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ByMarciaDunn TheAssociatedPress CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. Thesolarsystemmayhave a ninth planet after all. This one is 5,000 times bigger than outcast Pluto and billions of miles far- ther away, say scientists who presented "good evi- dence" for a long-hypothe- sized Planet X on Wednes- day. The gas giant is thought to be almost as big as its nearest planetary neigh- bor Neptune, quite possi- bly with rings and moons. It's so distant that it would take a mind-blowing 10,000 to 20,000 years to circle the sun. Planet 9, as the pair of California Institute of Technology researchers calls it, hasn't been spot- ted yet. They base their prediction on mathemat- ical and computer model- ing, and anticipate its dis- covery via telescope within five years or less. The two reported their research Wednesday in the Astronomical Journal be- cause they want people to help them look for it. "We could have stayed quiet and quietly spent the next five years searching the skies ourselves and hoping to find it. But I would rather somebody find it sooner, than me find it later," as- tronomer Mike Brown told The Associated Press. "I want to see it. I want to see what it looks like. I want to understand where it is, and I think this will help." Brown and planetary scientist Konstantin Baty- gin feel certain about their prediction, which at first seemed unbelievable to even them. "For the first time in more than 150 years, there's good evidence that the planetary census of the solar system is incom- plete," Batygin said, refer- ring to Neptune's discov- ery as Planet 8. Once it's detected, Brown insists there will be no Pluto-style plane- tary debate. Brown ought to know; he's the so-called Pluto killer who helped lead the charge against Pluto's planetary status in 2006. (Once Planet 9, Pluto is now officially considered a dwarf planet.) "THIS is what we mean when we say the word 'planet,' " Brown said. Brown and Batygin be- lieve it's big — 10 times more massive than Earth — and unlike Pluto, dom- inates its cosmic neigh- borhood. Pluto is a gravi- tational slave to Neptune, they pointed out. Another scientist, Alan Stern, said he's withhold- ing judgment on the planet prediction. He is the prin- cipal scientist for NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which buzzed Pluto last summer in the first-ever visit from Planet Earth. He still sees Pluto as a real planet — not a second- class dwarf. "This kind of thing comes around every few years. To date, none of those predicts have been borne out by discoveries," Stern said in an email Wednesday. "I'd be very happy if the Brown-Baty- gin were the exception to the rule, but we'll have to wait and see. Prediction is not discovery." Brown and Batygin shaped their calculation on the fact that six objects in the icy Kuiper Belt, or Twilight Zone on the far reaches of the solar system, appear to have orbits influ- enced by only one thing: a real planet. The vast, mys- terious Kuiper Belt is home to Pluto as well. Brown actually discov- ered one of these six ob- jects more than a decade ago, Sedna, a large minor planet. "What we have found is a gravitational signature of Planet 9 lurking in the out- skirts of the solar system,' Batygin said. The actual discovery, he noted, will be "era-defining." Added Brown: "We have felt a great disturbance in the force." Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington said Brown and Batygin's effort takes his own find- ings to "the next level." Two years ago, he and a colleague suggested a pos- sible giant planet. "I find this new work very exciting," Sheppard said in an email. "It makes the distant Super-Earth planet in our solar system much more real. I would say the odds just went from 50 percent to 75 per- cent that this distant mas- sive planet is real." Depending on where this Planet 9 is in its egg- shaped orbit, a space tele- scope may be needed to confirm its presence, the researchers said. Or good backyard telescopes may spot it, they noted, if the planet is relatively closer to us in its swing around the sun. It's an estimated 20 billion to 100 billion miles away. ASTRONOMY New evidence points to giant 9th planet on solar system edge THEASSOCIATEDPRESS This artistic rendering provided by California Institute of Technology shows the distant view from Planet Nine back towards the sun. By Sara Burnett and Sophia Tareen The Associated Press CHICAGO Backed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, top Illinois Republicans called Wednes- day for a state takeover of the financially troubled Chi- cago Public Schools, which faces a nearly $1 billion budget deficit that could lead to thousands of teacher layoffs and a possible strike in a matter of months. Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno called the plan a "lifeline" for CPS and Rauner said it's a way to protect children and tax- payers, though Democrats quickly shot down the idea. Radogno and House Re- publican Leader Jim Dur- kin said the legislation would give the Illinois State Board of Education con- trol over the nation's third- largest school district. They also noted that GOP law- makers may reveal a bank- ruptcy plan for CPS and the city of Chicago in the com- ing weeks, but didn't offer many details. "What we're proposing is a lifeline," Radogno said of CPS, which has a massive unfunded pension liabil- ity. "We didn't come to this lightly, but the track record of Chicago and its public school system is abysmal." The plan calls for the state schools superinten- dent, who is chosen by a governor-appointed board, to name up to seven mem- bers of an independent authority that would es- sentially replace Chica- go's school board, which is chosen by the mayor. They would also negotiate teacher contracts, though Republicans said the au- thority wouldn't be able to "unilaterally cancel or mod- ify" existing agreements. At least seven districts in Illinois have come under state management since 2003, including East St. Louis in 2012, which was fought hard by people in the struggling St. Louis suburb. Rauner announced his support for the takeover not long after Radogno and Durkin's news confer- ence, saying a new board and superintendent would "stand up for children and stand up for taxpayers the way the current adminis- tration has failed to do." He also said that would in- clude standing firm in ne- gotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union on a new contract rather than using state money to help CPS, as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has requested. But Democrats — who hold big majorities in both chambers of the Illinois Legislature, are close allies of Emanuel and are locked with Rauner on a long-over- due state budget — blasted the plan almost immedi- ately. "This is not going to hap- pen," Senate President John Cullerton said, calling the idea and a distraction from the state's other problems. Currently, Chicago tax- payers cover the cost of city teachers' pensions, while taxpayers statewide con- tribute to retirement funds for teachers outside Chicago — a system Emanuel argues is unfair because Chicago residents pay twice. EDUCATION Ra un er , GO P le ad er s wa nt s ta te takeover of Chicago schools "What we're proposing is a lifeline. We didn't come to this lightly, but the track record of Chicago and its public school system is abysmal." — Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno By Kristena Hansen and Terrence Petty The Associated Press SALEM, ORE. Oregon's governor expressed an- ger Wednesday over fed- eral authorities' handling of the occupation of a na- tional wildlife refuge by an armed group and said she intends to bill the U.S. gov- ernment for what the occu- pation is costing state tax- payers. Gov. Kate Brown said federal officials "must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers account- able." "The residents of Har- ney County have been over- looked and underserved by federal officials' response thus far. I have conveyed these very grave concerns directly to our leaders at the highest levels of our government: the U.S. De- partment of Justice and the White House," she said at a news conference. Exasperated by a tense situation that has caused fear among local residents since it began Jan. 2, Brown said, "This spectacle of law- lessness must end, and un- til Harney County is free of it, I will not stop insisting that federal officials en- force the law." She said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dol- lars. She didn't say what those costs entailed. "We'll be asking federal officials to reimburse the state for these costs," she said. Federal authorities did not immediately return calls seeking comment. Brown had originally called the news conference to discuss her agenda for the upcoming legislative session, but she focused on the occupation by Am- mon Bundy and his armed group of the Malheur Na- tional Wildlife Refuge in remote southeastern Ore- gon. People living in the area strongly voiced their views at a community meeting Tuesday night in Burns, 30 miles north of the refuge. It was the most pointed dem- onstration yet of local res- idents' desire that Bundy and his group go home. Several people at the meeting spoke directly to Ammon Bundy, who showed up with his brother Ryan and other occupi- ers. One woman thanked him for drawing attention to ranchers' complaints about management of fed- eral lands but told him it's time to go home. "Ammon, you need to go home to your family, thank you," said Jennifer Williams. Also at the meeting was Harney County Judge Steve Grasty, who has been at the forefront of efforts among locals to show Bundy and his followers they are not welcome. "Mr. Bundy walked in with his crowd," Grasty told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "They came into a school, packing their firearms, and strategically spread around the room." Grasty said Bundy — who is not from Oregon — should get the point that he and his followers need to go back to their home states and leave Harney County alone. "It seems like he's out of touch with reality," Grasty told the AP from Burns. STANDOFF ANDY NELSON — THE REGISTER-GUARD A protester holds up a sign during a rally against the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by Ammon Bundy and his armed followers, while joining the rally at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon. Oregon governor calls on feds to act against armed group Pleasecallore-mailtosayyou'llbethere, and what group(s) you'll be representing! 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