, MyOuterSpace.com, filled with planets, starships and fantasy fans

News for nerds, stuff that matters

gollum123 writes "Think we'd all be better off if HTML5 could somehow instantly replace Flash overnight? Not necessarily, according to a set of comparisons from Jan Ozer of the Streaming Learning Center website, which found that while HTML5 did come out ahead in many respects, it wasn't exactly a clear winner. They did find that HTML5 clearly performed better than Flash 10 or 10.1 in Safari on a Mac, although the differences were less clear cut in Google Chrome or Firefox. On the other hand, Flash more than held its own on Windows, and Flash Player 10.1 was actually 58% more efficient than HTML5 in Google Chrome on the Windows system tested. As you may have deduced, one of the big factors accounting for that discrepancy is that Flash is able to take advantage of GPU hardware acceleration in Windows, while Adobe is effectively cut out of the loop on Mac." gollum123 also links to additional tests indicating that Flash "does not perform consistently worse on Mac than on Windows."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

this_boat_is_real writes "Somewhere off the coast of Chile a pioneering underwater robot named Abe lies in a watery grave today. The Autonomous Benthic Explorer was one of the first truly independent research submersibles, being both unmanned and un-tethered to its launching ship. While on its 222nd research dive on Friday all contact with the craft was lost, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has announced."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

this_boat_is_real writes "There's growing concern over how pharmaceutical companies use social media and the Internet to market their products. Last November, the US Food and Drug Administration held a hearing on the topic, and many were worried over how marketing mediums such as Twitter — which has a 140-character limit on text — can sufficiently disclose drug risks." Here's the FDA's announcement about last year's hearings, which includes links to an archive of presentations as well as a video record of the meeting.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

badger.foo writes "The OpenBSD 4.7 pre-orders are up. That means the release is done, sent off to CD production, and snapshots will turn -current again. Order now and you more likely than not will have your CD set, T-shirt or other cool stuff before the official release date. You get the chance to support the most important free software project on the planet, and get your hands on some cool playables and wearables early. The release page is still being filled in, but the changelog has detailed information about the goodies in this release."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mirk writes "Back in 1985 it was possible to understand the whole computer, from the hardware up through device drivers and the kernel through to the high-level language that came burned into the ROMs (even if it was only Microsoft BASIC). The Reinvigorated Programmer revisits R. C. West's classic and exhaustive book Programming the Commodore 64 and laments the decline of that sort of comprehensive Deep Knowing."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

krou writes "Talking to the BBC at a private function held at the Royal Society in London, former astronauts Jim Lovell and Eugene Cernan both spoke out about Obama's decision to postpone further moon missions. Lovell claimed that 'it will have catastrophic consequences in our ability to explore space and the spin-offs we get from space technology,' while Cernan noted he was 'disappointed' to have been the last person to land on the moon. Said Cernan: 'I think America has a responsibility to maintain its leadership in technology and its moral leadership ... to seek knowledge. Curiosity's the essence of human existence.' Neil Armstrong, who was also at the event, avoided commenting on the subject."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission is using GPS data collected in every cab to review millions of trips in New York City over the past 26 months and has discovered a huge number in which out-of-city rates, twice the rate charged for rides in the five boroughs, were improperly charged. The drivers' scheme, the commission says, involved 1.8 million rides and cost passengers an average of $4 to $5 extra per trip when drivers flipped switches on their meters that kicked in the higher rates, costing New York City riders a total of $8.3 million. Cab drivers are supposed to charge the higher rate only when they cross the border between New York City and Nassau or Westchester. 'We have not seen anything quite this pervasive,' said Matthew W. Daus, the taxi and limousine commissioner. 'It's very disturbing.' The taxi industry vigorously challenged the city's findings, saying it was unimaginable that such a pervasive problem could be the result of deliberate fraud. The commission says that 75% out of the city's 48,000 drivers had applied the higher rate at least once. Officials hope to roll out a short-term fix in two or three weeks in which an alert will appear on the backseat monitor when a cabbie activates the out-of-town rate."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

According to The Financial Times, "Google has drawn up detailed plans for the closure of its Chinese search engine and is now '99.9 per cent' certain to go ahead [with the closure] as talks over censorship with the Chinese authorities have reached an apparent impasse, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking. In a hardening of positions on both sides, the Chinese government also on Friday threw down a direct public challenge to the US search company, with a warning that it was not prepared to compromise on internet censorship to stop Google leaving." "99.9 per cent" or not, both sides say they'd actually like Google to remain in China, but neither is willing to bend publicly on the question of censorship. If Google closes google.cn, as now seems likely, it could still maintain its R&D office in Beijing and its sales force, who sell ads on google.com targeted into China.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

sglines writes "Over the last couple of years I've been slowly getting deaf. Too much loud rock and roll I suppose. After flubbing a couple of job interviews because I couldn't understand my inquisitors, I had a hearing test which confirmed what I already knew: I'm deaf. So I tried on a set of behind-the-ear hearing aids. Wow, my keyboard makes clacks as I type and my wife doesn't mumble to herself. Then I asked how much: $3,700 for the pair. Hey, I'm unemployed. The cheapest digital hearing aids they had were $1,200 each. If you look at the specs they are not very impressive. A digital hearing aid has a low-power A-to-D converter. Output consists of D-to-A conversion with volume passing through an equalizer that inversely matches your hearing loss. Most hearing loss, mine included, is frequency dependent, so an equalizer does wonders. The 'cheap' hearing aids had only four channels while the high-end one had twelve. My 1970 amplifier had more than that. I suppose they have some kind of noise reduction circuitry, too, but that's pretty much it. So my question is this: when I can get a very good netbook computer for under $400 why do I need to pay $1,200 per ear for a hearing aid? Alternatives would be welcome."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

suraj.sun tips a report up at CNet which begins: "Browser makers, grappling with outmoded technology and a vision to rebuild the Web as a foundation for applications, have begun converging on a seemingly basic but very important element of cloud computing. That ability is called local storage, and the new mechanism is called Indexed DB. Indexed DB, proposed by Oracle and initially called WebSimpleDB, is largely just a prototype at this stage, not something Web programmers can use yet. But already it's won endorsements from Microsoft, Mozilla, and Google, and together, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome account for more than 90 percent of the usage on the Net today. 'Indexed DB is interesting to both Firefox and Microsoft, so if we get to the point where we prototype it and want to ship it, it will have very wide availability,' said Chris Blizzard, director of evangelism for Mozilla. ... Microsoft publicly endorsed Indexed DB on its IE blog: 'Together with Mozilla, we're excited about a new design for local storage called Indexed DB. We think this is a great solution for the Web,' said program manager Adrian Bateman."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "David Cummings, a programmer who worked on the Mars Pathfinder project, has written an interesting editorial in the L.A. Times encouraging Toyota to drop claims of software infallibility in their recent acceleration problems. He argues that embedded systems developers must program more defensively, and that companies should stop relying on software for safety. Quoting: 'If Toyota has indeed tested its software as thoroughly as it says without finding any bugs, my response is simple: Keep trying. Find new ways to instrument the software, and come up with more creative tests. The odds are that there are still bugs in the code, which may or may not be related to unintended acceleration. Until these bugs are identified, how can you be certain they are not related to sudden acceleration?'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Lanxon writes "Robots of the future will be capable of learning more complex behaviors than ever before if a new, pan-European research project succeeds in its goal of developing the world's first architecture for advanced robotic motor skills, reports Wired. If successful, the four-year AMARSi (Adaptive Modular Architecture for Rich Motor Skills) project could see a manufacturing world filled with autonomous, intelligent humanoid worker bots that can learn new skills by interacting with their co-workers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

gregg writes "HM Cancri has been confirmed as a binary system of two white dwarfs orbiting each other so closely that they complete one orbit every 5.4 minutes; they are separated by a mere 8 Earth diameters. 'These are the burnt-out cinders of stars such as our Sun, and contain a highly condensed form of helium, carbon and oxygen. The two white dwarfs in HM Cancri are so close together that mass is flowing from one star to the other. HM Cancri was first noticed as an X-ray source in 1999, showing a 5.4 minutes periodicity, but for a long time it has remained unclear whether this period also indicated the actual orbital period of the system. It was so short that astronomers were reluctant to accept the possibility without solid proof. '"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hugh Pickens writes "The Associated Press reports that the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has deferred a decision until June on whether to create a '.xxx' Internet suffix as an online red-light district, beginning a 70-day process of consultations on a domain that could help parents block access to adult sites. ICM Registry LLC first proposed the '.xxx' domain in 2000, and ICANN has rejected it three times already since then, but an outside panel last month questioned the board's latest rejection in 2007, prompting the board to reopen the bid. Backers of '.xxx' have billed the proposal as a way for the adult-entertainment industry to clean up its act, though some adult sites worry that governments would wind up mandating the use of '.xxx' and that sites with the '.xxx' suffix could easily be blocked by government web filters in the future. 'I am very concerned and fearful of censoring adult material that should be made available for adults. It scares the hell out of me,' says Malcolm Day, head of AdultShop.com, adding that if adult websites weren't allowed to have '.com' domains and could only register under the '.xxx' address, then 'many governments (across the world) would try to block them.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "PJ of Groklaw has found some really interesting documents coming out of the never-ending SCO trial. Specifically, in SCO v. Novell, SCO doesn't want the jury to find out about the email Blake Stowell (then a PR guy for SCO) sent to Maureen O'Gara that asked her to 'send a jab PJ's way.' For those who don't remember that far back in the SCO saga, the 'jab' was when O'Gara wrote an inaccurate, rambling and irrelevant 'exposé' on PJ which got O'Gara fired for violating journalistic ethics after angry readers complained to the publisher — an act which caused Ms. O'Gara to tell SCO, 'I want war pay.' For those wondering how they can keep going after that final judgment against SCO over a year ago, it's hard to do the saga justice without glossing over everything, but the short version is that SCO ran to bankruptcy after they were mostly dead, but before becoming completely dead. That automatically stopped all the cases against SCO due to standard bankruptcy court rules, then SCO effectively re-litigated a bunch of issues via bankruptcy court rules. Currently, they're accusing Novell of 'slander of title' over copyrights that two different courts have ruled SCO does not own, and we're waiting to see if a jury will reach the same conclusion. They're also trying to use the company's lawsuits as assets and to sell them to various SCO insiders so that the legal wranglings can continue even if nothing is left of SCO. From the very start, SCO has always been the type to fight dirty."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Top Stories

The North American premiere of American: The Bill Hicks Story delivers a biting dose of the late, great stand-up's routines. But that's just the tip of the iceberg: Fans who've memorized every word will dig the documentary's inventive animation sequences.

Promising a mix of revenue and flexibility, the startup will offer independent filmmakers a direct route to movie fans.

Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world's largest search engine, is now "99.9 percent" certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times reports.

Funny, fresh and amazingly violent, Matthew Vaughn's big-screen adaption of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s superhero story leaves a packed house laughing at South by Southwest.

With trailers, film excerpts and concept art, producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal show off their fierce reboot of the sci-fi franchise at South by Southwest. Here's what the lucky folks at the packed screening saw.

A slew of new tablets are set to hit the market but they won't kill e-readers. Tablets and E Ink-based reading devices are likely to co-exist, targeting different groups of consumers.

What if you could reliably diagnose autism at age 14 months? Findings in a new study could lead to better outcomes for autistic kids because of early intervention.

An FBI report says the amount of reported damages stemming from online fraud has more than doubled to $560 million. And the No. 1 consumer online complaint concerned e-mail scammers posing as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The MP4-25 offers an innovative solution to the age-old problem of maximizing downforce in the curves and minimizing drag on the straights.

Large earthquakes can shorten pregnant women's gestation period by small but significant amounts, a new study finds.

Twice the screen but half the quality, the Entourage eDGe is a lofty e-reader that falls short in nearly every area.

A new form of motor sport needs a new form of governance, one where the teams have a say in making the rules, settling the disputes and share in the profits.

To settle a privacy lawsuit, Netflix is canceling a second round of its innovative contest to improve its movie recommendations. The lawsuit claims the anonymized user data given to outside researchers put users at risk of being identified.

Chances are, if you have a newer mobile phone, it's a television screen in your pocket. These tiny smartphones are truly smart, and the latest mobiles are connected to the internet and sport a sharp small screen.

A NASA satellite captured a small comet on its way to meet the sun. Things will not turn out well for the comet.

A Chinese internet official refuses to blink in the 2-month-old censorship flap with Google. He said "consequences" would be felt if Google stops filtering search results in China.

The anomalously long lull in solar flares and sunspots during 2008 and 2009 may have been caused by a drop in gas flows at the sun's surface, related weak magnetic fields. The finding may point to a way to better predict solar activity.

The "executive drinkist" who concocts adult beverages at this new Austin, Texas, hot spot mixes boutique liquors with vintage inspiration. The first in a series of libation-fueled reports from South by Southwest.

Slacker, the critically praised interactive radio service our readers helped us discover in '07, plans to launch an on-demand subscription service combining elements of Pandora, Rhapsody and Spotify in the next few months, Wired.com has learned.

Apple published two new details about the iPad's support for e-books Friday, including the fact that the iPad will be able to dictate books using a built-in text-to-speech feature. The company also announced support for open EPUB books, including those not sold through Apple's store.

Efforts to save the endangered Virginia big-eared bat from White Nose Syndrome by starting a captive colony appear to be failing.

Cliqset has produced this nifty web app that aggregates status updates and check-ins sent from people in and around Austin to all of the different major location-sharing services — Gowalla, Foursquare, Twitter, Brightkite and of course Cliqset.

Now that Apple has fulfilled its goal of achieving quantity in its App Store, the company is making a hard push for quality. But where do you draw the line between raising quality standards and censorship?

The firebrand stand-up comic's story is told in this documentary, which makes its North American premiere at South by Southwest this week. Get a taste of Hicks' brutally funny take on drugs, religion and modern life in this trailer for the movie.

Before J.F. Daniell develops a much improved battery, the devices were impractical and downright dangerous. His innovations enable the telegraph and other technology to take off.

Shortly after the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the new organization sent 100 photographers out to document the human and natural environments. After a lively few years, the Documerica project was canceled and the photos were archived. Now, this incredible portrait of America in the mid-1970s is making its way onto Flickr.

Out with the CD, in with USB drives, maybe in the form of a cassette tape or spork?

With a 45,000-foot cruising altitude, the world's biggest airborne telescope will begin collecting data this spring.

With 3-D making a comeback, it's time to dig into Hollywood's history and excavate other cinematic technology that was groundbreaking for its time.

Minnesota seeks to distinguish itself in the increasingly reality TV-esque race to convince Google to build a high-speed fiber optic network there with a video featuring junior US Senator (and former comedian) Al Franken. It's funny stuff, but also serious business as Google shakes up the notoriously uncompetitive ISP business just by showing up.