Topic: Houston (Texas)

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

NBA playoffs 2012: Postseason news and notes

The National Basketball Association season that almost never was is about to head into the home stretch, i.e. the playoffs. Here are some postseason facts and figures.
Baseball spring training: The facts, from history to cheap seats

Spring training is when players shed the winter rust by limbering up on warm, sun-baked diamonds, sign autographs galore, and provide hope that this may be their team’s year. As preseason games between major-league teams begin on Saturday, here are a few facts to give you some background on spring ball.
In Pictures: It's Mardi Gras time all over the world!
Whitney Houston: Her Grammy wins

The singer dominated album sales and received many award nominations during her heyday – here are the songs and albums that got her Grammy Awards.
Christopher Hitchens: 10 memorable quotes

Some of the more pithy quotes by Christopher Hitchens

All Content

Prepaid iPhone: $400. No contract. $55 a month for unlimited use.

Prepaid iPhone will be offered by Leap Wireless starting June 22 in some cities. Open Mobile has already started selling a prepaid iPhone in Puerto Rico.
SpaceX Dragon cargo ship splashes down in Pacific Ocean (+video)

The SpaceX Dragon capsule, a privately owned spacecraft, returned to Earth Thursday from the International Space Station
Next stop for SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship: the Pacific Ocean (+video)

The Dragon cargo ship, the first commercially owned spacecraft to reach the International Space Station, is making its return trip to Earth. SpaceX designed Dragon for reuse, but NASA wants a new one for each mission.
SpaceX Dragon capsule homeward bound

The SpaceX Dragon capsule will splash down in the Pacific this morning. The Dragon capsule is returning with nearly 1,400 pounds of old space station equipment and some science samples.
NASA: SpaceX docking ranks near top of space-age 'firsts' (+video)

The successful docking of the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the International Space Station Friday is a landmark moment in opening space to wider use, NASA officials say.
Curt Schilling fires staff at video-game firm

Curt Schilling fires staff of 300 in Rhode Island, which had given a $75 million loan guarantee to the video-game company. Curt Schilling fired staff with an e-mail that thanked them for dedication but claimed an 'economic downturn' had hit the company
HP jump boosts Dow; stocks mixed

Hewlett-Packard helped pull the Dow Jones industrial average to a slight gain Thursday, giving the index only its fourth gain this month. The Dow closed up 33 points at 12529.
SpaceX's Dragon craft is a star performer, so far (+video)

The Dragon spacecraft passed the underside of the space station and correctly calculated the distance between the two – two tests it cleared with flying colors on Thursday. The craft, owned by SpaceX, is set to dock on Friday.
China rails at 30 percent tariff on solar panels

China says the US is "deliberately provoking trade friction in the clean energy sector." The US says Chinese exporters were dumping cut-price solar panels in the US market.
SpaceX launch: A step-by-step guide (+video)

If all goes well on Saturday, SpaceX will launch the very first commercial visit to the International Space Station. Here is how the trip is expected to go.
Hollande takes power in France amidst lightning

After he assumed the presidency in a Paris ceremony, the new French president headed for Germany to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In Gear
New world record: 1,626 miles on one tank of gas

Helen and John Taylor drove the longest distance without refueling of anyone in the world. Their car, a diesel-powered Volkswagen Passat, got an average 84.1 miles per gallon.  
Asteroid Vesta: Is it really an asteroid?

The humongous asteroid Vesta is actually a protoplanet left over from the early days of our solar system, new observations from a NASA space probe suggest.
Exclusive: Cyberattacks on US natural-gas pipeline companies, evidence points to China

Those analyzing the cyberspies who are trying to infiltrate natural-gas pipeline companies have found similarities with an attack on a cybersecurity firm a year ago. At least one US government official has blamed China for that earlier attack.
What's causing mass pelican and dolphin deaths in Peru?

Delays in the autopsies of thousands of dead pelicans and dolphins in Peru are causing difficulties for officials as they attempt to determine causes of death in these die-offs.
How one man may have foiled a devastating cyberattack against America

Researcher Justin W. Clarke discovered a vulnerability in an industrial networking system used by American power grids and the Pentagon. Now, after public pressure, the manufacturer is promising a fix.
Chapter & Verse
'Steve Jobs' and 'The Help' dominate reading lists in many American cities

Data gathered by Nielsen BookScan for The Daily Beast show many of the same titles are popular in American cities – but exceptions include 'Heaven Is For Real' and 'The Great Gatsby.'
NBA playoffs 2012: Postseason news and notes

The National Basketball Association season that almost never was is about to head into the home stretch, i.e. the playoffs. Here are some postseason facts and figures.
America's Stuxnet? Weakness found in systems used by Pentagon, power grid.

An amateur enthusiast has found evidence that hackers could exploit a security vulnerability in the systems of a company that serves power plants and military installations.
Change Agent
Neighborland taps social media to build better neighborhoods

Neighborland, a New Orleans-based start up focused on citizen participation, hopes that its unique twist on social networking will help bring neighbors back together.
BP engineer arrested in Gulf oil spill

Former BP engineer Kurt Mix is accused of deleting text messages that revealed the true scope of the disaster.
First BP oil spill arrest: Why put the squeeze on a mid-level engineer?

The first criminal charges brought in the 2010 BP oil spill – against Kurt Mix, a former BP engineer – show that the government still seeks the answer to an essential question in the spill’s aftermath: Did BP tell the truth about what it knew about the size of the spill? At stake are billions in fines.
The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City

From Brooklyn to Philly to Houston: Is the American city of today becoming more like Paris?
Cover Story
With all this natural gas, who needs oil?

It's home-grown, plentiful, and touted as the best way to wean the US off Mideast oil. But there are limits to how far the US can tilt toward a natural gas economy.
Mother slain, baby abducted: kidnapper had suffered miscarriage

Verna McClain, who has been accused of killing a young mother and stealing her baby, is said to have been trying to replace the one she lost.