Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Tech’s ‘Dirty Secret’: The App Developers Sifting Through Your Gmail


App developers can sift through the emails of millions of Gmail users, The Wall Street Journal reports. This practice has been known in the industry for a long time, but Google had promised last year that it would stop its computers from scanning the messages of Gmail users to personalize advertisements.

While that may be true, the tech giant continues to give access to “hundreds of outside software developers scan the inboxes of millions of Gmail users who signed up for email-based services offering shopping price comparisons, automated travel-itinerary planners or other tools,” WSJ reports.

This access enables these third parties to view Gmail users’ emails, recipient addresses, timestamps, and the entire content of those messages. Google suggests that all of this happens “with” user consent, however, it may be another case of tricking users into giving consent without properly informing them about it first.

Monday, July 2, 2018

Man accused of plotting terror attack on July 4th parade in Cleveland

Image result for A Cleveland man was arrested after allegedly telling an undercover agent he was planning a terrorist attack on the city's downtown July 4th parade, authorities said Monday morning.

A Cleveland man was arrested after allegedly telling an undercover agent he was planning a terrorist attack on the city's downtown July 4th parade, authorities said Monday morning.

Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, who used the name Abdur Raheem Rafeeq on Facebook, was taken into custody Sunday and has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Stephen Anthony of the FBI said in a news conference. He was scheduled to appear in court later Monday.
Pitts told the undercover agent he had surveyed Voinovich Park and the US Coast Guard Station in Cleveland and had scouted locations to park an explosives-filled vehicle that would be detonated during crowded Independence Day festivities, Anthony said.

Actress Tessa Thompson comes out as Bisexual as she reveals Janelle Monáe and herself "Love each other deeply"


Actress Tessa Thompson comes out as Bisexual as she reveals Janelle Mon?e and herself "Love each other deeply"

American actress, Tessa Thompson, 34, has opened up on her sexuality and her relationship with singer Janelle Monáe in a new interview with Porter magazine.

According to the Westworld and Thor: Ragnarok star, 'I’m attracted to men and also to women. If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, we don’t even have to have the discussion.'

'That was something I was conscientious of in terms of this declaration around Janelle and myself. I want everyone else to have that freedom and support that I have from my loved ones. But so many people don't.'

Speaking on her relationship with Janelle Monáe who came out as pansexual months ago, she said: 'We love each other deeply.'

She added:

Bystanders To Fatal Overdoses Increasingly Becoming Criminal Defendants




Alexis Santa Barbara is a 39-year-old mother of three from a working-class suburb of Philadelphia.

Santa Barbara's addiction story follows a familiar course: she had been prescribed Percocet years ago to treat back pain. When the drug became unavailable, she turned to heroin. And she became hooked — not long after getting laid off from her job at a local deli.

Across the street from her, her neighbor, identified just as "J.M." in court papers, was also in the grip of an opioid addiction.

How the two of their lives intersect next dramatically altered their connection, from two people in the same community dealing with the same sickness to something else: an alleged victim and a perpetrator, cast that way because of a drug transaction that took a deadly turn.
One evening in late March, that neighbor handed Santa Barbara $10 and asked if she'd score him a fix of heroin.

"He just asked her to grab it, so she did," said Emily Mano, Santa Barbara's 18-year-old daughter. "She doesn't always do stuff like that. It was just a favor. She'd never mean to harm someone. Never."

To prosecutors, it wasn't just a favor. It was crime. Authorities say Santa Barbara obtained heroin, and whether she knew it or not, the batch was laced with the powerful and often deadly synthetic drug, Fentanyl. Shortly after, court records show, Santa Barbara texted her neighbor: "Are you OK??"

He wasn't.

"His wife comes home and finds him collapsed on the floor of a bedroom," said George Yacoubian, Santa Barbara's defense lawyer.

Notorious gangster Redoine Faid escapes French prison, again, on hijacked helicopter




A notorious French gangster has managed to escape prison again. This time, with help from armed friends using a hijacked helicopter and smoke bombs.

Redoine Faid, 46, who escaped prison five years ago using explosives, broke out of a prison near Paris on Sunday. He was serving a 25-year sentence for planning a robbery where a police officer was killed.

Two or three men armed with assault rifles hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Faid's prison in Seine-et-Marne. When the helicopter landed, two men dressed all in black, opened the prison door using a grinding machine and took Faid. At the time, he was meeting with his brother in a visitation room, members of the guards’ union, told France's BFM television. The men set off smoke bombs to blur the scene from video surveillance, union member Loic Delbroc said.

France’s Justice Ministry said the escape was over in just "a few minutes."

Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet, who travelled to the Sud-Francilien prison in Réau on Sunday evening, called it "a spectacular escape," BBC reports.

In the 1990s, Faid led a gang known for robbing banks. He escaped prison in 2013 using explosives hidden in packs of tissues.

Soccer team found alive after 9 days trapped in cave

The missing boys, with their coach, are seen here in a photo taken from the coach's Facebook page.

Rescue teams have found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive in a cave in Thailand nine days after the group went missing, according to a high-ranking person involved in the search and rescue operation.

The boys, who range in ages from 11 to 16 years old and are all members of the Wild Boar soccer team, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on Saturday, June 23, for a team outing, but became stranded in the dark tunnels by a sudden and continuous downpour.
The international rescue operation -- which includes the Thai Navy SEALs as well as experts from the US, China, Australia and the UK -- had been working to reach a large, deep chamber, informally named Pattaya Beach, where they believed the missing boys had taken refuge.

The missing boys, with their coach, are seen here in a photo taken from the coach's Facebook page.
"I confirm they are all safe," Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn told reporters on Monday night.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Air pollution linked to 3.2 million new diabetes cases in one year


Which cities face most, least air pollution according to new WHO data


Levels of air pollution well below what is considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization are causing an increased risk of diabetes worldwide, according to a study published Friday in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.

In 2016 alone, the study found that air pollution contributed to 3.2 million new diabetes cases --14% of the total -- around the world. In the United States, air pollution was linked to 150,000 new cases of diabetes per year.
"There's an undeniable relationship between diabetes and and particle air pollution levels well below the current safe standards," said senior study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University. "Many industry lobbying groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened."
Particulate or particle air pollution is made up of microscopic pieces of dust, dirt, smoke and soot mixed with liquid droplets. The finest particles regulated by the EPA are 2.5 micrometers; to put that in perspective, a strand of human hair is 70 micrometers, or more than 30 times larger.
Anything less than 10 micrometers can not only enter the lungs, it can pass into the bloodstream, where it is carried to various organs and begins a chronic inflammatory reaction thought to lead to disease.

California father's killing at campsite leads to investigations into 7 past shootings

The dad killed while camping with his 2 daughters was shot once in the head, coroner says

Authorities are looking into whether the death of a man who was shot while camping with his daughters in California is linked to previous shootings at the campsite.

Tristan Beaudette was shot once in the head on June 22 as he slept in a tent with his 2- and 4-year-old daughters at the Malibu Creek State Park, officials said.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled his death a homicide this week.
In a statement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it's looking for links between the 35-year-old's killing and seven shootings dating to November 2016.

Detectives have not determined a motive behind the shooting and currently there's no evidence that suggest all the incidents are connected, the statement said.
The shootings detectives are investigating took place on November 3 and 9, 2016; January 7, June 6, July 22, July 30, 2017 and most recently on June 18.
Incidents include a man shot in the 8,000-acre park in 2016, and a woman whose car was hit by a bullet while she was camping there with her boyfriend in January 2017, CNN affiliate KABC reported. It's unclear whether the shootings resulted in fatalities.
Earlier this week, the sheriff's department said it was reviewing only three prior shooting incidents.
The Malibu Creek State Park is a scenic recreation area 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles that's been used as a backdrop for movies and television shows.

Baby boom at Texas hospital: 48 babies born in 41 hours


Image result for baby boom texas

The nursery at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth has never been as full as it has in the last 41 hours. And the halls have never been so busy.

Since June 26, 48 babies were born in less than 2 days, 3m360 Dallas / Fort Worth reports. That's an average of more than one baby an hour. And, there's definitely a lively discussion here about why.

"There's always talk about full moon, we definitely had a big full moon this week," OB-GYN Dr. Jamie Erwin said. "Maybe there is something to that as well, maybe not. But it's always a busy time of the year."
It is a busy time indeed. According to Texas state records, most babies are born in the months of July, August and September.

Nursing director Michelle Stemley's phone blew up with messages on Wednesday.

"People were asking about staffing," she recalled. "I was like, 'what's going on?' "

But, she said the hospital was prepared. Extra staff was called in; pizza ordered and even after 48 babies in a short span of time, they are ready for more. "We are trained for this," she said.

Two-day old Isaiah Johnson is one of the 48 babies born this week.

Glimmer of hope in search for soccer team missing in Thailand cave

Thailand Cave Search

The effort to locate 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a cave in Thailand for a week picked up pace Saturday. A break in the rain eased flooding in the system of caverns and more experts from around the world joined the rescue mission.

The search effort in the northern province of Chiang Rai has been going slowly, largely because flooding has blocked rescuers from going through chambers to get deeper into the cave.

Thai prime minister tells families of soccer team missing in cave to have faith
There were hundreds of civilian volunteers here helping out Saturday, BBC News reports. On Saturday morning, BBC News correspondent Howard Johnson said he saw three cavers going off into the hills to try and find routes into the caverns below.

Pumping out water hasn't solved the problem, so increasing efforts have been made to find shafts on the mountainside that might serve as a back door to the blocked-off areas where the missing may be sheltering.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach entered the sprawling Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a soccer game on June 23, but near-constant rains have thwarted the search for them. Authorities have nevertheless expressed hope that the group has found a dry place within the cave to wait, and that they are still alive.

A solution for kids' social media addiction? Teach them to use tech more responsibly


Image result for kids' social media addiction

The World Health Organization declared last week that “gaming disorder,” or video game addiction, is a “mental health disorder” similar to an addiction to gambling. Less than 24 hours later, at a standing-room-only session at the Cannes Lions festival, two prominent executives, Tristan Harris of Google and Scott Hagedorn of Omnicom, issued a dire warning that we are on the verge of a global public health crisis, particularly among teenagers, because of an “addiction to likes.” And data from the analytics firm Flurry shows that we spend five hours a day interacting with about 88 apps, including those connected to video games, on our smartphones.

Is it any wonder, then, that Cam Adair, the founder of the online support community Game Quitters, stressed recently in an interview that, “There’s a massive tsunami coming that we’re not prepared for.”

Truth be told, we should have been. Technology’s dark side was actually brought to bear a decade ago by Dr. Karen Sobel-Lojeski, a researcher at Stony Brook University and tech entrepreneur who identified the problem as "virtual distance," the mathematically quantifiable and scientifically researched measure of what is lost when human beings rely heavily on smart, digital devices to communicate.

America's oldest man, 112, had bank account compromised by thieves, family says



America's oldest man, a 112-year-old who served in World War II, had his bank account compromised by thieves, his family said.

Richard Overton's account was infiltrated and used to purchase savings bonds without his knowledge, his cousin, Volma Overton Jr., told KVUE.

He said he noticed on June 27 that there were several debts from Overton's bank account for savings bonds. He wouldn't say how much was in the account, or how much was taken, but Overton Jr. said a very large amount of money was taken from Overton.

A police report was filed Friday. Overton Jr. said both Social Security and banking account numbers were used to make withdrawals.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

World Cup 2018: All you need to know about the last 16

Image result for World Cup 2018: All you need to know about the last 16

2018 Fifa World Cup last 16
Venue: Russia. Dates: 30 June - 3 July
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button and iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online.
The knockout stage of the World Cup gets under way on Saturday, when France face Argentina in Kazan at 15:00 BST, a match you can watch live on BBC One.

The last 16 features eight matches over four days in seven cities across Russia.

Hosts Russia are through, along with former winners Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, England, France and Spain.

Defending champions Germany were among the 16 teams who did not qualify from the group stage.

3m360 to show France-Argentina last 16 - TV picks announced
World Cup last-16 line-up in full
Lawro's predictions for last-16 matches
World Cup Daily: Hodgson's tattoos and being Ronaldo's translator
The 21st edition of the World Cup has provided 122 goals, 36,349 completed passes, 158 yellow cards and lots of video assistant referee drama.

'Blood moon' to stun UAE with longest eclipse of century



The last blood moon phenomenon took place in January.
The UAE will bear witness to a total lunar eclipse which will stun the senses next month.

The longest "blood moon" lunar eclipse of the century will take place for nearly 103 minutes.

On July 27, at 9:14pm UAE local time, the moon will enter into the eclipse phase and continue for five hours until 2:19am
This as related by Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Deputy Director of the Sharjah Centre for Space and Astronomy.

Totality will occur from 11:30pm until 1:30am for 103 minutes.

The peak eclipse time will take place at 12:21am.
The blood moon will be visible in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand but excluding America.

The last eclipse had taken place on January 31, a super rare blue blood moon that combined three lunar phenomena - supermoon, blue moon and blood moon.
Image result for queen elizabeth


Royalists have defended The Queen and Prince Philip after a new book made sensational claims about their sex life.

Lady Colin Campbell caused offence after she suggested the Queen had a ‘healthy sexual appetite’ and her husband was a ‘flirt’.

The 68-year-old, who was married to the Duke of Argyll’s son Lord Colin Campbell, said the couple had been discussed among their servants after having a wild wedding night in 1947.
When discussing Prince Phillip in the book entitled, The Queen’s Marriage, she wrote: “He loves the company of beautiful women. He’s a huge flirt.

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