Technology and Business
How the U.N. Plans to Defend Earth from Asteroids
It’s a scenario familiar to any science fiction fan: An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, and humans must deflect or destroy it to save themselves and every other living creature on the planet. But unlike most sci-fi plots, this one is a real threat, right now. And the United Nations is on it.
Billionaire Bought “Hot” Imelda Marcos Monet
A billionaire hedge fund manager paid $43 million for a Monet “Water Lilies” painting that New York prosecutors allege was stolen and illegally sold by a former secretary to Imelda Marcos, the rapacious former First Lady of the Philippines.
Tech Gadgets Can Cause Real Health Problems
If your iOS 7 iPhone or iPad give you migraines or nausea, it may not be your imagination. It’s just one consequence of living in a high-tech world.
Startup Gets Computers to Read Faces, Seeks Purpose Beyond Ads
A technology for reading emotions on faces can help companies sell candy. Now its creators hope it also can take on bigger problems.
Strap an iPhone to Your Head for a Window Into Your Mind
Neurocam is an iPhone and EEG headband that automatically records footage of things that interest you. Advertisers would love everyone to wear it.
Milk Could Skyrocket to $8 a Gallon if Farm Bill Not Passed
Members of the House and Senate are scheduled to begin long-awaited negotiations on the five-year, roughly $500 billion bill this week. If they don’t finish it, dairy supports could expire at the end of the year and send the price of a gallon of milk skyward. KLTV reports that the price of milk could reach $8 a gallon.
Personal Safety and Freedom
Ridge Doesn’t Want the NSA Looking at His Emails
“Regardless of what [Edward] Snowden says or what the concern is overseas, I have the right to privacy. I don’t want NSA looking at my e-mails … I still think, in spite of Facebook, LinkedIn, the social-media environment … we still have some rights to privacy that I want my government to protect.”
The Doomsday Vault that Keeps Seeds for Every Type of Agriculture
The seeds in the vault can only be accessed when the original seed collections have been lost. The seeds are stored inside sealed envelopes, then placed into plastic tote containers on metal shelving racks and kept at a temperature of -18C.
California Reservoirs in Dire Need of a Wet Winter
Dwindling reservoirs should be a wake-up call to Californians, said Mark Cowin, director of the state Department of Water Resources. The state has not declared a drought, but now is the time to prepare additional water-conservation ideas for next year.
Pakistani Teenager Tells U.S. how his Grandmother Was Killed by Strike
A Pakistani teenager moved a translator to tears on Capitol Hill as he spoke of the moment his grandmother was killed in a U.S. drone strike.
Marijuana Ads Stir the Pot Over Drug Safety, Free Speech
While the transit district in Portland, Maine, has banned tobacco ads, it accepted $2,500 to display marijuana billboards on the outside of four of its 32 city buses and in two bus shelters. The ads debuted early this month and are scheduled to run until Election Day, when city voters will decide whether to legalize marijuana.
Connecticut Police: Shock Collar Used to Punish Girl
Police say a Danbury couple faces charges after a 9-year-old girl in their care was punished with an electric shock collar used to discipline barking dogs.
Google Takes Secrecy to New Heights With Mystery Barge
How badly does Google want to keep under wraps a mysterious project taking shape on a barge in San Francisco Bay? Badly enough to require U.S. government officials to sign confidentiality agreements.
Macy’s Security Has Arrest Quota, ‘Race Code System’ for Nonwhite Shoppers
According to the suit, Macy’s security guards had a quota of five “arrests” per week, and store security personnel identified nonwhite shoppers using different codes. Plaintiff Ayla Gursoy, a Turkish immigrant, says she was detained and arrested while shopping at the Macy’s Herald Square store.
Immigration
Chamber Pushes Boehner to Pass Immigration Bill
“I think he wants to get this done, but it is our job to show that there is support in the business community and the evangelical community and in other conservative Republican groups that they’ll be there to back him up when he makes his decisions,” he told The Daily Caller.
Pelosi: Votes Are There to Pass Immigration Reform
“With 28 Republicans having publicly expressed support for a path to citizenship, we believe the votes are there on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill,” she wrote on Facebook. “It’s just a question whether Speaker Boehner can muster the will to schedule a vote.”
Ros-Lehtinen Becomes Second Republican to Back Immigration Bill
“It’s important to keep the conversation going in trying to fix the broken immigration system. I favor any approach that will help us move the negotiations forward,” the congresswoman said.
Amnesty Is Republican Party Suicide
An enormous body of survey research shows that large majorities of recent immigrants, who are mostly Hispanic and Asian, hold liberal views on most policy issues and therefore vote Democratic two-to-one. Their motivation is not immigration policy, it is economic issues.
Obamacare
Obamacare Screw-up Sends Callers to Cupcake Shop
Thanks to Obamacare, New Yorkers can now get health insurance with rainbow sprinkles.
Flashback: Obama’s Campaign to Transition to Single-Payer Health Care (VIDEO)
President Obama made it no secret he was a proponent of a single-payer health-care system in America when he first came on to the national scene. However, he explained to his supporters over the years that a “potential transition” would be necessary to break away from the current system.
Top Democrat Admits: ‘We Knew’
“We knew that there would be some policies that would not qualify and therefore people would be required to get more extensive coverage,” Hoyer said in response to a question from National Review.
Kathleen Sebelius, Welcome to an Unwelcome Washington Tradition: The Deathwatch
It’s Kathleen Sebelius’ turn now. On the Hill, they’re calling for her resignation and tossing around words like “subpoena.” Pundits are merrily debating her future. (She’s toast! Or is Obama too loyal to fire her so soon?) Her interviews, more closely parsed than usual, seem wobbly.
Where the Buck Stops, Some See a Bystander
As a practical matter, no president can be aware of everything going on in the sprawling government he theoretically manages. But as a matter of politics, Obama’s plea of ignorance may do less to deflect blame than to prompt new questions about just how much in charge he really is.
Obama’s Health-care Promises Return to Haunt Him
As the pitchman for his landmark health-care law, Obama promised to make buying insurance as easy as buying a plane ticket online or a “TV on Amazon.” It would be simple, he said. If there were problems, the president predicted, they would be “glitches.” And he said, “If you like the plan you have, you can keep it.”
Insurers Oppose Obamacare Extension as Danger to Profits
Allowing Americans more time to enroll for health coverage under Obamacare may raise premiums and cut into profits, insurers are telling members of Congress in a bid to stop such a move.
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The Money and Markets Team
