With DreamWorks Animation, Comcast adds several movie franchises — among them, “Shrek,” ”Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” — to its growing entertainment empire. Though the bulk of its business remains in cable TV services, Comcast also has television channels and theme parks, mostly through its purchase of NBCUniversal from General Electric. Here’s a look at Comcast’s … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — The Kindle Oasis is Amazon’s sleekest, lightest e-book reader yet — and at $290, unnecessary unless you’re a die-hard reader. The Oasis, which started shipping this week, is meant to be a luxury e-book reader — a solid, top-of-the line device, when money is no object. It’s designed strictly for reading, … Continue reading
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Hundreds of freshwater fish, mussels, crawfish and salamanders — many of them found nowhere else in the world — make their home in the U.S. Southeast. In one waterway alone, Tennessee’s Duck River, there are more fish species than in all of Europe. But the species that creep, crawl and swim … Continue reading
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — French officials have unveiled a humanoid diving robot that they hope will give a big artificial hand to the practice of underwater archaeology. Ocean One, which looks like something out of a scuba-diving sequel to “Transformers,” is the work of a team of roboticists, including Oussama Khatib of Stanford University. It … Continue reading
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state biologists are trying to determine what killed a sea lion that was captured and released after it was strangely found in the driveway of a cattle ranch about 50 miles from the ocean. The male California sea lion was released into Puget Sound on April 15 after it apparently … Continue reading
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — The two Swiss pilots taking turns to fly a solar-powered airplane around the world said Sunday, Apr.24, the endeavor is not only a demonstration of the importance of renewable energy but also of the many challenges the human body can endure. Pilot Bertrand Piccard completed a risky, three-day flight across … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Man-made global warming is making America sicker, and it’s only going to get worse, according to a new federal government report. The 332-page report issued Monday, Apr. 4, by the Obama administration said global warming will make the air dirtier, water more contaminated and food more tainted. It warned of diseases, such … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — The American government has cited Chinese Internet controls as a trade barrier in a report that comes as Beijing tries to block its public from seeing news online about the finances of leaders’ families. Chinese filters, which block access to websites including the Google search engine and social media such as Twitter, … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft version of a Senate bill would effectively prohibit unbreakable encryption and require companies to help the government access data on a computer or mobile device with a warrant. The draft is being finalized by the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and the top Democrat, Sen. … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Engineers, safety advocates and even automakers have a safety message for federal regulators eager to get self-driving cars on the road: slow down. Fully self-driving cars may be the future of the automotive industry, but they aren’t yet up to the demands of real-world driving, several people told the National Highway … Continue reading
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A remote Alaska volcano has settled down more than a week after it sent an ash cloud 37,000 feet into the sky. Officials at the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage say in a Wednesday, Apr. 6, release that eruptive activity at Pavlof Volcano has ended, and they downgraded its alert level … Continue reading
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX has made good on a high-priority delivery: the world’s first inflatable room for astronauts. A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, two days after launching from Cape Canaveral. Station astronauts used a robot arm to capture the Dragon, orbiting 250 miles above Earth. … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Google wants Congress to create new federal powers that would let the tech giant receive special, expedited permission to bring to market a self-driving car that has no steering wheel or pedals. The proposal, laid out in a letter to top federal transportation officials, reveals Google’s solution to a major regulatory … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If the controls and movement in a traditional video game aren’t natural, it’s merely annoying to players. For designers of virtual reality experiences, the same mistake could make users sick. With the release of a trio of high-definition headsets on the horizon, many VR aficionados in attendance at this week’s Game … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department on Thursday formally began sharing details of new digital threats with private business and other government agencies, a culmination of a longtime effort to improve cybersecurity. “This is the ‘if you see something, say something’ of cybersecurity,” said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson at the agency’s Virginia-based data … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 