Headlines from December 13, 2012
- And so it was a man with few political allies who bid the chamber farewell. Joe Lieberman’s lonely departure.
- A map of the probable range and accuracy of North Korea’s missiles.
- An informal network of astronomers tracks near-Earth asteroids—but nobody knows who’s going to stop one from making impact. #space
- Mike Deri Smith consults with disaster experts to find out who’s going to save our bacon when the unthinkable happens. #tmn
- He would address us during the assembly to talk about students’ rights and that sort of thing. Backgrounder on Chávez’s political heir.
- Photos of refugees upon their first arrival on U.S. soil.
- Forensic scientists use the sound of electricity to authenticate recordings submitted as courtroom evidence.
- Interviews with Britons protesting Starbucks over the coffee giant’s failure to pay UK taxes for 14 years.
- Related: By breeding a culture of haters, Starbucks changed coffee for the better—and could do the same for tea. #tmn
- TMN’s Robert Birnbaum chats with Benjamin Asastas, the novelist who had it all and then lost everything. #books
- An early Hans Christian Andersen short story is discovered at the bottom of a box near the author’s hometown.
- Our nachos looked potentially delicious. New Yorkers flock to Guy Fieri’s restaurant to see just how bad it could be.
- Dallas announces J.R.‘s funeral.
- Perpetua: Just about every great thing that happened in music in 2012. #music
- Russian government admits Syria may lose battle to rebel forces.
- Sweden “coughs up” thousands of migrant workers for Norway, where they’re widely mocked.
- Poynter’s annual list of the worst media errors of the year.
- Chris Heath on one Greek politician attacking another on TV, and what it says about the fall of society.
- In case global warming wasn’t real to you before: Pasta may soon become a product only eaten by wealthy people.
- Popular Mechanics’ 110 predictions for the next 110 years.
- Transit authorities across America install surveillance equipment on buses to capture conversations.
- Editors from big tech blogs share tips on how to perform holiday tech support for parents and in-laws.
- Nathaniel Rich drafts round-up of best catastrophe periodicals.
- See also: Tiny classic American texts paired with new illustrations.
- New Yorker’s Richard Brody on the year’s best movies, cinematic achievements, and Oscar-worthy performances.
- Google tweaks search algorithm not to show porn unless a searcher specifically wants porn.
- In 2011 the average Mexican guzzled 728 8-oz. servings of Coca-Cola. Seventeen things learned from reading the special year-end issue of the Economist.
- How an Indiana-based, D-grade student became the foremost translator of Chinese novels.
- Pasha Malla’s tips on how to go caroling this season, with instructions for racists. #tmn
- Related: Bad Brains goes well with the Peanuts’ Christmas special. #video