Big Bang breakthrough announced

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Big Bang breakthrough announced
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Scientists announced Monday a breakthrough in
understanding how our world as we know it came to
be. The evidence suggests the universe rapidly
expanded less than a trillionth of a second after
the Big Bang. Researchers also discovered direct
evidence for the first time of what Albert
Einstein predicted in his general theory of
relativity Gravitational waves. These are
essentially ripples in space-time, which have
been thought of as the "first tremors of the Big
Bang. "A telescope at the South Pole called
BICEP2 -- Background Imaging of Cosmic
Extragalactic Polarization 2 -- was critical to
the discovery. The telescope allowed scientists
to analyze the polarization of light left over
from the early universe, leading to Monday's
landmark announcement. Scientists use the word
"inflation" to describe how the universe rapidly
expanded after the Big Bang in a ripping-apart of
space. Because of how potentially important these
results are, they will be viewed with skepticism.
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In Other News

• A Texas man died after falling off the south rim
  of the Grand Canyon. John N. Anderson of
  Grapevine, Texas, was visiting the park with
  family on Saturday morning when he fell about 350
  feet near the El Tovar Lodge.
• LWren Scott, the high-end fashion designer and
  longtime girlfriend of Mick Jagger, died Monday
  of an apparent suicide. Scotts elegant designs
  in lush fabrics were favored by celebrities such
  as Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey,
  Penelope Cruz, and first lady Michelle Obama. She
  was 49.
• A 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck near Los
  Angeles yesterday morning and could be felt
  strongly throughout the city. Although the quake
  frightened many people out of bed, there are no
  reports of any injuries. This was the largest
  earthquake to strike Los Angeles since the 6.7
  magnitude Northridge quake that killed 60 people
  in 1994. This latest scare reminds California
  residents that the San Andreas fault runs
  directly through their state and can cause a
  devastating quake at any time.
• Russian and Crimean leaders signed a treaty
  Tuesday to make the autonomous region part of
  Russia, as Russian President Vladimir Putin
  stoutly defended the contentious annexation of
  the peninsula from Ukraine. He argued the
  decision to annex Crimea as a necessary step to
  correct historical wrongs and protect the human
  rights of Russians in Crimea. In response, the
  U.S. and the E.U. announced new sanctions against
  Moscow.
• The search for Malaysias missing airliner
  continues with contradicting information being
  released. The search area now extends from
  Kazakhstan to Australia.