| Amazon’s Fire phone was a failure, so it’s turning every Echo speaker into a phone Posted: 09 May 2017 01:23 PM PDT 
Today, Amazon unveiled its thoroughly-leaked Echo Show, a $230 touchscreen Echo with streaming video for new and entertainment, which also happens to make video calls. But if you already have an Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, the device you already own is getting in on the action, too, with hands-free Alexa Calling and voice messaging to and from any Echo user.
The new features, which Amazon notes are "coming soon," will function a lot like the hands-free calling features that already exist on both iOS and Android. Once you activate the voice calling feature, simply asking Alexa to call the person you want to contact will prompt the device to initiate the call and, when you're on the receiving end of a call from one of your own contacts, you can say "Alexa, answer the call" to begin your conversation. However, because Alexa works without user names or numbers, the device itself won't be where your contacts are stored. Instead, the Alexa app on your smartphone will pull and sync your contacts, matching you up with whichever of your friends and family also have a calling-enabled Echo device synced with their own phones. In addition to live calls, Alexa will also have the ability to record and send voice messages to your contacts, or store them locally for other people in your home to listen to later. Think of it like a sticky note on your fridge, but in the form of a brief audio blurb. Amazon notes that all of these voice features will work across Echo devices, so you can use an Echo Dot to call someone with an Echo or Echo Show, and vice versa. The features will be added in free update which will roll out at some point in the (presumably) near future.
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| Blind Woman Uses Her Life Savings to Save Her Terminally Ill Guide Pony Posted: 09 May 2017 01:03 PM PDT  They have been together for 14 years.
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| Islamic State says it has beheaded Russian agent Posted: 09 May 2017 12:43 PM PDT ![Islamic State says it has beheaded Russian agent]( "Islamic State says it has beheaded Russian agent") BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group said it has beheaded a Russian agent who had infiltrated its ranks as a fighter to spy on the militant group, a claim that Moscow denied on Tuesday.
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| Trump's Muslim comments could haunt him in travel ban appeal Posted: 09 May 2017 12:26 PM PDT  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The first federal appeals court to hear a challenge to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban appeared unconvinced that it should ignore the Republican's repeated promises on the campaign trail to bar Muslims from entering the country.
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| In Pictures: Russia Shows Off Military Might in Massive WWII Victory Parade Posted: 09 May 2017 12:10 PM PDT  Including a new Arctic air defense system.
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| 11 Ways To Eat Pizza Your Kids Won't See Coming Posted: 09 May 2017 11:53 AM PDT ![11 Ways To Eat Pizza Your Kids Won't See Coming]( "11 Ways To Eat Pizza Your Kids Won't See Coming")
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| Abbas says ready to meet Israel PM as part of Trump peace efforts Posted: 09 May 2017 11:38 AM PDT  Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday he was ready to meet Israel's prime minister as part of peace efforts by Donald Trump, who is expected to visit the Palestinian territories "soon". The US president is expected in Israel later this month as part of his first foreign trip and Abbas said "we are looking forward to his visit soon to Bethlehem" in the occupied West Bank, with speculation it will occur on May 23.
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| 14 Unexpected Ways To Use Rice Krispies Posted: 09 May 2017 11:19 AM PDT ![14 Unexpected Ways To Use Rice Krispies]( "14 Unexpected Ways To Use Rice Krispies")
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| Activist, lawyer, president: South Korea's Moon Posted: 09 May 2017 11:01 AM PDT  The projected winner of South Korea's presidential election is a former special forces soldier, pro-democracy activist and human rights lawyer. An exit poll forecast a landslide victory for left-leaning Moon Jae-In of the Democratic Party, giving him 41.4 percent support, 18 percentage points ahead of his nearest challenger. The election came after millions of South Koreans took to the streets in candlelit demonstrations to demand the removal of Park Geun-Hye, who was sacked by the country's top court in March over a corruption scandal and is now in custody awaiting trial.
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| Mexico's poppy war: Mexican army fights opium surge feeding U.S. heroin demand Posted: 09 May 2017 10:42 AM PDT ![Mexico's poppy war: Mexican army fights opium surge feeding U.S. heroin demand]( "Mexico's poppy war: Mexican army fights opium surge feeding U.S. heroin demand") The Mexican army says its fight against surging opium production that feeds U.S demand is increasingly complicated by the rise of smaller gangs disputing wild, ungoverned lands planted with ever-stronger poppy strains. The gangs have engulfed the state of Guerrero in a war to control poppy fields, turning inaccessible mountain valleys of endemic poverty and famous beach resorts into Mexico's bloodiest spots. From this frontline of the fight against heroin, Col. Isaac Aaron Jesus Garcia — who runs a base in one of the state's most unruly cities, Ciudad Altamirano, sees a direct link between a record U.S. heroin epidemic that killed nearly 13,000 people in 2015 and violence on his patch.
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| The Latest: Liberal claims victory as South Korea's leader Posted: 09 May 2017 10:28 AM PDT  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on South Korea's presidential election (all times local):
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| Liberal claims victory in South Korea presidential election Posted: 09 May 2017 10:06 AM PDT  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Moon Jae-in declared victory in South Korea's presidential election Tuesday after his two main rivals conceded, capping one of the most turbulent political stretches in the nation's recent history and setting up its first liberal rule in a decade.
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| Jakarta governor: popular leader targeted by hardline anger Posted: 09 May 2017 09:50 AM PDT  Jakarta's Christian governor, who was jailed for blasphemy Tuesday, won much praise for his efforts to clean up the traffic-choked megacity but his popularity could not save him from Islamic hardliners angered by his comments about the Koran. With his outspoken, combative style and can-do attitude, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama cut an unusual figure among the political elite in Muslim-majority Indonesia, where politicians typically take a more gentle, persuasive approach. The 50-year-old -- known by his nickname Ahok -- regularly railed against corruption in one of the world's most graft-ridden countries and led sting operations to catch lazy bureaucrats, drawing praise from a public weary of the city's inefficiences.
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| Deer caught eating human remains for first time, say scientists Posted: 09 May 2017 09:32 AM PDT  Scientists have discovered the first instance of a deer which eats human remains. The animal was caught mid-feast by a motion-sensitive camera at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at Texas State University, a 26-acre area where forensic scientists study how human bodies decompose in the wild. Deer are mostly herbivores, although they have been known to scavenge small mammals or birds and occasionally eat other meats.
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| Top lab CERN launches key new accelerator Posted: 09 May 2017 09:14 AM PDT  Europe's top physics lab CERN launched its newest particle accelerator on Tuesday, billed as a key step towards future experiments that could unlock the universe's greatest mysteries. The Linac 4 accelerator will by 2021 be connected to CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful proton smasher. The Geneva lab has long voiced hope that an enhanced LHC may help uncover new particles, possibly proving the existence of extra space-time dimensions.
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| Photos: Rue La Rue Café Posted: 09 May 2017 08:54 AM PDT ![Photos: Rue La Rue Café]( "Photos: Rue La Rue Café") Located in New York City, Rue La Rue Café opened in February and pays homage to the hit 1980s sitcom "The Golden Girls" and one of its stars — Rue McClanahan, the late actress who starred as Blanche Devereaux.
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| Apparently Paul Ryan emailed Seth Meyers about some health care bill jokes Posted: 09 May 2017 08:35 AM PDT  "I don't think we should pass bills that haven't read that we don't know what they cost. If you rush this thing through before anyone knows what it is, that's not good democracy." -Paul Ryan, on Obamacare. Nowadays, the speaker of the house is singing a very different tune when it comes to the GOP led health care reform bill. In the latest segment of "A Closer Look," Seth Meyers unpacks Republicans and their defense of the controversial bill, dubbed "Trumpcare," that narrowly passed in the House of Representatives. While it seems some Republicans did not read the bill, at least Ryan's office watched Late Night enough to send Meyers an email in response to the show's bit about the health care bill. "We genuinely appreciate the engagement and would love to have Ryan on the show," Meyers said, before breaking down points made in the email. Your move, Ryan.
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| The Latest: Crowds mass at jail where Jakarta governor held Posted: 09 May 2017 08:17 AM PDT  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Latest on the blasphemy trial of the Indonesian capital's minority Christian governor, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama (all times local):
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| Liberal Moon Jae-in wins South Korean election: exit polls Posted: 09 May 2017 07:27 AM PDT  By Ju-min Park and Se Young Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - Liberal politician Moon Jae-in won South Korea's presidential election on Tuesday, exit polls showed, an expected victory that would end nearly a decade of conservative rule and bring a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea. A decisive win by Moon, with more than 40 percent of votes in a field of 13 candidates, would end months of political turmoil stemming from a parliamentary vote in December to impeach former President Park Geun-hye over an extensive corruption scandal. The Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment in March, making her the first democratically elected leader to be removed from office and triggering a snap election to choose her successor.
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| Chicago police issue bulletin on gangs, high-powered weapons Posted: 09 May 2017 07:09 AM PDT ![Chicago police issue bulletin on gangs, high-powered weapons]( "Chicago police issue bulletin on gangs, high-powered weapons") CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police issued a bulletin Monday warning its officers about gangs armed with high-powered weapons, after three people were shot to death over the weekend — including two attending a memorial for the earlier victim.
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| Russia showcases Arctic hardware in Red Square military parade Posted: 09 May 2017 06:47 AM PDT  Russia rolled out air defense systems built to operate in sub-zero Arctic conditions on Tuesday as it showcased its military might at a parade on Moscow's Red Square. The parade, an annual event commemorating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, took place under gray skies as President Vladimir Putin looked on from a platform alongside Soviet war veterans. The Kremlin has been flexing its military muscle in the hydrocarbon-rich Arctic region, as it vies for dominance with rivals Canada, the United States and Norway.
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| Mr. Lavrov Comes to Washington Posted: 09 May 2017 06:12 AM PDT  Will progress be made on Ukraine, Syria, or U.S.-Russian relations?
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| Venezuela's jailed Lopez is well, urges more protests: wife Posted: 09 May 2017 05:35 AM PDT  By Alexandra Ulmer and Deisy Buitrago CARACAS (Reuters) - Jailed opposition Venezuelan politician Leopoldo Lopez is well and is urging street demonstrators to keep up massive anti-government protests, his wife said on Sunday after her first visit with the former presidential hopeful in over a month, putting to rest rumors of his ill health. President Nicolas Maduro's leftist government later released a video of Lopez saying he was fine, but his wife, Lilian Tintori, said the footage was "false" and demanded to see him. The government accused the Lopez clan of whipping up a media frenzy to gain attention.
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| Bar sparks internet outrage after horribly offensive Cinco de Mayo celebration Posted: 09 May 2017 05:16 AM PDT  Though Cinco de Mayo is an important day of celebration and historical remembrance in Mexico, unfortunately, in America, the holiday festivities often come with a heavy dose of cultural appropriation. This year Hennessey's Tavern — a pub in Dana Point, California — strayed from the commonly worn yet insensitive party favors of sombreros, ponchos, and fake mustaches. Instead, much to the internet's ire, it took Cinco de Mayo tone-deafness to whole new level by creating a fake border wall and imitation green cards for its customers. We wish we were making this up. SEE ALSO: Reminder: Don't wear a sombrero today — or, like, ever For its May 5 promotion, the Orange County pub rented an inflatable climbing wall to represent the Mexican border, and if customers made it to the top, they were rewarded with a fake green card belonging to a fake U.S. resident by the name of Isabelle Orlando. The "Permanent Drinking Card," designed to resemble a United States Permanent Resident Card, entitled the holder to one free drink at the bar with the purchase of another of equal or greater value. Just one question, Hennessey's Tavern: why? Aside from being completely unacceptable to begin with, the timing of the promotion is particularly egregious. Conversation around U.S./ Mexico relations has become especially precarious since President Trump announced his controversial plans to build an extremely expensive border wall (that he says Mexico will, of course, pay for) and his harsh immigration bans. After the celebration effort received a great deal of backlash online and on Yelp, Paul Hennessey of Hennessey's Tavern posted an official statement on the pub's Facebook page on Saturday thanking everyone for their comments and claiming to have had nothing but positive intentions with the promotion. "Our intentions were to create a dialogue and show how ridiculous that it is to spend tens of millions of dollars to build a wall and even infer that Mexico foot some or the entire bill and have their citizens build it," Hennessey wrote. "This event obviously struck a chord with many of you out there and you and a number of you did not understand our intent." Hennessey then encouraged those speaking out against the wall on social media to take their outrage a step further and email their congresspeople, or President Trump himself, to express concerns regarding the wall being built in real life. But people weren't buying it. One Facebook user called the call to action "a transparent attempt to cover up a horrible, tactless, racist event," while others were openly offended by the fact that the pub now appeared to be offering activism instructions after such a poorly planned event full of stereotypes. Hennessey isn't the only one to miss the mark with Cinco de Mayo. To honor the day in 2016, Donald Trump, the man who called Mexicans rapists and "bad hombres," celebrated Cinco de Mayo 2016 with a very insulting, now infamous tweet dedicated to the best taco bowls: the taco bowls in Trump Tower Grill. He ended his tweet, already so rich with culture, by announcing, "I love Hispanics!" Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016 Some people just don't seem to get it. Mashable reached out to Hennessey's Tavern for additional comment. WATCH: People who overheat at night will love this AC alternative
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| Landslide win for Moon in South Korea election: exit poll Posted: 09 May 2017 04:59 AM PDT  Left-leaning former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-In won South Korea's presidential election by a landslide, an exit poll predicted when voting closed Tuesday. The election was called to choose a new president after Park Geun-Hye was ousted and indicted for corruption, and took place against a backdrop of high tensions with the nuclear-armed North. Voters were galvanised by anger over the sprawling bribery and abuse-of-power scandal that brought down Park, which catalysed frustrations over jobs and slowing growth.
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