Hasta La Gadget!

Most of our electronic devices these days are powered by lithium-ion batteries which are great when they work, but not so great when they explode. We’ve seen that happen countless times in the past, with the more recent incidents stemming from Samsung’s snafu with the Galaxy Note 7 handset.

However it is possible that in the future we might be living in a world where exploding batteries are no longer an issue. This is thanks to researchers at the Navy who have come up with safe, rechargeable nickel-zinc batteries that not only offer up similar performance to lithium-ion batteries, but have the added benefit of not exploding on you.

Zinc is typically found in batteries of the single-use variety and not in rechargeable ones. This is due to the fact that it can form conductive dendrites over time that can cause equipment to short circuit, but thanks to work done by the US Naval Research Laboratory, they created a specially designed 3D sponge on the zinc anode that helps distribute currents more uniformly, which in turn prevents dendrites from forming.

The good news is that the NRL claims that their research is now complete which means that the technology is ready to be deployed within zinc-based alkaline batteries for both military and civilian applications. It has been estimated that the first batteries to employ this technology will make its commercial debut by the end of 2019.

Navy Researchers Build A Battery That Won’t Explode , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

WASHINGTON ― Democrats and Republicans on the Senate intelligence committee are divided on whether the panel is devoting enough resources to its investigation on Russian election interference and possible ties between Moscow and the Trump campaign.

Until this week, the committee’s investigation operated with just seven staffers who had access to classified intelligence community documents. As a result, though the investigation launched three months ago the committee has just now completed its first round of reviewing those documents. Members from both parties say the committee members are working well together, albeit at a slower pace than Democrats would like. But a simmering disagreement over the number and type of staffers needed to execute the probe could upend the fragile bipartisan cooperation.

Democrats, including ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.), have pushed for the committee to bring on additional staffers. They are particularly interested in hiring someone with a background in legal prosecutions, a Senate aide told HuffPost. The committee has no prosecutorial role ― but Democrats say that a prosecutor would bring a unique perspective to a probe that centers around the bizarre interactions between several members of President Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russian government officials.

Two members on the panel confirmed ongoing discussions about hiring a prosecutor.

“We’re not a prosecuting committee, we’re a fact-finding [committee] ― but people who have that mindset can think a little differently and see things a little differently,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) told HuffPost.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said the committee is currently making good progress but that he would like to see a prosecutor added to the team at some point. “It’s a question of timing,” King. “We’ve established the resources that we need to do that.”

But committee chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who has final say over hiring decisions, appeared to rule out bringing a prosecutor on board. If the committee discovers illegal activity, it would make a referral to the FBI or Justice Department, he told reporters Thursday.

“It would never be the function of the committee to have any prosecutors,” Burr said. He added that he is open to hiring more investigators if the need arises ― but for now, he said, the committee has “a sufficient amount of bodies” to do its job.

The committee filled two empty National Security Agency monitor positions this week, bringing to nine the total number of staffers cleared to review classified documents related to the Russia investigation. The Democrats’ pick, April Doss, is the former general counsel for intelligence law at the NSA and is scheduled to start next week. The Republicans declined to name their new hire, who also started this week.

With a two-year budget of $1.2 million and such a small staff, the resources devoted to the Senate intelligence committee’s Russia investigation pale in comparison to those of other high-profile probes. The House Select Committee on Benghazi, for example, had 46 staffers and spent as much as $3.6 million a year.

The two new hires were encouraging to Democrats, but they want to see more. “The reality is that we will need to bring on additional staff,” said the Senate aide, who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive investigation.

“We’re starting to make some progress, but there’s no reason not to make this our central priority,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) told HuffPost. “We don’t have every skill set that we might need for this sort of investigation.”

“Where we were before, we weren’t cranking through the material and potential witnesses that were necessary to get somewhere on this in a timely way,” Heinrich continued.

According to Burr, the committee has reviewed thousands of pages of intelligence and has completed about 20 interviews at a rate of two to three interviews per week. Those interviews have been mostly limited to individuals who worked on the intelligence community’s assessment that Moscow interfered with the 2016 presidential elections with the goal of helping Trump win. They have not yet interviewed the Trump campaign officials suspected of unusual communication with Russian government officials, like former advisers Michael Flynn or Carter Page. 

Asked how Republicans react in private when Democrats push for an expanded staff, the Senate aide said their response has been mixed. “They have at various times been receptive to the idea when pushed, but I do think when approached you will find them saying, ‘We’re fine, this is all on track.’”

The aide’s prediction was correct.

“They’re doing an excellent job,” Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) said. “I’m very satisfied with how things are progressing.” The Idaho Republican dismissed calls for more resources as typical bureaucratic inefficiency. “Any time you have a government agency or a government enterprise, they always want more staff ― we’re doing just fine.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute.

“There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,” Trump told Reuters in an Oval Office interview ahead of his 100th day in office on Saturday.

Nonetheless, Trump said he wanted to peacefully resolve a crisis that has bedeviled multiple U.S. presidents, a path that he and his administration are emphasizing by preparing a variety of new economic sanctions while not taking the military option off the table.

“We’d love to solve things diplomatically but it’s very difficult,” he said.

Trump lavished praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for Chinese assistance in trying to rein in North Korea. The two leaders met in Florida earlier this month.

“I believe he is trying very hard. He certainly doesn’t want to see turmoil and death. He doesn’t want to see it. He is a good man. He is a very good man and I got to know him very well.

“With that being said, he loves China and he loves the people of China. I know he would like to be able to do something, perhaps it’s possible that he can’t,” Trump said.

Trump spoke just a day after he and his top national security advisers briefed U.S. lawmakers on the North Korean threat and one day before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press the United Nations Security Council on sanctions to further isolate Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.

The Trump administration on Wednesday declared North Korea “an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority.” It said it was focusing on economic and diplomatic pressure, including Chinese cooperation in containing its defiant neighbor and ally, and remained open to negotiations.

U.S. officials said military strikes remained an option but played down the prospect, though the administration has sent an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region in a show of force.

Any direct U.S. military action would run the risk of massive North Korean retaliation and huge casualties in Japan and South Korea and among U.S. forces in both countries.

Trump, asked if he considered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to be rational, said he was operating from the assumption that he is rational. He noted that Kim had taken over his country at an early age.

“He’s 27 years old. His father dies, took over a regime. So say what you want but that is not easy, especially at that age.

“I’m not giving him credit or not giving him credit, I’m just saying that’s a very hard thing to do. As to whether or not he’s rational, I have no opinion on it. I hope he’s rational,” he said.

Trump, sipping a Coke delivered by an aide after the president ordered it by pressing a button on his desk, appeared to rebuff an overture from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who told Reuters a direct phone call with Trump could take place again after their first conversation in early December angered Beijing.

China considers neighboring Taiwan to be a renegade province.

“My problem is that I have established a very good personal relationship with President Xi,” said Trump. “I really feel that he is doing everything in his power to help us with a big situation. So I wouldn’t want to be causing difficulty right now for him.”

“So I would certainly want to speak to him first.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The first year of consumer virtual reality has been exciting, to be sure, but ask anybody in the industry, and they’ll tell you that it’s only the beginning. Engineers and developers are always chasing the next big thing in VR technology: wireless he…

In terms of design, Master & Dynamic have been killing it as of late, having recently taken the wrap off a set of speakers made out of concrete. However it looks like they’re not quite done. The company has recently announced that they have teamed up with Leica who will be helping them redesign some of their signature headphone models.

We know it is an interesting decision for a headphone company to team up with a camera company, but to be fair Leica’s cameras have typically been well-designed, so it is refreshing to see them take on something else other than a camera. The new designs will be applied to Master & Dynamic’s MW60, MH40, and ME05 headphones, as well as a black steel MP1000 headphone stand.

These aren’t new headphones but like we said, redesigned existing models so if you like what you hear, then we guess the changes will be mostly on the outside.  The MW60 and MH40 over-ear models will feature a Leica red shade, and a black-and-red color scheme. There will also be ridges on the ear cups that are supposed to mimic the ridges on the Leica lenses.

Now the good news is that the pricing of these headphones hasn’t changed from the original. They weren’t exactly cheap to begin with, but thankfully the Leica-aided design did not tack on additional costs. The MW60s will be priced at $549, the MH40s at $399, the in-ears ME05s at $199, and the MP1000 stand will set you back $59.

Master & Dynamic Team Up With Leica For Redesigned Headphones , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.