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Latest NFL playoff projections: Ravens looking good, Redskins need help

The Redskins need two more victories to close out the season, including one against the Eagles in the regular-season finale, just to get their playoff chances to 80 percent.




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COVID-19 has ravaged ride-hailing companies, but an industry watcher says the crisis could make Uber stronger (UBER)

  • While ride-hailing has suffered from the impact of COVID-19, Uber is in a good position to survive the crisis, three analysts who cover the company told Business Insider.
  • Uber is in no danger of running of out money anytime soon, said Mark Mahaney, a managing director at RBC Capital Markets.
  • And a series of cost-cutting moves should make the company profitable by next year, said Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities.
  • Uber's food-delivery service, Uber Eats, gives the company an advantage over ride-hailing competitors, since it allows homebound consumers to keep using its app, said Tom White, a senior research analyst at DA Davidson.
  • Are you a current or former Uber employee? Do you have an opinion about what it's like to work there? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com. You can also reach out on Signal at 646-768-4712 or email this reporter's encrypted address at mmatousek@protonmail.com.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The ride-hailing industry has taken a major hit from COVID-19 as potential customers remain confined to their homes, but Uber is in a good position to survive the crisis, three analysts who cover the company said.

"Their business model will be intact on the other side of this," said Dan Ives, a managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities.

A strong cash reserve will help. After ending the first quarter with $9 billion in cash and short-term investments, Uber has the resources to survive a scenario in which the prevalence of COVID-19 and its effect on consumer behavior last for the next two years, said Mark Mahaney, a managing director at RBC Capital Markets.

On Thursday, Uber disclosed its first-quarter financial results, reporting an adjusted loss of $2.9 billion on revenue of $3.5 billion during the first three months of this year. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on a call with analysts that the ride-hailing company would cut $1 billion in fixed costs. The company has recently removed its food-delivery service — Uber Eats — from eight unprofitable markets, folded its electric bike and scooter business into Lime (Uber recently led a $170 million investment round in the company), and announced it will lay off about 14% of its workforce.

Those moves should help Uber become profitable in 2021 (the company predicted in February that it would turn a profit by the end of this year), Ives said. Uber's management, which had struggled in the wake of the company's 2019 IPO, has performed well in the current crisis by being transparent with investors and quickly moving to reduce expenses, Ives said. Investors signaled their approval of the company's strategy by sending shares up as much as 8% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Uber Eats was one of the highlights of the company's first-quarter results, said Tom White, a senior research analyst at DA Davidson, as gross bookings grew 52% from the first quarter of 2019 to $4.7 billion. Eats gives Uber an advantage over ride-hailing competitors that don't have a similar service, as it allows the company to keep homebound consumers using its app, White said. Even after the toll of COVID-19 begins to subside, demand for online food delivery could see continued growth, he added.

But there are still challenges ahead for Uber. The company said rides fell by as much as 80% in April, and Ives projects that 30% of the customers for gig-economy companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Lyft won't use a ride-hailing service until there's a vaccine for COVID-19. Yet the pandemic could leave Uber better off in the long run, White said.

"I saw and heard enough [during Uber's first-quarter earnings call] that makes it harder and harder for me to think that these guys don't emerge from this pandemic probably in a stronger competitive position and a healthier and leaner operating position," he said.

Are you a current or former Uber employee? Do you have an opinion about what it's like to work there? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com. You can also reach out on Signal at 646-768-4712 or email this reporter's encrypted address at mmatousek@protonmail.com.

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk's theater of the absurd is a sign of the times for tech

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Pikes Peak is the most dangerous racetrack in America




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Softbank-backed delivery startup Rappi is testing out robots for contactless delivery — take a look

  • Colombian delivery app Rappi is testing pilot robot deliveries in Colombia.
  • Rappi operates in several Latin American countries, and last year SoftBank invested one billion dollars into the startup.
  • Deliveries are made using Kiwibot, a delivery robot from a Colombian owned company in California.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Colombian delivery app Rappi is yet another company turning to robots to reduce reliance on human workers during the coronavirus pandemic. 

In addition to Colombia, Rappi operates in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Last spring, SoftBank invested $1 billion — one-fifth of its Innovation Fund for Latin America — in the startup. It was founded in 2015, and other investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreesen Horowitz, and Y Combinator.

Colombia is currently under a lockdown set to end in May, though it may be extended again. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported on the lack of coronavirus testing throughout Latin America, making it difficult to assess how widespread the virus is in the region.

Like in other countries, the Colombian delivery app is using robots to complete orders at a time when people are at risk of catching the virus from interacting with others. So far, the robots are part of a pilot in Medellin, with potential to expand.

Here's what it looks like. 

SEE ALSO: Nonprofits, truck drivers, food banks, and others are turning to a little-known Google Maps feature to navigate life amid the coronavirus pandemic

Rappi is using robots for deliveries in Medellin, the capital of Colombia.



Typically, Rappi works similarly to GrubHub or DoorDash, with delivery drivers picking up orders and bringing them to customers' doors.



As the coronavirus spread between people, options for contactless delivery became more popular.



Deliveries in the pilot program use Kiwibot robots, from a California company with a Medellin office.



The four-wheeled delivery robots have orange flags to call attention from walkers, drivers, and bikers.



Customers stuck at home because of the coronavirus can order and pay for meals digitally, and then last mile delivery is completed by the robots.



Robots can carry deliveries up to five square inches in size, and are disinfected between orders.

Source: The Star



Kiwibots have a stereo camera system to sense its surroundings as it moves.



The sensor system allows it to react to lights and obstacles.



Kiwibots are equipped with corner recognition, which allows them to create safe paths on sidewalks.



Kiwibot emphasized its robots ability to "seamlessly mesh into the fabric of urban landscapes," with technology like street crossing mode.

Source: Kiwibot



Rappi says it completes about 120 deliveries each day with the 15 robots in the pilot area.

Source: The Star



It plans to run the program until July, and then potentially expand to other cities.



Kiwibots have previously been used for deliveries at colleges including UC Berkeley, and Kiwibot says it has made more than 30,000 deliveries since it started in 2017.

Source: The New York Times






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All the coolest features of every Tesla vehicle ever made or unveiled, ranked (TSLA)

  • Tesla's vehicles are and always have been crammed with great ideas.
  • These range from touchscreen interfaces to innovative battery designs to staggering acceleration.
  • I've driven or experienced every vehicle Tesla has ever sold or intends to sell in the future.
  • Here are all my favorite features, ranked.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In about two decades, Tesla has done what everyone in the auto industry thought was impossible: create an all-electric brand that could sell hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

Tesla could have done that in a boring or modest way, developing  the equivalent of an electric VW Beetle.

Instead, Tesla made fantastically compelling cars that are fast, look amazing, and are packed with features.

Here's a rundown of all my favorites, ranked from bottom to top:

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

Tesla has been in business for 17 years. In that period of time, it's consistently captivated the world not just because it makes all-electric cars, but because those cars have always been packed with cool features.



"Easter eggs" — frivolous little extras that Tesla throws in whenever it does software updates. Owners enjoy finding them.



The Model X's falcon-wing doors. Dramatic, slightly impractical, and a nightmare to manufacture. But Tesla has the only SUV on the road with such an exotic feature.



Bioweapon Defense Mode uses a powerful filtration system to render the interior air quality of the Model X or Model S "hospital grade," according to Tesla.



The Model X's 5,000-pound towing capacity. Nobody ever talks about it, but the Model X can tow a goodly amount for an electric SUV. It's very competitive with gas-powered SUVs that tout their capabilities.



The large, central portrait touchscreen on the Model S and Model X. This mega-tablet interface was a revelation when Tesla first introduced it on the Model S in 2012, but it's now emulated throughout the auto industry. It's actually canted slightly toward the driver.



Aero Wheels on the Model 3. The proprietary design is standard on the vehicle, enhancing airflow, reducing drag, and improving range.



Ludicrous Mode. The acceleration feature — which followed Insane Mode, first rolled for the all-wheel-drive Model S — enables Teslas to cover the 0-60 mph sprint at supercar-like velocities.



Frunks! All Teslas currently on sale have front trunks, expanding their cargo capacities. Having no gas engine helps to free up space.



Trunks! Teslas are commendable cargo haulers because they're effectively boxes on top of battery packs, creating ample space for luggage, groceries, of gear.



Quiet. In operation, Teslas are notably quiet and smooth, thanks to the optimization of airflow, solid build quality, and mostly silent electric motors.



The Tesla smartphone app. I've actually tested a number of these from assorted manufacturers, but Tesla's is the only one that's truly useful. For the Model 3, it replaces the traditional key fob.



The glass roof of the Model 3. It creates a stunning silhouette and floods the cabin with natural light.



The space-age operators' platform in the cab of the Tesla Semi. This space — clearly anticipating a time when semi-trucks drive themselves — is the most futuristic thing Tesla has ever designed.



Roadsters in space. CEO Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster was launched atop the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2017, as a test payload. Piloted by "Starman," it set a new standard for automotive marketing.



Tesla's in-house audio system. Most luxury brands partner with a big-name audio company for premium sound systems, but Tesla developed its own — and it sounds absolutely fantastic.



Charge monitoring and mapping. Charging is among the most important things Tesla has to think about, so the company has made it a priority to track it in the vehicle and via the app, as well as to plot road-trip courses that use GPS navigation to permit island-hopping from charging location to charging location.



Navigate on Autopilot combines Tesla's GPS mapping system with Autopilot's ability to execute lane changes and freeway on- and off-ramping maneuvers.



The new Roadster's staggering performance specs. The all-new machine has a claimed 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, making it the fastest production vehicle in the world.



The Model 3's consolidated vehicle-management system and central landscape touchscreen. Almost every aspect of the Model 3 is controlled here, and the traditional instrument cluster has been moved to the left side of the screen, and streamlined.



The radical design of the Cybertruck. In late 2019, Tesla had fallen into a design rut. The otherworldly, stainless-steel Cybertruck changed all that. Controversial to be sure, but also thrilling.

Read about the Cybertrucks' rad design.



Manufacturing simplicity. Electric cars are less complicated to build than gas-powered ones. Tesla has designed its factory in China to optimize this aspect of production, which could support and enviable profit margin for Tesla in the 20-30% range.



The white interior. It's an extra, but a very popular one. I was initially skeptical, but I'm now a fan. After all, it survived a 700-plus-mile family road trip!

Read about the road trip.



Over-the-air software updates. Just like smartphones, Teslas can be routinely upgraded while sitting in owners' driveways. This means that an older Tesla can acquire new features quite literally overnight.



The Supercharger network. Access to DC fast-charging used to be a lifetime perk for Tesla owners, but Tesla has begun to bill for the service. Still, it enables longer road trips and is completely integrated with each Tesla vehicle's systems.



Tesla's design philosophy. Head designer Franz von Holzhausen and Elon Musk argue that it doesn't cost anymore to make Teslas beautiful. But von Holzhausen has also exercised tasteful restraint, ensuring that Tesla's vehicles have a long market life.

Read about Franz's design influence.



Performance! Tesla vehicles have always combined electric virtuosity with industry-leading performance. Owners can usually expect to be driving one of the fastest cars on the road.



Battery design. Tesla has taken a complicated, multi-cell concept — thousands are wired together in packs — and perfected it, yielding impressive range and performance. The company also manufactures its own packs, in partnership with Panasonic.



The Model 3's minimalist driving experience. With the clean dashboard, you can focus on the road ahead. It's a blissful thing and my top Tesla feature.



The bottom line is that while plenty of other automakers put cool features in their cars, Teslas are crammed with ideas, ideas, and more ideas.






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Ring lights, loved by influencers and YouTubers, are now being snatched up by work-from-home employees for Zoom calls and video chats

  • Millions of people have quickly had to adapt to working from home during the pandemic, leading some to scramble to look presentable over video chats with colleagues.
  • One strategy workers have used is the purchase of a ring light, a product that can be used in your video set-up to to improve lighting of your face on-camera.
  • Right lights have already been popular buys for influencers, vloggers, and TikTok creators who adopt various tools to produce professional-quality videos uploaded online.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The ring light is beloved by YouTubers and aspiring TikTok creators for casting a flattering, even glow across anyone's face. Now, ring lights are seeing widespread interest among people tuning into Zoom work calls from their poorly lit homes during the pandemic.

Video conferencing software has exponentially grown in use in recent months, and employees now find themselves in situations online creators have been dealing with for years: Looking their best in front of the camera while in the comfort of their own homes.

Lockdown orders have coincided with a recent surge of interest in ring lights, especially in the U.S. where work-from-home rolled out to non-essential employees starting in early March. Twitter users have been sharing with followers their recent ring light purchases for classes, work meetings, and happy hours taking place over Zoom and FaceTime.

Ring light set-ups provide the benefits of a professional photo studio without the cost, casting your face in a shadow-free, flattering hue while you're in front of the camera. Ring lights on Amazon go for between $60 and $150, depending on how powerful of a light or complicated of a set-up you want. Many of these ring-lights come with tripods and pieces to hold your phone or camera.

Although newly work-from-home employees may just be discovering ring lights for the first time, they've long been a trick for creators whose bedrooms have doubled as their studios. While ring lights have been especially vital for makeup tutorials and beauty vloggers, they've since become commonplace to set-ups for young people starting out on YouTube and TikTok. Now, they're just one of the products with appearance-adjusting features catered to influencers, such as specific camera models that come with skin-smoothing filters.

As dates for returning to the office continue to get pushed back at some companies, sales will likely continue to rise for ring lights. However, it's probably on the more expensive side of simple tips and tricks to implement to look for presentable on your video calls. For those that don't want to splash out cash for a ring light, Zoom has a little-known filter on its platform that users can apply to give their faces a softer look and minimize imperfections. The "touch up my appearance" can be turned on directly within the Zoom app (you can find the steps for activating it on Business Insider).

SEE ALSO: WhatsApp is touting steps taken to cut the viral spread of coronavirus misinformation, but experts question whether it's done enough

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence




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30 Big Tech Predictions for 2020

Digital transformation has just begun.

Not a single industry is safe from the unstoppable wave of digitization that is sweeping through finance, retail, healthcare, and more.

In 2020, we expect to see even more transformative developments that will change our businesses, careers, and lives.

To help you stay ahead of the curve, Business Insider Intelligence has put together a list of 30 Big Tech Predictions for 2020 across Banking, Connectivity & Tech, Digital Media, Payments & Commerce, Fintech, and Digital Health.

This exclusive report can be yours for FREE today.

Join the conversation about this story »




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Elon Musk says Tesla will 'immediately' leave California after coronavirus shutdowns forced the company to close its main car factory (TSLA)

  • Elon Musk says Tesla may leave its Palo Alto headquarters and Fremont, California factory. 
  • In a tweet Saturday morning, the chief executive continued his outrage against shelter-in-place orders that have forced most non-essential businesses to close. 
  • Last week, Musk likened the rules to fascism, and urged leaders to "give people their goddamn freedom back." 
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

After a week of decrying coronavirus shelter-in-place orders that have left Tesla's main factory shuttered and unable to produce vehicles, Elon Musk says the company may move its factory out of the state.

"Tesla is filing a lawsuit against Alameda County immediately," the chief executive said on Twitter Saturday morning. "The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense!"

That was followed up with a threat to move Tesla's headquarters outside the state.

"Frankly, this is the final straw," he replied. "Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependent on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA."

It wasn't immediately clear if a suit had yet been filed, or in which court Tesla will file the lawsuit. Most state and federal courts are closed on weekends and do not allow filing. In a subsequent Tweet, Musk alsourged shareholders to file a class action suit for damages caused by shutdown. 

Tesla's press relations department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alameda County did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Alameda County — the East Bay locale which includes Fremont, California, and Tesla's gigafactory about 30 miles southeast of San Francisco — extended its shelter-in-place order on April 29 "until further notice." Local authorities have not allowed Tesla to reopen the factory, and all manufacturing remains prohibited under the order.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Tesla was planning to resume some manufacturing operations at the factory as soon as last Wednesday, May 6. Local officials said it did not have permission to do so.

"Right now, the same health order is in place so nothing has changed," Fremont Police Department spokeswoman Geneva Bosques told Business Insider at the time. "Operating the assembly line was determined early on to be a violation."

Last week, following Tesla's first-quarter earnings announcement, Musk decried the shutdowns as a substantial risk to the company's financials.

"Frankly, I would call it forcible imprisoning of people in their homes against all of, their constitutional rights, in my opinion," he said on a conference call. "It's breaking people's freedoms in ways that are horrible and wrong and not why they came to America or built this country. What the f---. Excuse me. Outrage. Outrage."

"If somebody wants to stay in their house, that's great and they should be able to," he continued. "But to say they cannot leave their house and that they will be arrested if they do, that's fascist. That is not democratic — this is not freedom. Give people back their goddamn freedom."

Some states, including Texas, Georgia, and others, have begun to slowly allow certain businesses to re-open in recent weeks.

Musk praised counties neighboring Alameda, like San Joaquin for what he said were more "reasonable" responses. In a podcast released May 7, he told Joe Rogan that the company had learned from the coronavirus in China, where it briefly forced Tesla to close its Shanghai factory — a claim he repeated on Twitter Saturday. 

"Our castings foundry and other faculties in San Joaquin have been working 24/7 this entire time with no ill effects. Same with Giga Nevada," Musk said. "Tesla knows far more about what needs to be done to be safe through our Tesla China factory experience than an (unelected) interim junior official in Alameda County." 

As Musk began to complain about factory shutdowns in April, workers at Tesla's Fremont factory told Business Insider that the comments made them anxious.

"I'm for going back to work, but only if it is safe for me, my family, coworkers," said one production employee. "I don't feel like I'm being forced to stay home or that my freedom has been taken away. It's for the good of California."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly




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Mortgage rates hover near historic lows as investors assess where economy is headed

The 30-year fixed-rate average moved slightly higher this week, increasing to 3.26 percent.




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Taylor Swift doubles down on politics in pro-LGBTQ video, ‘You Need to Calm Down’

The pop queen concludes her new music video with a call to sign a petition for the Senate passage of the Equality Act.




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John Cusack apologizes for anti-Semitic tweet — after defending why he posted it

In a string of tweets, the actor apologized for retweeting an anti-Semitic meme.




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Actor Adam Scott and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s social media team are in a Twitter fight

The actor responded unfavorably to a tweet by McConnell's campaign, and the beef didn't stop there.




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Nicki Minaj pulls out of concert in Saudi Arabia ‘after better educating myself on the issues’

The rapper said she wanted to support women's and LGTBQ rights.




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Trump pledges to help ASAP Rocky as rapper’s detention in Sweden approaches its third week

The rapper was arrested earlier this month after an altercation in Stockholm.




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Trump popped in on a wedding at his golf course, and a ‘U-S-A!’ chant broke out

The president stopped by a Staten Island couple's wedding and was greeted with cheers, screams and a supportive crowd.




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Kim Kardashian spotted filming at D.C. jail

The reality star and criminal justice reform advocate was in town Tuesday.




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Trump sends envoy for hostage affairs to Sweden ‘on a mission’ to bring back A$AP Rocky

The president wants the rapper, who is accused of assault, returned to the United States.




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Mario Lopez criticized for saying it’s ‘dangerous’ for parents to accept their young kids as transgender

The “Saved by the Bell” star later apologized for stirring controversy in a resurfaced interview with conservative Candace Owens.




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Ben Folds makes a song called ‘Moscow Mitch’

Joe Scarborough of "Morning Joe" on MSNBC took credit for the name, which reportedly angers Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.




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Pete Buttigieg plays the didgeridoo and other unexpected musical talents of the 2020 candidates

You know about Beto O'Rourke on the guitar, of course, but what about Bernie Sanders's spoken-word album?




ed

Brightest Young Things brings the millennials to the revamped International Spy Museum

A mostly millennial crowd explored the upgraded and interactive museum.




ed

Priyanka Chopra is confronted by Pakistani at Beautycon over tweets about India

The "Quantico" actress was called out during her appearance for a tweet sent during military hostility between the neighboring, nuclear-armed countries.




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Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Corden and more expected at National Portrait Gallery’s gala

Like the Kennedy Center Honors, the gallery’s gala has turned into a red-carpet affair.




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‘Free, Melania,’ an unauthorized biography of Melania Trump, set to hit shelves this December

The tome will be written by CNN's East Wing correspondent, Kate Bennett.




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Todd Palin appears to have filed for divorce from Sarah Palin

The couple has been married for 31 years.




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Laura Ingraham’s brother is attacking her after she compared Greta Thunberg to the ‘Children of the Corn’

“Clearly my sister’s paycheck is more important than the world her three adopted kids will inherit,” Curtis Ingraham wrote on Twitter.




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Ivanka Trump’s 3-year-old son dressed up as a Star Wars Stormtrooper. Mark Hamill was not pleased.

The Star Wars actor faced backlash for his reaction, but he later made clear that young Theodore wasn't the target of his ire.




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‘Why do guys feel so threatened by the idea of a woman president?’ Warren-backing John Legend wonders

Sen. Elizabeth Warren embraced her latest celebrity endorsements. "Looking forward to the day @chrissyteigen doesn't have to fight with the president of the United States on Twitter," she said.




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Drag queen Pissi Myles causes a stir with unexpected appearance at the impeachment hearings

Myles stole the show with a towering blonde wig and shiny red mini-dress.




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Whoopi Goldberg tells Meghan McCain to ‘stop talking’ during heated exchange on ‘The View’

A discussion about the impeachment hearings turned into a showdown between the co-hosts.




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The inherently, intrinsically and inevitably flawed case for American nationalism

Review of 'The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free' by Rich Lowry




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Donald Trump Jr.’s ‘Triggered’ reads like a campaign book for 2024




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Scamming You Through Social Media

You may be aware that cyber attacks will try to trick you over the phone or through email using phishing attacks, but do you realize they may try to attack you also over Social Media, such as through Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn? Just like in email, if you get any Social Media messages that are highly urgent or too good to be true, it may be an attack.




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Celebrity Edge : What's Good and Bad About This Cruise Ship?

Celebrity Edge is the third class, or type, of ship in the Celebrity Cruises Fleet. The first ship was Celebrity Edge in 2018, followed by Celebrity Apex in 2020. After spending time on the ship, and talking to cruise passengers, I review this new class of ship and discuss what is new and different, and what is good or poor about the ship - and who I think it is best for. This should help you decide if the Celebrity Edge ships are right for your cruising vacation.

Get my Cruise T-shirts at my store at https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/store

Get a great Cruise deals via CRUISEDIRECT.COM at https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/CruiseDirectYT

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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Saga Cruises Need-to-knows

Is Saga Cruises the best cruise line for your cruise vacation? In this I explore what I think Saga Cruises do better, the same or worse than other premium cruise lines. I also look at who they are and who they are most suited for and why. Saga Cruises is a UK-based line with a different take on a number of areas of cruising, which you will discover...

Note: I travelled as a guest of the cruise line a number of times over the last few years before making this video

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStoreBooking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers

- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge

 




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8 Offbeat Questions About Cruise Ships Answered

I give the answers to 8 of the more offbeat, unconventional and unusual questions that many passengers, including me at one time, were afraid or embarrassed to ask. I explore everything from what water is in the toilets to how many people die on a cruise and what happens to the body and what waste is (and is not) out into the ocean. Find out the answers to some of the more offbeat questions many cruise passengers have about cruise ships and cruising.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStoreBooking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 74 cruises at time of making this video.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge

- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers

- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




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Princess Cruises Ocean Medallion Review

Princess Cruises were the first cruise line to introduce the Ocean Medallion smart wearable device that is supposed to change the way you cruise. It helps you board the ship faster, find your way around the ship, order food and drink to wherever you are on the ship, gamble and play games , locate your friends and more. But how does it really work? What are the pros and cons? Find out my thoughts, take and review of the Princess Cruises Ocean Medallion.




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Amino Showcases New Live Media Gateway at TelcoTV 2012

Amino Communications will showcase at TelcoTV 2012 in Las Vegas a new breakthrough version of its Live media gateway that delivers a powerful combination of pay-TV security and exciting Android-based OTT content delivery.

The Live media gateway is the first hybrid/OTT media gateway to be powered by the new Intel Atom CE 5300 media processor. This combines dual core processing power with a range of new enhanced transcoding and encoding capabilities with multi-screen distribution to deliver content seamlessly to TVs, smartphones and tablets around the home.

Now the product has been enhanced – with a secure Linux environment, based on Amino’s proven Aminet software stack, for the delivery of payTV video, and a controlled Android virtual machine to support a wide range of OTT applications and services. The device will utilise the unparalleled hardware virtualisation features available in the Intel CE5300 SoC to run multiple virtual machines at full speed.



  • IP Equipment;IPTV Events

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Sure Chooses Netgem for its Advanced Hybrid TV Services

Netgem announced that Sure has partnered with Netgem to launch a new hybrid IPTV service for its customers in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

By working with Netgem, Sure has been able to make use of its broadband network to deliver Over the Top live and non-linear content to a hybrid STB. This means the operator can now add premium TV to its bouquet of services and offer its customers triple and quad play packages.

The new service is powered by Netgem's N8200 hybrid PVR integrating its nCloud middleware; subscribers will benefit from a brand-new TV experience that supplements UK DVB-T2 free-to-air channels for popular non-linear entertainment content and a fluid and consistent user interface.



  • IPTV Middleware;Service Providers/Europe IPTV

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Dune HD And Beenius Partner To Deliver Best Of Breed IPTV Solution To Operators

Operators looking to deploy IPTV and Video on Demand will benefit from faster, lower-risk implementations that enable them to offer more services to users through a major partnership between Dune HD and Beenius announced today at TelcoTV2012. This will be demonstrated on the Beenius booth (number 105) at TelcoTV.

As part of the partnership, Dune HD’s advanced set-top boxes have been certified by Beenius and are now integrated with Beenius’ Beesmart open, flexible, and feature-rich interactive TV middleware platform. Together this provides an adaptable, integrated and best of breed solution to operators and system integrators, backed by the engineering expertise of both partners.



  • IPTV Events;IPTV Middleware;IPTV Set-Top Boxes

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Octoshape and INVISO Partner Up to Offer Internet-Based TV Contribution Services Across Latin America

Octoshape announced a partnership with INVISO to deliver Internet TV contribution services throughout Latin America.

"At INVISO, we seek the most innovative and high quality products to serve our customers through the brands we represent,” said Jose Luis Reyes, Vice President for Sales and Operations, INVISO. “In the case of Octoshape, we found a company and a product that bring these qualities to our supply chain, sales and service.”

Octoshape offers an innovative cloud-based solution that provides instant infrastructure for the distribution of both linear and video on demand content. The Octoshape Infinite Uplink service provides point-to-point distribution of TV signals over the Internet for source signal acquisition to traditional IPTV and cable headends as an alternative to traditional methods like satellite and video fiber.



  • Internet TV;Service Providers/South America IPTV

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We should be concerned about emails in 2020 — just not Hillary Clinton’s

Messages between a GOP strategist and a Census Bureau official make clear the politics and bias behind the proposed citizenship census question.




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Trump’s proposed tennis ball tariff represents a grand slam of terrible trade policy

His unforced errors would make it hard on a U.S. manufacturer.




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Judy Shelton is a dangerous pick for the Fed board

She has apparently tricked the president into thinking she supports his fiscal ideas. Her actual ideas are worse.




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Abolish the debt ceiling — no strings attached

Lawmakers need to be grown-ups to avoid a global economic crisis.




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What drives Donald Trump? Greed, and greed alone.

Wherever he was, whatever his title, the president has used the powers at his disposal to enrich or otherwise benefit himself.




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Perhaps Sanders and Warren are the ones being politically expedient

It’s been frustrating to watch more moderate positions be characterized as solely driven by political calculations.




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The GOP tax cut failed. Their response? Let’s do it again!

When growth slows, Trump doubles down on old tax cut ideas.




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Elizabeth Warren tried to do Bernie Sanders’s homework for him. She failed.

Maybe they need a new assignment.




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Trump has bulldozed over Congress on immigration. Will lawmakers ever act?

The president and his team of unelected bureaucrats have siphoned power away from the legislature.




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Democrats already have a popular, progressive agenda. They just need to amplify it.

How best for the party to get its message across to voters.