CLEVELAND -- Celebrity businessman Donald Trump will conclude an improbable run to the Republican presidential nomination Thursday by pledging in his acceptance speech to reduce violence and cut taxes and regulations to rev up an American economy still recovering from the Great Recession.
According to excerpts provided in advance of the speech, Trump, making his first try for public office, is expected to argue that only someone new in the White House could reverse America's decline.
"The problems we face now -- poverty and violence at home, war and destruction abroad -- will last only as long as we continue relying on the same politicians who created them," Trump's speech to the Republican National Convention reads. "My message is that things have to change -- and they have to change right now."
Donald Trump on Tuesday night greeted the Republican National Convention via video from New York City.
Trump broke no new ground in the speech excerpts that largely were free of the personal attacks on his opponents that characterized his campaign for the nomination.
As he has in recent weeks, Trump pledged to bring back law and order to the U.S., echoing a theme that Richard Nixon used to win the White House in 1968.
"Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities," Trump's speech excerpts say. "I have a message for all of you: The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon come to an end." He gave Jan. 20, 2017, the next presidential inauguration day, as the time when "safety will be restored."
He continued to describe his campaign theme as "America First," the name of the group that opposed the U.S. entry into World War II to fight the Nazis and was led by aviator Charles Lindbergh, who complained that the Jews who controlled the government and media were pushing for war.
Trump blamed presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, for the many of the problems facing the U.S., though without calling her "Crooked Hillary" or echoing many of the insults directed at her throughout the four-day convention.
"America is far less safe -- and the world is far less stable -- than when Obama made the decision to put Hillary Clinton in charge of America's foreign policy," Trump said, according to the excerpts. "I am certain it is a decision he truly regrets. Her bad instincts and her bad judgment -- something pointed out by Bernie Sanders -- are what caused many of the disasters unfolding today."
Trump in the speech called for tax cuts. His proposal would increase the federal deficit by more than $10 trillion over 10 years and give the top 1 percent of Americans an average $227,225 tax cut and the bottom 20 percent an average reduction of $250, according to Citizens for Tax Justice.
He promised to reduce government regulations, which he called "one of the greatest job-killers of them all" despite 75 consecutive months of job growth.
With the new revenue from his proposals, Trump said there would be plenty of money to build "the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, and the railways of tomorrow."
He also reached out to Christian conservatives, a key part of the GOP coalition, by calling for using taxpayer funds for parents to send their children to private and religious schools.
"To every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight: I'm with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you," Trump said.


Update, 3:20 p.m.: Revised to include a statement from Texas Democratic Party Deputy Executive Director Manny Garcia.
AUSTIN — Gubernatorial candidate Andrew White is calling for a debate between him and former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
In a news release Tuesday, the son of late Democratic Gov. Mark White urged the Texas Democratic Party and media outlets to host debates between him and Valdez. The two candidates are in a runoff for the Democratic nomination after Valdez received 43 percent of the vote on Election Day and White 27 percent. A majority — 50 percent plus one vote — is required to win outright.
"The party's nominee for governor — whether it's me or Lupe — should begin spring training now for the fall campaign against Greg Abbott," White said in a prepared statement. "A few debates between the two of us before the runoff would make the eventual nominee all the stronger. And who doesn't love a good debate?"
Valdez came out on top of a nine-candidate field in the March primary and did well in Dallas and San Antonio, where she grew up. She also drew voters in heavily Hispanic South Texas.
Valdez would be open to debating White, said spokesman Kiefer Odell, who needled White a bit for his lack of support in urban areas and the Rio Grande Valley.
"We will be glad to work out a debate schedule when the voters become more focused on the race, but this primary won't be won on 30-second debate responses," Odell said. "While we understand why someone who received such low support in most of Texas' major urban areas and the Rio Grande Valley needs a debate to create buzz, Sheriff Valdez is focused on developing substantive relationships with voters across the state — just as she has done in Dallas County for the last 13 years."
White did well in areas along the Gulf Coast, including his Harris County home base.
A Texas Democratic Party said official said it would abstain from sponsoring a debate between Valdez and White, saying the party has never hosted debates for statewide office.
"We are not the DNC, and we all know it didn't go so well for them on presidential debates," executive director Manny Garcia said in a prepared statement, alluding to the allegations of bias the Democratic National Committee faced in organizing debates involving the 2016 presidential primary candidates. "We look forward to coordinating with our eventual gubernatorial nominee."
Southern Methodist University political scientist Matthew Wilson told The Dallas Morning News this month that White would probably seek debates with Valdez to prove his understanding of policy and demonstrate his electability. During an interview with The Dallas Morning News editorial board last month, Valdez stumbled over how much Texas spends on border security and other state policy issues.
But she is considered the favorite during the runoff, Wilson said.
"Valdez is well-positioned, given the nature of what the Texas Democratic Party has become, with ready outreach into the Latino community and the gay and lesbian community," he said. "Putting together those kinds of 'identity politics' constituencies of activists, that goes a long way."


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North Korea has slammed new United Nations sanctions against it, warning that the United States would soon face the "greatest pain" it has ever experienced.
Pyongyang's comments came after the UN Security Council had voted unanimously for tougher sanctions - including a ban on textile and labour exports from North Korea and a cap on oil imports.
China called on North Korea to "take seriously the expectations and will of the international community" to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile development.


Good radio shows feel familiar. They feel conversational and allow you to jump in at any point and quickly understand the gist of what’s going on. For twenty-five years, brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, better known as Click & Clack, did just that as they dispensed car advice, dispensed life advice and had a few laughs with their more than three million weekly listeners every Saturday morning.
Earlier today, the guys announced they’re going to cease production of “Car Talk” at the end of September. Fans have flooded the Internet with sadness today, but if there’s one group who overshadows their disappointment, it seems to be the radio stations themselves. “Car Talk” has long been NPR’s most popular show, and radio stations across the country have asked if they can continue airing repeats. The short answer is yes. According to The New York Daily News, the show’s executive producer will go back through the tapes and repackage and reformat the old calls. He’s saved more than twelve thousand of them and meticulously rated their content by entertainment value, making the job at hand far easier than it would be otherwise.
The guys haven’t given a specific reason for their departure, but at seventy-four, Tom has been at the game a long time. His little brother has already publically and in good fun called him lazy for the decision, but after more than two decades, I’m sure Ray will welcome the break too.
Click & Clack were wonderful at their jobs, and their hearty accents and healthy guffaws will be missed.


Dimitar Berbatov has revealed he makes notes about Sir Alex Ferguson's management techniques just in case he decides to be a boss one day.
The Bulgarian is rewarding Ferguson for the immense faith he has shown in him by finally finding the form that persuaded the Manchester United boss to spend a club record Â£30.75million to sign him from Tottenham two years ago.
"He (Ferguson) is one of the most successful managers in the history of the game," said Berbatov, in an exclusive interview with MUTV. "I write things down about the way we train and how he treats people. It is like a school. You work with the best manager and play with the best players."
He added: "I try to learn. I am at the biggest club in the world. If I can learn anywhere it is here."
Berbatov admitted he was in awe of Ferguson when he first moved north from Tottenham.
But it soon became apparent the most decorated British manager of all time was a multi-dimensional character, who even when he is unleashing the infamous hair-dryer, always does so with an end goal in mind.
"At first I was star struck but when you start to know him, you see he is a very nice guy," said Berbatov.
"He jokes around with the players but when things don't go the way he wants he can be tough.
"It is not that it makes you feel uncomfortable. He just wants you to be sure in yourself.
"Every human being is different. You need different approaches and he goes to every player and speaks to them alone to motivate them."


Footprints in the Sand at O.B.
This is a shot from under Crystal Pier in PB.
December 16th 2010 from Cowles Mt.


There's a lot to consider when deciding on a college, from the school's academic stature to the cafeteria food. And now, more than ever, parents and students are putting greater weight on finding a school they feel is worth the steep tuition.
Given the high cost of college and debt burden for many after graduation, schools that pay back on that investment with hefty student aid, a strong alumni network and promising post-grad career placement are worth their weight in gold.
"It is especially important for parents and students to plan realistically and choose wisely, especially if student loans are paying for the majority of these costs," said Mike Salmon, a financial advisor at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida. "Students need to understand what they are signing up for and how difficult it might be to support the loan payment if the degree doesn't lead to an above-average-paying career."
To that end, the Princeton Review compiled a list of the top colleges with the greatest return on investment. To calculate each school's ROI, the Princeton Review factored in academics, cost, financial aid and graduation rates among other considerations as well as PayScale.com data on starting and mid-career salaries of alumni.
So when choosing — and financing — a college education, consider the schools with the greatest return. Here are the top five.


The bar, dining, and entertainment space called Eden is three levels and offers sea views and innovative design.
BAHAMAS -- A waitress on the new Celebrity Edge cruise ship stood at my side in the Eden lounge and asked if I could explain the entertainment to her.
I looked down from my vantage point and saw a man playing a didgeridoo while a woman dressed like a celestial goddess from a 1930s Busby Berkeley movie sang in an apocryphal language. A bald man was spinning on a steel crescent suspended from the ceiling while a group of “Mad Max”-esque dancers writhed in what appeared to be a dystopian mating ritual.
The waitress smiled expectantly, waiting for an answer.
Whatever it was — I’m certain both of my guesses were completely off the mark — I liked it because it was so weirdly different from anything I had ever seen on a cruise. Why was there a sitar? Who was the woman running around and falling on a pillow?
This was not your standard issue cringe-inducing cruise ship entertainment, and for that I was grateful.
There was a lot about the new Celebrity Edge that was reinvented. The Edge, which began preview sailings late last month, is the line’s attempt to upend the industry and target an audience that has been reticent to cruise.
The Celebrity Edge launched with an inaugural sailing from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas in late November.
The Edge, Celebrity’s first new ship in six years, offers rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, serene color schemes, and fast Internet. The balconies are incorporated into the main cabin area, creating rooms that are about 23 percent larger than traditional balcony cabins. It’s not unlike the feature found on ships for river cruising. It also made for some incredible views.
There’s more greenery at the back of the ship in the three-deck-high, plant-filled lounge, dining, and entertainment venue called Eden. With its soaring windows, it looks like nothing else on the ocean.
The ship’s most distinctive feature is a 90-ton platform called the Magic Carpet. It acts as a tender-boarding platform when it’s lowered to deck two. The rest of the time the tennis court-sized platform is raised to become part of a seafood restaurant on deck five or a lounge on deck 16. Contrary to the name, guests cannot ride it up and down while it’s in motion, but sip enough champagne on the cantilevered tangerine-colored platform at sunset and you’ll feel like you’re flying over the sea.
The highlight of Celebrity Edge’s outward-facing vision, Magic Carpet is the world’s first cantilevered, floating platform that reaches heights of 13 stories above sea level.
The man behind much of the unique architecture of the ship, British architect Tom Wright, said he wasn’t specifically thinking about millennials when he worked on the Edge.
To appeal to that younger, coveted crowd, there is an emphasis on technology. I downloaded an app to my phone and could control all the features of my room. When I woke up in the morning, I rolled over, grabbed my phone, and opened the blinds. At night I could turn on the TV or turn off the lights. The Internet speed was among the fastest I’ve ever experienced on a ship.
The Pool Deck features an outward-facing terraced deck.
The technology extends to the restaurants. Dinner at Le Grand Bistro features 3-D animated mini chefs at each table. It’s gimmicky as all get out, but it’s a cute distraction if you’re not in the mood for deep dinner conversation.
Despite Celebrity’s focus to bring young passengers aboard, the Edge doesn’t feel like a ship pandering to those in their 20s or 30s. There is a massive gym, a two-level sloping outdoor running track, and new kinds of shipboard entertainment. But these are amenities that can be appreciated by almost anyone.
While I enjoyed the features of the ship, the restaurants, and the huge pool area, what was most memorable was the way I could experience sunsets. Yes, I’m one of those hackneyed old fools who goes out of his way to watch the sunset. I watched from the big garden on the top deck. I watched from the Magic Carpet, and when I just needed a minute to myself, I watched through the massive window in the wonderful solitude of my room.


Penguins goalie Brent Johnson lands one-punch knockout of Rick DiPietro Wednesday night.
The hits keep coming for the Islanders.
After a fight with Penguins goalie Brent Johnson on Wednesday night, Isles goalie Rick DiPietro is out four to six weeks, the team said Friday. The made-for-You Tube fight happened when Johnson skated the length of the ice and landed a left hook to drop DePietro with a single blow in the fight with merely seconds left in the game.
The fight wasn't the only thing that DiPietro lost. The Penguins skated off the ice with a 3-0 win.
Initial x-rays failed to show any damager, but a follow-up CT scan showed that DiPietro had facial fractures and knee swelling, the team said.
"It's frustrating, it's unfortunate and every other emotion you can throw in there," DiPietro told reporters Friday. "I'm sick of losing, our team's sick of losing. You never go into a fight expecting you're going to get smashed in the face that hard, or with these kind of consequences, but it happens and you move on."
DiPietro told reporters that he must take it easy for awhile, and would leave it up to the team to tell him when he could return.
"Right now it's soft foods and hang out," he said. "Those are my favorite things: to work out and eat and play hockey. I can't do any of them so it's not really the best of injuries."
The injury is the latest blow in a frustrating career for the 29-year-old who signed a groundbreaking 15-year-old contract with the Islanders in 2006. He hasn't played a full season since 2007 and has played only 13 games over the past two seasons due to knee injuries.
The Islanders are in last place, and DiPietro ranks 41 out of 42 with a .890 save percentange.
Three days after the fight, DiPietro was still trying to piece together what happened.
"I didn't realize at the time that his arms were so long or that he could throw such a hard left punch, but I found both of those out pretty quickly," he told reporters. "It's a tough game and it's a physical sport. Unfortunately my face paid the price."


Homeowners who are paying into endowment policies that are no longer on track to pay off their mortgage are being urged to take immediate action or they could face losing their homes.
A survey by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the City watchdog, reveals a high degree of inaction among endowment holders - even though many face shortfalls worth thousands of pounds.
In the past year, almost all households with an endowment mortgage have received letters telling them whether their policy is on track to pay off their mortgage.
But figures from the FSA reveal that seven out of ten households have failed to respond.
Endowment-linked mortgages were the most popular type of home loan during the 1980s and early 1990s, but growth projections were based on healthy market conditions at the time.
Since then, poor stock market returns combined with low inflation now means that these original projections are no longer valid - and millions now face a shortfall on their loan.
Half of the endowment holders who have not taken action said the reason was that they now had other means to pay off their mortgage. The other policy holders - equivalent to 3.65m households - have failed to take any remedial action.
"Making sure you can repay your mortgage loan is one of the most basic financial needs," said Christine Farnish, director of Consumer Relations at the FSA.
"If there is a risk that you won't be able to, and you're not comfortable with that, then now's the time to decide on what to do. If you need to put more money aside to pay off your mortgage, it's a lot less painful to do it sooner rather than later," she added.
Experts fear that if they do not act now, they will not be able to pay off their loan at the end of the mortgage term, and could lose their homes as a consequence.
About 10.5m endowment holders should now have received a colour-coded letter which outlines how much their investment needs to grow to stay on track.
As many as 14.6% letters, just over 1.5m homeowners, have been sent 'red letters' warning homeowners that their policy needs to grow by more than 8% to meet its target.
Three in ten owners who have received 'amber letters' have been told to keep a close eye on their policy, whereas the 53.9% of mortgage holders who have received 'green letters' are likely to remain on track as long as the stock market grows by 6%.
But critics argue that the letters - sent by endowment providers - may only confuse policy holders further.
They also accuse the government of betraying endowment holders, after it ruled out a comprehensive investigation into the sale of endowment mortgages last year.
It is now up to individual policy holders to pursue their own compensation claims. So far, only £35m has been paid and to about 11,000 complainants.
The FSA is encouraging people to make claims to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they feel that they were not informed of the risks associated with the policies.
Despite revised projections, mortgage experts warned people last week not to surrender their policies. But they should also not top-up their plans according to their insurance company's projections.
Pat Bunton of London & Country, a mortgage broker, said: "Do not throw good money after bad. The best solution is to reduce your reliance on the endowment, and repay the loan by other means."
Bunton suggests moving any projected shortfall into a repayment loan. This will ensure that both the underlying debt is paid off each month.
The FSA's fact sheet "Your endowment mortgage - time to decide" can be found on its website.
"If you do not take some action now, when your mortgage matures you could face a big debt"
"You could be due compensation"


Senate Democrats, emboldened by the GOP's failure to unilaterally pass a health-care bill, are launching an effort to win bipartisan support for the investment of $500 billion in taxpayer dollars in infrastructure improvements.
With health-care changes at a standstill and tax reform — another objective on which Republicans campaigned last year — a complex project that is expected to take months, Democrats hope infrastructure spending will emerge as a desirable legislative win for Congress and the White House.
The Democratic push came in a week when President Trump appeared to acknowledge that his campaign promise to raise $1 trillion for infrastructure largely through private-sector investment was not feasible.
Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee sent a letter Thursday asking to meet with Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, reminding her of her confirmation-hearing promise to work in bipartisan fashion in delivering on Trump's campaign promise.
That appeal is buttressed by an internal committee document in which the Democrats outline their infrastructure priorities for Chairman Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Barrasso expressed worries at committee hearing in February that rural states like his wouldn't attract much of the private investment Trump promised.
With no more than a nine-page tax proposal on the table thus far, and divisions within the GOP that need resolution before a tax bill can pass, Democrats and many Republicans see an infrastructure funding package as something on which Congress can more readily agree.
"With health care, we have clearly seen that trying to rush through legislation on major, complex issues on a partisan basis is not a winning strategy," said Sen. Thomas R. Carper (Del.), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's ranking Democrat. "Senate Republicans should not make the same mistake on infrastructure, especially when we have an incredible opportunity to come together and do something historic that could positively impact every corner of this country."
The decline of key systems — highways, water and sewer, the electrical grid, ports and levees along inland waterways — has been well documented, and state governments unable to keep up with repairs or expand when needed have communicated that to Congress.
With an abundance of bipartisan will to meet the need, the unresolved controversy has been how to pay for it. The options range from leaving much of the tax burden to the states, to increasing the federal tax on gas and diesel, to forcing multinational companies who have kept about $2 trillion in profits offshore to bring the money home, using the tax revenue from that money to pay for infrastructure.
But Congress, reluctant to approve anything that sniffs of a tax increase, has not opted for any of those options, or some combination of them. Instead, federal funding for transportation infrastructure has limped along with current revenue, boosted by funding that members of both parties have called "gimmicks."
"We have woefully underinvested in our nation's infrastructure for decades, and aging roads, highways, bridges, railways and waterways across our country show the consequences of those shortsighted decisions," Carper said, echoing the findings of numerous studies. "If we make serious and smart investments in infrastructure, we could jump-start our local and national economy. We can't afford to squander this moment."
In a meeting with House Democrats on Tuesday, Trump reversed the position he campaigned on and enunciated at the outset of his presidency.
Based on a 10-page paper developed late in the campaign, Trump said he would stimulate $1 trillion in infrastructure expenditures over 10 years by granting $137 billion in tax credits to private investors.
The paper was the creation of Wilbur Ross, who now serves as commerce secretary, and Peter Navarro, who heads the president's National Trade Council.
On Tuesday, however, Trump told Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee that luring private investors into a partnership with government was not the answer.
That change of stance surprised even those who had questioned whether private investors could meet all but a sliver of the need. Among those who supported the Ross-Navarro approach, the reaction was shock.
"I was both astonished and dismayed," said Bob Poole, director of transportation policy at the libertarian Reason Foundation. "Everything the administration had said up until [Tuesday] was that public-private partnerships and private investments in infrastructure improvements was going to be the core of the program. There is not $1 trillion of federal money available."


Our perspective is how we perceive people, situations, ideas, etc. It’s informed by our personal experience, which makes it as unique as anything could be. Perspective shapes our life by affecting our choices. But the minute our minds become steeped in worry, perspective goes out of the window. We forget about our triumphs. We stop being optimistic as fear takes the wheel.
Fear gives rise to negative feelings: insecure, critical, defensive, abandoned, desperate, lonely, resentful, overwhelmed, aggressive, and so on. These cloud our minds and consume our thoughts.
When we lose perspective, our operational wisdom is gone. We might as well be little children. Everything we know about coping, adapting, and resilience are lost. Small things appear to be much larger and more dire. Stress mounts.
Everything we’ve accomplished in life, the lessons we’ve learned, the hard times we’ve overcome and the ways in which we’ve grown are discounted when perspective is lost. We see it happen around us every day, but we rarely label it properly.
The driver, consumed with road rage, who pulled into the turning lane just to go around us, has lost perspective. Everyone else is stuck in the same traffic and doing something dangerous is only going to save him a few seconds in travel time.
The neighbor, who gripes about the bush on our property line and leaves us a nasty voicemail about leaves in her driveway, has lost perspective. In the grand scheme of things, the five-foot shrub is no threat.
When we’re the receiver of this aggressive resentment, it’s pretty obvious that it’s an overreaction. We were in the middle of thinking about the surgery our elderly father is having next week, then we were side-swiped by their discontent. But we’re guilty of this kind of behavior too, whether we take it out on others or on ourselves.
We allow ourselves to be overtaken with worry and soon we’re almost certain that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. We only see what’s troubling us and nothing that isn’t.
We become set on a certain outcome: If I just lost the weight… If I could just save more money… If I just had a nicer car… And we are cruel to ourselves when we don’t make it happen.
We take things personally and allow insecurity to undermine self-esteem.
We back ourselves into a corner and forget the bigger picture. We’re so obsessed with our next project, our next assignment, our next big challenge, that we forget to appreciate all that we’ve already accomplished and to show gratitude for what we already love. We forget the right now.
A loss of perspective makes us say and do things we may regret because it’s a complete loss of our personal experience. It’s lacking all the wisdom we’ve worked so hard to cultivate. What’s the point of worry, stress, and perfectionism if we’re not growing wiser? And what’s the point of wisdom if we can’t use it when we need it the most?
Sarah Newman is the managing editor and associate publisher of PsychCentral and the founding editor-in-chief of the Poydras Review. She is also the cohost of the podcast Excuse Me, I Have Concerns where she discusses personal boundaries, personality and other psychology topics.


Meet your new boss, Angels.
Robert Wagner was originally tapped to succeed John Forsythe in the iconic role, but he dropped out shortly after the pilot was shot for personal reasons.
For ABC’s sake, let’s hope Garber’s deal closes soon; the much-hyped reboot premieres this Thursday.


Published on Nov. 2, 2015 | Updated 7:39 a. m.
Frank D. Segur, general supervisor, writes results on the chalkboard during the PR count at the Civic Auditorium for the election held Nov. 4, 1947.
AEP ReCreation Land in SE Ohio -- reclaimed strip mine land that is used for hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, etc.
Solar power canopy in the parking lot of Owens Corning Headquarters in Toledo.
Toledo mayoral candidates Sandy Drabik Collins and Mike Bell admiring Taquito, a three-year-old male Chihuahua, before the pair served as two of the five judges for a taco eating contest Saturday, October 24, 2015, at El Tipico Restaurant in South Toledo. Drabik Collins was joined by other mayoral candidates Mike Bell, Sandy Spang and current Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson in judging the contest as they each continue to campaign in advance of the November 3, 2015, election.
Davaanyam Luvsandorj, bottom, and Nominchuluun Uvgunkhuu perform with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus during a performance for children at ProMedica Hospital in Toledo, Ohio on October 30, 2015. The circus also donated $10,000 to the hospital.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performer Wally Dootson high fives patient Rob Brooks, 20, during a performance for children at ProMedica Hospital.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performers Wally Dootson, left, and Xianzeng Zhang takes selfies with Alvin the chipmunk.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey performer Xianzeng Zhang.
The ceremonial courtroom was the only room inside the U.S. District Courthouse, located in downtown Toledo, with the purpose of being a courtroom when the building was erected. The courthouse, originally built between 1930 and 1933, is outdated. With concerns about security and space, a renovation is being proposed for Bankruptcy Court, with a new addition built to house the District Court.
Ceiling detailing inside the U.S. District Courthouse.
Matt Virost, left, helps his daughter Katie Virost, second from left, Reese Waggoner and Lilian Le, right, as they begin to dissect the eye. Third grade students at Jackman Road Elementary School in Temperance, Michigan dissect cow eyes in the school cafeteria on October 29, 2015.
Jamie Oxendine, Ohio University Professor of Diversity and Inclusion, during the dedication of the Fallen Timbers Battlefield, located at U.S. 24 and Jerome Road, in Maumee on October 25, 2015.
Mayoral candidates from left to right Sandy Spang, Mike Ferner, Sandy Drabik-Collins, Opal Covey, Paula Hicks-Hudson, Mike Bell, and Carty Finkbeiner during a debate Wednesday, October 28, 20015, in Toledo, Ohio.
alik holds plastic body parts that he will use to decorate his Hannum Ave. home for Halloween.
Rossford resident Marty Kralik's haunted Hannum Ave. home for Halloween.
A tree's fall colors on display in Spiegel Grove in Fremont.
Jeff Steiner, a 13 year resident of Fairgreen Dr. blows the leaves out of his front yard near the corner of McGregor Ln. on October 30, 2015. Leaf Collection will officially begin on Monday, November 2, 2015.
Cooper Jahns, a kindergarten student at Starr Elementary School who will be six on November 12th, coloring at the rally. Supporters of an upcoming levy issue to benefit Oregon City Schools rally at Clay High School in Oregon, Ohio on November 1, 2015.
An adult and baby orangutan ignore their pumpkins and pay attention to Stephanie Jaros and her daughter Angelina Jaros, of Perrysburg, during the Jumping Pumpkins event at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo.
A sloth bear sniffs the top of a pumpkin during the Jumping Pumpkins event at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo.
Tasmanian Devils are seen in their exhibit for the public opening of the exhibit at the Toledo Zoo in Toledo, Ohio on October 27, 2015. Tasmanian devils are native to Australia and are the world's largest carnivorous marsupial.
3 dimensional boxes made with a laser cutter during the Science Society meeting at Oliver House on October 25, 2015.
Eric Eubanks, left, and Christine Lowe, right, show Jackson Baldwin, 1, who is dressed as a reptile, that their decoration is not a real mummy while Baldwin goes trick-or-treating on Brintwood Rd. in Sylvania on October 31, 2015.
Maya Dixon, 11, who is dressed as a "dark angel" walks to a house while trick-or-treating in Sylvania on October 31, 2015.
Officer Robert Orwig, dressed as Captain America, shares a moment with Adriyana Monroe, 2, during a superheroes event where Toledo Police Department SWAT team members rappelled down the side of the hospital for children at ProMedica Children's Hospital in Toledo, Ohio on October 29, 2015.
Gabe Greenwalt, dressed as Ironman, rappels down the side of a window at ProMedica Children's Hospital in Toledo.
From left, Aamir Morgan, 7, practices ninja skills while his brother Dominic Morgan, 5, and Mrs. Rose Aliakbar walk behind him during kindergarten through fourth grade's Halloween parade at Birmingham Elementary School in Toledo, Ohio on October 30, 2015. Children walked around the school with their class, and then returned to their classrooms for candy and cupcakes.
A decorative skeleton hangs at the Meijer store on Conant street in Maumee, Ohio on October 26, 2015. Costumes, candy and Halloween decorations were for sale.
Anthony Wayne goalie Brendan Vaughn fails to block the ball during a soccer game between Anthony Wayne High School and St. Francis High School in Findlay, Ohio on October 31, 2015. Anthony Wayne won the Division I district final 3-2.
Northview's team, including Trevor Hartbarger (22), celebrates with their marching band after the Wildcats victory over the Southview Cougars in the Friday, October 30, 2015, match up at Southview. Northview won, 29-28.
Northview's Trevor Hartbarger (22) is hoisted up by teammate Aarion Sneed (54) as Avery Pelwecki (56) rushes in to cheer after Hartbarger scored during the first quarter of the Friday, October 30, 2015, match up at Southview.
Delta High School player Ron Vargyas is brought down by Swanton High School player Gage Pachlhofer during a football game between Swanton High School and Delta High School in Swanton, Ohio on October 30, 2015.
Perrysburg goalie Stephen O' Connors (1) defends the net against St. Francis during a Division I boys district semifinal soccer game Tuesday, October 27, 2015, in Sylvania, Ohio.
Silver medals for the Division I district final are distributed to the St. Francis High School soccer team after a soccer game between Anthony Wayne High School and St. Francis High School in Findlay, Ohio on October 31, 2015. Anthony Wayne won the Division I district final 3-2.
Lima Senior WR Ruben Flowers III (11) makes a catch for a touchdown against Central Catholic DB Dejhon Dunlop- Truss (2) during a TRAC football game Friday, October 30, 2015, in Toledo, Ohio.
Central Catholic head coach Greg Dempsey celebrates defeating Lima Senior 49-48 to win the TRAC football championship Friday, October 30, 2015, in Toledo, Ohio.
Northview's Aerin West heads the ball during Division I boys district soccer final between St. John's Jesuit High School and Northview High School at Southview High School on October 31, 2015.
Clay's Karleigh Clere reacts to Clay's score against Northview goalie Kathleen Duwve during second period of girls soccer district tournament at Northview High School's Cats Stadium in Sylvania, Ohio.


Alameda institution Golden Pin Donuts is closing after a whopping 26-year run, according to Rin Kelly at the Merc. Owner Rahim Seyedein is apparently shuttering the business in order to spend more time with his family.
Berkeleyside and the Daily Clog report that the area around Cal campus has a new pizza place, Pepe's, which offers — wait for it — a $6.99 all-you-can-eat buffet. Yes, you read that right! All the pizza (plus salad, soup, and so much more) you can possibly stuff down your gullet for less than the price of like, a latte. We'll leave the munchies jokes up to you on this one.
After this morning's earth-shattering Alice Waters news, we've got yet another tidbit about the Chez Panisse proprietress — or rather, her daughter, Fanny Singer, who was the subject of a Wall Street Journal lifestyle piece this past Sunday. Revelations: one of Singer's first words was "lobster"; she's got very strong feelings on white pepper ("the grossest flavor"); she recently spent $112 dollars on limes; and her proudest culinary accomplishment was the "20 jars of Seville orange marmalade made from oranges illicitly plucked from trees within the walled gardens of the Alcázar." Apples, trees, etc.
The James Beard Award final nominations came out this week (via Twitter, because this is the 21st century!), and though several local semifinalists were dropped off the shortlist, we've still got some homegrown talent to root for. Namely: Plum's Daniel Patterson in the Top Chef — Pacific Region category, and the Oakland-born Blue Chair Jam Cookbook for best photography. Winners will be announced in May.
Review revue: Plum gets high marks from Josh Sens in SF Magazine; Berkeley heart attack factory tempura restaurant Sumo Grub gets a shout-out on Serious Eats; and the Chron's Allen Matthews calls eVe "adventurous," which we think is a good thing. The New York Times, via the Bay Citizen, also spotlighted various East Bay institutions in an article about food swaps yesterday.


At intermission, D.C.-area theatergoers usually dash for one of two places: the restroom or the concession line. If you’ve been up since 6 a.m. running the country, it may take a jolt to get through three more acts of Henry IV. The Folger Shakespeare Library understands that a need for caffeine is no disrespect for the Bard and offers the best theatrical coffee experience around. Two lines form in Folger’s Great Hall at intermission: one for general concessions, and one just for coffee and tea. The volunteer servers may lack the chutzpah and cleavage of Mistress Quickly, but they smile and take your $2 and hand you a cup. In comparison to the Folger’s fresh-brewed Peet’s Mr. Dickason’s Blend, other theaters’ offerings taste like burnt overpriced Starbucks (ahem, Kennedy Center) or, well, Folger’s from a can (ahem, Atlas Performing Arts Center). Drink up! And, thanks to the short coffee line, you may have time to hit the restroom before returning to the theater, fired up and ready for another hour of Elizabethan wit.


The Australian and New Zealand dollars hit fresh multi-month lows on Wednesday as the relative outperformance of the US economy sent its currency higher across the board.
[SYDNEY] The Australian and New Zealand dollars hit fresh multi-month lows on Wednesday as the relative outperformance of the US economy sent its currency higher across the board.
The Aussie dollar was huddled at US$0.7435, having touched its lowest since last June at US$0.7424. It has now shed almost four US cents in less than three weeks.
The kiwi dollar was near its lowest since December at US$0.6967, having again lost four cents since mid-April.
The US dollar has been on a tear as economic indicators there outpaced much of the rest of the advanced world, forcing a mass shake-out of short dollar positions - particularly against the euro and sterling.
That has also shaken confidence in a synchronous global recovery, sending funds toward US assets at the cost of emerging markets from Argentina to Turkey.
This trend has been doubly negative for the Aussie since many investors use the commodity-leveraged currency as a liquid proxy for global growth and emerging markets, selling it as a hedge when times are troubled.
Adding to the strain was President Donald Trump's decision to walk away from the nuclear deal with Iran, leaving investors uncertain as to what might happen next in the Middle East.
All of which overshadowed an upbeat budget from Australia late on Tuesday which underlined the country's favourable debt background.
With the budget set to return to surplus a year early Australia's net debt is set to peak around 19 per cent of GDP, far below the G20 average of 80 per cent.
"Consequently, Australia will remain an attractive destination for foreign debt investment," said Elias Haddad, senior currency strategist at CBA.
"This will further facilitate Australia's ability to finance its small current account deficit of just 2-3 per cent of GDP."
One result is that the Australian government can currently borrow for 10 years at rates 20 basis points lower than the United States.
The kiwi's next test will be a Reserve Bank of New Zealand policy decision early on Thursday. A steady outcome is considered certain but a change of tone is possible from Adrian Orr, its new governor.
New Zealand government bonds slipped in line with US Treasuries, nudging yields up as much as 4 basis points.
Australian government bond futures also eased, with the three-year bond contract off 2 ticks at 97.785. The 10-year contract fell 5 ticks to 97.1950.


New York Entrepreneurs Business Network presents an evening with David Rose, founder and chairman emeritus of New York Angels. Rose has founded a half-dozen companies and funded 80 more as a “super angel.” The evening will start with an interview and audience Q&A, after which entrepreneurs will be invited on stage to pitch to Rose. Pizza, drinks, and networking included. Register here.


The worst kept secret in college basketball was head coach Buzz Williams would be leaving Virginia Tech to take the job at Texas A&M.
LSU's current interim head coach Tony Benford was linked to join him there as an assistant.
Benford took over for as Tigers head coach on an interim basis after the University suspended Will Wade indefinitely following his refusal to speak with his employer on the heel's of a Yahoo story detailing a conversation he had with imprisoned Christian Dawkins, the middleman at the heart of the federal investigation in corruption in college basketball.
Benford went 3-2 in five games as LSU's head coach, winning 2 games in the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated last Friday against Michigan State.


The stuntman who parachuted into the London 2012 opening ceremony as James Bond has been killed in an accident, BBC reports.
Briton Mark Sutton, 42, from Surrey, died during a wing-diving event near Martigny, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
Police said they did not yet know the cause but it is thought Mr. Sutton died after crashing into a ridge of rock.
Mr. Sutton doubled for Daniel Craig’s James Bond as he and another stuntman playing the Queen memorably entered the Olympic Stadium from a helicopter.
Wing-divers wear special suits that are designed to allow them to glide through the air at high speeds, before a parachute is opened for landing.
Mr. Sutton, a former army officer, is thought to have dived from a helicopter flying at 3,300m (10,826ft) intending to land at a village just across the border in France.
But reports say the stuntman hit a ridge of rock, suffering fatal injuries. Rescuers believe Mr. Sutton died on impact.
The stuntman had been invited to take part in the three-day wing-diving event with 19 other experienced wing-suit pilots.
The accident happened on the first day of the event, which involved the wing-divers being filmed jumping from helicopters.
Police said a formal identification of the body was under way and an investigation had been opened.


Private funeral services for Yukiko Nonoguchi, 87-year-old Los Angeles resident, who passed away on September 12, 2013 were held on September 28, 2013, at Fukui Mortuary “Chapel in the Garden,” officiated by Rev. Fumiaki Usuki of West Los Angeles Buddhist Church.
Yukiko is survived by her loving husband, Hajime Nonoguchi; children, Leslye (John) Booras, Kevin (Siu) Nonoguchi and Stacy Nonoguchi; grandchildren, Samantha and Alexa Booras, Janine and Hannah Nonoguchi. Yukiko is also survived by many other loving family members.


The process, which Brichter described to Federico Viticci, includes a turn-by-turn history of the game in a JSON file that’s then replayed via the shareable website. The progress of the game can be viewed by sliding through the turns in succession, or by tapping on the board.
You can see one of the replays in action here, or view our incredigif below.
When I spoke to Brichter about the creation of Letterpress on its launch earlier this year, he described it as one of the ways that he was experimenting with apps that allowed him to play with core technologies he had been thinking about since pre-Tweetie days. The interface of the game, if you’re unfamiliar, is packed full of fantastic details and clever twists on user interface that typify Brichter’s creations.
The replay function should be cool for bragging rights, but it’s also indicative of the room left to grow for apps and the App Store. The update also brings ‘lots of little tweaks’, an improved dictionary and better iPad orientation changes.


The decentralized application (dapp) in the blockchain ecosystem, especially based on the decentralized application of Ethereum and EOS, has become a hot spot for blockchain developers this year. Dapp.com's recently launched Q3 market report observed changes in the market in the third quarter of 2018. Ethereum still dominates, and EOS, the operating system for decentralized applications (the main network launched in June this year), and high-speed blockchains including NEO, Steem and Tron are also actively expanding their layout.
In the first nine months of 2018, there were more than 900 decentralized applications on Ethereum, and in 2017, this number was seven.
A significant feature of decentralized applications is the promotion of the use of tokens in their blockchains – based on the decentralized application of Ethereum, which promotes the use and liquidity of ETH, resulting in a large number of transactions and transactions. . Since June 2017, there have been more than 10 million ETH transactions in the use of decentralized applications, with transaction amounts exceeding $2 billion (see ETH prices on November 14, 2018).
Currently, 60% of dapps on the market are games. In the third quarter, a large number of betting games dapps were developed. More than 50% of the 60 new dapps launched on EOS in the third quarter were betting/gambling. Class application. EOS's BFT-DPoS mechanism provides more transactions per second and transaction-free fees, providing a good user experience in the use of dapp. EOS betting gamers contributed 93% of the transactions, close to 5 million, almost the same as the total number of transactions for all dapps in the third quarter of Ethereum.
Larger teams and gaming companies, including listed companies such as Animoca Brands and iCandy Group, are also building and launching quality products with long-term operational goals at Ethereum. For EOS, the primary node is actively building infrastructure and incubating dapps, and NEO has also announced a focus on decentralized game development.
In Ethereum, nearly 50% of dapp users used the Decentralized Exchange (DEX) in the third quarter, which contributed more than 800,000 ETH transactions. In the decentralized application ecosystem of Ethereum, DEX has a dominant position in both the number of active users, the number of transactions and the volume of transactions. With the gradual increase in trading on the chain, decentralized exchanges provide a smooth experience like a centralized exchange. The IDEX exchange has processed 63,250 users and more than 1.2 million transactions in the third quarter, making it the best decentralized exchange in the third quarter.
The EOS ecosystem performed very well in the third quarter. In the four months from the launch to the present report, there are 70 active dapps and a total of more than 60 million EOS tokens.
Despite this, the total size of EOS users is greatly limited by the complexity of their wallet (account) design. RAM and CPU resources are not as easy to understand as the fuel costs of Ethereum and Bitcoin. To create a new EOS account, you need to be assisted by an existing account, which is more painful for new users. We saw that by the third quarter of 2018, only 336,856 main network accounts were created on the EOS main network, and the EOS wallet solution has become the key to its success.
Smart contract security is another serious problem in EOS decentralized applications – they have been the focus of hackers since the launch of the autonomous network. The vulnerability of the smart contract code has resulted in the loss of more than $2 million in EOS tokens.
Chris Mcdonald is a research analyst at Area19Delagate. It is a part of popular technology blog Complete Connection. He has a very detailed knowledge about digital marketing and Technology field. Here we give opportunity to guest bloggers to write for us business, write for us digital marketing, social media and write for us technology. We also accept guest post on health, WordPress, how to, IT, Social Media and many more categories guest posts.


ST. LOUIS - Homicide detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the shooting death of a local teenager who was killed on his birthday.
Armond Latimore was murdered shortly after he posted on Facebook about making it to his 17th birthday.
Police received the call just before 1:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon in the 100 block of North Grand at Sullivan.
Authorities said Latimore was shot in the head outside a neighboorhood chop suey restaurant. He was rushed to a local hospital but did not survive his injuries.
In an interview with our partners at The St. Louis Post Dispatch, Latimore's mother, Chandra Payne, said she had gone to a store to buy ice cream to go with a cake to celebrate her son's birthday when she got the call with the terrible news.
She called her son a good kid and a helper.
Authorities said the investigation was still ongoing.


• AT&T to acquire Leap Wireless in $1.2 billion deal – Leap Wireless is better known as Cricket. AT&T’s in it for the spectrum and getting further into the budget phone market. But AT&T agrees to buy Leap Wireless: Will regulators let this one through?
• How the U.S. is forcing Internet firms’ hands on surveillance – CNet writes that if companies don’t cooperate, the feds get a warrant and install their own data-collection devices on the networks.
• Rumor: Apple buys into chip fab, plans to build its own silicon – It’s reportedly part of Apple’s attempt to end its reliance on rival Samsung for its chips.
• More Claims of No Retina iPad Mini Until Early 2014 – Retina screen supply constraints are the issue, according to an Asian publication.
• Microsoft Sues U.S. Customs for Failed Google Phone Ban – The International Trade Commission ordered the ban, but U.S. Customs didn’t enforce it, Microsoft says.
• Meet Terry Myerson, the most important man at Microsoft – After the reorganization, he’s the man in charge of Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox.
• New Bluetooth, audio, TPM requirements coming for Windows 8 devices – The new requirements were introduced during a session at this week’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston.
• Android Fragmentation Concerns Overblown, Says Guy Who Helped Develop Android – Techies and developers may care about fragmentation, but your mom? Not so much.
• Hulu Owners Call Off Sale, Instead Pledging to Invest to Take On Rivals – With no bids to its liking, Hulu decides to it alone and bulk up.
• Scoop: Intel’s upcoming TV service is going to be called OnCue – Based on trademark filings in multiple countries.
• Icahn Adds Perk to Dell Offer in Latest Buyout Challenge – Carl Icahn hopes to derail founder Michael Dell’s own buyout offer.
• Amar G. Bose, Acoustic Engineer and Inventor, Dies at 83 – He founded the maker of high-end audio equipment that bears his name.


Few of us aim to starve in our 30s only to splurge in our golden years; or conversely, to overspend while young, only to dine on dog food in retirement.
Economic theory, says Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff, assumes that “people save in order to smooth their consumption over time, creating a relatively level living standard.” It’s akin to Joseph advising the Pharaoh to store the excess during seven years of bumper crops against seven years of famine.
Now, Prof. Kotlikoff has teamed up with University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy to offer free software that aims to give people some certainty around that process. Called ESPlannerBASIC Canada, the software is available free at canada.esplanner.com. Originally developed for the U.S., the School of Public Policy Canadianized it because “we see it as a valuable educational tool,” says director Jack Mintz.
Prof. Mintz contends people need to be engaged in their retirement decision making and “this encourages them to think about what they’re spending and what kind of savings they’re going to need.” The school also plans to use the sophisticated tool for policy analysis – to determine, for example, how a change in tax rates affects a family’s savings.
ESPlanner operates on the assumption that the traditional approach to financial planning is flawed.
Most financial planners will tell you that you should save enough money in your earning years to replace 75% to 85% of your pre-retirement income during retirement, Prof. Kotlikoff says. But that approach is simplistic, and not entirely disinterested.
Instead, Prof. Kotlikoff takes an economist’s approach to the question of how much salary you should be saving and spending throughout life, accounting for inputs such as whether you’re eligible for pensions (government and private); whether you own or rent your home; and whether you have kids and will pay for their education.
Other financial calculators might suggest you save 15% of your income per year, but ESPlanner adjusts for changes in tax rates, high-expenditure years (when the kids head off to uni, for example), and years when expenditures should be lower (the eventual launch of the children or the death of a spouse).
What it spits out, in the end, is a detailed plan telling you what you should save and spend year by year until age 100, depending on your age and stage of life.
ESPlanner might suggest a lower savings target in the years when you’re house-poor with kids underfoot, and a higher target during low-expenditure years, essentially smoothing the amount of discretionary income you have to spend over time.
When you change the inputs, the plan changes. That makes it easy to run “what-if” scenarios to see how retiring earlier (or later), having children, timing RRSP withdrawals, and other financial and lifestyle decisions affect your saving and spending plan, Prof. Kotlikoff explains.


YouTube announced major changes to the way it organizes breaking news.
YouTube is doing more to combat the spread of misinformation during major breaking news events.
The online video behemoth announced Monday it's taking dramatic steps to improve the quality of videos that appear in search results for breaking and historical news events.
In addition to changing the way search results are organized, the company says it will begin providing information from third parties such as Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica for videos about a small number of historical events that have been subject to misinformation campaigns, such as the Apollo moon landings and Oklahoma City bombing.
These sweeping changes will broadly effect how videos are ranked on YouTube, and they are just the latest extension of the Google News Initiative that kicked off in March in an effort to support journalism and combat fake news.
“YouTube has a responsibility to make authoritative sources readily available, provide context to help people make their own decisions, and support journalism with technology that allows news to thrive," said YouTube's chief product officer Neal Mohan in a statement.
The most obvious change being made to YouTube is the addition of a both a "Top News" and "Breaking News" scrolling shelf that will begin appearing above all search results. The company has been testing these features for the past few months, and they will now roll out to all users.
The new shelves will give preference to videos from authoritative news sources. So how does YouTube determine if a source is authoritative? By looking at things like the number of citations across the internet and historical credibility of a publication — not just the popularity of a video. YouTube says Google PageRank, the algorithm that powers the Google search engine, will play a major role in determining whether a source is considered authoritative.
More surprisingly, YouTube will also begin including text-based, written reports at the top of the YouTube search bar during breaking news events. The articles featured in the "Developing News" bar will be filtered from Google News, and it can include any news agency that's a Google News Partner.
YouTube announced today it will begin showing text-based, written articles at the top of search results during breaking news.
YouTube also announced today it will begin showing a "Top News" and "Breaking News" shelf in search results during major news events. These shelves will feature only authoritative coverage of the event and help stave off misinformation.
The thinking behind these noticeable changes is that YouTube wants to make it much easier for its users to find good information as news is breaking. In the past, YouTube has been widely criticized for allowing conspiracy videos to outperform videos from legitimate news agencies. In particular, YouTube was lambasted for spreading misinformation during mass shootings.
Including written stories in search results will also ease the pressure for YouTube to deliver high-quality, accurate videos in the wake of breaking news events.
For those who may not be familiar with the process, journalists typically write articles before tackling the longer process of producing, editing, and publishing videos during breaking-news situations — so having written stories appear in the YouTube search results may ease the strain of having to provide credible information quickly.
These changes are all part of YouTube's ongoing struggle to balance freedom of expression with the responsibility of being one of the largest news distributors in history. By including text-based articles in the search feed, YouTube will (at least in theory) be able to stave off misinformation as breaking news occurs.
The other noticeable change will appear when someone searches for a major historical event. Now, when you search for something like the moon landing, YouTube will include a small bit of contextual information about the event. It will also rely more heavily on sources the company deems to be "authoritative," rather than featuring the most popular or click bait-y video.
YouTube will begin providing contextual information from third parties such as Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica alongside videos about historical events.
Finally, YouTube is making it easier for people to access local news. The company announced today it has begun testing features to surface local news in the YouTube app for TVs across 25 markets in the U.S. including cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Sacramento, and many others. The company says it plans to expand this offering to dozens more markets including places like Cincinnati, Las Vegas, and Kansas City.
YouTube is making it easier for cord-cutters to find local news through its various TV apps.
YouTube's efforts to combat fake news are markedly different than those undertaken by its chief competitors, Facebook and Twitter. Although all of these major tech companies are focused on providing greater context and transparency about news articles that appear on its platform, YouTube has the benefit of being able to rely on Google PageRank, one of the most powerful algorithms in the world for measuring the importance of a website.
When PageRank is applied to YouTube videos, the algorithm will theoretically be able to thwart misinformation campaigns more quickly than other news distributors. Whether this actually happens during the next major news event remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: YouTube couldn't be doing a much worse job than it already was.


Will Smith shared his secret to a longstanding marriage: don't give up.
The "Focus" star, who is married to actress Jada Pinkett Smith, revealed to "Entertainment Tonight" that even though their relationship is "the most difficult, grueling, excruciating thing" they've taken on, they're not "quitters."
Rumors of marital trouble have been dogging the couple for years.
In August, after online reports had surfaced that they were in the process of ending their 17-year union, Smith posted a Facebook message denying the claims.
"I promise you all — if I ever decide to divorce my Queen — I swear I'll tell you myself!" he wrote.
The couple has two children — son Jaden, 17, and daughter Willow, 15.
His advice to other couples: "If there is a secret I would say it is that we never went into working on our relationship," he told ET. "We only ever worked on ourselves individually, and then presented ourselves to one another better than we were previously."


One of the odder debates going on in our Pagan community has to do with animism. I suppose it is similar to the theist debate. Recently the keynote speaker at Many Gods West 2016 was replaced because she was an animist not a polytheist. I’d like to know how each of those ideas were framed, because (poly)theism is a variety, a subset, of animism. Where is the conflict, or is this some new orthodoxy? Others, like Peter Gray, call for a renewed animism, learning to perceive and work with the spirits in all, along with the almost obligatory call to ‘return to the wild’. We would do well to learn to perceive the spirit-filled world, but that last notion has its issues. I’m a city boy, and the requirement on me is to find spirit on the train (where I’m writing this), in the concrete and steel of the city, in the geomantic currents that only large constructs can produce. I did my wilderness work before I was 20. Now my task is to sacralize the city. Dualising the city with some notion of a pure ‘nature’ or the wild, especially since that is not where I live, seems counter-productive to me.
Animism is rooted in the experience we have of interacting with all other things as though they are persons. In this, we treat those relations are just like the rest of our interactions with humans. We are in the habit, as it were, of talking to non-humans as though they were humans. For instance, I know very few people who don’t talk to their cars or swear at their computer. This is basic anthropomorphism. Animism happens when we hear Them answer. Everything can answer, and some would argue, everything does. Our task to to learn to listen (or use whatever modality suits). Learning to do so has long been a part of the training of magi, and many witches learn to also.
Animism is half of a structural and complementary dual. It’s opposite pole is that of Dynamism, and together they form one of the main axes of how the Living World presents Itself to our awareness. On the one hand is the experience of the powers and presences of the world as having personhood, with faces and mouths, as to were to talk to, personalities to negotiate with, and desires to entice or withhold. In the ancient world, almost everything was explained by having a spirit component, such as diseases being the result of demonic activity, the very planets being moved about by angels, and so forth. However, not all phenomena were seen as having personality. There were also forces in the world, and ancient practices like light-guiding or Photogogia, or manipulating the pneumatic sheath of the soul were powers that humans could effect and wield. The greatest of the dynamistic ancient traditions is Taoism, where the Tao, the Te, the Yin, the Yang, and Chi all flow through the world. They can not be negotiated with or bribed, but can be managed and manipulated.
One of the great succinct descriptions of the animist-dynamistic dual is in Arnold Van Gennep’s The Rite of Passage, the book that gave us the term in 1905. He points out that humans the world over use animistic and dynamistic approaches in ritual, on occasion at the same time. These two notions are not exclusive but complementary. Sometimes the ritual is addressed to Powers as persons, to be asked, bribed, or sometimes coerced into acting on our behalf. At other times, ritual uses forces like purification, energy (chi, qi, mana, prana, etc.), blessing, light, etc., to get the work done, but without ‘talking’ to ‘someone’ about it. The force is wielded directly by the practitioner. In circle we may invoke the Goddess to presence, but then we also raise and send of cone of power.
Theism is a kind of animism in that it’s focus is on agentful beings to be worshiped, propitiated, and generally communicated with. The attention is on the Great Ones we generally call the Gods, sometimes to the neglect of the Lesser Ones, the spirits of place and time, for instance. The ancients, like Iamblichus, counseled that we remember the entire retinue of the Deity we are worshiping, and that we should also be sure to sacrifice to the local spirits of place, and nation, and so forth, so as to establish good relations with all, and receive the spiritual development that comes with it. Having ‘faces’ and ‘mouths’ we can talk with Them and engage with Them much like with humans. We do well to remember that They are nothing like humans and that Their appearances are tailored for our needs. As the ancient Greeks said, dogs see the Gods in canine forms, cows in bovine, and humans in anthropomorphic form.
But still more importantly, we need to cultivate the maturity to experience the Divine not only as spirits with personality, but also as powers. With a bit of practice every Divine interaction can be experienced in animistic or dynamistic manner, or in both at the same time. Indeed, the radiance of a Deity is no less a manifestation of the Deity than any words They say. Some, of course, can only (as yet) experience Them one way or the other. With maturity, and the development of the non-dual perspective, or by transcending the either/or logic of Parmenides, we can experience the Deities in both manners. Indeed, once in deep contemplation, I asked if the Supreme Ultimate had personhood, or was just an impersonal power. Somehow my question provoked response and the Great Lady pinned me to the ground like a bug to a card. Leaving me no room for body or in mind to move, She pointed out to me how the very question was rooted in my limited human awareness and thus the problem, and the question, was mine alone. The Gods Themselves transcend any such notions of personhood or power. I’m the one trying to limit Them to one or the other. This was presented to me in quite unequivocal, and somewhat uncomfortable terms. It had the feel of being corrected, not to say chewed out, by an elder Aunt. YMMV….
Learning to experience the world as alive and inhabited by agent-full beings is a critical stage in Pagan spiritual development. It moves us past constructs of thought and belief into relationships with our many, many, neighbors. Knowing Them, we are inspired to defend their homes and habitations which others see as only a forest or a stream; resources to be used. “Someone else is using that right now! It’s Their home!” becomes the natural response to environmental encroachment when we make friends with the spirits of the world.
They, in their turn, also protect us. The Sanskrit term for these spirits is the Loca Pala, which points to our term for Their beneficence: luck. Luck is the gift of good fortune which comes when we support and are supported by the local spirits. As we care for Them, acknowledging Their presence, defending Their homes, putting out offerings for Them, They take us under their protection, fend off ill fortune, and prevent malicious or predatory spirits from harming us and our lives. They are also known for giving things a nudge in the right direction at critical moments.
Ultimately, I feel there is great value in learning to experience the world as alive and filled with living, feeling, sometimes thinking, volitional beings. We realize we are not alone. We realize that we have obligations in all our relations. We come to know the world and all its inhabitants as our family, and to care for it as tenderly.
"I'd be curious how those who are inclined toward animism interact with modern philosophies, from ..."
""Besides expertise, the priesthood has other responsibilities which the laity do not take on. First ..."
"Thank you for this timely article."The priest...serves and focuses on the Deity. Something of an ..."


There is speculation that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady might not play against the Jacksonville Jaguars during Sunday’s AFC Championship game.
Brady, during a press conference on Friday, Jan. 19, refused to talk about his reportedly injured hand. He showed up to the conference wearing red gloves.
According to the NFL Network, Brady has a cut on his right thumb (on his throwing hand). He suffered the injury during practice.
The cut was reportedly gushing blood and needed stitches.
A source later told the NFL Network that Brady was “zinging it pretty good” as he was throwing during practice.
Hey Devin McCourty, how’d Tom Brady look today?
When he was asked during the press conference about why he was wearing gloves, Brady replied, “I’ve worn them before,” according to an NFL Network transcript of the exchange.
Question: Is QB Tom Brady going to be a game-time decision?#Patriots coach Bill Belichick: "It's Friday."
Tom Brady's hand injury is WORSE than the mainstream thinks.
ESPN reported that he didn’t partake in team-based drills after warmups on Thursday.
But Patriots receiver Danny Amendola told the network that he caught footballs from Brady during practice. “He looked good,” Amendola said.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville presents a “great challenge” on Sunday, ESPN reported.


The Lookout Mountain, Ga., City Council, after hearing from the owner of the Chanticleer Lodge, has put the brakes on the idea of raising the hotel/motel tax within the city.
Mayor David Bennett had been considering increasing the hotel/motel tax by three to eight percent. It was estimated it could bring the town an additional $60,000 to $70,000 a year. The money from the tax would have to be used for “tourism product development,” and that could include building trails, which the town is now planning to do.
Michael Turner, owner of Chanticleer Lodge, said an increase would be disastrous for both Chanticleer and Garden Walk. He said most of his business is from visitors to Chattanooga and that the two hotels in Lookout Mountain, Ga. have to spend a lot of money to get people to stay on the mountain. He said a 10-year history shows the Chanticleer’s year-round occupancy rate is 53 percent. Now, the combined Walker County and Lookout Mountain city tax is 11 percent versus 10.5 percent in Chattanooga.The council members agreed that they did not want to hurt local business.
The sewer pumping station is also in need of updates requiring $200,000 to get it back into the original shape. The city plans to apply for a grant that would pay for the repairs.
The city took over the sewer system from Covenant College a number of years ago after money was raised from various sources, including grants and the college, for repairs to the system. At the time, Covenant was having to spend about $60,000 per year on the Krupski Loop system.
Mr. Campbell told the council that N.W. Utility District which has been billing sewer services for Lookout Mountain, Ga., will discontinue that service at the end of August. The town plans to do it internally with help from an employee who comes from N.W. Utility, on an hourly basis. This will cost an additional $6,000-$7,000 per year more than is currently being paid. There will be an effort to use email to invoice and debit versus paper billing, which will save money.
Volunteer fire and medical personnel who supplement Lookout Mountain, Ga.’s fire department will be getting some benefits. They will now be insured as temporary employees once a call is issued.After it was brought to the attention of Taylor Watson, council liaison to the fire and police department, that the volunteers have been buying their own medical supplies, each of the six will now be reimbursed for those expenses.
The volunteers will only be allowed to use red lights while in Georgia.
Chief Todd Gann informed the council that radios used by the fire and police department will soon be obsolete and cannot be repaired. The purchase of three new radios has been approved for the amount of $10,000. The old ones that are still working will be put on the trucks.
It was a relatively quiet month for the fire and police department, said Chief Gann. Activity included 3,290 miles patrolled, 24 traffic stops, 12 citations and 19 warnings given to motorists. There were four automobile accidents and 14 alarms answered. Two arrests were made during the month and there were no burglaries or thefts. Three suspicious persons and two suspicious vehicles were checked. Police provided assistance to 12 citizens, four motorists and to the Lookout Mountain, Tn. Police on three occasions. In March, one fire call was answered and eight medical calls.
Testing at Fairyland Elementary School will soon begin, said Council member Caroline Williams. The teachers are evaluated and given raises based on these tests and so have been preparing. They feel the children are also ready and well prepared, she said. The Fairyland Festival will be on April 25.
Drainage problems near the bottom of Hardy Road have caused damage that the town will have to repair, said Mayor Bennett. It will require paving and adding a curb and is expected to cost around $21,000. The motion passed to approve spending up to $25,000 for the work assuming that the lowest and best bid will be accepted and TSPLOST funds will pay for it. The town will get three bids for the project.
Town officials will be holding public meetings to unveil two new plans for the city. The comprehensive plan that will guide the town’s future growth will be made public at the Fairyland Club on May 7. The unveiling of the new Town Center will take place at the club next Monday at 6 p.m. The meeting will be recorded and those who are unable to attend can view it on the town’s website. A second, follow-up meeting will be held April 22 at 6 p.m. Citizens will have the opportunity to email questions and comments to: towncenter@lookoutmtnga.com.
Lookout Mountain, Ga. City Judge Buddy Presley gave owners of the old Fairyland Courts located on the Simms property on McFarland Road until March 21 to demolish the buildings. The deadline passed so it is now up to the city to do the demolition. Mayor Bennett said the city is trying to determine the amount of asbestos and will seek bids to remediate it. It will also seek bids to remove the buildings. After the work is done, the town will put a lien on the property that will be paid whenever it is sold.
The mayor also announced Lookout for Litter, a joint effort with the Tennessee side to clean up roadways in both towns, which will take place this coming Saturday. Volunteers will meet at The Commons at 9 a.m. The annual baseball parade will be held April 27.


HAYS — To celebrate International Migratory Bird Day, Fort Hays State University’s Kansas Wetlands Education Center will host “The Great Migration Rally” from 2 to 6 p.m. April 29 at the center.
The KWEC, 592 NE K-156 Highway, is at the southeast side of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, northeast of Great Bend.
The many activities planned will include a demonstration and display of Ukrainian eggs will be provided by Christine Slechta, of Wilson. In the FHSU MakerSpace van, children can make sled kites. Participants can also create edible bird houses, solve an egg match and get a bird tattoo.
After receiving a map, participants will drive through Cheyenne Bottoms. Participants will collect bird migration cards to earn points for prizes.
Supper will be served, followed by a “Birds of Prey Show” presentation by Pat Silovsky, Milford Nature Center director, with several of her live program birds.
Cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 5 through 12. Children younger than 5 are free. Participants must register by April 23 at http://wetlandscenter.fhsu.edu/the-great-migration-rally/.


The Duke of Cambridge thinks his daughter will be "trouble" when she grows up, although Prince George currently "rules the roost".
The 35-year-old royal has admitted his oldest child Prince George, four, - who he has with his wife the Duchess of Cambridge - currently "rules the roost", but he has revealed his youngest offspring, Princess Charlotte, two, is not far behind and he has no doubts she will cause mayhem as she grows up.
Speaking about his brood to a patient named Pagan Tordengrav during his visit to Aintree University Hospital, in Liverpool, on Thursday, which has also been reported on PEOPLE, Prince William said: "George rules the roost but Charlotte isn't far behind. I think she's going to be trouble when she's older."
William has revealed he has even been warned by fellow fathers how to handle his daughter.
He said: "All fathers say that to me - watch out for the little girls."
And it won't be long until William and Duchess Catherine - who was formerly known as Kate Middleton prior to marrying the royal - welcome a third child into their family, as the couple recently announced they are expecting another baby together.
The couple - who got married in 2011 - previously released a statement to announce the news, which read: "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their third child. The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news.
"As with her previous two pregnancies, The Duchess is suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Her Royal Highness will no longer carry out her planned engagement at the Hornsey Road Children's Centre in London today.


Corner Lot waiting for your new home. Located close to Moss Lake and convenient to Hwy 74 & I85. 1650 SF Min Stick Built Only. No mobiles or modular. Public water available, underground utilities, septic required. Lot dimensions: 157x58x120x196x130.


To take full advantage of their intangible assets, companies are increasingly seeking out knowledge collaboration solutions that combine customer knowledge and widespread innovation in products and markets with sustained improvement of core capabilities and associated business processes, leading to the ultimate competitive advantage.
Whether you do it yourself or decide to outsource, the value of your knowledge base management solution will be based on three fundamental elements: the quality of the knowledge, the systems you use to manage that knowledge and the processes used to deliver knowledge to customers.
By Chris Derossi, ePeople, Inc.
Amidst the sizeable investments companies are making in CRM systems and other technologies in the quest to deliver superior customer service and support, theres some irony that shouting over the wall of the cubicle, calling around the organization or e-mailing others for assistance is a key component of the customer support process.
Since 2000, Datamonitor research indicates the market for outsourced customer care services has grown by one-fourth as cultural resistance to the practice eases and economic competition intensifies.
An increasing number of North American companies are choosing foreign suppliers to handle at least a portion of their customer support. These companies are motivated by a variety of factors, including coverage, cost, quality and capacity.
By Marlene Rosati, Eyretel Inc.
Missing from standard contact center reports is the effectiveness side of the equation, which highlights both the customer-centric view of the overall customer experience as well as integration of contact center efficiency with overall corporate objectives.
While Web initiatives have historically been a function of the IT and marketing departments, increasingly, contact centers are taking the lead in managing the self-service revenue channel to ensure the Web serves as a profitable, consistent service media.
Years ago, as the Internet bandwagon progressed full-steam ahead, companies scrambled to develop a presence online. Back then, many marketers made a costly mistake, employing inconsistent messaging between their online and offline communications.
This month, Interactive Intelligences e-FAQ 2.2 and FrontRange Solutions HEAT 6.4 are thoroughly reviewed by the engineers of TMC Labs.
It finally happened. In 2001, the U.S. market for LAN (local area network) telephony reached the billion-dollar range. Well, almost. The actual number was $976 million, but given the typical margin of error analysts work under, its close enough. Considering the current state of the U.S. economy, and the fact that the LAN telephony market almost didnt exist as little as three years ago, this is a remarkable feat.


The scheme will be on the A1(M) southbound between Junction 17 (Peterborough) and Junction 16 (Stilton), incorporating a mandatory 50mph speed restriction, lane closures, narrow running lanes, slip road closures and full road closures.
* We will be resurfacing the motorway, installing new road markings and repairing drainage.
* Works will involve a mix of road closures and lane closures with narrow lanes.
+ Southbound Junction 17, the entry slip road will be closed from 21:00hrs on Friday 16th June to 05:00hrs on Friday 30th June, 24hrs/7 days a week.
+ 1 lane closed Thursdays to Fridays during Daytimes. Remaining 2 lanes open will be reduced width.
+ To help manage the additional traffic on Fridays, we will keep all 3 lanes open between 05:00hrs and 21:00hrs for our customers. Slip road closure may remain as indicated above.
A1(M) Junction 17 entry slip closure.
Drivers take A1139 Eastbound and exit at Junction 3, onto A1260 Southbound, continue onto A15 Southbound, to Norman Cross Junction 16 roundabout, re-enter A1(M) southbound at Jct16 entry slip road.
A1(M) Junction 16 exit slip closure.
Drivers should continue on A1(M) south, exit at Junction 15 (Sawtry), onto B1043 south, continue until right turning onto Sawtry Toll Flyover, turn right again onto Toll Bar Way. Continue north to enter the A1M northbound at Junction 15 entry slip road, exit A1(M) at Junction 16 exit slip.


These debates persist because there are often no easy or final answers. They are conducted on a slippery slope. Some forms of speech are rightly stigmatized. But tolerance is the virtue of permitting room for speech we think is wrong. Some public expressions of religion are inconsistent with pluralism. But true pluralism is a welcoming attitude toward all faiths, not the imposition of a rigid secularization � itself the victory of one, dogmatic faith.
Ultimately all of these disputes resolve into an argument about power: Who has the ability to define and enforce the boundaries of the acceptable? In America, thank God, this is generally a legal and social disagreement. In other places, advocates evangelize with the gun or gallows.
Particularly in this season, what is most conspicuous about these disputes is their disconnection from the actual content of Christmas, which involves an alternative definition of power.
It is easy to downplay or domesticate the Christmas story. The whole thing smacks of squalor and desperation rather than romance � the teen mother, the last-choice accommodations, the company of livestock. Whether or not the birth was accompanied by angel choirs, it was certainly attended by buzzing flies.
In the story, politics plays a marginal but horrifying role. King Herod perceived a vague threat to his power and responded with systematic infanticide.
This birth and life had an entirely unpredictable historical outcome. The proud, well-armed empire that judicially murdered Jesus of Nazareth exists only as a series of archaeological digs. The man who was born in obscurity and died an apparent failure is viewed as a guide and friend by more than a billion people. Our culture � its history, laws and art � is unimaginable without his influence.
Which brings us back to the meaning of power. It is unavoidable for citizens to argue over the definition and limits of religious liberty. But Christian influence is not expressed in the grasping struggle for legal rights or political standing. It is found in demonstrating the radical values of the incarnation: Identifying with the vulnerable and dependent. Living for others. Trusting that hope, in the end, is more powerful than cunning or coercion. The author of this creed sought a different victory than politics brings � the kind that ends all selfish victories.
Gerson is a Washington Post columnist. He can be reached at michaelgerson@washpost.com.


Caption: Thanks to a photo taken by a professional, Sutton Trout said he's meeting higher quality people through online dating.
Sutton Trout has experimented with Internet dating for years. But he was never thrilled with his photos.
Many were old or poorly shot.
So last summer, Trout, 38, hired a pro. Now, the San Francisco resident said he couldn't be happier. He's meeting higher-quality people, and he has a great collection of photos to use at work or to send family or friends.
"I get a lot of compliments on the pictures," said Trout, an executive at IGN Entertainment, a Brisbane Internet company.
As online dating has gone mainstream, interest is exploding in an assortment of services to help people gain an edge. Singles are scooping up books and hiring professionals to shoot their photos, rewrite their profiles or even investigate their blind dates.
Take headshots, for example. Professional photographers are increasingly offering to take photos for online dating, along with the more traditional wedding fare and family portraits.
Lookbetteronline.com, the site Sutton used, has built a network of 500 professional photographers across the country, much in the same way that online flower shops contract with local florists. It charges $129 for a dozen digital photos.
Co-founder Dave Coy said the site is attracting 250 customers per month, up from 100 per month a year ago. He hopes to double the traffic by next quarter.
"There's a real market for this," said Coy. "If you put up better photos, it makes a difference."
Coy said most customers say they have received at least twice as many responses from their ads after posting the new photos. In some cases, interest jumped tenfold.
Some sites (such as Lookwow.com in San Francisco) offer elaborate editing tools to help people touch up existing photos. In both cases, though, experts say online daters have to be careful to avoid posting a photo that bears little resemblance to how they'll appear in person.
Online daters are also turning to experts to help them tweak their profiles.
Profilehelper.com, for instance, charges customers $50 to rewrite their profiles or $90 to interview them and create one from scratch.
Eric Resnick, who helped launch the site, said the two biggest mistakes daters make in profiles are spelling and grammatical errors or too many inappropriate details. One woman said she was looking for a man who wouldn't beat her. Another would-be-dater mentioned that his wife had died just a few months earlier.
"People are usually a lot better than they seem when they write about themselves because all their insecurities tend to come out," Resnick said.
Book publishers also have churned out dozens of guides to online dating, with titles like "Meet Me ... Don't Delete Me," "Wired for Love" and "Meet Me Online."
"I suspect it's a genre that has plenty of room to grow," said Maria Hoffman, a buyer for Barnes & Noble's Web site.
Gumshoes are also touting their services for online daters.
Dozens of companies, like KnowX.com, let users look up their mystery dates in electronic databases. Private detectives offer more thorough background checks. Carmen Naimish, a licensed investigator in Santa Barbara who runs Datesmart.com, generally charges $300 to $400 to check out a cybersuitor.
"If you're going to meet someone for the first time in person, it's a good idea to get a background check to confirm they are who they say they are, " Naimish said.
"I am sick of dating stupid men so if you are a moron don't bother trying to get with me."
"As a student of life, I have always found myself drawn to intelligent men who share my inquisitive nature."


The Chicago Bears have made it a habit of drafting some unexpected players in the first round of the draft during Phil Emery’s tenure as general manager of the team. In 2012, the Bears drafted Shea McClellin, a linebacker from a 3-4 system at Boise State, and tried to convert him to defensive end (the experiment didn’t work). In 2013, it was Kyle Long who was taken in the first round, while he was projected to be an early-to-mid second round pick.
This time around, the Bears ended up going cornerback, but they didn’t go with the one that was expected. Rather than take Darqueze Dennard, who was arguably the top cornerback in the draft according to some draft experts, the Bears ended up going for Kyle Fuller, a corner of similar size and ability to Dennard that many had graded as a lower-tier first round pick (we had him in the 24th position in our mock draft).
Initially, the pick evoked some skepticism, but upon further inspection (including from us), it seems as though the Bears may have ended up making a good decision. Sure, Fuller may have been available a little bit later in the draft, but one of the teams that could have potentially moved up in the first round, the Arizona Cardinals, ended up moving back in the first round, while a slew of other teams who could have potentially gone after Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater decided to hold back until the Cleveland Browns moved up to number 22 in the first round to grab Johnny Football.
With a weak trade market that was seemingly uninterested in going after Manziel or Bridgewater, the Bears had no choice but to make their pick, and Emery got the guy with the versatility that he so often touts when discussing prospects. Fuller has experience playing nickel cornerback, and he can also play in the safety position. The Bears likely will use him in the former position with Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings still in the fold, but once Tillman leaves at the end of the 2014 or 2015 season, Fuller will likely step in as the top corner on the team.
The question then is a simple one: was Fuller the right pick for the Bears? After all, both of the draft’s top safeties, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Calvin Pryor, were still available at 14, as was Dennard. Aaron Donald did go with the 13th pick to the St. Louis Rams, and the Cleveland Browns traded up in the first round to get Justin Gilbert with the eighth overall pick. Those two guys both were likely on Phil Emery’s draft board, and there is a strong possibility that Eric Ebron, the tight end that went to the Detroit Lions with the tenth pick, was as well.
Even with all of those guys available, Emery and his team went with the guy that they felt was the top cornerback on the board, and that ultimately is what matters. At least in terms of offensive players, the Bears have made it a habit of deviating from the script a bit, and the picks have ultimately paid off. Whether or not the same will hold true of the defense remains to be seen, but if you’re judging off how Emery did with last year’s class, he has to be given the benefit of the doubt on this one.
While a guy like Dennard may have the better skillset, and may end up being a better overall cornerback, there wouldn’t be a ton of use for him since the Bears are in a win-now mode with their roster. He wouldn’t be starting over Tillman or Jennings, and moving one of the three corners into a nickel role would be a waste of time since none of the three are as well-suited to the position as Fuller. Both as a win-now guy and a future piece on the outside, Fuller was a good selection, and he should fit in well with what the Bears are doing.


DAEGU -- Software technologies applied to vehicles by tech companies have been unnerving traditional carmakers in recent years, stoking fears that they might lose their exclusivity in the auto industry. But such a scenario is not likely to happen, according to a British expert on connected and autonomous driving.
“I think there’s a lot of uncertainties at the moment. We are not sure whether these tech companies are going to be competitors or possible collaborators,” said professor Paul Jennings, head of intelligent vehicle development at Warwick Manufacturing Group, in an interview with The Korea Herald in Daegu on Thursday.
WMG is an academia-industry partnership on future car development in the UK, where the professor has worked more than 25 years. Jennings is a physicist who has led the development of intelligent vehicles and energy storage in collaboration with WMG’s industrial and academic partners.
Asked what carmakers should do in order to maintain their growth, Jennings advised they need to think beyond the conventional frame of selling cars and instead focus more on services.
“What they need to recognize is that the industry, as well as the culture, is changing very rapidly as we are moving towards service-driven industries. They also need to make sure that they adapt to their own businesses, without fearing (newly rising tech companies),” he said.
Jennings, who also serves as a principal investigator on the OmniCAV project, was in South Korea’s southeastern city of Daegu last week to speak about the progress of UK’s development on self-driving and connected cars.
OmniCAV is a 2.7 million-pound ($3.5 million) project to create the new testing frame for connected and self-driving vehicles. WMG has been working with a team of 11 other organizations, including Oxford-based Latent Logic. The group recently won a funding competition run by the Center for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and Innovate UK.
The scheme is to create a highly accurate virtual reality simulator environment by providing highly detailed scans of real roads, traffic camera data and artificial intelligence-trained pedestrian models.
“Our vision was to bring the city to us, so people sitting inside vehicles may experience the city or any other environment just as if it is real,” he said.
While the complexity of human behavior remains a challenge, Jennings is using artificial intelligence-trained pedestrian models so that driverless vehicles could learn how to react to people in various situations.
“We need very sophisticated algorithms to mimic the real world, and that is why we use AI. A resemblance to real life experience is required, instead of a simplistic representation,” he said.
WMG is hoping that partnership with South Korean companies may help the universal goal of improving the safety of self-driving cars. The group is also working with a number of European carmakers and universities, seeking to attain the level three autonomy.
According to a figure in the UK, over 90 percent of vehicle accidents are attributable to human error, he pointed out.
“By eliminating human error, we will not only save numerous lives, but also cut down on the social cost caused by accidents,” he said.


The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on last Thursday 'clarified' it has not imposed any ban on Oscar-nominated director Ashvin Kumar's 'No Father in Kashmir.' Earlier in the day, Alia Bhatt, whose mother Soni Razdan stars in the film, had taken to social media to urge the CBFC to 'lift the ban'. She tweeted, "Was soo looking forward to mom's @nofathers_movie #nofathersinkashmir!! @Soni_Razdan @ashvinkumar & team worked super hard for this honest teens love story in Kashmir. Really hope the CBFC would #lifttheban. It's a film about empathy & compassion.. let's give love a chance!" However, according to Tushar Karmarkar, Regional Officer, CBFC, Mumbai, the news of the ban is "completely false." The film, a love story of two 16-year-olds who are individually searching for their missing father, stars Razdan, Anshuman Jha and Kulbulshan Kharbanda.


Florida mass shooting graphic by MGN.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida authorities say that a man who killed two people at a yoga studio was a "disturbed individual" with a "hatred" for women.
Tallahassee police on Tuesday released the final results of their investigation into the November shooting. Authorities said that Scott Paul Beierle posed as a customer during a yoga class, then began shooting. A 61-year-old faculty member at Florida State University and a 21-year-old FSU student were killed. Five others were injured. Beierle then killed himself.
Police conducted dozens of interviews and went through thousands of pages of documents including a journal kept by Beierle.
Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo said the investigation showed that Beierle had a history of sexual misconduct that began in grade school.
Authorities said that Beierle did not target anyone specifically in the attack.