World Backup Day; Marriage Equality, LGBT, Intolerance of Religion, Think of the Children; Church vs. State; War on Women, Culture Clash; Catholic Coffers; Gotta Have Faith

World Backup Day—PSA: Back Up Your Shit.

Marriage Equality

• Gay marriage: 'When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change,' says PM as first same-sex couples tie knot
• Rick Snyder: Michigan Won't Recognize Same-Sex Marriages—But the federal government will [NYT].
• Gay Firefox developers boycott Mozilla to protest CEO hire—"Brendan Eich's Prop 8 donations come to light, and internal response is mixed." For other and perhaps related reasons, three Mozilla board members resigned.
• Gay Couples Find Uneven Access To Health Insurance
• Anti-gay bigots won't give up: Why marriage equality triumphalism is a big mistake—"The gay rights movement has made huge strides, but it would be a mistake to assume its work is finished. Here's why." Salon

LGBT

• Russian thugs beat up St Patrick's flashmob after mistaking it for gay activists
• Top Kenyan MP classifies homosexuality as terrorism
• Miss. Anchor Says He's Sick Of LGBT News, Tells Activists To Go On 'Gaycation'

Intolerance of Religion

• Hobby Lobby Owners Backed Arizona Anti-Gay Law, Sent Millions To Religious Right Wing Network
• Catholic Diocese Under Fire for Refusing to Sell Property to Gay Couple
• Arizona Pol Apologizes For Praising Fred Phelps After Onion Obituary Dupes Him

Think of the Children

• 10 weirdest things the Christian right thinks will turn your kids gay—"Did you know that the pro-gay agenda is being promoted by penguins? How about Harry Potter? You've been warned." Salon
• Christian School Tells Eight-Year-Old Girl She Looks Too Much Like A Boy
• Tennessee Passes Bill Allowing The Bullying of LGBT Students In The Name Of 'Religious Freedom'

Church vs. State

• Why Christians — America's most populous religious group — feel so victimized
• Carroll commissioner 'willing to go to jail' over right to pray—"Plaintiffs' attorney: 'Any continued defiance of the court order will leave us with no choice but to seek a contempt order.'"
• Alabama Governor Declares 'Day of Prayer Over Students'

War on Women

• Former President Jimmy Carter's call to action: : Women, Religion, Violence and Power—"My own experiences and the testimony of courageous women from all regions and all major religions have made it clear to me that as a result of these two factors there is a pervasive denial of equal rights to women...."
• Pat Robertson: Atheist women were likely raped, and that's why they reject Jesus
• Vatican punishes Wisconsin priest for saying Mass with female priest

Culture Clash

• Concern as Brunei brings in system of Islamic law with punishments that include the dismemberment of limbs and stoning to death
• Exclusive: 'locked-up' Saudi princesses' message for Obama
• Horrific Taboo: Female Circumcision on the Rise in US—Fuck those who practice this evil shit.

Catholic Coffers

• German 'bishop of bling' resigns over spending scandal—He casts some blame onto his deputy.
• Archbishop Hebda may be as tone deaf as Archbishop Myers
• Suspected Fraud Plot Foiled At Vatican Bank

Gotta Have Faith

• Girl talks to pope on immigration, then dad freed WaPo
• How Biblically Accurate Is Noah?
• Man swept out to sea during Sunday morning baptism WaPo

Workers and Wage Slaves, Minimum Wage, Unemployment, Occupational Hazards, Whistleblowers; Banks and Wall Street, Class Warfare; Politics of Lying, Koch Suckers, Corruption, Bridgegate, Vote Machinations; Obamacare, Abortion and Birth Control, War on Women

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Former CEO: There Is No One Representing Low-Wage Workers
• Wal-Mart manager speaks out about his store's ugly reality—"From no time off, to working multiple roles at once, here's what's really going on at the mega-chain." Salon
• Goodwill paying disabled employees pennies per hour—"Advocacy groups push to end subminimum wage law, which allows bosses to give scant payment to people with disabilities."
• Blueberry lies: WSJ spearheads disingenuous effort to keep exploiting farm workers—"When the government recently stepped in to protect low-paid laborers, the conservative establishment lost its mind." Salon
• Apple, Google lose bid to avoid trial on tech worker lawsuit

Minimum Wage

• Connecticut senate approves bill to raise minimum wage to $10.10
• $28.25: the minimum wage D.C. would need to support a modest 2-bedroom WaPo
• White House urges higher pay for tipped workers
• Edwards calls on Maryland Senate to restore wage hike for tipped employees—"Our tax dollars are actually subsidizing the profit line of employers who are not paying a minimum wage."
• SeaTac Workers Fight for Their 15

Unemployment

• Only 11% of the long-term unemployed find work again a year later
• Long-term jobless face a dark future in U.S.: study
• Jobless father of 4: Awaiting lifeline from Congress

Occupational Hazards

• Study: Welfare recipients spend millions on ATM fees—Punishing the poor.
• Interns are now protected against sexual harassment in New York City—"New bill adds the Big Apple to growing list of cities establishing greater safeguards for unpaid workers." Salon
• Fit-to-work tests: Atos quits contract—"The firm that carries out assessments of whether disability claimants in Britain are fit to work is quitting its contract early, the government says."

Whistleblowers

• Dish Fined $250,000 For Blacklisting Whistle Blowing Employee
• HMRC criticised for using terror laws against tax whistleblower—"Public accounts committee chair says tax official's use of powers to track down journalist had 'shocked her to the bones.'"
• Why must whistleblower employees stand alone?

Banks and Wall Street

• Ex-Madoff employees found guilty of conspiracy
• Bank of America to pay $9.3 billion to settle mortgage bond claims
• Bad News Drew Citi CEO to Rush Home—"Results of 'stress test' mean Corbat had to hurry to reassure staff and investors."
• U.S. Banks Enjoy 'Too-Big-To-Fail' Advantage: Fed Study
• 'Inevitable glitches' ahead for U.S. anti-tax evasion law: IRS
• Wal-Mart sues Visa for $5 billion over 'swipe fees'
• The Case That Could Rock the Occupy Movement—"Cecily McMillan faces up to seven years in jail on charges of assaulting a police officer, sending a chilling message to Occupy protesters."

Class Warfare

• Krugman: Wealth Over Work—"Making America safe for oligarchy." NYT
• It's Ugly—"Sen. Bernie Sanders discusses Republican proposals to cut food stamps with Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC."
• Georgia may soon drug test food stamp recipients

Politics of Lying

• Some conspiracy theories aren't cheap
• Conservatives Have Figured Out A Disturbingly Effective Strategy: Tell Lots And Lots of Lies
• Explainer: Who Can Lie to Congress?

Koch Suckers

• Koch-Funded Network Jumps To Defend Billionaire Brothers Against Democratic Attacks
• The Koch brothers' influence on college campus is spreading
• Out-of-county anti-taxer prompts confrontation in Chesterfield—"A spirited public hearing on a proposed tax increase in Chesterfield County turned ugly Wednesday night when a conservative activist for a national organization got into a confrontation with an audience member."

Corruption

• Calif. Lawmakers Vote to Suspend Sen. Leland Yee, 2 Other Senators
• Mayor Cannon resigns after corruption arrest
• Hidden cameras catch lobbyists, AZ lawmakers wining and dining

Bridgegate

• Chris Christie's 'Bridgegate' given a $1-million coat of whitewash
• Christie: I Can't Recall What Port Authority Exec Told Me During Lane Closures
• Attorney For Former Christie Aide Unloads On Governor's Self-Exoneration

Vote Machinations

• New G.O.P. Bid to Limit Voting in Swing States—"Already, nine states, under Republican control, have passed measures making it harder to vote since the beginning of 2013." NYT
• Wisconsin governor signs bill ending early weekend voting—Also forcing them (non-Republicans... sshhh) to skip work in order to vote.
• North Carolina ordered to release documents in voter law challenge—"North Carolina legislators who shaped sweeping voting changes, including requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, must provide some emails and other documents to groups challenging the law, a federal judge has ruled."
• Arkansas: State GOP seeks to intervene in lawsuit over voter ID

Obamacare

• White House Delights In Taunting Republicans Who Mocked Early Obamacare Numbers
• Obamacare Still Needs To Overcome Hurdles After Enrollment Deadline
• Bill Clinton to Democrats: Don't run from a fight Politico
• The House Republican Mess—"Did you see what happened yesterday in the House of Representatives? Yup, another example of a dysfunctional Republican Party."
• Why Funny or Die entered the Obamacare wars—"The comedy website released its second viral Obamacare video on Tuesday. Here's why." Salon

Abortion and Birth Control

• Appeals court upholds Texas abortion restrictions behind a devastating health crisis in the state—"The panel of judges ruled that the law 'does not impose an undue burden on the life and health of a woman.'" Salon
• New abortion clinic planned for Texas as law closes facilities
• Who uses birth control? Irresponsible people, says state senator
• W.Va. gov. vetoes 20-week abortion ban bill
• In 2014, why are we still arguing about birth control?
• New Anti-Abortion Debate: Just How Extreme Are We?
• When Anti-Abortion Harassment Gets Personal

War on Women

• Inside The GOP's Attempt To Change Its 'War On Women' Image—"The 2014 campaign cycle is shaping up to be a war over women, and a slew of PR firms on both sides are up for the challenge."
• Jimmy Carter: Not Supporting Equal Pay Is Abuse Against Women
• Democrats seize on equal pay as a midterm issue
• Sidestepping Equal Pay Attacks, Greg Abbott Tries To Accuse Wendy Davis Of Gender Discrimination—Perry calls equal pay debate 'nonsense.'
• California's 'Close The Gap' Tour Is Demanding Gender Equality In Politics

Earth Hour, Oil Spill, Air Pollution; Ecology; Climate Change, Science Under Siege, Cosmos

Earth Hour

• State allowed logging on plateau above slope—"In recent decades the state allowed logging — with restrictions — on the plateau above the Snohomish County hillside that collapsed in last weekend's deadly mudslide."
• Duke Energy seeks to keep records from regulators—"Worried about getting a fair shake from investigators, Duke Energy is asking a judge to shield its records from North Carolina regulators and environmental groups while a federal criminal probe is ongoing."
• US House votes to allow dumping of coal mining waste into streams—"House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, called it part of an effort to stop what Republicans call the 'war on coal' and a 'pro-growth jobs bill.'"
• George Osborne is preparing to kill off Britain's renewable energy revolution—"In delivering budget, chancellor stealthily abolished a tax break that attracts private money to help build our green energy future."
• State officials abruptly cancel talk by FSU professor Diane Roberts—"Roberts [who has been critical of the administration of Gov. Rick Scott] planned to discuss Florida's environment and problems with the state's rivers, lakes and springs."
• Death threats made to Ecuadorian lawyer in Chevron pollution case—"Juan Pablo Saenz is representing small farmers trying to force Chevron to pay damages for pollution in the Amazon."
• In California, Demand for Groundwater Causing Huge Swaths of Land to Sink
• Kiruna: How to move a town two miles east

Oil Spill

• Malfunction at BP's Whiting Refinery sends oil into Lake Michigan—They've doubled their original estimates.
• Texas Oil Spill Investigation Far From Over
• Hikers find unreported oil spill into Grand Staircase monument
• Seattle scientists show how Deepwater Horizon spill caused heart damage in young tuna
• Galveston Bay Oil Spill: Wildlife Damage Expected to Get 'Much Worse'; 100 Ships, Barges At Standstill

Air Pollution

• Air Pollution Kills 7 Million a Year, WHO Says
• Most Face Masks In China Don't Work And Pollution Is Getting Worse
• China Admits Its Cities Are Failing Pollution Standards As Beijing Chokes On Smog Again

Ecology

• Tigers slaughtered in show of social stature for Guangdong businessmen—"Police seize body of freshly killed tiger and discover video evidence of electrocution and torture after raid in Zhanjiang."
• Copenhagen Zoo kills 4 lions, weeks after shooting giraffe
• Elephant thought rescued by Sir Paul McCartney found beaten in chicken shack

Climate Change

• UN Blames 2013 Storms, Floods On Human-Induced Climate Change
• Bad Astronomy: This Old Earth Is Warming Up
• How climate change will acidify the oceans
• Bill Nye, the Climate Guy—"A kids' TV star is liberals' most effective spokesman against right-wing science skeptics."
• Obama Talks Climate Change in James Cameron's Showtime Documentary—He's looking into new gas and oil regulations to address climate change.
• Climate Denier Jim Inhofe Says He Could Lead Senate's Top Environment Committee Next Year—"Inhofe has also said that humans lack the ability to affect the climate because control is limited to divine powers: 'The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what [God] is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.'" Best evidence for not having a god if this guy gets the job.
• Nate Silver's Climate Author Accused Of Threatening Critics—"Pielke argued that the cost of natural disasters has risen not because of climate change, but as a result of an increase in wealth."
• U.S. Tries To Stop India's Solar Policy While Pushing Fight Against Climate Change

Science Under Siege

• Contrarians bully journal into retracting a climate psychology paper—"After threats of frivolous libel and defamation lawsuits, a journal will retract an academically sound paper."
• How The Koch Brothers Are Hacking Science
• Billionaires With Big Ideas Are Privatizing American Science—"As government financing of basic research has fallen off precipitously, philanthropists have stepped in, setting priorities and drawing both gratitude and trepidation from scientists." NYT
• Right-wing billionaires, creationism and pseudo-science: Why is a wingnut giving commencement speech at Montana's best tech college?—"Uproar at Montana Tech as a conservative funder of creationist museums is asked to speak at top engineering school." Salon
• Special report: Taxpayers fund creationism in the classroom Politico
• GOP: Predict storms, not climate change

Cosmos

• Yes, "Cosmos" Fans, Creationists Also Deny the Science of Comets—"Last night on "Cosmos," Neil deGrasse Tyson explained how comets work, and why they're not bad omens. They are for creationists, though." I never knew Halley was had such a profound influence on Newton.
• Creationist Complains That His Side Isn't Getting Equal Time on Cosmos
• Cosmic terror: Why Neil deGrasse Tyson has religious fundamentalists so freaked—"Religious belief systems prefer a universe with mankind firmly at its center. No wonder 'Cosmos' is so threatening." Salon

Ukraine vs. Russia; Turkey; War on Terror, Police State; Monetary Damages; Child Endangerment; Home Invasion; Road Rage; Guns; Slavery

Ukraine vs. Russia

• Ukraine says 100,000 Russian troops near border
• A rapid Russian build-up of tanks and troops with tough talk from President Vladimir Putin raises fears war with Ukraine could be imminent
• Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimea illegal: UN General Assembly
• Ukraine faces hard road to economic recovery with Moscow pushing back—"Price Ukraine pays for Russian gas to rise 80 pct."
• Yanukovich calls for referendum on each Ukrainian region: Report

Turkey

• Recordings, Posted Online, Rattle Officials in Turkey—"A recording was posted on YouTube in which officials were heard discussing a plot to establish a justification for military strikes in Syria." NYT
• Turkish foreign minister calls Syria security leak a declaration of war
• PM Erdogan plotted sex tape to topple opposition leader, audio leak reveals
• Turkey moves to block YouTube access after 'audio leak'—EFF says Tor has been blocked too.
• Turkish Court Overturns the Government's Ban on Twitter—"It was not immediately clear whether the ruling would be appealed or circumvented by a new court order." NYT

War on Terror

• UN human rights report slams US for torture, NSA spying
• After seven years, exactly one person gets off the gov't no-fly list—"New report on terrorism 'blacklists' suggests it won't be easier the next time."
• T.S.A. Calls for Armed Guards at Airport Checkpoints—"The agency is recommending several new security measures in response to a fatal shooting last year at Los Angeles International Airport." NYT
• Editorial: Washington's anti-terrorism handouts—"Federal funding is sweet manna from heaven, as far as local and state officials are concerned. The dollars bolster budgets and support special projects without requiring cuts to other programs that, the public is assured, are far too important to sacrifice. It’s free money."

Police State

• Law enforcement in the United States: Armed and dangerous—"No-knock raids, assault weapons and armoured cars: America's police use paramilitary tactics too often."
• Paramilitary police: Cops or soldiers?—"America’s police have become too militarised."
• Communities grow weary of militarized police
• 4 shocking examples of police militarization in America's small towns—"Research shows that the number of SWAT teams in municipalities smaller than 50,000 is up more than 300 percent." Salon
• Officers being 'warriors' modern policing problem

Monetary Damages

• Man chases a $20 down a storm drain, gets stuck underground for two days
• Colo. Man to Go to Trial in May Over $42 Girl Scout Cookie Purchase
• Gambler sues, says he lost $500,000 playing drunk

Child Endangerment

• Jessica Dutro murder trial: Motive for Tigard killing was 4-year-old's perceived homosexuality, prosecutors say
• Tulsa Women With Dead Toddler In Car Found Guilty Of Murder—"The Assistant District Attorney said 19-month-old Zamontay Green was basically tortured to death with long-term abuse.... 'He had been kicked, he had been punched, he had been struck with cords, he had been struck with belts.'"
• 3 Children Found Starving in Home Had 'Hardly Eaten for Months'
• Man left baby in car, went into strip club for hours, police say
• Man gets 16 years for putting infant in freezer
• Minneapolis man, 32, punches 8-year-old, steals iPad
• Razor blades glued to playground at IL park

Home Invasion

• Surveillance Video Shows Burglar Firing Into Home But Police Still Charge Resident For Shooting Back!
• Houston area father kills boy he found in daughter's bedroom—"The father then went into the girl's bedroom and discovered the 17 year old male in bed with his 16 year old daughter. The daughter denied knowing who the boy was. [...] The 16 year old girl later admitted to investigators that she did know the boy and had let him into the home." Looks like she's at fault.
• Uptown family concerned by lack of 911 response after break-in, several calls to authorities—A lot could have happened in during that two-hour delay.

Road Rage

• Two families of victims killed by Texas 'affluenza' teen reach settlement—A injured boy's family is filing a civil suit.
• At Least Two Dead After Car Crashes Into Crowd At SXSW—Up to three now. The driver was reportedly drunk and fleeing the police.
• Manslaughter charge sought for deputy sheriff—"A Maricopa County sheriff's deputy was driving at a rate more than twice the speed limit moments before his Chevrolet Tahoe T-boned a Nissan Cube in December, killing the 63-year-old driver."

Guns

• California Senate's Top Gun Control Advocate Arrested In Firearms Trafficking Plot
• Open-carry gun lawsuit claims Flint Township police improperly jailed man Christmas Eve
• Supreme Court upholds gun ban for domestic violence +

Slavery

• Life in a 'dog cage': Manhattan's secret tenement offers hell for $10 a night
• Malaysian couple to hang for starving Indonesian maid to death
• An Underworld of Male Slaves Comes to Light in the U.K.
• Trucker Kept Sex Slaves, Including Fla. Relative: Deputies
• Video: Daily Record man tells of scenes of fear and desperation as he goes undercover at the rat-infested Bellgrove dosshouse

War on Terror, Boston Bombing; Military Industrial Complex; Ukraine; MH370; NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy; Media and Transparency; Obamacare, Hobby Lobby

War on Terror

• Obama Defends Iraq Invasion: At Least America 'Sought' To Get UN Backing—Using Powell's cooked-up WMD presentation? Weak sauce, Barry.
• The CIA Doesn't Want You to Know How Badly It Botched Torture
• Pentagon Says GOP's Benghazi Probes Have Cost Millions
• New York Times report: Pakistani officials knew about bin Laden's whereabouts
• New York Times Story on Pakistan Censored by Local Printer—"A New York Times story saying Pakistan’s government protected Taliban forces [NYT] was censored by the publisher’s printing partner in that country, resulting in a blank hole on the front page of its international edition."
• Sardar Ahmad, charming and versatile AFP journalist
• CNN journalists arrested trying to sneak into World Trade Center
• Jimmy Carter: Drones Create More Terrorists

Boston Bombing

• Florida declines to charge FBI agent over Ibragim Todashev shooting death—"Unnamed agent also cleared by bureau in death of Boston Marathon suspect's friend, killed during interrogation in Florida."
• FBI Missed Boston Marathon Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev Because of Spelling Error—More security theater from no-fly lists.
• Boston Marathon bombing: Tsarnaev's defence team want charges thrown out

Military Industrial Complex

• More Allies Are Cutting Orders for the Pentagon's Costly New Fighter Jet
• The Pentagon Spent $2.7 Billion on an Intelligence System That Doesn't Work
• Boeing U.S. tanker program seen $1 billion over budget

Ukraine

• The GOP Just Screwed Ukraine Out of Billions to Hurt Obama
• Poland FM says Ukraine has paid 'very high price' to join EU
• IMF agrees $14-18 billion bailout for Ukraine

MH370

• Malaysia says there's sealed evidence on MH370 that cannot be made public
• Family Member Files Lawsuit Over Missing Jet as Frustrating Search Continues
• Thai satellite 'shows 300 floating objects'

NSA Spying

• NSA reform proposals fail to fully protect privacy—It leaves out email, text and social media.
• Mr. Obama's Limits on Phone Records—"If President Obama really wants to end the bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records, he doesn’t need to ask the permission of Congress, as he said on Tuesday he would do. He can just end it himself, immediately." NYT
• Turning Off the Vacuum Cleaner—"Why Congress supports Obama's proposal to end the NSA's bulk metadata collection program."
• We may have witnessed a NSA "Shotgiant" TAO-like action
• Snowden intel in Russian hands: US lawmakers—Desparately pathetic hatchet job.
• Jimmy Carter says he would consider pardoning Edward Snowden WaPo
• 'Guardian' threatened with closure over Snowden leaks, conference told—"Deputy editor details extent to which intelligence agencies tried to stop newspaper's disclosures."

Surveillance and Privacy

• Don't Listen to Google and Facebook: The Public-Private Surveillance Partnership Is Still Going Strong
• Judge denies gov't request to search suspect's iPhone in ricin case—"Georgetown U student told FBI he learned to make the poison via his iPhone."
• Brazil passes groundbreaking Internet governance Bill—"Key provisions around net neutrality, right to privacy and freedom of expression online are part of the country's first 'Internet Constitution.'"

Media and Transparency

• Risen: Obama administration is this generation’s 'greatest enemy of press freedom'
• Former Obama official: Free speech ruling threatens 'public civility' and 'democratic self-government'—Fascist statements.
• Feinstein's Bill to Kill Free Speech of Independent Journalists 'Has Votes' to Pass Senate
• NSA Invokes 'National Defense' and the Espionage Act to Stonewall MIT Student’s FOIA Request on Nelson Mandela
• Spy chief wins anti-transparency award—Congratulations to James Clapper for lying to Congress.

Obamacare

• Obama Should Have Personally Announced the Latest Obamacare Deadline Extension
• Ongoing health exchange tech problems force enrollment deadline extension—"HHS loosens rules to accommodate those still stuck in enrollment-site hell."
• The Conventional Wisdom Is Wrong. Obamacare Isn't Dooming Democrats in November
• Republican Louisiana Senate Candidate: The Uninsured Are 'Less Sophisticated… Less Educated'
• The battle over Obamacare is really a battle over Obama WaPo

Hobby Lobby

• John Roberts Offers Conservatives A Way Out Of Birth Control Dilemma
• The Stakes On Hobby Lobby Cases Are Much Bigger Than Birth Control
• Slippery slopes before the court WaPo

Obamacare, Hobby Lobby; Koch Suckers; Hi-Yo Silver; Racism

Obamacare

• The Affordable Care Act Is Working—Will it be really succesful? Politico
• Poll: 60 Percent Of Uninsured Don't Know About Looming Obamacare Deadline
• Obama To Latinos: Enrolling In ACA Won't Affect Undocumented Relatives
• Voters should know who's holding up their health care WaPo
• New anti-Obamacare ad makes misleading claims—As someone who doesn't live in the US, I ask: are there enough, if any, pro-ACA ads running to counter this propaganda? WaPo
• The Bizarre Case Of Matt Drudge And His Obamacare 'Liberty Tax'
• Obama Co-Opts Tea Party Slogan For Obamacare Bumper Sticker

Hobby Lobby

• Justices Wonder If Obamacare Tweaks Undercut Birth Control Mandate
• Kagan Throws Scalia's Own Religious Liberty Arguments Back In His Face
• Justice Kennedy Thinks Hobby Lobby Is An Abortion Case — That's Bad News For Birth Control
• Birth control is not a religious issue; it is a basic health-care issue
• Supreme Court signals support for corporate religious claims
• Your Health Care, Your Choices (Amen, to That!)—"The contraception mandate rightfully highlights preventative care, including a woman's right to use her benefits as she so chooses—whether it impedes on a company like Hobby Lobby's religious beliefs or not."
• Should Corporations Have the Same Religious Freedom Rights as People?—"An analysis of today's Supreme Court arguments in the 'Hobby Lobby' case."

Koch Suckers

• The Koch Brothers: Only 48 Percent of Americans Know Them, Most Dislike Them
• An amazing chart on how the Koch brothers are dominating the Senate ad race WaPo
• Whining about the Koch Brothers is a losing strategy

Hi-Yo Silver

• Nate Silver's 2014 Senate prediction: The FiveThirtyEight whiz forecasts Democratic defeat, and Democrats are furious—Shooting the messenger. Typical.
• Nate Silver Knocks 'Hypocritical' Democrats Who Criticized His Analysis—This should be a wake-up call.
• Nate Silver Is 'Happy To Forgive' Paul Krugman For Acting Like A Hedgehog

Racism

• No, Donald Rumsfeld Wasn't Calling Obama a "Trained Ape"—Tell that to Belgium's The Daily Herald and their so-called satire.
• A Minneapolis Restaurant Hosted A Nazi-Themed Party On MLK Day—They did nazi the ensuing uproar.
• Black students eight times more likely to be suspended than whites in Madison public schools

MH370; Net Neutrality, Broadband and Wireless; Amazon Prime; Apps, Gaming; Copyfight; Tesla; Haxx0red; NSA Spying and Surveillance

MH370

• Search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 suspended after confirmation it went down in Indian Ocean
• Maybe Those Cold-Hearted Texts to the MH370 Families Weren't So Cold-Hearted After All
• How 'groundbreaking' number crunching found path of Flight 370
• Jon Stewart Mocks CNN's 'F*ck It, Let's Go Nuts' Missing Jet Coverage

Net Neutrality

• Al Franken: Don't let Comcast "manipulate Internet traffic"—"Time Warner merger review should focus on net neutrality and peering, Al says."
• Netflix says it will pay "tolls" to more ISPs, not just Comcast—"Video service calls for stronger net neutrality law that covers peering."
• AT&T Exec Calls Netflix's Reed Hastings "Arrogant" For Net Neutrality Post—Also claims lower bills will result from having no net neutrality.
• After 2 months on the job, TWC CEO will grab $80 million payout if Comcast buys his company
• Not A Joke: Comcast Says No One Is More Dedicated To Net Neutrality Than It Is

Broadband and Wireless

• UK operator Three will limit data tethering to 2GB for new customers, even if the plan is 'unlimited'
• Level 3 blames Internet slowdowns on ISPs' refusal to upgrade networks—"Cogent and Netflix aren't the only ones haggling with Verizon and AT&T."
• Verizon accused of forcing Internet phones on land-line users—"Ratepayers complain that the telecom is pushing unwitting Southern California customers to give up their traditional land lines."
• CenturyLink: Trust Us, You Don't Need Google Fiber
• Google Fiber to study bringing high-speed Internet to low-income areas in Nashville
• Silicon Valley is fed up with slow Internet speeds

Amazon Prime

• Amazon raises Prime price to $99, in first ever price hike
• Amazon Accused of Cheating Customers Through Shipping Costs
• Amazon faces a surprisingly strong backlash against Prime price hikes

Apps

• Dear App Store game developers, knock it off with the useless push notifications
• The Flight of the Birdman: Flappy Bird Creator Dong Nguyen Speaks Out—"How did a chain-smoking geek from Hanoi design the viral hit Flappy Bird - and why did he walk away?" Methinks they spoke too soon.
• How clones, fear, sanitisation and free-to-play soured Apple's iOS gaming revolution
• Apple Highlights Indie Games In "Indie Game Showcase" Section

Gaming

• Xbox VP: It was a mistake to 'sugar-coat' the Xbox One controversy
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game - 30th Anniversary Edition
• "The Power of Sheng" w. Super Mario—Old meets new.
• This guy went to a Magic tournament and took photos with every exposed butt crack—He got banned for six months.
• Excavation halted of Atari 'E.T.' dump in New Mexico

Copyfight

• Fluke extends a generous hand in $30,000 multimeter trademark issue—"SparkFun ordered 2,000 multimeters from China, but they ran afoul of US Customs." Fluke's statement.
• Copyright Lawsuit Against Medina Bar: 'Unauthorized' Show By Local Classic Rock Cover Band Caused 'Great and Incalculable Damage'—Over-the-topbullshit.
• Musician Claims $5.2 BILLION In Damages In Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Apple, Amazon And CDBaby
• Judge: IP-Address Is Not a Person and Can't Identify a BitTorrent Pirate
• Warner Bros Fights Looming Exposé of Anti-piracy Secrets
• Popcorn Time Is Hollywood's Worst Nightmare, And It Can't Be Stopped—Should the industry adopt the technology?
• Kim Dotcom loses key evidence ruling at NZ Supreme Court—"Dotcom can't look at his own data to prepare an extradition defense."

Tesla

• Auto dealers fire back at Tesla CEO: 'This Musk guy, he wants all the profits for himself'—As Gruber says, it's like it's from The Sopranos.
• Lawmaker answers Christie's call on Tesla electric car sales—"A Bergen County lawmaker has introduced a bill that would let electric car retailers, like Tesla Motors Inc., sell directly to consumers."
• Tesla Sales Model Upsetting Traditional Auto Dealers—"Tesla's Musk is focusing his attention right where it should be focused: on the well-being of his customers. If his behavior is threatening to the status quo, then those defending the status quo ought to be looking at changing their behavior rather than running to government for protection."
• Texas to Tesla: You Can't Sell Your Cars Here… But Can We Have Your Battery Plant?—Perry may be making moves.
• Fake Tesla Ad Is Better Than Most Car Ads We've Seen (Even Elon Musk Loves It)

Haxx0red

• Attackers to Basecamp: If you ever want to get back online, pay us or else—"Site fights back against extortion-motivated denial-of-service assaults."
• Judge Refuses to Dismiss Confession, Evidence in Reuters Employee Hacking Case
• ATM malware, controlled by a text message, spews cash

NSA Spying and Surveillance

• White House to propose law to end NSA bulk collection of phone data—"Phone companies will keep data, provided only with new court's order."
• Greenwald: Obama’s New NSA Proposal and Democratic Partisan Hackery—"As for the substantive reform, the fact that the President is now compelled to pose as an advocate for abolishing this program – the one he and his supporters have spent 10 months hailing – is a potent vindication of Edward Snowden’s acts and the reporting he enabled."
• After Reports on N.S.A., China Urges End to Spying—"The Chinese called on the United States to explain its actions after news reports said that the N.S.A. had hacked into the computer systems of Huawei, a telecommunications company." They probably didn't like Obama's answer. NYT
• Schneier: An Open Letter to IBM's Open Letter—IBM claims it's committed in maintaining trust with their clients (does that include the US government?).

Surveillance State, CIA Senate Spying, NSA, Data Privacy, Your Rights Online; Tech Cases; World TB Day

Surveillance State

• Jimmy Carter believes U.S. is spying on him—"I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored." Also, he says that Snowden's leaks "good for Americans to know."
• Sen. Ron Wyden scorches senior CIA and NSA officials and their 'pattern of deception'
• Spy Agencies, Not Politicians, Hold the Cards in Washington—"The CIA and NSA routinely ignore the Constitution, yet want the Justice Department to protect them from an over-reaching Congress."
• Government must stop requesting broad email search warrants, judge says—"District court says it will reject future broad requests." A federal judge says it's "repugnant to the Fourth Amendment."
• How Much Microsoft Charges the FBI for User Data
• Police keep quiet about cell-tracking technology—"Police across the country may be intercepting phone calls or text messages to find suspects using a technology tool known as Stingray. But they're refusing to turn over details about its use or heavily censoring files when they do."
• Navy database tracks civilians' parking tickets, fender-benders, raising fears of domestic spying
• America's Creepy, Surveillance-Endorsing Love of NCIS—"By featuring warrantless agents who thwart domestic terrorists with fantastical technology, shows like NCIS essentially ask Americans to root for Big Brother."
• Former US intelligence contractor speaks on 1975 Australian coup—"Boyce, now 61, confirmed his previous statements that the CIA was centrally involved in the dismissal of the Whitlam government."

CIA Senate Spying

• Terror Report Release May Fuel The Spat Between Congress And The CIA
• CIA chief vows fast review of declassifying interrogation report—Declassifying or destructifying?
• Nancy Pelosi: When Legislators Take on the CIA, 'They Come After You'
• How the CIA Blew It—"America's spooks aren't going rogue. They just picked a fight they couldn't possibly win." Politico
• False Equivalence and the Feud Between the CIA and the Senate—"The outbreak of open hostilities between Dianne Feinstein and the spy agency she oversees is not a problem—it is a glimmer of hope."

NSA

• Greenwald: Some Facts About How NSA Stories Are Reported
• This Is How the NSA Is Trying to Win Over the Media—"[T]he latest step in the NSA's PR campaign is perhaps its boldest and most bizarre yet: A glossy, full-color "media kit" sent to news organizations."
• Was FISC judge misled by gov't lawyers in evidence-destruction spat?—"And a CA judge makes clear: Spying data must be kept to resolve activist suits."
• Targeting Huawei: NSA Spied on Chinese Government and Networking Firm—Ruh-roh.
• SPIEGEL Interview with Former NSA Director Michael Hayden—"In a SPIEGEL interview, former NSA director Michael Hayden, 69, discusses revelations of US spying on Germany made public in documents leaked by Edward Snowden, surveillance against German leaders and tensions between Berlin and Washington."
• Google's Larry Page: We can't Have NSA Spying and a Functioning Democracy
• NSA hacker in residence dishes on how to 'hunt' system admins—"Latest Snowden docs offer lulz from NSA's internal hacker how-to board."

Data Privacy

• The White House wants to know how worried you are about data privacy
• How Microsoft tracked down a spy who leaked its secrets—Was the "sniffing" justified on Hotmail, which Microsoft owns?
• It's not just Microsoft: Apple and Google can also read your emails
• Google Under Fire for Data-Mining Student Email Messages
• Now Gmail Encrypts Messages Sent to Google Servers
• Twitter gives up on encrypting direct messages, at least for now
• Facebook's DeepFace Project Nears Human Accuracy In Identifying Faces
• Fighting Against Phony Location Privacy Protections in the States
• Yahoo forces fantasy sports users to divulge phone numbers

Your Rights Online

• Michelle Obama tells Chinese students internet freedom's a universal right
• The Trans-Pacific Partnership Will "Significantly" Restrict Online Freedoms
• Twitter website 'blocked' in Turkey—So far not so much.
• Orange Gives All Of Its Data To France's NSA
• The Australian Law that Would Force Suspects to Hand Over their Passwords

Tech Cases

• "Weev" prosecutor admits: I don't understand what the hacker did—""Andrew "weev" Auernheimer gets his day in appellate court."
• MIT faulted over its support for students—"School counters it is 'eager' to help 4 facing N.J. fraud charges." Here they go again.
• British man Lauri Love charged with hacking US Federal Reserve servers—"US indictment includes hacking and aggravated identity theft charges that carry a maximum prison sentence of 12 years."

World TB Day

The Francis Effect, Sex Abuse Scandal; Cosmos, Science Under Siege; Church vs. State, Abortion and Birth Control, Marriage Equality, Homophobia; Islam and Islamophobia, Fervor Pitch; History, Gotta Have Faith

The Francis Effect

• One year of Pope Francis: A priest reflects
• Report: Benedict Critiqued Pope Francis' Interview On Gay Marriage, Abortion
• The World's 50 Greatest Leaders—He's #1.
• Pope Francis denounces 'evil, blood-stained' mafia
• Catholicism and women: The winds of change

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Pope hits out at criticism of Church over sexual abuse
• Pope appoints former child victim to church group on sex abuse—"Pope Francis on Saturday named a woman molested by a priest as a child to be part of a core group to help the Catholic Church fight the clerical sexual abuse of minors that has haunted it for over two decades."
• Former Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton priest who was named as a child abuser now is a vicar general in Paraguay

Cosmos

• Cosmos Squashes Creationism Under the Weight of Evidence—And science deniers are freaking out.
• Oklahoma TV station censors evolution talk on Cosmos reboot—They claim it was unintended, unlike what happened before.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Is Really Starting To Scare Conservatives
• Creationists Demand Airtime On 'Cosmos' For The Sake Of Balance—Genesis is not a documentary.

Science Under Siege

• How Did Creationists Respond to Yesterday's Big News in Support of the Big Bang Theory?—With a river in Egypt.
• From creationism to ESP: Why believers ignore science—"A journalist's investigation of strange beliefs and the people who hold them leaves him questioning himself." Salon
• Jewish school redacts exam to remove evolution questions

Church vs. State

• 5 disturbing ways the religious right is trying to rewrite American history—"Disregarding the separation of church and state is just the beginning..." Salon
• Republican Files Bill to Make the Bible Louisiana's Official State Book—Korans need not apply.
• Object to biased resolution condemning only Christian persecution
• Buddhist Student, Religious Liberty Prevail In Louisiana
• Israel ends ultra-Orthodox military service exemptions

Abortion and Birth Control

• If Hobby Lobby Wins, It Will Be Even Worse For Birth Control Access Than You Think
• My Employer Shamed Me for Using Birth Control
• A Young Mother In Mississippi Could Face Life In Prison For Giving Birth To A Stillborn Child
• GOP Senate Candidate Drops Strict Anti-Abortion Position—"This was a bad idea driven by good intentions. I was not right. I can't support personhood now. I can't support personhood going forward. To do it again would be a mistake."
• Why Can’t the FDA Fix Outdated Birth Control Labels?—"Contraceptives like Plan B don’t prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in a woman’s body. But their labels still say they do—and they’ve become a tool for conservative activists."
• Life-sized fetus causes cafeteria controversy at Connecticut school—Was it because she had a modest proposal to share?
• Faced With Rising STD Rates, Louisiana Lawmaker Says Lack Of Sex Ed Is 'Really A Form Of Child Abuse'
• My Neighborhood Makes It Easier to Get Pregnant Than To Go To College

Marriage Equality

• Federal judge strikes down Michigan's gay marriage ban—Along with it a fake anti-gay research strategy bankrolled by the religious right. Regnerus' testimony was "entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration." Some couples were able to get married before the temporary stay was issued.
• Wave of Appeals Expected to Turn the Tide on Same-Sex Marriage Bans—"Legal experts predict that several of the circuit courts, which hold sway over a group of states, will rule that state laws limiting marriage to a man and a woman are unconstitutional." NYT
• The Religious Right's Failed Gay-Marriage Backlash—"In states like Arizona, social conservatives hoped to push back against the rising gay-rights tide, but lawmakers and the public sided against them."

Homophobia

• Founder of Westboro Baptist Church, Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. dies—Maddow says his hatred backfired.
• Wyoming GOP lawmaker: Promiscuous gays weaponizing AIDS for a 'national suicide'
• Parents threaten to sink Elyria Schools renewal—"The creation of a gay and straight group for students at Elyria High School has outraged a couple of longtime supporters who are now encouraging their friends to reject a must-needed renewal levy on the May ballot."

Islam and Islamophobia

• Parents fury as pork sausages are banned from the school menu and replaced with halal meat
• Islamic law is adopted by British legal chiefs—"Solicitors told how to draw up Sharia-style wills penalising widows and non-believers."
• Saudi Arabia bans 50 'blasphemous' and 'inappropriate' children's names—"The list of names contradicting the Kingdom’s 'religious and cultural norms' includes several foreign names."
• Shock for critics: Muslim judge's non-sharia ruling—"New Jersey Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed ruled in favor of the mother, and last week, his precedent-setting written opinion was released. That the Muslim judge sided with a woman in a case with a gender dispute might come as a surprise to some of his previous critics."
• ABC Family Pulls Plug on 'Alice in Arabia' After Muslim Org Backlash—"The show's premise centered on an American teen kidnapped by her Saudi Arabian family after tragedy befalls her parents." And here I thought it was a continuation of
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
• Legoland closes resort hotel following threats—"[A] private fun day organised by the Muslim Research and Development Foundation" was cancelled due to "threats from far right organisations".
• Lawsuit filed after praying family escorted from Empire State Building

Fervor Pitch

• Nigeria: Attacks on Christians Kill at Least 100
• Hindu temple set on fire in Pakistan over blasphemy
• Woman branded witch, mercilessly killed in Chhattisgarh
• Catholic Leader: I Wasn't Saying That I 'Literally' Wanted Liberal Professors Shot

History

• Nine unopened Dead Sea Scrolls found—Contents to be added to the Dead Sea Scroll digital archive.
• Vatican Library to digitise archives with Japanese support
• Russell Crowe film 'Noah' edited to appease Christians upset by 'historical inaccuracies'

Gotta Have Faith

• Church spent $200K to put pastor's book on bestseller list
• Nun Rocks It On Italy's 'The Voice' Singing Competition And No One Can Believe It: Sister Cristina Scuccia Wows
• 8 Ancient Beliefs Now Backed By Modern Science

Workers and Wage Slaves, Class Warfare; Mortgage Fraud, Banks and Wall Street; GOP, Koch Suckers, Corporatocracy, Obamacare; Vote Machinations; Politics and Economy; Making Money; World Water Day

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Reich: The 'Paid-What-You're-Worth' Myth
• GOP Lawmaker Says Sick Leave, Equal Pay Bills Make Women 'Look Like Whiners'
• Low-Wage Workers Are Finding Poverty Harder to Escape—"For those at the low end of the hourly wage scale, even meeting basic household needs can be a stretch, and roads out of poverty are scarce." NYT
• Bill Gates: Yes, robots really are about to take your jobs—"As for what governments should do to prevent social unrest in the wake of mass unemployment, the Microsoft cofounder said that they should basically get on their knees and beg businesses to keep employing humans over algorithms."
• This J.C. Penney Worker Was Fired For Telling The Truth About Its 'Fake' Prices
• Revealed: Apple and Google’s wage-fixing cartel involved dozens more companies, over one million employees

Class Warfare

• Krugman: That Old-Time Whistle—"American conservatism is still, after all these years, largely driven by claims that liberals are giving money away to 'those people.'" NYT
• Krugman: High Fallutin' Nazis—"Here comes another billionaire who thinks that anyone who talks about income inequality is a Nazi; this time it's Ken Langone, co-founder of Home Depot." NYT
• Dems hit back after House Speaker Boehner accuses N.Y. and other states of 'cheating' food stamp rules—"House Speaker John Boehner accused New York and four other states of 'cheating' and 'fraud' for sidestepping federal cuts to food stamps through what critics call a 'loophole' in the laws. But Democrats say the states had to step in to keep people from going hungry."
• Paul Ryan's Irish Amnesia—"Talking the familiar, heartless language of hunger economics." NYT
• Tax-Hating States Totally Fine With Taxing The Poor
• The Missing White Poor—"Guess who makes up a plurality of America's poor?"

Mortgage Fraud

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others question lack of prosecutions for mortgage fraud
• Despite Promises To Fight Mortgage Fraud, DOJ Basically Ignored It, Then Claimed Success With Faulty Stats
• Wells Fargo foreclosure manual under fire—"A lawsuit claims it is an elaborate guide telling lawyers how to produce key documents that are missing."

Banks and Wall Street

• The Tea Party and Wall Street Are Friends After All
• The 1% have gained back their recession losses and then some
• 'Then They Fight You' -- Why The 1 Percent Is In Full Panic Mode
• Former bank employee pleads guilty to stealing over $2 million from customers
• Appeals court upholds Fed's debit card 'swipe fee' limits
• Oakland to pay Iraq War vet $4.5 million for Occupy shooting
• The FBI Is Hiding Details About An Alleged Occupy Houston Assassination Plot

GOP

• Why the GOP Won't Change—"A year after their "autopsy," the recommendations haven't been—and won't be—followed."
• Groucho Marx's Republican Party—"Why the GOP is in more trouble than you think." Politico
• Tea Party Candidate Gets Turned Away By The GOP For Spreading Racist Views
• Republican House Candidate Who Said Autism Was the Result of God's Anger Over Gay Marriage Just Won Her Primary
• GOP Lawmaker Thinks Businesses Ought To Be Able To Deny Service To Black People
• AL Republican outraged at teaching of 'The Crucible' because 'McCarthy was right'
• Republicans Versus an Informed Public—"Answering the American Community Survey is the civic duty of everyone, yet some House Republicans seem to think it should be voluntary. That would make the survey's data useless." NYT
• John Oliver Teases New HBO Show By Mocking GOP's 'Millennial' Ads

Corporatocracy

• Bill Maher: Most GOP Voters 'Just Corporate America's Useful Idiots'
• Corporate America Is Hiding $2 Trillion In Profit From The IRS
• The great corporate cash-hoarding crisis—"Companies are sitting on mountains of liquidity, thanks to government policies; the losers are the economy and all of us."

Koch Suckers

• Koch Group, Spending Freely, Hones Attack on Government—"Americans for Prosperity, backed by the Koch brothers, is using a data-driven approach as it pursues its overarching goal of changing the way voters think about government." NYT
• David Vitter defends Koch brothers—"Sen. David Vitter stepped up this week to defend the billionaire Koch brothers from Democrats' repeated attacks [NYT], concluding that they are 'two of the most patriotic Americans.'" Politico
• The biggest lease holder in Canada's oil sands isn't Exxon Mobil or Chevron. It's the Koch brothers. WaPo

Obamacare

• The House has voted 54 times in four years on Obamacare. Here’s the full list. WaPo
• This guy knew when Obamacare enrollment would hit 5M before anyone else. Now he's predicting 6.2M. WaPo
• The House GOP's Obamacare Alternative Won't Curb Health Care Costs—But It Will Enrich the Insurance Industry
• Koch Group Yet Again Fails Fact Check On Obamacare Horror Story
• Politifact: Americans for Prosperity claims people are getting less at a higher cost under Obamacare—False.
• The real goal of all those anti-Obamacare ads—"A new report suggests they're all about protecting the Koch brothers' bottom line." WaPo
• South Carolina lawmakers fail in attempt to undo Obamacare
• Paul Ryan Gets An Earful From Constituent Who Will Save Hundreds Under Obamacare
• Fox News's Bret Baier corrects Obamacare mistake WaPo

Vote Machinations

• Kane shut down sting that snared Phila. officials—"The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office ran an undercover sting operation over three years that captured leading Philadelphia Democrats, including four members of the city's state House delegation, on tape accepting money.... Yet no one was charged with a crime." The money was for a "vote against a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls, the sources said."
• Wisconsin Voters Under Attack—"Wisconsin's legislature approved a bill to limit absentee ballots." And early voting.
• Ohio Mistrusts Democracy—"Republicans again pass restrictive new laws making it harder for their opponents to vote." NYT
• Federal Judge Hands Republicans In Kansas, Arizona A Big Win In Voting Rights Fight—All about suppressing the vote [NYT].
• Right-Wing Extremists in Montana File for Legislative Races as Democrats
• Ga. Congressman slams door on Ch. 2 reporter when asked about campaign coach
• Former offender acquitted in Iowa voter fraud case—"A former drug offender who believed her voting rights had been restored when she cast a ballot last year was acquitted of perjury Thursday, a public rebuke of Iowa's two-year investigation into voter fraud."
• Who's Buying our Midterm Elections?—'In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court is expected to issue another big decision on campaign finance, one that could further open the floodgates to unfettered and anonymous contributions, just as the Citizens United case did four years ago."
• Scalia's looming fiasco: Obscure new SCOTUS case may be worse than Citizens United. Salon
• Nate Silver: What the Fox Knows

Politics and Economy

• Paul Gosar Wants To Ban Members Of Congress From Flying First Class On 'Taxpayer Dime'
• Personal FBI flights for Holder and other Justice officials went unreported—"Personal FBI flights for Holder and other Justice officials went unreported." WaPo\
• After Casino Mogul Throws Him Big Money Fundraiser, Graham Seeks Internet Gambling Ban
• Government's Empty Buildings Are Costing Taxpayers Billions
• Are Malls Over?

Making Money

• Obama Proposes the End of Pennies—Nickel for your thoughts?
• Federal Reserve to Unveil a Redesigned $100 Bill—"The new $100 bill will have modern and colorful anti-counterfeiting features, overcoming problems that postponed its debut for more than two and a half years." NYT
• Laundering money — literally — could save billions of dollars
• How the U.S. Mint Made Its First-Ever Domed Coin
• UK's new 12-sided £1 said to be the world's most secure coin

World Water Day

• Facing drought, California farmers rally against regulations limiting water supplies
• Brazil drought raises concerns about World Cup water supply
• Fracking and water pollution: what we can learn from the US experience
• North Carolina to withdraw Duke Energy settlement over coal ash spill—"North Carolina regulators say they have asked a judge to withdraw a proposed settlement that would have allowed Duke Energy to resolve environmental violations by paying a $99,000 fine with no requirement that the $50bn company clean up its pollution."
• Hog Wild: Factory Farms Are Poisoning Iowa's Drinking Water—"Millions of pigs are crammed into overcrowded barns all across the state, being fattened for slaughter while breeding superbugs—all to feed China's growing appetite for Spam."