Jay Gotera

Suddenly, like magic, the Vatican has found itself awash in cash. In an extraordinary revelation, Cardinal George Pell, the Australian prelate charged by Pope Francis with cleaning up the Vatican's murky finances, has disclosed that they discovered "hundreds of millions of euros ... tucked away" in accounts of various Holy See departments that did not appear in the Vatican's official balance sheets.Read More

The world's leading experts in astrophysics launched a campaign this week to raise awareness and put pressure on governments to act on the terrifying possibility that killer asteroids could strike Earth and cause massive and widespread destruction.Read More

The Philippines braced for yet another catastrophic storm on Thursday as typhoon Hagupit (Filipino for "lash") roared toward the central part of the country packing winds of up to 195 kph (120 mph) with gusts of up to 230 kph.Read More

For the first time in history, leaders of the world's major religions came together at the Vatican on Tuesday to sign a declaration condemning modern slavery and urging the world to stamp out all forms of this "crime against humanity" by 2020.Read More

At least three major space events will take place this month in a dramatic escalation of humankind's quest to explore other worlds.Read More

Former NBA star Charles Barkley appeared to have stirred a hornet's nest after making blunt remarks that contradicted those made by prominent black leaders and athletes who assailed the grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting.Read More

Thanks to a powerful telescope in Chile, we can now see the intricately woven beauty of the Universe, in particular the Wishing Well Cluster of stars (scientifically called NGC 3532) some 1,300 light-years from our Sun. Since one light year is equivalent to about 6 trillion miles, as defined by the International Astronomical Union, NGC 3532 is about 7,800 mind-numbing trillion miles from where we are now.Read More

In an extraordinary display of Christian unity, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople kissed the head of Pope Francis as they issued a joint declaration urging world leaders to extend more assistance to victims of Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria, including Christians who have been living in the region for 2,000 years.Read More

The Earth is mysteriously being protected in space by a powerful yet invisible shield surrounding the planet similar to the "force fields" in "Star Trek" movies, scientists have revealed. In a study published in the Nov. 27 issue of Nature, Professor Daniel Baker from the University of Colorado Boulder said the shield is located some 7,200 miles above Earth and is made up of high-energy electrons and protons.Read More