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Early Tuesday morning (August 9, 2011,) the Sun erupted with the largest solar flare of Cycle 24, registering as an X7-class flare. This flare had an X-ray magnitude of X6.9, meaning it was more than 3 times larger than the previous largest flare of this solar cycle – the X2.2 that occurred on Feb 15, 2011, NASA said. The source was Sunspot 1263 which is nearing the western limb of the Sun, and because of its location, scientists do not anticipate that this explosion will hit Earth directly. Therefore, the impact on communications and electric grids will likely (and luckily)...

The bill to increase the federal debt limit that has been put before Congress today would increase that limit by up to $2.4 trillion, which would be the largest increase in the debt limit in U.S. history by a margin of half a trillion dollars, according to records published by the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Research Service. In fact, according to records published by the Congressional Research Service, if the current bill is passed and the debt limit is increased by $2.4 trillion, the two largest debt-limit increases in U.S. history would come in back-to-back years, both during...

Astronomers have discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe — a gigantic, 12-billion-year-old cloud harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. The cloud of water vapor surrounds a supermassive black hole called a quasar located 12 billion light-years from Earth. The discovery shows that water has been prevalent in the universe for nearly its entire existence, researchers said. "Because the light we are seeing left this quasar more than 12 billion years ago, we are seeing water that was present only some 1.6 billion years after the beginning of...

The world's largest neutrino telescope – made from a giant cube of ice at the South Pole – aimed at detecting subatomic particles traveling near the speed of light has been completed, researchers announced today (Dec. 20). http://www.livescience.com/environment/south-pole-neutrino-observatory-construction-finished-101220.html

International pro-Palestinian groups are preparing a massive flotilla of ships to the Gaza Strip in the spring to coincide with the first anniversary of the Israeli operation to stop the Mavi Marmara in late May, organizers said on Monday. The convoy of ships will be named “Freedom Flotilla 2” and is expected to include delegations from close to a dozen different countries as well as ships, for the first time, from the United States and Canada. According to the organizers, the different groups are currently in the process of collecting funds, purchasing vessels and recruiting volunteers.

For decades, geologists have known that Vietnam is home to some of the world's most spectacular caves, many of them largely unexplored. Now husband-and-wife cavers have documented perhaps the world's largest: Hang Son Doong, big enough in places to accommodate a New York City block of skyscrapers. The cave in the Annamite Mountains contains a river and jungle (its name translates to "mountain river cave") and even its own thin clouds, and its end remains out of sight. It's part of a network of about 150 caves in central Vietnam near the Laotian border.

The largest reserve of natural gas, over 16 trillion cubic feet, has been discovered off the coast of Israel, and is estimated to be worth more than $95 billion, U.S. company Noble Energy Inc. announced on Wednesday. Noble Energy owns 39.66% of the prospective discovery, alongside Israeli partners Delek Group Ltd. units Avner Oil and Gas LP and Delek Drilling LP (22.67% each), and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP with 15%. The reserve, Leviathon, is the largest amount of natural gas discovered in the world in the last decade and is located in approximately 5,400 feet (1,645 meters) of water,...

Chris Stevens, 32, of New Richmond, Wis., perfected the formula this summer and grew an orange gourd that weighed 1,810 and a half pounds and today shattered the previous world record of 1,725 pounds. "There's really no secret. It's a lot of luck and a lot of time," said Stevens, who started growing mega pumpkins 5 years ago. Stevens, a general contractor for Derrick Construction, lives with his wife Amy and their two daughters on 4.5 acres, south of New Richmond and has a 10,000-square foot pumpkin patch. As soon as Stevens set the world record at 2:05 p.m. at...

This is hugh. I'm series.

Fox Station exclusive report on board "A Whale" that just arrived in the Gulf, the ship is capable of skimming 500k barrels of oil a day...(Video)

The largest skimming ship in the world — known as an “A Whale” — is expected to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, but will be prevented from contracting with BP to help clean up the oil spill until the federal government decides that the vessel is “effective.” The Coast Guard will not clear the Taiwan-owned ship – which is reportedly the length of 3 football fields and 10 stories high – to join the clean-up until it undergoes a test. “The Coast Guard research and development center has a team of personnel that are ready to observe...

With five months to go before the general election, a new poll finds that Republicans have opened their widest lead yet when it comes to which party voters prefer this fall. Gallup's generic congressional ballot finds that the number of voters who say they will vote GOP has jumped to 49 percent, compared with 43 percent for Democrats. That's not only the biggest lead Gallup has recorded for the GOP this election cycle, it's the largest lead Republicans have ever had in the poll, which Gallup has run since 1950. Why are Republicans surging? According to Gallup, the GOP gained...

WASHINGTON – The economy got what it needed in April: A burst of hiring that added a net 290,000 jobs, the biggest monthly total in four years. The improving picture caused so many more people to pour into the labor force in search of employment that the jobless rate rose from 9.7 percent to 9.9 percent. The hiring last month of 66,000 temporary government workers to conduct the census added to overall job creation. But private employers — the backbone of the economy — contributed the most: A surprisingly strong 231,000 jobs, the most since March 2006, the Labor Department...

Europe's largest windfarm was shut down after a blade snapped off one of the huge turbines, operators said today. All 140 turbines at the Whitelee windfarm on Eaglesham Moor near Glasgow are being inspected by engineers following Friday's incident. ScottishPower Renewables said mechanical failure or a lightning strike could be to blame for the breakage, which it described as 'highly unusual'. The 150ft, 14-tonne, fibreglass blade broke off in the early hours in windy conditions and landed at the base of its tower.

Gelbaum said in a statement. "My investments in alternative, clean energy companies have placed me in a highly illiquid position as a result of the general credit crisis in the American and world financial systems." (Click link above for column) Oh goodness, I hope that someone else steps in and fills the gap because we desperately need someone to continue the desecration of everything we hold dear. We need more people to spit on the graves of our veterans by removing crosses that have served as war memorials for the past 75 years. We need someone to remove Christian symbols...

A plan for the building of a new settlement, Ma'aleh David, in the middle of an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem was filed for approval by the relevant municipal committee at the Jerusalem Municipality. The plan calls for the construction of 104 housing units on the land where the former headquarters of the Judea and Samaria police was housed in the neighborhood of Ras al-Amud. The new settlement is planned to be connected to an existing Jewish neighborhood, Ma'aleh Zeitim, and together will be occupied by some 200 families, forming the largest Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem

Hi Everyone. I'm looking for your help. I'm trying to compile a list of the world's largest news and information companies. (Things like AP, Reuters, CNN, Breitbart, Fox News, Sky News, etc.) Also, if you have any information for which one is the largest (maybe a top 10 list for info.) And I don't mean large as in how much money... I mean large as in their tentacles spread far and wide and they have reporters in every nook and cranny. All I ask is that you be honest, give me your best research (or guess) as well as any...

TUCSON, Ariz. - The world's most powerful optical telescope is now operating on southeastern Arizona's Mount Graham, capturing striking images of objects millions of light years away. The Large Binocular Telescope — two 8.4-meter diameter mirrors that together gather more light and have 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope — took its first images using both mirrors late last year. The first images were released to the public on Thursday. There are huge telescopes that operate in other parts of the spectrum — from low-frequency radio waves to far beyond visible light — but no traditional telescope...

LAS VEGAS - A 150-inch high-definiton plasma TV unveiled by Panasonic is the world's largest to date, the Japanese consumer electronics company claimed Monday at the International Consumer Electronics Show. The plasma panel features an 8.84 million pixel image resolution. Its screen is the equivalent of nine 50-inch sets, with an effective viewing area of 11 feet, the company said. It's a step up from Panasonic's 103-inch version, which cost $70,000 when it launched. The company did not say in a news release how much the 150-inch panel will cost. Panasonic's other prototypes introduced at CES include a 42-inch panel...

WASHINGTON - More than 1,200 people were arrested in meatpacking plants in six states during raids that federal officials said amounted to the largest-ever workplace crackdown on illegal immigration. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday the investigation uncovered a "disturbing front" in the war against illegal immigration, in which illegal immigrants are using the identities of U.S. citizens to obtain jobs. "Violations of our immigration laws and privacy rights often go hand in hand," he said. "Enforcement actions like this one protect the privacy rights of innocent Americans while striking a blow against illegal immigration." The raids at Swift...