Briefing

FERNLEY, NEV.

Rupture of canal levee leaves thousands stranded

PORTLAND, ORE.

1971 D.B. Cooper hijack case reopened

NEW ORLEANS

Louisiana State University wins football championship

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN

Scotland Yard assists in Bhutto investigation

CONGUILLIO NATIONAL PARK, CHILE

Llaima volcano erupts; none injured

NIANGUA, MO.

January tornadoes roar across Midwestern states

EXPLAINER

Recycling E-Waste

States around the country have been holding New Year's collection drives for electronic waste. Most states, however, don't require the recycling of old devices. About 70% of computers and monitors end up in landfill. Here's what it takes to break down our gadgets. [This article consists of a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] Source: eWaste Center, Inc.

1. COLLECTION

Recyclers hold residential roundups and collection events as well as go to businesses to gather old devices.

2. DISASSEMBLY

E-waste is placed on a disassembly line, where it is taken apart. Hard drives are drilled through to destroy data.

3. SORTING

Pieces are sorted into different types of plastics, woods and metals and sent to recycling processors.

4. POISONS

Leaded and unleaded glass are separated with a special machine. Both types of glass can be recycled.

5. PRECIOUS METALS

Metals like gold, which are highly efficient electrical conductors, are sent to a smelter to be recycled and reused.

TENNIS NOTE

Not All Rackets Welcome

ON THE BALL Pro tennis has been hit hard by recent allegations of illegal gambling and players' statements about being asked to throw matches. So Tennis Australia is fighting back with a series of unprecedented anticorruption measures instituted ahead of the Australian Open, which runs Jan. 14-27.

THE NET RESULT Precautions include a hotline to report alleged corruption, a ban on unauthorized courtside laptops, and restricted access to players. A police task force--Operation Onset--will handle allegations of match-fixing and illegal betting activities. Justice, apparently, will be served.

LEXICON

video snacking

DEFINITION vid-e-o snak-ing v: The practice of watching snippets of video on a computer or other small screen, such as a cell phone or PDA.

CONTEXT Turns out that video snacking happens a lot during the office lunch hour. Web content providers have long known that usage spikes at midday during the workweek and are creating content specifically for that window. Sites like ComedyCentral.com are competing with YouTube by splitting shows into short segments; others, like PoliticalLunch.com are creating short midday webcasts.

USAGE Ads accompanying lunchtime video snacks get more views as well, which means they now command a premium price.

HEALTH NOTE

Surveying Health in Iraq

DOOR-TO-DOOR DATA Because of the lack of reliable death and hospital records in Iraq, researchers resorted to individually surveying 9,345 households across the war-torn nation to come up with a snapshot of health that will help make new policy and restore social services.

GRIM RESULTS Among the World Health Organization's findings: an estimated 151,000 Iraqis died from violence between March 2003 and June 2006. Only 57% of Iraqi women said they had heard of AIDS. About 21% of Iraqi women said they experience physical domestic violence. And about 36% of respondents received a mental-health score indicating "significant psychological distress."

NATIONAL SECURITY

Protecting Planes

The U.S. will soon begin testing technology to shield passenger airliners from shoulder-fired missile attacks. Israeli airline El Al fitted its fleet with antimissile capabilities after a jet narrowly escaped an attack in Kenya in 2002. Will it work? Is it worth it? A look:

The Threat

An estimated 1 million missile launchers have been manufactured since the 1950s. The weapons can be bought, in some cases, for as little as $500 and over 30 years have struck 40 civilian aircraft.

The Test

Three American Airlines Boeing 767s will be fitted with lasers designed to jam and deflect missiles. Not that missiles will be fired: the experiments will explore the equipment's durability and its effect on fuel use.

The Opponents

The airline industry frowns on mandating the technology, claiming the strategy is unproven and expensive. Even American Airlines, a participant in the tests, is "philosophically opposed."

The Cost

Retrofitting a single plane with the laser technology could cost up to $1 million (there are 6,800 U.S. jets), plus added fuel costs. Still undecided: whether the Federal Government or the airlines would foot the bill.