NOT WEARING SEATBELT

Mass. Lt. Gov. hit 108 mph before car crash

crashedmustang-commons

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray was slapped with a $555 fine on Tuesday after he apparently fell asleep and drove 108 miles per hour before careening off the road and crashing last November.

CENSORSHIP

Missouri public library blocks websites about ‘occult’ spirituality

Computer lab photo by Tulane Public Relations

The Salem Public Library in Missouri along with its board of trustees face a lawsuit for blocking access to websites discussing indigenous American spirituality and the Wiccan faith.

GETTING MONEY OUT OF POLITICS

NYC Council to vote on corporate personhood

New York City photo by Flickr user kaysha

The New York City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution asking Congress to pass an amendment overturning the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

FOR PAUL AND ONLY PAUL

Maddow: 'Ron Paul voters are human beings'

maddow-screen

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Tuesday noted that no Republican president candidate had tried to compete with Ron Paul’s loyal base, even though they were voters just like any others.

BIG BROTHER

FBI didn’t need warrant for GPS tracking: judge

Tracking device photo by Ikhlasul Amal

The FBI did not need to obtain a warrant before secretly planting a GPS tracking device underneath the car of a St. Louis City Treasurer’s Office employee accused of stealing public money, a federal judge has ruled.

Dash cam video appears to show officer planting evidence

Dash cam video appears to show Utica police planting drug evidence at a traffic stop

An officer in Utica, New York is being accused of planting evidence — and he was busted by the dash cam in his own police cruiser.

Science

Calories, not protein, boost body fat: study

WASHINGTON — People who eat too much of a high-calorie, low-protein diet tend to gain…

Scientists learn how to grow mouse sperm in lab

Scientists in Germany and Israel have successfully grown mouse sperm in a laboratory, opening up…

Bird flu virus doesn’t jump between humans: China

World-first hybrid shark found off Australia

Tech News

BlackBerry maker vows privacy safeguard amid probe

OTTAWA — Research In Motion vowed Tuesday to defend the legal privacy rights of BlackBerry…

Twitter admits verifying account spoofing Murdoch’s wife

Twitter announced on Tuesday that it had mistakenly verified an account spoofing Wendi Deng, the…

Media

Music icon Youssou Ndour bids for Senegal presidency

World-renowned singer Youssou Ndour stirred up the battle for Senegal’s presidency on Tuesday by announcing…

Soul legend Aretha Franklin to wed longtime friend

Aretha Franklin, 69, is making plans to tie the knot with longtime friend William “Willie”…

World

North Korea holds mass rally in support of new leader

SEOUL — More than 100,000 North Koreans rallied in support of new leader Kim Jong-Un on Tuesday, state media reported,…

7-year-old girl attacked by kangaroo

A 7-year-old Australian girl says she thought she was going to die when a kangaroo attacked her on New Year’s…

Anger over secret drug trials on Indian children

Indian activists have reacted angrily after 12 doctors were fined less than $100 each for conducting secret drug trials on…

Pakistan Taliban commanders ‘at each other’s throats’

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani militants have held a series of meetings aimed at containing…

U.S. News

New York firebombing raises alarm over spread of Islamophobia

NEW YORK — New York police arrested a man Tuesday over the firebombing of a…

U.S. charges Swiss bankers for hiding $1.2 billion

NEW YORK — Three Swiss bankers were indicted in the United States Tuesday, accused of…

Quakes halt Ohio ‘fracking’ waste water well

WASHINGTON — A series of small earthquakes has prompted Ohio to suspend operations at a…

MSNBC contributor: ‘Rick Santorum is a homophobe and a bigot’

A regular MSNBC contributor says people should stop beating around the bush and just call…

New Hampshire Republicans again challenge Obama’s citizenship

The made-up scandal that just won’t quit is back, with a vengeance. A group of…