Social Media Marketing and Online Shopping: October 2018

Wednesday, 31 October 2018

Civil War POWs’ trauma shortened their sons’ lifespans, startling new research says

Civil War-era data suggest that trauma experienced by POWs shortened the lifespan of their male children, according to a startling UCLA research study.

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Moon rocks, valued near $1M, to be sold at auction next month

2019 will be the 50th anniversary that U.S. astronauts including Neil Armstrong became the first men to walk on the Moon. In 2018, Sotheby's will auction off a small part of it that may be worth as much as $1 million.

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99 million-year-old beetle found trapped in amber

A 99-million-year-old beetle has been found, trapped in amber, stunning scientists.

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Virginia fisherman spots ‘huge’ shark eating rotting whale carcass: ‘Here comes Jaws’

A fisherman off the coast of Virginia Beach snapped photos of a large great white shark eating a whale carcass.

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This bullet-scarred Bible ‘saved the life’ of a World War I soldier

A Bible marked with bullet holes from a German machine gun helped save the life of a British World War I soldier, his daughter has explained.

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Pakistan court clears condemned Christian

Asia Bibi's blasphemy conviction polarised Pakistan and the Supreme Court has already sparked protests.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2ET1qKz

Yemen conflict: Mattis and Pompeo urge swift ceasefire

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urge all sides to hold talks soon.

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India unveils the world's tallest statue

The 600ft tall statue, which cost $430m, has been billed as a major tourist attraction.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2Q8g55B

Brazil: Bolsonaro plans threaten Amazon, say experts

Brazil's far-right president-elect will merge the ministries of agriculture and the environment.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2EPIpZu

Japan bullet train stops 'scary' safety drills

Workers at the Japanese company would crouch in trenches beside railway tracks as trains sped by.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2zpW17R

Pittsburgh shooting: Trump visits synagogue amid protests

Hundreds of demonstrators in Pittsburgh accuse the US president of fomenting intolerance and hate.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2zezDy6

Vatican embassy: Human remains found at Rome property

The human remains could help solve the disappearance of a teenage girl in 1983, Italian media report.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qk65La

Gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in prison

Bulger was severely beaten by one or more inmates shortly after arriving at the prison, sources say.

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Denmark accuses Iran of activist murder plot

Tehran denies its intelligence agencies planned to kill an Arab separatist leader on Danish soil.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2CP0XX4

Father of 'Jihadi Jack' asks Canada to help bring son home

John Letts is urging Canada to bring home his son and other Canadians detained in Kurdish-held Syria.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qlLx5a

Petra Laszlo: Hungarian camerawoman who kicked migrants is acquitted

Hungary's top court clears Petra Laszlo, filmed tripping migrants fleeing border police in 2015.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2P1yPqO

Tunis attack: Suicide bomber was jobless graduate

Mouna Guebla, 30, was an unemployed English graduate from the eastern region of Mahdia.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2OY3Bkt

Pittsburgh shooting: Trump visits amid protests

The US president and first lady visit the synagogue where 11 people were shot dead at the weekend.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2EPqPo7

What do American voters care about?

In just under a week the US goes to the polls to elect a new Congress. So what are the main issues?

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2AwUkac

Viola Davis explains why there's a long way to go to eliminate racism

Oscar winner Viola Davis reveals how she has stayed grounded in Hollywood and why there still aren't enough black actors on screen.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2Od1l3G

Harry greets NZ audience in six Pacific languages

He was attending an event with Auckland's local Pasifika community, hosted by New Zealand's prime minister.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2PyzmjI

Senegalese artist Omar Victor Diop: Why I'm trying to correct history

Omar Victor Diop's portraits aim to paint important but overlooked Africans back into history.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2PA3BGM

Global hunger for soybeans 'destroying Brazil's Cerrado savanna'

Brazil's highly biodiverse Cerrado is being destroyed for soybean production, conservationists say.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2yGlJW2

Tokyo ticket seller's foreigner fear costs garden thousands

The man gave away tickets to foreigners after developing a fear of asking them for money.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2JshEZE

Pharrell orders Donald Trump to stop playing his music

"No permission was granted" to play the song at a rally held hours after a mass shooting, his lawyer says.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2yBO67C

Stray cats housed in washing machines in Portuguese town

A vet in Portugal is using washing machines to house stray cats in her home town.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2Od9jtv

Is the Amazon facing new dangers?

Are fears among environmentalists about the election of Brazil's new president justified?

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2EPWNRa

Canada's last witch trials: Women accused of fake witchcraft

A law against pretending to be a witch is set to be repealed, but not before two women are charged.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2zpcZ6j

Letter from Africa: Nigeria - a young country for old men

Why have Nigeria's main parties both chosen septuagenarian presidential candidates?

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2ABVbq9

Trump’s birthright plan: The legality, politics and history

The president wants to end the right of people born in the US to be citizens but does he have the power?

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2Q6xr2V

Dutch language besieged by English

So extensive is the spread of English, a group of lecturers warns of a looming "linguicide".

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2ABTn0d

Facebook really needs more people to watch Stories in its main app

The future of Facebook is Stories.

That was one of the biggest takeaways from Facebook's third-quarter earnings call, where Mark Zuckerberg and other executives repeated again and again that Stories will soon be bigger than News Feed.

While not the first time Facebook execs have made such a claim, it quickly became clear just how important Stories will be for future growth on Facebook.

While the format has been incredibly successful on Instagram and WhatsApp, Zuckerberg noted that it's gotten a slower start in Facebook's main app, which the CEO attributed in part to early bugs in the experience. "Our effort to switch Facebook from News Feed first to Stories first hasn't been as smooth as I hoped," Zuckerberg said. Read more...

More about Tech, Facebook, Social Media Companies, Tech, and Social Media Companies

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Here's how to install iOS 12.1 to get new emoji and Group FaceTime

New iPads weren't the only thing Apple revealed in Brooklyn.

Apple released iOS 12.1 in addition to announcing the new home button-less iPad Pro, a Mac mini, and a refreshed MacBook Air. While this isn't an entirely new iOS, it's an important update that delivers promised features that the initial version of iOS 12 missed, as well as some much-needed performance improvements.

The big one, of course, is Group FaceTime. The ability to video call with up to 32 people on iOS and macOS devices is now available with this update. You'll also get several new emoji, including the hotly anticipated bagel with cream cheese. Read more...

More about Apple, Iphone, Ipad, Ios, and How To

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This couple totally nailed their 'A Quiet Place' costume

The 2018 thriller A Quiet Place was the inspiration for this Halloween couple's costume — and damn did they really nail it.

Twitter user @nomadstrange shared a photo of her sister and husband dressed as Evelyn Abbott (Emily Blunt) and Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) from the film, and you're really just going to have to take a look:

my pregnant sister and her husband dressed up like The Quiet Place for halloween and i’m kinda obsessed pic.twitter.com/nAEJh9g9b4

— danielle 16 (@nomadstrange) October 30, 2018

From the outfits and accessories to the lighting, these two perfectly replicated this look. Also, being pregnant at the time definitely added to the authenticity. Read more...

More about Halloween, Halloween Costumes, A Quiet Place, Halloween 2018, and Halloween 2018

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Beyoncé came to slay with her iconic 'Phoni Braxton' Halloween costume

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope is dead. Long live Kepler.

All good things must come to an end, on Earth and even in space.

NASA announced on Tuesday that the Kepler mission — which has transformed how we understand planets outside of our solar system — is officially over.

According to the space agency, Kepler has run out of fuel in space, ending its 9.5-year planet hunting mission.

"Before we launched Kepler, we didn't know if planets were common or rare in our galaxy," Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division director, said in a press call Tuesday.

Thanks to Kepler's data, which was all safely beamed back to Earth before the end of the mission, we now know that planets are, in fact, exceedingly common. Read more...

More about Space, Science, Astronomy, Exoplanets, and Planets

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Rowan Atkinson says foolish spy Johnny English is also quite brave

Star of Johnny English Strikes Again Rowan Atkinson sits down with Mashable to discuss how his James Bond–wannabe character is both foolish and admirably brave. Read more...

More about Entertainment, Movies, Celebrities, Funny, and Mashable Video

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Apple is slowly squeezing even more out of customers

It’s getting even more expensive to use Apple products.

At Tuesday’s Apple event in Brooklyn, the Cupertino-based tech giant unveiled the next generation of the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini. Each updated device is more powerful than ever, with multiple add-on options that further enhance performance. Of course, those higher-end features come at a price. And Apple’s base pricing for the entry-level version of each of its products is rising, too.

Take the new iPad Pro. This generation of Apple’s flagship tablet is faster, thinner, and has more screen space than ever. The most affordable model, the new 11-inch iPad Pro, starts at $799. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro comes in at $999. Not bad for tablets that Apple puts up against competitors’ full-fledged laptops. But if you take a look at the base pricing of the previous generation of iPad Pros, you’ll find the cost for a 2017 10.5-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro when they were first released started at $649 and $799, respectively. That’s a $150 less for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $200 less for the 12.9-inch version. Read more...

More about Apple, Ipad, Mac, Apple Event 2018, and Tech

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'Game of Thrones' prequel casts Naomi Watts as a 'socialite' with a secret

The prequel series to HBO's Game of Thrones has its first star: Naomi Watts.

Watts has signed on as "a charismatic socialite hiding a dark secret," though all other details, including her character's name, remain a mystery. The casting brings to an end to what Deadline describes as the "lengthy negotiations" that led to the show's first cast member signing on.

As we previously learned, the prequel series is set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones. It unfolds during the late stages of Westeros's so-called "Age of Heroes," a time that featured — among other things — humanity's first clash with the White Walkers. Read more...

More about Entertainment, Tv, Hbo, Game Of Thrones, and Age Of Heroes

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Please Apple, don't kill MagSafe

When Apple finally delivered its very long awaited MacBook Air upgrade, I was one of many MacBook Air devotees relieved to see that the laptop was finally getting some much needed attention.

That is, until I realized it might spell the end of the one Apple accessory I've been using non-stop for more than a decade. I'm talking, of course, about Apple's MagSafe chargers.

Because while the new MacBook Air is smaller and faster than ever (and finally has a Retina display), it comes not with the magnetic MagSafe connector of every other MacBook Air, but with two Thunderbolt 3.0 ports, the same USB-C ports on the rest of the MacBook line. Read more...

More about Tech, Gadgets, Apple, Macbook, and Consumer Tech

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It's impossible to resist the charms of these 'Poorly Drawn Cats' on Twitter

This is Ode To..., a weekly column where we share the stuff we're really into in hopes that you'll be really into it, too.

Poorly Drawn Cats is a Twitter account dedicated to, as the name suggests, poorly drawn cats. But calling these charming little pictures "poorly drawn" doesn't seem like a fair description considering how beloved they've become by the account's many followers.

The crude, contour-line drawings created by a Brazilian artist named Heloísa, who started the account in 2016, capture the distinct personalities of cats — not always an easy task. The drawings featured on the account are of cats featured in photos submitted by fans of the account. Read more...

More about Twitter, Cats, Portrait, An Ode To, and Culture

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Best gift ideas for teenage girls: Stuff she'll actually want to show off on Instagram

Warning: If you thought shopping for women in general was hard, just know that it gets harder. Try shopping for a teenage girl.

Juuls, Tide Pods, Converse (but only the white ones), and saying LOL (ironically) — yup, we’re talking about the ever-changing hell that is teenage girl trends. It can be tricky to choose a gift that she’ll like and use for longer than a month, but does that mean you throw in the towel and plop a gift card in an envelope? That’s basically code for “I don’t get you at all.”

Instead of resorting to looking like an old, there is a way to show the teenage girl on your gift list that you “get them.” We’re talking music tech, phone accessories, room decor, artsy cameras, and more — all things to help her live her best life with her friends, branch out and be social, and help her figure out her passions. (Also known as gifts that won’t be met with an eye roll or her tweeting about you.) Read more...

More about Girls, Gift Ideas, Teenagers, Mashable Shopping, and Shopping Amazon

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