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BEIRUT, Lebanon - Heavy fighting broke out Monday between government supporters and opponents in Lebanon's second-largest city, where the two sides battled with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and mortars, security officials and residents said. Residents said they heard strong explosions reverberating through Tripoli. At least six people were wounded, security officials said. The fighting had stopped Sunday morning after Lebanese troops deployed between the two sides, then flared again Monday after soldiers pulled back when the situation calmed. The fresh clashes erupted when pro-government forces thought opponents gathering for a funeral in a nearby neighborhood were preparing a new...

Heavy rain can trigger earthquakes 13:44 25 February 2008 NewScientist.com news service Catherine Brahic The rain-induced tremors occurred in karst landscape. This forms a distinctive topography of soft carbonate rock, such as limestone, riddled with deep channels and caves in which water pressure could build Huge downpours of rain can trigger earthquakes in landscapes riddled with caves and channels by increasing pressure within underlying rock, suggests a new study. It was already known that rainfall could cause tremors, but the amount of water needed is much more than previously thought, says Steve Miller, a geologist at the University of Bonn,...

Ape To Human: Walking Upright May Have Protected Heavy Human BabiesFor safety, all nonhuman primates carry their young clinging to their fur from birth, and species survival depends on it. (Credit: iStockphoto/Graeme Purdy) ScienceDaily (Dec. 17, 2007) — The transition from apes to humans may have been partially triggered by the need to stand on two legs, in order to safely carry heavier babies. This theory of species evolution presented by Lia Amaral from the University of São Paulo in Brazil has just been published online in Springer’s journal, Naturwissenschaften. For safety, all nonhuman primates carry their young clinging to...

Obesity is more dangerous than smoking and will dramatically shorten the lives of millions, a landmark study has found. While smoking reduces life by an average of ten years, the research says being seriously overweight can cut life expectancy by as much as 13 years. The Foresight report, written by 250 leading scientists, says Britain's obesity crisis is so severe that it would take at least 30 years to reverse. If current trends continue, by 2050 about 60 per cent of men, 50 per cent of women and 25 per cent of children in the UK will be clinically obese...

Arak heavy water production facility in Arak, Iran (file photo) The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill to increase pressure on investors in Iran's energy sector.The bill requires the naming of foreign companies with more than $20 million invested in Iran's energy sector.  It also offers protection to private investment managers and state and federal pension funds that divest from companies on the list.The measure passed by a vote of 480 to six.  Democratic representative Brad Sherman says the bill is aimed at changing the behavior of those who still invest in Iran, which the U.S....

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Heavy fighting resumed Friday between the Lebanese army and Islamic militants at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Tanks could be seen moving down the streets outside the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp as heavy shelling could be heard in the background, according to an AP Television News crew at the scene. Plumes of smoke rose out of the camp where Fatah Islam militants have been holed up in a 13-day siege by the Lebanese army. This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) —...

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranians turned out in heavy numbers Friday for local council elections that could be a gauge of popular dissatisfaction with hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and liberals' potential to rebuild their suppressed movement. Farideh Borna, a student, said she voted for a "pro-Ahmadinejad" slate of candidates because "I wanted to help him to fulfill his promises." But Ahmadinejad was expected to lose the support of fellow conservatives who feel he has spent too much time confronting the West and failed to deal with Iran's struggling economy. Independent observers said the turnout appeared to be higher than in previous...

LIVERMORE, Calif., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. and Russian scientists say they have discovered the newest superheavy element -- element 118. The researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia made the announcement Monday. In experiments conducted at the JINR U400 cyclotron from February-June 2005, the researchers said they observed atomic decay patterns, or chains, that establish the existence of element 118. In these decay chains, previously observed element 116 is produced via the alpha decay of element 118. Element 118 is expected to be a noble...

Heavy metals may be implicated in autism 30 May 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. URINE samples from hundreds of French children have yielded evidence for a link between autism and exposure to heavy metals. If validated, the findings might mean some cases of autism could be treated with drugs that purge the body of heavy metals. Samples from children with autism contained abnormally high levels of a family of proteins called porphyrins, which are precursors in the production of haem, the oxygen-carrying component in haemoglobin. Heavy metals block haem production, causing porphyrins to accumulate in urine. Concentrations of one...

New Yorkers and Californians breathe in the dirtiest air in the nation and face higher cancer risks than the rest of the nation, according to the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Oregon, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey had the third, fourth and fifth worst air in the nation, respectively, the EPA said. Rural residents of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana breathed the cleanest air. New York's cancer risk is estimated to be 68 residents per million. In California, the risk is 66 residents per million.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Jan. 26, 2006) Amidst the 800 shiny new cars at the 2006 Washington D.C. Auto Show, the Stryker stands out like a sturdy green oak in a flower garden. “We’re here in support of recruiting command and basically to show the taxpayers what they’re getting for their money,” said Randall R. Rankin, spokesperson for the Stryker display. “It’s big, it’s green, it’s got a gun on it, and it draws a crowd.” The purpose of the display is to showcase the Army’s newest capabilities, the Stryker family of vehicles being one of the newer vehicles in...

NAVAIR PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Jan. 9, 2006 – A new heavy lift helicopter is now officially in the pipeline for the Marine Corps following a Dec. 22, 2005 decision by the Honorable. Kenneth R. Krieg, under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to authorize the Heavy Lift Replacement program here to begin a $4.4 billion development program for the aircraft. A "Cost Plus Award Fee" contract for the System Development and Demonstration phase, estimated to be approximately $2.9 billion, is expected to be signed with Sikorsky in March 2006. An Initial System Development and Demonstration contract worth $8.8...

NEAR CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Jan. 3, 2006 – The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at an air base near here has broken some records in support of American forces in Iraq. "We moved our millionth troop this last November," wing commander Air Force Col. Tim Hale said Jan. 2. The 386th is the primary airlift hub for Operation Iraqi Freedom. It averages moving 3,000 to 3,500 troops a day into and out of Iraq, he added, including either deploying and redeploying them or ferrying them to and from to rest and recuperation leave. Most of these troops are going into and...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Problem drinking may dampen both a man's sex life and his chances of having children, according to a new study. Researchers in India found that men being treated for alcoholism had lower testosterone levels and more sperm abnormalities than non-drinkers did. They also had a far higher rate of erectile dysfunction (ED) - 71 percent, versus 7 percent of abstainers. Some past studies have suggested that heavy drinking can take a toll on men's reproductive health. One recent study found that couples had a higher miscarriage risk if the man had consumed 10 or more...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Saving the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish considered a key indicator of the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a report to be released Thursday. The price tag includes projects that also could aid other troubled species and the overall ecology of the delta, which provides drinking water to more than 70 percent of Californians. This summer, scientists said the delta smelt population had fallen to its lowest level since scientific measurements began in 1959. Three other bellwether fish populations also are at record or near-record...

Woman, 8 Children Inside As Gunmen Burst Into Home UPDATED: 5:58 pm EDT October 5, 2005 ASHVILLE, Ohio -- Three men were taken into custody early Wednesday after they allegedly broke into a home and held a woman at gunpoint. A woman and eight children were inside the Ashville Pike home when the heavily armed men barged in, NBC 4's Mike Bowersock reported. A 17-year-old girl walked downstairs and discovered a man she didn't know talking to her sister-in-law. She thought something was wrong and called the sheriff's department, Bowersock reported. "One of the children in the house called us...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2005 – The second day of Operation Kabda Bil Hadid, or "Iron Fist," resulted in successful engagements against terrorists in and around Sadah, about 12 kilometers east of the Syrian border, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported Oct. 2. The effort continues with a force of about 1,000 Marines, soldiers and sailors from Regimental Combat Team 2. That force engaged seven terrorists west of Sadah with Marine aircraft at about 11:45 a.m., officials said. Four terrorists were killed and the others fled into a nearby building. When the terrorists began firing, aviation assets were again called in, and...

SAN ANTONIO -- Hurricane Katrina smashed “a good 95 percent” of Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., turning it into a pile of debris and mud, said a base spokesperson. Lt. Col. Claudia Foss, 81st Training Wing public affairs officer, said water surges from the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Biloxi reached depths of five to six feet at times. “Whether it was five feet, one foot or a few inches, at one point everything was covered with bay or Gulf water,” she said. Fortunately, there have been no reports of people killed or injured at Keesler, she said....

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

When Kern's Democrat Assemblywoman Nicole Parra said "no stone would be left unturned" in her committee's investigation of scandal-plagued Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, she must have meant only the light stones. Next week's hearing by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee seems destined to fall short of Parra's pledge to hold Democrat Shelley accountable for his management of millions of federal Help America Vote Act dollars. A review by the state auditor concluded Shelley's management of federal voter outreach and election reform funds was inept and much of the money was used to promote Democrat election efforts. Shelley also is...

Some herbal remedies may do more harm than good. Researchers writing today in the Journal of the American Medical Association report that 20 percent of herbal medicine products sampled contained dangerous levels of heavy metals. Unlike prescription drugs, herbal medicine products can be sold as dietary supplements, which are not required to undergo rigorous testing before entering the marketplace. Indeed, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) does not require proof of safety or efficacy. Robert B. Saper, now at Boston University's School of Medicine, and his colleagues purchased imported Ayurvedic herbal medicine products from stores near Boston's city...

It's a furious fight to the finish and the White House is on the line. What are the campaign's last-minute plans? We'll be joined by Elizabeth Edwards (search), wife of vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, and Liz Cheney (search), senior adviser on the Bush-Cheney campaign and daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney.

The battle-tested Abrams tank is poised to remain in service for at least 25 more years, or until the Army is certain that it has an adequate replacement. The tank will stay in the Army, "until we are convinced that the Future Combat Systems is going to give us better lethality," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker. Abrams tanks will be upgraded not only so they can stay relevant for many more years but also so they can be used as test platforms for FCS, Schoomaker told National Defense following a hearing of the House Armed Services...

Heavy Security Protects Michael Moore at Convention Michael Moore is so threatened by those warlike Republicans that he is hanging out at the GOP convention with a bevy of security guards. Editor & Publisher reported that "the biggest commotion at the Republican National Convention Monday night occurred just before 10 pm with the entrance of anti-Bush filmmaker Michael Moore, who was repeatedly halted by security attempting to reach his reserved press seat in section #340 near the side of the stage. Moore is writing a daily column this week for USA Today." Moore's timing could not have been better. Soon...

The woman in the yellow shirt stood up and told of her life-long struggle against being fat, a fight that she had clearly lost. She was enormous. 'Every time I dieted I ended up larger,' she said as she broke into tears, 'If I were anorexic or bulimic, I would get sympathy. It is so frustrating.' She was applauded by 100 other very fat men and women. 'Here, you are in an island of sanity,' said Professor Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth and speaker at this annual meeting of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (Naafa) -...

Hollywood Backlash Continuesby William R Alford - July. 20, 2004 Certain entertainment industry figures are having a tough time going beyond their qualifications by engaging in political discourse. 1970s diva Linda Ronstadt was recently booed off the stage for casting filmmaker Michael Moore as a truth-spreading “patriot” and encouraging the audience to see Fahrenheit 9/11. Las Vegas’ Aladdin Hotel president Bill Timmins reportedly had Ronstadt summarily ejected from her quarters for having “spoiled a lovely evening for our guests” by needlessly causing “all bedlam” to break loose. [Note: there were no fires, looting, brawling, etc. – these were not...

SEATTLE – President Bush is coming to Western Washington on Friday. He is expected to get a lot of support during a fundraiser, but he will also get a lot of grief from protestors. A lot of energy is being generated by critics of the president, who is paying his first visit to Washington state since he became president. Environmentalists, peace activists and Democrats are gearing up for a mighty protest. Protests are planned for midday Friday in Bellevue and Seattle. State Democrats and the machinists and metal trades unions will rally at Bellevue's Crossroads Park. Then they plan to...

WASHINGTON, DC -- An allied military plan to confiscate weapons in Iraq may destabilize the nation further by giving the green light to street thugs and Baath Party loyalists who are terrorizing innocent civilians, says the Libertarian Party. "Imposing this gun grab is like declaring war on Iraq for a second time," said Geoffrey Neale, Libertarian Party chairman. "How many innocent men, women and children will be kidnapped, robbed or murdered because their U.S. 'protectors' turned self-defense into a crime?" Iraqi citizens will be forced to surrender their heavy weapons under a proclamation expected this week from U.S. and British...

US tanks and armoured vehicles have launched their first raid into Baghdad city - and fought skirmishes with Iraq's elite Special Republican Guard, US officials say. Two task forces went up to the Tigris river from the southern outskirts of the city before moving west towards the airport, Major General Victor Renuart told a news briefing at US central command in Doha, Qatar. General Renuart said the intention was to indicate to the Iraqi leader that coalition forces could move in and out of Baghdad whenever they wished. Earlier, a US spokesman described the operation as the beginning of "rolling...

Saddam's army retreats to Mosul with heavy losses By Patrick Cockburn near Mosul, northern Iraq 03 April 2003 The Iraqi army's northern front began to collapse yesterday as troops pulled back in confusion to the city of Mosul after suffering heavy losses from US air strikes and fighting with Kurdish militia. Sarbast Babiri, a Kurdish commander, smiled triumphantly as his men, many wearing captured Iraqi helmets, milled around him. "The Iraqi army has withdrawn to positions nine kilometres north of Mosul. They left behind heavy machine-guns, rocket launchers, food and many dead bodies," he said. The crumbling of the northern...

SHUAIBA PORT, Kuwait - The U.S. Army's most lethal and modern heavy division is weeks away from joining the fight in Iraq, a top division officer said Tuesday. The first three ships carrying the 4th Infantry Division's equipment - a force that will encompass more than 30,000 troops, 500 armored vehicles and 18 attack helicopters - arrived Tuesday in this Kuwaiti port for unloading. A total of 30 ships carrying some of the world's most sophisticated military hardware will arrive in the coming days, but it won't face immediate battle: The port can handle only five ships at a time,...

Very Heavy Pot Use Clouds Mental Function: Study 1 hour, 58 minutes ago By Dana Frisch NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who smoked unusually large amounts of marijuana performed worse on tests of mental function than their peers who smoked less pot, even after a 30-day abstinence period, according to a new report. Heavy users performed worse on 69% of the 35 tasks than light users, though their performances were not "clinically abnormal," the researchers found. The 22 participants were admitted to hospital during the course of the study and submitted to random urine tests to ensure they remained...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 July 12 Recycling Cassiopeia A Credit: R. Fesen (Dartmouth) and J. Morse (CASA, U. Colorado), Hubble Heritage Team, NASA Explanation: For billions of years, massive stars in our Milky Way Galaxy have lived spectacular lives. Collapsing from vast cosmic clouds, their nuclear furnaces ignite and create heavy elements in their cores. After a few million years, the enriched material is blasted back into interstellar space where star...

India, Pakistan Trade Heavy Fire, Tension High Mon May 20, 5:14 AM ET By Penny MacRae NEW DELHI. India (Reuters) - Indian and Pakistani forces traded fire across their frontier for a fourth day Monday raising fresh fears hostility between the nuclear-armed neighbors could drag them into war. Financial markets in both countries were badly hit by war fears but despite signs India was preparing for conflict, most analysts said New Delhi was likely to exhaust all diplomatic channels before taking a military option. India Sunday streamlined its armed forces' command by putting paramilitary border forces under army control and...