Portside

Chuck Hagel's Secretary of Defense senatorial hearing gets confusing when he is grilled on past Israel comments.

Scientists find that a tiny, furry-tailed creature was the earliest ancestor of placental mammals. For more, visit Morphobank.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio gets cotton mouth and ducks off camera during the biggest speech of his life.

How does the Super Bowl define what it means to be an American? These ads present dueling ideas and ideals.

By number of viewers, the Super Bowl is a cross section of America. From the faces in the ads, not always. The first video below challenges us to rethink who we are as a nation. It ran as a Super Bowl ad -- in a few select markets. The second video never ran as a Super Bowl ad, but it does fix some things that a Super Bowl ad that ran nationwide (third video) got wrong. See if you can spot the difference. And then help to spread this discussion by emailing, tweeting and sharing these videos, using the links below. -- video moderator  

"Aspiring Americans" is an ad that played during the 2013 Super Bowl on broadcast and cable television in a few select markets. 

We saw Dodge's "God Made A Farmer" ad and we thought it didn't reflect the whole picture. So we gave it a bit of a fix.

'Farmer' Super Bowl ad sponsored by Dodge.

Latino immigrants deserve the same benefits -- Social Security, Medicare, public education -- that all Americans are slowly losing.

Rachel Maddow notes that at John Brennan's confirmation hearing to head the CIA, Republicans asked him questions about leaks and releasing too much information and Democrats focusing on the CIA being more forthcoming with information.

The Union of Concerned Scientists says using less oil is practical, achievable, and benefits us all. Yet one powerful group is intent on blocking progress. Who’s standing in the way? See for yourself. For more information about how we can cut U.S. oil consumption in half in 20 years, go here.

Benh Zeitlin's BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD whisks you to a surreal realm, where little girls and mythical animals coexist in a bayou called The Bathtub, all intertwined in the cosmic mesh of the universe. Hushpuppy (stunning newcomer Quvenzhane Wallis) relentlessly explores her world for answers, to satisfy her curiosity, and to make her budding mark on a world she's only beginning to comprehend.  PG-13, 1 hr. 31 min. Directed by Benh Zeitlin. Written by Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin. Now in limited release. For show times and other information, go here and here.