Details of a brazen credit card heist fill the pages of the New York Daily News this morning. A group of computer hackers amassed about $45 million from ATMs in 26 countries by hacking into credit card systems of several banks and manipulating the balances of hundreds of prepaid credit cards. Then “cashers” would fan out and withdraw the money from ATMs. In one hit, thieves were able to withdraw about $400,000 in a little over two hours from ATMs around New York City.

Some advice for recent graduates on the opinion page of the Wall Street Journal this morning from Kirk McDonald.  McDonald, who runs an ad tech company, says if you want a job in media or technology, it would behoove you to learn some computer programming—otherwise he won’t be hiring you. You don’t have to gain the expertise of people who “hack into NASA’s computers for fun,” but knowing what an API is and being able to discuss it intelligently will go a long way in your hunt for a job.

Go to your room has a whole new meaning. In an attempt to keep their kids out of trouble, more parents are investing money in spaces within their homes that teenagers want to hang out in. And these “teen lounges” feature more than just a bean bag chair. Think DJ mixing stations, hidden passages a la Harry Potter and fully equipped video game arcades. Most of these spaces also feature ways for parents to keep on eye on their children’s computer usage.

The Social Security Administration released the most popular names for babies yesterday with Sophia and Jacob leading the pack once again. The Chicago Tribune notes that attention-grabbing names seem to be picking up steam with expecting parents—both King and Messiah are becoming more popular choices for boys. So is Major. That seems like a lot to live up to, doesn’t it?

And then there was none. Randy Jackson, the last of the original “American Idol” judges, announced that he’ll be leaving the show after the current season concludes. The LA Times says Jackson’s decision to end his 12-year tenure comes on the heels of rumors that all four current judges would be let go after this season wraps. The “Idol” alum says he wants to spend time focusing on his “other business ventures.”

There’s an interesting media sotry in the New York Times today about the rapid rise of the Daily Mail’s online version. Seventeen million visitors a month come to the British website from the US. Understandably, the company has identified the US as a key market for growth. Other media companies say Mail Online’s ethics are shaky and that its stories are often taken from other websites with little or no attribution.

South Florida has a new celebrity, says the Sun Sentinel. Filomena Tobias has been dubbed the “bird lady” and become the latest Internet meme after unceremoniously jamming her middle finger in the face of Chicago Bulls player Joakim Noah earlier this week. The Sentinel calls Tobias a millionaire socialite who’s familiar with the spotlight, thanks to a lengthly legal battle over her late husband’s estate. Despite her support, Heat players lined up to lament her actions.

Back in 2002, the US armed forces had two kinds of camouflage—one for the woods, one for the desert. Fast-forward 11 years and that number has grown to ten. Air Force pilots have their own pattern, as do Marines in the desert—there’s even a special camouflage just for Afghanistan. The Washington Post says this is a classic example of one of the government’s biggest problems: duplication. When multiple agencies work on the same thing, you get ten different types of camouflage, or 16 programs to teach personal finance.

Those who’ve ever attended a city council meeting know it’s not the most desirable place to find yourself. But to pay for the honor of being bored to death? That seems even less desirable. The New York Times says that’s the aim of a new experimental play opening this weekend. The script for “City Council Meeting” was taken from transcripts of actual community meetings around the country and is intended to get its audience to think about “why some people get involved in local government and others — that is, most of us — do not.”

USA Today tries to decipher whether McDonalds’ tweet in the wake of the Ohio kidnapping story was tacky or nice. Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who helped free Amanda Berry from the house where she and two others were held cative for 10 years, told news camera after news camera how he heard Berry scream while sitting down on his porch to enjoy a Big Mac. McDonalds interpreted that as a PR opportunity, tweeting “We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims & respect their privacy. Way to go Charles Ramsey — we’ll be in touch.”

Baseball is not a leisurely pastime for everyone. The New York Times has a scary piece about how dangerous it is to be a pitcher when a batter hits a powerful line drive. Officials have been on the hunt for something to protect the heads of a pitcher when a ball comes whizzing by at 60 miles per hour. But a better helmet isn’t always enough—in 2007 a base coach was killed after catching a line drive in the neck.

Red snappers are making a comeback, says the Orlando Sentinel, 18 years after federal regulations limited how many could be caught. Now Florida fishermen want those rules relaxed so they can take advantage of the bounty. But conservationists say red snappers need more time to regenerate before they are out of troubled waters. They point to the sea bass as a recent success story of how patience is rewarded.

Going to college guarantees you’ll make a better salary, right? Wrong, says the San Francisco Chronicle. A new study from the Brookings Institute says that graduates from less selective schools almost never make as much much as those from highly competitive schools. Also math, engineering and science majors are much more likely to break even than those majoring in art of literature. And if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, go to a public school.

The New York Times says the latest place to spend the noontime hour is at a club. Nightclubs are opening their doors during the daylight to accomodate a growing swell of young workers who’d rather dance than wait in line at Chipotle. Yes, there are drinks involved but promoters say the idea is networking, not unwinding. The woman considered the “mother of this mini-movement” said she was inspired by the movie “Fight Club.”

There’s a cool story in the New York Times about making trees that glow in the dark. A group of scientists and entrepreneurs have started the project in hopes that one day glowing trees and shrubs could replace electric street lamps. The project is garnering a lot of attention not only for its ambitious end goal, but also for the DIY way it’s being run—by hobbyist scientists around the country, instead of in an academic or corporate lab.

Merry Christmas™! Disney has dropped its bid to trademark the phrase ‘Dia de los Muertos,’ reports the Arizona Republic, after outraged citizens called the company out for trying to “trademark a cultural tradition.” The Latino holiday celebrates the spirits of the dead, and has for centuries. Disney, which said it was only trying to secure the merchandising rights for an upcoming film about Dia de los Muertos, withdrew its trademark application yesterday.

The Wall Street Journal’s Katie Boehret takes a look at iTunes features you might not know about in today’s paper. The one that appeals to me is giving your kids a monthly digital allowance, ranging anywhere from $10 to $50. Boehret also tackles the difference between iCloud and iTunes Match, how to share a library with your friends or family, and how to give an iTunes gift without a giftcard.

The government is set to release the prices that hospitals charge for the first time today, says the Washington Post. And the discrepancies are pretty astounding. In New York City, prices varied about 321 percent between hospitals located just 63 blocks away from each other; at one, asthma complications racked up a $34,000 bill while the other charged only $8,000 for the same treatment. READ THE FULL REPORT

Horrible details are emerging from the house where three young women, missing for 10 years, were rescued from their captors on Monday. According to USA Today, Cleveland police received multiple calls from concerned neighbors, who reported seeing “naked women on leashes crawling on all fours” in the backyard. There are also reports that the women were beaten severely and possibly kept locked up in chains.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s “very private” decision to get Lap-Band surgery “exploded in the public eye yesterday,” says the Newark Star-Ledger. Christie had gone to great lengths to keep the surgery quiet, using fake names and secret appointments, but that fell by the wayside Tuesday after the governor held a press conference. He insists the decision was for his health and not to quell talk that he is “too fat to run for president” but political watchers aren’t convinced.

The State calls Mark Sanford the “Comeback Kid” in today’s paper. The former governor of South Carolina, who famously claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail while actually canoodling with his mistress in Argentina, will be heading to Washington after handily winning a seat in Congress. In his victory speech, Sanford said “I want to acknowledge a God not just of second chances, but a God of third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth chances because that is the reality of our shared humanity.”

Wisconsinites know their cheese. So it makes sense, says the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, that a Wisconsin woman was behind the winning idea for the new cheesy Lays Potato Chip flavor. The 45-year-old mother of three will take home $1 million or one percent of this year’s sales for her cheesy garlic bread flavored potato chips, whichever is higher. Karen Weber-Mendham says she’s not planning on gambling with her chip money—it’s going towards “braces and college.”

Three young women have been found alive in Cleveland almost 10 years after they disappeared, reports the Plain-Dealer this morning. The discovery came after one of the young women, Amanda Berry, managed to make a call to 911 and give police information about where she was being held. Police say they have taken three brothers, all in their 50s, into custody.

You, hear me! Give this fire to that old man. Pull the black worm off the bark and give it to the mother. And no spitting in the ashes! It sounds odd, but according to linguists, if you said that phrase to hunter-gatherers 15,000 years ago, they would understand you. The Washington Post says the words above have remain unchanged from a language that died out at the end of the Ice Age. The life span for most words is about 8,000-9,000 years.

After a 17-year hiatus, cicadas are planning their return en masse this summer, and it what a loud return it will be says the Staten Island Advance. In some places on the East Coast, entomologists predict that cicadas will outnumber humans, 600 to 1.  But have no fear, these swarms of bugs aren’t looking to suck your blood—they only have one thing in mind: sex. After they successfully mate, they will die and their offspring will return underground for another 17 years.

The Internet sales tax bill passed its Senate vote yesterday and will now move on to the House for approval. USA Today says major retailers and brick-and-mortar stores would be the big winners if the bill is ultimately successful. Online retailers say it’s too much of a hassle to compute sales tax state-by-state and say they would have to hire additional employees to deal with the policy change. eBay has been the legislation’s loudest opponent, arguing that it unfairly targets small business owners.

The Wall Street Journal puts a surprising move by the SEC on its front page this morning. The regulator has charged the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with fraud for failing to fully disclose its financial troubles to bond investors. It is the first time the SEC has come down on a municipality and experts say Harrisburg could be the first in a long line.

The Obama administration is now formally pointing the finger at China. It had been presumed for several months that China’s military was behind cyber attacks on US government computer systems. Now the New York Times says the government has “explicitly” made the allegation. Officials believe China wanted to steal industrial technology but also wanted to get an idea about how US policy makers think.

Just because the technology exists doesn’t mean others have to like it. The New York Times has a story about the backlash against Google Glass. As one might expect, casinos in Las Vegas are not a fan. They say anyone wearing glasses with a built-in video recorder will not be welcome. And West Virginia legislators are trying to pass a law making it illegal for people to don the wearable computers while driving.

The Sun Sentinel says Florida police have a arrested a man for “truck-en driving.” After witnessing a red Mitsubishi rip through a 35-mile zone going 57 mph cops began to trail to trail the car. But when the car finally stopped, officers couldn’t see anyone inside. When the car took off again, and then stopped once more, they were even more baffled to again find no one inside. After some recon, however, they noticed something moving and realized the 28-year-old driver had been hiding in the trunk each time cops tried to bust him.