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Samsung Releases New Tablet and Camera After Apple Wins Big At TrialFollowing one of the largest patent trials in electronic history where Apple Inc. scored an overwhelming win over Samsung Electronics Company, Apple is seeking a US sales ban on eight different models of the Samsung's smartphones, mostly from their Galaxy line, and including a future ban on a Samsung tablet computer. Apple was also awarded more than $1 billion in damages. More importantly, they proved that their patent strategy held up in court, and they essentially gained an extreme stronghold on the electronics industry. In the future, cell phones not created by Apple will not be able to use the shape of the phone, the simplistic look of the onscreen icons, and the minimalist design (Rosenblatt). After six of the seven Apple patents that Samsung contested in court held up at trial, Apple rebutted by identifying eight smartphones that they want removed from the market. While removing these products from store shelves will cost Samsung some money, Mark Newman, an analyst at Sanfo |
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Ethiopia in Political Uncertainty After Death of Prime Minister Meles ZenawiPrime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, a controversial figure in the conflict between the American governments ideals for Africa and their methods in realizing these ideals, passed away on August 20th after 20 years in power. On one hand, Prime Minister Zenawi took advantage of America's battle against terrorism following the September 11th attacks. He seemingly took up the fight alongside America, painting Ethiopia as a Christian country that put the fight against Islamist extremists at the forefront of their cause. In turn, America gave him prized intelligence, diplomatic support, and $800 million in American aid in exchange for cooperating against the militants housed in the Horn of Africa (Gettleman). On the other hand, Prime Minister Zenawi knowingly went against President Obama's theory that "Africa doesn't need strong men, it needs strong institutions." Even though he was a key ally for the United States, Prime Minister Zenawi continually jailed dissidents and journalists |
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Taliban Violence Surges, Insurgents Behead 17 CiviliansAfghanistan recently saw a surge of violence resulting in the death of 17 Afghan civilians and two American soldiers. The Taliban controls the majority of Musa Qala, a district with 100 villages inside, and enforces strict rules based on the Islamic law, as they have since the Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. Neyamatullah Khan, a local government official, announced that Taliban leaders beheaded 17 civilians in the Helmand province of Musa Qala who were apparently partying and dancing to music. The 17 victims consisted of 15 men and two women (Vogt). Another government spokesman Daoud Ahmadi reported that two Taliban commanders were fighting over the women dancing, and a shooting eventually broke out. He did not say whether the music and dancing prompted the shooting. All 17 of the victims were beheaded, although it is not yet known whether they were shot prior to the beheading (Vogt). An Afghan colleague fighting along NATO soldiers turned his weapon onto his colleagues and sho |
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Former Navy SEALs Book Describes Death of Osama bin LadenA first-hand account written by a former Navy SEAL detailing the circumstances surrounding Osama bin Laden's death is set to be released on September 4th, a week earlier than its planned launch date on the anniversary of the September 11th attacks because of high demand. The book was written by a SEAL under the pseudonym "Mark Owen" and relays a decidedly different sequence of events than originally reported by the White House following bin Laden's death. Furthermore, the book was not vetted by government officials prior to its publishing, which is a clear violation of the author's contract under the SEALs (Zakaria). The book, titled "No Easy Day," reports that bin Laden was actually peeking his head out from behind his bedroom door when he was shot in the head during a raid. However, immediately after the raid, the White House counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan said that bin Laden was "engaged in a firefight" with the Navy SEALs when he suffered a fatal bullet wound that ended his life (Zakaria). Many media outlets have managed to get copies of the book and leaked the contents. "Bin Laden apparently was hit in the head when he looked out of |
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Aurora Shooting Victims Angry Over Allocation of Fundraising MoneyFollowing the Aurora, Colorado theater shootings in which 12 victims lost their lives, fundraising groups have raised over $5 million from fundraisers. However, the families of the victims are unhappy with the way the funds are being allocated and held a public news conference to announce their anger. Tom Teves, the group spokesman who also lost a son in the shootings, berated the fundraisers for not taking into account how the families would want the money to be distributed, even though the funds were raised using the pictures, names, and stories of their loved ones (Elliott). Of the $5 million raised, $450,00 has been distributed. The Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance received $350,000 with the plans to give $5,000 to each of the families of the 70 victims to cover their financial nee |
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Assad and Syrian Forces Massacre Nearly 300 Rebels in DarayaSyrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's army of massacring more than 300 rebels execution-style in Daraya, a town close to the capital of Damascus. Several videos on the Internet showed rows of bloodied bodies wrapped in sheets and dumped in basements, most of which were fighting-age men but also included women and children (Holmes). Fighting grew particularly tense in Aleppo recently, as the 18-month-old rebellion came to a head. Government forces shelled, bombed, and executed the rebels, causing over 3,500 people to flee to the provinces of Kilis and Hatay in Turkey, according to the United Nations refugee agency. With the new refugees, the total number of Syrian citizens displaced into Turkey reaches record numbers at 65,000 people in nine different camps. Almost half of these refugees fled in the month of August alone. The increased number of refugees is largely due to the fighting in Aleppo and leaflets passed out by the Syrian government that encourages citizens to flee. Another factor that may have an affect on the rising number of refugees is the fact that Turkey refuses to take over 100,000 refugees. At the current rate, Turkey will |
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Apple Wins Big in Patent Lawsuit Against SamsungAfter less than 22 hours of deliberation, the 9-man jury in the case of Apple Inc. versus Samsung Corporation delivered a verdict overwhelmingly in favor of Apple, citing that Samsung had infringed on all but one of the patents presented in the case. Alternately, the jury found that Apple did not infringe on any of the five patents that surfaced when Samsung countersued Apple. The trial began in April of 2011 and concerned many different types of intellectual property. In fact, this trial was revolutionary in that it combined these types of intellectual property in one case; patents that cover software features, hardware design, and high-speed communication features. Probably the most ambiguous of the matters brought up at trial concerned "trade dress," a claim that Apple owns the overall look and feel of their devices. As a result of the jury's findings, Apple was awarded $1.05 billion in damages. Most significantly, it proved that its patent defense does work, which could lead |
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US Threatens to Intervene if Conflict in Syria PersistsAs three army shellings and shootings tormented Syria on August 21st, American President Barack Obama stepped forward to announce the United States' intentions to interfere in the conflict if Damascus attempted to move or deploy unconventional weapons. Obama told reporters that the movement or utilization of such weapons was "a red line." Intelligence officials have reason to believe that Syrian government, headed by President Bashar al'Assad, has a large amount of chemical weapons, but are still unsure as to whether they possess biological weapons (Cave). Syrian Deputy Prime Minister, Jamil Qadri, and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, met in Moscow to discuss the 18-month-long conflict raging across Syria. The conflict recently spiked after the Alawites, a new group of militia, found at least 40 bodies in the basement of a mosque. In addition to the fighting in Aleppo and Damascus, the cemetery where funeral mourners had gathered to lay these bodies to rest was shelled |
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Republican Candidate Todd Akin Asked to Step Down After Rape RemarksCongressman Todd Akin, the Republican candidate in the Missouri Senate race, through a wrench into the party's plans to regain the Senate majority after his ill-advised comments about raped caused uproar from voters and politicians alike. In a televised interview on August 19th, Akin mistakenly commented, "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," alluding to his belief that rape victims rarely become pregnant. Since Akin's misguided comments, the national Republican establishment has focused on forcing Akin out of the race and even threatening to revoke funding if he does not step aside (Weisman). The Republican Party needs to win four seats in the Senate to gain a majority in the 100-seat Senate. Representative Todd Akin became the party's newly elected committee, hoping to oust Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri who is widely considered the easiest target to overcome. Since Akin's rape comments, the National Republican Senatori |
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House Passes Temporary Livestock Disaster Relief BillJust before they wrapped up for their 5-week long summer recess, the House voted to continue the disaster relief to livestock producers suffering from increased feed prices following the nationwide drought. In a 223-197 vote, the lawmakers squeezed in the measure as one of the last actions before the recess. With this vote, four previously expired disaster aid programs will be restored, giving aid mostly to livestock farmers and tree farmers, who are not protected by insurance that protects them from droughts like crop farmers. Many livestock producers have been forced to liquidate stocks early because of maintenance costs (TIME). Although the bill is a continuation of a previous bill and almost all agree upon its necessity, it faces a lot of opposition. The $383 million it costs to reinstate the program would be funded directly from budget cuts from two conservation programs. A total of $630 million would be shaved from the programs. Because of the budget cuts it would take t |
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US Patent Trial Between Apple and Samsung Kicks OffThe highly anticipated US patent trial between Samsung Electronics Company Ltd. and Apple Inc. began on Tuesday, July 31st. In their opening statements, Apple accused Samsung of intentionally stealing iPhone features and, thereby, infringing on their current patents. Samsung's rebuttal explained that the similarities were merely an example of legitimate competition. Apple's original main focus in its patents was to counter Google's Android operating system, but with this trial, Samsung could face a sales ban on its Galaxy phones and tablets (Gupta). On its first day, the trial centered closely around Samsung's internal product analyses. According to Samsung's attorney, Verhoeven, the analyses is common practice in the smartphone industry, but Apple's attorney, McElhinny, spotlig |
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Obamacare's Contraception Coverage Faces ControversyObama's Affordable Healthcare Act reform began on August 1, 2012, reigniting the uproar from religious institutions. The reform states that businesses and insurers must now cover a range of women's health services, including birth control and abortifacients. Women are no longer responsible for co-pays or deductibles after they renew their insurance policies. The Roman Catholic Church and owners of private businesses are outraged, but the law states that business must comply even if they are run by people who object on religious grounds. If not, they face a daily fine of $100 per employee (MacDonald). "President Obama is moving our country forward by giving women control over their health care," said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Health and Human Services. "This law puts women and their doctors, not insurance companies or the government, in charge of health care decisions (May). So far, only one company, Hercules Industries in Colorado, has won a temporary injunction that |
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Republican Filibuster Blocks Cyber Security BillA Republican filibuster in the Senate blocked the Obama administration's cyber security bill on August 2nd by a vote of 52 to 46 - just eight votes short of the 60 needed to force a final vote. Republicans led by John McCain largely opposed the bill, which would have established optional standards for the main computer systems that control the country's critical infrastructure, such as power grids, dams, and transportation. The US Chamber of Commerce joined McCain in the opposition, citing that the bill placed too much of a burden on corporations (Schmidt). Ultimately, the parties could not agree upon what amendments would be included with the new legislation. To win over the Republican vote, including McCain, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman attempted to lessen the restrictions placed by the bill, including making all standards optional. Originally, Lieberman, who is chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and has worked for years on passing cyber security l |
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Colorado Shooter, James Holmes, Charged with 24 Counts of First-Degree MurderJames Holmes, the doctoral student at the university's Anschutz campus who opened fire at the July 20th midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," was charged with 24 counts of first-degree murder on Monday, July 30th. Just minutes after Holmes opened fire on the theater killing 12 and leaving 58 wounded, he was arrested in the parking lot. In addition to the 24 counts of first-degree murder, he also faces 116 accounts of attempted murder (Francescani). Holmes dressed up as the Joker, Batman's nemesis in the popular comic books, donned tactical body armor and a gas mask, and tossed smoke bombs in the packed theater. When chaos broke out, he opened fire with three guns - a Smith & Wesson M&P .223 semi-automatic rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a Glock .40-caliber handgu |
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G-20 Summit Focuses on Impending Devastation for European CountriesThe annual Group of 20 meeting, composed of presidents and prime ministers, concluded on June 19th with little decisive impact. Although many major European economies are teetering on the edge of disaster, the group remained split between the two logical solutions: increase spending to stimulate growth or reduce federal budgets to restore investor confidence. The summit ended with a signed document detailing a comprehensive plan, but it has not yet been released. An even more detailed response is expected to be released at the end of a summit held in Brussels at the end of June (Castillo). The Group of 20 meeting is a yearly conference to discuss the status of the global financial status, but it is not surprising to many analysts that a final decision was not made. "On the big issue of the hour, of weeks and months, the G-20 communique is not going to make a big difference," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washing |
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One World Trade Center Surpasses Others and Becomes Tallest Building in NYCTo a round of cheers and applause, One World Trade Center peeked over the roof of the observation deck on the Empire State Building to claim the title of New York City's tallest point on May 30th. The unfinished framework stood a little over 1,250 feet high after the first 12-ton column was erected on the top deck, although the building will continue to grow for at least one more year. Blueprints have the building, once referred to as the Freedom Tower, standing as the tallest building in the US and the third tallest building in the world. One World Trade Center replaces the Twin Towers, which were destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks (Caruso). "The new World Trade Center is more than just a skyscraper: it is a symbol of the enduring spirit of th |
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President Obama Berates GOP Candidates for Radical ThinkingPresident Barack Obama lambasted the GOP presidential candidates for their "radical" vision, citing that America is at their "make or break moment" and that the choice for the right direction has never been so "unambiguously clear." He berated their "laughable" economic policies, which he claimed "nearly destroyed" America's financial system, while re-emphasizing his arguments in the State of the Union address that said all Americans should get a "fair shot" at success and that everyone must play "by the same rules" (Madison). "We have been having the same argument with folks who keep pedaling some version of trickle-down economics," said Obama. "They keep telling us that if we convert more of our investment in education and research and health care into tax cuts, especially for the wealthy, our economy will grow stronger ...We're told that when the wealthy become ever wealt |
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9/11 Terrorists and Guantanamo BayAfter much delay, five terrorists responsible for the September 11 attacks will finally face charges of "terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destruction of property in violation of the law of war." If convicted, the five defendants, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, all face the death penalty (CNN). The charges were initially filed against Mohammed in 2008, but President Barak Obama's efforts to shut down the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay interfered. Once those efforts proved to be fruitless, Obama moved the case to |
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US Plans to Meet with Iran Over Nuclear ProgramUS Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stressed the importance of resolving the Iran nuclear controversy before time runs out. Iran's nuclear program has raised great concern worldwide and even prompted a meeting between the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China over a year ago. However, the meeting ended after the two sides were unable to come to any type of agreement. Since then, Iran has pressed ahead with its nuclear program, claiming it is for peaceful energy and research purposes (Klapper). Clinton said Iran's "window of opportunity" for a peaceful resolution "will not remain open forever." The United States and Israel have the most at stake currently with possible military attacks adding urgency. All countries believe Iran is trying to develop |
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Muslim Brotherhood Nominates Shater for PresidentDespite their pledge not to seek top office, the Muslim Brotherhood recently nominated their chief strategist and financier Khairat el-Shater as candidate for Egypt's first president since Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest political opposition organization that was outlawed until recently, has such a large grassroots following that Shater immediately became the front runner in the race. Shater is a multimillionaire business tycoon who was recently an imprisoned political prisoner. If Shater does win the election, the Muslim Brotherhood will gain control of the presidency, the Parliament, and the committee writing the new constitution (Kirkpatrick). "We decided that Egypt now needs a candidate from us to bear this responsibility," said Mohamed el Morsi |
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Thousands Protest Lack of Arrest for George ZimmermanOver one thousand protestors took to the streets in Sanford, Florida to call for the arrest of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman killed Martin who was walking home to his father's fiancee's home after visiting a local convenience store. Zimmerman claims that Martin attacked him and he was simply using self-defense, while others believe Zimmerman, of Hispanic origin, targeted Martin because he was a young, black male wearing a hoodie in the neighborhood. Zimmerman has still not been arrested for the murder (Castellanos). The NAACP organized the march, which began in a predominantly black neighborhood and ended at the Sanford police headquarters. Protestors chanted, "We want an arrest. Shot in the chest." Many wore hoodies |
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Ohio High School Shooter, Lane, Charged With Three Counts of MurderHigh school shooter, T.J. Lane, was officially charged with murder after his shooting rampage left three fellow students dead. Next week, a juvenile court in Geauga County, Ohio will decide whether or not Lane will be tried as an adult in court. As it stands, as a juvenile he is not able to receive the death penalty |
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Obama RevivesJust days after his healthcare reforms were halted in Congress, President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to pass his "Buffett Rule," his plan to increase taxes on millionaires. Obama originally proposed his plan last September, but he faced great opposition from House Republicans. His plan still stands little hope of passing, but the Obama administration plans for his proposal to show him as a champion of economic fairness in light of the upcoming April tax filing deadline and as the presidential elections near. The Republicans have already denounced the plan as a political stunt (Kuhnhenn). Under the "Buffett Rule," people earning at least $1 million annually, whether through salary or investments, would be required to pay at least 30 percen |
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Obama RevivesJust days after his healthcare reforms were halted in Congress, President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to pass his "Buffett Rule," his plan to increase taxes on millionaires. Obama originally proposed his plan last September, but he faced great opposition from House Republicans. His plan still stands little hope of passing, but the Obama administration plans for his proposal to show him as a champion of economic fairness in light of the upcoming April tax filing deadline and as the presidential elections near. The Republicans have already denounced the plan as a political stunt (Kuhnhenn). Under the "Buffett Rule," people earning at least $1 million annually, whether through salary or investments, would be required to pay at least 30 percent of their income i |
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Obama RevivesJust days after his healthcare reforms were halted in Congress, President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to pass his "Buffett Rule," his plan to increase taxes on millionaires. Obama originally proposed his plan last September, but he faced great opposition from House Republicans. His plan still stands little hope of passing, but the Obama administration plans for his proposal to show him as a champion of economic fairness in light of the upcoming April tax filing deadline and as the presidential elections near. The Republicans have already denounced the plan as a political stunt (Kuhnhenn). Under the "Buffett Rule," people earning at least $1 million annually, whether through salary or investments, would be required to pay at least 30 percent of their income i |
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