Teen pregnancy is up in 26 states, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón announced an economic recovery plan that includes freezing gasoline prices for the rest of the year and increasing funding for the country's social security program.

Listen to a three-part series about the impact of the drug trade in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, just opposite El Paso, Texas.

President-elect Barack Obama is asking Congress to delay the scheduled February digital TV transition due to a shortage of discount coupons for digital TV converter boxes.

The Princeton Review presents its 100 "Best Value" colleges for 2009.

Mosquitos sing to get laid.

Shakira has tapped Calle 13 for a guest slot on her forthcoming album.

A Mexican man believed to be the leader of a kidnapping gang was apprehended by Tijuana police – after he was kidnapped.

The Florida Gators became college football's national champs by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 24 to 14 in the FedEx BCS National Championship Game. Not everyone is celebrating: Utah's attorney general is suing the BCS for antitrust violations after the University of Utah's undefeated football team was not given a title shot.

50 Cent says he's still the "life of the party" in a leaked single, "I Get It In," produced by Dr. Dre.

Newsweek's The Audacity Of Dope describes the dangerous and alluring effect of "narcoculture" on Mexican women.

Masked gunmen attacked a Televisa TV affiliate in Monterrey, México during a live newscast, leaving a note that read: "Stop just reporting on us, report on political leaders involved with drugs."

Kittens hate waking up early, just like humans. (via Buzzfeed)

Fall Out Boy bassist and frontman Pete Wentz: "It's semi-frustrating when your name actually becomes a synonym for douche bag."

Car sales in the U.S. fell by three million units last year, the biggest drop since an oil embargo led to higher gas prices in the mid-'70s.

An estimated 50 people remain missing in Guatemala after authorities called off a search for victims of a landslide that killed at least 35 people last week.

Moisés Arellanes Fausto of Montéz De Durango is in stable condition after being shot in the head by unknown assailants in Durango. (via People en Español) Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly named Mexico City as the location of the attack.

Apple has announced iTunes will cut the prices of some songs and remove copy protection (which prevents songs from being copied or moved to different devices) from all of its music. For an extra 30 cents, users can remove copy protection from each of their previously purchased songs.

Watch Lil Wayne rock his reading glasses in a sports debate with ESPN's Skip Bayless.

Barack Obama is reportedly considering CNN and CBS medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta for Surgeon General.

Jay-Z + Radiohead = Jaydiohead. (via Daily Swarm)

Cuba has opened access to an electronic archive of photographs, letters and manuscripts by writer Ernest Hemingway, who lived on the island for 20 years.

Listen to the official version of "Crack a Bottle," Eminem's new single featuring Dr. Dre and 50 Cent.

President Bush has designated three Pacific island areas (a total of 195,280 square miles) as national monuments to protect them from commercial fishing, calling it the "largest area of protected sea in the world." (via Foreign Policy)

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson held a press conference to announce he will step down as Barack Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary: "While this decision was a difficult one, I think it was the right thing to do." Richardson is currently under investigation for awarding a lucrative contract to one of his largest campaign donors.

President-elect Barack Obama is discussing $300 billion in tax cuts as a part of a $675 to $775 billion economic relief package. Some analysts view the move as an effort to preempt Republican opposition.

At least 33 people in are dead and over 100 people are missing in Guatemala after a mile-wide landslide hit the Central American country. San Cristobal Verapaz Mayor Leopoldo Ical: "The landslide is so big, we don't have much hope of recovering many more bodies."

Check out The Boston Globe's sobering photo gallery of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Puerto Rico's new governor, Luis Fortuno, is facing a recession, a one billion-dollar deficit and a surging murder rate.

Is Lupe Fiasco rocking a fake British accent so he can front a rock band named Japanese Cartoon? According to the band's MySpace blog, "Lupe does finance the band but is NOT I REPEAT NOT THE SINGER IN JAPANESE CARTOON."

Latinas are more likely to avoid doctors and use risky methods to induce abortions, including mixing prescription drugs and throwing themselves down stairs, according to two studies in a New York Times report.

Cuban President Raul Castro says he's ready to hold direct talks with Barack Obama: "But we are in no rush, we are not desperate."

The U.K.'s Independent profiles the "Internet's most popular and enduring pirate," aXXo, who has posted an estimated 1,000 pirated movies on the web.

Album sales in the U.S. dropped by 14 percent in 2008, but music sales (including music videos and ringtones) made record companies a total of $1.5 billion, compared to $1.36 billion in 2007.

Harry Potter, Wolverine and Terminator: Salvation are among Entertainment Weekly's 12 Big Movies Coming In 2009. (via digg)

Shikito the Turd Toy is exactly what it sounds like. (via Neatorama)

Re-imagined video game classics like Wolfenstein, Splatterhouse, Bionic Commando make up some of 1UP magazine's 25 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2009.

Three out of four Americans believe Barack Obama is a "strong and decisive leader," the highest number since Ronald Reagan was elected in 1981, according to a CNN poll.

Video game consoles in the U.S. use enough energy to power the city of San Diego (pop. 1,300,000) for a year.

Rolling Stone profiles two real-life superheroes Master Legend and his sidekick, Ace.

Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's writing a book to "set the record straight" about his work in the Bush administration: "For some reason, I am portrayed as the one who is evil in formulating policies that people disagree with."

Actor Joaquin Phoenix is freaking Diddy out.

Virginia rapper Skillz presents his highly-anticipated 2008 Rap Up.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. Former President Fidel Castro will not attend a scheduled ceremony due to an illness.

"Change," "bailout," and "meltdown" are among MSNBC's Words of the Year.

2008's Greatest Sports Moments. For Haters.

Humans traveling at the speed of light? Cracked magazine presents The 8 Most Misguided Sci-Fi Versions Of 2008.

There's a "Y2K9" crisis for Zune players. Across the world, most of the 30GB models have frozen, or "bricked." According to Microsoft's Zune site, they are "aware of the problem and are working to correct it."

Veteran guitarist Joe Satriani, who is suing Coldplay for plagiarism, just may have a case.

A rep for Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony is denying rumors that the couple is on the verge of divorce.

Soulja Boy says Nas "killed hip hop."

Barack Obama and his family will move to Washington, D.C. this weekend so the President-elect's daughters can begin school on time.

Former arch-enemies Arcángel and Randy (of Jowell y Randy) have patched things up and will record a song together.

Lil Wayne is slippin'. Literally. (via Nah Right)

Can Latinos use the N-word?

Listen to United State of Pop 2008, a mash-up of this year's 25 most popular singles.

The Los Angeles Times profiles the Mexican state of Sinaloa, a hub of drug activity where "kids want to grow up to be traffickers."

Beyonce drops another black and white video, "Diva," and another, new video, "Halo," featuring actor Michael Ealy.

A Japanese man who was living in Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport for nearly four months abruptly returned to Japan.

Police in Peru have arrested nine people in connection with a Christmas day tear gas attack in a overcrowded nightclub which left five dead and seven injured.

The New York Times probes the collapse of Washington Mutual and finds instances of predatory lending that may have targeted Latinos.

Cuban officials say the country is suffering its worst economic downturn since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Mexican authorities are investigating one of President Felipe Calderón's guards for allegedly selling information regarding the whereabouts of Calderón to a drug cartel.

Check out a 13-year-old drummer named Sara play YYZ by prog-rock legends Rush. (via Buzzfeed)

CIA agents in Afghanistan revealed they are gathering information by paying Afghan warlords, who often have multiple wives, with viagra.