Internet Companies Deny Offering Government Access to Customer Data

ABC News' Abby Phillip, Steven Portnoy and Joanna Stern report:

The National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been tapping into the servers of major Internet companies to collect audio, video, photographs, e-mails and other documents, according to a Washington Post report on a program code-named PRISM.

However, an Obama administration official said the data collection only targets non-Americans outside the United States, and companies reportedly tied to PRISM told ABC News they did not routinely give the government direct access to private data.

"We have never heard of PRISM," read an emailed statement from Apple. "We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer data must get a court order."

http://news.yahoo.com/internet-companies-deny-offering-government-access-customer-data-011911660--abc-news-politics.html

June 7: National Chocolate Ice Cream Day

Mapped: How Did Jason Smith Win Tuesday's Special Election?

Republican Jason Smith easily won a special election on Tuesday to fill Jo Ann Emerson’s vacant seat in the US House of Representatives.

It was a strong night for Smith, as the 32-year old Missouri House speaker pro tem cruised past Democratic rival Steve Hodges 67 percent to 27 percent.

The outcome was hardly unexpected, especially considering Smith had a considerable fundraising advantage.

The Eighth Congressional District is heavily conservative. The only question was whether voters would instead opt for a conservative Democrat.

http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/mapped-how-did-jason-smith-win-tuesdays-special-election

June 6: National Applesauce Cake Day

MO Gov. Nixon prepares to veto tax cut bill, as state likely to end fiscal year with a hefty surplus

Missouri’s state government appears on track to end this fiscal year with an unanticipated cushion of at least $300 million. The overall growth for FY2013 was about twice what had been predicted.

But state Budget Director Linda Luebbering cautioned Tuesday that the May monthly figures also hint that the state’s spate of good financial news may be brief.

With just a few weeks left to go before ending on June 30, this fiscal year’s growth is running 10.4 percent above the growth for FY2012 – more than twice the growth estimate of 4.8 percent used to craft the current budget.

As of May 30, the state had collected $7.3 billion in general revenue for the current fiscal year, compared to $6.61 billion at the same point last year. Luebbering said in an interview that the growth was fueled largely by a growth in individual income taxes of almost 10 percent – a sign that more Missourians are working.


https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/31257/mobudg_nixon_veto_rand_000413?coverpage=3384

Cresting Mississippi River breaks levees as it surges through area - (St. Louis)

The Mississippi River broke through two levees and threatened sandbag defenses for river-hugging towns as its bulging flood crested Tuesday through the St. Louis area.

West Alton and Portage des Sioux in St. Charles County and Kimmswick in Jefferson County stayed dry behind hurriedly built temporary floodwalls and soggy earthen levees topped with sandbags. The Mississippi breached a levee protecting the bottomland near its confluence with the Missouri River, and another along an island near the Chain of Rocks.

The 100-foot break near the confluence allowed water to cover much of the bottomland east of U.S. 67, threatening 43 homes and businesses and inspiring a hurried evacuation. The raised highway serves as a back levee protecting land to the west, including West Alton and Portage des Sioux.

Downriver from the confluence, near the Interstate 270 bridges at Chain of Rocks, the Mississippi also broke through a levee protecting Chouteau Island, between the river and the Chain of Rocks barge canal. Only about 10 people make the island home, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/0306e2c5-ba20-5de5-bc7e-f630adc2d387.html

Connecticut Sets Precedent With GMO Legislation

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut will require manufacturers to label genetically modified foods, but only after four other states — including one that borders Connecticut — enact similar measures. In addition, any combination of Northeastern states with a combined population of at least 20 million must mandate GMO labeling.

The State's House and Senate leaders compromised on the bill that's expected to be signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy once the provisions are included, according to reports.

“This bill strikes an important balance by ensuring the consumers’ right to know what is in their food while shielding our small businesses from liability that could leave them at a competitive disadvantage,” said Malloy in a statement.

GM foods sold in Connecticut will bear the message “Produced with Genetic Engineering.”

Read More: http://supermarketnews.com/laws-amp-regulations/connecticut-sets-precedent-gmo-legislation#ixzz2VKT9mfxA

Republican Smith trounces in special election for Missouri's 8th Congressional district

Missouri state Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, is the newest member of the state's congressional delegation.

Smith, 32, of Salem, easily won today's special election for the Eighth Congressional district in southeastern Missouri, beating fellow state Rep. Steve Hodges, D-East Prairie.

With 286 of 462 precincts reporting, Smith was beating Hodges more than two-to-one, 67 percent to 28 percent, a ratio that has held steady since polls closed at 7 p.m.

The district encompasses a huge swath of southeast Missouri, including Jefferson County, Cape Girardeau, the Bootheel and much of the Ozarks. It is largely rural and politically conservative—a factor that was made clear in a campaign that was largely a contest of Right vs. Right.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/republican-smith-trounces-in-special-election-for-missouri-s-th/article_ecb56264-4d5b-5493-8169-4c56d8d23334.html

June 5, 1977 – The Apple II, one of the first personal computers, goes on sale.

The Apple II (styled as Apple ][) is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products,[2] designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and introduced in 1977. It is the first model in a series of computers which were produced until Apple IIe production ceased in November 1993.[3]

The first Apple II computers went on sale on June 10, 1977[4][5] with a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor running at 1 MHz, 4 kB of RAM, an audio cassette interface for loading programs and storing data, and the Integer BASIC programming language built into the ROMs. The video controller displayed 24 lines by 40 columns of monochrome, upper-case-only (the original character set matches ASCII characters 20h to 5Fh) text on the screen, with NTSC composite video output suitable for display on a TV monitor, or on a regular TV set by way of a separate RF modulator. The original retail price of the computer was $1,298 USD[6] (with 4 kB of RAM) and $2,638 USD (with the maximum 48 kB of RAM). To reflect the computer's color graphics capability, the Apple logo on the casing was represented using rainbow stripes,[7] which remained a part of Apple's corporate logo until early 1998. The earliest Apple II's were assembled in Silicon Valley, and later in Texas;[8] printed circuit boards were manufactured in Ireland and Singapore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II

June 5: National Gingerbread Day