promoearn: Austin serial bomber saga comes to an explosive end

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Austin serial bomber saga comes to an explosive end

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley stands with other

Mystery solved: The Texas serial bomber is identified, and dead

The man suspected of carrying out a string of bombings that killed two people and wounded several others in the Austin area was tracked down Wednesday — and is now dead. His motive remains unknown. Mark Anthony Conditt of Pflugerville, Texas, killed himself after detonating a bomb in his car as SWAT teams closed in. How authorities caught him: He went to a FedEx drop-off location, where he was seen on surveillance video. That, plus Google search info, store receipts and cellphone tracking technology helped authorities identify Conditt. Surveillance teams then tracked the suspect's vehicle to a hotel in Round Rock, Texas, north of Austin. Can residents rest easy? Not necessarily. It's possible more bombs were placed that haven't been discovered. Authorities also haven't ruled out that Conditt might have had help.

Mark Zuckerberg breaks his silence on Cambridge Analytica

Facebook has been in hot water over how it handles people's private information following the revelation British firm Cambridge Analytica obtained user profiles from another developer's personality quiz app. CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday took responsibility for what he called "a breach of trust between Facebook and the people who share their data with us and expect us to protect it." Zuckerberg isn't the only company executive issuing a mea culpa. Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, in a separate Facebook post, wrote: "We have a responsibility to protect your data — and if we can't, then we don't deserve to serve you." In the end, Facebook may learn that it's hard to win back user trust once it's been lost.

•	More on #deleteFacebook: WhatsApp co-founder urges people to delete their accounts

Spring is here. Hope you wanted snow with that

The National Weather Service said we are in a "hyperactive weather pattern." That's one way to phrase it, as the fourth nor'easter this month bears down on the eastern U.S. Winter storm watches and warnings were issued from Kentucky to Maine, a distance of some 1,000 miles. Snow blanketed New York City, and federal workers in Washington, D.C., got the day off. If you were traveling, well, sorry. The calendar may say Wednesday is the first day of spring, but winter clearly wasn't ready to let it go.

The madness of March is real, so let's talk NCAA basketball

"Survive and advance" is the rallying cry for March Madness teams. The field of 68 teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament has been trimmed to 16 courtesy of after a chaotic first weekend. Sooo ... how's your bracket doing? USA TODAY Sports' college basketball writers share their picks to win Thursday and Friday to reach the Elite Eight. And if you're keeping track, George H.W. Bush is way ahead of Barack Obama in what could be called the former presidents bracket challenge.

Porn star, Playmate, reality TV star: Some of the 19 women going after Trump

Before he jumped into politics, Donald Trump allegedly had multiple encounters with women, both consensual and non-consensual. At least 19 women have come forward with allegations about their interactions with the president. Here's who they are and what they say.

The Short List is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.

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