After days of fighting, the Taliban has taken a district in the northern Baghalan province of Afghanistan. The importance of Baghalan province is that the main highway linking nine other districts passes through it. Which means that if the Taliban takes over neighboring districts, they will have complete control over travel into and out of those nine districts.

Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas has been the target of severe social media and press attacks the last few days. She's being criticized for not putting her hand over her heart during the national anthem, and for not having straight enough hair. Y'all. We're better than this.

Protests began in Milwaukee on Saturday, just a few hours after police shot and killed Sylville Smith, a 23-year-old Black man, who was apparently armed and running away from police. The protests continued into the early hours of Monday morning, with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker declaring a state of emergency and calling in the National Guard on Sunday. Some protestors claim that Smith was shot in the back while running away, which police deny happened. It would all be a lot clearer if the police would just release the body camera footage...

Days of heavy rain have flooded Southern Louisiana, wreaking homes and submerging roads and highways. Five have died, and 20,000 have had to be rescued. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has called it an "historic, unprecedented flooding event."

Chinese diver He Zi won a silver medal on Sunday, and got another surprise: as she was standing on the medal podium, her boyfriend of six years, fellow diver Qin Kai, pulled out a ring and proposed. The photo pretty much says everything you need to know about this. Love is cool.

Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. You’d think this former Oklahoma police officer would have been aware of that.

Taliban fighters left in standoff near Spanish embassy.

Saudi Arabian women get to run and vote in an election for the first time ever and I think that’s pretty awesome.

Cyndi Lauper is just more added proof on why Donald Trump has bad ideas.

The amount of money auctioned on Janis Joplin’s 1965 Porsche could probably pay for my college tuition for the rest of my life.

Wu-Tang Clan drops one copy of their new album and it’s not Bill Murray who bought it.

Major U.S. airlines are saying no to hoverboards.

Investigations and arrests are ongoing in the beating and burning of an Afghan woman.

Uber-conservative republican Ted Cruz announces his bid for the presidency.

Medical students are joining ISIS.

Pope Francis performs “Half Miracle” with liquified saint’s blood.

A shooting at Los Altos Skate Park leaves one dead and six injured.

New plans are in the works for a rennovated Downtown ABQ.

Sunday night’s crash suspect is identified.

Questa cousins bring Indian bikes to ABQ.

A con man apologizes to his pregnant victim.

Scarecrows outnumber people in one Japanese village.

A man paints himself black to avoid the police. Fails.

A man was arrested after being declared dead two years ago.

HBO made a Johnny Tapia documentary.

The color of the year has been announced.

APD released another image of the man suspected of shooting my favorite 7-11 clerk this past weekend.

A former Nazi charged for his involvement in an infamous WWII massacre in France appears to be off the hook.

In other Nazi-related news, Congress has passed a law that will prevent former Nazis from recieving social security benefits.

All those allegations of torture and cruelty against terrorism suspects in the hands of Americans and their minions turn out to be true and worse than previously alleged according to a report just released.

A private company is winnowing the field of candidates for a one-way mission to Mars.

Avril Lavigne has developed a celebrity mystery illness.

Check out Boing Boing's gift guide.

Afghanistan just harvested enough opium to equal 90 percent of the world's supply.

Author Alice Walker is a fan of conspiracy theorist David Icke!

A BernCo sheriff's deputy shot a man who rammed his patrol car and trapped the deputy inside.

A city councilman introduced a controversial proposal that would substantially reduce marijuana possession penalties.

The remains of a missing hiker were recovered from the Santa Fe forest.

The city may finally do something about the lake that forms in the Central Avenue underpass when it rains heavily.

An Afghan soldier killed an American General, the highest ranking US service member to die in conflict since Vietnam.

There's intense fighting in Ukraine.

Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn once made some funny porn spoofs.

Media giant Gannett is splitting its newspaper and broadcast/digital divisions in order to make the lackluster print portion debt-free. And then, presumably, they'll throw it into a black hole so that it remains debt-free. Forever.

Huge methane gas releases caused by global warming appear to be causing the mysterious Siberian craters.

Here are some of the scant details on the Ebola "cure" administered to two American aid workers.

Check out the Disobedient Objects in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Both George Zimmerman and his wife were in court today, and a date has been set for the murder trial in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Journalists under Taliban threat in Pakistan.

Fact-check those feisty contenders for prez.

Binders! Binders full of women.

Conservative city councilors dive into the fray over Albuquerque's proposed minimum wage increase.

Is Afghanistan's security situation losing ground?

Verizon is watching you.

New project will try to identify remains of migrants who perished in the Sonoran desert.

Geez, AZ: Investigation launched over Arizona National Guard misconduct allegations.

Damien Hirst, butterfly killer.

Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson enters academia.

The lovemaking travails of a very ancient lizard.

Tell your boss.

Three American soldiers killed by an Afghan pretending to be a cop

The memorial for the Sikh temple victims is happening today.

July: Hottest. Month. Ever.

There was a bomb threat at Pro’s Ranch Market

A new early species of human was discovered

Deceased Beastie Boy Adam Yauch is supernaturally awesome.

Kissing. Butts.

You, too, can learn to speak four languages in a year.

“How does one crip walk?”

Play with Politico’s nifty swing state map

Seven missing athletes from Cameroon probably defected in London. It happens.

“If you could see the earth illuminated when you were in a place as dark as night, it would look to you more splendid than the moon.”

Sometimes you love God so much, you just wanna make your children live in an underground bunker for their entire lives.

Romani people in France continue to get merde-ed upon.

“Walking Dead” deleted zombie horde scene

Anonymous hacked Australia.

The Stranglers’ Hugh Cornwell does a mariachi “Golden Brown.”

Have a gooey, flaming National S’more Day!

On this day in 1944, D-Day, Allied forces invaded the shores of Normandy, France.

More than 1,200 firefighters are working to contain the Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire.

Afghan civilians suffer throughout latest wave of deadly violence.

Primary election results are in: Martin Heinrich and Heather Wilson will face off in November’s U.S. Senate race, Michelle Lujan-Grisham rose to top Eric Griego and Martin Chavez in CD1, Kari Brandenburg defeated her Democratic rival, Michael Wiener got trounced and Karen Montoya was the Dems’ choice for PRC district 1.

Thus, the general election season is on; brace yourself.

In Wisconsin, supporters of governor Scott Walker are celebrating. Walker outspent his Democratic opponent by a 7 to 1 margin.

Spectacular ultra-high-def views of yesterday’s rare transit (Warning: cheesy music).

The Army plans to review nearly 200,000 medical files to examine whether soldiers’ mental health diagnoses were downgraded to cut costs in pension payments.

A group of Muslims in New Jersey filed federal suit against NYPD, alleging unconstitutional surveillance.

Kim Jong Un makes kids cry.

Grief affects us all differently; this artist coped with the sudden loss of his cat by turning its remains into a remote-controlled helicopter.

Yet another disturbing report could further damage frayed U.S.-Afghan relations.

Even Mitt Romney tries to back away slowly from Teg Nugent.

Suspender-straining liberal dude goes nuclear, drops F-bomb on Sean Hannity.

Norwegian mass-murderer is mum on shadowy underground associations.

A new species was discovered in a dark gypsum pool near Carlsbad Caverns.

Levon Helm from The Band is in his “final stages.”

Warren Buffett isn’t worried about his recent cancer diagnosis.

Mo Money Mo Problems.

2Pac 4Ever!

Attorneys asked a New Orleans judge to sign the formal terms of BP oil catastrophe settlement.

The Pakistan Prime Minister is dealing in his own Breaking Bad-esque drama.

Are political moderates the newest endangered species?

Doesn’t the final voyage of space shuttle Discovery just make you wonder how astronauts use the toilet?

One of bin Laden’s wives talks about life on the run.

Police say Afghani cop murdered nine of his coworkers while they slept.

City law may prohibit firefighter from running for state legislature.

He’s just a poor (drunk) boy, he needs no sympathy. That said, nice rendition, but he probably has nothing on Chico the stolen Queen-singing parrot.

Baby behind the wheel.

Jennifer Lawrence is making people get all Robin Hood.

This American Bandstand-style Nine Inch Nails video from 20 years ago is about as hardcore "Full House."

Shit to say to your colleagues.

Dude named Jesse James gets all hammered and jumps on a cop car ... while wearing a sombrero.

Spike Lee pays out Florida couple over erroneous Trayvon Martin tweet.

C’mon, we all know Mitt is gonna take the nomination. The guy looks “presidential,” whatever that means.

Obama effigy burnings take over the streets of Afghanistan to protest the death of 16 civilians.

There will be no Christmas this year after thousands of reindeer are killed by Swedish high-speed train.

In no surprise at all, half of GOP voters in Alabama and Mississippi still believe President Obama is Muslim. One in four think his parents’ interracial marriage should have been illegal.

One in five people drop Facebook friends over political posts.

A study finds that red meat is responsible for one in ten early deaths.

That’s troubling news for the Italian village of Falciano del Massico that banned its residents from dying.

Like a scene from Jaws, a shark feeding frenzy closes an Australia beach.

Former VP Dick Cheney feels Canada is too dangerous for a visit.

Thieves are stealing Tide detergent to take it advantage of its oddly lucrative black market.

Meanwhile, toilet paper supplies are running dangerously low in Trenton, N.J.

Anthony Bourdain gets Marilyn Hagerty a table at posh restaurant Le Bernardin after her hilarious Olive Garden review goes viral.

Your favorite celebrities— cholafied.

There’s something strangely comforting about the chromatic arrangement of books.

U.S. soldier goes on killing spree of Afghani civilians. At least 16 dead. Taliban says it will strike back.

There were also mass murders in Syria.

Lobos get the No. 5 seed and will play Long Beach State on Thursday. Here’s the full bracket.

52 percent of Republican voters in Mississippi say they believe President Obama is Muslim.

Another sketchy officer-involved shooting in N.M.

Slovakian police say youth smokers responsible for

burning down 14th century castle.

Police say Amish kids were drinking when they crashed a buggy into a police car.

Bigoted priest put on leave for his anti-lesbian actions.

Donald Draper to Kim Kardashian, et al.: “Being a fucking idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you're rewarded significantly.”

Sofa King, not cool.

The oldest known Dickensian film re-discovered.

Start practicing now to pour the perfect pint of Guinness by Saturday.

Banksy's rant on advertising was plagiarized.

Can your home owner association really demand a DNA sample from your dog?

It's Oscar night.

One out of five New Mexican third graders is obese.

Sculptor Ken Price died at his home in Taos last Friday.

Huge collection of covers from vintage men's magazines like All Man, Man's Conquest and Frank Zappa's fave Man's Life.

Are you ready for marriage?

This Australian woman scammed some Nigerian internet scammers.

The FBI has turned off about 3,000 warrantless GPS tracking devices that they had placed on vehicles.

"Playboy bunnies wearing jetpacks would serve the drinks...."

Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution documentary.

All NATO staff working in the Kabul area have been recalled.

Read about the most obsessed-over Polaroid camera of them all, the Polaroid SX-70.

Alex Cox (director of Repo Man, Sid&Nancy) wants you to illegally download his films.

Why settle for a theremin when you could have a "badgermin?"

Picture gallery of old abandoned cars in the woods.

On this day in 1933 Hitler announced his plans for the Porsche-designed "people's car," the Volkswagen.

World leaders meet in Tunisia in an effort to stop violence in Syria.

Body found this morning by Central and 114th. Then, police say, a car crashed into the crime scene.

Couple who’d already had a child die from cocaine arrested with 6 grams at a Sonic. Two of their children were in the car and the lady was pregant.

Police say man pepper sprayed while trying to rob motel customers at gunpoint. He dropped the gun and ran, then was pepper sprayed again when he returned and offered to buy the gun for $40.

Multiple deaths in Afghani riots sparked by burning of Korans at U.S. militray base.

Security guard takes stranger’s car to assail robber. Car was totaled and now the 80-year-old stranger has about $6,000 in payments.

$2 million in gold doubloons returned to Spain from a ship that was sunk by British forces in 1804.

British teacher tries to teach students a lesson by pretending to kidnap school janitor at gunpoint and flee in a getaway vehicle.

I doubt this vanity plate gets you pulled over much.

The old robbing a store at finger-point fails again.

Man walks into Denny’s and cooks himself a cheeseburger while pretending to be manager.

Man gets Holyfielded during argument at a Quality Inn.

City Council approves a plan to carve up District 3 (Downtown, Barelas, UNM area) and ax Benton's seat.

APD officer ends up in the hospital after chewing on a glass burrito.

St. Michael's in Santa Fe to conduct random student drug tests.

Outrage over Quran burning spreads in Afghanistan. At least 10 Afghans and two American soldiers have died.

Midair helicopter smash kills seven marines during training.

9-year-old girl dies after running for three hours as punishment for stealing a candy bar, according to an Alabama sheriff's office.

UN may prosecute Syrian officials of crimes against humanity.

FDA questions inhalable caffeine.

Maybe you don't need eight hours of sleep.

Serious hipster cruise. Like on a ship.

Startups looking to skim carbon dioxide from the atmo. Bill Gates thinks it's a good idea, says his money.

Virginia politicians second-guess mandatory pre-abortion vaginal probing.

Analysts predict soaring national debt under all GOP contenders' tax plans—except for Ron Paul's.

Thrash metal endorsements for 2012: Megadeth dude supports Santorum.