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Scientists say an understanding of how the Twin Towers collapsed will help them develop the materials needed to build fusion reactors. New research shows how steel will fail at high temperatures because of the magnetic properties of the metal. The New York buildings fell when their steel backbones lost strength in the fires that followed the plane impacts. Dr Sergei Dudarev told the British Association Science Festival that improved steels were now being sought. The principal scientist at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) said one of the first applications for these better performing metals would be in the wall linings of fusion reactors where temperatures would be in a similar range to those experienced in the Twin Towers' fires. 'Not melting' The key advance is the understanding that, at high temperatures, tiny irregularities in a steel's structure can disrupt its internal magnetic fields, making the rigid metal soft. "Steels melt at about 1,150C...

(CNN) -- The Temple of Obama. Barackopolis . Egobama. (wow, cnn reports the truth under guise of republican spin) The descriptions of the trance formation of Denver's Invesco Field peppered the Republican blogosphere hours before Barack Obama was set to address a dancing, jubilant crowd of more than 70,000 supporters on the Democratic National Convention's final night. Designed by Emmy Award-winning entertainment behemoths, the set has spectacular columns, concert lighting, JumboTrons and rising royal blue circular stairs -- an arena where warm-up acts such Will.i.am and Sheryl Crow looked right at home. Stevie Wonder led the crowd in a sing-a-long, "Bah-hah-rack-O-bama!" The conservative online magazine The American Thinker remarked that the stage made use of the "basic stagecraft of visual illusion." Ok, so I live in an area with lots of different bars and restaurants in a close proximity. I went out tonight, and every goddamn bar was playing Obama...

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The fall of the 47-story World Trade Center building 7 (WTC 7) in New York City late in the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, was primarily due to fires, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today following an extensive, three-year scientific and technical building and fire safety investigation. This was the first known instance of fire causing the total collapse of a tall building, the agency stated as it released for public comment its WTC investigation report and 13 recommendations for improving building and fire safety. “Our study found that the fires in WTC 7, which were uncontrolled but otherwise similar to fires experienced in other tall buildings, caused an extraordinary event,” said NIST WTC Lead Investigator Shyam Sunder. “Heating of floor beams and girders caused a critical support column to fail, initiating a fire-induced progressive collapse that brought the building down.” “Video and photographic e...

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- in a blunt new message that coincides with Israel's 60th anniversary -- urged his followers to liberate Palestine, a terrorism analyst told CNN on Friday. In a message titled "The Causes of Conflict on the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israeli Occupation," bin Laden reiterated jihadist opposition to the existence of the Jewish state and its policies. Bin Laden's audio message, released Thursday, told listeners that "liberating" Palestine should be the aim of every Muslim, according to terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield. The message, played over a still image on jihadist Web sites, runs 9 minutes and 40 seconds. CNN cannot independent verify the authenticity of the message. Bin Laden decries characterization of Palestinian militant groups as terror organizations. He also says Israel has engaged in terror. "As your low values show double standards in one issue, you call the Palestinian organizations terror organiz...