Alternatives to straws that choke ocean life

Plastic straws are under attack. From a proposed ban by the European Union to efforts by individual towns and companies, the ubiquitous sipping tools are being targeted for littering beaches and ocean beds and harming animals.  But the environmental effort comes in fits and starts. McDonald’s (MCD), for instance, recently moved its plastic straws behind the counter in the U.K,…

Why Democrats are worried about Tuesday’s California primaries

What’s a “jungle” primary, and why are Democrats worried about them in California? Let’s take these one at a time. A jungle primary, or a nonpartisan blanket primary as it’s more formally known, puts all candidates together in one big primary regardless of what party they belong to. So instead of Democrats choosing a candidate and Republicans choosing another, all…

EU proposes banning plastic straws to cut marine litter

BRUSSELS — The European Union has proposed banning plastic products like cotton buds, straws, stirs and balloon sticks when alternatives are easily available in an attempt to reduce litter spoiling beaches and ocean beds. The European Commission said its proposal would seek to cut marine litter in half for the ten most prominent items and avoid environmental damage estimated at over…

Amazon exec “misspoke” about Orlando facial recognition test

Amazon (AMZN) is drawing heat on multiple fronts as a result of its facial-recognition technology. Days after being blasted by civil-liberty advocates for being in the government surveillance business, the retailer found itself at odds with a city pilot-testing the software. Records publicized by the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday showed the Orlando (Florida) Police Department was trying out…

Why McDonald’s won’t ban plastic straws in U.S.

In a week that’s seen McDonalds facing sexual harassment claims and protests over worker pay outside its new corporate headquarters in Chicago, Thursday’s annual meeting was a remarkably controlled affair. In just over an hour, the fast-food giant dispensed with a handful of shareholder proposals, including one calling attention to the plight of marine life threatened by plastic pollution — specifically, plastic…

FDA warns teething products unsafe, wants them off market

Teething products containing benzocaine can cause dangerous side effects in babies, the FDA warns. Getty Images/iStockphoto Federal health officials warned parents Wednesday about the dangers of teething remedies that contain a popular numbing ingredient and asked manufacturers to stop selling their products intended for babies and toddlers. The Food and Drug Administration said that various gels and creams containing the…

ACLU accuses Amazon of enabling government surveillance

Amazon is marketing facial-recognition technology to government agencies, raising privacy concerns and threatening communities already unjustly targeted, the American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday in calling on the retailer to get out of the surveillance business. That business already includes work with the city of Orlando, Florida, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, according to the ACLU’s Northern…

ACLU accuses Amazon of enabling government surveillance

Amazon is marketing facial-recognition technology to government agencies, raising privacy concerns and threatening communities already unjustly targeted, the American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday in calling on the retailer to get out of the surveillance business. That business already includes work with the city of Orlando, Florida, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, according to the ACLU’s Northern…

Businesses scramble to comply with EU data law

LONDON—Lisa Meyer’s hair salon is a cozy place where her mother serves homemade macaroons, children climb on chairs and customers chat above the whirr of hairdryers. Most of the time Meyer is focused on hairstyles, color trends and keeping up with appointments. But now she’s worried about how the European Union’s new data protection law will affect her business as…

Satellite images reveal major changes in water availability worldwide

A map showing data collected by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission from 2002 to 2016. Blue shows where freshwater storage was higher and red shows where it was lower than the average for the study period. NASA Earth has experienced significant shifts in freshwater distribution across the globe thanks to climate change, water management and natural cycles,…

Parody “Ferris Bueller” ad an appeal to Trump

One of the nation’s largest trade groups is hoping to teach President Trump a lesson. Part of a lobbying effort against proposed U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, the National Retail Federation is out with an advertising campaign starring Ben Stein, a supporter of the president, in which he revives his role from the 1986 film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Playing…

New findings point to chilling theory about fate of missing airliner

An investigation by an Australian TV news program suggests the pilot of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared with 239 people aboard more than four years ago, deliberately crashed into the Indian Ocean. Investigators are still searching for the aircraft, but these findings raise the possibility that one of the greatest aviation mysteries in modern history may not have been…

The Aston Martin, a piece of automotive art

The British icon and symbol of hand-tooled craftsmanship is beloved by car buffs, not least 007 himself. Aston Martin How about a drive in an Aston Martin? These classic sports cars, beloved by James Bond, are symbols of British craftsmanship. With Charlie D’Agata let’s hit the road: That sound, like its reputation, precedes the Aston Martin. And beneath the deep…

The Aston Martin, a piece of automotive art

The British icon and symbol of hand-tooled craftsmanship is beloved by car buffs, not least 007 himself. Aston Martin How about a drive in an Aston Martin? These classic sports cars, beloved by James Bond, are symbols of British craftsmanship. With Charlie D’Agata let’s hit the road: That sound, like its reputation, precedes the Aston Martin. And beneath the deep…

Watch: Boston Dynamics robot runs and jumps like a human

BOSTON — It seems like Boston Dynamics robots get more human-like every day. A new video shows its Atlas robot performing several tests. It runs through a grassy field and even senses when it is approaching an object, CBS Boston reports. At one point, the robot detects it is coming upon a log on the ground. It slows to a stop,…

Watch: Boston Dynamics robot runs and jumps like a human

BOSTON — It seems like Boston Dynamics robots get more human-like every day. The latest creations, named Atlas, is seen in a recent video performing a test. It runs through a grassy field and even senses when it is approaching an object, CBS Boston reports. At one point, the robot detects it is coming upon a log on the ground….

Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds opens up on health struggles

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons attends The Trevor Project’s 2017 TrevorLIVE LA on December 3, 2017 in Beverly Hills. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds leads what most people consider a dream life: He’s a rock star with a happy family and a Grammy under his belt. But what most fans might not know is that Reynolds…

Paralyzed football player walks down aisle at wedding

Chris Norton was 18 years old when a single, mistimed play on the football field left him paralyzed from the neck down.  “It was surreal. It was like it wasn’t my life,” the former college football player told CBS News. “I had this perfect plan in my head. I was going to be this All-American football player, get a business…