The Short List: Apple unveils 'world's thinnest tablet;' Ebola nurse transferred; polar vortex
Apple's big event today shows it's obsessed with being thin
Thin is in. Apple had an event today with few surprises where CEO Tim Cook said "magical" a lot and the company made software and hardware announcements. The highlights: 1) Apple revealed two tablets: the iPad Air 2, which it's calling the "world's thinnest tablet," and the latest model of the iPad Mini with Retina Display. 2) Starting on Monday, you can use your iPhone to pay for things with Apple Pay and you can download iOS 8.1. 3) Apple unveiled a new iMac with a 27-inch Retina Display which you can buy today. You can also download OS X Yosemite for Mac today. 4) Apple Watch was on the cover of Vogue China, and Tim Cook is freaking out. 5) After the whole song and dance, Apple shares were down.
There may or may not be another polar vortex this winter
Everyone hates a bad sequel. Remember last year's polar vortex? We do. But fortunately, federal forecasters said today that a repeat of last year's extremely cold and snowy weather east of the Rockies is "unlikely." We'd say cue the hallelujahs, but other winter weather forecasts released this week from private forecasters such as the Weather Channel and AccuWeather weren't so positive. AccuWeather says the polar vortex "will slip down into the region from time to time, delivering blasts of arctic air." Gloved fingers crossed for the fed forecast.
Nurse with Ebola goes to Maryland for care since Dallas can't handle her
Nina Pham is doing well. She was the first U.S. health worker to contract Ebola from Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the disease this month. Pham is being transferred from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas to a state-of-the-art National Institutes of Health facility in Bethesda, Md., to continue her treatment. She's not staying in Dallas because the hospital has been overwhelmed by the Ebola crisis and is short of critical staff. Other Ebola news: Ebola screening at four major U.S. airports was stepped up today; some schools in Ohio and Texas closed over Ebola fears; and President Obama issued an executive order calling up ready reserve troops to combat the crisis in Africa.
Doctors release the cause of Joan Rivers' death
We've been waiting for more than a month, and now we know. The New York City medical examiner's office has ruled that Joan Rivers died as a result of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen during a procedure to scope her upper gastrointestinal tract and vocal folds. Her death was classified as a complication of a medical procedure, which is pretty uncommon. More deaths are certified as homicides, suicides or natural causes. Rivers' daughter Melissa Rivers said her family had no comment on the ruling.
Paste BN reconstructs Hannah Graham's disappearance in chilling detail
If you've been following the disappearance of University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Graham, you'll want to read this. Using surveillance videos, court records and interviews, Paste BN reconstructed the events leading to Graham's encounter with Jesse Matthew Jr., who has been charged with abducting her with the intent to sexually assault her. The details, including how he began following her, are chilling.
Extra Bites
Day in Pictures: Our favorite photo from today's gallery.
The "Balloon Boy" hoax happened five years ago. Time flies. We mean, floats.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck hasn't been in her usual spot on the Fox & Friends couch because she's getting "mystery" surgery.
There's a giant sphinx in the California desert.
Thursday mea culpa: John Grisham is really sorry.
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This is a compilation of stories from across Paste BN.
Contributing: Ed Baig, John Bacon, Elizabeth Weise, Matt Krantz, Jayme Deerwester, Gregory Korte, Thomas Frank, Paste BN