Sounding more like an episode of The X-Files than official government news (or maybe it’s not that crazy after all … ) comes confirmation from our political leaders that there is ” … no evidence that any life exists outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted or engaged any member of the human race.” Awesome. The White House responded to several recent petitions that called for a formal statement regarding U.S. government contact with alien beings. The request was signed by thousands of people since ” … more than 50% of the American people believe there is an extraterrestrial presence and more than 80% believe the government is not telling the truth about this phenomenon.” The petitions stem from an Obama administration initiative called “We the People” that assigns White House staffers to answer questions for the general public. 25,000 online signatures are required to take action — a number bumped up from its former 5,000 requirement (for obvious reasons). [via TIME]