5.1.2018

Stolen Iranian Nuclear Plans Revealed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed a massive archive of stolen Iranian nuclear plans yesterday, accusing the country of continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. The reveal comes just days before a May 12th deadline for President Trump to make a decision on whether to stay in, leave, or push for a modification to the 2015 deal curtailing Iran's nuclear program (see 101). The files - which according to Netanyahu amount to over 100,000 paper files, blueprints, and CDs - were stashed in an Iranian warehouse. Israeli intelligence became aware of the stash in 2016 and conducted a one-day raid last January to recover the data. While the files themselves seem authentic, experts are unsure whether any new information is contained - Iran's nuclear ambitions were well-known and no evidence was presented showing that Iran violated the nuclear agreement that took effect in early 2016 (though it may be contained in the remaining material). You can see video of the presentation here. 

It is unclear how agents smuggled half a ton of material out of the country in secret. 

Top Vatican Official Faces Sex Abuse Charges.
Vatican Official George Pell will face multiple charges of sexual assault after an Australian magistrate determined there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial. The judge dismissed at least half of the historical charges - "historical" meaning they relate to incidents from decades ago, though details are held private per Australian law - after a four-week preliminary hearing. Pell, a Cardinal in the Catholic Church and third-ranking Vatican official, served as the Vatican treasurer and is the highest-ranking Catholic official to face such charges. He helped establish the Catholic Church's first formal system to handle child sex abuse claims in 1997, and was appointed in 2012 to an 8-member committee on church reform (see timeline). Pell was originally accused of mishandling sexual misconduct cases of other clergy members in 2016, before accusations against Pell himself surfaced in 2017. Officials said the actual trial may still be up to a year away. 

Detroit Released from Oversight.
The city of Detroit regained control over its finances yesterday for the first time in years after a nine-member financial review commission voted to release the city from oversight. The state-level commission was given authority to review all financial decisions over $750,000 following the city's 2013 bankruptcy. At the time it was the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. The announcement by the commission comes three years after Detroit exited bankruptcy, and on the heels of news that the city projects a $36M surplus in 2018. It would mark the fourth straight year of fiscal surpluses for Detroit, buoyed by income tax revenues that have increased by 15% since 2014, from $254M to $292M. 

It is the first time in four decades the city has had full control over its operations.
 

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The most eco-friendly US states for 2018 (analysis by WalletHub). 

32% of US children live with an unmarried parent - up from 13% over the past 50 years.

Surfer breaks world record after catching 80-foot wave. 

Watch video of a massive high-rise in Brazil catch fire and collapse. 

French museum finds that half of its paintings are fakes.

France's gift to America has been placed in quarantine. 

Japanese artist obliterates an apartment with red flowers in latest installation. 

A squirrel mascot won a seat on the UC Berkeley student senate. 

Clickbait: Ohio woman arrested for stealing live butterfly. 

Historybook: HBD Calamity Jane (1852); Dwarf planet Pluto is named (1930); Empire State Building opens in NYC (1931); The polio vaccine is first made available to the public (1956); HBD Tim McGraw (1967).
 

"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more."
- Jonas Salk
 

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