Mega-earth, Bergdahl video, Tiananmen: Today's top moments
Space dominates: Found a mega-Earth, going to Mars, Hubble's incredible photo
There's so much out-of-this-world news. Here's the good: 1) We found a new type of planet called mega-Earth that expands the possibilities of life in space. 2) A report says NASA better send humans to Mars or else. 3) NASA released a Hubble image that shows 10,000 galaxies as they looked in the early years of the universe. Here's the bad: 1) Even though we found the mega-Earth, we're still searching for the perfect Earth twin. 2) The report on Mars says we can't afford not to undertake a mission there, but we're basically going to have to mortgage the White House to do it. 3) We can't think of anything bad about a picture of 10,000 galaxies. It's just awesome.
Taliban video of Bergdahl release: 'You won't make it out alive next time'
The latest on Homeland: The Taliban released a video Wednesday that reportedly shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's hand-over to U.S. forces. The 17-minute video shows Bergdahl dressed in white robes being led from a pickup truck as what appears to be a Black Hawk helicopter lands. "You won't make it out alive next time," a Taliban member says. There are still a ton of questions around Bergdahl's capture and the Taliban prisoner swap that brought him home. Paste BN's Susan Page looks at how the Bergdahl celebration became a huge mess.
Tiananmen? What Tiananmen? Beijing keeps lid on protests
It's an extraordinary display of enforced amnesia. In mainland China, people are forbidden from discussing the pro-democracy movement that led to the bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square. So, on the crackdown's 25th anniversary, the world marked the day while mainland China pretended none of it ever happened. In Hong Kong, China's semi-democratic enclave, more than 100,000 people attended a vigil.
Donald Sterling agrees to sell Clippers to ex-CEO of Microsoft
He's backing down. Sterling's attorney said he has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion. His wife Shelly Sterling made the deal last week. He'll also drop his giant lawsuit against the NBA (he was seeking more than $1 billion in damages).
Wis. girls say Slenderman made them want to kill
Slenderman is malevolent. He targets children. And, when people are in his presence, they are helpless to resist the urge to walk into his long arms. Say what? Two 12-year-old girls charged with attempted homicide in the stabbing of their friend told authorities that the fictional horror character Slenderman required them to perform the crime in order to curry favor with him. The figure has been popularized online. Some say he was created there, while others claim he first appeared in Brazilian caves and in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Check out the video to hear more about how Slenderman is connected to the stabbing in Wisconsin.
G7: Putin's not seated at the table, but he's still at the party
The Group of Seven may have kicked Russia out, but members still have to deal with Vladimir Putin. As President Obama and G-7 allies opened their summit Wednesday — a get-together once scheduled for Sochi, Russia — at least three G-7 members have scheduled private meetings with the Russian leader over the next two days. Their goal: getting Putin to talk with Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko about a potential deal to de-escalate separatist violence in that country.
Extra Bites
Day in Pictures: An awesome photo from today's gallery.
We want one: 30 of Europe's most beautiful castles.
Our favorite freak-out: New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd went to Colorado to cover legalized pot and had a really bad trip. Literally.
This is a compilation of stories across Paste BN.
Contributing: Calum MacLeod, William Cummings, Melanie Eversley, Paste BN; Peter Shadbolt, Special for Paste BN; Brent Schrotenboer, Paste BN Sports; Jolie Lee, Paste BN Network; Ledyard King, Gannett Washington Bureau