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The authors say the arachnids are harmless to people and pets and may even eat pests like stink bugsLast year in Georgia, the non-native Joro spider population exploded. Golden webs draped porches, powerlines and mailboxes across at least 25 counties in the state, per the Hexapod Herald’s Michele Hatcher. “I have several hundred, and they actually make the place look spooky with all the messy webs—like a scene out of 'Arachnophobia,'” entomologist Will Hudson of the University of Georgia Extension told the Herald last fall. The spiders are large and eye-catching, about the size of a human adult’s palm, with...

ATLANTA (TND) — An invasive species of spider has made its way to Georgia, and will likely spread out to more states along the East Coast, according to experts with the University of Georgia (UGA). The 3-inch long "Joro Spider" is native to Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The spider thrives in Japan, which has a similar climate to the southeastern United States...

PHOENIX (AP) — John McCain's daughter says in a new book released Tuesday that Sarah Palin brought drama, stress and uncertainty to her father's failed bid for the presidency in 2008, but she doesn't blame the vice presidential nominee for losing the race. (snip) In her book, released by Hyperion, Meghan McCain shows an itch to adopt her father's persona as a "maverick" delivering "straight talk."She calls religious conservatives the "intolerant far right," evoking her father's famous remark a decade ago that GOP religious leaders were "agents of intolerance." The elder McCain has since backed off from those statements. (snip)...