Scientists Get Best Look Yet at Supermassive Black Hole - Slate Magazine (blog)

Researchers in the past have studied the black hole at the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, explains Shep Doeleman, assistant director of MIT's Haystack observatory and lead author of the study. But that one is apparently a bit of a weakling as far as black holes go, with a mass just 4 million times that of the sun, and it doesn't appear to produce these polar jets. The black hole at the center of M87 is 6.5 billion times the mass of the sun, and its plasma beams are marvelous.

AP Top News at 12:30 am EDT - Fox News

Syria's Assad appears on TV after bombing

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad made his first appearance Thursday since a bomb killed some of his top lieutenants, looking calm and composed on state TV even as his forces turned parts of Damascus into combat zones and rebels seized two of the country's border crossings. The unprecedented attack on Assad's inner circle Wednesday, along with the government's inability to crush the rebels after five days of intense clashes in the Syrian capital, point to an unraveling of his grip on power after 16 months of violence.

Andy Murray through to final after beating Tsonga - BBC News

6 July 2012 Last updated at 18:49

Andy Murray is the first British man to reach a Wimbledon singles final for 74 years after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a nail biting match.

Andy powered through the first two sets 6-3, 6-4 but Tsonga fought back to take the third 6-3.

Murray seemed to lose focus in the fourth set but pulled it back to win 7-5.

He will now face Roger Federer in the final on Sunday.

Pirate Party Shuts Down Pirate Bay Proxy After Legal Threat - Huffington Post

The UK Pirate Party has taken down its popular Pirate Bay proxy. While no official statement has yet been released, it's believed that legal threats made by music industry group BPI are behind the unexpected move. The decision comes a few days after six individual Pirate Party members received a letter from the BPI's solicitors. In addition to taking down the proxy, the Pirate Party have also pulled their legal battle fundraiser campaign.

Read the whole story at Torrent Freak

News Summary: Google cutting 4000 at Motorola - Businessweek

REDUCTIONS: Google is cutting about 4,000 jobs at its Motorola Mobility cellphone business — about 20 percent of Motorola Mobility's 20,000 employees, and 7 percent of Google's overall work force.

NEW OWNER: The job eliminations come three months after Google bought the once-dominant U.S. cellphone maker for $12.5 billion.

BIGGER PICTURE: The cellphone pioneer has been struggling for years. It hadn't produced a mass-market hit since it introduced the Razr cellphone in 2005. Before the acquisition, Motorola had been trying to turn itself around by focusing on smartphones, and the cuts announced Monday will shift that goal even further.

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea linked with switch to Real Madrid - The Independent

Via the World: Rescued from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Independent Blogger Sarah Outen is ready to try again

Even before I left my boat, Gulliver, out on the North Pacific, I knew I would be back on the ocean ...

by Sarah Outen

23 October 2012 01:43 PM

Fife Council foots whale removal cost - BBC News

5 September 2012 Last updated at 12:09 ET

The cost to remove and incinerate 17 pilot whales which died on a Fife beach at the weekend was between £10,000 and £12,000.

Fife Council said the whales were sent to Keith in Aberdeenshire after being winched to the top of the cliffs from the beach near Anstruther.

And the council footed the bill for the removal and incineration.

Agencies are now awaiting post mortem results to find out why the whales became stranded.