The Short List: Biting spoils World Cup win, hacking scandal
Biting incident mars Uruguay's World Cup win over Italy
Hungry for Italian? On the world's biggest stage with his team facing elimination, Uruguay's Luis Suarez took a big bite out of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder. And this isn't the first time he's used those fangs. He earned a 10-match ban in 2013 for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and a seven-match ban in 2010 for biting a player in the Eredivisie.
Costs of climate change could trump the financial crisis
The financial crisis had a huge price tag. But economists are saying climate change could be worse — extreme heat and sea level rise will likely cost the U.S. billions. "The risks are more perverse and cruel than we saw with the financial crisis, because they accumulate over time," Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary for President George W. Bush, told reporters Tuesday, noting heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions linger in the atmosphere a long time. Paulson and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with billionaire former hedge fund executive and Democrat Thomas Steyer, led the project that produced the report.
NTSB on Asiana crash: We need better auto-pilot
Could a better auto-pilot system have prevented the Asiana crash? The National Transportation Safety Board thinks it could have helped. Boeing "respectfully disagrees." The problem for the Asiana pilots in the July 6, 2013, crash was that they didn't realize the engines were idling in a "hold" mode after some adjustments to the autopilot rather than powering a glide toward a safe landing. So National Transportation Safety Board now wants Boeing to modify the automatic-flight system on some planes so they have enough power to fly "during any portion of a flight." Any design change would have to be certified by the FAA.
Whistle-blower's secret list reveals vets died waiting for care
They died waiting. A scheduling employee for the Phoenix VA Health Care System revealed Monday she was the keeper of a "secret list" of veterans who waited months for medical care. She accused her colleagues of altering records after the scandal broke to try to hide the deaths of at least seven veterans. Pauline DeWenter went public as a whistle-blower Monday, saying she has spoken to investigators in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General about the waiting list and her suspicions of an orchestrated cover-up. She estimates more than 1,000 veterans were sidetracked onto that "secret list" — ignored for weeks or months because they couldn't be scheduled within a 14-day goal set for wait times by Veterans Affairs' administrators.
U.K. phone hacking scandal: Murdoch's deep pockets saved Rebekah Brooks
It was the most expensive hacking defense in the history of British jurisprudence. One would expect nothing less, with Papa Murdoch footing the bill. Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks was cleared in a London court on Wednesday of all charges related to a phone-hacking scandal that rocked the U.K. in 2011 (Murdoch closed down the 168-year-old New of the World that same year). But not everybody walked. Andy Coulson, Brooks' deputy, successor at News of the World and, as the trial revealed, her lover, went down. He had actually left the News of the World to become Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman and ultimately one of the most important people in Downing Street. Tony Blair, Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton, Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller, Jude Law and Paul McCartney were all allegedly victims of the hack. So if you live in the U.S. why should you care? Paste BN Network explains.
LeBron James will become a free agent, but he may not leave the Heat
He's opting out, but it doesn't mean he's leaving. LeBron James said on Wednesday that he'll explore options in free agency. The announcement comes just days just days after Miami Heat president Pat Riley threw a metaphorical pass to James and put the ball in James' court, James threw a laser of a bounce pass right back to Riley. On Thursday, Riley urged Heat players to "stay together, if you've got the guts." Fair enough, Riley is savvy and knew what he was doing. But James countered by deciding on free agency and in essence told Riley: "Show me how you are going to make the Heat a better team."
Extra Bites
Day in Pictures: A fierce photo from today's gallery.
Have you seen this? A camper who was nearly struck by lightning captured the close call on video.
This week's maybe-hoax: You know that story about how KFC asked a scarred girl to leave one of their restaurants? May not have happened.
This is a compilation of stories from across Paste BN.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, Melanie Eversley, Wendy Koch, Michael Wolff, Doug Stanglin, Kim Hjelmgaard, Dennis Wagner, Paste BN; Jeff Zillgitt, Paste BN Sports; Jolie Lee, Paste BN Network