Bill Chappell

Richard Swanson didn't reach Brazil, but he found an audience

Bill Chappell — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:17:47 +0000

Hundreds of condolences are appearing online for Richard Swanson, the Seattle man whose plan to dribble a soccer ball all the way to Brazil to raise money for charity ended Tuesday after he was struck and killed by a pickup truck in Oregon.

Is Nintendo fixing a gay marriage 'bug' in new video game?

Bill Chappell — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:24:25 +0000

Days after the gaming world began to buzz with reports that Nintendo's new life simulation game allows men to marry other men, it now seems that Nintendo is removing that possibility, which by all reports was unintended.

Questions arose after players of the popular new game Tomodachi Collection: New Life realized that men could marry men. They could also date, and raise children.

Solar-powered airplane completes first leg of U.S. flight

Bill Chappell — Mon, 06 May 2013 02:51:05 +0000

The Solar Impulse, an airplane traveling across the United States using only solar power, is in Phoenix today, after reaching Arizona from California Saturday.

Star Wars fans 'use the Fourth' to celebrate

Bill Chappell — Sat, 04 May 2013 23:59:49 +0000

Today is May 4, unofficially known as Star Wars Day — seemingly for the lone reason that it presents an opportunity for people to tell one another, "May the Fourth be with you." But fans of the George Lucas films are also using the day as an excuse to break out costumes and photos, and generally let their Jedi flag fly.

You can find "full coverage" of the day over at the Star Wars website, which has launched a "microsite" to commemorate May 4. Back in February, the Walt Disney Corp.

More than $600k to have cup of coffee with Apple CEO Cook

Bill Chappell — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 01:04:14 +0000

The bidding hasn't closed yet, but a charity auction of a cup of coffee shared with Apple CEO Tim Cook has already attracted offers of more than $600,000 — more than 10 times its estimated value of $50,000. Cook is one of several celebrities taking part in the auction, which benefits the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

The coffee klatch, currently valued at $605,000, will take place at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif.

Bill Gates' 'disrespectful' handshake sparks debate

Bill Chappell — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:59:07 +0000

Microsoft founder Bill Gates met with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye Monday, part of a visit to build business ties and boost nuclear energy plans. But it was the handshake they shared that created the biggest stir in Korean society, after Gates greeted Park with a smile — and his left hand jammed into his pants pocket.

"Among Koreans, it is considered disrespectful to put one's hand in your pocket while shaking another person's hand," reports The Korea Herald. The encounter occurred at the president's official residence.

Portland city employee is arrested, accused in 2009 terror attack

Bill Chappell — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:19:18 +0000

A Portland, Ore., resident was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. The FBI alleges that Reaz Qadir Khan, 48, gave money and advice to a man involved in a deadly 2009 suicide bomb attack on the headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence service in Lahore.

The attack resulted in an estimated 30 deaths and 300 injuries. Khan, a naturalized U.S. citizen, could face a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is found guilty.

Study of used cars recommends buying newly launched models

Bill Chappell — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:07:47 +0000

In the 2010 model year, the most dependable cars and trucks were either new to the market or had been through a major redesign, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates.

Outsourced: Employee sends own job to China; surfs the web

Bill Chappell — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 22:26:24 +0000

What began as a company's suspicion that its infrastructure was being hacked turned into a case of a worker outsourcing his own job to a Chinese consulting firm, according to reports that cite an investigation by Verizon's security team.

Breweries must share 'Budweiser' name, British court rules

Bill Chappell — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:21:07 +0000

The word "Budweiser" will continue to mean two different things in Britain, where the brand name has been a bone of contention for more than a decade. The U.K. Supreme Court has ruled against Anheuser-Busch InBev's request to stop Czech brewery Budvar from selling beer under the Budweiser name.

Budvar is much smaller than its AB-Inbev-owned rival. And while Anheuser-Busch was first to seek to trademark the Budweiser name in Britian, the Czech company entered the British market one year ahead of the then-St.

Facebook unveils new graph search, adding a new 'pillar' to services

Bill Chappell — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:16:23 +0000

Users of Facebook will soon have a new search tool at their disposal, the leaders of the company announced Tuesday during a live event.

Kickstarter pledges topped $320M in 2012; Site names year's top projects

Bill Chappell — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 23:00:01 +0000

Kickstarter, the crowd-funding site that pairs indie-minded inventors and entrepreneurs with online investors, fully funded more than 18,000 projects in 2012, according to its end-of-year analysis. The site says that in total, more than 2.2 million people pledged a total of nearly $320 million. For the year, 17 projects raised more than $1 million.

Those numbers come from Kickstarter's look back at 2012 — a year in which the site raised $606.76 every minute.

House votes to approve 'Fiscal Cliff' legislation

Bill Chappell — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 10:03:10 +0000

The House of Representatives voted 257-167 late Tuesday to pass a Senate-approved compromise deal that stops large tax increases for 99 percent of Americans, and delays massive spending cuts for two months.

The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.

NPR's S.V. Date is reporting on the deal for our Newscast unit. Here's what he says:

"The eventual deal was hammered out by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden.

Vigils and support for victims and families in greif-stricken Newtown

Bill Chappell — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 06:29:32 +0000

Hours after a Connecticut community was riven by a deadly gun assault on an elementary school's students and staff, residents reached out to support one another, and to grieve.

In Seattle, 'rainiest day of the year' defends its title

Bill Chappell — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:26:17 +0000

It's Rain Day in Seattle — or at least that's what the city should consider calling November 19. As KOMO-TV reports, Nov. 19 "is statistically the most likely day to have rain in Seattle," with wet weather hitting the city on 89 out of the past 120 years, including today's deluge.

No other day reportedly comes close to matching that number in Seattle, a city famous for its frequent rainfall. By noon today, the rainfall had already set a new record for daily accumulation on Nov.