Elise Hu

Why Buy A House When You Can Buy A Mountain?

Elise Hu — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:05:00 +0000

It's not your everyday real estate deal. A team of young entrepreneurs persuaded about 50 deep-pocketed investors to help them purchase a mountain. The deal just closed in April, and development on Utah's nearly 10,000-acre Powder Mountain is now underway.

"When we made those first phone calls, everybody's like, what?

Illinois Pension Crisis: This Is What Rock Bottom Looks Like

Elise Hu — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 11:03:00 +0000

Lawmakers in Illinois are headed back to work next week to address the state's $100 billion pension crisis, the worst unfunded pension liability in the nation. While almost all states faced pension funding issues during the recession, none of them are looking at a predicament as severe as in Illinois. Every day it doesn't get fixed, the burden on taxpayers grows larger.

"They are in the most dire situation of all the states," says David Draine, a senior researcher at the Pew Center on the States. "Illinois is facing a growing bill that it hasn't figured out how to pay for.

Rick Perry's War On The Blue States

Elise Hu — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:35:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1izHVRxv7Y

What You Need To Know About Changes Coming From Apple

Elise Hu — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:22:00 +0000

If you opt for the upgrade, changes are coming to your iPhone experience this fall. And if you want to shell out some cash right away, the latest line of MacBook Air computers boasts a lot more power and battery life, and the machines are available to ship today.

Apple chiefs announced their latest products and improvements Monday as part of the keynote at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

We kept an eye on the two-hour presentation so you didn't have to.

A Day In The Life Of The Relentlessly Tracked

Elise Hu — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:23:00 +0000

Controversy is raging over a court order allowing the FBI and the National Security Agency to seize aggregate information of millions of Verizon customer phone calls.

What Happens To Spelling Bee Kids? Years Later, The Prize Is Perspective

Elise Hu — Tue, 28 May 2013 19:34:00 +0000

For an academic contest pitting young spellers against the dictionary, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has taken on the intensity of the fiercest athletic events. Feeling the warmth of television lights — not to mention nerves and distractions — all while sports commentators are analyzing your "style" and approach is something only a select club of young word-nerdy Americans gets to experience.

Yahoo's Other Billion Dollar Bets: Where Are They Now?

Elise Hu — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:29:00 +0000

Yahoo's $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr could be considered a bargain compared with its other big-dollar bets. The company's history is dotted with pricey purchases of once-hot Web properties that had more promise than eventual purpose. A look back:

GeoCities, 1999: $3.7 Billion

When Yahoo!

A Mile-High Hack: An App That Could Remotely Hijack Planes

Elise Hu — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:18:00 +0000

The Federal Aviation Administration continues work on its multibillion-dollar upgrade to the nation's air traffic control system, but it may not be enough to stop hackers from taking control of airplanes with a smartphone.

That's the warning from pilot and IT consultant Hugo Teso, who demonstrated how easy it would be to exploit traffic control systems at the Hack In The Box security conference in Amsterdam this week.

100 Hours On The Supreme Court's Sidewalk: Camping Out For A Seat To History

Elise Hu — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 18:58:00 +0000

Overnight temperatures are dipping below freezing and the forecast calls for snow, but cold, boredom and discomfort haven't stopped more than 30 Supreme Court die-hards from camping out for a seat to history.

"I just really wanted to be part of this moment, so I had been planning to come down for months," said Darienn Powers, a college student who came to Washington from New York.

Scientists: 'No Options' To Stop Massive Asteroids On Collision Course

Elise Hu — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:35:00 +0000

Without "a few years" warning, humans currently have no capacity to stop an asteroid on a collision course with the planet, scientists told a Senate panel Wednesday.

"Right now we have no options," said former astronaut Ed Lu.

Self-Tracking Apps To Help You 'Quantify' Yourself

Elise Hu — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:29:00 +0000

Technology has made it easier than ever to track your activity levels, your sleep cycles, how you spend your time, and more. The self-trackers who near-obsessively capture and analyze their own data are part of a growing "Quantified Self" movement.

Interested in giving self-tracking a try?

The Most Talked About Tech And Culture Trends At SXSW Interactive

Elise Hu — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:20:00 +0000

Everywhere you walk in downtown Austin, Texas, new names compete for the attention of the tens of thousands wandering the SXSW Interactive festival. Which of this year's emerging ideas and brands — MakerBot, Leap Motion, Geomagic — will break into mainstream consciousness? Here's a quick rundown of the conversation topics in coffee lines, and some notes on appearances and panels that caught our attention:

Beyond The Keyboard And Mouse

Gamers are used to devices like Xbox Kinect that read our body's waving and swiping motions.

Working From Home: The End Of Productivity Or The Future Of Work?

Elise Hu — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:13:00 +0000

In its bid to reshape itself for the future, Yahoo is returning to a workplace culture of the tech industry's past. The Internet giant has reportedly notified its employees they'll no longer be allowed to work from home.

The Four Biggest Best Picture Oscar Upsets, Statistically Speaking

Elise Hu — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:56:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfQs7WbVse8

Cash-Strapped Postal Service To Launch A New Clothing Line

Elise Hu — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:05:00 +0000

The U.S. Postal Service is getting creative in its search for new revenue after last year's $15.9 billion budget shortfall. The agency says it will debut a new clothing and accessories line called Rain Heat & Snow, inspired by its unofficial motto: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

The line will not feature the navy blue shorts, safari hats and other uniform staples of your mail carrier.

The Blizzard 'Nemo' Highlights The Hype Cycle Of Storms

Elise Hu — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 15:11:00 +0000

If you've wondered why the blizzard dumping snow on the Northeast has a name, look no further than The Weather Channel.

Pop-Up Politics: 2012 General Election Edition

Elise Hu — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:00:00 +0000

If you want a little background and perspective to what the presidential candidates are saying — as they're saying it — then our "Pop-Up Politics" videos are for you. As VH1 did with music videos, we've added pop-up bubbles and animation to stump speeches to give context to the candidates' statements on the war in Afghanistan, energy and the economy.

Click an image below to launch an animated video. We've included links under the videos to sources, where you can further explore statements and candidate positions. (We recommend Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer 9.

Presidential Debates Can Be Great Theater, But How Much Do They Matter?

Elise Hu — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:58:00 +0000
Even before the final balloons fell on the Republican and Democratic conventions, pundits were talking up the next big American political viewing experience — the presidential debates.
These match-ups, in which candidates actually share a stage after months of bruising one another from far range, can lead to moments of rhetorical brilliance, or the opposite — getting caught off-guard and making a gaffe.
Historically, debates have been seen as potential "game changers" in tight races.

11 Takeaways From Mark Zuckerberg's First Post-Facebook IPO Interview

Elise Hu — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 23:17:00 +0000
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave his first public interview after his tech company's rocky IPO and the disappointing stock performance that followed. Facebook's share price is now worth about $19 — half as much as it was priced back in May when its stock first went on the market.
Zuckerberg took questions from Michael Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, a San Francisco conference for startups.

Publisher Pulls Controversial Thomas Jefferson Book, Citing Loss Of Confidence

Elise Hu — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:21:00 +0000
Citing a loss of confidence in the book's details, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson is ending the publication and distribution of the bestseller, The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson.
The controversial book was written by Texas evangelical David Barton, who NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty profiled on All Things Considered Wednesday.