The Telegraph (UK) reports that betting officials have slashed the odds that either Prime Minister David Cameron or President Barack Obama would admit that aliens exist within one year from placing the bet, from 100/1 to 80/1.

Betting officials have experienced a surge of bets after the declassification of files that show that Winston Churchill banned a “bizarre” UFO incident from disclosure. Churchill issued the order due to fears of mass hysteria and loss of faith in religion.

The incident in question involved a reconnaissance plane and its crew that was approached by a metallic UFO, which subsequently shadowed them on the English coast.

The files in question can be viewed online at the UK National Archives.

A spokesperson from William Hill, one of the largest bookmakers in the UK, says:  “We have had loads of calls. There are thousands of believers out there many of whom are putting their money on an imminent announcement.”

On a related note, Bet or Trade reports that William Hill has teamed up with the Fortean Times for a paranormal photo competition. You can earn four figures if your photo is selected. There are three categories in which you can enter your photos: extraterrestrial, paranormal and cryptozoological.

To enter your photos, and for full terms and conditions, visit : www.forteantimes.com

While our eyes are turned to the sky this summer with mass UFO sightings, we should also be on the lookout for another type of UFO in the sky: reportedly giant birds.

An event that occurred 33 years ago triggered a period of mass sightings of the mythical Thunderbird.

On July 25, 1977, three little boys were playing in a Lawndale, Illinois back yard when two giant birds swooped down on them. Two of the boys ran away, but the birds shifted their focus toward the third boy: ten-year-old Marlon Lowe.

One of the birds clamped onto the boy’s shoulders and reportedly attempted to fly off with him. The boy was reportedly lifted two feet off the ground by the bird before he fought back against it, which caused the bird to lose its grip on him. Some accounts report that the boy was lifted up to ten feet off the ground.

The good news is that the boy escaped the clutches of the bird.

“Thunderbird is a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures, generally identified with the Thunderbird of Native American tradition. Similar cryptids reported in the Old World are often called Rocs. Thunderbirds are regarded by a small number of researchers as having lizard features like the extinct pterosaurs such as Pteranodon. Although reports of Thunderbird sightings go back centuries, due to the lack of scientific evidence (such as a fossil record), the creature is generally regarded as a myth.”- Source: Wikipedia

Thunderbirds haven’t escaped the clutches of the media, especially in the Grand Canyon State. The earliest known published account of a giant bird can be found in a Tombstone, Arizona newspaper.

In April of 1890, two cowboys were said to have killed one. The men said it had the face of an alligator, smooth skin and featherless bat-like wings. The description matched that of a prehistoric pterodactyl.

A photograph of the dead Thunderbird was said to have been published in the Tombstone Epitaph.

However, searches through the paper’s archive for a photo have proved to be as illusive as the Thunderbird itself. Archives do not reveal a photograph, but simply an article about a dead bird with a 16-foot wingspan.

Since posting the article about the Malaysia UFO, and the submitted blurry photograph as a separate post, I have received emails from readers in Malaysia who feel that I dismissed the Malaysia UFO photo too quickly.

I posted the one reader submitted photo on my blog and dismissed it as a cloud.

Rarely will I post photographs into my articles. Photographs can be easily manipulated. I do sometimes post photos to showcase locations that I write about. Sometimes, I post them as examples rather than evidence.  On occasion, I will provide a link to readers to view a photo on another website.

To be fair, I am not a meteorologist, so my assessment of the object as a cloud or sun dog is only the evaluation of an amateur. Also, I am not a photographic expert, though I see what I see and form my own opinion as a result.

While mulling over the decision over whether to post reader submitted items, I had to ask myself if I actually know what a UFO from somewhere in outer space looks like. No, I don’t. I do know what Hollywood’s various representations of a UFO looks like. During a recent debate on the subject, I asserted that if extraterrestrials exist and if they are so technologically advanced to travel here, they could make their airship resemble an airplane to stay under the radar, so to speak. On the other hand, maybe they are really tiny and their craft is no bigger than a shoebox.

To be fair, most, if not all of us, really have no clue what a UFO from outer space might look like.

Last night, a reader in Malaysia contacted me and provided four items: a blog post, a Borneo Post article, a clearer photo of the Malaysia UFO and a zoomed in version of the object in question. Rather than incorporate those items into an article, I decided to publish reader submitted evidence in another location on my blog.

On the upper left side of your screen is a new section within Paranormal Old Pueblo: Reader Submissions. A link under this heading reads: “July 2010“.

I will do my best to keep this section updated for those who wish to submit photos or other evidence. I don’t guarantee that I will devote an article to the evidence submitted, however.

You can submit whatever you would like related to the paranormal: UFOs, Ghosts, Cryptozoology, Psychic Phenomena, Lost Treasure, etc.

To submit any evidence you would like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email me.