Wants Gomez
Lopez announces she wants Gomez to portray her in a movie about her life.
I would want Selena Gomez to play me in a movie. She is a cutie.
Military power use revoked
A vote by the upper parliament prevents Putin from using troops in Ukraine to deal with the crisis. Putin had requested the order be revoked on June 24. Only one lawmaker votes against revoking his power to use force, 153 vote in favor.
Tunisia changing drug laws
Tunisia is revamping its drug laws. The laws have been criticized for having a one-year minimum sentence and for not distinguishing between hard and soft drugs. More than half of the 25,000 inmates in the nation of 11 million are in prison on drug offenses. According to a 2013 U.N. report, prisons in Tunisia are overcrowded, and some facilities are at 150 percent of capacity. The revamping of the drug law was spurred by the arrest of a popular activist and blogger, Aziz Amami. Amna Guellali, a researcher for Human Rights Watch group, says:
This law has destroyed the lives and futures of millions of young Tunisians who, like Aziz, found themselves, at one point or another, caught in the gears of the justice system. Law 52 reveals the fundamental problems of the penal and judicial system in Tunisia, which does not guarantee people’s rights and clogs prisons with minor offenders.
Aide was racist
Mandela’s long-time personal assistant, Zelda la Grange, a white Afrikaner, reveals to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour:
I was a full-on racist by the time I started working for him. Now looking back, if you [asked] me at the age of twenty-three I would probably have denied being a racist.Now it’s easier, because you can recognize the change in yourself.
She tells Amanpour that meeting Nelson was “the turning point in my life.”
He was kind. He smiled. He extended his hand, and he spoke to me in my own language. He spoke to me in Afrikaans. And that is the last thing you expect of him, because I was brought up to fear this man.
Chromebooks get Android apps
Google announces that they are bringing select Android applications to Chromebooks, starting with Evernote, Vine and Flipboard. Users can nominate their favorite Android applications to be released for Chromebooks.
https://plus.google.com/100585555255542998765/posts/2LR7bd3xPe8
Google Domains
Google announces the launch of Google Domains, a by invitation only service that will help small business find, register and manage their domain names. The service is now in the beta testing phase. This new venture puts Google in competition with companies they have partnered with in the past, the largest being GoDaddy.com. The pricing information has not been made public at this time.
Businesses will be able to search, find, purchase and transfer the best domain for their business — whether it’s .com, .biz, .org, or any of the wide range of new domains that are being released to the Web.
Ordering app available
McDonald’s tests the ‘McDonald’s Mobile Ordering’ app in 22 locations in Georgia and Alabama. Customers can order and pay for their food on the app and pick up their food outside at a curbside check-in or inside from a special queue. The app is free on Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems.
We are testing these technologies in a few markets, so it’s premature to speculate on the decisions we may make after the tests, but we’re excited to bring a cutting-edge experience in the future to our customers.
Lifetime ‘Big Driver’ adaptation
Lifetime is set to film an adaptation of King’s novella, Big Driver, starring Maria Bello, Olympia Dukakis, Will Harris and Joan Jett. The short story was originally included in the 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars and focuses on a mystery writer obsessed with revenge against the man who assaulted her.
Plane likely on autopilot
The search for the missing flight moves further south in the Indian Ocean. A report about the change in the search area states the crew may have been unresponsive due to a lack of oxygen, a state known as hypoxia. The report states the assumption was:
made for the purposes of defining a search area and there is no suggestion that the investigation authority will make similar assumptions.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss says:
It is highly, highly likely that the aircraft was on autopilot, otherwise it could not have followed the orderly path that has been identified through the satellite sightings
Company diversity report
Facebook’s first diversity report states most of their workers are white males. The report reveals that 69% of Facebook’s global staffers are male and 85% of the company’s tech workers and 77% of its management team, are also men. The company’s U.S. workforce is 57% white, 34% Asian, 4% Hispanic and 2% black. Maxine Williams, Facebook’s global head of diversity:
As these numbers show, we have more work to do — a lot more.
$4.8 billion spent so far
A report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) states that nealy $5 billion has been spent on Obamacare exchanges so far. A section of the Affordable Care Act that allows for “indefinite” funding at the discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Initially, planning grants were valued at $1 million, though multiple rounds of “exchange establishment grants” cost much more, totaling $4.6 billion. The agency has requested another $1.788 billion for 2015.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is incurring significant administrative costs to support [federally-facilitated exchanges] FFE operations.
Prime Minister stays
South Korea’s president has decided to retain the country’s current prime minister, Chung Hong. Hong had offered to step down as Prime Minister, the number two spot in the country’s government, in an attempt to quell the anger of the country’s citizens after the ferry disaster. An attempt to replace Hong was made by President Park Geun-hye, but the two possible candidates withdrew their names. The main liberal opposition party is criticizing President Park’s decision and calling it an acknowledgement of the government’s incompetence.
Beats Rosol, advances
Nadal beats Lukas Rosol in a game lasting two hours and 44 minutes on Wimbledon Centre Court. Two years ago, Rosol knocked Nadal out of the tournament in the second round of play. The score: 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 Nadal advances to the third round. Nadal says:
I never play for revenge. Every match is a different match. Today was another match, I had to win – my goal is not Rosol; it’s to play as well as I can in the tournament. It doesn’t matter if it’s Rosol or another player who has beaten me in the past.
Thousands flee Ukraine
As the cease-fire truce nears an end, thousands of Ukranian citizens flee to Russia, many vowing never to return because they feel their government betrayed them. Over the past few months, tens of thousands have already fled to Russia seeking safety. Russia’s migration service reports they have registered the arrival of 90,000 Ukranians, with very few requesting refugee status, which would require them to stay in Russia for six months.
Working fans get extended lunch break
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announces that New York’s state employees are being given an extended lunch break to view the USA – Germany game on June 26, 2014. In a letter to Team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann:
On behalf of all New Yorkers, I wish you and the entire team the best of luck.
WHO: drastic action needed
WHO calls for “drastic action” to fight the deadliest Ebola breakout on record and is convening an 11-nation meeting to address the crisis. 635 cases of haemorrhagic fever (most confirmed to be Ebola), including 399 deaths, have been reported across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, making this the larges breakout ever reported. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that the deadly outbreak of the virus is “out of control”.
Lowers iPod Touch price
Apple announces price cuts on its Touch devices, and an upgrade for the cheapest Touch model. The iPod Touch features a touchscreen, WiFi access to the Internet and Apple’s App Store and a music player. The least expensive iPod Touch, which comes with 16 GB of storage, now costs $199. Apple adds a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and new color options. The price of the 32 GB iPod Touch drops from $299 to $249, and the price of the 64 GB iPod Touch drops from $399 to $299. The new iPod touch is now available in the US and will be available worldwide “in the coming days”.
Speed-the-Plow role
Lohan will star in David Mamet’s stage play, Speed-the-Plow, at the Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End. Lohan will play the role of Karen, an ambitious seductive secretary. The play will open October 2, 2014 and run until November 29, 2014. Madonna played the same role in the original Broadway production in 1988.
Lowers iPhone prices
The retailer lowers prices on the Apple iPhone 5s and 5c models beginning Friday, June 27, 2014. With a two-year phone service contract, a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S will cost $99, coming down from $149. The 16-gigabyte iPhone 5c will be $29, down from $49. The offer is available in Wal-Mart’s brick and mortar stores only. In an effort to clear inventory, retailers often lower prices to clear space to make room for new merchandise.
Fullscreen bid
Yahoo makes a bid of $250 million for Fullscreen, the content provider for Youtube. The company creates content for thousands of Youtube channels, generating 3 billion monthly views.