US President, Barack Obama, defends the American Government’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after a public opinion poll revealed 60 percent of America disapproved.  Criticisms are directed partly at the lack of government oversight as BP has progressively wasted precious time in stopping the flow of oil, currently estimated to be flowing into the ocean at a rate of 12,000-19,000 barrels per day.  If the estimates hold true, this is easily the worst oil spill in American History, and will likely lead to greater regulation over oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.  The “Top Kill” method of pumping mud into the pipes the oil is spewing out of began yesterday, and BP executives have optimistically stated their belief that it’s working as intended, though the true effects are unlikely to be known until Friday.

International tensions mount, as North Korea is accused, by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, of intentionally sinking a South Korean Warship, resulting in the loss of 46 lives. 

The crisis began on March 26^th, after the South Korean Warship, Cheonan, exploded near a disputed maritime border between North and South Korea.  United Nations officials have speculated that North Korea was responsible.

Based on the destruction of the ship, it was seemingly sunk by an explosion near the hull, meaning that the most likely causes of the explosion were a torpedo or, possibly, a sea mine leftover from the Korean War; On May 20^th Independent investigators found multiple parts of a torpedo in the water, all manufactured in North Korea, further implicating them in the dispute.  Despite North Korea’s denial of any wrongdoing, the South has demanded an apology, and has halted nearly all trade with the North.  The state-run Television channel, KRT television, reportedly said “If South Korea takes any provocative actions against us in terms of political, economic and military measures, backed by the United States, we will respond with war for justice.” China has been reluctant to agree with either side, claiming to still be evaluating the situation.

In the already unstable political atmosphere of North Korea, the threat of war comes at a fortuitous time; there’s been speculation that the attack was a political maneuver to maintain military loyalty to the government.  Unfortunately for North Korea, there’s little doubt that they sunk the Cheonan, the more important question is how will both sides respond?

Better Off Ted (ABC)
Though many people loved the show, the series has never caught on with a mass audience. Season two’s ratings were terrible so it won’t be coming back for season three. ABC still has two unaired episodes. The show stars Portia de Rossi, Jay Harrington, Andrea Anders, and Jonathan Slavin.

FlashForward (ABC)
This drama started out strong in the ratings but viewership kept dropping. Then, ABC put it on hiatus (in part because of the Olympics) and things got even worse. No season two.

Heroes (NBC)
After seasons of declining ratings, NBC has pulled the plug. There are plans in the works to wrap up the series with an event of some kind.

The Hills (MTV)  After six seasons, the reality show is coming to a close.  

Law & Order (NBC)
This venerable crime drama was poised to surpass Gunsmoke as the longest-running primetime drama in US history. Unfortunately NBC and Dick Wolf couldn’t come to an agreement and the show is ending after 20 seasons.
 

Mercy (NBC)
It looked like this medical drama was going to easily outperform fellow freshman series Trauma. Unfortunately Mercy couldn’t hold onto its audience and both shows have been cancelled.

Trauma (NBC)
This San Francisco-based drama revolves around a group of brave first responders. The show struggled in the ratings from the start and NBC initially decided not to order any episodes beyond the initial 13 installments. They later changed their minds and ordered more. They didn’t do any better and the show was cancelled.

The Tyra Banks Show (CW)
The diva and host says that she’s decided to cancel the show to focus more on producing. Other reports have indicated that the series was due to be cancelled because of budget issues.

Ugly Betty (ABC)
ABC has decided to cancel the show after four seasons because of declining ratings in both seasons three and four. The series finale aired on on April 14, 2010.

BP, which owns the ruptured well, said officials expect the massive oil slick to reach land sometime Friday, with Venice and Port Fourchon the first places most likely to be affected.

Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of BP, said the company has had only three priorities since the April 20 rig explosion that led to the oil spill: stop the flow of oil, minimize its impact and keep the public informed.

BP has been trying to stop the flow by using remote-controlled submarines to activate a valve atop the well. But the valve, known as a blowout preventer, is not working.

A stopgap plan (putting a chamber over the well area and sending the oil to a ship) has never been performed at the depth that the spill is taking place and could take four weeks before it’s even ready for testing.  The ultimate plan – drilling a different well to access the first and close it with concrete – could take three months.  Meanwhile, efforts to contain the spill and stop the leak are costing the well’s owners roughly $6 million per day.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is, needless to say, a very serious matter which, if left not taken care of, will cause serious problems for the B.P. owners of the oil rig and the long stretch of beach where the slick is moving.

Activists use building material to shutter the entrance to the Eurobank branch in central Athens.

Economy is the only thing anyone hears on the news these days. Raising gas prices, food shortages, and shortage on resources. As for Greece, they took matters into their own hands. A large protest consisting of 50,000 workers in Athens Greece has picked up their picket signs in response to the recent  budget cuts. The cause of the budget cuts was made by a finicial economy plan that Greece had put forward to ease the country’s national debt. The proteset had put this as the largest strike in Greek history. The striking is so severe that it grounded flights, docked cargo ships and ferries, and left commuters in Athens without most public transportation. State-run schools, tax offices and municipalities all shut down and public hospitals limped by using emergency staff. Of course, the protest had only lasted for about a day and violence broke out after it was finished.

This was said to be the largest riot/protest since the 2008 Greece riots after a police officer had shot and killed teenager Alexandros Grigoropoulos. This protests have also effected other european nations like Spain, Italy and Portugal who are also in a financial situation.

Credit to The Huffington Post

Yesterday at approximately 3:30 am, an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter Scale struck off the shore of Maule, Chile, near the city of Concepción.

At least 708 people have died, though in an earthquake death tolls are difficult to calculate as the disaster tends to bury its victims.

Two subsequent earthquakes have since struck; yesterday a quake measuring 6.9, and today another measuring 6.0.  While significantly smaller than the first, these tremors still retain the power to knock over cruder structures for up to 100 miles.

Concerning the 8.8-er, Concepción is devastated and inmates have escaped from a nearby prison.

Call Me a Chicken Again, I Dare You: A sculptor's interpretation of Sinorinthosaurus millenii. Sinorinthosaurus belonged to the family of dinosaurs known as Dromaeosaurs, which the famous Velociraptor belongs to. Image courtesy of Raresource.com.

Small dinosaurs are often laughed at, called “prehistoric chickens”, and the like. However, Sinorinthosaurs (SIEN-oh-RINTH-oh-sawr-us) millenii was, potentially, one “prehistoric chicken” you did not want to screw with. Lest you be eaten alive.

A recent discovery made by University of Kansas scientists showed that the teeth of Sinorinthosaurus were grooved, much like a rear-fanged snake has. Rear fanged snakes are much like many modern-day lizards, the Komodo dragon being the prime example of this. They did not inject true venom, like a Cobra or Rattlesnake would. Instead, the venom rests in pockets near the nasal cavity, using specialized ducts to seep into its grooved teeth. This venom would be watered down and mixed with the animal’s saliva.

Now, what in the world could a turkey-sized animal like Sinorinthosaurus do with toxic saliva? It would do what any great carnivore does; go hunting.

Now, merely spitting the saliva at potential prey would do nothing more than irritate their skin, or blind them if aim is prime. Now, as much as spitting would be interesting (such as shown by the Dilophosaurus of Jurassic Park), it’s highly impossible. If a Sinorinthosaurus were to even try, it would do nothing more than drool and glare.

Instead of drooling like a fool, Sinorinthosaurus took a much more practical approach; biting. When the animal bit into the flesh of its prey, the saliva would seep into the open wounds. A bite in itself (venomous or not) would render at least a Tetnis shot in modern times. But this bite had much, much more bark to it.

The venom in the saliva of Sinorinthosaurus would most likely not kill anything. It had a better job to do, which would lead to a much more gruesome death. After a matter of time, the bite would render prey stupefied, unable to move for the life of them. With its hunt frozen but alive, Sinorinthosaurus could begin its feasting.

Sinorinthosaurus has brought up a large discussion among paleontologists, and that is the origin of venom. While modern birds descended from animals such as Sinorinthosaurus, they all lack pockets for injecting venom, though several species have been found to have toxic skin and feathers. So then, how exactly did venom come about?

“How primitive is venom really? Does it go all the way back to the archosaurs?” Scientist David Burnham says, referring to the reptiles predating even dinosaurs by 30 million years, “These are things people haven’t really tested yet.”

Gingers Ain't Got Soul: Here is an artist's interpretation of the newly discovered color and patterning. Sinosauropteryx prima is the first dinosaur to be found with not only feathers, but its colors as well. Image Courtesy of Daily Mail UK Online.

Sinosauropteryx (SIEN-o-sawr-OP-ter-iks) prima could easily become one of the most legendary dinosaurs in all of the paleontological world. Despite having lived nearly 130 million years ago in the early Cretaceous of Liaoning Province in China, this dog-sized carnivore you’ve never heard of has been proving to be a shining star.

How could this be? That, is due to the fantastic discovery that British, Irish and Chinese scientists have made. Using electron microscopes, said scientists were able to find fossilized “melansomes” inside of the feather structures of Sinosauropteryx.

For those unaware, melansomes are tiny structures within feathers that give them color. While not the only ones to give feathers their colors, they are the largest; thus, able to withstand even fossilization. One variety found in Sinosauropteryx was the type to give black, grey, or white feathers; the other, orange or brown.

Now, the joke has always been that ginger kids don’t have souls. Well, tell this dinosaur it doesn’t have soul and it would probably eat your nose. That’s right: this dinosaur was ginger.

Scientists found Sinosauropteryx to have russet feathers covering it’s body, with white rings running along its tail. Now, not only does this tiny, but oh so significant dinosaur reveal to us that it had feathers, and what color these feathers were, but it also sheds light on the evolution of feathers.

Sinosauropteryx prima appears to have fuzzy bristles covering its body, much like the down feathers of all baby birds. These bristly structures have caused a long debate, now come to a close. Were feathers used for flight, insulation, or display?

If you picked flight, you are absolutely incorrect. As depicted in the picture to the right, these animals did not have wings. If you picked insulation, you are also incorrect. Liaoning Province, China has been found to be a rainforest, much like those found in Southeast Asia. One who needs to warm up in a steaming jungle is most likely off their rocker. Now, taking into account the color of these animals, and the nature of their feathers, display now seems to be the most plausible answer.

Professor Mike Benton of Bristol University says, “We now know that feathers came before wings, so feathers did not originate as flight structures. We therefore suggest that feathers first arose as agents for colour display and only later in their evolutionary history did they become useful for flight and  insulation.”

Many a dinosaur fanatic can only wonder which dinosaurs coloration will be revealed next; will the fearsome Tyrannosaurus really be neon pink? Will Microraptor be blue and green? Will Compsognathus really be green, as Jurassic Park depicts it to be? Only time will tell now.

The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean. But that view was controversial, and the rift had not been well studied.

A new study involving an international team of scientists and reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters finds the processes creating the rift are nearly identical to what goes on at the bottom of oceans, further indication a sea is in the region’s future.