Author: Alexander Abad-Santos

Syrian Electronic Army Adds Financial Times to Its Social Media Hacks

Reuters

The Financial Times became the latest news agency to fall prey to the Syrian Electronic Army, the hacking group which has claimed the social media scalps of the AP, The Onion, the BBC, and NPR, perhaps signaling that news outlets should be more like The Onion and come clean about how they're getting hacked.

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 15, 2013

Matt Lauer Might Ruin 'Jeopardy' After His Reign of Terror at the 'Today' Show

The $25 million Today show host who is now less popular than George Stephanopoulos is primed to become the next host of Jeopardy!, where he would seek to replace one of the most popular game-show hosts of all time.

Comments | 9,656 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 15, 2013

Important Things to Consider Before Taking a Carnival Cruise

In the last three months, four of Carnival's cruise ships have had major problems while at sea. If you're really yearning for a fantastic voyage, here's why Carnival might not be the right cruise ship line for you. 

Comments | 2,882 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 15, 2013

GOP Senator Rob Portman Gives His Support to Same-Sex Marriage

Portman says the reversal stems from his 21-year-old gay son coming out to him two years ago, as he now becomes the first Republican Senator on that side of the controversial issue as it heads for landmark arguements in the Supreme Court.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 14, 2013

The Steubenville Rape Suspects May Go Free Because the Girl Wasn't 'So' Drunk

As even more graphic cellphone photos and complex testimony emerged on the second day of the rape trial in Steubenville, Ohio, defense attorneys for the two teenage boys accused of forcibly penetrating and masturbating on an unconscious 16-year-old girl doubled down on their contention that the girl's judgment wasn't impaired.

Comments | 12,714 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 14, 2013

The Truth About Matt Lauer's 'Today' Show Problem Is Internal Revolt

The narrative from people who actually work at the show — that staffers are well aware of Lauer's fading likability, that Ann Curry wasn't the problem after all, and that nobody wants to tell him — counters what we've been hearing from Lauer and NBC executives.

Comments | 32,144 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 14, 2013

Chris Hayes Defeats Ezra Klein in Battle to Face Bill O'Reilly

If you're on Team Ezra, well, see how O'Reilly does against MSNBC's newest winning tribute, 34-year-old Chris Hayes, because talk-radio borg Ed Schultz's 8 p.m. showdown time slot was only made for one liberal, wonky heartthrob.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 14, 2013

Did Hugo Chavez Tell Jesus to Pick a South American Pope?

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was accused of rigging plenty of elections in his day, but his successor thinks he might have also decided one very important vote from beyond the grave. 

Comments | 1,501 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 13, 2013

'Game of Thrones' Gets the 'Xena' Theme It Always Deserved

Today in viral videos: HBO's nerdiest show has a '90s opening-credits remix, the Justin Timberlake media assault is relentless and relentlessly enjoyable, and the clumsiest penguins the world has ever seen. 

Comments | 1,896 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 13, 2013

America Finally Hears the Case for the Victim on First Day of Steubenville Trial

After months of anonymous lobbying on her behalf, the 16-year-old girl had Ohio juvenile prosecutors tell her side of the story on Wednesday afternoon, as the prosecution delivered an emotional and graphic opening statement. The defense stayed quiet with its date-rape-doesn't-exist strategy, even as the suspects appeared in public together for the first time.

Comments | 9,656 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 13, 2013

'Opposing Black Guy in the White House' Is 'Good Politics' for This South Carolina Medicaid Flip-Flopper

"It is good politics to oppose the black guy in the White House right now, especially for the Republican Party," said Republican South Carolina House Member Kris Crawford in an interview about how he supported a Medicaid expansion despite his party affiliation. Now just guess what he did next.

Comments | 7,686 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 13, 2013

North Korea's Sexism and Absurdity Are Progress for Its Propaganda, Sadly

The country's propaganda campaign against its neighbors and America continues to ratchet up — it's now calling the brand-new president of South Korea a nagging "prostitute," and it may have released another anti-U.S. video — but that's actually a mild improvement.

Comments | 1,819 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 13, 2013

3,000 More Dead Pigs Won't Make the Huangpu River Any Worse

Some 3,000 more decomposing pigs have been found in the river near Shanghai since Monday, bringing the number to about 6,000 dead hogs, but authorities claim that water is just fine.

Comments | 3,104 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 13, 2013

Ukraine Might Have Trained 'Killer' Dolphins That Might Have Escaped

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is denying the report that they've restarted their Cold War-era dolphin-training program and that three of their prized "killer" dolphins have escaped in search of sex.

Comments | 18,987 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos and Matt Sullivan

Mar 13, 2013

Enter the Trial in Steubenville, Where the Cast Is Not Merely Football Players

The spotlight returns to Ohio on Wednesday, and there's a new judge as hackers have returned, the 16-year-old alleged victim might testify after all, her friends can now testify against her, and the suspects are already speaking out.

Comments | 48,797 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 12, 2013

Debunking the Myths of the NIH's $1.5 Million 'Lesbians Are Fat' Study

According to the project lead at Harvard — as well as the study itself and the federal funding therein — the conservative hyperbole forgets all about gay men... and there are other sequester-relevant studies that might be more worth the freak-out.

Comments | 12,070 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 12, 2013

The Favorite to Become the Next Pope Might Have Mafia Ties

If the papal conclave were set up like college basketball's March Madness, Cardinal Angelo Scola would have been a No. 1 seed — until today's anti-mafia investigation caught up with him.

Comments | 12,308 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 12, 2013

This Is How Kim Jong-Un Gets Pumped Up for War

With North Korea continuing to agitating things with their enemies to the South, Kim Jong-un is doing his best to prepare his troops to break some waists.

Comments | 21,586 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

This Dancing Nana Will Save Monday

Today in viral videos: a dancing grandmother does her thing, Sarah Silverman and Michael Cera launch a YouTube channel at SXSW, Girls gets awkward with Kanye, seals yell like humans, and more.

Comments | 862 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

The Steubenville Defense Will Center on Date Rape Not Existing

The trial starts Wednesday, and despite pre-trial testimony from teammates describing an unconscious 16-year-old dragged around by her hands and feet before she was penetrated, it appears that the lawyers for Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond will say the case's Jane Doe consented to the whole thing.

Comments | 47,589 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

How to Hack the Video-Game Industry's Male Domination

Mike Mika, a programmer and father, decided to build a workaround for his 3-year-old daughter so she could "play as a girl." The result is a female-friendly version of Donkey Kong that's going viral to start off the week.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

Matt Lauer and NBC Try to Save 'Today' Show by Making Nice About Ann Curry

NBC's $25-million dollar man is finally speaking up about Curry's ouster, conveniently telling Howard Kurtz at The Daily Beast that he really didn't want to see Curry pushed out so unceremoniously by network executives.

Comments | 12,276 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

Meanwhile in China, 3,000 Decomposing Pigs Were Found in Shanghai's Drinking Water

No one knows how over 2,800 rotting pigs got into Shanghai's Huangpu river, but we do know that it also happens to be a source of drinking water for the city's 23 million citizens.

Comments | 2,069 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

Iran Does Not Approve of Ahmadinejad Hugging Hugo Chavez's Mom

It's just a friend consoling his friend's mother at a funeral, but to Iran's religious conservatives this was a grave offense.

Comments | 11,207 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Mar 11, 2013

India Gang Rape Suspect Dies In Jail, but Was It Suicide or Murder?

The alleged leader of the brutal and widely-publicized Delhi gang rape that killed 23-year-old Jyoti Singh Pandey was found dead in in his cell on Monday morning, but his family isn't buying the official story

Comments | 1,708 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 28, 2013

Isn't It Amazing How Many People Called the Oscars Amazing?

Today in viral videos: why nothing is amazing anymore, some guy who is actually amazing, and the beauty of invisible motion. 

Comments | 1,196 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 28, 2013

Kim Jong-un and Dennis Rodman's Basketball Bromance Is Strong

Vice has released the first pictures of Dennis Rodman and North Korea's Supreme Leader from their basketball date on Thursday — the first signs of the couple's apparent life-long friendship.

Comments | 2,198 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 28, 2013

Fukushima Radiation Is Only a 'Small' Cancer Risk, and That's the Scary Part

On the same day that Japan's prime minister declared the country would re-start nuclear reactors shut down in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima power-plant disaster, the World Health Organization released a report of the meltdown's lingering health effects — and it may say more about cancer in general than cancer from a nuclear accident.

Comments | 862 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 28, 2013

China Says U.S. Is on Offense in Hacking Attacks on Defense Ministry

Ten days to the day that cyber security firm Mandiant released a blistering report on China's state-sponsored sustained hacking of the United States's vital infrastructure and top companies, the Chinese Ministry of Defense has its own report about the U.S. hacking two vital military sites.

Comments | 345 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 28, 2013

The Army Doesn't Want You to See the Results of Its Shady PTSD Probe

This past fall, the Army found out the results of a probe meant to determine if psychiatrists were reversing soldiers' PTSD diagnoses to save the government money by denying them medical retirements. Months later, they still don't want anyone knowing what's in those files.

Comments | 8,470 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 27, 2013

Palin Lifts Bullet Stockpile Conspiracy from Debunked Email, Just for Sequester

More than 55,000 people have "liked" her Facebook post with an ominous conspiracy, and a reality check is in order.

Comments | 6,201 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 27, 2013

Dennis Rodman's North Korea Trip Isn't Making North Korea Any Less Anti-U.S.

He's on a mission with the Harlem Globetrotters for "basketball diplomacy," but North Korea claimed its nuclear weapons were "within the range" of the United States the morning after he arrived.

Comments | 1,671 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 26, 2013

Here's the 'Argo'-'Home Alone' Mashup You Never Knew You Wanted

Today in viral videos: the Oscars have come and gone but everyone's just getting started on bad lip reads and odd mashups, and perhaps the coolest pizza delivery on earth. 

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 26, 2013

Conservatives Hate the Soda Ban, but They Love Their Diet Coke

Even though Republicans have made a big stink about liberals coming for their fatty food and soda, well, Republicans like their soda calorie-free, according to a new poll.

Comments | 690 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 26, 2013

What the Cannibal Cop's Wife Knew Is What No Wife Ever Wants to Know

"He encouraged me to run at night" and his porn collection saw "dead" and severed people, Kathleen Mangan-Valle said during chilling opening testimony in the trial of her husband — a trial that is already sending shivers to anyone who thinks their ex might have been the least bit creepy.

Comments | 4,138 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 26, 2013

Michael Moore and Buzzfeed Call Each Other Liars

Someone's not telling the truth about the detainment of director Emad Burnat, and for now, Buzzfeed is on the losing end of this one — burned by an anonymous source at Los Angeles International Airport. 

Comments | 14,353 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 25, 2013

Is The Onion's Apology Bad for Satire?

After an Oscar night uproar over a tweet that used the c-word to describe Quvenzhané Wallis, The Onion's new CEO is attempting to put the incident behind the paper of satirical record. But beyond the offensiveness, can The Onion still be The Onion now?

Comments | 8,793 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 25, 2013

Why Is DKNY Stealing Viral Street-Style Photos They Offered $15,000 For?

Three months ago DKNY offered the blogger behind Humans of New York a deal to display his photos in store windows, but he wanted more, and the deal fell through. And then on Monday morning, Brandon Stanton spotted his popular photos in DKNY windows anyway — and took to Facebook to rally support.

Comments | 3,616 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 25, 2013

Iceland's Plan to Ban Porn Is Impossible

Before you get all worked up about what "degrading" porn looks like or make a free-speech argument, here's an outline of Iceland's would-be policy, and why it might not work anyway.

Comments | 4,808 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 25, 2013

No One Liked The Onion's Quvenzhane Wallis 'Joke'

The routinely funny, usually quick-witted satirical newspaper called the 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis the c-word, and needless to say that did not go over well. The Onion offered an apology.

Comments | 48,895 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 22, 2013

Parents Stand Up Against Yoga Bullies in School

"The kids who are opting out are getting teased and bullied ... We have one little girl whose classmates told her her parents are stupid because she opted out. That’s not supposed to happen in our schools," argues attorney Dean Broyles while explaining why yoga should be kept out of public schools. 

Comments | 3,592 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 22, 2013

NRA Is Grading Schools to Judge How Many Good Guys with Guns They Get

The gun lobby's task force of "trained security officials" are putting together a new rubric, all in the name of "safety standards," according to Asa Hutchinson, the man tapped by the NRA to develop its proposal of putting an armed guard in every school in America.

Comments | 1,897 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 22, 2013

Google Glass Will Be Out Just in Time for a Very Expensive Christmas Present

Christmas has come early for early adopters today. Google has finally given us a release date and price point for their nerdy (and potentially sort of stylish) augmented reality glasses.

Comments | 17,812 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 22, 2013

Did a Secret Vatican Report on Gay Sex and Blackmail Bring Down the Pope?

According to the Italian paper La Repubblica, the real reason Pope Benedict XVI resigned lies in a 300-page Vatican dossier that allegedly found an underground network of high-ranking gay clergy, complete with sex parties and shady dealings with the Vatican bank. Here's what we know.

Comments | 65,550 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 22, 2013

Did Wikileaks Help Kill the World's Most Powerful Drug Lord?

Guatemalan officials are still trying to confirm if Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzman, one of the world's most powerful drug lords, died during a gunfight in Peten, Guatemala near the Mexican border, but there's a curious Wikileaks wrinkle to this case.

Comments | 7,115 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 22, 2013

The FBI Has a Sexting Problem Among Its Agents

An internal disciplinary report obtained by CNN shows how the FBI has had to either suspend or fire numerous employees for things like sexting, spying on their bosses, and getting "happy endings" at a massage parlor.

Comments | 5,829 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 21, 2013

The Viral Shame of the TSA, Keeping You Safe from Wheelchair-Bound Kids

America's friskiest government agency offered an apology to 3-year-old Lucy Forck on Wednesday, which, like so much of the TSA's second guessing in the last decade — at least when it comes to disabled child passengers — arrived only after an airport screening went viral.

Comments | 4,379 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 21, 2013

Chuck Grassley Loves Roe v. Wade When He Can Fend Off Conspiracies With It

In order to assuage a constituent's worries about the government implanting microchips into its workers and school children, the decidedly pro-life Senator found himself clinging to the right-to-privacy tenet in one of the Supreme Court rulings he hates the most.

Comments | 690 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Feb 21, 2013

Gay Marriage Supporter Laura Bush Wants Out of This Pro-Gay Marriage Ad

The former First Lady is taking issue with Respect for Marriage's $1 million ad campaign, insisting that her name and image be removed because, well, because she says so.

Comments | 4,109 Views

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