Saturday 31 January 2015

Senate Passes Keystone XL Pipeline Bill

Senate Passes Keystone XL Pipeline Bill


The Senate on Thursday passed legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, moving the GOP-controlled Congress one step closer to a showdown with President Obama over the long-stalled project.

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AirAsia captain left seat before jet lost control

AirAsia captain left seat before jet lost control


The captain of the AirAsia jet that crashed into the sea in December was out of his seat conducting an unusual procedure when his co-pilot apparently lost control, and by the time he returned it was too late to save the plane, two people familiar with the investigation said. Details emerging of the final moments of Flight QZ8501 are likely to focus attention partly on maintenance, procedures and training, though Indonesian officials have not ruled out any cause and stress it is too...

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A Ball Pit for Adults Just Opened in London — And Every City Should Have One

A Ball Pit for Adults Just Opened in London — And Every City Should Have One


We're all gonna be better off if we jump on some balls.

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CRTC says no to Internet fast and slow lanes

CRTC says no to Internet fast and slow lanes


Canada has emerged as a leader in prohibiting Internet providers from creating fast and slow lanes that would treat similar content in different ways. With the United States embroiled in a heated battle over net neutrality – millions have written to the U.S. regulator to support rules to prohibit Internet providers from creating fast lanes and slow lanes that would treat similar content in different ways – observers might want to take a closer look at how Canada has emerged as a leader...

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Leafs goalie gives up goal on shot from 114 feet away

Leafs goalie gives up goal on shot from 114 feet away


Not much has been going right for the Arizona Coyotes recently. Fortunately for them, things also have been going poorly for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Coyotes rallied to beat the Maple Leafs 3-1 Thursday night to end a seven-game losing streak. The rally started with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal that typified the Maple Leafs’ bad run. It was scored five seconds into the third period. It was short-handed and worst of all, it was a flip shot from 114 feet away that eluded...

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U.S., Russian make record-breaking balloon flight across Pacific

U.S., Russian make record-breaking balloon flight across Pacific


Two men made a record-breaking voyage from Japan to Mexico using a helium balloon.

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Lizard Squad 'hackers' under cyberattack! @AnonymousUK2015 takes the credit

Lizard Squad 'hackers' under cyberattack! @AnonymousUK2015 takes the credit


The Lizard Squad 'hackers' have been causing a lot of cyber mischief lately, but they've just got a taste of their own medicine. Their website has been taken offline and their Twitter account - @lizardmafia - has been suspended, with a branch of 'hacktivist' group Anonymous taking the credit. The news was announced by Anonymous Protection with a tweet saying: “LizardSquad website has been cleaned out and is offline: lizardpatrol.com.

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YouTube to host and stream own Super Bowl halftime show

YouTube to host and stream own Super Bowl halftime show


Get ready for the Super Bowl , YouTube style.

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Which Saturday Night Live Veteran Is Returning to the Show for the First Time in 30 Years?

Which Saturday Night Live Veteran Is Returning to the Show for the First Time in 30 Years?


Eddie Murphy is returning to Saturday Night Live for the first time in 30 years. The Oscar nominee will help the late-night sketch series celebrate its landmark 40th anniversary along with several other former cast members this February. The last time Murphy was on Saturday Night Live was in 1984. "It just never worked out where the timing was right for me to do it," Murphy told NewsOne about his absence from SNL. "They're having a 40th anniversary...

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Legislation would raise smoking age in California from 18 to 21

Legislation would raise smoking age in California from 18 to 21


Alarmed by the prevalence of tobacco use among teenagers, state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) introduced legislation Thursday that would raise the legal minimum smoking age in California from 18 to 21. Hernandez, who is an optometrist, has support for the bill from health groups including the California Medical Assn., the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Assn., but the legislation is likely to face strong opposition from the tobacco industry.

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NYC pot arrests drop dramatically in wake of policy change

NYC pot arrests drop dramatically in wake of policy change


New York City’s pledge to stop making so many marijuana arrests is playing out on the streets, where arrests and summonses for small-time pot possession have plummeted since the policy change this fall. After a mid-November turn toward violations and summonses instead of misdemeanor arrests for carrying modest amounts of pot, such arrests plunged by 75 percent in December compared to the year before, from about 1,820 to 460, according to state Division of Criminal Justice...

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The cold fusion race just heated up

The cold fusion race just heated up


The E-Cat, or Energy Catalyser, is an alleged cold fusion reactor invented by Andrea Rossi. While many researchers claim to have produced small quantities of excess heat using nickel and hydrogen, Rossi claims he can produce kilowatts and his technology is ready for industry. Rossi's claims are far-fetched, but the E-Cat refuses to go away. Now it appears to have been not only verified, but replicated. Should we start taking Rossi seriously?

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Indian Woman Sues Uber in U.S. Over Alleged Rape

Indian Woman Sues Uber in U.S. Over Alleged Rape


Uber has been the subject of controversy all around the globe. An Indian woman who says she was raped by an Uber driver while she was traveling in his cab in December is suing the San Francisco–based online firm in a U.S. federal court in California, claiming it failed to put in place basic safety procedures while running its car service in India.

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Person scattering human body parts across three blocks of downtown San Francisco may have been caught on camera

Person scattering human body parts across three blocks of downtown San Francisco may have been caught on camera


A person who may have scattered body parts across three blocks of downtown San Francisco on Wednesday was seen on surveillance video, police said. Though authorities have yet to release a detailed description of the person, officers detained two men and a woman in connection with the incident Wednesday, said Officer Grace Gatpandan. All three were released when detectives determined they were not involved.

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Will NFL and NHL lose tax exemption? White House reviewing the idea

Will NFL and NHL lose tax exemption? White House reviewing the idea


The White House says it's reviewing a Republican-backed bill to eliminate the tax exemption for top sports organizations with high revenues

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A Moscow Library Containing Rare UN Documents, Ancient Slavic Texts, and 14 Million books, Burns

A Moscow Library Containing Rare UN Documents, Ancient Slavic Texts, and 14 Million books, Burns


The Moscow library known as INION—the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences—went up in flames on the evening of Jan. 29.

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Friday 30 January 2015

Suge Knight Arrested for Murder After Hit-and-Run

Suge Knight Arrested for Murder After Hit-and-Run


Marion "Suge" Knight was charged with murder and held on $2 million bail after the controversial founder of Death Row Records was involved in a fatal hit-and-run Thursday afternoon, according to CBS Los Angeles.

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EU extends sanctions against Russia

EU extends sanctions against Russia


EU foreign ministers have agreed to extend existing sanctions against Russia until September. At an extraordinary meeting in Brussels, they also agreed to discuss names to add to the list of individuals targeted for EU travel bans and asset freezes. However, they did not agree on imposing new economic sanctions against Russia. The ministers met as fighting raged in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies any involvement in the conflict.

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How Elite Daily's 20-something founders sold their startup to Daily Mail for ~ $50 Million

How Elite Daily's 20-something founders sold their startup to Daily Mail for ~ $50 Million


A nice outcome for the site.

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Full 'Game of Thrones' Season 5 trailer leaks online

Full 'Game of Thrones' Season 5 trailer leaks online


Stay calm, Game of Thrones fanatics; the moment has arrived. HBO screened the final two episodes of Season 4 of GoT Thursday night in IMAX theaters, capping off the viewing with a special airing of the first full trailer for Season 5. And, because this is 2015, someone recorded it on a phone and uploaded it to YouTube for the rest of the Seven Kingdoms to behold.

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Nigeria's escalating Boko Haram nightmare

Nigeria's escalating Boko Haram nightmare


Ali Yusuf has slept rough for days now. He had stayed in the military barracks in Baga, a northeastern Nigerian town near the retreating shores of Lake Chad, when gunfire woke him in the early hours of January 3. "All I could hear was gunshots," he said over the telephone. "Those Boko Haram people came plenty."

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China Further Tightens Its Grip on the Internet

China Further Tightens Its Grip on the Internet


The Chinese authorities are no longer tolerating the workarounds used by millions of people who rely heavily on less-fettered access to the Internet.

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Microsoft to Invest in Rogue Android Startup Cyanogen

Microsoft to Invest in Rogue Android Startup Cyanogen


Microsoft is investing in a hot startup that’s trying to weaken Google’s hold over Android. People familiar with the matter say Microsoft is putting money into Cyanogen, which is building a version of the Android mobile-operating system outside of Google’s auspices.

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Why Putin Will Ultimately Lose

Why Putin Will Ultimately Lose


This is turning out to be a bad week for Europeans hoping to resist the advance of Putinism. Ukraine continues to dither, rather than fight Russian invasion seriously. While Kyiv at last termed Moscow’s violence against their country “aggression,” they demurred from calling it a war, which it is, seemingly not realizing that if Ukraine won’t call this a war, NATO and the rest of Europe never will.

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Mexico insists 43 students are dead

Mexico insists 43 students are dead


Mexico's attorney general says he can prove what happened to 43 students who disappeared in the southern state of Guerrero in September. Jesus Murillo Karam said his team had interviewed 99 people including members of the criminal gang whom he alleges murdered the students. Correspondents say it is the first time he has declared all the students dead.

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EXCLUSIVE: Obama Gives His 'Blueprint for Middle-Class Economics'

EXCLUSIVE: Obama Gives His 'Blueprint for Middle-Class Economics'


America's resurgence is real. With a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production, we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth.

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Seattle Pot Producer Rolling Out 12,000 Joints Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday

Seattle Pot Producer Rolling Out 12,000 Joints Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday


A Seattle-based medical marijuana retailer is anticipating Seahawks fans will want a "super bowl" for Sunday's big game. That's why employees at Solstice are working to roll a staggering number of joints — 12,000 in all — for its special "12th Pack" promotion ahead of Sunday, when the Seahawks face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

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FTC Says Unlimited Data With Throttling Doesn't Count as Unlimited

FTC Says Unlimited Data With Throttling Doesn't Count as Unlimited


In a case that could have broad implications, the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday ordered prepaid mobile provider TracFone to pay $40 million for slowing down the speeds of customers who had paid for unlimited data service. While the case was specific to TracFone, a number of carriers still offering unlimited service have been slowing down, or throttling, the speeds of customers who use more than a certain amount of data.

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FCC Officially Redefines Broadband As 25 Mbps Down, 3 Mbps Up

FCC Officially Redefines Broadband As 25 Mbps Down, 3 Mbps Up


After hinting at such a move for some time, the FCC today voted (along partisan lines, of course) to bump the standard definition of broadband from 4 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, to 25 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up. It's a change the broadband industry and friends aren't happy with, because it will only further highlight the fact that a lack of competition has left large portions of the country with pricey and slow broadband service.

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$242 Billion High-Speed Beijing-Moscow Rail Link Approved

$242 Billion High-Speed Beijing-Moscow Rail Link Approved


A social media post, published by Beijing’s municipal government yesterday, finally confirmed that China are to go ahead with plans to build a multi-billion dollar high-speed rail link between Beijing and Moscow. The line aims will provide super fast transport across Central Asia and will compete with the Trans-Siberian Railway, cutting travel time between the two countries from six days to two, according to the government’s post on...

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Thursday 29 January 2015

Quit-smoking drug suspected in 30 suicides in Canada

Quit-smoking drug suspected in 30 suicides in Canada


Champix is suspected of playing a major role in the deaths of 44 patients — 30 of them by suicide — since the popular stop-smoking drug was approved in Canada in 2007, a Vancouver Sun investigation has found. The Pfizer drug has also been linked to more than 1,300 incidents of suicide attempts or thoughts, depression, and aggression/anger across the country in the past seven years.

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Russian Jets 'Disrupted UK Aviation'

Russian Jets 'Disrupted UK Aviation'


Russian military planes flying near UK airspace caused "disruption to civil aviation" on Wednesday, the Foreign Office has said.

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Men must prove a woman said 'Yes' under tough new rape rules

Men must prove a woman said 'Yes' under tough new rape rules


New guidance will be issued to all police forces and prosecutors as part of a 'toolkit' to move rape investigations into the 21st century.

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Malaysia Airlines MH370 Declared an 'Accident', Search for Survivors Ends

Malaysia Airlines MH370 Declared an 'Accident', Search for Survivors Ends


The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been officially declared an "accident" and the search for survivors has been called off, authorities said Thursday. A statement released by Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation said that all 239 people aboard the Boeing 777 were now presumed dead.

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"US must return Guantanamo for normal relations" - Raul Castro

"US must return Guantanamo for normal relations" - Raul Castro


Cuban President Raul Castro demanded on Wednesday that the United States return the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, lift the half-century trade embargo on Cuba and compensate his country for damages before the two nations re-establish normal relations. Castro told a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that Cuba and the U.S. are working toward full diplomatic relations but "if these problems aren't resolved...

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ISIS To Obama: 'We Will Cut Off Your Head In The White House'

ISIS To Obama: 'We Will Cut Off Your Head In The White House'


ISIS militants have threatened to behead Obama in the White House in a video released on Jan. 26. The video shows ISIS militants standing in the streets of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, following an artillery barrage on the city by Kurdish Peshmerga forces. In front of the militants is seated a Kurdish soldier who is executed at the end of the video. Prior to the Kurdish soldiers execution, the ISIS executioner delivered a message in Kurdish which was subtitled into Arabic in the video.

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Making GIFs just got easier with Imgur's new GIF creation tool

Making GIFs just got easier with Imgur's new GIF creation tool


Making GIFs just got a whole lot easier. Imgur, the free image- and GIF-hosting website released its new GIF creation tool on Thursday called "Video to GIF" which allows users to create high-quality looping GIFs from videos hosted on the Internet, including ones from YouTube or Vimeo.

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Gas truck blast Rocks Mexico City Hospital, at Least Seven Dead

Gas truck blast Rocks Mexico City Hospital, at Least Seven Dead


An explosion rocked a maternity hospital west of Mexico City Thursday when a leak from a gas truck ignited, destroying a large part of the building and killing at least seven people.

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Nintendo launches YouTube Affiliate Program to give creators 60-70% of ad revenue

Nintendo launches YouTube Affiliate Program to give creators 60-70% of ad revenue


Nintendo have launched a creator's program to offer YouTubers ad revenue.

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Lil Wayne suing Cash Money for $51 million

Lil Wayne suing Cash Money for $51 million


Lil Wayne has filed a lawsuit against his record label Cash Money for $51 million claiming they owe him millions of dollars for his upcoming album 'Tha Carter V'.

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Audi Fully Restores 1956 DKW Electric Schnellaster Van

Audi Fully Restores 1956 DKW Electric Schnellaster Van


Between 1955 and 1962, the Auto Union GmbH in Ingolstadt produced DKW Schnellaster - about 100 of them electric versions targeted toward energy companies, public utilities and battery manufacturers.

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The Thorn Birds Author Colleen McCullough Has Died

The Thorn Birds Author Colleen McCullough Has Died


Author Colleen McCullough, whose 1977 internationally best-selling romantic novel The Thorn Birds was the Fifty Shades of Grey of its time, died Thursday afternoon in a hospital in her native Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. She was 77. McCullough had suffered a series of small strokes, according the paper, which also said her eyesight had failed due to macular degeneration and she was restricted to a wheelchair.

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Michelle Obama forgoes a headscarf and sparks a backlash in Saudi Arabia

Michelle Obama forgoes a headscarf and sparks a backlash in Saudi Arabia


Barack Obama was in Riyadh on Tuesday to pay his respects to the late Saudi King Abdullah. His visit, for which he cut short a much-hyped trip to India, underscores how important the U.S.-Saudi relationship remains to the American leadership. On social media, however, much of the attention has focused on something else: His wife's attire.

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India swine flu outbreak 'kills 75'

India swine flu outbreak 'kills 75'


An outbreak of swine flu in India has killed at least 75 people in just over six weeks, officials say. Health officials said most of the deaths have been reported from the southern state of Telangana and Rajasthan state in the north. Experts investigating the cause of the outbreak say low winter temperatures are to blame. The H1N1 virus, which causes swine flu, first appeared in Mexico in 2009 and rapidly spread around the world.

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Worried super rich 'plotting escape' in case people rise up against inequality

Worried super rich 'plotting escape' in case people rise up against inequality


Super rich hedge fund managers are buying 'secret boltholes' where they can hideout in the event of civil uprising against growing inequality, it has been claimed. Nervous financiers from across the globe have begun purchasing landing strips, homes and land in areas such as New Zealand so they can flee should people rise up. With growing inequality and riots such as those in London in 2011 and in Ferguson and other parts of the USA last year, many financial leaders fear they could become...

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This 88-year-old doctor treats the poor out of his Toyota Camry, and Mississippi wants to punish him for it.

This 88-year-old doctor treats the poor out of his Toyota Camry, and Mississippi wants to punish him for it.


In small-town Mississippi, where poverty is endemic, transportation is limited and a trip to the emergency room can lead to financial ruin, an alternative exists for those in the know. His name is Dr. Landrum — Carrol Frazier Landrum — and, even if your pockets are empty, the 88-year-old physician from Edwards, Miss., will schedule you for an appointment. The State Board of Medical Licensure has asked Carrol Frazier Landrum to relinquish his medical license.

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For some Mainers, a boat in a storm is still home, and it can be quite cozy

For some Mainers, a boat in a storm is still home, and it can be quite cozy


A blizzard is just another challenge for some of the Mainers who spend the winter tied up on the water.

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Northern California hit by Two Earthquakes on Wednesday

Northern California hit by Two Earthquakes on Wednesday


An earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California on Wednesday afternoon.

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Utah parents talked of apocalypse, killed children then selves

Utah parents talked of apocalypse, killed children then selves


Investigators in a case that shocked Utah residents have determined Benjamin and Kristi Strack committed suicide, and that two of their three children found dead in September were given lethal combinations of methadone, cold medicine and other drugs.

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One Week of Harassment on Twitter

One Week of Harassment on Twitter


Ever since I began my Tropes vs Women in Video Games project, two and a half years ago, I’ve been harassed on a daily basis by irate gamers angry at my critiques of sexism in video games. It can sometimes be difficult to effectively communicate just how bad this sustained intimidation campaign really is. So I’ve taken the liberty of collecting a week’s worth of hateful messages sent to me on Twitter. The following tweets were directed at my @femfreq account between 1/20/15 and 1/26/15....

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