news.buyenne.com

Donald Trump hasn't spoken much about space on the campaign trail, but his campaign did provide some answers to a technical space organization, AIAA. (credit: DonaldJTrump.com)

US space policy has been anything but a prominent issue in the 2016 presidential election, falling far behind domestic and foreign policy issues, not to mention normal campaign antics like name-calling. Yet NASA consumes about 0.5 percent of the federal budget and about 2 percent of federal discretionary spending. Therefore, while NASA may not come up much during the campaign, the agency may nonetheless see big changes under a new president who reassesses how the government is spending its money.

Unfortunately we don't have much detail about what the likely Democratic and Republican nominees for president will do in terms of space policy. There have been a few passing references on the campaign trail. For example, Hillary Clinton said she "really, really" does support the space program. And Donald Trump, in response to a question about NASA's plan to go to Mars, said, “I love NASA” and “Space is terrific.” However, he then added, “Right now, we have bigger problems. You understand that? We’ve got to fix our potholes.”

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics understandably sought deeper insight than this, and so it sent a list of 10 questions to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side, and Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich on the Republican side. Only Sanders and Trump replied substantively to the questions, and because Sanders appears unlikely to be the Democratic nominee, we will focus on Trump's comments.

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica in all its glory. (credit: Chrysler)

A report from Bloomberg claims that we'll soon see a self-driving car deal between Google and Fiat Chrysler. The two companies are reportedly teaming up for a new round of self-driving car prototypes using a minivan, the Chrysler Pacifica.

The report describes the Pacifica as "the first phase of a joint project" to create self-driving cars. Fiat Chrysler would equip the Pacifica with Google's autonomous tech "starting this year." Bloomberg says the deal would not be exclusive for either company, allowing both to pursue other partners.

If the report turns out to be true, going with minivans would be an interesting choice. Google's newest self-driving prototype is a tiny two-seater the company designed itself. The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica is a comparatively giant vehicle that seats seven people. Google's self-driving fleet also contains several Lexus RX450Hs and Toyota Priuses, making the Pacifica the company's largest autonomous car. We were really hoping for a Fiat 500 mod, as it looks like a close cousin of Google's custom cars.

Enlarge / The iPhone SE is Apple's best cheap iPhone ever, but in India even it may be too expensive. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

The Indian government won't allow Apple to sell refurbished iPhones in the country, according to a report from Bloomberg. Apple is currently working to open retail stores in India to expand its market presence, and selling low-cost refurbished iPhones is another part of that strategy. Apple's opponents claim that allowing the company to sell used phones in the country could undermine the successful government-sponsored Make in India program, which encourages companies to manufacture their products in the country.

As Apple's iPhone growth slows, the company will be looking to new markets to fuel future growth—the strategy certainly worked in China, where Apple's sales grew by leaps and bounds in 2014 and 2015 before leveling off and declining in the first two quarters of 2016.

"India will be the most populous country in the world in 2022," Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC's Jim Cramer in an interview yesterday. "And this year, the first year, LTE begins to roll out. And so many of your viewers here in the United States, they're used to using LTE and streaming video. And hopefully they're getting a good experience there. In India you can't do that long—there is no LTE. And so that's changing. Huge market potential."

Amazon launched Prime Now, its super-fast local delivery service, via its mobile app nearly a year-and-a-half ago, and now the company is bringing the service to the web. Amazon's PrimeNow.com is the new website that lets customers place orders to be delivered within within one or two hours, expanding the service beyond the mobile app for the first time.

One-hour delivery will cost $7.99, and it's only available for current Amazon Prime subscribers. The two-hour delivery window is free, so you'll save a few bucks if you can wait the extra hour. Currently the service isn't available if you want to purchase through Amazon's main site—you must go to PrimeNow.com to order anything. That seems to be due to the fact that the service isn't available everywhere yet. You'll have to input your zip code to see if Prime Now is serving your area upon visiting the site. According to some reports, Prime Now delivers to two dozen metro areas in the country so far.

Prime Now specializes in delivering food, groceries, health, beauty, and home products. You can also order pet supplies, some electronics, and not surprisingly, a slew of Amazon-made products, including Kindles and Fire TVs. Depending on where you live, you'll also be able to order from a number of food stores and restaurants. For example, shopping within the 10011 New York City zip code lets one place orders at Eataly, West Side Market, Union Square Wine and Spirits, Gourmet Garage, and D'Agostino. While Prime Now remains limited by its inventory and select cities where it operates, Amazon is clearly making the service a priority by opening it up to the web rather than just keeping it a mobile feature.