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Nissan really milking this whole glow-in-the-dark Leaf thing

With the all-electric Nissan Leaf forgoing gas in favor of electricity, one doesn't generally associate the Leaf with anything involving "gallons." But the Japanese automaker has apparently gone all-in with this glow-in-the-dark paint shtick, and it has a Guinness World Record to prove it. For art's sake. Artist Ian Cook, of Popbangcolour, set out to create the world's largest glow-in-the-dark painting, and got a little help from a Leaf equipped with special paint that absorbs ultraviolet energy during the day, and can glow for as long as 10 hours at night. With the paint applied to the car's tires, the vehicle helped draw, yes, a "self-portrait." The painting, which took more than two days to complete and about 16 gallons of luminous acrylic paint on a giant PVC-coated canvas, measures more than 2,200 square feet, beating out the previous record of about 1,800 square feet set early last year. Earlier this year, Nissan started publicizing its work with inventor Hamish Scott at creating a special coating that gives that glow-in-the-dark effect and is even fully organic. The same type of paint was used along about a third of a mile along a Dutch "Smart Highway" whose stripes absorb rays during the day and glow at night. Cool. To see the nighttime friendly Leaf in action, take a look at Nissan's 84-second video about the big painting here and read Nissan's press release below. Glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF breaks Guinness World Records title for "Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting" Nissan uses glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF to achieve Guinness World Records title for the Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting title Artist Ian Cook, of Popbangcolour, used the tires of the LEAF to drive the glow-in-the-dark paint across the canvas Guinness World Records has confirmed that the painting, measuring 207.68m2, has broken the previous existing "Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting" Guinness World Records title LONDON – Nissan has broken the Guinness World Records title for the Largest Glow-in-the-Dark Painting by using the glow-in-the-dark Nissan LEAF to paint a 207.68m2 self-portrait of the 100-percent electric car. The painting, which depicts the front of a Nissan LEAF, was created by maverick motoring artist Ian Cook of Popbangcolour.

St. Louis man charged in killing of Illinois college student

A St. Louis man has been arrested and charged with murder in the slaying of a 19-year-old Illinois college student who went missing while trying to sell his sports car on Craigslist, authorities said. Capt. Tim Fagan of the Florissant, Missouri, police department said at a news conference Wednesday night that 24-year-old Michael Gordon was taken into custody Tuesday and was being held at the St. Louis County jail in lieu of $1 million bond. Gordon has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Taylor Clark, a sophomore engineering student at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Fagan, the deputy commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis and lead investigator in the case, said police arrested Gordon after his name was found in emails Gordon traded with Clark about the car Clark was trying to sell. Investigators said the two did not know one another before they met. Police say Gordon is an employee of a truck driver training center in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood, Missouri, not far from where Clark's 2007 Nissan 350ZX and body were found Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether Gordon has an attorney. Clark, who is from the southwestern Illinois town of St. Jacob, was reported missing by family members on Monday. Authorities say he was last seen by his girlfriend. "Our hearts and minds are with Taylor Clark's family and friends as they cope with this tragic loss," SIU-E Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe said in a statement issued Wednesday. "At a time of the year when the new spring season brings the promise of brighter days ahead, and commencement provides unending potential for so many of our students, it is truly sad that Taylor had his bright future taken away." The Belleville (Illinois) News-Democrat reported that Clark worked at a convenience store in Troy, where a candlelight vigil was scheduled for Wednesday night. A similar vigil was held Tuesday night on campus. Clark's death comes during the same week as a Monday court hearing in St. Charles County in which a 23-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a 45-year-old St. Louis man during an encounter and planned robbery in 2012 that was set up through a Craigslist ad. On the same day of the hearing, Fairview Heights, Illinois, police unveiled a "safe exchange zone" on its parking lot, complete with security cameras, to help citizens safely broker online transactions with strangers.

Carlos Ghosn's lawyer requests bail again after Nissan ex-chairman indicted — again

TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors indicted Carlos Ghosn on Monday on another charge of aggravated breach of trust, a Tokyo court said, the fourth charge against the former Nissan Motor Co Ltd chairman, which his lawyers met immediately with a bail request. The charge came on the day Ghosn's latest detention period was set to expire. Ghosn had been out on bail when authorities arrested him for a fourth time on April 4 on suspicion he enriched himself at a cost of $5 million to the automaker. "We are confident that we have the evidence to successfully prosecute all four cases," an official from the prosecutor's office said at a briefing after the indictment was announced. Ghosn has denied all four of the charges, which include understating his income, and said he is the victim of a boardroom coup. He has accused former colleagues of "backstabbing," describing them as selfish rivals bent on derailing a closer alliance between Nissan and its top shareholder, France's Renault SA. "Carlos Ghosn is innocent of the latest charges brought against him by the Tokyo prosecutors, aided and abetted by certain Nissan conspirators," a Ghosn representative said in a statement. The case has exposed tensions in the Nissan-Renault alliance forged by Ghosn some two decades ago when the French automaker invested in Nissan, then on the brink of bankruptcy — a deal that gave Renault control over its larger partner. Nissan is due to reject a management integration proposal from Renault and will instead call for an equal capital relationship, the Nikkei newspaper said on Monday, citing sources. Ghosn's arrest has also focused a harsh light on Japan's judicial system, which critics refer to as "hostage justice" as defendants who deny their charges are often not granted bail. Under Japanese law, prosecutors are able to hold suspects for up to 22 days without charge and interrogate them without their lawyers present. In accordance with these terms, prosecutors had to indict or release Ghosn by Monday. According to the latest indictment, Ghosn caused a total of $5 million in losses to Nissan from July 2017 through July 2018. During that period, prosecutors allege two separate payments of $5 million were made from the account of a Nissan subsidiary into the account of an overseas dealership. A total of $5 million was subsequently transferred from the dealership's account to another account in which Ghosn had an interest.