Investigative reporter Linda Moulton Howe discussed a case involving an FAA-certified pilot who said he was 60 feet from a UFO when it landed in New Mexico in the summer of 1977, and a Minuteman II repairman's testimony of an abduction of a security guard by a UFO. She also reported on a Texas farmer who says that 21 of his sheep have been mysteriously mutilated or taken.

In her first report, Linda shared a two-part interview with 'J.S.,' who detailed his 1977 close encounter with a UFO. While working in the New Mexico desert, he said, a bright light appeared in the distance and then began flying towards him and his co-worker. As the light got closer, they realized it was a saucer-shaped craft which he described as being hat-shaped and featuring flashing, colored lights around the circumference of the disc. The craft stopped about 60 feet away and simply hovered in the air while making no noise except for "a faint kind of mechanical clicking" sound. While the pair of witnesses debated what to do next, three landing legs emerged from the bottom of the craft and it landed on the desert floor.

Following that, 'J.S.' recalled, a "three-joint articulated arm" descended from the center of the UFO and began examining the soil beneath the craft using a bright light. During the craft's examination of the soil, 'J.S.' and his co-worker started arguing over whether they should get closer to the scene and, suddenly, the UFO appeared to notice them and turned the light towards the two men. Blinded and in pain from the powerful light, they decided to try and escape from the scene. The UFO, meanwhile, retracted the arm and shut down the lights circling the craft, leading to total darkness in the area. It then appeared to go through a start-up sequence, retracted the landing legs, hovered in the sky for a moment, and flew off into the sky at a 50-degree angle. More here and here.

Linda then shared the story of retired US Air Force Sergeant Perry Manack, who revealed an abduction incident which befell two security guards that were working with him at South Dakota's Ellsworth AFB in the Fall of 1973. According to Manack, the men stopped to check on a broken down Winnebago and, while one guard approached the RV, a bright blue light shined down from the sky onto him. The next thing he remembered, Manack said, was waking up in the middle of a field, miles away, missing his boots, and having his gun beside him, but unloaded. Based on his recollection of the story, the guard who stayed behind in the truck was rendered unconscious and then woke up to realize "his buddy is gone." Further info.

In her final report of the evening, Linda spoke with Wayne Daggs, who has mysteriously lost 21 Barbados sheep from his Texas farm. At first, he said, four young sheep disappeared from the farm and then, approximately five months later, another group of sheep went missing. At the time of this incident, Daggs discovered one that was still alive, but had been mutilated via what his veterinarian called a "man-made wound" rather than from a predatory animal. Over the course of the next several weeks, more sheep continued to go missing and others were also found mutilated in a bloodless fashion with surgical precision. Despite this ongoing series of incidents, Daggs noted that there have been no tracks found on the property and, since a heavy dew coats the land each morning, such signs of intruders would be clearly evident.

Creating Synthetic Lifeforms

In the first hour, genomic researcher Craig Venter talked about his work creating synthetic lifeforms. He explained that the idea came about after his team converted genome data into digital form and then they pondered whether they could reverse the process and "recapitulate life from that point" using chemicals in a lab. In 2010, they successfully created a complete bacterial chromosome via this process, producing "the world's first synthetic cell." Although the procedure is still in the early stages of development, Venter marveled at the positive potential applications which could arise from this process in the future. That said, he lamented that the public is still grappling with the complexities of genomics and cited a recent survey which shockingly showed that about half the population "don't know that tomatoes have DNA in them."

News segment guests: Cal Orey & Jason Turchin