“China to uproot 9,100 residents to make way for giant space telescope”

China's ambitious search for alien life comes with a human cost China's ambitious search for alien life comes with a human cost. Authorities plan to uproot 9,110 residents to make way for the world's largest radio telescope, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST. The massive engineering and scientific project will allow researchers to detect radio signals from as far as tens of billions of light years away, potentially taking us one step closer in our quest to discover if we are truly alone in the universe. China will relocate residents within five kilometers (3.1 miles) of the $185-million project, which is expected to be completed in September. Each resident will get 12,000 yuan ($1,838) in compensation. The telescope -- when completed the dish itself will be the size of 30 football pitches -- has the potential to be a game-changer for our understanding of the universe, and our search for life on other planets. When it is finished it will potentially be able to detect radio signals -- and potentially, signs of life -- from planets orbiting a million stars and solar systems.

In Other News Starbucks is changing its rewards program, and people are not happy about it. The company announced Monday that starting in April, customers will no longer receive one point or "star" per visit. Instead, patrons will receive two stars for each dollar spent. What's the problem with that? Well, Starbucks is also changing how "gold" status and perks are calculated. Right now, customers receive gold status once they've earned 30 stars in a year. That's loosely equivalent to visiting Starbucks 30 times, if you don't get any bonus points along the way. Gold members get a free food or beverage product after 12 stars. But when the new points system launches, customers will have to earn 300 stars -- or spend close to $150 -- to reach gold status. A 16-year-old boy injured in a Pearl Harbor helicopter crash witnessed by scores of bystanders has died. The teenager was one of five people aboard the chopper when it crashed in front of sightseers gathered at the USS Arizona memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Thursday morning. Four people surfaced soon after the helicopter hit the sea but the 16-year-old was found unresponsive and strapped to his seat. He was taken to a hospital in a critical condition and the Medical Center announced Monday that he died.