Second Death of Hantavirus From Yosemite

Hantavirus has killed a second person, who had stayed at Curry Village in Yosemite.

Two other people have been made sick by the disease.

Humans generally contract the disease when they inhale invisible particles of mouse urine or droppings.

All four of the infected stayed in the "Signature Tent Cabins" of the National Park, located in California.

It is the third time that the virus has made an appearance at the park, having done so previously in 2000 and 2010.

Officials at the park have already begun increased inspections and extra cleaning of all the rooms.

There is no known treatment for the disease, which has proved to be around thirty percent fatal.

Since it was identified in 1993 there have been 587 documented cases in the US.

New Orleans Prepares for Isaac

Hurricane Isaac is expected to hit the coast at and around New Orleans Tuesday evening.

President Obama declared Louisiana and Mississippi to be emergency zones, in preparation for the storm's fury.

Obama warned residents to listen to evacuation notices, and not to risk staying in the danger areas.

Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate, and thousands more have had evacuation suggested.

Waters along the coast could rise as much as twelve feet.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu, of New Orleans, pledged that there would not be a repeat event of the likes the city saw when hit by Hurricane Katrina, in 2005.

However, he also warned that some areas of the city would still see flooding, though not noting which.

Billions of dollars have been spent rebuilding, reinforcing, and on constructing new levees and flood walls, around the city.

Alabama and Florida have already seen some flooding from the storm, though they were not directly struck.

At least twenty-four people were killed by Isaac, as the storm swept over Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Pirates Take Greek Tanker

Off the Togo coast, pirates captured a Greek oil tanker, taking her crew of twenty-four hostage.

The pirates had a short fire fight with a Togolese patrol boat, but managed to escape.

This marks the sixth ship that has been taken off of West Africa, during 2012.

Piracy off East Africa, especially Somalia, is a lot more common.

Interestingly, the two groups go about it very differently.

While the East Africans hold the ship, cargo, and crew hostage until paid, the West Africans normally transfer any cargo to another ship and then within a few days release the ship and crew.

US Sets Records With 2011 Arms Deals

A new study was released by the US Congress on Monday.

The study details out weapons sales throughout the world, in 2011.

With a total of $66.3 billion, the US led the world by far, with Russia coming in second with only $4.8 billion.

Most of the US's sales went to Middle Eastern countries who are worried about Iran.

It was a most dramatic increase, as in 2010 the US only made $21.4 billion in arms deals, with the largest previous year being 2009 with almost $31 billion.

Study Finds Smoking Cannabis Lowers Intelligence

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences announced that smoking cannabis permanently lowers intelliegence.

The lowering greatly increased if the person started smoking at a younger age, especially during their teens.

A thousand people from Dunedin, New Zealand took part in the study, over the last twenty-five years.

The study was carried out by researchers at King’s College in London and Duke University.

Protesting Miners Lock Themselves in Mine With Explosives

Miners in Italy have stolen nearly eight hundred pounds of explosives and locked themselves deep down in their mine, near Cagliari.

As many as a hundred miners are staging their protest around thirteen hundred feet under ground.

They began the protest on Sunday night as an attempt to keep the government from closing the mine.

Some of the miners have been working there for over twenty-five years, and do not want to become unemployed.

They are asking the government to try to find a different use for it, even suggesting it be turned into a storage for pollutants.

The Carbosulcis mine has seen protests before, in 1995 miners stayed there for a hundred days to win their point.

Israel Develops New Grenade Technology

Israel Military Industries announced the development of a new grenade.

Whilst they would not go into detail on how it works, they let it be known that the grenade will not explode if struck by a bullet, hit by shrapnel, or put in a fire.

The new model has already been in field use with Israeli forces for a few months.

It is expected that the new technology will save lives, as it will cut down the number of accidental explosions.

Israel will sell the technology to friendly states.

Seventeen Beheaded for Holding Coed Party

Seventeen people were beheaded in the town of Musa Oala, Afghanistan.

Their crime was throwing a coed party, with dancing and music.

The fifteen men and two women were killed by members of the Taliban.

To the Taliban a party involving men and women, who are not related, is one of the worst possible crimes.

The Taliban is also against women voting, showing their faces, or being in public with out a male relative or husband present.

In 2001, the US and their allies officially ended Taliban rule in the country, but insurgents have been a problem ever since.

Snakes on a Plane, Almost

Mateus Del Maso Jr was arrested earlier this month for attempting to smuggle snakes onto a plane.

Del Maso was trying to leave Florida through Orlando International Airport, on his way home to Brazil.

A TSA agent who was suspicious of the speakers the man checked in, searched them and made a slithering discovery.

Inside the speakers were twenty-seven snakes that had been wrapped in pantyhose, before being stuffed into the speakers.

The snakes had a value of about ten thousand dollars, and Del Maso planned to begin a breeding operation once he got home.

Luckily for the people he was to share the plane with, they never made it aboard.
 
After pleading guilty, Del Maso served two days in prison, was served a six thousand dollar fine, will have to undergo a year of supervised release, and be required to announce himself to a probation officer if he ever returns to the US.

Will.I.Am's New Song to Debut From Mars

Will.I.Am's new single will become the first debut from Mars.

The song called "Reach for the Stars" will be released via the Curiosity rover, and then transmitted back to earth.

It will take place at the end of a presentation at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

During the event a new science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics initiative featuring NASA will be announced.

Reach for the Stars details the singer's passion for science, technology, and space exploration.