And it underscored the case, long urged by American astronomers, for a NASA mission to measure dark energy — to determine, for example, whether the cosmos would expand forever or whether, perhaps, there might be something wrong with our understanding of gravity. In 2019, a spacecraft known as Euclid will begin such a mission to study dark energy. But it is being launched by the European Space Agency, not NASA, with American astronomers serving only as very junior partners, contributing $20 million and some infrared sensors. For some scientists, this represents an ingenious solution, allowing American astronomers access to the kind of data they will not be able to obtain on their own until NASA can mount its own, more ambitious mission in 2024. But ... Continue reading →

California lawmakers took a major step Thursday toward carving an exception in public records law to enhance the safety of peace officers, judges, probation officers and other law enforcement personnel. Without a dissenting vote, the Assembly passed legislation that would allow counties to create a program allowing law enforcement personnel to redact names from property records available to the public. Assembly Bill 2299 passed the lower house, 65-0. It now goes to the Senate. "Let's make the protection of officers' families meaningful," Assemblyman Mike Feuer said in floor debate on his bill. Thursday's vote came about five months after an anonymous Internet group publicized home addresses of more than a dozen members of the Los Angeles Police Department's command staff. Opponents include the California Newspaper ... Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — Eat your broccoli. After all, you might be helping to pay for it. Challenging a broccoli market dominated by California, researchers boosted by federal funds are on a multi-year mission to encourage new East Coast production. They’ve had some success. They’ve also helped show how farm bills are changing. “The project would absolutely not have happened” without the federal help, noted Cornell University associate professor Thomas Bjorkman, citing new academic and industry cooperation as well as the funding. “The audacious expectations of the (research) program also inspired us to think this big.” Farm bill dollars -- and disagreements – traditionally focus on subsidies for crops such as wheat, cotton, corn and rice. That’s still the case this year, as Congress approaches a Sept. ... Continue reading →

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.) Here are some rules of the road: • Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior. • Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want ... Continue reading →

It's easy to think of gadgets and innovations common today that didn't even exist when we were younger. My youngest daughter was horrified at the thought that I didn't get my first cell phone until I was in my thirties. But we had some cool things in our day that aren't around any more or are nearly gone. This article in The Business Journal made me think, I don't think my three youngest children have ever experienced a movie at a drive-in theater. And not that many remain in the Valley: About 4,000 drive-ins were open in the U.S. in 1958, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association. As of September 2010, there were about 370 left. Throughout California, there are only 18 or ... Continue reading →

That's what you call one tough old bird: The golden eagle who carries a KNIFE By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 09:48 EST, 10 May 2012 | UPDATED: 11:01 EST, 10 May 2012 A forgetful photographer had the shock of his life when this soaring golden eagle made off with his knife.Dutch snapper Han Bouwmeester had been using the utensil, in V�erbotten, Sweden, to carve up chunks of meat in a bid to attract the birds of prey.But, busy with the task in hand, the wildlife aficionado clumsily dropped it in the snow. Attack of the killer: Han Bouwmeester captured this 'once in a lifetime' moment when a golden eagle soared away with a knife Thrilled: The photographer said he was 'happy with the absolutely cracking ... Continue reading →

Taken on:May 13, 2012 2:22pm UTC Camera:Canon PowerShot SD790 IS (Canon) Continue reading →