LA's Gas Leak Is a Global Disaster

One of the worst environmental disasters of the decade is currently underway in a quiet community 25 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Putrid, methane-rich natural gas has been spewing into the air at an estimated rate of nearly 1,300 metric tons per day for over two months. Experts are calling it the climate version of the BP oil spill, and the leak isn’t going to be contained anytime soon.
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Munich police warn of terror threat - BBC News

Police in the German city of Munich warn that a terror attack may be imminent, evacuating train stations and asking people to avoid crowds.
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'MASH' Star Wayne Rogers Dies at 82

Actor Wayne Rogers dead at 82 from complications from pneumonia.
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The Indian village learning to live in harmony with snow leopards

To stop snow leopards killing valuable livestock, villagers in Himachal Pradesh have changed the way they manage land to increase the endangered cat’s wild prey, while an insurance scheme offers compensation for lost stock.
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Meet "Sledgehammer Shannon," the lawyer who is Uber’s worst nightmare

In early 2012, on a visit to San Francisco, Shannon Liss-Riordan went to a restaurant with some friends. Over dinner, one of her companions began to describe a new car-hailing app that had taken Silicon Valley by storm. "Have you seen this?" he asked, tapping Uber on his phone. "It's changed my life." Liss-Riordan glanced at the little black cars snaking around on his screen. "He looked up at me and he knew what I was thinking," she remembers.
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Locked away: Egypt’s forgotten Jewish literary heritage

Inside a library of a synagogue in downtown Cairo, hundreds of Judaic books dating from the medieval ages to the 20th century are shelved, unread and un-indexed. Despite a center dedicated to their preservation, government ministries have stalled, eschewing responsibility for what would be an expensive project to review and record the manuscripts digitally.
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The Real Villains of San Francisco's Morality Play

A recent This American Life episode, “Poetry of Propaganda,” describes a San Francisco after-school program’s production of an original musical starring young children. “I don't know what I expected,” said the writer Jon Mooallem, whose daughter played a tiny part, “but it wasn't this. Act One opened on a sinister tech-executive meeting with a corrupt mayor and San Francisco's board of supervisors.” fgHis daughter was a 6-year-old kindergartner at the time.
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Why 2016 looks like a breakthrough year for Google Fiber

When it first launched in Kansas City a few years back, Google Fiber wasn’t seen as a real threat to cable ISPs such as Comcast or Time Warner Cable, even though many markets around the country have been clamoring for more broadband competition. However, Google has slowly and steadily been making progress on expanding to more markets and it now looks set to really break through as a real force in the home broadband market starting next year. Let’s go through the reasons.
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Putin's son-in-law boosted by $1.75 billion Russian state loan

The son-in-law of Vladimir Putin stands to benefit from $1.75 billion in cheap finance from the Russian state, a Reuters examination of public documents shows. The money will help fund a petrochemical project at a company in which Kirill Shamalov, husband of Katerina Tikhonova, the Russian president's younger daughter, has a significant interest. Shamalov is a major shareholder in Sibur, Russia's largest processor of petrochemicals.
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Here’s the List of New Netflix Originals Coming in 2016

Netflix is going to have an interesting 2016. We fully expect the lists of new content, specifically that owned by third parties, to continue to shrink each month. Content owners are getting stingier and stingier as they all hope to create their own streaming distribution channels. But Netflix thinks it has the answer: Its own original shows. As the list continues to grow, 2016 will be huge for them competing on homegrown content. With plans to nearly...
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Spain's ancient olive trees under threat from market for garden ornaments

A petition focuses the growing backlash against companies who dig up thousand-year-old trees to sell to wealthy foreigners, from northern Europe to the US and the United Arab Emirates.
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Turbulence injures 21 on Air Canada flight

Twenty-one passengers — including three children — on an Air Canada flight from China have been taken to a Calgary hospital after turbulence caused multiple injuries Wednesday.
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Obamacare Insurers Sweeten Plans With Free Doctor Visits

Health insurers in several big cities will take some pain out of doctor visits in 2016. The plans will offer free visits to primary care doctors in their networks.
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Taking vitamin D may benefit people with multiple sclerosis

Taking a high dose of vitamin D3 is safe for people with multiple sclerosis and may help regulate the body's hyperactive immune response...
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Mexican marijuana farmers see profits tumble as U.S. loosens laws

He started growing marijuana as a teenager and for four decades earned a modest living from his tiny plot tucked at the base of these rugged mountains of western Mexico. He proudly shows off his illegal plants, waist-high and fragrant, strategically hidden from view by rows of corn and nearly ready to be harvested. "I've always liked this business, producing marijuana," the 50-year-old farmer said wistfully. He had decided that this season's crop would be his last.
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American woman mistakenly kills her daughter

Police in Florida say a mother mistook her daughter for an intruder and shot her dead. Sergeant Denise Roberts, of the St Cloud police, said the mother was asleep when she heard someone enter her home late on Tuesday. The mother told police she heard footsteps approaching quickly so she fired a single shot. She then discovered the person was her 27-year-old daughter. The daughter was taken to a hospital where she died.
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Anne Frank foundation fights plans to publish diary online on 1 January

Seventy years after Anne’s death, an academic and a French MP say the diary is public domain, despite objections from foundation set up by Otto Frank.
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Potential New Particle Sparks Flood of Theories

Physicists have produced nearly 100 papers on the latest tantalizing results from the Large Hadron Collider. By Davide Castelvecchi.
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Bikers patrol flood-hit Yorkshire towns to deter looters

Night-time patrols of Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd by motorcycle club members in 4x4s, vans and on foot have blessing of police
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8 Survivors Found 5 Days After Chinese Mine Collapsed

Rescuers using infrared cameras to peer into darkness at a wrecked mine in eastern China on Wednesday found eight surviving miners who were trapped for five days after a collapse so violent it registered as a seismic event. The disaster on Christmas Day at the gypsum mine in Shandong province killed at least one worker. Nine others remain missing, and 11 made it to safety or were rescued early on.
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German town bans New Year fireworks near migrant shelters

The German town of Arnsberg bans New Year firework displays around migrant and refugee shelters to avoid triggering traumatic flashbacks.
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Hypnosis may provide new option for ‘awake surgery’ for brain cancer

Could hypnosis help to reduce the psychological trauma associated with “awake craniotomy” for brain cancers? A new “hypnosedation” technique offers a new alternative...
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Solar Storm To Hit Earth By New Year's Eve

A solar storm can be caused by a solar flare or the aftereffect of a coronal mass ejection (CME) by the sun. Solar flares travel faster than CMEs
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Debian Linux founder Ian Murdock dies at 42, cause unknown

Just prior to his death, Murdock had started sending increasingly erratic tweets from his Twitter account.
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Debian mourns the passing of its founder Ian Murdock

With a heavy heart Debian mourns the passing of Ian Murdock, stalwart proponent of Free Open Source Software, Father, Son, and the 'ian' in Debian. Ian started the Debian project in August of 1993, releasing the first versions of Debian later that same year. Debian would go on to become the world's Universal Operating System, running on everything from embedded devices to the space station.
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Fleeting Wonders: 400 Glow-in-the-Dark Reindeer

If you're on the lookout for magical reindeer this year, don't bother gazing skyward... By Cara Giaimo.
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'Historic' Floods Threaten 19 Levees on Mississippi River

Rampant waters from the "very dangerous and historic flooding event" in Missouri were threatening to breach or weaken 19 levees.
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If you buy these jeans, you’ll never have to worry about washing them

We scratched our heads in disbelief when the Levis CEO, Chip Bergh, proudly proclaimed that he hadn’t washed his pair of jeans in over a year. How could he live like that? Didn’t he have any sense of personal hygiene? Was he immune to the swathes of bacteria that must have accumulated on the fabric? Yuck.
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Bill Cosby Charged in Sexual Assault Case

The authorities in Montgomery County, Pa., announced criminal charges on Wednesday against the entertainer Bill Cosby stemming from a woman’s accusation that he drugged and abused her at his home in Cheltenham Township, a suburb north of Philadelphia, in 2004.
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Tax Breaks, Falling Costs Are Boosting Wind And Solar

Congress has extended tax credits for clean energy as part of a $1.8 trillion spending bill. Solar and wind power companies say it will catapult the industry at a time when costs are already falling.
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Lawsuit seeks more than $5M from Apple for slowing older iPhones with iOS 9 upgrade

A class action lawsuit lodged with a New York district court on Tuesday dredges up claims that Apple engages in planned obsolescence, saying the company knew of potential compatibility issues when it foisted its latest iOS 9 software update on iPhone 4s owners.
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'A pretty big shake': Earthquake stirs B.C. residents

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 has been felt by people along B.C.'s South Coast, late Tuesday night.
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Rape victim forced to call boyfriend, calls 911 instead

Police say quick thinking by the victim of a frightening abduction and assault helped them catch her attacker in the act. The attack happened early Monday in the back of an adult entertainment store. Officers say Robert Giles, 27, asked the victim to call her boyfriend so he could hear the assault.
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Obama signs ban on microbead pollution

Say goodbye to the beads. On Monday, Dec. 28, President Barack Obama signed into law a ban on tiny plastic particles used in personal cosmetic products that scientists say are polluting U.S. lakes, rivers and the oceans. The bipartisan "Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015," (H.R. 1321), passed by the U.S. House on Dec. 7, "prohibits the manufacture and introduction into interstate commerce of rinse-off cosmetics containing intentionally-added plastic microbeads."
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Spotify Hit With $150 Million Class Action Over Unpaid Royalties

Vocal artist rights advocate David Lowery brings a massive action against the largest streaming service. Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker frontman David Lowery, retaining the law firm of Michelman & Robinson, LLP, has filed a class action lawsuit seeking at least $150 million in damages against Spotify, alleging it knowingly, willingly, and unlawfully reproduces and distributes copyrighted compositions without obtaining mechanical licenses.
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Congress Directs NASA to Build a Deep Space Habitat

In the latest round of budget negotiations, NASA got a pretty good windfall. But hiding in that $19.3 billion budget it is a $55 million directive: begin building a deep space habitat, and have it ready to go by 2018. In 180 days, NASA will have to report on any progress. It may be part of Congress pushing NASA to be more serious in its efforts toward a crewed Mars mission in the 2030s. That mission will require a lot of money and a lot of new technology...
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ISIS Issues 15 Rules on Having Sex with Female Slaves

U.S. government officials have released a detailed and translated document issued by ISIS that outlines 15 rules on when ISIS militants can have sex with enslaved women. The ruling, issued as a fatwa by ISIS’ Committee of Research and Fatwas, was released publicly by Reuters on Tuesday and had been among a number of documents retrieved.
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Specials drummer John Bradbury dies

John "Brad" Bradbury, drummer with The Specials, has died at the age of 62. The ska group tweeted the news: "It is with deep regret that we say goodbye to our great friend, the world's greatest drummer, our beloved Brad. RIP." Bradbury joined The Specials in 1979, and continued with the reversioned band The Special AKA, who had a top 10 hit with Free Nelson Mandela. Bradbury took part in The Specials reunion tour in 2009. He also headed up a band called JB Allstars.
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Germany gives green light to bicycle highways

It's every cyclist's dream: no red lights, no trucks, just a clear, smooth lane to zoom down with the wind in your face. Welcome to Germany's first bicycle Autobahn. Fans hail the smooth new velo routes as the answer to urban traffic jams and air pollution, and a way to safely get nine-to-fivers outdoors. As a glimpse of a greener urban transport future, Germany has just opened the first five-kilometre (three-mile) stretch of a bicycle highway that is set to span over 100 kilometres.
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T-Mobile: We're Not Throttling YouTube, We're 'Optimizing' It!

Last week, YouTube complained about T-Mobile's new "Binge On" service, which exempts many of the bigger video services from user wireless user usage caps. The service, enabled by default, means video won't count against your cap, but all streaming video services get throttled back to 480p. YouTube's complaint is this: for T-Mobile users, all video services are throttled by default, even services that haven't struck any deals with T-Mobile.
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Russia likely to miss 2016 Rio Olympics over doping, European official says

Russia, an Olympics powerhouse, is likely to miss the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the head of Europe's top sports body said Tuesday. Russia was banned indefinitely by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recently after a commission by the World Anti-Doping Agency uncovered widespread doping among its athletes. The report also claimed the Russian government was complicit in a well-organized program to give its competitors...
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Superintelligence: fears, promises, and potentials

Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom, in his recent and celebrated book Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, argues that advanced AI poses a potentially major existential risk to humanity, and that advanced AI development should be heavily regulated and perhaps even restricted to a small set of government-approved researchers. Bostrom’s ideas and arguments are reviewed and explored in detail, and compared with the thinking of three other current thinkers on the nature and implications...
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The Storm That Will Unfreeze the North Pole

Weather in the Arctic is about to go dreadfully wrong.
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Guns N' Roses' founding members to reunite, headlining Coachella 2016

As of three years ago, the relationship between Guns N’ Roses’ founding lineup was so sour Axl Rose chose to sit out of the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, though, Rose has let bygones be bygones, and, in 2016, he’ll give fans the reunion they have long desired. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the band’s plans, Guns N’ Roses will reunite to headline Coachella 2016. Meanwhile, Billboard reports that the band also...
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Couple found guilty of 7/7 anniversary London bomb plot

A would-be suicide bomber and his wife have been found guilty of planning an attack in London to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 7 July 2005 suicide attacks. Mohammed Rehman, 25, who secretly wed Sana Ahmed Khan, 24, intended to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 atrocities with blasts that would have inflicted mass casualties in either Westfield shopping centre, west London, or the London Underground, the Old Bailey was told.
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Bernie Sanders: Audit The Department Of Defense, Contractors Wasting Money While Soldiers Are On Food Stamps

At an event Monday night in Storm Lake, Iowa, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says that, "when we talk about making government more cost effective, it doesn't simply mean cutting Medicaid and food stamps. What it does mean is taking a hard look at an agency which recieves $600 billion per year where there is an immense amount of waste and fraud," Sanders said.
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German man dies after blowing up condom machine

A German man died on Christmas Day after blowing up a condom dispenser with a homemade bomb in a botched robbery, police say. The 29-year-old and two accomplices attached the bomb to the vending machine in a quiet street before taking cover in their vehicle. But the victim did not close the door in time and was struck in the head by a steel shard from the explosion. His accomplices took him to hospital but he later died of his wounds.
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Guy Beats Fallout 4 Without Killing Anyone, Nearly Breaks The Game

Fallout 4 expects you to commit murder. While you can occasionally avoid killing others, the wasteland is ruthless and demands violence. That’s how Bethesda intended the game to be played, anyway—but clever players are finding ways around it. Back in July 2015, The Guardian interviewed Todd Howard, Fallout 4’s game director. Howard was asked about what playstyles the game would support—traditionally, Fallout games let players approach problems...
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France opens archives of WW2 pro-Nazi Vichy regime

France is opening up police and ministerial archives from the Vichy regime which collaborated with Nazi occupation forces in World War Two. More than 200,000 declassified documents are being made public on Monday. They date from the 1940-1944 regime of Marshal Philippe Petain. During the war the Vichy regime helped Nazi Germany to deport 76,000 Jews from France, including many children.
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Our Fifteen Most-Read Magazine Stories of 2015 - The New Yorker

The most popular one occupied readers for 3.6 billion seconds, or roughly a hundred and fifteen years.
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