Mammoths to Return? DNA Advances Spur Resurrection Debate

Today the only place to see woolly mammoths and people side-by-side is on The Flintstones or in the movies.

But researchers are on the verge of piecing together complete genomes of long-dead species such as Neandertals and mammoths.

So now the big question is, Will we soon be able to bring such extinct species back to life?

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Elizabeth Edwards Spells Out For Wolf What's Wrong With Ann Coulter

Elizabeth Edwards explained Coulter to Wolf.

Congress letter to Bush: Close Guantanamo

WASHINGTON — A group of 145 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to President Bush on Friday urging him to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and move the detainees there to military prisons in the United States.

"The closure of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay would represent a positive first step toward restoring our international reputation as the leader of democracy and individual rights," the letter said.

The House members, all but one Democrats, also called for restoring Guantanamo prisoners' right to challenge their detention in court. "This will allow for the implementation of fair and transparent trials to bring enemies of our country to justice," they wrote. The lone Republican was Rep. Walter B. Jones of North Carolina.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review whether the detainees should be able to go to federal court to challenge their confinement.

The White House has been considering closing the prison at Guantanamo and transferring the detainees. About 375 prisoners are held at the facility, and many of them have been there for more than five years. Few have been charged with crimes. Most are held because they've been determined to be a security threat to the United States.

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Two stage hands die after Rolling Stones Spain gig

Two workers died on Friday after part of the set from a Rolling Stones concert collapsed on top of them as they were dismantling it, emergency services said.

A third man was seriously injured after four people fell from a 10-metre (33 ft) structure that gave way as the team helped take it down after Thursday night's concert in Madrid.

Identities of the victims were not given, but about half the workers dismantling the set were English-speaking and traveling with the Rolling Stones tour, emergency services said.

New York takes precautions after London bomb defused

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police intensified patrols of tourist sites, parking garages and the transit system on Friday after explosives experts in London defused a potentially devastating car bomb in the heart of the city.

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said critical response teams reinforced crowded areas like Times Square, the bustling theater district and a square near the Empire State Building that is a magnet for tourists.

"We are increasing our coverage in the transit system, certainly for this rush hour this afternoon," Kelly told reporters. "We have vehicle checkpoints that we have instituted on bridges. We're checking parking garages, asking the owners and doing it ourselves, to look for suspicious vehicles."

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Dems Call White House Out on Subpoenas

WASHINGTON — Democrats took the first steps Friday in what could be a long march to court in a tug-of-war between the White House and Congress over subpoenas and executive and legislative branch powers.

In a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding, the heads of the Senate and House Judiciary committees demanded an explanation in 10 days of why the White House claimed executive privilege on subpoenaed documents and vowed to invoke "the full force of law."

The White House _ echoing the senior Republican on the Senate panel _ urged the chairmen to accept the administration's earlier offer to allow private, off-the-record interviews with current and former aides to President Bush.

"If the committees just want the facts, then they should withdraw the subpoenas and accept the president's offer, instead of this continued pattern of gross overreach and confrontation," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto.

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Rosie O'Donnell Confirms She Will Meet With "The Price Is Right" This Week

Rosie O'Donnell is in the running to follow Bob Barker as the next host of "The Price Is Right". She has been open about her desire for the job and confirmed she will meet with the show this week.
On her blog rosie.com, the former cohost of "The View" answers questions posed by fans who write in. On Saturday she had this exchange:

Victoria writes:

Backstage, when asked who could fill his shoes as host of Price Is Right, Barker floated Rosie O'Donnell as a possible successor. "I believe they're going to have a meeting with Rosie"
R u going to?

yes
this week

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Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe

Large teams of newly trained suicide bombers are being sent to the United States and Europe, according to evidence contained on a new videotape obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

Teams assigned to carry out attacks in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany were introduced at an al Qaeda/Taliban training camp graduation ceremony held June 9.

A Pakistani journalist was invited to attend and take pictures as some 300 recruits, including boys as young as 12, were supposedly sent off on their suicide missions.

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Still feel safe?

Republicans get ready to threaten Valerie Plame Wilson with subpoena

As Democrats in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform plow ahead with their investigation of the intelligence used by the Bush administration to build the case for the Iraq War, their Republican colleagues are attempting to up the ante. Last week, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), the ranking minority member of the committee, alleged that former covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson had given false testimony and prepared to threaten her with a subpoena.

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Reid on General Pace

As many of you know, Senator Reid was blasted by many republicans for questioning General Pace's compentance just days after George Bush fired him for the work he had done in the Iraq war over the last 5 years. I was blown away by the attitude of many republicans. Let me get this right, George Bush can fire him for doing a poor job but Reid cannot comment on how he feels about the job he had done! Don't people get fired because of incompentance? In other words had General Pace been compentent, he would have still had a job! Yet, republicans could not believe Harry Reid talked about him!

Amazing.

I want to say, politicians can criticize generals. In fact many americans can! Isn't that one of the reasons why wars are faught? To protect free speech? Criticising the General was not dinegrating the troops! Yet that seems to be what many republicans talk about! Let's say that's true! Didn't President Bush denigrate the troops by firing General Pace? Sounds silly doesn't it! Yet many times I have read, and heard leaders of this nation, squash debate and opinion by simply saying he or she was denigrating the troops. The President himself has used this many times in the past.

What I want to know is what is the difference between Senator Reid questioning General Reids ability and Senator McCain, blasting General Casey? Where was the outrage from the right when that happened? I didn't see it, did you?

Rhetoric has been a major part of politics. So far it has stopped many democrats and independants and in some case some Republicans from stating what they really feel without fear of being chastised? Where are the real leaders? I don't see many.

Tape: 911 operators did little to help dying woman in ER

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A woman who lay bleeding on the emergency room floor of a troubled inner-city hospital died after 911 dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another facility, newly released tapes of the emergency calls reveal.

Edith Isabel Rodriguez, 43, died of a perforated bowel on May 9 at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. Her death was ruled accidental by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Relatives said Rodriguez was bleeding from the mouth and writhing in pain for 45 minutes while she was at a hospital waiting area. Experts have said she could have survived had she been treated early enough.

County and state authorities are now investigating Rodriguez's death. Relatives reported she died as police were wheeling her out of the hospital after the officers they had asked to help Rodriguez arrested her instead on a parole violation. Sheriff's Department spokesman Duane Allen said Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing.

In the recordings of two 911 calls that day, first obtained by the Los Angeles Times under a California Public Records Act request, callers pleaded for help for Rodriguez but were referred to hospital staff instead.

"I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying and the nurses don't want to help her out," Rodriguez's boyfriend, Jose Prado, is heard saying in Spanish through an interpreter on the tapes.

"What's wrong with her?" a female dispatcher asked.

"She's vomiting blood," Prado said.

"OK, and why aren't they helping her?" the dispatcher asked.

"They're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her," Prado said.

Complete article

6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes off Guatemalan coast

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Wednesday just off the Pacific coast of Guatemala, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Early reports indicated some homes were damaged and people may be missing, journalist Patzy Vazquez told CNN en Español.

Hugo Hernandez, the executive director of the National Coordination for Disaster, said there were no immediate reports of injuries, but all phone lines were down.

Officials were using radios to communicate, according to Benedicto Giron, a spokesman for the disaster coordination agency.

Authorities were evacuating high-rise buildings and homes that might be vulnerable to damage if there were aftershocks, but none had been reported to the USGS so far, the agency's Rafael Abreu told CNN.

The quake struck at 1:29 p.m. (3:29 p.m. ET), about 70 miles from the capital, Guatemala City.

The quake's intensity, according to the USGS, was such that it was also felt in El Salvador.

Complete article

Pepsi Ice Cucumber: Now On Sale...in Japan

Pepsi Ice Cucumber officially went on sale today, and you should be able to find it in most supermarkets and convenience stores around Japan. While the bottle clearly describes it as “combination” of cucumber and cola, there just isn’t much cola flavor to it. The drink takes on a somewhat sweet and fruity flavor, but the artificial cucumber flavor is noticeable, in my opinion. It’s interesting for a few sips, but then the artificial cucumber aftertaste kicks in, making it pretty nasty. At the supermarket I went to, there was a huge dent in the Ice Cucumber display, which probably meant a lot of people bought a few bottles because of the novelty/hype. It will be interesting to see if its popularity lasts…

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A cucumber Pepsi? Hmmmm....

Gorilla Orphaned After Mom Shot "Execution Style"

A baby mountain gorilla has been left orphaned and fighting for its life after its mother was shot and killed in eastern Congo, African wildlife workers report.

Rangers discovered the two-month-old gorilla clinging to the breast of its slain mother last Friday in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Rebel militias in the area have been accused of slaughtering and eating the critically endangered apes.

The baby, named Ndakasi, is in critical condition, having spent some 18 hours alone after its mother was shot in the arm and then "execution style" in the back of the head, said WildlifeDirect, the African conservation nonprofit. The find comes as a grim counterpoint to the recent rare birth of a mountain gorilla in the park.

The orphaned newborn is now receiving emergency treatment from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project.

Complete story

Television's 'Mr. Wizard' dies at 89

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Don Herbert, who as television's "Mr. Wizard" introduced generations of young viewers to the joys of science, died Tuesday. He was 89.

Herbert, who had bone cancer, died at his suburban Bell Canyon home, said his son-in-law, Tom Nikosey.

"He really taught kids how to use the thinking skills of a scientist," said former colleague Steve Jacobs. He worked with Herbert on a 1980s show that echoed the original 1950s "Watch Mr. Wizard" series, which became a fond baby boomer memory.

In "Watch Mr. Wizard," which was produced from 1951 to 1964 and received a Peabody Award in 1954, Herbert turned TV into an entertaining classroom. On a simple, workshop-like set, he demonstrated experiments using household items.

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Roller coaster scare leaves riders hanging

HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas (AP) -- A dozen riders on a roller coaster spent half an hour hanging upside down -- 150 feet above the ground -- after a power outage shut down the attraction.

It took about 30 minutes for the city fire department to rescue the riders using a ladder truck Saturday evening, said Aundrea Crary, spokeswoman for the Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park.

Spectators cheered when the riders were brought to the ground from the highest point of a loop on the X-Coaster, but one passenger threw up after reaching safety.

The X-Coaster was one of several rides brought to a halt by the outage that originated somewhere near the park.

"You could tell who got off the (X-Coaster) because their faces were red," said Angela Salter. She was riding the Gauntlet, another coaster, and said park employees worked quickly to free her.

The park resumed normal operations, although the X-Coaster remained closed.

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Giant Catfish

Giant catfish indeed! The picture is 3 years old. The catfish was caught in the Mekong River.

Scientists Discover New Genus of Frogmouth Bird in Solomon Islands

Scientists from the University of Florida have discovered a new genus of frogmouth bird on a South Pacific island.

New genera of living birds are rare discoveries, but David Steadman and Andrew Kratter, ornithologists at the Florida Museum of Natural History, found the surprising new discovery on a collecting expedition in the Solomon Islands. Theirs is the first frogmouth from these islands to be caught by scientists in more than 100 years. They immediately recognized it was something different.‘This discovery underscores that birds on remote Pacific islands are still poorly known, scientifically speaking,’ Steadman said. ‘Without the help of local hunters, we probably would have overlooked the frogmouth.’

Originally, the bird was misclassified as a subspecies of the Australian Marbled Frogmouth. The blunder went undetected for decades, until a collecting trip led by Kratter in 1998 turned up a specimen on Isabel, a 1,500-square-mile island in the Solomons. Today, the only museum specimen of this bird in the world, with an associated skin and skeleton, is housed at the Florida Museum.

Frogmouths are predatory birds named for their strikingly wide, strong beak that resembles a frog’s mouth; but their beak also sports a small, sharp hook more like an owl’s. Steadman said their beaks are like no other birds in the world. They eat insects, rodents, small birds and even frogs.

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Ancient Coelacanth Caught in Indonesia

An Indonesian fisherman hooked a rare coelacanth, a species once thought as extinct as dinosaurs, and briefly kept the "living fossil" alive in a quarantined pool.

Justinus Lahama caught the four-foot, 110-pound fish early Saturday off Sulawesi island near Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest marine biodiversity in the world.

The fish died 17 hours later, an extraordinary survival time, marine biologist Lucky Lumingas said Sunday.

"The fish should have died within two hours because this species only lives in deep, cold-sea environment," he said. Lumingas works at the local Sam Ratulangi University, which plans to study the carcass.

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Survey: Gas prices post first drop since January

CNN) -- Gas prices are down for the first time since January, according to a national survey released Sunday.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline has dropped more than 7 cents in the past three weeks, to $3.11, the survey found.

Drivers in Jackson, Mississippi, are getting the best deal at $2.87 per gallon. Chicago drivers are paying the most -- $3.61.

The Lundberg Survey of about 5,000 gas stations was carried out June 8 and May 18.

When the average price of gasoline hit $3.18 in May, it was the highest price ever recorded, even when adjusted for inflation, according to a previous Lundberg survey.

The 7.37-cent drop comes nowhere near offsetting the $1.00 rise in the price of gas that occurred between January 19 and May 18, said survey publisher Trilby Lundberg.

"It's unlikely we can see the other 93 cents any time soon," she told CNN in a telephone interview.

Most of that 7-cents-relief came from lower prices charged for gas produced in refineries outside the United States, she said.

Complete story

I am appauled at the price of gas. I am also disturbed with the record profits reported from the oil companies, month after month, after month.

I remember the day when the price of gas WAS $.19 a gallon. Yes, you read it right. Nineteen cents.

I have a feeling that prices will be hight for a long time to come.

India 'bigfoot' sightings prompt official probe

Authorities in India are to investigate claims by terrified villagers that "bigfoot"-type hairy giants are roaming the jungles of the remote northeast, a local official said.

The creatures have apparently been spoken of, and occasionally spotted, for years, but a rise in the number of sightings over the past month has prompted authorities to look into the matter further.

The bizarre sightings have reportedly been made in the Garo hills area of Meghalaya state, close to the borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Villagers have dubbed the mysterious creatures "Mande Burung" -- or Jungle Man.

"A team of wildlife officials and other experts will conduct a study to find out if there is any truth in the locals' claims about these hairy giants," said Samphat Kumar, a district magistrate in the West Garo Hills district.

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If we don't end war, Democrats could lose power

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The high hurdles faced by congressional Democrats in their efforts to end the Iraq war make electing a Democratic president in 2008 the best way to finish the conflict, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean said Saturday.

He noted his party has made little progress toward ending the war, the cause, he said, that returned them to power.

"The American people hired Democrats last November to ensure that we end this war," Dean said during the weekly Democratic radio address. "So let me be clear, we know that if we don't keep our promise, we may find ourselves the minority again."

Dean put the blame for the lack of progress squarely on the White House and congressional Republicans for blocking his party's attempt at tying war funding to deadlines for troop withdrawals.

"We have to face the reality that Republicans in Congress are standing with President Bush as he stubbornly wields his veto pen," Dean charged. In response, he proposed that the "one way to truly ensure we end this war" was to elect a Democrat as president in 2008.

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Howard Dean is right. But he should have gone on even further. Lives will be lost if the war continues. The standing of the U.S. in the eyes of the world will continue to deteroirate! The nation looks weak and rightfully so.

Shuttle engineers keep eye on tear in heat shield

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- The space shuttle Atlantis, fresh from a fiery launch, was in hot pursuit of the international space station on Saturday, but won't catch up until Sunday.

Atlantis' crew was given an extra half-hour to sleep Saturday morning, then awoke to the song "Big Boy Toys" by Aaron Tippin.

A slight concern about an exposed area in the shuttle's delicate heat-protection system arose overnight when engineers examined photos taken by the shuttle's crew after launch. The photo showed a small exposed area in thermal blankets on the left side of the shuttle near the thrusters Atlantis uses to move about in orbit, said NASA spokesman Louis Parker. (Watch thermal blanket concerns explained -- 3:44 Video)

That area is not a usual focus for potential heat problems when the shuttle returns to earth, but normal day-after-launch inspections will assess it, Parker said.

"There's not a whole lot of concerns just yet," Parker said Saturday morning.

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Atlantis rockets to space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (CNN) -- Space shuttle Atlantis blasted off from Kennedy Space Center Friday evening on an 11-day mission to the international space station.

"And liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis to assemble the framework for the science laboratories of tomorrow," said NASA spokesman George Diller as the orbiter raced to space.

The mission was originally scheduled for mid-March but a hailstorm damaged the shuttle's fuel tank and the launch was pushed back to June to allow time for needed repairs.

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Humanoid Toddler Reacts to Touch, Sound

OSAKA, Japan (AP) - A group of scientists in Japan have developed a robot that acts like a toddler to better understand child development.

The Child-Robot with Biomimetic Body, or CB2, was developed by a team of researchers at Osaka University in western Japan and is designed to move just like a real child between 1 and 3 years old.

CB2, at just over 4 feet tall and weighing 73 pounds, changes facial expressions and can rock back and forth.

The robot's movements are smooth as it is fitted with 56 actuators in lieu of muscle. It has 197 sensors for touch, small cameras working as eyes, and an audio sensor. CB2 can also speak using an artificial vocal cord.

When it stands on its feet, the robot wobbles like a child who is learning how to walk.

Complete Story

Cylone killed 12 in Oman

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) -- A Royal Oman Police spokesman tells Oman TV there are 12 reported deaths from Cyclone Gonu.

The storm battered Oman's coast Wednesday with fierce winds and torrential rains, forcing thousands from their homes and shutting down oil installations before heading toward the world's most important crude oil tanker route.

The storm -- a rarity in the Middle East -- weakened slightly and dropped below hurricane strength late Wednesday, according to the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

It was expected to make landfall on the southeastern Iranian coast late Thursday, but it was likely to spare Iran's offshore oil installations that lie more than 120 miles to the west, the center and oil officials said.

In Muscat, the cyclone unleashed sheets of rainfall and howling winds rarely seen in the quiet seaside capital. Police and emergency vehicles could hardly move through the flooded streets, and authorities used text messages to warn people away from low-lying areas.

The storm caused little damage to Oman's relatively small oil fields. But raging seas prevented tankers from sailing from Omani ports, effectively shutting down the country's oil exports, said Nasser bin Khamis al-Jashimi of the Ministry of Oil and Gas.

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Is Cold War II Just Around The Corner?

...While the Bush administration keeps its focus on turning a disaster in Iraq into victory, it seems that Russia is not buying into the rhetoric that the United States is the only superpower.

Last week, the Russians tried out a new ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads and a new cruise missile. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the tests were a response to plans by the United States to build missile defense sites in Europe. He said he puts no stock in assurances from the United States that the missile defense sites are meant to counter threats from Iran, not Russia.

...Judging from Putin's remarks last week, he's not happy. Putin has wanted the United States and other NATO members to ratify a revised version of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, which limits the deployment of heavy non-nuclear weapons — something that has not happened.

"We have signed and ratified the CFE treaty and are fully implementing it," Putin said. "We pulled out all our heavy weapons from the European part of Russia to [locations] behind the Ural Mountains and cut our military by 300,000 men. And what about our partners? They are filling Eastern Europe with new weapons. A new base in Bulgaria, another one in Romania, a [missile defense] site in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic. What are we supposed to do? We can't just sit back and look at that."

Putin has said Russia will opt out of the CFE altogether if NATO nations don't ratify the revised version of the treaty. In remarks that can only be interpreted as a slap against the Bush administration's style of diplomacy, Putin attacked those "who want to dictate their will to all others regardless of international norms and law. It's dangerous and harmful. Norms of the international law have been replaced with political expediency. We view it as diktat and imperialism."

These words come from a man who President Bush still believes is his friend. In remarks last week, Bush brushed off Putin's criticism.

Complete blog article

Yes it looks like George W. is going to fight them, including Russia over there so they won't fight us over here! Yes sarcasm is intended.

If you were in Putin's shoes what would you think and do? I would do exactly the thing he did! Threaten!

You can't tell me that this administration would do nothing if Russia came over here and put up a missile defense aimed at Mexico? That is basically what we are trying to do over there! They told Russia they are not the enemy. But since when does this administration tell the truth?

Starting the cold war again? Our side has never stopped.

Thunder? It's the sound of Greenland melting

ILULISSAT, Greenland (Reuters) -- Atop Greenland's Suicide Cliff, from where old Inuit women used to hurl themselves when they felt they had become a burden to their community, a crack and a thud like thunder pierce the air.

"We don't have thunder here. But I know it from movies," says Ilulissat nurse Vilhelmina Nathanielsen, who hiked with us through the melting snow. "It's the ice cracking inside the icebergs. If we're lucky we might see one break apart."

It's too early in the year to see icebergs crumple regularly but the sound is a reminder. As politicians squabble over how to act on climate change, Greenland's ice cap is melting, and faster than scientists had thought possible.

A new island in East Greenland is a clear sign of how the place is changing. It was dubbed Warming Island by American explorer Dennis Schmitt when he discovered in 2005 that it had emerged from under the retreating ice.

If the ice cap melted entirely, oceans would rise by 23 feet, flooding New York and London, and drowning island nations like the Maldives.

A total meltdown would take centuries but global warming, which climate experts blame mainly on human use of fossil fuels, is heating the Arctic faster than anywhere else on Earth.

"When I was a child, I remember hunters dog-sledding 50 miles on ice across the bay to Disko Island in the winter," said Judithe Therkildsen, a retiree from Aasiaat, a town south of Ilulissat on Disko Bay.

"That hasn't happened in a long time."

Complete story

This is getting scary.

I can remember as a boy and a teenager in the Midwest during the fifties and sixties, the winters were cold. Very cold. In Southern Indiana, the snow stayed on the ground all winter long and it was the right of spring for the county to flood from the White River as the snow melted. It was not uncommon to see the Ohio River frozen solid!

When we got a snow, if it was eight inches or below, school was in session and factories were open. These days we would be lucky to 8 get inches all winter long! We did, however, get 22 inches 2 years ago. That snow didn't last long. It was melted within 3 days.

Something is wrong. This is more than just a routine climate change.

The really scary part about all of this is, politicians are dismissing global warning as not being real so special interests and corporations across the US and the world can continue to earn their mighty dollar!

Species of animals are extinct and nearing extinction. Mankind will be next. I don't trust the leadership we have to actually do anything about it.

Bob Barker takes final kisses of 50-year TV career

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Blowing kisses to the camera, Bob Barker signed off on 35 years on "The Price Is Right" and 50 years in daytime TV in the same low-key, genial fashion that made him one of daytime TV's biggest stars.

Barker, who had said before the taping on Wednesday of his final appearance that he would try to act as if it was "just another show," stuck to that promise. He ended the program as he always has, signing off with the words: "Help control the pet population, have your pets spayed or neutered. Goodbye everybody."

After the cameras stopped rolling, he told the studio audience, "I thank you, thank you, thank you for inviting me into your home for more than 50 years. I'm truly grateful and I hope that all of you have enjoyed your visit to 'The Price Is Right.' "

The hourlong taping began with the show's 83-year-old host entering the studio to a standing ovation from an adoring public and a giant shower of colorful confetti from his colleagues. The program is scheduled to air June 15.

"This is over-the-top amazing. It's like a piece of Americana," said Terry Baldwin, 55, of Pebble Beach, California, who had camped overnight to ensure she got a seat in the audience.

Complete story

The latest on the Cyclone.

MUSCAT, Oman — Oman evacuated tens of thousands of people Wednesday, suspended oil exports, and closed the major port of Sohar as a weakening Cyclone Gonu roared toward the Strait of Hormuz _ the world's major transport artery for Persian Gulf oil.

Oil prices rose amid forecasts that the storm _ a rarity in the region _ was barreling toward Iran.

As heavy rains lashed coastal areas of Oman, authorities closed all operations at the port of Sohar and evacuated the 11,000 workers, port spokesman Dirk Jan De Vink said.

Sohar's oil refinery and petrochemical plant remained running at very low levels, with authorities considering a total shutdown, he said.

Complete article

This could be a calamity the could drawf Katrina! Oil prices could soar even higher than they are now. I look for prices to rise in the U.S even if the storm does minimal damage.

Thousands of Turkish troops enter Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials said.

Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.

"It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands," one of the officials told The Associated Press by telephone. The official is based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.

The officials did not say where the Turkish force was operating in northern Iraq, nor did he say how long they would be there.

Complete article

Massive cyclone (hurricane) hitting Middle East oil producing countries

The centre of Tropical Cyclone Gonu is heading north-west through the Indian Ocean towards Oman's east coast.

Thousands of residents of coastal regions and the low-lying offshore island of Masirah have been evacuated.

People elsewhere have been told to stay indoors, while schools and public building have been emptied to make room for the evacuees.

The most powerful part of the storm was expected to hit Oman on Thursday, before moving north across the Gulf to Iran.

"It is expected to increase in the coming few hours accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy rainfalls as the cyclone crosses the sultanate," the official news agency of the wealthy oil-exporter said, quoting police.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6722749.stm

The Nexus of Politics and Terror

I watched Countdown last night as Keith Olbermann told his viewers what has been happening since 2002. As usual Keith did a very good job in getting the truth out. I had always thought that the terror alerts were convienant for the administration. As a distraction so to speak! Mr Olbermann let me know I was not the only one that felt that way.

The video is over 10 minutes long, but well worth the watch.

Twenty-four new species found in Suriname

Washington - A purple fluorescent frog is one of 24 new species found in the South American highlands of Suriname, conservationists reported on Monday, warning that these creatures are threatened by illegal gold mining.

The discovery of so many species outside the insect realm is extraordinary and points up the need to survey distant regions, said Leeanne Alonso of Conservation International, which led the expedition that found the new species.

"When you go to these places that are so unexplored and so remote, we do tend to find new species... but most of them are insects," Alonso said by telephone from Suriname's capital, Paramaribo. "What's really exciting here is we found a lot of new species of frogs and fish as well."

Complete article

US can forget about winning in Iraq: top retired general

SAN ANTONIO - The general man who commanded US-led coalition forces during the first year of the Iraq war says the United States can forget about winning the war.

"I think if we do the right things politically and economically with the right Iraqi leadership we could still salvage at least a stalemate, if you will -- not a stalemate but at least stave off defeat," retired Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez said in an interview.

Sanchez, in his first interview since he retired last year, is the highest-ranking former military leader yet to suggest the Bush administration has fallen short in Iraq.

"I am absolutely convinced that America has a crisis in leadership at this time," Sanchez told AFP after a recent speech in San Antonio, Texas.

"We've got to do whatever we can to help the next generation of leaders do better than we have done over the past five years, better than what this cohort of political and military leaders have done," adding that he was "referring to our national political leadership in its entirety" - not just President George W. Bush.

Sanchez called the situation in Iraq bleak, which he blamed on "the abysmal performance in the early stages and the transition of sovereignty."

Complete story

Fox analyst: 'Space aliens kidnapped president' and 'left this tool'

On Monday, Fox News covered Vladimir Putin's threat that if the US government goes ahead with setting up a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, Russia will target its own missiles at European targets.

The discussion led to an unlikely reversal of political positions, with conservative Fox political analyst Tammy Bruce describing the situation as "another glaring example of the growing incompetency of the Bush administration and his foreign policy," while Democratic strategist Bob Beckel concluded that "I support Bush on this ... and it's a strange day when I do that."

Bruce began by defending Putin and asked how we in the US would feel if Russian missiles were sited in Cuba or Honduras. She pointed out that the US missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland are supposedly intended to guard against the threat of potential Iranian long-range missiles, even though those missiles don't yet exist and we've said we're not going to allow Iran to develop them.

She then blew up about immigration and Iraq as well, saying, "I'm waiting to find the space aliens that kidnapped the president that I grew to admire after September 11 and left this tool behind. ... I'm furious."

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Consumers feel the heat from rising food prices

Rising gasoline prices have been getting all the attention, but the cost of another, more-important staple is actually rising even more: food.

In the past year, food prices have increased 3.7 percent and are on track to jump by as much as 7 percent by year's end. The current increase is more than double the 1.8 percent jump seen the year before, according to the consumer price index.

Meanwhile, gas prices rose 2.9 percent. Only the cost of health care rose more, and then just slightly.

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Buy Your Best Friend a Drink with New Beer for Dogs

If you've always wanted to have a beer with your best friend--man's best friend, that is--you now can. Happy Tail Ale, a beer made just for dogs has hit the market.

Happy Tail Ale, brewed by the Dog Star Brewing Company is the 'pet project' of 'brewmasters' Kevin and Jamie Miller of Napa Valley, California. The idea for the concoction and company came as most inventions do, by accident.

According to an article in the Napa Valley Register, the couple was camping with their 120-pound Kodiak Bear, Kodi when a beer bottle got knocked over. Kodi began to lap up the carbonated beverage. The Happy Tail Ale website adds that soon, Kodi would purposely knock over beer bottles, just to get a taste.

The idea hit to create a beer for dogs hit the Millers just before Kodi's second birthday as they pondered a gift idea for their four-legged friend. They thought about purchasing a non-alcoholic beer for Kodi, but instead, the canine cocktail was born.

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Alabama boy bags monstrously large hog

Montgomery, Ala. - Hogzilla is being made into a horror movie. But the sequel may be even bigger.

Meet Monster Pig.

An 11-year-old Alabama boy used a pistol to kill a wild hog that his father says weighed a staggering 1,051 pounds and measured 9-feet-4 from the tip of its snout to the base of its tail. Think hams as big as car tires.

If the claims are accurate, Jamison Stone's trophy boar would be bigger than Hogzilla, the famed wild hog that grew to seemingly mythical proportions after being killed in south Georgia in 2004.

Hogzilla originally was thought to weigh 1,000 pounds and measure 12 feet in length. National Geographic experts who unearthed its remains believe the animal actually weighed about 800 pounds and was 8 foot long.

Regardless of the comparison, Jamison is reveling in the attention over his pig, which is generating quite an Internet buzz.

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I don't know about this one. The pig could have been Photoshoped. I watched the CNN report and one of the animal experts said hogs this size are rare in the Americas. He also said they do not have good eye site and rely on smell and sound. So, the odds of this boy sneaking up on the hog is slim. The hog would have avoided him.

He also said they hunt at night.

It makes for some interesting discussion.