The New Republic

In the United States, Memorial Day is this Monday, May 30. First observed a few years after the Civil War, in honor of Civil War veterans, the day only became a remembrance of all those who have died in American wars after World War I. In 1971, after a century as an unofficial holiday, Congress designated Memorial Day a national holiday. Besides memorializing fallen soldiers, Memorial Day also functions as an unofficial start to summer in the United States, with many families and organizations holding Memorial Day barbecues. READ MORE >>

The Mega Millions lottery, the second largest lottery in the United States, had its latest drawing earlier today, with an estimated grand prize of $26 million. No tickets with all six winning numbers were sold, however, pushing the value of the next drawing, on Friday, to $35 million. READ MORE >>

Barnes & Noble introduced the latest version of its Nook e-reader today at its Union Square store in Manhattan, with a considerable amount of hoopla. READ MORE >>

Volcanic ash is back. No, not a weird new band. For the second year in a row, a volcano in Iceland is spewing ash into the sky. Last year, ash from Eyjafjallajökull (or, as newscasters called it, "the Iceland volcano," "the volcano in Iceland," and any other possible phrase that didn't involve pronouncing Eyjafjallajökull) closed airspace over twenty European countries. READ MORE >>

[Guest post by James Downie] READ MORE >>

On Sunday, a fierce tornado slammed into Joplin, Missouri, killing 116 people, the highest death toll from a tornado in sixty years. Sunday's tornado brings the national death toll from tornadoes to 481 so far this year, the highest total ever recorded this early in a year. But is this just a higher incidence of strong tornadoes, or more overall? READ MORE >>

As you may have heard (or seen on a billboard), the world will end tomorrow. Christian radio host Harold Camping has chosen May 21, 2011, as Judgment Day, that holiday to end all holidays. Literally. READ MORE >>

Last week, FCC commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker announced that she was leaving the commission to become the chief lobbyist for the newly merged Comcast/NBCUniversal. Only months before, Baker had voted to allow the historic and controversial merger between the cable company and the broadcast network, and though the 4-1 tally meant her vote had not provided the crucial margin, she was also on record complaining on multiple occasions that the FCC took too long to approve the deal.  READ MORE >>

LinkedIn is the name on everyone's lips today on Wall Street. The business-focused social networking site announced it will be offering shares at an initial price of $45, with LinkedIn valued at $4.3 billion. Some market watchers think the price is too high, but others believe LinkedIn could lead another round of big internet IPOs. READ MORE >>

As the Republican backlash against Newt Gingrich continues to grow, earlier today, I spoke with former Gingrich communications director Rich Galen about the three weaknesses that have undermined Newt’s campaign from the start. READ MORE >>