Turkmenbashi's revolving golden statue removed from plinth in Ashgabat Everyone knows about the excesses of Saparmurat Niyazov, aka Turkmenbashi, former post-Soviet dictator of Turkmenistan. His 90m-high, golden, sun-tracking statue was removed from its plinth today, four years after the dictator's death. more inside

San Francisco peregrines George and Gracie nested on the Bay Bridge this year; bad idea. Scientists from the Predatory Bird Research Group at UC Santa Cruz removed their eggs for incubation and hatching in a more safe location. more inside

Boston Marathon run virtually Sunita Williams qualified for the Boston Marathon but will be out of town on the day of the race next month. The race committee was gracious enough to let her participate virtually, bungee'd down on a zero-G treadmill in the Zvezda module of the International Space Station. more inside

1918 flu recovered from frozen Arctic corpse kills monkeys in the lab. WE'RE DOOMED. more inside

Tom, may I borrow your Holy Book? No, the other one ... Newly elected Congressional representative Keith Ellison caused a stir when he stated his intention to take his oath of office with his hand resting on the holy Quran. The Detroit-born Minnesota Democrat is answering his critics by borrowing for the ceremony a translation of the holy book from the Library of Congress -- a book that belonged to none other than Thomas Jefferson (purchased by the library in 1815). I can say little more here than "Cool." more inside

Triplets born to UK woman with two wombs: no, this isn't a Monty Python sketch more inside

New Island in Tonga as seen by satellite. Also seen at sea level by a passing yacht. more inside