While it may officially be spring, winter weather is returning to Minnesota over the weekend, bringing an impact to Easter weekend travel. While a small system of snow made its way through Minnesota Friday afternoon, a larger system of snow and rain is expected to make its way through the state overnight Friday into Saturday […]

    Former Disney Channel and Step Up actress Alyson Stoner shared her struggle to embrace her sexuality in a powerful and moving essay about how she fell in love with a woman for the first time in her life. The actress, 24, who has appeared in films such as Cheaper by the Dozen and on Disney shows like The Suite Life […]

When you’ve got leverage, don’t be afraid to use it. That’s been Google’s modus operandi in the news and publishing world over the last year or so as it has pushed its AMP platform, funding various news-related ventures that may put it ahead, and nourished its personalized Chrome tabs on mobile. The latter, as Nieman Labs notes, grew […]

Blue moons, strawberry moons, supermoons. For some reason your news aggregation algorithm of choice thinks you really really really want to know all about these moons. “Catch This Weekend’s AMAZING SUPERMOON,” one headline (or, like, 500 of them) will announce. “The Supermoon Isn’t Actually A Big Deal And You’re All Ruining Astronomy,” another will grouse. On March 31—that’s […]

Amazon rolled out Connections, a daily Q&A feedback program, company-wide last April. Some employees who spoke to CNBC expressed concerns about the program’s confidentiality and the usefulness of the data. Programs like Connections and a revamped reviews process called Forte are important because Amazon wants to better understand its workforce, now estimated to be the […]

Cisco, a worldwide leader in IT and networking, is developing a method of confidential group communications based on Blockchain technology, according to a patent application released by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) March 29. In the application, the company describes the way Blockchain can ensure more confidential and secure group messaging, file sharing, and tracking of membership […]

A patent application filed by Ford describes a Cooperatively Managed Merge and Pass (CMMP) system that would allow drivers needing to travel quickly to use less congested lanes, and travel more freely, by paying other drivers in cryptocurrency. Other road users would move to slower moving lanes and allow a paying driver to merge or […]

Russia tested its new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday as tensions continued to soar between Moscow and the West. The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing the RS-28 Sarmat—dubbed “Satan 2” by NATO—being launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast. The RS-28 Sarmat is a super-heavy, liquid-fueled ICBM capable of carrying […]

I’ve stayed in my share of the various Marriott brands, but a recent trip to Miami offered the chance to try out the AC brand, in the tony suburb of Aventura, conveniently located between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and near plentiful shopping. My first impression of the property was genuine surprise—the bright, spacious lobby was clean and modern, but […]

First Read is your briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day’s most important political stories and why they matter WASHINGTON — America has always had its culture wars, and they’re only intensified when news events big and small are filtered through the prism of Donald Trump. (The latest debates […]