Ask Google Assistant to Read You a Bedtime Story

Google wants to read you a bedtime story, and thanks to Google Assistant, the company can do just that. This Google Assistant feature, called Tell Me a Story, prompts Google to tell you a story through your phone. Which could be a Godsend for parents.

Hey Google, Tell Me a Story

In 2017, Google enabled a new feature enabling you to ask Google Assistant to tell you (or your kids) a story. Unfortunately, it only worked on Google Home devices. Making the same request on Android or iOS would just get you a quote or a joke, but not a story.

However, in 2019, Google rolled out this feature to more devices. So now, “Hey Google, tell me a story” will elicit the same response across Google Home, Android, and iOS. The response being that Assistant will read you one of the stories Google has curated.

How to Ask Google to Tell You a Story

On The Keyword, Google explained that Tell Me a Story allows you to hear stories like “Let’s Be Firefighters!” (Blaze and the Monster Machines) and “Robot Rampage” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). You can also ask Google to read you a bedtime story instead.

"Hey Google, tell me a story." ?

Now available on mobile, take a page from your Google Assistant this weekend for #TellAStoryDay ? https://t.co/r9evs95Hae pic.twitter.com/oqdLKO1H1b

— Google (@Google) April 25, 2019

Google launched Tell Me a Story to coincide with National Tell a Story Day, which is held on April 27 every year. However, reading should be a year-round activity, and the “Hey Google, tell me a story” command will, thankfully, work 365 days a year.

Tell Me a Story is available in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and India. All you’ll need to make use of it is an Android or iOS device with Google Assistant installed on it, as well as the latest version of the Google Play Books app.

Download: Google Assistant on Android | iOS

Download: Google Play Books on Android | iOS

Parents Are Better Than Google Assistant

This is a neat Google Assistant feature, and another tool in a parent’s arsenal when their little ones won’t go to sleep. However, having Google Assistant reading a bedtime story to your child is no substitution for doing it yourself. Especially if you do all of the voices too!

Image Credit: Marco Verch/Flickr

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How to Pin Conversations in WhatsApp

If there are particular conversations on WhatsApp you want to keep to hand, you need to pin them to your chat list. The process differs slightly between iOS and Android. However, in both cases, pinning conversations in WhatsApp is pretty straightforward.

Keep reading to learn how to pin WhatsApp conversations in Android and iOS…

How to Pin WhatsApp Conversations on iOS

Let’s begin with iOS. To pin a WhatsApp conversation in iOS, follow the instructions below:

1. Open the WhatsApp app.
2. Scroll down to the conversation you want to pin.
3. Swipe right on the conversation.
4. Tap the Pin button.

How to Pin WhatsApp Conversations on Android

If you have an Android device, use these steps to pin a WhatsApp conversation instead:

1. Open the WhatsApp app.
2. Scroll down to the conversation you want to pin.
3. Tap and hold on the conversation.
4. Tap the pin icon that appears above the list of conversations.

What Happens When You Pin a Chat in WhatsApp?

When you pin a chat in WhatsApp, it will automatically be stickied to the top of your list of conversations. You can pin up to three separate conversations simultaneously.

If you pin a second chat, it will appear above the first pin. You cannot manually reorder your list of pinned conversations, which means you might have to do a bit of fiddling to make them appear in your preferred order. If you know which three chats you want to pin before starting, add them in reverse order.

You can customize notifications and alerts for pinned chats in the same way as you would do for non-pinned chats.

How to Unpin a Conversation in WhatsApp

If you want to unpin a chat in WhatsApp, just repeat the instructions above but tap Unpin instead of Pin in the final step.

To learn more about using WhatsApp, check out our articles detailing how to enable dark mode on WhatsApp and how to hide your online status in WhatsApp.

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The Best Mobile Carrier for You: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint?

Buying your first phone in the US? Looking to switch carriers? Want to know which phone carrier is the best? The number of options available may seem overwhelming, but looks can be deceiving.

In actuality, there are only really four nationwide networks to pick from: Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

Here’s what you need to know to pick the best phone carrier in the US for you.

Verizon Wireless: The Nation’s Largest Carrier

Image Credit: Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless is the phone carrier with the largest network in the US. It has the most subscribers, and it covers the largest land area. In many rural parts of the country, this network is your only option.

Because of this size, Verizon Wireless tends to charge the most for its service. The company has a vast infrastructure to support, from towers to retail stores, as well as technicians and sales representatives. Yet Verizon does have a monopoly in some areas, and it knows many customers are willing to pay more to have the best network.

Verizon is a CDMA network, so you aren’t free to swap a SIM card between devices. You can only use phones that Verizon approves to operate on its network, and you have to contact the carrier to activate your line whenever you switch devices.

If you’re traveling abroad, Verizon may empty out your bank account. The company currently charges $5 a day for trips to Canada or Mexico and $10 a day to other countries. That’s in addition to your existing monthly bill.

AT&T: The Nation’s Largest GSM Network

Image Credit: AT&T

AT&T is the second-largest phone carrier in the US, both in subscribers and coverage. While its reach isn’t as broad as Verizon’s, the network still does a good job of serving many smaller towns and rural counties.

AT&T’s prices are comparable to Verizon, though slightly lower. On the other hand, the carrier’s prepaid plans are very competitive compared not only to Verizon but Sprint and T-Mobile as well.

Unlike Verizon, AT&T is a GSM network, so you won’t have to pay the carrier store many visits unless you run into problems. Once you activate your SIM the first time, you can move it from one phone to the next. If you have multiple phones and need to swap between them regularly, you’re going to want a GSM carrier.

You can also pick up a prepaid SIM card at a store and activate a device yourself at home the same day. And if you want maximum coverage, AT&T is the best GSM network carrier in that regard.

While AT&T is cheaper than Verizon when traveling abroad, it’s still a costly option. The carrier offers an international package that includes over 200 countries, but you’re looking at an additional $60 charge per month. That number goes up if you want more data.

You can use the AT&T network and save money by checking out Cricket Wireless instead. It’s a subsidiary of AT&T that offers cheaper, no-contract plans.

T-Mobile: The Traveler’s Friend

Image Credit: T-Mobile

T-Mobile is the third-largest carrier in terms of subscribers, but its network is very spotty. You can expect excellent speeds and performance in cities, but you may not be able to place a call if you venture to places that interstate highways don’t pass through.

If you spend most of your time in urban areas, T-Mobile offers the best bang for your buck. You’re likely to walk away with a higher data allotment and other perks, such as unlimited streaming.

Like AT&T, T-Mobile is a GSM network. That means you’re free to take your SIM from one phone to another. It’s also incredibly easy to pick up a T-Mobile prepaid SIM card in a convenience store and hit the ground running. T-Mobile is the best GSM network carrier for people who live in cities and are on a tighter budget.

T-Mobile bakes international travel to over 210 countries into its current non-prepaid plans. The top plan lands you unlimited 2G data and unlimited text, with calls at 25 cents per minute. If you leave the country regularly, T-Mobile is the way to go. Keep phone calls to a minimum, and your wallet will barely suffer at all.

Want a cheaper plan? Consider Metro, a subsidiary of T-Mobile that doesn’t cost as much.

Sprint: The Best for Your Budget

Image Credit: Sprint

Sprint is the fourth-largest carrier. It has a somewhat broad network, but you will also encounter the slowest speeds of the nationwide carriers. On the flipside, Sprint sometimes does a better job supporting smaller metropolitan areas than the big cities. If you live in one of the country’s many small-to-mid-sized cities, Sprint may serve your needs just fine.

Since Sprint isn’t able to compete with network speeds, it often comes out with lower-cost plans and deals. Sprint can be the cheapest way to get an unlimited data plan.

Sprint is a CDMA network, so you need to contact the carrier whenever you’re ready to activate a new phone. This also limits which phones you can purchase.

The unlimited data plans on offer here include unlimited talk and text, plus an allotment of LTE data in Canada and Mexico. In over 185 other countries, you get 2G data and unlimited text, with calls charged by the minute. Rates may vary by country. While not as well-respected as T-Mobile, this is still a much better deal than Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

Sprint owns brands such as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Both can provide you with a phone on Sprint’s network for even less money.

T-Mobile and Sprint Merger

Image Credit: Sprint

One thing to know going forward is that T-Mobile and Sprint are in the process of merging. If the process doesn’t hit any roadblocks from the federal government or the courts, then the two phone carriers will become one. This will combine their resources to provide better coverage than either can currently provide separately. On the flip side, the larger carrier’s prices may also change. All we can do right now is wait and see.

What About Other Mobile Networks?

Image Credit: Ting

You may live within range of a regional carrier like US Cellular. It’s the fifth-largest carrier and serves 23 states across the country.

Most other carriers are Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs). They provide cell phone connectivity without having to build and maintain their own infrastructure. Instead, they lease a nationwide carrier’s network.

Google’s Project Fi, Ting, and Republic Wireless are three popular MVNOs that use both the T-Mobile and Sprint networks. If you like the sound of Google’s mobile service, here’s everything you need to know about Project Fi.

MVNOs are often cheaper if you aren’t a heavy data user. On the downside, these services lack carrier stores, so you have to be comfortable heading online and troubleshooting yourself.

Which Mobile Carrier Is the Best for You?

There are so many factors to consider when answering this question. Where do you live? How often do you travel? Do you stream music and movies over mobile data? Do you buy unlocked phones?

No company can claim to be the best carrier in the US for all purposes and in all areas. But hopefully, you have enough information now to make an informed decision. If you’re after an unlimited plan, be sure to check out the cheapest phone plans with unlimited everything, too.

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The 6 Best Cheap Wired Earbuds Under $30

Bluetooth headphones are becoming increasingly popular and affordable, but wired earbuds do have some advantages. There are no connectivity issues, nor do they run out of battery. Importantly, they are also typically cheaper.

So long as you have a device with a 3.5mm headphone jack (or an additional adaptor), wired earbuds are still a great, cost-effective option. Here are some of the best cheap wired earbuds available today.

1. KZ ZSN

KZ ZSN KZ ZSN Buy Now On Amazon $22.99

The KZ ZSN are some of the best-sounding affordable earbuds. Their audio reproduction is so good, you may even be able to use them instead of your studio monitors in a pinch. The company has released many headphones in the past, but this set strikes the right balance between performance and price.

This pair has a bassy sound profile and can get loud enough to drown out the ambient noise around you. They’re also very comfortable, as they’re shaped in a way that fits snugly inside your ear. The outsides have metal housing while the insides are made of green, purple, or black colored plastic, which gives them a unique look.

Unlike most earbuds in this price range, these have a detachable cable. If your wire ever snaps or breaks, you can easily buy a replacement cable and swap it out in under a minute. You can also purchase a separate, Bluetooth-enabled cable that turns your pair into wireless earbuds.

2. Sony MDR-XB50AP Extra Bass

Sony MDR-XB50AP Extra Bass Sony MDR-XB50AP Extra Bass Buy Now On Amazon $26.48

Like other headphones in the Sony Extra Bass lineup, the MDR-XB50AP Extra Bass earbuds are tuned for above-average bass reproduction. The earbuds have a full-range sound, making them well-suited to most types of music and spoken word.

They have a Y-shaped flat cord to reduce tangling, too. In keeping with other Sony products, the earbuds are durable and built to last. The Sony MDR-XB50AP also has an in-built microphone and a smartphone control button that you can use to pause, play, and skip your songs.

In addition to the earbuds itself, you get four additional pairs of tips in varying sizes and a small soft pouch that you can use to carry everything. Keep in mind, though, that these are not water-resistant or splash-proof. If this is an important factor for you, others on this list may be a better choice.

3. Monster iSport Strive

Monster iSport Strive Monster iSport Strive Buy Now On Amazon

One of the primary considerations when looking at any set of in-ear headphones is whether they’ll fit your ears comfortably. The Monster iSport Strive are some of the best-fitting wired earbuds available today. The earbuds are designed for active lifestyles, with outer rubberized grips designed to sit snugly inside your ears.

Although most earbuds go inside your ear, the iSport Strive sit on top of your ear canal. This makes them more comfortable across long listening sessions and for those who don’t enjoy in-ear designs. These earbuds are also sweat-proof, making them ideal for workout sessions.

Thanks to the earpiece’s construction, the earbuds can provide noise isolation, too. The cable is flat rather than circular to prevent tangling. Despite this unusual design, the earbuds come with a three-button ControlTalk remote and microphone. This allows you to control music playback, as well as accept or reject calls.

4. Symphonized NRG 3.0

Symphonized NRG 3.0 Symphonized NRG 3.0 Buy Now On Amazon $23.99

If you’re looking for a cheap pair of earbuds with decent noise isolation, the Symphonized NRG 3.0 are a great pick. They’re well-built and offer good noise reduction. The casing on the outside of each bud is made of wood, which gives them a warmer sound than most of the other options in this price range.

They’re available in six styles that determine the shade and grain of the wood, the color of the wire, and the accent colors on the back of each earbud. Along with an in-line mic, this pair has built-in buttons that allow you to control your music app and adjust your phone’s volume in a pinch.

The NRG 3.0 ship with a hard shell carrying case that compliments the look of the earphones. They also come with six pairs of earbuds in varying sizes and styles, so you won’t have to worry about losing one or both of the attached tips.

5. Skullcandy Ink’d Mic’d 2.0

Skullcandy Ink'd Mic'd 2.0 Skullcandy Ink'd Mic'd 2.0 Buy Now On Amazon $9.95

Skullcandy is one of the most established and well-respected headphone brands around. Its products are among the best value earbuds you can find, and the Skullcandy Ink’d Mic’d 2.0 are no exception. The first thing you’ll notice is that these earphones are very cheap, even compared to the other entries on this list.

Given the price, you shouldn’t buy these expecting the highest-quality audio. That said, this set contains Skullcandy’s Supreme Sound technology, allowing for excellent sound reproduction. This same technology provides the company’s Attacking Bass experience, giving your audio a powerful low-end.

The Ink’d Mic’d 2.0 come with an in-line microphone and one-button remote. The earbuds come in a range of 10 different colors, so you’ll be sure to find something to match your style. The cable is flat, too, minimizing the amount of time you’ll spend untangling the headphones.

6. Panasonic ErgoFit

Panasonic ErgoFit Panasonic ErgoFit Buy Now On Amazon $9.99

The Panasonic ErgoFit buds are probably the most popular wired headphones of any type on Amazon, with over 50,000 reviews. There’s a good reason why. They offer decent sound reproduction, build quality, and comfort, while also being one of the cheapest options available.

The ErgoFit name comes from Panasonic’s way of designing the buds, which make them comfortable to have in your ears for extended periods. While they don’t offer the best sound reproduction, they’re fine for listening to a couple of songs at the office or watching videos on YouTube.

The base model comes without a mic, but the ErgoFit with Microphone costs just an extra few dollars. Both are available in over a dozen colors. If you need a couple of pairs of extra earbuds around the house as backups, these are a great option. They’re also a good choice for young kids.

The Best Wired Earbuds for You

Wired earbuds are still an affordable option for listening on the go. Bluetooth headphones offer a wire-free experience, but you then need to consider battery life and connectivity instead.

Even if you choose wireless headphones as your daily set, wired earbuds make a great backup option, too. That said, if you’re committed to a wire-free existence, then you should check out some of these affordable true wireless earbuds instead.

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How to Calibrate an iPhone Battery in 6 Easy Steps

Poor battery life is a perennial complaint of smartphone owners. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an iPhone or Android user; if you use your phone a lot during the day, the battery will be lucky to make it to sundown.

However, did you know that something as simple as calibrating your iPhone battery can help? Let’s take a closer look at how to calibrate an iPhone battery and why calibration is important.

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Why You Should Calibrate Your iPhone Battery

Calibrating your iPhone battery (also referred to as resetting an iPhone battery) is a surprisingly important part of iPhone maintenance. Unfortunately, many people don’t realize its benefits, and even fewer take the time to perform the necessary steps.

Without a correctly calibrated battery, you’re likely to experience inaccurate and erratic battery percentage readings, quicker battery drain, and a shorter total lifespan for your battery. If your iPhone shuts down unexpectedly when your battery life percentage hits single digits, poor calibration is almost certainly to blame.

Many factors can cause a battery to become incorrectly calibrated. Software updates, background apps refreshing, new features, and even plain old day-to-day use can all cause discrepancies.

And even if you haven’t noticed an incorrect calibration, performing the steps will ensure all the ions in the battery are flowing, thus improving the battery’s peak performance.

While you shouldn’t need to calibrate regularly, it’s worth a try if your iPhone is older or you’ve had battery issues other steps didn’t resolve.

Preparing to Calibrate an iPhone Battery

Before starting the calibration process, there are a few steps you should take in preparation. They all revolve around disabling features and services so as few tasks as possible draw power.

This will help lead to an accurate reading later in the process. After you’ve reset the battery, you can re-enable all four of these options. It’s also worth ensuring you haven’t accidentally enabled low-power mode at Settings > Battery.

Disable Location Services

To disable location services on your iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on Privacy.
3. Select Location Services.
4. Slide the toggle next to Location Services into the Off position.

Remember, you can use location services to track a lost iPhone, so make sure you don’t forget to re-enable this after you’re done calibrating.

Disable Background Refresh

Follow the instructions below to turn off the background app refresh:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap on General.
3. Select Background App Refresh.
4. Tap on Background App Refresh a second time.
5. Select Off.

Decrease Your Screen Brightness

Here’s how to lower the screen brightness on an iPhone:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and select Display and Brightness.
3. Move the Brightness slider all the way to the left.

Turn Off Automatic Updates

Finally, to turn off automatic updates, follow these three steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on iTunes and App Store.
3. Slide the toggle next to App Updates into the Off position.

How to Calibrate an iPhone Battery

Now you’re ready to calibrate the battery on your iPhone. Be warned that it takes quite a bit of patience; you’ll need to wait around for a couple of complete charge/drain cycles to finish.

Luckily, you don’t need any third-party tools or apps. Anything you see in the App Store professing to reset your iPhone battery is at best unnecessary and at worst a scam. iPhone battery calibration is easy to perform without extra help.

Step 1: Drain the Battery

The first step is to completely drain your iPhone battery. You can do so during normal usage. If you want to speed up the process, you can play a long video on YouTube with the volume turned up to the maximum level.

Step 2: Wait Three Hours

You may have noticed that your iPhone will automatically shut down even if the battery has a small percentage left. This process is by design; it gives the device a chance to save the current state of your apps so you don’t lose data.

It’s important to let the last embers of the battery life die away. The only way to do this is to wait. Longer is better, but you should wait at least three hours. If you have time, letting it sit overnight is preferable.

Step 3: Charge Your Device

Now it’s time to refill the battery. To ensure the optimal performance, make sure you follow these three tips:

• Use a wall socket rather than a computer.
• Ideally, use an official Apple charger. At the very least, make sure you use a trusted Lightning cable and not a cheap knockoff.
• Continue to charge for a couple of hours even after your phone shows the battery as 100 percent full. You need to ensure you squeeze in every drop of power to ensure the calibration works correctly.

Step 4: Drain Your Device

Now you need to repeat the whole process a second time. It’s the same drill as before: completely drain the power out of your device.

Either use it as you normally would, or play videos on loop to move it along faster.

Step 5: Wait Another Three Hours

It’s getting repetitive by now, but stick with it. Once again, you need to ensure you drain that last bit of battery power from your iPhone. Like before, the longer you can leave it, the better.

Step 6: Charge Your Device

To finish the process, you need to recharge your device. Follow the same guidelines as earlier, ensuring you let your phone continue charging for a couple of hours even after it’s full.

Finally, you need to re-enable the services and functions you disabled earlier. Turn location services, background refresh, automatic updates, and automatic screen brightness back on.

Other Battery-Saving iPhone Tips

If recalibration hasn’t fixed your iPhone battery problems, it might be time to spend some money on a new battery. You can change the battery yourself if you’re feeling confident, but doing so will void your phone’s warranty.

Alternatively, head to Apple’s Battery Service page to schedule an appointment. A new battery and the required labor isn’t as expensive as you might think.

If you’d like to learn more about caring for your iPhone battery and extending its lifespan, we’ve got you covered. Check out our complete guide to iPhone batteries to learn more.

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Top 4 Unbiased World News Sources Free From Censorship

This is a world where money seems to have such control over journalistic integrity. Are there no unbiased news sources you can turn to anymore? The short answer is an emphatic yes.

There’s still hope.

When it comes to “censorship,” news is censored either by the overreach of government entities or by a corporate stranglehold on the editorial processes of news organizations.

What Is Unbiased News?

Unbiased news is a news story presented factually, without any spin toward a political stance or to benefit the owners of the news outlet. In that, news carrying a bias usually comes with the opposite; constantly positive news from a state news organization or policies financed through the state leadership themselves.

There is no better example of this than the Xinhua News Agency, the mouthpiece of the Peoples Republic of China. Or, the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), the news agency owned by the Russian government. However, the US and other Western countries are not innocent. In the US and the UK, those controlling the journalists’ pens are corporate leaders rather than government leaders.

In the US, five corporate media giants control most of the US media market: Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, AT&T, Viacom, and Fox Corporation. The merging of media companies in multi-billion-dollar deals has concentrated ownership of media outlets into an ever-decreasing number of conglomerates.

As a prime example, in 1983, 50 companies controlled 90% of US media. In 2011, just six companies controlled 90%. In 2020, that number is down to five, and it could become even less in the future.

It would be naive of anyone to believe that the people writing the paychecks for those reporting the news don’t hold some sway over what news gets reported, and how it gets reported.

You can see the effect of media concentration during the run-up to every US Presidential election. Media corporate owners contribute significant campaign contributions to their favored candidates.

On the other hand, they publish news stories with a positive spin for their own favored candidate. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The New Yorker, and The Blaze are just a few examples. Not only that, but we live in a time where media and tech conglomerate owners are running for office, blurring the lines between politics, media, and news.

So, are there are any unbiased news sources?

1. The Associated Press

The Associated Press was founded in 1846. The renowned global news organization has 53 Pulitzer Prizes under its belt. It is and has always been the epitome of clear and unbiased news journalism and reporting. It is actually where most journalists seek out their own news stories to report on.

John Daniszewski, for the AP, wrote a piece about fake news on social media titled “Getting the facts right.” He cited a memo sent out to AP staff by Social Media Editor Eric Carvin where Eric wrote:

“The language we use: Whenever possible, we want to emphasize specifics rather than generalizations or labels. Let’s say what we know to be true and what is false, based on our reporting.”

This is the very definition of unbiased news.

The AP doesn’t paint rainbows for one side on any story while drawing storm clouds for the other. The language used in each report is neutral, and the focus is only on reporting the news.

Independent media bias checkers consistently place The Associated Press firmly in the center of the news, with some extremely borderline leanings toward the left-center. Check out the AllSides report for more information, or the Media Bias Fact Check for an alternative.

The AP also made it onto our list of most trusted news websites.

2. Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal is well known for reporting the news as it is. It serves a healthy dose of reality from both sides of the political spectrum.

It isn’t likely you’ll see a Wall Street Journal White House correspondent trading blows with the President in the Press Room. The reason for this isn’t because WSJ loves our current president. It’s because you won’t often find antagonistic stories on the front page that are lambasting either side.

They explain what’s happening, who’s doing it, and why, without excessive editorializing or using emotion-ridden writing.

WSJ journalists tell it like it is, without letting their own biases (or the biases of the corporate ownership) filter down into the story.

This isn’t an easy thing to accomplish with any news organization.

AllSides confirms that the Wall Street Journal presents unbiased news coverage, with a slight lean to the right-center at times. Furthermore, the 2014 Pew Research Center Study on Where News Audiences Fit on the Political Spectrum found that the WSJ has almost equal coverage across the political spectrum.

Contrast with Fox News and CNN

You can contrast the WSJ with Fox News, a site with a strong bias toward the right, and CNN, a site with a strong bias toward the left.

The political bias extends from the media, too. Other sites that lack journalistic integrity are usually overtly nationalistic (overly pro-American—posting negative news headlines specifically attacking other countries, glossing over or glorifying negative national issues), or blatantly anti-American (attacking American foreign policy without contrasting with positives, deriding US healthcare with little nuance, gun policies, and so on).

If you become a reader of the Wall Street Journal, you’ll find yourself more often better-informed and less often offended or annoyed by the journalist’s choice of words.

3. Reuters

Reuters is a well-respected unbiased news outlet with a strong focus on clean, accurate reporting. News events on this site are written with some of the most straightforward reporting seen anywhere.

World stories on controversial hot-topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Brexit, or various government elections, don’t appear to take one side or another. Headlines cover insights from every end of the spectrum.

This is especially refreshing at a time when this kind of journalistic, unbiased news reporting is so rare.

If you want to bookmark only one news website, you should bookmark this one. You will get a fair and balanced perspective on all important matters in the world today.

Both AllSides and Media Bias Fact Check report Reuters as one of the least biased news sources currently available. It also features as one of the most unbiased news sources in The Economist’s report on ideological bias in news reporting.

4. BBC

The BBC is the world’s oldest national broadcasting service and one of the largest news services in the world. If you want to know what’s going on in the world, the BBC is the place to go. There is a good chance you will find better information than the same stories at a US news site.

It may seem ironic that US news organizations appear far more censored and filled with pro-government propaganda than British news organizations. These days, US foreign policy includes so much government cooperation with corporate US news media. So, the only alternative for Americans (or anyone for that matter), is to turn to foreign news sources for the whole story.

Maybe (hopefully) this will change for the better. But for now, the BBC is an excellent source of unbiased news.

In recent years, the BBC has been accused of taking a left-leaning stance on news reporting. While AllSides reports that the BBC is unbiased, the Media Bias Fact Check site agrees that the BBC has a story selection that “slightly favors the left.”

The BBC is undoubtedly far from perfect—name me a news outlet that is—and there is a lot of very valid criticism of the BBC. But if both the right and left bemoan its reporting in equal parts, surely that means it is somewhere toward the middle.

Other Unbiased News Sources Worth Mentioning

There are a few additional news organizations in the world that deserve mention. They didn’t make the first list because, at times, bias might appear in their reporting. C-Span and Pew Research aren’t specifically news organizations. However, both deserve mention as fantastic factual resources you can use to delve further into and learn the truth behind many of today’s news stories.

1. C-Span. C-Span lets you watch government hearings and other events direct, allowing you to hear what your politicians are saying without the interference of a journalist’s pen. You’ll find it surprising how much certain journalists twist what is said during an important hearing, all to fit in with the bias of their news outlet or personal political outlook.
2. The Financial Times. As one of the oldest broadsheets in the world, the Financial Times maintains an excellent reputation for delivering impartial news relating to economics, politics, business, and more.
3. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. With a strong focus on investigative journalism and long-form news articles, you can count on the Bureau to deliver fact-based reporting.
4. Christian Science Monitor. Despite a name that would make you expect it to be a bastion of Conservative news reporting like The Blaze, CSMonitor is a refreshingly honest and impartial news source. You’ll find stories here that attack or support government policies from both sides of the aisle.
5. Pew Research. If you want the pure facts and figures behind the articles, you need to head to Pew Research, the “nonpartisan think tank.” Pew Research consistently publishes unbiased research into news, politics, technology, media, and much more. If you start reading their reports rather than the news, you’ll understand more about the bias found throughout the media, allowing you to make informed decisions about where you read your news.
6. The Economist. The Economist covers an array of political, economics, tech, and media commentary both online and in print. According to their About page, The Economist attempts to blend right and left, “drawing on the classic liberalism of the 19^th” The combination certainly works, as The Economist frequently features as one of the least biased news sources around.

Is Google News Unbiased?

Google News is sometimes pointed at as a source of unbiased news because it presents users with a list of articles from both sides of the political spectrum. However, multiple studies have shown that the curated articles found on Google News have a bias towards sites from the left of the spectrum.

Take this chart, for example. The AllSides media bias check site analyzed the media bias rating of Google News sites following the August 2019 mass-shootings in the US:

The distinct lack of right-leaning sites found in those search terms perfectly illustrates the issue with Google News.

Despite what some readers think, the bias isn’t as bad you would expect. The Economist’s report on Google News bias found that the figures for left and right-leaning articles were closer than previously thought.

As the article states, “If Google favored liberals, left-wing sites would appear more often than our model predicted, and right-wing ones less.” The article concludes that Google News punishes right-leaning sites because of the trust issues surrounding content on those sites and that ultimately, Google News pushes viral articles that could make it more income through extra clicks.

Which, in turn, makes it a questionable source for your daily news.

What Is the Most Unbiased News Source?

That is a difficult question. Is there a “most” unbiased news source? US media polarization is at one of its most extreme points ever, with the right and left consuming news from essentially different spheres of information. A Pew Research report indicates that partisan media polarization has grown considerably throughout the past five years, with Republican trust in mainstream news sources heading in one negative direction.

One issue is that anyone who disagrees with a news story believes it carries a bias. Readers on the right hate CNN, MSNBC, The Guardian, and so on. Those on the left hate Fox News, The Blaze, The Daily Mail, and so on. Everyone in the middle hates them all. Is there a way to call any news organization unbiased, when bias itself is subjective to the reader?

Every journalist is aware of the nine principles of journalism. The first says that a journalist’s first obligation is to the truth.

“This ‘journalistic truth’ is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts. Then journalists try to convey a fair and reliable account of their meaning, valid for now, subject to further investigation.”

The ability to set aside one’s own prejudices to be “neutral” is not a part of those principles. However, “the source of their credibility is still their accuracy, intellectual fairness, and ability to inform.” When journalists let personal biases hinder their objectivity, it puts the entire media organization at risk. Thankfully there are still enough media outlets left that uphold these principles.

Of course, it isn’t just the traditional media that carry bias. Social media sites present another issue. For instance, check out how Facebook uses your date during the election period, and how that data feeds into the beast of election hacking.

Read the full article: Top 4 Unbiased World News Sources Free From Censorship

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Amazon asks all employees to work from home, if they can

Amazon issued guidance Thursday in response to the COVID-19 outbreak recommending that global employees who are able to work from home to do so through the end of March.

“We continue to work closely with public and private medical experts to ensure we are taking the right precautions as the situation continues to evolve,” an Amazon spokesperson said in an email statement. “As a result, we are now recommending that all of our employees globally who are able to work from home do so through the end of March.”

Earlier this week, Amazon said it would provide two weeks of extra paid time off for full and part-time employees who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine. This is in addition to unlimited unpaid time off for all hourly employees through the end of March. The company said it will continue to pay all hourly employees, including food service, janitorial and security staff, who support its offices around the world.

Amazon employs some 798,000 employees. While some Amazon office workers will be able to work from home, the vast majority of its workforce have jobs that require them to be on site. The company is reliant on tens of thousands of delivery drivers and employees who work at the more than 100 order fulfillment centers.

Amazon’s move follows the call from global health officials to take measure to slow the spread of COVID-19, a disease caused by a new virus that is a member of the coronavirus family and a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses. COVID-19 has caused governments and companies to cancel tech, business and automotive events around the world, including the NCAA March Madness basketball tournaments, professional sports games in the NBA and NHL, the Geneva International Motor Show, MWC in Barcelona and the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Disneyland and California Adventure will close through the end of the month.

It has also prompted companies to recommend its employees to work from home. Google href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/10/google-expands-work-from-home-recommendation-to-all-north-american-employees-establishes-covid-19-fund/"> expanded its work-from-home recommendation to include all employees in North America. Box, Lyft, Microsoft and Twitter have also issued memos to employees to recommend or require staff to work from home. In some cases, companies have committed to maintaining wages in spite of reduced hours.

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Google employee in Bangalore tests positive for coronavirus

Google said on Thursday that an employee at its office in Bangalore, India has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and the firm has asked all the other employees in that office to work from home on Friday out of abundance of caution.

“We can confirm that an employee from our Bangalore office has been diagnosed with COVID-19. They were in one of our Bangalore offices for a few hours before developing any symptoms,” a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding that those who were in close contact with the employee have been asked to quarantine themselves.

In an internal email, accessed by TechCrunch, Anand Rangarajan, director of engineering at Google, said the infected “Googler contracted the virus after traveling overseas.”

In recent days, Google has moved to ask all its employees in North America, Europe, and several other regions to work from home. But the company has yet to extend such measure to its employees and contractor workers in Asian markets.

Several startups in India have taken a more proactive approach. Bangalore-based Zerodha, which is the largest stock broker, made it mandatory for all its employees on Thursday to work from home.

Bangalore-based Instamojo, which helps small merchants, education startup Unacademy, mobility firm Bounce, recruiting startup Springworks, and social commerce startup Meesho have all enforced a similar policy.

To date, 74 cases of COVID-19 have been detected in India, up from some 40 late last week. To raise awareness about the infectious disease, telecom operators in the country have started to warn users ahead of each call. On Wednesday, India suspended a vast majority of visas to the country to contain the virus.

The Indian stock markets plunged into bear territory on Thursday, heightening worries for the immediate future prospects of the nation’s already slowing economy. The Nifty plunged 8.3% to 9,590.15, its lowest close in two-and-a-half years, while the Sensex slid about 8% to a near two-year low of 32,778.14.

The last time Indian stock indexes dropped as much was at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008.

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The Best YouTube Originals to Watch on YouTube Premium

In 2018, Google split YouTube Red into two standalone offerings: YouTube Music and YouTube Premium. YouTube Premium offers ad-free videos, offline viewing, background playback, and access to YouTube Originals.

As YouTube Premium matures, the number of YouTube Originals grows. So, in this article, we list the best YouTube Originals to watch on YouTube Premium.

What Are YouTube Originals?

Much like Netflix and Amazon, YouTube is now creating its own exclusive content. All of this content is available under the YouTube Originals moniker.

The shows and movies straddle a wide range of genres and feature a mix of well-known actors and famous YouTubers. All of the shows are available in any market in which YouTube Premium is available, and they are viewable on all of your devices.

To help you get started, here are the best YouTube Originals that you can watch right now.

Note: Some YouTube Originals are now available to watch for free without a YouTube Premium subscription.

1. Wayne

Wayne is an action-comedy that first aired in January 2019. The show has been well-received by critics, boasting an 89 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The story follows the life of the titular character and his crush, Del, as they aim to retrieve a stolen car that belonged to Wayne’s father. Mark McKenna and Ciara Bravo play the lead roles.

Despite its popularity, Wayne was canceled after one season.

2. Impulse

Science fiction drama Impulse is based on a book of the same name by Steven Gould. The first season premiered in June 2018 with a second season going live in October 2019. At the time of writing, there is still no word on a possible third season.

The central character is a 16-year-old girl called Henrietta. Without giving away too many spoilers, Henrietta has the power to teleport whenever she feels emotional discomfort.

3. Best Shot

Best Shot is a basketball documentary series. It follows the fortunes of Newark Central High School through both the results on the court and the off-field lives of the players during the 2017-18 season.

Only one season is available. It first aired in mid-2018. There are eight episodes for you to dig into. Each episode lasts between 20 and 50 minutes.

The series is produced by legendary players, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, and Andrew Fried, and the content was made in partnership with the NBA.

4. Origin

After the popularity of Impulse in mid-2018, YouTube followed up with a second science fiction drama in the winter.

Origin tells the story of a bunch of strangers who find themselves stuck on an alien spaceship heading out into the universe. It quickly transpires that one of the party is not the same as the rest.

Despite what sounds like an appealing plot for sci-fi plans, the show was not as popular as Impulse, and was canceled after one season.

5. Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television

Another YouTube Original worth checking out is Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television. Ryan Hansen plays an exaggerated version of himself in the show.

He is part of a dysfunctional LAPD. The series stands as a comedic mirror to the way the police conducts itself, with the notion of celebrity, police procedures, and endless stereotypes put under the microscope.

The series was popular. It ran for two seasons and 16 episodes before YouTube and Hansen decided to cancel it in mid-2019.

6. Weird City

Science fiction drama Weird City premiered in February 2019. With an 84 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes (based on 25 critics’ ratings), it’s definitely one of the best YouTube Originals to watch.

The city, called Weird, is physically divided into two halves: the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Each episode follows a different resident of the metropolis as they go about their daily lives. It’s satirically brilliant.

7. Sherwood

Sherwood is an animated show for both kids and adults. It retells the story of Robin Hood, albeit with a hefty dose of creative license.

Robin is now played by a teenage girl, while Sherwood has become a dystopia in a world that’s predominantly underwater following the climate crisis.

So far, there has only been one season consisting of 10 episodes. Each episode runs for 20 minutes.

8. The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash

Some of the best original YouTube shows are documentaries. Many of them focus on particular celebrities, artists, or musicians.

One of the most recent releases (airing in late-2019) is The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash. It follows the singer’s rise from a tiny town in Arkansas to become of the best-selling music artists of all-time. It is estimated that Cash sold more than 90 million records before his death in 2003.

9. Cobra Kai

Cobra Kai is perhaps the best-known YouTube Original. The storyline uses the four Karate Kid movies as inspiration.

Taking place 34 years after the first film, the series follows the reopening of the Cobra Kai karate dojo and the rekindling of the rivalry between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence.

Actors Ralph Macchio (LaRusso) and William Zabka (Lawrence) both return to reprise their original roles.

The first season aired in 2018 and a second followed in 2019. YouTube has confirmed that a third is in the works.

10. Step Up: High Water

Step Up: High Water is another YouTube Original that draws heavily on a movie franchise.

For those who aren’t aware, there were five Step Up films released between 2006 and 2014. They fall into the dance drama genre.

The YouTube show tells the story of twins Tal (Petrice Jones) and Janelle (Lauryn McClain) as they are forced to relocate to Atlanta due to a family crisis. Once they arrive in their new home, they join a free performing arts school run by Sage Odom (Ne-Yo). It’s described as the most cutthroat school in the city.

You can expect lots of music, lots of comedy, and lots of dark moments across the episodes. The franchise’s breakout star, Channing Tatum, serves as an executive producer on the YouTube show.

The show was canceled after two seasons.

11. Kedi

What do you get if you place a group of documentary makers in a city with millions of stray cats? The answer is Kedi. It’s the first movie on our list.

Kedi tracks the lives of seven strays in Istanbul. With a healthy dose of melancholic music and a voiceover that’s sure to pull on your heartstrings, it’s a must-watch for cat lovers.

12. Rhett and Link’s Buddy System

Still wondering what to watch on YouTube Premium? Try Rhett and Link’s Buddy System. Created by comedy duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, this absurdist comedy hit was arguably the first YouTube Original that became popular with a mainstream audience.

When it launched in early 2017, demand was for the show was higher than demand for several big-hitting series from other streaming providers, including Orange is the New Black, Santa Clarita Diet, The Grand Tour, and The Man In the High Castle.

The story follows the lives of Rhett and Link (playing themselves) as they seek to regain control of their morning chat show from a mutual ex-girlfriend.

There are two seasons and 16 episodes.

13. Scare PewDiePie

If you like Felix Kjellberg’s style of content, you’ll enjoy Scare PewDiePie. The series sees the YouTube star put himself into reality-based horror setups.

There’s only one season of 10 episodes. The second season was canceled before its release in 2017 after YouTube decided Kjellberg was too divisive a figure to promote on its platform.

14. Youth and Consequences

Youth and Consequences ticks all of the usual boxes for a teenage high school drama.

There’s the school queen struggling to hold on to her status, the ensemble of bullies making crude remarks about everything from sexuality to social class, the ongoing web of love interests, the cliques, and every other high school stereotype you can think of.

It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but after its release in March 2018 it quickly shot up to the top of YouTube’s most popular shows.

No second season is planned.

15. The Keys of Christmas

The Keys of Christmas is the second YouTube Original movie on the list. It offers a modern take on the classic Charles Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol.

The film enjoys an all-star cast, with Mariah Carey, DJ Khaled, Ciara, Fifth Harmony, Rudy Mancuso, Melanie Iglesias, and Mike Tyson all playing significant roles.

DJ Khaled and Mariah Carey are the do-gooders; they transport YouTube star Mancuso into a winter wonderland in an attempt to teach him about the true meaning of Christmas.

It’s certainly not a classic film, but it’s a fun Christmas movie. For more festive fun, check out our list of Christmas movies worth watching on Netflix.

16. Lifeline

Lifeline takes us into the world of science fiction (as do the best modern sci-fi movies on Netflix). The two main protagonists, Conner (Zach Gilford) and Haley (Amanda Crew) work for an insurance firm that has the ability to time travel.

Using their powers, Conner and Haley try to predict their clients’ death by traveling 33 days into the future. They then return to the present day and try to prevent the deaths from occurring.

In some respects, the show feels like Black Mirror. Some of the sub-plots, such as the duo’s slower aging process due to their time travel, are explored in more detail in later episodes.

The series runs for eight episodes. Unfortunately, YouTube has confirmed that there will not be a season two.

17. Mind Field

Fans of Michael Stevens’ Vsauce channel will be instantly familiar with the premise of Mind Field. The episodes use a documentary-style format, with Stevens discussing various aspects of human behavior.

Each episode contains an experiment that links to the theme of the video. Sometimes Stevens performs the experiment on himself. On other occasions, he uses guests or test subjects.

Experiments have included three days of solitary confinement to test the effect on the brain, making people angry and giving them things to smash up, and asking a group of people to incorrectly answer a question in front of one unwitting participant to test the power of conformity.

18. Single by 30

Single by 30 is a romantic comedy series. Set in Los Angeles, the show starts with two high school students who make a pact to go to the senior dance together if they cannot find a date.

In the aftermath of the dance, they make another pact: They will marry each other if they are both still single by the time they hit 30.

Predictably, they lose touch with each other. But as they approach their 30th birthdays, they reunite after the breakdown of their long-term relationships. They choose to reinstate the old pact, with the series focusing on their feelings for each other as they re-enter the dating world.

Is YouTube Premium Worth the Money?

Some of these shows are only available to YouTube Premium subscribers. However, despite this, some of you might not see the value in subscribing to yet another streaming service.

To help you decide whether YouTube Premium is for you, you should read our article on Is YouTube Premium worth the money?

Read the full article: The Best YouTube Originals to Watch on YouTube Premium

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Daily Crunch: Stocks plummet after travel ban

We’ve got a barrage of news related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Comscore partners with Twitch and the ACLU sues over facial recognition in airports. Here’s your Daily Crunch for March 12, 2020.

1. US institutes 30-day travel ban on Europe, taps SBA and tax deferrals to stimulate the economy

Let’s see if I can fit all the recent COVID-19-related news into one entry. The big one is President Donald Trump’s decision to institute a 30-day ban on travel from Europe — not tech news per se, but it’s going to have a huge impact on tech companies and the broader economy. In fact, stocks were falling again this morning.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has officially declared that this is a pandemic, and Twitter is making it mandatory for employees to work from home.

2. Comscore partners with Twitch to bring gaming and esports viewership stats to advertisers

The deal will see Comscore measuring video streaming activity across Twitch, including gaming and esports, as well as other audience viewing metrics. This will allow advertisers to get a better understanding of video viewing behavior on Twitch, which helps them target their campaigns to reach key demographics.

3. ACLU sues Homeland Security over airport face recognition program secrecy

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in a New York federal court on Thursday, demanding that the agency turn over records to understand the scope of its airport face recognition system. The group wants to know who Homeland Security works with — including private companies and airlines — as well as internal policies and guidance on how the system is used.

4. European lawmakers propose a ‘right to repair’ for mobiles and laptops

More generally, the European Commission wants to restrict single-use products, tackle “premature obsolescence” and ban the destruction of unsold durable goods, in order to make sustainable products the norm.

5. Speedinvest’s new €190 million seed-stage fund is ‘investing on conviction’

Speedinvest broadly targets fintech, deep tech, marketplaces, industrial tech, digital health and consumer tech startups, writing first checks between €50,000 and €1.5 million. A few days before the new fund was unveiled, we interviewed Speedinvest’s CEO Oliver Holle. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Deep North raises $25.7M for AI that uses CCTV to build retail analytics

Deep North’s AI currently measures such parameters as daily entries and exits, occupancy, queue times, conversions and heat maps — a product roadmap that it’s planning to continue growing with this latest investment.

7. AWS launches Bottlerocket, a Linux-based OS for container hosting

AWS has launched its own open-source operating system for running containers on both virtual machines and bare metal hosts. Bottlerocket, as the new OS is called, is basically a stripped-down Linux distribution that’s akin to projects like CoreOS’s now-defunct Container Linux and Google’s container-optimized OS.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

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Democrats are using a data scientist’s secret sauce to flip Texas blue

For a political campaign, it’s not enough to pull together an army of bright-eyed, venti-caffeinated canvassers—you’ve got to tell them which doors to knock on. In Texas, the Democratic party is spearheading a data experiment that, if it works, could turn an emerging battleground state’s electoral outlook indigo by doing just that.

In other states, parties rely on imperfect national datasets to determine who might become a Democratic voter, a critical function that optimizes the valuable time volunteers and coordinators spend convincing would-be voters to show up to the polls. But for a state like Texas, the normal models don’t work very well—and in true Texas fashion, the Lone Star State is going its own way.  

Texas Democratic Party Targeting Director Hudson Cavanagh told TechCrunch that his small team of strategists will leverage a new home-brewed machine learning model to mobilize the new voters the party views as mission critical. 

“We’re working on registering literally millions of voters across the state,” Cavanagh said. 

Lauren Pully, the state party’s data and analytics director, began bringing together resources for a better way of targeting voters in 2018. Cavanagh was brought into the mix fresh out of a New York startup early last fall to build it out and by primary season, the pair had their own proprietary model ready to go. 

Known as the “Texas model,” the data science project blends insights on the state’s unique voter makeup with a machine learning algorithm that can learn as it goes. The model helps coordinators determine a given person’s likely partisanship, a critical piece of knowledge for allocating campaign resources.

Powered by open source Python packages developed at Google and other machine learning hubs, the project eschews the normal path for state parties, which generally hire expensive outside data firms that come up with cookie cutter models trained on national datasets. 

“It’s kind of a data scientist’s dream,” Cavanagh told TechCrunch. “We build models and they’re immediately tested in fields all across the state.”

According to Cavanagh, normal partisanship models aren’t flexible and can’t be retrained to keep up with changes to state voter files and new data collected by campaign workers. Instead, “We’re using Texas to predict Texas,” Cavanagh told TechCrunch. “And we’re already outperforming any of the national models.”

From a voter registration standpoint, a few things make Texas unique (likely more if you ask a Texan). For one, the state holds an open primary, meaning that Texas voters can cast a vote in either party’s primary, but not both. That fact, coupled with a massive influx of people moving into the state presents a logistical challenge for the Texas Democratic Party as it tracks potential voters.

Now in action, the Texas model has already flagged 600,000 additional potential Democratic voters, people the traditional off-the-shelf model missed. Party representatives believe that somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the 600,000 are likely Democrats, many of them new Texas residents, young voters and people of color. The new model fits hand-in-glove with the Texas Democrats’ newly announced initiative to register 2.6 million new voters.

“We think it’s going to be the X-factor turning Texas blue,” Abhi Rahman, communications director for the Texas Democrats, told TechCrunch. 

According to Hudson, the state’s campaign stakeholders are also on board, proud to have a uniquely Texan secret weapon in the quest for a blue Texas. Hudson they’ve shown “tremendous” level of engagement with the tool.

In Texas, the Republican electoral base, which skews older and whiter, has not blossomed along with the state’s population numbers. For Democrats, that presents a uniquely Texas-sized opportunity—and one not far out of reach. In 2018, Texas Senator Ted Cruz narrowly survived a Democratic challenge from Beto O’Rourke, hanging on by a remarkable 215,000 votes. 

Once blood red, the state’s shifting demographics make Texas a glittering prize for Democrats eager to see their state run blue. For a scrappy machine learning experiment seeking to shift the Lone Star state’s political fortunes, the proof will be in the pudding later in 2020.

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