Attorney: Convicted Child Abuser To Invoke 5th Amendment If Asked To Testify In Etan Patz Trial

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) A convicted child molester who was long suspected in the 1979 missing child case of Etan Patz plans to invoke his right against self-incrimination if called to testify in the murder trial of a man now charged with the crime, his lawyer said Friday.

It was not yet clear Friday what questions Jose Ramos might ultimately be asked or have to answer in the trial stemming from Etan Patzs disappearance, or whether theres specific information he doesnt want to divulge. His lawyer, Frank Rothman, would only say that Ramos has no desire to speak to anybody about this.

He plans on invoking whatever Fifth Amendment rights he has, Rothman said, referring to the constitutional provision against self-incrimination.

Former convenience store stock clerk Pedro Hernandez is set to go on trial next month in a case that helped propel the cause of missing children to the fore. Six-year-old Etan disappeared while walking to his Manhattan school bus stop. His body was never found.

Hernandez, 53, has pleaded not guilty to Etan, who vanished while walking to his school bus stop. Patz was one of the first missing children ever pictured on a milk carton. The anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Childrens Day.

Hernandez became a suspect in 2012 after police got a tip that hed made statements to relatives and acquaintances about having harmed a child in New York years ago. He then gave police a videotaped confession saying he lured the boy into the convenience store basement and choked him.

The Maple Shade, New Jersey, man confessed on video after more than six hours of questioning, telling police he lured Etan to the store basement with the promise of a soda, choked the boy, put the body in a bag and a box and left it on the street several blocks away.

Police and prosecutors found his confession credible. Hernandezs lawyers say he falsely confessed because of mental problems.

No one else has ever been charged, but over the years, other suspects had come under scrutiny especially Ramos, who had been dating Etans baby sitter and who later was convicted of abusing two boys in Pennsylvania.

A former federal prosecutor said Ramos had given him a 90 percent confession in Etans case but stopped short of saying he had killed the boy or that it was definitely Etan _ and two jailhouse snitches said Ramos made admissions to them, though he has since denied involvement. Etans parents pursued a wrongful-death lawsuit against Ramos, and after he stopped cooperating with questioning, a court ruled him responsible.

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Attorney: Convicted Child Abuser To Invoke 5th Amendment If Asked To Testify In Etan Patz Trial

EFF: Feds cant get around Fourth Amendment via automated data capture

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OAKLAND, Calif.A federal judge spent over four hours on Friday questioning lawyers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and from the Department of Justice in an ongoing digital surveillance-related lawsuit that has dragged on for more than six years.

During the hearing, US District Judge Jeffrey White heard arguments from both sides in his attempt to wrestle with the plaintiffs July 2014 motion for partial summary judgment. He went back and forth between the two sides, hearing answers to his list of 12 questions that were published earlier this week in a court filing.

That July 2014 motion asks the court to find that the government is "violating the Fourth Amendment by their ongoing seizures and searches of plaintiffs Internet communications." The motion specifically doesnt deal with allegations of past government wrongdoing, nor other issues in the broader case.

The case, known as Jewel v. National Security Agency (NSA), was originally brought by the EFF on behalf of Carolyn Jewel, a romance novelist who lives in Petaluma, California, north of San Francisco. For years, the case stalled in the court system, but it gained new life after the Edward Snowden disclosures last summer.

In the 2008 original complaint (PDF), Jewel and the other plaintiffs alleged that the government and AT&T were engaged in an "illegal and unconstitutional program of dragnet communications surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency and other Defendants in concert with major telecommunications companies." The evidence stemmed from materials leaked by former San Francisco AT&T technician Mark Klein in 2006. As Jewel was and remains an AT&T customer, her communications were intercepted by the company on behalf of the NSA, her attorneys argue.

Much of the language invoked by both sides revolves around what the EFF has called a four-stage process as illustrated in the July 2014 motion (as shown above).

Richard Wiebe, one of the plaintiffs lawyers, countered: "The government can't circumvent the Fourth Amendment simply by automating its searches and seizures."

"If suddenly our homes were being searched by drones, that wouldn't be permissible under the Fourth Amendment?" he added later.

"What really matters is not what the government gains but what the plaintiffs lose: they lose privacy and control of their communications. That's really what we're talking about. The Fourth Amendment protects us all against mass surveillance of our papers."

Eventually, Wiebe concluded:

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Guy-Uriel Charles comments: Firing of Charlotte city employee over Facebook post highlights First Amendment debate

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A City of Charlotte fire investigator is out of a job because of a Facebook post in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Missouri riots. Its the first time a Charlotte city employee has been fired over a posting on social media. An attorney for the investigator says the city overreached.

So what are the First Amendment rights of public employees?

City Manager Ron Carlee says its essential the public is confident that city employees will treat all people with dignity and respect.

He believes Crystal Eschert violated that confidence shortly after police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Eschert is white. She referenced reports of another police shooting near Ferguson that said a white person was the victim. She wrote on her personal Facebook page:

Where is Obama? Where is Holder? Where is Al Sharpton? Where are Trayvon Martin's parents? Where are all the white guy supporters? So WHY is everyone MAKING it a racial issue?!? So tired of hearing its a racial thing. If you are a thug and worthless to society, its not race Youre just a waste no matter what religion, race or sex you are!

Eschert did not identify herself as a Charlotte Fire Department employee, but she was fired in September after someone emailed the post to city officials. Carlee says it was discriminatory and inflammatory.

Guy Charles has a different phrase for it. He co-directs Duke Universitys Center on Law, Race and Politics.

She said something that at best was racially insensitive, but on a public issue on a private page, says Charles. Between the hand that shes holding and the hand that the citys holding, I think Id prefer to have her hand.

If Eschert worked for a private employer, she wouldnt have a free speech case here since the First Amendment only applies to the government. But even though she has that protection, its not absolute.

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Guy-Uriel Charles comments: Firing of Charlotte city employee over Facebook post highlights First Amendment debate

New York To Ease Bitcoin Regs

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Benjamin Lawsky announced yesterday that his office would ease some of the requirements for holding a BitLicense, a proposed license designed specifically for businesses working with Bitcoin and other digital currencies. Those changes, Lawsky declared in a speech in Washington, D.C., are primarily focused on providing additional flexibility for virtual currency startups to innovate while at the same time maintaining our commitment to protecting consumers and rooting out illicit activity.

The move is the latest adjustment made by the Superintendent of New Yorks Department of Financial Services to a technology that has befuddled both state and federal regulators.

Back in January, Lawsky set himself apart from his peers by disclosing plans to forge rules addressing Bitcoins unique characteristics. Coming from one of Bitcoins loudest critics, Lawskys announcement energized the currencys backers. Finally, a regulator was willing to embrace a technology that was both threatening to the financial industry and law enforcement yet often summarily dismissed as an esoteric fad.

Lawskys initial proposal in July disappointed many in the Bitcoin community. Instead of the hands-off approach they were calling for, the proposed rules included many of the consumer protection and compliance requirements considered outdated and suffocating by the technologys proponents. Erik Voorhees, a major voice in the Bitcoin world, was one of Lawskys loudest critics. This is not consumer protection, he wrote at the time. This is explicit surveillance of private citizens who are not accused nor even under suspicion of committing a crime.

The state money transmitter laws Voorhees and others found so cumbersome were designed to protect consumers from fraud, prevent money laundering, and offer other oversight. Yet, they were also outdated a concern Lawsky recognized. As you may imagine, he said, our statutory and regulatory schemes for money transmitters were written long before there was an Internet let alone virtual currencies and were in need of updating.

Plus, each state had its own licensing process, costing start-ups more than a year in time and a million dollars in legal costs just to obtain the licenses to operate. For start-ups low on manpower and financing, these regulatory measures were too burdensome.

These hurdles also undermined the nations competitiveness according to critics. Foreign companies who dont have to abide to these rules, explained Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, a leading Bitcoin trading platform based in the U.S., are at a competitive advantage over their American counterparts.

Lawsky has been cognizant of these complaints for months now and, unlike other state regulators, has at least given lip service to responding to these concerns. His primary mission to shield consumers and prevent fraud has made it difficult to meet these demands, however. We have to determine the appropriate licensing, examination, and collateral requirements for the virtual currency industry, he said back in February. In doing so, our objective is to provide appropriate guardrails to protect consumers and root out money laundering without stifling beneficial innovation.

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Comets Shoot Down the Stars in Overtime

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December 19, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets After trailing the Texas Stars 2-0, the Utica Comets scored three unanswered goals to win 3-2 in overtime on Friday night at The Utica Memorial Auditorium.

Bobby Sanguinetti (1-0-1), Brendan Gaunce (1-0-1), and Dustin Jeffrey (1-0-1) were the goal-scorers for the Comets in front of the sold-out Utica Memorial Auditorium. Along with being credited with the first star of the game, Sanguinetti now has eight goals on the season and leads the rest of the defensemen on the team in goals, assists and points. Joacim Eriksson received the third star of the game after stopping 23 of the 25 shots on net he faces from the Stars.

It didn't take long into the opening period for the Stars to start mounting their attack in the Comets home building. At 3:55, Greg Rallo forced ahead to the front of the Comets net with what looked like intent to shoot. However, after deciding to take an alternate route and carry the puck to the side of the net, he successfully pulled Eriksson out of the crease. Once the Comets netminder was clearly out of position, Rallo popped the puck through the defenders and onto Radek Faksa's stick who then plucked the rubber in the wide open net for the 1-0 lead.

The Stars struck again at 16:07 for the two-goal lead just after Cal O'Reilly mishandled the puck behind the Comets net. Jesse Root met O'Reilly at the boards and knocked the puck from his possession. Once the puck was free, it popped out to the front of the net only to find Brendan Ranford's tape. With a tap across the crease, and the guidance of Scott Glennie, the puck slid into the net for Glennie's third of the season to make it 2-0. Root was credited with the secondary assist.

The Comets started biting back roughly three minutes into the second period after a couple of passes exchanged between Frank Corrado and Brandon DeFazio above the right dot. After some great puck handling to confuse a Texas defender, DeFazio saw Jeffrey waiting to the left of Jussi Rynnas' blocker side. With a quick cross-ice pass, Jeffrey received and delivered for his seventh goal of the season, which brought the Comets within one.

After entering the third period, the Comets continued to search for the equalizer and that's exactly what they got at 6:39. Andrey Pedan followed through with the give-and-go play and entered the attacking zone with Wacey Hamilton and Gaunce. With little hesitation, back-to-back passes dropped the puck into Gaunce's possession and with a flick of the stick, the rookie netted his second of the year to tie the game and dismantle the Stars lead.

Just over one minute into the overtime period, the Comets put an end to the night after a quick rush down the right side by two defensemen. Kane Lafranchise popped up on the scorer's sheet one again after promptly popping the puck up to Sanguinetti on the right wing. What looked like a harmless wrist shot from Sanguinetti, was exactly the opposite for Rynnas who was unable to stop the shot which went clear over his shoulder for the game-winner and overtime goal.

With tonight's overtime win, the Comets have once again secured another two points to keep their point total (41) the highest in the entire American Hockey League. This was the seventh game in a row the Comets have secured at least a point in.

Tomorrow the Comets will play one last game in Glens Falls before they get back to wrapping last minute gifts. The Adirondack Flames will be the host this time around for the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. So far the Comets have not dropped a single game this season to the Calgary Flames affiliate.

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Getting paid for selfies and other 2015 travel trends

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Are you thinking of traveling in 2015? How will you be planning your trip? Where will you be going? What can you expect from the airlines? What will you be doing once you get to your destination? And how will you be showcasing your trip? We put these questions to several travel experts and heres their take:

Planning: Mobile, mobile, mobile

When it comes to travel, were already doing so much on our mobile phones, from booking travel to tracking flights to checking in and more. (In 2018, World Travel Market predicts that 35% of online travel bookings will be via mobile.) In 2015, well not only see this continue, but we will also be checking in at our hotels via mobile app, and even using our phones as room keys at some of the larger chains. Hotels are going into robotic mode, and while a lot of the technology makes sense (like the ability to turn things on before you get to the room, like the heat and air-conditioning), the art of hospitality should involve a conversation; when theres a conversation, you can learn things and maybe get something that you cant get with an app, like a complimentary upgrade, says Peter Greenberg, CBS News Travel Editor, Peter Greenberg.

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Elizabeth Gallagher Will Travel the World for Free, Thanks to Her Name

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By Kristi Palma

Boston.com Staff | 12.18.14 | 9:53 AM

A Canadian woman will leave Sunday for a free trip around the world. Shell spend Christmas in Milan and then jet off to Prague and Paris. Shell ring in 2015 in Bangkok and then flit over to New Delhi before returning to Canada January 8.

Why is the trip free? Simply because of her name.

In March, Jordan Axani, a 28-year-old Canadian man, booked a trip around the world for himself and his girlfriend Elizabeth Gallagher.

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Then they broke up.

Axani found himself stuck with non-transferable airline tickets in his ex-girlfriends name and no one to travel with. Whats a guy to do? Find another woman with a Canadian passport and his ex-girlfriends name so the tickets wont go to waste, of course!

Joran Axani/AP

And so the hunt for another Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher began. Axani posted the following on Reddit in November:

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Future computers will turn on instantly, store data in electric current

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Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Ever wished you had a super-reliable computer that used less power and could instantly start-up and be ready for use? Researchers from Cornell University are working on a new technology that could lead to just such a breakthrough.

A team from the Ithaca, New York-based institution said that modern computer memory technology requires electric currents in order to encode data. This, they explain, is a major inhibitor to enhanced reliability and shrinkability in computers. However, if data could be encoded without current, it solves these issues while also reducing power consumption.

Postdoctoral associate John Heron and his colleagues are in the process of developing a computer which would encode data using an electric field applied across an insulator. As they work towards that goal, they have announced the successful completion of a room-temperature magnetoelectric memory device equivalent to one computer bit.

This breakthrough, which the researchers said exhibits the holy grail of next-generation nonvolatile memory: magnetic switchability, in two steps, with nothing but an electric field, is described in a new paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

A conceptual illustration of magnetization reversal, given by the compasses, with an electric field (blue) applied across the gold capacitors. The compass needles under the electric field are rotated 180 degrees from those not under the field (0 degrees rotated). The two-step switching sequence described in the paper is represented by the blurred compass needle under the electric field, making an intermediate state between the 0 and 180-degree rotated states. (Credit: John Heron)

The advantage here is low energy consumption, Heron explained in a statement. It requires a low voltage, without current, to switch it. Devices that use currents consume more energy and dissipate a significant amount of that energy in the form of heat. That is whats heating up your computer and draining your batteries.

This device was created out of a compound known as bismuth ferrite, which is frequently used by researchers because it is both magnetic and ferroelectric. In other words, it has its own permanent local magnetic field, is also constantly electrically polarized, and can have its polarization changed simply by applying an electric field. Typically, ferroic materials possess either one trail or the other, but bismuth ferrite is one of the rare materials that have both.

This combination makes bismuth ferrite a multiferroic material, and as researchers at the University of California, Berkeley first demonstrated 11 years ago, the compound can be grown as extremely thin films which can exhibit the same enhanced properties as other, bulkier materials, illustrating its desirability for use in next-gen technological development.

Because its multiferroic, bismuth ferrite can be used for nonvolatile memory devices with relatively simple geometries, Cornell University officials explained. The best part is it works at room temperature; other scientists have demonstrated similar results with competing materials, but at unimaginably cold temperatures, like 4 Kelvin (-452 Fahrenheit).

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The Opening Sequence to Super Metroid is a Masterpiece

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It's been a little over two decades since Super Metroid debuted on the Super Nintendo, and it's lost none of its power in the intervening years.

What really distinguishes this game is its storytelling Super Metroid is cinematic in its approach, using a combination of textual, audio, and visual cues to tell its story. And the game's opening sequence part non-interactive cutscene, part player-controlled exploration is a mini-masterpiece unto itself. It establishes sympathy for Samus, sets the overall tone of the game, and tells us everything, plotwise, that we need to know all in under eight minutes.

The last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace...

Dan Owsen, a Nintendo employee who worked on the English translation of the game, delivers these lines in a flat, monotone voice whilst they appear on the screen white font against a black background. It's an understated minimalism that carries over into the next scene as well:

Again, the black background, as Samus, herself concealed in black shadow, types the game's backstory. This is humanizing; you hear tapping keyboard keys as the letters process across the screen in green font. There is no way to speed up the typing or skip past it, and thus, it feels 'real,' like a person is typing these lines rather than a computer.

From this log, you learn a bit about Samus' personality just enough to fill in the rest. She has a forthright, practical attitude about her work. She has a moral conscience, beyond the 'soldier-for-hire' concerns of a bounty hunter. But most importantly, Samus humanizes the Metroid hatchling, comparing its actions to those of a "confused child." This extra layer of mother/child subtext makes Samus' fight personal it's a mother figure rescuing her kidnapped child. Samus is later juxtaposed with an abusive mother figure, who exploits her 'child' for her own end the Mother Brain is a terrifying perversion of femininity and maternity.

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The Opening Sequence to Super Metroid is a Masterpiece

HP Stream 13 Notebook Review: A Super-Affordable Windows Laptop

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Is the world ready for another round of inexpensive Windows laptops? Remember those cheap, slow, under-powered "netbooks" from a few years ago? Can such devices compete with increasingly popular Chromebook devices? Hewlett Packard (HPQ) thinks so.

HP released two colorful, Stream notebooks that run Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8.1. There is one version with an 11.6-inch screenand the larger one we've been testing the Stream 13. Both are priced at less than $230.

We've been living with a Stream 13 for a few weeks now and are impressed with what we've seen. No, this inexpensive portable is not nearly the equivalent of a Microsoft Surface Pro 3or Lenovo's slick Yoga 3 Pro. But we've found the HP to be a good, reasonably priced device that can give Google (GOOG) Chromebooks some stiff competition.

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HP Stream 13 Notebook Review: A Super-Affordable Windows Laptop