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In the wake of the wildly successful Spirit and Opportunity rover missions, you would think NASA would approach the landing of the next Martian probe with high confidence. But the truth is sometimes not what you would think. "I do not feel confident. But in my heart I'm an optimist, and I think this is going to be a very successful mission," said principal investigator Peter Smith, an optical scientist with the University of Arizona. "The thrill of victory is so much more exciting than the agony of defeat." Indeed, the truth is that the planetary scientists and engineers who make up the Mars Phoenix Lander team will be biting their nails Sunday evening as they cluster around computer monitors in mission control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. That's when their spacecraft, which launched to Mars last August, will finally arrive on the Red Planet. Everyone on the team is primed and ready to get down to business, putting the suite of scientific instruments aboard Phoenix to work analyzing the soils and permafrost of Mars' arctic tundra for signatures of life, either past or present.
An appellate court decision upended the custody case that sent more than 440 children from a polygamist sect's ranch into foster care, but it's not clear whether the children might soon return home. The Third Court of Appeals in Austin said the state failed to show the youngsters were in any immediate danger, the only grounds under Texas law for taking children from their parents without court action. Texas District Judge Barbara Walther now has 10 days to release the youngsters from custody, but the state could appeal to the Texas Supreme Court and keep the children from immediately going back to their parents. The decision Thursday in one of the biggest child-custody cases in U.S. history was a humiliating defeat for the state Child Protective Services agency. It was hailed as vindication by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who claim they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
5/14/08
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At least 14 people were injured, including a child, when a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping mall in southern Israel Wednesday, just as the Israeli prime minister was warning against such attacks. e rocket struck the top floor of the Hutzot Shopping Center in Ashkelon, trapping several people under rubble, the Jerusalem Post reported.
A hospital official said a woman and her young daughter were seriously wounded, along with another child. Another woman was seriously wounded, and several other people were slightly wounded, said the official, Leah Malul of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket attack in a statement on its Web site.
Rescue service director Eli Bean said a young girl was among the wounded. Witnesses told Israeli radio stations that the rocket caused considerable damage.
With the end of another school year approaching, college sophomore Moshe Kai Cavalin is cramming for final exams in classes such as advanced mathematics, foreign languages and music.
But Cavalin is only 10 years old. And at 4-foot-7, his shoes don't quite touch the floor as he puts down a schoolbook and swivels around in his chair to greet a visitor.
"I'm studying statistics," says the alternately precocious and shy Cavalin, his textbook lying open on the living room desk of his parents' apartment in this quiet suburb east of Los Angeles.
Within a year, if he keeps up his grades and completes the rest of his requirements, he hopes to transfer from his two-year program at East Los Angeles College to a prestigious four-year school and study astrophysics.
At least 14 people were injured, including a child, when a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping mall in southern Israel Wednesday, just as the Israeli prime minister was warning against such attacks. e rocket struck the top floor of the Hutzot Shopping Center in Ashkelon, trapping several people under rubble, the Jerusalem Post reported.
A hospital official said a woman and her young daughter were seriously wounded, along with another child. Another woman was seriously wounded, and several other people were slightly wounded, said the official, Leah Malul of Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket attack in a statement on its Web site.
Rescue service director Eli Bean said a young girl was among the wounded. Witnesses told Israeli radio stations that the rocket caused considerable damage.
With the end of another school year approaching, college sophomore Moshe Kai Cavalin is cramming for final exams in classes such as advanced mathematics, foreign languages and music.
But Cavalin is only 10 years old. And at 4-foot-7, his shoes don't quite touch the floor as he puts down a schoolbook and swivels around in his chair to greet a visitor.
"I'm studying statistics," says the alternately precocious and shy Cavalin, his textbook lying open on the living room desk of his parents' apartment in this quiet suburb east of Los Angeles.
Within a year, if he keeps up his grades and completes the rest of his requirements, he hopes to transfer from his two-year program at East Los Angeles College to a prestigious four-year school and study astrophysics.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
5/13/08
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Rescue workers sifted through tangled debris of toppled schools and homes Tuesday for nearly 19,000 victims buried or missing after China's worst earthquake in three decades, where the death toll soared to more than 12,000 people in the hardest-hit province alone, state media reported. Hope that many survivors would be found was fleeting. Only 58 people were extricated from demolished buildings across the quake area so far, China Seismological Bureau spokesman Zhang Hongwei told the official Xinhua News Agency. In one county, 80 percent of the buildings had been destroyed. "Survivors can hold on for some time. Now it's not time to give up," Wang Zhenyao, disaster relief division director at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told reporters in Bejing. A day after the powerful 7.9 magnitude quake struck Monday afternoon, state media said rescue workers had reached the epicenter in Wenchuan county, but the number of casualties there was still unknown. The quake was centered just north of the Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu in central China, tearing into urban areas and mountain villages.
Multiple blasts kill at least 25 in India. Explosions hit crowded walled city often frequented by tourists. At least six bombs exploded in the western Indian city of Jaipur on Tuesday evening, most within a few minutes of each other, killing at least 25 people and injuring around 100, police, officials and witnesses said, according to Reuters. The Associated Press reported that police said 30 were killed and 100 wounded in blasts. The NDTV news channel said 35 people had been killed. The bombs all exploded in Jaipur's crowded walled city, an area often frequented by tourists. One was beside a Hindu temple. India's Junior Home Minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal told local television that the blasts were caused by bombs and said 100 people had been injured.
Rescue workers sifted through tangled debris of toppled schools and homes Tuesday for nearly 19,000 victims buried or missing after China's worst earthquake in three decades, where the death toll soared to more than 12,000 people in the hardest-hit province alone, state media reported. Hope that many survivors would be found was fleeting. Only 58 people were extricated from demolished buildings across the quake area so far, China Seismological Bureau spokesman Zhang Hongwei told the official Xinhua News Agency. In one county, 80 percent of the buildings had been destroyed. "Survivors can hold on for some time. Now it's not time to give up," Wang Zhenyao, disaster relief division director at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, told reporters in Bejing. A day after the powerful 7.9 magnitude quake struck Monday afternoon, state media said rescue workers had reached the epicenter in Wenchuan county, but the number of casualties there was still unknown. The quake was centered just north of the Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu in central China, tearing into urban areas and mountain villages.
Multiple blasts kill at least 25 in India. Explosions hit crowded walled city often frequented by tourists. At least six bombs exploded in the western Indian city of Jaipur on Tuesday evening, most within a few minutes of each other, killing at least 25 people and injuring around 100, police, officials and witnesses said, according to Reuters. The Associated Press reported that police said 30 were killed and 100 wounded in blasts. The NDTV news channel said 35 people had been killed. The bombs all exploded in Jaipur's crowded walled city, an area often frequented by tourists. One was beside a Hindu temple. India's Junior Home Minister Shri Prakash Jaiswal told local television that the blasts were caused by bombs and said 100 people had been injured.
Friday, May 9, 2008
5/9/08
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U.S. Army Sgt. Jacque Keeslar lost both legs in Iraq nearly two years ago. To get around, he relies on a wheelchair and a pair of artificial legs, which help him walk in short bursts."If I have to do a half mile or mile of walking, it just exhausts me," Keeslar said. Now, thanks to a specially designed Segway, the battery-powered transporter, Keeslar says he can ditch his wheelchair and get around without people looking down on him. Keeslar was among 30 vets who received their own modified Segways this week, courtesy of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology. The nonprofit group presented its latest batch of Segways to the veterans in a ceremony Wednesday at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. That brings the number of Segways they have donated to vets to about 150. Leonard Timm, who founded DRAFT in 2005, calls the mission "Segs-4-Vets."
Missiles, tanks and other heavy weaponry rolled through Moscow's Red Square in the Victory Day parade Friday, the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that they have appeared in the annual event.Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russia's most important secular holiday, both honoring the enormous sacrifices of World War II, in which nearly 9 million Red Army soldiers are estimated to have died, and asserting the country's military strength. Russia has nearly quadrupled its defense spending in recent years, aiming to resuscitate the military forces that deteriorated in the post-Soviet period. Topol missiles, which have the capacity to carry nuclear warheads, were part of the display of more than 100 tanks, mobile missile units and armored vehicles that was aimed at underlining the military revival. But many of the heavy weapons shown were only slightly modernized versions of equipment developed decades ago.
U.S. Army Sgt. Jacque Keeslar lost both legs in Iraq nearly two years ago. To get around, he relies on a wheelchair and a pair of artificial legs, which help him walk in short bursts."If I have to do a half mile or mile of walking, it just exhausts me," Keeslar said. Now, thanks to a specially designed Segway, the battery-powered transporter, Keeslar says he can ditch his wheelchair and get around without people looking down on him. Keeslar was among 30 vets who received their own modified Segways this week, courtesy of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology. The nonprofit group presented its latest batch of Segways to the veterans in a ceremony Wednesday at the Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. That brings the number of Segways they have donated to vets to about 150. Leonard Timm, who founded DRAFT in 2005, calls the mission "Segs-4-Vets."
Missiles, tanks and other heavy weaponry rolled through Moscow's Red Square in the Victory Day parade Friday, the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union that they have appeared in the annual event.Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russia's most important secular holiday, both honoring the enormous sacrifices of World War II, in which nearly 9 million Red Army soldiers are estimated to have died, and asserting the country's military strength. Russia has nearly quadrupled its defense spending in recent years, aiming to resuscitate the military forces that deteriorated in the post-Soviet period. Topol missiles, which have the capacity to carry nuclear warheads, were part of the display of more than 100 tanks, mobile missile units and armored vehicles that was aimed at underlining the military revival. But many of the heavy weapons shown were only slightly modernized versions of equipment developed decades ago.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
5/7/08
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The latest battle in the war on illegal immigration isn't over the smuggling of undocumented workers, it's over the trash they leave behind. Government officials and border activists say the garbage dumped in the desert by illegal immigrants and their smugglers is staggering. And the cleanup is costing taxpayers millions. In 2006 alone, more than 1.18 million pounds of trash was collected along southern Arizona border, many in the meeting spots where immigrants rest, change clothes and wait to hitch a ride further north with a smuggler.Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which covers most of the Arizona border, doesn't have statistics about how many people cross through each year, but on average, agents apprehend 1,500 people a day, with 378,000 undocumented immigrants caught in 2007 alone.
San Diego State University has suspended six fraternities after a sweeping drug investigation that landed members of three fraternities in jail on suspicion of openly dealing drugs on campus.
The probe -- prompted by the cocaine overdose death last year of a freshman sorority member -- led to the arrests of 96 people, 75 of them San Diego State students. A second drug death occurred during the investigation. Twenty-nine people were arrested early Tuesday in raids at nine locations including the Theta Chi fraternity, where agents found cocaine, Ecstasy and three guns. Eighteen of those arrested were wanted on warrants for selling to undercover agents.
Theta Chi and five other fraternities have been suspended pending a hearing on evidence gathered during the investigation, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall.
The latest battle in the war on illegal immigration isn't over the smuggling of undocumented workers, it's over the trash they leave behind. Government officials and border activists say the garbage dumped in the desert by illegal immigrants and their smugglers is staggering. And the cleanup is costing taxpayers millions. In 2006 alone, more than 1.18 million pounds of trash was collected along southern Arizona border, many in the meeting spots where immigrants rest, change clothes and wait to hitch a ride further north with a smuggler.Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which covers most of the Arizona border, doesn't have statistics about how many people cross through each year, but on average, agents apprehend 1,500 people a day, with 378,000 undocumented immigrants caught in 2007 alone.
San Diego State University has suspended six fraternities after a sweeping drug investigation that landed members of three fraternities in jail on suspicion of openly dealing drugs on campus.
The probe -- prompted by the cocaine overdose death last year of a freshman sorority member -- led to the arrests of 96 people, 75 of them San Diego State students. A second drug death occurred during the investigation. Twenty-nine people were arrested early Tuesday in raids at nine locations including the Theta Chi fraternity, where agents found cocaine, Ecstasy and three guns. Eighteen of those arrested were wanted on warrants for selling to undercover agents.
Theta Chi and five other fraternities have been suspended pending a hearing on evidence gathered during the investigation, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
5/6/08
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Kilauea's toxic gas kills crops, sickens islanders
For eight years, Tony and Sam Bayaoa have grown thousands of bright red, yellow and pink protea flowers on their farm. Then in March, Kilauea volcano opened a new vent and began spewing double the usual amount of toxic gas.Now about 70 percent of their crop is dried, brown and brittle. "The first reaction was -- did someone poison the plants?" said Tony Bayaoa, whose two-acre farm is 35 miles from the volcano. "I've lost my livelihood." Big Island crops are shriveling as sulfur dioxide from Kilauea wafts over them and envelops them in "vog," or volcanic smog. People are wheezing, and schoolchildren are being kept indoors during recess. High gas levels led Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to close several days last month, forcing the evacuation of thousands of visitors. Residents of this volcanic island are used to toxic gas. But this haze is so bad that farmers are thinking about growing different crops, and many people are worrying about their health
GI's Graphic Afghan Firefight Recorded on Family's Voice Mail
The Otis, Ore., soldier was stationed halfway around the world in Afghanistan, part of a military police detail. But technology — in this case, a cell phone — gave Sandie Petee the comfort that her MP son was no more than just a call away. Until, that is, a simple glitch — the inadvertent redial — sent the family into panic. Phillips was on patrol when his unit engaged the Taliban. Not only did a firefight ensue, but his cell phone automatically called the Petee home, leaving a three-minute frightening message laced with the sounds of gunfire and panicked soldiers yelling for "more ammo." "His friend died a year ago in Iraq," Sandie Petee told KPTV, "and I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, this may be the last time I hear my son's voice on the phone.' " To make matters worse, at the end of the heart-wrenching message, "you could hear a guy saying 'Incoming! RPG!' And then it cut off," Phillip's brother John Petee said
Kilauea's toxic gas kills crops, sickens islanders
For eight years, Tony and Sam Bayaoa have grown thousands of bright red, yellow and pink protea flowers on their farm. Then in March, Kilauea volcano opened a new vent and began spewing double the usual amount of toxic gas.Now about 70 percent of their crop is dried, brown and brittle. "The first reaction was -- did someone poison the plants?" said Tony Bayaoa, whose two-acre farm is 35 miles from the volcano. "I've lost my livelihood." Big Island crops are shriveling as sulfur dioxide from Kilauea wafts over them and envelops them in "vog," or volcanic smog. People are wheezing, and schoolchildren are being kept indoors during recess. High gas levels led Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to close several days last month, forcing the evacuation of thousands of visitors. Residents of this volcanic island are used to toxic gas. But this haze is so bad that farmers are thinking about growing different crops, and many people are worrying about their health
GI's Graphic Afghan Firefight Recorded on Family's Voice Mail
The Otis, Ore., soldier was stationed halfway around the world in Afghanistan, part of a military police detail. But technology — in this case, a cell phone — gave Sandie Petee the comfort that her MP son was no more than just a call away. Until, that is, a simple glitch — the inadvertent redial — sent the family into panic. Phillips was on patrol when his unit engaged the Taliban. Not only did a firefight ensue, but his cell phone automatically called the Petee home, leaving a three-minute frightening message laced with the sounds of gunfire and panicked soldiers yelling for "more ammo." "His friend died a year ago in Iraq," Sandie Petee told KPTV, "and I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, this may be the last time I hear my son's voice on the phone.' " To make matters worse, at the end of the heart-wrenching message, "you could hear a guy saying 'Incoming! RPG!' And then it cut off," Phillip's brother John Petee said
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