Stuff to Blog About and More: In the News, August 1st, 2008

In case you missed it. NASA Brings Total Eclipse of the Sun to the Masses

7:10 a.m. -- Totality.

There was a total solar eclipse this morning. It was visible in parts of Canada, northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia and China. A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun. When the moon's shadow falls on Earth, people within that shadow see the moon block a portion of the sun's light.

Though the eclipse was not visible in most of North America, NASA TV and the Exploratorium made streaming video of the event available online. The following images are taken from that video. The sun appears differently in some of the images because of the different filters used to capture the event. Times listed are ET and approximate.

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Man Decapitated while Riding on Bus

Passengers aboard a Canadian bus were in horror as a fellow traveler was viciously attacked by his seat mate. The attacker repeatedly stabbing him and then severing his head, according to witnesses . .Police said a 40-year-old man was arrested after the grisly attack late aboard a Greyhound bus en route from Edmonton, Alberta, to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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China reacts to Censorship Flack

Olympic organizers unblocked some Internet sites at the main press center and media venues while others remained off limits for journalists covering the Beijing games. To some the move falls short of the "free and unfettered access" the organizers and Chinese officials had promised for months. It was an improvement from earlier in the week when sites for the likes of Amnesty International or Tiananmen Square could not be opened.

Kevan Gosper, the press commission head of the IOC, said the IOC and Chinese officials were working toward "unblocking sites that we believe were unreasonably blocked." "I would suggest also that we are not working in a democratic society, we're working in a communist society. This is China, and they are proud to be a communist society. So it will be different."

Amnesty International's site was open on Friday, but links to the banned spiritual movement Falun Gong remained closed. Some Web sites dealing with Tibet were open, but others tied to the restive region in the west of China were blocked. The BBC's Chinese-language site was open at times, but frequently unavailable.
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Water on Mars

Full-Circle Color Panorama of Phoenix Landing Site on Northern Mars

Full-Circle Color Panorama of Phoenix Landing Site on Northern Mars

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University Arizona/Texas A&M University

This partial view of a full-circle panorama shows NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander and the polygonal patterning of the ground at the landing area. The image is in approximately true color.
Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.