Whole Foods CEO dismisses plant-based meat as ‘super-highly processed foods’

It may be good for the environment, he told CNBC, but maybe not for our bodies.
Read more: https://www.cnet.com/news/whole-foods-ceo-says-plant-based-meat-is-unhealthy/?source=Snapzu

Amazon's doorbell camera Ring is working with police – and controlling what they say

Ring shapes communications of police agencies it works with. Critics fear it’s building up a for-profit private surveillance network.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/29/ring-amazon-police-partnership-social-media-neighbor?source=Snapzu

Senators ask Jeff Bezos to crack down on thousands of unsafe products on Amazon

Three Senate Democrats sent a letter to Amazon urging the company to do something about the thousands of unsafe or banned products listed on the e-commerce site. In a letter sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., asked him to take action to stop the sale of unsafe products on Amazon.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/senators-ask-jeff-bezos-to-crack-down-on-unsafe-products-on-amazon.html?source=Snapzu

15% Tariff Hitting AirPods, Apple Watch, HomePod and More This Sunday

Starting this Sunday, Apple's AirPods, Apple Watch, headphones, some iMacs, HomePod, and other products will be impacted by a 15 percent tariff...
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/30/apple-products-tariff-september-1/?source=Snapzu

Great Barrier Reef outlook now 'very poor', Australian government review says

Five-yearly report says climate change is escalating the threat and window of opportunity for action is now
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/30/great-barrier-reef-outlook-now-very-poor-australian-government-review-says?source=Snapzu

The camp that makes future millionaires

In a rented room in a church in an upmarket Toronto suburb, Hasina Lookman is running through various stock market indices at a rapid clip. “Tell me about volume,” she asks, then follows up with an explanation of market capitalisation. Her listeners, clearly engaged, appear eager to weigh-in on what might cause a stock’s value to fluctuate.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190827-the-camp-that-makes-future-millionaires?source=Snapzu

North Korea changes constitution to solidify Kim Jong Un’s rule

North Korea's parliament has approved changes to the country's constit...
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-korea-constitution/north-korea-changes-constitution-to-solidify-kim-jong-uns-rule-idUSKCN1VJ1JQ?source=Snapzu

Compasses to point true north for first time in 360 years

Over the past few hundred years in the UK all compass needles have pointed west of true north
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/30/compasses-to-point-true-north-for-first-time-in-360-years?source=Snapzu

Visiting space will be "just like going on a cruise" says space hotel architect

The first commercial space hotel will be more like a cruise ship than Stanley Kubrick's sleek space station from 2001, says Tim Alatorre, senior design architect of the Von Braun Space Station. The Gateway Foundation is designing the world's first space hotel – the Von Braun Space Station – with the aim of making visiting space accessible to everyone.
Read more: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/08/29/space-hotel-architect-von-braun-space-station/?source=Snapzu

7-year-old boy chooses to meet his bone marrow donor over going to Disney World

Six years after surviving a bone marrow transplant, 7-year-old Gabriel Smith had a choice. He could either go to Disney World for the first time or meet the stranger who saved his life.
Read more: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/year-boy-chooses-meet-bone-marrow-donor-germany-65236998?source=Snapzu

Samsung Galaxy Fold launch date mooted, and it's literally a week away

Samsung previously said its long-delayed Galaxy Fold device is launching in September, and we might just have a firm release date after all. According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency (h/t: Android Central), Samsung and three mobile operators are discussing a September 6 launch date in the country.
Read more: https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-fold-launch-date-1024065/?source=Snapzu

There’s no evidence that a ‘gay gene’ exists

Publication of the largest-ever study of the roles of genes in homosexual behavior is fanning the debate over whether being gay is due to genes or environment. First reported at a genetics conference in 2018, the study found five genetic variants associated with having a same-sex sexual partner (SN: 10/20/18). But those variants, called SNPs, don’t predict people’s sexual behavior, researchers report in the Aug. 30 Science.
Read more: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/no-evidence-that-gay-gene-exists?source=Snapzu

Earth’s chemical fingerprint could help identify habitable exoplanets

Canadian astronomers at McGill University, using satellite data collected over the past decade, have come up with a spectral “fingerprint” of Earth that could be compared to atmospheric signatures from exoplanet transits to help determine their ability to support life.
Read more: https://astronomynow.com/2019/08/29/earths-chemical-fingerprint-could-help-identify-habitable-exoplanets/?source=Snapzu

'Don't vape. Don't use Juul': Juul CEO issues stark warning to nonsmokers as he admits long-term effects of vaping are unknown

Juul CEO Ken Burns said that while the long-term effects of vaping are unknown, Juul products are "legal today" and "tested for toxicity."
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/juul-ceo-dont-vape-long-term-effects-unknown-2019-8?source=Snapzu

Fitbit customers angry company ignored complaints after latest tech update ruined devices

For the past month, Fitbit remained silent while customer complaints mounted over a recent software update for its Charge 2 fitness tracker that ruined some devices. But on Tuesday, in the wake of a CBC News investigation, the San Francisco-based wearable technology company acknowledged there's a problem.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fitbit-charge-2-firmware-update-battery-1.5258511?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar?source=Snapzu

Nintendo Just Revealed The Switch Lite’s Best Upgrade

It was supposed to be the ultimate handheld portable gaming console, but the Nintendo Switch didn’t quite fit the bill. The Switch Lite promises a better design for gaming on the go, but Nintendo has only just revealed what is possibly the best new feature for improved portability: a snap-on case with a flip cover for protecting the console’s screen and joysticks.
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/nintendo-just-revealed-the-switch-lite-s-best-upgrade-1837739325?source=Snapzu

Google Outlines iPhone Vulnerabilities That Let Malicious Websites Steal User Data for Years, Now Fixed

Google's Project Zero published a blog post this week about a previous security threat wherein malicious websites quietly hacked into the victim's iPhone. This small collection of hacked websites were used in what was described as "indiscriminate" attacks against unsuspecting visitors for years, but the threat has been addressed by Apple.
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/30/google-iphone-vulnerability/?source=Snapzu

Mexico bar attack leaves 25 dead

The bar was peppered with gunfire and Molotov cocktails were thrown inside, Mexican media report.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49494019?source=Snapzu

Uber proposes policy that would pay drivers a minimum wage of $21 per hour

On the heels of a driver-led protest outside Uber’s San Francisco headquarters, where drivers showed their support for gig worker protections legislation (via Assembly Bill 5) and demanded a union, Uber is circulating a petition urging people to “protect ridesharing in California.” In the petition, Uber advocates for a policy that would offer drivers a minimum of $21 per hour while on a trip,* paid time off, sick leave and compensation if they are injured while driving, as well as a collective voice and “the ability to influence decisions about their work.”
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/28/uber-proposes-policy-that-would-pay-drivers-a-minimum-wage-of-21-per-hour/?source=Snapzu

India’s Biggest Online Retailer Will Stop Using Throwaway Plastic Packaging

India's biggest online retailer is giving itself less than two years to stop using single-use plastic when shipping its products. Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce company owned by Walmart, said Thursday it would eliminate single-use plastic in packaging by March 2021. It also committed to "move towards 100% recycled plastic consumption" in its supply chain by the same date.
Read more: https://ktla.com/2019/08/29/indias-biggest-online-retailer-will-stop-using-throwaway-plastic-packaging/?source=Snapzu

Florida declares emergency as state braces for Hurricane Dorian

President Trump declared a state of emergency in Florida on Friday, preemptively easing federal recovery efforts expected for Hurricane Dorian.
Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/30/hurricane-dorian-donald-trump-declares-state-emergency-florida/2164177001/?source=Snapzu

Internet Star 'Exposes' Award-Winning Life Coach Jay Shetty for Plagiarizing Quotes

A monk-turned-motivational-speaker-turned fraud? Nicole Arbour has accused motivational speaker Jay Shetty of plagiarising his entire career from other people's work.
Read more: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/internet-star-exposes-award-winning-life-coach-jay-shetty-for-plagiarizing-quotes-from-other-influencers-2285907.html?source=Snapzu

Elon Musk: 'A.I. will make jobs kind of pointless' — so study this

Elon Musk may be a strong proponent of all things tech. But he’s far from positive on its implications for the jobs market. In fact, the Tesla CEO says one of tech’s great developments — artificial intelligence — could spell the end of many jobs altogether. “AI will make jobs kind of pointless,” Musk said Thursday, speaking alongside Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/29/elon-musk-ai-will-make-jobs-kind-of-pointless-so-study-this.html?source=Snapzu

Uber and Lyft Are Recruiting Their Own Drivers to Lobby Against Drivers' Rights

“Gig economy” tech companies that rely on armies of “independent contractors” are panicked at a bill being considered in California that could force them to classify their workers as actual employees. Now, they’re busily enlisting their own workers to lobby against... improving the lives of their own workers. Read the emails below.
Read more: https://splinternews.com/uber-and-lyft-are-recruiting-their-own-drivers-to-lobby-1837714017?source=Snapzu

Cambridge startup claims breakthrough electric car battery that can charge in 6 minutes

A startup that spun out of Cambridge University claims a battery breakthrough that can charge an electric car in just six minutes. It’s something we heard before, but the difference here is that they claim that they can commercialize the new battery as soon as next year.
Read more: https://electrek.co/2019/08/28/startup-claims-breakthrough-electric-car-battery-charge-6-mins/?source=Snapzu

Russia pushing 'unsuitable' nuclear power in Africa, critics claim

Moscow aiming to win influence by wooing African states with nuclear energy
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/28/russia-pushing-unsuitable-nuclear-power-in-africa-critics-claim?source=Snapzu

Feds ordered Google location dragnet to solve Wisconsin bank robbery

Another reverse location search warrant
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/28/20836855/reverse-location-search-warrant-dragnet-bank-robbery-fbi?source=Snapzu

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Is Finally 100% Assembled

The milestone was a long time coming.
Read more: https://www.space.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-complete.html?source=Snapzu

Alex Trebek announces return to ‘Jeopardy!’: ‘It’s going to be a good year’

Trebek was diagnosed with cancer back in March, but has since said his doctors told him he's "in near remission."
Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/5831709/alex-trebek-return-jeopardy/?source=Snapzu

Mystery of a Victorian-era wreck in Arctic waters

Researchers in Canada have been exploring the wreck of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-49490400/franklin-expedition-new-footage-of-wreck-of-hms-terror?source=Snapzu

Fake-branded bars slip dirty gold into world markets

A forgery crisis is quietly roiling the world's gold industry.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gold-swiss-fakes-exclusive/exclusive-fake-branded-bars-slip-dirty-gold-into-world-markets-idUSKCN1VI0DD?source=Snapzu

'I will not endorse that': The CEO of Whole Foods says eating plant-based 'meats' is unhealthy

Beyond Meat has been the biggest success story of the plant-based "meat" craze. Its stock has surged more than 500% since the company's IPO.
Read more: https://www.insider.com/whole-foods-ceo-john-mackey-plant-based-meat-products-unhealthy-2019-8?source=Snapzu

Microsoft wants to bring exFAT to the Linux kernel – TechCrunch

ExFAT, the Extended File Allocation Table, is Microsoft’s file system for flash drives and SD cards, which launched in 2006. Because it was proprietary, mounting these drives and cards on Linux machines generally involved installing additional software. Today, however, Microsoft announced tha…
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/28/microsoft-wants-to-bring-exfat-to-the-linux-kernel/?source=Snapzu

Doorbell-camera firm Ring has partnered with 400 police forces, extending surveillance reach

The home-security firm has made it easier than ever for local police to request homeowners' video. “If the police demanded every citizen put a camera at their door and give officers access to it, we might all recoil,” one legal expert said.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/08/28/doorbell-camera-firm-ring-has-partnered-with-police-forces-extending-surveillance-reach/?source=Snapzu

Senate Democrats raise 'serious concerns' about Ticketmaster, Live Nation fees

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Wednesday called for a federal investigation of the online ticketing industry, citing a report that Ticketmaster-Live Nation has defied a 2010 consent decree.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/459140-senate-democrats-raise-serious-concerns-about-ticketmaster-live-nation-fees?source=Snapzu

The New American Homeless

Last August, Cokethia Goodman returned home from work to discover a typed letter from her landlord in the mailbox. She felt a familiar panic as she began to read it. For nearly a year, Goodman and her six children—two of them adopted after being abandoned at birth—had been living in a derelict but functional three-bedroom house in the historically black Peoplestown neighborhood of Atlanta.
Read more: https://newrepublic.com/article/154618/new-american-homeless-housing-insecurity-richest-cities?source=Snapzu

A chip made with carbon nanotubes, not silicon, marks a computing milestone

Silicon’s reign in cutting-edge electronics may soon over. The carbon nanotube could be its successor.
Read more: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/chip-carbon-nanotubes-not-silicon-marks-computing-milestone?source=Snapzu

Jessi Combs killed in jet-powered car crash

Racer Jessi Combs was killed in a crash in Oregon while attempting to break her own land speed record, according to reports. Combs, 36, was driving her jet-powered car Tuesday.
Read more: https://nypost.com/2019/08/28/jessi-combs-killed-in-jet-powered-car-crash/?source=Snapzu

Unfit to Lead? A Universal Standard for Leader Competence

Even those of us without legal or psychiatric expertise have a right to assess our leaders’ competence. It seems that more people than usual are asking whether President Trump is unfit for command – they are saying, definitively, no he is not, or yes he is. Let’s leave the law to the lawyers and the psychiatric assessments to the psychiatrists. Instead, let’s work with some fundamentals that we all can use to appraise the competence of any leader in any sector.
Read more: https://www.psychreg.org/leader-competence/?source=Snapzu

Bitcoin: What Could 1 BTC be Worth After Mass Adoption?

Over the years many people have speculated on what the price of 1 BTC could be if the world switched to Bitcoin. If a large amount of global wealth moves into Bitcoin, the price would skyrocket. Here are some cocktail napkin calculations performed by community members, trying to figure out how far past the moon we may go.
Read more: https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-what-could-1-btc-be-worth-after-mass-adoption/?source=Snapzu

Leonardo DiCaprio's Earth Alliance just pledged $7 million to preserve the Amazon

The Earth Alliance environmental foundation, backed by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, has pledged more than $7 million in aid to help repair the fire-ravaged Amazon.
Read more: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/leonardo-dicaprio-s-earth-alliance-just-pledged-7-million-to-preserve-the-amazon?source=Snapzu

Apple Delays 'Walkie Talkie for Texts' Ahead of iPhone 11 Launch

The iPhone 11 has a lot of rumored features, from a new A13 processor and triple cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro to reverse wireless charging and an improved shatter-resistant design. But here's one iPhone feature that no one saw coming. According to The Information, Apple has been working on a "walkie for text messages feature" that would have allowed iPhone owners to send messages to other iPhones over long-distance radio waves. This technology would bypass cellular networks, making it a good fit for remote areas that have poor coverage by wireless carriers.
Read more: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/apple-delays-walkie-talkie-for-texts-ahead-of-iphone-11-launch?source=Snapzu

For Business, Veganism Is the New Vaping

Big food is salivating over fake meat after the blockbuster initial public offering of Beyond Meat Inc., the leading plant-based protein brand, in May. Traditional producers have rushed into the booming market for meat substitutes, which threaten to take a slice of their business. Tyson Foods Inc. was an early investor in Beyond Meat, but sold its stake before the company’s trading debut and announced its own line of faux meat. Other U.S. companies, such as Smithfield Foods Inc., are introducing alternative protein products.
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/business-veganism-vaping-060005443.html?source=Snapzu

Bernie Sanders Proposes Huge Renewables Build-Out and Publicly Owned Power

Senator Bernie Sanders, a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy, on Thursday released his long-awaited climate platform. The document adopts the "Green New Deal" moniker and calls for a climate and justice-centered revolution “from the Oval Office to the streets.”
Read more: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/bernie-sanders-proposes-renewables-buildout-and-public-electricity?source=Snapzu

Deep Learning Is Going to Teach Us All the Lesson of Our Lives: Jobs Are for Machines

On December 2nd, 1942, a team of scientists led by Enrico Fermi came back from lunch and watched as humanity created the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction inside a pile of bricks and wood underneath a football field at the University of Chicago. Known to history as Chicago Pile-1, it was celebrated in silence with a single bottle of Chianti, for those who were there understood exactly what it meant for humankind, without any need for words.
Read more: https://www.panthersharp.com/2019/08/deep-learning-is-going-to-teach-us-all.html?source=Snapzu

YouTube Music debuts new weekly playlist, tests interface tweaks

Streaming music apps have been looking at ways to add value to the in-app experience for both users and artists alike.
Read more: https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/08/26/youtube-music-app-design-test/?source=Snapzu

China's hackers are ransacking databases for your health data

In May 2017, the WannaCry ransomware spread around the globe. As the worm locked Windows PCs, the UK's National Health Service quickly ground to a halt. 19,000 appointments were cancelled, doctor's couldn't access patient files and email accounts were taken offline.
Read more: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-hackers-medical-data-cancer?source=Snapzu

Scientists successfully fertilize northern white rhino eggs

Researchers have successfully fertilized several northern white rhino eggs with the sperm of the last two bulls, Suni and Saut, both now deceased.
Read more: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/08/26/Scientists-successfully-fertilize-northern-white-rhino-eggs/6031566839235/?source=Snapzu

Indonesia picks site for new capital as Jakarta sinks

A jungle-covered area on the east of Borneo island is set to be transformed into Indonesia's new capital city. Concerns over the sustainability of the congested and rapidly sinking political center of Jakarta prompted the need for a new capital. The relocation was announced Monday by President Joko Widodo.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/indonesia-new-capital-borneo-jakarta-scli-intl/index.html?source=Snapzu

Canada will ban 'harmful' single-use plastics as early as 2021

Justin Trudeau said his government is drawing inspiration from EU in planning ban on water bottles, plastic bags and straws
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/10/canada-ban-single-use-plastics-bags-bottles-straws-2021?source=Snapzu