News Briefs

Earth Braces for Solar Flare Eruptions

After several years of relatively low activity, researchers are predicting a series of solar flares to be ejected from the sun. The three "coronal mass ejections" will be hitting the Earth's magnetic field throughout Friday.

The waves of charged solar particles are the strongest observed since 2006. The first flare that reached Earth was classified by NASA as an X-flare, the most intense type. The biggest flares can possibly disrupt power grids, communication systems, and satellites. The northern lights may also be visible in regions further south than normal.

While disruptions are not expected to be major, the Chinese state media has reported short wave-radio communications in the south of the country.

Solar flares are caused by sudden bursts of magnetic energy stored in the sun's atmosphere. The source of the current three flares is believed to be from sunspot 1158, which has expanded rapidly in the past few days. Scientists will have roughly a half hour's notice before the flares hit the Earth's magnetic field.

IBM Supercomputer Dominates Jeopardy

After three nights of competition on the popular trivia show Jeopardy, IBM's supercomputer, Watson, came out victorious over the show's most notable winners.

Starting on Monday, Watson was put up against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, who are each legends in the long history of the game show. In past appearances, Jennings set a record, winning 74 consecutive games, while Rutter set Jeopardy's money record, winning roughly $3 million.

Watson's victory is seen by many as symbolic of a new era of computing. The supercomputer showed that it is possible for technology to understand and actually learn what humans are asking of it. In the show, Watson was able to handle ambiguities and puns that were never thought decipherable by anything non-human.

This new technology is particularly suited for improving efficiency in the health care industry. During the finale on Wednesday, IBM announced it would be partnering with speech recognition firm Nuance Communications to explore and commercialize Watson's deep analytic capabilities.

Buffalo Man Acquitted in Marinating Cat Case

In August, a suburban Buffalo man was charged with animal cruelty after a live cat was found marinating in his car trunk. Gary L. Korkuc was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty after the cat was found during a routine traffic stop.

City Judge Philip M. Marshall acquitted Korkuc Thursday afternoon of animal cruelty. Marshall stated that Korkuc was falsely accused of trying to marinate his cat and was prosecuted under an "obviously flawed" century-old law, according to reports from The Buffalo News. Korkuc was fined $70 and was found guilty of a single vehicle and traffic charge.

What officers found was a live cat allegedly marinating in a homemade mixture of peppers, spices and oil. Korkuc said the cat was ill-tempered and thought it needed punishment for being too possessive and greedy. He also claimed he was upset the cat had gotten pregnant after being spayed. This seemed odd, considering the cat is clearly a neutered male.

Police took the 4-year-old cat, named Navarro, to the SPCA, where a family has since adopted it. SPCA also made sure to note that Korkuc should never be allowed to adopt animals again.