Yahoo, Watchin' You; Stalled Gender; Killing Wins the Day; Russia is Awesome!; 40 Million Prep for the Bomb; Aleppo is Not the End; Iraq Wants Turkey (Out); U.S. Blasts Israel; Tractoring Around; and Bees Dance Ahola

Privacy

Yahoo 'secretly monitored emails on behalf of the US government' theguardian

The company complied with a classified US government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency (NSA nsa.gov) or FBI fbi.gov, two former employees and a third person who knew about the program told Reuters.

Some surveillance experts said this represents the first known case of a US internet company agreeing to a spy agency’s demand by searching all arriving messages, as opposed to examining stored messages or scanning a small number of accounts in real time.

Modern's Normalcy; Abolitionist Long Shot; Protesting to Kill; Climate Threshold Met; Burrito Air; Brain Complex; and 12k Suspended Officers

Society

'Modern Family' to feature transgender child actor usatoday

Wednesday's episode will feature transgender actor Jackson Millarker. The 8-year-old Atlanta native will play Tom, a friend of Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) who comes over for a playdate.

Broken Gods; Total Abortion Ban Possible (Hint: Not Here); 3 Parent Baby Born; Origin Myth; Swiss Unveiling Muslims; Predictive Policing Blues; Approved Satan Club; Bye Bye Internet; Veto Vetoed; Hurry Up and Deploy; UN's Dream Chaser; Translation Almost Human Good; Sitting in Line; and Sam Schmidt the Driver

Archaeology

Gate shrine from First Temple period unearthed at Tel Lachish National Park jpost

A rare gate shrine dating to the First Temple period (8th century BCE), unearthed in Tel Lachish National Park, near Mount Hebron, may prove King Hezekiah’s Biblically-recorded efforts to abolish worship in the region, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday.

Also see II Kings 18:1-8

SCOTUS: Death Regardless; Transgender Marriages OK'd by Fatwa; Russian Nautical Dancer; Poland Moves Russia to Corner; Netanyahu's Internal Battle for Peace; Hannibal Directive Canceled; Largest Rocket Tested; Soft Motor for Soft Bots; and Sliding on Flys

Abortion

The FAQs: Supreme Court Rules on Texas Abortion Case thegospelcoalition.org

In one of the most significant rulings on abortion in decades, the Supreme Court ruled on Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in a 5-3 decision to overturn state laws designed to regulate abortion clinics in a way that would protect women’s health.

For a related story, see US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pharmacists' Case against Extreme Washington Law

It's All Israel's Fault; Nuclear-Loaded Border; Russia is Closer; Spy Satellite Reveal; Puerto no es Rico; Capitalism Plus Marxism; CA Requires Abortion Coverage; CRISPR Questions; Contagious Cancer Cellfish; Hearts Made in Space; Human Ethics for Robots; Domesticated Robot; and Ken's Ark

The Brexit vote is today (over now - results starting to come in). The market is betting on a Remain vote, but pre-voting polls were neck and neck. We should see the reaction to the vote in tomorrow's US market but, no matter the outcome, expect about half of Britain to be upset! Meanwhile, check out Abbas' gall when he said the Israel 'occupation' was the source of terrorism in the entire world...and the EU Parliament who applauds the crazy man :)

Peace

If occupation ends, so will terror worldwide, Abbas tells EU timesofisrael

“We are against terrorism, in whatever form it may take, and whoever carries it out,” Abbas told members of the European Parliament to a resounding applause. “Once the occupation ends, terrorism will disappear, there will be no more terrorism in the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world,” he said.

See also EU to Back Mideast Peace With 'Unprecedented' Support

Defensive Open Hand; NK's Bombs; Plane Deal 'N Iran; China's Fan-countries; Perpetually Ready; Calling Out UNHRC; Bank Against BDS; Canadians Dying with Help; Pope's 666 Problem; Ancient Egypt's New Gold; Nano-materials: More than Meets the Eye; and Pepper Goes to Hospital

War

Despite defense buildup, NATO also seeks to assure Russia bigstory.ap.org

NATO's chief said Tuesday the alliance is reinforcing its defenses against Russia from the Baltic to the Black Sea, but keeping all possible contacts with Moscow open to avoid any unwarranted escalation of tension.

Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, confirmed previous statements that alliance defense ministers gathered in Brussels for a two-day meeting will back a deployment plan to send four multinational battalions to the Baltic states and Poland. He also said decisions are expected on forming a new multinational unit of ground forces in Romania.

Also see NATO to send troops to deter Russia, Putin orders snap checks

NATO Makes Nervous; Another Mediterranean Carrier; Israel has Robotic Weapons Too; UN Votes Israel; Losing Russian Citizenship; Brexit...or Not?; Seoul Pride; Equal Destitute is Equality, Too; Reading, Writing, 'Rithmatic, and Robots; Invisible. Wearable. Electronic.; Passenger Drone-Test Approved; Turing Test Beat; Harmful, Thinking Robot Made; NASA and UAE; and Tiny, Dense Bird Brains

Two times in almost as many days, the UN has done something in favor of Israel. The world really must be ending! :) Also, MIT might have beaten the Turing Test with AI that fooled people twice as often as not that the sound added to the video was selected by a human.

War

Nervous Baltics on war footing as NATO tries to deter Russia reuters

Leaders in the Baltic countries and Poland fear the force NATO plans to deploy on their territory is too small and symbolic to deter an attack by Russia, whose 2014 annexation of Crimea is fresh in the memories of the former Soviet-bloc states.

They will this week press other ministers of the western military alliance to help them build an air defense system against Russian aircraft and missiles. But that would be a highly sensitive step, likely to be condemned by Moscow as yet more evidence of a NATO strategy threatening its borders.

Also see NATO To Site 4,000 Troops In Baltic Over Russia

Peaceless in France; Bracing in Israel; Making Russia Great, Again; Poland Builds Up; Turkey Stares Down; Racing for Scrolls; Orthodox Unity; AI's Bach; Human Genome Proposal; Diving HUDs; and Expensive, Tiny Floating Plants

Peace

France felt 'compelled to act' on Middle East peace talks theguardian

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, and UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, attended, along with representatives from the Arab League, the European Union and key Arab states. Israeli and Palestinian representatives were absent.

Also Middle East peace talks open without Israeli, Palestinian representatives and Israel can sigh relief at parve Paris communique

NATO's Rotation; NK's Latest Missile Failure; Lenski Rebutted; 1/3 For Boycotting Israel; Anti-BDS Summit; Atomic Submarine; Inflated NASA; Chatty Friends; Zenbo; Social Hate Purge; Pope 'n the Kids; Carter for Social Justice; Religious Symbol Ban Allowed; Summer Terror in Europe; Tourism Plummet; UnitedHealth's CA Exit; and Gunshot Wound Plug

War

Stoltenberg says NATO ready to respond to ‘assertive Russia’ politico.eu

The Polish minister confirmed that Poland and the Baltic states would host four rotating battalions and that he talked with Stoltenberg about permanently stationing weapons stores in Poland, “which is crucially important for us and strengthens our sense of security.”

$100M Alien Hunt; Fighting No Abortion in Poland; Robo Bird; Napster Steels Against Cancer; Man's Arm Controlled by Man's Brain; Rain Cells; Street-Legal AI; Sharia Law Without Discrimination; U.S. Under (Simulated) Attack; Pope Greece's Unity; Indian Jews; and UN Reflects Mankind;

Space

Stephen Hawking announces $100M ‘Breakthrough Starshot’ project to find alien life nydailynews v

The Breakthrough Starshot Project was unveiled Tuesday on the 102nd floor of One World Observatory, where Hawking was joined by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner in announcing the ambitious plan.

Killing HIV; Most Realistic Skin; Subsidized Assisted Suicide in CA; Tumbleweeds!; UN Censors Israel; Jobs AI Has Its 'I' on; Trust me Dave; Chainsaw Drone; Mars in 2030; Abortion Poles; Min Wage Tide Swells in CA; and Gideon Bible or Satanic Activity Book?

Medical

Cure for HIV possible within three years as scientists snip virus from cells  telegraph.co.uk

Although the experiments have so far only been carried out in a lab, researchers at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, are confident that within three years they will be able to start trials on humans.

Promising lab-grown skin sprouts hair and grows glands bbc

This would be vastly superior to the culturing and grafting techniques that are currently available, which produce skin without many of the the biological components and functionality that we are used to.

Suicide

Californians Can Choose to Die – With the Help of Taxpayers usnews

“When you’re willing to legalize the intentional killing of patients in order to save Medi-Cal money, there’s something a little bit utilitarian about that,” he says. “We have a law that isn’t really designed for those we care for, but for those we don’t wish to care for anymore, that’s why Medi-Cal is paying for this.”

Subjected to Futility

New Invasive Tumble Weed Rapidly Expanding Across U.S. natureworldreport

The plant in question is actually a hybridization of two invasive species of tumbleweeds, creating a sort of “super” tumbleweed. Called “Salsola ryanii”, the species was first discovered in 2002 in two separate areas of California’s central valley. The species has since spread throughout much of the central valley and has even been found in San Francisco, in the coastal areas, and also in the Ventura area in the south.

See also New tumbleweed species rapidly expanding range

Israel

UN censors exhibit on Israel at NY headquarters, Israeli diplomat says jta.org

Three of the 13 panels in the exhibition “Israel Matters,” had to be deleted, the U.N. reportedly decided over the weekend. The censored panels deemed “inappropriate” are on the subjects of Zionism, Jerusalem and Arab-Israelis.

See also UN censors Israeli exhibition featuring Zionism and Jerusalem

AI

This infographic shows which jobs are most likely to become extinct due to robots businessinsider

While many of those robots will be used in the automotive and electronics sectors, there are many other roles that robots will be filling in the future. Surprisingly, according to global consultant McKinsey & Co, not all of these jobs are low-skill, low-wage jobs, either.

Can we trust robots to make moral decisions? qz

“The issues of morality in general are very vague,” says Ronald Arkin, professor and director of the mobile robot laboratory at Georgia Institute of Technology. “We still argue as human beings about the correct moral framework we should use, whether it’s a consequentialist utilitarian means-justify-the-ends approach, or a Kantian deontological rights-based approach.”

There are clearly some difficult moral choices, so my intention is not to marginalize those. However, not only does this article show mankind trying to inject a form of morality into its creation, but that by and large society has rejected the absolute morality of our Creator, and as a result only has a nebulous, arbituary, relative understanding of morality to start with.

Drones

Flying Nightmare: Drone Gets Armed With Chainsaw sputniknews

Basically a video "article"

Space

NASA's Bolden: Mars mission is 'closer than ever' cnbc

We think we're on the right trajectory to get humans to Mars in the 2030's," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told CNBC's "On the Money" in an interview this week.

Includes interview video

Abortion

Poles protest possibility of total ban on abortion philly

Thousands of Poles took part in street demonstrations on Sunday to protest a possible tightening of the country's abortion law, already one of the most restrictive in Europe.

Minimum Wage

California, New York enact $15 minimum wages foxnews

In Los Angeles, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that will lift the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.

Together with New York, it marks the most ambitious moves yet to close the national divide between rich and poor. Experts say other states may follow, given Congress' reluctance to act despite entreaties from President Barack Obama.

See also $15 minimum wage coming to New York, Calif.

Santanism

Satanic book provided in Colorado schools coloradoan

Atheists provided pamphlets on topics like sex in the Bible, problems with the Ten Commandments and a Satanic activity book to middle and high school students in a rural Colorado district Friday, the result of a fight between Delta County schools and critics over whether it should continue to let everyone from Little League organizers to the Gideons distribute literature in schools.

Other...

World’s Longest Bridge is 102.4 Miles Long industrytap