NOTEPAD.

GOOGLE+ TO SHUT DOWN FOLLOWING DATA BREACH

Google announced in October that it would be shutting down its social media platform Google+ after discovering a security flaw that exposed the private profile data of some 500,000 users since 2015. According to the Wall Street Journal, Google found the bug in March but elected not to disclose it in order to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Google+ debuted in 2011 as an alternative to Facebook, but never gained much traction with consumers--indeed, in announcing the shutdown, Google said that the service had low usage and engagement, with 90% of user sessions lasting less than five seconds. Google+ will be phased out for consumers over a 10-month period, but will still be available for certain commercial applications. Earlier this year, Google faced additional criticism about its privacy practices when another Wall Street Journal report revealed how easy it was for third-party app developers to scan and share data from users' Gmail messages.

INDONESIAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI KILL 2,000

On Sept. 28, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the Indonesian province of Central Sulawesi. More than 2,000 people were killed in the disasters, primarily in the city of Palu, while as many...