CDC orders sweeping U.S. transportation mask mandate as COVID-19 rages

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a sweeping order late Friday requiring the use of face masks on nearly all forms of public transportation Monday as the country continues to report thousands of daily COVID-19 deaths.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-masks/cdc-orders-sweeping-u-s-transportation-mask-mandate-as-covid-19-rages-idUSKBN29Y2YG?source=Snapzu

NASA Veterans Are Building an Orbital Space Hotel With Artificial Gravity

NASA veterans in a new company are building the first space hotel! Featuring artificial gravity.
Read more: https://interestingengineering.com/nasa-stars-orbital-space-hotel-artificial-gravity?source=Snapzu

'Sea Prison': COVID-19 Has Left Hundreds Of Thousands Of Seafarers Stranded

On a chilly January morning, the Rev. Mary Davisson climbs up the stern ramp of the Tonsberg, an enormous ship bobbing in the murky waters at the Port of Baltimore. Davisson, the executive director and port chaplain of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center, has spent much of her nearly two-decade career helping foreign crew members arriving in port, whether it is giving them a lift into town to buy personal items or just enjoying a coffee with them.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2021/01/29/959626340/-sea-prison-covid-19-has-left-hundreds-of-thousands-of-seafarers-stranded?source=Snapzu

Rabbi From Florida Arrested for Role in U.S. Capitol Riot

A rabbi from the Tampa Bay area became the latest person with ties to Florida to be arrested for their alleged role in the U.S. Capitol riot earlier in January. NBC affiliate WFLA-TV reports the United States Department of Justice has filed several charges against Michael Stepakoff, who was caught on camera among the group that stormed the building on January 6th following a rally for former President Donald Trump.
Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/rabbi-from-florida-arrested-for-role-in-u-s-capitol-riot/2856912/?source=Snapzu

Detroit Zoo polar bear give birth to twins after unsuccessful pregnancies

After losing her baby cubs in two different pregnancies, the Detroit Zoo's 8-year-old polar bear, Suka, successfully gave birth to two cubs on Nov. 17. The two unnamed cubs are the first polar bears to be successfully born and raised in the Detroit Zoo since 2004, the zoo said in a news release this week.
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/01/29/detroit-zoo-polar-bear-cubs/4306641001/?source=Snapzu

Donald Trump Business Empire Faces Continued Fallout

"Trump as a luxury hospitality brand in the United States is absolutely 100% over," says a PR specialist, amid Trump Organization declines in revenue and value of its real-estate holdings.
Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/donald-trump-business-empire-faces-continued-fallout-post-capitol-riot?source=Snapzu

Black Lives Matter movement nominated for Nobel peace prize

The Black Lives Matter movement has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following a year in which protests demanding racial justice exploded across the world. Norwegian MP Petter Eide said in his nomination papers that the movement had forced countries other than the US to face up to racism within their own societies. “I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality,” Mr Eide said, according to The Guardian.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/black-lives-matter-nobel-peace-prize-petter-eide-b1795115.html?source=Snapzu

Toys R Us retrenches again, shutters its last 2 US stores

Toys R Us is retrenching once again. The only two Toys R Us stores that opened in November 2019 as part of a small U.S. comeback attempt by the iconic toy chain have now closed. The Toys R Us store at the Galleria mall in Houston shuttered on Jan. 15, while one at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, closed on Tuesday, according Tru Kids, a new entity formed when it acquired Toys R Us’ intellectual property during its liquidation in 2018.
Read more: https://thegrio.com/2021/01/30/toys-r-us-closes/?source=Snapzu

Why hydrogen is the most promising zero-emission technology

It is the clean energy carrier that is making the transport industry—from automotive and rail to shipping—sit up and take notice: hydrogen. For Airbus VP of Zero-Emission Aircraft Glenn Llewellyn, hydrogen is more than just an industry buzzword: it is potentially the future of aviation.
Read more: https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/news/en/2021/01/hydrogen-most-promising-zero-emission-technology.html?cid=s?source=Snapzu

Scientists solve a major climate mystery, confirming Earth is hotter than it's been in at least 120 centuries

Scientists have resolved a controversial but key climate change mystery, bolstering climate models and confirming that Earth is hotter than it's been in at least 12,000 years, and perhaps even the last 128,000 years.
Read more: https://www.space.com/scientists-solve-climate-mystery-holocene-temperature-conundrum?utm_source=notification?source=Snapzu

This acquisition could help make sustainable packaging the norm

In Manteca, California, a small company is pioneering the creation and production of paper bottles for brands such as L'Oreal and Seventh Generation. Across the U.S. in St. Petersburg, Florida, a manufacturing giant is strategizing on design, development and packaging services for the likes of Apple, Cisco Systems and HP Inc.
Read more: https://www.greenbiz.com/article/acquisition-could-help-make-sustainable-packaging-norm?source=Snapzu

GameStop short sellers are still not surrendering despite nearly $20 billion in losses this month

 "In actuality the data shows that total net shares shorted hasn't moved all that much," Ihor Dusaniwsky of S3 Partners said.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/gamestop-short-sellers-are-still-not-surrendering-despite-nearly-20-billion-in-losses-this-year.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.CopyToPasteboard?source=Snapzu

Materials breakthrough could lead to cheaper, better solar panels

To improve the efficiency of solar panels, scientists have become increasingly intrigued by perovskites, an evasive natural mineral with a unique crystalline structure. Unfortunately, the mineral has proved to be uncooperative. At room temperature, three of its four possible atomic configurations are unstable and the material quickly reverts to its fourth phase, which renders it useless in the effort to convert sunlight to electricity.
Read more: https://futurism.com/breakthrough-cheaper-better-solar-panels?source=Snapzu

What if a clearinghouse fails?

The new clearing requirements were one of the more widely applauded features of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. With good reason. Prior to the Great Recession, most derivatives transactions were unregulated and undisclosed. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, clearinghouses now guaranty many swaps by serving as a buyer to every seller and a seller to every buyer. If one of these buyers or sellers fails, the clearinghouse can step into the gap, thus limiting the risk that the failure will interfere with the financial markets.
Read more: https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-if-a-clearinghouse-fails/?source=Snapzu

Ridiculously Tiny Chameleons Discovered in Madagascar

Researchers have found a minuscule chameleon in Northern Madagascar, which they believe to be the smallest reptile on the planet. Small body, big attitude—just look at that face. The chameleon is Brookesia nana, abbreviated to B. nana (if you squint, it does kind of look like a banana). Females of the species are larger than males, at about three-quarters of an inch from snout to vent. The new record holders are the adult males, which are less than an inch including the tail. Oh, and the males also have huge hemipenes (genitals) in proportion to their size.
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/ridiculously-tiny-chameleons-discovered-in-madagascar-1846151399?source=Snapzu

Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like

From denialism to death threats, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci describes a fraught year as an adviser to President Donald J. Trump on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/health/fauci-trump-covid.html?source=Snapzu

Drone Swarms Are Getting Too Fast For Humans To Fight, U.S. General Warns

General John Murray, head of Army Futures Command, told a webinar audience at the Center for Strategic & International Studies that humans may not be able to fight swarms of enemy drones, and that the rules governing human control over artificial intelligence might need to be relaxed.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/01/27/drone-swarms-are-getting-too-fast-for-humans-too-fight-us-general-warns/?source=Snapzu

Google rode to Robinhood's rescue after it was review-bombed and lost its four-star rating

Google has deleted at least 100,000 negative reviews from Robinhood’s app on the Google Play app store after furious users flooded the app with bad reviews that caused it to drop to a one-star rating. Robinhood users became livid on Thursday morning when the stock-trading app prevented them from buying GameStop stock and other stocks promoted by WallStreetBetsReddit community.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/google-rode-to-robinhood-rescue-after-it-was-review-bombed-2021-1?source=Snapzu

Facebook Preparing Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple for 'Unfair' Approach to Privacy and Default Apps

Facebook is preparing to launch a lawsuit against Apple for alleged anticompetitive behaviour, particularly regarding App Tracking Transparency and iMessage, according to The Information.
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/28/facebook-preparing-antitrust-lawsuit-against-apple/?source=Snapzu

'Joke' Crypto Dogecoin Surges Over 500% In 24 Hours In Reddit-Driven Boon

The price skyrocketed after an Elon Musk tweet.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/01/28/joke-crypto-dogecoin-surges-over-500-in-24-hours-in-reddit-driven-boon/?sh=650c46605702?source=Snapzu

Bernie Sanders' inauguration memes help raise $1.8 million for charity

"We're glad we can use my internet fame to help Vermonters in need," Sanders said. "But even this amount of money is no substitute for action by Congress."
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/bernie-sanders-inauguration-meme-helps-raise-1-8-million-charity-n1255925?source=Snapzu

China sharpens language, warns Taiwan that independence 'means war'

China toughened its language towards Taiwan on Thursday, warning after recent stepped up military activities near the island that "independence means war" and that its armed forces were acting in response to provocation and foreign interference.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-taiwan/china-sharpens-language-warns-taiwan-that-independence-means-war-idUSKBN29X0V3?source=Snapzu

General Motors plans to exclusively offer electric vehicles by 2035

GM announced its "aspirations" Thursday as part of a larger plan for the Detroit automaker to be carbon neutral by 2040 in its global products and operations.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/general-motors-plans-to-exclusively-offer-electric-vehicles-by-2035.html?source=Snapzu

Tim Cook says privacy 'one of the top issues of the century'

Apple CEO Tim Cook in an interview on Thursday called privacy, specifically data privacy, one of the most important issues of our time.
Read more: https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/01/29/tim-cook-says-privacy-one-of-the-top-issues-of-the-century?source=Snapzu

Reddit day traders are taking on hedge fund giants and winning, and it's a sign of a new era for markets

'They are proving to be quite capable of mounting some successful 'value capture' against Wall Street institutional investors,' Fundstrat's Tom Lee said.
Read more: https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/reddit-day-traders-investors-conflict-with-wall-street-hedge-funds-2021-1-1030016712?source=Snapzu

Robinhood Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Suspended GameStop Trading

Robinhood is an online brokerage that was founded for the purpose of democratizing investing and making it more accessible for individuals to buy stocks. Its stated goal was likely one reason why traders were so surprised when the broker shut down their ability to buy GameStop shares.
Read more: https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/buying-stocks/articles/robinhood-facing-class-action-lawsuit-over-suspended-gamestop-trading/?source=Snapzu

Canada Is Formally Considering Full Drug Decriminalization For One Major City

Health Canada is reviewing Vancouver’s request to decriminalize all drugs, just as Montreal has made an ask for national decriminalization.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7akgy/canada-is-formally-considering-full-drug-decriminalization-for-vancouver?source=Snapzu

Robinhood is reportedly borrowing at least 'several hundred million dollars' from banks amid GameStop trading frenzy

Robinhood is drawing down lines of credit to the tune of "at least several hundred million dollars," Bloomberg reported Thursday. The quick decision to seek additional funds from its lenders, which include JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, suggest that this week's trading frenzy has put a strain on the company, according to Bloomberg's Matthew Monks and Michelle Davis.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/robinhood-draws-on-credit-lines-amid-gamestop-frenzy-report-2021-1?source=Snapzu

Chuck Schumer Lists Marijuana As A Priority In First Post-Election Cannabis Comments

Newly installed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterated on Monday that marijuana reform will be a legislative priority for his chamber as the session ramps up. In his first public comments on cannabis policy since Democrats reclaimed the majority and put him in the top leadership position, Schumer said federal marijuana reform will be part of a racial justice agenda that lawmakers will pursue in the 117th Congress.
Read more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/chuck-schumer-lists-marijuana-as-a-priority-in-first-post-election-cannabis-comments/?source=Snapzu

Chuck Schumer Lists Marijuana As A Priority In First Post-Election Cannabis Comments

Newly installed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reiterated on Monday that marijuana reform will be a legislative priority for his chamber as the session ramps up. In his first public comments on cannabis policy since Democrats reclaimed the majority and put him in the top leadership position, Schumer said federal marijuana reform will be part of a racial justice agenda that lawmakers will pursue in the 117th Congress.
Read more: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/chuck-schumer-lists-marijuana-as-a-priority-in-first-post-election-cannabis-comments/?source=Snapzu

3,000-year-old fashion could be evidence of Biblical truth

Scientists may have discovered physical evidence of King Solomon entwined in 3,000-year-old strands of purple wool. Using radiocarbon dating and a special chemical analysis technique, a team of researchers from Israel has identified three textile samples dating to approximately 1000 BCE from the Timna Valley region of Israel. The fibers were dyed "true purple," using special salt-water mollusks found in the Mediterranean.
Read more: https://www.inverse.com/innovation/biblical-truth-found-at-archaeological-site?source=Snapzu

The Conservative Case Against the Boomers

Everyone’s fed up with the baby boomers. Younger progressives charge them with a form of generational hoarding—of titles and power but mostly of money. The richest generation in the history of the world, the story goes, has squandered its wealth on vanity purchases and projects while leaving younger Americans with a debased environment and crazy levels of debt.
Read more: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-conservative-case-against-the-boomers?source=Snapzu

Robots are disinfecting hotels during the pandemic. It’s the tip of a hospitality revolution.

Major brands are increasingly turning to the world of high-tech disinfection to strengthen their protocols.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/01/27/hotels-robots-cleaning-hospitality-covid/?source=Snapzu

The Bernie Mittens Meme Is Now a Porn

The image of Bernie Sanders bundled up and minding his own business at President Joe Biden's inauguration has now completed the meme cycle: funny on its own, funny when placed in every other possible context, not funny to people who projected their issues way too far into it, merch (including prayer candles), and now, porn parody. Adult performer Elle Hell recreated Sanders' inauguration look in a jerk-off instructional video, "I'm Once Again Asking You to Cum."
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bkg3/bernie-sitting-mittens-meme-inauguration-porn?source=Snapzu

Reddit co-founder calls GameStop frenzy a 'bottom-up revolution,' shifting power to small investors

Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian said Thursday that the GameStop stock-trading frenzy, originating in large part on the online platform he helped create, is a turning point in the U.S. investing landscape.“I do think this is a seminal moment. I don’t think we go back to a world before this because these communities, they’re a byproduct of the connected internet,” Ohanian said in a “Squawk Box” interview. “Whether it’s one platform or another, this is the new normal.”
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/reddit-co-founder-alexis-ohanian-calls-gamestop-frenzy-a-bottom-up-revolution.html?source=Snapzu

Israeli scientists say they’ve found ‘Achilles’ heel’ of cancer cells

A team of researchers led by scientists at Tel Aviv University say they may have stumbled upon the “Achilles’ heel” of cancer cells, which could in the future lead to the development of an entirely new array of cancer drugs and treatments.
Read more: https://m.jpost.com/health-science/israeli-scientists-say-theyve-found-achilles-heel-of-cancer-cells-657029?source=Snapzu

Apple to crack down on tracking iPhone users in early spring

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Apple says it will roll out a new privacy control in the spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. The delay in its anticipated rollout aims to placate...
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/4d6ea62d0adaf16413988ec6b35a13a8?source=Snapzu

Facebook will stop recommending political groups permanently

Facebook will stop recommending political groups permanently
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-will-stop-recommending-political-groups-permanently-rcna242?source=Snapzu

B.C. boy sets world record for balancing Jenga blocks

The seventh-grader from Salmon Arm, B.C., broke the record set by an Arizona man who stacked 485 Jenga blocks over a single vertical wood block.
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/auldin-maxwell-guinness-record-jenga-blocks-1.5887529?source=Snapzu

Canada considers designating neo-Nazis, white supremacists as terrorist groups

Far-right extremism has received more mainstream attention in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot in Washington, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. News reports have identified people in the mob as members of militia groups, as well as the far-right Proud Boys movement.
Read more: https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2021/01/27/canada-considers-designating-neo-nazis-white-supremacists-as-terrorist-groups.html?source=Snapzu

Australia takes on Google advertising dominance in latest Big Tech fight

An Australian regulator is considering letting internet users choose what personal data companies like Google share with advertisers, as part of the country's attempts to shatter the dominance of tech titans.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-media-regulator-idUSKBN29X02X?source=Snapzu

Apple surpasses $100 billion in quarterly revenue for first time in its history

iPhone 12 demand is strong, and Macs continue to sell very well during work-from-home life.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/27/22252663/apple-q1-2021-earnings-iphone-12-mac-sales?source=Snapzu

Lori Loughlin’s hubby, Mossimo Giannulli, loses bid for early prison release

Mossimo Giannulli had begged a judge in mid-January to let him be released.
Read more: https://pagesix.com/2021/01/26/mossimo-giannulli-loses-bid-for-early-prison-release/?source=Snapzu

How superfast charging batteries can help sell the transition to electric vehicles

Israeli company StoreDot recently announced it can now mass produce electric vehicle batteries that can be fully charged in just five minutes. “The bottleneck to extra-fast charging is no longer the battery,” claimed the firm’s chief executive. But is this fast-charging battery really a gamechanger? And if so: exactly how?
Read more: https://theconversation.com/how-superfast-charging-batteries-can-help-sell-the-transition-to-electric-vehicles-153872?source=Snapzu

80% of people in Japan say Tokyo Olympics should be called off or won’t happen

More than 80% of people in Japan who were surveyed in two polls in the last few days say the Tokyo Olympics should be canceled or postponed, or say they believe the Olympics will not take place. The polls were conducted by the Japanese news agency Kyodo and TBS — the Tokyo Broadcasting System.
Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/ct-tokyo-olympics-covid-19-20210111-y35p5iu7mnhptcut2pp7xqleda-story.html?source=Snapzu

After 25k complaints, EU calls for investigation into Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift

The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the EU's joint consumer programme, has called for a Europe-wide investigation into Nintendo Switch Joy-Con drift after receiving more than 25,000 complaints from numerous countries. The group has now submitted its own complaints to the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities around Europe, based on its rules surrounding "premature obsolescence and misleading omissions of key consumer information on the basis of the EU's Unfair Commercial Practices Directive".
Read more: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-01-27-after-25k-complaints-eu-calls-for-investigation-into-nintendo-switch-joy-con-drift?source=Snapzu

Satanists Are Suing the City of Boston for Rejecting Their Invocation Requests

The Satanic Temple is suing the city of Boston, Massachusetts for excluding them from offering invocation prayers during city council meetings. As it stands, the city’s unwritten rules allow council members, on a rotating basis, to select community members to give those opening remarks.
Read more: https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2021/01/27/satanists-are-suing-the-city-of-boston-for-rejecting-their-invocation-requests/?source=Snapzu

Apple says iOS 14.4 patches 3 security flaws that ‘may have been actively exploited’

In addition to the new features detailed earlier today, iOS 14.4 also brings a trio of notable security improvements. In a new Support document published this afternoon, Apple said that iOS 14.4 fixes a kernel vulnerability and two WebKit vulnerabilities, all three of which “may have been actively exploited.”
Read more: https://9to5mac.com/2021/01/26/ios-14-4-security-improvements/?source=Snapzu

These crowdsourced maps will show exactly where surveillance cameras are watching

Amnesty International is producing a map of all the places in New York City where surveillance cameras are scanning residents’ faces. The project will enlist volunteers to use their smartphones to identify, photograph, and locate government-owned surveillance cameras capable of shooting video that could be matched against people’s faces in a database through AI-powered facial recognition.
Read more: https://www.fastcompany.com/90596320/amnesty-international-crowdsourced-facial-recognition-map?source=Snapzu

Wormholes may be lurking in the universe — and new studies are proposing ways of finding them

Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity profoundly changed our thinking about fundamental concepts in physics, such as space and time. But it also left us with some deep mysteries. One was black holes, which were only unequivocally detected over the past few years. Another was “wormholes” – bridges connecting different points in spacetime, in theory providing shortcuts for space travellers.
Read more: https://www.space.com/wormholes-may-be-lurking-in-the-universe-new-studies?source=Snapzu