It's not going to help if you're foreign statesman, but President Obama is set to propose legislation that would end the bulk collection of domestic phone records and force the National Security Agency to get judicial approval on a number-by-number basis (though a judicially approved number can be judo'd into much more information). So Edward Snowden's vile treason might produce sensible legislative change?
The bill isn't all sober backtracking, though. The Los Angeles Times points out it would open up cell phone records agents currently don't get.
The one percent may be be increasingly hoarding the nation's wealth, but the poor have all the smokes! A new federal study take a look at the change in smoking rates in each of America's counties from 1996 to 2012. The big takeaway, researchers say: More affluent areas smoke less. Multnomah County's doing fine, relatively, with less than 20 percent of residents lighting up. Washington County ranks among the least-smoking in the nation, though. So does King County up in Washington.
Family members of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight reject officials' findings the plane crashed into the sea. They marched on the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing today.
The mile-wide mudslide north of Seattle over the weekend had officially claimed 14 lives, with more bodies almost certainly in the wreckage. The Seattle Times, smelling a Pulitzer Prize, is going all in on this story.
And as we mentioned yesterday: Western Oregon and Western Washington—not so different. Thank god I didn't buy that home in the West Hills.
Capitalism at its best: General Motors determined in 2009 ignition switches in the Chevy Cobalt and other models were defective, but said nothing about the problem, other than to pugnaciously back down grieving family members in court. In the mean time, nearly two dozen people died in those cars, and the company has finally issued a recall. This is dark stuff.
A civilian somehow gained access to a naval base in Norfolk, Va., last night and murdered a sailor before being gunned down by security. No concrete details, yet.
This until July:
My friend sent me this video last night..
As you might imagine, I soon found myself enmeshed in a pretty serious investigation. My findings may be hard for Rebekah to come to grips with.
(Note: My birthday is on Saturday.)
(Update, 9:20 am: Nevermind.)
