Is the Titanic being recreated?
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer is building an exact replica of the doomed Titanic in China. The ship will be the same dimensions of the original and have the same class separations as the ship that hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, killing more than 1,500 of its passengers. The key differences: upgraded security features and air conditioning. Palmer said he’s rebuilding the ship to honor those who worked on the original.
Is Pennsylvania Avenue endangered?
One of Washington’s best-known boulevards has been listed among a dozen “endangered landscapes” nationwide by a preservation group that says the road connecting the White House and the Capitol is in decline. Parks that President John F. Kennedy had built along the avenue in the 1960s haven’t been maintained, water fountains rarely work, benches are broken and some trees were removed, the Cultural Landscape Foundation said Wednesday. The group is hoping a public education plan could save the sites.
Why is the U.S. birth rate dropping?
There were fewer than 4 million births in the U.S. in 2011, according to the D.C.-based Population Reference Bureau. It was the fourth straight year in which the number of births declined, and experts say the drop off is likely due to a bad economy. With so many young people unemployed or underemployed, fewer women and couples believe they can afford to start a family, experts say.
