| Schumer, Trump trade Twitter barbs over Russia Posted: 03 Mar 2017 11:29 AM PST  Schumer said he'd be happy to have a public discussion to hash out their respective ties — or lack thereof — to Russia. The latest Trump Twitter spat started Thursday when Schumer said Attorney General Jeff Sessions should resign after it was revealed he talked to the Russian ambassador during the campaign despite saying under oath that he hadn't.
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| Russian foreign minister echoes Trump, calls Sessions scandal ‘a witch hunt’ Posted: 03 Mar 2017 06:47 AM PST  Sergey Lavrov, left, and President Trump characterized the Jeff Sessions scandal the same way. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov weighed in Friday amid reports of contacts between members of the Trump campaign-turned-administration and Moscow, using a phrase that mimicked Trump's response to the simmering scandal. "All this looks very much like a witch hunt," Lavrov said, according to the RIA news agency.
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| 2nd suspect arrested in case of missing Georgia teacher Posted: 03 Mar 2017 02:29 PM PST  FITZGERALD, Ga. (AP) — A second man was arrested Friday in connection with the slaying of Georgia high school teacher who vanished nearly 12 years ago, with warrants saying the new suspect helped the woman's killer dispose of her body.
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| Libya naval forces rescue 115 illegal migrants, 25 missing Posted: 03 Mar 2017 09:25 AM PST ![Libya naval forces rescue 115 illegal migrants, 25 missing]( "Libya naval forces rescue 115 illegal migrants, 25 missing") Libyan naval forces have rescued 115 illegal migrants after their overloaded rubber boat sank off the coastline, and 25 more were still missing, a spokesman said on Friday. The vessel went down around 3 a.m. on Friday, 3 miles (5 km) off Tajoura, just east of Tripoli, because it was overloaded and taking on water, Tripoli naval forces spokesman Ayoub Qassem told Reuters. "Our coastguards carried out a search operation in that area off Tajoura in attempting to find the missing ones but no one was found." Last month, the bodies of 74 migrants were found washed up on a beach in western Libya after the engine of their vessel was stolen.
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| Khizr Khan joins immigration lawyers at Dulles Airport Posted: 03 Mar 2017 09:28 AM PST  Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who famously condemned Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban during the presidential campaign, paid his respects to a group of volunteers helping immigrants at Washington Dulles International Airport on Thursday. In an interview with Yahoo News, Mirriam Seddiq, an immigration attorney and Dulles Justice Coalition (DJC) volunteer, said Khan praised the volunteers over and over for embodying American values.
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| Appeals court hands oil companies victory in coastal lawsuit Posted: 03 Mar 2017 05:14 PM PST ![Appeals court hands oil companies victory in coastal lawsuit]( "Appeals court hands oil companies victory in coastal lawsuit") NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court Friday refused to revive a Louisiana levee board's lawsuit blaming dozens of oil and gas companies for damage to the state's fragile coast, a major victory for energy companies and their political supporters who cast the suit as an attack on a vital state industry.
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| Third Jewish cemetery damaged in surge of US anti-Semitic acts Posted: 03 Mar 2017 08:05 AM PST  Vandals tumbled and defaced headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Rochester, New York, local officials confirmed Friday, the third such cemetery in the United States to suffer damage in a surge in apparent anti-Semitic acts. Meredith Dragon, chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, said local police were not yet ready to determine whether the toppling of a dozen or more headstones in the Stone Road or Waad Hakolel Cemetery overnight Wednesday was an act of petty vandalism or a targeted hate crime. Nationally, a total of three cemeteries -- the others in St Louis, Missouri and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- have now seen large numbers of overturned and broken headstones, and hundreds of bomb threats have been phoned in to Jewish community centers and day schools.
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| The Devastating Way Woolly Mammoths Went Extinct Posted: 03 Mar 2017 08:57 AM PST  Evolution: Examining why woolly mammoths went extinct holds lessons for protecting endangered species today. Can we bring mammoths back?
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| Trump to students at Florida Catholic school: ‘We’re going to make you famous’ Posted: 03 Mar 2017 02:01 PM PST  On Friday, March 3, President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos met with students at a Florida Catholic School. He took photos with two students and said, "We're going to make you famous."
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| Banksy has opened a hotel in the West Bank and just look at the pictures Posted: 03 Mar 2017 08:09 AM PST  Banksy is back and more thought-provoking than ever. The British graffiti artist has decorated a Palestinian guest house in the West Bank city of Bethlehem with his artwork, aimed at bringing Israelis and Palestinians together. SEE ALSO: Banksy artwork at migrant camp reminds us Steve Jobs' father was Syrian People pass by the "The Walled Off Hotel" and the Israeli security barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock Named "The Walled Off Hotel," the establishment features 10 rooms with — as Banksy billed it — "the worst view in the world" as they overlook the West Bank separation barrier erected by Israel. A doorman stands at the entrance of the hotel. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock The restaurant area. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock A wall decorated with models of drones and a painting of Jesus with a sniper's dot on his forehead. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock The West Bank barrier is decorated by many street artists, including Banksy himself. The hotel features a presidential suite, a museum with the artist's work, a themed bar and interactive exhibits. A wall is decorated with security cameras and slingshots in the bar area. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock It has been decorated to resemble an English gentleman's club from colonial times and also reenacts the writing of the Balfour Declaration, which set the beginning for the state of Israel 100 years ago. Gavin Grindon of the University of Essex, who co-curated with Banksy the museum inside "The Walled Off Hotel", stands by the reenactment of the writing of the year 1917 Balfour declaration. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock The presidential suite. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock The bar area. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock Israeli citizens are barred by law from visiting Bethlehem, but the hotel is situated in an area outside the town which is under Israeli control. The highlight is room number three, known as "Banksy's Room," where guests sleep in a king-size bed underneath Banksy's artwork showing a Palestinian and an Israeli in a pillow fight. The hotel will officially open March 11. The Associated Press contributed reporting. BONUS: Behold Dismaland: Inside Banksy's Disneyland-inspired theme park
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| Why Keystone XL pipeline won't buy US steel, despite Trump's order Posted: 04 Mar 2017 12:26 PM PST ![Why Keystone XL pipeline won't buy US steel, despite Trump's order]( "Why Keystone XL pipeline won't buy US steel, despite Trump's order") From the start of President Trump's election campaign, two aspects of his political identity – the businessman and the populist – have dueled for dominance. At least in the case of the Keystone XL pipeline, the businessman appears to be winning out. Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the pipeline, which has been in the works for a decade, will be exempt from an executive order Mr. Trump signed in January requiring new pipelines, repairs, or retrofits to use US steel "to the maximum extent possible." The justification for that decision: The pipeline is already under construction, and so is not covered by the executive order.
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| Mexican sewage spill flares US noses and tempers Posted: 03 Mar 2017 03:09 PM PST  IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (AP) — For more than two weeks, a stench of feces, ammonium and laundry detergent wafted through the air in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. Residents who contacted government offices got no answers.
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| Body of Indianapolis Woman Found Near River After She Was Reported Missing Posted: 04 Mar 2017 01:11 PM PST  Police have not ruled the case a homicide yet.
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| President Accuses Obama Of 'Wire Tapping' Trump Tower Posted: 04 Mar 2017 04:11 AM PST  President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets early Saturday, accused Barack Obama of wire tapping Trump Tower last October.
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| Experts find mass grave at ex-Catholic orphanage in Ireland Posted: 03 Mar 2017 07:16 AM PST  DUBLIN (AP) — A mass grave containing the remains of babies and young children has been discovered at a former Catholic orphanage in Ireland, government-appointed investigators announced Friday in a finding that offered the first conclusive proof following a historian's efforts to trace the fates of nearly 800 children who perished there.
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| China defence spending to rise 'around 7%': official Posted: 04 Mar 2017 08:35 AM PST  China will raise defence spending "around seven percent" this year as it guards against "outside meddling" in its disputed regional territorial claims, a top official said Saturday, in an apparent reference to Washington. Just days after US President Donald Trump outlined plans to raise American military spending by around 10 percent, a spokeswoman for China's parliament told reporters that future Chinese expenditures will depend on US actions in the region. Fu did not specify what "meddling" she was referring to, but Beijing's increasingly assertive stance towards its claims in the South China Sea and East China Sea have stirred alarm in the region and prompted criticism from Washington.
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| GOP lawmakers search for new healthcare bill Posted: 03 Mar 2017 01:54 AM PST  Sen. Rand Paul leads hunt for elusive Obamacare replacement bill
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| Uber used secret tool to deceive authorities: NY Times Posted: 03 Mar 2017 01:19 PM PST ![Uber used secret tool to deceive authorities: NY Times]( "Uber used secret tool to deceive authorities: NY Times") (Reuters) - Ride hailing company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] has for years used a secret tool to deceive the authorities in markets where its service faced resistance by law enforcement or was banned, the New York Times reported, citing sources. An Uber tool called Greyball used data collected from the Uber app and other methods to find and circumvent officials, the NYT reported on Friday.
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| Google exec hints that Google Assistant is coming to the iPhone Posted: 03 Mar 2017 09:47 AM PST 
When it comes to making money, Google has one mission and one mission alone: get its free apps and services in as many hands as possible. That's the very reason why Android was such a brilliant move on Google's part. By building a top-notch iOS rival and giving it away for free to any device maker that wants it, Google has created a scenario where well over a billion people access its apps and services constantly each day. The more they use their phones, the more data Google is able to collect. And the more data Google collects, the better it can target ads. As we discussed in an old article titled "The truth about Google and evil," Google does so much to help people, but it's an advertising company first and foremost. That brings us to Google Assistant, the company's answer Apple's Siri assistant and Amazon's Alexa. Google Assistant is already viewed by many as being more capable and more helpful than Siri, and just this week Google began rolling it out to Android phones running Android 6.0 or later. Google's mission to get its new AI assistant in as many hands as possible won't end with Android, of course, and now we have our strongest indication yet that Assistant is on its way to the iPhone. With the commotion at the annual Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain winding down, Dutch blog Geekster managed to catch up with Gummi Hafsteinsson, a Product Management Director at Google who is in charge of the Google Assistant project. Hafsteinsson had a lot to say about Google's hot new AI assistant, of course, but there was one portion of the interview that was of particular interest. When asked about the possibility of Google Assistant coming to iOS and Apple's iPhone, the exec gave a textbook non-answer that, for anyone who knows the industry, is pretty much an answer. "I do not think we have anything to announce at this point," Hafsteinsson said. "But I think the general philosophy is that we would like to have the Assistant available to as many people as possible." So there you have it, iPhone users. Google has nothing to announce at this point, but if you're a gambler, the smart money is on yes, Google Assistant will make its way to iOS in the future.
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| Accused Cop Killer Is Part Of The Sovereign Citizen Movement Posted: 03 Mar 2017 11:21 AM PST  The FBI has called the sovereign citizen movement, an anti-government group, "domestic terrorism."
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| An anniversary for the Missouri controversial compromise Posted: 03 Mar 2017 07:55 AM PST  On March 3, 1820, Congress approved the Missouri compromise, a law that maintained a balance in the Senate between free and slave states. The pact only lasted 24 years, and its elimination was one of the contributing factors that led to the Civil War.
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| Woman who streamed Minnesota shooting charged in assault Posted: 03 Mar 2017 05:12 PM PST  ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A woman who livestreamed the fatal police shooting of her boyfriend during a traffic stop in Minnesota last year was charged Friday in a reported assault.
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| Trump’s Promises to Defeat ISIS ‘Quickly’ Run Into Syria Buzzsaw Posted: 03 Mar 2017 02:39 PM PST  The agonizing decision whether to arm the Kurds to beat ISIS, or defer to Turkey's sensibilities, is Trump's first big test.
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| Guest lecturer calls protesting students 'seriously scary' Posted: 03 Mar 2017 03:45 PM PST  MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (AP) — A libertarian author who has been called a white nationalist said college students who protested his guest lecture this week were "scary."
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| Financial risks hang over China legislature meeting Posted: 02 Mar 2017 10:10 PM PST  China's rubber-stamp legislature convenes this weekend with the script focused on containing worrisome economic risks while President Xi Jinping consolidates power ahead of a pivotal Communist Party meeting later this year. The gathering of 3,000 National People's Congress (NPC) delegates at Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People is staged annually by the all-powerful party to portray a facade of popular rule. It typically has little actual bearing on politics but will be scrutinised this year for clues ahead of this autumn's far more consequential Communist Party Congress, an event held only every five years.
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| Obama to receive 2017 Profile in Courage Award Posted: 03 Mar 2017 11:09 AM PST ![Obama to receive 2017 Profile in Courage Award]( "Obama to receive 2017 Profile in Courage Award") Since leaving office, former President Barack Obama has stayed largely out of the public eye. In May, however, he will be invited back into the spotlight to receive an award for his political service. On Thursday, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced that Mr. Obama would be the 2017 recipient of its John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award.
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| U.S. State Dept criticized over quiet release of human rights report Posted: 03 Mar 2017 03:34 PM PST ![U.S. State Dept criticized over quiet release of human rights report]( "U.S. State Dept criticized over quiet release of human rights report") By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department released its annual report on human rights around the world on Friday but the release was overshadowed by criticism that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gave the report little of the traditional attention or fanfare. Tillerson declined to unveil the report in person, breaking with precedent established during both Democratic and Republican administrations. "The report speaks for itself," the official said in response to a question about why Tillerson did not unveil it.
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| I met the company that’s reimagining multitouch Posted: 03 Mar 2017 11:20 AM PST 
We're all expecting the computing future envisioned by Minority Report to actually happen, and I'm mostly talking about the fantastic user interface from the movie, although a system that can predict crime might also come in handy. Tom Cruise's character uses a sophisticated computer that can interpret spatial gestures and provide instant responses. The entire room becomes a huge 3D screen where any type of gesture can be recognized. Well, we're not quite there yet. But a company called Qeexo is reinventing multitouch so that it feels more natural to the user, and I got to see it in action at Mobile World Congress. Touching a display or touchpad is now the norm when it comes to interacting with devices, whether they're smartphones, tablets, or PCs. And these devices can recognize a variety of touch patterns as long as you remember what those patterns are. But what if you could touch the screen in a more intuitive way, one that would come naturally without having to remember what a three-finger swipe to the left does? That's how Qeexo CEO Sang Won Lee explained the company's TouchTools software to me. Pretend you're picking up an eraser while touching the screen, and an eraser will magically appear. Move your hand around while maintaining contact with the screen and you'll erase everything the eraser touches. Want to write? Use your finger and a pen will appear on the screen. Want to change colors or settings for your pen? Just imagine you're rotating a dial that brings up extra menus, and one will appear. Swipe up with a hand just as you would with a real ruler on a piece of paper, and the ruler will appear and stay on the screen so that you can draw a straight line with your other hand. The software can simulate a camera as well, or a tape measure (that actually lets you measure on-screen elements), and they're all enabled by touch. These tools disappear from the screen the moment you lift your finger, freeing up as much space as possible for content. Here's a video demo of Qeexo's tech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWWzi5y6LC0 The best part about it is that the technology can be used on any device that accepts touch. It can be a big screen TV — that's the kind of device I tried it on — but also something smaller like a car's infotainment system. It can run Android, like the huge screen above, but it can also work on an iPad or anything else. Do we really need it? Imagine being able to control the volume in your car by reaching to the touchscreen and performing a motion that's similar to what you'd do with an actual physical volume knob. All that would happen without having to take your eyes off the road — and without having to remember a special gesture. Imagine using the tech in a classroom instead of the regular chalk and blackboard. It would eliminate wasted time, and you would not have to physically clean the blackboard or dive through menus looking for a certain feature on a conventional digital device. I was even shown an iOS version of the app that simulates mouse interaction, complete with buttons and scroll wheel that actually work. All that might be available in the future on a wide range of devices. The only thing Qeexo could tell me at the show is that it's aiming for a 2017 launch of a version of what I had seen on the show floor. Did I also mention that there's on-device machine learning involved in all of this? Yes, the future does look interesting, even if we're not quite where Minority Report was. Until we get to see TouchTools in commercial products, you can try a version of it on Huawei phones like the P10, or some of last year's handsets. The tech is called FingerSense, and uses many of the same solutions. The phone knows how you touch the screen, whether you use a finger or a knuckle, whether you draw a line or a letter, and it responds accordingly. It also works as soon as the display is turned on. Here's a demo of FingerSense in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAb37ykYD1I
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| Green River Alarms Small Spanish Town Posted: 03 Mar 2017 07:51 AM PST  The river flows down the Pyrenees Mountains into Andorra and then into Spain.
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| 2016 Range Rover Td6 Diesel Posted: 03 Mar 2017 11:35 AM PST  A winter wonder but an electronic misanthrope.
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| The Latest: 2nd man arrested in Georgia missing teacher case Posted: 03 Mar 2017 10:54 AM PST ![The Latest: 2nd man arrested in Georgia missing teacher case]( "The Latest: 2nd man arrested in Georgia missing teacher case") OCILLA, Ga. (AP) — The Latest on the murder case involving a Georgia teacher who went missing in 2005. (all times local):
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| George W. Bush Brings Laughs, Humility to 'Kimmel': 'The Best Humor Is When You Make Fun of Yourself' Posted: 03 Mar 2017 08:51 AM PST  He also took subtle digs at the current president.
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| Daisy the dog gets a second chance at motherhood after losing her puppies Posted: 03 Mar 2017 09:26 AM PST  Meet Daisy Woodruff—this adorable, happy dog from Roseburg, Oregon: IT ME DAISY THE DOG HELLO HI! Image: Daisy Woodruff/Facebook According to Daisy's mom, Jessica Woodruff, Daisy unfortunately lost all seven of her puppies in a barn fire on Feb. 20. "We had a nice bed made for Daisy to have her pups inside but she found her own spot down at the barn. We noticed the fire and it was too late," Woodruff stated. They also lost four goats, one pig and the entire barn in the fire. SEE ALSO: Fun dad allows family dog to get a very unfortunate haircut After she lost her puppies, Daisy just wasn't the same. "Daisy wondered [ sic] the 80+ acres lost, sad and confused," she said. "As a mother, I couldn't fathom her loss." Image: Jacque Barnett In order to help Daisy recover from her loss, the search was on to get her foster puppies for Daisy to take care of. So, Woodruff's sister, Jacque Barnett, posted a note on a local Facebook page, searching for anyone who could help. Once the post was up, a local radio host saw it, and took the story to air. After hearing the story air on the radio, KPIC, a local news station, met with Woodruff and Daisy to cover their story on TV. And from there, an owner of eight orphaned puppies contacted Woodruff, and brought the pups over the next day. 8 happy little pups Image: Jacque Barnett Daisy nursing her new foster pups. Image: Jacque Barnett Ever since she's gotten a second chance at motherhood, Daisy got back to her old self again, much to the delight of her owner. "Daisy was in heaven!," Woodruff said. "It was so amazing to see the change. She had purpose again. She laid down to feed them, cleaned them, and even protects them." Image: Daisy woodruff/facebook Although the arrangement's temporary, Daisy will care for the pups until they are weaned. They'll then be returned home. "We aren't keeping any of the pups to live at the ranch but we are keeping the runt and gifting him to our Grandmother and Grandfather," said Woodruff. Daisy, fostering puppies. Image: jacque barnett "With out [ sic] a doubt, these foster pups have helped her," Woodruff said. "We have our Daisy dog back." Such pride. Image: Daisy woodruff/Facebook BONUS: Play fetch and crawl through tunnels in this dog-inspired bootcamp
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| Philippine defence chief visits US carrier in S. China Sea Posted: 04 Mar 2017 09:20 AM PST  The Philippines' defence secretary on Saturday visited a US aircraft carrier patrolling the South China Sea, hailing the "strong relationship" with Washington despite President Rodrigo Duterte's pivot away from Manila's traditional ally. The US Navy said the USS Carl Vinson had been engaging in "routine operations in the South China Sea" since last month to assert freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway claimed by Beijing, Manila and a host of other Southeast Asian nations.
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| Dire Measures to Combat Hunger in Venezuela Posted: 03 Mar 2017 08:57 AM PST  Prominent priest calls on Venezuelans to label trash that contains food for the hungry.
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| U.S. suspends fast processing of high-tech visa applications Posted: 04 Mar 2017 10:10 AM PST ![U.S. suspends fast processing of high-tech visa applications]( "U.S. suspends fast processing of high-tech visa applications") Foreigners aiming for temporary jobs at high-tech U.S. companies will undergo a longer visa approval process after the Trump administration announced it will temporarily suspend expedited applications for H-1B visas. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday that starting April 3 it will suspend "premium processing" for up to six months. Under this expedited procedure, applicants can be eligible for visa approvals within 15 days, instead of a regular review period that can last for up to a few months.
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| Samsung Might Be Working On A VR Headset That Doesn't Need Smartphone Support Posted: 03 Mar 2017 04:04 AM PST  The company gave select partners a demonstration of its prototype VR headsets at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, according to reports.
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| Check out stunning 360-degree views of NYC straight from your browser Posted: 04 Mar 2017 12:15 PM PST 
We all spend plenty of time complaining about whatever wireless carrier we shell out money to every month to keep us connected while on the go, but rarely do wireless customers ever consider how difficult it actually is to provide coverage in any specific area. New York City is one particularly challenging location when it comes to mobile connectivity, and AT&T just launched a pretty cool web experience to explain just why that's the case and what they're doing to make the network stronger.
"In NYC, coverage, quality and capacity is the name of the game," AT&T explains in a blog post for its new Connecting New York City experience. "This means our engineers had to create a living, breathing network that is able to cover both full-time city-dwellers and commuters that depend on connectivity in the bridges, tunnels, and trains. And whether our customers live in Manhattan full time or commute in for work, the need to stay connected is something all New Yorkers have in common." The company filmed high resolution 360-degree video in several iconic locations around New York City including Central Park, 30 Rockefeller Center, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The video — which can be viewed via a VR headset or simply panned around right in your web browser — serves as a backdrop for AT&T to explain the changes and improvements they're making to their hardware around the city in order to improve connectivity. Some of the more interesting tidbits include the difficulty of improving wireless coverage in the heart of central park due to the ban on installing infrastructure — leading AT&T to build cell sites right into the existing light poles, which is apparently totally fine — and the task of improving underground signals by actually building cell sites below the surface of the city.
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| Avoid marijuana while pregnant urges new health advice Posted: 03 Mar 2017 03:17 AM PST  Despite the growing trend for marijuana use in the US, new advice warns women against smoking marijuana while pregnant, as the drug could affect the brain of the developing fetus. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics Reports, more than one in five US births now occur in states where marijuana is legal, following moves by many states to legalize medical use for adults, as well as decriminalize or legalize recreational use.
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| Blake Lively’s Incredible Style Evolution Posted: 03 Mar 2017 06:28 PM PST  Check out Blake Lively's amazing style transformation through the years.
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| Survivor of Kansas bar shooting released from hospital Posted: 03 Mar 2017 09:16 AM PST  KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who survived an apparently racially motivated shooting at a suburban Kansas City restaurant and bar is out of the hospital and has already visited the scene of the attack.
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| Moon missions continue Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk's rocket-measuring contest Posted: 03 Mar 2017 11:16 AM PST  Another day, another unhinged-sounding plan to fly to the moon announced by an eccentric billionaire. According to a report from the Washington Post, Blue Origin — the spaceflight company founded by Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos — is planning to set up an "Amazon-like" service to send cargo to the moon in the hopes that people will eventually settle there. The first "Blue Moon" mission — conducted with NASA's help — could launch as early as July 2020, according to the report. SEE ALSO: Jeff Bezos-backed rocket landed safely back on Earth after flying to space The Blue Origin news hits just days after SpaceX's Elon Musk announced that his spaceflight company plans to send two unnamed people on a trip around the moon at the end of next year. Is this yet another case of rocket-measuring by Musk and Bezos? Maybe. While these two plans are distinct and Blue Origin's was a case of a news organization breaking a story, rather than a specific announcement by a company, it is a good example of Bezos and Musk following one another around the solar system. Instead of NASA chasing the Soviets during the original space race, we now have billionaires trying to one-up each other, pushing them farther into space. The two billionaires are known for publicly sniping at each other over their respective space plans and accomplishments. In November 2015, for example, Blue Origin announced that its New Shepard rocket made its first trip to suborbital space and then landed back on Earth. This accomplishment came before SpaceX successfully landed its first orbital rocket back on the ground after launching a payload to space, but well after SpaceX launched its suborbital Grasshopper rocket and brought it back to the ground. Musk wasn't happy that Bezos was insinuating that this Blue Origin test flight was a "first" for reusability, and he made it known... publicly. On Twitter. @JeffBezos Not quite "rarest". SpaceX Grasshopper rocket did 6 suborbital flights 3 years ago & is still around. pic.twitter.com/6j9ERKCNZl — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2015 But credit for 1st reusable suborbital rocket goes to X-15 https://t.co/LSb0f8FLJdAnd Burt Rutan for commercialhttps://t.co/TGWlNjsyQz — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2015 Jeff maybe unaware SpaceX suborbital VTOL flight began 2013. Orbital water landing 2014. Orbital land landing next. https://t.co/S6WMRnEFY5 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2015 More recently, however, the billionaires seem to have mellowed. "Great industries are usually built by not just one or two or three companies, but usually by dozens of companies. There can be many winners," Bezos said in April 2016, a sentiment he has echoed many times since. "From my point of view, the more the merrier. I want Virgin Galactic to succeed. I want SpaceX to succeed. I want United Launch Alliance to succeed. I want Arianespace to succeed, and of course I want Blue Origin to succeed. And I think they all can." Although Bezos's plan is not in direct competition with Musk's, the timing of the two announcements is still pretty funny. And oddly enough, it all may have something to do with President Donald Trump. A Trump connection Rumors were swirling in the space industry early this week that Trump would make some kind of announcement about human spaceflight during his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. However, that big space moment didn't come to pass. According to a report by Politico, Trump was expected to include more about his vision for America's future in space, but most of that got cut at the last minute. Instead, Trump's only reference to space in his hour-long speech was the line: "American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream." President Donald Trump, Elon Musk (center) and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Feb. 3, 2017. Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock It's not clear whether Trump's expected speech was the tipping point for SpaceX and Blue Origin, but either way, we know that Bezos and Musk have had time to speak with the new president. Bezos seemed to make nice with Trump at a tech summit held in December 2016. Musk was also in attendance at that meeting, sitting on the exact opposite side of the table from Bezos. Musk is also part of Trump's economic advisory council. Space industry insiders seem to be betting that the U.S. is now on a path back to the moon after former president Barack Obama scrapped the Bush-era plans to send crewed missions back to the lunar surface before heading on to Mars. For now, however, NASA doesn't yet have a new administrator and Trump has said little about the future of the space agency under his administration. However, congressional Republicans, who now hold the majority in both the House and Senate, are eager to see greater participation by private companies in space exploration. BONUS: Relive SpaceX's incredible daytime rocket landing with this video
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| US targets Al-Qaeda in second day of Yemen strikes Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:22 PM PST  US warplanes pounded Al-Qaeda targets in Yemen for a second straight day Friday, killing eight militants, security and tribal sources said, as Washington steps up its air war against the jihadists. The Pentagon said the past two days had seen it carry out "somewhere over 30" strikes against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), conducted in partnership with the Yemeni government. "This is part of a plan to go after this very real threat and ensure that they are defeated and denied the opportunity to plot and carry out terrorist attacks from ungoverned spaces," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said, noting America would continue to attack AQAP.
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| GOP, Dem foes of health care bill in scavenger hunt for copy Posted: 02 Mar 2017 10:30 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Where's the Republicans' embryonic health care bill?
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| India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China Posted: 03 Mar 2017 01:32 AM PST ![India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China]( "India to host Dalai Lama in disputed territory, defying China") By Sanjeev Miglani and Tommy Wilkes NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian federal government representatives will meet the Dalai Lama when he visits a sensitive border region controlled by India but claimed by China, officials said, despite a warning from Beijing that it would damage ties. India says the Tibetan spiritual leader will make a religious trip to Arunachal Pradesh next month, and as a secular democracy it would not stop him from traveling to any part of the country. China claims the state in the eastern Himalayas as "South Tibet", and has denounced foreign and even Indian leaders' visits to the region as attempts to bolster New Delhi's territorial claims.
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| Russia Tested NATO Aircraft Four Times In Same Day Posted: 03 Mar 2017 07:03 AM PST  The U.S Air Force's top general in Europe and Africa said Russia gave little information on why the encounters occurred.
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| Firefighters Rescue 150-Pound Dog From Rooftop Twice in One Day After He Climbs Out Window Posted: 03 Mar 2017 12:53 PM PST  Firefighters helped Maverick the malamute back into the home, but not thirty minutes later, they received a 911 call saying he had done it again.
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