Target's computer security staff advised the retailer to review the security of its payment card system at least two months before hackers stole 40 million credit and debit card numbers from its servers, according to several reports published Friday.
Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal and American Banker published stories on their websites that said at least one intelligence analyst at the Minneapolis-based retailer wanted to do a more thorough security review of its payment systems' vulnerability to malware, but the request was brushed off.
Reports: Target warned before data breach
Shiny And New: World's Largest Solar Plant Opens In Nevada
The world's largest solar power plant, made up of thousands of mirrors focusing the sun's energy, has officially started operations in Nevada's Mojave Desert.
The $2.2 billion, 400-megawatt , which covers 5 square miles near the Nevada-California border and has three 40-story towers where the light is focused, is a joint project by NRG Energy, Google and BrightSource Energy. The project received a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee.
The plant, which went online Thursday, is to power 140,000 homes. It was dedicated by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
Fracking blamed for drought in California
California fracking opponents aiming to stop development of massive state oil reserves are focusing their drive this year around the state's record-breaking drought, arguing oil production would suck sorely needed water from farms and homes.
California Rep. Marc Levine told Reuters last week that he will co-author an upcoming bill that would place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the state, and said he will use the drought, which could be the state's worst ever, to bolster his position.
Former Congressman Ron Paul starts Snowden clemency petition
Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has started a petition demanding clemency for the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who revealed its metadata surveillance program.
“Edward Snowden sacrificed his livelihood, citizenship, and freedom by exposing the disturbing scope of the NSA’s worldwide spying program. Thanks to one man’s courageous actions, Americans know about the truly egregious ways their government is spying on them,” Paul says in a video on his Ron Paul Channel website, which he started last summer.
Federal judge rules that Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional
"A federal judge has struck down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, ruling on Thursday that the amendment adopted by voters in 2006 is unconstitutional," . He adds that:
"In the 41-page opinion in Bostic v. McDonnell Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen said the amendment violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Wright stayed the ruling pending appeal, which means same-sex marriages in the commonwealth will not begin immediately."
Eventually, legal analysts say, the issue is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The judge's ruling is posted here.
Dozens of Vehicles Involved In Chain of Crashes on Ice-Coated Pa. Turnpike
Several multi-vehicles crashes, involving as many as 100 cars and dozens of tractor-trailers stretched over several miles of icy highway, shut down the eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike this morning.
One crash area involved approximately 75 cars and several tractor-trailers. The incident began about 8 a.m. in the eastbound lanes between Willow Grove and the Route 1 exits in Bensalem, Pa.
British police question CNN's Piers Morgan over phone-hacking
Piers Morgan, one of the biggest names in British media and a CNN television host, has been questioned by London police in connection with allegations of phone-hacking at the Daily Mirror tabloid he used to edit.
Morgan, a former judge on "America's Got Talent" show who replaced Larry King on CNN in 2011, said in a statement on Thursday he had been interviewed by officers after voluntarily attending a police station in December.
Fossil captures moment of live birth in ancient marine reptile
A fossil of a giant marine reptile known as an ichthyosaur may show evidence of the oldest live reptilian birth ever seen, U.S. paleontologists say.
The partial fossil skeleton of an ichthyosaur, giant marine reptiles that evolved from land reptiles and moved to the water, was recovered in China and may show a live birth, Ryosuke Motani from the University of California, Davis, said.
The maternal skeleton was associated with three embryos and neonates: one inside the mother, another exiting the pelvis -- with half the body still inside the mother -- and the third outside of the mother, Motani and colleagues report in the journal PLoS ONE.
Indonesia volcano erupts; 2 killed, 100K evacuate
A major volcanic eruption on Indonesia's most heavily populated island blasted clouds of ash and debris 18 kilometers (12 miles) into the air on Friday, killing two people while forcing authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 and close six airports.
The explosive overnight eruption of Java island's Mount Kelud could be heard up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) away, Indonesia's disaster agency said.
"The eruption sounded like thousands of bombs exploding," Ratno Pramono, a 35-year-old farmer, said after returning from an evacuation center to check on his property in the village of Sugihwaras, around five kilometers (three miles) from the crater. "I thought doomsday was upon us. Women and children were screaming and crying."
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