Author: Sunfire

RT News

A major security flaw affecting several versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser was discovered over the weekend, and the percentage of computer users that could be compromised by the exploit is absolutely staggering.

Bill Gates’ Microsoft Corp. announced on Saturday that Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11 are all vulnerable to a glitch that when properly exploited can give hackers remote access to a victim’s computer.   Continue reading “Internet Explorer users risk having their computers taken over”

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea conducted live-fire artillery drills near its disputed western sea boundary Tuesday, South Korean officials said, in a possible indication of rising frustration in Pyongyang as it pushes unsuccessfully for outside aid.

Both Koreas conduct such drills routinely, but they can be sensitive because North Korea doesn’t acknowledge the U.N.-drawn sea boundary near South Korean islands and the North Korean mainland in the Yellow Sea.   Continue reading “South Korea: North holds live-fire drills at sea”

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YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Loraine Osborne is a Rosie.

She isn’t THE Rosie, but she worked as a riveter at the Willow Run bomber plant in Michigan alongside Rose Will Monroe, the inspiration for a character that came to symbolize female empowerment and the we’re-all-in-this-together spirit of the American homefront during World War II.   Continue reading “Time is running short to save Rosie’s plant”

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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Four mortar shells exploded on Tuesday in central Damascus, killing 14 people and wounding scores, state media said.

The attacks in the Syrian capital come a day after President Bashar Assad announced his candidacy for the June 3 presidential elections, a race he is likely to win amid a raging civil war that initially started as an uprising against his rule.   Continue reading “Syria: Mortar shells kill 14 in central Damascus”

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LOUISVILLE, Miss. (AP) — A dangerous storm system that spawned a chain of deadly tornadoes over three days flattened homes and businesses, forced frightened residents in more than half a dozen states to take cover and left tens of thousands in the dark Tuesday morning.

As the storm hopscotched across a large swatch of the U.S., the overall death toll was at least 28, with 11 killed in the South on Monday and 17 in the central U.S. on Sunday. Forecasts showed Georgia as the next likely target, with residents waking to sirens, howling wind and pounding rain.   Continue reading “Tornadoes tear through South, add to US death toll”

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NORWALK, Conn. (AP) — Paul Simon and his wife, Edie Brickell, were arrested on disorderly conduct charges by officers investigating a family dispute, but the couple held hands in court Monday and said they did not feel threatened by the other.

Simon told a Norwalk Superior Court judge that he had a rare argument with his wife Saturday night at their home in New Canaan. The arrest struck a discordant note for the couple. Simon burst onto the national stage with his former partner Art Garfunkel in the 1960s, adding a gentle voice to the growing chorus of opposition to the Vietnam War. Brickell, meanwhile, gained fame for her songs that blend rock, folk, blues and jazz.   Continue reading “Paul Simon, Edie Brickell arrested in Connecticut”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Taking shape on Manhattan’s West Side is a $185 million, federally funded tunnel that leads to nowhere, for now.

The 800-foot-long, 35-foot-deep concrete trench could someday lead to two new commuter rail tunnels under the Hudson River to New Jersey, if the billions needed to build them ever materialize. The access tunnel is being built now because the massive Hudson Yards development with six skyscrapers, the tallest being 80 stories, will soon be built on top of it. Trying to dig such a huge trench through the bedrock after those buildings are completed, officials say, would be an engineering and financial nightmare.   Continue reading “In NYC, a $185M tunnel that leads nowhere, for now”

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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — “The Family Guy” is taking on a New Jersey political scandal.

A flier sent to Emmy voters asks them to name the show “best animated program.” It warns, “Vote for us, or it’s time for some traffic problems in Brentwood,” a Los Angeles neighborhood where many Emmy voters live.   Continue reading “‘Family Guy’ flier spoofs Christie scandal”

RT News

Space Exploration Technologies said it will take legal action against the US Air Force, in an effort to open up competition in the multibillion-dollar satellite launch market, dominated by just two defense contractors.

SpaceX, which has the distinction of being the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, hopes to go where no other start-up company has gone before: In a courtroom showdown with the US Air Force, which presently contracts rocket launches to just two defense contractor companies, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.    Continue reading “SpaceX to challenge US Air Force rocket monopoly, citing Russia sanctions risk”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Google says it has turned a corner in its pursuit of a car that can drive itself.

The tech giant’s self-driving cars already can navigate freeways comfortably, albeit with a driver ready to take control. But city driving — with its obstacle course of jaywalkers, bicyclists and blind corners — has been a far greater challenge for the cars’ computers.   Continue reading “Google: Driverless cars are mastering city streets”

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LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) — A young mother believed to be suffering from depression admitted to investigators that she stabbed her 7-month-old son to death in a Northern California park, police said Sunday.

Ashley Newton, 23, of San Jose was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder, the East Bay Regional Parks District Police Department said in a statement. Investigators continue to interview her family and friends in an attempt to make sense of the alleged crime.   Continue reading “California mom tells police she stabbed infant son”

RT News

As the price of the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons endeavor ever soars even further, critics are calling into question the cost and capabilities of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

When all is said and done, the United States Department of Defense is expected to spend over $1 trillion on acquiring a fleet of the fancy stealth jets. But while concerns have been raised repeatedly regarding the program for years now, some new reports suggest that the military might soon sign-on to buy other state-of-the-art aircraft.   Continue reading “Money for nothing? Boeing says F-35 isn’t so stealth after all”

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A US federal judge in New York has ordered Microsoft to turn over their customers’ emails and other digital content to law enforcement agencies, even in case the data is being stored on servers physically overseas.

New York Magistrate Judge James Francis does not question the cosmopolitan power of a valid search warrant issued by a US law enforcement agency. In a first-of-a-kind court ruling Friday, the judge created a precedent that no US internet provider, be it Microsoft or Google or another company, can refuse an official demand to share foreign clients’ private data, Reuters reported.   Continue reading “NYC judge obliges internet providers to disclose foreign emails to US govt”

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SLOVYANSK, Ukraine (AP) — A pro-Russian insurgency leader in eastern Ukraine said Saturday that foreign military observers detained as suspected NATO spies could be released in exchange for jailed pro-Russian activists.

Outside Slovyansk, a city some 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Russia, Ukraine government forces continued operations to form a security cordon as it attempts to quell unrest threatening to derail planned elections on May 25.   Continue reading “Foreign military observers held in east Ukraine”

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Full preliminary results released Saturday in Afghanistan’s presidential election show former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah won the most votes but not the majority needed to avoid a runoff.

Abdullah garnered 44.9 percent of the vote, putting him ahead of ex-Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who came in second with 31.5 percent, said the chairman of the Independent Election Commission, Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani.   Continue reading “Abdullah tops Afghan presidential vote’s 1st count”

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Several potential Republican presidential candidates courted gun-rights supporters Friday at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, talking up their pro-gun credentials while imploring the crowd to fight not just for their Second Amendment rights but for other freedoms they say are being threatened.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal addressed the NRA’s annual leadership forum, a kind of political pep rally the organization considers one of its premier events. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire also recorded brief videos that were played for the crowd of more than 2,000 inside Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the Indianapolis Colts.   Continue reading “Possible GOP presidential candidates court NRA”

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Five NATO troops died in a British helicopter crash Saturday in southern Afghanistan, authorities said, the single deadliest day this year for foreign forces as they prepare to withdraw from the country.

The helicopter crash came as an Afghan university official identified two Americans killed in a shooting at a Kabul hospital earlier this week, the latest incident of local security forces opening fire on those they are supposed to protect.   Continue reading “5 NATO troops killed in Afghan helicopter crash”

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Aubrey Stewart was standing next to his family’s car three years ago when a massive branch from a city-owned tree suddenly broke and crashed down on him, breaking the then-15-year-old’s spine and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Jacksonville officials had been warned about the rotting tree, so they quickly reached a $3.5 million settlement with Stewart’s parents to pay for his care and to make their home wheelchair accessible. But most of that money has never been paid.   Continue reading “Paralyzed teen waiting on $3.5 million settlement”

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SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A builder of for-profit youth detention centers was sentenced Friday to a year in prison for his role in a “kids for cash” scandal in which thousands of juveniles were sent to his facilities by judges who took money from him.

The builder, Robert Mericle, was also fined $250,000 and ordered to serve 100 hours of community service by a federal judge who upped the sentence recommended by prosecutors, citing the severity of the crime and Mericle’s lies to investigators about what he knew of the judges’ scheme.   Continue reading “Juvenile jail scandal gets builder year in prison”

RT News

A 4,500-year-old Native American burial ground and village site was found in California, but the contents were eventually destroyed, reburied, and paved over for construction of multimillion-dollar homes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Archaeologists say the 300-foot-long Coast Miwok site held 600 human burials as well as tools, rare hunting materials, musical instruments, game pieces, ritualistic stone objects, animal remains, the largest collection of bear bones found in a prehistoric site in the Bay Area, and even a ceremonial condor burial that suggested the bird was kept as a pet. The remnants were quietly examined and categorized but ultimately decimated and reburied at an undisclosed location, scientists say, ahead of construction on a $55 million home development in Larkspur, California.   Continue reading “Native American burial ground, village site destroyed for luxury California homes”