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blog-heap o' links
DAPHNE, Ala. --
Worried about the safety of her family during a stormy Memorial Day trip to the
beach, Clara Jean Brown stood in her kitchen and prayed for their safe return
as a strong thunderstorm rumbled through Baldwin County, Alabama... She said
'Amen' and the room was engulfed in a huge ball of fire... lightning suddenly
exploded, blowing through the linoleum and leaving a blackened area on the
concrete. Brown wound up on the floor, dazed and disoriented by the blast but
otherwise uninjured... Fire officials think the lightning likely struck across the street from the couple's
home and traveled into the house through a water line. The lightning continued
into the couple's backyard and ripped open a small trench... today.reuters.com/ ... 15:59:10Parts of New Orleans experienced major subsidence in the three
years before Hurricane Katrina struck last summer... "What we found is that
some of the levee failures in New Orleans were places where subsidence was
highest..." In some cases the ground had subsided a minimum of 3 feet (1 meter)
which probably put the levees that were built more than 40 years ago lower than
their design level... nytimes.com/ ... 11:58:16Convinced
that tough tactics are needed, officials in hurricane-prone states are
trumpeting dire warnings about the storm season that starts on Thursday,
preaching self-reliance and prodding the public to prepare early and well.
Cities are circulating storm-preparation checklists, counties are holding
hurricane expositions at shopping malls and states are dangling carrots like
free home inspections and tax-free storm supplies in hopes of conquering
complacency. But the main strategy, it seems, is to scare the multitudes of
people who emergency officials say remain blasé even after last year's
record-breaking storm season... newsday.com/ ... 00:09:56SHANGHAI,
China -- Doctors in Shanghai on Tuesday were considering surgery options for a
two-month old boy born with an unusually well-formed third arm... Neither of
the boy's two left arms is fully functional and tests have so far been unable
to determine which was more developed... also was born with just one kidney and
may have problems that could lead to curvature of the spine... cried when
either of his left arms was touched, but smiled and responded normally to other
stimuli... newsday.com/ ... 00:06:53BURLINGTON, Wis. --
Lightning strikes at Chocolate Fest injured five people Monday and caused the
holiday weekend event to close several hours early. The lightning seemed to
strike the ground and then travel to the victims but did not hit them
directly... 
Marine Cpl. Richard
A. Bennett, 25, of Girard, Kan.Marine Capt. Nathanael J. Doring, 31, of Apple
Valley, Minn.Army Spc. Jeremy M.
Loveless, 25, of Estacada, Ore., died in Mosul, Iraq on May 29, when his
Stryker came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations. Loveless was
assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker
Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. 
A man took his dog
for a walk near his Coral Springs home and ended up prying a 7-foot alligator
off of the pooch's head Monday.... 
The
mystery of how frogs cling to surfaces - even if their feet are wet - may have
been solved by scientists. A study of tree frogs has revealed their toe pads
are covered in tiny bumps that can directly touch a surface to create friction.
The scientists found this direct contact occurs even though the pads are
covered with a film of watery mucus... 
found a two-foot-long ball
python in his rental car this week as he left the Ohio