Horse Meat Found in Food: Nestle Contributes to the Scandal, New Lil Wayne Album Released, and Everything You Should Read Today

Impact

1. Pistorius charged with premeditated murder. Prosecutors claim that Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs and walked 20 feet to the bathroom before shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through the door. An emotional Pistorius responded in court that he had no intent to kill to her. His lawyers insist that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.

In other Pistorius news, The World Anti-Doping Agency has announced it will investigate the athlete’s possible drug use, after police discovered steroids in Pistorius’ home. Pistorius could be stripped of his Paralympic medals, pending the results of the investigation.

2. Cyberattacks linked to Chinese military. A report released today by security firm Mandiant has traced 147 cyberattacks on the U.S.  to a unit within the Chinese military. Hong Lei, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected this claim. “We don’t know how the evidence in this so-called report can be tenable.”

3. Top lawmakers open to ban on high-capacity magazines. Congress is unlikely to pass a ban on assault weapons, but top legislators appear to be open to limiting the legal size of ammunition feeding devices. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he is willing to discuss a ban on high-capacity magazines.

But would this legislation be effective, now that gun aficionados can use 3-D printers to make their own magazines?

4. Diamonds worth $50 million stolen from Brussels airport. Yesterday evening, eight masked robbers broke through a security fence at the Brussels airport and made off with millions of dollars worth of valuable diamonds. The heist lasted only three minutes.

5. Will Syrian rebels receive weapons? A White House official claims that the U.S. may revisit the possibility of supplying the rebels with weapons, a move that Obama has rejected in the past. Yesterday, a convention of EU foreign ministers voted to extend a ban on providing arms assistance to Syrian rebels.

6. Legendary Lakers owner Jerry Buss passes. Buss succumbed to kidney failure on Monday. The L.A. icon brought Hollywood glitz to basketball, coining the phrase “Showtime” and hiring an in-house band for the Lakers. The team won 10 league championships under Buss’ watch.

7. Reader’s Digest files for bankruptcy. RDA Holdings, publisher of the renowned Reader’s Digest, has filed for bankruptcy, citing $465 million in debt.

8. New Lil Wayne album drops today. The heavily-hyped album I Am Not A Human Being II is set to hit shelves (and the internet). Also, Wayne’s got beef with the Miami Heat.

9. Nestle joins the European horse-meat scandal. The food distributor has recalled products containing traces of horse DNA in Spain, Italy, and France.

10. Happy 540th, Copernicus! Google celebrates the man who taught us that the Earth revolves around the sun with a homepage graphic that demonstrates his theories.

11. LOOKING AHEAD: BP readies for trial. The oil giant has given up on reaching a settlement with the U.S. government regarding the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and is prepared to head to court next week. BP looks to pay damages under $5 billion, while Eric Holder expects the company to pay as much as $21 billion.