Current Events #14

1. Current Events #14

2. Open Wide Sharks have looked more or less the same for hundreds of millions of years. But a newly discovered fossil suggests that under the hood, a modern shark is very different from its ancient ancestors. The finding, published in the journal Nature, strongly implies that sharks are not the "living fossils" many paleontologists once thought they were. "They have evolved through time to improve upon the basic model," says John Maisey, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History who helped identify the fossil. This newly discovered creature dates back 325 million years. It's no megalodon. It was probably just 2 or 3 feet long and its teeth were tiny, "although there are rows of teeth in the mouth, so it would certainly give you a painful nip," Maisey says. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/04/16/303727295/new-fossil-takes-a-bite-out-of-theory-that-sharks-barely-evolved

3. What’s In Your Food Female inmates will be cooking food and serving staff at New Zealand's busiest court in a plan being worked on by justice and prison bosses. The prisoners, from Auckland Women's Prison, would be paid 20c to 60c an hour to work in the Auckland District Court canteen. Reaction to the plan from people working in the courts has been mixed, and some have reservations about eating food prepared and served by inmates who might blame them for their imprisonment. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11240765

4. Well…Blow the Man Down A joint operation by the British and Australian navies seized the largest ever haul of heroin at sea, weighing 1,032 kilogrammes, the Ministry of Defence announced last night. The drugs, with an estimated British street value of more than £140 million, were found on a dhow, or sailboat, some 30 miles off the coast of east Africa near Kenya and Tanzania. It was made as part of an international operation against drug smuggling in the Indian Ocean, which helps fund organisations such as Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10789531/British-and-Australian-navies-seize-largest-ever-heroin-haul-at-sea.html

5. Blow the Man Down II Tornadoes tore through several states Sunday evening as severe weather slammed into parts of the central United States. Authorities confirmed at least nine fatalities: eight in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma. Damage is "widespread" after a tornado hit Mayflower, Arkansas, and there are numerous reports of injuries, said Matt DeCample, a spokesman for the state's governor. http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/27/us/severe-weather/index.html?c=homepage-t&page=0

6. Respect My Privacy The private records of millions of Australians – including their doctor visits, prescription drugs, childcare and welfare payments – are at the mercy of cyber criminals because of flimsy IT security around a critical federal government website, IT security experts warn. And they say the risk will increase from the middle of the year, when the government will make it compulsory for Australians to use the my.gov.au website to lodge their electronic tax returns, potentially also exposing their financial and banking records to hackers. http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/government-it/australians-private-government-details-at-mercy-of-hackers-say-it-security-experts-20140428-zqzkg.html

7. MLK, Jr. Does Still Have Work to Do Cliven Bundy -- the Nevada rancher turned conservative folk hero for bucking the federal government's attempts to stop his cattle from grazing on public land -- admits he doesn't understand the bipartisan uproar over his comments suggesting blacks might have been better off under slavery. But in a contentious interview Friday on CNN's "New Day," Bundy stood by his remarks, saying he's not a racist but only somebody who speaks his mind, perhaps using politically incorrect language. "Maybe I sinned, and maybe I need to ask forgiveness, and maybe I don't know what I actually said, but when you talk about prejudice, we're talking about not being able to exercise what we think. ... If I say Negro or black boy or slave, if those people cannot take those kind of words and not be (offended), then Martin Luther King hasn't got his job done yet," he told anchor Chris Cuomo on Friday, adding, "We need to get over this prejudice stuff." http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/24/politics/cliven-bundy-interview/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

8. Boys and Their Toys In a $11.6 billion deal, Australia is ordering 58 more F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin, increasing the total fleet to 72, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday. The purchase was described by Mr. Abbott as one of Australia’s largest military purchases and is regionally significant for Lockheed Martin. “The fifth-generation F-35 is the most advanced fighter in production anywhere in the world and will make a vital contribution to our national security,” Mr. Abbott said at a news media briefing in Canberra, Australia’s capital. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/business/international/australia-to-bolster-air-force-with-more-lockheed-jets.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0&referrer=

9. The US Supreme Court on Tuesday takes up two cases testing whether the police, after placing someone under arrest, are free to examine the full contents of the arrestee’s cellphone without first obtaining a search warrant. Two statistics illustrate the broad national implications of a ruling by the high court. Ninety percent of Americans own a cell phone. Roughly 12 million Americans are arrested each year. The case arrives at the court at a time of growing national unease about secret government programs designed to collect and store massive amounts of information about Americans through various forms of digital surveillance. But the case also arises at a time of continuing concern about the threat from terrorism and crime. Warrantless cellphone searches can help quickly solve crimes and, perhaps, save lives. Selfies on Alert http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2014/0428/When-can-cops-search-cellphones-Supreme-Court-to-hear-cases-video

10. Hatred is Global As the convoy of Muslims left the besieged neighborhood, villagers lined the roadside for one last glimpse of their fleeing countrymen. Some of the Muslims packed into the open-air trucks met the villagers’ stares with waves. Others returned only stony gazes, or made rude gestures. It was a final exchange between the 1,300 Muslims sheltering in a neighborhood on the northern flank of the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui and the Christian countrymen who had turned against them, prompting their flight to the country’s north. Already, mobs were at work in the streets they once called home, taking what they could and doing their best to make sure the Muslims never came back. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2014/0429/As-Muslims-flee-Central-African-Republic-fury-fears-of-radicalization

11. Despite conflicting reports to the contrary, the mountain is still open. The government has not issued any prohibition against climbing, releasing a statement on April 24 encouraging expedition teams to go ahead with the season. But support for this season's climb has trickled away, day after day, since the April 18 avalanche that left 13 guides dead and three missing -- the deadliest accident in the history of the world's highest peak. A group of about 50 people, mostly Nepali Sherpas, were hit by the avalanche at more than 20,000 feet just above base camp in the Khumbu Ice Fall. Sherpas, an ethnic group from Nepal's Himalaya region famed for their climbing prowess, aren't officially stopping anyone from attempting the risky journey, though hundreds involved in the lucrative Everest trekking industry have refused to climb. "Without the Sherpas we cannot climb and there is nothing we can do about it," says Tessarolo. To Climb, or Not to Climb http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/29/travel/mount-everest-base-camp-empties/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

12. Finally Oregon's economy added back an estimated 5,000 jobs in the first two months of 2014, as unemployment slid below 7 percent for the first time in more than five years, according to a new state report. Oregon's unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in February, down from 7.0 percent in January, state analysts said Tuesday morning. Employers added a seasonally adjusted 2,900 jobs last month, on top of an upwardly revised 2,100 jobs in January. http://www.oregonlive.com/money/index.ssf/2014/03/unemployment_in_oregon_jobless_rate_slides_below_7_percent_for_first_time_in_5-plus_years.html

13. Abandon Ship…Pants Optional Of the many shocking and wrenching images that have come from the sinking of the Sewol ferry, one that stands out for me depicts the vessel's captain -- head bowed and covered by a hood -- standing on dry land admitting he had abandoned ship. He was, in fact, among the first to be rescued. The shock for me is not this image itself, but the realization that Captain Lee Joon-seok must have known as he got off the Sewol that hundreds of other passengers -- including 325 students -- were still inside, apparently following instructions to stay put -- instructions that may be proven by investigators to have led directly to their deaths. http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/29/world/asia/south-korea-captain-video-stevens/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

14. Nah, Nah, Nah! North Korea conducted a live-fire drill Tuesday near its disputed western sea border with the South, immediately inviting a stern rebuke from its neighbor. "The South Korean Army, Air Force and Navy is fully prepared for possible North Korean provocation," said Kim Min-seok, a South Korean defense ministry spokesman. "If North Korea launched fire toward the (South Korean maritime border), we will respond with counter fire." http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/29/world/asia/north-korea-nuke-test/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

15. Can You Live with That? At least four percent of death sentences in the US send an innocent person to death row, according to new research published Monday in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Some of those people are exonerated and freed – but not all of them, the researchers report. The study follows a broader report earlier this year that found that a record number of people were exonerated for crimes in 2013, suggesting that innocent people go to prison far more often than had been thought. The study authors found that over a 31-year period, 1.6 percent of inmates sentenced to death were exonerated and freed. Of the remaining innocent inmates, some see their sentences reduced to life in prison, while others are executed, the authors say. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2014/0428/At-least-4-percent-of-those-sent-to-death-row-in-US-are-innocent-researchers-say

16. Take That The European Union today announced sanctions on an additional 15 individuals for their roles in the Ukraine crisis. The move comes on the heels of additional US sanctions and reflects deepening Western concerns over instability in eastern Ukraine. However, critics say the latest sanctions fail to target Russia's finance and energy industries – or its head of state, President Vladimir Putin. The newest EU sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes for a number of high-ranking Russian political and military officials and pro-Russian militants in Ukraine. Tuesday’s additions bring the total number of people on the EU list up to 48, reports The Associated Press. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2014/0429/Echoing-US-sanctions-EU-names-15-Russians-and-Ukrainians