TEA will start teacher criminal background checks; AISD will be the first to require fingerprinting. 3 airlines aren't happy with the city for building a low-cost terminal at ABIA. Light pollution starting to invade the skies near the McDonald Observatory....

Russian Premier, er, we mean President Putin using Soviet-style measures to suppress political opposition? The evidence just keeps on rolling in... Yesterday, British forces formally handed the province of Basra to the Iraqi government. This is the ninth province transferred to Iraqi control by American-led forces since July 2006. The week-long U.N. climate-change conference, held in Bali, ended last Friday. A ranking has been released showing which countries have the most proactive greenhouse gas......