White House says no evidence of extraterrestrials

Sorry, E.T. lovers - the White House says it has no evidence that extraterrestrials exist.

The White House made the unusual declaration in response to a feature on its website that allows people to submit petitions that administration officials must respond to if enough people sign.

In this case, more than 5,000 people signed a petition demanding that the White House disclose the government's knowledge of extraterrestrial beings, and more than 12,000 signed another petition seeking formal acknowledgement of an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race.

In response, Phil Larson of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy wrote that the U.S. government has no evidence life exists outside Earth, or that any extraterrestrial presence has contacted any member of the human race. (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)