Don't panic if you hear the word "tsunami" interrupting your radio listening, internet surfing, or television watching tomorrow morning. Barring the real deal taking place, there is a planned test exercise scheduled for September 21st by the National Weather Service to see if all systems are go when it comes to warning the West Coast. more ›

The TV Junkie Plan: "Parks and Recreation", "The Office", "30 Rock", "Fine Cut: KCET's Festival of Student Film", "The Daily Show", Leno, Ferguson more ›

Her dad didn't die, she was at the Breeders' Cup. Along with the big names and beautiful people, the Breeders' Cup also reportedly brought out the missing juror in the corruption trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. According to the Washington Post Marian Hinnant, the juror who was dismissed from the trial after telling the judge that her father died in California, admitted today that her excuse was a lie. Hinnant told the judge today that she really flew to California to be in Arcadia to attend the Breeders' Cup. According to the Post, the judge declined to sanction Hinnant who "gave a rambling statement that involved wiretaps, horses and drugs in Kentucky," allowing her to return to her job as a licensed paralegal at a mortgage company. Rambling about wiretaps, horses and drugs in Kentucky would have surely made her the odds-on favorite for first juror dismissed during the jury selection process, unfortunately, Hinnant waited until after the jury began deliberations to hit her stride. more ›

An announcement for Labor Day (or it just happened to fall on it), John McCain's VP running mate Sarah Palin said that her daughter Bristol Palin, 17, is five months pregnant. Palin most recently gave birth to her down syndrome son Trig in April, but rumors spread on the internet that it was actually Bristol's. Today's announcement was in effort to debunk that rumor. Sarah and Todd Palin said they were proud of Bristol's decision to keep the baby and were even prouder to be grandparents. Also: David Markland at California Faultline points out that governing the state of Alaska (pop. 670,000) is like being mayor of Los Angeles, if it were a sixth of its current size. more ›

As we were watching The Today Show this morning, trying to wake up, Matt Lauer came on live with a bit of an eye opener: Sen. John McCain, the Republican presumptive nominee for POTUSA, took a little bit of wind out of Democrats' sails this morning with the announcement that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been picked as his running mate. Now we don't know a lot about the Alaska governor, but we do know that (a) she is 44 years old and a mother of five (b) conservative and (c) a former Miss Alaska runner up. More updates as they come. But what do you think? Shocking? Pandering for women's votes? Smart choice? more ›

You can't fight the funk: scientists are just beginning to discover some of the more insidious effects of creeping global warming, which is about to put polar bears on the endangered species list -- and wild Alaskan salmon may be next. Alaskan fisheries, long been overflowing with magnificent salmon supplies, are now threatened with a sticky situation: warmer waters in the northern climes are breeding yucky bacteria called Ichthyophonus hoferi --or, Ich. The bacteria, while harmless to humans, makes the salmon mushy and unappetizing, as well as resistant to crucial preservation methods like drying. From the LA Times: more ›

more ›