Saturn's rings: Leftovers from a cosmic murder?

Image provided by NASA, taken Oct. 6, 2004, by the Cassini Saturn Probe, shows the planet Saturn and its rings.
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One of the solar system's most evocative mysteries _ the origin of Saturn's rings _ may be a case of cosmic murder, new research suggests.

The victim: an unnamed moon of Saturn that disappeared about 4.5 billion years ago.
The suspect: a disk of hydrogen gas that once surrounded Saturn when its dozens of moons were forming, but has now fled the crime scene.

The cause of death: A forced plunge into Saturn.
And those spectacular and colorful rings are the only evidence left. As the doomed moon made its death spiral, Saturn robbed its outer layer of ice, which then formed rings, according to a new theory published online Sunday in the journal Nature.

One of the leading theories has been that either some of Saturn's many moons crashed into each other, or an asteroid crashed into some of them _ leaving debris that formed the rings. 

The trouble is Saturn's moons are half ice and half rock and the planet's seven rings are now as much as 95 percent ice and probably used to be all ice, Canup said. If the rings were formed by a moon-on-moon crash or an asteroid-on-moon, there would be more rocks in the rings.
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Intense Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight - Holiday Lights In the Night Sky

A Geminid meteor streaks over Monument Valley, Utah, in 2007.

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Intense Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Andrew Fazekas
for National Geographic News

December 13, 2009

Late tonight is the peak of the year's most prolific annual cosmic fireworks show—the Geminid meteor shower (Geminids picture).

The meteor shower has been growing in intensity in recent decades and should be an even better holiday treat than usual this year, since it's falling in a nearly moonless week.

Coming fast on the heels of its more famous cousin the Leonid meteor shower—which peaked less than a month ago—the Geminid show should feature as many as 140 shooting stars per hour between Sunday evening and Monday morning.

The Geminids are slow meteors that create beautiful long arcs across the sky—many lasting a second or two.

Favoring observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the Geminids are expected to be most frequent within two hours of 1:10 a.m. ET in the wee hours of Monday.


The shower's radiant—the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate—is the constellation Gemini, which rises above the eastern horizon after 9 p.m. ET.

Astronomers recommend observers head outside between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. ET

As with any meteor shower, the Geminids will be muted in light-polluted cities, but even suburban sky-watchers may catch as many as 60 meteors per hour during peak time.
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Why do we let this creepy company called Google spy on our emails?

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Electronic spy: Angela Levin found that using Gmail made her a target for adverts based on information in her private emails

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To many, the colourful home page of Google is the friendly face of the internet. Indeed, the company, which was created 12 years ago by two American PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, has always prided itself on its quirky presentation.

The hallways of the ‘Googleplex’ headquarters in California are stuffed with pianos, lava lamps, games and funky furniture for the enjoyment of staff, its webpage often features specially designed logos for days such as Halloween, Christmas and national festivals and – crucially – Google gives away its software for free.

Add to that its rather hippyish business principles (‘You can make money without doing evil’, ‘You can be serious without a suit’, ‘Work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun’), its corporate philanthropy and its clashes with the Chinese government over free speech, and it is easy to see why Google is often regarded as a warm, fluffy ‘good guy’.

The only mystery seemed to be how, exactly, it managed to achieve revenues of more than £15 billion last year.

In truth, though, it is a creepy, multi¬national company that spies on us.
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Google wants to know everything about you, but there are some ways you can fight back and keep your privacy private.


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Storm, accidents snarl traffic - Missouri Department of Transportation is at full staff of 400 road employees

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Dec. 12, 2010: Snow cover made for dangerous driving conditions on St. Louis highways
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 Missouri Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kara Price said the agency is at a full staff of 400 road employees and 220 employees were deployed when the brunt of the storm struck between 4-5 a.m. Sunday.

Blowing snow, rather than accumulation, presented the biggest challenge to road crews, she said.
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Bathroom Ban Leads To Riot At New York City High School - WEB VIDEO

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Money and Markets - The U.S. Economy

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Salvation Army testing credit card donations at kettles in 3 St. Louis Missouri locations

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Dec. 10, 2010--Missy Hampton, 22, of Mehlville donates a dollar to the Salvation Army using her debt card outside the Walmart Supercenter in Fenton. ReliantPay is a credit card processing and payment acceptance company that has set up a wireless terminal for the Salvation Army to make it easier for people to donate by using their credit or debit cards.
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The St' Louis branch of the Salvation Army this week rolled out three machines that accept credit card donations, in hopes of soliciting contributions from cashless consumers who would otherwise walk by their donation kettles.

Other branches around the country have been using the machines for a couple of years, but they are new to the St. Louis area.

Average donations jumped to $15 from $2 when donors in Dallas, Los Angeles and Colorado Springs used the electronic payment machines in 2008, the Salvation Army said.

The machines do not store financial information, and donors can leave with a receipt to prove their charitable giving when tax time arrives.
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Metrodome Roof Collapse Video from Inside

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Snow causes Metrodome's roof to collapse
The inflatable roof of the Metrodome, where
the Minnesota Vikings play, collapsed Sunday following a snow storm that dumped 17 inches on Minneapolis. Game Rescheduled for Monday Night In Detroit, 6:20 p.m.


The roof collapse has put the Vikings-Giants game in doubt. It had already been postponed to Monday. Now, it may be moved to the University of Minnesota or to another NFL domed stadium.

Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports
Facilities Commission, said the damage was being assessed Sunday morning and the agency would issue a statement later. He had no details yet on what had happened.

A Minneapolis police spokesman didn't immediately respond to a
phone message. It wasn't clear whether anyone was injured in the
collapse, which happened overnight.

The Vikings' Sunday NFL football game against the New York
Giants had already been pushed to Monday after the storm kept the Giants from getting to Minneapolis.

The city got 17.1 inches of snow during the storm that started
Friday night and ended around 10 p.m. Saturday, said James
McQuirter, a National Weather Service meteorologist. He said the
storm was one of the five largest to hit the Twin Cities. Some surrounding communities got more than 21 inches of snow, he said.
The Metrodome roof has failed three times before. It deflated in
1981, 1982 and 1983, each time due to tears caused by heavy snow.

The April 14, 1983, collapse forced the postponement of the Twins'
game with California, which had been the only postponement. A
slight tear also delayed a Twins game briefly in 1986. 

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Story of Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, Missouri (VIDEO)

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When you think of tractors and farming, you think of row crops and hay -- unless you own a vineyard and winery. This piece tells the story of Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, Missouri, and Landmark Winery in Kenwood, California. One of a series of short films created for John Deere. Credits: Laura Lynch, director/writer; Carl Ostanek, cinematographer.
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Grand March at the Festhalle in Hermann, Missouri (VIDEO)

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 This video is of the Grand March at the Festhalle in Hermann, Missouri, taken on December 4, 2010.
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WEB VIDEO: Camel falls onto crowd at church concert

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WEB VIDEO: Squirrel Found in a Toilet! 911 Called

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Movie Reviews Video: "Narnia," "The Tourist, "Black Swan"

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FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week

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FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending December 10, 2010

Washington, D.C. December 10, 2010

FBI National Press Office (202) 324-3691

1. Baltimore: Maryland Man Charged in Plot to Attack Armed Forces Recruiting Center
   Antonio Martinez, aka Muhammad Hussain, was charged with attempting to murder federal officers and employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction against federal property. Full Story
   
2. DOJ/Multiple Field Offices: Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Announces Results of Largest-Ever Nationwide Operation Targeting Investment Fraud
   The results of Operation Broken Trust were announced in multiple press conferences across the country. It was a nationwide operation organized by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to target investment fraud. To date, the operation has involved enforcement actions against 343 criminal defendants and 189 civil defendants for fraud schemes that harmed more than 120,000 victims nationwide. The operation's criminal cases involved more than $8.3 billion in estimated losses and the civil cases involved estimated losses of more than $2.1 billion. Operation Broken Trust is the first national operation of its kind to target a broad array of investment fraud schemes that directly prey upon the investing public. Full Story
   
3. Knoxville: Two Engineers Found Guilty of Stealing Goodyear Trade Secrets
   A jury convicted Clark Alan Roberts and Sean Edward Howley, both former engineers with Wyko Tire Technology Incorporated, of stealing trade secrets from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Full Story
   
4. Chicago: Former Paint Manufacturing Chemist Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Stealing Trade Secrets Valued up to $20 Million
   
   David Yen Lee, a former chemist for paint manufacturing company Valspar Corp was sentenced to 15 months in prison for stealing trade secrets valued up to $20 million. Full Story
   
5. Seattle: Washington Man Charged in Connection with Attempts to Ship Sensitive Military Technology to China
   
   Lian Yang was charged in connection with an attempt to ship sensitive military technology to the People's Republic of China. Yang attempted to purchase and export 300 radiation-hardened, programmable semiconductor devices that are used in satellites. He was arrested in an FBI sting operation after attempting to smuggle the parts out of the U.S. Full Story
   
6. New York: Carl J. Shapiro and Others Agree to $625 Million Civil Forfeiture for Victims of Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi Scheme
   Carl J. Shapiro and various related and entities agreed to forfeit $625 million to the United States, all of which will be made available to the victims of the fraudulent investment advisory business which was owned and operated by Bernard L. Madoff. Full Story
   
7. Houston: U.K. Citizen Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Bribe Nigerian Government Officials to Obtain Lucrative Contracts as Part of KBR Joint Venture Scheme
   
   Wojciech J. Chodan, a former commercial vice president and consultant to a United Kingdom subsidiary of Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc., pled guilty to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for his participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement, and construction contracts o build liquefied natural gas facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria that were valued at more than $6 billion. Full Story
   
8. Portland: Former Armored Car Driver, Together with His Wife and Son, Indicted in Connection with $3 Million Armored Car Theft
   Archie Cabello, his wife, Marian, and their son, Vincent, were charged in a 51-count indictment with conspiracy to steal and possess bank money, making false statements in credit card applications, filing a false tax return, and money laundering. Full Story
   
9. Detroit: Four Detroit-Area Residents Arrested in Connection with $14.5 Million Home Health Care Fraud Scheme
   
   Four Detroit-area residents were arrested by federal agents as part of a joint an ongoing investigation into a $14.5 million home health care fraud scheme. Full Story
   
10. Miami: Florida Physician Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Fraudulent Lobbying and Fund Raising Scheme
    
    Alan D. Mendelsohn, a Florida physician, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, to make false statements, and to file false tax returns in connection with his role in a fraud scheme involving lobbying and fund raising for political candidates and organizations. Full Story

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