THURSDAY NEWS:
* Good read: A new need for cultural diplomacy.
* Riots in Oakland over a killing by the police.
* The National Mall in DC is sorely in need of repairs.
* Marc Lynch on the problems with the 'three-state solution' on Palestinian governance.
* Neat. The National Portrait Gallery picks up Shepard Fairey's famous Obama art.
* Whoah! The science of levitation.
* "It looks like the black holes came first... The evidence is piling up."
* Ooh. Uncovering the mummy of Queen Seshestet.
* The AV Club interviews Steven Soderbergh.