Here are some news stories from this week that I think the mainstream media completely missed out on. All links are from legitimate news sources and not the fringe / wacko sites.

* The headline says “Astronomers Find 90% More Universe!” OK, how can you find more infinity? Isn’t that like the divide by zero thing? [UNIVERSE TODAY]

* The Environmental Protection Agency is gonna require EPA certification for contractors working on homes built before 1978. So now I’m gonna have to get a haz-mat suit to fix Aunt Petunia’s windows on her home? [REASON] and [REMODELING]

* You ‘member those commercials “When EF hutton talks, everybody listens?” It’s like that with T Boone Pickens. He may be a little squirrely, but when he moves on something, pay attention. “In Pickens’ eyes, water is going to have a lot of value going forward”. [FT]

* James Harrison, 74, has an antibody in his plasma that stops babies dying from Rhesus disease. His blood and 984 donations has saved 2 million babies’ lives. Pure awesomeness. If I ever win the lottery, I’ll team up with other millionaires and start the “quiet hero” annual award. Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger would have won it in ’09. James Harrison would have taken it last year. [DAILYMAIL]

* Neuroscientists “created fearful memories in people and then erased them” supposedly to learn how to “treat traumatic memories in people.” Maybe it’s just me, but I think this has the potential to be extraordinarily bad. If the government is still saying waterboarding isn’t torture, imagine what they will do with this? Now I need to add “centered memory retention meditation” to my to do list. [SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN]

* Nanoparticles have successfully killed cancer cells! Repeatedly! And without harming the host cells! The first trial on humans has been a success, with no side-effects at all! Boo yah!!! The future is going to be all kinds of nuts! The story is at [CALTECH], but a friendlier “in english” explanation is at [GIZMODO]

* Scientists think they have a proof of something pulling the entire universe at 2 million miles per hour. It’s pretty mind blowing that we’re all actually moving so fast and don’t notice. [NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC]

* “High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Linked to Liver Scarring”. That’s some very important stuff that I’m sure will be paid off and buried in the mainstream media, never to be heard from again! [SCIENCE DAILY]

* Real “raise the shields” tech is coming? OK, maybe it’s more like “polarize the hull plating”, but it’s a step forward! Captain Archer, Commander T’Pol, report to the bridge. [TELEGRAPH.CO.UK]

* Bill Gates is making a nuclear reactor that will work for 100 years without refueling. It must be nice to be so rich and politically connected you can do those kinds of things! [INDIANA EXPRESS]

* An alligator was found 20 miles out to sea… swimming with whales. I think the animal kingdom likes to mess with our heads like this on purpose. [MNN]

* Binyamin Netanyahu was “deeply humiliated” after Barack Obama “dumped him for dinner”. Looks like Netanyahu finally met the new sherrif in town! Tl;DR for Netanyahu : Stop building. Make peace. [TIMESONLINE]

* Mr. US finance, Ben Bernanke, says the “U.S. Fiscal Outlook is ‘Somewhat Dark’”. Hopefully just because he’s wearing shades. [BLOOMBERG] And if Bernanke feeling a tremor in the force wasn’t enough, Greenspan feels it too. [BLOOMBERG]

* Dear Republicans, This is what you need to do to make a comeback and have everyone take you seriously again. That is all. [TALKINGPOINTS MEMO]

* So when a conservative think tank proposes a healthcare plan, it’s all good. But when Obama successfully passes the identical thing, it’s socialism? Wait, what? [NY TIMES]

* Mother nature has a sequel to peak oil in the works! We’re running out of phosphate rock! It’s a major component of fertilizer, and current estimates say we will be out in 50 to 100 years. “Worse, phosphorus production could peak in just two decades, according to new research from Australia and Sweden. That’s when demand could outstrip supply, playing out a familiar scenario of scarcity, price shocks, riots, starvation and war.” So I’m guessing phosphorus grenades and tracer ammo are going to be even more expensive, too. Has someone given the military a heads up about this? [ALTERNET]

* The French torture a man to death as part of a gameshow. Fortunately, the man was an actor and everything was based on the Stanley Milgram experiment from 1960, but “only 16 of the 80 participants stopped before the ultimate, potentially lethal shock.” Lesson: Idiots blindly obey authority. Especially if they’re French. [BBC]

* It is officially the end of an era. Iggy Pop dove off a stage – and nobody caught him. [MATADORNIGHTS]

*** You know you’re having a great weekend when 8 PM Friday turns into 11 PM Sunday!