EgyptAir Hijacked, Feds Hack iPhone

Hijacked: An EgyptAir jet bound from Alexandria to Cairo has been hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus. Most of the 56 passengers were released but a few passengers and the crew are still on board. The hijacker claims to have a suicide vest but negotiators say they believe it’s a matter of personal motivation, not terrorism.

FBiHack: The FBI says it has successfully hacked into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists and is dropping its lawsuit against Apple to force the company to open the phone.

While this defuses the immediate legal fight, it doesn’t end the matter of smartphone security. Apple lawyers had previously said the company would want to know the method if the government succeeded in cracking the phone. But now they can expect about as much cooperation from the FBI as they gave the FBI.

The Feds have begun examining the contents of the phone, but haven’t said what they’ve found.

Just Peachy: Bowing to economic threats and standing up to religious conservatives, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a new law passed in the name of protecting religious liberty and traditional marriage.

Major movie producers including the Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios said they would no longer shoot in Georgia if the law was enacted and the NFL said Atlanta would never get a Super Bowl.

The new law would bar people from using bathrooms not assigned to their birth gender, and it would have shielded those who refused to provide “social, educational or charitable services that violate” their religious beliefs.

Deal said, “In light of our history, I find it somewhat ironic that some in the religious community today feel that it is necessary for government to confer upon them certain rights and protections.”

Nation: The Capitol was on lockdown for a time yesterday after a man pointed a gun at police officers and was shot. He was taken to a hospital, expected to survive — Murders are sharply up in Chicago this year where there’s been an 84 percent increase in the first three months of the year. While warm winter weather has contributed to gang violence, the cops have backed off after one of them was charged with murder in the shooting of an unarmed teenager — The FBI is warning about the danger of “ransomware,” a computer virus that locks a user’s data until they pay a ransom to have it unlocked. Three hospitals in Kentucky and California have recently been targeted.

Palmyra: Damage to the ancient city of Palmyra is bad, but not as bad as feared, archeologists say after Islamic State fighters were routed out of the city. At least 80 percent of the ancient ruins are intact but there is battle damage as well as the intentional destruction of some historic temples by ISIS. Some of the most heartbreaking damage is at the Palmyra Museum, where statues and artifacts were shattered.

Political Shrink: Trying to figure out what motivates the two leading Republican candidates? In a profile of Ted Cruz, Clancy Martin writes in The New Republic, “Trump is the candidate of the disoriented, the confused, the needy; Cruz is the candidate of the dogmatist, the moralist, the convicted. Trump gets the voters who fear and adore; Cruz gets the voters who hate and resent. Trump is all show; Cruz means what he says. Trump wants to be everybody’s boss; Cruz wants to be everybody’s master. Ted Cruz is much, much more dangerous than Donald Trump.”

Straight Shooter: The army is looking for a new pistol to replace the standard issue 9mm Beretta, but Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley is balking at the projected $17 million cost of testing and buying the new weapon. Milley said, “You give me $17 million on a credit card, and I’ll call Cabela’s tonight, and I’ll outfit every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine with a pistol for $17 million. And I’ll get a discount on a bulk buy.”

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It's Been Said

"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote."

  • Donald Trump courting the vote of the Christian right

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