Balanced News Blog

The tiny Baltic republic of Estonia is breaking new ground in digital democracy. This week, the country nicknamed “e-Stonia” because of its tech-savvy population became the first country in the world to hold an election allowing voters nationwide to cast ballots over the Internet.

Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died suddenly early Saturday, possibly of cardiac arrest, the team said. He was 28.

The United States has offered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a deal to end his regime’s international isolation if it agrees to a list of concessions.

After battling intense hurricane seasons and plant-destroying citrus canker, Florida citrus growers now have another threat to deal with.

A series of clashes in the last year between American and Syrian troops, including a prolonged firefight this summer that killed several Syrians, has raised the prospect that cross-border military operations may become a dangerous new front in the Iraq war, according to current and former military and government officials.

Evidently “Star Trek” actor James “Scotty” Doohan took the catchphrase “beam me up” very seriously — his cremated remains are being launched into space this year in accord with his last wishes.