A 7.4 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific, 100 miles east of Atka, Alaska, has put a tsunami warning into effect. A second quake, this one measuring 7.2, struck the same region a half-minute later. Yikes! [Reuters]

Two days ago, we reported on the Church of Scientology's junk science relief efforts in Japan, through its Volunteer Ministry program. Now we have materials the church uses to recruit members for the ministry, which is "an effective way of getting Scientology applied on a broad, grass-roots level through the society."

Some upbeat news for the Japanese tourism industry: The country may have just upgraded their ongoing nuclear disaster to Chernobyl-levels, but as of this coming Friday, Tokyo Disneyland will reopen its gates to visitors.

Good news from the misguided cult members who delivered Travolta-endorsed junk science to a quake-ravaged Haiti: Scientology "volunteer ministers" are in Japan, touch-healing homeless tsunami victims, according to a celebratory press release issued today.

Officials in Japan are using bath salts to dye highly radioactive water in an attempt figure out its path from the leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, the plant's cooling systems are still several months from being restored.

Efforts to plug a leaking reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant with concrete have failed, according to Tokyo Electric officials. They hope a polymer will be able to stop highly radioactive water from seeping into the ocean.

Some Americans living in Japan are sort of worried right now, on account of all the deadly cancer-dust everywhere. Some of them are even leaving for a while, just to be on the safe side. Not Goldman Sachs employees, though.

When is it good news to hear that radiation levels are 100,000 times higher than normal? When you at first thought they were 10 million times higher. Officials at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant say readings of staggeringly high radiation levels in water leaking from a reactor were mistaken. From the AP:

Japan's National Police Agency today released updated figures on the human toll from the devastating earthquake and tsunami: 9,737 people are confirmed dead, and 16,423 are reported missing. [NHK, via]

Nine days after the earthquake and tsunami devastated northern Japan, a 16-year-old boy and his 80-year-old grandmother were pulled alive from the rubble of their home in Ishinomaki City.

Engineers working on restoring the cooling system to Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are making progress, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. He told reporters today, "The situation there is stabilizing somewhat."

If you had any doubt about just how out-of-control Japan's nuclear situation is, take a look at Tokyo Electric Power Company Managing Director Akio Komori, who broke down after a press conference about the stricken Fukushima power plant.

The effort to cool Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant by dropping seawater from helicopters and repairing water pumps is not going well, and engineers suggested today that the entire site might need to be buried under sand and concrete, as was done at Chernobyl 25 years ago. A plant official told reporters today, "It is not impossible to encase the reactors in concrete. But our priority right now is to try and cool them down first."

The Japanese attempt to cool the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant entered a new stage on Thursday morning, as military helicopters dumped sea water on two reactors, hoping to control the temperatures and avoid the release of radioactive steam. But the U.S. government remained pessimistic, and offered to assist any American citizen looking to leave Japan.

Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis escalated on Wednesday, as authorities acknowledged that a second reactor at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have been compromised. All but 50 workers have been evacuated from the complex as radiation levels surged and emergency workers struggle to deal with a fire at yet another reactor.

The clean-up from Japan's earthquake and tsunami will take forever. Cars, boats, and heavy debris are strewn about the grid of flattened houses and stripped buildings. These photos from the past 24 hours show the true scale of this mess.

Amid all of the horrible destruction and human tragedy in Japan following last week's earthquake and tsunami, finally a bit of good news: A 70-year-old woman was found alive in her home in Iwate prefecture by rescuers after it had been washed away in the tsunami. She is suffering from hypothermia, but remains conscious in a hospital. Hopefully she's able to recover quickly. [AP/MSNBC]

Japan is still trying to account for the total damage from last night's devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The death toll is still rising, and, ominously, there may be a radiation leak at one of the country's largest nuclear reactors. Meanwhile on the other side of the Pacific, tsunami waves reached America's west coast today without taking much of a toll. The latest news updates are below.

The search for survivors continues in Japan following the worst earthquake in the country's history, and the monumental damage caused by the quake—and tsunami that followed—remains incalculable. Here are some photos of the scene on the ground from the past 24 hours. [Images via AP]

People are struggling to understand what caused the hugely destructive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. For some, "plate tectonics" and "random chance" isn't good enough. And this month, the moon will be closer to the Earth than it has been since 1993. So now there's a dumb "supermoon" conspiracy theory gaining steam.