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Robot in elevator

Welcome, Robot Overlords. Please Don't Fire Us?

Smart machines probably won't kill us all—but they'll definitely take our jobs, and sooner than you think.

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| Mon May. 13, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

Their Instruments May Be Garbage, But the Music Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes

In a Paraguay slum, a children's orchestra makes do with what it's got—with inspiring results.

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| Mon May. 13, 2013 2:30 AM PDT
carbon smokestack

We've Hit the Carbon Level We Were Warned About. Here's What That Means.

A monitor in Hawaii registered 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, higher than ever above the "safe" 350 ppm level.

Text by Tim McDonnell and James West; Interactive by Duncan Clark

 | Sun May. 12, 2013 4:42 PM PDT
ann and anna jarvis

Anna Jarvis, the Radical Behind Mother's Day

In the end, she was sorry she had started it in the first place.

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| Sun May. 12, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

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USDA Sticks It to Monsanto and Dow—at Least Temporarily

In a unexpected twist, the feds didn't approve new genetically modified corn and soy. Yet.

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| Sat May. 11, 2013 10:45 AM PDT
benghazi obama clinton

Benghazi Isn't Watergate. But the White House Didn't Tell the Full Story.

Is it possible anymore to have a problem that's not a scandal?

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 1:45 PM PDT
IRS audit

Finally, a Real Scandal for Conservatives to Chew On

Conservatives have been complaining for a while that the IRS singled out tea party groups for audits, and it turns out they were right.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 9:37 AM PDT

The 7 Craziest Chinese Petitions Submitted to the White House

Chinese citizens, frustrated by censorship in their own country, are using the White House's petition site to complain.

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| Wed May. 8, 2013 11:35 AM PDT
mormons building bridges

How the Mormons Ensured Victory for Gay Marriage

All they had to do, really, was get out of the way.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
Reeves County Detention Complex smolders following prisoner riots.

America's 10 Worst Prisons: Reeves County

An overcrowded, understaffed lockup—with health care bad enough to spark riots.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
The Great Gatsby 2013

5 Directors Who Should Have Directed "The Great Gatsby" Instead of Baz Luhrmann

Luhrmann's version of the classic novel is remarkably terrible. Here are the directors who should have landed the job instead.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
Capitol building with cicada

A Political History of the Cicadas

Before the East Coast cicada invasion kicks into high gear, read what Ronald Reagan had to say about the notorious flying insect.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
Wild Ones Stuffed Animals

Wild Man: An Interview with Jon Mooallem

The author of "Wild Ones," a book about the wacky world of conservation, talks prosthetic flippers and spirit animals.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

BioShock Infinite: An American History Lesson Where You Get to Blow Shit Up

Video game visionary Ken Levine on the nerd mainstream, screen violence, and mining the past for narrative.

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| Fri May. 10, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
the liberator

State Department Forces Texas Law Student to Take Down Instructions for 3-D-Printed Guns

"It’s going to be a long time before it’s back online," says Defense Distributed's Cody Wilson.

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| Thu May. 9, 2013 12:32 PM PDT

A (Very) Brief Benghazi Timeline Recap

Can't keep the conspiracy theories straight? Here's what actually happened in Benghazi.

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| Thu May. 9, 2013 9:08 AM PDT
A young woman inmate at Julia Tutwiler prison

America's 10 Worst Prisons: Julia Tutwiler

Prisoners fear "that it's not safe to take a shower, that it's not safe to go to sleep...that you can be manipulated into sexual favors, it's really horrific."

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| Thu May. 9, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

At Least 71 Kids Have Been Killed by Guns Since Newtown

The shooting of a two-year-old by her brother was one of many recent gun incidents to claim a young child's life.

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| Thu May. 9, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
Pima deaths

Want to Track Deaths Along the Border? There's an App for That

Hundreds of migrants die in Arizona every year. Data could help their families find out what happened to them.

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| Thu May. 9, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
hockey stick chart

The Most Controversial Chart in History, Explained

Climate deniers threw all their might at disproving the famous "hockey stick" climate change graph. Here's why they failed.

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| Thu May. 9, 2013 3:00 AM PDT