Man Jailed For Fatal Bulletproof Vest Stunt

A man who fatally shot his friend during a video stunt involving a bulletproof vest has been sentenced to four years in prison.

Mark Ramiro shot Darnell Mitchell in his Baltimore home in 2014 while they attempted to record the Jackass-style stunt, prosecutors said.

Authorities said both men had been drinking and using drugs when they decided to attempt the stunt and post the footage online.

Darnell Mitchell was killed in the stunt. Pic: Facebook

The plan called for Ramiro to fire a .22-calibre pistol at his friend who was wearing a bulletproof vest.

But prosecutors said Ramiro aimed too high and the bullet struck Mr Mitchell in the upper chest. He later died from the wound.

Ramiro rushed his friend to hospital, where he was arrested.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year.

The Baltimore Sun reported that two other men were in the basement at the time of the shooting.

Ramiro was the only person charged over Mr Mitchell's death.

His attorney argued that Ramiro should be spared jail and allowed to continue with a treatment programme.

Kim Kardashian’s Nude Selfie Is Now a Mural In Melbourne

Kim Kardashian West sparked a conversation about body imageand celebrity after posting a nude selfie on Instagram. So naturally, a two-story tall mural is recreating the picture in a Melbourne alley.

The massive mural of the reality TV star and selfie enthusiastappeared on the side of a building in Cremorne, a suburb of Melbourne, on Monday. A local street artist who goes by Lushsux is taking credit for the eyebrow-raising painting, which shows a nude Kardashian with black modesty bars transforming the image from R-Rated to merely PG-13.

The mural apparently upset a local worker who alerted local radio station 3AW to the massive nude selfie decorating the alleyway. The worker told 3AW that “nobody had been consulted about the mural being painted.” While the mural stands, Melbourne parents should probably brace themselves for a conversation about body image, proper uses of social media, and Kim Kardashian with their children (who have probably already seen it on the internet anyway).

Criminal Probe Into Kellogg Urinating Video

A criminal investigation has been launched after video emerged appearing to show someone urinating on an assembly line at a Kellogg factory.

The breakfast cereals maker said it learned of the graphic footage on Friday and "immediately" alerted law enforcement and US regulators.

"We are outraged by this completely unacceptable situation, and we will work closely with authorities to prosecute to the full extent of the law," the company said in a statement.

The US Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigation is looking into the incident, Kellogg said.

The company said its own investigation determined the video was recorded at its Memphis, Tennessee, factory in 2014.

The footage posted online appeared to show a man urinating on the assembly line, before panning to a sign with the Kellogg logo.

The company said the food items potentially impacted "would be very limited and past their expiration dates".

Kellogg has not identified the person in the video, a spokeswoman said.

Wonder Brings Songs In The Key Of Life To UK

Stevie Wonder is to perform his award-winning album Songs In The Key Of Life in its entirety in London's Hyde Park this summer.

The 1976 album, released by Motown Records, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and features hits such as Sir Duke, Isn't She Lovely and I Wish.

The 65-year-old American singer has performed the entire album in a series of concert dates in the US and Canada since 2014, but is bringing the tour to the UK for the first time.

He will appear at the British Summer Time music festival on 10 July.

Songs In The Key of Life has been cited as a major influence by many of the world's biggest stars, including Sir Elton John, Prince and Michael Jackson.

Sir Elton told Rolling Stone magazine in 2011: "Let me put it this way: wherever I go in the world, I always take a copy of Songs In The Key of Life.

"For me, it's the best album ever made and I'm always left in awe after I listen to it.

Microsoft Drops Support For Bitcoin Payments

Microsoft has dropped bitcoin payments, just over a year after announcing it would support the virtual currency at its Windows Store.

The tech giant entered a partnership with payment firm Bitpay in December 2014, in what was seen as a forward-thinking move.

The company said it was supporting bitcoin as a way of "giving people options and helping them do more on their devices and in the cloud".

The change of heart emerged through a change to Microsoft's How-to notes on its website.

A post with the heading "Microsoft Store doesn't accept bitcoin" says: "You can no longer redeem bitcoin into your Microsoft account. Existing balances in your account will still be available for purchases from Microsoft Store, but can't be refunded."

The decision suggests bitcoin is still some way from being recognised as a mainstream global currency.

The bitcoin community has been divided over whether changes need to be made to the currency's infrastructure to increase capacity as it has grown in the years since pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto took a back seat.

The mystery over the identity of bitcoin's creator continues, three months after Wired magazine named Sydney-based Craig Wright as the brains behind the project. 

The creator has around a million bitcoins, worth more than £289m at current exchange rates.

Since its launch, bitcoin has grown from a digital novelty to a currency with a total value of around £3.3bn.

British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies dies aged 81

Celebrated British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, a former Master of the Queen's Music, has died at the age of 81.

He was known for his modern and avant-garde works, most notably Return to Stromness, a haunting lament for solo piano.

"He was right to the end a pioneer," Stephen Lumsden, Managing Director of music agency Intermusica, said. 

The Salford-born musician, who had leukaemia, died at home in Orkney. 

• Obituary: Peter Maxwell Davies

Famous for pushing boundaries, Sir Peter's earlier works had been described as unplayable, generating controversy among audiences and critics alike.

But he made it his mission to connect with as many audiences as possible, writing pieces for children, theatre and string quartet.

Known to most as Max, he composed some 300 works including symphonies and operas, which over the years covered a variety of musical styles.

He moved to the Orkney Islands in the early 70s, leading to a calmer style of music, which often incorporated Scottish motifs. 

In 1987 he was knighted, and in 2004 he became Master of the Queen's Music - a post considered to be the musical equivalent of the poet laureate. 

The holder is expected to write music to commemorate important royal events. 

In the 2014 New Year Honours List he was made a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for "services to music". Last month he was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, considered to be the highest accolade the society can bestow. 

"Max was a truly unique musician," said Sally Groves, a close friend and former creative director of sheet music shop Schott Music.

She added that he was "a remarkable composer who created music theatre works of searing power, great symphonies, intense chamber music, works of truly universal popularity" and "a fierce fighter for music in the community and in education, and on environmental issues".

His most recent work was an opera for children called The Hogboon, which will be premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra on 26 June.

"His vision for music education and the wealth of wonderful pieces he has left for young people is unparalleled in recent times," said the LSO's managing director, Kathryn McDowell. "He will be sorely missed."

The U.S.’s New Earthquake Capital: Oklahoma

Oklahoma used to be a seismic afterthought, a place with so few earthquakes that in the 1990s it was one of three locations where the Soviets were allowed to monitor American nuclear testing. Today, however, Oklahoma is one of the most seismic places on the planet.

In 2015, the state had 907 earthquakes that were 3-magnitude or greater compared with just one in 2007. Scientists say the growth in seismicity is directly related to the oil and gas industry, specifically the use of disposal wells that reinject back into the earth salty wastewater that comes up naturally during drilling. An estimated 3 billion barrels of water came out of the ground in 2015, and its reinjection has increased pressure on the state’s fault lines, triggering hundreds of tremors in western and central Oklahoma.

Over the last few years, homes have been damaged, property values have fallen, and interest in quake insurance has risen. The state, meanwhile, has been slow to respond. Critics say officials are too reliant on the industry to take any meaningful steps that would put real pressure on the industry, especially at a time when the price of oil has fallen by 70% since 2014. Residents however, are taking action. Some are protesting. Some are suing. Others are even setting up seismographs on their own property to track the quakes themselves.

The state’s oil and gas regulatory agency—the Oklahoma Corporation Commission—says that disposal has decreased significantly in the last several months. But many Oklahomans are still concerned that a big one will hit a populated area like Oklahoma City. Of equal concern are the long-term consequences of disposing billions of barrels of water back underground. Some seismologists say that even if all disposal activity stopped in the state immediately, there could be earthquakes for decades.