RT

Microsoft has purchased ten million strands of synthetic DNA to advance cutting edge digital data storage technology. With the amount of digital data doubling nearly every two years, the tech industry is on a quest for a long-term solution to keep track.

he multinational tech company bought the DNA from Twist Bioscience, an announcement confirmed Thursday.

“[The] vast majority of digital data is stored on media that has a finite shelf life and periodically needs to be re-encoded. DNA is a promising storage media, as it has a known shelf life of several thousand years, offers a permanent storage and can be read for continuously decreasing costs,” said Emily Leproust, CEO of Twist Bioscience, in a statement.   Continue reading “1000+ yr shelf life: Microsoft buys into synthetic DNA for data storage”

CNN

Buying a gun in America can be an expensive ordeal. Or it can be cheap and easy. It depends on where you live.

The difference between those two Americas was made clear earlier this month when Alex “Shaya” Lichtenstein, a member of a Orthodox Jewish patrol society in Brooklyn, was charged with offering an police officer a $6,000 bribe to expedite handgun licenses for his clients. He claimed his clients would pay him $18,000, according to a court document.   Continue reading “Only in New York: Bribing cops for a gun license”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama announced new steps Friday to help curb gun violence, including by identifying the requirements that “smart guns” would have to meet for law enforcement agencies to buy and use them as well as sharing mental health records with the federal background check system.

Smart guns use various technologies to prevent an accidental shooting or help track down a missing gun.   Continue reading “Obama announces new steps to curb gun violence”

Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court on Thursday approved a rule change that would let U.S. judges issue search warrants for access to computers located in any jurisdiction despite opposition from civil liberties groups who say it will greatly expand the FBI’s hacking authority.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts transmitted the rules to Congress, which will have until Dec. 1 to reject or modify the changes to the federal rules of criminal procedure. If Congress does not act, the rules would take effect automatically.   Continue reading “U.S. high court approves rule change to expand FBI hacking power”

Sac Bee – by Dale Kasler

The former chief executive of CalPERS, already facing a prison term in the pension fund’s corruption scandal, was arrested in Sacramento over the weekend on charges of committing battery against a former girlfriend.

Fred Buenrostro, due to be sentenced May 18 after pleading guilty to accepting bribes, was being held at the Sacramento County main jail without bail after his arrest by Sacramento police late Saturday on misdemeanor battery and domestic violence charges, according to jail records.   Continue reading “Ex-CalPERS chief Buenrostro jailed in Sacramento on battery of former girlfriend”

BBC News

A Russian jet fighter that intercepted a US Air Force reconnaissance plane on Friday did so in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner” over the Baltic Sea, the Pentagon has said.

It says the fighter performed a barrel roll plane over the American plane.

It is the second incident in the Baltic this month in which the US has accused Russian planes of flying aggressively.   Continue reading “US accuses Russia over Baltic jet manoeuvre”

NY Daily News – by CHRISTINA CARREGA-WOODBY

A nine-year veteran with the NYPD may lose his job after a Brooklyn judge on Friday found him guilty of “gratuitously” stomping on the head of a suspect during an arrest.

Officer Joel Edouard “let down his fellow officers by losing his composure in an admittedly difficult situation,” said Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Alan Marrus.   Continue reading “NYPD officer Joel Edouard found guilty in brutal Brooklyn stomp attack, faces up to year in prison and could lose job”

Fox News

In a stunning reversal, the U.S. Army decided late Thursday to retain a decorated Green Beret it had planned to kick out after he physically confronted a local Afghan commander accused of raping a boy over the course of many days.

Sgt 1st Class Charles Martland, confirmed the Army’s decision to retain him when reached by Fox News, who has been covering the story in depth for the past eight months and first broke the story of the Army’s decision in August to kick out Martland over the incident, which occurred in northern Afghanistan in 2011.    Continue reading “Army retains decorated Green Beret it planned to kick out over confronting Afghan child rapist”

Breitbart – by Neil Munro

More than 1,000,000 people have signed the boycott pledge against Target, following the secretive decision by executives to open all of their stores’ bathrooms and changing rooms to people of both sexes.

Late Thursday night, roughly 75 people a minute were adding their name to the petition as it clicked over 1 million, just after 10:30 pm Eastern Time.   Continue reading “Target Boycott Crosses 1 Million Signers, Stock Sinks by $1.5 Billion”

Left Hook – by Dean Henderson

You know things are bad when the leading contenders for President in both political parties use the same phony Delaware address as Walmart, Coca Cola, American Airlines & Apple to avoid paying taxes.

Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump own companies registered at 1209 North Orange Street, Wilmington, DE in a two-story building known aptly as the Corporation Trust Center. More than 285,000 companies use this very same address to avoid taxes, making it the most densely populated mailing address on earth.   Continue reading “Clinton, Trump & Corporation Trust Center”

Natural News – by JD Heyes

Not only do congressional Democrats want to take away your constitutional right to own a firearm, they also want to extinguish all methods of protecting yourself from being shot, even if it’s the police doing the shooting.

In case you missed it, a little more than a year ago Rep. Michael “Mike” Honda, D-Calif., introduced the inappropriately titled “Responsible Body Armor Possession Act,” which, of course, bans personal possession of body armor because, you know, that’s “responsible” (in the eyes of an authoritarian, maybe).   Continue reading “Proposed law would make it illegal to protect your body from being shot by police… even if they raid the wrong home”

Sent to us by Ruth.

LA Times, April 3, 2008

The latest advertising campaign in Mexico from Swedish vodka maker Absolut promises to push all the right buttons south of the U.S. border, but it could ruffle a few feathers in El Norte.   Continue reading “Flashback: Mexico reconquers California? Absolut drinks to that!”

Fox News

The protest chaos that engulfed the outside of a Donald Trump event in Southern California on Thursday followed the Republican presidential front-runner to the Bay area on Friday, as hundreds gathered outside the hotel where he was scheduled to address state Republicans.

Trump’s speech was delayed by the demonstrations.

Protesters could be seen breaking through barricades, as well as picking them up and tossing them aside, as they moved toward the front of the hotel hosting the event in Burlingame, Calif.    Continue reading “Protest chaos follows Trump to Calif. GOP convention”

WLFI 18 News

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. says it will close five more factories — including an Oxford, Mississippi, plant — as the Peoria, Illinois-based heavy equipment maker reacts to slowing demand for construction and mining equipment worldwide by cutting capacity.

The Oxford plant, with 240 employees stamping metal hose couplings, will continue work into 2017, then shift some production to Caterpillar’s plant in Menominee, Michigan, and some work to outside suppliers.   Continue reading “Caterpillar closing 5 more plants amid low demand”

From a speech by William Grayson given to the Virginia ratifying convention on June 18, 1788.

Mr. [William] GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, one great objection with me is this: If we advert to. . . . . [the] democratical, aristocratical, or executive branch, we shall find their powers are perpetually varying and fluctuating throughout the whole. Perhaps the democratic branch would be well constructed, were it not for this defect. The executive is still worse, in this respect, than the democratic branch. He is to be elected by a number of electors in the country; but the principle is changed when no person has a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, or when more than one have such a majority, and have an equal number of votes; for then the lower house is to vote by states. Continue reading “Anti-Federalist Paper No. 68 – On The Mode Of Electing The President”