SOCIETY

NASA's Swift Satellite has captured an unusual cosmic phenomenon of the awakening of a distant, dormant massive black hole and the subsequent devouring of a sun-like star.

A Kentucky doctor acted properly when he amputated part of a truck driver's penis after finding cancer during what was expected to have been a routine circumcision surgery in 2007, a jury found on Wednesday.

Two cousins who allegedly left a campfire unattended have been charged with starting Arizona's largest ever wildfire that torched more than 800 square miles of wilderness before it was contained. prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The Washington Monument will be closed indefinitely to the public as engineers have found additional cracks in the stones at the top of the structure.

After inflicting what officials call a serious beating on the southeastern Bahamas, Hurricane Irene is now charting its path into the central parts of the islands and inching closer to the East Coast of the United States.

North Carolina's Dare County on Wednesday told all visitors to evacuate Carolina as of 8 a.m. on Thursday to get out of the way of Hurricane Irene.

New York City officials have begun preparations to evacuate residents from low-lying areas of New York City, if necessary, as the rapidly strengthening Hurricane Irene could reach the New York area by midday Saturday.

Category 3 Hurricane Irene is now entering Central Bahamas after giving a serious beating to some southeastern islands in the Bahamas. The powerful storm still inches closer to the East Coast of the United States and has the potential to upgrade to a Category 4 hurricane by Thursday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the Forbes list of the world's most powerful women, which is dominated by politicians, businesswomen and leaders in media and entertainment.

Hurricane Irene battered parts of the Bahamas on Wednesday, leaving some southeastern islands without electricity, debris-blocked roads, and damaged homes. The Category 3 hurricane is now taking aim at the New York area and the rest of the East Coast of the United States. Irene could become a Category 4 storm by Thursday as it approaches the U.S.

While Hurricane Irene continues to make its way through The Bahamas with heavy winds and rain, residents in the capital Nassau are stocking up on the goods they need to in order to ride out the Category 3 storm. Irene is still threatening the east coast of the United States.

Redmond O'Neal, the troubled son of the late Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal, pleaded no contest to drug and weapons charges on Wednesday and was ordered to spend a year in a live-in rehabilitation program.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan is fine despite stumbling at an event in southern California where she was caught by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Hurricane Irene is heading right for Northeast. It remains unclear when and where the storm will break.

Tourists are beginning to evacuate Ocracoke Island, just off the coast of North Carolina, ahead of Hurricane Irene, which is expected to maintain intensity as it tracks northward toward the state.

Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges was honored with a Google Doodle on Wednesday in celebration of his 112th birthday.

Hurricane and tropical storm watches were issued for the Carolinas early Thursday as Hurricane Irene moved over the northwestern Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center said.

Despite the entire hullabaloo surrounding the historic East Coast earthquake, the 5.8 magnitude quake didn't create that much economic damage.

Hurricane Irene's projected path is expected impact almost the entire East Coast.

A Fossil of the Jurassic Mother, known to be the earliest ancestor of today's placental mammals has been discovered by a paleontologist in China.

Hurricane Irene reached 120 mph as it intensified, ravaging Acklins and Crooked Islands in the southeastern Bahamas. The National Hurricane Center said that Irene is a large and dangerous storm and that it is expected to gain momentum in the next day.

Tourists and residents of the small North Carolina island calmly flocked to ferries Wednesday. Hurricane Irene strengthened to a Category 3 storm while people on Ocracoke filled their cars with gas and gathered supplies.

Husband says wife suffers from postpartum depression.

As Hurricane Irene approaches the U.S., we take a look back at some at some of the most epic storms that have made landfall in the last century.

Photos of engineers surveying the damage to a cherished national monument

The El Nino climate cycle brings not only high temperatures and dry weather, but also possibly civil wars, a new study claims.Between 1950 and 2004, the risk of civil wars doubled in 90 tropical countries when bit by El Nino every three to seven years, according to a study published in Wednesday's Nature.

While mosquitoes are known to spread the tropical decease of Dengue Fever with their pinching bites, a new study has found that bacteria infected mosquitoes reduce the risk of transmitted the disease to humans.

Crews worked on Wednesday to drain propane from a rail tank car that has been burning in a Northern California city for nearly 24 hours, forcing the evacuation of 4,800 homes and businesses.

Hurricane Irene 2011 is gaining momentum and heading for the East Coast. Vacationers have been advised to change plans. As can be expected, many are choosing hope for the best over expect the worst.