Man who saved wife, kindergarten teacher among Las Vegas victims

Man who saved wife, kindergarten teacher among Las Vegas victims

A gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Almost 500 people were injured by bullets or in the ensuing chaos.

The Clark County Coroner's Office has released the names of all 58 people killed in the Oct. 1 shooting. Here's what we know about those who lost their lives:

Hannah Ahlers was a mother of three from Murrieta, Calif.

HEATHER ALVARADO
Heather Alvarado was a mother of three who lived in Utah. She previously lived in Riverside, California.

DORENE ANDERSON
Dorene Anderson was in Las Vegas with her husband and two daughters when she was killed, according to friend Marie English.

"She loved hockey. She loved the Cowboys... but most of all, she loved her family," English said.

CARRIE BARNETTE
The following statement is from Bob Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company.

"Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the tragic events in Las Vegas -- the victims of violence, the witnesses, and the friends and families mourning loved ones. We are especially heartbroken over the loss of one of our own to this unconscionable and senseless act. Carrie Barnette had been a member of the Disney California Adventure culinary team for ten years and was beloved by her friends and colleagues. Our thoughts are with her family, along with our support, during this incredibly difficult time."

JACK BEATON

STEVE BERGER
Minneapolis resident Steve Berger was a father of three. He worked as a financial advisor at EFS Advisors, a firm he created. According to his professional website, he enjoyed volunteering as a teacher for BestPrep, a nonprofit organization aimed at training students with business, career and financial literacy skills.

A mother of two from Garden Grove, Calif., Candice Bowers "left this world doing what she loved, dancing to country music among loved ones," according to a GoFundMe page set up in her honor.

DENISE BURDITUS
Denise Burditus' husband Tony, posted to Facebook Monday evening that his wife of 32 years died at the concert. Denise Burditus is survived by her husband and two children. She was soon to become a grandmother to five.

SANDY CASEY

Special education teacher Sandy Casey was among those killed, according to Manhattan Beach Unified School District in Southern California, where she worked.

"As you can imagine, this loss is impacting many of our staff members deeply, and while we collectively grieve, we will be working to provide support to everyone affected," the superintendent said in a letter sent to district families.

ANDREA CASTILLA

DENISE COHEN

Denise Cohen (Provided)

AUSTIN DAVIS
Austin Davis of Riverside, Calif., was 29 years old. According to his Facebook, he graduated from Centenial High School in San Diego, and worked as a pipefitter at UA Local 364.

TOM DAY JR.

CHRISTIANA DUARTE

Mars research subjects to emerge after 8 months of isolation

Mars research subjects to emerge after 8 months of isolation

After eight months of living in isolation on a remote Hawaii volcano, six NASA-backed research subjects will emerge from their Mars-like habitat on Sunday and return to civilization.

Their first order of business after subsisting on mostly freeze-dried and canned food: Feast on fresh-picked pineapple, papaya, mango, locally grown vegetables and a fluffy, homemade egg strata cooked by their project's lead scientist.

The crew of four men and two women were quarantined on a vast plain below the summit of the world's largest active volcano in January. All of their communications with the outside world were subjected to a 20-minute delay � the time it takes for signals to get from Mars to Earth.

They are part of a study designed to better understand the psychological effects that a long-term manned mission to space would have on astronauts. The data they gathered will help NASA better pick crews that have certain traits and a better chance of doing well during a two-to-three year Mars expedition.

The space agency hopes to send humans to the red planet by the 2030s.

The Hawaii team wore specially-designed sensors to gauge their moods and proximity to other people in the small, 1,200 square-foot (111-square meter) dome where they have lived.

The devices monitored, among other things, their voice levels and could sense if people were avoiding one another. It could also detect if they were next to each other and arguing.

The crew played games designed to measure their compatibility and stress levels. And when they got overwhelmed by being in such close proximity to teach other, they could use virtual reality devices to escape to tropical beaches or other familiar landscapes.

The project's lead investigator, University of Hawaii professor Kim Binsted, said the crew members also kept written logs about how they were feeling.

"This is our fifth mission, and we have learned a lot over those five missions. We've learned, for one thing, that conflict, even in the best of teams, is going to arise," Binsted said. "So what's really important is to have a crew that, both as individuals and a group, is really resilient, is able to look at that conflict and come back from it."

The project is the fifth in a series of six NASA-funded studies at the University of Hawaii facility called the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, or HI-SEAS. NASA has dedicated about $2.5 million to the studies at the facility.

"So the previous three missions, the four, eight and 12 month missions, those were primarily looking at crew cohesion and performance," Binsted said. "On this mission and going forward we are looking at crew selection and composition."

Crew members were mostly excited and optimistic when they entered the facility in January, but had some trepidation.

"My biggest fear was that we were going to be that crew that turned out like Biosphere 2, which wasn't a very pretty picture," said mission commander James Bevington in January.

Biosphere 2 was a 1990s experimental greenhouse-like habitat in Arizona that turned into a debacle. It housed different ecosystems and a crew of four men and four women in an effort to understand what would be needed for humans to live on other planets. The participants were supposed to grow their own food and recycle their air inside the sealed glass space.

But the experiment soon spiraled out of control, with the carbon dioxide level rising dangerously and plants and animals dying. The crew members grew hungry and squabbled so badly during the two years they spent cooped up that by the time they emerged, some of them were not speaking to each other. Unlike the Biosphere 2, HI-SEAS is an opaque structure, not a see-through one, and it is not airtight.

The HI-SEAS crew was not confined to the dome but they were required to wear spacesuits and whenever they went outside the dome for geological expeditions, mapping studies or other tasks.

Other Mars simulation projects exist around the world, but Hawaii researchers say one of the chief advantages of their project is the area's rugged, Mars-like landscape, on a rocky, red plain below the summit of Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano.

The crew's vinyl-covered shelter is about the size of a small two-bedroom home, has small sleeping quarters for each member plus a kitchen, laboratory and bathroom. The group shares one shower and has two composting toilets.

To maintain the crew's sense of isolation, bundles of food and supplies were dropped off at a distance from the dome, and the team members sent out a robot to retrieve them.

The team's information technology specialist, Laura Lark, thinks a trip to Mars is a reasonable goal for NASA.

"Long term space travel is absolutely possible," she said in a video message from within the dome. "There are certainly technical challenges to be overcome. There are certainly human factors to be figured out."

The university is already starting to make plans for Mission 6, the final study funded by the U.S. space agency.

Apple announces price cuts for iPhones in India, iPhone 7 now available under Rs 50,000

Apple announces price cuts for iPhones in India, iPhone 7 now available under Rs 50,000

Apple has launched the latest generation of iPhones, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. And similar to the tradition followed in the US since past many years, the Cupertino giant has slashed the prices of older-generation models in India as well. Apple has announced price cuts for its iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones in the country.

The price cuts should be good news for buyers who were holding their purchase of iPhones in the anticipation of a price cut. Especially, since the latest price drop brings Apple iPhone 7 below the Rs 50,000 price bracket.

Here's a look at the new prices of iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus:

iPhone 7 Plus (32GB)

Current price: Rs 59,000

Earlier price: Rs 67,300

iPhone 7 Plus (128GB)

Current price: Rs 68,000

Earlier price: Rs 76,200

iPhone 7 (32GB)

Current price: Rs 49,000

Earlier price: Rs 56,200

iPhone 7 (128GB)

Current price: Rs 58,000

Earlier price: Rs 65,200

iPhone 6s Plus (32GB)

Current price: Rs 49,000

Earlier price: Rs 56,100

iPhone 6s Plus (128GB)

Current price: Rs 58,000

Earlier price: Rs 65,000

iPhone 6s (32GB)

Current price: Rs 40,000

Earlier price: Rs 46,900

iPhone 6s (128GB)

Current price: Rs 49,000

Earlier price: Rs 55,900

Last year too, Apple had announced price cuts for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus just a day ahead of the global unveiling of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. In July too, Apple had slashed retail prices of all its iPhone models by 4 to 7.5 percent. The price cuts were announced the day Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into force (July 1). The US-based smartphone brand said that it has passed on the benefits accrued from GST regime to consumers.

The latest price cuts come just a day after the announcement of the three new iPhones. After months of speculations, Apple finally launched iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the company's tenth anniversary of iPhone X. All the iPhones come in 64GB and 256GB storage variants. While the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available in India from September 29 at a starting price of Rs 64,000 and Rs 73,000 respectively. Apple iPhone X will be available at a starting price of Rs 89,000. The smartphone will however hit retail stores at a much later date, which is November 3rd. It will go on pre-orders in 55 countries, including India, on October 27.

New hope for endangered eels, Japanese summer delicacy

New hope for endangered eels, Japanese summer delicacy :-

The Japanese summer delicacy of roasted eel, braised with a tangy sauce and sprinkled with prickly mountain pepper, is in question as the creatures with their mysterious migrations become increasingly endangered.

Soaring demand for Japanese eel, or Anguilla japonica, helped put the creatures on the International Union of Conservation of Nature's "Red List" of endangered species in 2014. It's spurring poaching of similar species off the U.S. east coast.

But Katsumi Tsukamoto, "Dr. Eel" of the only "Eel Science Laboratory" at Nihon University in Japan, thinks he's unlocked the secrets to eventually farming the eels, known as unagi, sustainably and profitably. Tsukamoto found out where the eels are spawning, and that helped researchers study conditions needed to raise them from the egg stage to adulthood.

The possibility of extinction, and soaring prices for grilled eel believed to help build stamina for enduring sweltering summer days, have dismayed many Japanese gourmands and the restaurants that specialize in the dish.

Despite their important role in Japanese food culture, until recently very little was known about the life cycles of eels, such as where they spawned and how tiny, nearly transparent glass eels manage to travel back to their freshwater habitats in Asia and elsewhere.

Supplies depend on wild-catching the juveniles and farm raising them until adulthood, a practice that has spread from Japan to Taiwan and mainland China as demand has surged.

Tsukamoto says his discovery of Japanese eel larvae and spawning adults west of the Mariana Ridge, near Guam, in 2009 has enabled him and other researchers to figure out the right diet and environmental conditions for spawning eels and their offspring.

Despite skepticism about the potential for such farming to work, Tsukamoto says three Japanese state-owned laboratories already are able to raise the eels from the larval stage and get them to spawn, completing their life cycle. But for now each lab can raise only about 3,000-4,000 a year. A lack of funds is hindering construction of the infrastructure needed to make such operations commercially viable by producing tens of thousands of eels a year.

The complete farming of eels and some other endangered species as a way to help them survive by relieving the pressure from soaring demand.

Fisherman Masataka Uchida, who sells wild caught "blue eel," or ao-unagi, shrugs off any potential competition from farming.

Depending on the environment, some eels have a tough texture and pungent, muddy taste that even unagi aficionados may find off-putting. Uchida's eels, with their pale blue-gray skin and soft pink bellies, have a highly sought-after, light and clean flavor that fetches premium prices even in the pricey unagi market.

Depending on the restaurant, Yuta Maruyama, an intermediate wholesaler who handles wild blue eel at Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Fish market, says a multi-course menu including grilled blue eel can cost up to 30,000 yen ($270) per person at exclusive restaurants, mainly in the flashy Ginza shopping and dining district.

The choice eels are often served in different styles to the traditional "kabayaki" eels which are grilled in a coating of dark soy sauce marinade. Restaurants that specialize in kabayaki, often handed down generation to generation, may offer both wild and farmed eels � with supply depending on what is available that day at the market.

At Hashimoto, a Michelin one-star kabayaki restaurant in Tokyo that first opened in 1835, the eels are all farm-raised the conventional way on the southern island of Kyushu, after being caught as glass eels.

Like farmed salmon, the farmed eels raised from wild-caught glass eels tend to be fattier. "They have a flavor that is preferred by most customers," says Shinji Hashimoto, the sixth-generation owner.

Hashimoto says his kabayaki sauce is "light," to allow the eel's flavor to come through.

"The Tokyo palette has traditionally disliked sweet flavors," he says.

To manage with fewer catches and higher prices, Hashimoto tries to get two servings out of larger eels.

After cleaning and slicing them open, the cooks skewer them to ensure they will stay together while cooking. They are grilled directly over hot charcoal, then steamed to soften the flesh. Afterwards they are coated in a sauce of soy sauce boiled with sweet rice wine, or mirin and then returned to the grill and basted three times before being served as "unajyu," steaming hot over rice in a neat lacquer box.

The busiest days tend to be the Day of the Ox in the lunar calendar, the first of which in 2017 was Tuesday, July 25th. Hashimoto served about 150 customers that day.

"Even if the price rose to 10,000 yen (about $90) for one box of unajyu, Japanese people would still eat it once a year," Tsukamoto said. "Why do Japanese people like unagi? Because we like soy sauce. The salty-sweet sauce, made from a mixture of soy sauce and mirin, is brushed on, is singed and grilled on the eel over charcoal - and that smell makes it irresistible."

Amazon suspends sales of Blu phones due to privacy concerns

Amazon suspends sales of Blu phones due to privacy concerns

Amazon just put budget phone maker Blu in the penalty box. 

The online retailing giant told CNET that it was suspending sales of phones from Blu, known for making ultra-cheap Android handsets, due to a "potential security issue." Surprisingly , Blu Phone uses Mediatek processor.

The move comes after security firm Kryptowire demonstrated last week how software in Blu's phones collected data and sent it to servers in China without alerting people. Blu defended the software, created by a Chinese company called Shanghai Adups Technology, and denied any wrongdoing. A company spokeswoman said at the time it "has several policies in place which take customer privacy and security seriously." She added there had been no breaches. 

Blu said it was in a process of review to reinstate the phones at Amazon. The issue of privacy and how data is collected is a hot topic thanks to a year's worth of reports about Russian hacking and its intrusion into the 2016 presidential race, as well as news in the last few months about ransomware attacks that hijack people's computers, to be unlocked (if you're lucky) for a fee.

Amazon, for one, wasn't taking any chances. 

"Because security and privacy of our customers is of the utmost importance, all BLU phone models have been made unavailable for purchase on Amazon.com until the issue is resolved," Amazon said in a statement. There has  been no comments from MediaTek ,  regarding this burning issues.

Amazon directed customers to contact Blu's customer support. 

Blu may not be a household name like Apple or Samsung, but the company found success selling phones at a fraction of the price of an iPhone. The Blu R1 HD sold for $60, compared with the starting price of $650 for Apple's flagship phone. 

Blu was one of the key participants in Amazon's "Prime Exclusive Phones" program, which offered steep discounts on phones to its members in exchange for ads on their lockscreen. Blu is no longer listed on the page. 

Blu cited Krytopwire executive Tom Karygiannis as saying the company didn't do anything wrong, although Karygiannis later told CNET that he didn't authorize Blu to make a public statement on his behalf. He confirmed that he spoke to Amazon to give the retailer data on his findings. 

Facebook engineers panic, pull plug on AI after bots develop their own language

Facebook engineers panic, pull plug on AI after bots develop their own language

As the world's most powerful computer systems begin to embrace artificial intelligence in earnest, using smart algorithms to increase efficiency and and speed, the potential damage that a "rogue" AI could cause continues to grow. Many in the tech community have theorized how an artificial mind could turn against its creators, and Facebook just got an interesting lesson in how such a scenario might unfold. Facebook engineers were forced to pull the plug on one of the company's AI systems after its bots began communicating with each other in a completely new language which humans simply couldn't decipher.

The AI bots, which were originally programmed to use plain english to communicate with one another, were found to be speaking what appeared to be gibberish. Sentences like "I can can I I everything else" and "Balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to," were being sent back and forth by the AI, and while humans have absolutely no idea what it means, the bots fully understood each other. Without being able to understand how or why the bots were communicating, Facebook had no choice but to shut down the system.

The very obvious danger here is that computer which can communicate with each other using their own language are not only impossible to understand but much more difficult to control. In this case, the bots were not bound by plain language and seemingly developed a more efficient way of communicating with each other, deciding for themselves what was best. It's both impressive and scary.

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Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is a huge proponent of artificial intelligence, and has even clashed with other tech leaders like Elon Musk over his embrace of AI and apparent lack of concern over the theoretical dangers intelligent computers could pose to humanity. After the events of this weekend, perhaps he'll change his tune a bit.