Amazon’s proposed design for its new Seattle campus.
(Credit:
NBBJ)
The latest fad for tech companies’ new office buildings seems to be getting as far-out and avant-garde as possible. And Amazon is the newest company to jump on that train.
The e-commerce giant and gadget maker unveiled a slew of new drawings (pdf) on Tuesday that reveal a series of colossal, mirrored, biosphere-like domes alongside a taller rectangular building that could be its new campus. The designs were created by architecture firm NBBJ and also inclu [...]
Amazon proposes a colossal biosphere-like Seattle campus
Amazon’s proposed design for its new Seattle campus.
(Credit:
NBBJ)
The latest fad for tech companies’ new office buildings seems to be getting as far-out and avant-garde as possible. And Amazon is the newest company to jump on that train.
The e-commerce giant and gadget maker unveiled a slew of new drawings (pdf) on Tuesday that reveal a series of colossal, mirrored, biosphere-like domes alongside a taller rectangular building that could be its new campus. The designs were created by architecture firm NBBJ and also inclu [...]
Anarchist jailed for not testifying over 2008 New York blast
By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK |
Tue May 21, 2013 8:13pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A self-described anarchist from Brooklyn who refused to testify before a federal grand jury thought to be investigating a 2008 bomb explosion in New York’s Times Square was sent to jail on Tuesday after being found in civil contempt.
Gerald Koch, 24, had been asked last week to testify before a grand jury that his lawyer says is believed to be probing a small bomb detonation outside a U.S. armed forces recruiting station.
[...]
Tax and energy to dominate EU summit
21 May 2013
Last updated at 20:10 ET
By Laurence Peter
BBC News
Protesters in Europe have been angered by reports of corporate tax evasion at a time of austerity
EU leaders are gathering in Brussels for a summit to tackle tax evasion and improve Europe’s energy market.
After sharp divisions over the EU budget there may be more consensus on these issues, seen as vital in restoring Europe’s competitiveness.
Tax evasion costs EU states 1tn euros ($1.3tn; £0.85tn) [...]
Senate panel approves sweeping immigration bill
By Rachelle Younglai and Caren Bohan
WASHINGTON |
Tue May 21, 2013 8:00pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would bring about the biggest changes in U.S. immigration policy in a generation, setting up a spirited debate in the full Senate next month.
By a vote of 13-5, the panel approved the nearly 900-page bill that would put 11 million illegal residents on a 13-year path to citizenship while further strengthening security along the southweste [...]
Comics Web site Comics Alliance to relaunch?
(Credit:
DC)
Web site Comics Alliance, a three-time winner of the Eisner award — went mysteriously silent toward the end of April, to the distress and consternation of comics fans.
No word — official or otherwise — was heard from either parent company AOL or any of the Comics Alliance staff members. However, the lack of updates on the site since April 29, where it usually updated several times a day, seemed to confirm that Comics Alliance was being shelved and archived. This apparent move was puzzling, as the site wa [...]
Ex-Cincy IRS official doubts agency’s explanation for Tea Party scandal
A woman who worked in the IRS Cincinnati office at the center of controversy over targeting of conservative groups says she doubts that the blame resides with front-line employees, as the agency has claimed.
A former manager at the IRS Cincinnati office at the center of the controversy over the targeting of conservative political organizations seeking tax-exempt status tells NBC News she doesn’t think low-level employees acted on their own in flagging them for further scrutiny.
But she also said that in her time at the IRS she has neve [...]
Most UK species in decline, wildlife stocktake shows
An unprecedented stocktake of UK wildlife has revealed that most species are struggling and that one in three have halved in number in the past half century. The unique report, based on scientific analysis of tens of millions of observations from volunteers, shows that from woodland to farmland and from freshwater streams to the sea, many animals, birds, insects, fish and plants are in trouble.
The causes include the intensification of farming, with the consequent loss of meadows, hedgerows and ponds and increased pesticide use, as well a [...]
Cardinals sign rookie free agent WR Hawkins, waive-injured WR Lawson
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona Cardinals have signed free agent rookie wide receiver Charles Hawkins and waived-injured wide receiver Javone Lawson.
The 5-foot-8 Hawkins played at Southern under then-coach Stump Mitchell, now the Cardinals running backs coach on the staff of new head coach Bruce Arians.
Lawson was waived with an Achilles injury.
Vitamin C kills tuberculosis in accidental discovery
Credit: Rüdiger Wölk/ Wikimedia
PARIS: Lab-grown tuberculosis (TB) bacteria has been killed with good old Vitamin C – an “unexpected” discovery scientists hope will lead to better, cheaper drugs.
A team from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York made the accidental find while researching how TB bacteria become resistant to the TB drug isoniazid.
The researchers added isoniazid and a “reducing agent” known as cysteine to the TB in a test tube, expecting the bacteria to develop drug resistance.
Instead, the team “ended up [...]
Arkansas state treasurer resigns in face of federal charges
By Suzi Parker
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas |
Tue May 21, 2013 7:52pm EDT
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) – Arkansas’ state treasurer resigned on Tuesday, a day after federal authorities charged her with extortion stemming from accusations that she gave a broker state bond business in exchange for repeated cash payments.
Treasurer Martha Shoffner, a Democrat, faced numerous calls for her resignation following her arrest by federal agents over the weekend and a formal extortion charge on Monday, both from [...]
GIF creator: It’s a soft ‘g’, Mr. President
What will the White House say now?
(Credit:
White House Tumblr)
You thought it had been settled, didn’t you?
You’ve been practicing the new pronunciation (or the old one).
And now you’re going to have to think again.
Recently, the White House very presciently decided to open its own non-purple Tumblr account. It took the occasion to declare with seeming finality that GIFs — those very files that so many people find funny — are hard, not soft.
Hard as in hard “g.” Gif like “gift.” N [...]
General suspended amid misconduct investigation
WASHINGTON |
Tue May 21, 2013 5:56pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The commanding general at the U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Jackson in South Carolina was suspended from his position on Tuesday amid allegations of misconduct, including adultery and having a physical altercation, the military said.
Brigadier General Bryan Roberts was suspended from his command while the accusations of misconduct are being probed by Army investigators, a spokesman for Army Training and Doctrine Command said.
The spoke [...]