The history and culture rich travel destination of Japan is chock full of temples, shrines, and festivals, but modern Tokyo can offer much more than a historical tour.

First stop, the Tsukiji fish market. As one of the world’s largest fish markets, it has every manner of fish, mollusk, or mammal that can be found in the sea, but these are not for the purchase of tourists such as you, but instead, for wholesale buyers. But don’t fret, sushi shops surround the market and offer the freshest sushi worldwide for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Of course when in Japan, the home of karaoke, one must partake. Roppongi offers settings varying from the more familiar bar scene to the small Japanese karaoke room with just enough space for three or four people and a karaoke machine. It might even be fun to throw in some Japanese songs to rock you off your singing game!

If you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you might want to attend a sumo tournament, which only takes place a few times a year in select venues. While it is a sport, Sumo is also saturated with Shinto religious elements and ceremony. Sumo is incredibly physical, but it mostly revolves around a mental battle between the two wrestlers, involving timing and anticipation of the opponent’s moves, much like a physical chess game. The Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo has several levels, with seats on the upper levels and floor mats for seating on the lower levels (tickets range from around $30 to $150). Literature explaining the bouts is available in English, but honestly, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Last but certainly not least, Japan’s native cuisine cannot be contended with. You’ll never stay hungry for long in the streets of Tokyo. All you have to do is keep walking and you’ll eventually find something new to try, whether from a vending machine, food stall, traditional restaurant, or the overwhelmingly expensive cutting-edge twists on traditional cuisine. Regardless, there is no shortage of food options in Japan.

Named the prime suspect in the disappearance and murder of a former girlfriend, Brazilian goal keeper, Bruno Fernandes Das Dores de Souza, has refused to address questions regarding his suspected involvement. Criminal investigators in Minas Gerais of Brazil claim the Flamengo football club player orchestrated and viewed the murder of Eliza Samudio, his 25-year-old ex, who remains missing a month after being reported missing.

According to Minas Gerais police investigator, Wagner Pinto, a confession form Souza’s 17-year-old cousin revealed that Souza supposedly watched as Samudio was asphyxiated, mutilated, and fed to dogs. The cousin details his recent criminal involvement with two of Bruno’s friends, Luiz Henrique Ferreira Romao, nicknamed “Spaghetti,” and Marcos Aparecido dos Santos, commonly known as “Bola,” who were accused of being directly responsible for the girl’s torture and murder.

“They tied her hands, and this other individual strangled her,” Pinto said, referring to Santos. “Later they deboned and disemboweled her,” Pinto continued. Samudio’s body was then taken to an undisclosed location where she was reportedly fed to several Rottweilers. According to the cousin, Souza was present the entire event.

Souza’s former attorney, Michel Assef Filho, told reporters Thursday that “Bruno has only said that he has no knowledge of the facts, he is astonished and scared by his cousin’s testimony and that’s it.”

Filho was unable to continue to represent Souza due to his employment by the Flamengo Club, which made the decision to suspend Souza’s contract in light of the allegations.  On Thursday, the Flamengo Club stated it “is not involved in any way” with the case. The club said it is suspending Souza’s contract “until all the facts” are known.

His new attorney, Ercio Quaresma, said Souza, Romao, and dos Santos deny involvement with any of the alleged criminal activity. All three are being held at a high-security prison in Contagem, Minas Gerais, after they were escorted from Rio de Janeiro in a police-chartered jet. Souza and Romao continue to refuse to answer questions and are only two of the seven people arrested in connection with the case, including Souza’s wife, Dayane.

The search continues by the officials for the missing woman’s body.

Recently, the government’s Cash for Appliances program has been slathered with attention for its rebates of up to $500 simply for being willing to trade less energy efficient appliances for more green models. However, these rebates are issued on a first-come, first-served basis, making them rather short lived in some states, but in states like Michigan, there were plenty of greenbacks just itching to be given away at the end of May.

But even if a visit to Energy Savers leaves you unqualified for Cash for Appliances rebates, there are still over 600 utilities programs and over 100 state programs willing to offer incentives for making your home more energy efficient. As an example, Oregon offers a $75 rebate for purchasing an Energy Star washing machine, or a $30 rebate for recycling older refrigerators.

Making energy improvements in your home may qualify you for a $1500 federal tax credit for up to thirty percent of cost, at least through the end of 2010. Another option is the Cash for Caulkers bill, recently passed in May, which would give homeowners robust rebates for a variety of projects centered on making energy improvements. In fact, it may be possible to take the tax credit and still qualify for Cash for Caulkers rebates.

Getting that snazzy rebate might nudge you towards purchasing that brand new washer/dryer set you’ve wanted for a while, but other projects may be more worthwhile in the long run. If you’re unsure as to what projects are ultimately worth your while, a thorough home energy audit will narrow down areas of your home that need improvement, although they may set you back about four hundred dollars. Another option is to look into whether your home state or utilities provider offers basic audits for free or at lower cost.

Don’t worry if you can’t afford to make those energy efficient decisions, there are plenty of little things to do to save energy without extra cost. Your thermostat is one small example, where every degree going up or down will save 2% of annual heating or cooling costs. Replacing five of your most frequently used light bulbs with fluorescents can take the bill down by up to $70. Even getting rid of non-essentials like the extra fridge in the garage for extra drinks or the electric heaters to warm your feet during the winter will save you $200 or more per year.

Recent studies by researchers from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran may lead to the development of a simple in-house blood test to predict the age of individual women at which menopause may start.

This may even be able to be applied to women in the twenties to aid them in making reproduction decisions for the future. Authors of the study, which will be presented in Rome, Monday at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, assert that the test would be useful to guide family planning.

Dr. Jennifer Wu, M.D., an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City that was not directly involved in the study supports the viewpoint that many “women may want to know if they’re OK waiting to start a family till they’re 41 [because] if they know they’re going to start menopause at 45, they may not want to wait.”

However, experts say the test has only been through preliminary experimentation, has not been completely scientifically validated, and is most definitely not ready for widespread medical use.

Dr. Steven Goldstein, M.D., the president-elect of the North American Menopause Society is one such expert, stating that he’s “not sure that this would help with family planning decisions [although] it’s a very interesting first, small, observational study.”

He continues by asserting that “it would be helpful to do a larger trial and see if it pans out and, if so, to what degree of accuracy.”

In the study, researchers measured blood levels of anti-mullerian hormone (AHM) in 266 women who were ages 20 to 49. Viable eggs in the ovaries produce the hormone, making AHM directly proportional to the number left available for reproduction. The subjects were tested three times over a nine-year period, after which a statistical model was used to predict menopause. So far, only 63 of the 266 women in the study reached menopause during the 12-year follow-up period. However, for these 63 women, the test results have accurately represented menopause, give or take around four months.

Currently menopause is defined as a woman’s last menstrual period: confirmed after a full year without periods. As such, menopause cannot be diagnosed before onset, but rather, retrospectively, making the possibility of a test quite the news.

The 30-year-old Pakistani-American suspect in Times Square bombing case, Faisal Shahzad, plead guilty on Monday June 21, to all of the 10 counts he faced.

Shahzad told the court, “I want to plead guilty 100 times because unless the United States pulls out of Afghanistan and Iraq, until they stop drone strikes in Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen and stop attacking Muslim lands, we will attack the United States and be out to get them.”

Shahzad is accused of attempting to set off the failed bomb in a car in Times Square on May 1 of this year. Two days later on May 3, he was arrested while trying to leave the country on a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Shahzad claims that the Taliban gave him $4,000, which used along with almost $5,000 of his own money to pay for the materials used in the attack. “Once I got back to the states, I started working on the plan,” he said. “Getting together what I needed for the bomb. I rented a place in Bridgeport, Connecticut. That is where I built the bomb, put it in the Pathfinder and drove it to Times Square.”

Reporters asked him if he felt badly about the possible innocent children and women that could have been killed as a result of this bomb. He replied, “They don’t see the drones killing children in Afghanistan,” he said. “It’s a war and I’m a part of it….. I would not consider it a crime. … I’m aware it’s a crime in the United States, but I don’t care about the law of the United States.”

Prosecutors will ask for the maximum sentence on the charges during sentencing, which is scheduled for October 5.