1976 Apple computer sells for $668,000
AP: A German auction house said Saturday that a 1976 Apple 1 computer sold for a record $668,000.
The functional model, purchased by an anonymous buyer, was built by Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in a family garage. It is one of only six functioning models left in the world, the auction house claims.
Photo: Courtesy Computer History Museum
Around 30 arrested at Moscow gay rights rally
Reuters: Around 30 pro- and anti-gay activists were arrested on Saturday after defying Moscow’s ban on gay rights demonstrations.
Russia’s parliament has given preliminary approval to legislation which bans ‘homosexual propaganda’ which critics say would in effect ban gay rights demonstrations.
Saturday’s arrests occurred at the same time as Ukraine held its first ever gay rights rally which was protected by police.
Photo: A gay rights activist holds a placard during a rally to mark the international day against homophobia in St. Petersburg on May 17, 2013. The placard reads ‘Homophobia kills!’ (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)
BloombergNews: Joe Arpaio, the controversial sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, violated the constitutional rights of Latinos who were stopped and detained as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants, a federal judge said.
U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow issued a decision Friday after a trial without a jury that ended Aug. 2.
“The evidence introduced at trial establishes that, in the past, the MCSO has aggressively protected its right to engage in immigration and immigration–related enforcement operations even when it had no accurate legal basis for doing so,” Snow said in his ruling.
“Such policies have apparently resulted in the violation of this court’s own preliminary injunction.”
More from Bloomberg News here.
Toronto mayor: ‘I do not use crack cocaine’
CTV News: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied allegations that he was seen in a video smoking crack cocaine.
“There are serious accusations from the Toronto Star that I use crack cocaine,” Ford told reporters at city hall on Friday afternoon. “I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine.”
It’s been a little over a week since reports of the alleged video first surfaced on U.S. website Gawker, and later in the Toronto Star.
Earlier, members of Toronto’s executive committee released a letter assuring residents that despite the controversy, city business continues without interruption. The members also urged Ford to speak to the allegations that surfaced last week.
Photo: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks to reporters at city hall in Toronto on Friday, May 24, 2013. (CTVNews.ca)
DOT: Washington bridge could be out for months
Skagit Valley Herald: It may be months before a replacement bridge can be built across the Skagit River in Washington, the state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said today.
The bridge collapsed Thursday, sending two vehicles into the river. All three occupants suffered minor injuries.
A truck marked as an oversized load struck several trusses on the I-5 bridge near Mount Vernon, Wash., before it collapsed Thursday, a Washington State Patrol trooper said.
So far, the State Patrol does not know if the man was speeding. His name is not being released because he has not been charged with a crime. The incident remains under investigation, Francis said.
“He gave a voluntary blood draw, and it appears he will be released after he is done with his statements and interviews,” Francis said at about 1 a.m. Friday.
The bridge was rated in 2000 and 2010 as functionally obsolete, or outdated, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Olsen said.
Photo: The Skagit River Bridge on Interstate 5 between Burlington and Mount Vernon, Wash., collapsed Thursday just after 7 p.m. PT. (Colette Weeks / Skagit Valley Herald)
Freeway bridge collapses into Washington river
AP: A major freeway bridge in Skagit County, Washington, collapsed Thursday night, dumping people and cars into water.
The portion four-lane Interstate-5 bridge that passes over Skagit River fell about 40 feet into the water at around 7 p.m. local time. The Skagit Valley Sheriff Department initially reported three people were rescued from water.
The bridge is a steel-truss bridge with a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records.
Photo: North end of the I-5 bridge over Skagit River collapsed Thursday night. (Gina Cole / Skagit Valley Herald)
Boy Scouts lift ban on gay members
NBC News: The Boy Scouts of America National Council removed the organization’s ban on gay kids and teens on Thursday with a 60 percent vote.
The organization will continue its ban on gay adult troop leaders.
The controversial vote came during a large debate with both sides threatening to remove their sponsorship and their sons from the scouts.
The organization, which is 70 percent sponsored by religious groups, initially reaffirmed their ban last summer after a two-year examination by a committee. Since then, local chapters and the BSA President Wayne Perry, have pressured for reconsideration.
Photo: Supporters of the resolution to remove the ban on gay Boy Scouts display signs promoting equality within the organization. (Win McNarnee / Getty Image)
Obama: ’America is at a crossroads’ in terror fight
NBC News: In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, President Barack Obama sought to reframe the nation’s counterterrorism strategy.
Obama outlined new guidelines for the use of drones to kill terrorists overseas and pledged a renewed effort to close the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay.
In the speech, Obama argued that, “In the years to come, not every collection of thugs that labels themselves al-Qaida will pose a credible threat to the United States.” He warned that “unless we discipline our thinking and our actions, we may be drawn into more wars we don’t need to fight.”
He also announced he is lifting the moratorium he imposed in 2010 on transferring some detainees at Guantanamo Bay to Yemen.
When discussing Guantanamo detainees, Obama was repeatedly interrupted by a co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink.
Photo: President Barack Obama talks about national security, Thursday, May 23, 2013, at the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)
NOAA predicts active 2013 Atlantic hurricane season
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting an active or extremely active 2013 Atlantic hurricane season.
The U.S. climate agency says seven to 11 storms could become hurricanes, including three to six “major” hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or higher.
These ranges are well above the seasonal average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes.
“With the devastation of Sandy fresh in our minds, and another active season predicted, everyone at NOAA is committed to providing life-saving forecasts in the face of these storms and ensuring that Americans are prepared and ready ahead of time.” said Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., NOAA acting administrator.
Photo: Hurricane Sandy as seen from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite on October 28, 2012. (NOAA / NASA)
Bloomberg News: Shootings cost Chicago $2.5 billion a year, or about $2,500 per household, according to Jens Ludwig, director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
Many of those costs are intangibles, Ludwig said, like keeping people from going outside or letting their children walk to school. Reducing even a fraction of the carnage, though, would free up more money than the city expects to save each year from the closing of 49 elementary schools approved yesterday by the school board.
Oklahoma tornado victims’ names released
KJRH: Ten children were among the 24 Oklahoma tornado victims whose names were released earlier today.
The EF-5 tornado that struck Moore, Okla., on Monday hit two schools and destroyed thousands of homes. Seven of the children were found dead after being buried in the rubble of a local elementary school.
Authorities estimate the tornado caused approximately $2 billion in damage.
Photo: Destroyed vehicles lie in the rubble outside the Plaza Towers Elementary school in Moore, Okla., on May 21, after the school was destroyed by a massive tornado on May 20. (Richard Rowe / Reuters)
Chicago Tribune: After hearing from aldermen, angry parents and community members in a meeting interrupted several times by protesters, the Chicago Board of Education approved a plan to close 49 elementary schools and one high school program.
The board voted 4-2 to close Von Humboldt Elementary, then unanimously approved the rest of the closings in a single vote.
Before that, the board voted 6-0 to approve a last-minute recommendation by the district to spare four elementary schools.
After more than two hours of public comments, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and board members defended the plan to close the highest number of schools the city has ever shut down in a single year.
The district says it needs to close schools to address a looming $1 billion deficit and declining enrollment.
More from the Tribune here.
CNN: Ibragim Todashev, shot dead early Wednesday by the FBI in Florida, has been connected to a 2011 triple homicide in Waltham, Massachusetts, according to a source close to investigators.
Additional details weren’t immediately available.
Todashev had been acquainted with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev at a mixed martial arts center near Boston, said a source who was briefed on the bombing investigation.
The source added that Todashev had Tsarnaev’s phone number in his cell phone.
Both were members of the mixed martial arts forum Sherdog.com, along with Russian-Canadian boxer-turned-jihadist William Plotnikov, the source said.
More from CNN here.
Man killed in alleged machete attack in London
BBC News: One man is dead and two others are injured after an alleged machete attack in London.
The victim was attacked by two others who were shot by police officers. The victim is believed to be a British soldier.
Follow the latest at Breaking News.
Photo: An air ambulance and four crews attended the scene in London. (via BBC News)
Reuters: The US Senate’s Judiciary Committee has approved legislation that could bring about the biggest changes in the country’s immigration policy in a generation.
By a vote of 13-5, the panel approved the bill that could put 11 million on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the southwestern border with Mexico.
The full Senate will tackle the issue next month.
