America's top turnaround towns

Just a few years ago, when foreclosures were coming fast and furious, some cities experienced more than their fair share of the pain. It stood to reason that the harder hit a city was, the less likely it was to make a hasty recovery.

However, according to Realtor.com, the official site of the National Association of Realtors, some of the cities whose housing markets bore the brunt of the foreclosures are now leading the way toward recovery.

Google Under Fire for Circumvention of Cookie Settings in Safari for iOS to Track Users

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google and several other advertising agencies have been discovered to be circumventing privacy protections in Apple's Safari browser for iOS devices in order to track users through ads on numerous popular websites. Google implemented the technique in order to embed +1 buttons on its ads, tricking users' systems into allowing cookies by using an invisible form submission to make Google's third-party cookies, which are blocked by Safari, appear as first-party cookies that are allowed.

To get around Safari's default blocking, Google exploited a loophole in the browser's privacy settings. While Safari does block most tracking, it makes an exception for websites with which a person interacts in some way—for instance, by filling out a form. So Google added coding to some of its ads that made Safari think that a person was submitting an invisible form to Google. Safari would then let Google install a cookie on the phone or computer. 

THINNER WIFE MAKES HAPPIER MARRIAGE

Marriages are happier when wives are thinner than their husbands, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Tennessee studied the BMI (body mass index, a common measure of obesity) of nearly 170 newlywed couples, along with their marital satisfaction over time.

Andrea Meltzer, the lead author and a doctoral candidate at UT, told Discovery News that "We found this effect initially on husbands' satisfaction at the beginning of marriage... husbands were more satisfied at the time of marriage to the extent that their wives had a lower BMI than themselves."

Half of Fortune 500s, US Govt. Still Infected with Trojan

What exactly is taking these guys so long to fix their systems? It's not like they don't have the time, money and/or resources. 

More than two months after authorities shut down a massive Internet traffic hijacking scheme, the malicious software that powered the criminal network is still running on computers at half of the Fortune 500 companies, and on PCs at nearly 50 percent of all federal government agencies, new research shows.

Disappearing Car Door offers spacecraft feel on Earth

Some of the best futuristic depictions of cars include not only self-driving vehicles, but cars with unique takes on simple functions. Such is the case with the Disappearing Car Door.

What gorgeous art created with scary lightning looks like

What if you could actually capture lightning? What would it look like? You could try running some acrylic slabs through a particle accelerator and let five million volts of electricity work its magic.

Artist Todd Johnson has been doing just that, and the works of art created are nothing short of stunning.

The amazing space program propaganda of Soviet Russia

In today's world, Russia and America are allies and cooperate in space — in fact, two Russian astronauts performed a space walk Thursday to install a debris shield on the ISS — but the two countries used to be on opposite sides of the space race.

Laser-powered carbon nanotube exploding drug grenades

Let me just say that one more time: laser-powered carbon nanotube exploding drug grenades. We have them.

A drug grenade is exactly what you think it is: something that explodes and releases drugs into your body. Since swallowing a lit fuse doesn't usually work that well (not to mention the horrid aftertaste), researchers have been looking for other ways to perform targeted drug delivery, and laser-activated grenades made of carbon nanotubes just might be the answer.

Josh Duhamel lets slip a big Transformers 4 difference

This week we learned that three giant fighting robot movies were indeed not enough, and that we will in fact be getting a fourth Transformers flick in 2014. We also heard that Michael Bay will return to attempt something audacious even for him: rebooting his own franchise. But exactly what does "reboot" mean here?

Josh Duhamel, who co-starred in each of the first three flicks, has at least one idea of what it might mean (for him, anyway). Duhamel says he's not planning to return for a fourth flick, and he doesn't think any of his fellow humans will join the Autobots and Decepticons for another round either.

ICE Agent Shot Dead at California Federal Building

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is dead after a workplace dispute erupted into gunfire at the agency’s offices in a California federal building, officials said.

In the incident at the Glenn M. Anderson Federal Building in Long Beach, Calif., an ICE agent allegedly opened fire on a colleague Thursday evening, leaving that colleague hospitalized in stable condition with multiple gunshot wounds, ICE officials told ABC News.

“This situation began with what we can characterize as an incident of workplace violence,” Steven Martinez, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, told reporters late Thursday Pacific Time.

RoboBees ready for mass production. Thanks, Harvard!

Harvard University's robotics lab designs an origami-inspired method for stamping out large numbers of pop-up flying microrobots.

This insect-inspired microrobot was made from the assembly platform next to it in a manufacturing process that could be automated.

(Credit: Screen capture Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Harvard University has developed a method for churning out coin-size microrobots en masse.

By drawing on the ideas of origami, researchers have engineered a fabrication technique that produces a small flying robot much the way a children's pop-up book creates a structure.

Awesome int'l Prometheus trailer: New footage, more face-melting!

Not sure why the overseas audience gets cooler trailers than we do—and looking at the international spots for The Amazing Spider-Man and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, they totally do—but the new ad for Ridley Scott's Alien prequel has 18 percent more awesome.

As always, it takes a keen eye to find the new amongst the hyper-fast cuts—I think there's an exploding ship that I hadn't seen before—but I'll look at footage fromPrometheus all day and be a happy man. VIDEO

Data predicts John Carter could be a major box office disaster

It's no secret that Disney's John Carter has a massive budget, so massive that it's going to need to earn upwards of $700 million at the box office just to earn the right to a sequel. But according to new tracking on the flick, it might not even come close. Could the Martian adventure be this year's biggest flop?

With the onslaught of trailers, posters and images getting heavier just three weeks out from the film's March 9 release, Disney is getting feelers out to see just how aware prospective moviegoers are of the flick, and how many of them are interested in seeing it. Disney won't share their tracking numbers, of course, but Deadline's Nikki Finke is hearing from rival studios that the situation looks pretty grim.

Pentagon’s Project ‘Avatar’: Same as the Movie, but With Robots Instead of Aliens

Soldiers practically inhabiting the mechanical bodies of androids, who will take the humans’ place on the battlefield. Or sophisticated tech that spots a powerful laser ray, then stops it from obliterating its target.

If you’ve got Danger Room’s taste in movies, you’ve probably seen both ideas on the big screen. Now Darpa, the Pentagon’s far-out research arm, wants to bring ‘em into the real world.

Interview: Cyanide Talks Game of Thrones RPG, Working with George R. R. Martin, and Following Skyrim

At first glance, Game of Thrones seems to be the best seating-based fit for gaming since musical chairs. It's got swords, sorcery, dragons, and Sean Bean. Also, the word "game" is sort of in its title. And yet, Cyanide's previous attempt to bring A Song of Ice and Fire into our hobby's humble realm left many players very, very cold. Myself included. So, how willCyanide avoid taking a similarly ugly tumble when making the leap from RTS to RPG? I spoke with Lead Game Designer Sylvain Sechi and Project Manager Thomas Veauclin to find out.

Skyrim Swag for Your Sweetheart

It's Valentine's Day, but the typical candy and flowers approach is no way to treat beloved Dovahkiin. To help grant Mara's blessing and avoid a bloody Daedra heart in the face (blood stains are hard to get out), here are several fan-crafted (real-world!) items that would make any Skyrim lover proud to add to his or her hoard. A home-cooked meal and some Lover's Comfort are sure to follow -- just make room for their future business selling magical cheese wheels from your living room.

Far Cry 3 Screens Show Majesty of Nature, Explosions

The jungle is a dangerous place. Its bright greens and deep blues only serve as caked on blots of makeup to cover its more sinister side. Tigers, spiders, and that bear from the Jungle Book -- oh my. Also, explosions. Little known fact: jungles are apparently havens for random acts of spontaneous combustion. Don't believe me? Check out these new screens from Far Cry 3, which depict the wild explosion hunting in its natural environment. Its flash-fried meal of choice? Man. PHOTOS

Awesome StarCraft 2 Fan Art Detected

Reddit upvoted this impressive bit of StarCraft fan art: a Zerg Hydralisk crafted from copper. Something about the hand-made look of it makes it seem all the more authentic, like a petrified exoskeleton dug up and reassembled for display in a museum. I want one -- which means I should probably make sure my tetanus shot is up to date.

LINK

Foxconn Workers Committed Suicide Out of Boredom

The quote below tells you everything you need to know about the direction of the investigation being conducted by the Fair Labor Association. The facilities at Foxconn are first class and workers are committing suicide out of boredom.

"I was very surprised when I walked onto the floor at Foxconn, how tranquil it is compared with a garment factory," he said. "So the problems are not the intensity and burnout and pressure-cooker environment you have in a garment factory. . It's more a function of monotony, of boredom, of alienation perhaps."

America's most affluent neighborhoods

To hear village manager Frances Higgins tell it, Chevy Chase Section Five, one of seven small municipalities spanning Maryland and Washington, D.C., isn't much different from many other pieces of American suburbia. Nice homes, friendly neighbors, tree lined streets and an annual summer block party in the middle of town.

The one thing that does make Section Five different: no other town or city in America enjoys a higher median household income (excepting Westlake, Texas, home of the Jonas Brothers and various business bigwigs, which is virtually tied with Chevy Chase Section Five).

Facebook To Launch Verified Accounts, Pseudonyms

I guess you should feel honored if Facebook notifies you that you are eligible for a verified account. The population of Facebook is going to drop drastically though after all the non-verified "celebrity accounts" are outed by this. 

Facebook will manually approve alternative names to make sure individuals are really the celebrities, politicians, journalists, and so on they claim they are. Those with verified accounts will also gain more prominent placement in Facebook’s "People To Subscribe To" suggestions.

CNN producer third person this year to win Georgia lottery for second time

In terms of jackpots, Las Vegas gets all the attention. But anyone looking to make GALottery.comtheir fortune on a gamble might be better off trying Georgia: Three people have won the lottery in Georgia multiple times in the past year alone.

"Georgia is a very lucky state," Georgia Lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick tells Yahoo News. "There have been quite a few repeat Georgia Lottery winners who have Lady Luck on their side. It's fantastic for our players and very exciting for us."

Even more amazing, Reddick provided Yahoo News with no less than 15 examples of repeat Georgia lottery winners.

The most recent two-time winner is CNN producer Jennifer Hauser, 29, of Atlanta. Playing the instant scratch off game 50X The Money, Hauser took home a check for $1 million. Incredibly, Hauser's win came less than three months after she took home a $100,000 prize on another state lotto game, Georgia Lottery Black.

Lexus tops as survey finds more auto dependability

Lexus is the top performer in a survey of vehicle dependability released Wednesday, but most other brands also showed improvement in an industry that has reached historically high dependability levels.

Consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates polled 31,000 owners of 2009 model-year vehicles and rated brands by the number of problems owners have experienced in the last 12 months. Problems can range from stalling engines and transmission issues to peeling paint and electronics glitches.

MacPad Pro blends MacBook Pro and iPad into dual-screen hybrid

Waiting for the iPad 3? Hold that train of thought for just a second. Imagine if a MacBook Pro had a baby with an iPad. It's poppycock, but that's exactly what Jules Moretti's MacPad Pro concept is, if Apple did make something so insane.

With Apple's rumored slimming of the 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro lineup, Moretti takes Apple's products into a different direction.

Russia, China gave Syria ‘license to kill,’ White House says

Even as visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping got the red-carpet treatment from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, the White House on Tuesday accused China and Russia of effectively giving Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a "license to kill" the critics of his regime by vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending bloodshed in Syria.

Obama press secretary Jay Carney did not use the incendiary phrase, which Norah O'Donnell of CBS News put in the mouth of an anonymous administration official, in a TV report Monday and in a question to Carney at his daily briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

States with the most homes in foreclosure

Five major U.S. banks accused of foreclosure abuses have agreed to a $26 billion settlement with the government, the largest payout from banks arising from the financial crisis. The amount, which will include aid from banks in the form of loan forgiveness and refinancing, is intended to help homeowners avoid mortgage default and foreclosure. Most economists believe this is a step in the right direction, albeit only a small one.

Homeowners in at least 49 states represented in the agreement will benefit, though some states have more homes in trouble than others. California, one the hardest-hit states in the foreclosure crisis, will reportedly receive mortgage relief of up to $18 billion. Based on Corelogic’s national foreclosure report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the states with the highest foreclosure rates.

China iPad saga escalates

The Chinese iPad trademark saga continues to confuse, with contrary claims over why the iOS tablet has been yanked from retailers, while Apple and Proview argue over who has the legal upper hand. Salesthrough Amazon China ceased not because of the trademark litigation but, insiders claim, because it is not an official reseller, though the retailer itself has indicated differently. Meanwhile, in an official statement, Apple says that “Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China” and points to a ruling by Hong Kong courts in its favor. However, Proview counters that Apple is misrepresenting the court’s decision.

Can These Commandos Salvage the Afghan War?

Part one of a two-part series.

LAGHMAN, Afghanistan — The American Special Forces officer was having what one colleague says was the worst day of his war tour. And that was before the Soviet-made anti-personnel mine packed with 700 ball bearings exploded at his feet.

A weapon like that can turn a man into “pink mist,” the officer says.

See for Yourself: The Pentagon’s $51 Billion ‘Black’ Budget

The military keeps a lot of little things secret. It could be the exact range of a jammer, sensitive missile data or the timing of a raid. But the larger context — that jammers and missiles exist, or that our forces conduct raids — is unclassified and even listed in the Pentagon’s budget for all to see.

FBI Purges Hundreds of Terrorism Documents in Islamophobia Probe

An internal FBI investigation into its counterterrorism training has purged hundreds of bureau documents of instructional material about Muslims, some of which characterized them as prone to violence or terrorism.

Pentagon: Future of Homemade Bombs Is High-Tech

Most improvised bombs used by insurgents are decidedly low-tech, jury-rigged affairs. A couple of command wires, some fertilizer chemicals andwooden pressure plates in Afghanistan; in Iraq, leftover mines or plastic explosives often detonated remotely by cellphone. But the Pentagon’s bomb squad sees “ever more sophisticated” bombs on the way.

Robonaut and astronaut make the first human-robot space handhake

If we're going to make friends with non-humans as we travel through space, we had better get used to shaking their hands. NASA got in some practice yesterday, when astronaut Dan Burbank shook hands with Robonaut on board the International Space Station.

Swiss to launch 'janitor satellite' to clean up space junk

Space junk is getting to be more and more of a problem, but while there have been plenty of serious talks on the subject, the first country to actually go and do something about it may be the Swiss. By 2016, Switzerland plans to launch a "janitor satellite" to start fighting the the space junk problem directly while the rest of us keep twiddling our thumbs.

Switzerland is generally best known for their obnoxious clocks, comically over-sized cowbells, and killer hot chocolate, but on occasion they do come up with other good ideas, and this is one of them: CleanSpace One, a little space-borne janitor designed to grapple onto obsolete satellites and other space junk and forcibly de-orbit them.

Matrix-Style Vertical Chicken Farms

Damn it, I was going to try to make a joke about one of these chickens waking up in the Matrix but I couldn't figure out how to work PETA into the joke. Heh, you know those guys are going to crap when they see this.

After this "desensitization," the chickens could then be stacked into huge urban farms with around 1,000 chickens hooked up to large vertical frames — a little like the network of pods the humans are connected to in The Matrix. The feet of the chickens would also be removed in order to pack more in. There could be dozens of these frames in the vertical farming system, which Ford refers to as the Centre for Unconscious Farming.

Chinese Workers Get Screwed By Everyone

The actual headline of this article was something about Koreans getting 4x the amount of money per iPad than Chinese people, so I just gave you the condensed version.

According to the Korea Daily, citing sources, factory workers in China who are producing iPads collectively earn about $8 per unit among them, or about 1.6 percent of the cheapest iPad's selling price. Korean factory workers, on the other hand, share about $34 per unit among them, giving them 6.8 percent of the sales price, according to the report.

Apple Asks Bankruptcy Court For OK To Sue Kodak

Wow, I have seen it all now. Apple trying to sue a company that is already in bankruptcy? 

Apple said in a filing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that it intends to file a complaint against Kodak at the International Trade Commission and a corresponding suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan based on patent-infringement claims. The suit will seek an order blocking Kodak’s infringement, according to the filing.

Apple iPad plant is 'way, way above average' says inspector

It's not a pressure-cooker environment that is the problem, but boredom and alienation

Foxconn workers. Source: Everything iCafe

"The facilities are first-class; the physical conditions are way, way above average of the norm."

That's Auret van Heerden, president of the Fair Labor Association, speaking to Reuters after an initial visit to the Foxconn factory where Apple's (AAPL) iPads are built.

Apple has been hit with a barrage of criticism over the working conditions in the Chinese factories where its products are assembled: from newspaper reports of worker suicides, by monologist Mike Daisey's interviews with underage workers, by a front-page exposé in the New York Times, by petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of would-be customers.

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx vs. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Verizon stacked its deck with some of the strongest smartphones around, including two CNET Editors' Choice Award winners, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx.

Both come into the ring swinging--the Galaxy Nexus has its 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED display and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but can it hold out against the Droid Razr Maxx's Hulk of a battery and thick Kevlar skin? Find out!

watch Photoshop CS6 cut hours of editing down to seconds

Adobe might have conceded that mobile Flash wasn't worth the hassle, but it still knows how to keep Photoshop as the premier image editing tool. Be astounded as you see Photoshop CS6's Content Aware Fill tool magically move objects around a picture with little effort.

Is Apple over a Chinese iBarrel?

BEIJING – “This is the user manual and spec sheets for the IPAD,” said Ma Dongxiao, a patent lawyer in Beijing. In his hands he held a simple black and white pamphlet that laid out the technical aspects of his client’s product.

Absent from the front page was the familiar Apple logo we have come to expect. Rather, he held just a simple description in English for a boxy wireless device shaped like an old TV that was ponderously dubbed a “Professional Color LCD Monitor.”

Iran trumpets nuclear advances, deepening standoff

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran proclaimed advances in nuclear know-how on Wednesday, including new centrifuges able to enrich uranium much faster, a move that may hasten a drift towards confrontation with the West over suspicions it is seeking the means to make atomic bombs.

Tehran was driving home its resolve to pursue a nuclear programits hardline Islamic clerical leaders see as a pillar of power, protection and prestige despite Western sanctions that are inflicting increasing damage on its oil-based economy.

Iran also aimed to show that the tightening sanctions noose has failed to stop it making progress in nuclear technology and to firm its hand in any renewed negotiations with world powers.

Hundreds killed in fire at prison in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Trapped inmates screamed from their cells as a fire swept through a Honduran prison, killing at least 300 inmates, authorities said Wednesday.

Lucy Marder, chief of forensic medicine for the prosecutor's office, said early Wednesday some 356 people on the prison roster are unaccounted for among 852 prisoners.

World's tiniest chameleon discovered in Madagascar

A species of chameleon small enough to easily perch on a match head has been discovered on a tiny island off Madagascar, a group of scientists has announced.

In addition to the discovery of Brookesia micra, now the tiniest chameleon ever discovered, the researchers also announced the discovery of three additional tiny chameleon species.

Fort Worth police arrest 17 TCU students in drug bust

UPDATE, 9:40 a.m.: In all, 17 students were arrested, according to university authorities. Some of those involved are believed to be involved with the football program. Some fraternity members are also involved.

Names will be available by 11 a.m.

More arrests are possible.

ORIGINAL POST:

Fort Worth police are rounding up students at Texas Christian University this morning in an investigation into drug dealing.

None of those arrested have been publicly identified, and neither the police nor the university has said how many students were arrested.

California Man With Half an Arm Sues Starbucks, Alleging Discrimination

Starbucks is facing allegations of discrimination from a job applicant who claimed he was "blatantly" discriminated against because of a disability during a job interview at one of the coffee chain's San Diego stores.

In court documents filed on Feb. 8 at the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of San Diego, Eli Pierre, who was born with half of a left arm, alleged he "was not hired for the position because of his disability, despite his capable work history."

According to the complaint, obtained from Pierre's attorney, Joel Larabee, on Feb. 1, after Pierre mentioned that his disability was not a problem for a barista position, a hiring manager stated, "Oh, at our store our syrups are up high, and I have to extend my whole body to pump it. You can't work here with one arm."