Fire on Universal Studio

A large fire has broken out on a sound stage at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California.

The dramatic Sunday blaze that destroyed portions of the Universal Studios Hollywood back lot was accidentally touched off by company employees using a blowtorch to heat asphalt roofing shingles, authorities said.

Los Angeles County fire officials said two workers and a supervisor were putting up shingles in an alley on the New York Street set. They finished at 3 a.m., spent an hour watching for any sign of fire, then took a break.

Preliminary results of air tests at Universal Studios' smoky back lots Sunday found levels of benzene and other toxic contaminants six times or more above normal.

At those levels, firefighters and anyone else in the immediate vicinity of the blaze could have experienced respiratory irritation, South Coast Air Quality Management District spokesman Sam Atwood said. But Atwood added that

Source: latimes.com

Photo Uncontacted Tribe Found in Brazil

This image released Thursday by Survival International, shows uncontacted Indians of the Ethno-Environmental Protected Area along the Envira River, in the Brazilian state of Acre, close to the border with Peru, photographed during a flight in May 2008. (AP Photo/Funai / May 29, 2008)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - One of Brazil's last uncontacted Indian tribes has been spotted in the far western Amazon jungle near the Peruvian border, the National Indian Foundation said Thursday.

The Indians were sighted in an Ethno-Environmental Protected Area along the Envira River in flights over remote Acre state, said the Brazilian government foundation, known as Funai.

Funai said it photographed "strong and healthy" warriors, six huts and a large planted area. But it was not known to which tribe they belonged, the group said.

Survival International said the Indians are in danger from illegal logging in Peru, which is driving tribes over the border and could lead to conflict with the estimated 500 uncontacted Indians now living on the Brazilian side.

There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, most of them in Brazil and Peru, the group said in a statement.

"These pictures are further evidence that uncontacted tribes really do exist," Survival director Stephen Corry said.

"The world needs to wake up to this, and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct.

Monkey Can Control Robot

Using only his thoughts, a monkey controls a mechanical arm to remove a marshmallow from a skewer and bring the treat to its mouth.

(Andrew Schwartz/University of Pittsburgh)

Pittsburgh - Two monkeys with tiny sensors in their brains have learned to control a mechanical arm with just their thoughts, using it to reach for and grab food and even to adjust for the size and stickiness of morsels when necessary, scientists reported on Wednesday.

The new experiment goes a step further. In it, the monkeys' brains seem to have adopted the mechanical appendage as their own, refining its movement as it interacted with real objects in real time. The monkeys had their own arms gently restrained while they learned to use the added one.

In an editorial accompanying the Nature study, Dr. John F. Kalaska, a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal, argued that after such bugs had been worked out, scientists might even discover areas of the cortex that allow more intimate, subtle control of prosthetic devices.

Such systems, Dr. Kalaska wrote, “would allow patients with severe motor deficits to interact and communicate with the world not only by the moment-to-moment control of the motion of robotic devices, but also in a more natural and intuitive manner that reflects their overall goals, needs and preferences.”

Nicole Kidman Sick Over Tom Cruise

Nicole Kidman has launched a scathing attack on ex-husband Tom Cruise -- accusing the actor of "manipulating" their adopted children.

The actress, who's expecting her first biological children with current husband Keith Urban, says Cruise -- who she divorced in 2001 -- has turned their adopted kids Isabella and Connor against her. She says, "It's a pity they have been manipulated by the father to distance themselves from me."

The 'Stepford Wives' star, 40, also said that she missed the two children and felt sad that they were apart. She said she tried to arrange a Mother's Day visit but the kids ended up spending it with Tom and his wife Katie Holmes. "They are closer to their new mom now," she admitted.