India: Claims disabled kids buried during eclipse

Authorities are investigating reports that disabled children in India were buried up to their necks during this week’s solar eclipse as a supposed remedy for their handicaps. Officials said Thursday they were looking into reports that some 34 children aged 2 to 7 were buried in sand up to their chins — with the consent of the parents — in the belief that doing so during an eclipse would cure the children of their disabilities

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NASA Earth pictures show extent of eclipse

NASA has released new pictures of the Earth showing the vast extent of Wednesday’s spectacular solar eclipse. The longest solar eclipse of the century cast a wide shadow for several minutes over Asia and the Pacific Ocean, luring millions outside to watch the spectacle.

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U.S. trials for H1N1 vaccine announced

In a race to beat the flu season, medical institutes across the United States will begin human trials for a new H1N1 flu vaccine starting in early August, the University of Maryland announced Wednesday. In the hope of getting the vaccine to those who will need it most by October, the clinical trials will enroll as many as 1,000 adults and children at 10 centers nationwide, said officials at the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which will lead the effort.

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The ‘unfathomable’ arrest of a black scholar

Boris Kodjoe owns a mansion in Atlanta. But when he goes to answer his door, the black actor knows what it’s like to be an outcast. “When I’m opening the door of my own house, someone will ask me where the man of the house is, implying that I’m staff,” said Kodjoe, best known for starring in Showtime’s “Soul Food.” It’s a feeling some African-Americans say is all too common, even to this day in America: No matter your status or prominence in society, you’re still typecast

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Total eclipse envelops Asia in darkness

Darkness fell across parts of China and India on Wednesday morning as a total solar eclipse passed across the world’s most populous countries, bringing throngs of people outside to watch the phenomenon. Total eclipses occur about twice a year as the moon passes between the Earth and the sun on the same plane as Earth’s orbit

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Senate rejects additional F-22 funding

The Senate voted Tuesday to block expansion of one of the country’s most controversial and expensive defense programs, the F-22 fighter jet program. The vote gave the White House and Pentagon a key victory over congressional supporters of the F-22, many of whom represent states and districts where jobs are tied to the production of the jet.

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