BAE Systems Plc, Europe’s biggest defense company, posted a 13 percent gain in full-year earnings as U.S. military spending picked up and its planes and weapons were deployed in wars in Syria and Yemen. Underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortization rose to 1.91 billion pounds from 1.68 billion pounds a year earlier, the London-based maker of Eurofighter warplanes said in a statement Wednesday.
Category: Natural Disasters
Meet the man who’ll dismantle net neutrality ‘with a smile’ – CNET
Ajit Pai, the newly christened chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, won’t let a little thing like a hurricane stop him from his obligations. When the rest of the East Coast was taking cover from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, then-FCC Commissioner Pai was sitting in his kitchen at his home in Northern Virginia delivering a keynote speech via video conference to attendees at the 4G World Trade show in Chicago.
Flu Death Rates Just Hit the Epidemic Threshold, but This Is the Real Shocker
It’s official: Flu season is in full swing. In fact, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of positive influenza tests reported to the CDC have increased each week for about three consecutive months.
A Foot of Snow, Icy Cold to Blanket Northeast
The Northeastern United States braced for winter weather on Thursday, with storm warnings in place from Pennsylvania through Maine and forecasters calling for more than a foot of snow in some places. The forecast for the heaviest storm the region has seen this year comes a day after much of the northeast saw spring-like weather, with temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit .
Weather service: Pipeline protest camp could see flooding
Minor flooding is almost certain this spring in the area where Dakota Access pipeline opponents have camped for months to protest the project, the National Weather Service said Friday. The report, the first flood outlook for the season, shows little chance of significant flooding but indicates floodwaters could reach at least parts of the camp.
When will soggy California drop water restrictions?
California’s top water regulator has strongly suggested the state will keep drought conservation rules in place despite winter storms that have waterlogged many communities.
Gates Foundation Joins New $460 Million Coalition for Vaccines
A global group tasked with more quickly developing vaccines against infectious disease threats worldwide was launched Wednesday by a coalition of governments and nonprofit groups including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, funded with an initial investment of $460 million from Germany, Japan, Norway, the Wellcome Trust and the Gates foundation, aims to develop vaccines against known infectious disease threats that could be deployed quickly to contain outbreaks before they become global health emergencies, the group said in a statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Gates Foundation Joins New $460 Million Coalition for Vaccines
A global group tasked with more quickly developing vaccines against infectious disease threats worldwide was launched Wednesday by a coalition of governments and nonprofit groups including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, funded with an initial investment of $460 million from Germany, Japan, Norway, the Wellcome Trust and the Gates foundation, aims to develop vaccines against known infectious disease threats that could be deployed quickly to contain outbreaks before they become global health emergencies, the group said in a statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Will Amazon’s Airborne Dreams Become Reality?
In December, it unveiled the first Amazon Go location, a convenience store without cashiers or checkout lines where cameras and artificial intelligence recognize what you take off the shelves and charge your account accordingly. Also last month, the company successfully made its first ever drone delivery, carrying popcorn and a Fire TV device to a customer in rural England, a trip from click to delivery that took just 13 minutes.
Flu’s Back in the U.S. After a Slow Start, Hitting NYC Hard
Following a late and somewhat milder than normal season last year, influenza picked up in the middle of December, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly report. The virus isn’t working its way across the nation in its usual southeast to northwest pattern, however.
Snow Storm Takes Aim at U.S. South, Southeast
A winter storm packing heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain is on track for the U.S. South and Southeast where roads may become impassable and power outages are possible starting on Friday and into the weekend, forecasters said. A large swath of the United States, from Louisiana northeast through the Appalachian Mountains and into southern Pennsylvania, is expected to get as much as 8 inches of snow with 1 inch of sleet, according to the National Weather Service.
Kitty litter helps Wyoming bentonite past drilling slump
The market for a peculiar type of clay is looking up thanks to improved prospects for oil and gas drilling and to cat owners who use the stuff to soak up their pets’ business. Over 90 percent of all bentonite mined in the U.S. and almost half worldwide comes from beds of ancient volcanic ash in Wyoming.
Kitty litter helps Wyoming bentonite past drilling slump
The market for a peculiar type of clay is looking up thanks to improved prospects for oil and gas drilling and to cat owners who use the stuff to soak up their pets’ business. Over 90 percent of all bentonite mined in the U.S. and almost half worldwide comes from beds of ancient volcanic ash in Wyoming.
Merck’s Ebola Vaccine Found to Protect Against Deadly Virus
An experimental Ebola vaccine manufactured by Merck & Co. was found to be highly protective against the deadly virus, showing promise in the fight against future outbreaks after an earlier epidemic killed thousands and highlighted a shortage of weapons to battle the disease.