For the past three years, a highly encrypted computer worm called Conficker has been spreading rapidly around the world. As many as 12 million computers have been infected with the self-updating worm, a type of malware that can get inside computers and operate without their permission.

The first time I interviewed James Lee Burke the year was 1997 and he came out to the station to talk about his novel "Cimarron Rose." That book went on to win the Edgar Award for that year.

That interview was the beginning of a wonderful connection with one of America's greatest writers. Burke just published his 30th novel, "Feast Day of Fools."  The author is now 75 years old and while he has slowed down a little bit; he no longer goes out on book tours, his writing gets more powerful with each successive book.

Unbearable cuteness is news, right? In any case, we'll get back to the serious news in a bit. But, first, a picture of 12 baby Giant Pandas taking a nap at a breeding center in Chengdu:

There is a bit of news to go along with this picture. As the AP reports, today, China has finished its census of humans and it has now started its once-a-decade counting of pandas in the wild. The AP adds:

There's been another train crash in China — this time a collision of subway trains in Shanghai earlier today. The accident injured more than 200 people.

It's yet another blow to China's image.

Many Americans view Congress as a disaster, albeit one whose shifting tectonic plates are caused by humans not geology.

So it was probably fitting that FEMA, whose mission is partly to mitigate calamities stepped in to do just that Monday and rescue the nation's lawmakers from the dire circumstances the policymakers had created.

Poor Will’s Almanack for the Third Week of Early Fall.

Wind comes in ahead of the first October cold, pulling off foliage from box elders and sycamores, red Virginia creepers, and elms, blowing hickory leaves into the rivers. Early in the morning, Orion lies in the middle of the southern sky. The locust trees and cottonwoods, the grape vines and the milkweed leaves are gold. Black walnut trees are bare.

There's live video now from CNN and Washington's NBC-4 as work begins to have engineers rappel down the sides of the Washington Monument to inspect for damage from the Aug. 23 earthquake that shook much of the eastern U.S.

For many of us, coffee is the first thought of the day. Just thinking about it gives us the buzz, the energy and the power to ask ourselves the next question, do I make it at home or shell out another $4 at the local Starbucks as I race to work?

The vast majority of parents get their kids vaccinated, but a persistent minority decline to do so.

Their reasons vary: Some continue to worry about a link with autism even though research supporting a connection has been completely discredited. Others are concerned about side effects, or they say they don't believe that the diseases the vaccines prevent are really all that serious.

Last week the state of Texas said it would no longer let condemned prisoners order practically anything they want for their last meals before execution.