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As Nic Robertson pointed out on CNN last night, almost none of this is true. Calling the idea of using journalists as a human shield "nuts," Robertson points out that a Fox News employee -- who was later revealed to be a security guard -- did in fact go on the tour with a small camera. Not present on this tour or many others, evidently, was Fox News' reporter:

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Despite the stray scream or two, the Daily Show host managed to hold it together fairly well:

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Detailing briefly why the Times kept mum on the journalists' whereabouts, Keller is careful to call out unsung heroes like New York Times' Assistant General Council David McCraw and war correspondent Chris Chivers who helped with the extrication. Keller did not mention in the memo the fate of the Times staff's driver -- Mohamed Shaglouf, whose whereabouts are still unknown -- though he later tweeted about it. Keller also connected the "real, boots-on-the-ground journalism" of Times reporters in dangerous places like Libya with the recently imposed paywall for online content.

Read the full memo:

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A lot of people say Ann Coulter is toxic. But we had no idea that she would take that literally. You would laugh at her if she wasn't making light of a terrible tragedy.

Watch Schultz's segment in full. Note Ann Coulter's glowing green head.

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Well, we've got some answers.

Zombie ants are actually kind of beautiful
In the Brazilian rain forest, entomologists discovered four new species of mind-altering fungi that turn ants in zombies. If the spores are ingested, the ants involuntarily trudge to a sunny leaf so the fungus can grow, take over the ant's body, and release spores for up to a year. Check out the ants in action below. (Wired Science)

Speaking of mind control, mosquitoes do it through sex
Male mosquito sperm evidently releases proteins that change the behavior of females. (After mating, females will mate less and eat less blood.) Scientists hope they can manipulate these proteins so that affected females wouldn't bite and spread diseases like Dengue fever. (io9)

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With the terrible earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan, the only good news is that anyone exposed to excess radiation from the nuclear power plants is now probably much less likely to get cancer.

Coulter cites a 10-year-old newspaper article and some studies by fringe scientists as proof to her theory. She goes on to compare radition -- which she says is "a sort of cancer vaccine" -- to "poisons" like zinc and magnesium found in multi-vitamins.

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Well, it's complicated.

Robots are routinely used in nuclear power plants both in Japan and in other less-cyborg inclined countries. It makes perfect sense as they can tirelessly perform dangerous tasks in radioactive environments. In fact, robots were developed to clean up the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters in the 1990s, and Japan has since developed even more sophisticated emergency worker models to clear land mines and clean up nuclear waste.

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Differing reports of the crisis have dominated the dialogue over the past few days. Nuclear scientists outside of Japan suggested that problems appeared much worse than the government and representatives of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported -- they warned of a disaster "worse than Chernobyl." But the Japanese officials continued to contradict suspicions with reports that things were under control. When an evacuation perimeter needed to be created, American experts called for a 50-mile radius. The Japanese authorities said 12.4 miles was sufficient. This morning, high levels of radiation were detected 18.6 miles from the plant.

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Bachmann's poorly fact-checked remarks left O'Donnell wondering not only who writes her speeches but also who elected her. Sparing no unkind words, O'Donnell suggests that Michele Bachmann's constituents are simply not that smart:

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For residents near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the threat of danger lingers as technicians struggle to keep the reactors under control. Authorities have instructed 140,000 residents near the plant to stay in their homes to avoid exposure and the process of decontamination is ongoing.

We've collected some of the most shocking images from Japan over the past few days in a slide show.

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It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem.

The discussion took place at a House Appropriations Committee meeting, and the only recognition to Peck's offensive jab at immigrants came from committee chair Rep. Marc Rhoades, R-Newton, who told Peck to refrain from making an "attempt at humor" that might be deemed inappropriate.

After taking criticism for the comment, Peck insisted further that he was kidding but that his constituents were extremely worried about the illegal immigration problem and the government response. As for the tone of the joke, Peck said, "I was just speaking like a southeast Kansas person."

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What better to start with than the First Amendment? Stephen's particularly interested in freedom of speech through arson:

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Japan's technological sophistication also meant that videos and photos shot and uploaded from mobile phones surfaced on the Internet almost immediately after the shaking stopped. We've collected some of the best photos both from photojournalists and citizen journalists.

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Watch live coverage on Japan's English-language news channel NHK here:

Live video by Ustream

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The most discussed strategy involves declaring and enforcing a no-fly zone in an effort to destroy Libya's anti-aircraft defenses. But no-fly zones are more complicated than they seem, both logistically and politically. Some warn that imposing one would be tantamount to an act of war and might draw the United States into a prolonged military engagement. Thus, the NATO allies refused to sign off on one for Libya.

So what now? Here are a few of the more compelling options now being circulated:

1. Create a no-fly zone without bombing

British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said this morning that a no-fly zone could be established without bombing Libya. Simply patrolling the skies and responding only to hostile attacks on NATO/U.N. coalition forces would provide a check on Libyan forces and potentially prevent further bombings of rebel forces, Fox argues.

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Last year, Obama lit the fuse for NASA's blastoff into the post-shuttle world with a renewed commitment to explore deep-space destinations (like Mars) and to create jobs in the process. With a $6 billion budget over the next five years -- on top of $50 million worth of NASA contracts awarded to commercial companies like Boeing -- we should expect great things. Here are some of the projects in the works:

Orion Spacecraft
First announced by President Bush in 2004 as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) for President Bush's Project Constellation, the Orion spacecraft will carry an astronaut back to the moon. Bush's original goal was for a 2015 lunar landing, but because of program reviews under the Obama administration, Orion is scheduled to make its first launch into Earth's orbit without passengers in 2014 -- a mission to the moon would likely happen five years later. Designed by Lockheed Martin for NASA, the spacecraft very much resembles the familiar Apollo spacecrafts that carried man to the moon nearly 50 years ago and can carry a crew of four astronauts.

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In an effort to make sense of yesterday's announcement that Guantanamo trials would resume, Stewart questions Obama's ability to keep his promises versus his tendency to cave to political pressure -- or simply to be hypocritical. After decrying the practice of holding prisoners without a trial due to lack of evidence, Obama announced that some prisoners might need to be kept at Guantanamo indefinity. His reason? There's a lack of evidence needed to take the cases to trial.

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