In Wake of Shootings, Malls Rethink Security

Van Maur store, where the shooter opened fire, remains closed

(NEWSER) - The Omaha mall where 19-year-old Robert Hawkins unleashed his killing spree re-opened for business today under tighter security, the AP reports. “I came in here and I was wondering how I would feel about it,” the mayor said, “but I feel fine.” The Von Maur store where Hawkins actually opened fire remains closed indefinitely. More»

Two men catch bomber in metal detector

(NEWSER) - No shoppers or clerks were hurt in a suicide bombing at an Afghanistan mall today—thanks to the heroic efforts of a pair of security guards. When the bomber set off a metal-detector alarm, they opened fire, and the bomber quickly set off his explosives, witnesses told the New York Times . The three men were the only ones killed, though two bystanders were wounded. More»

Software scatters encryption keys among temporary BitTorrent nodes

(NEWSER) - Email is inherently insecure, because it has a long shelf-life—even deleted messages can be stored infinitely on the email service of the sender or recipient. Now a team of scientists is poised to unveil software later this month to make them disappear for keeps, reports the Economist. “Vanish” uses the ephemeral nature of P2P networks to render messages unreadable after a set amount of time. Essentially, they self-destruct. More»

Mall-cop flick soaked with sadism, critics say

(NEWSER) - Critics have observed, and they’re reporting that the latest mall-cop movie is brutal and sadistic with little cause: Seth Rogen's character is no Paul Blart.

• "If you thought Abu Ghraib was a laugh riot then you might love Observe and Report," writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. “Sadism is this movie’s currency,” she says of the “dumber-and-dumbest yukfest.”

Assault gun in Omaha slayings came from ex-stepfather's house

(NEWSER) - The night before the Omaha mall shootings, Robert Hawkins' mother went Christmas shopping for an hour. In that hour alone in his ex-stepfather's house, reports the Omaha World-Herald, the 19-year-old stole the assault rifle he used to randomly kill eight people the next day. At dinner, Hawkins told his mother that he'd lost his job, but seemed "neutral." More»