The Incredible Story Of The Women Who Were Meant To Be The First Astronauts — And Were Left On Earth | ||
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During the early 1960s, both men and women underwent the arduous and, at times, bizarre training program to have the chance to be some of the first NASA astronauts in history. When the training was over, many of the women finalists had higher scores than the men but instead of going to space, they were completely excluded from the final selection pool. American women would remain grounded on US soil for another 30 years until 1983, when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Here is the heart-breaking story of the women who were meant to be some of the first astronauts in space but were left on Earth. Their outstanding achievements, pioneering efforts, and struggles are detailed in the PBS documentary "MAKERS: Women in Space", which is the third film in a series of six documentaries about women pioneers. From the very beginning, engineers speculated that women would make ideal astronauts because they are generally smaller, lighter, and eat less than men. Source: MAKERS: Women in Space Economically speaking, less weight in the cockpit meant less fuel needed to launch the rocket into space and a cheaper trip with women astronauts. Source: MAKERS: Women in Space In 1958, the physician William Randolph Lovelace helped design and conduct a series of tests to select the first astronauts of the Mercury Program. Source: MAKERS: Women in Space See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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17 Top Executives Share Their Favorite Interview Question | ||
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Interview questions like, "What's your biggest strength?" and, "What's you biggest weakness?" aren't as telling as they seem. That's probably why most savvy CEOs and executives steer clear of these cliché queries and instead ask more meaningful ones. In fact, many top execs have their one favorite go-to question that reveals everything they need to know about a job candidate. Some prefer to ask more serious questions, while others believe that silly queries about costumes and the zombie apocalypse, for instance, best uncover an applicant's creativity. This is an updated article originally written by Alison Griswold and Vivian Giang. On a scale of one to 10, how weird are you? One of Zappos' core values is to "create fun and a little weirdness," Tony Hsieh, CEO of the company, tells Business Insider. To make sure he hires candidates with the right fit, Hsieh typically asks the question: "On a scale of one to 10, how weird are you?" He says the number isn't too important, but it's more about how people answer the question. Nonetheless, if "you're a one, you probably are a little bit too straight-laced for the Zappos culture," he says. "If you're a 10, you might be too psychotic for us." Another question Zappos usually asks candidates is: "On a scale of one to 10, how lucky are you in life?" Again, the number doesn't matter too much, but if you're a one, you don't know why bad things happen to you (and probably blame others a lot). And if you're a 10, you don't understand why good things always seem to happen to you (and probably lack confidence). What didn't you get a chance to include on your résumé? Virgin Group founder Richard Branson explains in his new book "The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership," that he isn't a fan of the traditional job interview, reports Business Insider's Richard Feloni. "Obviously a good CV is important, but if you were going to hire by what they say about themselves on paper, you wouldn't need to waste time on an interview," Branson writes. That's why he likes to ask: What didn't you get a chance to include on your résumé? How would you describe yourself in one word? The best candidates are the ones who know exactly who they are. That's why Dara Richardson-Heron, CEO of women's organization YWCA, always asks her candidates this question. Richardson-Heron says she doesn't judge people on the word they choose, but it does give her insight into how people package themselves. She tells Adam Bryant at The New York Times that she likes when people take time to ponder the question and answer thoughtfully. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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These Quirky Charts From Warby Parker Will Tell You What You Should Read Next | ||
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Warby Parker has found a great deal of success in the eyewear space, selling more than one million pairs of glasses as of June 2014. The startup has established itself as a recognizable lifestyle brand on its way to making high-quality glasses available at a reasonable price point. On its company blog, Warby Parker shares fashion tips, stylized photographs, and fun illustrations. One of the blog's features is a set of book-recommending flowcharts. Like many of the brand's other materials, the charts have clean graphics and a quirky design. SEE ALSO: How To Dress Like Silicon Valley's Elite WE'RE ON INSTAGRAM: Click Here To Follow Us Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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How To Dress Like Your Favorite Tech Executives | ||
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Click here to see the fashions »Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Mindblowing Images Of Earth From Space | ||
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The Landsat program involves a series of successive satellites that each take tens of thousands of pictures of Earth over their life time. The first Landsat satellite was launched into orbit in 1972, which makes the Landsat program the longest-running project to collect photos of Earth from space. In total, the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images of Earth that provide an unprecedented look at how the face of our planet is changing in recent decades. NASA launched the latest member of the team, Landsat 8, into orbit on February 11, 2013. With powerful cameras on board, Landsat 8 can resolve a region of Earth as small as 100 feet long. This means the satellite can take a clear picture of a baseball field, which is impressive considering the satellite orbits 438 miles above Earth's surface. At this height Landsat 8 moves at about 4.7 miles per second and orbits Earth 15 times each day. Between Landsat 8 and the still-operational Landsat 7, the two satellites observe every spot on the globe at least once every eight days. From space, the Grand Canyon looks like a treacherous crack across Earth's surface. This glacial chunk has almost completely detached from the larger Antarctic Pine Island Glacier and is large enough to fit 8 Manhattan-sized cities on it. This false-colored image of Western Australia shows sediment and nutrient flow patterns (blue/yellow/red) in the mouth of a nearby river. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Man Puts An Ad On Craigslist Offering Himself Up As The Worst Thanksgiving Date Ever | ||
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If you're desperate to bring a date home this Thanksgiving, we may have an answer for you. This man put an ad up on Craigslist advertising himself as what we can only describe as the absolute worst Thanksgiving date ever. It's Thanksgiving. Want to skip that long, insulting conversation about how youre still single? About how your parents really want more grand children? Well, look no further! I am a 28 year old felon with no high school degree, and a dirty old van one year younger than me painted like Eddie Van Halen's guitar. I can play anywhere between the ages of 20 and 29 depending on if i shave. I'm a line cook and work late nights at a bar. If you'd like to have me as your stictly platonic date for Thanksgiving, but have me pretend to be in a very long or serious relationship with you, to torment your family, I'm game. I can do these things, at your request: Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Retailers Are Missing A Huge Opportunity On The Mobile Web | ||
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People spend way more time consuming media in apps compared to the mobile web. To keep up, retailers have spent lots of money investing in shopping apps to offer customers the best possible mobile shopping experience. So it may come as a surprise that the mobile web is actually a more popular place to shop compared to apps, which means having a high-performing mobile site is just as important as having a great app. In a new BI Intelligence report, we look at how people's mobile shopping and buying behavior is shaping up, what consumers expect from a retailer's site and app, and what causes someone to transition out of an app and onto a site. We also look at how individual retailers' mobile sites actually perform and at the breakdown of retailer audiences on the browser compared to the app. Access the Full Mobile Commerce Report By Signing Up Today >> Here are some of the key findings from the report:
In full, the report:
To access the Mobile Commerce Report and BI Intelligence's ongoing coverage on the future of retail, mobile, and e-commerce — including charts, data, and analysis — sign up for a risk-free trial.
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PayPal Cofounder Peter Thiel Loves This Job Interview Question | ||
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PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel is known for his contrarian streak and controversial opinions on topics like college education (it's a waste) and the 1960s (when hippies caused America's decline). As managing partner of the Founders Fund venture capital firm and president of the hedge fund Clarium Capital, he looks for other people who aren't afraid to speak their minds. To do this, he always gives job candidates and the founders of companies seeking an investment this interview prompt: "Tell me something that's true, that almost nobody agrees with you on." In a 2012 interview with Forbes, Thiel explains what he loves so much about the conversation that comes from it. "It sort of tests for originality of thinking, and to some extent, it tests for your courage in speaking up in a difficult interview context," he says. "It's always socially awkward to tell the interviewer something that the interviewer might not agree with. What Thiel is looking for is someone to tell him that most people think one thing, but the truth is actually the opposite. "Most people think originality is easy, but I think it's actually really hard, and when you find it, it's really valuable," he concludes. Want your business advice featured in Instant MBA? Submit your tips to tipoftheday@businessinsider.com. Be sure to include your name, your job title, and a photo of yourself in your email.
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'Shark Tank' Investor Kevin O'Leary Explains The Best Investment He Ever Made | ||
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A great product doesn't mean much if you can't match the supply to the demand. Sometimes it's necessary to bring in an executive with the connections and experience to turn your startup into a serious business. In the latest episode of the hit ABC show "Shark Tank," investor Kevin O'Leary gets nostalgic over the time he learned this lesson for himself. Entrepreneur Tom Sanetti tells the Sharks that he's sold only $200,000 worth of his eco-friendly, scented Earth-Log fireplace logs over four years because he's been limited to a small market in Southern California. He just accepted a deal from the grocery chain Albertson's for 180 stores in California. Albertson's wants to take Earth-Log into 3,200 stores, but Sanetti simply doesn't have the ability to manufacture enough. He's had to turn down offers from the chain Vons and Costco for the same reason. Investors Mark Cuban, guest Shark and GoPro founder Nick Woodman, and Daymond John all compliment Sanetti on his product and determination but tell him that he's got to continue developing his company before they would be ready to invest. "I think you're trying to go from zero to 1,000 miles an hour right away," Woodman says. Then O'Leary explains how he identifies with Sanetti: You know, when I was in the basement back in the late '80s starting The Learning Company, after I'd get a $12 million order for "Reader Rabbit," it would blow up behind me, the logistics. I couldn't deliver. I met a guy named Mike Perik. I gave him half my equity to solve my problem. We sold the company for $4.2 billion five years later. Best investment I ever made. O'Leary cofounded SoftKey, the business that would eventually become The Learning Company, out of a Toronto basement with a $10,000 seed investment from his mother. The company collected cheap software in inexpensive CDs that started to become popular. It wouldn't control the "Reader Rabbit" franchise until it acquired and took the name of The Learning Company in 1995, meaning that detail in O'Leary's story is off, but his point — that he and his two cofounders couldn't keep up with their growth — remains. O'Leary recruited Perik, an executive from a Canadian investment firm, in 1991 and made him CEO of SoftKey. Perik grew the company in the '90s through profitable acquisitions, making it attractive enough for Mattel to spend over $4 billion for it in May 1999. By that November, the deal proved to be a money-losing disaster for Mattel, and O'Leary and Perik left the company with severance packages of around $5 million. It's not a story with a happy ending for everyone involved, but O'Leary ultimately made his fortune from knowing when to partner with someone more experienced.
Back in the tank, he tells Sanetti that he needs to find his own Mike Perik. O'Leary wishes Sanetti the best but tells him he has to bow out because he's looking for an investment, not a job. Lori Greiner, however, offers to be Sanetti's Perik. As the "Queen of QVC" and a Bed Bath & Beyond partner, she's uniquely positioned to turn a small household item into a national sensation. She's done it many times on "Shark Tank," including with the show's biggest success to date, the Scrub Daddy sponge that she took from $100,000 in total sales to $18 million in a year and a half. Sanetti came looking for $160,000 for 20% equity but gladly makes a deal with Greiner for that same amount of money in return for a 35% stake in his company. Though he gave up 15% more of his company than he wanted to, he essentially took O'Leary's advice and made that sacrifice to partner with someone who can take his company to the next level. You can watch the full episode at Hulu Plus. SEE ALSO: The 12 Biggest 'Shark Tank' Success Stories Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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'Shark Tank' Investor Reveals Mark Cuban's Strategy On The Show And The Real Drama Behind The Scenes | ||
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Barbara Corcoran, an investor on "Shark Tank," tells us what really happens between investors on the hit TV show, and how Mark Cuban makes his investment decisions. Produced by Justin Gmoser. Originally published in November 2013. Follow BI Video: On Facebook SEE ALSO: Here's How Much You Have To Buy To Make Amazon Prime Worth It Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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24 More Incredible Images You Won't Believe Were Found On Google Street View | ||
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What do you do when you want to travel but can't afford the costs? Spend a lot of time on Google Street View, of course! That's what the creator of ordinarily named "Street View Photographs" does — but the photos are anything but ordinary. Paired with a sponsorship from a photo-editing tool called Polarr, the blogger processes beautiful images he finds from Google Street View, and turns them into gorgeous photographs. "I wanted to travel and I love taking pictures so I decided to just to do virtual tours. I also love to retouch photos to make them more legit, and Polarr is currently sponsoring their tool for me," he writes. The photos are from all over the world. From Japan... to Ireland... The images are stunning. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Apple's Living Cofounders Reminisce About Its First Computer (AAPL) | ||
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The iPhone 6 isn't the only Apple hardware in high demand. The company's first computers have become collectors' items in recent years. An Apple I computer thought to be one of the first ever made sold for nearly a million dollars in October. Apple cofounders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne recently sat down with Computerworld to talk about Apple's beginning and their first computer, the Apple I. Apple fans may have heard of Steve Wozniak, but fewer know Ron Wayne's story. Steve Jobs asked Wayne to persuade Wozniak to join the company. At one point, Wayne owned 10% of Apple. That stake would be worth north of $68 billion today, based on Apple's market capitalization on Friday. Wayne cashed out days after officially joining Apple. He was paid $800 for his shares. That's roughly three grand in 2014 dollars, according to the US Inflation Calculator. Wayne doesn't harbor any regrets about the partnership, though. "I'm just amazed, to be perfectly candid," he said. "I just played a small part. It's all about Steve Wozniak creating this product." Wozniak told Computerworld he wasn't shocked by the uptick in demand for old Apple products. "It doesn't seem that unusual at all," he said. "It's the largest brand in the world, so many people know Apple, and the Apple-1 is so rare. But it's also because the world's changed since Apple was started." The Apple cofounder remembered the company's early days fondly. "We started with nothing," said Wozniak. "But the fun was in designing computers. It was an exciting time in our lives, and memorable for the friends you made and the conversations you had." SEE ALSO: Apple to Xiaomi: Talk Is Cheap Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Early Facebook Executive On Mark Zuckerberg: 'It’s Obvious He’s Going To Be One Of The Single Best CEOs In The World' (FB) | ||
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At age 26, he became the youngest VP in AOL’s history. Later, he spent a year at Mayfield Fund as a venture capitalist before joining Facebook as VP of Growth, Mobile & International in 2007. He spent nearly four years at Facebook during its early formative years, becoming the social media’s longest-tenured senior executive. He’s also part of the ownership group of the basketball team Golden State Warriors. Although he’s worked with many outstanding leaders over his career, Palihapitiya says Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was by far one of the most impressive CEOs he’s ever worked with. “It was just obvious back then that this guy was going to be one of the single best CEOs in the world. He’s just a super impressive guy on so many dimensions,” Palihapitiya told Business Insider. “When it’s all said and done, he will be in a league of his own.” Palihapitiya says there are a lot of things that make Zuckerberg great - smart, thoughtful, and strategic - but it’s actually the smaller things that make him really exceptional. “I’ve never met anyone at such a young age who would truly listen. In fact, he doesn’t need to talk a lot. He just sits there and listens,” Palihapitiya said. Once he’s done listening, Zuckerberg quickly assesses the information and comes up with all the “distributed set of outcomes,” Palihapitiya says, which is what really makes him stand out from the rest of the pack. “He has this rapid fire ability to just take in the information and process and really think through various outcomes. And based on that, he would make the decision and generally he's right. And he was not afraid to change his mind, either," Palihapitiya said. "That’s just a testament to his raw computing power. It’s just a truly special skill." This isn’t the first time we’ve heard a former Facebook executive say good things about Zuckerberg’s ability to "listen" as a boss. Bret Taylor, who served as Facebook CTO until 2012, told us that Zuckerberg was definitely a “different boss” because he was always “willing to argue it out and listen” before reaching a conclusion. SEE ALSO: Why Silicon Valley's elites are obsessed with poker - And it's not because of the money Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Chamath Palihapitiya, the founder of the venture capital firm Social+Capital, has quite a resume even by Silicon Valley’s rockstar CEO standards. Here's How Likely Each Poker Hand Is | ||
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Poker is a fantastic game, particularly alluring to competitive, creative types who love numbers. Business Insider's Eugene Kim has profiled some of Silicon Valley's biggest poker fans, and the game is also huge draw with the Wall Street crowd. While I'm far from a serious, professional poker player, I do occasionally get a chance to enjoy a game with friends. And I also love math and statistics. So I decided to look at some of the basic mathematics of the game. Here, I go through the probabilities of drawing each five-card poker hand from a deck of cards. These probabilities are handy to have in the back of your head in a poker game, and they are the reason why hands are ranked the way they are: a straight flush is way less likely than a pair, so this is why the straight flush wins. SEE ALSO: Why Silicon Valley's Elites Are Obsessed With Poker How To Find Probabilities Finding The Number Of Hands Order Doesn't Matter See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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It's Insanely Expensive, But There's A Secret Benefit Of Living In San Francisco That Makes It Worth It | ||
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Earlier this week, New York Times technology columnist Farhad Manjoo wrote a column about an app called "Luxe" that helps people park their cars. The way it works is simple: You punch your driving destination in to Luxe. It estimates when you're going to arrive. Then, a Luxe employee greets you. The Luxe employee takes your car and finds somewhere to park it. In San Francisco, where Manjoo lives, parking is a giant pain. Luxe only charges $5 per hour, or $15 per day. The daily rate is half the price it normally costs to park in the city all day. The hourly rate isn't too bad if you value your time properly. Still! This seems like a silly, frivolous app. Manjoo and I do a weekly podcast, and we talked about the app. He thoroughly defended it. He says it's not frivolous, and that it is in fact one of the great, hidden benefits of living in San Francisco. Here's what he said about living in San Francisco. He's being slightly jokey, but only slightly: "San Francisco is this amazing place where there are many, many kinds of services that are enabled by smartphones and they just do stuff for you like this. But it's not like they're 1%-er apps, they're cheaper than previous models, and they're cheaper in some way because they are being funded by VCs. We in San Francisco get to — first of all, we have to pay higher real estate prices, but the benefit is that we get all these services at cut rate. So you get all these services that aren't making a profit, you're not paying for them to make a profit, VCs are funding them. But, on the other hand you have to pay real estate prices." He also said, that there are going to be competitors to this, so they are going to collectively lower the price of parking in San Francisco, which solves a huge dilemma in San Francisco. Lots of people drive to work in the city, and they used to have to pay $30 a day, so Luxe has cut the price of parking in half. This is a small hidden benefit to living in San Francisco. It's super duper expensive to live there, but new mobile services are cutting down slightly on other costs, and making life better. I doubt people who are protesting rising rents really care, but it's an interesting counter view. Here's the podcast. We talk about this around the 17:18 mark. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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REVEALED: The Top Demographic Trends For Every Major Social Network | ||
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The demographics of who's on what social network are shifting — older social networks are reaching maturity, while newer social messaging apps are gaining younger users fast. In a new report from BI Intelligence, we unpack data from over a dozen sources to understand how social media demographics are still shifting. Access The Full Report By Signing Up For A Trial >> Here are a few of the key takeaways from the BI Intelligence report:
The report is full of charts (over 20 charts) and data that can be downloaded and put to use. In full, the report:
For full access to all BI Intelligence reports, briefs, and downloadable charts on the digital media industry, sign up for a two week trial. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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What Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, And 11 Other Tech Visionaries Were Like In College | ||
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The technology industry is known for having been created by college dropouts like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Larry Ellison, but that doesn't mean these innovators didn't have meaningful undergraduate experiences. Bill Gates became friends with Steve Ballmer at Harvard, Larry Ellison learned he was a pretty good computer programmer at the University of Illinois, and Steve Jobs considered his time at Reed College among the most valuable experiences of his life. Meanwhile, Peter Thiel actually graduated from Stanford, but today he thinks college is such a waste of time that he offers $100,000 scholarships to students who want to drop out. What can we say, everyone's experience is different. Larry Page, University of Michigan Google cofounder and CEO Larry Page had been a quiet child growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, but he began to find his footing socially while attending the University of Michigan during the early 90s. There, he made friends with other students who loved technology and became editor of a newsletter put out by Eta Kappa Nu, an electrical and computer engineering honor society, according to a Business Insider story earlier this year. BI's Nicholas Carlson reports that Page also developed a reputation for prescient predictions about the future — such as when he realized that cheaper hard drives would make PCs a lot more useful — and a desire to solve big problems regardless of whether the technology existed to do so. Elon Musk, University of Pennsylvania PayPal cofounder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk studied physics and business at the University of Pennsylvania, transferring from Queen's University in Canada following his sophomore year. Musk's housemate at the University of Pennsylvania, Adeo Ressi, recalls at a 2010 event held by TheFunded.com that Musk did not drink and was "the biggest dork I've ever met." Meanwhile, The New Yorker reports Musk loved first-person shooter video games, and he was so focused on his schoolwork that his mother would check on him to make sure he was eating and changing his socks every day, according to a 2012 Forbes story. But in addition to all that studying and gaming, Penn's alumni magazine reports that Musk and Ressi made money by charging other students to attend parties they threw at their house. Marissa Mayer, Stanford University Yahoo president and CEO Marissa Mayer was already an overachiever by the time she enrolled at Stanford in 1993, having served as president of her high school's Spanish club, treasurer of its Key Club, and captain of both the debate team and pom-pom squad. This intense focus on achievement continued in Palo Alto, where a former classmate describes her as having been "very smart and very serious," according to Business Insider's Nicholas Carlson. Carlson reports that Mayer wavered from her initial plan to become a doctor, finding that she preferred the problem-solving skills used in computer programming to the rote memorization needed to succeed in pre-med classes. As an upperclassmen, Mayer excelled teaching younger students in her symbolic systems major, a course of study that combines linguistics, philosophy, cognitive psychology, and computer science classes. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Don't Be Afraid To Cancel Cable — Here's How To Get All The Programs You Love | ||
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How to cancel cable and stream all your content for a lot less money. Produced by Matt Johnston Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The 13 Best Custom iPhones Money Can Buy (AAPL) | ||
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iPhones aren't the status symbol they once were. These days the real way to show off is with a custom iPhone. Custom iPhones are a great way to express your personality. They also tend to cost more, if that's of concern to you. We've rounded up the best custom iPhones so you'll know what to ask to ask for during the holidays. Feld & Volk makes some of the best custom iPhones out there. This "pure gold" iPhone 5S will run you $ 8,990. If that's too much gold plating for you Feld & Volk also makes this graphite iPhone 6 for $4,799. It has a birch wood exterior (and some gold as well). Feld & Volk also makes country specific iPhones. This China themed iPhone 5S will run you $2,600. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Microsoft: Compared To Apple And Yahoo, We Are NOT Overpaying Our New CEO (MSFT) | ||
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Investor watchdog organization Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) caused a stir last week by telling Microsoft investors that Satya Nadella's pay package was too high. It advocated that they vote no on the "say on pay" advisory vote during Microsoft's shareholder meeting December 3. As part of his promotion, Nadella was granted a starter kit of stock valued at about $65 million which won't begin to vest until 2019. Plus, he got another one-time stock grant worth $13.5 million in August 2013 to keep him around during the CEO search process. It vests over seven years. In 2014, his base salary is $918,917 for a role he assumed in February. (ISS calculates his full year base at $1.2 million) and a cash bonus of $3.6 million. But Nadella isn't like the two previous CEOs. Both Bill Gates, the founder, and Steve Ballmer, one of Microsoft's earliest employees, owned massive stakes from the get-go. With Nadella, Microsoft has crafted a brand new pay-for-performance model. So Nadella will be eligible for an annual $13.2 million stock award, with a complicated vesting schedule, that he'll unlock if he hits certain performance targets. "Over 80% of the reward opportunity is performance-based measured by our total shareholder return (“TSR”) relative to the S&P 500. To earn the target value of this award, Microsoft’s TSR must exceed the 60th percentile of the S&P 500 over each of three overlapping five-year performance periods that extend to 2021," chairman John Thompson wrote in a letter to shareholders about the pay plan. ISS calculates the whole starter package to be worth $90 million and complains that the performance targets he's supposed to hit are too vague ("lacks a strong connection to objectively measured company performance"). That's why they think his pay is too high, according a report shared with Business Insider. A Microsoft spokesperson tells us this is misleading because a good chunk of that stock won't begin to available to him for five years. Plus, the value of another chunk is based on performance targets and isn't known yet. It depends on how well the company is doing. By Microsoft's calculation, Nadella is being paid $25.1 million for 2014 (without his one-time $65 million stock grant that he can't touch until 2019.) Microsoft tells investors they are aiming for his annual pay to be $18 million, $13 million of it as stock awarded based on performance. (This excludes that $65 million as it vests and the $13 million chunk issued in 2014 as it vests). By the way, Microsoft also agreed to a $17.4 million golden parachute. How does that compare to others?
A Microsoft spokesperson tells us that when adding in their one-time stock chunks, Tim Cook’s annualized pay is $40.4 million, Eric Schmidt’s annualized pay is $32.9 million, and Marissa Mayer’s annualized pay is $24.3 million. When looking at it that way, Microsoft feels that Nadella isn't overpaid at all. Of course, if all of this goes as planned, and Microsoft's stock continues to rise, his pay will be much higher in the next seven years. On the other hand, we doubt that any investor advocacy group will complain about that. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Meet The Startup Building Drones That Could Save Lives | ||
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When Andreas Raptopoulos and his team got stuck in a 20-truck convoy completely marooned in mud while navigating between villages in Papua New Guinea, it was incredibly frustrating. It was also a validation of his work. Raptopoulos is the cofounder and CEO of a startup called Matternet, which makes drones, though he refuses to use that word. He prefers to call them small unmanned aerial delivery vehicles, or UAVs. He started the company after having a "eureka moment" three years ago. He realized one billion people around the world live in areas lacking reliable road systems and that drones could provide a more reliable way to deliver critical supplies, like medicine. That's why Raptopoulos was in tuberculosis-ravaged Papua New Guinea in September, entrenched in mud. Matternet had connected with the international aid organization Doctors Without Borders to test whether its aerial vehicles could provide a good way to transfer TB diagnostics between villages. During the two weeks Matternet conducted its trials, multiple trucks got trapped. "We had to do that trip four times and every time there was an element of fear," Raptopoulos tells Business Insider. "We thought, 'Will we make it?' We talk a lot about the problem, but it became very real for us. What it really means, and all the emotions that go with it." Matternet's trucks may have gotten lodged in mud between launch sites, but its drones navigated their routes without a hitch. Controlled completely via an app, a UAV bearing a spittle sample would take off, fly through the air, and land at a hospital as far as 25 kilometers away.
"Most of these people have never seen one of these things, at least in the flesh," Raptopoulos says, "But it’s amazing, the amount of joy it generates. It basically breaks with all your assumptions." That's one of the underlying principles that Matternet builds upon: that its drones be so dead-simple to operate, that someone without significant technological training could instinctively figure out how to send one on a flight. That someone who had even the most minimal knowledge of how to operate a smartphone could direct the drone to deliver medicine, food, or other supplies from one location to another.
For that reason, Raptopoulos likes to describe Matternet's UAVs as the Apple products of the drone space. "We want this company to be at the intersection of the best technology and excellence in design," he says. "We want to sell a vehicle to you that you can operate with an unprecedented ease of use."
Today, they're being used to deliver medicine in Germany and the Federal Aviation Administration recently approved them for use in shooting movie and TV scenes in the US. "Things are changing fast in this space," Raptopoulos says. "A year ago, there was no Amazon drone announcement. A month ago there was no Google drone coming out." Matternet's early start combined with its powerhouse-team has it poised to take the drone space by storm and become one of "the next billion-dollar businesses," according to Matternet investor Ravi Belani, managing director of Alchemist, the startup accelerator Matternet graduated from. Raptopoulos' vision for Matternet first hit him when he was attending Singularity University, a non-traditional, future-focused school that aims to empower its students to apply "exponential technologies to address humanity's grand challenges." Working as part of a larger team, Raptopoulos got hung up on the fact that one-seventh of the Earth's population lacked access to all-seasons roads and that developing a traditional, reliable transportation infrastructure in those places would take crazy amounts of money and upwards of 50 years. He took a map of Africa and overlaid an internet-like network onto it. If he could build machines that could carry cargo short distances, each trip would be small, but the scale could be incredible. He says he got chills:
Raptopoulos says when he and co-founder Paola Santana, previously a lawyer in the Dominican Republic, first started pitching the idea around, he got a lot of polite but confused responses. A lot of people thought they was crazy, Raptopoulos says. But the founders of Singularity University — futurist Ray Kurzweil and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis — loved the idea. After graduating from the University, they accepted Matternet into SU Labs, the school's innovation accelerator.
Matternet's plan is to create a full stack product, handling both the hardware and the software themselves, while simultaneously making sure to stay abreast of every new legal hurdle in the drone space. Right now, the FAA bans the use of commercial drones, but it is supposed to release rules for small drones under 55 pounds later this year, in line with its complete plan for “safe integration” of commercial drones by September 2015. Meanwhile, a team at NASA led by Dr. Parimal Kopardekar is developing a drone traffic management program of its own to advise the FAA. Matternet is one of the many UAV-focused companies that has met with Kopardekar's NexGen technology team to discuss different ways to provide a structure to drone traffic. The startup plans to announce its first product in the first quarter of 2015, and start shipping a few months later. The goal is to have concrete agreements with the likes of Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organization, which it tested with in Bhutan, by the time Matternet's UAVs get launched. Raptopolous couldn't name a concrete price point, but guesses that the Matternet system will go for between $2,000 and $5,000. By launching in areas like Papua New Guinea and Bhutan — where its drones are sometimes flying over swaths of jungle or sparsely populated desert and where there isn't a strict existing aerial infrastructure — Matternet has fewer barriers to entry. "The risk needs to be low if the UAV falls," NASA's Kopardekar tells Business Insider, noting that low-density areas make the most sense for drone testing and operations. "You need to be able to demonstrate the risk is very low and the benefits are high: That's where you will see implementation happening." Although Raptopoulos landed upon the idea for Matternet because of a motivation to provide a transportation solution to parts of the world that lack access to all-season roads, the company has its sights set beyond humanitarian causes. After all, Matternet isn't a service company; it's a product company. "We are pioneering this technology by helping partners find ways to put it in the field now, but our vision is that we should be putting this type of technology into everybody's hands," he says, "Whether their purpose is in Papua New Guinea or Rio or Istanbul or Mexico City or in Palo Alto, San Francisco, and LA."
"Sometimes mission-driven entrepreneurs get so hung up on their mission that they're missing the commercial opportunity, which they probably don't emotionally care that much about," Pascal Finette, who heads SU Labs, explains. "I think this duality — the dance between these two worlds — is something social entrepreneurs sometimes get wrong. But Andreas is just perfect. He's phenomenal because he understands, 'Hey, if we get this at scale and we can do this in the US and we become a big company, we can use all this as a force of good to do even more in the world.'" Raptopoulos sees Walgreens using Matternet's drones to deliver prescriptions, or grocery stores using them to deliver milk. Because the startup is small, lean, and fast-moving, he thinks it has a leg up on giants like Google or Amazon. "I think Andreas is a beautiful, bi-focal CEO," says Belani from Alchemist. "He is a true visionary who is always motivated by fundamentally changing the world. But he's very practical in the near term what's required to get things done. He's not a head-in-the-clouds type of visionary. He's incredibly practical with a strong street sense of business." Finette agrees: Raptopoulos and Santana dream big, but know how to actually move steadily forward. He laughs recalling how nonchalantly the team will talk about passing amazing, major milestones. "They talk about it as if it's nothing," he says. That speaks to their capacity as entrepreneurs, he says, because they understand that every achievement is just a small stepping stone towards the big idea.
Raptopoulos calls it the "Apple II" of the drone industry: the "most easy to use, desirable, and safest personal flying vehicle" out there. Not that Matternet is the only company trying to achieve that. Besides giants like Amazon and Google, there are other delivery drone companies out there, like Bizzby and Aria. "A drone delivery network will be the most disruptive thing to hit the delivery space," says Brody Buhler, partner at consulting firm Accenture, who focuses on postal issues. "If you don’t have drones on your five-year roadmap, you’re probably too far out." Talking to Raptopoulos, that future feels even closer. He gets almost electrically bright-eyed when he talks about the moments he's had on trials in the Himalayas or Papua New Guinea. But his passion really radiates off him when he talks about what's yet to come. "I’m going to keep on having these 'pinch me' moments," he says. "When we see our first big deployment in a city. When I’m able to see 20-30 crafts doing routine missions. When I’m able to actually see our drones in the sky and nobody will be paying attention, because they’re just an establishment. And we can't wait." SEE ALSO: Why The Guy Behind The Most Popular Smartwatch In The World Isn't Scared Of Apple Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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For Raptopoulos, it felt like a series of "pinch me" moments. Every time the team prepped a drone for a take-off, anywhere from 50 to 70 people would surround them. These were often people who live without running water or reliable electricity in their homes, and yet the drones seemed to make sense to them almost immediately. 
Right now, drones — and delivery drones in particular — are a buzzy topic, but when Matternet first got started, people mainly thought of them in terms of the military or security. 
Since then, Raptopoulos and Santana have built a lean team of 10 people who specialize in skills ranging from rocket science and engineering to law and regulation. The company has raised $2 million to date from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, Alchemist Accelerator, and even the rapper Nas, but is eyeing a more significant Series A round in the near future. 
Right now, Matternet's drones weigh well under 5 kilograms, can carry cargo over 0.5 kilograms, and fly over 25 kilometers on a battery charge. Their geo-fenced routes take into consideration weather data and terrain. They are equipped with cameras to help them navigate onto landing pads at their destinations. The entire system gets controlled by a smartphone app. The ‘Freemium’ Model Is Brilliant, But It’s Ruining My Life | ||
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Three years ago, I downloaded "The Simpsons: Tapped Out." One of my favorite shows of all time is “The Simpsons,” and as a proud owner of a new iPhone 4S at the time, I wanted to own this game. In the end, it ended up owning me. The gist of the game is that Homer Simpson caused the town of Springfield to blow up, and now you, the "Sky Finger," must recreate the town and bring back all its residents. You make money by collecting rent from buildings and making characters do various jobs, which all take time to complete. I have witnessed how this game has grown through the years, with the load times and overall quality improving with each new iPhone release. I’ve been there for every new character, new building, holiday and special promotion. My Springfield is immaculate. It's gorgeous. You wish you lived there.
I want to quit. I do. I'm maxed out at Level 47, as high as Electronic Arts will allow me to go, and have all the current characters and buildings you can own through normal gameplay. But I don't have it all. And I'll never have it all. That's what makes this a "freemium" game and not a "free" game. (Also why Apple needed to subtly change the App Store recently.)
Getting the premium items requires a special kind of currency, which can only be attained through either time or money. In the case of “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” donuts are your “premium” currency, which you can collect by leveling up, or simply when the Electronic Arts developers feel charitable. I've saved — no, hoarded — donuts for years, but my 458 donuts will only get me two or three quality items. I’m not kidding: I can’t even afford all four of these characters.
And there’s the rub: Even after spending three years collecting donuts, I would still have to spend money to achieve “100% completion.” But in mobile games like “The Simpsons: Tapped Out,” 100% completion doesn’t even exist; EA regularly adds new characters and premium items each month. If you truly want to own everything, you’ll need to shell out money regularly. The idea that you can get all the items through time and patience is just a red herring. The freemium model has gained momentum on mobile, thanks to early popular games like “Angry Birds,” but now it’s spreading elsewhere. While watching a review of “LittleBigPlanet 3,” a new game for the PlayStation 4, I learned that in order to collect some really fun costumes for your characters, you need to spend money in addition to the $60-plus you’ve already spent on the game.
These gaming companies are smart to implement freemium into their titles: The game teases you with its best rewards, which can only be attained by a spending an inordinate amount of time in the game — each day, and consistently over time — or by spending money. And there are plenty of people who will spend thousands of dollars to progress through their favorite games, just ask the lead singer of the Sex Pistols. So freemium works out great for these gaming companies. But for the consumer, it’s downright cruel. And yet, I can’t stop playing. SEE ALSO: How Flip Phones Could Return In A Big Way Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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I have a confession to make: I have an embarrassing addiction to a freemium game.
Legendary Investor Ben Horowitz On How To Handle Raises And Demotions | ||
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He played a major role in creating Netscape in the 90s, and was the CEO of Opsware, a company that was later sold to HP for $1.6 billion in 2003. His VC firm Andreessen Horowitz has invested in some of the hottest startups, including Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, and Lyft. With so much experience, Horowitz has many interesting stories to tell, which he often shares through his personal blog. He even published a book titled, “The Hard Thing About Hard Things,” based on his own experience. Last week, Horowitz spoke at Stanford for “How to Start a Startup,” a course run by Y Combinator’s Sam Altman, and explained the importance of having “one management concept.” We pulled out some of the slides from Horowitz’s presentation and put together his advice on how to deal with employee demotion and what to do when someone asks for a raise. “This management concept is the thing I see CEOs mess up more consistently than anything else…It’s the easiest thing to say and the most difficult to master.” “When making critical decisions, you have to be able to see the decisions through the eyes of the company as a whole…Otherwise, your management decisions could have potentially dangerous consequences.” For example: How do you whether to demote or fire someone? See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Ben Horowitz, the co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, is one of the most experienced tech leaders in Silicon Valley. Why Silicon Valley's Elites Are Obsessed With Poker | ||
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Every month, some of Silicon Valley’s biggest power players meet at the Palo Alto home of Chamath Palihapitiya, an early Facebook executive who now runs his own venture capital firm Social+Capital. The guest list reads like a who’s who of Silicon Valley’s true elites: from Yammer founder David Sacks, SurveyMonkey’s Dave Goldberg and Inside.com’s Jason Calacanis to professional athletes and poker players, including the World Series of Poker champion Phil Hellmuth.
“It was meant to basically put together 9 or 10 of the most competitive people in Silicon Valley and play poker,” Palihapitiya, who’s been hosting home poker nights for a few years now, told Business Insider. “Once you get this competitive group of people together on the same table, it’s super fun.” The level of play is far beyond regular amateur tables. For example, Palihapitiya, who often walks off with the most chips, has played in some of the highest stake poker tournaments, including the World Series of Poker, where he finished 101st out of more than 7,000 contestants in 2011. In fact, according to Hellmuth, a 12-time world champion in Texas Hold’em, the skill level is so high that he was only able to hit break-even in the first three years he played there. “In general, great businessmen are great poker players. There’s a reason these guys made so much money in the real world. Those skills translate to poker,” Hellmuth tells us. “In general, great businessmen are great poker players. There’s a reason these guys made so much money in the real world. Those skills translate to poker,” Phil Hellmuth says. Once the game starts, the intensity could easily turn up in a matter of seconds. They play for hours, well past 2AM on some occasions. And while the stakes remain relatively modest, $10,000 bluffs do happen in the most heated moments. But Palihapitiya says the cash part of the game is mostly irrelevant. It’s rather about the thrill of playing and winning against highly competitive people, and just trying to master every nuance of a game that, he says, “you can learn so easily, but never master.” Poker has relatively simple rules. In traditional Texas Hold’em poker, each player is first dealt a set of two cards, which are not shown to others, and then a shared pile of five cards on the table. The first three of the five shared cards are dealt at once, and after a round of betting, the fourth card is shown. The fifth card is uncovered after another round of betting. But, in between each round of betting, there’s intense strategy and mind-games involved that requires a lot of intellect and discipline throughout the game. That’s what makes poker such a complex — and fascinating — game, Palihapitiya says. There’s a chance of overcoming a poor hand, if you play it smart. Or you could lose everything with a single mistake, just when you thought you were going to win a big hand. In that sense, Palihapitiya says, there’s a certain element of poker that almost “mirrors life and running a startup.” It’s why so many entrepreneurs love the game. He sums up the similarities in six distinct points:
Overcoming adversity:Depending on how you play each round of betting, you could completely change the outcome of the game — regardless of what cards you are dealt at first. It’s just like being born into terrible circumstances in life but finding ways to overcome that and succeed. Palihapitiya relates to it personally, as he is a classic “rags-to-riches” story, having grown up on welfare as an immigrant in Canada to become one of the most successful tech entrepreneurs around. “That’s a characteristic of this game that very few games have,” he says.
Learning from mistakes:You make plenty of mistakes in poker. The point is learning from those mistakes and fixing it in the future. “When you misplay your cards and lose a big hand, it’s an unbelievable moment of learning,” Palihapitiya says. It’s one thing not to repeat the same mistake, but it’s also important to know when you win by sheer luck. “Sometimes you just do something and it completely works, and you think to yourself, ‘I must be really good.’ The takeaway should be the exact opposite — you may have just gotten really lucky,” Palihapitiya says.
Knowing how to fake it:Pretending like you have a strong hand, or “bluffing,” is a huge part of poker; all good players know how and when to use it properly. Palihapitiya says he doesn’t even look at his hand 90% of the time before placing his first bet. Similarly, in startups, it’s important to act confident at all times and believe in your product/vision, as he says, “In a startup, you have to fake it 'till you make it.” This is the same point Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff says in his book, “Behind the Cloud”: “You have to act confident, even when you’re not.”
Being a "good loser":There are moments in poker when you lose big just when you thought you were going to win. It often causes huge emotional tilt and impacts your subsequent decision-making power. “If you can’t keep a clear head, you’re going to start making worse decisions and those decisions will compound,” Palihapitiya says. “Poker’s great because it teaches you how to be mentally disciplined in the face of adversity.”
Getting a better read of people:The best poker players have an exceptional ability to sense others’ emotional energy. They can read how people feel or think by just looking at their reactions to certain moves or body gestures. Palihapitiya says that ability can help you in everyday life, too, as you become “more emotionally attuned to the people around you.” In other words, you can start understanding others better, coaching people better, and even negotiating better.
Making quick decisions and taking risks:An average person’s life spans 80 to 90 years. Most startups are on a five-to-seven-year trajectory. A single round of poker, however, happens in a matter of just a few minutes. “Every hand in poker is a microcosm of that entire struggle (of life or a startup),” Palihapitiya says. You have to make quick decisions — and take risks — in a short period of time, with very limited information, and those decisions could have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. It’s why good poker players know how to make the right decisions quickly and take risks when needed.
“It’s really not about trying to make money - it’s about ‘Can you beat this guy?” Palihapitiya says. “Poker’s just a fascinating game of skill that’s exceptionally difficult to master. It really helps you disambiguate a lot of skills.” What Are The Odds Of Drawing Each Hand In Poker? We Did The Math:
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But this isn’t for some networking or investment opportunity of a hot startup. They meet for something much more fun: a game of poker.
Palihapitiya, who at age 26 was the youngest VP in AOL’s history, says he doesn’t have enough time to play poker as much as he used to anymore. But he still tries to tell others how great the game is through charity events, which many of his Silicon Valley friends join in together. For example, he donated all of his winnings from the World Series of Poker to the Boys and Girls Club, while he’s been hosting a number of different charity poker games that generate roughly $6 million a year.
The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now | ||
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Good morning! Here is what you need to know before your first meeting today: 1. We have only seen "the tip of the iceberg" in the Westminster child abuse scandal. Home secretary Theresa May says 40 detectives are investigating whether a Conservative MP murdered a boy at a pedophile sex party in London in the early 1980s. 2. Asian markets really liked that Chinese interest rate cut. The Shanghai and Hang Seng indexes both jumped in early trading, according to the FT. 3. Observers say China's interest rate cut is merely the first of more to come. The country appears to be going into an economic slowdown. 4. The UK government wants to keep Prince Charles' "black spider memos" a secret. The Guardian has been fighting a years-long freedom of information lawsuit to unveil the letters the future king has written to cabinet members promoting his policy views. 5. The Israeli cabinet has approved a bill that defines Israel as a nation state of the Jews, and reserves some rights for Jewish people that non-Jews would not have. Unsurprisingly, not everyone is completely happy about that. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to amend the bill so that it provides equal rights for all. 6. Negotiators are trying to get Iran to agree to a pact that would stop its nuclear power programme from being militarized. The two sides are still talking but they are far apart. 7. The British woman jailed in Iran for watching a volleyball match has been released. She's out on bail but is not allowed to return to the UK. 8. Forty-five people were killed by a suicide bomber at a volleyball match in Afghanistan. Volleyball had previously been banned by the Taliban. 9. The UK High Court will hear a case against Google in which a man claims the search engine must remove links to 3,600 web sites that have posted defamatory information about him. The case is not about the EU's "right to be forgotten." It goes further than that - it's about whether Google has a legal duty to stop links to defamatory material posted anonymously. 10. Samsung is contemplating a huge shakeup that could cost co-CEO J.K. Shin his job. Shin oversees the mobile division of Samsung, which has recently seen sales and profits collapse, according to the Wall Street Journal. And finally ... Yik Yak is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The localized bulletin board app heavily used by teens took a $62 million round of investment. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open | ||
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Good morning! At the start of a new week, here are the major stories likely to have an impact as markets open in London and Paris. It’s The Deadline For A Deal With Iran. Time runs out Monday for the biggest chance in years to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff, as Tehran and world powers make a final push for a deal but with a risky extension looking likely. China Is Getting Ready To Cut Rates Again. China's leadership and central bank are ready to cut interest rates again and also loosen lending restrictions, concerned that falling prices could trigger a surge in debt defaults, business failures and job losses, after Friday's surprise rate cut. European Inflation Is Expected To Drop To A New Five Year Low. The data out later this week will put more pressure on the ECB to act, according to Bloomberg. Lufthansa Says It's Taking A Bigger Slice Of The German Market. Germany's largest airline Deutsche Lufthansa has won a bigger slice of its domestic market in recent months, its chief executive told newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Italy's Intesa May Buy Coutts. Italy's retail bank Intesa SanPaolo is looking at a possible bid for Coutts International, the wealth management arm of Royal Bank of Scotland , the Financial Times reported. Asian Markets Closed Up. Japan's Nikkei finished 0.33% higher on Monday, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.92%. Aviva and Friends Life's Merger Is Gaining Approval. Aviva's potential £5.6 billion ($8.8 billion) purchase of Friends Life reflects a need to consolidate and cut costs in Britain's insurance industry, according to fund managers. UK Telecoms Firms Have Filed A Complaint Against BT. Britain's biggest telecoms service providers have filed a complaint to media regulator Ofcom demanding greater competition in the business broadband market, where they say BT has an effective monopoly. German Confidence Figures Are Coming. The IFO Institute's November survey on Germany's business survey is out at 9 a.m. GMT, giving an early insight into how Europe's biggest economy is weathering its slowdown. Economists expect a slight improvement in business expectations. Markit's PMI figures for the US are out at 2.45 p.m. GMT. Tunisia's Presidential Election Will Probably Need A Run-Off. Tunisians voted on Sunday to pick their first directly elected president, with the two major parties expecting a run-off as the final step in the North African state's transition to full democracy, according to Reuters. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Mining giant BHP outlines plans to cut costs | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - BHP Billiton on Monday outlined plans to cut costs further as the world's biggest miner battles falling commodity prices, pointing to its planned demerger as helping to drive productivity gains. The Anglo-Australian resources group is aiming to simplify and strengthen its business, and said it was looking to save $US4 billion a year in running costs -- US$500 million more than previously flagged -- by the end of the 2017 financial year. Chief executive Andrew Mackenzie said the proposed spin-off of some poorer performing assets, including aluminium, manganese, silver and selected coal and nickel operations, would allow BHP to better organise operations. "By significantly simplifying the portfolio the proposed demerger will allow us to redesign BHP Billiton and create an organisation that supports better productivity," he said in an investor presentation. "The group's core assets (such as iron ore and copper) generated more than 96 percent of operating profit in the 2014 financial year, so we can cut complexity and lower costs without losing the benefits of scale and diversity. "Put simply, we can organise a company that operates 12 large, core assets differently to one with 30 operated assets of varying sizes across a broader range of commodities." A vote on the demerger is expected in May. The US$4 billion productivity gains are expected to include a reduction in cash-costs of $US2.6 billion a year, Mackenzie said. The company also plans to cut exploration costs from $US14.8 billion to US$13 billion by the financial year ending June 2016 "with no impact on growth". BHP shares were up 3.85 percent to Aus$32.92 in mid-morning trade.
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One Direction, Taylor Swift shine at American Music Awards | ||
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Los Angeles (AFP) - Boy band One Direction took home top prizes at the American Music Awards as chart-topper Taylor Swift used the platform to deliver a staunch defense of traditional album buying. The American Music Awards focus on commercial success with fans voting for their favorites, in contrast to the older Grammy Awards in which music industry professionals select what they consider to be the year's top work. One Direction, the heartthrobs who have released albums every year since 2011, won the biggest prizes including Artist of the Year and Favorite Album with their latest work, "Midnight Memories". The British quintet flew into Los Angeles for the gala ceremony at the Nokia Theatre, where the young men thanked screaming fans for One Direction's success in the United States. Taylor Swift received a new award for excellence named in honor of the American Music Awards' late founder Dick Clark, a pioneer of music television performances with his "American Bandstand" show. Accepting the award from Motown legend Diana Ross, Swift appeared to dish out a new round of criticism, albeit obliquely, against the streaming service Spotify from which she has pulled her music. Thanking her fans, Swift said: "What you did by going out and investing in music and albums is you're saying that you believe in the same thing that I believe in -- that music is valuable and that music should be consumed in albums, and albums should be consumed as art and appreciated." Swift's latest album, "1989", enjoyed the highest sales of any US album in its first week in 12 years. It far outpaced industry expectations by selling two million copies in the United States in its first three weeks. After the album came out, Swift pulled her entire catalog from Spotify, accusing the fast-growing streaming service of devaluing music by not paying enough back to artists. Spotify's Swedish founder Daniel Ek hit back that the company has paid $2 billion to artists and songwriters since its 2008 launch, creating a rare source of new revenue in the beleaguered industry. Swift opened the evening by performing the album's latest single "Blank Space", in which the 24-year-old singer -- playing at her reputation for short-lived relationships -- held a burning rose as she pushed back suitors who pranced around her holding open picture frames. Hip hop bad boy Lil Wayne also took to the stage in a passionate dance with actress and singer Christina Milian, his rumored girlfriend. They performed "Start a Fire" -- with ABC television editing out some lyrics from the broadcast. The track is expected to be on Lil Wayne's upcoming album "Tha Carter V", which is scheduled for release on December 9 after repeated delays. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Australian mother charged after baby survives five days in drain | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - An Australian mother was Monday charged with attempted murder after her newborn baby was found crying at the bottom of a roadside drain in Sydney, where police believe he survived for five days. Passing cyclists heard wailing coming from the 2.5 metre (8.2 feet) deep drain on a bike path along a western Sydney highway early Sunday morning. After several people lifted a heavy concrete slab, the baby boy -- wrapped in a striped hospital blanket with his umbilical cord cut and clamped -- was found at the bottom. A 30-year-old woman was charged with attempted murder after police spent several hours searching hospital records and knocking on doors. She was remanded in custody, reportedly viewed as a flight risk as her parents and siblings live in Samoa. Police revealed the boy had been in the dirty drain since last Tuesday, likely pushed through a small gap before plunging to the bottom. "A woman has been charged with attempted murder after a newborn baby was found in a drain in Sydney's west on Sunday," police said in a statement. "Police will allege the baby, believed to have been born on Monday, was placed into the drain on Tuesday, November 18." Court documents claim the woman admitted to police she dumped her baby in the drain, knowing it could kill him, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, adding that the woman had been verbally abused by members of the public on her way into court. The baby remains in a stable condition in hospital. "It was disturbing (to see) how the child was placed in the drain," Quakers Hill police Inspector David Lagats told reporters on Sunday. "We all thought the worst but the baby was still alive." Cyclist David Otte, one of those who found the baby while out riding with his daughter, said it was an "intense" experience. "You couldn't tell it was a baby. We couldn't see it but we could hear it. It was distressed," he told Fairfax Radio. "We were going to get that lid off no matter what it took," he added of the concrete cover. "You go through life seeing things but you never, ever imagine you'll see something like this." Otte added that the baby had plastic around his body, which may have helped save its life during the eight feet drop. "It had a lot of cushioning and I think that saved the baby." Police doubt the baby would have survived much longer as temperatures in Sydney's northwest reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Sunday. "It was already undernourished, and dehydration would have taken affect so we would have had grave fears for the child's welfare had it been exposed to this weather for the rest of the day," Lagats said. The baby has been placed in the care of the New South Wales Family and Community Services, and it will be up to the agency to assess what now happens to him.
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Protesters demand indictment of policeman in Ferguson shooting | ||
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St. Louis (AFP) - More than 100 protesters marched through St Louis, stepping up pressure on a grand jury to indict a white police officer for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager. Michael Brown, an 18-year-old high school graduate planning to go to technical college, was shot at least six times by Darren Wilson in the suburb of Ferguson on August 9, inflaming racial tensions. The shooting sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests and a nationwide debate about police tactics, revived again with the death Sunday of a 12-year-old boy shot by police while waving what turned out to be toy gun in Cleveland. Sunday's demonstration in the Shaw neighborhood of St Louis was the largest of five consecutive nights of protests as the city braces for a decision expected by the end of the month from a grand jury on whether Wilson should be prosecuted. "Hands up, don't shoot," and "This is what democracy looks like," chanted the crowd, banging drums and swaying to the rhythm of the words. "The whole damn system is guilty as hell." Holding placards saying "Black Lives Matter," men and women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds went on a nearly two-hour march, weaving through the traffic and holding up intersections but dispersing without incident. Police were criticized for a heavy-handed response to the demonstrations in August. "I would like to see an indictment because I think it actually helps the community for this person to go to trial," said theology PhD student Alex Giltner, 31. "You've got social prejudice that is deeply ingrained in the people," he said. "What needs specifically to reform? Simply everything." - It's about racism - Teacher Angela Kelly marched alongside her son. "It's a good showing. We're 107 days in now, and, no matter what happens, this is about more than Michael Brown. It's about police brutality, it's about racism that is still everywhere in our society," she said. "I hope that there is an indictment. I think that this movement is going to non-violently continue, no matter what happens." One young woman, a youth worker, came from Atlanta, Georgia to take part in the protests. "I feel like this is a pivotal moment in American history, and we're going to look back and wonder who was on the right side of justice and who wasn't," said the woman who gave her name only as Megan. "It's been a lot calmer than I expected. I think a lot of the protesters really want an indictment, and they really want justice, and they don't want violence." Police have stepped up security as they brace for the grand jury announcement, with many residents fearing that protests could turn violent if Wilson is not indicted. Outside the Buzz Westfall Justice Center, where the grand jury has been meeting in the suburb of Clayton, metal interlocking fences and orange plastic barricades sealed off the building and the road in front of the entrance. St Louis County informed businesses and residents that they were securing buildings in downtown Clayton and temporarily restricting traffic in anticipation that protests could turn violent after the jury's announcement. "We will keep these traffic restrictions in place as long as they seem prudent," it said. - Churches ready to help - The jury can either indict Wilson, meaning he could face trial for Brown's death, or determine there is no case for him to answer. Wilson reportedly told the jury he acted in self-defense after tussling with Brown. Others say Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot dead, his body left in the street for several hours. US President Barack Obama has called for calm. Missouri's governor has declared a state of emergency, and the FBI deployed extra personnel. Ferguson, the mostly black suburb of 21,000, which has an overwhelmingly white police force and town government, is on a knife edge. Owners have boarded up shops and businesses on the street where protests were concentrated in August, also braced for a violent fallout. Pastor Willis Johnson told worshipers at Wellspring Church in Ferguson that the church would offer prayer, educational activities for children, free meals, counseling and group therapy after the announcement. "We'll have clinical psychologists and interventionists that'll be here for those who are remonstrating or just trying to deal with what's going on," he told AFP. Brown's parents mother Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. have also called separately for restraint. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Swiss museum to say whether it accepts Nazi-era art hoard | ||
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Berlin (AFP) - A Swiss museum is to announce Monday whether it will accept a German recluse's bequest of a spectacular trove of more than 1,000 artworks hoarded during the Nazi era. The decision, to be revealed at a press conference in Berlin, could determine the fate of priceless paintings and sketches by Picasso, Monet, Chagall and other masters that were discovered by chance in 2012 in the Munich flat of Cornelius Gurlitt. Gurlitt, who died last May aged 81, was the son of an art dealer tasked by Adolf Hitler to help plunder great works from museums and Jewish collectors, many of whom perished in the gas chambers. While media reports and sources close to the case widely expect the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern to accept the inheritance, all note it comes with a heavy price attached. However an outstanding legal challenge may still muddy the waters. "If I were a betting man, I would say that the Kunstmuseum Bern will be accepting the collection," London lawyer Christopher A. Marinello told AFP. "That is what I'm counting on." Marinello represents descendants of prominent Paris art collector Paul Rosenberg on a claim to a long-lost Matisse painting found among 1,280 works in Gurlitt's Munich flat. More than 300 other works were discovered in a home Gurlitt owned in Salzburg. Although he was never charged with a crime, the German authorities confiscated all of the Munich pieces and stored them in a secret location. Gurlitt struck an accord with the German government shortly before his death to help track down the paintings' rightful owners. But his anger over his treatment reportedly led him to stipulate in his will that the collection should go not to a German museum but to the Swiss institution, which would now have to sort through the claims. News weekly Der Spiegel reported that the deal to be announced Monday would see the Bern museum accept the inheritance but would leave nearly 500 works in Germany suspected of being looted until their rightful owners can be identified. The Salzburg works would go to the Bern museum, which would assume responsibility for determining their provenance, according to Spiegel, which did not cite its sources. - 'Avalanche of lawsuits' - Should the Swiss museum unexpectedly turn down the offer, the pieces would be divided up among relatives of Gurlitt, who never married and had no children. Ronald Lauder, the head of the World Jewish Congress, declined to comment ahead of the press conference. But he told Spiegel this month that the Swiss museum should not accept the inheritance, saying it "would open a Pandora's Box and cause an avalanche of lawsuits". Underlining the point, one of Gurlitt's cousins, 86-year-old Uta Werner, said Friday she was contesting Gurlitt's fitness of mind when he wrote the will naming the Bern museum as his sole heir. This could return the case to legal limbo, with ageing Jewish descendants left to fight for their claims in German courts for years to come. After the discovery of the Gurlitt trove came to light in a magazine article last year, Jewish groups and the US and Israeli governments put pressure on Germany to establish a task force to investigate the works' provenance. In the case of the Matisse painting, called "Seated Woman" and believed to be worth around $20 million, the panel determined in June that the work was "Nazi loot" stolen from Rosenberg. His heirs include French journalist Anne Sinclair, former wife of ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Marinello noted that the museum -- unlike individuals -- would be bound by the Washington Principles, a 1998 international agreement on returning art stolen by the Nazis, as well as the 1986 International Council of Museums code of ethics. "My clients have been extremely patient with German authorities throughout the process and enough is enough," he said. Meanwhile the acquisition of the Gurlitt hoard would dramatically increase the prestige of the Bern institution, Switzerland's oldest art museum. Stephan Klingen of Munich's Institute for Art History said the public interest in the collection was "enormous". "I think this is a chance to show people right before their very eyes how problematic the handling of art and art works after the war was," he told German news agency DPA. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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It's Deadline Day For The Best Shot To Resolve The Iran Nuclear Standoff In Years | ||
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Vienna (AFP) - Time runs out Monday for the biggest chance in years to resolve the Iranian nuclear standoff, as Tehran and world powers make a final push for a deal but with a risky extension looking likely. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany (the P5+1) have been locked in talks with Iran for months, seeking to turn an interim deal that expires at midnight (2300 GMT) on Monday into a lasting accord. Such an agreement, after a 12-year standoff, is aimed at easing fears that Tehran will develop nuclear weapons under the guise of its civilian activities, an ambition it hotly denies. But a last-ditch diplomatic blitz in recent days involving US Secretary of State John Kerry and other foreign ministers to secure a deal appears to have failed to bridge the remaining major differences. As a result, late Sunday a senior US State Department official said for the first time that the powers and Iran were now discussing putting more time on the clock. The official said it was "only natural that just over 24 hours from the deadline we are discussing a range of options ... An extension is one of those options." This came after US Secretary of State John Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif for the sixth time since Thursday in an attempt to break the deadlock. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said however that the parties would still make a "big push tomorrow (Monday) morning to try and get this across the line". "Of course if we're not able to do it, we'll then look at where we go from there," he said. "We're still quite a long way apart and there are some very tough and complex issues to deal with". Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was expected in the Austrian capital early Monday, completing the line-up of all the six powers' foreign ministers. This included Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a key player in the talks. Earlier in the week he said all the elements were in place for a deal with just "political will" missing.
- Gaps -
Diplomats on both sides say that despite some progress, the two sides remain far apart on the two crucial points of contention: uranium enrichment and sanctions relief. Enriching uranium renders it suitable for peaceful purposes like nuclear power but also, at high purities, for the fissile core of a nuclear weapon. Tehran wants to massively ramp up the number of enrichment centrifuges -- in order, it says, to make fuel for future reactors -- while the West wants them dramatically reduced. Iran wants painful UN and Western sanctions that have strangled its vital oil exports lifted, but the powers want to stagger any relief over a long period of time to ensure Iranian compliance with any deal. "What a deal would do is take a big piece of business off the table and perhaps begin a long process in which the relationship not just between Iran and us but the relationship between Iran and the world, and the region, begins to change," US President Barack Obama in an ABC News interview aired Sunday.
- Extension -
In view of the difficulties -- and of the dangers posed by the alternative of a complete collapse -- many experts have long believed that the negotiators would put more time on the clock. An Iranian source told AFP earlier Sunday, while stressing at that point that adding time was not yet on the table, that the extension "could be for a period of six months or a year." Another extension -- as happened with an earlier deadline of July 20 -- however carries risks of its own,including possible fresh US sanctions that could lead Iran to walk away. Pushing back the cut-off point will also fuel accusations from Israel, the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear-armed state, that its arch foe Iran is merely buying time to get closer to the bomb. Arms Control Association analyst Kelsey Davenport told AFP that an extension of six months to a year "would not fly" with the other parties. Any extension "will have to be very short because there are too many hardliners, particularly in Washington and Tehran, that want to sabotage this deal," she told AFP.
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Katy Perry confirmed as Super Bowl halftime singer | ||
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New York (AFP) - Katy Perry will perform in the Super Bowl 49 halftime show next February, the singer and the National Football League confirmed. "Yeppers! And I've already started testing out ideas!" Perry tweeted moments after the announcement was made at halftime of an NFL game on Sunday. The NFL championship showdown will be staged February 1 in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. Music industry publication Billboard reported last month that Perry would be the performer at one of the nation's most watched television spectacles. The most recent Super Bowl halftime extravaganza featured Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and drew a record 111.5 million US television viewers last February. Perry, who turned 30 last month, is known for her flamboyant costumes and such hits as "Firework", "California Gurls", "Dark Horse", and "Part of Me". Past Super Bowl halftime performers include Beyonce, Madonna, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Sting and the late Michael Jackson. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Italy's first female astronaut arrives at space station: NASA | ||
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Moscow (AFP) - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Italy's first female astronaut has safely docked with the International Space Station, NASA said. Samantha Cristoforetti, along with Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and American astronaut Terry Virts, arrived at the orbiting space lab on the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft at 0249 GMT Monday, NASA said. "A new vehicle has arrived. The Soyuz is confirmed as attached properly," high above the Pacific Ocean, NASA television added. Cristoforetti, Virts and Shkaplerov docked just under six hours after taking off from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are to stay at the space station until May 2015. Their voyage will mean major food upgrades for the astronauts aboard, with nearly a kilo of caviar in their baggage and an espresso machine. "There will be 15 boxes of 30 grammes each of caviar, but also apples, oranges, tomatoes and 140 doses of freeze dried milk and black tea without sugar," a space station official was quoted as saying by Russian press agency TASS. Astronauts on the station will also finally be able to enjoy a decent brew thanks to the 20-kilogramme machine designed by famed Italian coffee makers Lavazza and engineering firm Argotec, which specialises in making space food. Cristoforetti, 37, who is also a captain in the Italian air force, "will be not only the first female astronaut from Italy to go into space, but also the very first astronaut in the history of the conquest of space to savour an authentic Italian espresso in orbit," the two companies said in a statement. In total 16 countries work on the ISS, including Russia and the United States, which finances most of its operation. A team of astronauts is always aboard, with stays of up to six months. Launched into orbit in 1998, this outpost and orbiting laboratory, which cost $500 billion (404 billion euros) to build, saw its lifespan extended by another four years by NASA. It's now expected to remain in service until 2024. NASA depends entirely on Russia to send its astronauts to the ISS, which costs the United States $70 million (56 million euros) per person in Soyuz rockets. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Firefighters On A Desperate Search For Victims After Chicago Building 'Pancakes' For No Apparent Reason | ||
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About 100 fire personnel are desperately searching through the rubble for victims after a building collapsed in Chicago. Search-and-rescue crews pulled two residents from the rubble of the apartment building on Sunday night and were searching for more people, fire officials said. The two people rescued were taken to a hospital in unknown condition. "We have a three-story residential building that pancaked," Lyle said. "We're not sure of the cause right now." Lyle said the call about the building in the Washington Park neighborhood on the city's Southside came in about 7 p.m. local time, initially as a possible explosion at the site. Officials do not know if an explosion actually happened or if the initial caller was hearing the sounds of the building coming down, he said. Both victims were rescued about 20 minutes after fire crews arrived on the scene, and the building was "completely down," according to the department's official Twitter feed. A Chicago police spokesman said officers were assisting on the scene, but he declined to provide more details. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Incredible Story Of The Women Who Were Meant To Be The First Astronauts — And Were Left On Earth | ||
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During the early 1960s, both men and women underwent the arduous and, at times, bizarre training program to have the chance to be some of the first NASA astronauts in history. When the training was over, many of the women finalists had higher scores than the men but instead of going to space, they were completely excluded from the final selection pool. American women would remain grounded on US soil for another 30 years until 1983, when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Here is the heart-breaking story of the women who were meant to be some of the first astronauts in space but were left on Earth. Their outstanding achievements, pioneering efforts, and struggles are detailed in the PBS documentary "MAKERS: Women in Space", which is the third film in a series of six documentaries about women pioneers. From the very beginning, engineers speculated that women would make ideal astronauts because they are generally smaller, lighter, and eat less than men. Source: MAKERS: Women in Space Economically speaking, less weight in the cockpit meant less fuel needed to launch the rocket into space and a cheaper trip with women astronauts. Source: MAKERS: Women in Space In 1958, the physician William Randolph Lovelace helped design and conduct a series of tests to select the first astronauts of the Mercury Program. Source: MAKERS: Women in Space See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Smugglers Detail How Mexico's Most Notorious Cartel Moved $60 Million Worth Of Cocaine Through Chicago Every Month | ||
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From 1998 to 2008, two twin brothers distributed thousands of pounds of cocaine across Chicago and other major US cities. Then Pedro and Margarito Flores started cooperating with the feds. Originally sealed for the brothers' protection, their testimony recently became available to the public. The documents reveal fascinating details about how one of the largest Mexican drug cartels functioned. After their arrest, the Flores brothers went on record, giving information about a criminal who was even more sought-after: Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, more widely known as "El Chapo," the head of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful drug-trafficking organizations in the world. In 2013, the cartel supplied 80% of the heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine flooding the streets of Chicago, according to the DEA. On many occasions, the brothers collaborated with the cartel, which used a wide array of creative methods for transporting cocaine and money from Central America into the US. They once even passed the operation off as a humanitarian aid project.
The BusinessAfter slinging drugs in the US for several years, Pedro and Margarito, fearing arrest, moved back to Mexico in 2003 and 2004, respectively. But they set up an elaborate network that would allow them to sell cocaine in the US from Mexico, according to the testimony. This network included three groups: cocaine and heroin suppliers in Mexico; a US crew; and about 30 wholesale customers across eight US cities: Chicago; New York; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; and Los Angeles. Between 2006 and 2008 — what the Flores brothers considered "peak distribution" — the pair facilitated the transport and sale of approximately 3,300 to 4,400 pounds of cocaine every month. While wholesale value varies based on numerous factors including the location of the shipment, a kilogram, or about 2.2 pounds, in Chicago could easily run $30,000, according to their testimony. As such, their operation moved $60 million of drugs primarily through the Midwestern metropolis every month.
How It WorkedPrior to late 2007, the Flores twins moved almost all of their drugs in semi-trucks and trailers with trap compartments in the roof. After that, Pedro and Margarito started working with a man named Alfredo, who claimed to be a lifelong friend of El Chapo, even godfather to his son. On behalf of the cartel leader, Alfredo helped them transport cocaine from Colombia to Mexico in airplanes, submarines, and trains. The Flores brothers soon agreed to establish legitimate shipping companies with Alfredo and his wife, which gave them a simpler method for transporting cocaine to the US. The brothers didn't want to run the businesses, but they invested $600,000 in startup money and agreed to pay $1,000 for every kilogram moved by train. Once the cocaine arrived, the Flores brothers maintained several warehouse and "stash houses" in Chicago and other cities. There, the crews unloaded shipments of drugs for customers, and they counted and packaged the profits of those sales. All of the money went back to suppliers in Mexico. Also, for a 3% to 7% fee, Alfredo's wife shipped cash profits from one location to another using both planes and cars. The shipments ranged from $100,000 to several million, according to the brothers' statements.
They used the 747s with no seats to ship clothing to Central or South America as part of humanitarian aid projects. Once the planes arrived, workers unloaded them and replaced the clothes with up to 13 tons of cocaine for the return trip to Mexico, according to the testimony. After landing at Mexico City International Airport, El Chapo's paid contacts unloaded the cocaine and transported it out of the airport. The process also often required smaller airplanes, submarines, tractor trailers, fishing vessels, speed boats, personal automobiles, and El Chapo's infamous tunnel system. The Sinaloa Cartel TodayAfter a 13-year manhunt, Mexican marines finally caught up with El Chapo in February. (He escaped from a high-security Mexican prison in a laundry cart in 2001.) El Chapo appeared on numerous lists of both the wealthiest and most wanted in the world. His bloody feuds with two other cartels, the Juárez and Los Zetas, have left nearly 80,000 people dead in the past seven years. After El Chapo's capture, El Mayo reportedly took over the Sinaloa cartel. Despite his son's arrest in November, El Mayo remains at large, with unknown whereabouts. "I knew that once the people I have talked about today found out I was cooperating, they would try to kill me and my family," Margarito, now in witness protection, said in his statement.
SEE ALSO: The World's Most Notorious Drug Kingpin: 'I'm A Farmer' Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Alfredo also gave the brothers access to cocaine transported in 747s and submarines by El Chapo and other members of the Sinaloa cartel, like Ismael Zambada-Garcia, known as "El Mayo" or "Mayo Zambada." 
UK police chief claims '4 or 5' terror plots foiled | ||
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London (AFP) - British police have foiled four or five suspected terror plots this year, the country's most senior police officer said ahead of a week-long campaign to enlist the public's help in countering the threat. "We've said on average over the last few years it's been about one (plot) a year, but this year alone we think four or five," Scotland Yard commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe told BBC television. He added: "Certainly we've seen a change to the momentum... we've seen a change to the frequency and the seriousness of the types of plots that we're looking at." As part of new measures to counter extremism, Home Secretary Theresa May is to announce on Monday that insurance companies will be banned from paying out terrorist ransoms, according to released remarks. Counter-terrorism investigations have led to 271 arrests this year, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley on Monday. Most recently, three people were charged in London last week over an alleged plot which media reports said included a plan to behead somebody in Britain. Rowley warned that the threat posed by extremists has "evolved" and that they are now home grown, as he launched a new awareness campaign to encourage communities to help the "eyes and ears" of law enforcement. Hogan-Howe said the threat from so-called "lone wolf" attacks by individuals or small groups was causing "growing concern", and warned their ability to act quickly left little time for the security services to intervene. But he said the public could help by being more vigilant, particularly in crowded places and transport hubs where attacks are more likely to happen. For a week starting on Monday, police will brief over 6,000 people at 80 venues including schools and shopping centres across Britain to let ordinary people and businesses know how they can help by identifying and reporting suspicious behaviour. The campaign will also urge people to question charities about where their money is going, amid concerns that some is being used to channel funds to militants. "If the public, the businesses and police work together with the security services then that's an incredibly powerful team," Hogan-Howe said. The national terror threat was raised in August to "severe", meaning an attack is highly likely, but the police chief said the message was to "keep calm but be aware". He repeated fears that Britons who have gone to fight with jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria might return to use their new training and experience to launch an attack in Britain. But he did not comment on a claim by an opposition Labour lawmaker that as many as 2,000 Britons are fighting overseas -- four times the official estimate of 500. Khalid Mahmood, an MP in the city of Birmingham, told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that in his area -- which has a large Muslim community -- there was a "huge problem" of people going to fight with the Islamic State (IS) group. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Giants Rookie Made What Is Being Called The Greatest Catch Ever | ||
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New York Giants rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham made a touchdown catch on Sunday night that is already being called by many "the greatest catch ever." On a long bomb by Eli Manning, Beckham was racing down the sideline when he leaped up and caught the pass with one hand over and behind his head as he was falling backwards into the endzone. As if that wasn't amazing enough, he made the catch despite being interfered with. 
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Rodgers under pressure to lift shattered Liverpool | ||
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London (AFP) - Brendan Rodgers admits he must restore Liverpool's shattered morale quickly after a dismal 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace raised questions about his job security. Rodgers' team hit a new low in an already troubled campaign at rain-lashed Selhurst Park on Sunday as they crashed to a third successive loss in the Premier League. Rickie Lambert had given Liverpool the perfect start with his first goal for the club in the second minute, but the Reds surrendered their advantage in lacklustre fashion with Dwight Gayle equalising before late goals from Joe Ledley and Mile Jedinak gave Palace their first win since September. The last time Liverpool faced Palace in May -- a 3-3 draw that virtually ended their title challenge -- they were in the midst of a fine season which ended with them finishing just two points behind champions Manchester City. But after this latest setback, they trudged away from south London trailing leaders Chelsea by 18 points and sit closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League places. With Liverpool's season teetering on the brink of a full-blown crisis, Reds manager Rodgers acknowledged he will start to hear more criticism and calls for his sacking unless he can reverse the downward spiral immediately. "I'm not arrogant enough to think I will be in the job through anything. Any manager will tell you they have to win games," Rodgers said. "I have a great communication line with the owners. We've been honest with each other. "But ultimately you have to get results. They have to see development on the field and, barring this period, I think our development has been good and very fast. "I can only do my best and fight even harder and take responsibility. Any pressure now comes on to me. It's my responsibility as a manager to pick the best team that I think can win the game." - Transition - The hangover from their unsuccessful title bid, combined with the departure of star striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona and the injury problems suffered by England forward Daniel Sturridge, have left Liverpool a shadow of the team that played in such vibrant style last season. Rodgers' new signings have so far struggled to adapt to his system and the Liverpool boss conceded his players are short of confidence and unity at present. "We were nowhere near the levels we would expect. You saw a team with no confidence," Rodgers said. "Our passing was a wee bit tentative and we made mistakes that you wouldn't expect from a team that this level. "Overall there wasn't that intensity and togetherness. When you don't get results the confidence is affected, there's absolutely no doubt. "We are in a transition phase, but whatever phase it is we have to be better than that." An anonymous display from England winger Raheem Sterling summed up Liverpool's underwhelming efforts of late and, with a crucial Champions League tie at Ludogorets Razgrad looming on Wednesday, Rodgers has to work fast to rebuild his squad's belief. "Raheem is a mirror of the team at the moment. It's a difficult time and so his confidence and intensity isn't so high," Rodgers said. "They are all doing their best but the confidence is low. Some of them are very young and won't be at their best for a few years, but they have to be better. It's up to me to manage that." After taking only one point from their last five matches, Palace climbed out of the relegation zone with their best performance of manager Neil Warnock's second spell in charge. "That was a real Neil Warnock team performance. I thought the weather helped, it was an old-fashioned kind of day," Warnock said. "I'm pleased to get three goals but if anything I'm disappointed we didn't get more. "That's this league in general. If you take anyone lightly you can get turned over." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Federer legend grows with Davis Cup win | ||
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Lille (France) (AFP) - It's taken him 16 years as a pro, but Roger Federer finally has won all there is to win in tennis -- well almost. All four Grand Slam titles -- a record 17 in total -- six ATP year-end titles, 23 Masters Series, Olympic gold and now the Davis Cup for Switzerland. The Olympic title of course was in the doubles with Stan Wawrinka in Beijing in 2008 and he has yet to match great rival Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi as the only men to have won all four Grand Slam titles, Olympic singles gold and the Davis Cup during the course of their careers. But still -- it's an astonishing record for a player many consider to be the greatest of all time. The Davis Cup win was arguably the hardest of them all for Federer to win, involving as it does other players and doubles action. Asked to compare his feelings in winning Wimbledon for the first time in 2003 and what he felt on Sunday after supplying the point Switzerland needed to win the Davis Cup final over France he replied: "You can't compare. "When I won Wimbledon, it was a total shock, honestly. Davis Cup is something that I knew was possible at some stage in my career. "Of course, there was the pressure of being able to manage all this and make everyone happy with all the support we had for the team and everything. So it is a totally different feeling. "Also I was not alone on the court. This changes totally everything." Federer's first tournament as a professional was in the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad in 1998, where he lost in the round of 32. Although rated as one of best juniors in the world, there was no real hint at that time what tennis was about to witness as he entered the professional sphere It wasn't until he defeated Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in a fourth round match in five sets in 2001 that his true potential became clearer to see. Still, he struggled to make much headway in the Grand Slam events and question marks were raised when he lost miserably to Luis Horna in the first round of the French Open in 2003. Federer came up alongside a generation of young champions who achieved immediate success, like Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin. While his contemporaries were shooting up the rankings and winning Grand Slam titles, he struggled to break through.
- Days of frustration -
"I don't want to say I was frustrated, but I didn't understand why it wasn't happening for me," Federer said last year. "I was far enough behind that I was, 'OK, let's push myself a little more'." A month after his Paris flop, that change of attitude reaped immediate dividends as Federer produced a majestic display over the Wimbledon fortnight, defeating Mark Philippoussis in straight sets in the final. The Federer era had begun in earnest and he dominated tennis over the next four years winning 10 Grand Slam titles. On two occasions -- in 2004 and 2007 -- he won three out of four. By that time Spanish claycourt king Rafael Nadal had come along to become the player Federer has always seen as his greatest rival. Nadal ruled at Roland Garros and it took his shock defeat at the hands of Robin Soderling in 2009 to clear the way for Federer to finally win the French Open, thus completing the Grand Slam set. By that time he had won Olympic gold with Wawrinka in 2008 and by Wimbledon 2012 he had taken his haul of Grand Slam titles to an all-time best of 17. Still the Davis Cup remained out of his grasp and, at 33, time was clearly running out when he and Wawrinka decided, after the latter won the Australian Open at the start of the year, that they would commit totally to playing the Davis Cup this year. They swept past a Novak Djokovic-less Serbia in the first round, edged a nervy outing against Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals and comfortably saw off Italy in the semis. France away in the final was a different prospect, however, with players of the calibre of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils on the other side of the net. A fractious match against Wawrinka in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals when the two argued and Federer damaged his back did not help. But all that was swept aside in Lille as Switzerland became just the 14th country to win the Davis Cup. "For me personally, obviously I'm unbelievably happy because I've been playing in this competition for probably almost 15 years now," he said. "At the end of the day I wanted it more for the guys and for (coach) Severin (Luthi) and Stan, the staff and everybody involved. This is one for the boys." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Afghanistan OKs Terrifying 'Night Raids' | ||
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Afghanistan's new president has quietly gotten rid of the country's ban on controversial night raids that are used to catch Taliban insurgents off-guard, The New York Times reports. The country's previous president, Hamid Karzai, had mostly banned the raids even though the US government has said they're key to catching insurgents. Afghans are worried about the resumption of the raids, which have allegedly killed civilians in the past. From The Times: “The Taliban will be going into other people’s houses, and the Americans will be behind them again, and there will be losses again of women and children when Taliban shoot from people’s houses, and in reaction the foreigners will bomb or kill them,” said Haji Abdullah Jan, a local shura leader in the Maiwand district of Kandahar Province. “I am not in favor of night raids because we have experienced such huge losses from them during those past years.” The raids will resume in 2015 and will include American Special Operations Units, according to The Times. In 2010, The Washington Post reported on a night raid that killed nine Afghan man and led to violent local protests. "NATO describes it as a successful mission that took out ruthless Taliban insurgents," the Post reported. "Relatives at the house said it was a slaughter of civilians." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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An Almost Unbeatable Magnus Carlsen Defends His Title As World Chess Champion | ||
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Magnus Carlsen successfully defended his title as World Chess Champion on Sunday. He defeated Challenger Viswanathan Anand in Game 11 of a 12-game match to achieve the 6.5 points needed to claim victory. Anand really went for it, attempting a dramatic sacrificial strategy when playing with the black pieces. It was a fitting end to a rematch of the 2013 WCC, when Carlsen ended Anand's 5-time reign as champion. Over the course of several weeks, Carlsen proved himself to be a tenacious, precise, and at times ferocious competitor, while Anand drew upon all his reserves in an effort to prove that at 44, he could recover the title he lost to the 23-year-old in 2013. There were no theatrics after Anand resigned in a lost position and shook the now two-time World Champion's hand. That isn't what happens in chess. There's no jumping up and down and there's no fist-pumping, after hours of fierce concentration. Rather, Carslen and Anand briefly discussed the game, then left the stage in Sochi, Russia to celebrate and commiserate with their respective entourages. A BRILLIANT SACRIFICE THAT JUST WASN'T ENOUGH Anand initially looked to be aiming for a draw with black in Game 11, setting up a decisive showdown in Game 12, when he would be playing white. The opening was once again the Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense, which as I've pointed out during the numerous times it's been employed during this WCC is well-known at Grandmaster-level play for being a drawing weapon. However, on move 27, Anand executed a daring sacrifice of his rook, with the goal of advancing a pawn to Carlsen's back rank, promoting it to a queen (the queens had been exchanged earlier). Here's the position:
A collective gasp went through the chess world. With the white bishop on c3, Carlsen then took the rook that Anand moved to b4. Then attention shifted to Anand's pawns on the a- and b-files. Game on, and how! Ultimately, Carlsen was able to stave off the attack, liberate two of his own pawns in the endgame, and force Anand's resignation on the 45th move. The former World Champion had gone down swinging. MORE TO COME The game was complicated and unusual — "Wow!" was the word that the commentators in the official online broadcast used to characterize Anand's decision to press the attack rather than working for a draw. I'll come back to this post for an update once I've had a chance to study the game a bit more deeply. But the bottom is that Magnus Carlsen has passed his second big test as the greatest chess player in the world. He's repeated as World Champion. In the process, Anand managed a single win. Right now, Carlsen is very, very hard to beat. You can watch the replay of the game here. And you can review the game at ChessBomb. SEE ALSO: The Stage Is Set For An Epic Finish At The World Chess Championship Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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These Quirky Charts From Warby Parker Will Tell You What You Should Read Next | ||
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Warby Parker has found a great deal of success in the eyewear space, selling more than one million pairs of glasses as of June 2014. The startup has established itself as a recognizable lifestyle brand on its way to making high-quality glasses available at a reasonable price point. On its company blog, Warby Parker shares fashion tips, stylized photographs, and fun illustrations. One of the blog's features is a set of book-recommending flowcharts. Like many of the brand's other materials, the charts have clean graphics and a quirky design. SEE ALSO: How To Dress Like Silicon Valley's Elite WE'RE ON INSTAGRAM: Click Here To Follow Us Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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10 Foreign TV Shows You Should Be Watching | ||
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While a few new series are coming to air, a few have already received the ax. If you're bored with the current crop of TV shows, we've picked ten of the best series from around the world that you really shouldn't miss. Most are available to stream on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon. "Misfits" (UK) What it's about: The dramedy follows a group of lower-class teenage felons who have been sentenced to community service. On their first day, they develop super powers after getting struck during an electrical storm. Why you should watch: The strange, dark, risqué and hilarious world of "Misfits" has been a secret among Europeans and Australians for years airing for five seasons through 2013 making for some of the best supernatural TV since "Heroes." The series won Best Drama Series at the BAFTA Television Awards in 2010. Where to watch: Hulu "Please Like Me" (Australia) What it's about: The dramedy follows twenty-something Josh Thomas as he comes to the realization he's gay. Why you should watch: Gently navigating between touching and hilarious, the Australian series is quirky and refreshingly genuine. While it only reached small audiences in Australia, the series has been critically acclaimed in America with reviews referring to it as the "best new TV comedy you've never heard of" and "one of the year's best shows." Millennial network “Pivot" picked it up for at least another two seasons. Where to watch: Pivot TV "Luther" (UK) What it's about: Gritty, dark, and hauntingly cinematic, Luther follows the investigations of Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba). Why you should watch: The performance by Elba is enough reason to tune into the series. Luther is a blunt instrument consumed by his cases. His best friend for much of the series is a charmingly insane serial killer, Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), who he meets in the series' premiere. The series' pacing and cinematography knows when to let periods of horror breathe without interruption. Where to watch: Netflix See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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NFL Player Breaks Down Crying In Postgame Interview Hours After Daughter's Birth | ||
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Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton gave an emotional postgame interview after his team's 23-3 win over Jacksonville. Hilton's daughter was born early Sunday morning. He stayed at the hospital with his wife and daughter and missed pregame warm-ups, but made it to the stadium in time to play. He ended up having a great game (4 catches, 122 yards, 1 touchdown). He celebrated his touchdown by cradling the ball like a baby. After the game, Hilton told CBS through tears, "I've been up since 4 or 5. I just came out here and gave it my all for her." "I've been up with my little girl the whole time and I just wanted to give her my all and play this game for her." Here's the video. It's great (via Big Lead):
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43 Meals Everyone Should Eat In Their Lifetime | ||
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A memorable meal can define a destination and keep you salivating for years to come. From unpretentious fried fish tacos in Baja, Mexico, to the foraged tasting menu at Copenhagen's Noma (the best restaurant in the world), we found 43 meals that are worth traversing the planet for. Foodies will want to put these spots on their travel bucket list. Slurp up a bowl of steaming hot Pho, a tangy beef noodle soup, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Feast on a juicy, dry-aged steak from the famous Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York. Bite into a chewy, gooey slice of Neapolitan-style pizza in Naples, Italy. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Spending On Native Advertising Is Soaring As Marketers And Digital Media Publishers Realize The Benefits | ||
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Native is one of the hottest topics in digital media, and advertisers and publishers are taking notice. By creating advertisements that are in the same format as the content audiences are there to consume, marketers hope to provide a much less disruptive advertising experience. Native ads have also proven effective, drawing higher click rates than traditional banner ads, particularly on mobile devices. New and exclusive data from BI Intelligence finds that spending on native ads will reach $7.9 billion this year and grow to $21 billion in 2018, rising from just $4.7 billion in 2013. We are the only research service that has provided a detailed breakdown of spend projections and growth rates for each of the three main native ad types — social-native, native-style display ads, and sponsored content. Access The Full Report And Downloads By Signing Up For A Trial Membership » Here are some of the key takeaways:
The report is full of charts and data that can easily be downloaded and put to use. In full, the report:
For full access receive to all BI Intelligence's analysis, reporting, and downloadable charts and presentations on the digital media industry, sign up for a trial. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Global warming could undermine poverty fight: World Bank | ||
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Washington (AFP) - Climate change could undermine efforts to defeat extreme poverty around the globe, the World Bank warned Sunday. In a new report on the impact of global warming, the bank said sharp temperature rises would cut deeply into crop yields and water supplies in many areas and possibly set back efforts to bring populations out of poverty. "Climate change poses a substantial and escalating risk to development progress that could undermine global efforts to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity," the report said. "Without strong, early action, warming could exceed 1.5–2 degrees Celsius and the resulting impacts could significantly worsen intra- and intergenerational poverty in multiple regions across the globe." The bank said it is already likely that average temperatures will rise 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels, based on the built-in impact of past and current greenhouse gas emissions. That means that extreme heat events, sea level rise and more frequent tropical cyclones may now be unavoidable. But without concerted action, the real danger is that the average global temperature increase could go to 4.0 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The bank called that "a frightening world of increased risks and global instability." "Ending poverty, increasing global prosperity and reducing global inequality, already difficult, will be much harder with warming of two degrees Celsius, said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. "But at four degrees, there is serious doubt whether these goals can be achieved at all." - Shrinking crop yields - The new report, "Turn Down the Heat: Confronting the New Climate Normal" focuses on the specific regional impacts of warming. Warming of two degrees could lower the yield of Brazil's soybean crop by 70 percent. Andean cities would be threatened by melting glaciers, and Caribbean and West Indian coastal communities could see their fish supplies dwindle. Two-degree warming could reduce yields of maize, wheat and grape crops in Macedonia by 50 percent. In northern Russia, it would mean substantial melting of the permafrost, causing a surge in damaging methane emissions, which would amplify the warming trend. The World Bank has set an ambitious target of eliminating extreme poverty around the world by 2030, and Kim says that can still be done if warming is limited to just two degrees. But temperatures have already increased 0.8 degree from the pre-industrial mean, and the new study says it is likely already too late to forestall a 1.5-degree gain. The impacts of poverty exacerbated by climate change are wide and complex, the report shows. It will increase migration, though some people without means will be stuck with worse prospects in life. In the Middle East and North Africa, water resources and agriculture will be under severe threat from warming. And in turn, the impact could be political. The report cited two studies that linked the Arab Spring uprising to the drought impact of warming on food prices. Further climate change could add to security problems "by placing additional pressures on already scarce resources and by reinforcing such preexisting threats as political instability, poverty, and unemployment," it said. "This creates the potential for social uprising and violent conflict." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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