Category: US News

Lunar eclipse

Prod the kids outside, give them hot chocolate and gaze toward the moon in the east. Enjoy the evening penumbral lunar eclipse on Friday.

Is Trump Tweeting From a ‘Secure’ Smartphone? The White House Won’t Say

For some time, the public has known that Donald Trump does a lot of his tweeting himself, from the account @realDonaldTrump, and from an Android smartphone. But many cybersecurity experts believed that would change once Trump took the oath of office, because White House-approved communication devices are much more secured – and stripped down – than the smartphones the rest of us use.

Crime scene tape wrapped around a computer keyboard

“It’s beautiful, it’s elegant, it’s convincing,” Markus Jakobsson gushes, describing the fake email used to hack into the personal Gmail account of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign chairman. Sent on March 19, 2016, to the chairman, John Podesta, the email landed in the spam folder of his account.

Kim Wolhuter followed cheetah family for 2 years

Elite California school forced to cancel speech by right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos as students shoot fireworks at cops, tear down barricades and set the campus ablaze in protest Former US serviceman who shot and killed a Denver transit officer was a ‘radical Muslim who had jihadist material in his backpack’ and had recently been kicked out of a mosque Emma Stone’s personal trainer reveals how YOU can get her toned abs, arms and legs – with these simple tips Pair arrested in London over crippling cyber attack on Washington DC’s CCTV network just days before Trump was sworn in as president F-16 jet pilot accidentally kills civilian and injures Air Force service member by releasing munitions during training exercise on New Mexico military range Mother-of-one teacher, 28, at school for children with behavior problems ‘had an eight-month affair with a student, 16, and said she was her … (more)

New Hampshire figures out how to deal with self-driving cars

In 2013, when a state representative put forward a bill to study autonomous vehicles, proponents faced an image problem: “Scary robot cars!” That’s how Rep. Steven Smith, a Republican from Charlestown, described the past image of self-driving cars after discussing his new bill, which would shape how New Hampshire should prepare for autonomous vehicles. Judging from Tuesday’s hearing on the bill before the House of Representatives’ transportation committee, robot cars aren’t scary anymore.

Military: First-known combat death since Trump in office

In this Jan. 27, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, in Washington. FILE – In this Jan. 27, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, in Washington.

Smaller states rejoice as Amazon finally collects sales tax

Many online shoppers in the United States have for years had to pay state sales taxes whenever they buy goods from Amazon. But the Seattle e-commerce giant has dragged its feet on collecting sales taxes in small and sparsely populated states where it doesn’t have any distribution centers or corporate offices.

Best of Rossie: a time to mourn and reassess

BEST OF ROSSIE: A time to mourn and reassess Television showed the explosion again and again until the senses cried for relief. Check out this story on pressconnects.com: http://press.sn/2kebwKj Rossie leaves behind a huge legacy: columns that are etched into the memories of generations of newspaper readers and a contingent of reporters, writers and editors.

Content Insider #504 – Taking Flight

“Hey, don’t look at me. I stopped dreaming a long time ago” – Frank Riley, “Batteries Not Included,” Universal Studios, 1987 At CES, a whole new flock of fly-high, fly-fast, fly-bad drones were introduced and now the category is suddenly destined to be the next monstrous consumer category.

Remembering Apollo 1, 50 Years Later

I want to draw everyone’s attention to a terrific comment from our fellow commenter DCSCA, who earlier today reminded us that we are observing the 50th anniversary of the tragic launchpad fire which killed the Apollo 1 crew: Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Here is DCSCA’s comment in full: That’s all you have to say to anybody familiar with America’s space program.

Senate Republicans release education funding plan

Democrats confer on the Senate floor as the Republican side sits empty during a recess, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017, in Olympia, Wash. Senators were debating whether to vote on the “levy cliff” bill, which would delay a reduction in the amount of money school districts can collect though property taxes.

Trump idea to fund border wall with a GOP tax on imports could raise prices for consumers

The White House offered a possible answer Thursday for how President Trump could pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall that was his chief campaign promise – a tax on imports that opponents say would raise prices for Americans buying groceries, automobiles and gasoline. In a speech to Republican lawmakers in Philadelphia, Trump said the new tax plan could “generate revenue from Mexico that will pay for the wall, if we decide to go that route.”

Tillamook UAS Test Range Utilizes New High Altitude COA

As part of an unmanned flight test for NASA and the FAA, Near Space Corporation successfully flew a drone from the edge of space to operate as a surrogate test bed for technologies supporting new Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles currently under development. The September 26th test, conducted for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, was the first of many flights that will be taking advantage of a unique FAA High Altitude Certificate Of Authorization .

Editorial: Views from Ohio

When astronaut Eugene Cernan left the surface of the moon after a very active Apollo 17 lunar expedition in 1972, he knew he was the last man on the moon, at least for a while. Cernan, who died Monday at age 82, didn’t have the all-American persona of John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, nor the luck of being first, such as Alan Shepherd as the first American in space or Neil Armstrong as the first man to walk on the moon.

New Fears for Future of Net Neutrality

Ajit Pai, named the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Donald Trump yesterday, is likely to seek changes to the organization’s stance on Net Neutrality. Pai was one of two commissioners to vote against the FCC’s 3-2 approval of the Open Internet Order in early 2015.

Lawmaker introduces H-1B reform bill

When Trump pledges immigration reform, he’s largely talking about building a wall and deporting illegal immigrants. But in Congress, there are numerous proposals to reform the H-1B visa — the incredibly popular visa for high-skilled foreigners.

Microsoft wins Ireland cloud data-grab case against US Department of Justice

Microsoft has won the latest round in its long-running legal battle with the US Department of Justice , which is demanding that the company hand over data stored in a Microsoft data centre located in Ireland. The case relates to a suit the DoJ first filed against Microsoft in 2013 that suggested that because Microsoft is a US company, it had a legal right to request data from it stored in Ireland.

Microsoft victory in overseas email seizure case is upheld

An equally divided federal appeals court refused to reconsider its landmark decision forbidding the U.S. government from forcing Microsoft Corp and other companies to turn over customer emails stored on servers outside the United States. Tuesday’s 4-4 vote by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan let stand a July 14 decision that was seen as a victory for privacy advocates, and for technology companies offering cloud computing and other services worldwide.

Mnuchin Backs Fed Independence and Signals Reform Isn’t Priority

In written questions by senators following his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Mnuchin was asked about his thoughts on “politicizing decisions made by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the benefits of an independent central bank.” “The Federal Reserve is organized with sufficient independence to conduct monetary policy and open market operations,” Mnuchin responded to Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat.

Why the Left Fears Ultrasound Technologyby Alexandra DeSanctisOn…

With impressive creativity, the piece attempts both to dismiss the clear evidence that is presented by ultrasound images and to imply that inanimate medical tools are motivated by a subversive pro-life agenda. Though the Democratic party and its vast pro-abortion wing cling fiercely to , The Atlantic ‘s bizarre offering reveals the truth: that being pro-abortion requires the resolute denial of science in order to facilitate a rejection of the unborn child’s humanity.

Chinese Phonemakers Rout Indian Brands on Their Own Turf

Chinese smartphone brands led by Vivo have muscled out local rivals in India with increasingly stylish yet affordable devices, challenging Chinese labels occupied four of the top five spots in 2016’s final quarter, shoving aside Micromax and Intex, according to a Counterpoint Research report released Tuesday. Samsung held onto top spot but saw its share of nationwide sales slide to 24 percent from 29 percent in the same quarter a year ago.

Alibaba Raises Forecast as Chinese Consumers Continue to Spend

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised its full-year sales forecast after quarterly results beat estimates, as Chinese spending stays strong and the company wrings revenue from fledgling areas such as cloud computing, entertainment and search. China’s biggest e-commerce company increased its projection for fiscal 2017 revenue growth to 53 percent, from 48 percent previously. That may help assuage investors concerned that a deceleration in the world’s second-largest economy is curtailing Alibaba’s main online commerce business.

Photo Shows $20M That Feds Found Hidden in Mattress

A new image released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Monday shows $20 million in cash that authorities found stashed in a box spring in a Massachusetts apartment. Photo of $20M seized in box spring following arrest of Brazilian national in scheme to launder proceeds of TelexFree https://t.co/ulmFXtI9mr pic.twitter.com/0MTHxjaVZL The money is believed to be linked to a $1 billion pyramid scheme involving TelexFree, a Massachusetts-headquartered company that claimed to provide Internet phone services.

Abortion opponents hope Trump will support, help their cause

US President Donald Trump prepares to sign several executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, January 23, 2017. Trump on Monday signed three orders on withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, freezing the hiring of federal workers and hitting foreign NGOs that help with abortion.

What to expect in President Trump’s first 100 days in…

President Trump’s unorthodox quest for the White House was fueled by his disregard for convention and the nagging sense that he – and ultimately his supporters – were underestimated and disrespected. Now sworn in to office as the 45th president, Trump and his team are determined to deliver quickly on promises – on the economy, healthcare, tax reform and immigration – that critics told him he could not possibly fulfill.