Sep 13, 2017 - Technology

Facebook releases video chat app Bonfire in Denmark

Facebook video chat app is available in the Danish app store. Photo: Thibault Camus / AP

Facebook video chat app, said to rival the popular Gen Z/millennial video group app Houseparty, is currently available in the Danish app store, The Next Web reports. The app reportedly lets users use Snapchat-like effects and filters.

Details around the product launch were first reported by The Verge in July. The new app would be called Bonfire and is reportedly aimed for a fall release.

Why it matters: Houseparty has proven to be very successful amongst a generation of younger people that studies show have recently been migrating over to Facebook rival, Snapchat. Facebook has made strategic investments in digital features, services and apps that eat at the user growth and success of competing apps or digital companies, like Snapchat, GoFundMe, Periscope, and Apple. Some have argued that the practice raises anti-trust concerns.

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Axios

Updated 36 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 19,451,097 — Total deaths: 722,835 — Total recoveries — 11,788,665 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2. p.m. ET: 4,968,413 — Total deaths: 161,858 — Total recoveries: 1,623,870 — Total tests: 60,415,558 — Map.
Public health: Fauci says chances are "not great" that COVID-19 vaccine will be 98% effective.
Science: Indoor air is the next coronavirus frontline.
Schools: How back-to-school is playing out in the South as coronavirus rages on — Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Howard to hold fall classes online.

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Rashaan Ayesh

1 hour ago - World

What's next for Lebanon after the Beirut explosion

Photo: Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Beirut residents are still clearing rubble from streets that appear war-torn, days after a blast that shocked the country and horrified the world.

Why it matters: The explosion is likely to accelerate a painful cycle Lebanon was already living through — discontent, economic distress, and emigration.

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Mike Allen

3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Wolf Blitzer marks 15 years in "The Situation Room"

Wolf Blitzer on the White House beat in 1993, along with NBC's Brian Williams, CBS' Rita Braver and ABC's Brit Hume. Photo: Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images H

Aug. 8, 2005 — "The Situation Room's" debut on CNN wherein the host first said: "I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in The Situation Room, where news and information from around the world arrive in one place simultaneously!"

The state of play: When the pandemic took off in the U.S. in March, Blitzer started working 7 days a week for 60+ days, until he took a Sunday off. Then he continued 7 days a week until he took a few days off.