For one of the farthest, coldest places in the solar system, Pluto sure stirs a lot of hot emotions right here on Earth. It was three years ago Monday that the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet, a decision that made jaws drop around the world. An outcry followed, textbooks had to be rewritten, long-held beliefs were shattered, and many people felt our cosmic neighborhood just didn't seem the same with eight -- instead ...

Seven members of a banned militant group with links to al Qaeda and the Taliban were arrested with explosives and narcotics over the weekend in Karachi, Pakistan, and their planned attacks were thwarted, authorities said. The group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf banned in 2001, was planning to conduct attacks in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, according to Police Chief Waseem Ahmad. The suspects were arrested in Karachi on Sunday. "In January 1999, the group attempted to ...

South Korea bade farewell to former President Kim Dae-jung Sunday in a ceremony attended by thousands of citizens, dignitaries and politicians. The solemn Sunday afternoon ceremony was held outside parliament, with a large portrait of Kim placed on a shrine surrounded by flowers. The funeral followed six days of mourning for Kim, who died Tuesday of a heart failure. Kim's age at the time of his death was in dispute, with some reports saying he was 85 while others placing ...

South Korea's unification minister met with North Korea's unity leader Saturday in another sign that icy relations between the two rival nations could be thawing, the South's state media reported. The meeting was the first high-level cross border contact in nearly two years, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. South Korea's Unification Minister Hyun In Taek held talks with Kim Yang Gon, head of the North's Workers' Party unification, the agency reported. "After meeting with several people (in the South), ...

Hurricane Bill is expected to remain in open waters this weekend, but experts warn it still poses dangers along the U.S. East Coast. Although Bill weakened Friday afternoon to a Category 2 storm, CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider said it was "still a large and dangerous storm," especially the threat of rip currents along the coast. Rip currents, or rip tides, are strong seaward flows of water that occur where there's a break in the shoreline. They are capable of ...

— A federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday found the toxic substance in every fish tested at nearly 300 streams across the country, a finding that underscores how widespread mercury pollution has become. The study by the U.S. Geological Survey is the most comprehensive look to date at mercury in the nation's streams. From 1998 to 2005, scientists collected and tested more than a thousand fish from 291 streams nationwide. While all fish ...

I have never determined whether anyone would live or die, which I consider a gaping hole in my résumé. So when I heard a rumor that the government was creating a death panel to determine which sick people get to receive medical care, I knew I had to be on it. I am not an obvious choice for any panel that doesn't involve amateur performers and a large gong. But you need me on your death panel precisely ...

Israel makes no secret that it sees Iran is its biggest threat but the scale of the threat is less clear cut. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not missed an opportunity to name Iran as the number one threat, and like his predecessors he has said Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. Tests are ongoing for Israel's arrow missile system, designed to intercept incoming rockets -- although Israel does not openly say which direction they'd come from. Last week, ...

Beware: this new $599, All-You-Can-Jet flight pass from JetBlue, which allows unlimited travel for customers between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8, is making some people act insane. Take Seth Miller, an aerophile who for some baffling reason enjoys nothing more than sitting on planes and lounging in airports. Between 10 PM on Friday, Sept. 11 and 10 AM that Monday, he's flying from New York to Ponce, Puerto Rico back to New York to Las Vegas to Long ...

In 2007 and 2008, photojournalist Tomas Van Houtryve visited North Korea by infiltrating a communist solidarity delegation. In the second story in his three-part TIME.com series, Van Houtryve describes the surveillance he was subjected to and the bizarre majesty of the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung. After dinner at the end of my second day, I was pulled aside by my guides. The interrogation lasted for four hours. The most grim-looking of our minders, Mr. Chung , was bad ...