Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, has captained a mini-sub in the Gulf of Finland and used a motorized hang-glider to lead captive Siberian cranes to freedom. The stunts weren't unusual for a man accustomed to public displays of avocational skill. Here are a few of his many talents.

1. He's an arm-wrestler

Putin quickly defeated Rep. Dana Rohrbacher in a drunken match in Washington in the early 1990s, the California member of Congress said in September. ''His muscles are just unbelievable," Rohrbacher said. Pictured: Putin pumping his guns in an arm-wrestling contest during a visit at a summer camp in the central Tver region on Aug. 1, 2011. Read the article

Following in the footsteps of well over 1,000 scientists and other professional groups who have already gone on record questioning the official theory, more than 40 U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency veterans have come forward to challenge the Government's rendition of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Their behind-the-scenes knowledge and experience of sensitive and classified issues places them in a uniquely authoritative position. In this sense, their critical stance is all the more damning for the government. Conspicuously absent from the landscape are the mainstream media professionals, as they continue to provide cover for the government's totally bankrupt theory and fail to report on landmark developments such as this.

Official Account of 9/11:"Terribly Flawed," "Laced with Contradictions," "a Joke," "a Cover-up"

More than 40 U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency veterans have severely criticized the official account of 9/11 and most have called for a new investigation. It is outrageous that most Americans are entirely unaware of their publicly stated concerns - a direct result of the refusal of national print and broadcast news organizations to cover this extremely important issue. There is no denying the credibility of these individuals or their loyalty to their country as demonstrated by their years of service collecting and analyzing information and planning and carrying out operations critical to the national security of the United States.

A Russian atheist in a Siberian city faces up to six years in prison for posting a porn video on a social networking site.

The accused, 30-year-old Andrei Korablev, posted a pornographic video to his personal page on a social networking site in November 2011, the prosecutor's office for Siberia's Tyumen Region said.

The office's statement, posted on its website, didn't go into any more detail about the video, but did say that it had "offended the feelings of religious believers." Internet news portal Russian Planet cited Korablev as saying he had posted a 40-second video of "masturbation...featuring a nun" on his page on Vkontakte, a Russian social networking site.

Korablev told Russian Planet that "homegrown religious fundamentalists under the guise of the Tyumen City Parental Committee" had complained about the video to get back at him for his involvement in the local League of Militant Atheists.

Residents of a Gwinnett apartment complex told Channel 2 Action News they've been overrun by snakes in recent weeks. Channel 2's Tom Regan learned more about the snake invasion and what could be causing it.

The most recent snake sighting happened in the breezeway of the Bradford Gwinnett Apartment building. It was described as a giant copperhead that terrified residents.

"If it got into my house, I don't know what I would have done," said resident Juanita Kennemore.

Kennemore said one of the venomous copperheads was caught last Sunday. A resident took a picture of the snake after killing it with a brick.

In Motera, India, Men lie prostrate on the floor in front of the elevated seat of their guru - the man they call Asaram Bapu. Pictures of his avuncular face, with its flowing white beard, hang everywhere in this sprawling, 30-acre ashram in western India.

But these days, the guru's enclosed wood-carved altar, where millions once worshiped him, is empty. All that's left is a large photograph, an air purifier, blingy lights and fake red roses.

The guru, whose real name is Asumal Harpalani, is languishing in a Jodhpur jail, arrested last month on charges of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old daughter of two followers.

In recent weeks, the allegations against the mega-guru - who has a massive network of 20 million devotees and hundreds of ashrams worth an estimated $760 million - have stunned and split India.

The scandal has raised questions about the unprecedented boom in spiritual gurus in the world's largest democracy - and the enormous power and wealth they wield. Harpalani is not alone among them in amassing riches or getting in scrapes with the law. One holy man, Sathya Sai Baba, died in 2011 and left behind nearly $8 million in gold, silver and cash. In recent years, other gurus have been charged with murder, sexual abuse, running prostitution rackets and illegal land acquisition.

Interpol has issued an arrest notice for Samantha Lewthwaite, the British woman known as the "white widow" whose husband, Jermaine Lindsay, was one of the suicide bombers in the July 7, 2005, attack on the London transit system. Many have speculated that Lewthwaite might have been involved in the recent assault at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, but Interpol did not associate her with the violence there:

Lewthwaite - a 29-year-old Muslim convert whose first husband was one of the suicide bombers in the 2005 attack on the London transit system that killed 52 commuters - is wanted by Kenyan authorities over alleged involvement in a plot to bomb holiday resorts there.

Social media reports that a white female was leading last week's terrorist attack on an upscale Nairobi shopping mall - followed by comments from Kenya's foreign minister that a British woman had been involved - led some British broadcasters and newspapers to link Lewthwaite to the recent attack on the Westgate mall, despite the lack of hard evidence that she was involved.

The Interpol notice made no mention of Westgate, however, saying that Lewthwaite is wanted on charges of possessing explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony in December 2011.

African authorities have linked her to other attacks as well - again, without presenting evidence of her involvement. She is believed to have been questioned by police once but was not taken into custody. - Associated Press

France says its public debt will hit a new record high of 95.1 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, far higher than previous estimates.

Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici and Budget Minister Bernard Cazeneuve presented the draft budget on Wednesday.

Public sector debt, including central government, welfare and local authority debt, stood at 90.2 percent of GDP at the end of last year. The French government had been counting on public debt to peak in 2014 at 94.3 percent of GDP.

The draft budget included measures that amount to an "unprecedented' 15-billion-euro cut in public spending.

The two ministers said some 80 percent of fiscal saving in next year's budget will come from public spending cuts and the remaining 20 percent from tax hikes.

The government also plans to issue treasury bills worth over eight billion euros to overcome the worst than expected budget deficit.

A man in Crawford County, Mich., was arrested and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon on Sunday after he called authorities about a trespassing suspect on his property, his wife tells TheBlaze. There are also serious allegations being made about officers demanding that video footage of the incident - taken by the man's wife - be deleted.

Thomas Donald, a military veteran, was reportedly out hunting with his 11-year-old son and armed with an "unloaded" single-shot .410-gauge shotgun (his son chose to use a crossbow instead) when he confronted a man riding a dirt bike on his 10 acres of land. The man and his son then reportedly escorted the trespasser to the front of his property and told his wife, Heather, to call the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to file a "recreational trespass."

What happened when the Crawford County Sheriff's Department arrived shocked them both, though Sheriff Kirk Wakefield tells TheBlaze quite a different story.

In an exclusive interview with TheBlaze, Heather Donald recounted what happened from the couple's perspective. Her husband, Thomas, declined to speak with us on the advice of his attorney and due to the charges against him. His attorney also declined an interview request.

The upper house of Russia's parliament approved a contentious reform of the country's Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, as some 200 protesters gathered outside the legislature's building in downtown Moscow.

The bill outlining the reform passed the Federation Council with 135 members voting in favor and two abstaining.

Its main provisions transfer the management of most academic property to a new federal government agency and merge three previously existing academies - focusing on the sciences in general, medicine and agriculture - into one, but bar the state from interfering in the academy's scholarly activities.

An earlier version of the bill approved by the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, provided for the abolition of the academy, but the bill was reworked considering strong protests from the scientific community.

Truth becomes treason in an empire of lies. Attacks against health web sites like yours truly and others, and our readers - yes, that would be you - are rapidly escalating.

Thinly veiled threats are issued not just by industry spokespersons (many of whom hide their industry ties from their readers), but also international organizations like UNICEF. It's become very evident, very quickly, that now more than ever, we need your support to counter the increasingly dirty tactics of these industry players.

Simply by reporting the scientific evidence - which is published in peer-reviewed journals, mind you - I've been labeled as a top "anti-vaccine influencer" for my pro-safety stance on vaccines, and a "media supporter of domestic eco-terrorists" for my reporting on the hazards of Roundup and genetically engineered foods.

Why Is UNICEF Accusing Health Journalists of Lying? A recently published report¹ by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reveals that the organization is tracking "the rise of online pro-vaccine safety sentiments in Central and Eastern Europe," and has identified the most influential pro-vaccine safety influencers" on the web.

UNICEF included me on the list, along with other independent health websites like GreenMedInfo.com, Mothering.com and NaturalNews.com, just to name a few. In their opening reference, they use a quote by Mark Twain that reads:

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

Clearly, UNICEF is inferring that I and other vaccine-safety advocates are lying about the situation and therefore should be ignored. This would be hilarious if it wasn't so serious.