An American professor and expert of the Antarctic said he believes contact with a team of Russian scientists that has not made contact with colleagues in the U.S for seven days has merely been busy as they drill into a lake buried beneath the Antarcti… more »

UK Guardian By Jon Boone in Kandahar Afghan National Army soldiers undergo training for military operations in urban situations. Photograph: Ernesto Hernandez Fonte/AP Six and a half years ago, when Abdul Baseer first started treating woun… more »

Foxnews A key deadline this weekend over the battle in the Senate on a massive 2,000-page catchall spending bill that Republicans have vowed to oppose unless they can strip it of earmarks. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected Thursday to tak… more »

LA TimesBy Lisa Mascaro and Kathleen Hennessey, Tribune Washington Reporting from Washington — Congressional Democrats searched for leverage Friday in their bitter debate with Republicans over extending George W. Bush-era tax cuts, lashing out agai… more »