Partnerships should be handled carefully this year. If you overreact or let your temper take the reins, you will end up losing out on something that could improve your life. Getting along with others and being willing to compromise will result in life-altering changes.
Aries (March 21-April 19): Think before you speak. You’ll end up in a compromising position if you are too pushy or will not listen to reason. Nurture relationships instead of pushing people away.
Taurus (April 20-May 20): You’ll find it difficult to sit still and wait out an uncertain situation. Try not to disclose any information that could be used against you. Don’t act or say something impulsively.
Gemini (May 21-June 20): A physical change will make you feel good about the way you look and what you have to offer. Don’t impose on someone who isn’t up for as lively a time as you are.
Cancer (June 21-July 22): An unexpected change will catch you off-guard. Don’t feel you must get involved in something risky. Acknowledge what others are doing, but go your own way.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Changes at home that will add to your comfort are highlighted, but before you begin, make sure you have the approval of anyone who will be affected by your plans.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Avoid people who are unpredictable or who promote poor habits. Focus on making personal and physical improvements and paying closer attention to good health, proper diet and exercise.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23): Personal and emotional changes can be made. Home improvements should help cut your overhead or bring greater peace and comfort to you and those you live with. Romance is highlighted.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22): Make love and romance your priorities. Changes you make that update your image or encourage you to be fit and healthy will make you feel good and will draw compliments.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 21): Look for personal opportunities instead of offering to do the dirty work for someone else’s benefit. Put your energy into your home, family and self-improvements, not into helping outsiders.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Refuse to let anyone push you into something you shouldn’t do or put unreasonable demands on you. Back away from anyone who appears to be unpredictable.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19): Make positive changes to the way you handle your money. A financial gain, gift or offer should be protected from someone trying to take advantage of your good fortune.
Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20): You’ll desire personal change and should consider doing something to update your physical appearance. It will draw attention and encourage a romantic opportunity with someone special.


The crisis in the Ukraine continues as American and European leaders lob more sanctions against Russia for its actions in the war-torn country. But in the oil world, it’s business as usual, as the world’s biggest petroleum producer moves forward with its potentially lucrative deal with Russia in the Arctic.
Oil king ExxonMobil last week began drilling a new oil well off Russia’s Arctic frontier, in cooperation with OAO Rosneft, the country’s state-run oil company.
The operation has $700 million in potential, and is one of 40 wells planned by Russia in Arctic waters to see just how much oil it can extract now that global warming has opened new avenues in the region.
The deal was able to go forward despite the latest round of economic sanctions because it was concluded before the West tried again to punish President Vladimir Putin for interfering in Ukraine.
“The well is very important, it’s probably one of the most interesting wells in the global oil industry for many years,” James Henderson, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told Bloomberg.


Empire Brass to Perform at UC Irvine : Music: The chamber ensemble will open the Orange County Philharmonic Society's season with the West Coast premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Dance Suite.
A brass ensemble may be a mainstay for any modern orchestra, but on its own, it's one of the less-frequently heard chamber ensembles. Perhaps that's why the Empire Brass is in such demand these days. "It's been a wild 19 years," said tuba player J. Samuel Pilafian, 40, in a telephone conversation from Fresno, where the ensemble performed Monday. He and trumpeter Rolf Smedvig, 38, were original members of the quintet, originally based in New York City.


Research network provides unmetered access to Akamai's cached content.
Australia's academic research network (AARNet) has announced that it has unmetered access to traffic hosted on the Akamai content delivery network for its clients in the university and research sectors.
AARNet CEO Chris Hancock told iTnews today that it started unmetering Akamai services to its clients as of yesterday.
Hancock said these clients included universities, the CSIRO and all of AARNet's other clients which include the likes of NICTA and Questacon in Canberra.
Hancock said that over 70 percent of traffic on the AARNet network was peering traffic.
"We have got a lot of peering partners," he said. "We don't publicise all of our peering partners as it's the end-user services that are the value add."
Peering allows the research network to cut-down on international traffic, which comes at high costs to service providers in Australia.
Content hosted on Akamai represents around 5 percent of AARNet's total traffic, Hancock said.
The Akamai peering arrangement allows AARNet clients to access services such as the ABC's iView platform and Apple's iTunes without it counting towards their download quota.
Foxtel's recently announced download service also uses Akamai.
A list of the content Akamai distributes through its content distribution network is available on its website.
Hancock said the arrangement with Akamai would also improve network performance.


Lismore City Council is currently seeking nominations for the Australia Day Awards 2008.
People can nominate anyone they feel has contributed in a positive way to the local community and deserves recognition for their efforts.
You can nominate people for the following awards: Citizen of the Year, Young Citizen of the Year (18 and under), Reconciliation, Community Services (Group/Individual), Art/Cultural, Environmental, Multicultural, Senior Sportsperson, Junior Sportsperson and Sports Team/Group/Organisation.
The closing date for nominations is December 30. For a nomination form visit Lismore City Councils website at www.lismore.nsw.gov.au or visit the Council Chambers in Goonellabah or the Councils CBD office in Magellan Street. For more information phone 6625 0500.


Show other people how change will be helpful before expecting them to behave differently.
Although circumstances often change in the blink of an eye, people tend to change at a slower pace. Even the most motivated people who welcome change often encounter stumbling blocks that make transformation more complicated than they'd originally anticipated. Whether you’re hoping to lose weight, or you're trying to convince your employees to embrace a new procedure, don’t expect immediate results. Instead, recognize that real change happens slow and steady.
When two psychologists, Carlo DiClemente and James O. Prochaska, studied people who were trying to quit smoking, they discovered five stages that can be used to assess a person's readiness to make change. Their ideas about the stages of change have been applied to people who are creating a variety of changes in their lives, whether they are looking to establish new behavior or extinguish old habits.
Their research has become paramount to the Transtheoretical Model of Change. It shows that trying to force someone to change before he's ready isn't likely to be productive. For example, most New Year's resolutions don't last because people don’t go through the stages of change. Instead, they try to create change based on a date on the calendar, which may not coincide with a true readiness to transform.
1. Precontemplation – If you're precontemplative, you won't recognize any need to change. Other people may express concerns, but you'll deny that a problem exists. Unless someone raises your awareness of the problem, you likely won't choose to do anything differently. For example, a doctor hoping to get a precontemplative person to consider developing an exercise routine could provide education about the health risks associated with inactivity. Explaining the potential consequences of staying the same could help move a person into the next stage.
2. Contemplation – When you're in stage two, you will recognize the potential consequences of not changing, but you won't yet be fully commited to making a change. For example, an employee may recognize that he’s at risk of losing his job if he doesn’t increase his sales, but he may still be resistant to trying a new sales technique because he’s not quite sure the risk is worth the benefit. Moving to the next stage requires recognition that the benefits of change outweigh the risks of staying the same.
3. Preparation – During the preparation stage, a plan for creating change is established. An entrepreneur who is finding himself unable to pay the bills, may create a plan to address the problem during the preparation stage. He may decide to sell some equipment, change his marketing plan or find a new strategy to increase revenue. Resist the urge to move through this stage too quickly. Devote plenty of time and energy into creating a good plan that will set you up for success.
4. Action- The steps created during the preparation stage get put into place during the action stage. It's where your behavioral change finally begins. For example, a person who is commited to lose weight will begin exercising and changing his eating habits during this stage.
5. Maintenance – Two days into the action stage, you may be tempted to declare victory and think you're well on your path to success. But, if you don't consider how to maintain change over time, you may struggle with obstacles along the way. During this stage, it’s important to monitor your progress and plan ahead for possible problems and pitfalls that could cause you to resort to your old behavior patterns. For example, a person looking to maintain a healthy diet may need to plan ahead for the holiday season where it may be tempting to skip workouts and indulge in high calorie foods.
If you are trying to get someone else to change, whether it's a family member or an employee, don't assume other people are ready for concrete behavioral change right away. Identify what stage of change the other person is in and help them move through each stage. For example, if you want your employees to start doing something new, don't just expect them to spring into action. Instead, talk about the pros and cons of change versus the risks and benefits of staying the same if they're not yet ready to implement the change. Show other people how change will be helpful before expecting them to behave differently.


Paul Hollywood is bonding with Great British Bake Off co-star Noel Fielding — by offering him driving lessons.
Comic Noel has never mastered the skill, but says master baker Paul is keen to help.
He said: “I don’t cook much, so Paul is quite determined to teach me to make a sourdough loaf — and how to drive a car!
Noel, 44, also said BBC presenter Mel Giedroyc was “kind and supportive” after learning he had a job on Bake Off’s Channel 4 relaunch after she quit the show.
The Mighty Boosh star said: “It’s quite funny as I’m friends with Mel. I was sitting next to her on a show and, at first, I couldn’t say anything about me doing this programme.
Bake Off’s Sandi Toksvig, said 51-year-old Paul is throwing a “big party” at his house to mark the end of filming.


Warner Bros. has made no secret of the fact that it’s trying to set itself apart rom Marvel Studios. Unlike its competitor, WB has opted for a more director-oriented approach to its films – allowing more room for creative freedom and stylistic choices. We’ve seen this with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’s Zack Snyder, and this summer we will see what David Ayer brings to the DC table with Suicide Squad. He’s a director who, according to Jai Courtney a.k.a Digger Harkness a.k.a Captain Boomerang, may have more than a screw or two loose.
Psychotic. He is the man. He’s one of the greats. I think he has an amazing future ahead of him, and I hope we get to work together again. I have nothing but admiration for him, and small amounts of fear. That about sums it up. He loves that attention to detail, and he’s not interested in comfort. Nothing is about making anything easy for anyone. And that’s not about making it hard; it’s just that when you’re off center, it creates a space for wonderful things to happen. That’s the world he likes to play in, and I think that’s very exciting.
In true spirit of the film’s titular team, David Ayer keeps things intense, focused, and generally crazy on the set of Suicide Squad. Jai Courtney would go on to praise the director for his passion on the project, as well as his ability to hone in on even the most minute details of the film. It sounds like nothing less than a grueling process, but one that an actor such as Courtney loved taking part in.
That seems to represent the general consensus from those who worked on Suicide Squad. We won’t know the true quality of the film until it hits theaters, but everyone involved in the making of the film seems to agree that they have made something that fans will enjoy. We cannot understate how important that is for the DCEU; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is by no means a failure, but it definitively underperformed at the box office. The hope is that David Ayer’s insanity translates well onto film, and that audiences around the world will rejoice over his handling of Suicide Squad’s mixture of beloved and obscure characters.
What do you think of Jai Courtney’s assessment of David Ayer? Do you think the director’s previous efforts (see: Fury, End of Watch, Street Kings, etc.) have prepared him for this film? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Be sure to stay tuned for more Suicide Squad news! The DC villain team-up will blast its way into theaters on August 5!


New Zealand has passed a hotly-disputed bill that radically expands the powers of its spying agency. The legislation was passed 61 votes to 59 in a move that was slammed by the opposition as a death knell for privacy rights in New Zealand.
The new amendment bill gives the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – New Zealand’s version of the NSA – powers to support the New Zealand police, Defense Force and the Security Intelligence Service.
Megauploads founder Kim Dotcom, who has been a vocal critic of the bill, tweeted his condemnation after the legislation went through parliament.
The #GCSB bill just passed in Parliament against the will of most Kiwis. RIP Privacy. Payback at the 2014 election!!!
However, Kiwi Prime Minister John Key argues otherwise. In an emphatic defense of the amendment in parliament on Wednesday Key argued it would not give the GCSB sweeping powers to spy.
"There will be times where a serious cyber intrusion is detected against a New Zealander and the GCSB will then need to look at content - that's why the law allows that. But that should be the end point, not the starting point," he said.
Opposition to the bill called its passing through Parliament “a sad day” for New Zealand. Labor leader David Shearer said that nothing had been done to reassure New Zealanders that their rights would be protected.
"This is a sad day, we are passing legislation that is ad hoc, that is Mickey Mouse, that you have to have a third reading of to explain exactly what the Bill will do,” said Shearer.
The legislation has triggered mass debate in New Zealand with thousands rallying against it in a mass protest in July. Opposition to the amendment was headed by MegaUploads founder Kim Dotcom who was a victim of GCSB illegal spying.
"But the overreach, the lack of independent oversight, and the connection to the Five Eyes spy cloud which includes all communications of all New Zealanders are turning this new law into a serious threat to our basic human right to privacy," Mr. Dotcom said.
A New Zealand court ruled that the GCSB overstepped the mark when it spied on the internet tycoon in the run up to the illegal raid on his Auckland mansion in January 2012.


"There is absolute impunity of crimes committed by the police."
WASHINGTON, D.C.– The violent aftermath of the Honduran presidential election — triggered by allegations of electoral fraud — has led to serious human rights abuses, Honduran advocates said Thursday, strongly advising the Trump administration not to deport immigrants back to a country repressed by deadly government security forces.
At an event sponsored by Alianza Americas, a transnational network of immigrant organizations, two Honduran-based speakers shared their on-the-ground perspective of the dangers they have faced after President Juan Orlando Hernández’s reelection. Joaquin Mejia — a lawyer and human rights advocate who works as a commentator at the Jesuit radio station Radio Progreso — expressed concern over the legitimacy of his country’s presidential elections and indicated that his life was at risk for openly criticizing Hernández and the military police. The Honduran constitution has since the 1980s explicitly enforced a one-term presidential limit. Hernández sought to change the constitution to ban term limits. Claudia Mendoza — a freelance journalist who has worked with Univision — also pointed out at the event the “shameful” silence by the Honduran news outlets to suppress news about the brutality at the hands of the country’s military police.
Mejia and Mendoza both noted that violent clashes between opposition supporters and the military police have led to the deaths of dozens of activists, hundreds of injuries, and thousands of detentions. Into January 2018, the Honduran government reportedly used security forces to tamp down protests using tear gas, batons, and live ammunition, according to a Latin American Working Group Education Fund report, brutally stiffing press freedom and imposing curfews in post-electoral Honduras. In the face of mounting violence following Hernández’s reelection, the U.S. embassy accepted the country’s election results, despite misgivings by the Organization of American States (OAS) which called for a presidential election do-over.
Mejia has been advocating for a fair electoral process and said he was “hopeful” that the Honduran youth would turn out for future elections. He also wants the U.S. government to stop deporting people back to a country beset by violence and forced displacement. As of February 9, the U.S. government has deported 2,279 people to Honduras, according to Consular y Migratorio de Honduras (CONMIGHO) data. CONMIGHO receives USAID funding and is affiliated with the Honduran Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores y Cooperación Internacional. Tens of thousands of Honduran Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients may also be at risk of deportation if the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fails to renew their statuses by July 5, 2018.
Many people are driven to flee their homes for another city in Honduras because of ongoing threats and assassinations, as the Latin American Working Group Education Fund graphic below shows.
Mejia himself has faced a constant barrage of threats because of his stance against the Hernández government.
When asked his position on the Trump administration’s efforts to make it very difficult for people to seek humanitarian relief — like asylum or refugee status — on claims of fraudulent interviewees being “coached” to make up lies about Honduras, Mejia shook his head.
“The Trump administration has this theory about immigrants, but at the same time it’s supporting a regime that’s provoking a political situation that is going to provoke an increase in the immigration to the U.S., Spain, Costa Rica, and an increase in asylum and refugee seekers,” Mejia said. The United States has long had an over-sized influence in the country, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance to help fund elite military and police units, The Guardian reported. As the publication explained, these units have helped push down Honduras’ murder rate, but the country is still one of the most violent places in the world.
Mejia fears that mass deportation from the United States would trigger more instability at a time when Honduras has yet to resolve widespread doubts over electoral irregularities.
Beyond the scale of U.S. immigration policies, Mejia and Mendoza have noticed a troubling trend in Honduras that affects every resident. As a journalist Mendoza has observed other press coverage being too favorable towards the Hernández government or has presented no criticism of the brutal oppression. News coverage of the large-scale protests “emphasize property damage and not human life,” she said.
Mendoza pointed to the death of Kimberly Dayana Fonseca, a 19-year-old who went to look for her brother during anti-government protests and was killed with a bullet to the head on the first night a curfew was put in place in the country. Military police shot live rounds into the crowd, but the prosecutor’s office “tried to blame” her death on a tear gas canister, the Miami Herald reported in January.


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Authorities say a man sought in the slaying of a woman at a west Omaha apartment has been arrested in Missouri.
Police say 42-year-old Anthony Burries was taken into custody by officers in Odessa, Missouri, on Monday evening. He awaits extradition to Omaha. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney in the case.
A warrant for Burries’ arrest was issued earlier Monday. It said the charge was first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing 38-year-old Tina Hoult, with whom he’d had a relationship. Her body was found Sunday morning in her apartment after officers were sent to check on her well-being.
Court records say Burries has a prison record for theft and firearms violations and for domestic abuse in assaulting Hoult in December 2012.
May this murdering feral son of satan burn in hell! Another White woman who fell for the “jewversity” LIE and paid for it with her life. Newnationdotorg is a site where I found this story! Thousands like it in terms of heinous black on White crimes by the most race hating race in this country!


The mouse is putting on its healthy hat with a landmark plan to address concerns about Hollywood's role in childhood obesity.
June 5, 2012, 11:30 a.m.
No longer will healthy-minded parents cringe at the sound of sugar-saturated drinks or sickly snack cakes being lauded in seductive ads for kids watching their favorite Disney shows. In a bold move, the Walt Disney Company is announcing that it will only advertise healthier foods to children on its TV channels, radio station and website. Disney is the first major media company to take such a stand.
Food and beverage companies spend about $2 billion a year on marketing aimed at children, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And the Center for Science in the Public Interest states that in 2005, nine out of 10 advertisements shown during Saturday morning children’s television programming were for unhealthy foods. Match that with the statistics — a third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese — and the connection is hard to ignore.
Robert Iger, Disney’s chairman, said he felt strongly that “companies in a position to help with solutions to childhood obesity should do just that,” but also noted, “This is not altruistic. This is about smart business.” Smart business or not, the plan is expected to have some impact.
By 2015, all food and beverage products that are advertised, promoted or sponsored on the Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Radio Disney, Disney.com and Saturday morning programming for kids on ABC-owned stations (ABC is owned by Disney) will be required to meet the company's nutrition criteria for limiting calories and reducing saturated fat, sodium and sugar.
Many foods that are currently advertised, like prepackaged lunches, fruit drinks, candy and snack cakes, will be banished. The nutrition criteria were decided on in accordance with the government's dietary guidelines.
"Parents can be confident that foods associated with Disney characters or advertised on Disney platforms meet our new, healthier nutrition guidelines," Iger said.
First lady Michelle Obama, who will be at the announcement in Washington, D.C., said in a statement, "This new initiative is truly a game changer for the health of our children ... With this new initiative, Disney is doing what no major media company has ever done before in the U.S. — and what I hope every company will do going forward. When it comes to the ads they show and the food they sell, they are asking themselves one simple question: 'Is this good for our kids?'"
Disney’s guidelines will be available here.
The mouse is putting on its healthy hat with a landmark plan to address concerns about Hollywood’s role in childhood obesity.


To call them a political odd couple would be a rash understatement.
Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch will host a fundraiser for liberal New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Financial Times reports.
The mating ritual of the unlikely allies has been under way for months. Clinton set political tongues to wagging last month by attending a Washington party celebrating the 10th anniversary of Fox News, the cable news channel owned by Murdoch.
The Financial Times quoted one unnamed source as describing the Clinton-Murdoch connection in this way: "They have a respectful and cordial relationship. He has respect for the work she has done on behalf of New York. I wouldn't say it was illustrative of a close ongoing relationship. It is not like they are dining out together."
The fundraiser will take place in July, the newspaper said. Clinton is the frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, though she has not indicated whether or not she will run.
Clinton has worked hard to take the edge off her reputation as a card-carrying liberal. She has has collaborated with congressional conservatives on some peices of legislation, called for a "common ground" on abortion and cut a political figure some on the left see as decidedly un-liberal.
Clinton, who made her debut in the Senate Armed Services Committee four years ago, has never voted against any major Iraq military spending legislation. She has also taken two high-profile trips to Iraq – journeys that may have helped to strengthen the credentials of a senator with no military background or experience.
Clinton, who says she's "always been a praying person," has moved into the territory John Edwards had hoped to claim as the moderate Democrat who cares about the average American.


The 91st Academy Awards take place on Sunday.
Come hell or high water, the 2019 Academy Awards will go on this Sunday.
This year’s embattled production has been beset by a series of missteps — from announcing and scrapping a popular-film category, naming and losing host Kevin Hart and reversing a widely unwelcome decision to announce some of the winners during commercial breaks. Despite all that, the now somewhat crowd-sourced television special will still proceed to honor achievements in film over the past year.
Whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences acknowledges its role in the blunders remains to be seen, but we’ve kept up with all the developments and break some of them down below.
The 91st Academy Awards will again be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC at 7 p.m. Central. The show usually runs about three hours but can go over, so set those DVRs past 10 p.m. if you really want to know which film won best picture without getting a news alert — or a second news alert correcting a “La La Land”-like blunder.
Oscars-centric programming begins on the network much earlier. “On the Red Carpet at the Oscars” begins at 3:30 p.m. Central, and “Oscars Opening Ceremony: Live From the Red Carpet” kicks off at 5:30 p.m.
The Oscars will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide and will also be streamed live in select markets via abc.com or with the ABC app, but will require credentials for a participating TV provider.
It’s a thankless job, but nobody’s gotta do it.
“The Academy Awards is going commando for the first time in 30 years,” as The Times’ Lorraine Ali puts it. There will be no big name steering the festivities for home audiences this year, which has many speculating that the show will lean heavily on musical performances — which weren’t immune to controversy either — and producers’ star-studded presenter lineup.
Comedian Kevin Hart was announced as host in December, only to swiftly step down from his duties after past homophobic jokes and tweets resurfaced. The film academy reportedly attempted to lure him back, but he refused, and it did not succeed in securing other hosts.
What we do know is that the show will be produced by Donna Gigliotti and longtime co-producer and director Glenn Weiss, the same guy who directed the telecast for the past three years and proposed to his girlfriend during the Emmys in September. Their production team includes six returning Oscars veterans, namely lighting director Robert Dickinson, who commemorates his 30th Oscars ceremony this year.
The film academy achieved a series of historical firsts when the nominees were announced in 24 categories last month. The British period comedy “The Favourite” and Alfonso Cuarón’s nostalgic “Roma” tied for the most nominations with 10 apiece. The latter made history by earning Netflix its first best-picture nomination.
Meanwhile, the beloved superhero film “Black Panther” also had a historic day, earning Marvel Studios its first best-picture nomination and became the first comics-based film to earn a nod in that field. Spike Lee scored his first nomination as a director for “BlacKkKlansman,” “Roma’s” Yalitza Aparicio became the first indigenous woman nominated for best actress and “The Wife” star Glenn Close became the most nominated living actor to never win an Oscar.
Producers have locked in a series of live performances to move along the telecast — performances that reportedly were off the table mere weeks ago.
Most of this year’s Oscar-nominated songs will be sung, and Bette Midler, plus Queen with Adam Lambert, have joined the performance roster.
The iconic English rock band, the subject of best-picture contender “Bohemian Rhapsody,” will open the show with Lambert on the mic. The film’s star, Rami Malek, is up for an Oscar for his portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will duet on “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” likely changing up her Mother Monster-inspired outing at the Grammys earlier this month.
Unfortunately, “All the Stars,” Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Oscar-nominated duet from “Black Panther,” will not be performed during the telecast despite earlier reports indicating that all five nominated songs would be sung. It’s still unclear if and how the omission will be addressed.
Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand, Allison Janney, and Gary Oldman in the Photo Room at the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 4, 2018 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA.
Nominees, past winners, A-listers and up-and-comers will be taking the stage in lieu of a host this year.
As usual, the previous year’s acting winners will be among this year’s presenters, so expect to see Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand, Allison Janney and Gary Oldman onstage again.
On Wednesday the academy announced that the best-picture nominees will be introduced by Barbra Streisand, Queen Latifah, Serena Williams and Congressman John Lewis, among others.


A vast majority of professional women think of banks as mere cash machines - and nothing more.
According to a poll conducted by Stern Marketing Group, 84 percent of the 100 professional women surveyed view their bank as a place for checking and short-term saving only.
Some 90 percent exclude their bank as a source of financial advice.
When asked what resources they would use for advice on planning and managing their household's long-term finances, 47 percent said financial planners (tax consultants or stock brokers); 28 percent use magazines newspapers, or books; and 25 percent use the Internet.
The survey also found that 55 percent of the women polled have sole responsibility for making financial decisions in their household.


Americans are living longer than ever, with the average life expectancy reaching 78 years in 2005, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
But despite the steady upward climb of longevity, the United States was still far behind Japan, Andorra and Italy, where statistics compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that life expectancy exceeds 80 years.
The CDC report, based on preliminary data for 2005, showed that life expectancy in the United States has risen steadily in the past 50 years.
Americans lived for around 69 years in 1955, and 76 years in 1995, the study showed.
The age-adjusted death rate also fell to an all-time low in 2005, bottoming out at fewer than 800 deaths per 100,000 people, the statistics show.
"This report highlights the continued reduction in deaths from the three leading killers in the United States - heart disease, cancer and stroke - which is most likely due to better prevention efforts and medical advances in the treatments of these diseases," said Hsiang-Ching Kung, a survey statistician at the CDC and one of the report's authors.
The death rate from heart disease fell to 210.3 per 100,000 in 2005 from 217 per 100,000 the previous year.
Deaths from cancer fell from 185.8 per 100,000 to 183.8 per 100,000 during the same period, and stroke deaths fell from 50 to around 47 per 100,000.
"If death rates from certain leading causes of death continue to decline, we should continue to see improvements in life expectancy," Kung said.
On a sour note, however, the death rate from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases both increased by around five percent year-on-year.
Alzheimer's disease is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and Parkinson's the 14th.
White Americans' average life expectancy was just over 78 years, or five years longer than African-Americans, according to the study.
The longer life expectancy in the United States puts the country on par with the likes of Brunei, Cuba and Kuwait, according to WHO statistics.
The country with the lowest life expectancy in the world is Zimbabwe, where people can expect to live around 36 years, data from WHO show.


Saudi agents were waiting when Jamal Khashoggi walked into their country’s consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. Khashoggi was dead within minutes, beheaded, dismembered, his fingers severed, and within two hours the killers were gone, according to details from audio recordings described by a senior Turkish official on Wednesday.
The government of Turkey let out these and other leaks about the recordings on Wednesday, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Ankara, in an escalation of pressure on both Saudi Arabia and the United States for answers about Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi dissident journalist who lived in Virginia and wrote for The Washington Post.
The new leaks, which were also splashed in lurid detail across a pro-government newspaper, came a day after Pompeo and the Trump administration had appeared to accept at face value the promises of the Saudi rulers to conduct their own investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance — regardless of Turkish assertions that senior figures in the royal court had ordered his killing.
As the Saudis and the Americans tried to put the crisis behind them, the brutality described in the leaks served as a reminder of why Khashoggi’s disappearance has triggered an international backlash more severe than countless mass killings or rights violations.
US intelligence officials say they have growing circumstantial evidence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was involved in the disappearance of Khashoggi, who entered the consulate in Istanbul more than two weeks ago to obtain a document for his coming wedding and did not emerge.
Top Saudi officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in the disappearance — denials that they repeated to Pompeo when he visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a friend of Khashoggi’s, has yet to publicly accuse the Saudis of abducting or killing him, or to make public any evidence to support such accusations.
But Turkish officials on Wednesday reiterated their conclusion that a team of 15 Saudi agents, some with ties to Salman, was waiting for Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate the moment he arrived, at about 1:15 pm on Oct 2.
After he was shown into the office of the Saudi consul, Mohammad al-Otaibi, the agents seized Khashoggi almost immediately and began to beat and torture him, eventually cutting off his fingers, the senior Turkish official said, describing the audio recordings.
Whether Khashoggi was killed before his fingers were removed and his body dismembered could not be determined.
But the consul was present and objected, the official said. “Do this outside. You will put me in trouble,” al-Otaibi told the agents, according to the Turkish official and a report in the Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak. Both cited audio recordings said to have been obtained by Turkish intelligence.
“If you want to live when you come back to Arabia, shut up,” one of the agents replied, according to both the official and the newspaper.
A top Saudi doctor of forensics had been brought along for the dissection and disposal of the body — an addition to the team that Turkish officials have called evidence of premeditation. And as the agents cut off Khashoggi’s head and dismembered his body, the doctor had some advice, according to the senior Turkish official.
Listen to music, he told them, as he donned headphones himself. That was what he did to ease the tension when doing such work, the doctor explained, according to the official describing the contents of the audio recordings.
Although several Turkish officials have described the audio recordings or other evidence related to Khashoggi’s disappearance in the consulate, all have declined to disclose how the material was obtained. Some recordings or other evidence may have come from intercepted communications or audio surveillance that the Turkish government is unwilling to acknowledge for fear of compromising intelligence sources or revealing violations of international law.
But Trump’s comments suggested that the Turks have also declined to share their evidence with US intelligence agencies, which are usually close partners. That reluctance suggests the Turkish government may be seeking to reach some accommodation with Saudi Arabia while avoiding a full rupture in relations with another important regional power.
The Turkish leaks implicating Saudi officials in the Khashoggi case have followed a distinctive pattern.
They began Oct. 6, the day Turkish officials have said Erdogan was first briefed on the evidence. But the flow of leaks ceased in more recent days as diplomatic steps to address the matter escalated: King Salman of Saudi Arabia called Erdogan and sent a high-level delegation. Trump suggested that he was taking the accusations seriously and sent Pompeo to Saudi Arabia for answers. And people knowledgeable about the Saudi plans said the royal court was preparing to acknowledge Khashoggi’s killing and punish what they would describe as a rogue operator in the Saudi intelligence service.
On Wednesday, however, the leaks resumed and escalated, a possible sign of Turkish frustration as the Saudis have delivered no such public explanation and the Trump administration has shown no rush to get one.
An investigation by The New York Times revealed on Tuesday that at least four of the suspects whom Turkish officials have said played a role in Khashoggi’s disappearance or death have close ties to Prince Mohammed, having travelled with him as members of his security team.
Those four are among 15 Saudis, including the doctor of forensics, whom the Turks have said flew into Istanbul the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance. The Times has confirmed that at least nine worked for the Saudi government, military or security services.
Pompeo has declined to comment on specifics but has expressed confidence in the promise of the king and crown prince to investigate. After flying to the capital, Ankara, to meet with Erdogan, Pompeo said repeatedly that the Trump administration was withholding judgment until seeing the results of the Turkish and Saudi investigations.
“It’s reasonable to give them a handful of days to get it right,” he said of the Saudis.
Trump, too, appeared inclined to trust the Saudis and denied that he was “giving cover” by insisting that they should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty.
Saudi Arabia “has been a very important ally,” Trump said. He noted again, as he has repeatedly since Khashoggi’s disappearance, that the kingdom was spending billions of dollars on US weapons.
Still, the implication that the Saudi government orchestrated Khashoggi’s disappearance and possible death has created a stigma around Prince Mohammed, who runs the country.
His plan for a financial conference in Riyadh next week, dubbed Davos in the Desert, has been upended by cancellations from high-profile Western financiers and media organizations. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, on Wednesday became the latest to scrap plans to attend.
In Istanbul, Turkish investigators were allowed to search the residence of the Saudi consul on Wednesday, 15 days after Khashoggi’s disappearance. The Turks have repeatedly pressed for access to the premises, and they were accompanied on Wednesday by a team of Saudis.
Former US intelligence officials have said they consider their Turkish counterparts both competent and credible when it comes to domestic intelligence gathering, and it would not be surprising if the Turks possessed audio surveillance from within the Saudi Consulate.
The Turkish news media has less credibility. News outlets and newspapers are either government-controlled or owned by pro-government business executives.
Pro-government news organizations may publish incorrect information. But it is highly unlikely that they would publish information about a politically sensitive investigation without the consent of the authorities. So the resumption of disclosures about Khashoggi’s disappearance is more likely to reflect a decision by the Turkish president than a burst of muckraking zeal.


Monday, April 8, 2019 - 5 a.m.
Reversing a recent trend, the median sale price of a home in Southern Nevada ticked up in March, according to a new report from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.
The report showed that the median price for an existing home sold in March was $300,000, up slightly from $296,200 in February and up more than 7 percent from March 2018.
Home prices in the area had generally been rising since early 2012 before retreating in recent months.
The median sale price reached $300,000 for the first time in September and has been hovering around the mark ever since.
The median price of local condos and townhomes sold last month came in at $166,500, up just slightly from February. The March figure was up about 4 percent from the same month in 2018.
Following the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009, home prices bottomed out in Southern Nevada at about $118,000 in January 2012.
With mortgage rates remaining near historically low levels and the lowering of some asking prices, Carpenter said things could be looking up for the area housing market this spring.
That’s despite the actual number of transactions dipping in March.
According to the report, the number of existing homes, condos and townhomes sold last month — 3,260 — represented a decrease of nearly 17 percent for existing homes and nearly 13 percent for condos and townhomes.
About 23 percent of all properties sold in March were purchased with cash, which is a figure that’s down about 2 percent from March 2018.
Home sales, of course, generally pick up during the spring and summer months. At the current sales pace, Carpenter said Southern Nevada now has less than a three-month supply of homes available on the market.
Anything under a five-month supply is generally thought of as a seller’s market.
Founded in 1947, the GLVAR serves more than 14,000 Southern Nevada agents.


Both right-handers have held that perspective since Day One of camp. Both have struggled at times this spring, with Gonzalez also allowing six runs Monday in a Triple A game. He was unhappy with his slider, which lacked the required bite for strikeouts.
Chi Chi Gonzalez allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings Saturday against the Diamondbacks in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Video by Stefan Stevenson/Star-Telegram).
I was jamming a ton of guys, which was great, but I need some punchouts. I haven’t gotten any yet, and that would help me out a ton. I need to figure out what pitch to throw to get a strikeout.
Martinez, meanwhile, has allowed nine earned runs in three appearances (7 2/3 innings).
But none of that will matter if either performs well in his last few outings. The focus from Brocail, among others, will sharpen, and the pitchers understand what’s at stake.
Martinez is expected to throw four to five innings Sunday.
Rangers ace Yu Darvish is scheduled to increase his pitch count to 30 in his next bullpen session Monday morning.
Darvish looked “really good” during an 18-pitch session Saturday, Brocail said. Darvish was limited to 15 to 20 pitches because he was throwing on one day’s rest. He threw 25 pitches Thursday.
Yu Darvish is expected to throw 30-pitch bullpen session for the first time Monday. Pitching coach Doug Brocail wants 23-25 of those to be fastballs to help build strength in his arm.
Brocail originally scheduled Darvish to take two days off and increase his pitch count on Sunday. But Darvish wasn’t happy with his Thursday session, which followed three days off. He told Brocail he no longer wanted that many days off between sessions as the time off had him feeling lethargic on the mound.
Pitching coach Doug Brocail said Yu Darvish threw his best slider this spring during an 18-pitch bullpen session Saturday morning (Video by Stefan Stevenson/Star-Telegram).
Brocail wants Darvish to focus on letting loose with his fastball Monday to help build strength in his arm. Brocail said Monday’s session will be “lengthy.” Darvish will face hitters once he hits 50-55 pitches, and he could reach that as early as March 27 or 28.
▪ Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie is scheduled to pitch Monday, a day later than expected. Brocail said Guthrie was pushed back because of a backlog of starting pitchers needing innings.
▪ Reliever Luke Jackson is scheduled to throw off a full mound Tuesday for the first time since he was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back March 2. He’ll throw off a half-mound Sunday.
▪ First baseman Ike Davis (mild knee sprain) said he’s feeling better and hopes to be cleared to play in a week. He last played March 8.


Police said that around a dozen people who were going to a temple in Gulawati spotted alerted them of alleged cow slaughter there.
A man was arrested from Nithwali village in Bulandshahr on Monday on charges of cow slaughter. The police action came following protests from a number of members from Hindu outfits.
Police said that around a dozen people who were going to a temple in Gulawati spotted alerted them of alleged cow slaughter there. They caught a man named Mannan, a resident of the village, while others managed to escape and handed him over to the police.
“We have arrested a man in this connection, while a car used by the accused has been seized from the spot. The carcass we recovered from a mango orchard were later buried,” said Diksha Singh, Deputy SP (Secunderabad).


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Grand Rapids Community College is celebrating its centennial anniversary, but the birthday presents are going to local charities and organizations.
College faculty and staff created the 100 Ways to Give program, which includes service projects throughout the community.
GRCC’s Grants and Resource Development Office launched the first project this month. They’re trying to collect 100 items for care packages that will go to foster children at the D.A. Blodgett- St. John’s Home.
KENTWOOD, Mich.—The state’s front line for cyber attacks will put their skills to the test at Davenport University next week.
The Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps formed earlier this year. Similar to the National Guard during a disaster, the team can be activated by Governor Snyder during state of emergency involving cyberattacks.
On Wednesday, July 23, MiC3 will be pitted against the West Michigan Cyber Security Consortium in a cyberattack exercise. With the help of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, MiC3 will have to defend email servers, web servers and file systems from realistic cyberattacks by WMCSC.


There are no plans to make it compulsory for everyone in the UK to be on the national DNA database, the government has said.
The comment comes after a senior judge called for all UK residents and visitors to be required to provide a DNA sample to help police solve crimes.
Lord Justice Sedley said this would make the present database in England and Wales fairer and less biased.
The database currently holds details of four million people's DNA.
Each month, some 30,000 more samples from suspects or DNA recovered from crime scenes are added to the database, making it the largest in the world.
It includes some 24,000 samples from young people aged between 10 and 17, who were arrested but never convicted.
It also stores samples from nearly 40% of the black men in England and Wales compared with 9% of the white men, according to Home Office and Census figures.
But the idea of expanding it any further has come in for a barrage of criticism.
DNA database: A step too far?
The Human Genetics Commission said creating such a huge database would be too expensive and prone to mistakes being made.
Civil rights group, Liberty, meanwhile, attacked the proposal as "chilling" and "ripe for abuse".
A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said DNA had helped tackle crime, but expanding the database would create "huge logistical and bureaucratic issues" and civil liberty concerns.
He said there were no plans for a voluntary national or compulsory UK database.
Should we all be on it?
Home Office minister Tony McNulty said the database had helped police solve as many as 20,000 crimes a year.
In Scotland, DNA samples taken when people are arrested must be destroyed if the individual is not charged or convicted.
But Lord Justice Sedley, who is one of England's most experienced appeal court judges, insisted the present system was "indefensible" and it was time to move forwards.
He cited a catalogue of problems with the present system in England and Wales.
If you happen to have been in the hands of the police then your DNA is on permanent record while many people who are walking the streets and whose DNA would show them guilty of crimes, go free, he said.
He added that ethnic profiling meant disproportionate numbers of ethnic minorities were on the database.
"Going forwards has very serious but manageable implications. It means that everybody, guilty or innocent, should expect their DNA to be on file for the absolutely rigorously restricted purpose of crime detection and prevention," he said.
Keith Jarrett, president of the Black Police Association, backed his call, saying the current system was "untenable".
"You can't have a system where so many black youths who have done nothing wrong are perhaps going to the police station for elimination from a crime and find that their DNA is on the database," he said.
Shadow home secretary David Davis called for a Parliamentary debate and described the system for adding people to the database as arbitrary and erratic.
Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said there was "no earthly reason" why someone who has committed no crime should be on the database - "yet the government is shoving thousands of innocent people's DNA details on to the database every month".


I saw a billboard that supports Dama Rice for Petersburg City Council. She is asking us to vote for her because of 16 years of experience on council. That is exactly why we should NOT vote for her.
She has voted with the current council to spend millions on a golf course when the mass of her constituents were not in favor of such an act. Our 1st Ward has dilapidated housing and no public recreation for our children. I really don't know what she has done in those 16 years and I can't see giving her another four to add on to that. It is time for someone else to fill that seat.
Her opponent Treska Wilson-Smith has done some very remarkable things during those same 16 years. Treska worked tirelessly for 16 years to promote school uniforms, bringing our community to hear that our children should focus more on education and less on fashion while at school.
Treska brought a celebration of African-American culture and history to our city when she organized Juneteenth for several years. She engaged musicians, vendors, artists and city workers, bringing them together to work in harmony for the good of the community. There was peace and love without discontent or chaos. There was an opportunity for the children to learn about the Buffalo Soldier and the United States Colored Troops. There were lectures by Howard Baugh and Col. P.T. Taylor. She was presenting history in the making.
She spearheaded and organized National Children's Day at Historic Cooper's Field. In cooperation with Petersburg Advocates for Children, Treska professed: "This is for our children. This helps support their knowing how much we love them, and to let them know that they are not just a test score." She walked the street from business to business to get funds for this event. She put her heart, soul and a lot of energy into getting it all together for the children.
Treska has over 100 children enrolled in scouting programs. She has brought together men and women to be leaders in these programs and she has gotten many parents involved in supporting these activities. There are several different levels of scouting and she coordinates the activities of them all. Children learn a lot from a well-organized scouting experience and Treska ensures that what they learn in scouting is complimentary and supportive of the SOL program.
Those are just a few of the highlights of what Treska can and will do. When it comes to years of experience, I will vote for Treska. Ward 1, let's put her on Petersburg City Council on Nov. 2. If she can do this much just as a caring citizen, think of what she can do as a member on City Council.


Chelsea completed the swoop for the Cameroon forward on a one-year deal to bolster their attacking options after missing out on No 1 target Rooney.
And now Eto'o has joined up with those members of the Chelsea squad not on international duty to take part in training ahead of the weekend's Premier League clash at Goodison Park.
Eto'o looked to be fitting in with his new team-mates John Terry, Kevin de Bruyne, Michael Essien, Juan Mata and fellow new boy Willian.
Club captain Terry appeared to be giving Eto'o a warm welcome as the pair shook hands before sharing a joke with the rest of the squad.
Mourinho, who guided Eto'o and Inter to a Treble in 2010, may look to the 32-year-old striker to spearhead his attack this season.
The former Barcelona star took a paycut to join the Stamford Bridge club from Anzhi. The Russian outfit - who also allowed Willian to join the Blues - had made him the highest paid player on the planet, but he has seen his pay slashed from £17m to £7m a year since leaving for London.


PWL-GZB 12CAR EMU (64057) departs from PALWAL Railway Station at 10:55.
PWL-GZB 12CAR EMU reach on day 1 to GHAZIABAD Railway Station. The arrival time of PWL-GZB 12CAR EMU at GHAZIABAD Railway Station is 13:30.
PWL-GZB 12CAR EMU covers 80 km to reach GHAZIABAD Railway Station at average speed of 31 km/hr. PWL-GZB 12CAR EMU passes through 17 stations.


In expectation of hosting top sessions and meetings within Slovakia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, Bratislava is getting a makeover.
But while repairs of roads cause even bigger and more frequent traffic jams than usual, no significant improvement is expected.
It is also questionable how long the renewed roads will last as these are not undergoing a thorough reconstruction but only repairs within ordinary maintenance.
The reason for not choosing a complex reconstruction Ľubomír Palčák of the Research Institute of Transport (VÚD) estimates that the city was looking for a compromise between money and time it has for work to be done.
Drivers in Bratislava have to count with delays during morning and evening peak hours. Road work is expected to continue for the next two months as the presidency begins on July 1.
Apart from roads the city is also repairing the fly-under road at Hodžovo square as well as dilapidated underpasses at Kozia street and Trnavské Mýto. The SNP Bridge should undergo repairs in August.
In the centre of Bratislava the revamping will focus on surroundings of the current seat of the Slovak Philharmonic, Reduta, which will be the centre of political happenings during the presidency.
Other areas to be repaired include accesses from hotels in which delegates of the EU council will be accommodated and sites visited by tourists.
The city also wants to add new public toilets as well as free wi-fi that should remain after the presidency, Sme wrote.


Like American white supremacist Richard B. Spencer, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan maintains that there is no distinction between "radical" and "moderate" Muslims.
At a November 9 conference on women's entrepreneurship in Ankara hosted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected the concept of "moderate Islam." Referring to the vow by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Oct. 25 -- to turn his country into a bastion of "moderate Islam," Erdoğan said, "Islam cannot be either 'moderate' or 'not moderate.' Islam can only be one thing." He also claimed that the "patent of this concept originated in the West," which "really want[s] to weaken Islam."
Erdoğan has consistently communicated his thoughts about the term "moderate Islam" often used in the West to describe his Justice and Development Party (AKP). As early as 2007, he said: "These epithets of 'moderate Islam' are very ugly, it is disrespectful and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that's it."
In keeping with Erdoğan's assertions, the Turkish government-funded Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) published in July a detailed 140-page report, which stated that Islam is "superior" to Judaism and Christianity, and that "interfaith dialogue is unacceptable."
An ostensibly 'moderate' Muslim leader abhors the mere mention of the word 'moderate' in relation to Islam.
The report focuses on the teachings and goals of the US-based Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government accuses of orchestrating the attempted coup in July 2016.
Gülen's claim that anyone who believes in the trinity of Christianity should not be immediately declared an unbeliever does not comply with Islam's Tawhid belief [oneness of Allah] in any way. It is obvious that such a claim, which is part of his interfaith activities, is nothing but an attempt to whitewash the trinity of Christianity and to make the trinity legitimate in the eyes of Muslims.
When it comes to proving this perverted thought of his, he does not even back down from distorting the meaning of a Koranic verse. However, all Islamic scholars understand that the verse which says, 'They have certainly disbelieved who say, Allah is the third of three,' (Mâide 5/73) means that those who believe in the trinity are kafirs[infidels].
His [Gülen's] statements that attempt to whitewash Christians against whom the Koran provides very harsh criticisms because of their opposition to Tawhid are unacceptable. For according to Islam, after Allah sent Islam as the last religion, Christianity lost its validity.
Islam is the last divine religion sent to the entire humanity. All of the former religions lost their validity when Prophet Mohammed, the last pearl of the sequence of prophets, was sent as a prophet and the Koran was sent as the last divine book. Hence, according to Islam, it is unacceptable to evaluate Islam on the same level as Judaism and Christianity and to engage in 'interfaith dialogue' by saying that former religions continue to be 'true religions.' To bring Islam, the last and only true religion, next to other religions does not comply with Islam's uniqueness and superiority in the eyes of Allah.
In other words, while many Western governments and Christian leaders consider Turkey a "moderate" ally, and include Islam in their interfaith activities, the powers-that-be in Ankara proudly declare Christians and all other non-Muslims to be kafirs, in accordance with Islamic doctrine.
"For over the last 1,400 years, 270 million kafirs have died as a result of the political doctrine of Islam. It is the biggest single source of suffering in the history of the world.
"The word kafir is the worst word in the human language. It is far worse than the n-word, because the n-word is a personal opinion, whereas, kafir is Allah's decree. Nearly two thirds of the Koran is devoted to the kafir. Islam is fixated on the kafir and the moderate Muslim thinks that you are a kafir. How moderate is that?
It is ironic that Warner's assessment of a lack of "moderate" Islam is closer to Erdoğan's than to that of the Saudi crown prince. Whether Islam can be moderated or reformed, or whether Islamic societies can be secularized, is debatable.
The Koran asserts that it is the final, perfect, and eternal message of Allah to the world.
According to Islamic doctrine, the Koran is the literal speech of omniscient Allah. The angel Gabriel coming down to Muhammad with the Koranic verses is a large portion of Islam and does not allow parts of the scripture to be changed or ignored. The Koran asserts that it is the final, perfect, and eternal message of Allah to the world, and that it has always been and will always remain unchanged. But Muslims as individuals can and should be encouraged to change their thinking for the better.
Yet even if it is not possible to achieve these aims fully, it is still worth the effort if some of the persecuted kafirs in the Muslim world can be protected from intolerance, oppression and bloodshed.
It is the political and religious leaders of Muslim communities, however, who need to lead such efforts. It is they who should be introducing reforms and promoting freedom and human rights for all.
Sadly, even when the president of an ostensibly "moderate" Muslim country such as Turkey abhors the mere mention of the word "moderate" in relation to Islam, this does not seem to prevent Western "progressive" elites from excusing violent Muslim rhetoric -- both in the name of multiculturalism and out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia." Never mind that Islam is the religion that sets itself apart from, and above, all others, or that leaders such as Erdoğan advance an ideology of subjugating and enslaving people of different faiths or political opinions. It is no wonder that Christianity, Judaism, and Yazidism have been virtually annihilated in Turkey, as they have in the rest of the Muslim world.


The business-IT landscape is increasingly getting disrupted due to onslaught of cloud, data science, AI, and IoT adoptions on both consumer and enterprise side. Hence, the talent community is keen on securing their career by moving to Cloud and other latest techs to ensure their employability for a decade or even more. While most IT service providers are still in a dilemma to push cloud or push legacy or how much on which cloud, Hanu Software is painlessly attracting top talents in the industry with its sheer focus on Azure Cloud. 'Any workload, anywhere to Azure' is its single-point solution for everyone globally. Hanu enables everyone on Azure adoptions - be it 'Do It Myself' CxOs or get it Outsourced CxOs by helping some of the selected IT implementer and also by loaning Azure talents on contracts.
Debuted in 2004 with few fresh graduates to drive some small-sized projects in U.S., Hanu took the leadership to solve the talent scarcity problem to achieve the leading service provider position for Microsoft Azure ever since Microsoft announced it around 2007. Made the right bet on a technology that is growing at a 120-150 percent rate, the company is witnessing unprecedented speed of growth that every rock star (R.O.C.K indicates Respect, Open, Client Obsession & Kaizen - Hanu's core values) stands to benefit. 'Grow within' being its talent development mantra, this 300+ people strong Cloud IT service company has not only added several Fortune 1000 clients, but foresees ending up with 350+ people (500+ by the end of 2017) and a revenue of $10-12 million by this year end, and envisions growing ten-fold by 2020.
At this exceptionally dynamic organization, every rock star is given vast opportunities to pursue his/her career in desired domains via Hanu IJP and Job rotation programmes, which enables them to up-skill and perform more with enthusiasm. Hanu's ROCK'U (Rock Star University) program is an industry first program to produce finest Azure talent in the world. Enriched with over 100+ certified Azure professionals with vast cloud implementation experiences, the company has accomplished 250+ small or big Azure adoptions and POCs. With such a huge consolidated experience in specific technology - a unique trait only a handful of companies can boast of - rock stars can deepen their cloud talent and also grow in positions and hierarchies as per its fast-paced growth program.
"At Hanu, we truly believe in our rock stars who have consistently proved that in the world of cloud technology, Hanu remains the No. One player and brand is synonym to innovation and the sharpest of minds," remarks Amit Kataria, Global Head of HR, Hanu. International movements and assignments are yet another talent attraction factor, since in Hanu's model, an onshore-offshore effort ratio is lot more skewed in favor of onshore. Hanu's 24x7 global recruiting team is building the capacity to ensure that it can meet the growing demand of Azure talent from all corners of Hanu as well as other companies sometimes. It also runs a talent help line, where anyone can make a call.


The Editors' Choice Award-winning Asus PA246Q is a professional-class monitor with a satisfying number of features at an affordable price.
There are three distinct reasons to be excited about the Asus PA246Q. One, it's the first monitor we've had the opportunity to calibrate using a new tool; two, it's the first 24-inch-plus monitor with a high-end P-IPS panel we've reviewed that costs less than $500.
Finally, the graphical overlay feature may be the most original monitor option I've encountered in more than three years of writing monitor reviews. Essentially, the feature places one of a number of different grid and photo size options on the screen, allowing for increased precision when tailoring graphics or printing photos.
What sets the PA246Q apart is its price-to-performance-and-features ratio. Rarely do you see a monitor of its size, performance, and feature set at such a relatively low starting price: $500.
Height adjustment of 4 inches is available.
Not the thinnest of profiles, but not bad for a CCFL-based P-IPS panel.
Two USB downstream slots and a multimedia card reader are on the left side.
The base has a radial dial that assists when precise angles are necessary.
Located above the OSD array, the measurement notches may assist in accuracy and precision when designing.
Excellent for designing D&D dungeons, yes, but also useful when consistent asset placement is necessary.
Sizing photos has never been as easy; well, maybe in Photoshop.
Getting an accurate idea of paper size could have its uses.
Six presets are included. We found the sRGB preset to have the best color and contrast balance.
The usual monitor image options are present here.
The deep level of color attribute configuration is impressive.


An escalating dispute between Gulf Keystone and a group of shareholders drove down the oil company's shares on Monday, 10 days ahead of crucial votes which will decide the composition of the board.
The company, which made its name finding a huge oil field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, is facing investor calls for a board shake-up to counter concerns about corporate governance standards and executive pay.
Its disagreement with activist investor M&G Recovery Fund, one of its biggest shareholders with a 5.1 percent stake, worsened on Saturday when the company recommended that shareholders vote against four directors M&G had nominated to the board, when the annual meeting is held on July 25.
Sky News then reported on Sunday that a shareholder group headed by M&G Investments was considering voting against Gulf Keystone's new chairman Simon Murray, a city heavyweight who was formerly chairman of commodities giant Glencore .
Shares in Gulf Keystone were down 10.6 percent in afternoon trade, underperforming the European oil and gas index which was 0.4 percent higher.
Setting out its objections to M&G's board nominees on Saturday, Gulf Keystone indicated that should Jeremy Asher, one of the four directors M&G has put forward, be appointed it could damage the company's operational team.
"There can be no assurances that the appointment of Mr. Asher will not result in key members of the executive and operational team choosing to resign," the company said, calling Asher's last spell on the board "highly disruptive".
Edison analyst Will Forbes, commenting about the share price drop, said of the dispute: "It's increased uncertainty. No one knows how this is going to play out. It's a concern that key members may leave the company."
Votes against new chairman Murray at the annual meeting will be a blow to Gulf Keystone, which appointed him in a bid to calm investor concerns over corporate governance.
M&G declined to comment on whether it was considering voting against Murray.
The investor met Murray on Friday to discuss corporate governance concerns and was angered when the company refused to disclose the new chairman's annual salary, Sky News said.
In a move which suggested, however, that Gulf Keystone was trying to mitigate some of the shareholder criticisms, a source familiar with the company told Reuters that Murray was planning to appoint third-party consultants to examine executive pay.
Gulf Keystone is considering appointing to the board Andrew Simon, who sits on the board of FTSE 100 building material supplier Travis Perkins and is former deputy chairman of energy services company Dalkia, the source also said.


Thieves stole a diamond ring after a breaking into a home in Crawley last week.
Sussex Police say the house in Lingfield Drive was burgled on Wednesday February 6 between the hours of 4pm and 7pm.
The ring was stolen during the burglary.
Police are asking for witnesses to any suspicious behaviour in the area at around this time.
How much is your council tax set to rise in Crawley?


The following is an excerpt from the GigaOM Pro report,"Migrating Interactive Media and Web Applications to the Private Cloud"
This Gigaom Research report aims to help technology decision-makers better understand: -	What the modern workforce thinks it needs to succeed in this rapidly changing world of mobile-first communications and new work-collaboration technologies -	How IT is supporting those needs and overall corporate objectives -	If there are gaps between worker expectations and IT requirements, and how technology buyers can address them Download this Gigaom Research white paper to learn more.
GigaOm is seeing a new breed of services that promise to accelerate the mobilization of existing enterprise applications and business processes. Early mobile-application development solutions (MADP) were resource-intensive, requiring custom client code for each supported platform, as well as an on-premise middleware layer to connect mobile clients to enterprise backend systems. In this new model, code-free, configuration solutions - aimed at business analysts and lines of business- are revolutionizing the landscape, consolidating tools and services to simplify cross-platform enablement, and reducing time to deploy and cost tremendously. This report describes mobile-application configuration (MAC) tools, articulates their business value and suggests conditions under which they may be a good choice for an organization.
This 1-hour recorded webinar focuses on the value of desktop-as-a-service platforms to simplify multicloud and remove complexities.
In this report, we look at the different approaches of these two groups based on a Gigaom Research survey of 500 IT decision makers at large U.S. organizations.
In a second-quarter 2014 Gigaom Research survey of 500 IT decision-makers at large U.S. companies, we identified strategic buyers as those who report using cloud resources for new business and revenue streams as opposed to those who don’t.
This Gigaom Research report defines PaaS, investigates the available options, and then supplies concrete recommendations for what to use where and when.
Find out why and how technology leaders in organizations adopting agile delivery are increasingly turning to the public cloud to solve the challenge of quickly and efficiently provisioning and managing dev/test environments.
In this Gigaom Research webinar, the panel will discuss how the multi-cluster approach can be implemented in real systems, and whether and how it can be made to work. The panel will also talk about best practices for implementing the approach in organizations.
In this Gigaom Research Webinar, we will separate the real threats from the hype, identify the most common forms of security breaches, and discuss the tools and processes businesses can put in place to minimize exposure and damage.
Watch this Gigaom Research On-Demand Webinar ; we will examine the immediate need to extend identity to customer audiences, the risks of doing so using legacy software, and the most effective path businesses can take to build for the future while recognizing value today.
In this Gigaom Research Webinar, we will examine the impact mobility has had on application development, the pain points experienced when businesses try to manage mobile development across the enterprise, and the role automation, DevOps and other rapid development tools play in moving IT from inhibitor to enabler.
Gigaom Research surveyed technology decision-makers about their use of marketing technologies and their impact on ROI and site operations. We’ll share the results of this survey and review best practices in managing your site’s marketing cloud.


More than 100 students from 14 schools competed Tuesday in the fourth annual West Texas Weld Off at Hereford High School.
Students had to demonstrate a variety of welding skills, such as wire welding and speed cutting in categories for beginning and advanced students. Advanced students had the chance to compete for an outstanding welder award.
Awards for best welder went to: Francisco Ramos of Hereford High School, first place; Aldo Delgado of Hereford High School, second place; Hunter Taylor of the Advanced Technology Center in Lubbock, third place; Juan Escabedo of Hereford High School, fourth place; and Rigo Arce of Tulia High School, fifth place.
The following students won in eight skills categories: Marco Ortiz of Post High School; Shane Brock of Tulia High School; Korey Barrett of Carrigan Career Center in Wichita Falls; Kaden Gallagher, of Hereford High School, in two categories; Rogelio Romero, of Tulia High School; and Delgado and Ramos, who were among the top welders overall.


ASHEVILLE — Pedestrian and bike projects in the River Arts District are back on the table, the result of an influx of cash from the county’s tourism board that could move the projects forward after the Asheville City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The city of Asheville is slated to formally accept an investment of $4.6 million from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority to help complete the southern section of the the River Arts District Transportation Improvement Project.
The city and the BCTDA initially announced the funding last October, and at its Jan. 23 meeting, Asheville City Council will consider accepting the grant and adjusting the city’s budget accordingly. The $4.6 million will go toward elements of the major infrastructure project in the RAD that were eliminated after construction costs came in more 50 percent higher than initial cost estimates last summer.
Council will also vote on amending its contract with Beverly Grant/Barnhill, the project’s construction manager, to include improvements to Lyman Street such as pedestrian and bicycle access that were delayed as a result of the cost overrun.
Council will hold a public hearing to consider the conditional zoning of 153 Smokey Park Highway for the renovation and expansion of an Ingles-anchored multi-tenant commercial development.
A 112-room hotel project at 390 Airport Road will come before City Council for conditional zoning from highway business to lodging expansion. The parcel includes an existing Olive Garden restaurant and as part of the rezoning, that property would be split off.
Council will hear a proposal to rezone 655 Brevard Road, changing a tract with a dental office from conditional use office to office zoning and an undeveloped wooded tract to residential.
A hearing is scheduled for a rezoning of an undeveloped parcel on an unnamed alley on Howard Street (technically with the address of 99999 Deaver St.) from residential to Haywood Road traditional. The applicant wants to include the parcel in an already-approved mixed-use project at Beacham’s Curve.
The owners of 1093 Tunnel Place and 3 Oteen Park Place are slated to get a public hearing at City Council for their request to rezone the properties from highway business and residential to highway business conditional zone. The applicants are seeking more area for the auto service center they operate on the site.
Leah Chiles, the first woman mayor in North Carolina and a founder of the town of Kenilworth before its annexation by Asheville, could get further recognition. An item on City Council’s consent agenda proposes renaming Lakewood Park to Leah Chiles Park and erecting a historical plaque in her honor. The proposal states that Leah Chiles and her husband, James, developed Kenilworth in the 1920s and that she was an independent businesswoman who also served as an advocate for civil rights and the arts.
A budget amendment of $196,648 to receive grant funds for projects helping low-income residents get to and from jobs, including Sunday service on Asheville Redefines Transit, ART route 170 to Black Mountain and administrative costs of the program.
A budget amendment for a $40,000 match to a $160,000 federal grant to undertake a study of the feasibility of bicycle facilities on Biltmore Avenue, Broadway and McDowell Street.
Authorization of a match of $35,000 for a $175,000 grant for updating the city’s pedestrian plan and Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan.
Authorization of a match of $7,500 for a $75,000 grant that helps fund the city’s transit planning manager position.
A long-awaited renovation of the ART station could get off the ground if Council approves a $188,000 contract with Greensboro-based Clark Patterson Lee to provide design services for the project. Last March, Council directed staff to proceed with a design to improve the downtown transit center, as was recommended in the 2009 transit master plan.
Council will consider a resolution to change the bylaws of the Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee to expand its list of purposes and duties and change its name by adding “Asheville-Buncombe” to reflect that it is a joint project of the city and county.
Council will hear a status report on the N.C. Department of Transportation’s planning for improvements to Merrimon Avenue.


The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 on file with the SEC. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the ''Risk Factors'' section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing new drugs to improve the lives of cancer patients by addressing key mechanisms of drug resistance that limit the rate and durability of response of many cancer therapies. Our targeted, small molecule drug candidates, designed using our proprietary kinase switch control inhibitor platform, inhibit the activation of kinases, an important family of enzymes, that, when mutated or over expressed, are known to be directly involved in the growth and spread of many cancers. We have built a diverse pipeline of wholly owned, orally administered drug candidates that include three clinical-stage and two research-stage programs.
Since our inception in 2003, we have focused substantially all of our efforts and financial resources on organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, developing product and technology rights, and conducting research and development activities for our drug candidates. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales.
On October 2, 2017, we completed an initial public offering, or IPO, of our common stock, pursuant to which we issued and sold 7,500,000 shares of common stock at a public offering price of $17.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds of $114.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. On October 4, 2017, we issued and sold an additional 666,496 shares of our common stock at the IPO price of $17.00 per share, pursuant to the underwriters' partial exercise of their option to purchase additional shares of common stock, resulting in additional net proceeds of $10.5 million after deducting discounts and commissions.
On June 11, 2018, we issued and sold 4,300,000 shares of our common stock in a follow-on public offering at a public offering price of $40.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds of $161.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses. On June 20, 2018, we issued and sold an additional 645,000 shares of our common stock at the offering price of $40.00 per share, pursuant to the underwriters' full exercise of their option to purchase additional shares of common stock, resulting in additional net proceeds of $24.3 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions.
Prior to our IPO, we had funded our operations primarily with proceeds from the sales of preferred shares, proceeds from the issuance of convertible notes, payments received under a concluded collaboration agreement, borrowings under a construction loan and research and development grants from the Kansas Bioscience Authority, or KBA.
expand our operational, financial and management systems and increase personnel, including to support our clinical development and commercialization efforts and our operations as a public company.
We will not generate revenue from product sales unless and until we successfully complete clinical development and obtain regulatory approval for our drug candidates. If we obtain regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates and do not enter into a commercialization partnership, we expect to incur significant expenses related to developing our internal commercialization capability to support product sales, marketing and distribution. Further, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.
As a result, we will need substantial additional funding to support our continuing operations and pursue our growth strategy. Until such time as we can generate significant revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements. We may be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other agreements or arrangements when needed on favorable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise capital or enter into such agreements as, and when, needed, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development and commercialization of one or more of our drug candidates.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with pharmaceutical product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we are able to generate product sales, we may not become profitable. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or terminate our operations.
As of September 30, 2018, we had cash and cash equivalents of $320.9 million. We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will enable us to fund our operating expenses, capital expenditure requirements and debt service payments into the second half of 2020. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources."
In October 2018, the Company announced that it had initiated an open-label, multicenter, Phase 1b/2 trial of rebastinib in combination with paclitaxel to assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and efficacy in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors. In this two-part Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, rebastinib will be evaluated for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors in combination with paclitaxel. Part 1 is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of 50 mg and 100 mg rebastinib twice daily (BID) when administered in combination with paclitaxel, and to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of rebastinib in combination with paclitaxel, in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors that are refractory to standard therapies. In part 2, the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the RP2D of rebastinib in combination with weekly paclitaxel will be assessed across multiple cohorts, including: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer. This trial will enroll up to 36 evaluable patients in part 1 and up to 132 evaluable patients in part 2. In addition to the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial with paclitaxel, we intend to initiate a second Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of rebastinib in combination with carboplatin in the first quarter of 2019.
On October 2, 2017, immediately prior to the completion of our IPO, we engaged in a series of transactions whereby Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC became a wholly owned subsidiary of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation. As part of the transactions, shareholders of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC exchanged their shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC for shares of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on a one-for-5.65 basis and exchanged their outstanding equity incentive awards of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, LLC for options to purchase the same number of shares of common stock of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. multiplied by 5.65, with a corresponding adjustment to divide the exercise price by 5.65. We refer to these transactions as the Conversion.
To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of products in the foreseeable future. If our development efforts for our drug candidates are successful and result in regulatory approval, we may generate revenue in the future from product sales. If we enter into license or collaboration agreements for any of our drug candidates or intellectual property, we may generate revenue in the future from payments as a result of such license or collaboration agreements. We cannot predict if, when, or to what extent we will generate revenue from the commercialization and sale of our drug candidates. We may never succeed in obtaining regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates.
facilities, depreciation and other expenses, which include direct and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities, insurance and supplies.
We expense research and development costs to operations as incurred. Advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses. The prepaid amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed.
Our direct research and development expenses are tracked on a program-by-program basis and consist primarily of external costs, such as fees paid to consultants, central laboratories, contractors, CMOs and CROs in connection with our preclinical and clinical development activities. We do not allocate employee costs, costs associated with our proprietary kinase switch control inhibitor platform technology or facility expenses, including depreciation or other indirect costs, to specific product development programs because these costs are deployed across multiple product development programs and, as such, are not separately classified.
maintaining a continued acceptable safety profile of the products following approval.
A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any of our drug candidates would significantly change the costs and timing associated with the development of that drug candidate. We may never succeed in obtaining regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Drug candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect research and development costs to increase significantly for the foreseeable future as our drug candidate development programs progress. However, we do not believe that it is possible at this time to accurately project total program-specific expenses through commercialization. There are numerous factors associated with the successful commercialization of any of our drug candidates, including future trial design and various regulatory requirements, many of which cannot be determined with accuracy at this time based on our stage of development. Additionally, future commercial and regulatory factors beyond our control will impact our clinical development programs and plans.
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in executive, finance and administrative functions. General and administrative expenses also include direct and allocated facility-related costs as well as professional fees for legal, patent, consulting, accounting and audit services.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future as we increase our headcount to support our continued research activities and development of our drug candidates. We also anticipate that we will incur increased accounting, audit, legal, regulatory, compliance, and director and officer insurance costs as well as investor and public relations expenses associated with operating as a public company.
Interest expense consists of interest expense associated with an outstanding construction loan from a related party. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources-Construction Loan."
Interest income consists of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalent balances. In the past our interest income has not been significant due to nominal cash and cash equivalent balances and low interest earned on those balances. We anticipate that our interest income will increase in the future due to higher cash and cash equivalent balances now existing as a result of our IPO in October 2017 and our follow-on public offering in June 2018. Other income, net, consists of insignificant amounts of miscellaneous income and expenses unrelated to our core operations.
Prior to the Conversion, we were treated as a partnership for tax purposes and had not been subject to U.S. federal or state income taxation and as a result, had not recorded any U.S. federal or state income tax benefits for the net losses we had incurred in each year or for our earned research and orphan drug credits. Upon the Conversion, we became subject to typical corporate U.S. federal and state income taxation; however, we do not have net operating loss carryforwards from periods prior to October 2, 2017 available to offset taxable income earned in future periods in which we will be treated as a corporation.
Since the Conversion in October 2017, we have not recorded any U.S. federal or state income tax benefits for either the net losses we have incurred or our earned research and orphan drug credits, due to the uncertainty of realizing a benefit from those items in the future. As of December 31, 2017, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of $14.9 million and $15.2 million respectively. Our federal and state net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2037 and 2027, respectively. We also had federal and state research and orphan drug credits of $3.8 million and less than $0.1 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2017, which begin to expire in 2037 and 2032, respectively.
Accordingly, we believe the policies set forth above are critical to fully understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations. If actual results or events differ materially from the estimates, judgments and assumptions used by us in applying these policies, our reported financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected.
Expenses related to our DCC-2618 program increased primarily as a result of increases in clinical trial costs of $4.4 million and manufacturing costs of $1.7 million. The increase in clinical trial costs was due to increased costs related to the pivotal Phase 3 trial in fourth-line and fourth-line plus GIST, which was initiated in January 2018. In addition, clinical trial costs increased due to start-up activities related to a second pivotal Phase 3 trial in second-line GIST which is expected to be initiated by the end of 2018. Chemistry, manufacturing and controls, or CMC, and manufacturing costs for the DCC-2618 program increased as a result of process development activities to support anticipated drug requirements for commercialization and the manufacture of registration lots to support the submission of a new drug application.
Expenses related to our rebastinib program increased primarily as a result of start-up activities related to our Phase 1b/2 trial of rebastinib in combination with paclitaxel which was initiated in October 2018.
The increase in personnel-related costs included in unallocated expenses was due to an increase in headcount in our research and development function. Personnel-related costs for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 included stock-based compensation expense of $1.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively. The increase in stock-based compensation expense was primarily related to additional employee stock options and a higher value of our common stock. The increase in facility-related and other costs included in unallocated expenses was primarily due to an increase in recruitment costs and costs incurred in connection with our early-stage drug discovery programs.
The increase in personnel-related costs was primarily a result of an increase in stock-based compensation expense. Personnel-related costs for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 included stock-based compensation expense of $1.5 million and $0.6 million, respectively. The increase in stock-based compensation expense was primarily related to additional employee stock options and a higher value of our common stock. The increase in professional and consultant fees was primarily due to an increase in various advisory fees, including those related to legal and accounting associated with operating as a public company. The increase in facility-related and other costs was primarily due to director and officer insurance costs and higher rent expense related to our new lease.
The increase in interest and other income, net, was primarily due to an increase in interest income resulting from net proceeds from our IPO in October 2017 and follow-on public offering in June 2018.
Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 The following table summarizes our results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017: Nine Months Ended . . .