Ancient man may have started global warming through massive deforestation and burning that could have permanently altered the Earth's climate, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The study, published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews and reported on the University of Virginia's Web site, says over thousands of years, farmers burned down so many forests on such a large scale that huge amounts of carbon dioxide were ...

There is a new push to free Myanmar's pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, Sen. Jim Webb told CNN's "American Morning" Monday. Webb spoke after a weekend visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, in which he secured the release of an American man who was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for visiting Suu Kyi. ASEAN, a powerful economic and political bloc of Southeast Asian nations, may petition Myanmar to release Suu Kyi on the grounds of amnesty, ...

A U.S. senator met Saturday in Myanmar with detained pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, an eyewitness said. The meeting with Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, lasted about 40 minutes, an eyewitness said. It was not known what they discussed. Webb is the first member of Congress to visit Myanmar in more than a decade. Though he is not in the country on behalf of the State Department, his trip may indicate a shift in America's hardline stance against ...

The man who founded and ran the online sports gambling operation BetOnSports pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit more than $43 million in proceeds, prosecutors announced Friday. Now, I know that's a strong opening statement, but consider this: The government decides where your kids go to school; what curriculum they'll study; and even develops long-term educational plans just like the Communists devised five-year plans. This kind of "one-size-fits-all" approach really punishes kids. And zero tolerance policies are a symptom of ...

Our educational system is essentially a Soviet-style government-run monopoly that could only be loved by the likes of Lenin and Stalin. Now, I know that's a strong opening statement, but consider this: The government decides where your kids go to school; what curriculum they'll study; and even develops long-term educational plans just like the Communists devised five-year plans. This kind of "one-size-fits-all" approach really punishes kids. And zero tolerance policies are a symptom of the stranglehold our government has on ...

U.S. Sen. Jim Webb arrived in Myanmar on Friday where he is scheduled to meet with the reclusive country's military junta, his office confirmed. The Virginia Democrat is the first member of Congress to visit Myanmar in more than a decade. It will also be the first time a U.S. official meets with Myanmar's top official, junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe. Webb is chairman of the East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Webb ...

There is one man who will be pacing around the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota this week hoping to make it three majors in a row -- but you won't find his name when you trail your finger down the list of starters at the 91st PGA Championship. Though his presence may be unnoticed by spectators lining the fairways, his influence on the players he coaches is becoming far more conspicuous. That is because sports psychologist Dr. Morris Pickens, ...

A member of Congress Friday called on the State Department to stop doing business with Xe, the North Carolina-based security company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton whether the State Department had just signed a new $20 million dollar contract with Xe for Iraq, saying she is "very concerned" that the State Department may be signing new security contracts with Xe, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I urge you not to ...

The U.S. military scrambled fighter jets to track a single-engine airplane that flew more than 300 miles past its scheduled destination before crashing in rural West Virginia on Thursday night, the U.S. Northern Command said.

With their budgets teetering on bankruptcy, states are digging deep to find creative ways to ease their financial woes. Although fiscal year 2009 was grim for states, observers predict that 2010 will be even worse. "The numbers that states are looking at in terms of their shortfalls is truly staggering. And all of this is happening in an environment where raising taxes is still pretty toxic, and it's pretty explosive," said Sujit CanagaRetna, a senior fiscal analyst for the Council ...