World’s first test tube lions are thriving and raising hopes more big cats could be saved from extinction

The world’s first test tube lions are thriving a month after they were born, raising hopes the process could be used to save endangered big cats from extinction. The two cubs, named Viktor and Isabel, arrived following the artificial insemination of their mother by scientists at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Experts say the pioneering IVF – in which a male’s sperm was placed into the female egg – could now be used to breed species of tiger, lynx and snow leopard, whose numbers are all falling.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ivf-lions-test-tube-big-cats-lynx-snow-leopard-university-of-pretoria-south-africa-a8562036.html?source=Snapzu

‘Mosquito-pocalypse is in full effect’: North Carolina hit by blood-sucking pest outbreak

Cassie Vadovsky returned home after picking up her 4-year-old daughter from school Tuesday evening and was greeted by a swarm of blood-thirsty mosquitos. Not just any mosquitos. Aggressive, monstrous pests with stripes on their legs. “It was like a flurry — like it was snowing mosquitos,” the stay-at-home mother of two said. “I think my car agitated them. I waited for them to calm down before I grabbed the kids and the ran into the house.”
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/28/north-carolina-mosquito-outbreak-florence-hurricane-floodwaters/1460237002/?source=Snapzu

Found: An Ancient Roman Comic Strip With Speech Bubbles

“Alas for me! I am dead!”
Read more: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-first-comic-strip?source=Snapzu

In test case, U.S. fails to force Facebook to wiretap Messenger calls

U.S. investigators failed in a recent courtroom effort to force Facebook to wiretap voice calls over its Messenger app in a closely watched test case, according to two people briefed on the sealed ruling.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-encryption-exclusive/exclusive-in-test-case-u-s-fails-to-force-facebook-to-wiretap-messenger-calls-sources-idUSKCN1M82K1?source=Snapzu

Shareware: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Shareware helped to spark the PC revolution. It's the forerunner of today's mobile app development. @Enterprisenxt
Read more: https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/shareware-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow-1809.html?source=Snapzu

Nearly a tonne of pangolin scales, ivory seized in Vietnam, which has banned the trading of both

Vietnam has seized around a tonne of pangolin scales and ivory hidden inside airline cargo packages, state media reported, as the country struggles to rein in wildlife smuggling across its borders. Both the ivory and pangolin trade have been banned in Vietnam but weak law enforcement in the communist state has allowed a black market to flourish and feed into a global multibillion-dollar industry in animal parts and exotic pets.
Read more: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/nearly-a-ton-of-pangolin-scales-ivory-seized-in-vietnam-which-has-banned-the-trading-of?source=Snapzu

World's Oldest Torrent Still Alive After 15 Years

The world's oldest active torrent file turned fifteen-years-old this week, a remarkable achievement. TorrentFreak catches up with the creator of "The Fanimatrix" torrent file, who saw BitTorrent as the only affordable option to share the Matrix fan film with the world.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/worlds-oldest-torrent-still-alive-after-15-years-180929/?source=Snapzu

Hundreds of academics at top UK universities accused of bullying

Senior professors among 300 people alleged to have bullied students and colleagues
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/sep/28/academics-uk-universities-accused-bullying-students-colleagues?source=Snapzu

Tiny Device Is a ‘Huge Advance’ for Treatment of Severe Heart Failure

A clip used to repair damaged heart valves sharply reduced deaths among patients with a grim prognosis.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/23/health/heart-failure-valve-repair-microclip.html?source=Snapzu

Jailed at 15 she dreamed of being a fashion designer. No trial and six years later, she's still missing

With her fresh face and bright, hopeful smile, Ciham Ali Ahmed looks just like any other ninth grader. But Ali Ahmed was imprisoned at 15 years old. Now six years later, her family says they don't know where she is or what has happened to her since she was detained by Eritrean security forces while trying to leave the country.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/28/africa/ciham-ali-ahmed-eritrea-prison/index.html?source=Snapzu

Tom T. Hall "Old Dogs Children & Watermelon Wine"

Read more: https://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/tom-t-hall-old-dogs-children-watermelon-wine?source=Snapzu

China sees surge in HIV/Aids cases

China has announced a 14% jump in the number of its citizens who are living with HIV and Aids. More than 820,000 people are affected in the country, health officials say. About 40,000 new cases were reported in the second quarter of 2018 alone. The vast majority of new cases were transmitted through sex, marking a change from the past. Traditionally, HIV spread rapidly through some parts of China as a result of infected blood transfusions.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45692551?source=Snapzu

Richest people work system to pay less tax than those on average wages

More than 80 of the country's wealthiest people are paying the same or less income tax as the average worker, a shocking report has revealed. Ten years on from the economic crash, a combination of clever accounting and loopholes is allowing some of the country's richest individuals to minimise their contribution to the State's coffers. The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) reviewed how 480 people, classified as 'High Wealth Individuals' (HWI), interact with the Revenue Commissioners.
Read more: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/richest-people-work-system-to-pay-less-tax-than-those-on-average-wages-37366457.html?source=Snapzu

FBI: We can’t listen to Facebook Messenger voice calls. Judge: Tough luck

A federal judge in Fresno, California recently denied prosecutors’ request to force Facebook to wiretap voice calls by suspected gang members conducted over Messenger. According to a Friday report by Reuters, despite already having substantive traditional wiretaps and intercepting Messenger texts between alleged MS-13 gangsters, the government wanted further access.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/09/facebook-cant-be-ordered-to-wiretap-messenger-calls-judge-rules/?source=Snapzu

Yuval Noah Harari: the myth of freedom

Governments and corporations will soon know you better than you know yourself. Belief in the idea of freedom has become dangerous
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/14/yuval-noah-harari-the-new-threat-to-liberal-democracy?source=Snapzu

Web inventor Berners-Lee creates a new privacy first way of dealing with the internet

First, Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the web, now he wants to save it.
Read more: https://www.zdnet.com/article/web-inventor-berners-lee-creates-a-new-privacy-first-way-of-dealing-with-the-internet/?source=Snapzu

Former ‘Miss Baghdad’ Shot Dead as She Drove Through Iraqi Capital in Latest of Series of Attacks on Women

Iraqi social media star and model Tara Fares has been shot dead in Baghdad, security officials confirmed to CNN. The death of Fares and other recent killings prompted Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to order an investigation on Friday. The former Miss Baghdad, and first runner-up for Miss Iraq, was killed on Thursday after gunmen opened fire on her in the capital's Camp Sarah neighborhood, according to a statement by Iraq's Interior Ministry, which is investigating the incident.
Read more: https://ktla.com/2018/09/28/former-miss-baghdad-shot-dead-as-she-drove-through-iraqi-capital-in-latest-of-series-of-attacks-on-women/?source=Snapzu

Nepal's Tiger Population Nearly Doubles in Last Decade

Scientists estimate there are now 235 wild bengal tigers in Nepal, a huge leap from 2009, when there were only about 120 of the endangered animals. In just the last four years, the population jumped nearly 20 percent, up from 198 of the animals, according to analysis performed by Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, along with conservation groups including Panthera and the Zoological Society of London.
Read more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/tiger-population-nepal-endangered-big-cats-news/?source=Snapzu

Judge strikes down Kentucky law in win for abortion clinic

In a victory for abortion-rights supporters, a federal judge struck down a Kentucky law that had put the state's last abortion clinic at risk of closing when Gov. Matt Bevin's administration cited it in a licensing fight with the facility. U.S. District Judge Greg Stivers, in a long-awaited ruling, said Friday that the two-decade-old law violates constitutionally protected due process rights. The law required Kentucky's abortion clinics to have written agreements with a hospital and an ambulance service in case of medical emergencies.
Read more: https://www.heraldonline.com/news/article219207890.html?source=Snapzu

F-35B jet crashes in South Carolina

A US Marine Corps F-35B crashed Friday in Beaufort County, South Carolina, near Marine Corp Air Station Beaufort, a US military official told CNN. The pilot ejected safely and is being evaluated for injury, according to the official. While the jet has experienced mishaps in the past, a US defense official told CNN that this is the first time an F-35 has crashed.
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/28/politics/marine-corps-f-35b-fighter-crash/index.html?source=Snapzu

As NASA turns 60, here are the space agency's greatest achievements.

On 1st October, sixty years ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration—better known as NASA—began operations, ushering in a new era of space exploration for the United States. The space agency emerged from its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, which was created in 1915, in part, because America was lagging behind Europe in the field of airplane technology.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/nasa-60th-anniversary-these-are-space-agencys-greatest-achievements-1144127?source=Snapzu

Lech Walesa: Poland's current leaders 'are either traitors or complete fools'

Former Polish President Lech Walesa played a key role in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. At 75, he told DW that retirement is far from his mind and warned against the path Poland's leaders are taking.
Read more: https://www.dw.com/en/lech-walesa-polands-current-leaders-are-either-traitors-or-complete-fools/a-45683681?source=Snapzu

Social media star, a former 'Miss Baghdad,' shot dead

Iraqi social media star and model Tara Fares has been shot dead in Baghdad, security officials confirmed to CNN. The death of Fares and other recent killings prompted Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to order an investigation on Friday. The former Miss Baghdad, and first runner-up for Miss Iraq, was killed on Thursday after gunmen opened fire on her in the capital's Camp Sarah neighborhood, according to a statement by Iraq's Interior Ministry, which is investigating the incident.
Read more: https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/09/28/middleeast/tara-fares-iraq-killed-intl/index.html?r=https://www.google.com/?source=Snapzu

Atheists think Sinead O’Connor is owed an apology, and then some

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has been a longtime critic of the Catholic Church and as more and more scandals continue to come to light, some have wondered if O’Connor is owed some sort of an apology. In 1992, the Irish singer made headlines when she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II and said: “Fight the real enemy” during a performance of her song War on Saturday Night Live.
Read more: https://www.irishcentral.com/news/atheists-think-sinead-o-connor-owed-an-apology?source=Snapzu

The Eternal Life of the Instant Noodle

How instant noodles, now 60 years old, went from a shed in Japan to global success.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_instant_noodle?source=Snapzu

Facebook reveals security incident affecting 50 million users

Facebook Inc has discovered a security issue affecting about 50 million user acc...
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cyber-idUSKCN1M82BK?source=Snapzu

California Just Officially Banned The Sale Of Animal-Tested Cosmetics

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a landmark bill into law on Friday aimed at banning the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals. The California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, authored by Democratic state Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, prohibits manufacturers to “import for profit, sell, or offer for sale” any cosmetic product that was developed or made using an animal test, if the test occurs after the law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/california-just-officially-banned-the-sale-of-animal-tested-cosmetics_us_5b913ac6e4b0cf7b003d5c09?source=Snapzu

Teens filmed letting dog kill cat sent death threats after being named online

Teenagers who enticed a pet cat out from underneath a car before setting a dog on it have been sent death threats after their identities were revealed online. The two boys - who cannot be named for legal reasons - have been subject to scores of violent threats on social media after appearing in court charged with causing the "disturbing" and "sinister" death of a cat .
Read more: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/teens-filmed-letting-dog-chase-15211770?source=Snapzu

The Body in Poverty

The decline of America’s rural health system and its toll on my family.
Read more: https://www.thenation.com/article/the-body-in-poverty/?source=Snapzu

After judge's ruling, Confederate monument in San Antonio park is history

A monument to Confederate soldiers that stood in a San Antonio, Texas, park for more than 100 years is now history.
Read more: https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/20/after-judges-ruling-confederate-monument-san-antonio-park-history?source=Snapzu

Frank Rich: The Ford-Kavanaugh Hearings Were a Case Study in GOP Misogyny

The Senate hearing was a travesty — at once tragic, corrupt, and hateful.
Read more: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/09/ford-kavanaugh-hearings-were-a-case-study-in-gop-misogyny.html?source=Snapzu

Neil Armstrong Walked on the Moon. To These Boys, He Was Just Dad.

With an upcoming auction of the astronaut’s keepsakes, his sons reflect on an unusual childhood.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/science/neil-armstrong-auction.html?source=Snapzu

Mexican mob burns detective to death in child abduction scare

A mob of about 100 people in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo doused a detective with gasoline and burned him to death, according to local officials. The Hidalgo state prosecutors’ office said the crowd attacked local police in the town of Metepec on Thursday and took the detective and three other men captive. They severely beat the men and burned the detective after dousing him with fuel. It was unclear if he was on duty or if they knew he was a detective.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/28/mexican-mob-burns-detective-to-death-in-child-abduction-scare?source=Snapzu

Ford Makes Surprise Unveiling of Electric Self-Driving Zero Emissions Truck

Ford made a surprise unveiling by its Turkish design center (Ford Otosan) at this year's IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover, Germany. The American truck manufacturer revealed its F-Vision concept heavy-duty truck, a commercial vehicle that combines clean energy, autonomous driving, and many other futuristic features.
Read more: https://interestingengineering.com/ford-makes-surprise-unveiling-of-electric-self-driving-zero-emissions-truck?source=Snapzu

The deadliest infectious disease is becoming drug-resistant

Tuberculosis (TB) isn’t a disease Americans hear about much about these days, but that’s not true for the rest of the world. TB is currently the deadliest infectious disease, responsible for 1.6 million deaths last year, most of them in the developing world.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/28/17914344/tuberculosis-united-nations-funding-india-china?source=Snapzu

Pope defrocks Chile priest at center of global abuse scandal

Pope Francis has defrocked the Chilean priest at the center of the global sex abuse scandal rocking his papacy, invoking his "supreme" authority to stiffen a sentence originally handed down by the Vatican in 2011. In a statement Friday, the Vatican said Francis had laicized the 88-year-old Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was originally sanctioned to a lifetime of "penance and prayer" for having sexually abused minors.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/28/pope-defrocks-chile-priest-at-center-of-global-abuse-scandal.html?source=Snapzu

How YouTube became a powerful far-right propaganda organ

A new report reveals how immensely effective YouTube is at spreading far-right propaganda
Read more: https://www.salon.com/2018/09/18/how-youtube-became-a-powerful-far-right-propaganda-organ/?source=Snapzu

Hacker says he'll livestream deletion of Zuckerberg's Facebook page

The self-professed bug bounty hunter says he hacks because he's "bored."
Read more: https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/28/zuckerberg-facebook-page-hacker-livestream/?source=Snapzu

They Shall Not Grow Old | Official Trailer

This unique film brings into high definition the human face of the First World War as part of a special London Film Festival presentation alongside a live Q&A with director Peter Jackson hosted by Mark Kermode. Using state of the art technology to restore original archival footage which is more than a 100-years old, Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell this story: the men who were there. Driven by a personal interest in the First World War, Jackson set out to bring to life the day-to-day experience of its soldiers.
Read more: https://snapzu.com/8mm/they-shall-not-grow-old-official-trailer?source=Snapzu

CERN Scientists Say The LHC Has Confirmed Two New Particles, And Possibly Discovered a Third

The Large Hadron Collider is at it again, showing us new wonders in the world of particle physics. Scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) collaboration have observed two new particles that have never been seen before - and seen
Read more: https://www.sciencealert.com/cern-large-hadron-collider-beauty-experiment-two-new-bottom-baryon-particles-tetraquark-candidate?source=Snapzu

Donald Trump’s foreign policy is putting the dollar at risk

President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy could hurt the dollar’s global primacy, according to global business leaders and the European Union’s top diplomat. Larry Fink, who runs Blackrock, the world’s biggest money manager, was asked about risks to the finance industry at a forum taking place alongside this week’s United Nations General Assembly. Fink cited the US move “from multilateralism to unilateralism” that “could lead to a deep desire to get another payment system.”
Read more: https://qz.com/1403708/donald-trumps-foreign-policy-is-putting-the-dollar-at-risk/?source=Snapzu

New Research Finds that Caravaggio Died of Sepsis, Not Syphilis

Before established a certain cause of death for the Baroque painter, scientists first had to find his body.
Read more: https://hyperallergic.com/461573/new-research-finds-that-caravaggio-died-of-sepsis-not-syphilis/?source=Snapzu

Trump officials ease offshore drilling safety rule

The Trump administration moved Thursday to ease provisions of a key offshore drilling safety rule, saying some of the Obama-era standards were unnecessarily burdensome on oil and natural gas companies.
Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/408727-trump-officials-ease-offshore-drilling-safety-rule?source=Snapzu

EU trade chief defends Freeland after Trump trash-talks 'Canada's negotiator'

The European Union's trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom has no time for anyone who tries to bully Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland — even if it's Donald Trump. "You have a fantastic chief negotiator in Ms. Freeland. I think she is doing an excellent job under very tough conditions," Malmstrom told Chris Hall in an interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio's The House.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/eu-trade-commissioner-defends-freeland-trump-comments-1.4840747?source=Snapzu

Facebook Network Breach Affects Up to 50 Million Users

The company was hacked at one of the most difficult times in its history. It still faces fallout over its role in a Russian disinformation campaign.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/technology/facebook-hack-data-breach.html?source=Snapzu

$17.8 million worth of cocaine found in hidden fruit

A shipment of overripe fruit to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice contained 540 packages of cocaine with an estimated street value of $17,820,000, authorities said. On Friday, the Texas officials received a donation of 45 boxes filled with bunches of unclaimed bananas. Upon pickup at the Wayne Scott Unit in Brazoria County, however, correction officers discovered something peculiar.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boxes-donated-bananas-contained-17-8-million-worth-cocaine-n912476?source=Snapzu

Fox News Fires Contributor Who Called Kavanaugh Accusers ‘Lying Skanks’

Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a Fox News contributor following a series of tweets in which he referred to Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accusers as “lying skanks” as the Kavanaugh hearing played out Thursday. “Kevin Jackson has been terminated as a contributor. His comments on today’s hearings were reprehensible and do not reflect the values of FOX News,” said a Fox News spokesperson.
Read more: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/kevin-jackson-terminated-fox-contributor-following-lying-skanks-tweet-1202960622/?source=Snapzu

China takes a backward step as it braces for the impact of Trump's trade war

China says it would cut import tariffs on numerous non-US goods, a major backward step in its trade war with the US. The move is most likely designed to protect Chinese consumers against rising costs associated with the trade war. The cuts in tariffs are expected to save Chinese consumers and businesses
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-just-took-major-backward-112134932.html?source=Snapzu

How White Boy Rick Went From FBI Informant To Detroit Druglord By Age 16

Richard Wershe Jr. was arrested in his home in 1988 with 17 pounds of cocaine. He was 17-years-old. Reporters and the police broadcast the young, baby-face all over the news with headlines that called him the leader of a drug cartel. Wershe, the police claimed, was a dangerous cocaine godfather known to his underlings as “White Boy Rick”.
Read more: https://allthatsinteresting.com/white-boy-rick?source=Snapzu

Postman Pat creator John Cunliffe dies

John Cunliffe, the author and creator of the much-loved children’s TV shows Postman Pat, and Rosie and Jim, has died, aged 85. Cunliffe’s family placed a death notice in their local newspaper, the Ilkley Gazette, announcing that he died on 20 September and was buried after a private funeral on Wednesday.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/sep/27/postman-pat-creator-john-cunliffe-dies?source=Snapzu