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,side pocket,Man Oh Man 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.
Welcome to anyone who's not watching "Breaking Bad" if there are any.
CNN
Gunmen open fire on sleeping college students in Nigeria
CNN) -- Under the cover of darkness, gunmen approached a college dormitory in a rural Nigerian town and opened fire on students who were sleeping.
At least 21 died, according to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
The gunmen fired indiscriminately on the male dorm, said Lazarus Eli, a military spokesman. The attack took place at about 1 a.m. Sunday at the College of Agriculture Gujba.
"So far all evidence points to the Boko Haram," Eli told CNN by phone.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Latest toll more than 40.
CNN
The device that could change the Internet
Palo Alto, California (CNN) -- Depending whom you ask, Chad Russell and Charles Butkus' invention is either a step forward for the Internet -- or a death knell for free content.
Their AdTrap device intercepts online advertisements before they reach any devices that access your Internet connection, allowing you to surf the Web -- even stream videos -- without those annoying ads.
Their inspiration? A conversation about the early days of the Internet.
"It was page, text and pictures -- and that's it," said Russell, 31.
In other words, there were zero ads. So, Russell and Butkus set out to recreate the past and they came up with AdTrap. The company's motto is, "The Internet is yours again."
CNN
Religious fury alters Miss World in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Demeaning, exploitative, degrading. Beauty pageants have been called lots of things.
And it's also the line coming from Islamic hardliners, who are protesting this year's Miss World Contest, which is held in the most populous Muslim nation in the world.
Protesters in Indonesia denounce the contest where women sashay in swimsuits and form-fitting evening wear, calling it insulting to Muslims and triggering threats of violence.
Islamic groups urged the government to shut the contest down. Hardliners burned signs featuring the image of last year's winner Wenxia Yu of China that read "Reject Miss World." They also presented what they deemed as appropriate attire for beauty contestants -- long dresses and full head scarves
Time Is Short, but G.O.P. Leaders Say Shutdown Can Be Avoided.
N Y Times
WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders said on Sunday that they still believed a government shutdown beginning on Tuesday could be averted if Democrats would accept at least some of their demands to scale back President Obama’s health care law.
“I think the House will get back together, in enough time, send another provision not to shut the government down but to fund it, and it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at,” Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican whip, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
N Y Times
China Sends a Real Estate Mogul to Prison
BEIJING — To millions of Chinese, the enterprising banker from the gritty northern province of Shaanxi is known by the nickname House Sister, and it is not exactly a term of endearment.On Sunday the woman, Gong Aiai, who was accused of amassing dozens of high-end properties by forging or illegally purchasing documents, was sentenced to three years in prison, according to the state-run Xinhua news service.
BBC
Israel PM Netanyahu flies to US to counter Iran 'sweet talk'
I
sraeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to the US for talks with President Barack Obama which will focus on Iran's diplomatic charm offensive.
Before leaving the US on Friday, Iran's new President, Hassan Rouhani, shared a 15-minute phone call with Mr Obama.
Mr Netanyahu, who will meet Mr Obama on Monday then address the UN on Tuesday, said he would "tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk".
Israel and the West suspect Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Tehran denies the claim. Mr Rouhani, who spoke to President Obama late on Friday, has said he wants to seek a deal with world powers on Iran's nuclear programme within months.
BBC
On the other hand......
US and Iranian presidents tweet 'same language'
Suddenly a world which worries about an unpredictable nuclear state has been taken aback by a new kind of power.
Now it's Iran's "charm offensive" that's causing a stir.
A country whose image is often portrayed in black veils and clenched fists now has a smiling, twinkly-eyed, tweeting president reaching out to the West
When news broke on Friday of a historic telephone call in New York between an American and an Iranian president, social media fizzed with excitement and euphoria.
"Given how painless that was, and how many millions of people it made happy, it's amazing it took 34 years to make that call," remarked leading Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
BBC
China offers tax rebates on solar power
China has offered tax rebates to manufacturers of solar power products in an attempt to prop up the struggling sector and also cut pollution levels.
Manufacturers will be refunded 50% of the value added tax from 1 October 2013 to 31 December 2015, the state-owned Xinhua news agency has reported.
Chinese firms emerged as key players in the solar power sector in recent years.
But weak demand and trade rows have resulted in overcapacity, leaving leading firms with huge debts.
According to the Xinhua report, the country's top 10 solar panel makers have up to 100bn yuan ($16.3bn; £10bn) in debt.
L A TIMES
52% want bullet train stopped, poll finds
A majority of voters want the California bullet train project stopped and consider it a waste of money, even as state political leaders have struggled to bolster public support and make key compromises to satisfy critics, a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found.
Statewide, 52% of the respondents said the $68-billion project to link Los Angeles and San Francisco by trains traveling up to 220 mph should be halted. Just 43% said it should go forward.
The poll also shows that cracks in voter support are extending to some traditional allies, such as Los Angeles-area Democrats, who have embraced the concept of high-speed rail as a solution to the state's transportation problems. The survey results suggest that the current plan and its implementation are of specific concern to those voters, according to officials with the Republican and Democratic firms that jointly conducted the poll.
L A TIMES
Incredible photo of makeup at the link.
An ugly episode in Mexico gets uglier
MEXICO CITY — Actor Luis de Alba sat calm and Buddha-like in a tiny dressing room of the Teatro Blanquita, his eyes closed. A makeup artist, armed with a fat brush dipped in liquid foundation, was painting his broad face with big strokes, as though it were the side of a barn.
It was the first step in transforming De Alba, one of Mexico's most beloved comedians, into a garish approximation of one of Mexico's least loved women, Elba Esther Gordillo, the once-powerful teachers union boss whose posh lifestyle erupted in a bonfire of vanities in February, when federal authorities arrested her on charges of embezzlement and organized crime.
USA Today
What could possibly go wrong?
Group caters to rising number of well-armed women
TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- If she's ever confronted in the darkness by a home invader or parking-lot prowler, Holly Young is determined: She does not want to be an easy target.
"I just choose to carry a firearm because I don't want to be a victim," said Young, founder of the Brevard County, Fla., chapter of a growing organization called The Well Armed Woman.
Riding a nationwide trend of rising female gun ownership, The Well Armed Woman introduces women to target practice and classroom instruction on firearm safety and personal self-defense techniques.
According to Gallup poll data, the percentage of American women who own a firearm nearly doubled from 2005-11, rising from 13% to 23%.