A Jurassic Tree Grows in Australia

United Press International


The Wollemi pine, a 200 million-year-old tree from the Jurassic period long thought to be extinct, has reportedly been found growing in Australia.

The exact location is being kept secret -- even scientists are blindfolded before being flown to the site. A park ranger discovered a small grove of the trees in Australia, the London Mirror reported. Specimens are now to be sold by auction to make sure the species survives.

But the Mirror noted buyers will need a large garden, since the Wollemi pine tree can grow as high as 120 feet, with a three-foot-wide trunk.

Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens told the newspaper the discovery is the equivalent of finding a small dinosaur still alive.

One Down, For Now

"They didn't shut us down. They took all our equipment, which had the effect of shutting us down." - E-Mail Spammer

Uuh...what? Shut down, but not shut down?

Oct 16, 9:17 PM (ET)


WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) - A man described as one of the nation's leading senders of spam says an FBI raid on his home office has halted his e-mail operation.

Warrants unsealed last week show that a September raid on Alan M. Ralsky's home in a Detroit suburb included the seizure of financial records, computers and disks.

"We're out of business at this point in time," Ralsky said. "They didn't shut us down. They took all our equipment, which had the effect of shutting us down."

Terry Berg, the top deputy in the Detroit U.S. attorney's office, declined to comment.

Ralsky, 60, has said that he has 150 million or more e-mail addresses, and he has been a target of anti-spam efforts for years.

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) sued him in 2001, saying he shut down its networks with millions of e-mail solicitations. He settled, promising not to send spam on its networks.

A federal law that took effect last year bans use of misleading subject lines and the sending of commercial e-mail messages that appear to be from friends. It also bans use of multiple e-mail addresses or domain names to hide senders' identities.