Hot Stories of the Week with Links

• 'Booms' reported in Clayton, Wendell
  Loud booms shook homes in North Carolina. --WRAL.com
• New Partial Rings Discovered Around Saturn
  Each ring accompanies a small moon. --Space.com
• Video: Rosetta's Asteroid Rendezvous
  The Rosetta space probe has made a close pass of asteroid Steins. --ESA
• Ripper 'claimed earlier victims'
  Jack the Ripper may have killed his first victim 25 years earlier than previously thought, detective says. --BBC News
• Scientists Interested in Large Footprint Discovery
  A retired Cookeville, TN builder has discovered a mysterious set of large footprints on his property (with video). --WSMV-TV
• The human Buzz Lightyear
  Swiss pilot Yves Rossy gets set to fly across the English Channel with jet-fuel powered wings strapped to his back. --Daily Mail
• Warmth Opens Arctic Routes, Experts Say
  A ring of navigable waters has opened all around the fringes of the cap of sea ice drifting on the warming Arctic Ocean. --New York Times
• Texas Official Demands Answers About UFO
  Mark Murphy: "I want to know why public officials weren't notified of a large military operation in our area."
  --CBS 11 News
• Strange New Comet Explains Old Mystery
  Object 2008 KV42 is orbiting the sun backward and almost perpendicular to the planets. --Space.com
• Rosetta probe makes asteroid pass
  The Rosetta space probe has made a close pass of asteroid Steins. --BBC News
• Physicists investigate how time moves forward
  Scientists develop a method to accurately measure our intuitive concept of time. --PhysOrg.com
• FDA posts list of drugs under investigation
  The government on Friday began posting a list of prescription drugs under investigation for potential safety problems. --AP
• Scientists get death threats over Hadron Collider
  Phone calls and emails are pouring in from people who fear the world will end next Wednesday. --The Telegraph
• Anti-cloak gives vision to the invisible
  An anti-cloak could allow a spy, whether man or machine, hidden inside a cloak to periodically peep out.
  --New Scientist
• How to Build Lunar Homes From Moon Dirt
  When humans finally set up residence on the moon, our lives there will look very different. --Space.com
• Strongest Hurricanes Getting Stronger
  As global warming further heats up the ocean, hurricanes could become more frequent, more intense or both. --LiveScience
• New clues to mystery sea monster
  The Stronsay Beast was first sighted in September 1808.
  --BBC News
• Courts Weigh Doomsday Claims
  Critics who say the world's largest atom-smasher could destroy the world have brought their claims to courtrooms. --Cosmic Log
• Closest Look Ever at the Edge of a Black Hole
  By combining telescopes in Hawaii, Arizona, and California, astronomers detected structure at a tiny angular scale. --PhysOrg.com
• Tobacco Could Hold the Key to Gene Therapy
  Scientists are using a modified tobacco virus to deliver gene therapies into the heart of diseased cells. --Wired
• Volcano's Eruption Colors World's Sunsets
  Kasatochi, part of the Aleutian Island chain, sent an ash plume more than 35,000 feet into the atmosphere. --LiveScience
• The Men in Black: The Early Days
  Brad Steiger writes about paranoia, the paranormal and the 'alien SS.' --Alien Seeker News
• 'Rare' mammoth skull discovered
  The fossilized skull is estimated to be about 400,000 years old. --BBC News
• Mystery Ocean Glow Confirmed in Satellite Photos
  Mariners have long told of rare nighttime events in which the ocean glows intensely. --LiveScience
• Sudden death after arrest may be new syndrome
  Under severe stress, there is a surge in blood levels of chemicals known as catecholamines. --Reuters
• The Unraveling Of The Bigfoot Hoax
  Loren Coleman shares his reactions. --Cryptomundo
• Zen Meditation Really Does Clear the Mind
  The practice could help treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. --LiveScience
• 'Lost World' Beneath Caribbean To Be Explored
  Rift in the Caribbean seafloor plunges to a depth of more than 5000 meters below sea level. --Science Daily
• Sun Makes History
  First spotless month in a century. --Daily Tech
• Native burial grounds may include Viking ship
  A 200-acre wooded site west of Tisch Mills guards its secrets well. --Green Bay Gazette
• Daydream achiever
  A wandering mind can do important work, scientists are learning - and may even be essential. --Boston Globe
• Six-legged bull in demand
  18-month-old bull was born with two small extra legs on its back. --Ananova
• Ancient gold wreath puzzles archaeologists
  Unique artifact found in Greece baffles experts.
  --AP
• Gervais Spooked At Haunted House
  Creator of The Office has ghostly encounter.
  --Showbiz Spy
• Black-Eyed Kids
  Greg Bishop looks at the bizarre "BEK" phenomenon. --UFO Mystic
• Lights Out for Fireflies?
  Scientists concerned with dwindling population of the popular insect. --Live Science
• UMMO: Harmless Prank or Hoax of the Century?
  Scott Corrales examines the infamous contactee story. --Inexplicata

Walter