Briefing

BEIRUT

Explosion targeting U.S. embassy car kills four

WASHINGTON

Protests mark Guantanamo Bay anniversary

CARACAS

Hostages held by Colombian rebels set free

KABUL

Videoconferencing with U.S. detainees

TAIPEI

Opposition Nationalist Party scores landslide win

GANGASAGAR, INDIA

Hindus celebrate Makar Sankranti at the Ganges

ENVIROTECH

Green Machines

Detroit's annual Auto Show displays the best and brightest prototypes for eco-friendly cars Jan. 19-27. A look at some of the top innovators from the U.S. and abroad.

TOYOTA A-BAT Utilizes solar panels

SAAB 9-4X BIOPOWER Runs on biofuels

FISKER HYBRID First true electric plug-in car

JEEP RENEGADE Gets up to 110 m.p.g.

MERCEDES-BENZ VISION GLK Powered by a diesel engine

LAND ROVER LRX 2-L turbodiesel

LEXICON

presumed consent

DEFINITION pri-zoomd ken-sent n. A government policy under which a person's consent to donate organs after death is automatically presumed unless the person explicitly opts out. The policy removes the need for organ-donor cards or even family approval.

CONTEXT On Jan. 13, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced his support for the policy, saying it would reduce the number of deaths of those waiting for transplants. Nations such as Spain and France have adopted similar rules.

USAGE Could the policy ever fly in the U.S.? It might, after all, be a lifeline for the 97,000 waiting for organs. Probably not, says the University of Oklahoma's Dr. Mark Fox. "Since people have the opportunity to opt out, it seems like it's consistent with freedom of choice," Fox says. "But to force someone to say, 'I don't want to be an organ donor' is potentially coercive."

LEGAL NOTE

When the Dead Testify

On Jan. 7, Julie Jensen testified in her husband's murder trial--even though she died in 1998. Mark Jensen is charged with having murdered her, but attorneys have only now been able to introduce key evidence from Julie--a letter she left with a neighbor about Mark's "suspicious behaviors" and her "fear for [her] early demise."

WHY NOW U.S. law has zealously guarded the right of criminal defendants to confront their accusers in court. But new evidence rules adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 and by Wisconsin's Supreme Court in 2006 are allowing Julie Jensen--and perhaps other, future murder victims--to take the stand from beyond the grave.

TECH NOTE

Framed by Facebook?

Using Facebook photos as evidence, police in South Burlington, Vt., have charged a high school athlete with possession of alcohol--the second time in a year they used the website to make an underage bust. In June girls on the high school lacrosse team were ratted out by online pictures.

WHAT TO THINK The town's chief of police says his officers don't surf social-networking sites. In both cases parents first pointed out the photos. But sleuths are increasingly looking at online evidence. One Vermonter received a warrant from Pennsylvania police after posting photos of herself defacing a Quaker State monument.

EXPLAINER

Is Cloned Meat Safe to Eat?

After years of study, the Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 15 announced its conclusion that meat and milk from most cloned livestock are as safe for humans as those from noncloned animals.

HOW ARE THEY CLONED?

An animal's genetic duplicate is produced through somatic nuclear transfer, in which an egg cell is emptied of its genetic material and filled with a regular cell nucleus from a donor--a clone is born.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The egg is inserted into a womb and gestated normally. Result: clones with the same tender meat or premium milk. Only their offspring are killed--the clones themselves are too expensive to eat.

ARE THEY REALLY SAFE?

The FDA thinks goats, cows and pigs will be safe. It doesn't have enough information yet on sheep. Some people are upset that clone-derived meat won't be labeled, keeping consumers in the dark.

ANY OTHER PROBLEMS?

Yes. The low success rate of cloning may mean that many deformed animals suffer and die young. And the prospect of losing genetic diversity in certain species adds a little more food for thought.