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Militants seized hostages earlier this week at a gas plant in eastern Algeria. A military raid freed some and reportedly caused the deaths of others. American officials believe 10 Americans were there when the plant was attacked. Some Americans reportedly escaped.

Earlier this week, a customer in Australia ordered a Subway foot-long sub. Only to find it measured a mere 11 inches. He posted a photo alongside a tape measure on the company's Facebook page, sparking outrage from customers and an investigation by theNew York Post.

Since the assault weapons ban passed in the mid-1990s, Congress has had little appetite for gun control measures. "I think it was a very different time in 1994. I don't think there's very many lessons to learn from that," says Ted Kaufman, who was then-Sen. Joe Biden's chief of staff.

As part of a research initiative on how to harness off-grid energy for low-power electronics, a pair of U.K.-based designers created a lamp that uses gravity to generate light. Martin Riddiford, co-inventor of the GravityLight, talks about plans for the innovative project.

In the Broadway play The Other Place actress Laurie Metcalf ("Jackie" on the TV show "Roseanne") plays a scientist suffering from the dementia she studies. Playwright Sharr White discusses the play and the challenge of presenting complicated science on a theater stage.

Writers for past presidents say President Obama must be visionary and inclusive but also realistic in his second inaugural address. And many of the usual speechwriting crutches are off-limits: no jokes, no statistics and no funny quotes.

The full text of U.S. Attorney Dana Boente's statement released today regarding the indictment of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

The Food and Drug Administration just approved a flu vaccine made by cells taken from the fall armyworm, an agricultural pest. The cells produce copies of a piece of the flu virus's outer coat that primes the immune system. Conventional vaccines use the whole virus and take longer to produce.

Aviation authorities in the U.S. and abroad have grounded the new Boeing 787 because of problems with its big lithium batteries. The batteries pack an electrical punch, but can create incredible heat — and even fires — if things go wrong. This is a problem for electric car makers, too.

Those who have been pushing for the university to take more action about reports of football players sexually assaulted young women are asking why so much attention was given to the story of star Manti Te'o's fictitious girlfriend.