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Afghanistan
1:19 pm
Wed March 14, 2012

For Afghans, Two Outrages, Two Different Reactions

After U.S. troops inadvertently burned Qurans in Afghanistan last month, Afghans staged nationwide riots that left 40 dead and hundreds injured in unrest that lasted days.

In the days since 16 Afghan civilians were shot dead on Sunday, apparently by a lone U.S. soldier, the Afghan reaction has been relatively restrained so far.

Why such different responses? It can seem especially confounding to Americans, who consider the shooting a far graver offense than the Quran burnings.

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U.S.
1:08 pm
Wed March 14, 2012

Please Read This Story, Thank You

Listen to the conversations around you — colleagues at the office, customers in the coffeehouse line, those who serve you, those you serve, the people you meet each day. "Give me a tall latte." "Hand me that hammer." "Have a good one."

Notice anything missing? The traditional magic words "please" and "thank you" that many people learn as children appear to be disappearing.

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The Two-Way
12:43 pm
Wed March 14, 2012

Vehicle Explodes On Airfield In Afghanistan, Where Panetta Landed

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, center, is greeted by Col. John Shafer, left, with RTC 6 Wednesday at Foward Operating Base Shukvani, Afghanistan. As Panetta was landing at another base, an Afghan drove a truck onto the airfield until it crashed and exploded.

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 4:31 pm

The Pentagon says an Afghan drove a stolen truck onto the airfield of a British base in southern Afghanistan at high speeds until it crashed into a ditch and exploded into flames.

The incident at Camp Bastion happened around the same time that U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta landed in the country.

"At no point was the Secretary or anyone on the aircraft in any danger from this incident," the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:31 pm
Wed March 14, 2012

Chill Out For A Better Workout

Credit iStockphoto.com
This would be a lot more fun on the rocks.

Cooling a person's hands while exercising can make for a better workout, especially for people who hate to exercise because it makes them all hot and sweaty.

This might help the many, many people who have a hard time keeping up with exercise because it's just plain uncomfortable.

Researchers tested the idea with obese women in their 30s and 40s who worked out on a treadmill. The women whose palms were cooled with a device that circulated ice water were able to exercise longer than the women whose palms were exposed to room temperature water.

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The Two-Way
12:30 pm
Wed March 14, 2012

25-Year-Old Sets Record As Iditarod's Youngest Winner

Credit Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News/Landov
Dallas Seavey holds his leaders, Diesel, left, and Guiness, after he arrived at the finish line to claim victory in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska, on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:57 am

There's a new record in the Iditarod: A 25 year old has become the youngest musher to win the approximately thousand-mile trans-Alaskan sled dog race.

Dallas Seavey slid into Nome, Alaska, at 7:29 p.m. yesterday with nine dogs, finishing the race in nine days, four hours, 29 minutes and 26 seconds.

"We went into this race with a dog team that I knew had the ability to win the Iditarod," Seavey said in a post-race press conference in Nome. "We spent most of the race building a monster – a dog team that couldn't be stopped."

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The Two-Way
11:50 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Goldman Sachs Starts To Fire Back At Exec Who Quit In Scathing Op-Ed

Credit Chris Hondros / Getty Images

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 2:25 pm

Greg Smith is a fairly ordinary name — but it's now one that's all the talk of Wall Street after he quit his position at Goldman Sachs today in one of the most amazingly public ways:

With an essay in The New York Times that accuses Goldman Sachs of having a money-is-everything culture that is "toxic and destructive."

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Middle East
11:36 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Aid Group's Role In Syria Pushes Limits

Credit Reuters TV / Reuters /Landov
British photographer Paul Conroy lies on a stretcher as he is treated by a doctor in Homs, Feb. 22, 2012, in this still image taken from a Reuters TV video. Avaaz coordinated Conroy's evacuation from Homs, an operation that left 13 Syrian activists dead.

One year into the Syrian uprising, with the world community reluctant to intervene, one international group has taken a direct and risky role in Syria — even taking a part in the high-profile evacuation of Western journalists from the besieged city of Homs.

Avaaz, a global online pressure group based in New York, has given crucial support to the uprising and the Syrian activist networks that aim to topple the regime of President Bashar Assad.

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The Salt
11:16 am
Wed March 14, 2012

'Foodistan' Takes India-Pakistan Rivalry To The Kitchen

When it comes to reality TV — and competitive cooking shows in particular — there are many reliable ways to create drama: menacing judges, preternaturally ticking clocks, the threat of elimination, and, of course, clever editing.

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The Two-Way
11:10 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Coming Up: Obama-Cameron News Conference

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron are due to hold a news conference at the White House just after noon ET.

We'll live blog as they speak, so check back as the time approaches and hit your "refresh" button every once in a while after they get started.

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The Two-Way
11:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Obama Picks North Carolina To Win Men's Basketball Championship

Credit Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron were courtside in Dayton, Ohio, Tuesday at the "play in" game between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State. Western Kentucky won, 59-58.

After two years of going with the wrong team to win it all, President Obama is counting on North Carolina — the team he correctly picked to win the 2009 NCAA men's basketball championship — to end up No. 1 this year.

As he has each year since taking office, the president spent time with ESPN going over his bracket for the tournament.

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