Science

LOS ANGELES - Astronomers think they have solved the mystery of an extraordinary flash spied in a faraway galaxy, saying it came from a massive black hole that devoured a star after it wandered too close. Full Story »

The mere idea is stomach-churning: creating food from human feces. Full Story »

OMAHA, Neb. - The pictures of a Nebraska nuclear power plant were startling: Floodwaters from the swollen Missouri River had risen nearly to the reactor building, with the potential to climb even higher. Full Story »

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge has dismissed a batch of court claims that accused BP PLC and other companies sued over the massive Gulf oil spill of violating the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws. Full Story »

PARIS (AFP) - Relations between the United States and its partners in space remain strong, despite tighter budgets and concerns about costs and delays in building the space station, NASA chief Charles Bolden said on Friday. Full Story »

LIMA (AFP) - Peru's capital Lima declared itself a "GMO-free zone" in a municipal ordinance in response to a controversial government decree that critics feared would see the country flooded with genetically modified organisms. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ruler On Ice plowed his way through the mud to score an upset win in the 143rd running of the $1 million Belmont Stakes Saturday after the Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom almost threw his rider at the start. Full Story »

VIENNA (Reuters) - Nuclear power plants should be designed and located so that they can withstand rare and "complex combinations" of external threats, U.N. experts said in a report drawing wider lessons from Japan's atomic crisis. Full Story »

Storms will continue sweeping across the nation Friday as a low pressure tracks from the Plains to the Midwest. Full Story »

The self-appointed intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps has over 7,200 members, which sounds like a lot, until you learn that their jurisdiction is the entire universe. They are headquartered on the planet Oa, which in the (current) DC Universe resides at the universe’s very center. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The first clinical trials that examine the use of stem cells to treat two forms of blindness are ready to begin now that patients have been enrolled, a US company announced on Thursday. Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Scottish oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy announced on Thursday that its founder, Sir Bill Gammell, will step down as chief executive next month to become chairman. Full Story »

CONWAY, Mass (Reuters) - The deadly tornadoes that ripped through western and central Massachusetts earlier this month have spurred 8,200 insurance claims worth about $140 million of damage, state officials said on Friday Full Story »