The ACN Morning Report -- Friday May 10, 2013

ASSAD SEEKS HEZBOLLAH SUPPORT -- BANGLADESH BUILDING COLLAPSE DEATH TOLL RISES -- NORTH KOREA LAYS OUT CASE AGAINST JAILED AMERICAN -- U.S. NOT SEEKING PERMANENT BASES IN AFGHANISTAN -- OHIO SUSPECT'S RELATIVES SAY HE BEAT THEM -- 7 YEAR OLD BOSTON BOMBING VICTIM HAS 11TH SURGERY -- RAND PAUL, JEB BUSH, MARCO RUBIO AND PAUL RYAN -- GAY MARRIAGE BILL HEADS TO MINN. SENATE -- 3D PRINTED LIBERATOR GUN ATTRACTS TENS OF THOUSANDS

AFTER SYRIA, ASSAD SEEKS HEZBOLLAH SUPPORT

Screenshot Photo

Israel’s alleged attack against Syria seems to have led President Bashar Assad to hunker down and more fully align his regime with the Iran-Hezbollah axis. As he fights for his regime’s survival, holding on to what some analysts say could become an Alawite ministate, he is publicly moving to a more hostile position vis-à-vis Israel and the West.

Assad told a local Lebanese paper that Syria was becoming a resistance state similar to the one Hezbollah has created in Lebanon.

DEATH TOLL FROM BANGLADESH BUILDING COLLAPSE TOPS 1,000

CNN

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) -- More than two weeks after a building in Bangladesh housing factories full of garment workers caved in, the death toll from the South Asian nation's deadliest industrial disaster has surpassed 1,000, authorities said Friday.

For the 17th day, rescue and recovery workers are searching through the nine-story building's tangled wreckage in Savar, a suburb of the capital, Dhaka. During the first several days of dangerous and painstaking work, they got more than 2,400 people out of the rubble alive.

NORTH KOREA DETAILS CHARGES AGAINST JAILED AMERICAN

Reuters

North Korea provided more detail on the alleged activities of jailed American Kenneth Bae early Friday, accusing him of a multiyear effort to foment opposition to the regime that appears to darken prospects for his release.

One thing that wasn’t a surprise was apparent confirmation of his involvement in missionary work, something that has seen other Korean-Americans detained in North Korea in recent years.

SPOKESMAN: U.S. NOT SEEKING PERMANENT BASES IN AFGHANISTAN

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The United States is not seeking permanent military bases in Afghanistan, and any future American presence in the country will be possible only at the invitation of the Afghan government, White House spokesman Jay Carney said here on Thursday.

The spokesman echoed what U.S. President Barack Obama said in response to a statement made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai earlier in the day about Washington's intention to set up nine military bases across the Asian nation after the exit of most U.S. and NATO combat troops by the end of 2014.

OHIO MAN'S EX-RELATIVES SAY HE BEAT THEM, KEPT MANNEQUIN IN HOME

AP

CLEVELAND –  The man accused of holding three women captive for a decade in his Cleveland home terrorized the mother of his children, frequently beating her, playing twisted psychological games and locking her indoors in the years before their relationship disintegrated, her relatives say.

Several relatives of Grimilda Figueroa, who left Ariel Castro years ago and died after a long illness last year, painted a nightmarish portrait of Castro's family life as authorities made public horrifying details of the abuse endured by the imprisoned women.

 SISTER OF BOSTON BOY KILLED IN BOMBING HAS 11TH SURGERY

AP

Jane Richard, the wounded 7-year-old sister of the boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombings, had a crucial 11th surgery Wednesday night but faces more operations to prepare her for an artificial leg, the family said Thursday.

Doctors at Boston Children's Hospital finally closed the wound where one bomb tore off her left leg below the knee April 15, the Richard family wrote on its Tumblr page. She will eventually be fitted with a prosthetic device.

GOP'S RAND PAUL STEPS TOWARD 2016 RUN, JOINS GROWING FIELD

AP

DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Rand Paul says he’s only “considering” running for president. But he’s doing much more than mull it over.

The Kentucky Republican is unabashedly clearing a path to seek the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, with a series of early voting state visits, a beefed-up political operation and a deliberate plan to appeal to mainstream voters and raise his national profile.

MINNESOTA SENATE NEXT STOP FOR GAY MARRIAGE BILL

Photo: Jim Mone

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gay marriage supporters in Minnesota are already in celebration mode after the state House's passage of the bill to legalize it, but there are a few more steps before it gets to the desk of Gov. Mark Dayton.

"It's not time to uncork the champagne yet. But it's chilling," said Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, at a spirited rally in the Capitol rotunda a few minutes after the House voted 75-59 to let same-sex couples start getting married in Minnesota come Aug. 1.

DOWNLOADS FOR 3D PRINTED LIBERATOR GUN REACHES 100,000

The blueprint used to produce a 3D-printed plastic gun has been downloaded about 100,000 times since going online earlier this week, according to Forbes.

Defense Distributed told the news site it was surprised by the amount of interest its Liberator gun had generated.

Earlier in the week, the company demonstrated the firearm being fired

But even before any more guns come off the DIY printing presses, there are moves afoot to ban it.

The ACN Morning Report -- Sunday April 14, 2013

Kerry, Japan and North Korea -- Kerry, China and North Korea -- 6-year-old shot in N.J. -- Trayvon Martin Shooting Targets? -- Warming World = Starvation -- China, U.S. and Cyberspying -- Clash At Guantanamo -- The Gangnam Style Sequel -- Russia Bans 18 Americans

KERRY IN JAPAN FOR TALKS ON NORTH KOREAN TENSIONS

BBC NEWS

US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Japan, the last stop of his four-day Asian tour which has focused on tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has recently threatened attacks against South Korea and the US, sparking alarm in the region.

After meeting China's top leaders on Saturday Mr Kerry said China was "very serious" in its pledge to help resolve tensions with North Korea, its ally.

KERRY HAILS CHINESE PLEDGE ON NORTH KOREA

US Secretary of State John Kerry says China is "very serious" about a pledge to help resolve tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.

Reuters

The US and China earlier said they were committed to the "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula and would hold further meetings on how to do so.

Mr Kerry is now continuing his Asian tour in Tokyo.

N.J. 6-year-old shooting victim mourned

N.J. Press

TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- As they gathered outside St. Joseph's Church on Saturday with tears in their eyes, family, friends and neighbors remembered Brandon Holt as a little boy who was full of life.

Six-year-old Brandon was shot in the head Monday night, police said, by a 4-year-old playmate who had taken a .22-caliber rifle from his house. The 4-year-old fired the rifle accidentally while the two were playing outside. Brandon, the son of Ronald and Christine Holt, was pronounced dead Tuesday.

OFFICER ACCUSED OF HAVING TRAYVON MARTIN TARGETS

AFP/Family Photo

A police officer accused of bringing targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range has been fired, according to several reports.

Port Canaveral, Fla. Interim Chief Executive Officer John Walsh told WFTV on Saturday that Sgt. Ron King was leading a target practice with two other officers and a civilian when he pulled out the targets April 4. Walsh says King asked the group if they wanted to use the targets, and they said no.

MILLIONS FACE STARVATION AS WORLD WARMS

LIBRARY/ALAMY

Millions of people could become destitute in Africa and Asia as staple foods more than double in price by 2050 as a result of extreme temperatures, floods and droughts that will transform the way the world farms.

As food experts gather at two major conferences to discuss how to feed the nine billion people expected to be alive in 2050, leading scientists have told the Observer that food insecurity risks turning parts of Africa into permanent disaster areas. Rising temperatures will also have a drastic effect on access to basic foodstuffs, with potentially dire consequences for the poor.

CHINA, U.S. TO FORM WORKING GROUP ON CYBERSPYING

The U.S. and China have agreed to form a working group on cybersecurity, after a recent volley of cyberspying accusations from both sides.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced from Beijing that the two countries will ramp up action on cybersecurity, Reuters reported.

GUARDS AND DETAINEES CLASH AT GUANTANAMO BAY

CNN

(CNN) -- Guantanamo Bay detainees wielding "improvised weapons" clashed Saturday with guards, an episode that occurred amid simmering tensions at the U.S. military base.

The U.S. guards responded by firing "four less-than-lethal rounds," the military's Joint Task Force Guantanamo said in a statement. No guards or detainees suffered "serious injuries" at the facility in Cuba.

PSY'S GANGNAM STYLE SEQUEL

RUSSIA BANS 18 AMERICAN FROM ENTERING COUNTRY

REUTERS

Moscow listed 18 Americans who are banned from entering Russia in an announcement Saturday – a tit-for-tat measure that comes a day after Washington imposed similar sanctions. The list, which was released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, includes staffers in the Bush administration and two former commanders of Guantanamo Bay.

On Friday, the US Treasury announced financial sanctions and visa bans on 18 Russian officials, the majority of whom were implicated over the arrest and death of the corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky died in a Russian prison in 2009, after being arrested by the same officers he was investigating over a $230m fraud. He was reportedly beaten and denied medical treatment while behind bars.

The ACN Morning Report -- April 10 2013

North Korea's Imminent Threat -- Germany/Japan United Against North Korea -- Quake Strikes Iran -- North Korea Closes China Border -- Cuba Sends American Children Home -- TX Student Stabs 14 -- McConnell Office Bugged? -- Detecting A Nuclear Test -- The Smell Of Semen Is In The Air

US: NORTH KOREA COULD LAUNCH MISSILE TEST AT ANY TIME

Photo: EPA

The Obama administration calculates it's likely North Korea may test fire mobile ballistic missiles at any time, based on the most recent intelligence showing Pyongyang probably has completed launch preparations, a US official told CNN Tuesday.

According to the official, a test launch could happen without North Korea issuing a standard notice to commercial aviation and maritime shipping warning them to stay away from the missile's path.

GERMANY GIVES SUPPORT TO JAPAN AGAINST NORTH KOREA

Wikipedia

THE HAGUE —

Japan can count on German solidarity in the face of escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Tuesday, as North Korea stepped up its saber-rattling.

“There is a clear message from the government of our country… that Japan can count on solidarity and other peaceful countries can count on that solidarity,” Westerwelle told journalists in The Hague.

QUAKE HITS NEAR IRAN CITY OF BUSHEHR, 37 DEAD

Reuters

A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 37 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages, Iranian media reported.

The 6.3 magnitude quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it.

NORTH KOREA CLOSES CHINA BORDERS TO TOURISTS

AFP

The biggest border crossing between North Korea and China has been closed to tourist groups, a Chinese official says, as nuclear tensions mounted, but business travel was allowed to continue.

"Travel agencies are not allowed to take tourist groups to go there, since the North Korean government is now asking foreign people to leave," the official at the Dandong Border Office said.

CUBA SENDS AMERICAN COUPLES' CHILDREN BACK TO U.S.

HAVANACuba on Tuesday said it would hand over to the United States a Florida couple who allegedly kidnapped their two young sons from the mother's parents and fled by boat to Havana.

U.S. diplomats in Havana said in a statement early Wednesday that the two children had left Cuba and "are safely on their way home." The statement did not mention whether the parents had left for the U.S.

TEXAS COLLEGE STUDENT STABS, WOUNDS 14

Reuters

(Reuters) - A community college student who said he had fantasized since childhood about stabbing people to death went on a slashing spree at his Houston campus on Tuesday, wounding at least 14 people, two of them critically, before bystanders subdued him, police said.

The suspect, identified as Lone Star College student Dylan Quick, 20, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault stemming from the rampage, carried out with a weapon described by the Harris County Sheriff's Department as a "razor-type knife."

McConnell Says Foes Bugged Office

POLITICO

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell accused political opponents of bugging his campaign headquarters after a recording of a private meeting with his aides was posted on Mother Jones magazine’s website.

During the Feb. 2 strategy session in Louisville, the Kentucky Republican and his aides discussed ways to attack potential Democratic adversaries in the 2014 campaign, including actress Ashley Judd, according to the audio recording. Judd said last month she wouldn’t challenge McConnell.

HOW TO DETECT A NUCLEAR BOMB ON YOUR PHONE

WWW.FOREIGNPOLICY.COM

When Mita bought her new iPhone, she had opted-in to the "citizen-scientist" program. Her smartphone was continually monitoring and storing data from built-in motion sensors, from the GPS receiver, and from the newly developed MEMS Krypton and CO₂ gas sensors. Yes, buying the new "green" iPhone had cost a bit more, but Mita wanted to do something to support the new carbon emissions treaty and the president's vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. Only 10 percent of smartphone buyers had chosen this more expensive option, but that still amounted to hundreds of thousands of verification sensors in Mita's country alone.

YOUR STREET PROBABLY SMELLS LIKE SEMEN RIGHT NOW

www.theawl.com

In a mild April night some years ago, I walked past a college dorm in New Haven and smelled something I couldn’t place. It reminded me vaguely of swimming pools. Was it chlorine? I sniffed again, more deeply than before. Suddenly I knew exactly what it was and hurried away, internally berating an unseen teenage boy. A few evenings later, in the same spot, I smelled it again. Filled with a sense of moral outrage I looked around, I looked up, and identified the culprit: A tree.

More precisely, a Callery Pear, or Pyrus calleryana, a deciduous tree that’s common throughout North America. It blossoms in early spring and produces beautiful, five-petaled white flowers—that smell like semen.

The ACN Morning Report -- Monday April 8, 2013

WikiLeaks Publishes 1.7 Million Records -- Palestinian Leader Warns Of Slipping Opportunity -- North Korea May Be Preparing Nuclear Test...Or Not -- US Diplomat To Afghanistan Killed -- A Deal On Immigration? One Senator Thinks So -- White House Asks GOP For Compromise -- Clinton Hints Clinton May Run in '16 -- China's Bird Flu Outbreak -- Gas Prices Are Dropping

WIKILEAKS PUBLISHES 1.7M DIPLOMATIC RECORDS

Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

WikiLeaks has published more than 1.7m US records covering diplomatic or intelligence reports on every country in the world.

The data, which has not been leaked, comprises diplomatic records from the beginning of 1973 to the end of 1976, covering a variety of diplomatic traffic including cables, intelligence reports and congressional correspondence.

PALESTINIAN LEADER WARNS WINDOW CLOSING FOR LASTING TWO-STATE SOLUTION 

Majdi Mohammed/AP

Time is running out on the two-state solution for Middle East peace and the current push to relaunch peace talks may be “the last opportunity,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warns.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail at his presidential compound in Ramallah, the Palestinian leader, in the midst of an intense round of international diplomacy aimed at reviving the moribund peace process, insisted he can make a deal, but time is slipping away. “I think there was some opportunities in the past, but unfortunately we missed these opportunities,” he said.

NORTH KOREA TESTS NOT IMMINENT SAYS SOUTH

Image Credit: GeoEye

A defence ministry spokesman said while activity had been detected at the Punggye-ri underground test site, it appeared to be routine.

South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae had earlier said there were indications a test was being prepared.

Meanwhile the North has said it is withdrawing all its workers from the shared Kaesong industrial complex.

FATHER: YOUNG US DIPLOMAT KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN DIED DOING WHAT SHE LOVED

(AP Photo/Courtesy of Tom Smedinghoff) (The Associated Press)

CHICAGO –  The family of an American diplomat who was among those killed in a terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan is taking solace in knowing she died doing what she loved.

Anne Smedinghoff, who was killed Saturday, was the first American diplomat to die on the job since last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya.

KEY US SENATOR SEES DEAL THIS WEEK ON IMMIGRATION

WASHINGTON (AP) — A noisy debate over the flawed U.S. immigration system begins in earnest this week as senators finalize a bipartisan bill to secure the border, allow tens of thousands of foreign workers into the country and grant eventual citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living here illegally.

Negotiators warned of struggles ahead, but all involved are optimistic that it's time to make the biggest changes to the nation's immigration laws in more than a quarter-century.

WHITE HOUSE ASKS GOP FOR COMPROMISE ON BUDGET DEAL

Associated Press

The Obama administration said Sunday that it is searching for rank-and-file Republicans willing to work with the president on a budget deal who “don’t think compromise is a dirty word.”

The outreach was made just days before President Obama plans to formally unveil his proposed 2014 federal budget, but details of the blueprint that leaked early have Republican leaders and Mr. Obama’s liberal base fuming.

HILLARY MAY RUN FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN 2016 HINTS BILL CLINTON

REUTERS

Washington: Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State, could run for the 2016 presidential elections, her husband Bill Clinton has hinted.

Bill Clinton, one of the most popular American presidents in recent past, added fuel to the speculation when at an event on Saturday night he said that the country would have some good choices in the 2016 presidential elections.

CHINA'S BIRD FLU OUTBREAK NOT CAUSE FOR PANIC: WHO

REUTERS

(Reuters) - A strain of bird flu that has been found in humans for the first time in eastern China is not a cause for panic, the World Health Organization said on Monday, as the number of people infected rose to 21, with six deaths.

The WHO praised China for mobilizing resources nationwide to combat the H7N9 flu strain by culling tens of thousands of birds and monitoring hundreds of people close to those infected.

GAS PRICES ARE GOING DOWN, AND THE TREND COULD CONTINUE

Photo Credit: Yakima Herald

The extra weekly cash incentive that Brad Hurd receives as a courier is tied to gas prices.

When gas prices were going up, his boss would have to cut those incentives to make up for the higher fuels costs for company vehicles, leading to a smaller paycheck for the Yakima resident.

But as gas prices in Yakima have dropped over the year, Hurd saw that incentive increase from $25 a week to $100.

The ACN Morning Report -- Thursday, April 4, 2013

North Korea Moves Missiles Towards U.S. -- Carnival Cruise Lines, The US Military, and Senator Jay Rockefeller -- Disney Shutters Lucas Arts -- Anonymous Threatens North Korea -- The IRS Could Do Your Taxes -- Triumph In Trouble -- Obama To Give 5% For Sequester -- U.S. Sends Missile Defenses To Guam -- Fort Knox Temporarily Locked Down

NORTH KOREA SEEN MOVING MID-RANGE MISSILE TO EAST COAST

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has moved what appears to be a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Thursday, quoting multiple government sources privy to intelligence from U.S. and South Korean authorities.

It was not clear if the missile was mounted with a warhead or whether the North was planning to fire it or was just putting it on display as a show of force, one South Korean government source was quoted as saying.

CARNIVAL RESPONDS TO SENATOR: NO WAY WE'RE PAYING FOR TRIUMPH

Carnival Corp. indicated in a couple of letters to Senator Jay Rockefeller that it has no intent to reimburse the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy for assistance in the recent Carnival Triumphaccident, the 2010 Carnival Splendor incidents, or any future problem where they require help from the U.S. government to aid a distressed vessel.

The senator from West Virginia penned a letter March 14 to Carnival CEO Micky Arison alleging that the U.S. Coast Guard responded to 90 “serious events” involving Carnival ships over five years, and that the Coast Guard and Navy had shelled out $4.2 million to cover the Carnival Triumph and Carnival Splendorincidents. The senator asked whether Carnival, since it pays “little or nothing in federal taxes,” will reimburse the Coast Guard and Navy.

DISNEY SHUTS DOWN LUCAS ARTS, CANCELS STAR WARS 1313 AND STAR WARS: FIRST ASSAULT 

Staff were informed of the shutdown this morning, according to a reliable Kotaku source. Some 150 people were laid off, and both of the studio's current projects—Star Wars: First Assault and Star Wars 1313—were cancelled. Disney will still use the LucasArts name to license games, but the studio is no more.

Publicly, Disney is saying their current games could be licensed out to a different publisher or developer, but according to our source, that's unlikely. Our source says Lucas has pursued the option for "one or both games," but nothing happened. "With the teams now basically being dispersed I think both games are effectively dead forever," our source said.

ANONYMOUS  THREATENS CYBERWAR ON NORTH KOREA, STEALS 15,000 PASSWORDS

Notorious hacking group Anonymous has targeted pedophiles, corrupt governmentsand financial institutions, however its latest target may be its most audacious yet. The group says that it has begun a new initiative called “Operation Free Korea” and is demanding controversial leader Kim Jong-un resign and install free democracy in the Asian country. Other demands include having North Korea abandon its nuclear ambitions and for the government to give universal and uncensored Internet access to its citizens. Anonymous hackers claim to have access to the country’s local intranets, mail servers and Web servers and are threatening to wage war if their demands are not met.

“We got all over 15k membership records of Uriminzokkiri.com and many more,” the group wrote. “First we gonna wipe your data, then we gonna wipe your badass dictatorship ‘government.’”

FILING TAXES: IT SHOULDN'T BE SO HARD

IN 2010 a panel created by the White House estimated that American taxpayers spend 7.6 billion hours and some $140 billion a year keeping the IRS off their backs. According to theWashington Post over 80% of taxpayers use software or pay someone to file their taxes. The national taxpayer advocate, a sort-of in-house IRS watchdog, once said, "If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States." But of course, it is an industry.

It is an industry made up of accountants and companies like H&R Block and Intuit, which makes the TurboTax software used by many Americans. And it is an industry that,according to ProPublica, has worked hard to keep the IRS from preparing your tax returns for you for free. Intuit, for example, has spent millions lobbying the federal government, opposing bills that would allow the IRS to send you pre-filled-in returns (the agency already has most of your relevant information) and supporting bills that would ban the practice.

CARNIVAL TRIUMPH BREAKS FROM DOCK

(CNN) -- The Coast Guard is searching for a man knocked into the Mobile River after high winds hit the area Wednesday, blowing the man's security guard hut into the water and causing the Carnival Triumph cruise ship to break loose from its repair dock.

The call to the Coast Guard came in at 1:45 p.m. CT as near hurricane-force winds smacked the Gulf Coast city of Mobile, Alabama.

OBAMA WILL RETURN 5% OF SALARY FOR BUDGET

President Obama plans to return 5 percent of his salary to the Treasury in solidarity with federal workers who are going to be furloughed as part of the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester, an administration official said Wednesday.

The voluntary move would be retroactive to March 1, the official said, and apply through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in September. The White House came up with the 5 percent figure to approximate the level of spending cuts to nondefense federal agencies that took effect that day.

U.S. TO SEND MISSILE DEFENSES TO GUAM OVER NORTH KOREA THREATS

(Reuters) - The United States said it would soon send a missile defense system to Guam to defend it fromNorth Korea, as the U.S. military adjusts to what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called a "real and clear danger" from Pyongyang.

Hours later, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said North Korea had moved what appeared to be a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast. It was not clear if the North planned to fire the rocket or was just putting it on display as a show of force, one South Korean government source was quoted as saying.

ARMY EMPLOYEE SHOT, KILLED AT FORT KNOX IN KY

Army officials are investigating a fatal shooting that caused a temporary lockdown at Fort Knox on Wednesday evening.

A male victim was shot in a parking lot on the base about 5:40 p.m. The victim was transported to the Ireland Army Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The ACN Morning Report -- Wednesday March 3, 2013

"Right To Know" Act -- Jane Henson Dies -- Saudi Arabia Will Let Women Ride...But Only For Fun -- What Goes On In North Korea -- Israel Launches Rockets To Gaza -- The Family Protection Ordinance -- Abortion In Ala. Just Got Harder -- In School Safety Question Are Guns The Answer?

NEW CALIFORNIA "RIGHT TO KNOW" ACT WOULD LET CONSUMERS FIND OUT WHO HAS THEIR PERSONAL DATA AND GET A COPY OF IT

Let’s face it: most of us have no idea how companies are gathering and sharing our personal data. Colossal data brokers are sucking up personal facts about Americans from sourcesthey refuse to disclose. Digital giants like Facebook are teaming up with data brokers inunsettling new ways. Privacy policies for companies are difficult to read at best and can change in a heartbeat. And even savvy users are unlikely to fend off the snooping eyes of online trackers working to build profiles of our interests and web histories.

So what can we do about it? A new proposal in California, supported by a diverse coalition including EFF and the ACLU of Northern California, is fighting to bring transparency and access to the seedy underbelly of digital data exchanges. The Right to Know Act (AB 1291) would require a company to give users access to the personal data the company has stored on them—as well as a list of all the other companies with whom that original company has shared the users' personal data—when a user requests it. It would cover California residents and would apply to both offline and online companies. If you live in California, click here to support this bill.

'MUPPETS' JANE HENSON DIES AT 78

Disney

Jane Henson, who with her future husband and fellow puppeteer Jim Henson was instrumental in bringing the Muppets to life in the 1950s on a TV station in Washington, D.C., died Tuesday at her home in Greenwich, Conn., after a long battle with cancer. She was 78.

Jane met Jim in a puppetry class in 1954 when she was a fine arts education major at the University of Maryland. While still an undergraduate, Jim was offered a job on NBC affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, and he asked Jane to join him as a co-performer and creator.

SAUDI ARABIA WILL LET WOMEN RIDE BICYCLES BUT ONLY FOR FUN

Reuters

Could Saudi Arabia's laws restricting the free movement of women be softening? Reports from the country's Al-Yawm newspaper suggest that women will now be able to ride bicycles and motorbikes in the Saudi kingdom.

NORTH KOREA DEFECTORS RETURN RHETORICAL FIRE

Seoul (CNN) -- The world knows North Korea for its loud and over-the-top warmongering rhetoric about the U.S. But the true war is being fought in whispers, across secret phone lines and smuggled radios. And it's those whispers that reveal how close the peninsula may be to an actual war.

"North Koreans want to go to war soon and unite the country. They want to get out of their difficult lives through war," said Kim Seong Min, with Free North Korea Radio. "North Koreans are not getting any information from the outside world. They think they will win if a war breaks out."

ISRAEL LAUNCHES AIR STRIKES ON GAZA

Israeli warplanes struck targets in the Gaza Strip today in response to rocket fire toward southern Israel.

They were the first air strikes launched by Israel since an informal ceasefire ended eight days of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza.

An Israeli military statement said its planes targeted "two extensive terror sites" with "accurate hits".

GEORGIA TOWN TO REQUIRE GUN OWNERSHIP

NELSON — After weeks of national media attention and debate among residents, members of the Nelson City Council stuck to their guns Monday and unanimously voted to enact a law that requires every head of household within its city limits to own a firearm.

The Family Protection Ordinance is a brief two-paragraph piece of legislation, which City Councilman Duane Chronic said Monday was “copied and pasted” from a similar law passed by the city of Kennesaw some 30 years ago. 

ALA. LAWMAKERS TIGHTEN RULES FOR ABORTION CLINICS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers late Tuesday gave final passage to a measure placing stricter regulations on clinics that provide abortions.

The state House voted 68-21 to give final passage to the Women's Health and Safety Act. The vote came hours after the state Senate voted 20-10 to approve the bill after amending the measure to require clinics to tell patients what medications they had received.

NRA DETAILS PLAN FOR ARMED TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS

WASHINGTON — With the Senate set to debate gun control this month, a National Rifle Association task force released a 225-page report on Tuesday that called for armed police officers, security guards or staff members in every American school, and urged states to loosen gun restrictions to allow trained teachers and administrators to carry weapons.

Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican congressman from Arkansas who led the task force, unveiled the report at a packed news conference with unusually heavy security, including a bomb-sniffing yellow Labrador retriever. A dozen officers in plain clothes and uniforms stood watch as he spoke; one warned photographers to “remain stationary” during the event.