The epicenter was 111 km (68 miles) East of Tokyo, Japan
No tsunami watch, warning or advisory is in effect. No reports of Damage as yet.
Welcome to Humanity's ...Final Performance...
The investor, famous for his £10bn bet against the Bank of England in 1992, made his "ultimate bubble" remark in January last year but acted to cut his holding only in the first quarter of this year.
Holding on has proved hugely profitable – in January 2010 gold was trading at about $1,100 an ounce, whereas the lowest price during the first three months of 2011 was more than $1,300. The highest was about $1,450.
It is not known exactly when Mr Soros sold his gold, which was held via the Soros Fund Management investment vehicle. Filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American regulator, showed that he had sold 99pc of his holding in SPDR Gold Trust, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by gold bullion, by the end of March.
The New York-based fund sold its entire holding in iShares Gold Trust, a similar investment. But Mr Soros bought shares in two mining companies, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and Goldcorp.
This may have been a smart move. "As the precious metals rally ends, you'll get transition toward related equities," James Dailey of Pennsylvania-based Team Financial Asset Management, told Bloomberg. "You don't see any speculative appetite for gold stocks yet." (read more)
The Courthouse News Service reported that 84-year-old Dorsey Henderson of Fairhope, Alabama called 911 after investigating the car accident and discovering that the driver of the vehicle was severely intoxicated.
Henderson told the driver of the car he was under citizens arrest and needed to wait near his car until police arrived.
When Officer Trent Scott arrived on the scene, Henderson attempted to inform him of the driver's belligerent behavior and that the driver had been placed under citizens arrest. The officer allegedly told Henderson there was "no such thing as citizen's arrest in Alabama," and to "get out of the way, old man."
After Henderson tried to explain that he was only trying to help, Officer Scott placed him in an arm bar and slammed him face first into the ground, breaking his nose and eyeglasses. Henderson's wife, Dorris, watched from a wheelchair at the front window of her house, telling a 911 dispatcher that the officer was "beating the hell out of my husband."
At no point did Scott place Henderson under arrest or charge him with any crime, but kept Henderson handcuffed in the backseat of his police cruiser.
Roughly ten minutes later, Scott sent an ambulance that had arrived away, telling the paramedics that the elderly man "doesn't need an ambulance."
A superior office who later arrived on the scene ordered the ambulance to return and Henderson was taken to the hospital, where he doctors said he suffered a broken nose, multiple contusions and a torn rotator cuff.As of May 16, 2011, Scott was still employed by the Fairhope Police Department. (Source)
"Western countries have designed plans to cause drought in certain areas of the world, including Iran," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in the central city of Arak in Markazi province.
"According to reports on climate, whose accuracy has been verified, European countries are using special equipment to force clouds to dump" their water on their continent, he said.
By doing so, "they prevent rain clouds from reaching regional countries, including Iran," Ahmadinejad charged.
Iran has experienced several droughts in recent years.
Ahmadinejad also recalled, according to IRNA, an article by "a Western politician", whom he did not identify, in which "droughts in some regions spanning from Turkey and Iran to east of Asia are predicted for the next 30 years."
"The regions (referred to in) the article... include countries whose culture and civilisation frighten the West," Ahmadinejad said in support of his argument. (read more)
Alex Jones addresses the latest revelations about the phony document presented by the Obama White House as proof of his eligibility for high office.
Author Jerome Corsi has now become the target of White House dirty tricks coinciding with the release of his new book, ‘Where is the Birth Certificate?‘ Corsi has not backed down, but rather renewed his charges, asserting that the long-form birth certificate just released by Obama is a composite forgery made up of several real birth certificates. He has stated his intent to validate these claims in coming media interviews, including a scheduled appearance on the Alex Jones Show this Friday, May 20, 2011.
Pro-Obama factions have panicked, using a deceptive “satire” piece published in Esquire under the title “BREAKING: Jerome Corsi’s Birther Book Pulled from Shelves!” in attempt to sabotage Corsi’s books sales and public support. Simultaneously, Obama’s re-election campaign is trying to score 2012 points by mocking “birthers” with a new campaign shirt that reads “Made in America” with Obama’s image and his purported birth certificate.
But why would the White House even care about best-selling authors like Jerome Corsi (notoriously behind the John Kerry Swift Boat book) or fringe “birthers” if the released document gives all necessary proof to silence the doubters? As the Latin phrase res ipsa loquitur indicates, the thing should speak for itself. In other words, the truth lies in the evidence not the pitch for the case. (Source)
But seven years after construction workers broke ground on the arid plateau, most of the apartments appear empty and the wide streets are almost deserted -- earning Kangbashi the tag of "ghost city".
The new section of Ordos city on the edge of the Gobi desert was designed to accommodate about 300,000 people but residents say fewer than one-tenth of that number live in Kangbashi. Estate agents insist the number is much higher.
New districts like Kangbashi are springing up across China as the world's second-largest economy undergoes an unprecedented urbanisation process with hundreds of millions of people heading to fast-growing metropolitan areas.
Ordos is part of a nationwide building boom that has been fuelled by a massive credit binge, raising fears of a real estate bubble and a potential explosion in bad debts, especially among local government investment vehicles.
In the northern port city of Tianjin, the government is building an "eco city" covering 30 square kilometres (11.6 square miles) of non-arable salt pans and former fishing villages that can accommodate 350,000 people.
Near the southwestern city of Kunming, authorities started developing a new district for nearly one million people in 2003 but the area is reportedly still largely empty.
"These sorts of towns raise the question -- does the government have some amazing vision for filling these cities... or are they just great white elephants that are wasting public funds?" Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and compiler of the Hurun rich list, told AFP. (read more)
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims dropping to 420,000. The prior weeks figure was revised up to 438,000 from the previously reported 434,000.
The four-week moving average of unemployment claims, a better measure of underlying trends, rose 1,250 to 439,000 - the highest level since mid-November.
The data covers the survey period for the governments closely watched employment report for May, which will be released early next month.
The recent jump in claims, blamed on auto layoffs because of supply chain disruptions from March's Japanese earthquake and problems with adjusting data for seasonal variations, had raised fears of a pull back in the pace of job creation. (read more)
Marie Lauradin (lah-hahr-DAHN') pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree assault by pouring the liquid on her then-6-year-old daughter at their Queens home in 2009.
Prosecutors say Lauradin poured the accelerant on her daughter's head and in a circle on the floor as part of a voodoo practice involving a loa, or spirit.
Prosecutors say the judge indicated he would sentence her to 17 years in prison. She also faces possible deportation back to her native Haiti.
Defense attorney Jeff Cohen says his client admitted that her actions were reckless, but he would not comment on her motives. (read more)
"We," as in, his hedge fund.
It may seem a little odd that in 2011 anyone's thinking of putting money into assets that would have seemed attractive in 1911, but there's something in the air-namely, fear. The hedge fund manager and others like him envision a doomsday scenario catalyzed by a weak dollar, higher-than-you-think inflation and an uncertain political climate here and abroad.
The pattern began to emerge sometime in 2008. "The Hedge Fund Manager Who Bought a Farm," read the headline on one February 2008 Times of London piece detailing a British hedge fund manager's attempt to play off the rising prices of grains in order to usurp local farmland. A Financial Times piece two months later began: "Hedge funds and investment banks are swapping their Gucci for gumboots." It detailed BlackRock's then-relatively new $420 million Agriculture Fund, which had already swept up 2,800 acres of land. (read more)
A loosely organized Christian movement has spread the word around the globe that Jesus Christ will return to earth on Saturday to gather the faithful into heaven. While the Christian mainstream isn't buying it, many other skeptics are milking it.
A Facebook page titled "Post rapture looting" offers this invitation: "When everyone is gone and god's not looking, we need to pick up some sweet stereo equipment and maybe some new furniture for the mansion we're going to squat in." By Wednesday afternoon, more than 175,000 people indicated they would be "attending" the "public event."
The prediction is also being mocked in the comic strip "Doonesbury" and has inspired "Rapture parties" to celebrate what hosts expect will be the failure of the world to come to an end.
In the Army town of Fayetteville, N.C., the local chapter of the American Humanist Association has turned the event into a two-day extravaganza, with a Saturday night party followed by a day-after concert. (read more)
A rare whistleblower in Russia's expansive security forces, ex-Major Igor Matveyev said officers tried to cover up the scandal and other alleged wrongdoing at the Interior Ministry troops base where he served in the far east city of Vladivostok.
Matveyev, who served in Russia's wars against Chechen separatists in the 1990s, said he was ordered dismissed after posting a video on the Internet this month alleging widespread corruption in the Interior Ministry forces.
No one at the ministry's troop unit was immediately available to comment on his allegations.
"It's embarrassing to say but soldiers here were fed dog food. It was fed to them as stew," Matveyev said in an interview with Reuters, adding that dog food labels were covered up with labels reading 'premium quality beef'.
He said he would contest a dismissal order issued by a superior after he posted the nearly 10-minute video, in which he asked President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to intervene.
"It took me a month to determine through various reports exactly what was happening," he said by phone from Vladivostok, some 6,400 km (4,000 miles) east of Moscow. (read more)
Here's the quiz. Choose "A" or "B" as the answer for each question, then check your score below.
The Sheeple Quiz
#1) The purpose of the mainstream media is to:
A) Keep you informed.
B) Feed you misinformation while keeping you distracted from the real issues our world is facing.
#2) Social Security is:
A) A financial safety net that makes sure people have a retirement income.
B) A government-run Ponzi scheme that requires more and more people to keep paying in just to stay afloat and will ultimately collapse into total bankruptcy.
#3) The fluoride dripped into municipal water supplies is:
A) A naturally-occurring mineral.
B) An industrial chemical waste byproduct.
|
#4) When you donate money to find the cure for cancer, that money goes:
A) To fund research programs that assess actual cancer cures for the purpose of freely sharing them with the public.
B) To fund mammogram campaigns that actually irradiate women's breasts, causing the very cancers that earn huge profits for the cancer treatment industry.
#5) The national debt is:
A) Under control and will be paid off in a few years.
B) Out of control and will spiral into a runaway debt collapse.
(Rest of the quiz is here)
The Elite will never take responsibility for their actions, like true Psychopaths. They will instead blame everyone else in the world for their/our problems. Ultimately, I believe that they will blame China for the collapse of the American Dollar. They could pull a economic false flag and blame China for a crash in the bond market. They could pull a military false flag by sinking an Aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Some way, some how, the Elite are going to make a move to turn the tides for global power back to the West.
China has been very wise not to directly confront the West. China has a very bad history of nations raping China for all of their wealth like the Opium Wars and the Rape of Nanking. China has instead chose to move slowly and surely to ensure victory without firing a single shot. This is the land of Sun Tzu after all. They have accumulated massive dollar reserves, copied our technology and manufacturing. With the opening of the new Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange they are taking the next major step of cutting into the heart of the Anglo American Empire, the dollar stranglehold on the world’s commodities. This will not sit well with the Western Elite and will not go unchallenged. (read more)
Lorna Lambden, 27, was found by her boyfriend on 17 December last year in her home in Harpenden with Breakfast at Tiffany’s - her favourite film - playing in the background and an empty wine glass by her side.
It is believed she had been dead for about two days, Hertfordshire Coroners Court heard.
She is believed to have over-dosed on Amitryptyline, an anti-depressant drug she is thought to have bought over the internet, to help her sleep.
The paramedic had 'found her vocation' in the last few years with the LAS and loved ‘dashing across London to someone’s assistance’, her father Roy said.
In a statement read out to the court, he also describes her as someone who would go ‘full pelt’ into everything and ‘smiled at everyone she encountered'.
She had been studying for a Masters degree at the University of Hertfordshire and on the 15th - the last day of term - had had coffee with friends.
On the same day, she had also received some tickets for a skiing trip and had posted on her Facebook profile: ‘Snow, goodie, snow yippee.’ Read More
Devious Malcolm Webster, 52, murdered Claire Morris, 32, in a car crash in 1994 and then fraudulently claimed more than £200,000 from policies following her death.
He then tried to kill his second wife Felicity Drumm, 50, in New Zealand in February 1999 in a bid to claim more than £750,000.
He also tried to fleece several women out of their estates.
Webster, from Guildford in Surrey, killed his first wife when he drugged her, staged a car crash and then torched the car she was in.
At the crash scene, in Aberdeenshire in May 1994, Webster coldly told people who stopped to help that no one was inside the burning Daihatsu 4x4 vehicle.
He cashed in the insurance policy and splashed out on a Range Rover and yacht following her death.
Webster, who went on trial on February 1, initially told police in 1994 that he swerved to avoid a motorcyclist and crashed.
But after the investigation into Ms Morris's death was re-opened in 2008, forensic tests on a tissue sample from her liver revealed she had been given a sedative.
Experts also said the crash would have been at low speed as Ms Morris's body had not moved in her seat.
Five years later Webster tried to kill his second wife, Felicity Drumm, in New Zealand. He thought it would lead to a £750,000 insurance payout. Read More
The dark, Jupiter-like worlds are isolated and far from any host star.
Scientists believe they may have been ejected from developing planetary systems.
An international team of astronomers made the discovery from observations of the central 'bulge' of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
They found evidence of what appear to be ten free-floating planets with roughly the mass of Jupiter.
Dr David Bennett, from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said: 'Our results suggest that planetary systems often become unstable, with planets being kicked out from their places of birth by close encounters with other planets.'
The findings, published in the journal Nature, not only confirm that 'lonely planets' exist, but also that they are quite common.
Since they are very hard to spot, the discovery of ten at one time suggests they could be as common as those like Earth which orbit a host star. Read More
A staff member at Association Waste Management, in Bradford, made the gruesome discovery at the firm's Valley Road site at 2.30am this morning.
West Yorkshire Police is now desperate to track down the mother.
Detective Superintendent Sukhbir Singh told a news conference in Leeds: 'I am genuinely concerned for the safety and welfare of the mother. My overriding priority is for her safety."
A force spokesman had earlier confirmed that the baby, who it is believed was born recently, was already dead when officers arrived at the scene.
He said: 'An investigation is under way to identify the child and the circumstances surrounding the discovery of her body.
'We have serious concerns for the health and welfare of the mother.
'We ask her or anyone who may have information to contact the police as soon as possible.'
A post-mortem examination will be conducted later today to determine the cause of baby's death.
Parts of the site at Association Waste Management, which is between Bradford and Shipley, remained sealed off today.
Police officers were on guard outside the premises. Source
Amanda Holt, 16, and Tori Duxbury, 15, who led a ladette gang called the Whitebirk Witches, harassed families and provoked brawls of up to 30 people.
But now the pair, and other troublemakers who all have Asbos, are being sent on a number diversionary activities, including trips to the cinema, bowling alley, playing in football matches and even going on a canal boat.
Police and local officials defended the move as it also emerged the gang are being allowed to congregate at a local community centre, despite their Asbos..
Holt and Duxbury have been ordered to attend a programme designed to reform yobs. The teenage tearaways are banned from being in public together, but Asbo rules do not apply at the community centre in Blackburn, Lancashire, where it is being held.
But neighbours say the centre has become a hotspot for trouble. Police have been repeatedly called to the centre as the girls, along with Asbo brothers Paul and David Stafford, have become the ringleaders of a group involved in stone-throwing, intimidation and nuisance. Read More
The unidentified 58-year-old taxi driver was found in an abandoned stone quarry on Sunday in Mungyong wearing only his underwear.
Police found the man with a wound on the side of his torso and nylon strings tied around his neck, arms and stomach.
Officers believe the man, whose surname is Kim, killed himself without assistance by nailing his feet to the cross, tying his neck to it and stabbing himself in the side.
He is then thought to have drilled holes in his hands and slipped them over nails on the cross.
The site where he was found is around 115 miles south-east of Seoul.
Officials simulated some elements of the crucifixion and concluded that an adult male could perform the act on his own, according to Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency.
There were also allegedly two smaller crosses erected on each side of the cross he was nailed to, as well as a propped-up mirror nearby so the man could witness his own suffering.
Also found were nails, a hammer, an electric drill, pieces of wood and instructions on how to build crosses inside a tent near the scene.
Police speculated the man was a devout Christian and that his 'deep religious faith' may have helped him endure 'immense pain.'
An autopsy showed the man died of bleeding from the stab wound and suffocation, police said.
Popular representations of the death of Jesus Christ depict him crucified between the crosses of two thieves, wearing a crown of thorns, a white cloth over his loins, with a wound on his side from a Roman soldier's spear. Source
CFA operations officer Arthur Haynes said the 20 metre by 40 metre fire at TriTech Lubricants started about 8pm and had threatened nearby factories.
About 20 fire trucks were at the scene, along with air support, as flames destroyed the Williams Road factory.
Mr Haynes said fire authorities had been trying to contain the blaze, but faced a problem over when to extinguish it. The huge fuel load meant attempting to douse the flames in foam could prove unsuccessful.
No injuries had been reported. Residents in surrounding suburbs were told to stay indoors.
The cause of the fire had not been determined last night.
Mr Haynes said the fire had ruptured several 50,000 litre tanks of oil. An MFB spokesman said support had been provided to the CFA. Source
Banning the use of wild animals in circuses could be in breach of the Human Rights Act, a junior minister claimed today.
To howls of laughter from the Labour benches, environment minister Jim Paice said a case was being prepared by the European Circuses Association against the Austrian government after it banned the use of performing animals.
He said an earlier statement that the case was already moving through the courts was inaccurate but his clarification did not change the Government's legal position on any ban.
Mr Paice said: 'The very strong legal advice which we have received, and which is consistent with the case being prepared against Austria, is that a total ban on wild animals in circuses might well be seen as disproportionate action under the European Union Services Directive and under our own Human Rights Act.'
Mr Paice added: 'To have pursued a ban in light of that legal advice we believe would have been irresponsible.'
But shadow environment secretary Mary Creagh said 'the big top was spinning out of control' at the Environment Department as ministers did not seem to know whether there was currently a legal challenge.
She challenged the Government to place the legal advice it had received in the Commons library so it could be scrutinised by MPs.
'On the legal cases that don't exist and hiding behind human rights legislation, it is this department which is pathetic,' she said. Read More
Health experts said a recent spike in STDs in America may be due to users letting their guards down before meeting someone in person.
They also said online social networking can make it easier to move on to multiple partners before learning about their sexual history.
According to Florida's Seminole County Health Department (SCHD), there has been a 200 per cent rise in Syphilis cases within the last year.
Chlamydia, experts say, is also the rise, with three to four million new cases occurring each year.
Comparatively, 50 per cent of all Americans are expected to contract Human Papillomavirus (HPV) at some point in their lives.
One in six Americans, or 16 per cent, have herpes. Ninety per cent, however, are unaware they have it.
Health officials said they are seeing patients ages 14 to 24 most often. Read More
Remarkably he had taken the animal into a pub for a drink and, after being told to leave, took it back 24 hours later only to be turned again.
And when he tried to go with the animal see a doctor in an Accident and Emergency department he was again asked to get out - despite protesting that it was 'sick'.
Today RSPCA officials confirmed they had launched an investigation after being shown the bizarre images.
Retired teacher George Cawley, 62, said he was amazed when the man led his pony into the crowded bar in Wrexham, North Wales.
Mr Cawley said: 'It was a crazy scene which caused uproar among customers. I was there with my wife and this guy just walked in with his pony in a very matter of fact way.
'But I must say the pony seemed relaxed and undistracted. Perhaps it is used to going into strange places.'
Pub staff at the Elihu Yale bar in Wrexham asked the man - and pony - to get out.
A spokesman for Weatherspoon's said: 'On Friday the man did come into the pub while staff were serving other customers. Initially they were taken aback by seeing a horse but after about 20 seconds they told him to leave.
'On Saturday he tried to come in again with the horse but was stopped at the door. He was told he could not come in which he accepted.'
But it was later seen tied up outside another pub in the town centre on its tour in Wrexham.
The horse was taken into the A&E department where the man had asked for treatment for the animal from doctor. Read More
Deyan Deyanov was in Britain visiting relatives when he was admitted to the Glan Clwyd Hospital's Ablett Psychiatric Unit in North Wales.
The Bulgarian was receiving treatment after concerned relatives told authorities about his drug-taking and deteriorating behaviour.
But he was released in October last year after being monitored constantly.
News of his release came as two of his ex-girlfriends spoke about how they had feared for their lives and a security guard said he had been smashed in the face by Deyanov.
Labour MP Steve McCabe told the Sun newspaper: 'There must be an urgent inquiry to find how someone in psychiatric care can be released, travel abroad and carry out such a crime.'
One of his Deyanov's ex-girlfriends, 22-year-old Rachel Sharpe, from Canterbury, said: 'He told me he wanted to kill someone to see what it would be like, to cut someone up.
'He thought he was the Messiah. I told him he wasn't God and he was so angry, I thought he was going to kill me.' Read More
Ben Heney, 23, sneaked up to the 22-year-old victim and grabbed her mobile phone after he spotted her as she lay in the road with fatal multiple injuries.
As she was rushed to hospital, Heney sold the Samsung phone on the black market for just £20.
The woman, who has not been named, later died from her injuries.
Today, just 24 hours after the callous raid, Heney, of Fulton Court, Hulme, Manchester, admitted theft and was jailed for 12 weeks.
Manchester magistrates were told the incident occurred at 12.45am on Wednesday May 18 after the woman fell from the car park at the back of Chorlton Street coach station in Manchester city centre.
Police were called to the scene but before they arrived Heney went up to the woman as she was being helped by another member of the public. He grabbed the phone but was spotted by CCTV operators and his description was circulated to police.
He was arrested in the same area at about 4pm that day. The phone, with a dark purple touch screen, has not been recovered. Police are now trying to find the device so the woman's family can call her friends to tell them about the tragedy.
The woman's death is not being treated as suspicious and the case has been passed onto a coroner. Read More
This is getting (more) ridiculous. Not even two days after Sony restored its embattled PlayStation Network for most users worldwide, cyber criminals have once again launched an attack, this time going after the PSN’s password reset system. In order for users to reconnect to the PSN, they were required to reset their passwords. You know, for security reasons…
News of this third, most recent attack were originally reported on Nyleveia.com, which warned PSN users that “accounts are still not safe.”
“I want to make this clear to ALL PSN users. Despite the methods currently employed to force a password change when you first reconnect to the PlayStation network, your accounts still remain unsafe,” writes Nyleveia. “A new hack is currently doing the rounds in dark corners of the internet that allows the attacker the ability to change your password using only your account’s email and date of birth. It has been proven to me through direct demonstration on a test account, so I am without any shadow of a doubt that this is real.”
Following the Nyleveia post there was, in fact, some doubt that this was real. But further tests by Eurogamer proved that the breach was real, which caused prompt action from Sony. In response, the company has blocked PSN login access to a number of its site, and the PSN password reset site has also been taken offline.
Sony responded to the new attack, saying: “Unfortunately this also means that those who are still trying to change their password via Playstation.com or Qriocity.com will be unable to do so for the time being. (read more)
Top leaders say the project has led to environmental problems and issues involving relocating 1.3m people.
The Three Gorges is the world's largest dam and could have cost up to $40bn. This appears to be the first time that central government leaders have admitted to problems with the project.
The admission came in a statement from top government body, the State Council.
The statement initially praised the scheme's achievements, saying it had helped alleviate flooding, improve navigation and generate electricity.
But it went on: "There are urgent problems that need to be addressed, such as stabilising and improving living conditions for relocated people, protecting the environment, and preventing geological disasters." (read more)
Fang Binxing was lecturing at Wuhan University, Hubei province, when the alleged protest took place.
Reports of the attack spread quickly on Twitter after a user named Hanunyi posted his account of the incident.
Mr Fang is reviled by many Chinese web users for overseeing development of China's system of internet censorship.
The computer scientist, who is Principal of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, has been dubbed the Father of the Great Firewall.
An officer at Luojiashan Public Security Bureau confirmed police were investigating the alleged attack, AP news agency reported."The egg missed the target. The first shoe hit the target. The second shoe was blocked by a man and a woman," he tweeted. (read more)
At a time they are already under stress, deer, bear, turkeys and other animals don't need any interference from humans, wildlife officials said Tuesday.
Across woodlands near the Mississippi and other large rivers, wildlife is on the move. Louisiana has reported deer drownings and Mississippi officials are worried about a spike in deer-vehicle collisions.
Much of the focus is on the Atchafalaya Basin in south-central Louisiana. Over the weekend, the Morganza Spillway was opened, easing the crisis in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but ensuring millions of gallons of water will flood communities in the basin.
Four black bears have been seen on the move in the Morganza area, said Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for the governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. "We've received lots of wildlife sightings." (read more)
“The old view is that cancer is a linear process,” said Dr. Barnett Kramer, associate director for disease prevention at the National Institutes of Health. “A cell acquired a mutation, and little by little it acquired more and more mutations. Mutations are not supposed to revert spontaneously.”
So, Dr. Kramer said, the image was “an arrow that moved in one direction.” But now, he added, it is becoming increasingly clear that cancers require more than mutations to progress. They need the cooperation of surrounding cells and even, he said, “the whole organism, the person,” whose immune system or hormone levels, for example, can squelch or fuel a tumor.
Cancer, Dr. Kramer said, is a dynamic process.
It was a view that was hard for some cancer doctors and researchers to accept. But some of the skeptics have changed their minds and decided that, contrary as it seems to everything they had thought, cancers can disappear on their own.
“At the end of the day, I’m not sure how certain I am about this, but I do believe it,” said Dr. Robert M. Kaplan, the chairman of the department of health services at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, adding, “The weight of the evidence suggests that there is reason to believe.” (read more)
While both incidents happened in the same area -- around the Katrina Reef near Deer Island, just off the Mississippi coast from Ocean Springs -- it was unclear whether the same manatee was hooked twice.
Manatees often travel in groups, and often stay in an area for days or weeks at a time, if conditions are favorable.
Ruth Carmichael, a senior marine scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and director of the Manatee Sighting Network, said the new reports suggest that manatees are arriving in the northern Gulf much earlier than in years past.
"Something is going on that we do not fully understand, perhaps due to early warmer temperatures and the greater freshwater inputs," Carmichael said. "We are definitely looking at evidence of more animals further west earlier in the year this year."
Carmichael also said that a manatee fitted with a satellite tag after being captured in Dog River last year returned to Mobile Bay last month. Named Zewie, the animal migrated to Florida's Crystal River for the winter, stopped briefly in Mobile Bay in April and has now headed west into Louisiana.
The public can follow the travels of Zewie and other manatees tagged in Mobile Bay during the last three years on the Sighting Network's website at http://manatee.disl.org.
It remains unclear whether any manatees were affected by the oil spill, though Carmichael said she has seen no evidence of direct impacts thus far.
A record number of dead manatees were found in Alabama waters this past winter, all believed to have waited too late to begin migrating to the warmer waters of central Florida. Read More
Thick black smoke has been billowing from the site of the blaze in the Byker area of the city.
Eight fire engines have been sent to the scene, as authorities labelled the inferno a "critical incident".
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "Local businesses and residents are being advised to stay indoors and keep windows and doors closed as a precaution because of the thick smoke."
Leighton Street and Byker Bank between Northumberland Terrace and Ouseburn Road, east of the city centre, are currently closed.
The Boeing 707 tanker plane was taking off from Point Mugu Naval Air Station in Southern California, just north of Los Angeles according to a spokesman.
Thick black smoke and flames were seen pouring from the aircraft after it slid off the runway at about 5.25pm, local time.
All three people on board, civilian employees, escaped with minor injuries, air station spokesman Terry Reid confirmed.
He said the plane was operated by Omega Aerial Refuelling Services which contracts with the Navy to provide fleet operations support and fuel transport services.
A helicopter dumped several loads of water on the fire with little effect while firefighters on the ground appeared to be letting the fire burn but were dousing the area around the tanker.
The stricken plane came to a rest within a few hundred feet of the Pacific Ocean, but Reid said none of the fuel went into the ocean.
It is not known where the tanker was flying to at the time of the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the cause of the crash.
Omega president Stewart Orr declined to comment. Read More
The 12-minute message was released as a video but only contains an audio track and a picture of the Al Qaeda leader who was killed earlier this month.
It is likely to have been filmed at the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where bin Laden was living with members of his family.
He was traced there by the US after they discovered the name of one of his courier's and most trusted aides from Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Navy SEALS launched a daring raid on the compound on May 2, flying there in helicopters without even seeking Pakistan's permission.
Bin Laden was shot in the head and chest and killed. Within 24 hours his body had been buried at sea to avoid his grave becoming a shrine for terrorists.
In the tape, he said: 'I think that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world, with permission from Allah.
'Let the truth ring out. Remember those that go out with a sword are true believers, those that go fight with their tongue are true believers, and those that fight in their hearts are true believers.'
He claimed 'the sun of the revolution has risen from the Maghreb'. 'The light of the revolution came from Tunisia. It has given the nation tranquility and made the faces of the people happy.' Read More
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Gwinnett County is under a “Rabies Alert” after a two animals believed to be rabit bit a teenager and a 4-year-old boy. The attacks happened at neighboring apartment complexes in Lawrenceville.
A 15-year-old girl was bitten at the Alexander Mill Apartments by a fox authorities believe could be rabid. That fox, which the teens taped, disappeared and officials are still looking for it.
Animal control officials were able to get catch up with a canine which bit a 4-year-old at the neighboring Magnolia Apartments after the father held it down until officers could arrive.
Officials say wild animals usually do not attack unless provoked. Anyone who sees an wild animal acting strange should call their local animal control office. Source
Gwinnett County under "Rabies Alert": MyFoxATLANTA.com
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