A prominent internet activist has been arrested and charged with stealing more than four million documents from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and JSTOR, an archive of scientific journals and academic papers. Aaron Swartz, 24, is founder and director of the nonprofit group Demand Progress, and created a site that later merged with the mecca internet message board Reddit in its infancy. more ›

It is hardly surprising that American Apparel bases new hires on physical appearance, so today's Gawker exposé will probably get a smaller gasp than one's first glance at the company's Nylon Spandex Stretch Floral Lace Unitard would (seriously that thing will never cease to amaze us). more ›

Thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents compiled by lawyers for 9/11 victims' families probably won't be admissible in court. But they were passed along to the NY Times, which reports that they show Saudi "support for terrorist organizations" at least through 2006. Some documents, obtained from the Treasury Department through the Freedom of Information Act, include sworn statements from various witnesses detailing the transfer of millions of dollars from prominent Saudi charities to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups. At least one charity is controlled by members of the royal family, and another witness said in a sworn statement that he witnessed an emissary for a leading Saudi prince, Turki al-Faisal, hand a check for one billion Saudi riyals (now worth about $267 million) to a top Taliban leader in '98. The Justice Department, which recently urged the Supreme Court not to hear a lawsuit brought by families against the Saudi royal family, is now fighting to keep other leaked classified documents from surfacing in court. more ›

A lower Manhattan law firm is in hot water today after a Daily News reporter stumbled upon six dumpsters on the sidewalk behind their office piled with confidential documents. The files tossed out by Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon mostly dated back to the 1990s and included addresses, medical records and Social Security numbers for clients. Passers-by were observed digging through the documents, and former clients of the law firm were appalled when the Daily News rang them up, using the personal information from the files. One 62-year-old woman who sued her landlord in 1997 was shocked to learn that her Social Security number, medical records and contact information were in the trash: "I don't let nobody have my Social Security number. Now I don't know who else has my papers. They should be held accountable. That's why they have shredders." A partner at the firm says the documents were discarded as they prepare to change offices, and blames the "licensed and bonded company" they hired to dispose of everything in a proper manner. Sounds like they went with the same company that tossed Citi Habitats clients' confidential documents out on the street in January. more ›

Over 1 million pages of documentation detailing the airlines' and security companies' handling of the 9/11 terrorist attacks will remain secret, a judge indicated yesterday. The motion to make the documents public was filed by three families of victims who died that day; according to the Daily News they are the last remaining holdout families out of nearly 100 who chose to pursue litigation against the airlines rather than accept a settlement. In suggesting that he will rule against the motion, Judge Alvin Hellerstein said his immediate goal is to set a trial date for the families, and forcing the turnover of the documents would only delay that process. But the families are hoping the trial will expose the airline industry's negligence in failing to stop the hijacking. Plaintiff Michael Low's daughter was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, which hit the north tower; she relayed the seat numbers of the hijackers to the ground so federal agents could identify them. He tells the Post, "This just didn't happen because the 19 thugs were so smart. Some of them were terribly inept." more ›

The New York Post continues its saga of poor document management by the Port Authority today, after exposing how a homeless man found confidential building plans for the Freedom Tower in a trash bin last week. The paper was contacted by a pair of "salvage experts" in the wake of that story, who wanted to let it know that they had reams of documents--all marked confidential--that they discovered in a dumpster behind 115 Broadway, where the Port Authority has rented space for project engineers.

In all, the boxes of papers and rolls of blueprints weigh about 300 pounds. more ›