WATCH

Tough desert mouse eats scorpions and howls at the moon

Howling mouse via screencap

According to New Scientist, the grasshopper mouse (Onychomys torridus) will eat crickets, tarantulas, even other rodents.

THE DARK ARTS

Satanists organize rally in support of Florida governor Rick Scott

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R). Photo: Creative Commons.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s stance on religious liberty likely won accolades from conservative Evangelicals, but he was probably not expecting to be lauded by Satanists.

SICKO

America is totally sick right now

Young man sick with flu via Shutterstock

According to LiveScience.com, influenza, whooping cough and norovirus –a stomach virus that causes diarrhea, vomiting and cramping — are all currently storming through the population.

IMMIGRATION

UPDATE: DREAM activist’s mother saved from deportation when thousands mobilize

dream

Immigration officials arrested the family of an activist fighting for immigration reform on Thursday.

Hardball guest: NRA supported gun control in the 1960s because of Black Panthers

matthews

On Hardball, Matthews criticized the “slippery slope crowd,” or people who believe that gun control or limits to the Second Amendment are “the first unfaltering step towards mass confiscation.”

NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED

Woman convicted of child pornography linked to anti-gay group

[Gavel and law book image via Shutterstock]

A woman will receive at least 25 years in prison after being convicted of videotaping two men having sex with her 14-year-old daughter.

Science

Why IBM’s ‘Watson’ supercomputer can’t speak slang

A supposedly sophisticated computer failed to correctly use the risque terms in Urban Dictionary. So…

Climate change deniers skeptical of 2012 data

A Fox News article on Thursday featured skeptics of a report from the National Oceanic…

Draft report from NCA makes clear link between climate change and extreme weather as groups urge Obama to take action

Future generations of Americans can expect to spend 25 days a year sweltering in temperatures…

New fossils confirm existence of ‘Hobbit humans’

New fossils discovered on an Indonesian island further point to the existence of a separate…

Tech News

Facebook tests charging $100 to send Mark Zuckerberg a message

Facebook confirmed Friday it was dabbling with charging members as much as $100 to get…

Key witness in Bradley Manning WikiLeaks trial defends Reddit thread

Lauren McNamara says ‘none of this is private information’ while discussing her online conversations with…

Media

Crossword master Araucaria reveals in puzzle that he is dying of cancer

The Rev John Graham tells Guardian readers he ‘has 18 down of the 19, which…

Nastassja Kinski ‘proud’ of sister for abuse claims

Actress Nastassja Kinski said Friday she was proud of her half-sister Pola for coming forward…

World

Runaway boy, 13, drives father’s Mercedes across Europe

A 13-year-old boy ran away from his adoptive parents in Italy, taking his father’s Mercedes and driving 1,000 kilometres (more…

Bus torched in fresh Northern Ireland riots

Police in Northern Ireland fired plastic bullets and water cannon as pro-British loyalists furious over restrictions on flying the British…

Native leaders meet with Canada PM amid threat to bring economy ‘to its knees’

Indigenous Canadians marched on the capital and other major cities threatening to bring the economy “to its knees” as their…

Walmart replaces Latin American chief after Mexico scandal

Walmart announced Friday it is replacing the head of its Latin America unit as the company faces probes for alleged…

Poachers hack apart 2-month-old rhino with axes and machetes

A two-month old rhino was hacked at least 18 times with axes and machetes when she got too close to…

U.S. News

White House petition urging building of Death Star rejected because ‘administration does not support blowing up planets’

The US government has rejected a petition urging it to build a “Death Star”, claiming…

NYPD ‘looking into’ drones to survey crowds

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said on Thursday that his police force is…

Porn film makers sue over LA condom law

US porn filmmakers sued Los Angeles County on Friday over a new law requiring adult…

Congress sets Obama ‘State of the Union’ speech for February 12

US President Barack Obama will give his annual “state of the union” speech to Congress…

Prisoner 552, Fayez al-Kandari, still waiting for Obama to make good on 2008 promise to close Gitmo

US President Barack Obama begins his second term having failed to honor a promise from…

Father of Aurora, Colorado massacre victim yells at gunman in courtroom: ‘Rot in hell!’

The father of a victim of the Colorado cinema massacre yelled “rot in hell!” at…

Ohio school board votes to arm janitors in wake of Newtown

The Montpelier Exempted Village Schools Board of Education voted unanimously this week to approve arming…

Miss. gov. targets last abortion clinic: ‘My goal of course is to shut it down’

Republican Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says that there is one abortion clinic in the state…