Новости за 31.12.2015

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Charles Glanville won't have to worry about battling snow, rain, heat or gloom of night to complete his appointed rounds anymore, unless it's to go to the mall or mow his lawn. Postal officials say Glanville is the longest-serving city mail carrier in New Jersey.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is reporting its first case of Zika, a dengue-like virus transmitted by mosquitoes. Health Secretary Ana Rius said Thursday that the unidentified patient had not traveled recently and lives in the island's eastern region. Officials say symptoms are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya and can include a slight fever, headache and pain in the hands and feet. Scientists in Brazil have linked Zika infections to cases of babies being born with small heads, or microcephaly.

Dinosaurs, Jedi and superheroes dominated the 2015 box office year, now the highest ever recorded, with over $11 billion in ticket sales. The top 10 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters through Dec. 30, as compiled Thursday by Rentrak: 1. "Jurassic World," $652.2 million. 2."Star Wars: The Force Awakens," $629 million. 3."Avengers: Age of Ultron," $459 million. 4."Inside Out," $356.5 million. 5."Furious 7," $353 million. 6."American Sniper," $348.8 million. 7."Minions," $336 million. 8."The Hunger Games... Читать дальше...

Disney and J.J. Abrams pushed 2015 over the mark days before its conclusion, but many factors helped make the year the biggest of all time — including social media and better theatrical experiences — which helped draw audiences away from their home entertainment centers and into the multiplex. In 2014, "The Interview" was released in theaters and online at the same time, and this year saw streaming service Netflix enter theatrical feature territory with "Beasts of No Nation" and "The Ridiculous... Читать дальше...

HOUSTON (AP) — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by two this week to 698. The Houston firm said Thursday 536 rigs sought oil and 162 explored for natural gas amid depressed energy prices.

The social network sent automated messages Thursday inviting some users to celebrate "46 years of friendship on Facebook" with one or more of their online friends. The glitch starts the internal calendar on some computers at midnight, Greenwich Mean Time, Jan. 1, 1970.

State wildlife officials tell the Independent Record (http://bit.ly/1PzHyYi ) that the collision happened at about 6 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Spokane Creek Road, about three miles east of East Helena. An MRL spokesman didn't immediately return a phone message seeking to learn if the train was damaged or any employees were injured.

PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — Rail officials say Metrolink service has been disrupted on the Antelope Valley line after a train hit and killed a pedestrian in Palmdale. The commuter rail and Los Angeles County sheriff's officials say the person was hit shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday by train 215 near the Rancho Vista grade crossing. Only trains 205 and 206 are running on the line Thursday morning. Service was expected to be restored in stages starting in the late morning and into the afternoon. The victim has not been identified. Читать дальше...

The number of U.S. companies that successfully made an initial public offering in 2015 dropped by more than 40 percent compared with a year ago, according to a report by IPO research firm Renaissance Capital. The August downturn and a U.S. market correction in September convinced a lot of companies to put their public plans on hold, Renaissance Capital said. "For the first eight months of the year, the IPO market was on target to reach over 200 IPOs with solid returns, but went into a tailspin... Читать дальше...

The U.S. stock market took investors for a wild ride in 2015, but in the end it was a trip to nowhere. Despite veering between record highs and the steepest dive in four years, the stock market is on track to end the year essentially flat. Japan's market finished flat after that country's government stepped up its economic stimulus program. In the U.S., the market got 2015 off to a slow start as investors worried about falling crude oil prices, flat earnings growth and when and how quickly the... Читать дальше...

Cruise ship worker dies in elevator accident MIAMI (AP) — An electrician aboard the Carnival Ecstasy cruise ship was killed while working on an elevator during the final leg of a three-day cruise from Miami.

NEW YORK (AP) — If you aren't looking for a rockin' New Year's Eve or forced small talk between television hosts, an online service is offering a way to experience the beginning of 2016 as it happens all over the world. New Year's Eve is usually the year's most popular day at EarthCam.com, a 20-year-old service that shows live camera views from hundreds of landmarks. The hourly celebrations began at 11 a.m. EST with beach fireworks on the Philippine island of Boracay and continue until the last stroke of midnight in Kauai... Читать дальше...

PARIS (AP) — In Bangkok, police-flanked partygoers rang in the new year at the site of a deadly bombing that took place just months ago. In Paris, residents recovering from their city's own deadly attacks will enjoy scaled-back celebrations. And in Belgium's capital, authorities anxious after thwarting what they say was a holiday terror plot have canceled festivities altogether. The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Belgium said six people were brought in for questioning Thursday morning in connection... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK (AP) — Frying pans included in a line of Martha Stewart cookware sets are being recalled because of metal discs that can pop off and cause injuries. Other recalled consumer products include bicycles with frames that can break. The recalled products have one of the following date codes inscribed on the bottom of the pans: 70118, 70138, 70218, 70228, 70318, 70328, 70338, 70418, 70428, 70438, 70518, 70528, 70618, 70628, 70718, 70728, 70818, 70828, 70918, 70928, 71018, 71108, 71118, 71208... Читать дальше...

Upholding a city of Seattle ban, the Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that there is no constitutional right to carry a knife.

New media companies like Netflix, which rose 138 percent to notch the biggest gain in the S&P 500, became more valuable than established media companies like CBS. The Nasdaq composite, with its heavy concentration of technology companies, is up a respectable 6.1 percent. E-commerce giant Amazon celebrated its 20th anniversary with results that sent investors into a buying frenzy. The rest of the top ten winners in the index were a mix of companies representing several industries, including the video graphics chip maker NVIDIA... Читать дальше...

U.S. stocks moved lower on the last day of the year as the market headed for a sluggish end to 2015. The modest losses in afternoon trading Thursday nudged the Standard & Poor's 500 index back into the red for the year. Energy stocks, which have been battered recently as commodities prices sank, edged higher as oil prices rebounded. THE QUOTE: "It's a lousy end to a pretty lousy year," said Edward Campbell, portfolio manager for QMA, a unit of Prudential Investment Management. Crude oil and natural gas prices rose... Читать дальше...

Health care stocks rose thanks to gains in drug companies, such as the eye drug maker Regeneron, and wheeling and dealing from Allergan. Video game makers Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts surged, while Google parent Alphabet and chip designer Nvidia also made significant gains. Even though shares of Wal-Mart had their worst year in four decades, consumer staple stocks edged higher on gains from Spam maker Hormel, Monster Beverage and Corona distributor Constellation Brands. Shares of Frontier... Читать дальше...

The average price for a gallon of gas never broke $3 this year, and it dipped below $2 in December, the first time that's happened since the Great Recession in 2009. The national average price for a gallon of gas right now is $2, the lowest since 2008. Welcome to the savings club barely millennials, your job prospects are looking better and the gas pump beckons you with low, low prices. The AAA estimates that the annual average price of gas in 2016 will be between $2.25 and $2.45 per gallon, which... Читать дальше...

[...] a double tap of the home button on Samsung's newest phones instantly launches the camera, so you're less likely to miss that magical moment. TiVo has a smart way to skip commercials and speed up video playback so that you can watch TV shows and movies in half the time. Even though Dish's Sling TV offers ESPN over the Internet — Sony's PlayStation Vue will also do so soon — you can get it only as part of larger packages. With lots more online viewing options, we need better ways to keep track... Читать дальше...

Yet not paying that price has its own cost: an inability to participate in some of society's greater achievements. Because smart gadgets thrive on data — data about you and your habits, data about what large numbers of people do or say or appear to want in particular situations — it's difficult not to share pretty much everything with them. Does the "don't talk to strangers" rule apply if the stranger is the Hello Barbie talking doll or Dino, the dinosaur powered by IBM's Watson artificial-intelligence system? Читать дальше...

Public health officials are hoping that by making it more difficult for young people to get their hands on cigarettes, they will keep them from developing an unhealthy addiction. "In Hawaii, about one in four students in high school try their first cigarette each year, and one in three who get hooked will die prematurely," said Lola Irvin, administrator with the chronic disease prevention and health promotion division of the Hawaii Department of Health. The Health Department has distributed about 4,000 signs to 650 vendors... Читать дальше...

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Surging Midwestern rivers forced hundreds of evacuations, threatened dozens of levees and brought transportation by car, boat or train to a virtual standstill Thursday in the St. Louis area. Swollen rivers and streams, already high from a wet late fall, were pushed to heights not seen in nearly a quarter- century after more than 10 inches of rain fell this week in a wide swath from central Illinois through southwest Missouri. The Mississippi River appeared it would be about 7 1/2 feet below the 1993 record in St. Читать дальше...

Story by Kendall Jones, via Washington Beer Blog. Story by Kendall Jones, via Washington Beer Blog. It’s time to get ready for Strange Brewfest 2016. My approach to Strange Brewfest is the same every year. Step one: determine if I can actually go to the event and, if so, secure my hotel room. Step two: tell everyone else about Strange Brewfest. Step three:... The post Get Ready to Get Strange – Strange Brewfest 2016 appeared first on Beer News.