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The current of the Mississippi River flood waters rips past the Old Mississippi River Bridge in Vicksburg, Miss. With a depth of 45 meters, the Mississippi River dropped to its lowest depths in generations. (Photo by Rogelio V. Solis / AP)

Landlocked in the Mississippi River

America’s mighty Mississippi should be carrying Louisiana’s best crops to market, but sand-jams and dredges have slowed the traffic on the waterway, which dropped to its lowest depths.

The Global Mail

FinSpy, crime-fighting software, used to spy on dissidents

Morgan Marquis-Boire is a Google engineer and Bill Marczak is a Ph.D. student. The two men moonlight as detectives, looking into computer espionage software used by governments.

The Age

US consumer confidence improves to reach 3-month high

Consumer confidence rallied more than projected in August as merchant discounts and record-low interest rates help U.S. households bolster finances.

San Francisco Chronicle

US confidence rises but outlook still grim

Reuters

Blog:

Consumer confidence gets August boost

(The Hill)

On The Money

US flower growers fight to survive amid flood of imports

With Colombian imports now accounting for 75 percent of cut flowers sold in America, U.S. growers say they cannot compete with the plane-loads of Colombian flowers that are flown in through Miami each day.

McClatchy Newspapers

Eye-controlled Gaze TV unveiled

An eye-controlled television has been unveiled at Berlin’s IFA trade show. Haier’s Gaze TV uses technology developed by Tobii.

BBC

The future of photography

The Age

NATION

Roaming airport screeners look for people with something to hide

TSA’s Behavior Detection Officers work in the agency’s Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques program. They are trained to study face and body language for hints of mental state.

Sacramento Bee

Bernanke: Fed ready for action to assist in the US recovery

At the Jackson Hole economic summit, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used uncharacteristically direct language to suggest the Fed could soon act to bolster growth and lower unemployment.

Seattle Times

Speech:

Bernanke remarks at Jackson Hole

BusinessWeek

Jackson Hole federal reserve conference

MarketWatch

POLITICS

1 in 4 voters are ‘persuadable’

One in four registered voters may be open to changing their positions in the race between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, according to a poll analysis.

Bloomberg

Mitt Romney accepts his Republican nomination

Mitt Romney touted his executive experience, his strong family and a devotion to community born of deep religious faith as he accepted the Republican nomination for president.

Christian Science Monitor

1st since ’52: No talk of war in GOP speech

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Fact check: Romney at RNC

ABC News

Watch the whole acceptance speech

NBCNews.com

BUSINESS

Untold riches, untold taxes: a royal battle

An employee at a bank in Liechtenstein bank has taken compact discs containing the account details of many of the bank’s customers and has sold them to authorities, setting off a worldwide investigation.

The Age

How companies can employ ‘Big Data’ to create a better shopping experience

“Big Data” refers to the deployment of vast troves of information, both personal and official, to make businesses more efficient and responsive to clients and consumers.

TIME

ENVIRONMENT

World’s biggest offshore windfarm planned for Scottish coast

A scheme with enough capacity to power 40 percent of Scottish households has been submitted for planning permission.

Guardian

What’s ambergris and why is it rare?

Ambergris, the fragrance industry’s key component in perfume, can be found on beaches and comes from one of the largest mammals in the sea.

National Geographic

SPORTS

Venus Williams loses at US Open as Roddick sets retirement

Venus Williams is out. Andy Roddick is retiring. And American teenagers Sloane Stephens and Jack Sock are moving on at the U.S. Open tennis championship.

Bloomberg

US Open: Sam Stosur will face Laura Robson in 4th round

New Jersey Star Ledger

Le’Veon Bell carries Michigan State to victory over Boise State

Le‘Veon Bell ran for a career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 8:12 remaining in No. 13 Michigan State’s 17-13 victory over No. 24 Boise State.

FOXSports

LIVING AND ENTERTAINMENT

Last ‘blue moon’ until 2015 occurs tonight

Skywatchers, get ready: The last “blue moon” for three years will occur tonight. For some, this blue moon will take on additional significance, as it’s on the day of the memorial service for Neil Armstrong.

Huffington Post

Will the blue moon really be blue?

SPACE.com

August’s rare blue moon

Yahoo! News

Extreme birthday parties: How over-the-top is too over-the-top?

Talk to parents of school-age children, and they will tell you about the pressure and expense of the birthday circuit. Some say kids’ party costs are skyrocketing for guests and hosts.

CNN

Why was 34,969 Count’s magic number?

It’s R.I.P. to Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer behind Sesame Street’s Count von Count. The Count loved all numbers, but 34,969 in particular. Why?

BBC

Columns And Op-Ed

The opinions in the items below are not necessarily those of DailySource or our editors. Read more.

Column (Jessica Valenti):

Motherhood and the GOP

Star Tribune

XXXX wrong item type XXXX:

I did build that

McClatchy Newspapers

Column (Conor Friedersdorf):

GOP nominees did not always run as bellicose nationalists

The Atlantic

XXXX wrong item type XXXX:

Smith’s world

Las Vegas Sun

Column (Joan Walsh):

Mitt Romney: upstaged by an empty chair

Salon

Column (Daniel Lametti):

Is a science Ph.D. a waste of time?

Slate

Column (Ann Carrns):

Is a penny rounded a penny lost? Ask Chipotle

Yahoo! News

Column (Alice G. Walton):

‘Hurtful and beautiful’: life with multiple sclerosis

The Atlantic

Site edited by: Jameson O'Neal, Nisha Dubey, Pallavi Sukhia, Lukas Dregne and Catherine Lux.

GOOD NEWS

NYC readies world’s largest UV drinking-water disinfection plant

In two months, New York City will be opening the world’s largest ultraviolet drinking-water disinfection plant.

Scientific American

Ice cream outreach as a back-to-school pitch in Northeast Philly

Many school administrators gathered at local shopping malls and recreation centers, handing out creamsicles and cones in an effort to pump up parents and students for a new school year.

Philadelphia Inquirer

For very sick children, Israeli camp is a place for fun and bonding

Ill Israeli and Palestinian children get solace at a bilingual camp. “Our vision is to bring all kids together, regardless of background, so they can have fun,” said the camp director.

USA TODAY

WORLD

South African mining unrest spreads to Gold Fields

Bullion miner Gold Fields said about a quarter of its workers have walked out in the first strike to affect South Africa’s gold mining industry since violent protest shut down Lonmin’s platinum mine.

Guardian

Australia ends hunt for asylum seekers

Australian officials have given up hope for survivors after nearly 100 asylum seekers vanished in choppy seas off Indonesia when their overcrowded vessel sank en route to Australia.

Al Jazeera

China dissident jailed on Yahoo info is freed after completing term

A Chinese dissident imprisoned for 10 years on a state subversion conviction supported by evidence from the Web portal Yahoo was released after completing his term, his wife said.

Philadelphia Inquirer

EDUCATION

Cheating on final exam reflects ‘culture of cheating,’ Harvard grad says

Administrators at Harvard College have accused 125 students of cheating on a final exam last spring, an allegation that Harvard graduate Eric Kester said reflects a “culture of cheating” at the school.

ABC News

Judge strikes down NYC law meant to keep adult shops away from schools

A New York City zoning law designed to keep adult entertainment businesses away from schools, churches and residential neighborhoods was deemed unconstitutional by a state judge.

Reuters

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

San Diego Zoo encourages animal-inspired robots

The San Diego Zoo has spent several years promoting biomimicry and its potential benefits. The zoo is launching a Centre for Bioinspiration to contain space for designers to work on new concepts.

NASA halted attempts to replace a power distributor on the International Space Station after spacewalking astronauts were repeatedly stymied by a jammed bolt, officials said.

Reuters

Solar system scale: Weigh yourself on a planet where the gravity isn’t so harsh

Gizmodo

HEALTH

Health Care Act will force insurance on 7.3 million

According to a study, just three percent of the 269 million Americans younger than 65 — about 7.3 million uninsured Americans — will be required to purchase coverage on their own or pay a penalty.

CNBC

California scientists’ calls to warn Yosemite visitors went unheeded

Public health scientists have twice recommended in the past five years that Yosemite National Park authorities educate visitors about hantavirus, yet park officials did not warn visitors.

California Watch

Campers question Yosemite response

ABC News

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

Latin rebirth in schools

Vatican officials want to see the language of Cicero and Caesar spread beyond the walls of the tiny city state, the only place in the world where ATM cash machines give instructions in Latin.

Telegraph.co.uk

In testimonials, Romney’s Mormon faith takes spotlight

Romney has long been reluctant to shed light on his personal life and on his religious beliefs, but that changed at the RNC, where testimonials were stories of Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith.

Reuters

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