Morning Media Summary

Tech:

More customers exposed as big data breach grows:

“The names and e-mails of customers of Citigroup Inc and other large U.S. companies, as well as College Board students, were exposed in a massive and growing data breach after a computer hacker penetrated online marketer Epsilon.”

GOP group crowdsources Obama administration info:
“Crossroads GPS, the cash-rich Republican outside group planning to spend $120 million on the 2012 election in conjunction with its sister organization American Crossroads, announced Wednesday the launch of a website called www.Wikicountability.org “designed to crowd-source information gleaned from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other public documents by organizations, individuals and journalists.””

New York Times Fixes Paywall Flaws to Balance Free Versus Paid on the Web:

“New York Times Co. has been working to fix about 200 glitches in the technology for charging online readers of its namesake newspaper, just weeks before the project is scheduled to debut, said a person familiar with the matter.”

US Government’s ‘Pirate’ Domain Seizures Failed Miserably:
“Over the past several months a series of domain name seizures by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made headlines across the Internet.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

U.S. drilling agency says no deal with BP:
“The Sunday Times newspaper had said BP was understood to have granted 24-hour access to government overseers and had agreed to safety requirements more stringent than the tougher rules imposed after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded a year ago, to win the backing of the regulator.”

Insurance / Gambling:

Former Internet café owner to take state’s deal to drop gambling charges:
“Doreen Marceau is due to appear in court today to accept the state’s offer to drop felony gambling charges filed more than a year ago in connection with a sweepstakes promotion she ran at her Internet café, her lawyer said.”

Health / Safety:

Genetically modified cows produced ‘human’ milk:
“The scientists have successfully introduced human genes into 300 dairy cows to produce milk with the same properties as human breast milk.”

Live human heart grown in lab using stem cells in potential transplant breakthrough:
“Scientists are growing human hearts in laboratories, offering hope for millions of cardiac patients.”

FoodPolitik: The Foodie on the Block:
“Do you know someone who counts “food miles”? Who prefers “heirloom” vegetables and buys organic everything? If so, your friend might be stricken with a case of food snobbery—a holier-than-thou affliction that’s been spreading across America since Alice Waters first anointed herself high priestess of Berkeley cuisine.”

Economics:

Ryan’s budget plan to slash deficits by over $4 trillion:
“Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget committee, will propose fundamental reforms to Medicare and Medicaid in the GOP budget expected to be released Tuesday, implying in a Fox News Sunday interview that the deficit savings would exceed $4 trillion.”

McDonald’s wants to fill 50k jobs on hiring day:
“McDonald’s Corp. plans to hold its first national hiring day April 19 to fill 50,000 openings at its restaurants nationwide.”

Legal:

It Doesn’t Get Any Clearer Than That: “Free speech is a great idea, but we’re in a war”:
“You know what? We’re always going to be in a war, thanks in no small part to the Lindsey Grahams of the world. Which means if we truly value our free speech, we’re gonna have to bounce out every politician who subjects American expression to a wartime litmus test. Better yet, maybe start electing some who at least occasionally refrain from supporting new wars against majority-Muslim countries that have yet to make it through a Reformation.”

Labor:

SEIU Starts Contract Campaign:
“Service Employees International Union, the union that includes many Harvard janitors and security guards, officially launched its contract campaign for Harvard security workers on Saturday with a gathering in the Science Center.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

North Carolina High Speed Rail Debate:
“North Carolina could lose over $500 million in federal grants for high speed rail connecting Charlotte to Raleigh and beyond.”