Weekly World News calls it quits

An angel of death has visited Earth! Aliens have pulled off an abduction! A mystery ailment has claimed a victim!

Such screaming headlines from the Weekly World News - the U.S. tabloid that for 28 years has chronicled sightings of Elvis, extraterrestrial activity and the exploits of Bat Boy - will soon be no more. Its publisher said Tuesday it would put out its last issue next month, maintaining only a Web presence.

The tabloid's publisher, American Media Inc., issued a brief statement that announced the Aug. 27 issue would be Weekly World News' last. It called the closure necessary "due to the challenges in the retail and wholesale magazine marketplace that have impacted the newsstand."

For all the headlines WWN has penned it has also made headlines of its own. During a nation-wide anthrax scare in 2001, AMI's office in Boca Raton, Florida, was targeted and a photo editor was killed. It has since focused on lighter fare, including recent headlines "Mother Nature Endorses Gore for President" and "Why Moses Wandered in the Desert for 40 Years: He Lost the Map!"

AMI did not immediately respond to questions seeking specifics. The company only said WWN was the smallest of its publications, which include Star, National Enquirer and Men's Fitness.

"The reasons given make no sense," WWN writer Bob Greenberger said on his blog. "We're stunned and shell-shocked."