Topic: Social and Behavioral Sciences

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6 factors that will determine concessions from Iran

Can war with Iran can be avoided? In recent talks with the West in Baghdad, Iran showed some greater flexibility about its nuclear program. But Iran has a history of trickery in the nuclear arena. Whether Tehran will cooperates with Western demands depends on the following six factors.
Carlos Fuentes: 5 best novels

Throughout his decades-long literary career, Carlos Fuentes produced more than 20 books. Here are five of his best.
Howard Carter: 6 of his first moments in the tomb of King Tut

Archaeologist Howard Carter details how he found and entered the famous tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Aung San Suu Kyi's historic moment: 5 things to know

Once possibly the world's best-known political prisoner, today Aung San Suu Kyi made the historic move to lawmaker, after a swearing-in ceremony at Myanmar's parliament in the capital of Naypyidaw. Here are five things about her.
Earth Day: Five ways we affect the planet

The late Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D) of Wisconsin organized the first Earth Day in 1970 after the devastating oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif. The event started as an environmental teach-in, with some 20 million Americans taking part on college campuses across the United States. Today, 500 million people in 175 countries observe Earth Day on April 22 as a way to celebrate the natural world and raise awareness of the environment. How much do humans affect the earth? Click below to find out.

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Global News Blog
Aung San Suu Kyi's 'test run' outside of Myanmar (+video)

On her first international trip since 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi is in Thailand to attend a World Economic Forum summit on Friday. Next month she will travel to Europe, collecting while there the Nobel Peace Prize awarded her in 1991.
The unusual confessor who broke the Etan Patz cold case

Killing Etan Patz in 1979 may have been the only time alleged killer Pedro Hernandez hurt someone. While he avoided detection for 33 years, the secret took enough of a toll that Hernandez broke down in tears as he confessed, appearing remorseful and ‘relieved.’
A race to shore up the ancient walls of Babylon

After two failed bids, archaeologists seek to establish Babylon as a UNESCO World Heritage Site despite damage from Saddam Hussein and US troops. Those are just its latest encounters with conquerors, they argue.
As Millennials reject gender roles, but embrace marriage, they're changing society

While the Millennial generation's beliefs reject conventional notions about the place of women in society, both sexes still place a high value on marriage and family. However challenging, these shifting gender roles will force changes in Millennials' home and work cultures.
6 factors that will determine concessions from Iran

Can war with Iran can be avoided? In recent talks with the West in Baghdad, Iran showed some greater flexibility about its nuclear program. But Iran has a history of trickery in the nuclear arena. Whether Tehran will cooperates with Western demands depends on the following six factors.
Egypt elections: Sharia can support democracy

In Egypt elections for president today, the role of Islam in government is a big question. But a freedom-based interpretation of sharia can support democracy in the Arab world. Such a form of sharia in the early stages of the Iran Revolution set a precedent – before it was snuffed out.
Modern Parenthood
Teenage pregnancy: High US rates due to poverty, not promiscuity

Teenage pregnancy rates in the US have declined dramatically – 40 percent in two decades – but remain among the highest in the developed world. A new study suggests American teens don't have more sex than teens elsewhere, but that they suffer more "despair" due to poverty.
What causes wrongful convictions? Lies, mistaken eyewitnesses top the list.

Researchers examined 873 wrongful convictions and found that perjury or false accusations were responsible for more than half. New report offers insight into what leads to miscarriages of justice.
White births in US no longer a majority

White births in the US have been surpassed by racial and ethnic minorities, according to newest Census data.
More than half of US babies now minorities, US Census reports (+video)

America is changing. As of July 2011, 50.4 percent of children under age 1 in the US were members of minority groups. In the under-5 group in 2011, 49.7 percent were minorities.
What the world's poor can teach us on jobs

The prospect of long-term joblessness in Europe and the US should focus attention on a new type of economics that seems to work for helping the worst-off in poor countries.
Carlos Fuentes: 5 best novels

Throughout his decades-long literary career, Carlos Fuentes produced more than 20 books. Here are five of his best.
Will Californians trust Jerry Brown enough to vote for his tax increase?

After outlining drastic cuts Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown pleaded with California voters to approve a temporary sales-tax increase. Some experts, but not all, think he can get it through.
Jerry Brown proposes billions in cuts. Are Californians getting his message?

With California's budget shortfall soaring, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) proposes broad, painful cuts for state workers and programs. Without new taxes, he warns voters, the cuts will be even worse.
Mayan calendar discovery suggests world might not end in 2012 (+video)

A new discovery indicates that Mayan astronomers believed that the universe would continue past 2012.
Man aims shoe at Breivik, marking first outburst in surprisingly calm trial (+video)

The brother of one of Anders Behring Breivik's victims launched a shoe at the confessed killer on a day that was already tense because of a controversial legal proposal.
Oldest Mayan calendar found, and it goes way beyond Dec. 12, 2012 (+video)

A Mayan calendar was found deep in the Guatemalan rainforest. But this ancient Mayan calender refutes claims that the world will end Dec. 21, 2012
Horizons
Howard Carter, the original Indiana Jones (+video)

Google doodle Wednesday remembers Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. 
Wisconsin recall: Why Democrats think Barrett can beat Walker this time

Democrats in Wisconsin chose Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee, to challenge Gov. Scott Walker (R) in a recall election next month. It's a reprise of their 2010 contest, but now Walker has a record to defend.
In Richard Lugar defeat, a tea party road map for revamping Washington?

Six-term Sen. Richard Lugar (R) of Indiana lost by a landslide to a tea party-backed challenger in Tuesday's GOP primary. The outcome buoys the tea party movement nationally, but some say Lugar's problems were unique to him.
Google Doodle: Howard Carter and the pharaoh's curse (+video)

When Howard Carter, the archaeologist honored by Wednesday's Google Doodle, discovered King Tut's tomb, he inadvertently sparked the myth of the pharaoh's curse. Howard Carter didn't believe in curses. Yet the false rumors persisted.
Howard Carter: 6 of his first moments in the tomb of King Tut

Archaeologist Howard Carter details how he found and entered the famous tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun.
How North Carolina gay-marriage vote could hurt Obama reelection bid

President Obama is in an awkward spot on gay marriage, and Tuesday's vote to ban gay marriage in North Carolina – a swing state – highlights a potential vulnerability in November.
Were pliable heads an adaptation to walking upright?

New research relates hominin brain growth to walking on two feet.
Was ancient crocodile world's largest?

Researchers have recently unearthed what they think may have been the biggest crocodile ever to have lived on Earth.