Space Science

MIAMI (AP) — When LeBron James' greatness almost wasn't good enough, officials began preparing for a San Antonio celebration.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The obscure oversight board that President Barack Obama wants to scrutinize the National Security Agency's secret surveillance system is little known for good reason. The U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has operated fitfully during its eight years of low-profile existence, stymied by congressional infighting and, at times, censorship by government lawyers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of a far-reaching immigration bill in the Senate see fresh momentum from a report by the Congressional Budget Office that says the measure would boost the economy and reduce federal deficits by billions of dollars.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers have a message for those who want the party to soften its emphasis on social conservatism in hopes of reaching a wider national audience: Not so fast.

NASANASA contemplated setting up a lunar outpost like the one shown in this artwork back in 2007. Now House Republicans are reviving the idea of establishing a "sustained human presence" on the moon and Mars.By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News Follow @b0yle House Republican leaders want to push for outposts on the moon and Mars — and they want to push NASA's plan to snare an asteroid into the dustbin, according to a discussion draft of their space spending plan."It is the policy of the United States that the development of capabilities and technologies necessary for human missions to lunar orbit, the surface of the moon, the surface of Mars, and beyond shall be the goals of the administration's human space flight program," the GOP version of the NASA authorization bill states.One of the goals would be "to develop a sustained human presence on the moon and Mars," according to the draft, which is expected to come under discussion at a House Science space subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. NBC News received a copy of the draft in advance — as did several other media outlets, including Politico and Space News. Axing the asteroid missionThe draft bill would block the Obama administration's initiative to send a robotic probe to a near-Earth asteroid in 2017, with the aim of bringing back the space rock — or a substantial piece of it — for study by astronauts in the vicinity of the moon around 2021. On Tuesday, NASA touted the plan as part of an initiative that also includes a stepped-up program to identify potentially threatening asteroids and figure out what to do about them.During a recent round of hearings, congressional Republicans were supportive of the asteroid-hunting effort, but sharply critical of the asteroid-grabbing mission. That's reflected in the draft legislation. Survey Q: {{& data.question}} {{data.totalVotes}} votes {{#data.commentCount}}with {{data.commentCount}} comments{{/data.commentCount}} {{#data.answers}} {{& title}} {{/data.answers}} View results {{#data.answerData}} {{& title}} {{percent}}% {{/data.answerData}} Total Votes: {{data.totalVotes}} {{> voting_link }} {{> poll_counts}} {{#data.answerData}} {{/data.answerData}} {{#data.answerData}} {{percent}}% {{numVotes}} votes {{& title}} {{/data.answerData}} {{> voting_link }} {{> poll_counts}} {{#data.answerData}} {{& title}} {{percent}}% ({{numVotes}} votes) {{/data.answerData}} {{> voting_link }} Voting {{data.totalVotes}} votes {{> voting_link }} You commented: “{{info.data.answerText}}” {{{info.data.commentText}}} {{info.data.date}} Optional short answer: 140 characters {{placeholder}} To view your comment please validate your account. If you did not receive a validation email, click here to have it resent. Your account is not activated yet. In order to participate you need to finish registering. The draft would hold NASA's spending level at $16.9 billion, in accordance with the current sequestration situation, but it leaves the way open for increased funding if a deal is struck to loosen the budgetary purse strings. It would continue to fund NASA's major development projects, including the Orion crew capsule, the heavy-lift rocket known as the Space Launch System, and the James Webb Space Telescope. It also sets aside $700 million for supporting the development of crew-capable commercial spaceships — which is less than the administration's budget request of more than $820 million.Debate over moon and MarsThe main point of debate is likely to be the thumbs-up for outposts on the moon and Mars, and the thumbs-down for the asteroid mission that has become the Obama administrat

ASHLAND, Ohio (AP) — A woman told authorities she was held captive for more than a year by three people who forced her to do housework, raided her bank account and menaced her with snakes and pit bulls.

The image was stark — a silent, solitary figure standing in passive defiance to the Turkish prime minister's demand for protesters to clear Taksim Square in central Istanbul.

The claim comes hours after the group announced it would hold talks with the U.S.

BERLIN (AP) — Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Worry and speculation have consumed investors since Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke to Congress last month about the Federal Reserve's drive to keep long-term interest rates at record lows.