Astronomers: Billions of 'super-Earths' in habitable zone of red dwarf stars

If you're trying to count how many planets could be candidates for harboring life in our galaxy, this might blow your mind: Scientists now say there could be billions of them.

Astronomers working with the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) HARPS instrument estimate that in our galaxy, there are tens of billions of rocky planets not so much bigger than Earth orbiting red dwarf stars within the habitable zones of those relatively cool stars. A habitable zone is the area in a star system where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface without boiling away or staying frozen.

Specifically, the planets that have astronomers so excited are called super-Earths, meaning they can have up to 10 times more mass than our planet. That's important distinction because some scientists believe these super-Earths have a better chance of being habitable than planets about the size of our Earth.

While scientists have previously concluded that every star in the Milky Way has at least one planet in orbit around it, this is the first time they've been able to get a good count of just how many super-Earths might exist.

Still, scientists haven't concluded what "habitable" means in this context. Sara Seager, a professor of planetary science and physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told CNN in an e-mail that while the ESO result is exciting, there's a lot more work to be done. Since a super-Earth would likely have a more massive atmosphere than Earth, such a planet would be much hotter than Earth and liquid water on the surface might not be possible.

Xavier Bonfils, of the Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble, France, said in a release that these new observations indicate that 40% of all red dwarfs have rocky planets orbiting in their habitable zones. Our own sun is a hotter G V, or yellow dwarf, star and is more than twice as massive as a red dwarf.

Because about 80% of stars in the Milky Way are red dwarfs (also referred to as M-class stars), this leads to the conclusion that tens of billions of rocky planets exist in habitable zones in our galaxy. The Jupiters and Saturns of the galaxy, which are more massive and gaseous giants, are more rare around red dwarfs.

A lot of these promising planets are relatively nearby neighbors. The estimates suggest that there are 100 super-Earths in habitable zones around stars 30 light years or less from us.

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New York city schools want to ban 'loaded words' from tests

New York (CNN) – Divorce. Dinosaurs, Birthdays. Religion. Halloween. Christmas. Television. These are a few of the 50-plus words and references the New York City Department of Education is hoping to ban from the city’s standardized tests.

The banned word list was made public – and attracted considerable criticism – when the city’s education department recently released this year’s "request for proposal" The request for proposal is sent to test publishers around the country trying to get the job of revamping math and English tests for the City of New York.

The Department of Education's says that avoiding sensitive words on tests is nothing new, and that New York City is not the only locale to do so. California avoids the use of the word "weed" on tests and Florida avoids the phrases that use "Hurricane" or "Wildfires," according to a statement by the New York City Department of Education.

In its request for proposal, the NYC Department of Education explained it wanted to avoid certain words if the "the topic is controversial among the adult population and might not be acceptable in a state-mandated testing situation; the topic has been overused in standardized tests or textbooks and is thus overly familiar and/or boring to students; the topic appears biased against (or toward) some group of people."

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Matthew Mittenthal, a spokesman for the NYC Department of Education, said this is the fifth year they have created such a list. He said such topics "could evoke unpleasant emotions in the students."

"Dinosaurs" evoking unpleasant emotions? The New York Post speculated that the "dinosaurs" could "call to mind evolution, which might upset fundamentalists.”

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'Little guy' wins high court fight over property rights

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court gave an Idaho couple another chance Wednesday to challenge a government ruling barring construction of their "dream house," an important property rights defeat for the Obama administration.

The justices unanimously ruled Chantell and Mike Sackett can appeal a compliance order that said wetlands on their residential lot were improperly filled with rocks and dirt. A building permit was then revoked.

"Since the agency's decision was final and since the Sacketts have no other adequate remedy in a court, they may bring their suit" under federal law, said Justice Antonin Scalia.

The couple's supporters had billed this as "David vs. Goliath" fight against the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We're here to stand up for the property rights and the constitutional rights of all Americans," Mike Sackett told CNN in January, when the case was argued at the high court. "We felt blindsided by the EPA, and we remain determined to fight."

The high court had displayed wide support for the Sacketts during oral arguments 10 weeks ago.

"If you related the facts of this case -- as they come to us -- to an ordinary homeowner," Justice Samuel Alito asked the government's attorney, "don't you think most ordinary homeowners would say this kind of thing can't happen in the United States?"

What happened has become a six-year fight pitting business and property rights groups against the federal government and many in the environmental community. The effect could be huge for the longstanding tension over the balance between commercial and private development, and maintaining clean air, water, and soil.

The Sacketts bought a small parcel of about two-thirds of an acre in the Idaho Panhandle in 2005, near the shores of the resort community of Priest Lake. They hoped to build a three-bedroom home, surrounded by neighbors' houses, and had obtained a county permit. Gravel had already been laid for the foundation when EPA officials told them their land was a wetland. That barred any development.

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Southern Miss takes disciplinary action against students for derogatory chant

Five members of the University of Southern Mississippi pep band have had their scholarships revoked and have been removed from the band after they yelled a derogatory chant at a Puerto Rican player during an NCAA basketball tournament game last week.

The school announced the disciplinary action in a statement Tuesday, saying the five "have been forthcoming, cooperative, contrite and sincerely remorseful."

"They acted rashly and inappropriately, and now see the gravity of their words and actions," Vice President for Student Affairs Joe Paul said. "This is a teachable moment, not only for these students but for our entire student body and those who work with them."

The students will also be required to complete a two-hour training course on cultural sensitivity, the school said. The school has not identified the students.

TV cameras captured the incident during the University of Southern Mississippi-Kansas State University game at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

As Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez shot free throws, several people could clearly be heard chanting, "where's your green card."

The university's president apologized to Rodriguez, saying the chant wasn't representative of the university.

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New York Times adds bricks to its paywall

The New York Times announced on its website Tuesday evening that it has decided to cut the number of free stories nonsubscribers are allowed to read in half.

People without a subscription can read 20 free stories per month on their website, but beginning in April, that number drops to 10. Nonsubscribers will also continue to get free access to the home page. Links from Facebook, Twitter and search engines will not count toward the total.

The paper says the move "will strengthen our ability to continue providing the world's most insightful and investigative reporting in journalism today, as well as support the ongoing development of digital innovations and apps that make The Times an experience you won't find anywhere else."

The technique, known as a paywall, is an increasingly popular strategy among conventional news outlets to find new sources of revenue with the collapse of classified advertising and explosion of online media.

The New York Times said in a statement online that "the change provides us with an opportunity to convince another segment of our audience that what The Times has to offer is worth paying for."

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Crews find balloonist who fell from 17,000 feet amid storm

A search-and-rescue team on Monday found the body of a missing hot air balloonist who had crashed in Georgia three days earlier.

Acting on a tip from a witness who saw an object falling Friday, authorities dispatched a helicopter in the direction she described and quickly found the body of Ed Ristaino of North Carolina, according to Ben Hill County Sheriff Bobby McLemore.

"We were relieved that we found him," McLemore said. "But that still leaves recovery."

Teams made up of state patrol officers, forestry units, neighboring sheriff's department personnel and volunteers scoured areas east of Fitzgerald in south-central Georgia, where the balloon basket went down.

At least seven helicopters and planes and more than 100 people on the ground participated in the difficult search, McLemore said.

Ristaino had taken five skydivers up in his hot air balloon around 6:45 p.m. Friday when he noticed the wind picking up and realized he was driving the balloon toward a large incoming storm system, McLemore said.

"The storm was pulling the balloon closer towards it, so he asked the skydivers to bail out. He had them jump from about 5,000 feet."

While the five skydivers landed safely and were picked up, Ristaino and the balloon continued heading southeast and rose another 2,000 feet, McLemore said.

"He went up into the clouds and had radio contact with his ground crew and told them it was hailing on him, there was lightning and rain and heavy wind," he said.

An updraft carried Ristaino up to about 17,000 or 18,000 feet above ground before a downdraft collapsed the balloon and sent him plummeting.

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Something's rattling small Wisconsin town

Mysterious explosions. Unexplained shaking. Something's going on in Clintonville, Wisconsin, but nobody seems to know what it is.

The sounds -- variously described as rattling pipes, clanging metal, thunder or firecrackers -- have continued on and off since early Sunday night in just one part of the small town of 4,600, located about 180 miles northeast of Madison.

Accompanying the sounds are vibrations that have shaken homes and household objects in the northeast corner of town, city manager Lisa Kuss said.

The sounds were loud enough Monday morning that a CNN journalist could hear them during a cell phone conversation with Kuss.

The baffling phenomenon does not appear to have caused any significant damage or injuries, according to Kuss.

Workers peered into manhole covers and utility crews tested for leaking natural gas and other problems, but no one has yet to find anything amiss, Kuss said.

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