Posts - Americans

Insurance Giant Begins Replacing Claims Inspectors With Drones

Finance

Liberty Mutual Insurance will join other major insurance agencies in the use of drones to help photograph businesses and houses damaged by natural disasters or fires. The drones will be used instead of manned planes or adjusters for some claims, illustrating how the industry is maturing and maybe even replacing human jobs in some cases.

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration granted the insurance giant the rights to use four drones of differing sizes. The relatively small drones weigh no more than 55 pounds and cannot fly over 400 feet off the ground or travel more than 100 miles per hour, per FAA restrictions.

Spokesman Glenn Greenberg says Liberty Mutual will implement use of the drones later this year but on a limited basis. To help adjusters assess a large site of damage in a short amount of time, the drones will initially be inspecting sites damaged by large-scale natural disasters.

As there are many risks involved with inspecting damage sites such as piloting a plane or falling off of ladders, claims adjustors will be spared potential risk with the use of the drones. Greenberg states, “It’s very easy for us to get excited by a technology that helps our claims professionals more safely help our customers after a loss.” The drones will also provide higher quality photography for the insurers.

Liberty Mutual insurance is joining other companies such as AIG and State Farm who have also received FAA approval for drone use.

The FAA requires drones to be operated by a licensed pilot with a visual observer who visually monitors the flight. Liberty Mutual requested for permission to use drones without these positions, but the FAA denied the request. The insurance company will need both a pilot and a visual observer if they wish to use drones.

Liberty Mutual hasn’t released any information on how much it’s spending on drones, how many drones they will purchase, or from what companies they will buy the drones but China’s DJI could well be in the lead, marking a major corporate win for the company on American soil.

DOJ Probing Mega Banks HSBC, Standard Chartered For FIFA Scandal Money Laundering

Finance

In the latest development in the seemingly made-for-Hollywood events surrounding the FIFA scandal, United States regulators are probing major banks over their possible handling and processing of “tainted funds.” The investigation is focused on whether the banks’ internal controls and regulations aimed at money laundering failed to spot suspicious payments made to or from FIFA officials. The investigation into the banks comes after Swiss police raided a luxury hotel in Zurich in late May in order to arrest FIFA officials for their alleged roles in the organization’s widespread corruption. Rob Sherman, a spokesperson for HSBC Holdings in New York, stated that “[the bank] is continuing to review the allegations in the indictments against certain FIFA executives and others, to ensure that [the bank’s] services are not being misused for financial crime.”

United States authorities have charged 14 people at this time, including soccer officials and sports business executives, alleging their involvement in paying greater than $150 million in bribes to secure marketing and television contracts for soccer tournaments. U.S. prosecutors say their investigation also exposes money laundering schemes, tens of millions of dollars in offshore accounts held by FIFA officials and millions of dollars in untaxed incomes of those officials. Swiss authorities are conducting a parallel investigation into whether FIFA officials used bribery when awarding the 2018 World Cup to FIFA friendly Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, a country with no soccer stadiums and 110 degree heat in the summer.

United States prosecutors asked Switzerland to extradite seven of the FIFA officials arrested in the May raid and the Swiss Federal Office of Justice stated it would rule on the extradition requests within a few weeks.

FIFA, which was organized in 1904 with eight European football associations, eventually expanded within a decade to include South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, the United States and Canada. Today, it is composed of 209 national soccer organizations and runs one of the world’s most proliferative events: the World Cup. FIFA’s scandals, which go back decades, have resulted not because of the actions of any one official but because FIFA falls within a gray area of legality: it is not a business nor a governmental organization. It is basically a member’s club that governs itself without the rules of business or government. The recent arrests have occurred partly because FIFA conducted business on United States soil and partly because it violated Switzerland’s anti-corruption laws, where it is headquartered.

The alleged bribes and payoffs central to the United States’ investigation include the payoffs that exchanged hands over the selection of South Africa to host the 2010 Men’s World Cup and kickbacks in exchange for votes in FIFA’s 2011 presidential elections. The FIFA-affiliated governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, also allegedly took bribes in exchange for the rights to World Cup qualifying events, such as the Gold Cup tournament. The indictments cover activities taking place over the past two decades.

While many people are happy that the United States and Switzerland finally got involved in prosecuting the endless number of crimes allegedly committed by FIFA officials and related executives, United States officials say their investigation is just the beginning.

Netflix Is Quickly Taking Over The Media World

Finance

For the first time since the invention of made-for-television movies in the 1960s, a new option for major feature films with A-list stars and leading directors is becoming legitimate. Netflix, a video streaming service in the U.S. and several other countries, has become a “global disruptor” by changing the way people think about entertainment. Netflix is now changing the way movies are released by not only accelerating release time, but by also producing and releasing original movies, bypassing traditional movie-theaters altogether. The latest example of Netflix’s vision includes a groundbreaking deal with Angelina Jolie to release her upcoming movie, “First They Killed My Father,” based on a Cambodian family’s survival of the “killing fields” of the Khmer Rouge regime.

This latest agreement with Jolie follows some other high profile Netflix deals including its acquisition of the distributions to “War Machine,” a satirical comedy starring Brad Pitt. Netflix will invest about $30 million to make War Machine and will invest even more to make First They Killed My Father. Jolie said in a statement that “[f]ilms like this are hard to watch but important to see. They are also hard to get made. Netflix is making this possible and [she] is looking forward to working with them and excited that the film will reach so many people.” The movie will be released in all of Netflix’s global markets and will be available in both English and Khmer, the official language of Cambodia. In a similar sentiment, Pitt has stated that, “[he and his production company] are so excited to be a part of the inspiring commitment by Netflix to produce cutting-edge content and to deliver it to a global audience.”

The deals with Jolie and Pitt come shortly after Netflix reached a deal to finance and exclusively release four Adam Sandler movies from Happy Madison Productions, and after it recently announced a deal with the Weinstein Company to simultaneously release the sequel to “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” and in Imax theaters in the summer of 2016. Sandler stated that “[w]hen these fine [Netflix] people came to me with an offer to make four movies for them, [he] immediately said yes. Let the streaming begin!”

Obviously, this trend that Netflix has started does not sit well with owners of major theater chains. In fact, several exhibitors, including Regal Cinemas and Cinemark in the U.S. and Cineplex Entertainment in Canada, have stated they plan to boycott the Crouching Tiger sequel by refusing to show it at any of their theaters. “We will not participate in an experiment where you can see the product on screens varying from three storeys tall to three inches wide on a smartphone,” said Regal spokesman Russ Nunley.

Conversely, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said that Netflix’s new foray into exclusive movie production is about giving audiences the flexibility to watch movies when and where they want to. Harvey Weinstein characterized the new developments as simply responding to a media industry in flux. He stated that “[t]he moviegoing experience is evolving quickly and profoundly, and Netflix is unquestionably at the forefront of that movement.” Similarly, many analysts see the disruption caused by Netflix’s entry into original movies as an overdue challenge to Hollywood’s “carefully controlled” theatrical model. “This is just the start of what Netflix is going to do,” said Rich Greenfield, media analyst for BTIG Research. “Stay tuned. This is just the beginning.”

Amazon’s Cloud Facing Wave Of Competition From Alibaba And Google

Finance

The Alibaba Group, China’s e-commerce giant, has US rival Amazon in its sights and its not just about online retail. The chinese juggernaut is increasing its investment in overseas data centers over the next 18 months in a push to steal some of Amazon’s lucrative cloud computing customers. The Chinese company wants to increase its market share in cloud computing which presently only accounts for a minute portion of the group’s overall revenues.

Simon Hu, president of Aliyun, Alibaba’s cloud computing unit, said the company would be establishing data centers in Asia, the Middle East and Europe but did not disclose how much it intends to spend doing so. He said it also plans to build a technology hub with a data center in Dubai which will give the company a competitive edge in a market largely ignored by Amazon and other cloud computing competitors Microsoft and Google.

“The cloud business will be a very important sector for Alibaba. We hope to match or even surpass Amazon in three to four years.” said Hu.

Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud business, earned US$1.57 billion for the first quarter of 2015, putting it on track to meet analysts’ estimates of US$6 billion in earnings for the year.

Alibaba’s recent quarterly cloud revenue earnings were US$63 million which was an 82 percent increase over the same period last year.

Hu said increasing the company’s cloud computing share is one of Alibaba’s main growth strategies for the next decade.

At present Aliyun has 200 data management and cloud computing service partners but has plans to increase this to 2,000 over the next three years.

One of the company’s sales and marketing lures is its recently unveiled data protection pact where customers are guaranteed “absolute ownership” of their data.

Hu said Aliyun currently analyses more than 100 terabytes of information each day for security threats like malware but did not make any comment on how the company would address data requests from the Chinese government.

The news comes as Google announced Nearline, a cloud based archival storage product that directly targets Amazon’s similar Glacier cloud-based storage.

Google’s new offering boasts three second retrieval times versus three hours for Amazon’s Glacier and the company will give away 100 Petabytes of free storage for the first six months. That’s a nearly $1 million per month freebie if taken full advantage of, highlighting just how seriously Google is taking the threat of Amazon.

Both the Google and Amazon services are priced at $0.01 per gigabyte per month, highlighting the fierce competition Amazon is under in cloud computing from both domestic and foreign competitors.

Amazon is widely regarded as the world leader in cloud computing (disclosure: we host our site with them and they’re great!), and the world is quickly taking notice.

Expect to see increased pressure from a wide variety of players including Google, Aliyun, IBM, Microsoft and others in this red-hot space.

Trump Threatens Third Party Presidential Bid In Face Of GOP Backlash

News

U.S. Republican (GOP) presidential candidate Donald Trump is threatening to run as a third-party presidential campaign if the party does not treat him like other party candidates.

“I’ll have to see how I’m being treated by the Republicans. Absolutely, if they’re not fair, that would be a factor.” said the Republican businessman who is currently leading most national polls as the preferred Republican presidential candidate despite being criticised by party leaders who do not see him as a serious contender but as someone that could harm the GOP brand.

Political experts said some party leaders fear Trump running a third-party campaign would pull votes from the Republican nominee in the presidential race.

Former Republican Rep for Virginia, Tom Davis said ““You’ve got to keep him in the tent. He just wreaks havoc, and every vote he takes comes out of our hide.”

A poll this week which tested a hypothetical three-way race between Trump, former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, and Democrat Hillary Clinton, showed Clinton (46%) ahead of Bush (30%) and Trump (20%).

Trump earlier this week singled out the Republican National Committee for treating him unfairly.

“The RNC has not been supportive,” he said. “They were always supportive when I was a contributor. I was their fair-haired boy. The RNC has been, I think, very foolish.” he said.

The RNC attacked Trump last weekend after he rubbished the war record of Sen. John McCain saying he was “not a war hero” before flip flopping, repeatedly claiming the opposite. McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five years when his plane was shot down.

The last time a third-party candidate ran with some success was in 1992 and 1996, when Texas billionaire Ross Perot contested the presidency. His first candidacy has been blamed for pulling votes from President George H.W. Bush’s re-election campaign, giving victory to Bill Clinton.

Dan Senor, an adviser for GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 said “Perot’s intensely nationalist and protectionist politics resonated with a lot of center-right voters that otherwise would have voted Republican. And the environment today is even more intensely populist. If Trump were to run as an independent, who knows what impact he could have in what will otherwise be a close election?”

Acclaimed CEO Who Set $70,000 Minimum Wage Sued By Brother

Finance

CEO of Gravity Payments, Dan Price, gained recognition by establishing a standard $70,000 wage for all his employees earlier this year. Now Price is being sued by his brother and co-founder Lucas Price, a minority shareholder, who claims the CEO was being overly generous.

According to the Seattle Times, Lucas Price is suing his brother on accusations of violating his rights as a minority shareholder in the company as well as duty and contract breaches.

Lucas Price signed the complaints on March 13th and filed them April 24th. This was just under two weeks after his brother and CEO of Gravity Payments announced pay raises for all of his 120 employees.

These allegations came at a time when Gravity Payments was receiving much attention from the public after the raise of the minimum wage within the company. Despite the timing, Attorney Greg Hollon, representing Lucas Price, claims the lawsuit is responding to a series of events that took place over years, not to the single decision.

The Times reports that Lucas Price is accusing his brother of withholding shareholder rights and paying himself excessively.

Gravity Payments, the successful merchant-service company, was co-founded by the Price brothers in 2004 and Dan Price became the CEO two years later in 2006.

In an effort to bring the minimum wage up to the $70,000 goal, Dan Price told the credit card processing company’s staff that he would cut his own pay and even forego some of the company’s profits.

Price said “You might be making $35,000 a year right now but everyone in here will definitely be making $70,000 a year and I’m super excited about that.”

This number is in comparison to the gross annual income of $17,000, which stems from a national minimum wage of $7 an hour.

The allegations will be heard in court on May 3rd when the matter goes to trial.

French Tobacconists Take To Streets To Protest Generic Cigarette Packaging

Entertainment News

French tobacconists took to the streets this week, dumping carrots and covering police cams with trash bags in protest of standardized cigarette packs which are free of branded labels. French Minister Marisol Touraine pushed for the measure as part of a larger health bill. Although the French National Assembly approved the bill on April 3rd, the right-dominant Senate didn’t agree. Touraine said discussion on the bill would reopen in September.

The European country saw weeklong protests from its local tobacconists who felt threatened by the proposed measure. By introducing plain cigarette packets, the tobacconists argued, their profits would go down and their livelihoods would be threatened.

To make a statement, protesters in Gers, in Southern France, covered most of the district’s traffic cameras in trash bags. This symbolized the loss of revenue tobacconists are feeling as they struggle to match competitive prices from Spain and Andorra.

President of the Gers tobacconists union said “By covering the speed cameras with trash bags, we’ve attacked a symbol, because, like cigarettes, speed cameras bring in a lot of money to the state.”

The odd protesting continued as four tons of carrots were dumped by angry protestors outside of headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party. “Carrot” is used to describe a red cylindrical sign that law requires French tobacconists to hang outside of their stores. The Socials Party responded to the protest by feeding the four tons of carrots to their 470 horse cavalry.

Although the French government collects around $15 billion in tax revenue from its tobacconists, it also spends $52 billion a year treating and campaigning against smoking. These numbers have led the government to try and oust smoking altogether.

While 26.3 percent of cigarettes used in France are bought via “parallel markets” such as foreign countries, the Senate rejected the bill because of the government’s “inability to obtain from our [European] neighbors a more cooperative and less opportunistic tax policy.”

While French tobacconists received the Senate ruling they were looking for, protests are promised to continue in September when the bill is scheduled to be reopened for discussion.

Britain’s Navy Launches World’s First 3D Printed Drone Made Entirely At Sea

Entertainment News

The British Navy made a self-proclaimed world’s first on Tuesday as they launched a cheap drone from the Royal Navy ship HMS Mersey that was manufactured entirely on board using a 3D printer.

The airplane-style drone, which was just shy of seven pounds, was launched from a catapult and flew for five minutes through preprogrammed waypoints before landing on a beach. The point of the demonstration was to show how these sort of disposable drones could be assembled quickly onboard a ship. This would save time and money as the assembly is quick and efficient, using little resources or material. Reaction time to missions such as natural disasters would become more efficient with widespread use of the manufacturing technology.

UAV desk officer Geoff Hayward said that the members onboard the HMS Mersey weren’t sure whether the drone made of low-cost material could handle the windy conditions and rolling swells of the ocean. Yet the technology was a success and demonstrated that larger scale systems will likely find their way into military, commercial and civilian use in short order.

Aeronautical engineers at the University of Southampton designed the 1.5-meter-wingspan drone known as Sulsa. The drone was made by fusing four parts together that were made by a 3D printer. The only things not made from the printer were the drone’s battery, propeller, control electronics, and motor. Everything else, including the rudders and ailerons were made with the printer. The printed drone can even fly up to 100 miles per hour.

Typically, launching drones from ships is a million dollar process, according to Jim Scanlan, a university professor at Southampton who worked on Sulsa. The Navy is trying to cut these costs he says.

Unlike most drones, The Sulsa costs just a few thousand dollars to be printed. Although It can only fly for 40 minutes, Scanlan argues this time can be sufficient for missions requiring a quick eye in the sky. The best part is, users don’t have to be too worried about losing a relatively inexpensive piece of equipment, unlike existing multimillion dollar drone systems.

Although improvements are still underway, Scanlan envisions printed drones being used on ships with personalized sensors for different missions. In addition to carrying all the necessary equipment such as the parts and the printers, a way to keep the printers level out at sea remains a problem that will take more research and testing to properly solve.

World’s Largest Pro Video Game League To Start Testing For Performance Enhancing Drugs

Finance

ESL, the world’s largest league for gaming and e-sports, announced Thursday they will begin considering programs for comprehensive drug tests. Increasingly large cash prizes and a surge in popularity is prompting the changes as the once niche profession matures.

James Lampkin, vice president of the league, told ESPN.com, “We’ve known for some time that performance-enhancing drugs could be a challenge that we’d eventually need to face. With knowledge that there was likely active abuse of PEDs taking place, we immediately began serious discussions with top drug agencies for methods of prevention.” As the e-sports industry continues to grow, more is at stake within the league, leading players to seek an extra edge in the competition by turning to PED’s.

ESL, headquartered in Germany, has partnered with the country’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) to begin the tests. They have also involved the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to help enforce the penalties and rules once a policy is established.

Kory “Semphis” Friesen and his team played the game Counter-Strike with a chance to win $250,000 in prizes. During a YouTube interview, Friesen admitted that he and his team took Adderall when they played the event in Poland. When used in small doses, this ADHD drug increases users stamina and heightens their alertness; both critical factors in a gaming competition. Lampkin stated that this was when ESL made their decision to implement drug tests.

Lampkin said, “While it is impossible to go back and test the players, this really was the catalyst to demand immediate action for the integrity of our sport”.

Although psychostimulants like Adderall seem to be the most popular among gamers, like in any league, Lampkin expects the PED market to change regularly. In order to stay up with the new drugs, ESL has elicited the help of the anti-doping agencies.

ESL One, taking place in Germany next month, will be the first time ESL will begin skin testing for these PED’s.

Israel Will Now Treat Rock Throwing Children As Terrorists

Entertainment News

Palestinian activists and officials are calling a new law passed by the Israeli Parliament that enables courts to jail people caught throwing rocks at moving vehicles a “repressive” and “racist’ attempt at stamping out protests against Israeli occupation of disputed territories.

Earlier this week lawmakers in Israel voted 69 to 17 to increase punishments for rock throwers following an increase in Palestinian protests in East Jerusalem last year.
The co-founder of the Intifada website that publishes articles on the Palestinian struggle, Ali Abunimah, said “This law is not about stone-throwing. It is about repressing any form of Palestinian resistance or protest to Israeli colonization and occupation.”

Abunimah said while Israel continues to target Palestinians for throwing rocks, the shooting deaths of Palestinian protesters were treated “with absolutely no consequences whatsoever”.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoner Club (an organization which advocates on behalf of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails) Qadura Fares called the news laws “racist”.

“This law is hateful and contradicts the most basic rule that the punishment fits the offense.” said Fares.

Israeli Parliament Arab lawmaker Jamal Zahalka called the new law a “hypocrisy” as the rock throwers were reacting to abuses by Israeli security forces.

“You are picking on the person responding to major injustices.” he said.

Often those arrested are children and youths and the moving vehicles the law refers to are armoured military vehicles like troop carriers and even tanks.

Rock and stone-throwing has been a Palestinian resistance symbol since the Palestinian uprisings against Israel in the late 1980s.

Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Justice Minister hit back at the law’s critics saying those who threw rocks at security force vehicles were committing an act of terrorism.

“Tolerance toward terrorists ends today. A stone-thrower is a terrorist and only a fitting punishment can serve as a deterrent and just punishment.” he said.

Major Hollywood Studios Face EU Antitrust Sanctions Over Geoblocking

Finance

Major Hollywood entertainment providers are are facing tough questions this week after European regulators announced antitrust charges against the big studios as well as the U.K.-based pay TV service Sky TV for a practice known as “geo-blocking.” An agreement by Sky TV with the Hollywood studios prevented viewers located outside of the U.K. and Ireland from accessing the studios’ movies and TV shows. Sky TV in effect had established territorial exclusivity in Ireland and the U.K., which then allowed them more freedom in pricing their services without fear of competition. Eliminating the barriers to media access across national borders is one of the EU Competition Commission’s (EUCC) top priorities.

Illustrating this point, there are similar investigations ongoing in Europe involving France’s Canal Plus, Italy’s Sky Italia, Germany’s Sky Deutschland, and DTS in Spain.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated, “European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU. Our EU economy Internet antitrust investigation shows that they cannot do this today…We believe that this may be in breach of EU competition rules.”

The other half of the Sky TV agreement required that the six Hollywood studios: Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Sony, and Twentieth Century Fox, prevent broadcasters other than Sky TV from offering their services in Ireland and the U.K.

Opening access to consumers of online content such that they can access that content throughout Europe is the end goal, but current copyright and licensing law is still handled by national governments. By pursuing these antitrust cases in court, the EUCC hopes to slowly move towards what is known as the Digital Single Market.

This goal would by nature lead to the removal of regulation authority of copyright law by national governments in Europe, and instead give that authority to the European Union. The incentive for this would be that easing the ability for customers to access the services of digital businesses throughout Europe, would in turn stimulate the stagnant economies of the EU. Should the EUCC win its case, it can fine the companies involved up to 10% of their global annual revenue.

Legendary Sports Car Maker Ferrari Files For U.S. IPO

Finance

Always wanted to own a Ferrari but found it to be a little out of reach? Good news, then, as the iconic Italian sports car maker has filed its request for an initial public offering of its common stock meaning millions of Americans will shortly be able to own a piece of the most storied car company in the world.

In a request to U.S. regulators on Thursday by parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), an initial public offering of Ferrari will occur during the last quarter of this year, likely on the New York Stock Exchange.

In a statement made last year, FCA plans to sell up to 10 percent of Ferrari by way of share offering or selling the shares by way of common stock and distributing the remainder to the company’s shareholders.

The listing is an attempt to assist FCA, a company that possesses one of the largest mountains of debt for the industry, pay for an investment plan estimated to cost $53 billion, assist in increasing sales by 60 percent or 7 million cars by 2018, and increase the company’s overall net profit by five-fold.

FCA currently owns 90 percent of Ferrari, with Piero Ferrari holding the remaining 10 percent ownership.

The initial public offering (IPO) is being underwritten by Santander, BofA Merrill Lynch and UBS, according to the company’s filing on Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The IPO is planned for after mid-October. The filing did not mention the amount of shares being sold by the company or their anticipated price, only specifying that it was not listing more than 10 percent of the business.

Sergio Marchionne, FCA Chief Executive and Ferrari Chairman stated that he felt that Ferrari was worth at least $11 billion and needs to be priced as a luxury goods stock. Brokers value the company between $6 and $11 billion.

It is important for the IPO to be a success because it will assist Marchionne’s quest for a partner to merge with, helping with the decreasing margins and increase in development costs.

Marchionne attempted a tie-up with his counterpart at U.S. rival General Motors earlier this year but was rejected.

Analysts are saying that the separation from Ferrari should allow for an easier preparation of FCA in a merger because it will give a more clear value of the company.

Uber Facing $400 Million Canadian Class Action Lawsuit Over UberX

Finance

Uber’s world wide legal troubles continue to mount as lawyers in Ontario, Canada announced a $400 million class-action lawsuit against the company on behalf of limo and taxi drivers across the province. The lawsuit comes on the heels of the company’s recent announcement of a major expansion to its UberX ride service in Ontario.

The law firm of Sutts, Strosberg, LLP issued a press release stating that the lawsuit is seeking damages as well as an injunction that will restrict UberX from operating in the province of Ontario.

Attorney Jay Strosberg, a noted Canadian class action lawyer, stated in the press release that, “The Plaintiff alleges that UberX and UberXL have created an enormous marketplace for illegal transportation in Toronto.”

It is alleged in the statement of claim that UberX has violated Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act by permitting unlicensed drivers to pick up and transport passengers for compensation. Because of this violation, licensed taxicabs, limousine owners and drivers are losing millions in revenues throughout Ontario.

The lawsuit has yet to be certified as a class-action and the allegations have not yet been argued in court. Generally, a lawsuit has to be certified in order for members who are deemed eligible – in this instance the taxi and limo drivers – can join the lawsuit.

The announcement of this class-action comes as this controversial service offered by UberX, which involves the use of private drivers using their own vehicles to pick up and drop off passengers, begins operating in London, Guelph, Hamilton as well as the Waterloo Region.

The relationship between Uber and the city of Toronto, Ontario’s capital, and its taxi drivers has recently become quite tense, with taxi drivers making threats of shutting down cities, which similarly happened in Paris, if the city does not crackdown on Uber.

Sony Announces Huge Pivot Into The Red Hot Drone Business

Finance

Electronics giant Sony has reported the exciting news that it is officially jumping into the drone business. It has partnered with Tokyo-based robotics firm ZMP to create a company called Aerosense. This joint venture will create and develop drone technology that will begin offering services to users starting in 2016. In this relatively small venture for Sony, Aerosense will have a startup capital of about $800,000 and as part of the deal, ZMP will hold 49.995% of the company and Sony will hold 50.005%.

Drones have quickly become a prominent research area for several Internet and technology companies. For example, Amazon and Google are researching the use of drones to conduct package delivery. The drones Aerosense seeks to develop will have surveying, measurement, inspection and observation capabilities. Drones could be launched in applications such as gathering imagery before the construction of buildings and surveying remote mountain locations. They could also be deployed to inspect farmland to survey damage after a storm. In fact, the earthquake and tsunami that essentially destroyed one of Japan’s nuclear power plants four years ago have inspired researchers to develop survey drones for hazardous sites. As far as commercially, drones could be deployed in shopping malls and other facilities in order to photograph and follow “intruders.”

Imagery and data gathered by Aerosense’s drones will be processed by cloud-based servers. The winged vertical takeoff and landing craft pictured in ZMP’s press release is only one of multiple possible drone designs Aerosense will consider. As of now, the plan is that Aerosense will operate in Japan with no plans for overseas expansion.

The Aerosense project was pushed by Sony Mobile Communications Chief Executive Officer Hiroki Totoki, who took control last fall in an attempt to revive Sony’s Xperia’s smartphones. Sony’s phones are not faring well in light of the dominance of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy. However, Sony Mobile aims to combine its expertise in mobile device cameras (used in iPhones) and network technology with ZMP’s experience with autonomous control technology.

As the use of drones becomes much more prevalent throughout the world, it will be exciting to see how Sony’s contributions affect the industry.

After Two Month Delay International Space Station Welcomes New Crew

Entertainment News

Scientists and space enthusiasts around the world eagerly and cautiously watched as space travelers from the United States, Japan and Russia successfully docked with the International Space Station on Thursday. Veteran Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, rookie NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren and Japan’s Kimiya Yui blasted off from the Russian cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket at 5:02 p.m. Wednesday night. Less than six hours later, the crew happily arrived at the International Space Station to begin a five-month mission aboard the $100 billion laboratory. The space station flies about 250 miles above Earth and hosts astronauts from several different countries. The successful launch comes after a two-month delay after a launch of a similar Soyuz rocket failed.

The failed April launch stranded a three ton cargo ship in an orbit too low to reach the space station. Nine days later, the capsule fell back into Earth’s atmosphere and was incinerated. A crew scheduled to leave the space station was forced to stay on board for an extra month due to the failed launch. Despite the earlier troubles, the Soyuz rocket returned to flight on July 3rd and successfully launched a replacement cargo load to the space station.

Kononenko, Lindgren and Yui join the space station’s skeleton crew of cosmonauts Gennady Padalk, Mikhail Kornienko and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. Kornienko and Kelly are participating in the space station’s first year-long mission.

The Russian space program remains an incredible source of national pride despite the setbacks it has suffered over the past few years. Launching the first Sputnik satellite in 1957 and, of course, sending the first man into space in 1961 are among the major accomplishments of Russia’s space program. The Soyuz rocket used for the launch is used for both unmanned and manned flights and dates back to the Cold War.

The cost of sending the world’s astronauts aboard Russian Soyuz spaceships cost $70 million per seat.

Coast Guard Seizes Narco Sub Carrying Over Eight Tons Of Cocaine

News

Over this past weekend, United States authorities seized a semi-submersible vessel packed with greater than eight tons of cocaine off the coast of El Salvador. The homemade vessel was tracked by the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and Customs and Border Protection agents as it slowly travelled through international waters. The U.S. Coast Guard had to intervene when a speedboat approached the submarine-like vessel. The 274 waterproof bales jampacked with 16,870 pounds of cocaine has an estimated value of hundreds of millions of dollars. Four smugglers were taken into custody by U.S. officials. These elaborate measures taken by drug cartels to smuggle their product into the United States and other countries require international policing, and as of now, there are 15 countries involved in a concerted effort to track down and destroy these drugs.

In the 1970s, smugglers used to transport their drugs into the United States in hand-delivered briefcases or by dropping them by aircraft. They eventually moved to using speedboats, fishing vessels and cargo containers as law enforcers began to catch up to their methods. In fact, just last month, Spanish police seized 440 pounds of cocaine found in hollowed-out pineapples on a ship from Central America.

In a further evolution of drug smuggling methods, drug cartels have increasingly used homemade semi-submersibles or submarines in an effort to evade sonar and radar detection. They barely reach above the water’s surface as they travel through the Pacific or Caribbean oceans on their journeys to the United States. Since last week’s bust, Colombian police have found true submarines under construction capable of diving 300 feet.

Even though there is an increased naval presence in the Caribbean, and even though drug smuggling crafts usually travel at a maximum speed of no more than 115 miles per hour, tracking them down is a challenge. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) official, Michael Sanders, said a few years ago that “[t]he ocean out there is so vast that looking for one of these things is like finding a needle in a haystack- in fact, it would probably be easier to find a needle in a haystack. . .When [the DEA] first started seeing them years ago they were kind of crude and home-built, but now they’ve become more sophisticated. These guys are starting to learn.”

In fact, it can take up to a year to construct these vehicles and cost up to $1 million. Each vessel can generally carry up to 10 tons of cocaine, with a market value of greater than $250 million. They are often about 100 feet long and made of steel, covered by fiberglass. Many are also fitted with sophisticated radio communications, navigation equipment and diesel engines that allow them to travel over 2,500 miles without refuelling. Inside, these crafts are pretty barebones. Sanders stated that “[t]here’s no comfort, no amenities. They are deathtraps.”

Tagged Sharks Are Becoming Social Media’s New Stars

Culture

By now, most people have seen Youtube video of the amazing shark attack on Australian surfer, Mick Fanning, that took place last weekend during the J-Bay Open surfing competition off the coast of South Africa. What is also truly amazing is how many people took to social media to offer their opinion on the incident and to see whether the shark was one of the tagged sharks having their own social media profile. Using OCEARCH’s shark tracker, it was easy to see that there was only one tagged shark in the area of Jefferey’s Bay (J-Bay). The work of OCEARCH has led the public to learn about sharks and ultimately to respect them and their atmosphere.

Lydia, a 14-foot, 2,000 pound great white, was traveling around the Bahamas during the attack. She has nearly 20,000 Twitter followers. Mary Lee, a great white that was tagged off Cape Cod, MA in 2012 has more than 80,000 Twitter followers. Katharine, a 14-foot, 2,300 pound great white, caused a social media explosion last year and crashed OCEARCH’s website because there was evidence to suggest she was pregnant. She instantly became a social media star as approximately 100,000 shark enthusiasts and scientists tracked her every movement. OCEARCH’s Facebook page also received approximately 5 million visits per week during the time.

OCEARCH, founded by Chris Fischer, is a nonprofit global project that attempts to personify sharks through social media, by way of tracking devices. OCEARCH’s Shark Tracker offers a near real-time view of approximately 130 sharks around the planet. The tagged sharks include great whites and hammerheads to makos and tigers. The ultimate goal of OSEARCH is to develop successful conservation strategies by studying shark habits.

Users of OCEARCH’s mobile app tweet about their favorite shark’s whereabouts and movements. The site’s website traffic has exploded over the past year. The iPhone version of OCEARCH’s app has amassed over 200,000 users and the Android version has attracted 50,000 active users. Also of importance is that OCEARCH open-sources all of its data, allowing shark enthusiasts and scientists alike to see tracking information at the same time.

OCEARCH’s online traffic has increased 10 times than what it was last year and is expected to grow 20 times by the end of 2015. The social media activity surrounding OCEARCH’s shark tracking project has created opportunities for the company to grow its partnerships with media and product companies that want to assist and be associated with the study of sharks.

It is clear that sharks and shark conservation is big business. This is illustrated by OCEARCH’s success and, of course, the popularity of Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, airing once a year. The public’s attitude has changed dramatically since the movie Jaws scared the death out of ocean goers everywhere. Just last week, a great white beached itself on one of Cape Cod’s beaches. Instead of euthanizing the shark, beachgoers and wildlife officials rushed to successfully save the shark. As people further educate themselves about sharks and their habits, they are learning how to live with and respect their watery environment.

Air Strikes Preempt Obama State Visit To Kenya Amid High Security

News

President Barack Obama’s trip to Kenya is raising security concerns, as while the country itself is relatively stable the surrounding region is a hostile environment.

Ahead of the President’s visit around half a dozen air strikes have been conducted by the U.S. military in Somalia against Al-Shabaab, a militant group in East Africa that is an al-Qaeda affiliate.

The strikes come after U.S. intelligence suggested that an attack on Kenyan troops in the area was imminent.

Although the Pentagon is remaining silent on the matter, the strikes may be ushering in the President’s visit to the area.

A Rand Corporation analyst, Seth Jones states, “This sends a very clear message to Al-Shabaab not to try to attempt anything against the President.”

U.S. officials don’t expect Al-Shabaab to get anywhere close to the President, but there are other causes for concern.

In order to draw attention away from Obama’s visit and to show the weakness of the Kenyan government, Jones believes Al-Shabaab will attack more vulnerable targets.

Jones states, “What’s most likely is not an attack against a U.S. government official like the President, but an attack that happens while the President is there”. Because the security around Obama will be so strong, Al-Shabaab will most likely target a soft spot as they have in the past.

Schools and shopping malls could be included in the list of possible locations, as the group has targeted them in the past.

U.S. officials acknowledge growing chatter via social media and Internet between the Somali extremist group about the visit. It seems they are all very aware of the event.

A Kenyan flight bulletin that outlines details of Obama’s trip has been released. This information includes when airspace in Nairobi will be closed for the arrival and departure of the President’s plane.

Although details such as these are kept private and withheld from the public, administration officials are saying there are no public details that would put the President at risk on his trip. U.S. forces are expected to stay highly engaged throughout the President’s visit, which could mean further air strikes.

Boozy Root Beer Is About To Take Off

News

There is a new competitor around amongst the craft brewery crowd and it’s called hard root beer. Described as root beer with alcohol, this simple yet tasty brew is gaining popularity amongst microbreweries looking to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Small Town Brewery is one of the leaders in this new flavor of beer with their Not Your Father’s Root Beer. On Beer Advocate, an online beer review site, the brew earned a rating of 94 out of 100. This is a sizeable rating as other, more popular brands, such as New Belgium’s Fat Tire, have ratings in the mid 80’s.

According to Matt Simpson, a consultant who works with the Beer Sommelier, “I would venture to say everyone I know who drinks alcohol has had [hard root beer] by this point”. Simpson explains that the popularity of the brew is due to its unique flavor. He describes it as root beer, but with subtle tastes of alcohol.

Since the first batch was created in 2013, Not Your Father’s Root Beer has since been purchased directly by a few investors including Eugene Kashper, Pabst Chief Executive Officer. This purchase came after a distribution agreement was made with Pabst Brewing earlier in the year.

It seems finding a bottle of this brew is still hard to come by, despite the nationwide push and load of resources. Tim Kovac, Small Town founder said in an email, ““We really made this for ourselves and local consumers more than anything…[I] had no idea it would take off this way”.

As cocktails are becoming sweeter, this root beer being set up for success as it reaches taps. The flavor of the brew is described as strong, herby and sweet, with an old timey flavor similar to root beer. Many users are choosing to mix bourbon with the new hard root beer as the flavors seem to compliment one another.

As the craft brewery market is being flooded with new flavors and styles, this new hard root beer provides a brew that gives beer enthusiasts a familiar taste. Unlike other brews, such as oyster stout and onion, Not Your Father’s have nothing to prove in terms of flavor, it is already familiar. This puts them in a strategic position in such a competitive market.

Hoping to improve upon their success, Pabst and Kovac have been working on two more root beers, which are 11 and 20 percent alcohol. Don’t let the scarcity of Not Your Father’s scare you, as it seems other breweries are catching onto the trend and producing their own hard-root beers.

New Study Finds Robotic Surgery Is Seriously Hurting People

Health & Wellness

Many people have suggested that using robots for surgery is a safer route than traditional use of humans. The results are now in to decide if they are right.

A study conducted by researchers from Rush University Medical Center, the University of Illinois and MIT, counted numbers from 2000 to 2013 that were reported to the US Food and Drug Administration. They found that 144 deaths, 1,391 injuries and 8,061 counts of malfunctioning devices were to be blamed for robot-assisted surgery.

If those numbers seem high, consider that between 2007 and 2013, 1.7 million robo-operations were conducted. Despite the seemingly small percentage, experts are calling for safer mechanisms.

The study concludes, “Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures”.

Incidents when the robot surgeon shut down mid operation or made a mistake were cause for 52 injuries and two deaths. Electrical sparks burned patients in 10.5 percent of the malfunctions, which resulted in 193 injuries.

Unfortunately, 119 injuries and one death were a result of parts of the robot falling into the patient mid surgery, requiring humans to extract the pieces in a separate surgery. 18 injuries are attributed to the malfunctioning of the video systems of human surgeon’s console.

Head and neck as well as cardiothoracic surgeries pose to be the most dangerous robot surgeries as each has 19.7 and 6.4 percent adverse results respectively. This is in comparison to 1.9 and 1.4 percent for urology and gynecology operations.

The study attempts to explain this lack of success by the complexity of the surgery and the lack of robotic expertise in the areas of cardiothoracic, and head and neck surgeries. Although the robot surgeons have made strides in other urological and gynecological areas, they still lack the necessary requirements to perform well in the cardiothoracic as well as and neck operations.

Although the rates of robot surgeries have increased, the rates of “malfunctions” have remained relatively the same, suggesting there are some consistent problems that need attention.

The study states in conclusions, “Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures.”

Teen Sex Rates Plummet To 25 Year Lows

Health & Wellness

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has released a report stating that sex among teenagers is at its lowest point in the last 25 years. Also, the number of teens using condoms grew slightly over the last 11 years.

Other highly reliable methods of contraception, such as intrauterine devices have yet to see increased use by teenagers. Withdrawal is still popular among teenage sex and is not very effective for preventing pregnancy.

According to a statistician at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, Gladys M. Martinez, “One of the goals in this report is to look at factors that influence teen childbearing.” Martinez was an author of the report that was released Wednesday.

The researchers studied factors of pregnancy such as contraceptive use and sexual activity. Although other factors are in play, such as living conditions, researchers didn’t focus on these.
The study found that between 2011 and 2013, 47% of males and 44% of females, ages 15 to 19, reported being sexually active. Since the previous survey period from 2006 to 2010, these numbers haven’t changed. However, the number of sexually active teens has drastically decreased since 1988.

The rate of contraceptive sue among teens hasn’t changed much either between the 2006 and 20011 surveys. Researchers also surveyed the use of other forms of contraception and found that since 2002; about 55% to 60% of teens have been using the pill or withdrawal. The use of intrauterine devices has stayed around 3%.

This report did not reveal how consistently these forms of contraception are used among teens, only how often. Consistency is the most important factor when preventing pregnancy, according to Laura Lindberg, a scientist at Guttmacher Institute.

Lindberg suggest that the decrease in sexual activity in teens is a result of the increase in sex education that arose from such high rates of HIV between 1988 and 1995. We want the rate of regular contraceptive use to be as high as possible, and we want healthy relationships,” Lindberg said.

The study suggests that individuals, who wait until their late teens to be sexually active, are more likely to use contraception. Also, women who didn’t use contraception their first time, were two to five times more likely to get pregnant as a teenager.

Chinese Consumer Confidence Plunges As Dark Clouds Hang Over Economy

Finance

Negative indicators for the Chinese economy are mounting, as the country’s leadership attempts to mitigate the damage in the aftermath of a huge stock selloff that began in June of this year.

With business confidence dropping, the MNI China Business Sentiment measure sank to 48.8, its lowest level since January of 2009. The MNI gauge is based off a monthly pool to business executives on the mainland and show that the drop in the stock market of $3.9 trillion is clearly having an effect. Should the trend continue in the face of drastic efforts by the Chinese government, the impacts could be great for China and its trading partners.

The future productions expectations indicator dropped to its lowest level since 2009, despite the fact that credit availability for businesses is at a five-year high. In an effort to spurt investment, the reserve ratio requirement for banks has been dropped, in addition to a move by the China Securities Regulatory Commission of a six-month ban on selling by shareholders who hold more than 5% of a company.

It doesn’t seem to be all bad news, as China continues to grow at seven percent year on year for the second quarter, beating economists’ forecasts of 6.8 percent. Some have questioned the official data, saying that growth has been supported only by consumption. With median price to earnings ratios currently sitting at 63, (well above all the world’s top ten markets), and a real estate crisis with double the number of vacant homes as the U.S. had during the peak of its housing crisis, the situation looks dire. Purchases of stock are being backstopped by the People’s Bank of China and there is currently a suspension on IPO’s. Alongside all the hand wringing over the possibility of a “Grexit,” the decline of China, the second largest economy in the world, will have much larger effects than Greece’s implosion.

As the Chinese stock market continues its somewhat eerie reenactment of the Wall Street crash of 1929, what will happen when these government measures are ceased, and how long will it be until that happens?

California Law Would Allow First Responders To Shoot Down Interfering Drones

News

Following repeated scuffles between disaster-voyeur drone operators and California firefighters, California lawmakers are proposing legislation that would allow emergency services personnel to destroy interfering drones without fear of reprisal. Last week saw airborne firefighters impeded by a handful of drone operators who were blocking the flight paths necessary for them to drop water onto the flames. Although the legislation is yet to be penned, fears may exist that civilian recording of police actions may be curtailed in instances involving drones. Currently, filming of police in public space is permitted in all 50 states.

Mike Gatto of the California State Assembly and coauthor of the proposed legislation said, “Drone operators are risking lives when they fly over an emergency situation. Just because you have access to an expensive toy that can fly in a dangerous area doesn’t mean you should do it.” The legislation is expected to give broad authority for emergency services to take down or disable drones in a rescue situation.

Last Friday’s incident near Interstate 15 was not the first time that drone operators interfered with firefighters, with drones having grounded firefighting aircraft six times in the last three weeks. Currently the US Forest Service issues commands to air tankers to stop its activities until it can be confirmed that the drone has left the area.

According to 911.gov, an emergency is defined as follows: “A fire, a crime, a car crash, or a medical emergency, etc.” Potential destruction of firefighting aircraft and crew injury are clearly possible when they are used above wildfires and the like, but with such a broad definition of emergency, would regular police then be immune from prosecution for the destruction of a private operator’s drone during a traffic stop. With police resistant to the use of body cameras as well as other public, though legal, filming by citizens, skepticism regarding the broad powers that are being pursued may be warranted.

AT&T’s Acquisition Of DirecTV Given OK From Department Of Justice

Finance

AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV is almost a done deal with The US Department of Justice (DoJ) today giving it its blessing. The proposed $48.5 billion merger has also been given the thumbs up by the head of The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The news that The DoJ would not be challenging the acquisition removed the largest possible merger obstacle as it had been feared it may oppose the deal as it did recently with a proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger.

The DoJ’s antitrust division’s Attorney General Bill Baer said “After an extensive investigation, we concluded that the combination of AT&T’s land-based internet and video business with DirecTV’s satellite-based video business does not pose a significant risk to competition.”

Tom Wheeler, FCC chairman, said today he would be recommending the commission give the acquistion a yes vote.

Wheeler circulated a memo to fellow commissioners requesting them to sign off on the acquisition if AT&T agreed to some conditions, including the expansion of its residential fiber network, and stricter adherence to net neutrality provisions.

He estimated the deal should grow AT&T’s current fiber network tenfold and increase by 40 percent U.S. residential fiber access.

Another of Wheelers requirements would mean AT&T eliminating any wired service data cap exemptions to affiliated video services, forcing it to treat all video streaming traffic equally in user access terms.

“Importantly, we will require an independent officer to help ensure compliance with these and other proposed conditions,” Wheeler said. “These strong measures will protect consumers, expand high-speed broadband availability, and increase competition.”

With the sign off on the merger, AT&T will have to submit regular reports to the FCC on “network performance”, and the FCC will appoint an “independent officer” to “help ensure compliance with these and other proposed conditions.”

Ecommerce Giant Alibaba Launches Sperm Donor Program To Help Chinese Birth Rate

Finance

In an attempt to contend with their shortage of sperm donors in some provinces, Chinese sperm banks are looking to popular e-commerce site Alibaba, which has been offering a promotion from interested sperm banks of up to 5000 yuan (US $805) to donors. With the number of infertile couples in China currently numbering around 50 million and growing, the new measure has helped potential donors who may have been otherwise too timid to act.

Within three days of the offer, more than 22,000 men had signed up to participate and as part of the process, donors are required to show up within three months in order to pass a physical checkup. According to Alibaba, the provinces producing the most donors in descending order were Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangdong, also saying that the most prized features were good features and high intelligence.

In a related move, China’s infertility problem has led some to search for surrogate mothers among working-class women in the U.S. According to a February 2014 report, since 2012, the number of Chinese inquiries made to agencies matching couples from around the world has risen 10 times, and was expected to double again by 2016. Surrogacy is currently illegal in China, which is a big factor in the large number of Chinese inquiries and prices are considerable, ranging from $75,000 to $113,000 for the services of the surrogate mother. With the current infertility rate of 12.5% among all Chinese adults of child-bearing age, interested couples are clearly willing to go to great lengths to produce a family.

In March, China News reported that part of the reason for infertility among couples is rising work pressure in addition to social and environmental changes. Stringent qualifications for sperm donors also limit the potential field of sperm bank candidates. For example, in Shanxi province only 136 people out of 1,213 volunteers qualified, about 10%.

A Good Night’s Sleep Shown To Cut Risk Of Alzheimer’s Disease

Health & Wellness

Most people know that getting enough sleep is good for their general health. Scientific research now shows that getting enough quality sleep may be an important factor in preventing the feared degenerative Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, researchers reported Monday that levels of the protein, beta-amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, are linked with a person’s memory performance and sleep. The research comes at a time when researchers are desperately racing to find a cure and/or effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease as the baby boomer generation begins turning 70 next year.

Presently, greater than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. As changes that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s can begin more than 20 years before noticeable memory lapses, scientists are studying drugs in individuals at high risk of the disease with the hope of finding preventive treatment.

Researchers have indicated that sleep disruption is a new area of study relative to Alzheimer’s and that it clearly increases the risk of developing the disease. The new research indicates that sleep problems interact with Alzheimer’s disease processes. Toxic proteins, in turn, affect the deep sleep that is very important in memory formation. It is a vicious cycle.

Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, Berkeley and his team gave PET scans to 26 healthy volunteers in their 70s with no signs of cognitive impairment. The scans measured the buildup of amyloid that occurred while the patients slept in a controlled atmosphere overnight. During the study, the patients were given words to memorize and, as they slept overnight, scientists measured the patients’ brain waves. The findings showed that the more amyloid people stored in a particular region of the brain, the less quality, deep sleep they got, and the more they forgot overnight. According to Walker, the memories of those individuals who got poor sleep were not transferred adequately from their brains’ short-term memory bank into long-term memory storage.

Another study followed approximately 6,000 individuals over a five-year period and results showed that those who had poor sleep quality (consisting of frequent tossing and turning and a general hard time falling asleep) were more likely to develop mild early cognitive impairment that sometimes leads to Alzheimer’s.

Researchers also found that the condition known as sleep apnea (in which people suffer brief interruptions of breathing that awaken them repeatedly without them knowing) caused a twofold increase in the risk of a person developing Alzheimer’s.

Ultimately, this groundbreaking research shows that people at risk of Alzheimer’s should be screened by their doctors for sleep disorders, especially sleep apnea, which can be treated effectively. Maria Carrillo, the chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, stated that “[t]here are lots of risk factors that we might be able to change. Sleep is one.”

Despite Heavy Backlash, Trump Leading Bush In GOP Polls

News

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trumps’ continues to dominate the GOP Presidential race and a new poll depicts him with his most convincing lead yet. Billionaire Donald Trump has been receiving a lot of airplay lately over his recent attacks on President Barrack Obama, his scathing comments on Latinos and his dismissal of Sen. John McCain’s war record. Though his rash and abrasive nature has not augered well with many candidates, it seems the Republicans are falling for it hook, line and sinker.

A recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll that was released on Monday shows Donald Trump with an impressive 24 per cent support from the Republicans polled. The figure was almost double that of his closest competitor Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who had 13 per cent. Third was Former Gov. Jeb Bush with 12 per cent. Other Republican candidates including Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla), Ben Carson and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky) received between 8 to 3 per cent in approval ratings.

Even though the lead is Trump’s widest in recent days, it may have been wider as the poll came a day after Trump in his trademark dismissive gab, sensationally rubbished McCain’s war record, even though the senator is a former prisoner of war.

Trump’s remarks took majority of the GOP supporters by surprise and immediately led to a drop in his approval ratings. Following the drop, the real estate mogul quickly reversed his position, repeatedly acknowledging McCain as a war hero.

That was not the first time the billionaire investor’s loose tongue cast him in negative light. Earlier on he had stated that Mexicans crossing the border into the U.S. were rejects and called upon the Washington administration to place higher security on the U.S. –Mexico border. The comments infuriated Latinos across North America and even led to Univision’s cancelling of broadcast rights to his Miss Universe competition.

The question on many people’s minds is whether Trump can maintain his lead against an ever growing field of GOP candidates or will his ratings plummet as have those of his opponents. Jeb Bush had 21 per cent four months ago, now he only commands 12 per cent. Cruz garnered 12 per cent in approval ratings when he announced his run, he now stands at four per cent. Paul’s 11 per cent has been eroded to six per cent.

Will Trump’s approval ratings continue to soar or will his sharp tongue bring him down? Only time will tell.

NASA Data Shows Polar Ice Caps Are Thickest Since 1970s

Culture

Good news for conservationists around the world, the earth’s ice caps are not melting. In fact, according to data collected by NASA satellites, the ice caps are growing. The new revelation rings a bell of hope to the world after the doomsday naysayers have had their way with years of predicting an apocalypse that would engulf the whole word in water. Concern has been shifted from whether the ice caps are indeed melting to by how much are they growing and for how long?

Ice cap levels have grown by a complete one third in 2013, in comparison to a base year level set in 1979. A new study revealed the totally remarkable rally of the Arctic ice over the last couple of years to levels far above the base level.

Rachel Tilling, an ice scientist, said, “It would suggest that sea ice is more resilient perhaps. If you get one year of cooler temperatures, we’ve almost wound the clock back a few years on this gradual decline that’s been happening over decades.”

Arctic ice is indicated to have grown in thickness in Greenland and Canada. The report also indicated that the ice was stabilizing, after years of fluctuating reductions.

The reduction in northern ice levels have been the cause of much panic among environmentalists with Al Gore even predicting the Arctic will have completely melted by 2014. News of the resurgent levels is a welcome relief and a sign of hope for the planet.

The northern ice caps aren’t alone in growth. The southern ice around Antarctica is spreading out over longer distances, much to the shock of scientists. In fact, in 2014, Antarctic ice hit an all new record, a fact scientists have been struggling to explain. This effectively means the earth’s ice level is not receding, unlike what multiple doomsday reports indicate.

However, certain climatology departments have expressed pessimism that he trend would continue. Tilling said, the long-term trend of the ice volume is downwards and the long-term trend of the temperatures in the Arctic is upwards and this finding doesn’t give us any reason to disbelieve that – as far as we can tell it’s just one anomalous year.”

The earth’s ice caps are not melting, in fact they are growing. Life on earth had previously been threatened by an increasing water level. The reduction in ice level changes goes to show just how much can be achieved by an all inclusive conservation campaign.

New iPad App Lets Men Analyze Their Sperm Health At Home

Health & Wellness

Men may soon be using their iPads to test their fertility if a gadget produced by Taiwanese start-up Aidmics gets U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

The gadget, called iSperm, is an in-home tester consisting of a minute microscope and backlight that attaches to an ipad camera. It works by placing a sperm sample in the device with an associated app containing a logarithm which analyzes sperm motility and count. The whole process, not counting the time needed to collected the sperm sample, takes 17 seconds.

There is also provision for an HD quality video recording of the sperm which can be sent via the web to fertility experts for analysis, or used in “home movies” of a person’s life from near conception to whenever and whatever an occasion such a video is deemed suitable for.

The device has already been used for livestock sperm analysis with 200 Taiwanese farmers taking part in field tests.

If iSperm receives FDA approval, Aidmics hopes to sell the device at a price point between $100 and $200.

According to the Aidmics website, what sets iSperm apart from other at-home sperm-measuring kits is the ease of the whole process.

“Morphological assessment of sperm head and tail has never been this easy,” reads the website.

Aidmics founder Agean Lin said iSperm would be a useful first step for couples seeking to conceive, He said near instant, in-home sperm analysis could quickly tell a couple if there could be problems with sperm motility, allowing them to prepare for this.

The iSperm isn’t the only medical testing device that uses a mobile camera. Researchers at UC Berkeley researchers have been testing a device called the Cellscope which uses smartphone cameras to detect parasitic worms in blood samples.