John Terrett

'Earth, meet Vesta!'

The second most massive resident of the asteroid belt, almost 200 million kilometres from the Earth between Mars and Jupiter, is the Vesta asteroid.

On Monday - thanks to NASA's Dawn spacecraft - the world got its first glance of the giant spinning ball that Mission Director Marc Rayman compared to a large U.S. state.

"At three hundred and thirty miles in diameter it has twice the surface area of California - this is a big place."

Dawn - the largest interplanetary probe ever launched by NASA - arrived at Vesta last month after a four year journey. 

"We believe this goes back to the first five million years of the solar system", said Chris Russell, Dawn Principle Investigator. Analysing the surface, "enables us to determine what has happened to Vesta over the eons."

Caviar comeback

A type of Caviar - or fish eggs - that's been off the market for approximately one hundred years is making a comeback in Canada.

A small aqua-farm near St John in the northeastern province of New Brunswick has spent the past 15 years breeding the Shortnose Breviro Sturgeon which was virtually wiped out by over-fishing around the turn of the last century.

Now it is the only place in the world licensed to sell the caviar and the delicacy - a staple of cruise lines and high-class restaurants - is set for export round the world.

Each Shortnose Breviro Sturgeon is worth thousands of dollars.

"This paunchiness, that's an indication that it's full of eggs!"

That's Bill Hogans, head of research at Breviro Caviar, the company behind the Shortnose's comeback.

In the past 15 years Bill and his team have spent countless hours helping the breed flourish again in captivity.

Overflowing misery in Mississippi

I met Estelle today.  She's a long way from home, forced out by the Mississippi flooding.
 
"There's no place like home," she said.
 
Estelle's staying in temporary accommodation, known locally as "Canadaville", here in Simmesport Louisiana, that's been housing victims of Hurricane Katrina and now offers refuge for families forced out by the flooding.
 
"We heard the water was very dangerous up north.  Cairo.  Tennessee.  Coming very fast.  Very high, very dangerous.  So we didn't want to take a chance so we started packing up to move."
 
She's waiting for the all clear with her three dogs, Jack, Panda and Reeces, and wonders what's happening at her house which lies at the confluence of three rivers.
 
"I just wish we could get some definite answers.

Pig in a python

The sign said it all. Welcome to Memphis!
 
We were in Frayser, just outside the city, filming homes that had been inundated by flood water up to their roofs.
 
There was no one around - hadn’t been for days apparently - ever since the mighty Mississippi began hitting record levels.
 
The man in charge of coping with the disaster, Bob Nations of the Shelby County Office of Emergency Preparedness, told us the problem is not so much the Mississippi but its many tributaries:
 
"These tributaries for about a week now have not been able to dump their water into the Mississippi River and that's what you see backing up here in Shelby County."
 
Patrick Casey has worked in a nearby liquor store for more than 20 years. He and his colleagues spent the day moving stock to higher shelves.