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The amazing triumph of Windows 8

Bill Frist

More knowledge + less government = A healthier you

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Forget foreign policy. This election is about the economy.

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The global hotspots the foreign policy debate will ignore

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Angels in the newsroom

A Taiwanese fishing boat comes close to the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Sept. 25.

The world's silliest territorial dispute

October 20, 2012, at 11:15 AM

Why are China and Japan threatening to go to war over a few uninhabited islands in the East China Sea?

Richard Nixon (left) debates John F. Kennedy (right) during a live broadcast of their presidential debate on Oct. 21, 1960.

Everything you need to know about presidential debate history

October 14, 2012, at 9:20 AM

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama's clash this week will be just the latest in a long tradition of presidential showdowns

No country currently backs its currency with gold, but many have in the past — including the U.S.

Everything you need to know about the gold standard

October 7, 2012, at 4:00 PM

Some Tea Party activists are calling for a return to the gold standard. How would it affect the economy?

Unless Congress intervenes to avoid automatic budget cuts, the Army may have to go from 569,000 active duty soldiers to 426,000. That would be the lowest number since World War II.

Downsizing the military

September 30, 2012, at 10:00 AM

Washington's looming defense "sequester" would slash the Pentagon's budget by $55 billion a year. Would that imperil the nation?

A firefighter walks away after setting a backburn in an attempt to control a raging wildfire in Nutrioso, Ariz., on June 10: Already this year, nearly 13,000 square miles of land — an area larger than Massachusetts — has been burned by wildfires.

America's war on wildfires

September 14, 2012, at 9:55 AM

Tens of thousands of wildfires ravaged extensive areas of the country this summer. Is this the new normal?

Le Trung Hong Phuc, a 9-year-old from Vietnam, was born with disabilities, presumably due to his parents' exposure to Agent Orange.

Agent Orange's shameful legacy

September 7, 2012, at 7:15 AM

Four decades after the Vietnam War ended, the U.S. government is finally cleaning up the toxic mess it left behind

The company Coursera has teamed up with 16 universities (including Stanford, Duke, and Princeton) to offer more than 100 free online courses to anyone with internet access.

Virtual Princeton: A guide to free online Ivy League classes

August 31, 2012, at 10:10 AM

Elite universities are throwing open their classrooms' doors to anyone with an internet connection — for free

As the president delivers a speech Aug. 9 at the Palace of Agriculture on the Colorado State Fairgrounds, a member of the audience holds up a sign which reads, "Estamos Unidos Latinos for Obama."

Can Obama hold on to the Latino vote?

August 17, 2012, at 11:06 AM

In 2008, Hispanic voters helped make Barack Obama president. Will they now save his re-election campaign?

The Chinese media is demonizing Gu Kailia as a grasping, power-hungry woman who had a British businessman murdered out of greed.

The murder case roiling China

August 10, 2012, at 11:44 AM

Bo Xilai was a rising political star until his wife, Gu Kailai, was charged with murder. Here, a guide to the complex, controversial case

A depiction of the attack on Fort Oswego, Lake Ontario, 1814: After two years of fighting, the near-bankrupt U.S. government and the British government signed a peace treaty on Christmas Eve 1814.

America's invasion of Canada: A brief history

August 3, 2012, at 9:45 AM

Two centuries ago, the U.S. declared war on Britain, and invaded its closest colony. Why did we fight the War of 1812, and who really won?

Italian cardinals are subversively trying to gain more control in choosing Pope Benedict XVI's successor, according to a series of embarrassing leaks.

The Catholic Church's Vatileaks scandal: A guide

July 27, 2012, at 10:50 AM

A series of embarrassing leaks has exposed conspiracies, corruption, backstabbing, and bitter rivalries within the Catholic Church's hierarchy

Many Londoners are regretful of the upcoming Olympic games, especially due to the "Olympic levy" tax they will be forced to pay to cover the billions of dollars being spent on the games.

London's Olympic regrets

July 20, 2012, at 11:17 AM

With the 2012 Summer Games soon to begin, Londoners aren't sure hosting them was such a brilliant idea

Thanks to ObamaCare, starting in 2014, uninsured people who don't qualify for Medicaid will have to get insurance or pay a tax penalty.

The road ahead for ObamaCare: A guide

July 13, 2012, at 10:40 AM

Now that President Obama's health-care law has survived review by the U.S. Supreme Court, what will it actually do?

If lawmakers don't act by Jan. 1, 2013, four out of five U.S. households will reportedly have to pay an average of $3,701 more in taxes next year.

Countdown to Taxmageddon

July 4, 2012, at 1:15 PM

The U.S. could plunge off a "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1, 2013 — unless a deadlocked Congress acts. Can lawmakers avert the coming crisis?

Guests staying in a pod of Russia's planned space hotel would eat dehydrated food — while orbiting at an average speed of 18,600 mph.

The space race for tourists

June 22, 2012, at 11:25 AM

After years of delays, the long-awaited dream of commercial flights to space may soon become reality

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