Overnight News Digest
Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors jlms qkw, maggiejean, wader, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, and Oke. The guest editor is annetteboardman.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
BBC: Egypt 'freezes assets' of Muslim Brotherhood leaders
Egypt's public prosecutor has frozen the assets of 14 Islamist leaders, according to judicial sources.
The Muslim Brotherhood head Mohammed Badie and his deputy Khairat al-Shater are reported to be among them.
Mr Badie and other Brotherhood figures are already the subject of arrest warrants, while the ousted President Mohammed Morsi remains in custody.
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BBC: Saudi Arabia warns pilgrims over coronavirus
Health officials in Saudi Arabia have asked pilgrims visiting its holy sites to wear masks in crowded places to stop the spread of the MERS coronavirus.
A list of requirements issued by the health ministry also tells elderly people or those with chronic diseases to postpone their pilgrimage.
Thirty-eight people have died from the virus in Saudi Arabia.
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BBC: Spain Barcenas scandal: Rajoy rejects resignation calls
Spain's prime minister says he will not give in to "blackmail", amid calls for him to resign over alleged links to a suspect in a payments scandal.
Mariano Rajoy said he would fulfil the mandate given by the Spanish people
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L A Times: U.S. envoy meets with Egypt's interim leader
CAIRO -- A top U.S. diplomat met with Egypt’s interim leader Monday in the first high-level talks between the nations since a military coup ousted the Islamist former president.
The meeting between Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns and the interim president, Judge Adly Mansour, came amid widespread anger at U.S. policy toward Egypt and ongoing protests demanding the former leader’s reinstatement.
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USA Today: Gay marriage bill clears Britain's House of Lords
LONDON (AP) — Britain's gay marriage bill has cleared its last major hurdle, passing through the House of Lords and prompting celebrations from campaigners outside Parliament.
Supporters of the bill in Parliament's upper house wore pink carnations Monday as the Lords agreed to send it back to the House of Commons, where lawmakers will review government amendments before it becomes law.
That is expected to go without a hitch, as the House of Commons earlier passed the bill 390 to 148.
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Reuters: Researchers hack Verizon device, turn it into mobile spy station
(Reuters) - Two security experts said they have figured out how to spy on Verizon Wireless mobile phone customers by hacking into devices the U.S. carrier sells to boost wireless signals indoors.
This is not about how the NSA would attack ordinary people. This is about how ordinary people would attack ordinary people," said Tom Ritter, a senior consultant with the security firm iSEC Partners.
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BBC: Apple investigates electrocution-by-iPhone report
Apple has said it will "fully investigate" reports that a woman was electrocuted in China while trying to use an iPhone while it was recharging.
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The 23-year-old's brother has given an interview saying that her family believes she received a shock when trying to answer a call on the handset
(Considering the above two stories, I'm going back to 2 cans and a string)
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Reuters: Alaska set for vote on oil-tax cut after lobby group submits petition
(Reuters) - Critics of an oil-industry tax cut handed a petition with 50,000 signatures to Alaska state officials on Saturday, more than enough to force a referendum that would overturn a new oil tax law.
The bill, approved by the legislature three months ago, replaces taxes tracking oil prices with a cap on tax at 35 percent of net profits. Expectations for the new system were for a likely tax range from about 14 percent to about 20 percent.
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Guardian: Blistering heatwave to bake US north-east for rest of the week
An excessive heat warning was issued in parts of the US east coast on Monday as the National Weather Service warned that a heatwave will create dangerous conditions for millions of people.
Cities in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania were subject to the warning, while a heat advisory was in place for New York City and much of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Cities as far west as Chicago and Detroit will also see high temperatures.
Residents have been warned against working in the sun or spending time in non-air conditioned cars as the temperature is expected to rise through the week. The most severe conditions are predicted for Thursday and Friday
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McClatchy:Study: Geothermal power plants trigger small quakes near San Andreas fault
LOS ANGELES — The geothermal power plants at Southern California's Salton Sea don't just produce electricity, they also trigger thousands of temblors not far from one of the West Coast's most dangerous earthquake faults, a new study says.
Research published online this week in the journal Science found that as production rose at the Imperial County geothermal field, so did the number of earthquakes. From 1981 through 2012, more than 10,000 earthquakes above magnitude 1.75 were recorded in the area.
Local interest: I can see the steam from
The Geysers out my window, especially in the winter. And sure enough there's lots of earthquakes around there.
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CNET News: Hubble finds new moon around Neptune that Voyager missed!
In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft was carrying out a survey of Neptune's moons and rings but inexplicably zipped by the planet without registering what would turn out to be truly big news. That finding would have to wait until earlier this month when Mark Showalter, an astronomer at the SETI Institute, was working with images sent back by the Hubble Space Telescope, when he discovered the presence of the smallest moon in the Neptunian system.
The moon, designated S/2004 N 1, is estimated to be no more than 12 miles across. That helps explain why Voyager 2 failed to notice its presence. NASA said the moon was about one hundred million times fainter than the faintest star you can see with the naked eye.
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NPR: In Honduran Crimes, Police Are Seen As Part Of The Problem
In the fight against drug trafficking, Central America has become a large recipient of U.S. aid, receiving nearly half a billion dollars over the past seven years. The money is being spent on strengthening police and military forces that are outgunned by the narcotics traffickers.
The goal is to repeat the kind of success that took place over time in places like Colombia.
But in Honduras, which has become a favorite haven for drug cartels, the security forces remain weak despite the inflow of money. And allegations of corruption, human rights abuses and murder are soaring.
(We spent 10 days there on a Heifer study tour and we felt safe as long as we stayed with the tour guide. It's now considered the murder capitol of the world.)
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Utah News (I couldn't resist) Togetherness, carried too far.
Salt Lake Tribune:Salt Lake police say couple burgled together, but now in jail apart
Off-duty but nonetheless vigilant, a Salt Lake City police officer’s watchfulness led to the arrest of a suspected husband-wife burglary team.
Both the man, 26, and woman, 22, were arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County jail. The male was being held on suspicion of third-degree felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of possession of burglary tools, driving on a suspended driver’s license and failure to wear a seat belt. The woman was being held on suspicion of obstructing justice.