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A huge fireball exploded in the Earth's atmosphere in December, according to Nasa. The blast was the second largest of its kind in 30 years, and the biggest since the fireball over Chelyabinsk in Russia six years ago. But it went largely unnoticed until now because it blew up over the Bering Sea, off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The space rock exploded with 10 times the energy released by the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer at Nasa, told BBC News a fireball this big is only expected about two or three times every 100 years. At about noon...

A couple of nights ago, my wife hollered to me that the dryer was smoking, even as she shut it down. I grabbed the machine, dragged it out of its slot, and disconnected it from power and the dryer vent, ready to drag its hot and still smoking carcass into the yard rather than have it burn the house down. The smoke was some of the most acrid I have encountered, and that includes my time as a firefighter in structural, woods, marsh/brush, boat, and vehicle fires. Before I made it to the threshhold, though, the fire burned out. With...

Natural fluctuations in the sun's atmosphere could cause it to fire a giant plasma ball at Earth, shutting down the planet's electric grids and leading to widespread social collapse, according to a report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Funded by NASA, the report draws attention to naturally occurring events known as coronal mass ejections (CME), in which a ball of plasma -- the charged, high-energy particles that comprise stars -- is fired from the sun. If such a ball strikes the Earth, it could produce rapid changes in the planet's magnetic field, leading to a surge of...

The catastrophe, when it comes, will be beautiful at first. It is a balmy evening in late September 2012. Ever since the sun set, the dimming skies over London have been alive with fire. Pillars of incandescent green writhe like gigantic serpents across the skies. Sheets of orange race across the horizon during the most spectacular display of the aurora borealis seen in southern England for 153 years. And then, 90 seconds later, the lights start to go out. Not the lights in the sky - they will dazzle until dawn - but the lights on the ground. Within an...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twzoec7zZig

Attempts to duplicate a movie stunt landed one man in the hospital with burned genitals and another facing criminal charges. The men were trying to do a stunt from one of the "Jackass'' movies, in which a character lights his genitals on fire. Jared W. Anderson, 20, suffered serious burns to his hands and genitals, according to the criminal complaint. Randell D. Peterson, 43, who sprayed lighter fluid on Anderson and lit him on fire, was charged with felony battery and first-degree reckless endangerment Tuesday in Eau Claire County Court. Witnesses told police that Anderson, who was drunk, volunteered to...

A naked man was accidentally shocked in the genitals by a Taser after he was found breaking windows and asking women to touch him in appropriately, police said. Jeremy J. Miljour, 26, of Bonita Springs, attempted to run when approached by Lee County sheriff's deputies Saturday. When he ignored requested to stop, Deputy Daniel Hollywood shot Miljour with a Taser. One of the Taser prongs accidentally hit Miljour's genitals and got stuck, said Cpl. Matt Chitwood. Officers are taught to aim for the torso, but it was difficult for officers to aim because Miljour was moving, Chitwood said. "The Taser...

FORT MYERS BEACH -- A naked man was accidentally shocked in the genitals by a Taser after he was found breaking windows and asking women to touch him inappropriately, police said. Jeremy J. Miljour, 26, of Bonita Springs, attempted to run when approached by Lee County sheriff's deputies Saturday. When he ignored requested to stop, Deputy Daniel Hollywood shot Miljour with a Taser. One of the Taser prongs accidentally hit Miljour's genitals and got stuck, said Cpl. Matt Chitwood.

A judge in Mississippi has approved a divorce settlement between Jerry Lee Lewis and his sixth wife, Kerrie Lynn McCarver Lewis, and promptly sealed the court records. The settlement was reached Wednesday, the same day the case was to go to trial. "It's been a long day and it's been an expensive day," Lewis said outside the courthouse. The Commercial Appeal, quoting sources familiar with the case, said Kerrie Lewis, 42, would receive $250,000 immediately and $30,000 a year for five years. Lewis, 69, is known for such hits as "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On."...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Sam Phillips, who discovered Elvis Presley and helped usher in the rock 'n' roll revolution, died Wednesday. He was 80. Phillips died at St. Francis Hospital, spokeswoman Gwendolyn McClain said. No details were immediately available about the cause of death or how long he had been hospitalized. Phillips founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952 and helped launch the career of Presley, then a young singer who had moved from Tupelo, Miss. He produced Presley's first record, the 1954 single that featured ``That's All Right, Mama'' and ``Blue Moon of Kentucky.'' ``God only knows that we didn't...

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell worked as a singer/songwriter/pianist in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Although his recordings never met with much success, many of the songs that he wrote went on to become very well-known, million-selling songs. Otis was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1931. He grew up listening to cowboy songs, particularly those by Tex Ritter, and R&B songs by artists such as Chuck Willis. As a teenager he entered and won a contest at the Apollo Theatre in New York City. He was introduced to songwriter Doc Pomus, who encouraged him and helped him early in his...