Making it rain with lasers

That storm starter isn't a laser beam itself but rather a popping energy that comes off a much higher power beams than this one. The problem is those pops have always had trouble getting into the sky. Now, Matt has discovered a way to get the lasers to pop all the way in the clouds, in theory, that's what starts a storm. A few months ago Matt's colleagues got this cloud working experimentally, the next step is to get it to work in the sky.
Just another stormy, wet afternoon in Central Florida but what if you could pick up all this rain and move it where it is needed? Texas or California? What if a laser could start the rain?

Matt Mills got into lasers as a kid, now he's part of a team of military backed scientists that are on the cutting edge of new technology making lasers powerful enough to reach up into the sky when a thunderstorm is just about to start. In the near future, a push button storm starter could be a real thing.

• http://www.aol.com/article/2014/07/31/making-it-rain-with-lasers/20940214/?ncid=webmail28

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NYPD chokehold death ruled a homicide

By JAKE PEARSON
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York City medical examiner ruled Friday that a police officer's chokehold caused the death of a man whose videotaped arrest and final pleas of "I can't breathe!" sparked outrage and led to the announcement of a complete overhaul of use-of-force training for the nation's largest police force.
Eric Garner, 43, a black man whose confrontation with a white police officer has prompted calls by the Rev. Al Sharpton for federal prosecution, was killed by neck compressions from the chokehold as well as "the compression of his chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police," said medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer.
Asthma, heart disease and obesity were contributing factors in the death of Garner, a 6-foot-3, 350-pound father of six, she said.
The finding increases the likelihood that the case will be presented to a grand jury to determine whether Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who placed Garner in the chokehold, or any other officers involved in the confrontation will face criminal charges. Pantaleo's attorney, Stuart London, declined to comment Friday.
Garner's wife, Esaw, told the Daily News, "Thank God the truth is finally out."
Mayor Bill de Blasio extended his sympathies to Garner's family in a statement and pledged to continue repairing the relationship between minority communities and the NYPD.
"I've said that we would make change, and we will," he said.
Partial video of the July 17 confrontation shows an officer placing a chokehold on Garner, who was being arrested for selling untaxed, loose cigarettes. He then apparently loses consciousness.
Chokeholds are prohibited by the New York Police Department.
Prosecutors on Staten Island, the borough where the confrontation occurred, are investigating. A spokesman for Daniel Donovan, the Staten Island district attorney, said prosecutors were still investigating the death and awaited a full autopsy report and death certificate from the medical examiner. Donovan will have to determine whether to empanel a grand jury and charge officers in the death of Garner.
Federal officials are monitoring the progress of the New York investigation, Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson said, adding that the department has not begun its own inquiry into the death.
In a statement, police Commissioner Bill Bratton said officials were aware of the medical examiner's findings and said the department is cooperating with prosecutors. He has said the NYPD's use-of-force training is lacking, pledged to retrain all 35,000 officers and dispatched a team to Los Angeles to develop a state-of-the-art program.
Pantaleo was stripped of his gun and badge pending the investigation, and another was placed on desk duty. Two paramedics and two EMTs were suspended without pay.
Patrick Lynch, president of the powerful Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, expressed his sympathies to Garner's family in a statement but noted that Garner "was a man with serious health problems."
"We believe, however, that if he had not resisted the lawful order of the police officers placing him under arrest, this tragedy would not have occurred," he said.
Garner's family will join Sharpton on Saturday to address the medical examiner's ruling, a spokeswoman said.
Ramsey Orta, 22, a friend of Garner's who videotaped his struggle with police, said in an interview that the medical examiner's ruling wasn't surprising.
"I knew that was the cause because I saw it," he said. "Now somebody should get charged."
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Here Is The Richest Person In Each State

Looking to borrow some money? We've found you the best person to go to in each state.
The interactive map below from the real estate blog Movoto shows the net worth of the richest resident in each U.S. state. Darker shades of blue reflect those at the richest end of the wealth spectrum, while darker shades of red reflect those at the lower end. As you can see in the map, there's a wide gulf between the fortunes of America's richest.

Washington resident and Microsoft founder Bill Gates' $80 billion net worth makes him the richest person in the country (and the world). The least rich individual on the map is Robert Gillam, founder of McKinley Capital, an Alaska-based institutional investment firm. But don't feel too bad for him -- he's worth a cool $700 million.
Heirs to the Walmart empire dominate three states: Arkansas (Jim Walton, worth $35.7 billion), Texas (Alice Walton, worth $35.3 billion) and Wyoming (Christy Walton, worth $37.9 billion). Here's to so-called upward mobility.
Movoto used wealth data from Forbes and Celebrity Net Worth to create the map.