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NASA Debates What to Do if Problem Returns Space shuttle Discovery's flag waves in the breeze as Discovery sits on the pad covered by the rotating service structure at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Sunday, July 24, 2005. The countdown is under way for a Tuesday morning launch.(AP Photo/Terry Renna) By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Shuttle managers debated Sunday about what to do — halt the countdown or fly — if a fuel gauge problem resurfaces right before the second launch attempt for NASA's oft-delayed return to space. Discovery is set to lift...

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Mexican woman gives birth to sextuplets MEXICO CITY (AFP) - A 25-year-old woman in the Mexican city of Monterrey gave birth to sextuplets, a local hospital said. The six children were delivered by Caesarean section and were well, said Maria Elena Vazquez of the Center of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Monterrey. The smaller children "are in intermediate care to gain weight and will remain there between five and seven weeks,: she said. The parents, from Guadeloupe Nuevo Leon, are worried and "somewhat incredulous," Vazquez said. The mother has not previously had children, and the father is a 27-year-old sales representative.

Photo shows rubble left after the collapse of one of the largest rock stacks of one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks, the Twelve Apostles rock formation in the Southern Ocean and visible from the Great Ocean road in Victoria.(AFP) Piece of famous Australian landmark crumbles before onlookers SYDNEY (AFP) - One of Australia's most famous sights, a set of 12 peaks which sit in the sea off the Victorian coast and are known as the Twelve Apostles, has been irrevocably damaged with the collapse of one of its limestone pillars. After withstanding the pounding of the sea for an...

Judgment Day looms for US Supreme Court on Ten Commandments cases Wed Jun 22,12:03 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US political, religious and legal establishments are braced for two critical Supreme Court rulings on the Ten Commandments, weighing heavily on the separation of church and state. The decision, expected as early as Thursday, could inflame conservative evangelical groups or opposing civil liberties lobbies, and thrust the court squarely into partisan politics. And both sides of the divide will use whatever judgment day brings in the two cases to whip up partisans ahead of a looming battle over what could...

'Wind of peace blowing over Mideast' Qureia, Peres discuss Israel's withdrawal as Musa says no reform without Palestinian state DEAD SEA (Agencies) — Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Saturday a "wind of peace" was blowing over the Middle East, as he went into a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. "There is a wind of peace in the Middle East and no one can stop it. No one can change history," Peres told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on the Dead Sea shores. Peres stressed that peace and stability were necessary to "integrate...

Second volcano intensifies disaster alarm in Indonesia JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia's precarious bond with the violent geological forces that rage beneath the archipelago was being underlined as a second volcano sprang to life in the wake of a series of terrifying quakes. Tangkuban Perahu, a smouldering 2,076-metre (6,933 foot) mountain near the city of Bandung on Java island, began rumbling overnight, prompting scientists to raise the status of the volcano to "alert" and declare it off limits. A day earlier, more than 20,000 people fled the slopes of Mount Talang on Sumatra island, as the peak spewed hot ash after...

Fireball seen over Madrid Fri Jan 28,10:47 AM ET MADRID (AFP) - Residents of the area near Madrid airport reported seeing a ball of fire explode and disintregrate in skies over the Spanish capital overnight, security services said. Emergency services received telephone calls about 10:30 pm (2130 GMT) Thursday reporting the object, described by some callers as looking like a meteorite, which was seen exploding and disintegrating. Subway employee Jose Antonio Lopez told EFE news agency that when he went home from work, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital, he saw a "huge, very red incandescent ball giving...

Pilgrims pray at Mecca's Grand Mosque. Some two million Muslims from across the world have converged on the holy city of Mecca amid razor-sharp Saudi security to perform the hajj pilgrimage which begins tomorrow.(AFP/Karim Sahib)   Two million Muslims ready for hajj in Saudi Arabia MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - Some two million Muslims from across the world have converged on the holy city of Mecca amid razor-sharp Saudi security to perform the hajj pilgrimage which begins Tuesday. For weeks pilgrims have been flooding into the birthplace of Prophet Mohammed to take part in the annual rituals, which will climax...

Tsunami Disaster a Collage of Apocalyptic Images Photographs, videos, news reports, survivors' stories... They detail a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. Is the phrase "Biblical proportions" merely a statement to express the magnitude of the destruction and loss of life? Or is it peculiar in the implied specifics? A unified image of diverse Biblical events seems to be portrayed in this one catastrophe. This is not a claim of a fulfilment of any particular verse or passage. The contexts of the various passages may describe a multitude of events. Nonetheless, I found the sum of the imagery reflected in one tsunami...

Actress and singer Liza Minnelli was taken to a hospital after falling out of bed and hitting her head in the early morning hours of December 27, 2004 People Magazine reported. 'She was sleeping and she rolled out of bed,' People quoted a police source as saying in an article on its Web site. Minnelli sings at a benefit near Cannes, France in this May 20 file photo. Photo by Vincent Kessler/Reuters

Dec. 1, 2004 22:31 President Bush to meet King Abdullah in Washington By JANINE ZACHARIA WASHINGTON - US President George W. Bush will meet Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday in Washington to discuss Middle East developments and bilateral issues, the White House announced. "The President looks forward to the opportunity to review regional and bilateral issues with the King of Jordan, who plays a key role in the search for stability in Iraq and for Middle East peace, and has been a staunch ally in the international fight against terrorism," the White House press secretary said in a statement released...

Tue Nov 2,10:49 AM ET A plane flies near clouds of dust above the volcano on Grimsvotn mountain in eastern Iceland Tuesday Nov. 2, 2004. The volcano erupted in a remote area of Iceland on Monday, setting off tremors across the area and prompting officials to warn pilots to avoid flying through gasses being emitted by the blast. (AP Photo/Ragnar Axelsson, Morgunbladid) Subglacial volcanic eruption disrupts flights in Iceland 2 hours, 8 minutes ago Science - AFP REYKJAVIK (AFP) - Flights over Iceland had to be rerouted to avoid clouds of black smoke and ashes from a volcanic eruption...

Big Bear mountains go from fire to ice Area burned in blazes last year relieved by snowfall. By Tim Molloy Associated Press BIG BEAR LAKE — A sign welcoming visitors to the San Bernardino National Forest features a panicked Smokey the Bear with a wall of flames raging behind him. "All because of a little match!" the sign warns visitors, invoking the near-constant fire threat in the drought-choked mountains east of Los Angeles. But this week, the sign was covered with snow. After months of worries that this could be the worst fire season ever, the danger has been buried...

Bright star: Four centuries later, fresh insight into historic find PARIS (AFP) - A supernova spotted by the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe more than four centuries ago that changed the course of human knowledge has just yielded a further discovery -- the apparent find of the companion star that triggered the great event. AFP/NASA/file Photo On November 11 1572, Tycho looked up into the constellation of Cassiopeia and found a dazzling new star. The star lingered for 18 months. Its appearance was traumatic for many astronomers at the time, for it destroyed the notion, set in stone by Aristotle, that...

Shaded moon will be last eclipse of 2004 PARIS (AFP) Oct 25, 2004 A total eclipse of the Moon will occur overnight Wednesday, an event that can turn Earth's satellite to a colourful shade ranging from deep red to dark brown and sometimes an existential grey. The phenomenon will be visible from North and South America, when it will be late Wednesday, as well as Europe and Africa, when it will be early Thursday, and Antarctica, astronomers said Monday. According to the US magazine Sky and Telescope, the eclipse will occur during Game 4 of baseball's World Series, when the...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The dreaded Northern Snakehead, a voracious predator dubbed the "Frankenfish" that can breathe out of water and wriggle across land, has invaded the Great Lakes, authorities said on Friday. Scientists with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources identified the 18-inch-long (46-cm-long), sharp-toothed fish netted over the weekend in a harbor near Chicago's downtown by a fisherman, who put it in his freezer and posted a photograph of the creature on the Internet. A native of China, the Northern Snakehead was first discovered in 2002 breeding in East Coast ponds -- one of which was poisoned and...

Two Volcanoes Could Erupt In Washington State, seismologists are on alert this morning as earthquakes rock Mount Saint Helens. Plus the rumbling of the world's largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii shows no signs of stopping. The last time Mount Saint Helens erupted was in May of 1980. During the eruption, a portion of the mountain was blown to pieces, 57 people were killed and as many as 700 earthquakes were recorded in one day. In Hawaii, Mauna Loa hasn't erupted in 20 years. Now, there have been dozens of earthquakes felt and measured at Manau Loa. Now scientists say...

Jordan's King Abdullah (R) meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qurei at Beit al-Barakeh in Amman June 24, 2004. The King said during talks with Qurei that any steps that Jordan takes on training the Palestinian security forces, will be done through coordination with the Palestinian National Authority, and that any request on this issue will be through the PNA. REUTERS/Yousef Allan   Last Update: 25/06/2004 12:22 King Abdullah: Jordan ready to train Palestinian police force By Yoav Stern and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and Reuters Jordan is ready to extend "all forms of support" to the Palestinians, including training...

**FILE PHOTO** A captured snakehead fish is displayed at Wheaton Regional Park in Wheaton, Md., Wednesday, April 28, 2004, where the fish was caught by a fisherman. Maryland officials said a second northern snakehead has been caught by a fisherman in the Potomac River, a sign that the destructive alien species may have invaded the Washington area's largest river. (AP Photo/Leslie E. Kossoff) Second Snakehead Found in Potomac River Fri May 14, 10:17 AM ET By STEPHEN MANNING, Associated Press Writer ROCKVILLE, Md. - A second northern snakehead has been caught by a fisherman in the Potomac River, Maryland officials...