Maltese vote yes to divorce, PH to be only country in the world with no divorce

Citizens of the Catholic Mediterranean state of Malta have voted in favor of legalizing divorce, announced Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzo on Sunday, May 29, reports ABS-CBN News. Malta is the only other country apart from the Philippines that bans divorce. It is also the last European country where divorce is considered illegal.

On Saturday, 306,000 of mostly Catholic voters were asked in a non-binding referendum whether the parliament should introduce a divorce law after four years of separation. Legal separation, though widespread in Europe, presents many challenges in re-marrying, reports the article.

Gonzi, who campaigned against divorce, said, "This is not the result I wished for, but the will of the people has to be respected and the parliament should enact a law for the introduction of divorce." He added it was now up to the parliament to legalize the dissolution of marriage.

Pro-divorce leader of the opposition Labor party, Joseph Muscat said in The Guardian that a New Malta had been born. According to the article, Muscat is confident that the anti-divorce law would not thwart the will of the people. The Roman Catholic Church, meanwhile, did not participate in Malta's referendum. However, Malta Archbishop Paul Cremona warned churchgoers that their decision was a choice between building and destroying family values.

Leave Comments Thanks..

Meaning of Poke on facebook

You can understand poke at facebook as to say “hey, you! wutsup”, but some people have wrong understanding that poke at facebook is symbol of disturbing. Following are the correct meanings of poking at facebook.

• A “poke” is basically someone trying to get your attention
• It’s one of the meaningless features that are used just to annoy someone
• If you poke someone not in your network and they poke back. You can view their profile even if your not their friend!
• A poke is when you allow someone to see your facebook page for 3 days, so they can know who you are and hopefully add you as a friend

Diana Ross and blink-182 announce San Diego stops

Who says summer is the season for big concerts?

Legendary Motown chanteuse, Diana Ross, will perform her many, many hits at Humphrey's and at Pechanga Resort & Casino post Labor Day.

The former Supremes lead singer will perform at the intimate Pechanga stage on Sept. 11 and at Humphrey's by the Bay on Sept. 13.

Tickets for the Humphrey's show are on sale now on Ticket master.

The Pechanga show goes on sale at 3 p.m. Friday with prices ranging from $85 to $120. Tickets will be available either at an on-site kiosk, online at pechanga.com or by calling (877) 711-2946.

Also rolling into town on October 15 is blink-182, a band that's also known as one of San Diego's most popular exports.

The Poway-bred pop punk trio will close out its national headlining tour with My Chemical Romance atChula Vista's Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale on June 11, but fans should check blink-182.com for updates.

HCG Diet successful for local dieters

 St. Louis (KSDK) -- After years of yo-yo dieting, Linda Prinster was done. 

"Any more attempts at weight loss would just put on more weight a little at a time from going up and down," Prinster said. 

But when she heard about HCG, something sounded different. 

HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy. In the 1950s, one doctor noticed weight loss in patients using the hormone. He published his findings as the HCG weight loss plan. 

Prinster began taking the hormone to amazing results. 

"I lost 20 pounds in 30 days, which for me was unbelievable," Prinster explained. 

Her success prompted Prinster to found the weight loss center "Pounds and Inches Away." 

There are no meals prepared there or workout machines in place, just homeopathic HCG drops and a scale. A simple approach, that so far seems to be working for hundreds of local dieters. 

"For most people, it's the best thing they've ever done besides finding their spouse and kids," Prinster said.

Betty Smotherman is one of those people. 

On the plan, participants eat large amounts of high-fat foods before going on a 500 calorie-a-day diet.

"500 calories without HCG is a miserable experience, miserable. With HCG, it's usually very different from that," Smotherman said. "I was never hungry when I had the HCG in my system, I didn't have the cravings anymore." 

If it seems hard to imagine what 500 calories a day looks like, it's coffee or tea for breakfast, then over the course of the day, two pieces of fruit, two vegetables and two four ounce servings of meat. 

After 40 days on the drug, it's assumed your metabolism has increased, and it's back to a normal eating routine. 

"It's very unusual for somebody not to be able to eat a healthy 1,500 calories and maintain it," Prinster said.

For each before-and-after success story, there's a skeptic. 

Dr. Sam Klein is a professor of medicine and nutritional science at Washington University. Klein says the drug can cause heart problems and increased blood pressure, and most of the weight lost comes from fluids. 

"I would not suggest taking that to help people lose weight," Klein said. "Of course if you eat 500 calories a day, you'll lose weight. The question is does HCG allow you to stick to that diet more effectively than not taking HCG and the randomized controlled trials, all the scientific data suggests that's not the case."

Believers in the diet believe the results speak for themselves. 

"I don't try to explain much about how electricity works behind a wall. I know the switch works," Prinster said. "What it does for a woman when she's going to have a baby, it makes it possible to build a baby without harming the mother. So if it can do that, I can't imagine why it can't help me lose weight." 

Klein said there are a few studies that show some correlation between the hormone and weight loss, but they're limited. 

Smotherman believes in the product so much, she now works for Pounds and Inches Away.

While her weight loss results are indisputable, the effectiveness of HCG long-term -- still is. 

"It really reflects our desperation to find effective methods to really treat obesity and help people lose weight," Klein explained. "And until we really develop better drugs, better effective therapies to help people lose weight, we'll be reaching for any kind of hope."

Missouri town ravaged by worst tornado in 50 years

America was put on alert for more violent storms on Tuesday, barely 36 hours after the deadliest tornado in modern history killed 116 and turned a small Missouri town into a disaster zone.

As day broke on Monday, Joplin awoke to unimaginable destruction: a vast expanse of splintered trees where entire neighbourhoods once stood, and cars were flung about like freeform metal sculptures.

The rescue effort once again pitched humans against the elements, as emergency crews equipped with axes and torches worked their way through rubble looking for survivors, lashed by strong winds and occasional hail. The authorities warned the death toll could rise.

And there was no immediate end in sight. A new tornado watch was issued on Monday night for the areas around Joplin, as well as Oklahoma and parts of Kansas and Texas.

Sunday night's tornado was the deadliest since 1953, and the second tornado disaster in the US in less than a month.

The twister cut a six-mile swath through the centre of the town, wrecking churches, schools, businesses and homes. The town's fire department estimated up to a third of buildings were damaged or destroyed.

The former mayor, Gary Shaw, described the scene in the town of 50,000 as a war zone. "The trees," he told National Public Radio, "they're like somebody's taken a knife and cut all the bark off of them. We've lost tonnes and tonnes of homes, and we have people out trying to uncover the dead right now."

Some of the worst destruction was at St John's Regional Medical Centre. The nine-storey building, the tallest in town, took a direct hit. At least five of the 116 dead were killed at the hospital.

About 180 patients were in the hospital when the warning sirens went off, witnesses said. They had about 20 minutes before the black funnel cloud descended, hovering over the hospital for about a minute.

Nurses told of desperate attempts to move patients away from windows and into enclosed hallways. Some patients were evacuated on pick-up trucks.

Within 90 minutes, the hospital was empty. But rescue workers told reporters that many of the patients had been cut by glass after the windows were blown out.

The ceiling of the emergency room caved in. Trolleys were tossed more than five city blocks away, and medical records and x-rays were scattered for 60 miles. Cars were flung out of the car park. A helicopter was hurled out of the landing pad and flipped on its side, its rotors a twisted wreck.

"Every window in that building is now broken," Melodee Colbert-Kean, a city council woman, told National Public Radio. "Cars are tumbled all over the parking lot."

Officials said the hospital was now unusable. The seriously ill were transported out of town to other hospitals. Those able to walk were taken to a makeshift ward at a community centre.

Across the southern end of town, an estimated 2,000 buildings were damaged, street signs and other landmarks vanished, rendering Joplin unrecognisable to residents who had spent their lives there.

"You see pictures of world war two, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like," Kerry Sachetta, the principal of a flattened Joplin high school, told reporters. "I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw."

Missouri's governor, Jay Nixon, said he feared the death toll would rise as rescue workers began searching the rubble for survivors and bodies. "I don't think we are done counting," he told reporters.

But he said he remained hopeful of finding survivors in the rubble. "I still believe that because of the size of the debris and the number of people involved that there are lives to be saved."

As rescue workers moved out to look for survivors in the rubble, fires from gas leaks burned across the city. Downed power lines blocked roads.

Nixon said he had reports of 15 missing elderly residents from a care home. The website of the local paper, the Joplin Globe, carried messages from people searching for loved ones.

And with phone services down, dazed survivors tried to make their way through streets blocked by debris to look for relatives. Outside the remains of a shopping mall, Justin Gibson pointed to a black pickup truck tossed into the ruins of a hardware store that he said had belonged to his room mate's brother.

"He was last seen here with his two little girls," Gibson told reporters. "We've been trying to get hold of him since the tornado happened."

But there were also triumphs. Search crews pulled people from the rubble of a local Walmart and a hardware chain.

Following Sunday's events, 2011 is in the running to be a record year for lethal storms. There have been 1,000 reported tornadoes this year.

About 350 people were killed last month after an estimated 200 tornadoes ripped across Alabama and five other southern states.

The storms set a record for the deadliest single tornado event, but even that has been eclipsed by the devastation in Joplin.

It was the town's misfortune to take a direct hit. "If the Joplin tornado had struck 10 miles north, we wouldn't be hearing about it, but it went right through the centre of town," said Robert Henson, a spokesman for the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research.

The tornadoes could have inflicted even greater casualties and damage, however, said Josh Wurman of the Centre for Severe Weather Research. "What if this had gone through St Louis or Oklahoma City or Chicago instead of Joplin," he said. "The potential consequences would have been much worse."

Ash cloud from Icelandic volcano could hit Scotland by midday Tuesday

Ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano could reach northern Scotland by Tuesday and parts of Britain, France and Spain by Thursday or Friday if the eruption continues at the same rate, airlines were warned on Sunday. 

The warning is based on latest 5-day weather forecasts, but must be treated with caution because of the forecast period and the presence of different air currents from those prevailing at the time of last year's ash crisis, weather officials said.

European authorities said on Sunday no disruption was expected to European or transatlantic airspace over the next 24 hours from the eruption of Iceland's most active volcano on Saturday.

The warning comes nearly a year after one volcano erupted in Iceland and caused havoc for air passengers.
Grimsvoetn, Iceland’s most active volcano at the heart of its biggest glacier, began erupting late on Saturday, sending a plume of smoke and ash 12miles high.

So much ash was blasted into the sky that it blocked out the sun and covered nearby villages and farms.
By yesterday, the ash had reached the capital Reykjavik, nearly 250m to the west, and all the country’s airspace was closing down.

In April last year, 34 countries shut their airspace after the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted due to fears that fine ash particles could cause jet engines to stop.

It was the largest such closure since the Second World War and millions of passengers were affected.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the global airline industry lost £130million a day during the disruption.
Experts and aviation authorities said the impact of the Grimsvoetn eruption should not be as severe and was likely to mainly affect Iceland.

Gunnar Gudmundsson, of Iceland's Meteorological Office, said: “I don’t expect this will have the same effect as Eyjafjoell volcano because the ash is not as fine.”

However, they acknowledged that changing weather patterns could sweep the ash into areas where it would affect other countries.

Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at Iceland’s Met Office, warned: “If the eruption lasts for a long time we could be seeing similar effects as seen with Eyjafjallajökull last year.”

He added that “most of the traffic at least to the south of Iceland will probably not be affected” but said: “We don't know what will happen after that.”

The forecast is for winds to clear the ash from Reykjavik and dissipate the problem over the coming days.
Bjorgvin Hardarsson, a farmer in the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, close to the latest eruption, described the ash, saying: “It’s just black outside, and you can hardly tell it is supposed to be bright daylight.”

Eurocontrol, the European air safety organisation, said no impact was expected on European airspace outside Iceland or on transatlantic flights for at least 24 hours.

Grimsvoetn, which has erupted nine times between 1922 and 2004, is located in an enormous caldera - a collapsed volcanic crater – five miles in diameter near the centre of the Vatnajoekull icefield.

When it last erupted in November 2004, volcanic ash fell as far away as mainland Europe and caused minor disruptions in flights to and from Iceland.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: “It’s early days and we’re keeping an eye on the situation but at the moment the weather patterns are looking pretty favourable.

“It’s the kind of situation that can change very quickly but we’d be very unlucky to be affected again as the winds normally would take this kind of problem away from us.

“The only problem passengers are likely to have is if you’re going to Iceland.”

Apocalypse later: The world didn't end on May 21

New Delhi: Another Doomsday, that didn't happen. Nothing earth shattering happened at 6 pm on May 21. Harold Camping, the US evangelical Christian broadcaster who had been propagating his Doomsday theory will now have to look for another date for the world to come to an end. 

This isn't the first of Harold Camping's failed predictions. The 89-year-old had previously, in 1994, announced that Jesus Christ would return to Earth. His excuse, a mathematical error. He now needs to get his math right yet again. 

According to Camping an earthquake was to shake the Earth on May 21, sweeping true believers to heaven and leaving others behind to be engulfed in the world's destruction over a few months. 

While many have been sceptical of Camping's prophesies, he does have his share of supporters who have posted about 2,200 hoardings around the United States about the coming apocalypse, and dozens of followers who have driven across the US to spread the news. Unfortunately, for them, all the efforts were washed down when the Earth failed to shake at the precise hour. 

Camping's prediction is based on his reading of the Bible and a timeline dating back to ancient events including the Biblical flood survived by Noah. Camping and his followers believe the beginning of the end will come on May 21, exactly 7,000 years since the flood in the biblical story of Noah's Ark. 

Some 200 million people will be saved, Camping preaches, and those left behind will die in earthquakes, plagues, and other calamities until Earth is consumed by a fireball on October 21. 

The 89-year-old retired civil engineer has built a multi-million-dollar nonprofit ministry based on his apocalyptic prediction. In 2009, the nonprofit reported in tax filings that it received $18.3 million in donations, and had assets of more than $104 million, including $34 million in stocks or other publicly traded securities. 

Camping's pronouncement of a specific date for the apocalypse puts him outside the Christian mainstream. Christian leaders from across the spectrum have widely dismissed the prophecy. 

Sceptics have their celebrations planned. Across the world numerous events have been organised to celebrate the failure of Camping's prophecy. Bars and restaurants have advertised bashes. In Oakland, US, atheists have planned a gathering at a local Masonic temple to include group discussions on "The Great Success of Past Apocalypses," followed by dinner and music. 

While it will be a night to party for many, Harold Camping may have to bring out his copy of the Bible and a calculator. 

The doom-sayers have another date to look forward to. December 21, 2012 is next in line of predicted Doomsday dates. The proponents of the theory claim that a that a planet, called Nibiru, will collide with earth. A prophesy, they claim, is mentioned in an ancient calendar from the Mayan civilization. The 2012 Doomsday was initially slated for May 2003, but when nothing happened, a new date popped up.

May 21 "Judgment Day" preparations gather steam around the world

People around the world are preparing for what many expect to be "Judgment Day" on May 21.

May 21, 2011, is the day Harold Camping, a preacher from Oakland, California, predicts the Second Coming of the Lord. He has said that at about 6 PM, 2 percent of the world's population will be immediately "raptured" to heaven, and everyone else will go to hell, according to a report on him in the Independent.

Camping, 89, has tremendous reach and apparently fabulous public relations skills. He has billboards up around the United States and is often heard on the radio.

Camping's California-based Christian group, Family Radio, has sent four traveling caravans of believers around the globe. The group sends out banners informing people of the upcoming Judgment Day, including one which says, "Cry mightily unto GOD for HIS mercy," reports CBC.

Donations from listeners to the Family Radio Network have enabled the group to broadcast its message of Judgment Day, the Independent reports. Camping has programs in 48 languages, has followers around the globe and has radio stations in South Africa, Russia and Turkey.

"After 70 years of studying the Bible, he claims to have developed a system that uses mathematics to interpret prophesies hidden in it," it states. "He says the world will end on 21 May, because that will be 722,500 days from 1 April A.D. 33, which he believes was the day of the Crucifixion. The figure of 722,500 is important because you get it by multiplying three holy numbers (five, 10 and 17) together twice."

"When I found this out, I tell you, it blew my mind," he told the Independent.

Camping told New York Magazine that he is absolutely certain May 21 will be the day.

"God has given sooo much information in the Bible about this, and so many proofs, and so many signs, that we know it is absolutely going to happen without any question at all. There’s nothing in the Bible that God has ever prophesied — there’s many things that he prophesied would happen and they always have happened — but there’s nothing in the Bible that holds a candle to the amount of information to this tremendous truth of the end of the world."

Remembering Bob Marley: His Death, Music and Rastafari Movement

Today, May 11, 2011, is the 30 year anniversary of the death of Bob Marley, a Jamaican musician credited as a legend of Jamaican music and a spreader of the Rastafari movement, a religious "way of life" that is centered on the belief that Jamaica's former emperor, Haile Selassie I, is the second reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

Nesta Robert "Bob" Marley was born on February 6, 1945 and died of cancer on May 11, 1981 in Miami while switching planes to fly back to Jamaica. Marley was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma, and died eight months after his diagnosis. He is survived by at least 11 children from multiple women, including his wife.

Marley's most well-known music hits were "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Jamming", "Redemption Song", and "One Love". Much of his music reflected his religious beliefs and viewpoints.

Marley's final words to his son Ziggy before his death were, "Money can't buy life". He was buried a week later in Jamaica with his red Gibson Les Paul guitar.

Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivered the final funeral eulogy to Marley: "His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks, and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation."

Today Bob Marley is a legend known for his music, though many are not familiar with his religious views. To put it simply, Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, which is movement stemming from Christianity in Jamaica.  Members of the movement worship Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, former Emperor of Ethiopia (1930-1974), as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

Marley was asked often about his religious beliefs. An interviewer once asked, "Can you tell the people what it means being a Rastafarian?"

Bob responded: "I would say to the people, Be still, and know that His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is the Almighty. Now, the Bible seh so, Babylon newspaper seh so, and I and I the children seh so. Yunno? So I don't see how much more reveal our people want. Wha' dem want? a white God, well God come black. True true."

While his statement seems offensive, Marley swore during his lifetime that he was not prejudice at all: "I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white."

Don't forget to comment. Thanks..

17 Things you must know from Justin Bieber

Justin may only be 17 years old, but he has achieved milestones fellow artists take a lifetime to accomplish, not to mention his incredible talent and gorgeous looks that have captivated his fans around the world.
To keep up with the world's "Beliebers," here's a list of 17 trivia you may find helpful in knowing more about the young singer-performer and how they add up to his phenomenal rise as a pop star.

1. Number 1 albums. Proving the Bieber fever, Justin's two albums, "My World 2.0" and "Never Say Never: The Remixes" have reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. "Never Say Never: The Remixes" has sold 165,000 copies in its first week

2. Drummer boy at 2. Justin began drumming at the tender age of 2. Other than drums, music lover Justin also plays piano, guitar and trumpet.

3. 3D movie: Never Say Never. Get a glimpse of Justin's life on his first 3D movie, documenting the pop star's life ten days before his concert in Madison Square Garden in August 2010, which sold out tickets in 22 minutes.

4. Four awards in 2010 American Music Awards. Justin knows how to sweep awards, he won "Artist of the Year," Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist," "T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist," "Favorite Pop/Rock Album."

5. 5'4" in height. According to IMDB in 2010, Justin's height is 5'4. Justin even joked about his height in USA Today, "Thanks to the music industry, I'm going to be really short."

6. Favorite number. Justin's favorite number is 6. His other favorites are color purple, Supra shoes and Ne-yo's "So Sick" song.

7. "The Seven." Justin guested in MTV's "The Seven" show to promote his movie, "Never Say Never." His guesting created much pandemonium having his fan girls camped outside the building in tents for hours.

8. 8th in Twitter Top Trends. Having over 9 million followers in Twitter, Justin placed 8th in the 2010 Overall Top Trends in Twitter. For the people category, Justin placed first.

9. Nine million followers. If Twitter is a country, Justin could have been voted as the president. In April 2011, Justin made the 9 million mark on Twitter, making him the second celebrity to reach that mark, having Lady Gaga as the first celebrity to gain 9 million followers.

10. Justin's "Top Ten" on the "David Letterman Show." David Letterman's usual audiences might not be the Beliebers, but their parents instead; however, Justin's guesting on the show charmed both young and adult audiences. The category is "Top 10 Reasons It's Fun to be Justin Bieber," which includes this reason ""When I'm sick, my doctor makes hilarious jokes about 'Bieber Fever.'"

11. 11 Billboard nominations. With eleven Billboard nominations, including "Top Artist," "Top Billboard 200 Album," "Top Male Artist" and "Top Artist," we wonder how many Justin can snag. The Billboard Music Awards will be broadcasted in May 22, 2011.

12. YouTube sensation at 12. Justin's mother, Malette, uploaded Justin's video of him singing Ne-yo's "So Sick" when he was twelve.

13. Recording artist at 13. Teen sensation Justin signed contract with Island Records and RBMG when he was thirteen. He also first met Ludacris, his featuring artist in "Baby," when he was thireteen.

14. 14 eye-candy colors. Wonder how to have one less lonely girl? Justin collaborated with Nicole by OPI for the "One Less Lonely Girl" collection with 14 colors, named after his hits! Paint your nails with "Baby Blue," "Step 2 the Beat of my ♥, OMB!," "Me + Blue," and "Give Me the First Dance."

15. "Somebody to Love" reached number fifteen in the US chart. Justin's second single, "Somebody to Love" from his album "My World 2.0" which was released in April 10, 2010, reached number ten in Canada, fifteen in the US and the top twenty in other countries.

16. Released a memoir at 16. Justin was 16 years old when he released "Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story."

17. 17th birthday. Justin celebrated his 17th birthday with his girlfriend, Selena Gomez, at Los Angeles Italian restaurant Maggiano's Little Italy for a candlelit dinner. On his 17th birthday, Justin asked his fans to donate $17 to Charitywater to help make a change, instead of giving him gifts.

 

Don't forget to comment. Thank you so much.

Memphis braces for Mississippi River flood crest

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - More residents were warned on Monday to get out of the way of the raging Mississippi River as it surged toward a near-record crest in its southern reaches, prompting authorities in Louisiana to divert some of the flood waters.

"This is the time to gather all important items and be ready to leave your property," Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell said, noting the river should crest later on Monday just inches short of a 1937 record.

There were nearly 400 people staying in Memphis shelters with much of the flooding occurring on Mud Island, a peninsula jutting into the river, and in developments on either end of the city. Backed-up tributaries of the mighty river threatened to engulf more homes.

 

Memphis, a city of 920,000, was depending on a network of levees and, if necessary, pumps to keep it dry, Mayor A.C. Wharton said.

The warnings contrasted with a carnival-like atmosphere that pervaded downtown Memphis as people gaped at the river, which had widened to three miles — six times its normal width — in one spot, while its flow speed had more than doubled to 12 miles per hour (19 km/hr).

The volume of water passing by in one second was enough to fill a large stadium, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Vernie Reichling told reporters.

Downtown Memphis was safe atop a bluff and tourist draws such as Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion were far enough away.

"Graceland is safe. And we would charge Hell with water pistols to keep it that way," said Bob Nations, director of the Shelby County Office of Preparedness.

EXPENSIVE FLOOD

Damage costs will have to be determined later at some 3,000 affected properties, including schools and businesses, but Nations predicted "it's going to be an expensive one."

Scores of U.S. heartland rivers from the Dakotas to Ohio have flooded following a snowy winter and heavy spring rains, feeding the near-record crests on the Mississippi River.

The river threatened to overwhelm an intricate levee and spillway system erected since historic floods in 1927 and 1937, which killed hundreds.

All the levees along the river should hold up, though the river was rising faster than expected, said Army Corps spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale.

Authorities on Monday opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway to divert some of the bulging river into Lake Pontchartrain North of New Orleans, some 640 miles downriver from Memphis.

"We are not going to open it up full bore immediately," the Army Corps' Victor Landry said.

Opening a separate spillway would force evacuations of people and livestock in the Atchafalaya River basin in south central Louisiana, he said.

Mississippi residents were bracing for potential record crests at Vicksburg on May 19 and at Natchez on May 21 and authorities said up to 5,000 people may have to leave.

More rain was forecast later this week in the region and it could take two weeks for the river to fall below flood stage.

If the rising waters were not bad enough, authorities warned that poisonous snakes, reptiles and rats may lurk in closets and beds, having sought shelter from the flood.

Twins! Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Welcome a Daughter and Son

Mariah Carey delivered two babies, a son and daughter, in Los Angeles on Saturday -- the same day as her wedding anniversary to Nick Cannon.

The pop star, 42, gave birth shortly after noon, according to People.com.

Carey's rep confirmed that the couple's baby girl was first to arrive, weighing 5 lbs., 3 oz. (18 inches long), followed by their baby boy, weighing 5 lbs., 6 oz. (19 inches long).

The spokeswoman also said Carey's single 'We Belong Together' was the music playing after the twins arrived.

The names of the newborn sister and brother have not yet been made public.

When he guest-hosted 'The Talk' earlier this week, Cannon told viewers how he felt knowing he'd be meeting his babies soon: "I'm not trying to be a psychic, but we renew our vows every year so...It's probably going to be in the hospital this year," he hinted. "I can feel it."

As an expectant mom, Carey has been dealing with double the anticipation, and has been frequently sharing her excitement with fans -- showing off a posh his & hers nursery, and posting twitpics of her baby bump painted like a butterfly and an Easter egg. The new parents also got in front of the camera together for a magazine shoot, ending up with memorable nude photos taken during Carey's voluptuous pregnancy.

Congratulations, Mariah and Nick, on the double delivery!

Nightmare on Elm Street

Watch the 2010 horror movie A Nightmare on Elm Street on HBO tonight, April 30 at 11:55pm. The movie was a horror remake featuring Freddy Krueger, a child killer who kills people in their dreams, resulting in their real death in reality. Jackie Earle Haley plays the terrifying Freddy, with Kellan Lutz and Katie Cassidy also starring.

2010 horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American slasher film directed by Samuel Bayer, and written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer. The film stars Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker and Kellan Lutz. It is a remake of Wes Craven’s 1984 film of the same name; produced by Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes, it is designed to reboot the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film centers around a group of teenagers being stalked and murdered in their dreams by a man named Freddy Krueger, ultimately discovering they all share a common link from their childhood that is making them targets for Freddy.

Meanwhile, the 1984 horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street is directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. The film features John Saxon, Heather Langenkamp, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss, Jsu Garcia, Robert Englund, and Johnny Depp in his feature film debut. Set in the fictional Midwestern town of Springwood, Ohio, the plot revolves around several teenagers who, if they fall asleep, will be killed by Fred Krueger in their dreams, thus causing their deaths in reality. The teenagers are unaware of the cause of this strange phenomenon, but their parents hold a dark secret from long ago.

Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi, Libya Leader's Son, Killed By NATO Airstrike: Spokesman

TRIPOLI, April 30 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi survived a NATO airstrike on Saturday night that killed his youngest son Saif al-Arab and three of his grandchildren, a Libyan government spokesman said.

Mussa Ibrahim said Saif al-Arab was a civilian and a student who had studied in Germany. He was 29 years old.

Libyan officials took journalists to the house, which had been hit by at least three missiles. The roof had completely caved in in some areas, leaving strings of reinforcing steel hanging down among chunks of concrete.

A table football machine stood outside in the garden of the house, which was in a wealthy residential area of Tripoli.