Ragbag Headliners

After miners' 69 days in purgatory, 'Welcome to life'

World rejoices as men see sky again

The last of the Chilean miners, the foreman who held them together when they were feared lost, was raised from the depths of the earth Wednesday night - a joyous ending to a 69-day ordeal that riveted the world. No one has ever been trapped so long and survived.

Luis Urzua ascended smoothly through 2,000 feet of rock, completing a 221/2-hour rescue operation that unfolded with remarkable speed and flawless execution. Before a jubilant crowd of about 2,000 people, he became the 33rd miner to be rescued.

"We have done what the entire world was waiting for," he told Chilean President Sebastian Pinera after his rescue. "The 70 days that we fought so hard were not in vain. We had strength, we had spirit, we wanted to fight, we wanted to fight for our families, and that was the greatest thing."

The president told him: "You are not the same, and the country is not the same after this. You were an inspiration. Go hug your wife and your daughter." With Urzua by his side, he led the crowd in singing the national anthem.

The rescue exceeded expectations every step of the way. Officials first said it might be four months before they could get the men out; it turned out to be 69 days and about 8 hours. –Read more at Sun News 

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8 Arraigned In String Of Anti-Gay Hate Crimes In New York City

Eight suspects arrested in connection with a series of brutal, anti-gay hate crimes in New York City were arraigned Sunday.

Charges against them include harassment, criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful imprisonment, assault, robbery and sexual abuse as hate crimes.

Authorities identified the suspects arraigned as Bryan Almonte, 17, Steven Carabello, 17, Brian Cepeda, 17, Nelson Falu, 17, Idelfonso Mendez, 23, Dennis Piters, 17, David Rivera, 21, and Elmer Confresi, 23.

Bronx Criminal Court Judge Harold Adler set bail at $100,000 for defendants Piters and Carabello, according to the spokesman for the Bronx district attorney. The remaining suspects were ordered held without bail, he said. –Read more at CNN Justice

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World's First Commercial Spacecraft Completes Manned Flight

A pair of pilots flew the world's first manned commercial spacecraft over California's Mojave Desert on Sunday, though they were the only ones aboard.

The mission was a test flight for Richard Branson's dream of affordable space travel and put his vision a step closer to reality, he said after watching the spaceship land.

"Now, the sky is no longer the limit, and we will begin the process of pushing beyond to the final frontier of space itself over the next year," Branson said, according to a statement released by his company, Virgin Galactic, which is behind the project.

The spaceship, called the VSS Enterprise, completed a successful free flight from a mothership at 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) to a landing in Mojave, California, Virgin Galactic said. –Read more at CNN Travel 

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Beyond The Tea Party: What Americans Really Think Of Government

If there is an overarching theme of election 2010, it is the question of how big the government should be and how far it should reach into people's lives.

Americans have a more negative view of government today than they did a decade ago, or even a few years ago. Most say it focuses on the wrong things and lack confidence that it can solve big domestic problems; this general anti-Washington sentiment is helping to fuel a potential Republican takeover of Congress next month.

But ask people what they expect the government to do for themselves and their families, and a more complicated picture emerges.

A new study by The Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University shows that most Americans who say they want more limited government also call Social Security and Medicare "very important." They want Washington to be involved in schools and to help reduce poverty. Nearly half want the government to maintain a role in regulating health care.  -Read more at Washington Post 

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Google Is Testing Cars That Drive Themselves

Google announced Sunday that it has developed cars that drive themselves automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project for Google, but it could actually have big benefits.

We're not just talking about cars running Google Android. This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop light. Human error!

The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from Silicon Valley to Santa Monica.

Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver's seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The person in the passenger's seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on a computer. –Read more at CNN Tech 

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Judge Rejects Motion To Dismiss 20 States' Lawsuit Against Health Care Law

A federal judge in Florida on Thursday rejected a motion by the government to dismiss some counts of a multistate challenge to the sweeping health care reform signed into law by President Barack Obama earlier this year.

The ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson means the lawsuit filed by attorneys general from Florida and 19 other states can proceed on questions of whether the health care law is constitutional in requiring citizens to obtain health care coverage or face financial penalties, as well as forcing states to expand Medicaid.

Vinson threw out four other counts of the lawsuit.

"At this stage of the case, the plaintiffs have most definitely stated a plausible claim," Vinson's ruling said of the challenge to whether the health coverage mandate is constitutional. –Read more at CNN U.S. 

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Facebook Working With GLAAD To Stop Anti-Gay Bullying

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has teamed up with Facebook to reduce the amount of hate speech and anti-gay bullying that goes on around the internet.

Members of the gay community reached out to GLAAD recently when a Facebook page created to remember the victims of anti-gay bullying who had committed suicide was flooded with hateful, violent and derogatory remarks and images.

Fortunately, GLAAD was able to work with Facebook to remove the content, and this organization's work with Facebook has just begun. –Read more at CNN Tech