Storms in U.S. Northeast knock out power, ground flights

Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson
1 of 2. A storm cloud begins to dump rain as it passes over the Brooklyn borough of New York, July 26, 2012.

(Reuters) - Severe thunderstorms unleashed heavy rain and strong winds across parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of people without power.

The storms spawned a tornado that touched down in Elmira, New York, damaging a mall and a local country club, the National Weather Service said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. Forecasters warned of potentially destructive winds gusts in some areas of up to 70 miles per hour.

Skype is not helping the feds spy on its users, it says

The online call service company responds to recent chatter that it was lax on security and privacy, especially when it came to government peeping.

   Skype has come under fire this past week for allegedly letting the U.S. government use its service to spy on its users. The online call service company is now saying that's simply not true.

"Some media stories recently have suggested Skype may be acting improperly or based on ulterior motives against our users' interests," Skype Chief Development and Operations Officer Mark Gillett wrote in a blog post today. "Nothing could be more contrary to the Skype philosophy."

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