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The tech backlash against Indiana is growing as companies pull out of a big conference there

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Salesforce.com Marc Benioff

The Indy Big Data conference is becoming a battleground, as the tech industry's pushback against Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act— which allows businesses in the state to discriminate against customers on the basis of their sexuality — is seeing big companies like EMC, Cloudera, and Salesforce boycott the event.

Indy Big Data is a conference where data experts and vendors discuss how to turn the ever-growing amounts of stuff generated by users online into businesses. It's going to be held in Indianapolis on May 7th.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced last week that he was pulling his company out from Indiana effective immediately — including withdrawing from its sponsorship of Indy Big Data — in protest of the RFRA, and called on others to do the same. 

EMC and Cloudera, both companies with huge investments in the data industry, are following in Benioff's footsteps and withdrawing their own IndyBigData sponsorships, per these tweets over the weekend from EMC President Jeremy Burton and Cloudera CMO Alan Saldich:

Smaller companies like Pivotal, a data and development company spun out from EMC, and Platfora, a popular data analytics startup, also announced their withdrawals of support from the event:

Indy Big Data organizers took to the event's Facebook page earlier today to issue a statement in support of those sponsors who pulled their sponsorships and calling on the Indiana state government for change:

“Over the past 48 hours we have had seven national sponsors back out of the Indy Big Data Conference 2015 as a direct result of the Religious Freedom Act. This law is having an immediate and definite negative impact on technology in the state of Indiana. The Indy Big Data Conference wants lawmakers in the state of Indiana to know and acknowledge that this is a real case that is happening now, not a conference to be impacted months or years from now, and is calling for an immediate correction to this law in order to prohibit discrimination in Indiana on any grounds.”

Not every sponsor who pulled out of the event issued a statement. Notably, Amazon Web Services is still listed as a sponsor of the Indy Big Data conference at press time. 

This news continues the tech industry's pushback against the act. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also taken a strong stand against the Religious Freedom Act in an editorial for the Washington Post. Angie's List has also halted expansion plans in Indiana in protest over this law. 

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This workbook is what allegedly passes for therapy at America's toughest prison

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cage your rage

Mentally ill inmates at America's toughest federal prison alleged that they got psychological treatment not from trained professionals but from "educational" TV shows and workbooks, according to The New York Times.

Now that a landmark lawsuit has been filed against the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado over its treatment of mentally ill inmates, outside forensic psychiatrists have been allowed to enter ADX and evaluate prisoners for themselves for the first time since the facility opened its doors in 1994.

What they are learning is far from reassuring. Of the 45 ADX prisoners evaluated by Denver-based forensic psychiatrist Dr. Doris Gundersen, at least 70% met the criteria for at least one serious mental illness, according to the Times. Despite these figures, ADX allegedly has only two psychologists and one part-time psychiatrist on-call to serve the prison's 500 inmates.

Inmates evaluated by Dr. Gundersen told her that they had been denied treatment for their mental health issues, despite repeated pleas for help. The only guidance they allegedly received for managing their mood swings and suicidal thoughts came from workbooks with titles like “Cage Your Rage" and “therapy classes” on the prison television’s educational station.

ADX supermax

"Cage Your Rage: An Inmate's Guide to Anger Control" is described by the publisher as a "self-study" workbook that aims to help inmates understand what anger is and how to manage it. 

It is "the perfect rehabilitation resource for inmates in prisons, jails, and detention centers," the author, psychologist Murray C. Cullen, says in the book's online description.

While some prisons use the book in conjunction with professional psychological treatment (usually in the form of group therapy or one-on-one sessions), inmates at ADX claimed they were expected to work through the text — and their anger — alone.

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This Miami billionaire could single-handedly bankroll Marco Rubio’s White House bid

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attached image

A Miami car dealer could make Sen. Marco Rubio's White House dreams come true.

Billionaire Norman Braman is reportedly poised to invest $10 million into Rubio's expected presidential campaign, some much needed cash as the GOP donor base in the Sunshine State is split between the state's U.S. senator and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).

"He knows the odds, and I know the odds, but when he comes in contact with individuals, he's impressive. ," Braman told the Miami Herald, who reported the likely amount of his expected donation.

"I think he's catching fire already."

Braman's huge windfall would likely come after Rubio officially announces a presidential campaign. Rubio is reportedly planning to launch his bid on April 13 in Miami.

So far Braman has donated $5,000 to Rubio's Reclaim America PAC.

With Braman on board, Rubio would follow in the footsteps of underdog Republicans with a billionaire benefactor like Newt Gingrich, who won the grace of  Sheldon Adelson, and Rick Santorum, who stayed afloat with Foster Friess' support in the 2012 race.

Rubio's relationship to Braman, the former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, dates back to the Republican's days in the Florida State Legislature from 2000 to 2009. 

Rubio's wife, Jeanette, also works for Braman's family foundation as a grant reviewer.

A representative for Rubio told the Herald that Rubio has "known Braman for years, and he values their friendship and appreciates his support."

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Meet the 'Shazam for fashion,' an app that listens to the TV shows you're watching and tells you what the actors are wearing

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Spylight app

So you're watching a movie or TV show and decide you wouldn't mind owning the outfit the actor is wearing onscreen. What do you do?

Sure, you could put on your detective hat and start Googling, but a new app called Spylight makes finding your favorite actor's outfit a cinch: Just let your phone listen for a few seconds and it'll handle the rest.

If the concept sounds familiar, that's because Spylight is essentially "Shazam for fashion," with the app identifying the outfits by first listening to what you're watching. The app then figures out which actor is onscreen during that snippet and pulls up a detailed breakdown of what they're wearing.

The whole process is pretty fast. Here's what it's like to use Spylight during an episode of "New Girl."

Spylight app GIF

Spylight also works with movie studios to ensure that it shows you the exact brand and product worn by the actors, and it's an expensive designer item it'll show you cheaper alternatives too. The same holds true if the article of clothing is unique or no longer available.

If you don't have your phone handy while you're watching, you can always go back and browse Spylight later by searching actor, show, character name, or brand. If you just want to see some characters and outfits, there's a news feed you can scroll through.

Spylight app

Spylight is currently only available for iOS, and you can download the app for free over at the App Store.

SEE ALSO: You can now play 'Super Mario 64' in gorgeous HD right from your web browser

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Inside Facebook's futuristic new campus

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facebook hq

Facebook employees have started moving into the main building at the company's new headquarters.

Designed by noted architect Frank Gehry — who also designed Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall and Spain's Guggenheim Museum — the new building is a massive project several years in the making. 

"Mark Zuckerberg and I met three years and a handful months ago, and with incredible speed for this size of construction project, he’s moving into his building this month," Gehry said in a statement provided to Business Insider by Facebook. "From the start, Mark wanted a space that was unassuming, matter-of-fact and cost effective. He did not want it overly designed."

Employees officially began the move today, and though it's not yet complete, we've gotten our very first look inside. 

MPK 20 is the first building on Facebook's new campus to open for business, though it will take some time for employees to move in.



Totaling more than 430,000 square feet, it's a massive structure that will ultimately hold about 2,800 people.



One of the highlights of the new building is a nine-acre roof garden.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The US IPO market has gone cold

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The number of US companies going public has really dropped off lately.

"After a record year in 2014, the IPO market slowed dramatically in the first quarter of 2015," Renaissance Capital analysts said.

The first quarter of 2015, which ended Tuesday, was the slowest quarter for IPOs since the first quarter of 2013. While stock prices have been near all-time highs, market volatility has been escalating, turning companies off from trying to unload shares onto the public markets. 

Renaissance Capital published an analysis of IPO data from the first quarter of 2015, and found that compared to last year (when there were 64 IPOs in the first quarter of the year), these market debuts fell by more than 46%. Equally disconcerting for the banking community, the value of those offerings also fell correspondingly, from $10.6 billion in 2014 to just $5.4 billion for the first quarter of 2015:

IPO chart

By category, nearly every kind of IPO fell in number, with the notable exception of healthcare offerings. The number of financial services offerings rose from the first quarter of 2014 (5) to the first quarter of this year (9). However, the overall value of the financial services IPOs fell, by more than 50 percent. 

Other bad news from the Renaissance report centers on healthcare and biotechnology IPOs: just in the first quarter of this year, eight of the 10 worst-performing offerings were from the healthcare space.

Also, private equity offerings did little to prop up the IPO pipeline; Renaissance counted just 5 IPOs from private, the least active quarter for LBO shops since 2009. 

IPOs private equity

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A social psychologist explains how to recover from making a horrible first impression

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meeting, boss, interviewFor years and years you've been warned: First impressions are lasting.

"I wish I could take some of the pressure off people when it comes to making first impressions, but the reality is that they are really important, mostly because they are so difficult to change and because they're made remarkably quickly — usually within seconds, before you've even said a word," says Heidi Grant Halvorson, social psychologist, associate director of Columbia Business School's Motivation Science Center, and author of "No One Understands You and What to Do About It." 

Luckily, though, they're not impossible to change.

And this is great news because while first impressions can be "fairly accurate," they are never completely so — "and they can sometimes be way, way off," she explains. 

In a recent story Grant Halvorson wrote for the Harvard Business Review titled "A Second Chance to Make the Right Impression," she shares the story of her friend, Gordon, who once interviewed for a position with a prominent university.

During his visit to campus, Gordon had lunch with a senior faculty member named Bob. Upon digging in to his lunch, Bob said to Gordon, "You know, this is great. You should try this."

Not wanting to offend his potential future employer, Gordon took a bite.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly — but Gordon didn't land the gig. 

Years later Gordon learned the reason he wasn't offered the position: When Bob said, "You should try this," he meant, "You should try this sometime"— not now. He assumed Gordon was disrespectful and ill mannered — which he isn't — and had no desire to work with someone like that. 

Gordon was, however, eventually hired for a different role at that same university, and overcame that bad first impression he made on Bob.

"If you make a bad first impression, it is possible to bounce back and redeem yourself," Grant Halvorson tells Business Insider. "But it's like weight loss: You can totally do it, but it's not going to be easy, so don't believe anyone who says it will be."

First impressions are stubborn, she adds. "Our brains are very good at ignoring information that contradicts what we already believe, and at reinterpreting information so it fits with the belief you have."

For instance, if you think a colleague is a jerk, and he happens to bring you coffee one day, you're not going to think you were wrong about him — you're going to suspect his motives, and assume that he wants something from you and is buttering you up. 

Heidi Grant Halvorson

"Second impressions happen when you can get someone else to open their minds to the possibility that their first impression was wrong, and that it's worth being right," she says. "Keep in mind that people aren't consciously clinging to the first impression — it's just how brains work."

If you made a bad first impression and want to make things right, there are two routes you can take. 

The first is to present the perceiver with abundant, attention-getting evidence that they have the wrong idea about you, over a long period of time. "Going back to the coffee example: If the office jerk goes out of his way to be nice, everyday, for a couple of months, I am likely to change my mind," explains Grant Halvorson. 

The second route is to create what psychologists call "outcome interdependency."

"Basically, this means I have to count on you to get what I want — as, for example, when two people have to work closely together on a project. On an unconscious level, this makes me really want to be accurate about you, so you have an opportunity to make a second impression."

In Gordon's case, he "thought long and hard about the work that Bob (now a department head) was doing, and took every opportunity to reach out and support Bob's agenda," she writes in the Harvard Business Review. "He also made sure to project warmth during their interactions and to express himself with greater humility. After about a year, Bob invited him to participate on several key committees, and Gordon felt that the pair had established a level of trust. Nowadays, they even have friendly lunches once in a while — without sampling each other's food." 

The problem with second impressions is: most people aren't like Gordon — they never try to make one.

"It's a lot like when you try to lose weight, gain a pound, and say, 'Oh, screw it!" she says. "Making a first impression takes mere seconds — but making a second impression takes persistence. Hang in there, and it will happen."

To read more about the science of first impressions, check out Grant Halvorson's HBR piece here

SEE ALSO: The 2 most important job interview questions

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Indiana's governor seems to have a long history of opposing gay rights

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RTR2CNR5

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) apparently previously advocated far more controversial positions on gay rights than his state's controversial new "religious freedom" law.  

BuzzFeed reporter Andrew Kaczynski noted on Tuesday that the internet archiving site archiving site Wayback Machine captured Pence, a former congressman, opposing efforts to protect gays from discrimination and supporting "assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior" in 2000.

"Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual's as a 'discreet and insular minority' entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities," his website stated under the headline: "The Pence Agenda: A Guide To Renewing The America Dream." 

Pence is under intense scrutiny since last week, when he signed the "religious freedom" law. Critics say the bill aims to legalize discrimination against same-sex couples, and a number of businesses and governments have since announced economic boycotts of the state. Pence dismissed these accusations, but in a defiant Tuesday press conference, he said he now wants to change the law to fix its "perception problem." 

Pence's old campaign website contained several other controversial claims about the gay community.

He apparently advocated ending the military's former "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy that allowed gays to serve if they did not disclose their sexuality. The text on his site indicated the rule was problematic because gays should not be allowed in the armed forces under any circumstances.

"In addition to defense spending, Congress should lead a national debate on reforming the military by .... bringing an end to the 'don't ask/don't tell' policy of permitting homosexuals to serve in the armed forces. Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion," his agenda stated.

He also seemed to advocate government funding for organizations that encourage gays to renounce their homosexuality.

The "Pence Agenda" supported "an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus."

"Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior," the site said.

Pence's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the old campaign website. 

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Psychologists found the personality traits that make people fat

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Charlotte McKinney Carls Jr hamburger model eating

The next time you feel fat, don't stare at your scale wondering what went wrong.

Instead, take a personality test.

Because according to a new Swiss study cited by New York Magazine, your eating habits are unknowingly guided by your personality traits. 

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology gathered self-reported personality, eating, and food choice data from over a thousand people in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland.

"We found that a person's personality does, in fact, determine why he or she eats and what he or she eats," lead author Carmen Keller told New York.

The researchers used the most studied personality inventory, the Big 5. 

These traits are considered to remain stable over a lifetime:

• Extroversion, or how much you need contact with other people

• Openness to experience, or how much you desire novelty

• Conscientiousness, or how much you need to follow the rules

• Agreeableness, or how much you need to feel liked

• Neuroticism, or how easily your emotions are affected

Interestingly, these traits showed themselves in different eating behaviors.

Keller and his co-author Michael Siegrist report: 

• "Conscientiousness prevented consumption of sweet and savory foods and of sugar-sweetened soft drinks by promoting restrained eating."

• "Neurotic ... individuals seem to adopt counter-regulatory emotional eating and to eat high-energy, dense sweet and savory food in particular, presumably to cope with their negative emotions."

• "The higher sociability of extroverted people, which is basically a health beneficial psychological resource, seems to have health-averse effects." 

It seems neurotic people may have a tendency toward emotional eating, and extroverted people, who are more likely to eat out with friends, may be more likely to have larger portions of unhealthier food.

On the other hand, in the same way that a conscientious person has the discipline to meet deadlines, he has the wherewithal to opt for carrots instead of Cheetos when in need of an afternoon snack. 

While we shouldn't generalize the results of a small population from a small European country to the whole of human society, the study is a breakthrough in the way it connects eating with personality. 

If your success as an entrepreneur is largely shaped by your personality, then it's pretty natural that your eating habits will be, too.

Unfortunately, weight has real ramifications in business. For instance, the Guardian reports that women who are 13 pounds overweight can lose $9,000 a year in salary.

SEE ALSO: People are unconsciously sexist about how women should look at work

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Etsy thinks it's worth $1.78 billion

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Chad Dickerson 1

After filing its S1 in early March, Etsy just announced that it's expecting to launch its IPO roadshow tomorrow.

It will offer 16.67 million shares, with an initial offering price of between $14 and $16 per share. That puts its valuation in the $1.55 - $1.78 billion range (based on its total of 110,962,515 total of common stock outstanding after the IPO). 

The company says it will use the proceeds from the IPO "for working capital and general corporate purposes, including continued investments in the growth of the business." It also says that it will use $300,000 to partially fund the non-profit Etsy.org, which it launched earlier this year, and a portion to build-out its new headquarters.

Here's the updated section of the S1 filing (click to enlarge):

S1 Etsy 

Here's the full press release: 

Etsy, Inc. ["Etsy"], a marketplace where people around the world connect, both online and offline, to make, sell and buy unique goods, today announced that it expects to launch the roadshow for the initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock on April 1, 2015. The offering is for 16,666,666 shares. Etsy is offering 13,333,333 shares and the selling stockholders are offering 3,333,333 shares. The selling stockholders have also granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 2,499,999 additional shares. The initial public offering price is currently expected to be between $14.00 and $16.00 per share. Etsy has applied to list its common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "ETSY."

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. Allen & Company LLC is acting as co-manager.

Etsy plans to reserve up to 5% of the shares to be sold in the offering as part of an IPO Participation Program for individuals. The program will be administered by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Please visit http://etsyipo.morganstanley.com for more information.

The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from: Goldman, Sachs & Co., Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, via telephone: 1-866-471-2526, or via email: prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com; or Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, Second Floor, New York, New York 10014, or via email:prospectus@morganstanley.com.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

 

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Amazing chart shows the planet's longest-living animals

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For humans, reaching the age of 100 is a rare milestone. For some animals, however, it's hardly uncommon.

Not all plants and animals age the way we do, and some are built for much longer lifespans than ours. 

Of the 10 animals that live the longest, all of them live well past 100, according to a recent post in Discovery News. At the top of the list, the ocean quahog (aka the clam) lives to be 400 years old, while the runner-up bowhead whale lives to be 211. But even the animal at the bottom of the list, the warty oreo, lives 140 years. 

Take a look:Planet's_Longest_Living_Animals

There may be animals that live longer than the ones on this list (like sea sponges, a cave salamander called the human fish that seems to live to be 100, and the potentially immortal hydra), but these are the ones with lifespans that scientists have measured precisely.

These long-lived creatures raise a question: Why do some animals live so much longer than others? While dozens of researchers have asked this question, the short answer is we still don't know.

Here are some of the similarities and differences we observed in the animals above.

Slow and steady

Most of the critters on this list grow and reproduce slowly.

Take the female lake sturgeon (#7 on this list). She takes anywhere from 14-33 years just to reach sexual maturity, and she only spawns once every 4-9 years. (Male lake sturgeons develop a little faster, maturing in 8-12 years and spawning every 2-7 years). In contrast, steelhead trout mature in 2-3 years and live for only 11 years. 

Similarly, the orange roughy (#9), takes 20 years to mature. While it appears to help them with living for long periods, this slow development can be perilous for the population as a whole. Overfishing decimated the orange roughy population near Australia in the 1980s, and since the fish grows so slowly the Australian Fisheries Management Authority estimates it will take up to 65 years to get orange roughy stocks back to target levels. 

While most of the animals on this list grow slowly, the rates at which they mature and reproduce vary. Red sea urchins (#4) and ocean quahogs (#1) still spawn every year, for example. 

Bowhead whaleMostly marine

Besides Galapagos tortoises (#5) and Aldabra giant tortoises (#8), all the animals on the list live in water. Of the water-dwelling animals, five are fish, two are invertebrates (the ocean quahog and red sea urchin), and only one is a mammal (the bowhead whale). 

Size doesn't matter

The two top contenders on the list, clams and bowhead whales, couldn't be sized more differently.

While the typical ocean quahog is between 2.8 to 4.3 inches long, the bowhead whale comes in at a massive 65 feet long. 

Surprisingly, these two creatures do have one thing in common as far as size is concerned: they eat similarly sized food. While the quahog eats microscopic algae it sucks into its stomach through a straw-like siphon, the bowhead filters microscopic animals like krill through its sieve-like "teeth," called baleen plates.

SEE ALSO: These charts will radically change how you think about aging

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The US is restoring military aid to Egypt that its withheld since 2013

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egypt army tanks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday said he would ask the US Congress for $1.3 billion per year in military aid for Egypt and said he would lift holds on aircraft, missiles and tanks for Cairo in place since October 2013, the White House said in a statement.

Obama also said that the United States would discontinue starting in fiscal 2018 Egypt's use of cash flow financing, a financial mechanism that allows Egypt to buy equipment on credit, the White House said.

Obama spoke with his Egyptian counterpart, former general Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, on March 31st and informed him of the decision.

The US suspended some of its military assistance to Egypt after Sisi deposed elected president Mohammed Morsi during a wave of popular protests in July of 2013. Although US officials have never referred to Sisi's takeover from the Muslim Brotherhood leader as a "coup,"Obama withheld a planned delivery of F-16s, tanks, Harpoon missiles, and budgetary assistance the following October.

The suspension signaled US displeasure at Sisi's crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood members and supports, which included two massacres in Cairo in August of 2013. Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act also prevents the US from providing military aid to a government that takes power from the previous "duly elected" leadership by coup, although this principle is inconsistently applied.

The situation in the Middle East has changed since then Sisi's takeover. Under Sisi, Egypt has carried out military operations against Islamist groups in Libya, stepped up its security efforts along the border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and faced an ISIS-linked insurgency in the Sinai. And last week, Egypt joined in the Saudi-led operation against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and even raised the possibility of launching a ground invasion.

Egypt has increasing defense needs and is a lynchpin in a military operation led by one of the Middle East's wealthiest and most powerful states. In restoring aid, Washington may be reassuring its partners in both Cairo and Riyadh — at the same time it's negotiating a nuclear agreement with Iran what might be making those same allies nervous.

Here's the full readout of Obama's conversation with Sisi:

Screen Shot 2015 03 31 at 4.29.20 PM

SEE ALSO: A former military dictator just won Nigeria's landmark presidential election

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This app tells startup founders where they should live

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A new app called Teleport is trying to tell startup people the best places across the world for them to set up shop.

The problem solved by Teleport is simple, says co-founder and CEO Sten Tamkivi, who was previously an early executive hire at Skype and most recently an entreprenuer in residence at prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. 

"It used to be that you had to move to a place if you want a job in that place," Tamkivi says.

 Now, since technology like Slack, GoToMeeting, and Skype makes it so easy to work anywhere, and since the modern startup lifestyle requires so much travel to customers across the country and the globe, you don't have to physically be located anywhere you don't want to be. 

But figuring out the right city to start up a business takes a combination of factors. Where's your family based? What are your hobbies and interests? Where are your ideal customers? What are the costs of living in a new city? How friendly are local regulations to the business you're trying to build? Teleport app

"Those decisions are increasingly complicated," Tamkivi says.

"Top 50 Cities" lists in travel and business magazines only take you so far, since they don't take into account your particular circumstances.

It's especially important if you're trying to build a business without a huge amount of cash to start with — Tamkivi says that here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Teleport is based, a 30-minute change of commute can save you $25,000 a year.

So what Teleport does is crunch all kinds of census data, salary data, quality-of-life survey data, studies on entrepreneur-friendliness , and as much other stuff as it can get its hands on from all 100-plus target cities, and put it all behind a slick iOS and Android app that lets the user choose what's important for them.

That includes weather data, quality of Internet, and travel times to other cities you need to frequent, as well as the obvious stuff.It even pulls in data from places like Airbnb to tell you the cost of spending, say, two months a year in another city for the occassional visit with investors.  

"It's a marketplace between cities and talent," Tamkivi says.

While it's optimized for entrepreneur folks who want to find places where rent is cheap and affordable talent is plentiful (unlike San Francsico), it goes the other way, too: Developers and other tech industry types can find the centers where people are hiring at the salaries they want, across the globe.

Local governments in places like Estonia and Finland are even working with Teleport to hype themselves up as progressive, startup-friendly places to launch a tech company. 

And if you need help actually making the jump, Teleport actually employs "scouts" in select destination cities whose job it is to do the legwork and help you make the decision on whether or not that locale is for your business. 

The Teleport team first noticed the problem during their time at Andreessen Horowitz: Tamkivi had been reflecting on how hard it was to keep moving around (he's lived in places like London, Singapore, and now Palo Alto).

He reconnected while at Andreessen Horowitz with former Skype AI researcher Silver Keskküla, who had similar experiences with his own constant stints at universities across the globe. Andreessen Horowitz general partner Balaji Srinivasan saw value in the vision and joined as a co-founder himself.

After a seed investment from Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Seedcamp, and other investors and Teleport was officially founded this time last year. In fact, tomorrow, April 1st, is the company's one-year anniversary.

In the future, the company is going to experiment with multiple models for making money, including selling reports based on its data. But for now, it just wants to get up and running.

But today, the company is living the multiple-cities lifestyle it's pushing: Teleport has 8 employees across 5 countries, from Estonia to London to Germany. In fact, co-founder Keskküla moved to Columbia recently "just for the fun of it," Tamkivi says. 

 

 

 

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Kids are becoming McDonald's biggest problem

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McDonald's happy meal

McDonald's is losing a crucial set of customers: Kids.

For decades, McDonald's wooed young children to the Golden Arches with promises of Happy Meals, colorful plastic play places and costumed burger mascots. It was a tactic that helped the Big Mac chain snag lifetime customers at a young age. 

But kids aren't eating as much fast food as they did in the past. And with birth rates plunging, there are far fewer young mouths to feed.

In 2003, nearly 39% of children of the US ate fast food on any given day, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. By 2010, that share had declined 20% to just under 33%, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, birth rates have declined 9% between 2007 and 2013. 

These statistics outline a big problem for McDonald's, Warren Shoulberg writes on the industry blog The Robin Report.

"That’s 9% fewer little kids watching McDonald’s TV commercials and producing 3.4 meals to be eaten when the family goes through the drive-thru," Shoulberg writes. "Nine percent fewer kids who will grow up addicted to meat on a bun. And 9% fewer kids guilting their parents into going to see Ronald…and eating McDonald’s fries."

McDonald's happy meal

That's bad news for a company that gets 10% of its revenues from Happy Meals, and McDonald's is already feeling some of the negative effects. 

Families with a child age 12 or under represent 14.6% of McDonald's customers today, down from 18.6% in 2011, according to Technomic.

"Kids are more sophisticated," Mary Chapman, director of product innovation at Technomic, told Crain's Chicago Business in September. "They're not just looking for the Golden Arches and the toy."

But executives are ignoring this problem and instead focusing on other initiatives to revive lagging sales, such as paring down the menu and speeding up customer service, Shoulberg writes.

"One of the foundations of the McDonald’s corporate juggernaut has always been its catering to young families with kids," he writes. "Yet nowhere in any of its announcements about new plans is there much mention of appealing to kids and even if there were, therein lies the fatal flaw in any McDonald’s turnaround."

SEE ALSO: McDonald's Posts Worst Sales Decline In 10 Years

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4 things you should never do in an interview

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Interviewing

Once you've landed a job interview, you have one shot to wow the hiring manager. To do this, there are a few things you should avoid at all costs.

In a recent LinkedIn post, recruiting manager John Kirschner shared the 10 "nevers" of interviews. Here are four of our favorites: 

1. Never show up without good questions. "Interviewing is like a sales call; you uncover a need and try to fill it," writes Kirschner. "Find the real need by asking good questions. You are interviewing them as well, so this is your chance to learn more about the job, the company, the manager, the culture, etc."

Some good questions to have in your back pocket:

  • How do you see this position evolving in the next three years? 
  • Can you tell me a little about the team I'll be working with?
  • What constitutes success with this position and company?
  • What concerns or reservations do you have about me for this position?

2. Never avoid eye contact or send negative non-verbal messages. "Hiring managers will watch how you communicate and try to envision you interacting with their customers and employees," explains Kirschner. Avoid fidgeting, maintain eye contact, and listen closely, he advises. "Never ramble when answering questions, and never do all the talking. Listen 60% and answer 40% as a rule."

3. Never ask about compensation, benefits, or vacation time. "They will think that it’s all about money with you and that you would leave them for the next best offer," he says. However, if the employer brings it up, that's a good sign and you can discuss the topic. "It's a buying sign," explains Kirschner. "Answer their questions openly and honestly, and follow their lead."

4. Never bad mouth your current company. Criticizing you company or manager is never a good idea. "They could think you can’t work well with others or have a problem with authority," he writes. "Also do not share anything that would be considered confidential information."

Read the full list of interview nevers here.

SEE ALSO: Google's HR boss explains the key to preparing for an interview

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This is the guy that is REALLY forcing Indiana to fix its scary law

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Marc Benioff MSNBC

For the past week, the boom has lowered on the state of Indiana after it passed a controversial law that could encourage discrimination against members of the LGBT community.

Gov. Mike Pence went from standing firm in support of the law to saying he was now going to encourage lawmakers to "fix" the law.

Proponents of the law insist it was meant to protect business owners from being forced to do things like cater a gay wedding if gay marriage violates their religious beliefs, and that it would not cause widespread discrimination. 

But after the bill was signed, some lawmakers admitted that businesses would be allowed to post “No Gays allowed” signs in areas within Indiana.

For the past week, outrage poured out across the country from people condemning the law:

But for all the words of outrage, it was really one company, one guy, that sent the first real wallop to the state: the CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff.

Salesforce is the largest tech employer in Indiana. For weeks before the law was passed, its top executives warned there would be a price to pay if the law was signed.

And when it was signed, Marc Benioff kept his promise and immediately cancelled all events being held in Indiana, and he said employees would not be asked to travel there. Last year, one Salesforce conference alone brought in between $8 and $9 million to the city of Indianapolis, MSNBC reported. He also said Salesforce would reduce its investment in the state.

Benioff, a hugely influential figure in the Valley tech industry, then ramped up a TV and social media campaign encouraging all of the other outpourings of condemnation.

Since then, a few other companies have followed through with more substantial reactions. For instance, Angie's List this week announced it has halted indefinitely the $40 million expansion on its Indianapolis headquarters.

On Tuesday, Benioff appeared on Andrea Mitchell's MSNBC news show saying that he's not happy with the governor's promise.

He is waiting for action real action before he reinstates events and investment.

"This is a bad law and it needs to change," he said on MSNBC. "He [the governor] has not made the statement that we're waiting for. We want to make sure employees and customers are protected. We are the largest tech employer in Indiana and we bring thousands of customers to Indiana and we want them to have a great experience," Benioff said. "This law, though, is just brutal."

Benioff wants them to fix the law to "make it crystal clear that if you an LGBT member and you're walking into a cafe, there isn't going to be a sign there that says, 'No gays allowed.' You saw those legislative leaders basically make a statement yesterday saying it was ok to have a sign that says 'No gays allowed.' That's not ok."

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Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the end of 'Interstellar'

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Astrophysicist and StarTalk Radio host Neil deGrasse Tyson saw 'Interstellar' and then came by Business Insider to explain what the ending means – and if it's scientifically sound.

Produced by Will Wei. Additional camera by Devan Joseph.


StarTalk Radio is a podcast and radio program hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, where comic co-hosts, guest celebrities, and scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Follow StarTalk Radio on Twitter, and watch StarTalk Radio "Behind the Scenes" on YouTube.

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The US and Iran are going to miss a key deadline in their nuclear negotiations

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kerry zarif

Iran and a group of countries consisting of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany (called the P5+1) just missed a major negotiating deadline.

The P5+1 and Iran will continue negotiating a political framework agreement through April 1stAnd the failure to reach such an agreement means that the sides missed a March 30th deadline created when the November 2013 Joint Plan of Action was extended in November of 2014.

At the same time, the fact that the talks are continuing means the sides are convinced that they might still be close to a possible breakthrough.

What's still unclear is the form that breakthrough might take.

According to the Associated Press, the P5+1 and Iran will perhaps issue a joint statement when this round of talks concludes committing the sides to negotiate a nuclear agreement by June 30th, when that November 2014 extension to the JPOA expires. The JPOA is an interim nuclear agreement meant to create a negotiating framework for an eventual final accord.

That statement "is to be accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round" of talks according to the AP, citing diplomatic sources. But by early evening in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the negotiations are taking place, Iran had not committed to signing those documents yet, according to the AP.

Even though the sides missed a key negotiating deadline, it's not a significant enough setback to doom the negotiations entirely. The March 30th deadline is self-imposed, while it's unclear how significant the political framework really would have been to the resolution of the nuclear standoff.

Although the sides committed to reaching a "political framework" by March 31st, 2015, the JPOA doesn't mention this intermediary step. The framework agreement was first raised after the JPOA  was extended for a second time in November of 2014.

At that point, negotiations had dragged on for a year without any apparent progress. Agreeing to work towards a middle step created the appearance of growing consensus and gave the sides a realistic path to a final accord. And it accomplished this without asking the P5+1 and Iran to assume any additional risk: The November extension still remains in place even after today's missed deadline.

Iran nuclear deal None of the parties are obligated to pull out of the talks and technically speaking, there's little difference between reaching a framework agreement today and reaching one a week or even a month from now.

Even with the deadline left unmet, Iran must adhere to the limits on its nuclear program imposed under the JPOA — and the P5+1 has to continue the sanctions relief granted under that agreement.

At the same time, the sides have missed a benchmark that was contrived at a low-point in the negotiations, precisely so that Iran and the P5+1 would have an attainable short-term goal to work towards. In November of 2014, it was thought that the March deadline actually gave the sides months of unneeded leeway.

"Several of the parties expressed an intention to complete the negotiations on a political agreement in a shorter time frame,"an Arms Control Association issue brief from December 23, 2014 explained. "Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters on November 24 that a deal could be reached in a matter a days. British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond said that two to three months was a realistic goal."

It turns out that wasn't the case. Despite reported P5+1 concessions on uranium enrichment, disclosure of weaponization activities, and enrichment activity at the once-hidden Fordow nuclear facility, there's still distance between the sides on sanctions relief, uranium stockpile regulations, and nuclear research and development.

As Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American Congress and one of the top US-based advocates for closer relations between Washington and Tehran tweeted on March 31st, "When the two sides started, they had more than a hundred differences. Now, only 3 to 4 seem to remain."

The remaining questions are fundamental to the nuclear issue's resolution, and after 18 months the sides still haven't decided when and how sanctions will be phased out, or how much of its low-enriched uranium stockpiles Iran should have to ship to a foreign country.

Any one point of disagreement could prove fatal to the negotiating process and to President Barack Obama's biggest second-term legacy item. As Olli Heinonen, the former chief of safeguards at the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated on a March 31st conference call, "nothing is agreed before everything is agreed." Even with a "political framework," there's no guarantee of the P5+1 and Iran reaching a final deal.

But without one, there will be valid questions of what the sides can get accomplished at all under the JPOA framework — even if they still have another 3 months to reach a landmark nuclear agreement.

SEE ALSO: Obama's press secretary made a startling admission about what the administration wants in Yemen

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These 9 US colleges are more selective than some Ivy League schools

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Stanford University campus woman laptopIvy League admissions decisions are coming out Tuesday afternoon, meaning hundreds of thousands of kids who applied will be getting some big news today.

Although the Ivys are notoriously tough to get into — most have acceptance rates less than 10% — you might be surprised to find that there are other schools that are even more selective.

Here are the other schools that are even more selective than the Ivys, according to statistics about the fall 2014 class compiled by the Washington Post last April. We also used data about the fall 2013 class from US News & World Report when more recent data was not available. 

College of the Ozarks — 12.2%* 

This Christian college has a lower acceptance rate than Cornell and requires students to show financial need to get accepted. Students work 15 hours a week on campus and get free tuition in return. 

Claremont McKenna College— 10%

Located in southern California, Claremont boasts a competitive program. It ranked 8th best national liberal arts college, according to the US News and World Report's 2015 rankings. Its acceptance rate is lower than Dartmouth's and Cornell's.

Alice Lloyd College — 9.4%*

Alice Lloyd is located in rural Kentucky and only has 631 students currently enrolled. Its admissions rate is lower than UPenn's, Dartmouth's, and Cornell's.

CalTech, California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of Technology — 9%

Based in Pasadena, Caltech focuses on science and engineering. Its acceptance rate is lower than than Cornell's, Dartmouth's, UPenn's, and Brown's.

US Military Academy— 9%*

Also referred to as West Point or Army, cadets enrolled have their tuition paid for by the US Army. In return, they have an active-duty service obligation. Its admissions rate is lower the rates for Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth and Cornell.

University of Chicago— 8%

The 125-year-old University is situated in Chicago's Hyde Park community. Its admissions rate is lower than the rates for Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth, and Cornell.

University of ChicagoMassachusetts Institute of Technology — 8%

MIT's mascot is the beaver due to the school's "remarkable engineering and mechanical skill and its habits of industry."  Its admissions rate is lower the rates for Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth and Cornell.

US Naval Academy — 7.4%*

Also referred to as Navy, student enrolled have their tuition paid for by the U.S. Navy, and, in return, they have an active-duty service obligation. This school is more selective than Brown, UPenn, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Princeton.

Stanford — 5%

Stanford is the most selective college in the US, beating out all Ivy League institutions.

*Indicates data for the fall class of 2013.

SEE ALSO: How this private college maintains a $1 billion endowment without charging tuition

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Kentucky and UCONN are the overwhelming favorites to win the NCAA men's and women's tournaments

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Kentucky is the overwhelming favorite to go 40-0 and win the NCAA men's basketball tournament, but they are not even the most dominating college basketball team in the country.

According to the model used by Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight.com, Kentucky has a 53% chance to become champions, with Duke as the next most-likely team at just 22%.

Meanwhile, in the women's tourney, Connecticut is being given a 79% chance to win it all. None of the other teams — all No. 1 seeds — have more than a 10% chance to win.

NCAA Tournament Chart

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