Hacker Steals Playstation users' Information

According to CNN:

Rocking the tech world right now is the announcement from Sony that a hacker has managed to break into the Playstation Network and steal the personal information of over 70 million Playstation users. Investigators have stated that the breach occurred around April 20, and that the hacker managed to steal usernames, passwords, e-mail and home addresses, and credit card numbers of the account holders. The breach also crippled Sony's network. Sony is urging its users to protect themselves against identity theft and check their billing information to see if anyone is using their credit cards. Officials from Sony have stated that they are investigating the issue further.

President Obama to Appoint New Secretary of Defense

According to CNN:

President Barack Obama has chosen CIA Director Leon Panetta to succeed Robert Gates as the Secretary of Defense. Panetta took over as the director of the CIA two years ago and has worked closely with Obama since. It is expected that General David Petraeus, the current top United States commander in Afghanistan, will take over the CIA when Panetta leaves the position.

At Least 6 Americans Killed in Afghan Gunfight

According to CNN:

Afghan officials have reported that a gunfight broke out in an airport in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing at least six American service members. Col. Baha Dur announced that, "A 50-year-old man opened fire at armed U.S. military inside the airport after an argument between them turned serious." The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the incident, claiming that a man named Azizullah killed nine foreigners and five Afghans before being gunned down himself. NATO has denied the Taliban's claims, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has stated that the incident is "still ongoing."

Allstar Weekend "Not Your Birthday" Music Review

Being a modern music junkie and an avid movie goer, the Allstar Weekend's "Not Your Birthday" sounds like the perfect choice for the new to release movie, "Prom". This new album is featured on Disney's "Prom", which is set to release this Friday, 4/29/11. This track has quite the modern buzz that you would expect to find in a movie that the majority of viewers would be middle school/high school girls. Although it is a catchy tune that will be stuck in my head for the remainder of the week, I would have liked to see the theme and lyrics of the song reflect something other than "partying like its not your birthday" ,which is repeated more than one could count. I just think that there are too many songs out their that promote and encourage "partying" everyday or no reason. I guess this seems to be the popular type of song. I would have liked to see something that was a bit different. Other than that, I don't think this is the next hit, but, I do think it has some potential to being a song that would be found a lot in movies and found on the iPods of many. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Apple Sued Over iPhone Tracking

Vikram Ajjampur of Florida and William Devito of New York have filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple Computers over their location based services found on iOS 4.0. The two men say that Apple is tracking the whereabouts of all iPod Touch and iPhone users with the GPS system found on the devices. They also claim that every time a user "syncs" their device to their computer, or the devices is connected to wifi or 3G signals, the information is put onto the computer and sent over internet to Apple. They believe that not only Apple can track your location but anybody can hack to find where you are. Apple has stated, "We don't track anyone. The info circulating around is false." Their is no official word from Apple regarding the lawsuit.

Sources:
PC Magazine

Two Teens Rescued From Connecticut River

According to courant.com, on Sunday afternoon, two teenagers were rescued from the Connecticut River by police and fire officials. The teenagers, one male and one female were clinging to a tree when rescued. Police are not saying how the teens ended up in the river. "It appeared they had been in the water for quite some time," said Hartford Fire Department Deputy Chief Robert Walsh," They were very, very cold...shivery." The police and fire departments from Hartford had the situation brought to their knowledge around 4:40 pm by a photographer walking on the riverfront right below the train tracks near Riverside Park. According to police, the teens' remote location made the chances of someone finding them very slim. Crews found it difficult to reach the teens because of the river is high from spring snow melt and last night's rain. The river's current was very strong, so strong that rescue workers couldn't paddle against it and had to use ropes to pull the boats to the teens and back. The paramedics were waiting for the teens with blankets when they were brought to shore. One of the teens could walk and the other had to be carried.

-picture provided by courant.com

Route 69 In Bethany, Connecticut Reopened After Crash

According to courant.com, after a rollover accident on Route 69 in Bethany on Sunday morning, the road has been reopened. Police responded to the accident just before 4 am on route 69 near the Hatfield Hill Road intersection. According to police, crews were working on wires that were down in the area. The wires weren't down because of the crash. They were down because of the weather. Connecticut Light and Power said that there was one power outage in Bethany. No one was seriously injured in the crash. Police reopened the road just before noon on Sunday.

No Tanning for Some Teens

The Melanoma Foundation of New England is on a mission to explain to teens the dangers of tanning, not only in the sun, but also in tanning beds. Using a tanning bed before the age of 30 increases the chance of a person getting skin cancer by 75%.

With prom and summer right around the corner the foundation finds it extremely important to spread awareness among teens. The foundation is issuing pledges outlining the dangers of tanning. They are also awarding two $1,000 prizes to schools with the highest percentage of pledges. Waltham Highschool in Waltham Mass. has been named one of this years winners.

Heather Metallides, a health teacher and Waltham High, says she has noticed a difference in the students. She says that the local spray-tanning place has never had so many kids coming in. For Metallides it is also a personal mission, while working in a hospital prior to coming to Waltham High, she met a woman diagnosed with melanoma at age 21. That woman never had any idea of the risks.



-AOL Inc.

USPS Stamp a Faux Lady Liberty

The United State's Postal Services' Statue of Liberty stamp is in fact not based upon the Statue of liberty in New York City. The stamp is actually based off of the replica located in front of the New York-New York casino hotel in Las Vegas.

Postal officials say they were not aware of this until it was pointed out to them by a stamp expert. They say the photo the stamp was designed from was licensed only as "Statue of Liberty". Officials of the USPS also say that they are happy with the stamp and have no plans to remove the stamp, originally issued in December, out of circulation.



-Associated Press

Review: London - Diving Heart First

1. Only Want You



2. Carried Away



3. Call me back



4. Second Chance



5. Tools of Persuasion



6. Enough



7. Girl in the Crowd



8. Because Because



9. Tear Out My Heart



10. Promises to the East Coast

This album was fantastic! If you love acoustics with some good electric guitar, and really enjoy clean vocals; this is the artist for you. "Driving Heart First" was London's debut album and I enjoyed it. This album consisted of 10 songs all with a classic rock rhythm to it mixed in with beautiful vocals. I recommend checking out the song "Promises to the East Coast" or "Because Because" if you are interested; considering those are the two highest rated songs on the album. London will be comming out with another album in May, and I personally can't wait. I hope you enjoy this artist, I know I have.

Andover Friends To Hold 8th Annual Auction

According to courant.com, on April 29th, the 8th Annual Andover Friends of the Library's "Goods and Services Auction" will be held. The event will be at the Andover Elementary School cafeteria on 35 School Road in Andover. The auction will start at 6:30 pm. The items that will be in the auction may be viewed at 6 pm. There is no entrance fee to get into this event. This year's auctioneer will be Jay Linddy. Also to take place at the auction will be a bake sale, 50/50 raffle, and a silent auction. The current list of items that will be in the auction can be located at the Andover Library's website: http://www.andoverctlibrary.org/. Over 80 items have been donated to the auction so far. All the money raised at the event will be used to buy goods and services for the Andover Library, that is beyond the library's budget. Items are still being collected for the auction. For more information or to donate anything to the auction, please call Events Coordinator, Carol Lee at 860-646-4467.

Truck Rollover Closed Lanes On Route 9

According to courant.com, Connecticut State Police are at the scene of a truck rollover at Route 9 northbound in Haddam near exits 9 and 10. Traffic in the northbound lane was briefly brought down to one lane. Since the accident, traffic has continued to run normally. A Lifestar helicopter was brought to the scene of the accident. There is no word on how many people were injured in the crash. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

Fire Damages Old Wethersfield Barn

According to courant.com, on Friday afternoon, a barn was damaged by a fire on Main Street in Old Wethersfield, CT. Firefighters responded to a call around 3:50 pm to go to 350 Main Street. When they arrived, the fire was coming from the first and second floors of the building, according to Fire Captain Paul Thompson. Throughout the structure, there was heavy smoke damage. Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire. No injuries have been reported.

-picture provided by courant.com

Music Review: Rise Against: Endgame

Track List:

1. Architects

2. Help is on the Way

3. Make It Stop (September's Children)

4. Disparity by Design

5. Satellite

6. Midnight Hands

7. Survivor Guilt

8. Broken Mirrors

9. Wait For Me

10. A Gentleman's Coup

11. This Is Letting Go

12. Endgame

Rise Against has come quite a long way from their early years. Over the last ten years they seem to have been moving more to a political protest-sounding style while maintaining their classic punk sound... at least mostly. Some fans have been disappointed with their newer albums like The Sufferer and the Witness where they seem to have been taking a more pop/political approach, while others encouraged it. So will their newest album Endgame be the one that pleases everyone?

Endgame is a very good album, with great sound from the instruments and vocalist Tim McIlrath pouring his soul into the lyrics. All the songs, especially the first single "Help is on the Way", have a lot of feeling put into them, and it shows. The songs are very well crafted overall, so the question at the end of the day is "Will you enjoy it?" Well, the answer to that depends on what you liked more about Rise Against, the old or the new. If you liked their more recent stuff, you'll love Endgame. The album is very much like a more polished version of Appeal to Reason. The messages these songs deliver is a bit heavy-handed, but emotional. However, if you preferred the band's older music, you may not like their latest outing. It sounds a little more pop than punk. Overall, though, Endgame is a good addition to your music library. 4/5.

Possible Government Shutdown Threatens National Parks

According to CNN: Officials have stated that, in the Beltway showdown, a government shutdown is very possible, which could result in disaster for national parks. This measure would be the first shutdown in over 15 years, and would result in shutting off an average of $32 million in revenue for national parks, seashores, and historic sites. Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park and Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park could possibly be closed as a result of the shutdown.

Utah Judge Orders Sex Offender be Freed

According to CNN: A Utah judge has ordered that a man being held for sexually abusing children be freed due to mental incompetence. Lonnie Johnson, a 38-year old man charged with twenty-one charges of sexually abusing children, was examined by doctors for mental competence. The doctors diagnosed him with a cognitive disorder and deemed him to be mentally incompetent and not a danger to society. Utah's Fourth District Judge James Taylor deemed that he was not competent to be charged on sex crimes. Since those were the only kinds of charges against him, Taylor ordered him be let free because now there were no legal grounds for holding him. The reaction to this decision has been very angry. Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert was "outraged that a convicted child sex offender... could be released without being tried for current charges." A status hearing will be held on the judge in November and prosecutors have filed a motion to re-examine Johnson's competency.

Libyan Air Strikes Kill Two People

According to CNN: Forces opposing Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi are left questioning what happened after an airstrike kills at least two rebels. Witnesses said Thursday that aircraft launched several missiles at a rebel formation in Eastern Libya. The rebels are now questioning whether NATO was misguided into launching attacks on the people they are trying to protect. This has happened earlier in the week as well, where a NATO aircraft killed about 13 people in al-Braega. NATO has announced that they will be investigating the reported attacks. On the diplomatic side of the matter, Gadhafi has sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama asking him to cease the bombings. An administration official has stated that they are not taking the note seriously.