This week in science

Riveting amateur footage of one o the tornados that plowed through Tuscaloosa, AL, this week

Tornadoes are all too common in the US, especially this time of year. Last week was an especially deadly seasonal outbreak of big twisters:

A stunning tornado outbreak of incredible violence has left at least 202 dead across the Eastern U.S.; injuries probably number over a thousand, with 600 injured in the town of Tuscaloosa alone. The tornadoes carved huge swaths of damage, completely flattening large sections of many towns, and damage from the storms is likely to be the greatest in history for any tornado outbreak. Hardest hit was Alabama, with at least 149 dead; at least 36 were killed in neighboring Mississippi. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center logged 160 preliminary reports of tornadoes between 8am EDT yesterday and 8am EDT today.

Storm meteorologists estimate that over a dozen of these storms rated EF 4 to EF 5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.  An EF-5 tornado is more powerful than any record hurricane over land. Such a storm will destroy solid reinforced structures such as parking garages, lift and disintegrate entire concrete foundations, and in some cases have plowed several meters into the ground.

• National Geographic is taking over Seed Science Blogs, and given the nature of that organization there are some changes in the works for existing Sciblings to consider:

  NatGeo is concerned about the tone of some of our blogging. It is a venerable, family-friendly company with a global reputation to worry about, so I'm neither surprised nor offended by that. But at the same time, I am used to writing without restriction. Seed was a smartass little startup and they let the bloggers write anything we wanted in whatever way we wanted. And I rather like it that way.

   

• Texas edges closer and closer to full on creationism. meanwhile I;ve heard that teachers under three years on the job are at risk of being laid off.

Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/UXvAPXvT3jk/-This-week-in-science

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Fed Eye: SEC porn sting netted workers in 7 cities

The 33 Securities and Exchange Commission employees and contractors reprimanded last year for accessing pornography on agency computers worked in Washington, D.C. and six regional offices, according to documents released as part of a lawsuit.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030902989.html?wprss=rss_politics

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Huntsman Returns: Will He Challenge Obama?

U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman officially leaves his post Saturday as the Obama administration's top diplomat in China in a move that clears the way for possible bid to unseat Obama in the White House.

Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=3597102f2d394b27b0018a795ce8a18a

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President Slams Oil Company Profits as Prices Rise

Zachary Goldfarb, WP
President Obama on Saturday blasted oil companies for enjoying gangbuster profits while pump prices surged to nearly $4 a gallon this week, and he again urged Congress to end $4 billion a year in subsidies for the oil and gas industry.Obama fired the volley in his weekly radio and Internet address, released Saturday morning, the latest in an effort by the White House and Congressional Democrats to tie Republicans to deeply unpopular energy companies.

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2011/04/30/president_slams_oil_company_profits_as_prices_rise_254659.html

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Consumer Spending, Incomes Rise in March

Americans saw their incomes rise in March and this spurred higher spending. But much of the extra money went to pay for more costly gasoline.

Source: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/98PPJYfGJtQ/

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Obama to head to Alabama

The White House has just announced that President Obama will travel to Alabama to inspect the damage caused by the tornadoes that hit the state yesterday.

Source: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/28/6550513-obama-to-head-to-alabama

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A successor to Gates is a quandary for Obama

On five occasions the past three weeks, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has tried to nail down his departure from the Pentagon by telling members of Congress in budget hearings and in speeches to cadets at West Point and the Air Force Academy that this would be his final appearance before them ...

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030704307.html?wprss=rss_politics

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Heller gets rude welcome from Reid

Majority leader demeans Heller and his credentials.

Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53966.html

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Appeals court overturns stem cell ban

The ruling is a win for the Obama administration, which has expanded the funding for research.

Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53930.html

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David Kroodsma: Royal Weddings and Climate Change

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kroodsma/england-climate-change_b_855693.html

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The Fix: What will Sharron Angle do?

That's short for "What will Sharron Angle do" and it's the question on the minds of almost every political operative in Nevada in the wake of Sen. John Ensign's (R) retirement announcement on Monday.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/08/AR2011030804440.html?wprss=rss_politics

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The Caucus: Democrats Form Fund-Raising Group

A group of leading Democrats are officially forming what are expected be the major outside groups to combat Republicans - and support President Obama - in the 2012 elections.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a43a9e8579e4f828459d79e4a85d7b62

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Wal-Mart Shoppers Now Completely Out of Money

Crap merchant Wal-Mart has watched shoppers flee its grim aisles in increasing numbers for the past two years — seven straight quarters of declining sales. So what happened to this glorious monument of American Exceptionalism in the late 20th Century found on the honky-tonk mini-mall edge of every Nowhere Town, USA? Why did working/lower/starving class [...]

Source: http://feeds.wonkette.com/click.phdo?i=449f29970d975dc282f63523eb23ca51

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2chambers: Rep. Eric Cantor defends Rep. Peter King's hearings on radical Islam

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Tuesday backed House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King's (R-N.Y.) planned hearing on Islamic radicalism, chiding the press for having "become sort of fascinated" with it.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/08/AR2011030804188.html?wprss=rss_politics

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Tornado experts dissect disaster for answers

Meteorologists run what amounts to a forensic investigation of devastation in South to document size, power of tornadoes

Source: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsMain/~3/8WHwAQY0j9Y/main20058470.shtml

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Tears, shouts as terror hearing becomes political

WASHINGTON -- Congress pushed deep into a raw and emotional debate Thursday over American Muslims who have committed terrorist attacks in the name of religion, in a hearing punctuated by tearful testimony, angry recriminations and political theater.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/10/AR2011031000343.html?wprss=rss_politics

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Watch: Ron Paul Announces Exploratory Committee

Rep. Ron Paul R-TX., says he will make a decision to run in May.

Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=f8b9b56fe128cc7e7689abfddb3bd86e

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Panetta to Pentagon, Petraeus to CIA

Major changes in leadership of the United States national security apparatus will shuffle CIA director Leon Panetta into the job of Defense Secretary and Gen. David Petraeus, currently commanding forces in Afghanistan, at the helm of CIA, sources confirm to ABC News.

The announcements are formally expected tomorrow. Both positions require Congressional approval, but are unlikely to run into much difficulty.

Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=830cac14579864f150ab74dbbb9d3b46

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