Two biker gangs may be arming themselves and heading to Texas. Obama nixes military grenade launchers for cops. And hacking into a plane’s computer system is entirely possible.
It’s Tuesday, and here are five things to know for your new day:
BIKER BRAWL
Ugly, getting uglier: North Texas is looking a lot like ground zero in a battle royal for rival biker gangs. First, there was the weekend shootout in Waco that killed at least nine people. Now this: A memo to law enforcement warning them that the Bandidos and Cossacks may be arming themselves and heading to north Texas.
POLICE WEAPONS
Hard stance on hardware: Time was when the feds would give local cops certain kinds of military gear, like grenade launchers and tank-like armored vehicles. Yesterday, President Obama said no more. “We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like there’s an occupying force as opposed to a force that’s part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them,” he said.
PLANE HACKING
Be afraid, be very afraid: You know that cybersecurity consultant who told the FBI he hacked into computer systems aboard airliners up to 20 times and managed to control an aircraft engine during a flight? Well, the GAO says hundreds of planes flying commercially today can have their onboard computers hacked and remotely taken over by someone using the plane’s passenger Wi-Fi network, or even by someone on the ground. Gulp!
AMTRAK CRASH
Crossing one off: We don’t yet know what caused last week’s deadly Amtrak train derailment, but we now know it wasn’t a bullet. The FBI was asked to figure out whether a mark on the train’s windshield was made by something thrown at it. Their ruling? It definitely wasn’t from a gun.
ISIS OFFENSIVE
Whack-a-mole game: The war against ISIS is a messy back-and-forth conflict. For each inch of ground it captures, it loses some elsewhere. So, it’s difficult to answer the question — “Is ISIS winning?” Losing Ramadi to the extremist group is disturbing though. Yesterday, the Iraqi government rushed reinforcements to shore up defensive lines.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
‘I’ve got this’: Here’s a video of a squirrel trying desperately to drive a car.
Got your nose!: Baby elephant’s confused: where’s the trunk on her human friend?
Be still, my melting heart: What’s cuter than a tiny tortoise? A tiny tortoise eating tiny pancakes.