Alright, What Happened?: This police officer utterance may be a thing of the past if Congress passes Senate Bill 1813. Soon there will be mandatory recorders in all motor vehicles sold in the United States. The recorders, like the black box in an airplane, will record what happened before a crash and will be accessible by emergency personnel (and probably hackers). Relax if you’re getting a bit paranoid about Big Brother spying on your auto, even if it passes it won’t be implemented until 2015. That should give you some time to get used to it. (5:15 p.m.) via KurzweilAI
Knuckles, My ‘Everything’: A New York man says he will go into debt trying to get his beloved pet back from him ex-girlfriend. According to The Week, Craig Dershowitz and Sarah Brega are fighting over who gets custody of Knuckles, a half pug, half beagle. “Dershowitz says Knuckles is more than a pet to him… the animal is his ‘son,’ his ‘baby boy,’ his ‘everything,’” The Week reports. (1:15pm) via The Week
High-Flying Cell Phone Service Offered: Virgin Atlantic has introduced cell phone service for passengers 35,000 feet in the air. The ability to make and receive calls and send and receive text messages will be available on nearly 20 Virgin Atlantic aircraft by the end of 2012 to passengers in all cabins. There’s a catch, however — only six people may use the service at one time. So will there be time limits imposed for that guy sitting beside you who wants to go over his brackets with his buddy or for that woman behind you who needs to catch up with her old college friend — forever? For now, the company is assuring that’s not the intention: “The service is intended for use in exceptional situations,” a company statement said, “when passengers need to send an SMS, make a quick call, or access an email on a Blackberry.” (9:15 a.m.) via Reuters
Most Sunscreens Contain Toxic Ingredients: With only 25 percent of the 800 sunscreen brands the Environmental Working Group tested for toxins coming in oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate free in this year’s 2012 Sunscreen Guide, it’s a wonder why companies keep insisting on the chemicals in their products. Sunscreens are just as effective at protecting your skin without them. And don’t think an SPF above 50 is any better – those who use this and spend more time in the sun thinking they are protected are actually doing their skin more harm. (4:05 a.m.) via CNN
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