National / International News

A councillor is charged with causing an explosion after a series of blasts saw residents evacuated from their homes in the north Wales town of Denbigh.

Reforms to energy tariffs could leave consumers struggling to find the best deal, says Which?, but the regulator argues the changes have been misrepresented.

Chrissy Amphlett, lead singer of the Divinyls' who had a 1990s hit with I Touch Myself, dies aged 53 in New York surrounded by close friends and family.

Also: A rare recording of Flannery O'Connor speaking on "The Grotesque in Southern Literature," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg writes a poem; and the best books coming out this week.

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Proposals to help struggling pub tenants are unveiled by the government, including a new code of practice and a "powerful" adjudicator.

An attempt to allow US-style political advertising on British TV fails after European judges rule the UK's blanket ban does not breach free speech.

Bangor City Football Club lodges a complaint after a player was allegedly racially abused during a match.

A gun victim trying to get away from his attackers traumatised a young family by banging on the door of their London home to get in.

Boston and the rest of Massachusetts will observe a moment of silence Monday afternoon to remember those killed and wounded in the bombings one week ago. Meanwhile, the investigation continues. Surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev remains in serious condition at a Boston area hospital.

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Ground staff at Lufthansa, Germany's biggest airline, walked off the job Monday on a one-day strike that prompted the company to cancel most of the day's scheduled flights.

The BBC's Steve Evans joins Marketplace's Stacey Vanek Smith to discuss the disruption and why Lufthansa's workers are striking.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Twenty years after Stephen Lawrence's murder, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe says the Met has not given up the hunt for the rest of his attackers.

Jamie Kitman, New York editor of Automobile Magazine, is driving a $240,000 McLaren sports car across the country in the hopes of meeting as many interesting people as he can. Last week, Kitman spoke with Marketplace after he stopped off at Local Motors, a car company in Arizona that crowd-sources auto design.

Today, Marketplace Tech host David Brancaccio checks in with Kitman from Montgomery, Alabama to discuss the market for classic sports cars.

 

 

Researchers at the University of Texas are working on a way to produce mass quantities of nanocellulose -- a non-toxic construction and engineering material that's strong, saves trees, and could help reduce greenhouse gases. 

Generating nanocellulose involves altering the genes of bacteria that produce vinegar or kombucha tea. Sunlight goes in and what comes out is a goop-like material that can be made into houses, cargo ships, you name it -- if they can perfect the process.

"People don't realize the strength of cellulose," says researcher R. Malcolm Brown, Junior, professor of plant cell biology at UT Austin.

Brown says nanocellulose could be applied to a variety of area, from medicine to electronics.

"I've even proposed that we make our rocket casings [out of it] when we send our astronauts to Mars," says Brown. "Cellulose can be digested, and if you break it down, the component is called sugar -- the astronauts would go to Mars, and they could live off of their rocket casings."

Though Brown adds edible rockets would make it difficult to travel back to Earth.

To hear more about nanocellulose, click on the audio player above.

 

Police in India say they have arrested a second man in connection with the kidnapping and rape of a five-year-old girl in the capital, Delhi, last week.

Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French marries her partner Mark Bignell at a hotel in Cornwall.

A UK Treasury warning that an SNP plan for a currency union after independence could threaten Scottish banknotes is dismissed by Nationalists.

Seven Turks and two Russians are abducted by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan after their helicopter was forced to land in bad weather, local officials say.

A British man who spent four years designing and building an enormous diesel-powered hexapod robot admits it has no purpose

Monday is the first big travel day at American airports since the FAA began furloughing air traffic controllers over the weekend. The agency needs to cut nearly $640 million from its budget in response to the federally mandated sequestration. That could lead to delays that the industry is not happy about.

"Air traffic controllers should not be furloughed -- period," says Lee Moak, who heads the Air Line Pilots Association. His group has joined Airlines for America in a lawsuit that would stop the FAA from cutting back what they call essential airport personnel.

"These furloughs will impact airports coast-to-coast every single day," Moak says.

The FAA would not comment for this story. But the agency said last week that it will furlough 47,000 employees through September. Worst case, the FAA predicts travelers in Atlanta could see flight delays of more than three hours; Chicago O'Hare, two hours plus.

Charlie Leocha directs the Consumer Travel Alliance. He says right now all customers can do is show up at the airport and hope for a smooth trip.

"That's basically the only recourse we have," Leocha says. "So far, airlines have not agreed to allow passengers to rebook flights or change their flights for no cost."

A spokesman for New York area airports says extra customer service reps will be deployed this week, and information about delays will be posted online. 

A river bailiff is being given a stab vest amid safety concerns after an "increase in hostility" on the Cambridge waterway.