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Environment
4:47 pm
Wed December 5, 2012

In Arid West, Cheatgrass Turns Fires Into Infernos

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Credit Courtesy of Nolan Preece
The Constantina Fire burning in Long Valley, Calif., in 2010, very likely started in cheatgrass.
Credit Courtesy of Mike Pellant, Bureau of Land Management
Between sagebrush, a continuous cover of cheatgrass fuels an intense fire in the Great Basin.
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Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 6:36 pm

Cheatgrass is about as Western as cowboy boots and sagebrush. It grows in yellowish clumps, about knee high to a horse, and likes arid land.

One thing cheatgrass does is burn — in fact, more easily than anyone realized. That's the conclusion from a new study that says cheatgrass is making Western wildfires worse.

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Around the Nation
4:35 pm
Wed December 5, 2012

It Ain't Got That Twang Deep In The Heart Of Texas

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Lyndon Johnson, then the vice president-elect, with a prize-winning Hereford bull on his ranch near Johnson City, Texas, in 1960. Linguists say the twang that has long been synonymous with Texans is fading.
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By editor

Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 8:25 pm

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It's All Politics
4:30 pm
Wed December 5, 2012

Celebrities And The Senate: Would Ashley Judd Stand A Chance?

Credit Andy Lyons / Getty Images
Ashley Judd acknowledges the crowd during a University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on Jan. 21, 2012.
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By Emma Roller

Could an actress and political activist with no electoral experience give the Senate's top Republican a race in very red Kentucky?

It would be a long shot, say political experts, even though Ashley Judd has deep roots in the state, calling herself an "at least 8th generation Eastern Kentuckian."

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The Two-Way
4:24 pm
Wed December 5, 2012

Jets' Coach Rex Ryan Sticks By His Man: Mark Sanchez Will Start Sunday

Credit Rich Schultz / Getty Images
Quarterback Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets looks on near the end of the game against the New England Patriots Nov. 22.
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By Eyder Peralta

Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 4:57 pm

If there is one decision football fans have argued over intensely over the past few months is whether embattled Jets' quarterback Mark Sanchez should be allowed to start another game.

During his previous outing, Rex Ryan, the team's coach, pulled him late in the third quarter, after the home crowd booed him mercilessly after a disasterous performance in which he completed 10 of 21 passes for 97 yards.

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Middle East
3:59 pm
Wed December 5, 2012

Israel, Christians Negotiate The Price Of Holy Water

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Credit Gali Tibbon / AFP/Getty Images
Patriarch Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem (center), splashes holy water toward worshippers after the washing of the feet ceremony in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in 2009, during Easter celebrations. A crisis was narrowly averted recently when the church's $2.3 million water bill was waived.
Credit Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP
Theofilos III (center) pours water into a basin during the washing of the feet ceremony outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City in April 2011, during Easter celebrations.
Credit Gali Tibbon / AFP/Getty Images
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III (right) and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (center) pray in front of the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in November.
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Originally published on Fri December 14, 2012 9:13 am

One of the holiest sites in Christendom has also been one of the most contested. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem lies on the site where Jesus Christ is said to have been crucified and buried.

Multiple Christian denominations share the church uneasily, and clerics sometimes come to blows over the most minor of disputes. The Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and the Syriac Orthodox all have a presence in the church.

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