By Paul Thomson :: 9:19 PM
Fore! Look out on the golf course, an errant shot out of the rough on the first hole at The Open Championship took out an $80,000 ESPN camera.
The shot was made by Thomas Bjorn from Denmark, and the ESPN camera was rolling as he swung the club. A split-second later, *crash*, the ball struck the camera.
Video of the incident is below.
By Gilbert Falso :: 5:26 PM
A Loyola Marymount University student, Marc Papakyriakou, has taken to Reddit to help garner support to save a coffee and pastry service cart at the Los Angeles institution.
The cart, run by the couple pictured above, had apparently been a fixture on the campus of the private Jesuit school for many years, but its contract was not renewed this summer by the University’s dining plan administrator, Sodexo.
This story brings together many things that make it attractive to the Reddit community. It features a victim, a senseless, faceless big company, and a conspiracy theory wrapped around the idea that Sodexo and LMU waited until the summer time to force the coffee cart couple off of campus, when student input would be less of a factor in the decision.
“We want to keep our coffee cart that is a unique part of the culture and spirit of our campus,” read part of the Papakyriakou’s post. The University had attempted to defend its decision by stating that many other schools offer franchise options, like Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – something the Reddit poster doesn’t think rises up to the standards he or she expects from a Jesuit institution.
In addition to the Reddit post, a Facebook group has been formed to gather supportive students. The group has about 2,500 members, roughly a quarter of the student body.
Looking back at this past weekend, when a Reddit post about pizza resulted in a children’s hospital wing being inundated with pizza delivery, it is clear that LMU and Sodexo will likely have a public relations crisis on their hands here – a popular Reddit post is not a force to be reckoned with. The post has already reached the number one spot at the top of Reddit’s front page, after being posted about three hours ago.
Redditors have been quick to join the fight in the comments sections, with many remarks decrying the action, and pointing out the shortcomings of Sodexo as a food service corporation. Neither LMU nor Sodexo have referenced the Reddit post yet, or replied publicly about the incident.
By Gilbert Falso :: 3:52 PM
Victims of the Asiana Airlines crash earlier this month, when a Boeing 777 landed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, have initiated legal action against the aircraft manufacturer.
The crash, which claimed the lives of three passengers, occurred after the aircraft approached the airport at a low altitude, and struck the wall separating the runway from the ocean surrounding it. The tail of the aircraft snapped off in the collision, and the plane tumbled down the runway, ejecting some passengers from the fuselage, and catching fire.
Yesterday, a group of survivors, including at least one American and 29 Chinese residents, filed a petition for discovery against Chicago-based Boeing. The 777 was carrying 307 passengers and crew when it crashed, and the petition asked Boeing to provide documents identifying all known owners and lessees of the aircraft, as well as maintenance records for work performed on the plane while Asiana Airlines owned it.
Today’s suit was filed by 83 petitioners, and focuses on mechanical malfunction related to the plane’s auto-throttle feature, which lawyers allege may have caused the 777 to approach the runway incorrectly as it was landing.
In addition to the allegations around the throttle, the lawsuit also points to faulty evacuation slides that initially inflated inward, and hampered evacuation of the plane, as well as seat belts that trapped passengers and furthered their injuries.
The suit was filed in Chicago by Ribbeck Law International.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 2:29 PM
A recently released report from U.K. paper The Guardian reveals that Redmond, WA-based Microsoft allowed the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to have preferential access to user data for its Hotmail email service, and Skype video chat service.
This new information is contrary to earlier reports by the company that denied widespread and cooperative involvement with NSA spying efforts.
Microsoft, the report claims, has worked closely with U.S. intelligence services to allow Hotmail and Skype communications and metadata to be intercepted. Microsoft’s aid allows the NSA to bypass the company’s encryption algorithms, which give users a false sense of data security.
Information obtained by whistleblower and former government contractor Edward Snowden shows the large scale of collaboration between the U.S. spy agency and Microsoft over the last two to three years.
By circumventing Microsoft encryption technology. the NSA had access to user data in both Hotmail and Outlook.com ahead of the user’s encrypted data stream. Video chat data from Skype was also open and available to the government before the encryption technology was enabled for users.
The government could, under a blanket order, allow Hotmail, Outlook.com, and Skype data to be collected without an individual warrant if the requesting agency has a strong belief that the intended target is not a U.S. citizen, and is not operating from U.S. soil at the time of the data grab.
Since the existence of the government’s data gathering program, known as PRISM, became public, many companies, including Microsoft, took great pains to deny any knowledge or involvement in the programs. However, Microsoft is a clear exception to this, as the reports show that just within the past year, the company worked closely with the FBI to make access to its cloud storage system, SkyDrive, easier for the agency.
By Paul Thomson :: 12:48 AM
Above is a live feed of protesters marching in downtown Los Angeles.
They are marching through the Crenshaw Boulevard area of the city, near Leimert Park. This marks the second night of protests following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in Florida.
The video, shot by helicopter, has shown some participants throwing rocks, attacking people clashing with law enforcement, and storming into stores and businesses.
Los Angeles Police Department officers appeared to have used rubber bullets against some of the protesters at one point in the footage.
Video feed is provided by KNBC-4, the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles.