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bin laden oil tankers bin laden oil tankers. When Osama bin Laden wasn't maybe watching TV, he was apparently plotting his next devastating attack. Documents pulled from bin Laden's Abbottabad compound indicate that the terror leader next was planning to hijack oil tankers and blow them up at sea, reports the AP—an attempt he hoped would spike oil prices and shutter shipping lanes. US officials called the idea pie in the sky, but nevertheless quietly issued a warning Thursday to police and the energy industry. The idea of hitting the oil industry is nothing new, and experts are split on the impact of blowing up a tanker: A single ship holds enough oil to fuel the global supply for about a half-hour. But attacks on certain shipping chokepoints would "start closing down shipping lanes," says a former FBI agent. The low-tech plan appears to borrow a page from Somali pirates' success, and the cargo is so explosive that an errant cigarette can turn a ship into a fireba...

Alligator NY Yard Police officers are shocked as to how an alligator made it to a side yard in New York. Officers were called in by a resident on Tuesday. The animal control officers and the police were able to capture the reptile. The officers are stunned as to how the 3-foot animal got to the place. It is also not yet known for how long the animal has been hiding at the location. The animal was found at Jamestown and the call was made to the police at about 7:45 am. The animal was taken away from the location into a much safer place. There have been other instances where alligators have found themselves in the yard of residents. In 2008, a video was posted on YouTube showing an alligator on the yard of a property. In both cases, no injuries were reported after the incident. On Monday, another alligator reaching about two-and-half feet was spotted and captured on Long Island Expressway. The police have offered a reward for any person who will provide information on how the alligator g...

FBI sued over $750k car FBI sued over $750k car. Gets FBI Sued.The FBI has destroyed a $750,000 Ferrari and they don't want to pay for it.You're probably picturing a heated chase, gunfire and a crash that ends with the Ferrari thief caught and cuffed in the back of an unmarked vehicle. Eh, no. It's more like an agent and an Assistant U.S. Attorney went for a joyride claiming it was "official business." Official business or not, the insurance company that owns the totaled vehicle has decided to sue the FBI, and they want  all  their money back. The FBI Ferrari saga begins in late 2003, in the great state of Pennsylvania. A Ferrari dealership reported the car stolen and submitted a claim to the insurance company. They paid up and took ownership of the stolen car. In 2008, the Ferrari was confiscated in Kentucky and moved to a warehouse for holding until the thief was prosecuted, reports  The Detroit News.  Then came the crash. The insurance company filed a claim for...

Man finds thousands in cash at new home Man finds thousands in cash at new home. A man who found more than $40,000 cash in the Utah home he recently bought has returned the money to its rightful owner, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday. Josh Ferrin discovered the money stuffed in eight ammo boxes in the attic while he was exploring a workshop room in the Bountiful home on Tuesday. "I opened it up, freaked out. Closed it, locked it in my truck and called my wife," Ferrin said of the surprise. At the time he thought of his car troubles, repairs and renovations for the house and his desire to adopt a child -- but he returned it to the owner. "I couldn't let myself consider the money mine," he said. "This little guy [the previous homeowner] didn't put it there for me. He put it there for a rainy day," he said. Ferrin took the eight boxes to his parents' home, where he counted the money with his wife Tara and two children, Oliver and Linc...

New trouble for Sony New trouble for Sony. It looks like the problems still aren't over for Sony, which finally began bringing its Playstation Network back online over the weekend following a massive hack that exposed the information of millions of subscribers and left the company's online gaming network offline for almost a full month. News broke this morning that the email and password reset, aimed to help get players back online, has been compromised. Nyleveia reported this morning that "A new hack is currently doing the rounds in dark corners of the internet that allows the attacker the ability to change your password using only your account's email and date of birth." Sony responded by yanking the new online password recovery system it had put in place to help verify users' identities. With this system offline, many users who've yet to reset their information since the security breach will still be unable to get back online. The Sony Playstation Netwo...

FBI wants Unabomber's DNA FBI wants Unabomber's DNA. Authorities plan to take DNA samples from “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski for their investigation of a 1982 incident in which seven people died from taking Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates said the FBI has requested samples from “numerous individuals including Ted Kaczynski” and that Kaczynski has so far refused to provide the samples voluntarily. Yates would not comment on whether federal authorities have already gotten the DNA sample from Kaczynski. But Kaczynski, in a motion filed May 9, said he would provide the sample voluntarily on the condition that they would stop an online auction of his items. Federal prosecutors responded that “there is no basis for an order interfering with the sale previously approved by the district court.” The auction went ahead as planned on Wednesday. A $100,000 award from Johnson & Johnson for the capture and conviction of the Tylenol killer has neve...

'Botox mom' claims story was a hoax 'Botox mom' claims story was a hoax. California mother says a British tabloid paid her $200 to lie about injecting her 8-year-old daughter with Botox. Is she too irresponsible to be a parent? The mom who lost custody of her 8-year-old daughter after supposedly injecting the girl with Botox for beauty pageants now says the whole story was a hoax — and that she'd even fabricated a name for herself. Sheena Upton has signed a sworn declaration, obtained by TMZ, saying that British tabloid The Sun asked her to "play the role of Kerry Campbell" and even gave her a script to follow, in exchange for $200. (The Sun "strongly denies" Upton's allegations.) The mother and daughter also did interviews on Inside Edition and ABC's Good Morning America, which, according to TMZ, offered Upton $10,000. Upton's daughter has been returned to her, according to TMZ, "with the provision that a cousin would stay with ...

Animal Kingdom in Preakness Animal Kingdom in Preakness. Animal Kingdom, the first Kentucky Derby winner who never raced before on dirt, will try to claim the second leg of US horse racing's Triple Crown on Saturday by winning the 136th Preakness. The three-year-old chestnut colt is a 2-1 betting favorite in a field of 14, the first full lineup for the Preakness since 2005, and English-born trainer Graham Motion likes Animal Kingdom's chances in starting from the No. 11 post. "I couldn't be happier," Motion said. "I would rather be on the outside than stuck down on the inside." Animal Kingdom will try to become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to complete the American treble sweep by sweeping the Derby, the 1 3/16-mile Preakness at Pimlico and the Belmont Stakes on June 11. "I've followed this in years past and rooted just like anyone else for the Triple Crown horse," Motion said. "I don't want to get too far ahead of myself....

Michelle Obama Oxford Michelle Obama Oxford: Oxford University says Michelle Obama will visit its centuries-old colleges as part of a three-day trip to Britain. President Barack Obama and the first lady will make a state visit to Britain next week at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II. Oxford said on Thursday that Michelle Obama will visit the university on May 25. She will meet about 35 pupils from a London girls school as they spend a brief spell at the college under a diversity initiative, and take part in a question-and-answer session. It won't be the first time she has met with British students - she made a surprise visit to Oxford's campus in 2009 and last year invited a group of pupils from London to the White House. The state visit comes ahead of a G-8 summit in France.

Cheney Memoir As widely expected, Vice President Dick Cheney has signed a deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster to write a memoir about his life in politics and his service in four presidential administrations. A spokesman for Simon & Schuster said Mr. Cheney would write a book for Threshold Editions, where Mary Matalin, his close friend and adviser, is editor in chief. Mr. Cheney, who had been looking for a publisher for about two months, joins a roster of Bush administration figures writing memoirs, including President George W. Bush; his wife, Laura; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.; former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld; and Karl Rove, the former presidential political adviser. Mr. Rove’s book will also be published by Threshold. Mr. Cheney’s memoir, which will focus on the past 40 years of his life, mostly in Washington, will be published in the spring of 2011. The deal was negotiated by Robert Barnett, a W...

Apple Music Service Apple Music Service: According to reports, Apple is almost ready to release a cloud-based music storage service compatible with iTunes. Sources say the product is finished, and Apple might be ready to launch its service before Google’s competitive product sees the light of day. Several sources close to the matter and aware of both companies’ plans told Reuters that Apple will soon let iTunes customers keep their music libraries on a remote server. The music would then be accessible from any Internet-connected, iTunes-running device. But though the technology is in place, one all-important piece is missing from both music offerings: licensing agreements with major record labels. Google is stalling on its own music projects due to rumored tiffs with record labels, and Apple has yet to discuss any new licensing agreements with labels, according to Reuters’ sources. However, since the latter company has been working with musicians for a long time vis-a-vis iTunes and iT...

United accidentally reinstated 9/11 flight numbers United Airlines accidentally reinstated the flight numbers of the planes used in the 9/11 hijacking .One group is requesting that the airline permanently retires the numbers

Harold Camping and his 'doomsday' prediction Harold Camping, 89, is a Christian radio broadcaster and one of the founders of the group Family Radio . Camping is most famous for his Judgment Day predictions. His most famous prediction in 1994 was wrong , this time he says he has the math to back up his claim.. Camping has also predicted the world will end later this year

Lottery winner on food stamps A lottery winner is collecting food stamps, and, according to officials, he’s doing so legally. Leroy Fick reportedly bought a house and a car and invested the rest, leaving him eligible for assistance.

Netflix streaming is largest source of Internet traffic According to a new study, video streaming on Netflix accounts for a majority of the Internet traffic in this region during peak hours . A few years ago, this video website was leading the pack.

IMF chief held without bail International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, is being held without bail  after appearing in court to face criminal charges. Strauss-Khan not only managed the stability of the world's economy, but was the front-runner for the presidency of this country in next year's election.

Global planking craze gets fatal The latest global Internet craze, "planking" , has claimed its first victim . Police, as well as the Australian prime minister, have issued warnings

NHL player's brain to be donated The parents of Derek Boogaard, a New York Rangers player recently found dead, decided to donate his brain to researchers at a University . Scientists there will study the effects of concussion in athletes. Boogaard was found dead in his apartment , doctors are waiting for toxicology test results before determining a cause of death.

China gives press more freedom Toxic bean sprouts, filthy cooking oil, drug-tainted pork: The relentless headlines in Chinese media have churned up queasy feelings for months about the dangers lurking in the nation's dinner bowls. The stories are grim reading but show China's usually strict censors are allowing the press more latitude to help it monitor a food industry long riddled with problems. The central government has been cautiously encouraging a sudden burst in food safety muckraking. That's in contrast to before the new food safety campaign, when local officials would delay or quash reporting on food safety or the provincial government had to give permission for coverage of food scandals, said Peter Leedham, a China-based food testing executive. "It was very tightly controlled. That seems to have gone now. There's much more openness," said Leedham, the managing director of Eurofins Technology Service in Suzhou. Few think the looser controls on food rep...

IMF chief denies NYC sex-assault charges The leader of the International Monetary Fund and a possible candidate for president of France was yanked from an airplane moments before it was to depart for Paris and arrested in the alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid, police said. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, was arrested on charges of a criminal sex act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment. He had been taken off the Air France flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday afternoon by officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and was turned over to New York police, said Paul J. Browne, New York Police Department spokesman. Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told The Associated Press that his client will plead not guilty at his expected Sunday afternoon arraignment. "He denies all the charges against him," Brafman said. "And that's all I can really say right now." France woke to the bombshell news Sunday to surprise and...