Radio Stations Evacuated Due to Beeping Package

Several radio stations were evacuated, Tuesday morning, in Los Angeles.

Two suspicious packages were delivered to KNX-AM 1070, and one of them was beeping.

KFWB radio and K-Earth-FM 101 were also evacuated, as they share the building.

An LA bomb squad was sent to check out the packages, which were eventually determined to be carrying promotional items, for radio show hosts.

The beeping had been coming from an alarm clock.

NFL Has Become an Embarrassment

Every year the NFL, and every sport, sees bad calls made. Humans make mistakes. Tis the very reason challenges and reviews are in existence.

For the NFL this year was going to be a challenge. The regular refs went on strike and refused to work til their pay was increased. The NFL was unwilling to do so. Instead they brought in replacements, and they've been  dramatically wanting in their judgment abilities, with horrible calls being made every week.

Last night was the highlight of such, mostly due to it's being the first one that actually was a game deciding call. With eight seconds remaining, in a game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, there was a dramatic hail mary pass, which even the NFL admits shouldn't have counted, due to an uncalled interference call.

Even greater confusion immediately followed. The nearest refs, both of whom had failed to call the interference, looked at each other and then gave differing responses as to whether it was a touch down or an interception, eventually the decided to call it a touchdown.

From there the play went right to official review. When the official came back, he decided that it was indeed a touchdown. The NFL has backed this decision, calling it a simultaneous catch, which by NFL rules, goes to the passing team.

Unfortunately for the official, the rest of the refs, and the NFL everyone else who watches the replay can clearly see that it was an interception, not a simultaneous catch. The Seahawks did not win, the Packers had victory robbed from them, by the referees. There were several chances for the call to be overturned, as it rightly should have been, but they were not taken.

Now we are left wondering, would the NFL have been better off if the ref lockout had kept play from happening at all. The NFL would have been hurt by that, but at least it wouldn't have become the embarrassment it is now.

Seven Killed in Turkish Explosion

Seven members of Turkey's security forces were killed Tuesday.

The vehicle they were traveling in exploded, as they traveled through Tunceli.

It is unclear if the explosion was caused by a mine or if something struck the vehicle.

Kurdish rebels are being blamed for the attack.

The war between the rebels and national government has been heating up lately, and the death toll has been growing.

MySpace Announces Latest Redesign

MySpace has announced it's latest redesign, and you can sign up to test it out.

The site used to be the top social media place on the internet, but Facebook and Twitter have definitely taken that from them.

Since 2005, they've gone through multiple owners and looks.

Now, partially owned by Justin Timberlake, the site is focusing all the more so on it's music wing, and integration with Facebook and Twitter.

Focus is clearly now on becoming the top social music site.

The new look contains such things as a Discover tab which offers access to trending artists, music, mixes, radio, videos, news, and upcoming concerts; and the Artist Pages which will be an easy access playlist to any song or video by your favorite artists.

If you're looking for a preview, it is now available.

Zombie Bees Found in Washington

Zombie bees have now been confirmed in Washington state, they had previously only been found in California, South Dakota, and Oregon. A novice bee keeper in Seattle discovered that some of his bees had been infected, he brought his story to local universities and the Seattle Times.

San Francisco State University biologist John Hafernik uses the movie of Alien to describe what happens to the bees.

Adult females, smaller than a fruit fly, land on the backs of foraging honeybees and use their needle sharp ovipositors to inject eggs into the bee's abdomen. The eggs hatch into maggots. They basically eat the insides out of the bee. After consuming their host, the maggots pupate, forming a hard outer shell that looks like a fat, brown grain of rice. Three to four weeks later adults are born.

It's unclear why flies started doing this in 2008, but the implications are frightening. Bees are responsible for pollinating most plants in the world, especially farm crops. If bee populations are hurt by this, it could effect quantity of crops as well.

That's not exactly encouraging words after this summer, which saw some of the worst droughts in decades. Shortages of many foods are quite possible, even in the US, next year.

Heavily Tattooed Vladimir Franz Running For Czech President

Vladimir Franz, a fifty-three year old drama professor, painter, and composer, is running for President in the Czech Republic.

Franz is described as a moderate who strongly believes in democracy, human rights, tolerance, and in finding answers to the energy crisis.

What makes him stand out is his appearance.

Franz has dyed blue hair, multiple facial piercings, and tattoos covering more than ninety percent of his body.

His appearance has caused supporters of Vaclav Klaus, the current President, to suggest he is running as a joke, but he is completely serious about his run.

Doctor Franz, as he could go by, due to his doctorate in law, is considered a long shot, but his growing support could actually make him a true contender in the election.

Some will or won't vote for him simply due to his appearance, but the majority of the country believes in the very things he stands for, in fact polls would suggest that he is much more aligned with their views than Klaus is.

If Franz was to win, he would become the first president to openly show tattoos.

This election could very truly show if an entire country can accept tattoos, in a very public way.

Washington Fires Burning Nearly 200 Square Miles

Twenty-five hundred fire fighters are battling two huge wildfires, in Washington.

Combined, the two fires are burning one hundred and sixty square miles.

The Wenatchee fire is considered to be at thirty percent containment, whilst the Table Mountain fire is nearing ten percent.

Much of eastern Washington is considered to have poor to hazardous air quality due to the massive amount of smoke coming off the fires.

Many firefighters have had to be treated for upper respiratory problem and residents are being warned to keep their windows closed and to limit their time outside.

The smoke has also kept aircraft from joining in the fight.

Other fires are burning in the state, but most of the focus is going into the two largest fires, especially as they grow closer to each other.

Several states, throughout the western US, are suffering from blazes, in what has been one of the worst fire seasons.

California Fire Kills 1, Burns 20 Homes

Twenty homes near the Mexican border were burned down in San Diego County, in California.

Pushed on by gusty winds, the fire has gone through four square miles, and is threatening twenty-five more homes.

An eighty-two year old man was killed by the fire, after he refused to evacuate and it engulfed his home.

The blaze is keeping eighty people out of their homes, but worries are that the winds will spread it towards San Diego.

Another fire, near Murrieta, is threatening two hundred homes, but is ninety percent contained.

Fires elsewhere in the country continue to burn hundreds of square miles of land.

China's Carrier Sailing

The Liaoning has set sail, China has it's first aircraft carrier, as much of the world worries about China's growing military power.

For now she won't be receiving aircraft, as China has no pilots or airplanes trained and designed for carrier operations.

It could be several years til the carrier has ready aircraft aboard, but til then she will be a training platform towards that.

At a thousand feet long, the Liaoning is the second biggest class of carriers in the world, only the US's Nimitz class is bigger, which are just short of 1,100 feet long.

She'll be capable of carrying fifty aircraft, plus a few helicopters, and is currently only one of twenty carriers in the world.

Jane's Fighting Ships lists the US as having eleven carriers, with three in construction; Italy with two; India has one, with a second being refitted, and a third being constructed; Russia, France, Spain, Thailand, and Brazil with one a piece; and the UK with only one helicopter carrier, but with two full carriers in construction.

Japanese and Taiwanese Ships Use Water Cannon on Each Other

Taiwanese and Japaneses boats clashed Tuesday over the Senkaku islands.

Over the past months the mostly verbal battle over the islands has increased between China and Japan, though at times Chinese vessels have crossed into Japanese waters.

But now Taiwan has decided to press their own claims, by sending twelve patrol boats to escort forty fishing boats, into the waters off the islands.

Japan responded by sending it's coast guard vessels forth to warn the Taiwanese away. The warnings went ignored, as well as threats, and the Japanese vessels made the decision to shoot water cannons at the fishing boats.

The Taiwanese patrol boats responded by firing their own water cannons, at the Japanese coast guard vessels, but then quickly retreated, taking the fishing boats with them, as they realized their mistake. Firing, even a water cannon, on a government vessel could easily be taken as an act of war.

Ten Chinese vessels, that were near the confrontation, maintained their distance from it, and stayed out of Japanese waters.

Japanese diplomats are in negotiations with both China and Taiwan over the islands. They had been owned privately, by two Japanese families, for centuries. But China and Taiwan claim that they each own the islands due to past history, from before that time.

Protests over Japan's protecting the islands from Chinese landings, occurred across China. In an attempt to end the controversy, Japan purchased the islands earlier in September. Since then war has even been threatened over the islands, but the countries seem to be doing all they can to avoid that.