Sharon Armstrong spent two years in an Argentinian jail after being caught in an online dating scam

MORE than a third of marriages now start online, but thousands of people around the world are also falling victim to online dating scams.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/sharon-armstrong-spent-two-years-in-an-argentinian-jail-after-being-caught-in-an-online-dating-scam

Should We Get Rid Of The Penny?

Right now making a penny costs 1.7 cents. Yet we continue to mint more pennies every year, costing the government several million of dollars.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/should-we-get-rid-of-the-penny

One fascinating reason cable companies won’t willingly compete against each other

If you're like many Americans, you might live in an area that's effectively dominated by a cable monopoly. And maybe you were hoping that someday, another cable company might come in and start competing with the local incumbent to drive down prices and improve your service. Charter's recent takeover of Time Warner Cable made that a distinct possibility. As part of the deal, regulators required Charter to start building Internet pipes to serve new customers beyond its current footprint — and to tread directly on the territory of other Internet providers.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/hxxp/one-fascinating-reason-cable-companies-wont-willingly-compete-against-each-other

Apple Store's worst feature? Customers, says ex-employee

The customers are awful, workers get death threats, and the Apple Watch could use some work, a former Apple retail staffer tells Business Insider.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/apple-stores-worst-feature-customers-says-ex-employee

El Niño is over – but it leaves nearly 100 million people short of food

Scientists say sea temperatures are back to normal, but from southern Africa to southern Asia, droughts and heatwaves have left a trail of devastation.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/el-nino-is-over-but-it-leaves-nearly-100-million-people-short-of-food

Why You’re Not a Jerk for Firing a Longtime Employee (Arguable)

Frank has been with us for more than 20 years. Would it be wrong to let him go?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/why-youre-not-a-jerk-for-firing-a-longtime-employee-arguable

House America’s great housing divide: Are you a winner or loser?

The U.S. housing market has recovered from the crisis that plunged the country into recession. But a new analysis by The Washington Post shows that the recovery has been deeply uneven.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/house-americas-great-housing-divide-are-you-a-winner-or-loser

The college known as 'the poor man's Harvard' is facing severe budgetary issues

The City University of New York (CUNY) is the largest urban public university system in the US. The school, however, sometimes called "the poor man’s Harvard," is in serious financial difficulty, and “morale is horrible on campus."
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/the-college-known-as-the-poor-mans-harvard-is-facing-severe-budgetary-issues

All scientific papers should be free by 2020

This week was a revolutionary week in the sciences - not because we discovered a new fundamental particle or had a new breakthrough in quantum computing - but because some of the most prominent world leaders announced an initiative which asserts that European scientific papers should be made freely available to all by 2020. This would legally only impact research supported by public and public-private funds, which are a vast portion of the papers produced annually; however, the goal is to make all science freely available. Ultimately, the commitment rests on three main tenets: "Sharing knowledge freely", "open access", and "reusing...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/all-scientific-papers-should-be-free-by-2020

Former Zurich Insurance boss Martin Senn kills himself

Former Zurich Insurance (ZURN.S) boss Martin Senn has committed suicide six months after leaving the company under a cloud, a tragedy that comes less than three years after Zurich's finance chief took his own life.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/geekster/former-zurich-insurance-boss-martin-senn-kills-himself

A Biography of the Tea Bush

There’s a hoary adage that money doesn’t grow on trees. With tea, it really does, on just a single type of plant, the Camellia sinensis. Left in its natural state, it will flower, just like decorative camellias, and can grow as high as 100 feet and live for well over 100 years. Tea farms keep it at just over a meter and shape it into a round table form, to make it easy to pluck. It has a productive life of, typically, 60 years.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/a-biography-of-the-tea-bush

Verizon and unions reach tentative deal to end strike

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and unions representing nearly 40,000 wireline workers have reached a tentative deal "in principle" to end a strike that started April 13th, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez said on Friday.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/lostwonder/verizon-and-unions-reach-tentative-deal-to-end-strike

Bookings at Trump Hotels Plummet

Donald Trump has garnered a lot of attention as a Republican presidential candidate. But how has this attention impacted his business interests? Are sales up or down? The Trump brand is associated with a variety of hotels, apartments, and products. On one hand, a growing number of political supporters could boost sales of Trump products; on the other, a growing number of political detractors could lead people to avoid his brand. So which of these two forces is stronger?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/hedman/bookings-at-trump-hotels-plummet

Boston Dynamics employees were frustrated with Google's plan for a household robot

When Boston Dynamics posted a video of its humanoid robot, Atlas, walking in the snow and recovering from getting kicked, Google was not happy. As one former employee told Tech Insider, it "soured the soup" of a relationship that was already heading south. Bloomberg first reported the issues surrounding the video when it obtained an email posted on an internal Google forum. "There’s excitement from the tech press, but we’re also starting to see some negative threads about it being terrifying, ready to take humans’ jobs,” Courtney Hohne, a director of communications at Google and the spokeswoman for Google X, wrote in that email.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/geoleo/boston-dynamics-employees-were-frustrated-with-googles-plan-for-a-household-robot

Dow Jones Interactive Timeline

Dow Jones Industrial Average Interactive Timeline
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/dow-jones-interactive-timeline

Chicken embryo tests can prevent practice of gassing billions of cockerels

The current practice of gassing billions of male chicks within a day of hatching because they cannot lay eggs could be stopped thanks to a new embryo gender test. Globally some 3.2 billion cockerels are killed within hours of breaking free of their eggs each year. Now Dutch scientists have developed a simple test that identifies the sex of chicken embryos within eggs, meaning males could be terminated long before hatching.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/jasont/chicken-embryo-tests-can-prevent-practice-of-gassing-billions-of-cockerels

The Do Not Call List Used to Be Magical. Now Robocalls Are Out of Control. What Happened?

Once upon a time, way back in 2003, the federal government set up a list where Americans could register their phone numbers, and telemarketers could no longer call them. It was the National Do Not Call Registry, and it was glorious. Helaine Olen is a columnist for Slate and the co-author of The Index Card. She is the host of the Slate Academy series the United States of Debt.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/zyery/the-do-not-call-list-used-to-be-magical-now-robocalls-are-out-of-control-what-happened

Toyota is closing in on a deal to buy Google's robotics company Boston Dynamics, and the 'ink is nearly dry'

Google is in talks with the Toyota Research Institute to sell its robotics division Boston Dynamics, a source familiar with the matter told Tech Insider. A price for the deal has not yet been disclosed, but this person says the "ink is nearly dry." Tensions between Google and Boston Dynamics have been brewing since 2014, but a video released by Boston Dynamics in February of its humanoid robot, Atlas, was the tipping point for the separation, according to a Bloomberg article written in March.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/ppp/toyota-is-closing-in-on-a-deal-to-buy-googles-robotics-company-boston-dynamics-and-the-ink-is-nearly-dry

Newspapers escalate their fight against ad blockers

The newspaper industry is upping its tactics in the fight against ad-blockers. The Newspaper Association of America, the industry association representing 2,000 newspapers (including the Washington Post), filed a federal complaint against the ad-blocking industry on Thursday, alleging that software companies which enable users to block ads are misleading the public.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/darvinhg/newspapers-escalate-their-fight-against-ad-blockers

Should it be legal to resell e-books, software, and other digital goods?

With e-book reselling heading to the EU Court of Justice, we examine the complexities of the law.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/should-it-be-legal-to-resell-e-books-software-and-other-digital-goods

Alphabet's Google beats Oracle in U.S. Android trial

A U.S. jury handed Alphabet's Google a major victory on Thursday in a long-running copyright lawsuit against Oracle Corp, saying the law allowed Google's use of Oracle's software to create its Android smartphone operating system.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/alphabets-google-beats-oracle-in-us-android-trial

Europe’s unemployment crisis is much worse than we thought

Unemployment is running at more than 24% unemployment in Greece. It is above 20% in Spain, and in France and Italy it is well above 10%, and has been stuck at those levels for many years. Given those terrible numbers, you might think that the eurozone’s jobless crisis couldn’t be any more crushing. But unfortunately you’d be wrong. In fact it is even worse than most people realize. Why? Because the official statistics only capture people who are actively looking for work. There are millions more who would be working...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/bradd/europes-unemployment-crisis-is-much-worse-than-we-thought

Ethereum is the Forefront of Digital Currency

We have sat here for the last 3 years seeing only infrastructure apps like wallets and exchanges emerge on top of Bitcoin. Why is that? My theory has been that the scripting language in Bitcoin — the piece of every Bitcoin transaction that lets you run a little software program along with it — is too restrictive. Enter Ethereum. Ethereum has taken what was a four function calculator of a programming language in Bitcoin and turned it into a full fledged computer.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/wetwilly87/ethereum-is-the-forefront-of-digital-currency

Reboot: Adidas to make shoes in Germany again – but using robots

Company unveils new factory in Germany that will use machines to make shoes instead of humans in Asia
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/reboot-adidas-to-make-shoes-in-germany-again-but-using-robots

Cuba to legalize small and medium-sized private businesses

Cuba announced Tuesday that it will legalize small- and medium-sized private businesses in a move that could significantly expand private enterprise in one of the world's last communist countries. Cuban business owners and economic experts said they were hopeful the reform would allow private firms to import wholesale supplies and export products to other countries for the first time, removing a major obstacle to private business growth.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/lexi6/cuba-to-legalize-small-and-medium-sized-private-businesses

How an Ad Campaign Made Lesbians Fall in Love with Subaru

It's a popular stereotype that lesbians drive Subarus. What's less well known is that Subaru cultivated that image—and made history in the process.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/how-an-ad-campaign-made-lesbians-fall-in-love-with-subaru

Fmr. McDonald's USA CEO: $35K Robots Cheaper Than Hiring at $15 Per Hour

As fast-food workers across the country vie for $15 per hour wages, many business owners have already begun to take humans out of the picture. “I was at the National Restaurant Show yesterday and if you look at the robotic devices that are coming into the restaurant industry -- it’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries -- it’s nonsense and it’s very destructive and it’s inflationary...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/aj0690/fmr-mcdonalds-usa-ceo-35k-robots-cheaper-than-hiring-at-15-per-hour

Sugar’s Not Just Bad for You—It’s Bad for Coca-Cola’s Business

Now is not a great time to be in the sugar business. On the health front, Philadelphia is joining the list of cities that want to tax people on sugar-sweetened drinks, and the Food and Drug Administration just approved a new nutrition label that would place more emphasis on calories and added sugars. Meanwhile, sugar has become a volatile commodity: in the past year, prices have tanked over a dozen times before shooting up over 30 percent this month compared to a year ago.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/sugars-not-just-bad-for-youits-bad-for-coca-colas-business

Why Alcohol Companies Oppose Legal Pot in Arizona, but Support it in Nevada

Are alcohol distributors just waiting to get a cut?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/why-alcohol-companies-oppose-legal-pot-in-arizona-but-support-it-in-nevada

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has secretly been paying Hulk Hogan's legal fees

One of Silicon Valley's best-known investors has been footing a former wrestler’s legal bills in lawsuits against a shared enemy. Peter Thiel, a PayPal cofounder and one of the earliest backers of Facebook, has been secretly covering the expenses for Hulk Hogan’s lawsuits against online news organization Gawker Media. According to people familiar with the situation who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, Thiel, a cofounder and partner at Founders Fund, has played a lead role in bankrolling the cases Terry Bollea, a.k.a.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rhingo/paypal-co-founder-peter-thiel-has-secretly-been-paying-hulk-hogans-legal-fees

Why Sports Authority's Going Out of Business Sale Isn't That Great -- Yet

Patience is required for true deals.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/lostwonder/why-sports-authoritys-going-out-of-business-sale-isnt-that-great-yet

Here's who buys the most weapons from the U.S.

With the end of the U.S. arms embargo, Vietnam will join a long list of international recipients of American armaments.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/heres-who-buys-the-most-weapons-from-the-us

Bank of America $1.27 bln U.S. mortgage penalty is voided

A U.S. appeals court on Monday threwout a jury's finding that Bank of America Corp wasliable for mortgage fraud leading up to the 2008 financialcrisis, voiding a $1.27 billion penalty and dealing the U.S.Department of Justice a major setback.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TNY/bank-of-america-127-bln-us-mortgage-penalty-is-voided

For first time in Modern Era, living with parents edges out other living arrangements for 18- to 34-year-olds

For the first time since 1880, Americans ages 18 to 34 are more likely to be living with their parent(s) than in a household shared with a spouse or partner.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/for-first-time-in-modern-era-living-with-parents-edges-out-other-living-arrangements-for-18-to-34-year-olds

Facebook apologies for plus-size ad ban

Facebook has apologised after refusing to run an advert featuring plus-sized model Tess Holliday wearing a bikini. The social network told the BBC it had made a mistake and has now approved the image. Australian feminist group Cherchez La Femme had expressed fury after Facebook rejected their advert for an event designed to promote body positivity. Originally the social network told them the advert "depicts a body... in an undesirable manner".
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Petrox/facebook-apologies-for-plus-size-ad-ban

Domino's Wage Theft

About 80% of all Domino's employees are paid less than minimum wage once you take a look at what's going on annually. (Linked Archive.is NYT because New York Times articles get paywall'd.)
Read more: http://snapzu.com/geekster/dominos-wage-theft

Empire of Lies: How the US Continues to Deceive the World About Puerto Rico

"There are three kinds of lies," said Mark Twain. "Lies, damned lies, and statistics." Unfortunately for Puerto Rico, this is not an aphorism; it is an operating principle. Members of Congress are trying to lower Puerto Rico's minimum wage -- and say they're ''stabilizing'' the island's economy.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/empire-of-lies-how-the-us-continues-to-deceive-the-world-about-puerto-rico

Sheep Shearing In The Appalachian Mountains

With the Black Thorn Farm in the Appalachian mountains as his location, New York City-based photographer Brian Ferry set out to document the act of sheep shearing, ringing in the season of spring.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/sheep-shearing-in-the-appalachian-mountains

Japan ATM scam using fraudulent cards nets $12.7m

Cash worth 1.4bn yen ($13m; £8.8m) is taken from cash machines in Japan using credit cards made with stolen South African bank data.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/japan-atm-scam-using-fraudulent-cards-nets-127m

Amazon no longer offers refunds on anything but TVs

Amazon has quietly ended its price protection policy on all products except for televisions. The change to the company’s policy comes at a time when a handful of startups have launched to help consumers automate the process of requesting refunds when prices change on online sites, including Amazon as well as dozens of other e-commerce stores.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/everlost/amazon-no-longer-offers-refunds-on-anything-buttvs

Eat locals: swapping sheep and cows for kangaroos and camels could help our environment

Eating cows and sheep is unsustainable in Australia. Here are some better alternatives.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/eat-locals-swapping-sheep-and-cows-for-kangaroos-and-camels-could-help-our-environment

Solving a Century-Old Typographical Mystery

How a strange face in a random 19th-century newspaper ad became a portal to a forgotten moment in ASCII art history. By Jacob Harris.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/solving-a-century-old-typographical-mystery

How copyright law is being misused to remove material from the internet

When Annabelle Narey posted a negative review of a building firm on Mumsnet, the last thing on her mind was copyright infringement.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/how-copyright-law-is-being-misused-to-remove-material-from-the-internet

We looked inside a secret Chinese bitcoin mine

In China, savvy entrepreneurs are making millions a year by mining bitcoin. We visited one of the world’s biggest facilities of its kind.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/we-looked-inside-a-secret-chinese-bitcoin-mine

Advertising Cannot Maintain the Internet. Here's the "Secret Sauce" Solution

Can pay-for-use stimulate commerce and save modern journalism?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/advertising-cannot-maintain-the-internet-heres-the-secret-sauce-solution

Africa is becoming a testbed for commercial drone services

UPS recently entered into a partnership with Zipline, a medical drone delivery startup, to begin aerial transport of healthcare supplies in Rwanda. Included in the deal is Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, a Gates Foundation supported non-profit specializing in immunizations. Zipline’s first distribution of medical supply packages will start in July—meaning a startup will begin drone delivery in Africa before unmanned Amazon vehicles drop any orders at doorsteps in the U.S.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/hxxp/africa-is-becoming-a-testbed-for-commercial-droneservices

How Markets Magnify the Role of Luck and Create the Illusion of Meritocracy

Why people with similar talents earn such dramatically different incomes.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/how-markets-magnify-the-role-of-luck-and-create-the-illusion-of-meritocracy

'People are hungry for real bookstores': Judy Blume on why US indie booksellers are thriving

At 78, the multimillion-selling author has begun a new career, opening her own bookshop – and joining a business sector that’s flourishing again in the US. She might be a beloved and bestselling author of classic children’s books from Forever to Blubber, but Judy Blume says she wakes up every day “and I look to the sky, and I say, ‘whoever’s up there, I thank you for not having to write today’.”
Read more: http://snapzu.com/messi/people-are-hungry-for-real-bookstores-judy-blume-on-why-us-indie-booksellers-are-thriving

ISP: Police Request Most User Data for File-Sharing "Crimes"

For the first time Swedish Internet service provider Bahnhof has shared details on the nature of police requests for subscriber identities. The data reveals that with 27.5% "file-sharing" is by far the largest category. The ISP, however, doesn't see piracy as a serious crime and has refused to hand over any subscriber data.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/isp-police-request-most-user-data-for-file-sharing-crimes

People are turning on ad blockers because of data-consuming ad tech

The real reason people are turning on ad blockers is less about annoying ads and more about data consumed by the invisible tracking that goes on behind them, according to a new report by Secret Media. Ads take up just 9% of the space on a web page, but are accountable for 54% of the load time, the study found. This results from the data tracking and cookies that come with ads.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Petrox/people-are-turning-on-ad-blockers-because-of-data-consuming-ad-tech