How to remove old Android devices from the Play store

Similar to how it keeps track of your downloaded and purchased applications, Google also keeps track of your Android devices. Each smartphone or tablet you register to your Google account is automatically synced with the Play store, giving you the ability to install new apps from your Web browser. There doesn't appear to be a limit to the number of devices Google stores, which means things can start to get a little crowded as you begin to...

Read More

Lamar Odom accused of DUI in California

After days of increasing speculation about the state of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom’s marriage and Odom’s possible drug addiction, the NBA player was arrested early Friday morning and accused of driving under the influence. A California Highway Patrol officer said he saw Odom’s white Mercedes-Benz traveling erratically on a San Fernando Valley freeway about 4 a.m. “Mr. Odom showed objective signs of intoxication and was unable to perform field sobriety tests,” the officer’s report said. Authorities said he later declined to take a chemical...

Read More

7.0 quake recorded in Alaska's Aleutian Islands

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked Alaska's Aleutian Islands with a jet-like rumble Friday that shook homes and sent residents scrambling for cover. "I heard it coming," said Kathleen Nevzoroff, who was sitting at her computer in the tiny Aleutians village of Adak when the major temblor struck at 8:25 a.m. local time, getting stronger and stronger. "I ran to my doors and opened them and my chimes were all ringing." There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the earthquake, which occurred in a seismically...

Read More

War Powers debate arises again around possible action in Syria

Washington (CNN) -- As President Barack Obama considers military action in response to Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, a debate over whether he must seek Congress' consent has surfaced. It's a debate with which the president is extremely familiar. As a senator, Obama was a staunch critic of President George W. Bush for not obtaining renewed authorization for the war in Iraq. He blasted his predecessor in 2007, saying, "The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military...

Read More

Study shows men just as likely to be depressed as women

Depression can look very different in men and women. And many of its hallmarks — rage, risk-taking, substance abuseand even workaholism — can hide in plain sight. Now researchers say that when these symptoms are factored into a diagnosis, the long-standing disparity between depression rates in men and women disappears. That conclusion overturns long-accepted statistics indicating that, over their lifetimes, women are 70% more likely to have major depression than men. In fact, when its symptoms are properly recognized in men, major...

Read More

Obama administration takes executive gun control actions

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Thursday it had closed a loophole in the gun laws that allowed the acquisition of machine guns and other weapons and had banned U.S. military-style firearms that were sent overseas from returning to this country. The announcement of the two executive actions came as Vice President Joe Biden swore in the new head of the federalBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Biden pledged that the White House would not give up its effort for more gun control since the shooting...

Read More

Suicide attack kills Afghan official at mosque

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber attacked people leaving a memorial service at a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing his apparent target, a district chief, while leaving several others dead or wounded, police said. Exact casualty figures were not immediately available, but the attack underscored the tenuous security situation in Afghanistan as U.S. troops prepare to pull out by the end of next year. The bomber struck in Dashi Archi district of Kunduz province. Afghanistan's north is generally considered one of the safer...

Read More

Iraq war ghosts end UK plans to take part in Syria action

(Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron's plans for joining a potential military strike on Syria were thwarted on Thursday night after Britain's parliament narrowly voted against a government motion to authorise such action in principle. In a humiliating defeat for the British leader likely to damage Cameron's hopes of being re-elected in 2015 and set back traditionally strong U.S.-UK relations, parliament defied Cameron by 285 to 272 votes. Commentators said it was the first time a British prime minister had lost a vote on war since...

Read More

Greenland Mega-Canyon Grander than the Grand Canyon

For everyone who thinks there’s nothing new to know about or explore on the Earth, and long to head for other planets, news from Greenland proves that there are still a few surprises left right here. A massive mega-canyon, one bigger than the Grand Canyon, has been discovered beneath Greenland’s ice sheet, according to the journal Science. It might very well prove to be grander than Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Just how large is the Greenland canyon?  With thick ice still covering the canyon, people who are alive today might never see what...

Read More

Education and Civil Rights, 50 Years After the March on Washington

I’ve often said that education is the civil rights issue of our time. I’m not the first to say it. But what does that mean? A student at Schools Without Walls in Washington, D.C., listens to Secretary Duncan give remarks as part of the “50 Years of Struggle: Youth Driving Economics, Education and Social Change.” Civil rights means having the same opportunities that other people do –regardless of what you look like, where you come from, or...

Read More

Q-and-A: Back to School with Arne Duncan

With back-to-school season in full swing, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently sat down to respond to some pressing education questions from SmartBlog on Education. Below is the full Q&A: What is the biggest challenge that teachers face as they go back to school this fall? What guidance would you give them to help them meet the challenge? The large majority of states are now making the shift to the Common Core State Standards,...

Read More

U.S., U.K. Face Delays in Push to Strike Syria

Reuters Free Syrian Army fighters carry their weapons as they escort a convoy of U.N. vehicles carrying a team of chemical-weapons experts at one of the sites of an alleged attack in Damascus's suburbs of Zamalka on Wednesday. President Barack Obama declared that the Syrian government carried out a...

Read More

Twitter changes to be 'more like Facebook

Twitter has begun rolling out a number of new features, which it says will make it easier to follow conversations. Conversations will now be shown together rather than in a strictly reverse chronological order, in a feature which has already rolled out to some handsets and will now be updated in all iPhone and Android apps, as well as twitter.com. Up to three tweets will be displayed in sequence, with a line connecting them...

Read More

Clooney, Bullock space thriller opens Venice film fest

Hollywood high-rollers George Clooney and Sandra Bullock kicked off the Venice film festival on Wednesday with a harrowing space drama that opens a line-up flush with gloomy tales.“Gravity”, a 3-D sci-fi thriller, sees Clooney and Bullock as astronauts who are flung into dark, deep space when a debris shower destroys their shuttle.The stars were expected on the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the world’s oldest film festival, followed by an exclusive after-dinner party. Directed by Mexico’s Alfonso Cuaron of “Children of Men” fame,...

Read More

How Twitter Dodged Attack That Took Down New York Times

While the New York Times and Google Inc. (GOOG) had visitors to their sites redirected this week by hackers, the microblogging service was better able to deflect attacks because of a simple tool called a registry lock. Like alerts sent to credit-card users when something bad happens, the feature notifies website managers of attempts by intruders to tamper with critical information, such as Web-address data. The cost? As little as $50 a year. Large banks, e-commerce companies, gambling sites and pornographers have used registry locks from VeriSign...

Read More

iPhone 5S release dates, specs keep pouring in

Rendering of a champagne-colored iPhone 5S: It will be interesting to see if Apple still has some big surprises in store that analysts and the media haven't covered yet. (Credit: Shop Le Monde) We have iPhone 5S release dates, colors, and specs. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah, I forget to mention that they're all just rumors. But there's little left to the imagination these days when Apple rolls out a new product. Apple is widely...

Read More