Three vials of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, a virus that makes horses very sick, recently disappeared from Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, a fort that houses hundreds of virus samples. The disease spreads to humans through mosquitoes and also makes humans sick. source
There could be failures in lots of different industries as a result of this. One lost job at GM can result in up to 10 lost jobs elsewhere.
Mark Zandi • Chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, on the potential mushroom effect this GM taking a break business could have on the freaking economy. We recommend that those 10 lost jobs elsewhere stock up on the Peanut Butter Crunch, because there’s gonna be a run on it because of all the middle aged men watching cartoons on a Tuesday afternoon. • source
AT&T is upgrading their network, with a nationwide rollout soon. 3G speeds are pretty fast, but it could be faster. As a result, the phone company is adding speed upgrades which should boost the already zippy theoretical speed from 1.7 Mbps to 3.6Mbps. But those numbers are misleading – real world usage is currently about 700Kbps. The boost should hit by the end of the year in most markets, and AT&T is also working on a 4G network. As long as we can use our hacked iPhones to download torrents, we’re happy. source
$359The amount that Amazon charges consumers for the pretty popular Kindle eBook reader; the online superstore also charges consumers for the books themselves source
When the president of Cuba said he was ready to discuss any topic with the U.S. president, he meant he was not afraid of addressing any issue. That shows his courage and confidence on the principles of the revolution.
Fidel Castro • On his brother Raul’s recent comments signaling an olive branch for talks between Cuba and the U.S. We’re assuming that Fidel is not actually speaking for his brother, but hallucinating about actually still having power in the communist nation. • source
He got shot during a story last year. Todd Smith, a reporter for the St. Louis Suburban Journals, was at a Kirkwood, Mo. City Council meeting last year when Cookie Thornton, who had a lawsuit against the city, shot and killed five people, then himself. Smith was shot in the hand. The coverage of the shootings made the St. Louis Post Dispatch – the Suburban Journals’ parent paper – a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. Smith was laid off last Wednesday along with a bunch of other people. So no, taking a bullet won’t save your job. There goes our contingency plan. source