Kendall Jenner is trying to distance herself from her famous Kardashian/Jenner family in an effort to make it as a serious model. Jenner, 19, spoke to ABC’s “Nightline,” where she admitted that she’s trying to make a name for herself despite being a part of a family that is in the news constantly and in tabloid magazines. “I’m not trying to use a family or anything,” Jenner said. “In reality, I worked pretty hard for this … It wasn’t like I just got it magically and it just happened.” According to Yahoo, Jenner’s hard work has definitely paid off. The young model was name...
Scientists at NASA are testing a new aircraft wing surface capable of changing shape during flight, which aims to make airliners quieter and significantly boost fuel efficiency. Researchers have replaced an airplane’s traditional aluminum flaps with “shape-changing assemblies” that can form bendable and twistable surfaces, according to NASA. “Flight testing will determine whether flexible trailing-edge wing flaps are a viable approach to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce noise generated during takeoffs and landings,” it said, in a statement. Part of a research project called Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE), which inv...
Edinburgh-based hip-hop trio Young Fathers have won the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for the best British or Irish record of the last 12 months. Their record, Dead, beat 11 other albums from acts including Damon Albarn, Bombay Bicycle Club and bookmakers’ favourite, FKA Twigs. “We’ll take it in our stride,” said band member Graham ‘G’ Hastings. “We always wanted to make something bigger than the city we were living in.” The winner of the £20,000 prize was announced by DJ Nick Grimshaw at the Roundhouse in north London. In a brief acceptance speech, the band’s Alloysious Massaquoi said s...
Perfectly good lots aren’t being developed for homes, even though hundreds of millions of people worldwide live in homes that are unsafe, inadequate, or barely affordable, says a new report by McKinsey Global Institute. Even in densely populated New York City, the report says, one of every 10 acres of land zoned for residential development is vacant. “Unlocking land supply at the right location is the most critical step in providing affordable housing,” the report’s authors write. Land may be cheap and plentiful in rural areas, but in the cities that the world is flocking to it’s “not uncommon” for land costs to exceed 40 percen...
A sudden plunge in mortgage rates this week raised an urgent question for millions of Americans: Should I refinance my mortgage? Across the country, homeowners and would-be homeowners eager for a bargain rate fired off inquiries to lenders. The opportunity emerged from the tumult that seized financial markets and sent stock prices and bond yields tumbling. Rates on long-term mortgages tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield, which fell below 2% for the first time since May 2013. Accordingly, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported, dipped below 4% to 3.97% — a tantalizing figure. As recently as Ja...
(Reuters) – The superheroes of DC Comics will battle the Marvel heroes at the box office, as Warner Bros. confirmed plans for upcoming films on Wednesday that include new installments of “The Lego Movie” franchise and expansions of the “Harry Potter” world. Masked hero Batman will get a starring role with Ben Affleck’s portrayal in Zack Snyder’s anticipated 2016 release of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Affleck will reprise the role for Snyder’s 2017’s “Justice League Part One” with Henry Cavill returning as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Snyder will al...
Snapchat is envied by many. The company is valued at $10 billion with essentially no revenue. That is about to change. Speaking at Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in San Francisco Wednesday night, Evan Spiegel, a cofounder of Snapchat, said the company will soon debut ads, which will be featured in the Snapchat Stories feature. Users will be able to opt-out of ads. Mr. Spiegel says the ads won’t be targeted, but he didn’t say when the company will begin selling them. “We’re cutting through a lot of the new technology stuff around ads to sort of the core of it, which I think has always been telling a story that lea...
Fending off Rupert Murdoch may have been the easy bit for Time Warner (TWX). The company in which HBO gets all the love has plenty of challenged cable properties, from CNN and TNT to TruTV. One step in rejuvenating those brands involves a staff cut of 10 percent—about 1,475 jobs—at Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting unit. The reorganization is part of an initiative, dubbed Turner 2020, designed to “focus resources and prioritize investment” across the cable channels, the company said in a news release. The job losses affect 18 Turner offices worldwide, with the brunt of the cuts expected in Atlanta, where the division is based. About...
It’s shocking that one in three pet owners say they never take their dogs for a walk, and only a little more than half walk them at least once a day, according to a survey of 4000 dog owners by Pet360. Many pet owners think it is enough to let their pet roam in the yard rather than go for a walk. It’s likely that playing in the yard isn’t enough, as a survey of veterinarians by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention in 2012 found that 52.5% of dogs were overweight or obese. As for their owners, 60% of us likewise need to lose some weight. Walking with your dog is a great way to get in the minimum recommended 30 minutes o...
THERE are times in everyone’s life when only a hug will do. Now one Japanese company has come up with a chair that’s always ready to give a comforting cuddle. The “tranquility chair” is built in the shape of a larger-than-life fabric doll with a friendly face and a fetching hat, but more importantly, it has long arms that wrap around the user in an affectionate embrace. “It makes you feel safe. Anyone can use it, but it is designed for older people,” said a spokesman for UniCare, which is selling the chair, at the International Home Care and Rehabilitation Exhibition in Tokyo. Around a quarter of Japan’s population is current...