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Viber is launching Viber Communities, group chats for up to 1B users

Viber is launching Viber Communities, group chats for up to 1B users Messaging apps have seen a surge of popularity in recent years as people seek ways to communicate more directly than on social networks. But they also have been adding large group chat options into the mix, to give a more social experience on those messaging platforms. Now messaging app Viber is introducing the biggest group chat of them all. In a bid to drive more usage and bring in more users to the app, Viber is launching a…

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Breaking News 

Trump: Lawmakers 'afraid' of NRA gun lobby group

Trump: Lawmakers 'afraid' of NRA gun lobby group Media playback is unsupported on your device US President Donald Trump has told a group of lawmakers not to be so “petrified” of the powerful gun lobby the National Rifle Association (NRA). During a bipartisan summit to discuss gun safety, Mr Trump urged lawmakers to come up with a comprehensive bill on gun reform. Mr Trump suggested expanding background checks for gun buyers and raising the legal age to buy rifles to 21 from 18. He held the meeting in the wake…

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Amazon Prime Video will now show pay-per-view UFC fights

Amazon Prime Video will now show pay-per-view UFC fights If you’re a UFC fan you’ll now have another place to watch fights – Amazon Prime Video. The online retailers just announced that starting with UFC 222 on March 3rd, all pay-per-view UFC fights will be available to buy and watch on Amazon prime. Fights can be preordered and also purchased up to four hours after the start time (in case you want to tune in late just for a title fight) and purchasers will also be able to rewind during…

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Virtualitics grabs another $7M in funding to drive its VR data visualization platform

Virtualitics grabs another M in funding to drive its VR data visualization platform After raising $4.4 million last March, Virtualitics has closed a $7 million Series B round led by Centricus with participation from The VR Fund. The startup is building a sort of “Excel for VR,” that lets people see data in a more immersive and collaborative way. “[B]usiness intelligence platforms need to be 3D and collaborative by design in order to help companies gain a deeper level of understanding in the stories being told by the raw data,” Virtualitics…

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Business 

It's snowing - can I refuse to go to work?

It's snowing - can I refuse to go to work? It may be making everywhere look beautiful but the heavy snow affecting large swathes of the UK is making it tough for many people to get to work. Commuters have been warned of major disruption on the road and rail networks after the “Beast from the East” brought a second day of snow. And there’s more on the way with Storm Emma bringing more ice and snow, with the wintry conditions expected until the end of the week. So what…

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U.S. Olympic Committee chief steps down amid abuse scandal fallout

U.S. Olympic Committee chief steps down amid abuse scandal fallout DENVER (Reuters) - U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Scott Blackmun is resigning for health reasons, the organization said on Wednesday, following months of sustained criticism stemming from the sex abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. In a statement, the USOC cited Blackmun’s “ongoing health issues” related to prostate cancer, for which he has been receiving treatment. The group also announced new reforms aimed at protecting its athletes from abuse. The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based USOC, which announced the…

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Couples lug AR-15 assault rifles to Pennsylvania church blessing

Couples lug AR-15 assault rifles to Pennsylvania church blessing NEWFOUNDLAND, Pa. (Reuters) - Hundreds of couples toting AR-15 rifles packed a Unification church in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to have their marriages blessed and their weapons celebrated as “rods of iron” that could have saved lives in a recent Florida school shooting. Women dressed in white and men in dark suits gripped the guns, which they had been urged to bring unloaded to the church in the rural Pocono Mountains, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Philadelphia. Many celebrants wore…

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Going public pits Spotify’s suggestions versus everyone

Going public pits Spotify’s suggestions versus everyone The secret to Spotify’s public market debut is actually an acquisition it made in 2014. The Echo Nest was powering music recommendations for Beats Music, Rdio, Vevo, and iHeartRadio too before Spotify pulled it out from under them by buying it for a reported $100 million — 90 percent in Spotify equity. That deal paid off big time, as it’s turned the startup from a daunting search box for 35 million songs into a personalized mixtape. Today, in Spotify’s SEC filing to go public…

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Llorente treble fires Spurs after more VAR chaos

Llorente treble fires Spurs after more VAR chaos LONDON (Reuters) - Fernando Llorente’s hat-trick helped fire Tottenham Hotspur to a crushing 6-1 victory over third-tier Rochdale on Wednesday in an FA Cup fifth-round replay packed with contentious decisions that thrust the VAR system back into the spotlight. Llorente’s second-half treble, a double from Son Heung-min and a late effort from Kyle Walker-Peters in driving snow at a freezing Wembley Stadium settled an game where tensions had threatened to bubble over before the break. Slideshow (4 Images) The Video Assistant Referee…

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See you tonight in New York

See you tonight in New York A reminder that I’m going to have Paul Vigna and Michael Casey, authors of The Truth Machine, onstage with me next week at Knotel, a co-working and event space in Manhattan. I’ll see you there tonight. RSVPs are closed. It starts at 7pm and will feature a 35-minute talk with two of the top writers in crypto. These guys literally wrote the book on bitcoin and their new book is about to hit store shelves. We may have a few pitches after the talk….

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