Morning Media Summary

Tech:

Verizon iPhone Could Double U.S. Mobile Games Industry This Year:
“Earlier today, Verizon and Apple finally confirmed what everyone knew was coming: iPhone will soon launch on the Verizon network. The hugely popular iPhone has been a hit with gamers and game developers on the App Store, and by bringing the phone to the largest carrier in the U.S., the installed base suddenly could get much larger. ”

Are the Feds spying on your Facebook account?:
“The Tunisian government is hacking its own citizens’ Facebook pages. Will our government do the same?”

Google to drop support for H.264 in Chrome:
“Google just made a bold move in the HTML5 video tag battle: even though H.264 is widely used and WebM is not, the search giant has announced it will drop support for the former in Chrome. The company has not done so yet, but it has promised it will in the next couple of months. Google wants to give content publishers and developers using the HTML5 video tag an opportunity to make any necessary changes to their websites”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

Snow In 49 States Right Now (MAP):
“A map of snowfall in the United States is revealing right now: 49 states have snow on this 1/11/11 and only one does not.”

The plot thickens: BBC Hits UK Govt with Freedom of Information Demand in Cold Winter Forecast Fiasco:
“The BBC serves Freedom of Information request (FOIA) on UK Government over weather forecast failures secrecy in worst winter for 100 years.”

Insurance / Gambling:

New Jersey Launches Online Gambling Website:
“Times they are a changing in New Jersey and to celebrate their forward thinking and the upcoming changes in their gambling laws, a new website has been developed to keep citizens abreast of the news in their State’s gaming sector. The new website is called “njgamingnews.com and it will cover internet gaming, Atlantic City Casino market and the state’s horse racing industry.”

Health / Safety:

How the vaccine crisis was meant to make money:
“John Walker-Smith, professor of paediatric gastroenterology, hurried to Malcolm ward on the sixth floor of the Royal Free Hospital, London, with what any doctor would think was bad news. An 8 year old boy, admitted for five days of investigations, had been provisionally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. But when the child’s mother—here anonymised as “Mrs 2”—years afterwards recounted what happened, she seemed pleased to have received information she expected and made it sound as if Walker Smith was glad too.”

Economics:

California’s Brown proposes “painful” budget cuts:
“Brown, a 72-year-old Democrat who last week began his third term as governor 28 years after wrapping up his second term, faces a tough campaign to win approval of his budget plan from the Golden State’s fractious legislature.”

Legal:

The worst sheriff in America:
“In the ignominious tradition of camera-hogging police chief Charles Moose (remember him?), Pima County (AZ) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has become America’s new worst celebrity lawman. While he cuddles up to MSNBC’s entire Tea Party-bashing line-up, more facts about Tucson massacre suspect Jared Loughner’s encounters with law enforcement are coming out. We now learn: “The police were sent to the home where Jared L. Loughner lived with his family on more than one occasion before the attack here on Saturday that left a congresswoman fighting for her life and six others dead, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on Tuesday…The news of police involvement with the Loughners suggests that county sheriff’s deputies were at least familiar with the family, even if the reason for their visits was unclear as of Tuesday night.””

Talk radio under siege:
“As I reported on the main site today, conservative media figures’ fears that the left will use Tucson to clamp down on them are not entirely unfounded.”

No talk radio for Chafee, and on-duty state workers, too:
“Chafee doesn’t plan to spend his own time on talk radio, and he intends to ban state employees from spending their state work time talking on talk radio, which was Carcieri’s favorite medium and an integral part of his communications operation.”

Labor:

Two global labor groups and AFL-CIO formal complaint against Roquette:
“As the lockout of 240 Roquette America, Inc. union employees nears the four-month mark, two global labor federations and the AFL-CIO have lodged a formal complaint on union workers’ behalf with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and its U.S. Point of Contact in Washington, D.C.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

State official: Taxpayers won’t be on hook for high-speed rail:
“The private consortium that wins the right to design, build, operate and maintain the Tampa-Orlando route would be required to assume financial responsibility through its contract with the state, Florida Rail Enterprise executive director Kevin Thibault told a state Senate committee Tuesday.”

Caltrain rethinks high-speed rail relationship:
“Bob Doty, director of the Peninsula Rail Program, has traded in his Caltrain ticket for a position with engineering firm HNTB.”