Girls Are Smarter Blog

AP - Stacey Marcure thought she and her family had survived the worst of flooding two weeks ago, when just 5 inches of water seeped into her basement. Then she woke Tuesday to a fresh burst of heavy flooding spurred by record-setting rainfall that released havoc on this former mill town and much of the Northeast.

Reuters - Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend a multi-nation summit on nuclear security in Washington this month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether he was going.

AP - Fred Couples said Wednesday that he'll play a practice round for the Masters with Tiger Woods at Augusta National on Monday.

AP - Small taxes on soda do little to reduce soft drink consumption or prevent childhood obesity, but larger levies probably would, according to new research.

AP - What boycott? Close to 9 in 10 Hispanics say they intend to participate in the 2010 census, with immigrants more likely to say the government count is good for their community and that personal information will be kept confidential, according to a new poll.

AP - Shaking up years of energy policy and his own environmental backers, President Barack Obama threw open a huge swath of East Coast waters and other protected areas in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico to drilling Wednesday, widening the politically explosive hunt for more homegrown oil and gas.