US State Department spokesperson PJ Crowley has called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to return the leaked US embassy cables, claiming they are "stolen property".

His comments came after the arrest of Mr Assange by British authorities on the request of Swedish prosecutors over allegations of rape and molestation. Mr Assange denies all charges.

Neighbors gasped when authorities showed them photos of the inside of the Southern California ranch-style home: Crates of grenades, mason jars of white, explosive powder and jugs of volatile chemicals that are normally the domain of suicide bombers.

The property is so dangerous and volatile that they have no choice but to burn the home to the ground this week in a highly controlled operation involving dozens of firefighters, scientists and hazardous material and pollution experts.

"The memo said students would no longer be allowed to bring writing implements to school. It said pencils would be provided for students in class and any students caught with pencils or pens after Nov. 15 would face disciplinary action for having materials 'to build weapons."

Who knew that pencils were "materials to build weapons?" Are the school officials going to remove every last stone, rock and pebble from the school grounds, because they are materials to start a war?

The idea behind National Opt-Out Day is simple: on the day before Thanksgiving, when screening lines stretch so far they seem to snake back on themselves like an ouroboros, Americans should opt out of what critics call "pornoscans." Instead, they should choose a police-style pat-down instead, which will take TSA screeners far longer to complete.

TSA head John Pistole initially called the idea "irresponsible" in a statement last week. At a breakfast meeting with reporters yesterday, he moderated his criticisms and warned there was the "potential" for slowdowns if the opt-out protest is widespread.

A TSA employee gave Mandy the pat down and she started screaming and kicking her legs.

Why was Mandy searched in the first place? She started crying when she was asked to put her teddy bear through the X-ray machine.

If the TSA is going to search kids, maybe they need a little training on how to do it--or at least employees should have a few lollipops or stickers in their pockets.

A Gizmodo investigation has revealed 100 of the photographs saved by the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., obtained by a FOIA request after it was recently revealed that U.S. Marshals operating the machine in the Orlando, Florida, courthouse had improperly - perhaps illegally - saved images of the scans of public servants and private citizens.

That we can see these images today almost guarantees that others will be seeing similar images in the future. If you're lucky, it might even be a picture of you or your family.

Could Hollywood's century-long grip on the world's entertainment spending finally be loosening, and why? The answer lies in three very different places: popcorn, the internet, and old-fashioned TV.

All the popcorn sounds like a great bonus to have on top of all the ticket sales they must make - but, in fact, popcorn is where much of their profit comes from.

People are just staying away from cinemas and doing something else, whether that's watching TV, surfing the internet, or playing games.

Movies aren't going away - Disney and Fox are here to stay, and I'm sure Avatar 2 and 3 will add a good few billion to global box-office takings - but they're becoming increasingly bland and mindless, and outgunned by the best TV.

Over time, prosecutors said, Mr. Bedi told Mr. Davidson about an elaborate international conspiracy that had attacked Mr. Davidson's computer and was threatening Mr. Davidson and his family. The conspiracy allegedly involved a mysterious hard drive in a remote village of Honduras and a plot to infiltrate the United States government by Polish priests linked to Opus Dei. Mr. Bedi persuaded Mr. Davidson to pay the computer shop not only for data retrieval, but for personal protection, the authorities said.

Washington's proposed state income tax not only prompted Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to spend $425,000 of his own money to help crush the measure at the polls, it also inspired Microsoft to launch a FUD campaign aimed at torpedoing the initiative. 'As an employer, we're concerned that I-1098 will make it harder to attract talent and create additional jobs in Washington state,' explained Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith.

All of which might make a cynic question what was really important to Microsoft - public education, or a $2B state income tax-free payday for its CEO?

The findings conflict with statements by US oil contractor Halliburton, which supplied the cement and has said tests showed it was stable.

Halliburton also appears to have kept other test data to itself - one set of results showing once again the cement mix was unstable, and one showing it would hold, investigators found.