Releases climate change letter
Pope Francis blames human selfishness for global warming in his long-awaited encyclical calling for action on climate change. In the letter, he urges the rich to change their lifestyles to avert the destruction of the ecosystem. In excerpts from the 184-page document:
What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? The question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal…Today, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Says ‘No biological proof’ parents are hers
When presented with a birth certificate on NBC News, Dolezal says Larry and Ruthanne Dolezal may not be her parents:
I haven’t had a DNA test. There’s been no biological proof that Larry and Ruthanne are my biological parents. I’m not necessarily saying that I can prove they’re not. But I don’t know that I can actually prove they are…Nothing about being white describes who I am. The closest thing that I can come to is if — if you’re black or white, I’m black. I’m more black than I am white.
Objects to Trump’s song use
Young writes on Facebook (text) that he objects to Trump using his song, Rockin’ in The Free World, in his presidential run announcement.
Yesterday my song Rockin’ in the Free World was used in an announcement for a U.S. presidential candidate without my permission. A picture of me with this candidate was also circulated in conjunction with this announcement but It was a photograph taken during a meeting when I was trying to raise funds for Pono, my online high resolution music service. Music is a universal language. So I am glad that so many people with varying beliefs get enjoyment from my music, even if they don’t share my beliefs. But had I been asked to allow my music to be used for a candidate – I would have said no….I am Canadian and I don’t vote in the United States, but more importantly I don’t like the current political system in the USA and some other countries. Increasingly Democracy has been hijacked by corporate interests…I do not trust self-serving misinformation coming from corporations and their media trolls. I do not trust politicians who are taking millions from those corporations either. I trust people. So I make my music for people not for candidates.
Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World.
Trump rep:
Through a license agreement with ASCAP, Mr. Trump’s campaign paid for and obtained the legal right to use Neil Young’s recording of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ at today’s event. Nevertheless, we won’t be using it again — there are plenty of songs to choose from. Despite Neil’s differing political views, Mr. Trump likes Neil very much.
Parents reject childhood account
Dolezal’s parents say that her comments about painting her face with crayon are false. Mother:
That didn’t happen. We were very much in touch with her during her childhood and during those years, and we did not ever see any kind of representation of her, nor her teachers at school, of that kind of items. It’s not rational.
It’s disappointing to see that Rachel is still making false statements… I was hoping to see a change.
Confirms album collaborators
Blake confirms forthcoming third album, Radio Silence, to feature Vernon and West. Blake:
I can confirm they’re on it. Kanye — I’m with him today. We’d already started on something but it’s not in full swing. Today we should nail something down. If it doesn’t end up on the album you know it hasn’t worked.
Ginsburg: Portman wants female director
Ginsburg reveals that producing her biopic was delayed because Portman has been holding out for a female director.
Natalie Portman came to talk to me about [the film landing a female director], and we had a very good conversation. And one thing, interesting, that she insisted on, it held up the project for a while. She said, ‘I want the director to be a woman. There are not enough women in this industry. There are many talented out there.’ And now they do have a woman director.
Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl) is in talks to direct the film.
Lander awakes
After seven months Rosetta’s lander Philae comes out of hibernation, sending more than 300 packets over 85 seconds to ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt. Ulamec:
Philae is doing very well: It has an operating temperature of -35ºC and has 24 Watts available. The lander is ready for operations. We have also received historical data – so far, however, the lander had not been able to contact us earlier.
Canaverso, Spiridonov meet
Canavero and Spiridonov meet at the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons to discuss a possible head transplant. Canavero says that his contribution would solely be dealing with the spinal cord, and that reattaching Spiridonov’s spine would require building a nano-blade with the ability to cut through nerve fibers without hurting them. He would also cut a bit lower than needed on Spiridonov’s spinal cord and a bit higher on the transplant body before giving them a last-minute second cut, which he said would help minimize cells dying off from the severed ends. Polyethylene glycol is then used to join the ends together, adding electrical stimulation to encourage attachment.
Claims Kleiner broke confidentiality
Pao says Kleiner is improperly publicizing confidential negotiations and asking her to pay unreasonable legal costs. The filing says Pao should not have to pay Kleiner’s “gargantuan and unreasonable charges” of nearly $1 million for expert witnesses and trial expenses. Pao claims that her request for $2.7 million to cover her costs to forgo an appeal, was part of a confidential discussion between attorneys for the two sides, and not intended to be publicized. Kleiner’s attorneys say that it was Pao who made the case so expensive:
If counsel for plaintiff wanted the demand to be confidential he should have said so.
Pluto’s different features
NASA releases a series of photos as the New Horizons probe approaches showing areas of intermediate brightness and also very bright and very dark surface features. The probe is 4.7 billion km (2.9 billion miles) from Earth and 39 million km (24 million miles) from Pluto.
Even though the latest images were made from more than 30 million miles away, they show an increasingly complex surface with clear evidence of discrete equatorial bright and dark regions—some that may also have variations in brightness. We can also see that every face of Pluto is different and that Pluto’s northern hemisphere displays substantial dark terrains, though both Pluto’s darkest and its brightest known terrain units are just south of, or on, its equator. Why this is so is an emerging puzzle.
Tells friends he is going to kill
Roof tells his friends at a trailer park close to where he lives that he is “looking to kill a bunch of people on Wednesday” at the College of Charleston. However, they do not take him seriously due to his deadpan sense of humor. Friend:
He flat out told us he was going to do this stuff. He’s weird. You don’t know when to take him seriously and when not to.
No cellphone use before crash
Investigators say Bostian was not using his cellphone in the moments before the train derailed in Philadelphia last month. He also did not access the train’s wi-fi. NTSB:
[Analysis of phone records] does not indicate that any calls, texts or data usage occurred during the time the engineer was operating the train.
Deletes subreddits
Pao enrages the users of Reddit by deleting /r/fatpeoplehate, a major subreddit with over one hundred and fifty thousand users, as well as four smaller subreddits. Pao says the act is to stop harassment:
We want as little involvement as possible in managing these interactions but will be involved when needed to protect privacy and free expression, and to prevent harassment…It is not easy to balance these values, especially as the Internet evolves. We are learning and hopefully improving as we move forward. We want to be open about our involvement: We will ban subreddits that allow their communities to use the subreddit as a platform to harass individuals when moderators don’t take action. We’re banning behavior, not ideas.
Users accuse Pao for censorship, even those that don’t like the subreddit.
IDF retaliates
Israeli Defense Forces jets strike targets in a retaliatory attack for rockets fired into southern Israel from Palestine with at least one exploding. There are no reports of casualties thus far. Israel confirms the airstrike. Spokesperson:
The Israeli Air Force retaliated on Sunday for rockets fired at Israel from Gaza on Saturday night by striking terror sites in the northern Gaza Strip.
Claims sabotage
After the resignation of four staffers and articles claiming his campaign is in “turmoil,” Carson issues a statement claiming someone is purposely undermining his campaign.
I thought it was ridiculous, obviously someone is making an attempt to sabotage. I don’t know who this is, but there’s no truth to it whatsoever. I talked to my campaign and they said things are going as well as possible.
Four senior staffers leave
Carson loses four senior staff members leaving his campaign disorganized and andcreating problems at all levels. A campaign aide says Carson’s campaign chairman, national finance chairman, deputy campaign manager and general counsel have resigned since Carson formally launched his bid. They have not been replaced. Carson’s lawyer:
Every campaign goes through growing pains as it puts together a leadership team that has to work together and live together through the trying times of a presidential election.
Calls Dunham ‘pedophile’
Palin criticizes what she sees as the double standard in media treatment of the Duggar case, compared to that of Dunham.
HEY LENA, WHY NOT LAUGH OFF EVERYONE’S SEXUAL ‘EXPERIMENTS’ AS YOU HAUGHTILY ENJOY REWARDS FOR YOUR OWN PERVERSION? YOU PEDOPHILE, YOU. I’m not defending the Duggar boy’s obvious wrongdoing over a decade ago. The main victim in any story like this isn’t the perpetrator, it’s the innocent ones so harmfully affected. I’m not an apologist for any sexual predator, but I’m sickened that the media gives their chosen ones a pass for any behavior as long as they share their leftwing politics. Case in point, they suggest Lena Dunham’s sexual assault on her sibling is cute, and she’s rewarded for it with fame and fortune. Meanwhile, they crucify another, along with an entire family.
Defends Christian bakers
Stewart says he supports the right of Christian bakers to refuse to make cakes they find offensive. Talking about a case in Ireland where Christian bakers were fined £500 after refusing to bake a cake that a carried the slogan “Support Gay Marriage”, alongside an image of Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie.:
I found myself on the side of the bakers. It was not because it was a gay couple that they objected, it was not because they were celebrating some sort of marriage or an agreement between them. It was the actual words on the cake they objected to. Because they found the words offensive. I would support their rights to say ‘no, this is personally offensive to my beliefs, I will not do it’.
$7million bounty
The Justice Department declares Shekau wanted and places a $7m bounty on his head.
Abubakar Shekau is the leader of Jama’atu Ahl as-Sunnah il-Da’awati wal-Jihad, more commonly known as Boko Haram…There are reported communications, training, and weapons links between Boko Haram, al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al-Shabaab, and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which may strengthen Boko Haram’s capacity to conduct terrorist attacks.
Shekau was previously the group’s second-in-command. In July 2010, Shekau publicly claimed leadership of Boko Haram and threatened to attack Western interests in Nigeria. Later that month, Shekau issued a second statement expressing solidarity with al-Qaida and threatening the United States. Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram’s operational capabilities have grown.
Tightens regulations after leak
BBC Administrators review and tighten regulations on staff tweeting stories about sensitive news after a rogue tweet causing news organizations to wrongly report Queen Elizabeth II is dead or in the hospital. Updated guidelines for “category one” public figures including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge state:
It is essential that those responsible for the coverage in the hour or so immediately after the announcement of death, especially of the Monarch and, assuming the death is a natural one, understand that this is NOT a “breaking story” in the normally accepted sense. If the death was sudden and/or unexpected, the circumstances of the death, as a news story, might well take precedence, at least in the initial coverage. However, it would be expected that the tone would become more reflective as the coverage unfolds.