White House: No Fast and Furious Cover Up, Scientists Make Bird Flu More Pandemic-y, U.K. and Singapore Welcome Tax Refugees: P.M. Links

White House: No Fast and Furious Cover Up, Scientists Make Bird Flu More Pandemic-y, U.K. and Singapore Welcome Tax Refugees: P.M. Links

| June 22, 2012

Stop bogarting those bubbles, kid.

  • The White House says there’s
    no cover up     in the administration’s refusal to surrender
    documents related to the Fast and Furious fiasco, and that Eric
    Holder retains Obama’s confidence. (Well … he does know
    where the documents are buried.) The parents of Brian Terry, a
    Border Patrol agent slain by a gunwalked weapon, aren’t
    buying it    .
  • To show just how potentially dangerous bird flu can be,
    scientists induced five genetic changes in the virus,
    making it transmittable through the air    . Jeez, people, have
    none of you seen any made-for SyFy movies? This ends badly.
  • Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain promises a warm welcome
    for any French citizens who flee across the Channel to
    escape pending tax hikes     in their home country. “When France
    sets a 75 percent top income tax rate we will roll out the red
    carpet, and we will welcome more French businesses which will pay
    their taxes in Britain.”
  • Singapore is happily exploiting its
    tax-haven status     to attract businesses from Europe — even
    under-cutting traditionally low-tax Switzerland, which has become
    reticent about negotiating rates under pressure from the EU.
  • The trumped-up arrest of a motorcyclist to cover a deputy’s
    grab for the rider’s helmet-cam footage
    sparked a Dallas Sheriff’s Office internal affairs
    investigation    . A former Dallas County prosecutor says the
    deputy clearly stepped over the line because “you did need a
    warrant to get that piece of evidence.”
  • Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom
    met with Steve Wozniak     as he develops a new service intended to
    help artists sell directly to consumers. Despite his legal
    troubles, he may have reason to return to business matters — a
    retired federal judge has
    called U.S. government conduct in the case “outrageous”     and the
    FBI concedes it could
    take years to extradite him     from New Zealand, even assuming the
    feds stop pissing off the judges in that country.
  • Your tykes may not be stoners after all. New research shows
    that baby soap and shampoo can
    trigger false-positive test results for marijuana     — a bit of an
    issue in an era when newborns are often screened for drugs.
  • A Secret Service agent and a Massachusetts state policeman,
    both assigned to the vice president’s protective detail,
    violently assaulted three Air Force officers    , also assigned to
    that detail, during a vacation stay on Nantucket last Thanksgiving.
    President Camacho had no comment. (HT Karl Hungus)
  • The NSA tells Senators Wyden and Udall that counting the number
    of Americans spied upon without a warrant under FISA is “beyond the
    capacity    ” of the agency. If that answer sounds familiar, it
    should — they’ve been using it for two administrations. (HT juris
    imprudent)

Do you want hot links and other Reason goodies delivered
to your inbox twice a day? Sign up here for
Reason’s morning and afternoon news updates.