Mexican Cartel Snuffs Social Media Star as Violence Nears ‘Civil War’ Levels

A scrawled sign was placed next to a decapitated body near a main road in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo. Its message was simple: stop talking about drug cartels on the internet — or anywhere else. “Nuevo Laredo en Vivo and social networking sites,” the sign read, “I’m The Laredo Girl, and I’m here because of my reports, and yours.”

The execution of Marisol Macias Castaneda — known online as “The Laredo Girl” and as “Nena de Laredo” — is the latest in a series of attacks against Mexicans who go online to discuss drug violence. It’s an epidemic which a new report describes as “so horrific as to approach a civil war.”

The sexiest CG sci-fi Blaxploitation flick ever?

Not that there's been a lot of competition in the sci-fi Blaxploitation game, but this wee teaser for Soul Man is all wah-wah funk, megalopolis heists and Afrocentric swagger.
From what we could tell from the mostly-French website for Soul Man, it's a full-length feature film that director Guillaume Ivernel has been working on for some time. (We couldn't find much in the way of a release date, but our French is a little rusty.)

Traffic study ranks Dallas area 10th in lost time, 11th in 'cost of congestion'

Dallas-area traffic congestion and its impacts on commuters actually eased a bit last year compared to problems in other major metropolitan areas, according to a national study released this morning by the Texas Transportation Institute.

The area continued to grow but the traffic got no worse overall, thanks in part to lingering highunemployment but also the cumulative result of an unusually high level of road construction here.

The TTI annual mobility report measures the impact of traffic across a range of factors, including the cost of congestion, measured in the value of our lost time and wasted fuel, and what it calls the travel time index, a measure of how much longer a trip takes during rush hour than it would if traffic was moving freely.

The report, which is based on 2010 data, shows that on average a rush-hour commuter in North Texas lost 45 hours stuck in traffic that year and wasted 22 gallons of gas. That's the amount of time and fuel that would have been saved if traffic had not been moving freely.

Two airliners in near miss over Hong Kong

Two Hong Kong-bound flights carrying more than 600 people narrowly missed each other over the Asian city, according to officials, after pilots scrambled to react to warning signals.

A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 arriving from New York and a Dragonair Airbus A330 from Taiwan were both told to hold off landing due to bad weather on September 18 but strayed into each other's path.

Airline officials said they were one nautical mile (2,000 metres) apart at the same altitude southwest of Hong Kong airport when the traffic collision avoidance system warning sounded.

Office Depot fires exec in 'improper relationship'

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — The head of Office Depot Inc.'s international division was fired, effective Monday, for having an "improper relationship" with a co-worker, the company said.

Office Depot said the fired executive was Charlie Brown. It did not identify the other employee or describe that person's job title or fate.

"Charlie Brown was terminated for having an improper relationship with another associate," Chairman and CEO Neil Austrian said in a statement. "The company has a zero tolerance policy in this regard."

No replacement was named.

Wife of Mexican drug lord gives birth in Calif.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The young wife of Mexico's most wanted drug lord has given birth to twin girls at a hospital in northern Los Angeles County, according to a newspaper report.

Emma Coronel, the 22-year-old wife of Joaquin Guzman, crossed the border in mid-July and delivered her daughters at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster on Aug. 15, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website Monday (http://lat.ms/nyfqmn).

Coronel, a former beauty queen who holds U.S. citizenship, returned to Mexico after they were born.

The World's Most Incredible Bridges

Take a trip down one of these meandering marvels for breathtaking aquatic landscapes.

By Tanya Mohn

The Singapore Helix Bridge, Singapore

Courtesy of Andrew Rowat/Getty Images

Starting with simple logs from fallen trees or a few stones strategically placed across a stream, bridges and humans have had a long history. Many are designed exclusively for people on foot or on bike; others are for use by cars, boats or trains. Some bridges connect continents; others are known more for their histories and the cultural interest they inspire.

“Few man-made structures combine the technical with the aesthetic in such an evocative way as bridges” wrote David J. Brown, a bridge historian and author of Bridges: Three Thousand Years of Defying Nature. With the help of Brown, and Judith Dupré, a structural historian and bridge expert, we’ve searched the globe for incredible specimens of architecture that span physical obstacles — better known as bridges.

Why did Obama give bunker-buster bombs to Israel?

In late 2009, the Obama administration transferred 55 so-called bunker-buster bombs to Israel. The 5,000-pound bombs conceivably put Israel in the position to attack Iran's buried nuclear facilities--or to target Hezbollah's buried bunkers in Lebanon.

The revelation, first reported by Newsweek's Eli Lake Friday, received independent confirmation via a sensitive U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks last month.

In a November 2009 meeting among senior American and Israeli military and diplomatic officials, "both sides . . . discussed the upcoming delivery of GBU-28 bunker busting bombs to Israel, noting that the transfer should be handled quietly to avoid any allegations that the USG [U.S. government] is helping Israel prepare for a strike against Iran," the leaked Nov. 18, 2009 U.S. cable states. ThinkProgress's Ali Ghraib first reportedon the U.S. cable.

Car Buyers Beware: Nine Notorious Scams

Cars are big-ticket items, and there are many ways for fraudsters to bilk unsuspecting victims. The rise of Internet commerce has vastly expanded the ways to separate a mark from his money, and has effectively made Internet fraud a global business. 

Consumer complaints rose 25 percent in 2010 and a complaint is filed every 90 minutes, according to a Consumer Reports article citing FBI stats. Regarding auto-related complaints, every hour a car buyer loses more than $1,000.

The online car sales company Cars.com employs a fraud team to help weed out the most fraudulent ads on its website.

“The number one piece of advice we can give for buyers and sellers is to listen to that inner voice that says, ‘This is too good to be true,’” advises the site’s spokesperson, Ron Hall, “because we've found that it always, always is.”

Thunderbolt about to get much faster, with no upgrades required

If you've bought a new Mac with Thunderbolt ports, the chances are good that you haven't had a chance to really use them yet. After all, the super-speedy transfer speeds require Thunderbolt devices, of which there are few. But already, new cables are about to make them even faster.

Boeing wants to fight fires with giant airdropped water balloons

It's unfortunate that forest fires almost never happen on islands in the middle of lakes. If they did, we wouldn't have this problem of having to get lots of water into what's usually the middle of nowhere to put them out. Aircraft specially rigged to do this are expensive (and few), so Boeing wants to just use giant water balloons tossed out of cargo aircraft instead.

Airplane missile commits suicide in hurricanes for science

This cute little robotic airplane called GALE exists to be shot out of a missile tube bolted to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration P-3 Orion aircraft as it's flying headlong through a hurricane, all in the name of science. SCIENCE!

Sharp unveils 'affordable' 80-inch television

Sharp has taken the wraps off the largest consumer LCD, the 80-inch LC-80LE632U, which will be available in early October for $5,499.

The non-Quattron LC-80LE632U features a full-array LED backlight, but according to Sharp isn't a "premium" television and so is missing features like local dimming and even 3D. It does feature a 1080p resolution and 120Hz mode, though.

Wingsuit batman flies through Chinese mountain

I can't imagine that there are too many people around who have flown through a mountain, but U.S. BASE jumper Jeb Corliss can add that to his resume after recently soaring through a peak in China.

Wearing a wingsuit, a parachute, and GoPro Hero cameras strapped to his body, Corliss managed to fly through a hole in Tianmen mountain, Hunan Province.

The famous Tianmen Hole in the limestone peak is about 360 feet tall, 96 feet wide, and 260 feet deep.

Treasure hunters eye huge silver haul from WWII ship

When the SS Gairsoppa was torpedoed by a German U-boat 70 years ago, it took its huge silver cargo to a watery grave. US divers are working to recover what may be the biggest shipwreck haul ever, valued at some $210 million.

Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration on Monday confirmed the identity and location of the Gairsoppa, and cited official documents indicating the British ship was carrying some 219 tons of silver when it sank in 1941 in the North Atlantic some 300 miles (490 kilometers) off the Irish coast.

5 year old girl catches Killer Piranha in Texas

VIDEO

PC Tech 101: The Gamer's Guide to PC Tech

PC gaming can be a scary place for a beginner – especially if you happen to speak to an enthusiast. Ask these guys anything, and the reply will invariably include a terrifying jumble of acronyms and obscure nomenclature, punctuated by the odd reference to 'tessellation'. It's enough to make the average gamer stick to consoles for life.

But don't let these guys put you off. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to have a degree in computer engineering to build your own gaming rig. In fact, you don't even need to be particularly handy with a screwdriver. These days, PC components are almost like Lego blocks (albeit with more fiddly bits you used to get your dad to help with). A decent set of PC components can inject a game's graphics with the sort of photorealism that the Xbox 360 and PS3 can only dream of.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be taking you through the essential PC gaming basics, starting with the processor, motherboard and memory. If these concepts are alien you to, don't panic – all will be explained in due course. By the end of our three-part seminar, you'll be ready to graduate to PC gaming in style, ready to build your first D.I.Y. PC. 

Free to Pwn: Tribes Ascend

\
$60? Is that a joke? Your family can't live on ramen and disappointment alone. So, what's a penny pinching gamer like yourself to do? Why, dive into the ever-expanding world of free-to-play games, of course. Yeah, they sometimes get a bad rap, but the fact of the matter is, they're here to stay, and F2P does not just mean Farmville anymore. In this column, Nathan Grayson picks out the cream of the free-to-play crop so you don't have to. 

APNewsBreak: Senator says OnStar invades privacy

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The OnStar automobile communication service used by 6 million Americans maintains its two-way connection with a customer even after the service is discontinued, while reserving the right to sell data from that connection.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York says that's a blatant invasion of privacy and is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. But OnStar says former customers can stop the two-way transmission, and no driving data of customers has been shared or sold.

"OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory," said Schumer, a Democrat. "I urge OnStar to abandon.

California governor signs tax deal with Amazon

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A peace treaty between California's government and Amazon.com Inc became official on Friday with Governor Jerry Brown's signature on legislation striking a compromise between the two sides on taxing online sales.

Brown signed the bill in San Francisco, concluding a high-profile dispute between the government of the most populous U.S. state, backed by small and large bricks-and-mortar retailers, and the Seattle-based Internet retailer.

Laugh while you can at this BigDog robot video

Robots will play a greater role in fighting wars in the future, and BigDog wants a piece of that action.

BigDog is both the silliest and scariest military robot out there. The recent video below from creator Boston Dynamics provides a retrospective on the DARPA-funded quadruped, which is designed as a load-carrying mule for soldiers.

The vid shows six years of BigDog evolution from 2004 through 2010. The 240-pound, all-terrain cyber-canine can tackle slopes up to 35 degrees, rubble, snow, mud, and water, and can carry a 340-pound load. That's handy since the average soldier load has increased dramatically in recent years.

You can't hear it in the video, but it sounds like a go-kart because it runs on a one-cylinder Leopard go-kart engine.

Its sensors include stereo vision, GPS, a gyroscope, and LIDAR--you can kick it and it'll keep on trucking. The machine once set a record for traveling 12.8 miles without stopping or refueling. It can run at speeds up to 4 mph.

Chinese man builds flying wheel with eight motorcycle motors

There's really nothing China's DIY tinkerers can't build. We've seen them all from Iron Man suits to homemade iPads, these guys know how to build stuff out of junk. Chinese farmer Shu Mansheng's life-sized flying saucer wheel is only the latest and greatest from the People's Republic.

Slipperiest substance in the world comes from killer plants

Pitcher plants make a living by drowning insects inside special cup-shaped leaves and then feeding on their remains. To get the insects to fall in and stay in, the plants have evolved an exceptionally slippery substance to coat their leaves, and a new synthetic material that mimics this substance is ten times slipperier than the next best thing.
Researchers at Harvard University have created a substance called SLIPS (slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces) that mimic the nanostructure of pitcher plant rims, and they've done such a good job that SLIPS is both more slippery than the natural pitcher plant material and also more slippery than any artificial material as well, including Teflon.

RED Digital developing a video projector that has frikkin' lasers

RED Digital shook up the world of digital cinematography when they introduced theirRED One digital camera a few years ago. So word that they are ready to release a laser driven video projector has people in the high-end digital theater world talking.
As is usual with RED, there was no official press release, just a few cryptic words from RED founder Jim Jannard on the company's blog Reduser. He quotes a couple of industry professionals who were given a sneak peak, and responded using words like "beyond stunning" and comparing it to a "giant moving Cibachrome."

Brain scanner can record your dreams on video

Just a few weeks ago, we posted about how brain patterns can reveal almost exactly what you're thinking. Now, researchers at UC Berkeley have figured out how to extractwhat you're picturing inside your head, and they can play it back on video.
The way this works is very similar to the mind-reading technique that we covered earlier this month. A functional MRI (fMRI) machine watches the patterns that appear in people's brains as they watch a movie, and then correlates those patterns with the image on the screen. With these data, a complex computer model was created to predict the relationships between a given brain pattern and a given image, and a huge database was created that matched 18,000,000 seconds worth of random YouTube videos to possible brain patterns.

Huawei Honor promises three days of battery life

Huawei announced its next Android endeavor yesterday, unveiling the Gingerbread-powered Honor and putting it on track for a fourth-quarter release.

Ask an average Android user to name one item they'd like to improve on their handset and you'll likely hear battery performance. That's why Huawei is really hoping to impress by adidng a 1900 mAh battery with a promised three days of juice. While it's not the highest-capacity battery we've seen yet (Atrix 4G has 1930 mAh), it still manages to keep the phone relatively light (140g) and thin at only 10.9 mm.

Other specifications include a single-core 1.4GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, 512MB RAM, and 4GB internal storage. Falling right in the middle of the pack of today's new Android releases, the Honor will likely make a lower cost alternative to handsets from competitors such as Samsung or HTC.

6 tech companies that were on top of the world and lost it all

Sniff! Sniff! I smell failure. Tech failure! I smell — sniff, sniff — the picture fading at Kodak. BlackBerry fans ready to don black. Acer about to be broken. Motorola's cellphone business filled with static. Digg digging its own grave. Netflix jettisoning its DVD business from the streaming ship.
While this picture is admittedly overly grim, I know a little about tech flameouts — I was part of two of them. One was as an owner/founder of E/Town, a one-time competitor with CNET, but which died from a number of ills on Valentine's Day 2001; another was as sports editor (a former life) for WOW!, Compuserve's ill-advised Prodigy-like online family service, in 1996. (More on Prodigy in a bit.)

Latest comics controversy: Did DC ruin two more female characters?

It seems as though not a week goes by lately where DC Comics doesn't do at least one thing that offends nearly everyone ... but especially women. This week, Judd Winick and Scott Lobdell add to the parade of questionable female characterizations with Catwoman and Starfire, respectively. There was outcry, there were responses both official and not, there was more outcry, and now we're going to sum it all up. Ready?

Disgruntled gamers sending SWAT teams to bug Xbox staffers

Late one balmy night toward the end of August, Eric had only seconds to live. Two males that he identified as Russians had forcefully entered his house, shot his son dead and scattered military-grade Claymore mines all across his lawn. In that moment, a barricaded bedroom door and a text to 911 were his only hopes at seeing another sunrise.
So, did the police come to rescue Eric in time?

Jumping out of six-story building requires a LOT of bubble wrap

How much bubble wrap does it take to survive a jump from that high? One Reddit userposed the question, so Wired decided to find an answer. The answer, and funny image that comes to mind, probably won't surprise you too much. It is a crazy hypothetical idea, after all.
Cutting through all of the scientific stuff like the thickness, density, springy-ness, and the acceleration of the person after the jump, the final conclusion is that it'd take somewhere around 39 layers of bubble wrap.

7 artistic ways to recycle your old CD-ROM collection

Using an old CD as a coaster is so yesterday. We know you're out there — those of you putting your coffee mugs on old AOL install disks and snickering to yourself. While you do win points for helping the environment, we've spotted a few other uses for old CDs that blew us away.
CDs are going the way of the casette tape, but we've all still got them, and old discs are as common as locusts during a seven-year plague. Don't fret: there are countless ways for you to up-cycle your CDs, from looking on Google for a place to recycle them, to turning them into fun and unique art projects. Here we'll show you seven of the latter, most of which are DIY projects with instructions for how you can replicate the result. PHOTOS

Runner carries injured foe half mile to help in middle of race

Josh Ripley didn't have to stop. Running in a recent cross country meet for Andover (Minn.) High, the junior varsity runner was making his way through the trail at the Applejack Invite when he heard a loud scream during the first mile of a two-mile race. Most of the other kids running didn't pay much attention to Lakeville South runner Mark Paulauskas, who was writhing in pain at the time, as they passed by.

Boeing’s Sixth-Gen Fighter

Here’s a little update on this fighter design we showed you yesterday. It is indeed Boeing’s concept for a sixth-gen “air dominance” fighter for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, Daryl Davis, chief of Boeing’s Phantom Works division told me today. The plane, which is still just a concept, would have long-ranger range and fly at “higher mach numbers” (faster) than jets like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and be able to supercruise, according to Davis.

Military Struggles to Find Helium for Spy Blimp Surge

The U.S. military is sending so many spy blimps to Afghanistan that “industry cannot keep up with the increased demand” for helium and the containers that hold the gas.

That’s according to documents from the Defense Logistics Agency, the Pentagon office responsible for keeping vital supplies flowing to the warzone.

With their ability to stay in the air for days at a time — and hold more spy gear than any drone — aerostats and airships are quickly becoming surveillance tools of choice in the Afghan War. The military carried out three aerostat surges between last fall and this summer; several dozen are deployed in Afghanistan now. But really, that’s just a scene-setter. Early next year, the U.S. military is planning to send not one, but two “freakishly large” airships to the skies above Afghanistan.

New Lasers Can Find Bombs From 40 Feet Away

For soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the most dangerous threat comes not in the form of a bullet, but a bomb. According to NATO, improvised explosive devices (IEDs for short) account for over half of all deaths among coalition soldiers.

YouTube now has ability to convert 2D videos into 3D ones

Quick! Somebody call James Cameron. YouTube's added a new feature that *gasp* converts 2D videos into 3D ones. Now, we can all watch that Nyan Cat in three freakin' dee. Joy.
We've said it plenty of times before and we'll say it again — NO. The survival of 3D cannot depend on 2D content converted into 3D, much like HD couldn't become the new standard by allowing pseudo upscaled standard definition to be pawned off as real HD.

6 affordable 3D printers that allow you to print your own toys

The era of printing your own plastic action figures, human veins, and even food is finally upon us. After years of prototyping, the cost to build an affordable 3D printer has come down enough so that even regular guys like you and I can bring one home — with a little saving, of course.
We scoured Maker Faire NY 2011 this past weekend and were surprised to see that so many small startups were pushing their 3D printers — wowing kids and adults left and right. Here's our pick of the top six 3D printers available to take your cash that are worthy of it to boot.

the Milky Way from the Himalayas

What could make a picture of the Milky Way even more incredible? When the Himalayas are in the shot, of course. And that's exactly what photographer extraordinaire, Anton Jankovoy, did. Hiking through the Annapurna region at elevations of over 25,000 feet is challenging enough, but Jankovoy is no mere mortal. Don't forget to click below for the large version.

Squid guts could be the best way to hack our bodies

Creating direct interfaces between humans and machines isn't easy, because our bodies use more than just electricity to send signals. We also rely on ions and protons, and the same material that makes up the insides of squids and the outsides of crabs can be used to tap into these channels to control our cells directly.

Paradise Island yacht comes complete with its own volcano

Are you an ultra rich person who can't decide between a fancy new yacht, and getting your own little tropical paradise? Perhaps this concept that combines a bit of each in one massive structure could be the solution.

Floating island nation is a great place to escape from the world

If you're an ultra rich person and you want to hide your wealth from the world's governments, it's hard to beat your own micronation. Project Utopia aims to be that type of place, as a floating globe hopping paradise for the people with money to burn.
With 11 decks of living space, the 330-ft diameter Utopia doesn't look like a ship because it isn't designed to move from place to place at speed. It will simply float around in International waters, keeping its residents far from the reach of pesky governments.

Rear-view bike camera gives you eyes in the back of your head

Bikes move pretty slowly compared to other traffic, so it's useful to know what's coming up behind you. The Owl 360 provides a high-tech solution, with an under seat camera connected to a handlebar-mounted video screen.
Rear-view cameras are old news for cars, but the Owl 360 has been specifically tailored for bike use. The rechargeable battery runs the system for five hours, and the whole thing is weather and vibration resistant to handle the harsh outdoor environment of a bike. The camera is even infrared sensitive for night use, and a ring of flashing red LEDs around the camera come on automatically when it gets dark.

Holographic radar tracks 1,000 mph shells

Technology development firm Cambridge Consultants has created a military targeting system that can track 5-inch shells traveling more than 1,000 mph, allowing gunners to improve their shooting.

The system, which the company calls the first of its kind, is based on a 3D holographic radar known as the Land and Surface Target Scorer (LSTS). It can track highly mobile targets in a cluttered radar field.

How does Facebook affect your relationships?

Facebook. Most of us have it and spend a lot of time browsing through photos and updates — but have you ever thought about how it affects your relationships? Yeah, me neither. Check out this infographic to see if Facebook might be helping (or hurting) your personal life.

Firefly's Alan Tudyk teases the Serenity sequel

It's been nine years since Joss Whedon's Firefly first aired and six since the cinematic extension, Serenity, hit screens, and the fan hunger for more Tales from the Verse has never waned. Luckily, Serenity's laconic pilot knows where he'd want to see a sequel go, and who should be the focus.

What happens when you get hit by space junk

There are those who believe you should be fully prepared for anything.

You know, the sort of folks who put chocolate, torches, and other items into a bag you normally use for workout clothing and leave it near the back door. For luck.

But how can you prepare for the entirely infinitesimal possibility that you will be hit by a piece of space junk in a couple of days?

Wait, perhaps you have been away fishing with an NBA player. So let me catch you up. NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will be falling to earth probably on Friday. There, you're caught up.

The Forbes 400: The Richest People in America, 2011

The economy is down but America's wealthiest are up, proving that it pays to be your own boss.

Despite the stalled economy, the nation's wealthiest are worth a combined $1.53 trillion, nearly equivalent to the GDP of our neighbor Canada. Their total wealth is up 12% in the year through August 26, when we took a snapshot of everyone's net worth, meaning these affluent folks did slightly better than the markets; the S&P 500, for instance, was up 10% in that time.

But it's not simply a case of the rich getting richer. The Forbes 400 grows more meritocratic over time. An all-time high 70% of this year's list are self-made, up from 55% in 1997.

Bill Gates was the richest person for the 18th straight year, worth $59 billion; the last time he didn't rank no. 1 was in 1993 when his good friend Warren Buffett was on top. Buffett, who's been spending a lot of time talking about raising taxes on the rich, is still no. 2 but the gap is widening. His fortune tumbled $6 billion in the past year, making him the biggest loser in terms of total dollars. He gave away $3.27 billion since last year's rankings but was also pinched by a 10% drop in Berkshire Hathaway's stock.

Rounding out the top 10 on The Forbes 400: Oracle founder Larry Ellison ($33 billion), industrialists Charles and David Koch ($25 billion apiece), Wal-Mart heirs Christy Walton ($24.5 billion), Jim C. Walton ($21.1 billion) and Alice Walton ($20.9 billion), hedge fund investor George Soros ($22 billion), and casino king Sheldon Adelson ($21.5 billion).

The headlines in this our 30th year of The Forbes 400 belong not to the old stalwarts but to a younger group of entrepreneurs marching their way up the ranks, particularly those who are profoundly impacting social behavior online. These entrepreneurs are using technology to unleash power and make fortunes, and it is these folks who will likely help jump-start the American economy again.

Leading the pack is Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, who added $10.6 billion to his fortune, making him the year's biggest gainer and pushing him into the top 20 for the first time — he ranks no. 14 with a net worth of $17.5 billion. That puts him ahead of Google rivals Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who added $1.7 billion apiece to their fortunes but slipped five spots in the rankings and are tied at no. 15.

The hoodie-clad 27-year-old Zuckerberg is one of 6 club members to get rich from Facebook. Others include newcomers Sean Parker and Jim Breyer, Facebook's venture capitalist, as well as Zuckerberg's former roommate Dustin Moskovitz, whose birthday is eight days after the Facebook chief's, making him America's youngest billionaire. Three other social media mavens made their debut including LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, Groupon's Eric Lefkofsky and Zynga's Mark Pincus.

U.S. builds drone bases in Africa, Arab Peninsula: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is building a ring of secret drone bases in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of an aggressive campaign against al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials.

One base for the unmanned aircraft is being established in Ethiopia and another base has been installed in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, the newspaper reported.

A small fleet of "hunter-killer" drones resumed operations in the islands this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned drones could effectively patrol Somalia from there, the report said.

America's Most Secluded Beaches

This time of year, it seems like everyone is heading to the beach. And it's always the same beach. We all feel our summer vacation routines growing old and tired; like we've been there and surfed that. Don't worry -- the good ol' USA has plenty of alternatives to your tired warm-weather repertoire. There are some less-visited but still spectacular beaches that await travelers willing to work up a little sweat (hiking, climbing, even chartering a boat) before hitting the shore. Here are some of the most secluded beaches in America that are worth the journey to get there.

Wildcat Beach, CA

The occasional visitors at Wildcat Beach at the southern end of the Point Reyes National Seashore aren't swimmers. Normally, they're travelers on a hiking or biking trip. In fact, you might even decide not to wear a swimsuit as you trek through the wilderness to reach this beach -- those in the know suggest you opt for clothes that cover your arms and legs since poison oak is one of the only permanent "residents" of the area. We suggest cargo pants -- so that you can tuck a camera away safely as you scramble along some of the less-graded trails. For your trouble, you'll find a peaceful stretch of beautiful cocoa sand, not to mention one of California's only tide falls (a waterfall that empties out onto a beach). Those who want to stay overnight usually set up tents in the Wildcat Campgrounds, located in a meadow overlooking the shore.

ATF: Car bomb behind Mich. blast that injured 3

MONROE, Mich. (AP) — A car bomb caused a powerful explosion on a Michigan street that seriously injured a father and his two sons, who are "very fortunate" to have survived the attack, which turned their vehicle into a blackened hunk of metal, a federal official said Wednesday.

How Whole Foods "Primes" You to Shop

Have you ever been primed? I mean has anyone ever deliberately influenced your subconscious mind and altered your perception of reality without your knowing it? Whole Foods Market, and others, are doing it to you right now.

Derren Brown, a British illusionist famous for his mind-reading act, set out to prove just how susceptible we are to the many thousands of signals we're exposed to each day. He approached two creatives from the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi for the "test." On their journey to his office, Brown arranged for carefully placed clues to appear surreptitiously on posters and balloons, in shop windows, and on t-shirts worn by passing pedestrians.

Upon their arrival, the two creatives were given 20 minutes to come up with a campaign for a fictional taxidermy store. Derren Brown also left them a sealed envelope that was only to be opened once they'd presented their campaign. Twenty minutes later, they presented and then opened the envelope. Lo and behold, Derren Brown's plans for the taxidermy store were remarkably similar to the ad campaign, with an astounding 95% overlap.

Middle-class income fell in the last decade

It's official. The first decade of the 21st century will go down in the history books as a step back for the American middle class.

Last week, the government made gloomy headlines when it released the latest census report showing the poverty rate rose to a 17-year high. A whopping 46.2 million people (or 15.1% of the U.S. population) live inpoverty and 49.9 million live without health insurance.

But the data also gave the first glimpse of what happened to middle-class incomes in the first decade of the millennium. While the earnings of middle-income Americans have barely budged since the mid 1970s, the new data showed that from 2000 to 2010, they actually regressed.

For American households in the middle of the pay scale, income fell to $49,445 last year, when adjusted for inflation, a level not seen since 1996. And over the 10-year period, their income is down 7%.

Ikea Creates Daycare For Grown Men and the Web Reacts To Gay Soldier’s Video Coming Out To His Father

Move over dorm couches and bookshelves, Ikea is now in the business of making Mänland. An Ikea store in Australia has created a male wonderland where men can play Xbox, watch sports on flat-screen TVs, play foosball, and even scarf down free hot dogs. It's kind of like daycare dressed up as a bachelor pad. Mänland is the Swedish furniture store's attempt to curb men's hatred of shopping with their wives and girlfriends.
But like all good things, Mänland comes to an end quickly. Women can drop off their men at Mänland for only 30 minutes at a time (so that Ikea doesn't run out of hot dogs). At drop-off women are given pagers that go off in a half-hour to remind them about pick-up. (Ikea thinks of everything, doesn't it?) Across the Web, some applaud the idea but others call it sexist. On Twitter, @RMurto called it "sexist more than funny," but @sillsmcgrills tweeted that it's "gënius." Either way, one thing's for sure: We've come a long way from department store "husband chairs."

Man sues Starbucks over restroom camera

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. man is suing Starbucks Coffee Co after his 5-year-old daughter allegedly found a video camera pointed at the toilet in a bathroom in one of their cafes.

William Yockey, of Virginia, is asking for $1 million in the civil suit on four counts, including breach of privacy, his lawyer, Hank Schlosberg, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Yockey and his daughter went into a Starbucks in downtown Washington to use the restroom during an April sightseeing trip, he said.

Northrop concept looks like a space fighter, probably isn't

The difference between this picture, and a picture of a futuristic fighter jet (or space fighter!) out of a video game or movie, is that this concept comes from Northrop Grumman, and it may show the next generation of long-range strike aircraft. In other words, it could be real.
As you might expect, there is basically zero information available about this aircraft. It may be a concept for a high-speed, long range bomber, and that's the extent of what Northrop seems to be ready to publicly admit to. I have to say, though, that it does bear a striking resemblance to the spacecraft from Asteroids. I'm of course not saying that this concept is intended to be a space fighter, but on the other hand, we don't have definitive proof that it isn't a space fighter either. Make of that what you will.

Nikon reveals svelte mirrorless ILCs

After much waiting, and lots o' leaks, Nikon finally unveiled its mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera line. But while you'd think the veteran Nikon would debut to an audience with pent-up demand for its product, signs point to Nikon fans greeting the Nikon 1 series J1 and V1 with less enthusiasm than expected. For example, Nikon Rumors ran a poll with over 30,000 respondents--most likely Nikon fans--that indicate as of just before the announcement, almost two thirds of them aren't planning to buy the camera(s). And that was before they'd even seen or had final specs for it.

'Beyond Infinity' is the closest we'll come to Tron in the real world

Bright neon blue lines? Check. Intricate geometric shapes? You bet'cha. Digital entities wearing silly hats and chasing one another on cycles of light? Well, maybe not, but I am clicking through these images and murmuring vrooom as I imagine dueling light cycles and flying discs. Does that count?

This iPad case expands your screen to about 150 inches

The Padzilla is an iPad "case" that makes its screen 150 inches diagonal, which is, well, much bigger than it normally is.

Foldit game leads to AIDS research breakthrough

In 2008, University of Washington scientists released the game Foldit, hoping a sort of critical mass of gamers would mess around with proteins and, in the process, uncover some of their intrigue. (We have more than 100,000 types of proteins in our bodies alone.)

Last year, we checked in on the project's progress, and principal investigator Zoran Popovic said that some 60,000 people worldwide had taken on the challenge. Popovic hoped the initial results his team reported on last year would convince those on the sidelines that scientific discovery games could actually lead to important breakthroughs.