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A deadly collision between two high-speed trains in Spain has killed at least ten people near the town of Urda in the province of Toledo. The crash happened just before nine in the morning, with two carriages derailing and falling down an embankment. Rail service between Madrid and Andalusia has been suspended in both directions as investigators work to determine the cause.
Turning to a surveillance story with serious implications, Wired is reporting that ICE's Homeland Security Investigations has built one of the largest anti-left monitoring operations in American history. The scope, according to the report, rivals the FBI and CIA crackdowns on civil rights and anti-war movements from decades past. It raises urgent questions about the boundaries of domestic intelligence gathering and the targeting of political activists.
And on the more speculative end of the technology beat, some Tesla enthusiasts are putting down fifty thousand dollars simply to reserve a Roadster — a car that hasn't been delivered yet and whose final price remains unknown. The base model alone is expected to cost several times that reservation fee, and a version with thrusters and a so-called flight system is also on the table. Whether it flies or not, the wallets are already open.
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