Watch as this burning railway bridge comes crashing down

Remember that wild scene in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter when that wooden bridge was set ablaze? Well, as you'll see in this unbelievable video, sometimes reality can match the best that special effects has to offer.

This railroad bridge used to run across the Colorado River between San Saba and Lometa in the U.S. state of Texas. Firefighters spent 15 hours in a futile attempt to extinguish the fire, but they eventually gave up, deciding that it should just burn out.

Either that or they really, really wanted to see the whole thing collapse.

Intel officials: Pakistan Taliban No. 2 is buried

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban's deputy leader was buried hours after he was killed in a U.S. drone strike, Pakistani intelligence officials and militants said Thursday.

The death of Waliur Rehman has not been confirmed by the White House or the official Pakistani Taliban spokesman, but if true, it would be a major blow to the militant group whose bombings and other attacks have killed thousands.

Rehman's killing in a U.S. drone strike on Wednesday could also rattle the incoming Pakistani ruling party's goal of negotiating with the Taliban. Rehman had previously been considered more amenable to peace talks than his superior, Hakeemullah Mehsud, who remains at large.

Rehman and four other people were killed on Wednesday morning by the drone-fired missiles that slammed into a house on the outskirts of Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Two intelligence officials told The Associated Press on Thursday that informants on the ground told them Rehman was buried on Wednesday night. Also, two militants told the AP they attended the burial at a graveyard outside Miran Shah. All four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Journalists have little access to North Waziristan or other tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, making independent confirmation of the claims difficult. The missile attack was the first since Pakistan's May 11 elections, which ushered in a new ruling party that has promised to push the U.S. to end such strikes. It also followed President Barack Obama's speech last Thursday during which he pledged more restrictive rules on the use of drones.

White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to confirm Wednesday if Rehman was dead. He said if it's true, Rehman's death would deprive the militant group of its chief military strategist, a man the U.S. says was involved in an attack that killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan.

In 2010, Washington offered $5 million for information leading to Rehman. The U.S. drone program is deeply unpopular in Pakistan, even though the number of strikes has dropped significantly since 2010. The strikes usually target al-Qaida-linked insurgents or other militants who fight in Afghanistan, but some have killed militants at war with Pakistan's government.

The Pakistani Taliban has been battling government forces for years in a bid to push them from the tribal regions, cut Pakistan's ties with the U.S. and eventually establish their brand of hardline Islam across Pakistan.

Pakistan's incoming prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has said he is against the use of American drones on Pakistani soil, and that he is open to negotiating with the Pakistani Taliban. But Rehman's death could complicate that by depriving the process of a potential key player.

Rehman was believed to be about 42 or 43 years old and was from South Waziristan, said Mansur Mahsud, director of administration and research at the Islamabad-based FATA Research Center. He had already been fighting American troops in Afghanistan when the Pakistani Taliban was created in late 2007 and he turned his focus more onto Pakistani targets.

"He was a very cool-minded person, a very intelligent person and he was someone that the government could talk to," Mahsud said. The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the drone strike Wednesday but did not mention Rehman. Senior Pakistani civilian and military officials are known to have supported some of the drone strikes in the past, but many say that is no longer the case.

2013 Iraqi officials say 13 dead in wave of bomb blasts

BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of morning bomb explosions in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens in the latest eruption of violence rattling the country, officials said.

Iraq is facing its most relentless wave of violence since the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal, deepening fears that the country is heading back toward the widespread sectarian fighting that pushed it to the brink of civil war in the years after the invasion.

More than 500 people have been killed in May. April was Iraq's deadliest month since June 2008, according to a United Nations tally that put last month's death toll at more than 700. The extent of the bloodshed is increasingly reminiscent of the widespread sectarian fighting that peaked in 2006 and 2007 and threatened to tear the country apart.

Most of Thursday's blasts went off in Baghdad. Car bombs killed four in the northeastern Shiite neighborhood of Binouq, and three died in a bombing at a market selling spare car parts in central Baghdad, according to police.

Police officials also said that a roadside bomb exploded on a police patrol in the largely Shiite central commercial district of Karradah, killing three people there. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

In the northern city of Mosul, two police officers said a suicide bomber killed three when he blew himself up on a federal police checkpoint. Mosul is a former insurgent stronghold, located about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but blame is likely to fall on al-Qaida's Iraq arm, which frequently carries out bombing attacks against civilians and security forces in an effort to undermine faith in the Shiite-led government.

Other militant groups have also grown more active in recent months, including the Army of the Men of the Naqshabandi Order, which has ties to members of Saddam Hussein's now-outlawed Baath party. The attacks came hours after bomb blasts tore through two Baghdad neighborhoods Wednesday evening. At least 30 people were killed, including several members of a wedding party in the mixed Sunni-Shiite Jihad neighborhood.

The southwestern neighborhood was one of the earliest flashpoints in Baghdad's descent into sectarian bloodshed in the years following the 2003 U.S. led invasion. It housed mainly Sunni civil servants and security officials under Saddam Hussein's regime, though many Shiites now live there too.

Many of Jihad's Sunni residents earlier this year received threatening leaflets from a Shiite militant group, the Mukhtar Army, warning them to leave.

81-year old climber quits Everest attempt

KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An 81-year-old Nepalese man has abandoned his attempt to climb Mount Everest, leaving a Japanese mountaineer with the record as the oldest person to scale the world's highest mountain.

Team member Dame said Wednesday that Min Bahadur Sherchan returned from Everest because weather conditions were worsening late in the spring climbing season for the Himalayas. Sherchan was having financial difficulties and a government grant for his climb only came last week.

Sherchan had held the record until last week when 80-year-old Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) mountain.

Trailblazing Israeli electric car company to close

ERUSALEM (AP) — It was an audacious idea that came to symbolize Israel's self-described status as "Start-Up Nation," a company that believed it could replace most gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles and reduce the world's reliance on oil — and all within a few years.

But it all came crashing down. The company, Better Place, started out as a source of pride and a symbol of Israel's status as a global high-tech power, but it suffered from a local brand of hubris and overreach. On Sunday, it announced plans to liquidate after burning through almost a billion dollars and failing to sell its silent fleet of French-made sedans to a skeptical public.

"This is a very sad day for all of us. We stand by the original vision as formulated by Shai Agassi of creating a green alternative that would lessen our dependence on highly polluting transportation technologies," the company said. "Unfortunately, the path to realizing that vision was difficult, complex and littered with obstacles, not all of which we were able to overcome."

It capped a stunning fall from grace for Better Place and its founder Agassi, a former high-tech whiz kid who sought to change the world by building a revolutionary network of battery-swapping stations.

Agassi, 45, believed that in an era of global warming and rising oil prices, environmentally friendly electric cars could be the wave of the future, if only a way could be found to overcome the limited range of their batteries.

Better Place offered an elegant solution. The vast majority of travelers who commute short distances could plug in their cars at home or work each day to keep their batteries recharged. For longer distances, customers could stop at the swapping stations, remove their used battery and replace it with a fully charged one in a matter of minutes.

Agassi's native Israel was chosen as the company's main laboratory, and a network of several dozen stations was installed, offering travelers nationwide coverage. Israel was a particularly ideal testing ground, thanks to high fuel prices, a supportive government, its relatively small size and dense population centers. The cars were expected to appeal to Israel's tech-savvy population, and the ability to weaken the political clout of its oil-rich enemies was an added plus.

The project won the support of President Shimon Peres, received generous financial incentives from the Israeli government and an endorsement from former President Bill Clinton. Agassi, a former top executive at software maker SAP, became a celebrity CEO. He was a central character in "Start-Up Nation," a best-selling book about Israel's high-tech industry, he was named to Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2009 and became a fixture at international conferences such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In roughly five years, Better Place raised some $850 million from investors like General Electric Co., HSBC Holdings PLC and the European Investment Bank. Israel Corp., controlled by billionaire Idan Ofer, was the largest shareholder. Agassi persuaded French car maker Renault to make a customized electric version of its Fluence sedan.

Agassi promised to 5,000 of his cars on Israel's roads by the end of 2011 and predicted that a majority of cars sold in Israel would be electric by 2016. "The end of the oil era will not come because we ran out of oil — it will come become we don't want to use oil any more to drive," Agassi told The Associated Press in a 2011 interview. "I can guarantee you that we will finish the need for oil as an energy source for cars before we run out of oil in the ground."

The numbers never panned out. Only about 1,000 Better Place cars are on the roads, and the company ran into trouble with investors. Last October, Agassi was forced to step down, and the company never gained its footing. Reached by the AP on Sunday, Agassi declined comment.

Better Place claimed to be the first nationwide network of battery-swapping stations. Other countries, such as Germany, have public networks of charging stations, while in other places, travelers typically recharge their vehicles at home.

For the most part, electric cars have not enjoyed their expected success anywhere. The battery alone in an electric car costs as much as a new gasoline-powered car, and electric vehicles are not selling nearly as fast as once projected. General Motors expected to sell 60,000 Chevy Volts globally last year, but sold just half that many. Sales of Nissan's all-electric Leaf grew 22 percent around the world last year to 26,000, short of Nissan's projected 50 percent growth.

One exception has been American electric car maker Tesla Motors, which recently posted its first profitable quarter. Among Better Place's mistakes, the company misjudged consumers' willingness to embrace the new technology. There was the issue of "range anxiety," the fear of some that the batteries, with ranges of about 160 kilometers, or 100 miles, would conk out in inconvenient places.

Others balked at the price. The cars sold for roughly $32,000, comparable to other sedans in Israel. And the pricing plans, roughly $300 to more than $500 a month depending on mileage, did not provide enough savings to overcome the doubters.

Sunday's announcement left many questions unanswered, especially what will happen to its cars and charging stations. Better Place has also installed a network of stations in Denmark and has operations in Australia, the Netherlands, China, Hawaii and Japan.

Several hundred workers in Israel are expected to lose their jobs, and stunned customers said they did not know whether they would be able to continue driving. Local celebrity Arik Zeevi, a former Olympic judoka, said he was sorry to see the company go.

"I really like the idea of not being dependent on gas. That is something that really speaks to me, and beyond that I really enjoy driving the car. It is an amazing experience," he told Channel 2 TV. "I will be really bummed out if I need to give that up."

In its court motion Sunday, Better Place said it was seeking the appointment of a temporary liquidator. In light of its failure to raise additional funds, the company asked for the court's assistance in protecting the rights of its employees, customers and creditors.

"On a personal level this is one of the hardest moments of my career," CEO Dan Cohen said Sunday. "The feeling this morning is one of loss because we didn't reach the finish line, the finish line is still far away."

Rescuers save a newborn from sewer pipe beneath public restroom in China

BEIJING –  Chinese state media say firefighters and medics have rescued a newborn boy from a sewer pipe below a squat toilet.



The state-run news site Zhejiang News says a tenant heard the baby's cries in the public restroom of a residential building in eastern China's Puijian county Saturday and notified authorities. Firefighters removed an L-shaped section of the pipe -- about 10 centimeters in diameter -- and rushed it to a hospital where it was dismantled and the baby was treated.

Video footage of the rescue was broadcast nationally overnight.

'Fast & Furious 6' races to top of weekend box office

LOS ANGELES –  It's a blowout at the box office.


"Fast & Furious 6" is revving past "The Hangover Part III" in the No. 1 position at the Memorial Day weekend box office.

Universal Pictures' sixth installment of its muscle car franchise featuring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker debuted with $98.5 million domestically from Friday to Sunday, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Meanwhile, the final edition of the raunchy Warner Bros. comedy trilogy starring Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms opened with $42.1 million in the No. 2 spot.

Universal estimates that by the end of the four-day holiday weekend Monday, "Fast & Furious 6" will have pulled in $122.2 million domestically and $275.5 million worldwide. That would give it the second-biggest opening of the year behind "Iron Man 3."

Paramount Pictures' sci-fi sequel "Star Trek: Into Darkness" earned $38 million at No. 3 in its second weekend at the box office, while the Fox animated film "Epic" opened at No. 4 with $34.2 million.

Overall domestic receipts for the four-day Memorial Day weekend are expected to come in ahead of 2011's record-breaking $276 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com, estimated that four-day revenues this time will total $323 million, about 15 percent above Memorial Day weekend in 2011, when "The Hangover Part II" delivered a $103.4 million debut.

5 signs that your computer is infected

Oh, the not-so-humble computer virus. For decades, it's been making computer users miserable.

It's like the common cold. You'd think someone would have cured both by now. Unfortunately, it looks like computer viruses are just getting stronger and smarter.

In the early days, a virus would delete your files and spread to other computers. It was annoying, but the effects were easy to detect and contain.

Today, in addition to traditional viruses, there are Trojans, worms, ransomware, spyware, adware and plenty of other "wares." The computer industry term for all this is "malware."

Even state-of-the-art computer security can't always keep up with new threats. Of course, everyone should still be running up-to-date security programs. Fortunately, there are excellent free anti-virus, spyware and firewall programs. Click here to see my top free security software picks.

In addition to traditional viruses, there are Trojans, worms, ransomware, spyware, adware and plenty of others.

Every type of malware does something a little differently. You might not even recognize that your computer is infected. To help you out, here are five signs you can look for.

Pop-up ads

Running into pop-up ads while surfing the Web used to be par for the course. Thanks to pop-up blocking now standard in modern browsers, these annoyances aren't common.

Still seeing pop-ups online from multiple sites? It could be a badly-configured browser.

Seeing pop-ups when your browser isn't even open? It's usually adware, spyware or scareware.

You can usually tell it's the last one if the pop up says "a virus was detected." It will offer you a paid program to remove the virus. Of course, you'll just be downloading even more malware.

Your regular anti-virus might not seem to stop this. In that case, run a scan with a separate anti-spyware program. Click the links to download SpyBot Search & Destroy or Ad-Aware. These can help you get to the root of the problem.

Phantom messages

A dangerous feature of most malware is that it spreads. With always-on Internet, email, instant messaging and social media available, modern viruses have it easy.

Once they're on your computer, they have plenty of options. You might see friends replying to email messages you didn't send. Perhaps you notice a post on your Facebook profile you didn't write.

In most cases, these will have a tempting link. If your friends and family click the link, they're infected and the virus spreads even further.

Keep an eye on your email "sent" folder and on your social network posts. If you see items you didn't send or post, change your account passwords immediately. This will lock out a virus that's stolen your passwords.
Then go to work with your security software. After you've removed the virus, I'd change your passwords again, just in case.

Be sure to let your friends and family know you were hacked. That way they can take precautions for their accounts as well.

Having trouble taking back your account from a virus or hacker? Click here for detailed instructions to clean up your computer.

Locked computer

You're surfing the Web minding your own business. Suddenly a scary message appears. It says law enforcement has detected illegal material on your computer. You've been locked out until you pay a fine!
Of course it's a lie. A virus has taken over and is holding your computer ransom. That's why it's commonly called "ransomware."

Some ransomware doesn't even try to be sneaky. It tells you up front that hackers took over your system. You have to pay to get it back.

I don't recommend paying. You won't get your computer back.

Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to run your normal anti-virus program. You'll need a rescue CD. Click the links for the free AVG Rescue CD or Windows Defender Online to take care of the problem.

In some cases, the ransomware actually encrypts your files. If that happens, you better have a recent backup. Even if you get rid of the virus, your files might be lost.

Essential tools and programs stop working

If a computer is misbehaving, most computer users hit Ctrl + Alt + Del. The "three-finger salute" lets you open up Task Manager. This can show you what programs are causing trouble.

Sometimes, you'll hit this keyboard shortcut and nothing happens. Your Start Menu won't open. Nothing happens when you right-click on the desktop. Your security software won't run.

This is often a clue that a virus is messing with your computer. It's doing what it can to keep you from identifying it and removing it.

This is where deep-cleaning anti-malware software like MalwareBytes will shine. If that fails, you'll need to use a rescue CD like I mentioned earlier.

If nothing you do works, it could also be a hardware problem. Most likely it's bad RAM or a failing power supply.

Everything is running fine

I run into many people who don't install security software. The excuse is always the same: "But my computer runs just fine without it. If I had a virus, I'd know."

The simple fact is that you don't know. Modern malware can hide deep in your computer without raising red flags. It will just quietly go about its business.

There are some sneaky viruses that will remove other viruses so you don't get suspicious!

Just because a virus isn't disruptive doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. It could be snagging your passwords, sensitive files or other vital information. The virus could be using your computer to send spam. It could even
attack banks and other organizations.

You won't know until your identity is stolen and your bank account is drained. Maybe your Internet slows to a crawl or your service provider shuts down your connection.

Some people never figure it out. There are computers out there that have been sending spam for years. Their owners have no clue.

That's why every computer user, even Mac users, needs up-to-date security software installed. Keep it updated and set it to run regular, automatic scans.

And don't rely on just one program, but run a scan with several security programs at least once a month. What one program misses other programs might find.

Meet the youngest app developers in India

Meet the Kumaran brothers, Shravan and Sanjay, who are probably amongst the youngest app developers in the world. At 12 Shravan is the Co-Founder & President of Go Dimensions, while his 10 year old brother Sanjay is the Co-Founder & CEO.




Their apps have been downloaded by more than ten thousand users and the boys are riding high on their success. When quizzed on what they would like to do in the future, they have ambitious plans about making lifestyle applications that would help senior citizens. They are also interested in making environmental apps that give data about pollution levels at a particular place.

We had a heart-to-heart chat with them about their company GoDimensions :

Why the name GoDimensions and whose brainchild was it?

GoDimensions means going in all directions with no boundary, it also has GOD in it. And it was our brainchild with inspiration from our parents. Our mom is a home-maker while Dad is the President of Symantec Corporation.


How did the idea of developing mobile apps come into your mind?

We have been programming for a while now. We started around six years back with Paint, then PowerPoint, learnt some Photoshop and then started with Basic. Once we got fascinated with mobile games we played them for hours and dad would ask us why don’t we make games instead of just playing them. This was the starting point. We began with a few quiz apps and a calculator app on Android but never got around publishing them.


How is GoDimensions funded?

For now it is self- funded, as in our father puts in all money that is required for development purposes.
You have decided to donate part of your earnings to charity. Which charities are you targeting specifically?
Yes, we have decided to donate 15 per cent of our earnings to charity. Right now our revenue is not high and we have got little money (about $100 through ads in the apps) but we want to donate some to an orphanage.


How do you typically spend your days?

Sanjay: Shravan is in the VIII standard and I am in VI. Our typical day is spent in school. After that we come home have our lunch, study for about two hours. Thereafter we do programming for more than an hour. Our parents strongly believe in the proverb ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ so we get a lot of playtime, about 1.5 hours of whatever we like to do outdoors like badminton or skateboard.


What are your hobbies ?

Sanjay: Shravan loves playing the guitar and singing to tunes. I play the keyboard. As far as outdoor games are concerned we both love playing badminton. I make cartoons as well.


How do you plan to expand your portfolio ?

We would be expanding to Android and Windows mobile platform shortly.  For the future we have lot of ideas. As of now we are working on a better website.


Where do we see GoDimensions in the next few years?

It’s too early to predict anything but we would like to see atleast one of our apps running on half of the worlds’ phones.


Who is your inspiration?

Steve jobs and Bill gates are our inspiration. We are inspired by Steve Jobs specifically for his passion for innovation and never say die attitude even in adversity. We love hearing his story over and over again from our Dad.

This could have become Mumbai's tallest tower

In 2010, Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture had won a bid to build what could have become Mumbai's tallest building, a 1,312-foot-tall residential skyscraper.