Free Republic

<p>CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Investigators with the Charlotte Fire Department in North Carolina say a fire at a predominantly black church is arson.</p> <p>A statement from the fire department said it took about an hour Wednesday to get the fire at Briar Creek Road Baptist Church under control. Two firefighters were treated for heat-related injuries.</p>

LONDON (Reuters) - An unexplained radio signal from deep space could -- just might be -- contact from an alien civilisation, New Scientist magazine has reported. The signal, coming from a point between the Pisces and Aries constellations, has been picked up three times by a telescope in Puerto Rico. New Scientist said on Thursday the signal could be generated by a previously unknown astronomical phenomenon or even be a by-product from the telescope itself. But the mystery beam has excited astronomers across the world. "If they can see it four, five or six times it really begins to get...