China, U.S. Spar Over Intelligence Leaker Snowden
Officials from China and the United States have sharply disagreed over Beijing's handling of the fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Washington was "very disappointed" that China had not sent Snowden back from Hong Kong to the United States where Snowden is wanted for leaking details of secret U.S. surveillance programs.

Obama, Putin Discuss Snowden Case
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed by telephone the case of fugitive American intelligence leaker Edward Snowden. No details about the call were immediately released.

UN Climate Conference Extends Kyoto Protocol To 2020
Delegates from almost 200 countries have extended until 2020 the Kyoto Protocol for fighting climate change. The document, adopted in 1997, was due to expire by the end of the year.

Keeping the Internet Free
Joe Pitts
Just a few weeks ago, the Syrian government shut down the Internet nationwide during a military push against rebel forces that appear to be making progress. While service is back, it is obvious that Bashar Assad’s government has the power to take it down again. As the Chinese Communist Party transferred power, Google reported a sudden drop in Internet traffic. Gmail was down for most Chinese citizens.

Speeding Space Junk Poses Risks for Spacecraft
The amount of space junk floating around the Earth grows every year, and increasingly can pose risks to spacecraft orbiting the planet. In the United States, NASA’s Orbital Debris Program (ODP) at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, keeps an eye on the ever-expanding junkyard of space.

The Internet Revolution is a Liberty Revolution
Ron Paul
Until the late 1990s, individuals interested in Austrian economics, U.S. constitutional history, and libertarian philosophy had few sources of information. They had to spend hours scouring used book stores or the back pages of obscure libertarian periodicals to find the great works of Mises, Rothbard, Hayek, and other giants of liberty. Local library and university collections ignored libertarian politics and economics.

Powerful "Flame" Computer Virus Hits Iran, Mideast
Experts say they have discovered a complex virus, dubbed "Flame" or "Skywiper," which is infecting and stealing information from computers in Iran and the Middle East. The news is certain to stoke speculation that the virus is part of a growing list of examples of intelligence agencies waging cyberwar on foreign governments or other targets.

Reforming the FDA
Joe Pitts
This week, the Health Subcommittee and the full Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Food and Drug Administration Reform Act of 2012. This bipartisan legislation reauthorizes and reforms user fee programs for drugs and medical devices. What are user fee programs? The Food and Drug Administration reviews new pharmaceuticals and medical devices to make sure that they are safe and effective.

Year In Review: Highlights In Science And Technology
The most intriguing breakthrough in the world of science this past year may have taken place in a 27-kilometer-long tunnel deep below the border of Switzerland and France. That's where researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) say they moved one possible step closer to solving one of the universe's greatest mysteries.

China Lays Out Ambitious 5-Year Plan to Explore Space
China has announced an ambitious five-year plan to explore outer space. The plan includes Beijing's previously-stated goals of putting a man on the moon and building a space station. In a policy paper released Thursday, the China National Space Administration said Beijing will deploy space laboratories, launch manned spaceships and space freighters, and make technological preparations for the construction of a space station by the end of 2016.

One Year on the Health Subcommittee
Joe Pitts
Last year at this time, my colleagues appointed me to lead the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. After years of hard work in the House, it is an honor to be able to lead a subcommittee that is doing important work improving health care for all Americans. The federal government’s involvement in health care was already significant before last year’s new health care law, the Affordable Care Act.

Clinton to High-Tech Firms: Don’t Aid Web Repression
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday urged software companies and high-tech firms not to sell technology that would help repressive governments restrict Internet freedom. Delivering a keynote address in the Netherlands at a 23-nation Dutch-sponsored conference at the Hague, convened to launch a coalition of countries that work with companies and civil society groups to advance Internet freedom, she also warned against the imposition of national barriers to the Internet.

Keystone, Our Missed Opportunity
Jon Kyl
Earlier this year, President Obama delivered a speech at Georgetown University where he bemoaned our continued reliance on oil imported from the Middle East and unsavory regimes. "Politicians of every stripe have promised energy independence, but that promise has so far gone unmet," he said.