Mark Zuckerberg defends Internet.org: 'It matters to the kinds of investors we want'

Mark Zuckerberg has a clear message to Facebook investors: If you don't like the idea of Internet.org, then get out of the stock.

That was the takeaway from an impassioned response Mark Zuckerberg gave during Facebook's earnings call Wednesday after an analyst questioned why investors should care about Internet.org, Facebook's ongoing effort to make the Internet accessible in developing markets around the world

See also: Facebook in 2015: Drones, messaging and virtual reality, oh my!

"It matters to the kinds of investors we want to have," Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and CEO, in a not-so-subtle dig at the question and any investors who may agree with its sentiment. "Part of the subtext of your question is that, yeah, if we are only focused on making money, we might put all of our energy into increasing ads to people in the U.S. and other countries." Read more...

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Facebook boasts nearly 1.4B monthly users in newly released data

Love it or loathe it, Facebook is as integral to our day-to-day lives as checking email or texting that special someone. And in case there was any doubt, the social network unleashed new data on Wednesday to prove it.

Nearly 1.4 billion people around the world use Facebook every month. Some 890 million people visit it daily and now view more than 3 billion videos a day. Unsurprisingly, much of the growth is happening on the mobile side. Almost half of Facebook's 1.89 billion mobile users now check the social network exclusively on their phones and tablets. In other words? While most people continue to use their desktop computers to share, like and comment, mobile-only use is quickly catching up Read more...

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McDonald's CEO resigns, stock immediately rises

McDonald's CEO has resigned after almost 25 years at the fast-food chain and will be replaced by its chief brand officer

Don Thompson will step down from his position at the top of the iconic restaurant business effective March 1, according to a press release from the company. He will be replaced by Steve Easterbrook, who will also serve as president of McDonald's and sit on the company's board of directors.

"It's tough to say goodbye to the McFamily, but there is a time and season for everything. I am truly confident as I pass the reins over to Steve, that he will continue to move our business and brand forward," Thompson said in the press release. Read more...

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This app tells you which friends stress you out, make you happy

Apps and wearables make it easy to track everything about your life — steps walked, hours slept, your heart rate. But a new app called pplkpr aims to quantify your relationships, collecting data about your social interactions and stripping it down to determine how you really feel when you talk to certain people.

Developers Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald launched the app (pronounced "people keeper") to allow users to look at spikes in stress or excitement levels when interacting with others

It might be obvious that a phone call with mom might kick your heart rate up a few notches, but biometric data could reveal a few unexpected findings, too. For example, working with one colleague could bring on more anxiety than working with another, or Friend A could leave you feeling way more happy than Friend B. Read more...

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Amazon to take on Google and Microsoft by offering corporate email

From setting up one of the world's largest ecommerce stores to entering the world of film and television, Amazon now plans to dive into the world of corporate email

The company will launch a product called WorkMail, a $4-per-month, per-user secure-email solution for business users, according to The Wall Street Journal

See also: Amazon's Cloud: A Supercomputer Anyone Can Rent

Although Amazon's decision to take on the likes of Google (with corporate email at $5 per user, per month) and Microsoft (also $5 per user, per month for Office 365 business email) may come as a surprise to some, it actually makes perfect sense Read more...

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5 things we learned from UK's inquiry into poisoning death of ex-Russian spy

LONDON — A public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko, the ex-Russian spy who died in 2006 after being poisoned, opened in London Tuesday

Litvinenko became violently sick in November 2006, after drinking tea with two Russian men at a London hotel. He spent three weeks in the hospital before he died. On his deathbed, Litvinenko accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his assassination.

See also: 'A nation of optimists': Russians are excited about 2015 despite it all

Here are some of the key things we've learned so far about the ex-spy's death: Read more...

1. Litvinenko's autopsy was the "most dangerous" autopsy carried out in the western world

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The next Air Force One will be a Boeing 747-8

The next U.S. presidential aircraft will be a Boeing 747-8, the Pentagon announced Wednesday

Air Force One, as the plane that carries the president is known, started as a Boeing aircraft when Eisenhower brought presidential travel into the jet age.

See also: Finally, airline food delivered to your doorstep

The current presidential fleet consists of two customized Boeing VC-25s, which are expected to be retired in 2017. Whichever plane carries the president is known as Air Force One at that time, and that is sometimes a plane other than those two craft.

“The presidential aircraft is one of the most visible symbols of the United States of America and the office of the president of the United States,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said Wednesday. “The Boeing 747-8 is the only aircraft manufactured in the United States [that] meets the necessary capabilities established to execute the presidential support mission, while reflecting the office of the president of the United States of America consistent with the national public interest.” Read more...

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Why women are smearing their lipstick for Instagram pics

It isn't a fashion faux pas in your Instagram feed — celebrities and women around the world are smearing their lipstick for a good cause.

The new #SmearforSmear social media campaign and hashtag, spearheaded by UK-based organization Jo's Cancer Trust, aims to raise awareness during Cervical Cancer Month this January. Participants post selfies with smeared lipstick, encouraging women to get regular Pap smears to screen for cervical cancer. Then, similar to the viral ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, they nominate friends and family to do the same.

See also: 3 young girls are the newest faces of health and empowerment Read more...

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Glow headphones will beam light, pulse to your heartbeat

Headphones are always getting smarter, and now they're getting brighter, too.

A new set of earbuds called Glow ($127) lets you sync with your smartphone and track your heart rate, with one illuminating differentiator: wires that glow with the light from a laser. The headphones pulse to the beat of your heart and music.

See also: 14 health and fitness wearables and gadgets worth giving

Glow, which is already picking up major traction on crowdsourcing site Kickstarter, shines for over eight hours on a charge and comes in red, green or blue.

The project has already reached its $100,000 goal, meaning early backers will receive their illuminating earpieces as early as July, if the company is able to manufacture them in time. The team says it needs to hit higher goals on Kickstarter to ensure features like the heart rate monitor. Read more...

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Supreme Court blocks 3 Oklahoma executions over drug protocol

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ordered Oklahoma to postpone lethal injections executions using a controversial sedative until the court rules in a challenge involving the drug.

The court's order Wednesday came as little surprise after both the state and the lawyers for three inmates who faced execution between now and March requested the temporary halt. The justices agreed on Friday to take up the challenge to the use of the sedative midazolam, which has been used in problematic executions in Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma.

See also: Oklahoma kills first death row inmate since botched execution Read more...

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