Benjamin Franklin's 'The Effects of War':

Recently, a new way to get your message heard on Twitter is by “Thunderclapping”. The idea that was created and headlined by the product development studio De-De utilizes Twitter as a basis for the new product.

The mayor of Boston publicly stated last week fast food chain Chick-Fil-A was unwelcome in Boston as a result of their opposition to same-sex marriage. Since then, this letter from the Mayor Menino to Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy has gained traction online after being posted to Reddit.

The Bay of Fundy between Maine and Canada, with its 50 foot tides, will now have the first commercial grid-tied tidal power in the United States. The system will generate 3 MW, enough for 1,200 homes. Tidal power uses the movement of ocean water from incoming and outgoing tides to turn underwater devices, generating power.

Here's your midweek news update:

Tuesday, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will allow the Fair Political Practices Commission- the state campaign finance watchdog- to enforce campaign finance rules in San Bernardino County. This marks a first for the FPPC which has never before contracted with a county to help enforce campaign contribution limits. Assemblyman Paul Cook, R- Yucca Valley, authored the bill in hopes that the partnership will not only prove to be smart policy but also a money saving measure.

News broke this morning that an NYPD spying operation was conducted in New Brunswick, NJ focused on Muslim Rutgers students. The civil police force was outside of its jurisdiction, but argues that the actions were permissible because they were not performing official police functions.