Новости за 21.12.2016

North Carolina House Democrats choose Jackson as leader RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The top leader for North Carolina House Democrats in 2017 says he'll work to ease the divisive tone at the General Assembly by improving relations with Republicans.

Reuters/Pool/Dan Balilty

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel was looking into the possibility of bringing wounded refugees from the Syrian city of Aleppo to Israeli hospitals for treatment.

Many wounded in Syria's civil war have been brought discreetly across the Israeli-occupied Golan frontline to Israeli hospitals for the past three years, although Israel and its northern neighbor are formally in a state of war.

"We're prepared to take in wounded women and children... Читать дальше...

2016 was a big year for virtual reality, thanks to the release of the first consumer virtual reality headset, Oculus, which allows users to take virtual explorations and adventures into lands unknown all from the comfort of their couch. However, computer-generated simulation may get even wilder in 2017 — Microsoft is planning on developing a trippy new technology that will give virtual reality users an experience similar to that of an acid trip.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport attorney has filed a lawsuit alleging the Iowa's school funding system is unfair because some districts receive more money per student than others.

The lawsuit argued that the inequity is a violation of equal protection under the law, a violation of the students' due process and civil rights. The plaintiffs requested a jury trial, but the Iowa Department of Education did not provide an immediate response. The state education department recently filed an ethics complaint against Davenport schools Superintendent Art Tate, saying the school district openly broke the law by using money in a reserve account to pay for ongoing programming that focuses on helping at-risk students.

Ten years after launching a school in South Africa, Oprah Winfrey is reuniting with her first students to see how far they've come. The emotional reunion takes place in Fusion's...

A concertgoer who thought he could get away with yelling a sexist vulgarity at avowed feminist Leah Fay was abruptly put in his place -- first by the...

BII

The insurance industry in the U.S. has been undergoing some changes recently thanks to the Affordable Care Act and other legislation.

And yet, the industry is still gargantuan. In 2015, the insurance industry's net premiums written totaled $1.2 trillion, and there were 5,926 insurance companies in the U.S., according to the Insurance Information Institute.

But the changes are just beginning, as the Internet of Things (IoT) is set to transform the insurance industry in new and exciting ways. Читать дальше...

Screenshot/White House

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in one of his last environmental pushes before he leaves office next month.

In protecting the waters, Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said Obama's use of the law meant the incoming administration of... Читать дальше...

Week 16 is championship week for the majority of fantasy football leagues. That means a change in roster strategy if your team is headed to your league’s equivalent of the Super Bowl.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is out for at least three months following hand surgery after a knife attack at her home.

BALTIMORE — Marvin Jean-Pierre scored 23 points, Sam McDaniel had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Louisiana-Monroe beat Coppin State 65-53 on Tuesday.

With just one month left before his inauguration, Trump's transition team has a long list of positions to fill.

And now, in time for Christmas, the return of Australia's most beloved kelpie – albeit without Koko, the original star, who moved too soon to a higher plane in 2012.

BlackBerry puréed, Uber losses displayed, and Oracle flayed TCL says it plans to bring out Android phones with the BlackBerry name next year. George Polisner, a longtime Oracle employee who helped run its fast-growing cloud-software business, announced he was quitting in a LinkedIn post. Polisner objected to Oracle CEO Safra Catz’s decision to join President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team and “help in any way we can.” In separate news, Oracle is the only major Silicon Valley tech company... Читать дальше...

Aurobird

With each passing year, photography drones become more affordable, more common, and higher quality. So more people are using them to take astonishing photos from never-before-seen angles all over the world.

The website Dronestagram is a popular place where drone photographers share and comment on each other's work. And they've published a year-end list of the most astonishing drone photos taken all over the world in 2016.

Have a look:

"Moab" — Maxseigal

SALT LAKE CITY — New U.S. Census figures show Utah is the fastest-growing state in the country, leading a cluster of Western states with populations on the upswing despite sluggish national growth.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Hindsight is 20/20. And using that view, many analysts have said that President Obama used too much political capital passing Obamacare, sacrificing the rest of his legislative agenda.

A President Trump could easily do the same thing, sacrificing one of his key policy promises — a $550 billion infrastructure stimulus.

If Congressional Republicans and party loyalists get their way, the new administration's first priority will be repealing Obamacare, then passing tax reform. Читать дальше...

Ford, already under scrutiny for moving small-car production to Mexico, will start exporting small sport-utility vehicles to the U.S. from India starting late next year.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Better late than never.

After a two-month delay, Apple's new wireless headphones, the AirPods, are available.

Well, sort of. Good luck getting a pair before Christmas. Supplies are extremely limited. But hey, there's always eBay if you don't mind paying $300 or more!

Overall, I mostly enjoy the AirPods, and while there's a bit of sticker shock, I think they're mostly worth the $159 if you want to go wireless.

After testing the final version of the AirPods for a few days... Читать дальше...

US Secretary of State John Kerry has raised his concerns with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the rhetoric that Washington was involved in the assassination of Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov, State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.