| Rampage gunman's motive a mystery
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Travel junk fees are out of control
There's a lawsuit in California right now that's concerned with junk fees not being revealed until after you get to the car rental counter. This makes Internet comparison shopping very difficult. The lowest price you see online may be fake because it doesn't reflect junk fees. With airfare, the actual price is usually about 20 percent higher than the advertised price. What kind of junk fees are most common? For air travel, the passenger facility charge (PFC) is a biggie. This is where the terminal charges you for walking their halls -- a completely bogus charge that they convinced Congress to approve. Then you have a charge per flight segment, a federal security service charge and others. .
A new ID system will make US citizens more secure, according to the ...
However, even the older folks will need one of the new IDs in order to board a plane by 2017. The new licenses will include three additional security layers, but no microchips -- yet. This will likely comfort some of RFID's vocal opponents. Secretary of State offices will now take pictures for licenses at the start, instead of the end the application process, so upon rejection, the person will be put in the system in case they try to return or forge a license. Additionally, it'll mandate all states to perform social security checks when licensing. This program is representative of the major government drive in recent years to increase security, even at the expense of cost and privacy. Many of the stateside logistics are already in place in some states; others will be forced to update their procedures. Meanwhile on the federal level, the government must embark on the massive task of network citizen data between its branches and attempting to keep this data secure.
Kayak.com Secures $196M Financing Round
NORWALK, Conn., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Kayak.com, the world's largest travel search engine, today announced the completion of a $196 million financing round. Kayak.com will use this investment to complete a merger with SideStep, Inc. and to pursue a more aggressive worldwide expansion. As part of this transaction, Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital will join Kayak.com's Board of Directors. "Kayak.com has become the Internet's best destination for clear and objective travel information," said Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital. "Kayak.com's merger with SideStep.com reshapes the largest sector in online commerce." Other participants in the financing round include existing Kayak.com investors General Catalyst Partners and Accel Partners, SideStep investors Norwest Venture Partners and Trident Capital, new investors Oak Investment Partners and Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, and debt lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Gold Hill Capital.
Hobbit hominids were 'dwarf cretins'
AUSTRALIAN scientists are causing controversy in the usually placid world of anthropology, becoming embroiled in a feud about diminutive "hobbit" people whose fossilised remains were found in a cave on a remote Indonesian island four years ago. Combatting a bid to have the hobbits enshrined as a separate branch of the human family tree, they argue the tiny cave-dwellers were simply Homo sapiens who became stunted and retarded as a result of iodine deficiency in pregnancy. Dubbed after the wee folk in J.R.R. Tolkien's tale, the hominids - just a metre tall and with a chimp-sized brain - lived around 18,000 years ago on the island of Flores. The Australian-Indonesian team which announced the discovery in 2004 honoured the cave-dwellers with the name of "Homo floresiensis," or "Man of Flores," to bolster their claim that the hobbits were a new species of human.
Incredibly cool car rentals
America might have invented “car culture," but there's a strong case to be made for lusting after European luxury. And while possession may seem the obvious goal, the duration of that possession is always relative. So ask yourself which is better: owning a Maserati you can never drive? Or driving a Maserati you could never own? More and more car aficionados are exercising the latter option, through rental agencies that specialize in luxury auto and high-end driving clubs. Across the country and abroad, fleets of the newest, sweetest rides—Ferraris, Aston Martins, Audis, Lamborghinis—are available for all, at a price—without the hassles of garaging, maintenance and repair. Exotic car rentals are often the first step, followed by car clubs. In these automotive versions of the members-only country club, well-heeled car enthusiasts pony up initial membership payment, and then annual dues—in exchange for the keys to a cadre of top-end vehicles.
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