After a billion, what next for Facebook?

MENLO PARK — In just eight years, Facebook signed up more than half the world's Internet population.Now it's going after the...

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Geek Culture's 26 Most Awesome Female Ass-Kickers

Angelina Jolie extends her reputation as filmdom’s most compelling ass-kicker, Female Division, when Salt opens Friday. Midway through a summer freighted with testosterone, Jolie’s lithe Agent Salt is a potent reminder of the power of feminine fighters. A minority presence in sci-fi and action realms even in 2010, women warriors remain the exception to the guy-centric rule in film, TV, videogames...

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Seth MacFarlane on “Family Guy” movie: “it’s just a matter of when”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane wants to bring his beloved and controversial Fox show to the big screen, telling students at UCLA on Wednesday that a theatrical version of the show will definitely happen.“It’s just a matter of when,” MacFarlane said, according to Entertainment Weekly. “It’s hard to do that while you have the series going on at the same time; I think that’s...

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Opinion: A Health Insurance Detective Story

I’VE had a long career as a business journalist, beginning at Forbes and including eight years as the editor of Money, a personal finance magazine. But I’ve never faced a more confounding reporting challenge than the one I’m engaged in now: What will I pay next year for the pill that controls my blood cancer? After making more than 70 phone calls to 16 organizations over the past few weeks,...

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As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price

In the end, the money that towns across America gave General Motors did not matter. When the automaker released a list of factories it was closing during bankruptcy three years ago, communities that had considered themselves G.M.’s business partners were among the targets. For years, mayors and governors anxious about local jobs had agreed to G.M.’s demands for cash rewards, free buildings,...

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Student scores may be used in LAUSD teacher ratings

After months of tense negotiations, leaders of the Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers union have tentatively...

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The Cow Jumped Over the Moon (1957)

In June 1957, launch of the civilian U.S. Vanguard scientific satellite (image at top of post) was thought imminent. That month, Krafft Ehricke and George Gamow wrote in Scientific American magazine that, after Vanguard reached low-Earth orbit, the moon, 238,000 miles away, would be “the next interesting target in space.” They estimated that, with “luck and sufficient effort,” a...

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Dolly Parton talks dreams, love, plastic surgery

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Although Dolly Parton has cemented her place in country and popular music, pop culture, and as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, she still, on occasion, gets nervous.Her new book, “Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You” encourages readers to overcome their fears, believe in their passions and keep taking risks.The “I Will Always Love You” singer/songwriter, 66, who has written...

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First marine wilderness in continental U.S. is designated

The federal government cleared the way Thursday for waters off the Northern California coast to become the first marine wilderness...

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Adkins explains Confederate flag earpiece

NEW YORK (AP) — Trace Adkins wore an earpiece decorated like the Confederate flag when he performed for the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting but says he meant no offense by it.Adkins appeared with the earpiece on a nationally televised special for the lighting on Wednesday. Some regard the flag as a racist symbol and criticized Adkins in Twitter postings.But in a statement released Thursday,...

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Medicare Is Faulted in Electronic Medical Records Conversion

The conversion to electronic medical records — a critical piece of the Obama administration’s plan for health care reform — is “vulnerable” to fraud and abuse because of the failure of Medicare officials to develop appropriate safeguards, according to a sharply critical report to be issued Thursday by federal investigators. Mike Spencer/Wilmington Star-News, via Associated PressCeleste...

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Witness says victim of deputies' shooting did not pose threat

An 18-year-old woman who witnessed an officer-involved shooting of a Culver City man has told investigators that the victim...

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Mercedes Rolls Out the Future of the SUV

LOS ANGELES, California – Geländewagen. It’s not an Austrian insult or some obscure epithet from the Eastern Bloc; it’s Mercedes-Benz’ iconic SUV. Originally crafted with a ruler and a chisel for military use, it eventually went on sale to civilians in 1979 and hasn’t changed much during its 30-plus-year run. Until now.Mercedes knows that the G-Wagon will have to be...

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Adele’s “21″ sells 10 million, Rihanna leads Billboard

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British singer and Grammy darling Adele reached the 10 million sales mark in the United States on Wednesday with her heartbreak album “21″ becoming the first by British woman to reach the milestone, Nielsen SoundScan said.“21,” released in February 2011, produced the hits “Someone Like You” and “Rolling In The Deep” and became the top-selling album of 2011. Earlier this year,...

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Well: Weight Loss Surgery May Not Combat Diabetes Long-Term

Weight loss surgery, which in recent years has been seen as an increasingly attractive option for treating Type 2 diabetes, may not be as effective against the disease as it was initially thought to be, according to a new report. The study found that many obese Type 2 diabetics who undergo gastric bypass surgery do not experience a remission of their disease, and of those that do, about a third redevelop...

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