Daily News Summary
Tuesday January 6, 2015
Last updated around 2pm, CST (GMT-6)
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Hundreds gather to mourn Mario Cuomo, former NY Governor and father of current.San Fran suicide by cop: man pulls airsoft gun in front of police station; shot dead.North Dakota, 2nd-largest US oil producer, weighs tax decisions to use oil activity to fund much-needed infrastructure projects.Manhunt in NY after two police officers were killed responding to Bronx robbery. (Update: two now held for questioning.)Former VA Governor Bob McDonnell, to be sentenced on multiple corruption charges.House Speaker Boehner expected to retain Speaker spot, despite much opposition.Jodi Arias sentencing retrial resumed, after 2 weeks hiatus for holidays; closed to press.Previously pro-Obamacare Harvard faculty now fighting to reject the costlier insurance.Son arrested for murder of father, Thomas Gilbert, 70, Wainscott Capital founder.Experts claim that last year's earthquakes in Ohio were caused by fracking.Petco pulls all Chinese-made pet treats from website and stores; sickened thousands of pets, killed 1,000 dogs since 2007.China protests after Taiwan flag raised in DC on New Year's day - China considers the independent country one of its provinces.Former acting cyber security director at HHS Department sentenced to 25-year prison term for involvement in child porn ring.NYC mayor de Blasio says police officers turning back to him disrespectful "to the families" [of slain NYPD officers].Survivalist to face trial on PA police attack that killed 1 officer, led to 48-day manhunt.Florida 36th state to allow same-sex marriages; first ones in Miami.In federal court, journalist James Risen steadfast protecting confidential sources .GOP-controlled House to revive terrorism insurance program, expired last year.Widely circulated privacy-alert-notice message on Facebook is a hoax.Federal audit - drones on south border not that effective: grounded most of the time because of cost involved in flying them.
Potatogate: after Japan, now Venezuela McDonald's stopped serving french fries, still due to union disputes on US West Coast.2015 will be largest-ever gathering of power players at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - over 2,500 attendees.Where are most working women in the US? Much more complex snapshot than for men.CNBC (regularly ranked with low ratings) chooses to opt out of Nielsen ratings.Personal story: man goes from $8 to $25/hr. - thousands of well paying jobs lost in recent weeks due to ever falling oil prices.Xoom (online bank transfer platform) stock takes nosedive as $31 million of its money is transferred to thieves' bank accounts.Airbus delivers record number of planes in 2014, still struggling to deliver on time.Mercedes relocates US headquarters from NJ to Atlanta, citing cost-of-living and taxes.Exploding sales for Walgreen in Dec., due to severe flu season; +14% pharma sales.Alibaba wannabe Wanda E-commerce raises $161m from Chinese funds.Apple to sell unlocked iPhone 6 / 6 Plus (consumers pick carrier without contract).Federal mediator steps in to help squash West Coast port / ship operators dispute.UK: cargo ship containing over $100 million of luxury cars near capsizes off the coast of Isle of Wight; beached to prevent sinking.Safeway supermarket chain to pay ~$10 million hazardous waste settlement (sending batteries and drugs to local landfills).BMW retakes from Mercedes top spot as most popular luxury brand in the US.Dish Network launches Sling TV, a web streaming bundle of channels for $20/mo.Fired Morgan Stanley employee stole data on 35k clients - ongoing investigation.GM OnStar's "AtYourService" feature lets you book the hotel room you forgot to book!2014 top 10 selling car makers in the US: GM, Ford, Toyota, Fiat/Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, and VW.US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, created after 2007 crisis), to start curbing payday ("shark") loan services.Unwillingness to cut wages during recession could explain current wage stagnation.Between sluggish global economy and flat inflation, Fed might not raise rates in 2015.
CES: ChocoJet is a 3D-printer that allows you produce creations made of chocolate.New, low-cost waste treatment turns sewage into both drinking water and electricity.Amazon ships 5 billion items in 2014, 40% of which came from third-party sellers.Bitstamp, largest Bitcoin exchange, temporarily halts operations after hack.Online greeting-card company Moonpig ignores year-old vulnerability - 3.6 million customers' data exposed as a result.Infrared is out of range of human eye, but experiment reveals that we're sometimes able to catch glimpses of the invisible world.Study: exposure to heavy metals like cadmium accelerate cell aging process, possibly explaining chronic illnesses.Study of 55-79 year-old regular cyclists: no obvious signs of aging normally found in age group; same should apply to heavy exercise.Intermittent Twitter outage prevents seeing latest tweets, and shows wrong timestamps.Internet Archive uploads over 2,400 MS DOS games playable in a web browser.Top 2014 Kickstarter campaigns are all tech, from sleep tracker to electro music.Fexaramine as future diet pills: fools body into over-digesting food, thus burning fat.Facebook acquires Wit.ai (gives developers Siri-like language processing module).High-profile programmer ignites debate about Apple's lower quality software.Augmented reality finds its way into cars, through overlay windshield displays.Japan Meteorological Agency: 2014 was hottest year on record (since 1891); the top 10 hottest years all occurred since 1998.LG shows off second version of its curved smartphone at CES, less curved, and with self-healing coating on the phone's back.Toyota unveils hydrogen-fueled Mirai FCV (fuel cell vehicle) at CES 2015, with range of 300 miles, and recharged in under 5 minutes.WSJ recap of pre-opening day at CES 2015: Google Cast, Intel Core, LG G Flex2, Roku, Garmin, wireless thermometer, and more! CES 2015 - overview of the new terms in TV jargon: 8K, UHD / SUHD, Quantum dot technology, Curved TVs, and Tizen.
Bangladesh: main opposition leader arrested, charged with arson, bombings & vandalism.Belgium: serial rapist denied right to die (assisted suicide, 1st case for a prisoner).Syria: US airstrikes at ISIS, as Kurds slowly taking back border town of Kobani.Nigeria: multinational military force HQ on Chad border now in Islamist hands.Bulgaria, poorest EU country, agrees to take back ~3,000 asylum seekers from Germany, Austria and Hungary, mostly Syrians.After series of gang rape stories that made intl news, India to set up 150 special police units dedicated to crimes against women.Egypt: two police officers guarding Coptic Christian church in Cairo shot dead.Turkish airlines last foreign carrier to halt flights to Libya, where civil war worsens.France: Hollande lectures that nations should stop threatening Russia with new sanctions, removing existing ones instead.Saudi Arabia: 4 heavily armed men coming from Iraq, with suicide vests, attack border patrols; all attackers and 3 guards dead.Syria: Western-backed opposition not sure it will attend Russia's peace talks after all.Germany: large, anti-Islamization protests in Berlin, flanked by counter-protest marches.Bangladesh: 4 Nationalist Party supporters shot during clashes w/ ruling party activists.Obama admin mulls cutting $440 million aid to Palestinians after slick move at ICC.Burundi: fight between troops & rebels kills 97 mostly rebels, who entered from Congo.New Zealand shaken by 6.4 magnitude earth quake, no report of damage so far.Russia: house-arrested opposition leader cuts ankle monitor bracelet as sign of protest.Indian airports on alert for Islamist threats (ISIS & Taliban) of hijacking airplanes.