2017年3月2日星期四

Yahoo! News: Education News

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Education News


President Oprah? President Zuckerberg? The rich and famous seem to be asking: Why not me?

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 02:24 PM PST

President Oprah? President Zuckerberg? The rich and famous seem to be asking: Why not me?Once upon a time in America, being a rich celebrity was considered its own reward. No one suspected that anything was lacking in the lives of tech billionaires, Hollywood moguls or famous talk-show hosts. Then came Donald Trump, and suddenly the wealthiest .01 percent was confronted with a new standard of personal achievement to be measured against.


AG Sessions says he 'didn't recall' several times during press conference

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 02:53 PM PST

AG Sessions says he 'didn't recall' several times during press conferenceAttorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any future investigation involving Russia and the 2016 Presidential Election. But throughout his press conference, he seemed to have a little trouble with his memory saying he "didn't recall" on several occasions.


Trump’s address to Congress boasts of ‘new national pride’ sweeping nation

Posted: 28 Feb 2017 09:36 PM PST

Trump's address to Congress boasts of 'new national pride' sweeping nationIn his first speech to a joint session of Congress, President Trump on Tuesday challenged divided lawmakers and a polarized nation to look past his turbulent early days in office and rally behind the "America First" vision of his history-making campaign. "A new national pride is sweeping across our nation," Trump declared to a packed House of Representatives at the outset of the hourlong address. The entrepreneur stayed true to many of the core messages of his insurgent and profoundly nationalist candidacy — blaming immigration and global trade for a range of ills, expressing resentment at the burdens of America's post-World War II global leadership, pushing for dismantling Obamacare — while dropping some of his most inflammatory rhetoric.


EU prods members to take in the refugees they promised to

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 02:39 AM PST

EU prods members to take in the refugees they promised toBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is pleading with member countries to step up the relocation of asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece, seeking to give new momentum to a plan that is now far short of its targets.


You May Not Even Need an iPhone 8 to Benefit From Its Best Feature

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 12:06 PM PST

You May Not Even Need an iPhone 8 to Benefit From Its Best FeatureRumor has it the iPhone 8 will have USB Type-C port and that changes everything.


Teenager Killed by Car While Trying to Rescue Cat Cat That Was Hit by Car

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 05:47 PM PST

Teenager Killed by Car While Trying to Rescue Cat Cat That Was Hit by CarEmily Sanchez, 18 was trying to rescue a wounded cat when she was hit and killed by a car.


Taiwan Steps Up Patrols Amid China's Threats In South China Sea

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 01:15 AM PST

Taiwan Steps Up Patrols Amid China's Threats In South China SeaChina's military activities in the disputed waters are being perceived as a threat by several Southeast Asian countries and the West.


Donald Trump Is Tarnishing America’s Brand

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 01:29 PM PST

Donald Trump Is Tarnishing America's BrandDonald Trump was a master at branding in his business career, but he seems to have left those skills in New York.


Eleven bodies, some with signs of torture, found in Mexico's Veracruz

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 03:32 PM PST

Eleven bodies, some with signs of torture, found in Mexico's VeracruzEleven bodies were found near a tourist area in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Wednesday, a day after the government said it would send federal police to calm one of the most violent regions of the country. After years of falling homicide levels, Mexico is suffering a deteriorating security situation not seen since former president Felipe Calderon announced a war on drug gangs in 2007. In 2016, more than 20,000 homicides were reported, the highest level registered since Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in 2012.


Photos of the day - March 2, 2017

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 01:45 PM PST

Photos of the day - March 2, 2017Tour guides wearing traditional Chinese dress practice smiling by biting chopsticks at Qingming Grand-River Park in Kaifeng, central China's Henan Province; Cheryl Kreiser of Silver Spring, Md. holds up a sign outside Justice Department,as she joined a group to protest Attorney General Jeff Sessions; and, An Iraqi special forces soldier fires a sniper rifle during a battle with Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq. These are just a few of the photos of the day for March 2, 2017. See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.  


The Latest: California snowpack nearing record depths

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 01:38 PM PST

The Latest: California snowpack nearing record depthsPHILLIPS STATION, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California's snowpack (all times local):


Subway swears its chicken is chicken and releases its own study

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 07:56 AM PST

Subway swears its chicken is chicken and releases its own studyThe subway chicken war isn't over. A poultry analysis of various fast food restaurants from CBC Marketplace last week found that Subway's chicken may actually contain less chicken DNA than one would hope. Obviously, Subway wasn't too pleased with this study, and after releasing multiple statements disputing the report and demanding the piece be retracted, it released its own study. The original CBC report conducted by Matt Harnden, a researcher at Trent University's Wildlife Forensic DNA Laboratory, found that the chicken used in some of Subway's wraps and sandwiches contains less than 50 percent chicken DNA, with the remaining majority being soy. Of the six sandwiches tested from various restaurants, Subway's oven roasted chicken and chicken strips were the worst offenders.  SEE ALSO: Taco Bell ditched the Naked Chicken Chalupa, so here's how to make your own "The stunningly flawed test by Marketplace is a tremendous disservice to our customers," said Suzanne Greco, Subway president and chief executive, in a statement issued to the Washington Post Wednesday night. "The allegation that our chicken is only 50 percent chicken is 100 percent wrong." So Subway released its own study conducted by two independent laboratories in order to test the chicken from Canada, the Post reports. The Subway studies evaluated the soy protein in the chicken samples, and found the plant protein to be less than 1 percent of the sample. CBC stood by its test results, posting the six page report for all to see on its site.  "Only the Subway samples had significant levels of plant DNA," the CBC wrote. The CBC also cited Robert Hanner,  biologist and associate director for the Canadian Barcode of Life Network at the University of Guelph in Ontario. "DNA tests do not lie (especially when conducted multiple times), and anyone with access to a DNA laboratory could perform these tests," Hanner wrote. The CBC also clarified part of its study, stating that "DNA tests don't reveal an exact percentage of the amount of chicken in the whole piece, but DNA experts have told Marketplace that the testing is a good indicator of the proportion of animal and plant DNA in the product." Subway declined to talk on camera about its study with CBC, and show where and how its chicken is made.  Subway did not immediately respond to request for comment and additional information.  UPDATE: March 2, 2017, 12:51 p.m. EST Subway provided the following statement in an email. BONUS: This parkour robot overlord has 'Terminator' written all over it


Amazon finally explained what happened when it accidentally took down the internet

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:58 AM PST

Amazon finally explained what happened when it accidentally took down the internet

The Amazon Simple Storage Service and Amazon Web Services, also known as S3 and AWS, happen to power a lot of the internet as you know it. And they're usually quite dependable, meaning that the companies using the solutions can rest assured that their websites will be up no matter what. But no internet service can have a 100% uptime rating, and the same goes for AWS. It was Amazon's AWS that failed on Tuesday, taking plenty of popular services and sites down with it.

Now, Amazon has finally explained exactly what happened on Tuesday when it took down much of the web.

In lengthy and rather technical note to customers, Amazon explained that an employee entered a command incorrectly and caused a chain of events that ultimately led to parts of the internet going bonkers. Amazon has protocols in place to fix downtime issues like these, but the problem was so ample that not even Amazon could fix it in a timely matter. That's why the outage lasted for several hours — well, technically it wasn't an outage since only subsets of AWS's complex architecture went down.

"We build our systems with the assumption that things will occasionally fail, and we rely on the ability to remove and replace capacity as one of our core operational processes," Amazon said. "While this is an operation that we have relied on to maintain our systems since the launch of S3, we have not completely restarted the index subsystem or the placement subsystem in our larger regions for many years."

The good news is that Amazon was able to restore order in the universe, and it's now looking to prevent this from ever happening again. If you want to read the entire explanation, check out Amazon's full post here.


As US pressures Iran, parallel tensions grow between Israel and Hezbollah

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 12:39 PM PST

As US pressures Iran, parallel tensions grow between Israel and HezbollahThe calm that has prevailed for more than a decade along the Lebanon-Israel border is being rattled by a flurry of fiery warnings from both sides that has many here concerned another war between the Jewish state and Lebanon's Hezbollah organization may be drawing closer. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has threatened to hit Israel's nuclear reactor should the Jewish state attack. The prospect of a mutually destructive war unleashed on Lebanon and Israel continues to act as a deterrence, but it remains perilously vulnerable to a miscalculation that could spiral into a conflict before either side can dial it back.


A Day in the Life of a Disgraceful Commander in Chief

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 12:33 PM PST

A Day in the Life of a Disgraceful Commander in ChiefFrom blaming his subordinates for a failed mission to using a slain sailor's family as a prop, Donald Trump is already proving unfit to lead the military.


Cop Tackles Man Seen Hitting Police Station Windows With Baseball Bat

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 05:40 AM PST

Cop Tackles Man Seen Hitting Police Station Windows With Baseball BatThe man is allegedly seen in surveillance footage trying to smash windows of a West Covina, Calif., police station.


Yahoo says about 32 million accounts accessed using 'forged cookies'

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 03:27 PM PST

Yahoo says about 32 million accounts accessed using 'forged cookies'(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc , which disclosed two massive data breaches last year, said on Wednesday that about 32 million user accounts were accessed by intruders in the last two years using forged cookies. "Based on the investigation, we believe an unauthorized third party accessed the company's proprietary code to learn how to forge certain cookies," Yahoo said in its latest annual filing. Yahoo also said in December that data from more than 1 billion user accounts was compromised in August 2013, making it the largest breach in history.


North Korea says Kim Jong Nam VX poison claim absurd

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 04:38 AM PST

North Korea says Kim Jong Nam VX poison claim absurdTOKYO (AP) — North Korea is strongly denying the findings of a Malaysian autopsy that suggest the deadly VX nerve agent was used to kill leader Kim Jong Un's half brother — or "Kim Chol, a citizen of (North Korea) bearing a diplomatic passport," as its media and officials on the scene insist the victim be called.


China to cut 500,000 steel and coal jobs this year

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 02:17 AM PST

China to cut 500,000 steel and coal jobs this yearChina said Wednesday it will cut 500,000 jobs in the steel and coal industries this year as it continues to trim excess capacity in the smokestack sectors amid a slowing economy. Minister of Human Resources Yin Weimin, in announcing the cuts at a press conference in Beijing, said the laid-off workers will enter a job placement programme or be offered early retirement. China makes more than half the world's steel, but an economic slowdown and sagging global demand has left the industry with massive overcapacity.


Contamination of Lake Titicaca: Lake worshipped by Inca now littered with trash

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 09:18 AM PST

Contamination of Lake Titicaca: Lake worshipped by Inca now littered with trashTucked between snow-capped mountains, Lake Titicaca was once worshipped by the Incas, who proclaimed its deep blue waters the birthplace of the sun. The steady deterioration of the prized tourist destination has caused a rash of health problems among the 1.3 million people in Peru and Bolivia living near Lake Titicaca's polluted banks. "If the frogs could talk they would say, 'This is killing me,'" said Maruja Inquilla, a local environmental activist who recently showed up at the Puno governor's house carrying plastic bags filled with hundreds of dead frogs in protest.


Scientists are firing lasers at dinosaur fossils, and the result is awesome

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 08:21 AM PST

Scientists are firing lasers at dinosaur fossils, and the result is awesomeScientists are one step closer to figuring out what dinosaurs actually looked like—and they're doing it by pointing laser beams at dinosaur fossils to show previously unknown features and details, including the actual fleshy outlines of prehistoric creatures. In a new study, researchers focused the technique on the Anchiornis, a small feathered dinosaur that lived in the late Jurassic period. SEE ALSO: A dinosaur-era reptile popped out babies, not eggs Due to the animal's drumstick-shaped legs and bird-like arms, revealed by the lasers, researchers think the Anchiornis might have been able to fly. The discovery offers another link in how modern-day birds may have evolved from their predecessors, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.  Image: Julius T. Csotonyi The Anchiornis, whose name means "near bird," was the size of a raven and lived about a 160 million years ago. By laser-scanning nine of the Anchiornis's fossil fragments, scientists found their bodies showed remarkable similarities to modern birds. " Anchiornis is especially suited for this study, because its contribution to understanding avian and flight origins has not been fully realized," the team wrote in the paper. Researchers also found that the Anchiornis had arms with patagia, a membrane that covers a limb and forms a wing—as with bats—that is necessary for gliding or flying. "What our work does underscore is the broad extent to which bird-like dinosaurs were experimenting with their anatomy and functional capabilities before we had the first unequivocal gliding and flying birds," Michael Pittman, the study's lead researcher and a paleontologist at the University of Hong Kong, told National Geographic BONUS: Tremendous 122-foot titanosaur is unveiled at Museum of Natural History


Spoiler Alert: Subway chicken sandwiches are only 50% chicken, but they’re still 100% delicious

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 01:33 PM PST

Spoiler Alert: Subway chicken sandwiches are only 50% chicken, but they're still 100% delicious

As a sandwich aficionado, I've always hated the fact that Subway tends to get a bad rap. Because the company has franchises everywhere, and because most everything on the Subway menu is pretty cheap, people tend to dismiss the sandwich chain as 'low-rent' compared to some pricier and less tastier options. To be perfectly honest, and at the risk of embarrassing myself, I've long been a staunch Subway defender and apologist.

When someone a few years ago discovered that Subway bread contains azodicarbonamide, a chemical found in yoga mats, I said nothing. After all, far be it from me to judge the chemical composition of tasty bread. If anything, the news made me look at yoga mats in a whole new light. More recently, when Subway was caught ripping off consumers by selling 11-inch bread while advertising footlong sandwiches, I, once again, said nothing.

Alas, the latest controversy involving my beloved sandwich chain has prompted me to speak up. It pains me to say it, but Subway has finally gone too far.

According to a troubling report from the CBC, DNA testing on Subway's oven-roasted chicken found that the patty only contains about 50% chicken. As for what comprises the remaining 50%, well, let's just say I'd rather not know. The oven-roasted chicken, though, wasn't the only offending item on Subway's menu. Similar DNA testing found Subway's Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki strips are only 42% chicken.

While it's not realistic to expect a menu item at a fast food joint to be 100% pure chicken -- marinades and other add-ons can easily dilute the results -- 40% is simply inexcusable. Subway's performance here is even more glaring given that chicken dishes tested at other fast food establishments scored much higher. McDonald's grilled Country Chicken sandwich, for example, was found to be about 85% chicken.

Subway has since come out and refuted the CBC's findings, while at the same time promising to look into the matter.

"The accusations made by CBC Marketplace about the content of our chicken are absolutely false and misleading," Subway said in a statement provided to Consumer Affairs. "Our chicken is 100% white meat with seasonings, marinated and delivered to our stores as a finished, cooked product.

"We have advised them of our strong objections," the statement adds. "We do not know how they produced such unreliable and factually incorrect data, but we are insisting on a full retraction. Producing high quality food for our customers is our highest priority. This report is wrong and it must be corrected."

As for me, the report has forced me to look at Subway in a whole new light. I'm not going to stop eating there -- that would be downright crazy -- but I might just stick with the tuna from now on. What can I say, I like to live dangerously.


The U.S. Military's Greatest Advantage Is Dying a Slow Death

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 12:09 PM PST

The U.S. Military's Greatest Advantage Is Dying a Slow DeathAnd a new idea could revive it, but that's only half the battle.


New Policy To Safeguard Victims Of Crimes By Immigrants

Posted: 28 Feb 2017 09:06 PM PST

New Policy To Safeguard Victims Of Crimes By ImmigrantsIn his first joint address to Congress, President Donald Trump called for the creation of an office, called VOICE, to support victims of crimes by undocumented immigrants.


Mom Gets 50 Years for Giving Son, 5, Fatal Dose of Pills and Setting His Body on Fire

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:04 AM PST

Mom Gets 50 Years for Giving Son, 5, Fatal Dose of Pills and Setting His Body on FireNarges Shafeirad pleaded guilty last year to feeding her 5-year-old son, Daniel Dana, a fatal dose of antihistamines.


Kremlin says patiently waiting for U.S. policy action on Russia

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 01:39 AM PST

Kremlin says patiently waiting for U.S. policy action on RussiaThe Kremlin is patiently waiting for U.S. policy action on Russia so that it can understand what the future holds for U.S-Russia relations, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. "We are full of patience and are waiting for some kind of actions to follow these statements that will allow us to understand ... the perspectives for bilateral relations." Peskov commented after Trump addressed Congress on Tuesday.


Icahn selling Trump Taj Mahal casino to Hard Rock

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 05:52 PM PST

Icahn selling Trump Taj Mahal casino to Hard RockATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Billionaire investor Carl Icahn reached a deal Wednesday to sell the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City to Hard Rock International and two New Jersey investors.


Caterpillar shares sink on news of federal probe

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 03:16 PM PST

Caterpillar shares sink on news of federal probeLaw enforcement officials entered three facilities in and around Caterpillar's Peoria headquarters in the Midwestern state of Illinois "to execute a search and seizure warrant," the company said in a statement. Caterpillar said the investigation appeared to be linked to an existing probe of its Swiss affiliate, CSARL. The Senate report said Caterpillar shifted to CSARL taxable income totaling more than $8 billion, enabling it to avoid paying $2.4 billion in US taxes.


How to Get the Most Out of Your Home Inspection

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 06:48 AM PST

How to Get the Most Out of Your Home InspectionAccording to data from the National Association of Realtors, in 2016, approximately 700,000 of the 6.1 million homes sold were new. A good way for homebuyers to be aware of potential problems with a home -- and gauge the potential costs -- is to have a home inspection. A home inspection by a certified professional provides a bit of assurance regarding the home's quality and the effectiveness of its key systems like air conditioning, heating, roof and more.


Google’s Assistant AI is available for all modern Android handsets right now

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 10:11 AM PST

Google's Assistant AI is available for all modern Android handsets right now

Remember the flood of Amazon Alexa news coming from CES 2017 in early January? Everyone wanted a piece of Amazon's voice technology, including companies that made Android devices, which you'd expect to get support for Google Assistant before anything else. Well, the Amazon buzz wasn't nearly as strong as the biggest mobile show in town. Sunday was packed with press conferences, and everyone was announcing support for Google Assistant. Something strange was happening.

It all started with the LG G6, at which point I thought Google was choosing select partners to bring its Google Assistant to more devices. Soon after than Huawei announced that the P10 line would get it. Then, Nokia, Motorola, and Sony followed, saying that their brand new handsets will also get Google Assistant integration. Google even made special appearances during some of these press events, to talk about some of its Android features, including Google Assistant.

It didn't take long for it to become clear, all these upcoming handsets will feature Google Assistant integration out of the box. This is something Google wants, and Google will have it. Why hasn't Google launched its Assistant on other devices aside from the Pixel? For some reason, it wasn't apparently ready to do it.

But it is now. On Thursday, the final day of MWC 2017, Google made it official: all Marshmallow and Nougat devices will get Google Assistant support, not just the brand new ones coming out of the show. Google did not make a big fuss about Google Assistant at the show, although it did announce that Google Assistant will be available to try out on a variety of devices at its Android Village.

On the other hand, MWC attendees probably got the idea as soon as the Congress kicked off last Sunday and they got to try more and more devices. A hard press on that home button would constantly bring up the Assistant, signaling that something big is happening. You didn't need to see Google's announcement to know something was going on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_BeK48-Bzc

What matters now is that everyone who's on a fairly new device will be able to use it. Google posted a video on Thursday to inform the masses about the roll out.

And I can't but observe that the timing of this Google initiative could not be better. Samsung is rumored to bring to life a brand new advanced assistant for the Galaxy S8 called Bixby. By the time it launches, however, Google Assistant should also be enabled on the Galaxy S8. Google did mention Samsung specifically in its announcement.

How do you install Assistant on your smartphone or tablet? You don't. You just update Google Play Services, and Assistant will come to you. If you want to use it, that is. You can also disable it if you find the whole concept too creepy for your taste.

Android Wear 2 will also get the feature, and TVs and cars will follow.


Small Plane Crashes Into California Homes, Killing 3 People

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 12:06 PM PST

Small Plane Crashes Into California Homes, Killing 3 PeopleThe twin-engine plane had five occupants.


The Islamic State Pledged To Attack China Next. Here’s Why.

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 09:34 AM PST

The Islamic State Pledged To Attack China Next. Here's Why.ISIS tries to curry favor with China's repressed Muslim minority groups.


The Latest: 1 of 3 slain teens had feuded with gang member

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 11:24 AM PST

The Latest: 1 of 3 slain teens had feuded with gang memberCENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The Latest on gang members indicted in the killings of three teenagers on Long Island last year (all times local):


New Trump immigration order will remove Iraq from list of banned countries: AP

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 07:14 AM PST

New Trump immigration order will remove Iraq from list of banned countries: APWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials. Four officials say the decision follows pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, the AP reported. They had urged the White House to reconsider Iraq's inclusion given its key role in fighting the Islamic State group, it added. Trump is expected to sign the new order on Wednesday. An earlier order was blocked by federal courts. ...


Apple Wins $533 Million Patent Case

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 04:04 AM PST

Apple Wins $533 Million Patent CaseOn Wednesday, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., reversed a jury verdict accusing Apple of infringing upon Smartflash's intellectual property rights.


Tornadoes leave a basement without a house in Missouri

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 12:50 PM PST

Tornadoes leave a basement without a house in MissouriABC News' Phillip Mena shows the devastation in Perryville, Missouri, where a house has been completely swept away by tornadoes.


Widow of Navy SEAL Who Died in Yemen Raid Gets 2-Minute Standing Ovation During Trump's Speech

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 08:00 AM PST

Widow of Navy SEAL Who Died in Yemen Raid Gets 2-Minute Standing Ovation During Trump's Speech'Ryan died as he lived - a warrior, and a hero,' Trump said.


New solar roof technology from Panasonic could eventually end up in Tesla’s Model 3

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 04:01 PM PST

New solar roof technology from Panasonic could eventually end up in Tesla's Model 3

This past November, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter and floated the idea of offering a solar roof option for the Model 3. When asked outright if Tesla had plans to "embed solar panels in the roof," Musk replied that they would "probably offer that as an option."

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/794575003446480896

Right off the bat, Musk's tweet seemed overly optimistic, if not downright absurd. While a solar roof capable of harnessing the sun's power and charging a car as it drives is certainly intriguing, such a design is far from practical given the current state of solar technology. At the core, the size of the Model 3's roof would only be big enough for a solar panel that would, at best, manage to tack on an extra mile or two of range per day. In effect, implementing a solar roof would be far more trouble than it's worth.

Earlier this week, however, Panasonic unveiled a new a type of solar panel technology designed specifically for cars. Dubbed the "HITPhotovoltaic Module for Automobile", the solar roof design is currently available for the Toyota Prius PHV exclusively, but that may change in the coming years.

What makes Panasonic's work here so intriguing is that the design houses new technology which makes it possible to actually charge lithium-ion batteries, the very same which power Tesla's fleet of vehicles.

Panasonic's press release reads:

Panasonic's solar cells have a unique structure that combines a crystalline silicon substrate and an amorphous silicon film, and feature high conversion efficiency and excellent temperature characteristics.

Conventional automotive solar cells can output up to several tens of watts and have been used only for the auxiliary charging of 12 V batteries and ventilation power sources for parked cars; however, the use of the features of Panasonic's solar cells allow a high output (approx.180 W) in a limited area on a car's roof, enabling the charging of the drive lithium-ion batteries as well as 12 V batteries, resulting in a possible extension of an EV's travel distance and increased in fuel economy.

An added bonus is that Panasonic's solar roof can be designed to match a car's existing design, thereby enabling an efficient installation process.

That said, a lot more work still needs to be done before solar roofs become an add-on worth paying for, or even considering. Even with Panasonic's solar roof advancements, a parked car equipped with a solar roof panel might still only be able to eek out an additional 3-4 miles of range per day. While that could certainly add up over time, it's hardly a game-changer. Additionally, consider this: the aforementioned Toyota Prius PHV would reportedly need about a full week to go from empty to full charge via a solar roof alone.

In the meantime, Tesla owners can look forward to next-gen Supercharger technology which Musk last year hinted would be a huge leap forward.


Tunisia to try six police over beach attack response

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 03:13 AM PST

Tunisia to try six police over beach attack responseTunisia is to prosecute six policemen over their response to a 2015 gun and grenade attack on a beach resort that killed 38 foreign holidaymakers, a judiciary spokesman said Wednesday. The announcement comes a day after an inquest into the deaths of the 30 Britons among them found that the response of Tunisian police was "at best shambolic, at worst cowardly". The six policemen, who will remain at liberty pending trial, have been charged with "failing to come to the assistance of a person in danger," said Sofiene Sliti, spokesman for the judiciary's counter-terrorism section.


EU Parliament lifts Le Pen immunity over gruesome tweets

Posted: 02 Mar 2017 10:56 AM PST

EU Parliament lifts Le Pen immunity over gruesome tweetsPARIS (AP) — The European Parliament voted Thursday to lift the immunity from prosecution for French far-right leader Marine Le Pen for tweeting gruesome images of Islamic State violence, a crime that carries up to three years in prison in France.


Exclusive: Trump administration has found only $20 million in existing funds for wall - document

Posted: 01 Mar 2017 03:01 PM PST

Exclusive: Trump administration has found only $20 million in existing funds for wall - documentPresident Donald Trump's promise to use existing funds to begin immediate construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has hit a financial roadblock, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rapid start of construction, promised throughout Trump's campaign and in an executive order issued in January on border security, was to be financed, according to the White House, with "existing funds and resources" of the Department of Homeland Security. The document said the funds would be enough to cover a handful of contracts for wall prototypes, but not enough to begin construction of an actual barrier.


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