POLITICALLY ULTRA-INCORRECT

Conservative MP calls Olympics ceremony ‘multi-cultural crap’

David Cameron will face pressure to remove the Tory whip from the Conservative MP Aidan Burley after he tweeted that the Olympics opening ceremony was “multi-cultural crap”. Burley was sacked as a ministerial aide last year after he took part in a Nazi-themed stag party,

HEART ATTACK CHICK-FIL-A

Chick-fil-A spokesperson dies from heart attack

A sad-looking Chick-fil-A mascot, on Dec. 23, 2006. Flickr commons.

The longtime public relations head for the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain died Friday morning, WRBL-TV reports.

'FAIR USE'

Google seeks dismissal of lawsuit against massive book-scanning project

Google Book Search image via AFP

Google asked a US court Friday to dismiss a lawsuit over the Internet giant’s massive book-scanning project, saying the effort is “not a substitute” for books themselves.

CIVIC DISOBEDIENCE

Pennsylvania election official will defy voter ID law

Viviette-Applewhite-via-the-ACLU-615x345

A local election official has announced his intention to defy Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law by not asking voters to offer proof of their identity on Election Day.

'WE ARE FUN TO BE AROUND'

NSA director shows up at hacker conference to recruit talent

NSA Director Keith Alexander via Wikimedia Commons

US spy master Keith Alexander courted hackers at an infamous Def Con gathering rife with software tricksters wary of police and ferociously protective of privacy. Alexander was the latest, and perhaps the most controversial, federal official to attend the annual hacker conference.

NOT INVITED TO THE PARTY

Americans not allowed to watch Olympics opening ceremonies live

Olympics opening ceremonies via AFP

A billion people across the globe turned on their TVs to watch the opening ceremony of the London Olympics live Friday, but very few of them were in United States.

Science

New technique helps scientists unwrap Peruvian mummy deaths

A team of scientists from the U.S. and Argentina used a new technique to discover…

Watchdog group: Pro-fracking study had conflict of interest

A university study that claimed fracking for gas deep beneath the Earth’s surface did not…

French researchers on the verge of ‘functional cure’ for AIDS

U.S. ‘extreme drought’ zones triple in size

Tech News

Engineers design ‘Mantabot’ to swim like a ray

Engineers at the University of Virginia and three other universities are designing an “autonomous underwater…

Man who tweeted airport bomb joke wins appeal

Paul Chambers, who was found guilty of sending a menacing tweet, has won his high…

Media

Judge to rule on Alec Baldwin ‘stalker’ case

EW YORK — A US judge said Thursday he will rule in September on an…

Stars out in London to honour great Ali

Stars of sport and screen gathered in London to honour legendary heavyweight boxer and Olympic…

World

Spanish unemployment hits 25 percent in June

Spain’s jobless rate neared 25 percent in June, officials said Friday, darkening the recession outlook despite relief on financial markets…

Zimbabwe will suffer longer and more frequent power outages in next decade

Energy-starved Zimbabwe will suffer longer and more frequent power shortages for the next 10 years, a senior official said Friday.…

Michelle Obama to Olympians: ‘I’m still so inspired by you’

First Lady Michelle Obama said Friday she is fulfilling a childhood dream by leading the US delegation to the London…

Olympic legend Carl Lewis on Mitt Romney: ‘Some Americans shouldn’t leave the country’

Mitt Romney has been rebuked by the US Olympic legend Carl Lewis after the presumptive Republican presidential nominee questioned whether…

U.S. News

Batman shooter was seeing psychiatrist who specialized in schizophrenia

AURORA, Colorado — The suspected Batman movie premiere gunman was seeing a university psychiatrist specializing…

Red Sox mascot ‘Wally’ stolen in audacious mid-afternoon heist

At 2:22 this afternoon, Boston Police were notified about an unusual larceny in progress: a…

Santorum defends Penn State on radio show

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum called the recent NCAA sanctions against Penn State University…

Police find 20 rifles in Maryland ‘joker’s’ home

Maryland police seized a large array of weapons from a local man’s home early Friday…

Ohio GOP Senate hopeful shorting U.S. Treasury bonds and betting on default

Republican Josh Mandel, the former Ohio congressman and State Treasurer who is running against Sen.…