Infobitt

A US Appeals Court says the NSA's bulk collection of phone records is illegal. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12061 U.S. federal scientists say global levels of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent heat-trapping gas, have passed a daunting milestone of 400.83 parts per million. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12068 New research suggests that children who survive a measles infection remain vulnerable to other potentially deadly infections for as long as two or three years after having the measles. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12084 A 20-year-old—politics student Mhairi Black—became the U.K.'s youngest lawmaker since 1667, ousting one of the opposition Labour Party's top figures in the process. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12085 An analysis of Census data by Enterprise Community Partners has revealed that over a quarter of U.S. renters use at least half of their household's income to pay rent. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12083 Saudi Arabia and the United States announced a five-day, renewable cease-fire in Yemen’s war to allow

Controversial Canadian Anti-Terror Bill C-51 passes in the House of Commons. http://infobitt.com/b/12058 The City of Chicago will pay a total of up to $5.5 million to dozens of people tortured by the city's police in the 1970s and 1980s along with other reparations. http://infobitt.com/b/12050 Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U.S. "can't do a damn thing" to harm Iran's nuclear facilities and that Iran would not hold nuclear talks when the U.S. is threatening military action. http://infobitt.com/b/12039 A watchdog group says conflicts and violence around the world have displaced a record 38 million people inside their own countries. http://infobitt.com/b/12053 Severe storms spawned tornadoes and brought flooding and heavy winds to Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Tornado damage has already been reported southwest of Oklahoma City. http://infobitt.com/b/12059 Endangered yellow-crested cockatoos were stuffed into 1.5L plastic bottles and packed into travel bags in an attempt to smuggle them out of the

The U.S. Senate passed a budget plan today, after the House passed the plan last week. This is not a spending bill but only a GOP budget road map, so push-back might still occur later. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12028 Scientists have discovered the earliest known ancestor to modern birds. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12031 Hillary Clinton took a clear stand in favor of a path to "full and equal citizenship"—what Republicans call "amnesty"—while speaking in Las Vegas. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12029 Astronomers have found a galaxy older and more distant than any spotted before: light we're seeing left the galaxy 13.1 billion years ago, just 670 million years after the Big Bang. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12030 A magnitude-7.4 earthquake has hit off the coast of Papua New Guinea, causing a small tsunami. There has been no report of injuries or major damage to infrastructure. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12016 NASA’s new 10-engine drone is half chopper, half plane. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12021 A black man and

Hillary Clinton agrees to testify on Capitol Hill later this month about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and about her email practices during her tenure as Secretary of State. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12011 Two men opened fire into a Texas crowd at a Muhammad cartoon event Sunday night and were immediately shot dead by a police officer. One security guard was wounded. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11990 The government of Nepal is asking foreign search-and-rescue teams to wrap up operations now that the chance of finding survivors buried by last month’s earthquake has largely passed. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11994 An organization of Israeli soldiers known as “Breaking the Silence” released a report detailing how Israeli soldiers killed civilians in Gaza last summer. http://www.infobitt.com/b/12009 Afghan government officials and Taliban militants are now in their second day of meetings in the gulf state of Qatar, and for once neither side denied that the sessions were taking place. http://www.infobitt.com/b/

Hotel booking scams are costing Americans up to $220 million each year. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11978 A Dallas suburb is on lockdown after a contest for cartoon depictions of Prophet Mohammed ended in a shooting. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11979 The findings of the federal probe into the rogue closure of George Washington Bridge lanes in 2013 appear to have put New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the clear. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11969 Thousands of people took to the streets of Baltimore on Saturday; anger dissipated after six police officers faced criminal charges. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11967 A magnitude-3.9 earthquake struck just outside Los Angeles today. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11975 Nearly 3,700 migrants were rescued from boats near the coast of Libya on Saturday and early Sunday. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11973 An under-water volcano may be erupting 300 miles off the coast of Oregon. There is no tsunami threat. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11970 Kashmiri Pandits staged a protest in New Delh

Scientists reported that a Colorado dog last year caused the largest outbreak of pneumonic plague in the United States since 1924. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11911 Blue Origin, a startup space company owned by Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos, launched its first experimental suborbital spaceship test flight from Texas. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11910 A Nepal teenager has been rescued from the rubble five days after the earthquake. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11912 A Canadian federal fraud investigator has been suspended without pay after she leaked documents showing investigators had to cut people off their employment insurance benefits in order to meet quotas. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11915 A prisoner who was in the van with Freddie Gray, whose death in police custody led to the Baltimore riots, said Gray was "intentionally trying to injure himself" by "banging against walls." http://www.infobitt.com/b/11894 Ford is recalling more than 591,000 vehicles in North America for four separate problems, including po

Throughout the day, protests of the death of a black man in the custody of Baltimore police have erupted across the country (AP). http://www.infobitt.com/b/11886 In the wake of the Baltimore riots, Hillary Clinton has made an impassioned speech where she addressed Race and Justice. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11883 A Russian spacecraft that is tumbling around the Earth after it malfunctioned en route to the International Space Station could remain in orbit for more than a week before crashing down to Earth. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11885 At 10 p.m. last night, a curfew went into effect in Baltimore, and rioters were at work; but 15 minutes later, police began dispersing them, and most were gone within minutes. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11865 Samsung has taken the lead from Apple in smartphone sales. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11881 Telstra's accelerator program is targeting Southeast Asian startups. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11877 Internet Explorer's SmartScreen Filter feature will enforce new rules again

President Obama condemned looters and those who started fires in Baltimore on Monday saying they "should be treated like criminals". http://www.infobitt.com/b/11861 More looting was reported Tuesday morning, after a night of chaos and rioting that prompted the National Guard to be called in to restore order. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11815 More than 4,600 people are dead; more than 9,000 were injured; and eight million people were affected across Nepal following Saturday's earthquake. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11857 Iranian forces fired at a cargo ship exercising the right of innocent passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and the US Navy responded with a destroyer and aircraft. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11818 Supreme Court justices broke along familiar ideological lines as they considered whether same-sex couples enjoy a constitutional right to marry. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11850 Congress has introduced a bill to end bulk NSA surveillance. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11823 Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.),

The Baltimore protests have turned violent: Seven police officers have been injured. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11805 German car manufacturer Audi says it has created the "fuel of the future" made solely from water, carbon dioxide and renewable sources. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11804 An inquiry ordered by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has concluded Israel is responsible for Gaza strikes on UN schools and shelters. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11808 Two self-portraits by Francis Bacon are going on public display for the first time after being rediscovered in a private collection, before being sold. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11810 Japan Prime Minister Shinzō Abe begins his US tour with a visit to Boston. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11807 The death toll has risen above 4,000 following Saturday's massive earthquake in Nepal, as the desperate search for survivors continues. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11783 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at a U.N. anti-

The death toll in Nepal from Saturday's catastrophic earthquake has jumped to at least 2,263. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11758 Despite an international outcry, Indonesia says it will execute 10 convicted drug offenders within 72 hours. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11766 The New York Times reports Russian hackers who gained access to the White House computer system last year were able to read President Obama's unclassified emails. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11779 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' opens to a massive $201.2 million at box offices around the world, and is expected to earn north of $200 million in the US opening next week. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11778 Fast & Furious's "Furious 7" has recently topped $1.32 billion in global earnings this weekend, pushing it ahead of Frozen’s $1.27 billion total. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11777 The billionaire co-founder of Tim Hortons, Ron Joyce, is on the receiving end of a civil suit alleging he sexually assaulted his sometime lover four years ago. http://www.infobitt

A senate bill has been introduced to extend the Patriot Act. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11657 Hillary Clinton refused to privately testify about her email before the Senate Benghazi committee. As the investigation may continue until 2016, her campaign accused Republicans of playing politics. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11667 Bishop Robert Finn became the first bishop sanctioned by a Roman Catholic pope for covering up priestly child abuse or pedophilia. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11666 Workers across Russia started a strike against unpaid wages, which according to the Russian statistical service, rose on April 1 to about 2.9 billion rubles (US$56 million), a 15% increase over the previous year. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11649 Female marines are getting a fighting chance to become infantry officers, if physical standards are lowered for them. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11665 Police kill more whites than blacks – in absolute terms – but 49 percent of those killed by officers from May 2013 to April 2015 were whi

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson gave the keynote speech at the RSA conference and outlined cyber security plans which emphasize cooperation with business and IT industry. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11622 The Senate reached an agreement allowing a vote to proceed on the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11618 Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver unveiled a balanced budget that posts a $1.4-billion surplus. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11634 The FBI detained security researcher Chris Roberts & confiscated his laptop for sending a sarcastic tweet, after ignoring his warnings of security weaknesses in airline electronics. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11635 A UK trader named Navinder Singh Sarao, 37, was charged with commodities fraud and manipulation for causing the "flash crash" of December 2010. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11632 An Egyptian criminal court sentenced ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in prison over the killing of protesters

U.S. Army paratroopers began military training for small units of the Ukrainian national guard despite Russian warnings that the action could destabilize the country's tenuous cease-fire. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11592 Ethiopian runner Lelisa Desisa now owns two Boston Marathon titles, after winning the race in windy and rainy conditions. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11584 Rising tensions over the conflict in Yemen appear to be pitting the United States against Iran in a sensitive showdown in the Gulf of Aden. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11582 Somalia's al-Shabab Islamists have killed seven people, including four UN workers, by setting off a huge bomb which ripped through a staff bus in the north-eastern town of Garowe. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11591 The Nigerian Pension Commission says 5 billion Naira (~US$25M) are to be invested in infrastructural development. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11579 Microbeads are showing up by the millions in the Great Lakes. Microbeads are millimeter-sized abrasives that are us

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei aired some major disagreements with the U.S. and the West, saying the U.S. had created the "myth" of nuclear weapons to portray Iran as a threat. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11560 Four men are facing multiple charges after the early-morning shooting of a student on the campus of a small, private university in Charlotte. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11555 French customs officers say they have seized more than 2 tons of cocaine aboard a sailboat that was falsely flying an American flag in the Caribbean. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11557 Billionaire biz baron Elon Musk has confirmed the cause of the hard rocket landing was due to a slower than expected throttle valve response. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11558 Dusko Dabetic, a Serb sought by officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina for alleged war crimes committed during the Bosnian War, has been extradited by Turkey. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11551 The Department of Justice and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every

President Obama signed a $214 billion Medicare reform package that will overhaul the entitlement program funding – with strong backing from both political parties. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11464 Gov. Sam Brownback (R) signed House Bill 2258 into law. Kansas families receiving government assistance will no longer be able to use those funds to visit swimming pools, or see movies. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11459 After more than 4,100 orbits around the closest planet to the sun, NASA’s Messenger spacecraft will crash into Mercury’s crater-pocked surface on April 30th. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11463 The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reveals breakthrough research in artificial photosynthesis, a "revolutionary leap forward." http://www.infobitt.com/b/11465 The US Senate gave fast track authorization to President Obama so that he can negotiate a trade agreement with 11 other Pacific nations. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11438 A group of Indian technology and internet companies have pulled out of Facebook'

A 61-year-old mailman from Florida was detained by U.S. Capitol Police after piloting and landing a small helicopter on the west lawn of the Capitol in a staged protest of campaign finance laws. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11408 An Asiana Airlines jet came in too low on approach to Hiroshima airport, where it appeared to rip through a communications gantry and came to rest off the runway, injuring more than 20 passengers. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11418 Former NFL Patriots star, Aaron Hernandez, has been found guilty of first-degree murder. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11404 The Bay County Sheriff's Office said a third person has been arrested in the case of an alleged spring break gang rape that was videotaped on a crowded stretch of Panama City Beach. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11413 Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts got a first-hand look at life on the other side of the bench, reporting for jury duty in Rockville, Md. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11416 Michael Phelps told reporters he is using this week

The White House indicated that the president would be willing to sign the compromise version of a bill giving the legislatures a say in the potential Iran nuclear deal. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11373 The White House announced that President Obama intends to remove Cuba from the American government’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11371 Former Atlanta public school employees convicted this month of conspiring to cheat on state tests to earn raises and bonuses received jail time of between one and seven years. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11377 The Supreme Court of Canada dealt the Harper government's tough-on-crime agenda a serious blow by striking down a law requiring mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11392 The New Horizons probe, which is bearing down on Pluto, has captured its first color image of the distant dwarf planet. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11389 After the decimation of his species by poachers, Sudan the rhino finds himself in

Liquid water may still exist on Mars, but it's likely around for only short periods of time and in very small amounts. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11336 A huge effort to map dark matter across the cosmos has released its first data. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11332 A former Blackwater security guard was sentenced to life in prison, and three others got 30-year terms in the massacre of 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad traffic circle in 2007. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11331 Top officials from the U.S. and the African Union formalized a collaboration between the US Centers for Disease Control and its African counterparts to create the African Centers for Disease Control. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11341 Apple Watch first-day pre-orders have been estimated at 1 million. Shop attendants say that most people are ordering the cheaper model. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11307 Starting in 2016, Australia will deny welfare payments to parents who don't vaccinate their children. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11311 The

The Associated Press confirms Hillary Rodham Clinton's official announcement that she is running for President. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11297 Police have arrested a woman accused of abandoning her quadriplegic son in the woods for several days to go visit her boyfriend in Maryland. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11298 A pair of Alabama college students have been accused of raping a woman in plain view of hundreds of spring-breakers on a Florida beach who did nothing to stop the attack. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11290 The United States is complaining to Moscow about a Russian fighter jet that intercepted a US reconnaissance plane in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" earlier this week. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11270 Two organizations have been fined a whopping $48.5 million for conducting unnecessary medical tests linked with doctors who are responsible for referring patients to them for commission. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11275 Volkswagen's leadership is showing rifts. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11300

Hillary Clinton's e-mail scandal has eaten into poll ratings on issues like trust and honesty. For the first time, a new poll shows the GOP presidential field edging ahead of hypothetical matches in key states. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11167 Authorities in South Carolina have released dash cam video in connection with the fatal shooting of Walter Scott, but the footage does not show the actual shooting. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11164 The PLO said it would not provide military support for any offensive against ISIS control of the Palestinian Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of Damascus. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11174 A state Senate panel passed a bill that would strengthen California's vaccination requirements, and would eliminate some exemptions for vaccination. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11152 The New York Daily News is reporting that Hillary Clinton will announce her candidacy for President on Sunday. http://www.infobitt.com/b/11173 A new study says that brain scans can predict autism outcome. http://ww