Kingman, AZ - 1/19/2014 - unedited: My partner and I were returning to Las Vegas (where we are visiting family) after a weekend rock climbing trip. We followed I-40W from Flagstaff and had an uneventful (but gorgeous) drive through western Arizona. Sometime after sunset and near the confluence of I-40W and 93, my high beams caught a grey, flying creature flapping large wings and ascending quickly out of view. My first impression was that it could have been a large bird of prey, but I know of no native North American birds that would have as much surface area as this did. It followed an upward diagonal trajectory, and appeared to be featherless and tailed. I only saw it for 1-2 seconds. I second-guessed my eyes and asked my partner if she had seen something, to which she responded; "You saw that too??" I asked her what she had seen without telling her what I had; she also described a featherless, grey-skinned pterodactyl-like creature with a very long tail flying quickly upwards (though not straight upwards, on a horizontal upward trajectory). We had been joking about seeing a UFO since we saw the Uranus gas station and other UFO themed places on our way out, so it was surreal to see something neither of us could explain without sounding overhyped on the areas "vibrant" attractions. My partner and I were not under the influence of anything, though I had a cup of coffee an hour beforehand if that counts for anything. - MUFON CMS
Live Pterosaurs in America: Not extinct, flying creatures of cryptozoology that some call pterodactyls or flying dinosaurs or prehistoric birds
Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy
BIG BIRD! - MODERN SIGHTINGS OF FLYING MONSTERS
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Nun who gave birth in Italy 'unaware of pregnancy
A nun who gave birth to a baby boy in the central Italian city of Rieti, said she had no idea she was pregnant. The 31-year-old was rushed to hospital with abdominal pains, which she thought were stomach cramps.
The young mother, who is originally from El Salvador, reportedly named her newborn Francis after the current Pope. The mayor of Rieti, Simone Petrangeli has appealed to the public and media to respect the woman's privacy.
The nun called the ambulance on Wednesday morning. A few hours later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. "I did not know I was pregnant. I only felt a stomach pain," she said. People at the hospital have begun collecting clothes and donations for the mother and her child.
The woman belongs to a convent near Rieti, which manages an old people's home. Fellow nuns at the convent said they were "surprised" by the news. Local pastor Don Fabrizio Borrello said that the nun planned to take care of the baby. "I guess she's telling the truth when she says she arrived at the hospital unaware of the pregnancy." Read more at Nun who gave birth in Italy 'unaware of pregnancy
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Police fled from station after family dumped goblin
A family dumped its tenant's "goblin" at about 8pm on Wednesday at the Tshabalala Police Station, in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, sending police officers fleeing. A family that claimed a lodger owned the goblin took it to the station in a suitcase.
"We heard some screaming from the charge office and most officers who had knocked off rushed to see what was happening. At first everyone gathered around the suitcase, wanting to see what was inside," said one policeman. The officer said a traditional healer who had come with the family opened the suitcase and a weird looking creature jumped out of a bottle that was filled with blood.
"No one told anyone it was time to run. One minute, the charge office was full, the next, it was empty. I think some people went out through the windows because we could not all have fitted through the door. Fat cops and slim cops all ran for their lives screaming," said the officer.
Police officers gave differing versions about how the goblin looked. Some said it looked like am snake with the head of a dog and others said it was a dog with scales like a pangolin. They all agreed that it smelt terribly. The traditional healer is said to have overpowered the goblin and burnt it. Bulawayo deputy police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Bhekimpilo Ndlovu confirmed the incident had happened. - Bulawayo24
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The Rock From Nowhere
NASA's Opportunity rover has spotted a strange rock that seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
The rover had taken a photograph of the ground in front of it earlier this month, yet a second photograph taken a short time later appeared to show a peculiar doughnut-shaped rock in the middle of the frame that hadn't been there earlier.
Dubbed "Pinnacle Island", the strange boulder has perplexed mission engineers who have struggled to determine where it came from. "It was a total surprise, we were like 'wait a second, that wasn't there before, it can't be right. Oh my god! It wasn't there before!'" said lead scientist Steve Squyres. "We were absolutely startled."
Scientists have suggested that the rover could have pinged the rock in to the frame with its wheels or that it could have been thrown there by a nearby meteorite impact. An analysis of the rock has indicated that its chemical composition does not match that of rocks found elsewhere on Mars.
"I think it's something that we did... we flung it," said Squyres. "It obligingly turned upside down, so we're seeing a side that hasn't seen the Martian atmosphere in billions of years and there it is for us to investigate. It's just a stroke of luck." Read more at Wired
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Interview with Navajo Elder, Chief Leonard Dan
Video - Navajo Elder, Chief Leonard Dan Talking about Bigfoot and the Horrors of Boarding School
Interesting interview done several years ago. Toward the middle of this interview, he talks of a baby who was abducted in her cradle board, only to be discovered at around age ten, as a "Wild Child"....
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