What have you done for me lately? That is the demanding filter we use to assess candidates for our annual Most Innovative Companies list. It is a brutal, unyielding framework—directly in keeping with today’s business reality. Only a handful of companies repeat on our main Top 50 list year to year because the pace of change is so intense. Successful enterprises struggle to outdo themselves

new entrants with new ideas and new momentum are constantly emerging, demanding attention.

For building the first great-made-on-the intrnet brand

For helping people save, spend, and be entertained

For making the hit laptop nobody saw coming

For its beautiful relationship with the fashion industry

For creating a civil rights group for the 21st century

For making itself the belle of streaming-TV ball

For perfecting customer service for an innovative clientele

The 2015 World's Most Innovative Companies

The 2015 guide to the businesses that matter the most.

Top 5: Warby Parker, Apple, Alibaba, Google, Instagram.

Warby Parker
Apple
Alibaba Group
Google
Instagram


She Cuts Her Window Blinds With Some Scissors. The End Result Is Simply Stunning

Windows are an important part of interior design that often go overlooked. When open, they offer a beautiful view of the outside world that looks better than any poster or piece of wall art. Besides, you never know what might find its way inside.

As great as they are when they're open, there are times when we want our windows covered and closed. Whether you need some privacy, or don't want to be woken up by the sun's bright light at 6:30 a.m., a good window shade can come in handy. Cheap blinds often let a lot of light through, which is why this hack from Better Homes And Gardens is the foolproof solution we've been waiting for. The best part? There's an endless number of fabric designs to choose from, allowing you to express your inner designer on a budget.

All you need to complete this DIY project is some fabric, white faux-wood blinds, Mod Podge, clothespins, an iron, and a few other simple tools you probably already have laying around your house. Over the course of a few hours, you can transform your boring, white blinds into Roman Shades that you'll love seeing every time you walk into the room. This craft couldn't be easier, and it sure beats spending a bunch of money at the store. Just make sure that you use thick upholstery fabric on your shades that perfectly matches the rest of the room.

Convert Your Old Window Blinds Into Roman Shades

Windows are an important part of interior design that often goes overlooked. When open, they offer a beautiful view of the outside world that looks better than any poster or piece of wall art.

She turns them into Roman shades. #StopClickBait


What Trump is Hiding About Canada Will Leave You Speechless!

With Trump's campaign towards the presidency seeming less and less like a complete joke, it seems that Google has the actual story on American opinions of the fake-haired fop.

You’re either voting for him, or you’re moving to Canada. The undeniably polarizing Donald Trump came away from Super Tuesday as the clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination, but it would seem that those who didn’t go to the polls on his behalf are actually seeking a way to go ... elsewhere.

Following this week’s primaries, the search phrase "how to move to Canada" saw a sudden spike on Google, perhaps indicating that a Trump-headed America is not exactly one that all Americans would desire to take part of.

The abrupt jump wasn’t only a blip on Google’s radar — late Tuesday, Google data editor Simon Rogers noted that the search saw a 350 percent spike in only four hours. But then, things got really uncontrollable. By midnight, the term had peaked over 1,150 percent, and then dropped off to a still impressive 500 percent more than customary. On Wednesday morning, Google Trends tweeted that, "Searches for ‘Move to Canada’ are higher than at any time in Google history."

While it’s worth noting that there’s no definitive signs that it was Trump’s success that prompted this interest in mass exodus (Hillary Clinton came away the big winner on the Democratic side), even Google seems to believe that Canada’s appeal might have a little more to do with the Donald than other things. In a chart the search engine posted via Twitter, Trump’s triumphs in seven states are suggested as the catalyst behind the search spike.

And it'd appear that people are doing more than simply searching how to move to Canada — in fact, it appears that several people are very seriously looking into relocating. As Mashable points out, the Canadian government’s website posted an error message in the hours after Super Tuesday, which read, "You may experience delays while using the site. We are working to resolve this problem. Thanks for your patience." Seemingly, the Canadian website isn’t built for a lot of Americans to be on it at exactly the same time.

So if you’re contemplating a brand new home come November’s results, only know your not alone!

people are googling how to move to Canada if he wins


Simple, compact trailer has a secret purpose you will never see coming – take a look

If you're an all-around outdoorsman, this trailer is everything you didn't even know you wanted, or was possible. The German designers and engineers at Sealander have created this incredible little camper that's part teardrop, part boat. Yep, you read that right.

This tiny camper attaches to the back of your car for all your camping needs – but when you decide to go out for a boating expedition, swim, or fishing trip, you can just as easily attach the motor and let the Sealander take you away.

You're not going to believe how multifunctional and beautiful this little trailer is - to take the tour and see for yourself!

Teardrop Trailers for more Like Likefor more Sealander

Check this out: All you have to do is attach the boat motor to the back of the Sealander and it's ready to take on water. The best part is you're not going to need any special license to operate it in the water either. Just hook up, go, and enjoy the ride.

Made out of incredibly modern - and stunning - lightweight materials, the Sealander effortlessly floats in the water. This also means it's easy to tow behind your car for all your land-based adventures too.

The Sealander has been nicknamed a little floating yacht - and it's hard to argue with that when you see it like this. The curves are spectacular, the windows wide and beautiful, and we love how you can open the hatch up in the back - as well as pull the sunroof up in the front.

Inside the Sealander looks just as incredible. It's sleek, modern, and looks like a million bucks. We adore the curves and the contrast of that rich wood against the stark white body.

From here you can see the great amount of space inside this little trailer and boat. The banquette benches are perfect for sitting around and eating or lounging - both on the water or overlooking a mountain range.

Of course, you can sleep right inside this floating little teardrop trailer too. The table and banquette benches fold down into a big comfy bed. Imagine pulling the sunroof down and watching the stars from there - just dreamy!


Singer's father stabbed in critical condition

According to WOOD TV 8, Thomas Blige, 63, was stabbed in the neck by an ex-girlfriend during a domestic dispute at a southside apartment complex in Battle Creek, Mich. Blige reportedly confronted the woman and accused her of slashing his tires.

When police found Blige in his apartment, he had been stabbed three times, including one neck injury. The Battle Creek Enquirer said he underwent surgery at a hospital nearby Kalamazoo, Mich., and WOOD reports that he is in critical condition.

Police arrested the woman, who was wearing blood-splattered clothing, at her nearby apartment on Thursday. She was taken into custody and treated at a local hospital for a cut. According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, she has been jailed pending her arraignment Friday in Calhoun County.

There have reportedly been at least seven domestic violence complaints between Blige and his former girlfriend, who reportedly entered a no-contest plea after being charged with aggravated domestic violence against him last October and was sentenced to six months probation.

Blige has previously described her father as a jazz musician and Vietnam War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. According to Biography.com, Thomas Blige abused her mother. "He left us when I was 4, but he'd come back from time to time and abuse her some more," she reportedly said.

In her song, "Father In You," Blige sang, "When I was a little girl, I didn't have a father / And that's why I'm leaning on you."

Thomas Blige, Father Of Mary J. Blige, Reportedly In Critical Condition After Stabbing

The father of R&B star Mary J. Blige is in critical condition after being stabbed early Thursday morning (Jan. 23).

According to

mary j blige dad,thomas blige,thomas blige stabbed,Mary J. Blige,Mary J Blige,thomas blige michigan,mary j blige father stabbed,mary j blige father,mary j blige dad stabbed

.@MaryJBlige; by an ex-gf in Battle Creek MI


The new babes look set to ditch the iconic red lifeguard swimsuits made famous by Pamela Anderson and co for a much more modest affair on the big screen.

Sexy lifeguard Ilfenesh Hadera was snapped on the beach for the reboot in a long-sleeved wet suit with a gold zip – which left everything to the imagination.

But Ilfanesh still looks stunning as she filmed a rescue scene in Boca Raton, Florida with co-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who has taken over The Hoff.

You won't believe what the new Baywatch has ditched


Parents Pleaded With The Teacher To Find Out Why Their Daughter Was Lying To Them. What The Teacher Found Left Her Stunned.

"No one is stealing my lunch, Mr. D. I just lose it." Well, she had me. There was nothing else I could do. Schools have a law that a student with no lunch must be provided with a lunch. The family is to be billed for the lunch unless they qualify for a free or reduced lunch. There was no way Katie's family qualified for free lunch, so they would have to pay the charges as long as Katie asked for a lunch.

I called her parents on Friday night. We talked about the whole situation, bouncing different theories off one another, but nothing made sense.

The problem was still unresolved the next week when I noticed a boy who was new to the school sitting alone at a lunch table. Other kids had not warmed up to him very quickly, and he always looked sad. I thought I would go and sit with him for a few minutes. As I walked toward him, I noticed the lunch bag on the table in front of him. The name on the bag said "Katie."

She had been giving her lunch to a poor boy whose parents don't want "handouts", buying her own lunch, and hiding it from her parents.


Drink this every morning for healthy skin

Go on and admit it. You just can't stop staring at this girl's waist-length locks. It was enough to stop us dead in our tracks when strolling through Washington Square Park last weekend.

Jia Li's long hair is all her own (no extensions here!), but the computer science student did tell us the secret behind her subtle waves. "About a year ago, I got a perm at the ends to add a bit of curl," she said. Huh. Perm only at the ends. Who would've guessed?

Li uses Lush shampoo to keep her hair clean and shiny. But when it comes to achieving healthy skin, she goes straight to her refrigerator. She explained, "I have fruit every morning and water mixed with honey and lemon, too." Now that's a skin detox drink we can guzzle down without gagging.

Jia Li, Computer Science Student, And Her Healthy Skin Cocktail

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Water mixed w/ honey & lemon says random lady on street


Player spends 9 years leveling up to pass through secret door in game

In the online MMO Tibia, there's a door with a simple message: "You see a gate of expertise for level 999. Only the worthy may pass." This week, a player named Kharsek passed through that door. It took him nine years to build up enough experience to hit level 999. But once he passed through the door, Kharsek disappeared, and took the secrets with him.

This mysterious door has been one of Tibia's more reclusive secrets since it was added into the game in 2005. For a long time, the developers told me, there was nothing behind the door. It was a joke shared with the community, an amusing "what if?" meant to remain unsolved.

"The main motivation clearly was to tease players because the creators honestly did not think that anyone would actually reach that level," said Tibia lead project manager Martin Eglseder.

This is the door that people have been wondering about for a decade.

Tibia, one of the oldest MMOs on the internet, launched in 1997. Nearly 20 years later, people are still actively playing it. As of this writing, there are 12,701 people playing Tibia. It's never been a game for the timid; Tibia is a hardcore online RPG, one that regularly kicks players in the teeth. When you die, the game docks a percentage of experience from your character, potentially rolling back real-world days worth of progress. That edge is what keeps people coming back.

"The combination of the extremely harsh death penalty and the hardcore leveling curve is what makes the game fun," said Mathias Bynens, the owner of TibiaMaps, a blog chronicling the ongoing changes made to the world of Tibia. "It makes gaining another level feel like an accomplishment and successfully escaping from a dangerous situation feel like a relief."

Tibia started as a hobbyist project by four German computer-science students. The game's unexpected success prompted them to form CipSoft. The game's almost two decades old, but CipSoft told me the game still commands roughly 500,000 active players from 200 countries.

"That Kharsek reached level 999 is impressive. That he did it in a little under nine years is outright incredible." -Mathias Bynens

"As one player once put it, 'Tibian friendships last a lifetime,'" said Eglseder. "This is one of the main reasons people stay in the game or come back to it after some time of 'retirement.' Many players have accompanied Tibia throughout the years and so the game has become a part of their lives. They are Tibians."

Tibians are often obsessed with knowing everything about the game. A true secret is hard to find. That's what makes the locked door so alluring: For once, everybody is truly in the dark.

There is no level cap in Tibia. If players truly wanted to, they could level forever. But the reason a door demanding a player reach level 999 was so daunting is because leveling up in Tibia, especially as you reach into the hundreds, is a draining and time-consuming task. That didn't stop Kharsek, who first joined the game in 2007. He's the first player to reach level 999.

"That Kharsek reached level 999 is impressive," said Bynens. "That he did it in a little under nine years is outright incredible."

The developers agreed, telling me nine years is "considered quite fast by many Tibians."

Kharsek is a reclusive player, one who's become more hermit-like since his accomplishment began attracting wider attention. "All I know is that he's a Brazilian player who keeps to himself," said Bynens, "which is perfectly understandable seeing as he's probably getting spammed in-game 24/7 by fans, especially now, with all the hype going on." I didn't have any luck trying to get in touch with him myself.

So what does it actually take to reach level 999 and open the mysterious door? Well, let's put it in perspective. Going from level 19 to level 20 requires 15,400 experience points, and the most you can get from a single enemy is a high-level boss that drops 35,000 XP. For level 49 to level 50, it's 112,900 XP. At level 50, you've acquired a grand total of 1,847,300 XP. At level 100, it's a massive 15,694,800 XP.

Moving from level 998 to level 999, though? It requires the equivalent number of points as leaping from level 1 to level 145: 49,650,700. According to a website tracking Tibia player data, there are only four players above level 900. The closest player to Kharsek is 60 levels behind.

Even with a team of people helping him with buffing, healing, and other tactics, Bynens estimates Kharsek was earning roughly 5 million XP per hour. At that pace, it would take roughly nine hours of constant grinding simply to move from level 998 to level 999.

And he's not the only one who's been keeping tabs on Kharsek. His level progression has been closely monitored and celebrated, as the milestones stacked, with videos shared on YouTube.

Eight months ago, Kharsek was only on level 930. Three months ago, he was on level 968. And remember, any time that Kharsek was killed would send him spiraling back down in levels, taking him further away from his goal.

The level 999 door has vexed Tibia players for years, but it drew wider awareness when a Reddit post predicted Kharsek would soon reach level 999, drawing interest to a fever pitch.

"I've never heard of this game in my life," said one commenter, "and the most important thing I have right now is this stupid bastard opening that stupid door."

The developers have been preparing for this moment, long before Kharsek hit level 999.

"I've never heard of this game in my life, and the most important thing I have right now is this stupid bastard opening that stupid door." -Reddit comment

"A secret that has existed and been nourished by players for so many years cannot be lifted without disappointment," said Eglseder. "You cannot fulfill all the different hopes and expectations that players have attached to it. No matter what you do, you cannot satisfy everybody."

In terms of deciding what would actually be beyond the door, they went with something they feel is "best for the game as a whole and in the long run."

In today's streaming culture, it wouldn't have been a surprise if Kharsek made a big deal about walking through the door. He could have built up the spectacle and drawn attention to himself. But that's not what happened. Instead, earlier this week, Kharsek did what no other player in Tibia has done before and quietly walked through the door that demanded a player be level 999.

... And that was it. The outside world hasn't heard from Kharsek since. It's been radio silence.

"Maybe there are chests with rewards inside there," reads a forum post by a player that watched as Kharsek walked through the level 999 door. "Maybe there are NPCs there... Maybe levers and hidden stuff... We don't know... Kharsek got out... and logged off."

As of today, no one knows what's behind the door. The developers are keeping quiet, too.

"No, we won't spoil what's behind [the door]," said Eglseder. "We could verify this, but we leave it up to the player to tell whatever he wants to share about the door and the secret behind [it]."

The most Eglseder would say, perhaps to calm players worried they're missing something amazing, is "there's not a whole feature set or package of 'end game' content behind it."

It seems possible that Kharsek was upset about the way Tibia players have been treating him. On his quest to level 999, people would track him down and screw with his leveling progress.

"A group of people liked to consistently invade the spawns Kharsek was hunting in and kill as many creatures as possible, just to lower his exp/hour rate," said Bynens. "Other times they'd lure hordes of strong creatures on Kharsek's healers, forcing them to run away or die, causing Kharsek to be left without a healer, which is dangerous even at his level. Bullying at its worst. I don't know what Kharsek did to deserve this. Maybe people just got jealous at his high level?"

And now, there's another reason to be jealous: Kharsek is the only one who knows what's behind that door.

One Player’s Nine-Year Journey to Open a Locked, Secret Door

It took someone nine years to unlock a long-hidden secret. But once they did, that player disappeared and took the answers with them.

culture, news, lgbtq, politics, journalism, video, documentary, sex, drugs, film, tv, entertainment, travel, crime,VICE US,vice gaming,Tibia,MMO,Vice Blog

He didn't tell anyone what the secret was and disappeared from the game.


CHICAGO -- All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler knows he will be the subject of trade rumors yet again this summer, but he repeated his desire to stay with the Bulls for the long term after Friday's series-ending loss to the Boston Celtics.

In the process, Butler also acknowledged that he would like for Rajon Rondo's team option to be picked up this summer.

"Of course," Butler said. "He's been huge for us this year, man."

Molding these young guys into the type of player that they need to be on this basketball floor, in that film room, around everybody. And obviously, the way he plays the game, getting everybody involved, yeah I love playing with him. Him and D-Wade, all these other guys. But I don't know what the future holds for anybody. So I'll sit back and wait on that time to come."

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg echoed similar sentiments regarding Rondo.

"Obviously we played great basketball with Rajon toward the end of the season," Hoiberg said. "With the exception of the New York game, that's the game he tore the ligament in the wrist. ... He was terrific.

"He was great. The highs and lows that we had this season, he found a way to continue to battle through that and play his best basketball when it mattered most. I love Rondo. I love coaching him. I love everything about the kid. He was so good to have out there on the floor. And when we put him back in the starting lineup with Niko [Mirotic], with Jimmy, we got a lot accomplished. We played an exciting style of basketball. A fun style of basketball to watch, a fun style of basketball to coach. And Rajon was responsible for a lot of that."

Dwyane Wade has a player option worth almost $24 million for next season. He has said in the past that he "would be a liar to say that I want to play on a team with all 21-year-olds," and acknowledged that he wants to wait to see if the Bulls move Butler before making a decisions, but many in the Bulls' organization believe that Wade will pick his option this summer because of the fact it's highly unlikely that he will have another offer for next season worth that much money.

For his part, Wade did not want to get into specifics regarding his decision after the game.

"I have a lot of time," Wade said. "I'm far away from that now; just got through this, 14th NBA season. It's, for me, identified with championships. If I'm not winning a championship I'm never satisfied from that standpoint, but you take things out of it, you go back and look at the season and see what you could have done better individually. You put that [in the head] and go from there, so that's what I will look at. I am not worried about my future because I know it's basketball; I'm not really concerned with it now."

Another intriguing twist Friday night came late in the fourth quarter when fans started to scream "Fire Hoiberg" throughout the United Center. While it's clear that many fans would rather not see Hoiberg back with the Bulls next season, Bulls general manager Gar Forman has been on record earlier in the year as saying Hoiberg would be back to start next season.

One of the reasons, Forman gave that declaration is because of the fact that Hoiberg still has three years, and almost $15 million left on his contract.

"Sure, I understand the frustration [from fans]," Hoiberg said. "It was a frustrating game there was no doubt about that, to go out this way. Again, the high note to start this series, the way we got out to a 2-0 lead, we couldn't finish it off. I thought we fought and battled, especially in Game 5 in Boston. We didn't have it tonight so I do understand."

As for Mirotic, he will be a restricted free agent this summer, but he is hopeful he'll be able to return to the Bulls next season.

"I'm going to wait till July," Mirotic said. "But I can tell you my first option is Chicago."

Jimmy Butler wants to return, hopes Bulls keep Rajon Rondo

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler says he wants to remain in Chicago for the long haul and would also like to see the team pick up Rajon Rondo's option for next season.

guards, backcourt, option, contract, Chicago Bulls, NBA, Rajon Rondo, Jimmy Butler


How Much It Actually Costs To Live Like A Healthy Celeb

By Katie Maguire for Well+Good (Photo: Instagram/@LeaMichele)

There was once a time when celebs shied away from revealing how hard they worked to stay in shape. ( These abs? Oh, gee I don’t know. I, like, never go to the gym and practically live on pizza... .) But now they are taking There was once a time when celebs shied away from revealing how hard they worked to stay in shape. (These abs? Oh, gee I don’t know. I, like, never go to the gym and practically live on pizza....) But now they are taking to social media to showcase—and make their followers incredibly jealous of—their post-workout sweaty selfies and juice bar runs.

It’s easy to view their online sharing as a road map to wellness (collagen powder smoothies and Rise Nation workouts, a la Jennifer Aniston, anyone?), but have you ever wondered how much it really costs to live like your favorite starlet?

A lot, it turns out. For a month I monitored the wellness habits of the healthiest celebs, keeping track of the trainers they saw, the superfoods they consumed, and the beauty treatments they indulged in. While some are pretty frugal, opting for nature-filled—and free—outdoor workouts or swims (looking at you, Kate Hudson), others aren’t afraid to splurge on what makes them happy (and fit). $35 organic ghee, or $300 training session, anyone?

Scroll down to see how much your favorite healthy celebs actually spend on staying healthy.

Lea Michele isn’t one to skip Lea Michele isn’t one to skip her daily workout . As a recent SoulCycle convert, the actress frequents the spin studio as least four times a week and, as of late, has added Los Angeles Megaformer spot The Studio (MDR) into the mix, often completing two-a-days. Yeah, she’s that intense.

In an effort to seriously shape up for a recent cover shoot, Michele also added in a third wellness stop: infrared detox spa In an effort to seriously shape up for a recent cover shoot, Michele also added in a third wellness stop: infrared detox spa Shape House . And on top of that, she stays active outside of studios too, often adding in a hike or a quick dip in the pool.

The Pretty Little Liars actress has been known to utilize ThePretty Little Liarsactress has been known to utilize healthy hacks throughout her day, but that doesn’t mean she skimps on workouts. Mitchell has recently been spending her days with trainer Zach Murray, taking advantage of the beautiful outdoor weather with no-frills outdoor circuits that consist of sprints, work with resistance bands and medicine balls, and even adding sports into the mix by tossing around a football and volleyball.

This healthy Instagrammer is all about mixing it up, so it’s hard to nail down the exact amount she spends every day on her wellness habits. But between Pilates, boxing, and This healthy Instagrammer is all about mixing it up, so it’s hard to nail down the exact amount she spends every day on her wellness habits. But between Pilates, boxing, and ModelFit , Bronfman seems to always make time to meet with her favorite trainer Kira Stokes.

When she’s on the road traveling, Bronfman is all about sweating on a budget, making sure to pack a jump rope and utilize her bodyweight for do-anywhere planks. But she regularly splurges on semi-healthy treats, like organic margaritas or When she’s on the road traveling, Bronfman is all about sweating on a budget, making sure to pack a jump rope and utilize her bodyweight for do-anywhere planks. But she regularly splurges on semi-healthy treats, like organic margaritas or vegan ice cream

Kourtney Kardashian (Photo: Snapchat/Kourtney Kardashian)

While all of the Kardashian sisters are dedicated to their workouts—and the social media that comes with it—Kourtney is especially known for her healthy eating habits.

The star unveiled her morning routine on her app earlier this summer, which begins with a tablespoon of The star unveiled her morning routine on her app earlier this summer, which begins with a tablespoon of ghee every morning . After waiting for 20 minutes, Kardashian has her special avocado pudding or dairy-free smoothie for breakfast. Then, the mom of three joins her personal trainer, Don Brooks, for a backyard workout that is surprisingly low-maintenance considering the high-price ticket—often using her backyard or home gym to stay in shape.

Organic ghee : $35 for a bottleTraining session with Don Brooks: $300/per session (estimate) Avocado pudding or green smoothie: $15

The super-fit supermodel is known for her The super-fit supermodel is known for her always-changing fitness pursuits , but even when she’s jet-setting around the world, Kloss makes sure to squeeze in a sweat session.

She works out exclusively with She works out exclusively with Anna Kaiser at AKT while in New York City, or improvises with easy-to-pack pieces , like resistance bands or jump ropes. As for fuel, her food habits are low-key, opting for early morning iced coffee and pre-made sandwiches.

Iced coffee: $4Homemade sandwich: $10Training session with Anna Kaiser : $300/per session (estimate) Resistant band session : $10, for five bands

Anywhere between 128 - 400 dollars daily.


Investigators probing the Rs 2,000 crore drug bust case have got a shot in the arm as a special court here issued non-bailable arrest warrants against former Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni and alleged international drug Lord Vijaygiri aka Vicky Goswami.

The warrants were issued by the special court of H M Patwardhan on Monday. The investigators claimed to have got "clinching evidence" against them and based on which they want to file a chargesheet, but the duo is declared absconding since their names cropped up in the drug bust, said a senior police officer.

Special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray, appearing for the prosecution, in a marathon submission to the special court sought the warrant and informed the court that they have ample evidence against the duo and their involvement in the drug racket as a prime accused.

Hiray pointed out that based on the interrogation of arrested accused, Kulkarni and Goswami are main players in the case and they had set up a well-oiled drug cartel, right from procuring raw material of ephedrine from India and even planned transportation and manufacture of methamphetamine in Kenya.

The prosecutor told the court that the arrested accused, Jai Mukhi and Kishor Sinh Rathod, during the probe had mentioned a meeting in a hotel in Kenya, wherein a deal was struck between Goswami, his aides, the Akasha brothers, Mamta, former director of a pharma company, Manoj Jain, Jai Mukhi and Abdullah, were present.

"Ample technical evidence, call records are in possession of the investigators and various facts have been revealed during questioning of the arrested accused and statements made by them," Hiray told the court.

He pointed out that Mukhi's version was corroborated by another accused, Kishorsinh Rathod, son of a former Congress MLA from Gujarat, who was arrested in January after nine months on the run.

"They also had plans to make Mamta a director of Avon Life Sciences Pvt Ltd," Hiray told the court.

The police, from time-to-time, visited the addresses of Mamta and Goswami and even statements of people who knew them were recorded. Hiray produced a case diary for the court's satisfaction too. Finally, the court on Monday issued the warrants against the duo.

Goswami is in US custody. In January, Goswami, Ibrahim and Baktash Akasha, as well as Gulam Hussein, were extradited from Kenya to the US.

Their names had cropped up during the probe by Thane police in the Rs 2,000 crore drug bust. They were arrested in November 2014 in a sting operation by US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officers posing as Colombian drug dealers. Goswami and his aides were accused of conspiring to ship at least 98 kg of high-grade heroin and methamphetamine to the US.

On April 14, the Thane crime branch seized over 20 tonnes of ephedrine and 2.5 tonnes of acetic anhydride, both banned party drugs from a pharmaceutical factory in Solapur and other locations in Thane and Mumbai. Investigations led the sleuths to the involvement of Goswami and Kenyan based international drug mafia involved in the racket.

In September 2016, a battery of legal hawks, some from abroad, refuted the involvement of Mamta in the case.

Mukhi had earlier testified before a magistrate court but later turned the tables that his confession was under pressure from investigators.

Non-Bailable Warrant Issued Against Mamta Kulkarni In Rs 2,000 Crore Drugs Case

Rs 2,000 Crore Drug Case: Non-Bailable Warrant Against Mamta Kulkarni


WATCH: IRS parody of "The Apprentice" cost HOW MUCH?

We don't know what's worse: An IRS-sponsored parody of "The Apprentice" (complete with fake Donald Trump), or the production value of said parody given that it cost the government agency $10,000 to make.

The four-minute long video, produced for an IRS conference, features a host of characters seated around a conference room business table. The characters pitch pseudo-Trump various ideas to cut down on travel-related costs at the IRS; true to the real-world show, all of them are fired later in the video.

In a statement to CNN, the IRS said the video, dating back to 2011, is one of several "from a prior era and [does] not reflect the stringent policies the IRS now has in place to ensure that all training videos are made at the lowest possible cost and with appropriate content."

The statement continued, "Simply put, these videos would not be made at the IRS today."

Rep. Charles Boustany, the chair of the House Ways and Means subcommittee which oversees the IRS, released a statement to Politico Friday, chastising the agency for "the time and money it spent to produce these frivolous videos."

He added, "While we may have no answers, we do have an endless supply of what appears to be the IRS’s idea of entertainment."

WATCH the IRS-made parody of The Apprentice, below:

The IRS Spent $10,000 On This Awful Parody Of 'The Apprentice' (VIDEO)

We don't know what's worse: An IRS-sponso...

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Watermelon is rich in nutrients – including vitamins A and C, B vitamins and potassium — but where it really packs a punch is with lycopene, the antioxidant pigment that gives the fruit its deep red color. Some studies suggest that lycopene may have cardiovascular benefits, including reducing the risk of stroke, and eating watermelon may slightly lower blood pressure. Researchers have also looked at lycopene's possible role in protecting against various cancers, though evidence is scant.

You can get lycopene from tomatoes, particularly cooked and stewed tomatoes, but "on a fresh basis, you can’t do better than watermelon," said Penelope Perkins-Veazie, a professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh who has studied lycopene and is an unpaid science adviser to the National Watermelon Promotion Board. Red watermelon has more lycopene than other watermelon varieties, and "seedless watermelon tends to have more," she said.

Lycopene from watermelon is also easily absorbed into the body. In one small study, researchers gave volunteers lycopene from tomato juice and lycopene from watermelon; the tomato juice had received heat treatments to boost absorption. They found the two groups had similar blood levels of lycopene.

Though watermelon doesn’t have as much fiber as many other fruits and vegetables, it is fat-free, contains a lot of water and is low in calories, with about 45 calories in a one-cup serving.

Many people worry about the amount of sugar in watermelon, but "that’s a bit of a misconception, because the sugar content is actually lower than some other fruits, gram for gram," said Jennifer McDaniel, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. While a cup of diced watermelon has about nine grams of sugar, a medium banana contains 14 to 15 grams of sugar, as does a cup of blueberries. Dietary guidelines recommend adults eat two cups of fruit a day.

And while watermelon has a high glycemic index, a measure of a food’s ability to raise blood sugar levels, that also adds to the confusion. In fact, its high water content gives it a low glycemic load, meaning it does not raise blood sugar levels quickly in amounts typically eaten.

Watermelon is rich in nutrients like lycopene, which may have benefits for the heart, and a lower sugar content, gram for gram, than many other fruits.

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Blind date: ‘There was more to him than met the eye’

Emma, 29, festival booker, meets Eddie, 29, plumber

What were you hoping for? Marriage and kids. I’m nearly 30 and my dad keeps telling me it’s time to freeze my eggs.

First impressions? I was too busy dropping my coat and pushing the menu off the table to notice much else at first.

What did you talk about? Walking through Spain, Ramsbottom music festival and the perks of plumbing if you’re a nosy parker.

Any awkward moments? Sharing plates. There was a lot of over-polite "no, you finish it" going on.

Best thing about Eddie? More to him than met the eye. I would never have guessed that he’d once been a music journalist.

Would you introduce him to your friends? Yes, absolutely.

Describe Eddie in three words? Genuine, honest, open.

What do you think he made of you? He probably thought I was a soft, poncey southerner.

Did you go on somewhere? No, I was eager to begin my freezing cycle home.

If you could change one thing about the evening, what would it be? I would have ordered two plates of the hake and lentil dish.

Would you meet again? As friends, perhaps.

What were you hoping for? To maybe learn something new.

First impressions? I liked her hair and big smile.

What did you talk about? Bands, travelling, festivals.

Any awkward moments? There was a runny fried egg we had to split. She wanted me to have the yolky bit.

Best thing about Emma? Her job is super cool – she gets to travel a lot and watch loads of awesome bands.

Would you introduce her to your friends? Yes, some of my mates would get on well with Emma.

Describe Emma in three words? Fun, hot and sharp.

What do you think she made of you? Fun-loving and not a lunatic.

And... did you kiss? A cheeky cheek kiss.

If you could change one thing about the evening, what would it be? I’d have cracked more jokes.

Would you meet again? Yes, if she could take me to a gig that would be cool.


Netflix Acquires Streaming Rights to Highly Praised Documentary

Netflix said on Monday that starting early next year it will be the exclusive streaming distributor for "The Square," an Arabic documentary about the Egyptian protest centered in Tahrir Square, which is considered a leading contender for an Oscar nomination.

Netflix billed "The Square" as the company’s first major documentary acquisition since its announcement last month that it wanted to make more direct investments in the movie business. It said other documentary pickups would be announced soon.

The Netflix streaming service is already known for having a trove of documentaries, but in most cases it has carried those films later in their life cycles, or what are known as "windows" in the business. By acquiring rights to a film like "The Square" now, it is paying for an earlier, more exclusive window — foreshadowing a time when the service could follow a similar plan for feature films, perhaps even pre-empting a theatrical release altogether. ("The Square" is getting a limited run this week in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, so that it can qualify for the Oscars.)

Netflix signaled this strategy when it reported earnings in July, saying that it would begin to acquire feature documentaries as it sought to extend its reach beyond television series.

The plans are consistent with Netflix’s strategy of differentiating itself from its competitors through a subset of original programming rather than through a stockpile of dated films and TV shows. Those plans have attracted the ire of theater owners, particularly after Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer for Netflix, asked in a late-October speech, "Why not premiere movies on Netflix the same day they’re opening in theaters?"

He also remarked, "The reason why we may enter the space and release some big movies ourselves this way is because I’m concerned that as theater owners try to strangle innovation and distribution, not only are they going to kill theaters, they might kill movies."

On Monday, according to Variety, Mr. Sarandos clarified his position, saying that he was not calling for so-called day and date releases of films online, but was calling "to move all the windows up to get closer to what the consumer wants."

News of an impending deal for "The Square" was first reported on Friday in The Los Angeles Times.

By acquiring rights to "The Square" and making it available in the first quarter of next year, Netflix will be able to promote the film’s availability during Oscar season. (The service was able to do this with several films last year, but not on an exclusive basis.)

"The Square," previously titled "Al Midan," is a serious Oscar contender in the documentary field. Early reviews have been rapturous — it currently has a rare 100 percent positive rating on RottenTomatoes.com — and the movie won coveted prizes this year at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals. Jehane Noujaim, the film’s Egyptian-American director, is also the type of daring filmmaker the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences likes to rally behind; she was arrested three times while making her film over two and a half years.

But competition in the documentary category is often brutal, and this year looks like no exception. Other films generating early Oscar attention include "Blackfish," about orca whales at theme parks, and "The Act of Killing," focused on Indonesian genocide.

Netflix Acquires Streaming Rights to a Highly Praised Documentary

The service’s deal for "The Square," about protests in Egypt, follows its strategy of extending its reach beyond television series.

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"The Square" about Tahrir Square protest


California Just Made Climate Change History. How Did it Happen?

The day before yesterday I sat in the gallery of the California Senate and saw something that just a few weeks ago I wasn’t expecting: Senators casting the final vote on an historic set of bills—Senate Bill 32 (Pavley) and Assembly Bill 197 (E. Garcia)—that reaffirm the state’s commitment to addressing climate change through 2030. After the vote was over, my colleagues and I shared hugs, smiles, and tears as the weight of the accomplishment washed over us. It was a great day.

There will be a time for a more thorough examination of how we achieved this victory, but here is my quick take of what just happened.

A referendum on California’s climate change policies

Followers of California climate change policy know that ten years ago, the state adopted a first-in-the-nation law to comprehensively tackle global warming by mandating a statewide reduction in heat-trapping pollution. That law, AB 32, requires that by 2020 statewide emissions be reduced to the equivalent of emissions in 1990. Fast forward to 2016, and we see that this policy has been an overwhelming success.

Success aside, 2020 is fast approaching. So last year Governor Jerry Brown issued an Executive Order that established 2030 climate targets. However, the Governor’s action does not have the same weight or force of law as a legislative requirement. In addition, most observers recognized that a commitment of this significance ought to have the blessing of California’s legislature, and legislators rightly wanted to have their say.

Enter SB 32 and AB 197. SB 32 is simultaneously simple and sweeping. The bill codifies Governor Brown’s executive order by requiring heat-trapping emissions to be reduced to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Meanwhile, AB 197 takes steps to refine California’s climate change programs in two ways: it increases legislative oversight over and transparency to the state’s climate change programs and it emphasizes the state’s commitment to ensuring these policies help communities most impacted by climate change and air pollution. The two measures were double-joined, which meant that if one bill failed to pass the other could not go into effect.

Together these two bills became a referendum on California’s existing climate change programs. Passage would cement California’s commitment to leading the fight against global warming, while failure would have sent the message that California’s political leaders were divided on the issue.

In early August the conventional wisdom was that these bills were doomed to fail in 2016. Most people thought that the oil industry was too strong of a political opponent, and that a majority of legislators lacked the urgency to act. But, you just never know... So UCS, along with numerous other dedicated advocates, simply kept working. Over the last month we collectively turned up the heat and showed how much support there is for seriously addressing climate change in California.

Legislators heard from a diverse set of stakeholders who care deeply about the risks of global warming and the rewards of a clean energy economy. This included clean energy businesses, social justice advocates, environmentalists, labor leaders, faith-based organizations, public health advocates, consumer groups, and, yes, scientists. And, slowly, momentum started to build.

Legislators also saw that the voting public is hungry for meaningful action to address global warming. In late July there had been a Public Policy Institute of California poll showing that more than two-thirds of Californians support setting strong climate reduction goals for 2030. Tapping into this groundswell of support, UCS helped more than 4,000 Californians contact their legislators in the last month in support of SB 32 and AB 197, with other organizations doing the same. And the momentum kept building.

Soon major newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, Fresno Bee, and San Francisco Chronicle, weighed in as well to urge legislative action this year. Our coalition of supporters kept meeting with legislators. Constituents kept emailing and phoning in. And the momentum built even more.

While there is no easy answer to what proved to be the difference-maker in this campaign, it is undeniable that this victory would have been impossible without the tremendous leadership of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia, and Senator Fran Pavley. Together, along with other key lawmakers, they helped convince their colleagues that this was an important vote that ought to occur this year.

And I’m so glad they did. Thanks to the collective work of so many, California’s commitment to addressing climate change is stronger than ever. We have much work ahead of us to successfully deliver on these commitments in a way that protects our climate while also addressing the needs of Californians, who deserve greater investment in economic opportunities and a cleaner environment.

But for a few more days we will simply say, hip-hip hooray!

Posted in: Global Warming, Uncategorized Tags: AB 32, California, California Global Warming Solutions Act, climate-change, Global warming, SB 32

Support from UCS members make work like this possible. Will you join us? Help UCS advance independent science for a healthy environment and a safer world.

Reducing heat-trapped emissions and refining Climate Change programs. SB32 and AB197


What one filmmaker calls her "most precious commodity" #makingitwork

What does it take to get to the top -- without losing your center? Our "Making It Work" series profiles successful, dynamic women who are standouts in their fields, peeling back the "hows" of their work and their life, taking away lessons we can all apply to our own.

Lynn Shelton is proof that you don't have to appear on some variation of a "30 Under 30" list to be successful. "It was a long, circuitous route for me," says the Seattle-based filmmaker. "I always knew that I was an artist. I never expected to be able to make a living." After getting her undergraduate degree in acting and her graduate degree in photography, Shelton worked as a freelance editor and made experimental films on her own. She didn't make her first feature film, "We Go Way Back," until she was 39.

"All I knew about filmmaking was to make a feature film, it cost millions and millions of dollars -- and it certainly wouldn't be my millions of dollars. And it was just too intimidating for me," she explains. "I had been making films by myself for many years because (a) I didn't want to ask other people for help and (b) I'm a control freak. So it was a combination of not wanting to give up control but also being too scared to try to get other people to see my vision and believe in it and work alongside me. But once I tasted that, it was completely transformative."

Shelton, now 47, has since written and directed films like "Humpday" and "Your Sister's Sister" and directed episodes of "New Girl" and "Mad Men." Her latest movie, "Touchy Feely" -- about a massage therapist (Rosemarie DeWitt) who becomes averse to human touch and her uptight dentist brother (Josh Pais) who develops a healing power -- comes out on September 6, and she's already editing her next one. "I'm living a dream," she says. "I'm pinching myself daily."

When I started working in film, I loved photography, I loved the image, I loved telling the story within a frame, but as I started playing around with film and video, it was like, "Oh my god." You just have so much more to play with. I [also] love having a captive audience. You can actually tell a story and just sort of overwhelm them with this image and sound. You can change people's ideas and get people talking. And then actually making it –- I started making films that probably would only be seen in small rooms or in art galleries. I was working alone. As soon as I got a taste of that collaborative experience, it was such a high. It's tremendously difficult and tremendously satisfying to work with other people.

Shelton with "Humpday" stars Josh Leonard and Mark Duplass

Is there anything you would have done differently at the start of your career? Paid attention to more? Worried about less?

My first feature is semi-autobiographical. It's inspired from my experience of being in my 20s and just feeling like I didn't have a voice. Before adolescence I had an incredible voice. Like when I was 12, 13, 14 -- I was taking acting classes, I was painting, I was making music, I was taking photographs. I was kind of exploding creatively, and then something about adolescence really just ground that out of me. By the time I hit college, my secret shame was the reason I was an actor was my own words sort of dried up. I stopped writing. I stopped being able to form my own vision. That's actually what my first feature is about -- looking back at two different selves.

There's an amazing organization in Seattle called Reel Grrls, and I just get chills whenever I go to a fundraiser or I read their newsletters or I go see their work. They are all about empowering adolescent girls to be able to deconstruct media that comes at them and tells them what they should look like and how they should feel about themselves and then empowers them with the technical skills to make media themselves. I often wonder if I'd been empowered with that kind of a program in my youth, would I have started making movies decades earlier?

For me, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way that everything worked out because I feel I really paid my dues. There's this real deliciousness to being able to do exactly what you want to do and were meant to do after years of just sort of journeying toward that end. And who knows where I'd be now if I started making films early? Maybe I wouldn't have had as much to say. But I do think about that. And it makes me so happy when I see women like Lena Dunham and Ry Russo Young starting out really young and feeling empowered to do that right from the get-go.

Shelton with "Your Sister's Sister" stars Mark Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt and Emily Blunt

How would you define the word "success"?

I’d say, "Well, are they happy in their lives? Do they feel like they followed their bliss and they’re able to actually do what they were put on this planet to do?"

According to that definition, do you feel successful?

I do. I feel enormously successful. I feel very grateful about that sense of success.

Do you keep your phone next to your bed?

I don't actually! Which is remarkable because I am totally an iPhone addict. But I leave it upstairs and then I go downstairs, where my bedroom is. But I do have it with me when I travel. And it's a very different experience -- I wake up and just lay there in bed looking at my phone.

Yeah, I do. My sleep has become pretty much my most precious commodity. I've realized that there's a huge difference between six and a half and seven hours of sleep. So I feel no compunction about putting my phone far, far away from me.

My lifestyle changes depending on what phase of production I'm in. Right now, I'm editing a film that I finished shooting a few weeks ago, and life is almost normal. I get a good night's sleep, and I wake up and I meditate. I've tried gyms and things -- I really hate them. And I can't run -- I have bad knees. So I have this little rebounder, this little trampoline. I just turn M.I.A. on and dance my butt off every morning. I noticed the mornings when I feel least like doing it are the mornings that I most need to. And I try to take at least one half-hour walk during the day. And in the edit room, I try to not just sit on the couch the whole time but stand up and pace around and I have another trampoline -- I'll sort of bounce on that. It's a lot harder when I'm working 13-, 15-hour days, but even then I try really hard to get up early enough so that I can at least bounce on the thing, you know, for five minutes.

Yeah, he's 14 now. So when I started making movies, he was 6. It was sort of perfect timing for me. My husband and I were trying to get pregnant, and I will admit that I was ambivalent. Because at the time we just didn't have a lot of money. And then I got the opportunity to make my first feature, and I said, "OK, I'm gonna put this on hold." I was exhausted during my first pregnancy. Then as soon as I started making the film, it became really clear that every baby I had from now on was gonna be a movie. I was a really involved parent. We did attachment parenting. I mean, I nursed him till he was 3. We carried him around in a sling. It was very intense, and it was great. And I felt like if I wasn't able to do that with another kid, I would be cheating them somehow. I'm so admiring of women who have young kids and are able to also do what I do, but I'm really grateful that I didn't have to make that choice or try and do both at the same time.

Shelton with husband Kevin Seal and son Milo Seal

Have you ever had the experience where you're on a set and it's also the school play and you have to figure out a way to balance it?

Oh, yeah. My kid had gone to the same school from preschool to eight grade. He’s hearing-impaired. And I told my producers months ago, "This day is sacred. I have to be at this eight-grade graduation." So we organized the whole shoot around having Friday night free. I’ve definitely missed stuff. There were things that impeded my ability to be at a school orientation, things like that. Now, after buying our house and putting me through grad school and really being the major breadwinner for the vast majority of our relationship, my husband and I have sort of switched off, and he’s become the full-time parent and I’m the breadwinner. I’m so grateful to have a partner who’s totally comfortable with that and actually enjoys that role and does a great job at it.

Tell me about the distribution of labor in your household. Who does the cooking, the bill paying, the laundry...?

Well, we still divide up a lot of the domestic stuff. He spearheads everything surrounding the kid. We seem to have divided up the bills somehow. Balancing the work-life thing is definitely something that took a few years to figure out. After this last shoot, we finally organized a family vacation. We all went away for a week, and it was the first time in years that we hadn’t just sort of tacked something on to a film festival or something. I felt like we were recharging the family batteries. But again, I’m in a relatively calm period now. So, you know, having dinner together every night, and we sort of trade off who does the cooking. I chip in whenever I’m able. I just don’t want him to feel like he’s the only one.

What would you title your autobiography?

Let's see. I’m very proud of all the titles of my films, but it often takes me a long time to come up with just the right one. It would probably include something about laughter. That is kind of a core tenant of my nature -- I need to laugh, and I need to laugh a lot.

Is there a woman you know who is Making It Work? We’d love to include her in our series. Send your suggestions to women@huffingtonpost.com.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Filmmaker Lynn Shelton: 'There's This Real Deliciousness To Being Able To Do Exactly What You Want To Do'

What does it take to get to the top -- without losing your center? Our "Making It Work" series profiles successful, dynamic women who are standouts i...

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a scathing speech to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a scathing speech to the United Nations on Thursday, criticizing many of its beliefs and policies.

But perhaps the most shocking moment of all was when Netanyahu called the organization a " moral farce ."

According to the According to the Washington Free Beacon , Netanyahu’s speech was one that world leaders will never forget.

Netanyahu opened his speech by praising the U.N., as he said Israel has a bright future with the organization. But the praise did not last long. Immediately, Netanyahu opened fire in the room, hurling insult after insult at his fellow leaders.

"Year after year, I’ve stood at this very podium and slammed the U.N. for its obsessive bias against Israel, and the U.N. deserved every scathing word," Netanyahu said.

"For the disgrace of the General Assembly that last year passed 20 resolutions against the democratic state of Israel and a grand total of three resolutions against all the other countries on the planet. "For the disgrace of the General Assembly that last year passed 20 resolutions against the democratic state of Israel and a grand total of three resolutions against all the other countries on the planet. Israel : 20. Rest of the world: three."

The prime minister had much more to say, slamming other groups within the U.N.

"And what about the joke called the U.N. Human Rights Council, which each year condemns Israel more than all the other countries of the world combined?" he asked.

"As women are being systematically raped, murdered, sold into slavery across the world, which is the only country that the U.N.’s Commission on Women chose to condemn this year? Yep, you guessed it, Israel," "As women are being systematically raped, murdered, sold into slavery across the world, which is the only country that the U.N.’s Commission on Women chose to condemn this year? Yep, you guessed it, Israel," Netanyahu continued.

"Israel, where women fly fighter jets, lead major corporations, head universities, preside, twice, over the Supreme Court, and have served as speaker of the Knesset and prime minister."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Netanyahu said. "What began as a moral force has become a moral farce."

UNLEASHED: Netanyahu Walks to U.N. Podium, Hits Audience Epic With 2-Word Insult

Netanyahu is clearly not a fan of the U.N...


This tech stock has topped Google, Facebook and Amazon

Technology in the U.S. is increasingly about the battle between Apple (AAPL) , Google, Facebook (FB) and Amazon.com to capture consumer spending and ad dollars.

But for investors, the best tech bet of late has been a more obscure name: Nvidia (NVDA) .

The maker of computer processors for video games, connected cars and data centers has seen its stock surge 146 percent in the past year, second only to Newmont Mining (NEM) among companies in the S&P 500. No other tech stock has gained more than 50 percent in that stretch.

The story is pretty simple. Nvidia's semiconductors are powering innovation in some of the world's fastest growing industries. Its core graphics processing units (GPUs) enable popular video games like "Battlefield 4" and "Call of Duty: Black Ops III." And as computing rapidly evolves in the cloud and Internet of Things, Nvidia's technology is being adopted by companies focused on big data, artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.

Investors who have piled into the stock ahead of Nvidia's quarterly earnings report on Thursday will be closely following the numbers after the bell. The company has little room for disappointment.

"If it were to hit a roadblock or stumble, there will be a lot of momentum players coming out of the stock," said Brian Alger, an analyst at Roth Capital Partners.

Not that Roth, who has a "buy" rating on the shares, is betting on a misfire. He said the stock has become a core holding for tech investors, and this week he raised his price target by 70 percent to $68. The shares fell 0.7 percent on Wednesday to $58.51.

Among the five most valuable tech companies — Apple, Alphabet (GOOGL) , Microsoft (MSFT) , Amazon and Facebook — the best performer over the past year has been Amazon (AMZN) , up 47 percent, less than one-third Nvidia's advance.

Analysts expect Nvidia to report second-quarter revenue growth of 17 percent to $1.35 billion, according to a Thomson Reuters survey. Earnings per share likely rose to 37 cents from 5 cents.

Should Nvidia meet projections, it would mark the company's fastest quarterly sales growth since 2011.

"They're in several massive growth markets where they have differentiated solutions, very few competitors and are executing extremely well," Alger said.

Nvidia has gotten a boost of late from a rival's disappointment. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) , which as recently as last year faced risks of possible bankruptcy, released its new graphics card for virtual reality in June. The product was quickly criticized for drawing too much power, potentially damaging motherboards.

Alger said AMD no longer poses much of a threat. That company has lost money each of the past four years and, when it comes to Nvidia's newer businesses, there aren't many rivals.

For example, Nvidia is selling its technology into data centers, which are rapidly moving towards machine learning and artificial intelligence. Within data centers, Nvidia has gained traction in recent years helping businesses process mounds of data coming from all the devices connected to the Internet. The next step is training those machines through algorithms to learn like humans.

Nvidia's Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said at a conference in June that artificial intelligence is a big part of what's "driving overall growth in data center."

Nvidia "anticipated the emergence of these applications and invested in these applications and helped develop them, whereas their main competitor AMD was more constrained and resource challenged," said Ian Ing, an analyst at MKM Partners. He has a buy rating on the stock and a $64 price target.

Venture capitalist Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said in a podcast last month that Nvidia has "seemingly overnight" become the market leader in chips used for artificial intelligence.

"Every sharp AI software entrepreneur that comes in here is now building on top of Nvidia's chips," Andreessen said.

Additionally, Nvidia's GPUs are currently being used by automakers in their infotainment systems. But the real opportunity in cars is tied to the future of Additionally, Nvidia's GPUs are currently being used by automakers in their infotainment systems. But the real opportunity in cars is tied to the future of autonomous driving and the computing that will be required for cars to learn how to drive themselves.

Alger estimates the market will eventually be 10 times as big as it is today.

All of that bullishness has fueled a rally in Nvidia that pushed the shares to a record in May, surpassing the previous high from 2007. The stock just kept going up after that, surging 63 percent in the past three months.

The pressure is now on Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang to satisfy investors' lofty expectations. Nvidia is priced at 50 times earnings, more than double its five-year average of 22, according to FactSet.

As Ing said, "the bar is probably higher this time around."

Nvidia has been the top tech stock over the past year, on investor excitement about artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.


Her Dad Brought Home A Strange Puppy. But Look Closely... Because That’s NOT A Regular Dog.

What would you do if you spotted a sick, injured, or otherwise helpless animal? We’d all like to think that we’d do the right thing and rush to help, but sometimes fear or concern for our own safety makes us take pause.

For California resident Sharon Bertozzi, however, that protective instinct came without hesitation. When she saw a weak animal on her front porch, she immediately sprung into action. Little did she know, this creature had quite a surprise in store for her...

One afternoon, Sharon discovered a small fur ball curled up behind a vase on her front porch. She assumed the animal was a very sick dog and quickly decided to help.

Sharon placed the poor creature inside a small cage that she had in her garage. Though she knew the dog couldn’t be kept in there for long, it was clearly better than nothing.

The tiny pup desperately needed help - fortunately, Sharon had the phone number of a local animal rescue team on hand and dialed immediately.

Sharon had called the City of Folsom Animal Services. Thinking things were about wrapped up, Sharon was told something by rescuer Cindy Walden that she could not believe.

The sick dog Sharon rescued was actually a female coyote who was suffering from a particularly bad case of mange. "She had such soft eyes, that relayed the message of ‘help me if you can,'" Cindy said.

Gold Country Wildlife Rescue (GCWR) came soon enough and took the coyote to their shelter, later naming the animal Princess. Luckily, GCWR was specialized in providing care and rehabilitation for coyotes.

Princess was eventually taken to Sierra Wildlife Rescue in Placerville, California, when she was feeling well enough. There, workers continued to care for her so she could make a full recovery.

Here she was able to interact with other coyotes, which came as a huge relief

it had obviously been a while since Princess was able to spend time in the company of her own species...

Princess soon became friends with the two coyotes that she was placed with. Both were around her age and eager to get to know her. The three of them seemed to get along well, much to the relief of the rescue workers.

Princess and her new coyote buddies developed a close bond while they were at the wildlife rescue. Workers knew that it wouldn’t be long until they were released back into the wild.

That day finally came, and the bonded — healthy — coyotes left the comfort of the sanctuary to learn to fend for themselves. Thanks to Sharon’s kindhearted gesture, Princess became the adult everyone had hoped she would.

A family adopted a baby coyote when it was in need, and now it's a member of the family.

Woman Who Finds A Homeless ‘Dog’ On Her Porch Realizes It Isn’t A Dog At All


Leaving nothing to chance in the holiday shopping battles, said on Tuesday it would stay open non-stop in the final run-up to Christmas Eve.

The department store chain said doors at most stores would stay open around the clock from 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 20 until December 24 at 6 p.m. That comes to 107 hours, a far cry from the 170-hour marathon last year and more in line with its 2014 plan when Kohl’s was open for 100 hours.

The move is clearly aimed at squeezing every sale it can, in the face of what many retail CEO’s are calling the most "promotional" season since the recession, and fending off rivals like and .

Yet for all the excess of being open last year for a week of non-stop shopping, it didn’t turn the season into a blockbuster and even dented profits: comparable sales rose a mere 0.4% and margins fell. Kohl’s itself pronounced those results "disappointing." And in the first half of 2016, they were down 2.8%. Still, Kohl’s is looking to build on what was a promising Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend with record online sales, and benefit from the arrival of a cold snap that should spur clothing sales, a segment that generates 60% of its revenues.

Kohl’s has made big strides this holiday season in terms of a smoother process for store pickups of online orders and the launch of Kohl’s Pay, among other initiatives. The retailer was aggressive in its promotions, including redoubling its marketing messaging to remind customers of the myriad ways to combine promotions to get low prices. Kohl's Yes2You loyalty program has 30 million active members and is central to that strategy. Kohl’s also started selling the Watch this quarter.

At the same time, is by all accounts having another banner holiday season, winning 31% of all U.S. e-commerce sales over the Cyber Monday period. And have been aggressive on price, as have Penney and Macy’s.

Once again the spoils of war will go to consumers.

Kohl’s Stores Are Opening for 107 Hours Straight Before Christmas


Darth Vader has a father? Star Wars Episode VIII script leak changes everything we knew

A STAR WARS Episode VIII script leak heavily alludes Darth Vader’s father and Luke Skywalker’s grandfather as Supreme Leader Snoke.

A script leak from The Force Awakens follow up depicts a scene between Mark Hamill’s Luke and Snoke.

The conversation sees Snoke imply he’s met Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader.

Snoke says: "After all, what father doesn’t see his own creation."

Fans have been in a frenzy wondering if this means Snoke is saying he’s Luke’s grandfather.

However, Star Wars followers will know that Anakin was conceived by the Force.

His mother, Schmi Skywalker a Tattoine slave, made this clear in Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

George Lucas, the franchise’s creator, took the story element further with the addition of midi-chorians.

Darth Vader has a father? Star Wars Episode VIII script leak reveals ...

No. It doesn't. Article plays up possibility of Snoke being Luke's granddad, repeats the worn-out Snoke = Darth Plagueis rumor... then jokingly concedes that none of this makes much sense to begin with.


Scientists say we may all have this 'sixth sense'

Whether it's determining the number of ships on the horizon or the number of cookies in a jar, the human brain has a "map" for perceiving numbers, new research shows.

Topographical maps of the human brain are known to exist for the primary senses, such as sight, hearing and touch, but this is the first time such a map has been found for numerosity, or number sense. The map's layout allows for the most efficient communication among neurons doing similar tasks.

Studies in monkeys have shown that certain neurons in the parietal cortex, located at the back of the brain beneath the crown of the hair, became active when the animals viewed a specific number of items. These studies did not find a map for numerosity, though scientists have long suspected one exists. [The Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind]

Different sites on the brain's surface respond maximally to different numbers of visually presented items.

"Scientists have suspected an ordered mapping of numbers for a long time," said Andreas Nieder, a neurobiologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, who was not involved in the study. "Many laboratories have been investigating this idea intensively. Finally, Harvey et al. succeeded in convincingly demonstrating a map of numerical quantity in the human brain," he added, referring to researcher Ben Harvey, a neuroscientist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

In the study, Harvey and his colleagues placed participants in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and showed them patterns of dots that varied in number over time. They would show one dot over and over, then two dots over and over, then three dots, and so on.

The researchers used an advanced imaging method known as high-field fMRI, which allowed them to see fine-scale details of brain activity. They analyzed the neural responses using techniques similar to those used to study the parts of the brain responsible for vision.

The posterior parietal cortex, responded to the dot patterns in an organized way: Small numbers of dots were represented in one area, whereas large numbers were represented in another, the results showed.

It's as if the brain was acting as an abacus. "In an abacus, you map number onto space," Harvey told LiveScience. [5 Seriously Mind-Boggling Math Facts]

The findings, detailed online today (Sept. 5) in the journal Science, suggest that higher cognitive functions might rely on the same organization principles as sensory systems do. For instance, in face recognition — which is much more complicated than number sense — objects that look similar might be grouped together in the brain, Harvey said.

In these topographical maps, a larger brain area was dedicated to perceiving smaller numbers than to larger ones, in line with previous findings that number sense becomes less precise as the quantity of items increases.

Importantly, numerosity is different from mathematical ability or symbolism. Numerosity only refers to numerical amount.

People vary somewhat in their ability to distinguish numerosity, Harvey said. At the extreme, you have savants — individuals, many of who have autism or a similar disorder, who possess extraordinary abilities in math, art or other areas. Some savants can look at a pile of pick-up sticks, for example, and instantly know how many there are.

"While there's always this map structure, there's not always the same context," Harvey said.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Numbers Get Mapped In Our Brains Like A 'Sixth Sense,' Study Suggests

Whether it's determining the number of ships on the horizon or the number of cookies in a jar, the human brain has a "map" for perceiving numbers, ne...

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Numerosity a "map" for perceiving numbers


@KristinCav former star of "The Hills" arrested in Illinois

According to Kristin Cavallari Twitter account, she was taken in to a police station in Chicago and was forced to post bail for driving without an Illinois license.

We assume the 26-year-old -- who wed longtime beau, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, in June -- has been living with her husband and son Camden Jack Cutler in Chicago. According to Illinois' DMV website, new residents "have a full 90 days before you need to get your license."

However, Cavallari subsequently tweeted that she still owns property in California, so she's technically still a resident.

Who knew having a California drivers license in Illinois was a CRIME to be escorted to the police station to post bail?!! What a morning — Kristin Cavallari (@KristinCav) September 6, 2013

FYI...I still have an apartment in LA so I'm a resident of California — Kristin Cavallari (@KristinCav) September 6, 2013

HuffPost reached out to Kristin's rep for comment and will update the story once one comes through.

UPDATE: According to the Chicago Tribune, Cavallari was pulled over for speeding yesterday just before noon. After being cited, she "was required to follow the motorcycle officer who stopped her to the police station to post $150 bond." This, because she did not have an Illinois driver's license.

Kristin Cavallari Got Arrested In Illinois For Driving With A California License (UPDATE)

Seems like Illinois is putting a cramp in this California girl's style!

According to Kristin...

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Girl Locks Herself In Her Room For 30 Minutes. When She Comes Out? This Is Going VIRAL...

Determined to show just how much of a fan she was of the fact that this was an all-female remake, this crafty girl headed into her room. With only about an hour to go before their departure time, she was a gal on a mission.

Soon, she reemerged, dressed head to toe in her new Ghostbusters jumpsuit, crafted out of an old zookeeper’s costume.

Her proud dad, in awe of his inspiring little superhero, took a photo of his daughter, and posted it to social media. Not long after, his post began soliciting all sorts of praise, even catching the eye of the movie’s director, Paul Feig, who couldn’t have been more on board with Matilda’s awesome getup.

"She is definitely a strong spirit," Burnett told LittleThings of his daughter. "She follows her own path and regrets nothing."

Little Girl’s Incredible ‘Ghostbusters’ Costume Goes Viral

At just 7 years old, Matilda Burnett is well on her way to becoming an amazing "girl boss." When her father, Max Burnett, recently bought them both tickets to see the new all-female Ghostbusters movie, this budding feminist sprang into action. Determined to show just how much of a fan she was of the fact that this was an all-female remake, this crafty girl headed into...

When she comes out?  She's dressed in her homemade Ghostbusters costume, as see in the thumbnail.
#StopClickBait


Scarlett Johansson like you've never seen her before

Here's the simple plot description for "Under The Skin" on IMDb: "An alien in human form is on a journey through Scotland." Here's what that really entails: Scarlett Johansson plays the alien, and in a first glimpse of the film, she's seen interacting with array of David Lynchian nightmares. Directed by Jonathan Glazer, "Under the Skin" debuted at the Telluride Film Festival with some strong reviews. "Glazer, best known for his films 'Sexy Beast' and 'Birth,' has instead fashioned an original piece of cinema that is gorgeous, mesmerizing, heartbreaking, frustrating and pretentious all at the same time," wrote Gregory Ellwood for HitFix's In Contention awards blog. "It has some of the most haunting images of the year and features the bravest performance of Scarlett Johansson's career." Watch the teaser above; "Under the Skin" does not have U.S. distribution at this time.

'Under The Skin' Teaser Trailer Features Scarlett Johansson As An Alien

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Because "Under the Skin" hasn't come out yet


America has a new lunch habit that's hurting McDonald's

Grocery stores are stealing business from McDonald's.

Grocery prices have been falling, and as a result, a growing number of Americans are choosing to pack their lunches and eat dinner at home versus visiting restaurants, according to McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook.

"There is a widening gap between food away from home and food at home, where the commodity decreases are being passed through by the grocers," Easterbrook said on Tuesday on a call with analysts.

"So the food at home, there's value to be had for families there, whereas eating out, there is a price-inflation environment," he said.

Easterbrook made the remarks in response to a question about McDonald's slowing sales growth.

McDonald's same-store sales increased 1.8% in the second quarter of the year, down from 5.4% growth in the previous quarter.

Americans' overall uncertainty about the presidential election and the economy have also been contributing to a slowdown industry-wide, Easterbrook said:

"I think, generally, there's just a broader level of uncertainty in consumers' minds at the moment, both trying to gauge their financial security going forward, you know, whether through elections or through global events, people are slightly mindful of an unsettled world. And when people are uncertain, when families are uncertain, caution starts to prevail and they start to hold back on spend."

But McDonald's isn't the only restaurant affected by consumers' spending pullback.

In fact, same-store sales have been so lackluster this year that one Wall Street analyst thinks that they may be a "harbinger" for a US recession next year.

In a note to clients published on Tuesday, Stifel analyst Paul Westra said that the slowdown "reflects the start of a US restaurant recession," and that it "may also represent a harbinger to a U.S. recession in early 2017."

"Restaurants have historically led the market lower during the three-to-six-month periods prior to the start of the prior three US recessions," he wrote.


Does 'Finding Dory' show a gay couple? We asked the filmmakers

After the release of Finding Dory 's latest trailer last month, there was rampant speculation that one scene featured a lesbian couple, which would be a Disney/Pixar first. The internet went nuts.

" They can be whatever you want them to be," said Stanton. "There's no right or wrong answer."

The call for Disney (which owns Pixar and Marvel) to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters has gathered momentum in recent months. , fans called for filmmakers to give Queen Elsa a partner with the hashtag The call for Disney (which owns Pixar and Marvel) to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters has gathered momentum in recent months. With the announcement of Frozen 2 fans called for filmmakers to give Queen Elsa a partner with the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend . The hashtag #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend is also popular on Twitter.

The debate over whether Finding Dory features Disney/Pixar's first same-sex couple will not end. After the release of Finding Dory's latest trailer last month, there was rampant speculation that one scene featured a lesbian couple, which would be a Disney/Pixar first. The internet went nuts. USA TODAY asked Finding Dory director Andrew Stanton at Wednesday's world premiere if the couple depicted onscreen is indeed a lesbian couple. He neither confirm nor denied. "They can be whatever you want them to be," said Stanton. "There's no right or wrong answer." "We never asked them," added producer Lindsey Collins. "We have not asked that of any of the couples in any of our shots in any of our movies," Stanton said. Watching the full Finding Dory movie will not fully answer the question, either. The blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene flies past during a key action moment and is only slightly longer than the snippet used in the trailer. There's no conclusive evidence one way or another. The call for Disney (which owns Pixar and Marvel) to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters has gathered momentum in recent months. With the announcement of Frozen 2, fans called for filmmakers to give Queen Elsa a partner with the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend. The hashtag #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend is also popular on Twitter. In March, Star Wars director J.J. Abrams said he was was asked if he could "imagine a homosexual character in Star Wars, and my immediate reaction was, 'Of course.' Star Wars is all about inclusivity."

"They can be whatever you want them to be. There's no right or wrong answer." and ""We never asked them."


"Find Out Why This Pittsburgh Steelers Player Left a 75 Cent Tip"

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams is responding to social media criticism for not tipping an appropriate amount at a Maryland restaurant.

According to a TMZ Sports report, Williams recently visited the Ledo Restaurant and his bill came to $128.25.

The server took exception to Williams leaving a 75-cent tip and blasted him on social media.

Williams has since responded saying the small tip has nothing to do with being cheap, it was because the service was poor.

The service was terrible if it was good she would have gotten a 40dollar tip https://t.co/wgArMDocOy — DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) September 12, 2016

In a series of tweets, Williams explained that there were a couple of issues with the food he ordered.

Specifically, he said he ordered chicken and shrimp in pasta, but it came on his salad instead. When he sent it back, they still left a shrimp tail in his salad.

You right I tried to leave exact change but couldn’t I waited on my food for over 1.5hours got the order wrong then https://t.co/rCqpGGdxmv — DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) September 12, 2016

Williams also claimed it took about 90 minutes for the food to arrive.

So, based on all the events of the evening, Williams elected to leave the small tip. However, he really wanted to leave no tip, but couldn’t find exact change.

Jimmy Marcos, owner of Ledo’s, said they are still dealing with the situation and have not taken any action against the server yet. However, it is likely that she will lose her job for how she handled the situation.

Marcos said they understand and support Williams’ decision as well.

"Our policy is that a tip is not a guarantee, but is a courtesy, and that it usually reflects the (quality of the) service," he said.

Per the TMZ Sports article, Marcos plans to apologize in person and pick up the tab the next time Williams visits.

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Steelers’ Williams On Leaving 75-Cent Tip: ‘The Service Was Terrible’ « CBS Pittsburgh

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