TOKYO--Officials from the Walt Disney Company confirmed early this morning that several members of the Japanese Royal family, including the reigning Empress, have fled the specially-maintained habitat in which they live. Though their current whereabouts are unknown, they are believed to still be in the Tokyo area. "We are very concerned for their health and safety," noted a solemn Disney representative. "[Disney] enjoy[s] a very close relationship to the family, and we've taken on a commitment to preserving Imperial culture and practices. We feel responsible and are doing everything within our power to bring them home." (full story)

CAMBRIDGE--Researchers at the MIT Media Lab announced Friday the successful construction of a nano-scale "boy band" capable of performing complex, synchronized dance routines on the head of a pin. "Creating [the band] was part of a larger, long-term effort here at the Lab to humanize nano-scale user interfaces," notes Professor Ambrose Stone, director of the research team. "[The band] will act as goodwill ambassadors from the world of ubiquitous [nano-electro-mechanical devices]." (full story)

SPRINGDALE, ARK.--Grey Mountain Surrogates Inc., a subdivision of meat processing and biological services giant Tyson Foods, launched Friday a nation-wide campaign advertising its 'Natural Mother' organic surrogacy service. "We're very pleased to be able to offer the highest-quality surrogacy on the market," notes Grey Mountain president of operations Harald Spine. "In Natural Mother we offer a convenient, labor-saving service that also provides a more wholesome, healthy gestation environment than most mothers could manage on their own." (full story)

NASSAU--In a bid to cut costs and enhance security the House of Representatives voted Tuesday to approve a Senate bill relocating both Congressional bodies to an unnamed offshore banking and tax haven. "The move is sure to result in immediate cost savings to the American people," notes Senator Janet Rent (D-Calif). "By moving to a tax haven we can cut payroll costs dramatically because we can reduce salaries without reducing take-home pay." (full story)

LOS ANGELES--Documents released Monday by the Walt Disney Company in the course of its defense against a wrongful death suit brought by the estate of its late Chairman and CEO reveal gruesome details of the executive's "accidental" death and confirm longtime rumors that the company has, for decades, maintained the frozen head of its founder in hopes that developments in medical science will enable his eventual resurrection. "This was a real double whammy," exclaims court journalist and veteran Disney-watcher Juan Yell. "I mean, to have all the 'frozen head' stuff turn out to be true after all these years, and then to have it so closely linked to Eisner's mysterious death, all I can say is 'wow!'" (full story)

BOSTON--A group of researchers at MIT's Chomsky Institute announced yesterday independent confirmation of their discovery of a series of messages encoded in apparently dormant or unused sections of the human genome. "We're able to report replication of our results by at least three independent teams," explained the team's project director Klara Tulip. "We hence feel quite confident about the results and felt that they were significant enough to warrant preliminary public release." (full story)

WALVILLE, ARK.--Responding to public requests from privacy advocates, retailing giant Wal-mart agreed Wednesday to release details concerning a newly-implemented system for tracking shoppers in its Wal-mart and Sam's Club stores. "We understand that there is some sensitivity surrounding this initiative," notes Wal-mart spokesman Joel Scent, "And we want to be entirely upfront and open about the program and the ways it will benefit our shopping family. We've been testing the system in a few pilot stores--we've made no secret about that--and now, with that experience behind us, we're ready to talk about the program." (full story)