Arkansas passes Indiana-style 'religious freedom' bill criticised as anti-gay

State ratifies Religious Freedom Restoration Act that critics see as a way to discriminate against gay and lesbian people under the guise of religious freedom

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Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz ‘wanted to make everyone remember him’

The co-pilot on the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps wanted to do “do something” history would remember him by, according to reports. Andreas Lubitz, 27, had hidden a sicknote declaring him unfit to work on the day of the disaster before boarding the Düsseldorf-bound Airbus A320 and flying it into a mountain in the southern French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.

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Amazon tests Delivery Drones at a Secret Site in Canada — Here's Why

If your Amazon order gets delivered by a drone sometime in the near future, you'll know Canada helped make that happen. Here's why Amazon is testing its drones here rather than in the U.S.

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McDonald's is testing all-day breakfast

McDonald's is going to experiment with serving breakfast all day. The chain will start testing a 24-hour breakfast menu next month at several locations in San Diego, the company told Business Insider. If the test is successful, McDonald's could expand it to other markets. Testing all-day breakfast "makes sense," Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski wrote in a recent research note. Some of the most "craveable" items on the McDonald's menu are the McMuffins and McGriddles, he noted.

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Daily Apple Not Associated With Reduced Doctor Use

In an unsettling finding, the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine reports this morning that although daily apple eaters are less likely to use prescription medications, "Evidence does not support that an apple a day keeps the doctor away." "People who eat an apple a day are a little more likely to keep the doctor away, but once we adjusted for all the other differences—as you can imagine, apple eaters are very different from non-apple eaters—the effect disappeared,"...

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Facebook 'tracks all visitors, breaching EU law'

People without Facebook accounts, logged out users, and EU users who have explicitly opted out of tracking are being tracked, report says

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You Can Play Pac-Man On Google Maps Right Now

April Fool’s Day is imminent, which means that we’re about to see A) lots of unfunny people making awful attempts to prank everyone; and B) some people—often including big tech companies like Google and Blizzard—creating some brilliant things. Here’s one example of the latter.

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AP chief: Killing of journalists should be a war crime

The president and CEO of The Associated Press called on Monday for changes to international laws that would make it a war crime to kill journalists or take them hostage. Gary Pruitt said a new framework is needed to protect journalists as they cover conflicts in which they are increasingly seen as targets by extremist groups. "It used to be that when media wore PRESS emblazoned on their vest, or PRESS or MEDIA was on their vehicle...

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Elon Musk Says Tesla Will Unveil Something New April 30

Elon Musk certainly knows how to steal the thunder from his competitors. While other automakers are gearing up for big announcements at the New York Auto Show this week, the Tesla Motors chief just tweeted this: "Major new Tesla product line -- not a car -- will be unveiled at our Hawthorne Design Studio on Thurs 8pm, April 30"

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It hit 63 degrees in Antarctica on Tuesday

Antarctica may have experienced its warmest day ever recorded on Tuesday, with the temperature reading of 63.5°F, reports The Weather Underground. Tuesday's record high temperature follows another high reading of 63.3°F set just the day before. Until this week's heat wave, the highest-known recorded temperature on the continent was 62.6°F back in 1976.

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George Takei: Boycott Indiana

My husband Brad and I like to spend our holidays in the White Mountains of Arizona. There’s a small town called Show Low where we’ve passed many a merry Christmas. We’ve been regulars at the July 4th parades there, entertained friends and family over the years, and consider it our home away from home. But last year, it was very nearly going to be impossible for us to travel back to Arizona in good conscience.

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China Appears to Attack GitHub by Diverting Web Traffic

The attack on GitHub, a code library that includes code for viewing Internet sites blocked in China, comes as China has increased its censorship.

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Police All Over the U.S. Are Issuing Fewer Traffic Tickets

Drivers appear to be catching a break from cops, who are writing fewer tickets of late. But don't think for a second the decrease is because police have become softies all of a sudden.

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Common bacteria on verge of becoming antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Antibiotic resistance is poised to spread globally among bacteria frequently implicated in respiratory and urinary infections in hospital settings, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study shows that two genes that confer resistance against a particularly strong class of antibiotics can be shared easily among a family of bacteria responsible for a significant portion of hospital-associated infections.

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GitHub suffers 'largest DDoS' attack in site's history

GitHub is suffering a DDoS attack deemed the largest in the website's history and believed to originate from China. The coding website is a popular repository for projects from game engines to security applications and web app frameworks, and is used by programmers and tech firms to develop and share tools. Since Thursday, the website has been under fire in a DDoS attack of a scale which has forced GitHub staff to rally and attempt to mitigate access problems.

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Ancient egyptian beer making vessels discovered in Israel

The pottery shards (pictured), found in Tel Aviv, come from large ceramic basins, which were used to prepare fruity beer that was left to ferment under the sun.

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'Google Maps' for the body: A biomedical revolution

Scientists are using previously top-secret technology to zoom through the human body down to the level of a single cell. Scientists are also using cutting-edge microtome and MRI technology to examine how movement and weight bearing affects the movement of molecules within joints, exploring the relationship between blood, bone, lymphatics and muscle.

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Take a private jet to your college tour, for $43,000

If you're one of the lucky few for whom college won't break the bank -- or even make a dent -- a private jet company is offering to whisk you to all the colleges you wish to visit in a ten-hour span, for $43,500. That's nearly $15,000 more than the cost of the average tuition and fees at private universities, and $21,200 more than those at in-state public colleges, according to a College Board report.

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Fort Meade Incident: 2 Injured at Gate of Army Installation

At least one person was shot after a vehicle attempted to ram a gate at the National Security Agency headquarters at Fort Meade Monday.

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Elizabeth Warren will/not run for president.

Heard this interview with Elizabeth Warren on NPR this morning: http://ift.tt/1xRgAX6 But her denials of running for president sounded hollow. Something bothered me; the reporter asked, essentially, 'but you could be doing so much more if you ran for president'. And she responded with a non-response, basically saying 'I'm working hard'. That's not a response. So then I read this... http://ift.tt/1xRgDSV

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Rolls-Royce signs $1bn engine deal with Air China

Engineering group to furnish airline’s new Boeing Dreamliner fleet with Trent 1000 engines.

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Ford's big Lincoln Continental is coming back

The Lincoln Motor Company, Ford's luxury division, unveiled a big, richly-appointed, luxury car called the Continental in New York City Monday. This car has a big job: To regain for Lincoln the respect it once had, decades ago, as a luxury car brand.

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In Brazil, Some Inmates Get Therapy With Hallucinogenic Tea

The provision of ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew used in the Amazon basin for centuries, to inmates on short furloughs reflects a quest to ease pressure on Brazil’s prison system.

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Al-Shabaab video show civilians being gunned down in the sea

The Somali extremist group Al Shabaab have released a new video, showing civilians being forced into the sea and murdered in a hail of gunfire. Entitled 'In Remembrance 2',the video show Al-Shabaab coldly executing civilians with machine guns before leaving the bodies to rot on the beach. The chilling video is the second part of a two episode series by Al-Shabaab's main media branch, al-Kataib Foundation.

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Keeping Australian native animals as pets is a good idea – Opinion – ABC Environment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Yesterday David Leyonhjelm suggested keeping Australian native animals as pets to stave off extinction. It's an idea Mike Archer has been advocating for years.

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ISIS Cuts Off 4 Kids Hands, One for Stealing Toy; Executes Starving Child for Stealing Food

A mixed Sunni-Shia family that once lived in ISIS' Iraqi stronghold of Mosul but has fled to live in the Kurdish north after the militant group took over the town last June, has provided deeper insight and revelations about the horrors that people living under the jihadis brand of sharia rule must deal with.

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Italy's Top Court Overturns Amanda Knox conviction

In a final ruling, Italy's highest court on Friday overturned the convictions of American Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend in the sensational murder case of Knox's British roommate.

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Slack confirmed up to 500,000 users personal info has been leaked by hackers

Slack Technologies, creator of popular workroom chat service has been hacked, leaking up to 500,000 users personal information. The service allows employed to manage projects and work, using internal message boards.

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NSA Behind "Malware" Infection of Computer Hardware Used by "Enemies" of the U.S.?

The NSA’s “Equation Group” is apparently behind the infection with malware of hard drive firmware on computers used by nations considered “enemies” by the United States. The installation of the malware is believed to have required access to trade secrets of IT manufacturers as well as physical access to the soon-to-be infected computers.

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In Congress, New Attention To Student-Privacy Fears

Several efforts in Washington are converging on the sensitive question of how best to safeguard the information software programs are gathering on students. A proposed Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act of 2015 is circulating in draft form. It has bipartisan sponsorship from Democratic Rep. Jared S. Polis of Colorado and Republican Rep. Luke Messer of Indiana.

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U.S. Will Allow Hunters to Bring Home Rhino Trophies

Two American hunters are one big step closer to legally killing a pair of black rhinos in Namibia and bringing their body parts home as trophies. On Thursday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced online that it was approving the hunters' requests to import trophies from two upcoming hunts sanctioned by the Namibian government. After sifting through thousands of citizen comments over the past several months, the U.S. federal agency defended its decision by saying the hunts...

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What You Need To Know Before Watching The New Scientology Movie

HBO's eagerly-anticipated, explosive Scientology documentary "Going Clear" finally premieres on the cable channel this Sunday. The film, written and directed by Alex Gibney ("The Armstrong Lie," "Taxi to the Dark Side"), is based on Lawrence Wright's controversial book of the same name. The documentary debuted at Sundance -- it does not disappoint -- but the more you know about Scientology before your viewing, the better you'll understand the mystery and mania that...

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Racing goes electric: At the track with Formula E, the first e-racing series

The pit lane we're standing in is unusual, and not only because it's a temporary setup placed in the shadow of American Airlines Arena (home of the NBA's Miami Heat). Garages are set up on both sides rather than being limited to one. A few things also appear to be missing. To start, a familiar smell from the usual mix of burning hydrocarbons is absent. And it’s remarkably quiet.

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The FBI used to recommend encryption - Now they want to ban it

The FBI wants to make us all less safe. At least that’s the implication from FBI director Jim Comey’s push to ban unbreakable encryption and deliberately weaken everyone’s security. And it’s past time that the White House makes its position clear once and for all. Comey was back before Congress this week - this time in front of the House Appropriations Committee - imploring Congressmen to pass a law that would force tech companies to create a backdoor in any...

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Project Ara – what does this mean for the future of tech?

Last year was the year dubbed “the year of the droid” and with that in mind, 2015 year looks to be the year of the modular smartphone – thanks to Google. Also referred to as Project Google, the industry expects the release towards the end of the year, and when it happens, the move could change the way we buy and use phones forever. And like most tech revolutions, the concept behind Project Ara is surprisingly simple.

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Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes near Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre warning hazardous waves are possible.

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Germanwings Pilot Andreas Lubitz Sought Treatment for Vision Problems Before Crash, Authorities Say

Andreas Lubitz, who was flying the Germanwings jetliner that slammed into a mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday, sought treatment for vision problems that may have jeopardized his ability to continue working as a pilot, two officials with knowledge of the investigation said Saturday. The revelation of the possible trouble with his eyes added a new element to the emerging portrait of the 27-year-old German pilot...

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Yahoo! and Microsoft extend tricky search deal talks by 30 days

Can Redmond and the Purple Palace continue to hang tough?

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Apple's Tim Cook to donate his fortune to charity

Apple CEO Tim Cook is going to give away his entire fortune multi-million dollar fortune to charitable causes.

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The U.S. Is Providing Air Cover for Ethnic Cleansing in Iraq

American warplanes have begun bombing the Islamic State-held Iraqi city of Tikrit in order to bail out the embattled, stalled ground campaign launched by Baghdad…

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Domino's policy changes on deliveries angers residents

There will be no more Domino's deliveries in the Lower 9th Ward after dark. It is one of the changes the pizza company is making after another one of its drivers was murdered in the Lower 9th Ward while on the job, but residents and one city leader say the policy change is a knee-jerk reaction that is singling out their community. "It just, again, puts a black eye on this community," said Vanessa Gueringer, a life-long resident of the Lower 9th Ward.

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“Make me the villain of your next book”: Maine governor fires back at Stephen King

Maine Gov. Paul LePage is refusing to apologize for falsely insinuating that Stephen King no longer pays taxes in the state, but he did make the bestselling author an acerbic offer: “Just make me the villain of your next book, and I won’t charge you royalties.” The current dispute between King and the Tea Party Republican stems from LePage’s assertion in a radio address last week that King and a number of other prominent Mainers had abandoned the state...

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A New Type of Dyson Sphere May Be Nearly Impossible to Detect

Over fifty years ago, physicist Freeman Dyson proposed an awesome, if slightly insane, idea: That an advanced alien civilization might construct a massive, energy-harvesting sphere around its star, and bunk up inside.

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Missouri Governor Nixon Is Putting Libraries in Peril

Libraries in Missouri need help. Here's why, and what you can do to help.

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30 never-before-seen species of flies discovered in Los Angeles

Scientists have found 30 never-before-seen species of flies buzzing about in the city of Los Angeles. The discovery suggests that we know less about the diversity of our winged neighbors than was previously thought. The flies are all members of the phorid family, and were captured in 30 insect traps set up in the backyards of homeowners around the city. Phorid flies are a little smaller than the fruit flies that hover over your bananas.

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BREAKING: Air Canada plane crashes on runway at Halifax Airport; dozens sent to hospital

A frightening landing for passengers aboard Air Canada flight 624 arriving in Halifax from Toronto. The plane crashed on the runway of the Halifax International Airport Sunday night, but no major injuries were reported.

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Theory of the strong interaction verified: Supercomputer calculates mass difference between neutron and proton

The fact that the neutron is slightly more massive than the proton is the reason why atomic nuclei have exactly those properties that make our world and ultimately our existence possible. Eighty years after the discovery of the neutron, a team of physicists has finally calculated the tiny neutron-proton mass difference. The findings are considered a milestone by many physicists and confirm the theory of the strong interaction.

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'Beautiful mind' John Nash adds Abel Prize to his Nobel

Mathematician made famous by Hollywood will share US$765,000 award with Louis Nirenberg for work in the field of geometric analysis.

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Spain Accused of Bullying Protesters With New ‘Gagging Law’

The Spanish parliament passed a controversial “gagging law” yesterday, sparking outrage among rights groups who accuse the government of “bullying” protestors and quashing freedom of expression. Demonstrators will now be hit with fines for committing a public order offence, which could be as high as €600,000 for unauthorized demonstrations outside certain buildings, including the Congress, Senate and regional legislative assemblies, nuclear power plants, docks and airports.

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Church Of Scientology Calls New HBO Documentary 'Bigoted'

The Church of Scientology is famous for its efforts to silence its critics, but it has not blocked an upcoming HBO film that turns a harsh light on the powerful organization and its leadership. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, directed by Academy Award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney, will debut Sunday over the vigorous objection of Scientology officials.

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