Interviews with Saddam’s wizard and his secret wife reveal a lot about the Iraqi dictator. His wizard predicted his downfall and his wife’s brother tried to overthrow his government.

Saddam’s personal magician won’t reveal his name. “That man is still alive, so I?m afraid,” he says. “I helped him, his sons, his ministers, his wife, his cousins, but I can’t mention names. When he is dead I can talk about him.” Will Saddam be found dead or alive? “Dead,” the wizard replies. And where? “Dhuluaiyah,” he says. This is a village 55 miles north of Baghdad.
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In another blow for Creationism, scientists have discovered that we’re related to an ancient worm that lives at the bottom of a lake in Sweden. It doesn’t have a brain or sex organs, but it does have the same kind of DNA as humans. Researcher Max Telford says, “We have now been able to show that, amongst all of the invertebrates that exist, Xenoturbella is one of our very closest relatives. It is fascinating to think that whatever long-dead animal this simple worm evolved from, so did we.”

People who reject evolution have long relied on gaps in the fossil record to back them up, but the new science of comparing the DNA of different species makes this type of denial even less credible.
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Al-Qaeda has threatened chemical attacks against athletes participating in the World University Games in South Korea. The Korean National Intelligence Service says,”We received a tip from a governmental agency that the Universiade games is a possible target for an Islamic terrorist attack. All our security is on high alert.” 7,000 athletes from 170 countries, including the U.S., are participating in the games.
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SARS is back in Canada, after they thought they’d finally gotten rid of it. The good news is that it’s a milder version of the disease. Viruses mutate, which is why it’s hard to get rid of them for good. In this case, SARS seems to be mutating into a less deadly form.
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