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If there’s a possibility worse than a full-scale exchange of nuclear weapons, maybe it’s a full-scale exchange of nuclear weapons launched because of a simple misunderstanding. In 1967, we may have come close to that scenario, but you can thank some meteorologists for the fact that it didn't come to pass.

In late May of 1967, an active spot on the Sun threw a remarkable storm our way, and it continued over several days. The spot released charged particles and serious bursts of radiation in the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (among other things), disturbing the Earth’s ionosphere and magnetic field. All this resulted in disruptions to radio communications and radar systems for a few days—as well as Northern Lights seen as far south as New Mexico.

Critically, the early disruptions included NORAD’s newly built Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. The three high-latitude radar stations (in Alaska, Greenland, and the UK) pretty much went dark in the afternoon of May 23. As the Sun sank lower in the sky, these radar systems were pointed right at the source of the radio emissions just as they arrived. To US military leaders, it seemed an awful lot like jamming—Russia blinding the eyes watching for incoming nuclear weapons. Did that mean there were missiles or aircraft en route?

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The attorneys who moved the song Happy Birthday into the public domain will receive $4.62 million in fees, according to a judge's fee order (PDF) published Tuesday. The amount, which equals one-third of a $14 million settlement fund, was granted over objections by the defendant, Warner/Chappell.

After various billing deductions, US District Judge George King found that a "lodestar" payment of about $3.85 million was appropriate. King then added a multiplier.

"Given the unusually positive results achieved by the settlement, the highly complex nature of the action, the risk class counsel faced by taking this case on a contingency-fee basis, and the impressive skill and effort of counsel, we conclude that a 1.2 multiplier is warranted," wrote King.

Gawker.com, facing a $140 million jury verdict for publishing a sex tape of Terry Bollea (better known as pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan), is shuttering operations next week, according to a post on the site.

"Nick Denton, the company’s outgoing CEO, informed current staffers of the site’s fate on Thursday afternoon, just hours before a bankruptcy court in Manhattan will decide whether to approve Univision’s bid for Gawker Media’s other assets," the website said. "Staffers will soon be assigned to other editorial roles, either at one of the other six sites or elsewhere within Univision. Near-term plans for Gawker.com’s coverage, as well as the site’s archives, have not yet been finalized."

Univision acquired Gawker Media for $135 million on Tuesday. Gawker Media's other holdings include Gizmodo, Deadspin, Jezebel, Lifehacker, Kotaku, and Jalopnik. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy two months ago and went up for sale following the jury's verdict.

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Twitter said Thursday it has shut down 235,000 accounts linked to violent extremism in the last six months alone. That brings the total number of terminated Twitter accounts associated with terrorism to 360,000 since mid-2015.

San Francisco-based Twitter, which had come under fire for allegedly not doing enough to crack down on extremist speech on its site, said it condemns acts of terrorism and that it is "committed to eliminating the promotion of violence or terrorism on our platform."

The announcement on Twitter's blog comes as lawmakers mull legislation demanding that Internet companies report suspected terrorist activities to the government. It also comes days after Twitter fended off a lawsuit (PDF) accusing the company of providing material support to terrorists and of being a "tool for spreading extremist propaganda." Twitter's successful defense was, among other things, that the Communications Decency Act shields the company from being legally liable for content posted on its site.