Blood Sprays Out Of Sewer

A Minneapolis city worker is worried about blood in the sewer system because he said, while he was cleaning the system, blood sprayed out of a hole and got all over him. "We could tell it was blood, I mean large amount of blood," said Minneapolis Sewer Maintenance Worker Ron Huebner. It happened about two weeks ago in Northeast Minneapolis near a lab that does medical testing and dumps blood into the sewer. It is allowed but the city is now making changes to help protect workers in the future. "Blood just all over my face, in my mouth, I could taste it. It was terrible. I had it in my mouth and I kept spitting and I couldn't get rid of it," said Huebner. Huebner said he hasn't been sleeping much. He's worried about the blood that he swallowed when he was operating a jet machine to clean out the sewer. The Met Council said it was a mix of human and animal blood used in medical testing at this nearby lab. In fact, the company, R & D Systems, does have a permit to dump blood in the sewer system. However, Huebner wasn't protected or warned about the blood because his immediate bosses didn't know about."We did not specifically know that this particular facility was discharging blood into the sewer system," said Minneapolis Public Works Deputy Director Heidi Hamilton. There have been some changes, including more coordination among city departments so key information in permits gets to the right people and there's more required safety gear. "We have changed the procedure to ensure they're wearing goggles or a face mask while they are above that manhole," said Hamilton. The Met Council is changing the permit to say that the city has to warn the lab it's coming to clean the sewer, and the lab has to stop discharging blood until they're done. R & D told the city the blood shouldn't present any risk, but Huebner's still worried. "I'm going to hope that nothing's wrong with me, but I don't want to see this happen to anyone else in my department," said Huebner. The Met Council issued the permit. When asked if it's safe to have blood in the sewers, the Met Council said it is no more harmful than most other wastes in the sewer. The sanitary sewer system is the appropriate place for this type of liquid wastes. There are other companies that have permits to discharge blood in the sewer system. According to the Met Council, there are about four slaughterhouses, about 20 hospitals, and about a dozen medical and pharmaceutical companies that have permits.

Mysterious UFO Falls Into Somalia

A baffling device which resembles a satellite or Unidentified Flying Object (U.F.O) has landed in a rural area close to Buulo-Burde town, 220km north of the Somalia capital Mogadishu, eyewitnesses told Shabelle radio. Villagers report that the device had fallen in a remote jungle area, some 40km north of Bulo-Burde, killing one camel. No experts have reached there to find out exactly what the object is. The unknown object is sitting on an area of one 100 meter square as people grew more concern over the device that it might explode or contaminate the area. The device is said to be intact and not broken as it gives alarming signals. No one knows where the satellite-like device had come from.“A large device flew over us and some time later, we heard a big sound, BAM” said Ilyas Ali, a villager who lives nearby where this large device has fallen. Ilyas said in the daylight it glitters and but in the nighttime, it turns lights and speaks a strange language which can’t be understood by the villagers. The news of the fallen device was too late because of the remote area it landed and poor communication. Details are emerging in the coming days.

Mysterious Rock Growing Hair!

An unusual rock went on display in Beijing. This rock has "hair," almost identical to human hair, growing out of its "head." The rock is iron gray in color, naturally smooth and rounded, and is similar to a cobblestone. There is also a very thin layer of scalp tissue connecting the "hair" to the rock. The hair is grey in color and similar to the color of the rock itself. The hair grows quite naturally from the top with the longest strands being about 15 centimeters (6 inches) long. The hair is slightly coarser than human hair.The rock was found on a beach, and according to Fashion Rock Café's executive Miss Yong, this kind of rock is named a "hair-growing rock". As long as conditions are right, the hair on this rare rock will continue to grow. Only two other hair-growing rocks have been reported in the world; and both are in a Taiwan Museum. This "hair-growing rock" is in a glass display case at the Fashion Rock Café, located in the Digital Building in Beijing's Zhongguan Village. The rock measures approximately 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) long, 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) wide, and about 15 centimeters (6 inches) high. The value of the rock is estimated to be around 10 million Yuan (approximately USD 1.3 million).

Ghost Hunters Busted In Haunted Hospital

Twelve University of Idaho students thought they'd find some scares at an abandoned Colfax hospital. Instead, they'll be haunted by their arrests. The dozen students were charged with trespassing when Whitman County sheriff's deputies discovered them roaming the halls of St. Ignatius Manor Hospital shortly after midnight. The students told deputies they had heard it was a "haunted insane asylum." Maybe they watched the 1999 movie "House on Haunted Hill." At least the UI students got out with their lives, unlike many characters in that thriller about an abandoned mental institution haunted by murdered patients. "For people to go there late at night when it's completely dark, someone could get hurt," said Colfax police Officer Bryce Nebe. A 14-year-old boy was injured on the hospital grounds last month when he fell into a well, plummeting 40 feet before stopping his descent by bracing himself against the brick shaft. The hospital at 1009 Mill St. has been plagued by trespassers since it was shut down several years ago, Nebe said. It's owned by out-of-town investors. Nebe described the inside of the hospital as a pitfall of broken glass, moldy and rotting floors and walls, and hallways littered with appliances and other materials."There are rumors of hauntings, so people think it's fun to go in and play," said Whitman County sheriff's Sgt. Jodie Hamilton. According to the Sheriff's Office, those arrested Monday were Brian James Rainey, Christopher Lucas Tate, Joseph Lee Sonnen, Kai Peter Jensen, Christopher Clyde Huntley, David Michael Arnold, Brian Joseph Bialke, Tanner Cord Parker, Nicholas Todd Batten, Robert Charles Buxbaum, Craig J. Chandler and Jacqueline Kelley Wuebben. All are 18 or 19 years old. Rainey said he thinks police overreacted. "The whole thing is lame and has been blown way out of proportion," he wrote in an e-mail. "One of our buddies told us that it was an old mental hospital, obviously an urban legend or whatever," he wrote. "We were there to check it out, and because there were no 'no trespassing' signs and doors were open, we didn't think anyone would care if we went in and checked it out." Deputies and police officers caught the students after neighbors reported seeing flashlights in the building. The students came out when they were told officers were there with police dogs. Rainey said he and his friends cooperated with police and expected to just be told to go home. Hamilton said he hopes publicizing the students' arrests will discourage other trespassers, while Rainey said signs and boarding up windows and doors would do the trick. For others, rumors of evil ghosts are enough.

Pope Confirms Hell And Damnation 'Real And Eternal'

HELL is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, Pope Benedict XVI has said. Addressing a parish gathering in a northern suburb of Rome, the Pope said that in the modern world many people, including some believers, had forgotten that if they failed to "admit blame and promise to sin no more", they risked "eternal damnation - the inferno". Hell "really exists and is eternal, even if nobody talks about it much any more". The Pope, who as cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was head of Catholic doctrine, noted that "forgiveness of sins" for those who repented was a cornerstone of Christian belief. He recalled that Jesus had forgiven the "woman taken in adultery" and prevented her from being stoned to death, observing: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." God had given men and women free will to choose whether "spontaneously to accept salvation...the Christian faith is not imposed on anyone, it is a gift, an offer to mankind". Vatican officials said the Pope - who is also the Bishop of Rome - had been speaking in "straightforward" language "like a parish priest".He had wanted to reinforce the new Catholic catechism, which holds that hell is a "state of eternal separation from God", to be understood "symbolically rather than physically". Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, a church historian, said the Pope was "right to remind us that hell is not something to be put on one side" as an inconvenient or embarrassing aspect of belief. It was described by St Matthew as a place of "everlasting fire" (Matthew xxv, 41). "The problem is not only that our sense of sin has declined, but also that the world wars and totalitarianisms of the 20th century created a hell on earth as bad as anything we can imagine in the afterlife," Professor Bagliani said. In 1999, pope John Paul II said heaven was "neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but that fullness of communion with God, which is the goal of human life". Hell, by contrast, was "the ultimate consequence of sin itself. Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy". In October, the Pope indicated that limbo, supposed since medieval times to be a "halfway house" between heaven and hell, was "only a theological hypothesis" and not a "definitive truth of the faith".

Toadzilla!

A 'monster' cane toad the size of a small dog has been captured. An environmental 'caged' the toxic beast which is blamed for killing countless animals since being introduced to Australia in the 1930s. The volunteer-run organization, Frogwatch, picked up the 40-centimeter-long (15-inch-long) cane toad during a raid on a pond outside the northern city of Darwin. With a body the size of a football and weighing nearly 1 kilogram (2 pounds), the 'monster toad' is among the largest specimens ever captured in Australia, according to Frogwatch coordinator Graeme Sawyer. 'It's huge, to put it mildly,' he said. 'The biggest toads are usually females but this one was a rampant male ... I would hate to meet his big sister.'Cane toads were imported from South America during the 1930s in a failed attempt to control beetles on Australia's northern sugar cane plantations. The poisonous toads have proven fatal to Australia's delicate ecosystems, killing millions of native animals from snakes to the small crocodiles that eat them. As part of its so-called 'Toad Buster' project, Frogwatch conducts regular raids on local water holes, blinding the toads with bright lights then scooping them up by the dozen. 'We kill them with carbon dioxide gas, stockpile them in a big freezer and then put them through a liquid fertilizer process that renders the toads nontoxic,' Sawyer said. 'It turns out to be sensational fertilizer,' he added.

Court To Hear 'Vampirism' Case

A Medicine Hat court will begin hearing grisly details today about the slaying of a local family that was linked to rumors of vampirism. The preliminary hearing for accused triple-killer Jeremy Allen Steinke is scheduled to run until Thursday in provincial court. Steinke, 24, faces three counts of first-degree murder after Marc and Debra Richardson and their eight-year-old son Jacob were found slain inside their home April 23, 2006. A co-accused, a girl who was 12 at the time, faces the same charges. She has pleaded not guilty for her Court of Queen's Bench trial in June. For the slain family's grieving relatives, who say they are being kept in the dark, the start of court proceedings is a relief. "The sooner we get this behind us and the court is settled, it will get easier," said Marc's father, Art Richardson. The Richardson family was the picture of middle-class suburbia in southern Alberta's heartland. The disturbing age disparity of the two accused, who friends say were dating, and odd claims that Steinke believed he was a 300-year-old werewolf made headlines around the world. The revelation of the couple's personal Internet profiles on Nexopia and vampirefreaks -- which featured Steinke's gruesome poetry and a photo of the girl posing with a pistol -- added more twists to the story.This week's preliminary hearing -- which will determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial in Court of Queen's Bench -- is sure to stir up painful memories in the city of 56,000, police said. "It's going to be pretty traumatic, especially for the families," said Staff Sgt. Rick Wigle of the Medicine Hat Police Service. Even seasoned investigators tasked with collecting evidence from the triple homicide inside the otherwise tidy house were not immune to the horror. "It was a pretty gruesome crime scene," said Wigle, adding counselling was provided to officers. Nearly a year later, Medicine Hat's mayor said the community has rallied. "I truly believe it was a tragic aberration. A family destroyed like that and the people left behind. We were in the media spotlight for quite a little while," said Mayor Garth Vallely. "I think the community has accepted it now and wants to let the justice system take its course." Courthouse security has been beefed up to airport standards with metal detectors and an X-ray machine. Two other Medicine Hat teens were charged in connection with the killings, accused of giving false alibis and destroying evidence. One of the teens, a 16-year-old girl who cannot be named, was charged by police just three weeks ago. The other is Kacy Danielle Lancaster, a 19-year-old whose face was seen in the media supporting Steinke during his earliest court appearances. She is under house arrest at her mother's home down the road from the crime scene. Steinke and the girl were arrested in Leader, Sask., the day after the killings. Evidence presented during this week's hearing will be subject to a publication ban.

Scientists Create A Sheep That's 15% Human

Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells - and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer. Professor Esmail Zanjani, of the University of Nevada, has spent seven years and £5million perfecting the technique, which involves injecting adult human cells into a sheep's foetus. He has already created a sheep liver which has a large proportion of human cells and eventually hopes to precisely match a sheep to a transplant patient, using their own stem cells to create their own flock of sheep. The process would involve extracting stem cells from the donor's bone marrow and injecting them into the peritoneum of a sheep's foetus. When the lamb is born, two months later, it would have a liver, heart, lungs and brain that are partly human and available for transplant. "We would take a couple of ounces of bone marrow cells from the patient,' said Prof Zanjani, whose work is highlighted in a Channel 4 programme tomorrow."We would isolate the stem cells from them, inject them into the peritoneum of these animals and then these cells would get distributed throughout the metabolic system into the circulatory system of all the organs in the body. The two ounces of stem cell or bone marrow cell we get would provide enough stem cells to do about ten foetuses. So you don't just have one organ for transplant purposes, you have many available in case the first one fails." At present 7,168 patients are waiting for an organ transplant in Britain alone, and two thirds of them are expected to die before an organ becomes available. Scientists at King's College, London, and the North East Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle have now applied to the HFEA, the Government's fertility watchdog, for permission to start work on the chimeras. But the development is likely to revive criticisms about scientists playing God, with the possibility of silent viruses, which are harmless in animals, being introduced into the human race. Dr Patrick Dixon, an international lecturer on biological trends, warned: "Many silent viruses could create a biological nightmare in humans. Mutant animal viruses are a real threat, as we have seen with HIV." Animal rights activists fear that if the cells get mixed together, they could end up with cellular fusion, creating a hybrid which would have the features and characteristics of both man and sheep. But Prof Zanjani said: "Transplanting the cells into foetal sheep at this early stage does not result in fusion at all."

Fire Marshal Resigns After Consulting Online Psychics

A Wisconsin fire marshal who admitted consulting online psychics at work didn't need a crystal ball to tell him it was time to resign. Tom Weber, a 22-year fire veteran, was put on administrative leave nine months ago after he was accused of asking an online psychic on a department computer whether he and others would be successful in removing Middleton's fire chief. Fire Chief Aaron Harris discovered the query and said Weber had exchanged e-mails with other people seeking to remove the chief. Weber said he's resigning effective March 31 and denied working against Harris. But he doesn't dispute contacting psychics on department computers.A computer technician found other communications dating back three years. "Everyone is entitled to their spiritual guidance," Weber said. He said he's been interested in psychics for years. Harris was elected chief in the Madison suburb in 2003 and later appointed to the position permanently. Harris has said during restructuring of the department, a small group of employees and volunteers began working against him. "This has been an ongoing battle for about two years," said Weber. "It was pretty much just time to step aside and let people go on with what they need to do."

Religious Villagers Say No To 'Satanic' Barcodes

A hundred people from a Russian village have refused to switch to new passports because they believe that the documents' barcodes contain satanic symbols, state television reported. Valentina Yepifanova, an elderly member of the village Bogolyubovo, said on Russian channel Rossiya TV that she wanted to keep her old, tattered passport.She said: 'We believe these [new] passports are sinful. They have these barcodes and people say they contain three sixes. We are against that.' Some residents of the village, which happens to mean 'God loving' in Russian, have even stopped collecting their pensions at the local post office. The reasoning behind this is that they believe the barcodes on the payment slips may contain the mark of the devil.

'Satan' Rumors Cost Amway Millions

Procter & Gamble Co. has won a jury award of $19.25 million in a civil lawsuit filed against four former Amway distributors accused of spreading false rumors linking the company to Satanism to advance their own business. The U.S. District Court jury in Salt Lake City found in favor of the Cincinnati-based consumer products company in a lawsuit filed by P&G in 1995. It was one of several the company brought over rumors alleging a link with the company's logo and Satanism. Rumors had begun circulating as early as 1981 that the company's logo - a bearded, crescent man-in-moon looking over a field of 13 stars - was a symbol of Satanism.The company alleged that Amway Corp. distributors revived those rumors in 1995, using a voice mail system to tell thousands of customers that part of Procter & Gamble profits went to satanic cults. The company's claim was based on the Lanham Act, which prohibits unfair competition and false advertising. "This is about protecting our reputation," Jim Johnson, P&G's chief legal officer, said in a statement Monday. "We will take appropriate legal measures when competitors unfairly undermine the reputation of our brands or our company." The former Amway distributors were shocked by the jury's verdict, said Randy L. Haugen, one of the defendants. "We are stunned," he said.

Bleeding Jesus

Thousands of people are flocking to a policeman's house in India's remote Andaman Islands to pray in front of two portraits of Jesus Christ, which are said to have been "bleeding" for the past two weeks, police and witnesses said. Eric Nathaniel, a police radio operator, found red fluid trickling down a portrait of Jesus in his house two weeks ago which he believed was blood. "We lit candles and prayed all night and a little later the blood dried but it soon started trickling down from the hands and heart of another portrait in the house," Nathaniel told Reporters in the islands' capital Port Blair.Officials said red paint used in the portraits could be melting in the extreme humidity, but islanders and priests were coming in boats from remote parts of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago to pray. "This is indeed a miracle and shows that Jesus was in pain because of our sins," said John Chrysostom, a priest at the Anglican Church of Port Blair. One portrait was temporarily moved to the local bishop's house for public viewing after police found it difficult to control swelling crowds.

'Captivity' Billboard Campaign Yanked

A series of billboards for the movie "Captivity" featuring a young woman's descent from kidnapping to murder victim have Los Angeles residents up in arms. The Los Angeles Times said that ever since the graphic billboards appeared in various locations throughout the city, residents have openly criticized their violent portrayal of a young woman's last moments."For any woman, it's flat out abusive to be forced to look at while we're trying to drive in this city," actress Lora Cain said. The movie promotion has four panels showing increasing violence against the featured actress ranging from abduction to termination. "The message is that this is what you do with women," Cain added. "You kidnap then, you confine them, you torture them and you kill them." An official at After Dark Films, one of the studios behind the film, said that the shocking billboards were simply a communication error with the printing plant. He assured reporters that the offending promotions would be taken down by Tuesday.

Psychics To Help Raise Money For Haunted Mansion

Maybe they already know how much money will be collected. Psychics will be the stars next weekend at a fund-raiser for Prospect Place, a 150-year-old mansion in eastern Ohio that some say is haunted. Psychic Laura Wissler says she's seen ghosts herself and has heard strange voices on recordings made at the mansion, which was an Underground Railroad haven for fleeing slaves.Prospect PlaceWissler and others claiming to have an in with the spirit world will offer psychic readings during an event at the site in Trinway Saturday night. Officials say about half the money that's raised will be used for needed repairs on the building. Trinway is about 63 miles east of Columbus Ohio.

Pastor Called In To Expel Ghost

The head of a day-care center in the Swedish city of Tromso has responded to reports of a meddlesome ghost by calling in a local pastor. With staff at the Bymyra day-care center reporting incidents of a ghostly presence stalking them in the halls or touching them, Anne Britt Johansdatter scheduled the pastor's upcoming visit to calm her employees.We are working on it, she said. We have contacted a pastor. They have their own liturgy for such things. While the pastor is set to visit the center next week and future plans are in place to relocate the facility, employees are still terrified at the prospect of being alone with the ghost. I don't dare stay in the day-care center alone in the evening, one employee said. Several of us have been chased up and down the hall. It's as if someone is following us. Other employees maintain they have had their hair and hands touched by the ghost in the former nursing home.

Huge Reservoir of Frozen Water Found on Mars

Mars is unlikely to sport beachfront property any time soon, but the planet has enough water ice at its south pole to blanket the entire planet in more than 30 feet of water if everything thawed out. With a radar technique, astronomers have penetrated for the first time about 2.5 miles (nearly four kilometers) beneath the south pole's frozen surface. The data showed that nearly pure water ice lies beneath. Discovered in the early 1970s, layered deposits of ice and dust cap the north and south poles of Mars. Until now, the deposits have been difficult to study closely with existing telescopes and satellites. The current advance comes from a probe of the deposits using an instrument aboard the Mars Express orbiter. "This is the first time that a ground-penetrating system has ever been used on Mars," said the new radar study's lead author, Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "All the other instruments used to study the surface of Mars in the past really have only been sensitive to what occurs at the very surface." The south polar layered ice deposits of Mars, with purple thinnest and red thickest. The black circle was not surveyed.(NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft also carries instruments designed, among other things, to probe beneath icy polar surfaces.) Plaut and his colleagues probed the deposits with radar echo sounding, typically used on Earth to study the interiors of glaciers. The instrument, called the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, or MARSIS, beams radio waves which penetrate the planet's surface and bounce off features having different electrical properties. The reflected beams revealed that 90 percent or more of the frozen polar material is pure water ice, sprinkled with dust particles. The scientists calculated that the water would form a 36-foot-deep ocean of sorts if spread over the Martian globe. "It's the best evidence that's been obtained to date for that thickness," said Ken Herkenhoff, a planetary geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz., who studies the Martian polar regions. He was not involved in the current study. Scientists have long known that Mars' north polar cap is a massive storehouse of water ice, and the current research team says they will use their radar technique to refine past estimates of its thickness and make-up. "These polar ice deposits are by far the largest reservoir of water or water ice that we know of on Mars," Plaut said. That's a lot of water, but not enough to account for the flowing streams thought to meander along Mars' surface in the past. "There's evidence that about 10 times or maybe even 100 times that much water has flowed across the surface of Mars to carve the various channels, the outflow valleys and other features we see in the images and topography data," Plaut told SPACE.com. So where's the rest of the water? One idea is that a subterranean plumbing system once ferried loads of water beneath the Martian surface. Plaut said his team also will search for underground pools with the radar technique.

UFO Conspiracy Didn't Cost Woman Election

Judges on a federal appeals court, taking up a case involving local politicians and UFOs, say a woman's claim that she has a constitutional right to an elective office is alien to them. Ruth E. Parks, the former recorder-treasurer of Horseshoe Bend, sued Mayor Robert Spear and others, claiming they conspired to prevent her re-election. But the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Saint Louis said voters turned Parks out of office, not the mayor and other defendants.At a trial of a supporter of the mayor, Parks testified that she believed in UFOs, and said she had seen one. Her husband testified at the same trial that his wife had been abducted by aliens, and cited a scar on her neck he said was proof of the abduction. The local newspaper published a story about the couple's testimony. Mrs. Parks did not challenge the article's accuracy but said it was defamatory and designed to make her look foolish. Mrs. Parks finished third in her re-election bid, and then sued the mayor, police, Perkins and the author of the article, claiming a conspiracy. The 8th Circuit said Parks has no constitutional right to be elected.

New Leopard Species Found In Borneo

Genetic tests show that a secretive leopard living high in Borneo's rainforest is actually a new species of cat -- not the same one found in mainland Asia as long believed. It's called a "Clouded Leopard" because of the cloud-shaped patterns on its fur. It is darker and grayer than the mainland species, with many distinct spots inside the clouds.The World Wildlife Fund announced the results of the tests, which were conducted by the U-S National Cancer Institute. The leopards are the biggest predators on Borneo, an island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. They live in the mountainous rainforests in the center of the island. The discovery adds to a growing list of animals and plants unique to Borneo.

Rat Curry Served At Noodle Stand

A curry that was boiled up with a Rat in the pot has been served to 18 people at a noodle stand at JR Shin-Koiwa Station in Tokyo, the operator of the stand said. Nippon Restaurant Enterprise Co. (NRE), the operator of the noodle stand, has apologized for the incident. "We offer our apologies and will return the money to customers who contact us," a company spokesman said. Nobody who ate at the stand has so far complained about any health problems.Between 6:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. curry and rice and curry noodles were served to 18 customers at Ajisai Chaya noodle stand at JR Shin-Koiwa Station in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, NRE officials said. At around 8:30 a.m., an 8-centimeter-long rat was caught by a ladle when the manager stirred the curry in the pot, prompting him to immediately close the stand. NRE officials said it is highly likely that the rat was mixed into the curry when the sauce was put into the pot.

Huge Seas Spotted On Saturn's Moon Titan

Scientists say they have found huge oceans filled with liquid gas on Saturn's largest moon Titan. Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which blasted off a decade ago, shows the seas are probably filled with liquid methane or ethane, the scientists say. "We've long hypothesised about oceans on Titan, and now with multiple instruments we have a first indication of seas that dwarf the lakes seen previously," says Professor Jonathan Lunine, a University of Arizona scientist who works on Cassini data.Scientists at the US space agency say Cassini's radar instruments captured several very dark features near Titan's north pole. The largest measures at least 100,000 square kilometres. Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system, after Jupiter's Ganymede, and is about 50% larger than the Earth's moon. NASA says although there is no proof the seas contain liquid, their shape and dark appearance on radar indicates smoothness. The liquid is probably methane or ethane because those compounds are abundant in clouds in Titan's atmosphere.The scientists say the presence of the seas reinforces current thinking that Titan's surface must be resupplying methane to its atmosphere. Because of the new images, the Cassini mission team is repositioning the spacecraft's radar instruments during a May fly-by so it can pass directly over the dark areas seen by the cameras. Cassini was launched in October 1997 and entered into orbit around Saturn in July 2004. The mission is a project between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

Killer Frogs Threatening Golden Gate Park

Killer Frogs have taken over Golden Gate Park's otherwise peaceful Lily Pond in San Francisco, causing a big problem. According to news reports, the city is preparing to do something to stop the African clawed frogs. While they are just 5 inches in length, the frogs are eating everything in sight -- including turtles, fish and other frogs. "They've eaten everything they can get their mouths around, and now they're eating each other," Eric Mills of the animal rights group Action for Animals, told Matier for his column.No one knows for sure when this frog species got into the pond or who put them there, but now city officials fear the killer frogs will spread throughout the Bay Area. "The fear is they will get out,'' Richard Schulke, president of the city's Animal Control and Welfare Commission, told Matier. So what do you do when a whole pond is infested with killer frogs? Animal Control has asked the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for the money to drain the pond and eliminate these frogs.

Man Tells Wisconsin Police He's A Werewolf

A former inmate told police that he was a werewolf and could change shapes after he was arrested for breaking into a woman’s apartment. Robert Marsh, 39, appeared in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court on charges of criminal trespassing, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana. A Fond du Lac woman called police about 3 a.m. and said Marsh broke through the deadbolt on her door and grabbed her. Two men in the home stopped him, a criminal complaint said.The woman said she had been letting Marsh stay with her since his release from prison several days earlier because he was homeless, the complaint said. Marsh had been drinking heavily and claimed to be a werewolf and involved in a witch religion, the woman told police. When police arrested Marsh, he told them he was a werewolf who could change forms, the complaint said. Marsh had a small amount of marijuana on him when he was arrested, the complaint said. Marsh was scheduled for a court hearing on March 14. Cash bail was set at $5,000.

Ghost Hunters In Search For 100% Proof Spirit At The Bar

Sceptics would dismiss the shadow that traversed Glasgow's oldest bar at 3.35am yesterday as no more than a trick of the light. But to paranormal experts investigating the Scotia Bar's spooky past, this moving figure was the latest proof that ghosts walk - or float - among us. Spirit Finders, Scotland's answer to Ghostbusters, were on a mission to detect signs of paranormal life lurking amidst the bar stools of this Glasgow institution. The five-strong crew arrived in the witching hour with an entourage of cameras, camcorders, voice recorders, 'ghost detectors' and temperature sensors to seek out the dead. And it wasn't long after last orders before spirits ran high. "He's over there!" said Shania, a self-declared psychic 'white witch' and key member of the group, which travels across Scotland investigating what they claim is the country's ghost community. "I can see his shadow. He's medium build and moving towards the cellar now." Silence. Everyone glances around in the dark. Then some rattling noises emanated from inside the cellar. It had been empty when it was locked. Of course, Scotland's obsession with the paranormal is well known. BBC bosses captured our national fascination in the hit paranormal drama, Sea Of Souls. Set in a fictional university parapsychology department, the psychic team ventured into back alleys and tenements to find answers to modern-day mysteries.Yesterday's mission made the TV series a reality. Viewers may have scoffed from the comfort of their sofa at the suggestion that spirits were responsible for unsolved mysteries in contemporary Scotland. But when strange things started happening in the Scotia yesterday, it made even the sceptics among us stop and think. Two deaths have been reported in or near the Scotia, which has a rich history as a bar dating back to 1792. Both deaths were "detected" within minutes by Shania, who insisted she had never set foot in the bar before yesterday. Shania, who asked to be referred to by her professional name only, was quick to claim an explanation for the shadow that had moved across the bar. "A man hanged himself in here in the cellar," she said. "He worked in the bar. It was his home from home. But something tipped him over the edge. One day he came in here and took his own life. The last thing he saw was that wall." Bar manager Mary Rafferty, who agreed to yesterday's session after being contacted by the group, said the story was spot on. "I hadn't told them anything about the bar's history. But their depictions of past events are accurate," said Rafferty. "A Scotia manager hanged himself in the bar in the 1970s. It's not a well-known fact. You'd have to trawl through hundreds of newspapers to find that out. It's sad to think he might still be there." More spirits appeared as the night went on. We met Willy, an ageing ghost from the 1930s sitting in one of the bar's snug rooms. To confirm the presence, the team whipped out their gadgets. A compass dial whizzed round in circles while the 'ghost detector' - designed to verify electro-magnetic fields - beeped repeatedly.We also met Annie, an alleged 20th-century prostitute who 'answered' questions by moving a glass on a table. In the dark, with five fingers perched lightly on the glass bottom rim, the woman of the night is said to have made the glass circle rapidly and repeatedly. Then, when asked to do something extraordinary as proof of her presence, the phone rang. Rafferty admitted yesterday's events made her question her sceptical view of the paranormal. "If it had just been one phone I'd have dismissed it as coincidence. But two phones with different numbers rang in succession. I picked up and there was no answer. I dialled 1471. The caller withheld their number." She added: "I'm still a sceptic. But I'm more inclined to believe in some kind of paranormal activity now. Certain things - like the phone ringing - were either such a coincidence or couldn't be explained. My mind is not made up yet. I'm baffled."

Nepal's 'Buddha Boy' Disappears Again

A teenager from a Nepali village who captured the imagination of the world with tales of his long and arduous meditation for enlightenment has vanished once more, media reports said. In 2005, 16-year-old Ram Bahadur Bomjan, a penniless boy from Bara district in southern Nepal, hit the headlines following reports of him mediating cross-legged, just like the Buddha is shown in traditional paintings and sculptures, under a tree. The emaciated, longhaired boy was reported to be clad in just a piece of white cloth even during the harsh winter. He was said to have been meditating for 10 months without taking food or even water. As devotees and the curious from far and wide flocked to see him, there arose the legend of the Buddha Boy, the prodigy who was thought to be an incarnation of the Buddha. Then as mysteriously as he had appeared in the forest, Bomjan disappeared from there in March 2006, days before the fall of King Gyanendra's regime.However, towards the end of 2006, he was sighted in a nearby forest where he reportedly told people he had been wandering in search of peace and quiet. After his re-appearance, the fickle public began losing interest in the mystery teen and there were few further reports about him. But he reappeared in the media when the Himalayan Times daily said the boy has gone missing again since Thursday. It quoted a police officer, inspector Rameshwor Yadav, as saying that Bomjan had disappeared after telling a devotee he would not be rooted to one spot. The Buddha incarnation story received currency since the Buddha was also born in southern Nepal as Prince Siddharth. Also, like Siddharth's mother, Bomjan's mother is also called Maya and has told the media of her strange dreams, like her ancient namesake had had.

Haunted Spa?

As redevelopment work continues at Bridlington's Spa complex one man believes the disruption could have upset an unhappy spirit – and not the sort served over the bar. Robert Eastwood, 32, of Trinity Road, Bridlington, a self-styled paranormal investigator, said he was convinced at least part of the building was haunted. He worked there in the kitchens around 10 years ago and had an unnerving experience with a store room door. "The handle on a door which led to a cupboard was broken. I jammed it tight against the door frame and there was no way it was going to come open but the latch lifted on its own and it opened on its own," said Mr Eastwood. At the time he discussed it with work colleagues. "They also felt there was something, especially some of the girls who worked there. I am wondering if all this work has disturbed anything and if anyone on the site has had any feelings of a presence," he said.Mr Eastwood, who has already conducted a paranormal investigation at Bridlington's Bull and Sun pub and other local places, is also hoping to hold an investigation at Carnaby, once a wartime Lancaster bomber base. Anne Chamberlain, on-site project manager for East Riding of Yorkshire Council at the Spa, said there had been no reports of any strange feelings or ghostly happenings on the construction site but Spa manager Jeremy Hartshill said the complex was supposed to have its own ghost. "I believe it is thought to be the ghost of someone who died after falling from a balcony," he said.

Jail Ghost Hunt Is Bliss For Team

There were spooky goings on in Littledean Jail when a team of ghost hunters dropped in for the night.A group from the Brilliant Bliss Paranormal Team spent time behind the bars of the torture block last week.During the vigil, the team got what it believes is proof of ghosts and paranormal activity in the old house of correction, now the Crime Through Time museum owned by Andy Jones. Group member Toni Rebecca Hunt said: "We captured orbs on film and on camera. At one point we sat in a dark cell with the night-vision cameras. I told the team I could feel my hair and face being touched by a spirit."

Pig Born With One Head, Two Mouths, Two Noses, Three Eyes

In the odd animals hall of fame, this little piggy takes the cake. Pigs are a sign of fertility in China, and in the Year of the Pig, this piglet got more than his fair share, being born with two mouths, two noses and three eyes.Liu Shuping, a farmer specialising in raising pigs, presented the new-born piglet in Xi an, in north-west China's Shannxi province yesterday. But it's not unique. Only last month there were reports of a pig being born in Quanzhou in East China's Fujian province with two mouths and four eyes.

Five Thais Die After Smelling Rotten Fish

Five Thai fishermen died and two were taken to hospital after inhaling gas released by rotting fish in the hold of a trawler, police said. They fainted at the smell of the decomposing fish kept in the bottom of the trawler along the Andaman coast of southern Thailand on Monday, and the five men drowned in shallow water, police said.Two other men were also found in the trawler and taken to a nearby hospital, police said, but declined to give further details.

Serbian Vampire Hunters Prevent Milosevic Come-Back

Serbian vampire hunters have acted to prevent the very remote possibility that former dictator Slobodan Milosevic might stage a come-back - by driving a three-foot stake through his heart. According to Ananova, the politically-motivated Van Helsings, led by Miroslav Milosevic (no relation), gave themselves up to cops after attacking the deceased despot in his grave in the eastern town of Pozarevac. Milosevic popped his clogs back in 2006, while on trial in a UN war crimes tribunal for various unsavoury activities connected with the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia.Slobodan MilosevicMiroslav Milosevic said "he and his fellow vampire hunters acted to stop the former dictator returning from the dead to haunt the country". His team explained that the wooden stake had been "driven into the ground and through the late president's heart". Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia naturally condemned the desecration, while his daughter-in-law Milica Gajic said she "planned to sue the vampire hunters and accused the police of failing to protect the grave properly".

Hynotised Student Wakes Up In Morocco

TV hypnotist Derren Brown put a student in a trance - and woke him up Morocco’s chaotic Marrakech market. Roehampton University student Richard Critchlow, 21, slept through the 13-hour trip. He stumbled out of a photo booth in Marrakech after being hypnotised in an identical one in England. Brown said: “He was in a deep sleep. He had no sense of any time passing at all. His profound bewilderment eventually gave way to huge delight.” After being hypnotised, Mr Critchlow, from Wolverhampton, was whisked off to Heathrow Airport. Hypnotist Derren BrownHe was slumped in a wheelchair as he was put on a plane, flown to Morocco then wheeled through passport control. He was then placed in the set-up booth in Marrakech’s Djema al Fna market. He emerged looking dumbstruck, as street sellers approached him with dates, nuts and juice, the paper said. He was allowed to wander through the streets before Brown let him in on the prank. Mr Crichlow had answered an ad to appear on Brown’s new show Trick or Treat on Channel 4 next month.

Ghost Floats Through Building's History

It's no mystery why the Masonic Center, one of the city's historically significant buildings, is enjoying celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The real mystery is the identity of the ghost some say inhabits the building. The former home of Henry Durand and current home of the Masonic Center at 1012 Main St. features the intricate craftsmanship of the day, 12 fireplaces and a ballroom on the third floor. To celebrate the milestone, free tours were offered to the public last Sunday at the center, 1012 Main St. Masonic Center members and other volunteers were in period costume, and the house was staged to look much as it did 150 years ago. According to Wendy Spencer, event coordinator for the center, the Durand family owned the house until 1892, when it was purchased by Frederick Robinson, an executive with Case. In 1906, Robinson had the home modernized with indoor plumbing and electricity. "It was considered one of the most modern, privately owned residences in the city at the time," Spencer said.Robinson also spent money for decorating touches, like the hand-painted wallpaper in the dining room, she added. Historical documents show that Robinson sold the house to the Masons in 1921 for $35,000. Spencer said that as a member of the Masonic society, Robinson knew the organization would maintain the integrity of the building while using it for meetings and as a club. Other interesting details of the home include an addition that was built in 1922 and decorated in an Egyptian theme to reflect the country's fascination with the discovery of King Tut's tomb during that time. And there is, of course, the ghost story. Spencer cites several reports of a woman wearing a servant's uniform who's been seen in the dining room, the entryway and in the kitchen. "Most of the members of the Durand and Robinson families were either born or died in the house, so it makes sense that there might be a spirit or two hanging around," she said. "But based on the descriptions, it's probably Mary Williams, a housekeeper who still feels it's her duty to care for the house." Today, the center still plays host to meetings for local Masons as well as for Job's Daughters, a group for girls ages 11 to 20; for Demolay, a group for boys ages 11 to 20; and for Eastern Star, a group for adults who are not necessarily Masons. Financial support mostly comes from parties and wedding receptions.

Teacher Resigns In Witch Dispute

A South Texas teacher accused of keeping two girls in his classroom to protect them from others who thought they were witches has resigned. Jose A. Ramos, an Advanced Placement Spanish teacher who had been with the district 20 years, resigned hours before the Roma school board was to consider firing him. School district police said Ramos is accused of detaining the 14- and 17-year-old cousins in his unlocked classroom throughout the school day Oct. 20.He was charged with two counts of unlawful restraint of a student and was on paid leave since the incident. Ramos allegedly told the girls they'd be arrested for casting a spell on a fellow teacher if they left the room. School district police Chief Noe Flores said Ramos claimed he was protecting the girls from students who were mad at them. Ramos was not immediately be reached for comment. His resignation takes effect at the end of the school year.

Superstition Sparks Toilet Cleaning Craze

Cleanliness has long been next to godliness for the hygiene-conscious Japanese, but fortune-tellers are now advising those who want to succeed in life to start by scrubbing the smallest room. Cleaning the toilet to attract luck, published this month, is the latest in a series of books advising readers on how to attract good fortune using a brush and an array of cleaning fluids."Don't just wipe the floor, polish it," the book instructs. "It's important to maintain a positive mood while cleaning." The books are inspired by Buddhist teachings and feng shui, a traditional Chinese belief that people's fortunes are determined by their surroundings. The idea that Lady Luck may be hiding in the lavatory has been taken up by magazines and television programs.

Mysterious Sand Circles

Unexplained sand circles -- kind of like crop circles without the crops -- have been found in the middle of a dry Rio Grande in the Upper Valley. "It's pretty weird," Antonio Padilla of Sunland Park said while looking over the series of circles on a sand bed.At least one man claimed to have seen a mysterious light in the sky land in the area and take off on Tuesday night, Padilla said. The largest circle is about 35-feet wide contains three other circles made by an 8-inch deep trenches in sand bed in the middle of the river bed between Artcraft and Borderland roads

UFO Science Key To Halting Climate Change

A former Canadian defense minister is demanding governments worldwide disclose and use secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes to stem climate change, a local paper said. "I would like to see what (alien) technology there might be that could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels within a generation ... that could be a way to save our planet," Paul Hellyer, 83, told the Ottawa Citizen. Alien spacecrafts would have traveled vast distances to reach Earth, and so must be equipped with advanced propulsion systems or used exceptional fuels, he told the newspaper.Such alien technologies could offer humanity alternatives to fossil fuels, he said, pointing to the enigmatic 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico -- which has become a shrine for UFO believers -- as an example of alien contact. "We need to persuade governments to come clean on what they know. Some of us suspect they know quite a lot, and it might be enough to save our planet if applied quickly enough," he said. Hellyer became defense minister in former prime minister Lester Pearson's cabinet in 1963, and oversaw the controversial integration and unification of Canada's army, air force and navy into the Canadian Forces. He shocked Canadians in September 2005 by announcing he once saw a UFO.

Voodoo Hex At The Fire Station?

A Middleton fire marshal has been on paid leave since July while officials investigate allegations he used a department computer to consult with an online psychic and conspired with others to buy an Internet voodoo hex against the chief. The consultations by Tom Weber sought to divine whether he and others would be successful in removing Fire Chief Aaron Harris, Harris said. Searches of department computers also found Weber had exchanged e-mails seeking to discredit and disparage the chief, Harris said. "It was all legally obtained in our district-owned computers," Harris said of the investigation. "This is really creepy stuff." A disciplinary hearing for Weber is scheduled for March 19 before an arbitrator, who will make a recommendation to the Middleton Fire Protection District Commission. But Bruce Ehlke, attorney for Firefighters Local 311, said the e-mails are protected speech. The union has filed a complaint on behalf of Weber with the state Employee Relations Commission. "The hex thing, that was a joke" Ehlke said. "The hex wasn't Weber's joke. The person stated that joke in an e-mail sent to Weber's personal, private e-mail account. The whole thing about the psychic is a sideshow."But Harris isn't laughing. He said the contact with the psychic and other e-mails are part of a larger effort started in 2004 by a handful of fire department employees and volunteers to discredit him and force him to resign. One of the e-mails Weber received indicated someone had bought a hex "wishing harm upon me," Harris said, although he hadn't seen the alleged curse. Weber could not be reached for comment. Harris was elected chief in 2003 and later appointed to the position permanently by the Fire Commission. Since being named chief, Harris has begun restructuring the department, including changing who conducted fire inspections and when they were completed. The changes affected Weber but did not threaten his job, he said. Harris said it was during this time a small group of employees and volunteers began working against him. In July 2005 more than 20 current and former Middleton firefighters wrote a letter to the commission complaining of safety concerns, fiscal lapses and poor personnel practices at the department. A similar complaint was filed in 2004. Harris was cleared of wrongdoing in both complaints. The union has also filed three complaints against Harris with the WERC since he was appointed chief.It was while researching the status of a WERC hearing through the online search engine Google that Harris discovered Weber's psychic connection. On an archived page of a psychic Web site he found a message from someone identifying himself as Thomas Weber asking about his boss, Aaron Harris. "Our union has filed grievences with the WERC," the message read. "He is on a major power trip and has been treating us like trash, will our union obtain a favorable outcome in the hearing." The psychic, identified only as Atham Z, was not encouraging: "I don't feel you will be completely happy with the outcome of the hearing. I expect your boss will be warned but not disciplined for his past actions." After finding the message and several others online, a computer technician checked the district's computers and found the exchanges were happening at work. The e-mails and psychic communications date to 2004, or to around the time Harris was named chief. Harris confronted Weber with the findings in May and formal disciplinary charges were filed with the Middleton Fire Protection District ComMission in June. Ehlke said Weber received a number of e-mails over two to three years in which other people criticized the chief. "Some of the e-mails were fairly forcefully stated," he said. "People were very concerned about what was going on." Weber received the messages because he was seen as the primary contact person seeking union representation for the regular full-time employees, Ehlke said. He said the alleged psychic contacts or alleged attempted voodoo curse weren't "a major issue." "The more important concern is . . . the fire chief's real objection was to these e-mails Weber received, sometimes couched in intemperate language," he said. Harris disagreed. "I don't find it to be a joking matter, nor do I believe it was a joke."

Baby Comes Back From The Dead

After trying for 30 minutes to bring two-week-old Woody Lander back to life, doctors decided there was nothing more they could do and called in his parents to say their tearful farewells. A nurse passed Woody to his heartbroken father and gently pulled a tube from his mouth so they could kiss him goodbye. It was then that the miracle happened. The lifeless baby suddenly coughed and moved. Nurses immediately grabbed Woody back, re-attached the tubes and lifesaving equipment and he came back to life in front of his astonished parents. No one has been able to explain why Woody, who had suffered a massive heart attack, was able to return from the brink. And despite being starved of oxygen for so long, he appears to have suffered no permanent brain damage. Now 14 months old, Woody is a happy-go-lucky youngster who should be able to lead a normal life. His parents Jon, 34, and Karen Lander, 32, still can't believe what they went through. Woody LanderThey had been shopping in a supermarket near their home in Leeds in December 2005 when they noticed Woody looked ashen and felt cold. They rang the NHS Direct emergency line from their car and an ambulance was sent to take them to Leeds General Infirmary. Soon after arrival, he suffered a heart attack and stopped breathing. Mr Lander and his wife, an administration worker, were taken to a room to see Woody on a bed and a doctor giving him heart massage. They were taken to another room to wait for news. Mr Lander, a civil servant, recalled: "It was awful, those 30 minutes seemed to last forever. After what seemed like an eternity the doctor came out and said, 'I think we have done all we can'. They had reached the cut-off point for resuscitation. "We were taken back to see him and Woody was handed to us to say goodbye. We were just in bits. We didn't know what to say or do. They started taking his tubes out and that's when he started twitching. "They took him straight back off us. They managed to get his heart going again and he came back to life in front of us. It was amazing. We still don't know how he managed to come round - we just know he's a little miracle. He's growing up into a happy and healthy little boy." Two weeks before the drama Woody, the couple's first child, had been born naturally at the hospital, weighing 7lb 11oz. After the heart attack, doctors discovered he had a blocked aorta which was restricting blood flow to his heart. He underwent a major operation to repair it and was allowed home three weeks later. Mr Lander added: "The doctors said they had never heard of anyone coming round after 30 minutes of apparent lifelessness, let alone a baby. "But the people at the hospital were unbelievable. They made the miracle happen. There must have been 100 people gathered round him."