Congressman Asks Linda McMahon Question Every Wrestling Fan Wants To Know

Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa) had one final question for former WWE CEO Linda McMahon on Wednesday, when the now-Small Business Administration head appeared before a congressional hearing.

“I want to address the 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one has asked you so far,” Blum said, with 45 seconds left of his questioning time.

“Why did it take John Cena so long to propose marriage to Nikki Bella?”

Cena surprised his longtime girlfriend, Nikki Bella, in the center of the ring with a proposal during WrestleMania 33 on Sunday.

McMahon smiled and said the congressman would have to ask Cena himself. 

President Donald Trump tapped the former GOP Senate candidate to run the Small Business Administration. McMahon co-founded the professional wrestling franchise WWE and was its CEO before launching a career in politics. 

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Amazon replaces battery forklifts with fast-fueling hydrogen ones

Amazon will replace its forklifts’ batteries in 11 warehouses with an alternative power source: hydrogen fuel cells (HFC). The e-retail giant is investing millions in the technology, acquiring the right to buy up to 23 percent of hydrogen fuel cell m…

Android Nougat nearly doubles its reach in April

Android releases and their rollouts are almost as much a game of chance is they are software engineering. You almost never know when or even if your old smartphone will get the latest. Sometimes, even newer devices don’t exactly come with the latest Android version. So when that latest Android version, 7.0 and 7.1 Nougat, jumps to almost double its … Continue reading

Iowa Poised To Approve Controversial Gun-Rights Measures

(Reuters) – Iowa lawmakers approved on Thursday amended legislation that would enact sweeping changes to the state’s gun regulations, including a “stand your ground” provision, and sent it to the governor for final approval.

The bill, backed by the National Rifle Association, says a law-abiding person does not have to retreat before using deadly force.

A similar measure in Florida was thrust into the national spotlight in 2012 after the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder after the law was included in jury instructions.

At least 24 other states have similar measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Iowa bill allows for children under the age of 14 to use handguns while under the supervision of an adult who is 21 or older. It also says gun owners with permits can bring concealed handguns into capitol buildings.

Republican state Representative Matt Windschitl said on the House floor on Thursday the bill was, “the most monumental piece of Second Amendment legislation this state has ever seen.”

The bill also would make gun permits valid for five years, with a background check required when the permit is issued. Under the current law, permits are valid for one year with an annual background check.

The bill passed the state Senate on Tuesday and the House last month. The House voted on it again on Thursday to approve changes made in the Senate before advancing it to the desk of Republican Governor Terry Branstad.

A spokesman for Branstad said in an email that the governor will review the bill.

The bill has been criticized by gun control advocates, who say it could increase gun violence.

“We have had very good gun laws,” the Reverend Cheryl Thomas of Iowans for Gun Safety said by telephone. “With the passage of this law, we are going to lose that status.”

Iowans for Gun Safety wants Branstad to veto the measure.

Previous attempts to change the state’s gun regulations have been blocked by Democrats, who held a majority in the Senate until November.

Following the election, Republican lawmakers control the Senate, House and governor’s office for the first time in nearly two decades.

Republicans have used their majority to push through a number of bills during this legislative session, including drastic changes to the state’s collective bargaining laws.

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Stephen Colbert Mocks Steve Bannon Over His Removal From National Security Council

Stephen Colbert poked fun at the reported power struggle between Donald Trump’s son-in-law/senior adviser Jared Kushner and the president’s chief strategist Steve Bannon on Thursday.

Following reports that Kushner helped push Bannon from the National Security Council, the “Late Show” host said he “wasn’t surprised” because there was “known friction” between the pair.

Colbert also noted how Bannon allegedly used derogatory terms for Kushner, but then tore into the former Breitbart News executive chairman for going back on one of his promises.

Check out the segment above. 

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Joan Baez Tears Into 'Future Dictator' Donald Trump In New 'Nasty Man' Song

Joan Baez is back with “a little song about a man gone wrong.”

In “Nasty Man,” the legendary 76-year-old folk singer and activist takes aim at “future dictator” Donald Trump for “building up his evil empire.”

Baez tells the president that he “owes the Earth a pardon” before ridiculing his plans for a Mexico-U.S. border wall.

In the final verse, Baez pokes fun at Trump’s use of Twitter and predicts a time when he’s outdated.

“When the dirt on this man

finally hits the fan,

and no one gives a damn about his tweets,

he’ll be finally and forever obsolete.”

Baez posted a video of the song on Facebook Tuesday.

Despite her claiming in a Rolling Stone interview that it’s “not a good song, but it will make people laugh,” the clip has since garnered more than 2.8 million views.

Check out the full song above.

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Galaxy S8 Bixby button can be repurposed with this app

You know that Samsung really wants Bixby to be its next big thing when it dedicated a physical button just for it. Pretty much like how older Sony Xperia phones had a physical shutter button to emphasize their photographic bent. Not everyone, however, is going to be a fan of Bixby, which means that’s one hardware button wasted. Not unless … Continue reading

Kremlin Says Syria Missile Strike Harms U.S.-Russian Relations

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The Kremlin condemned Thursday’s military strike by the United States on an airbase in Syria, saying the action significantly harmed U.S.-Russian relations and were conducted under a “made-up pretext.”

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, called the attack an “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law.” He was also quoted as saying the country did not believe Syria had chemical weapons, Reuters and the Russian-sponsored news network RT reported.

The U.S. launched the strike, its first direct assault against the Syrian government, in response to a Tuesday chemical weapon attack allegedly carried out by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces. The chemical attack left at least 70 dead, including children.

“Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “Even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered at this very barbaric attack. No child of God should ever suffer such horror.”

Pentagon officials said Russia was informed before the attack, but Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. “sought no approval from Moscow” ahead of the initiative, Reuters reported.

“Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line,” Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement to reporters. “U.S. military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield.”

“The use of chemical weapons against innocent people will not be tolerated,” Davis added.

Russia has been a longtime ally of Assad, but became an entrenched part of the Syrian civil war after launching a large-scale air campaign in support of Assad-allied forces in September 2015. Russia’s airstrikes were a decisive turning point for the Syrian strongman, whose hold on the country had become increasingly imperiled that year amid rebel advances.

In the wake of Tuesday’s chemical weapon attack, Russia stood by its ally and denied that forces loyal to Assad carried it out. Instead, Moscow claimed that rebel forces in the country’s Idlib province were storing the gas and that it was released in an airstrike. International experts refuted that assessment.

The Kremlin on Wednesday also objected to a draft United Nations Security Council proposal brought by the United States, France and Britain calling for action in the wake of the chemical attack. In response, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley suggested that the White House could take unilateral action. 

Nick Robins-Early contributed reporting. 

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Climate change could make future flights a lot rougher

Airplane rides could get extra bumpy in the future thanks to climate change. Turbulence could become two to three times more common because of it, according to a new study from the University of Reading.

Even A Museum Dedicated To Coal Is Powering Itself On Renewable Energy

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Of all buildings to run on renewable energy, a museum dedicated to coal wouldn’t immediately come to mind.

But the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham is installing solar panels on its roof to cut energy costs, reports local CBS news station WYMT.

The building is owned by Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. The move has been described as “a little ironic” by the college’s communications director, Brandon Robinson, and by former state Rep. Roger Noe.

The Associated Press wondered if it was merely “a sign of our times.”

Robinson told WYMT that the college expects to save $8,000 to $10,000 a year on energy costs.

According to a town website, Benham, in Harlan County, Kentucky, describes itself as “the little town that International Harvester, coal miners and their families built!”

A former coal camp town, Benham once had a population of 3,000, according to the Associated Press, and now has about 500 residents.

The museum is dedicated to “the life of a coal miner and his family as they struggled to make a life for themselves not knowing how valuable their contributions were to the industrialization of the 20th century.”

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