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2019-06-13 00:00:00

President Trump has picked Eric Ueland, currently deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, to replace Shahira Knight as director of legislative affairs, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the decision. Ueland has deep experience in Congress and is widely respected on Capitol Hill. Why it matters: As the president's top liaison to Capitol Hill, this is perhaps the hardest job in Washington. The White House is at war with House Democrats, who have initiated a blizzard of subpoenas. Trump has made clear he wants his current and former staff to stonewall House Democrats and that he expects to get no big legislative items done (for example, infrastructure) while Democrats are investigating him. Context: Joe Grogan, the head of the White House's Domestic Policy Council, brought Ueland onto his team earlier this year, and officials have who worked both with and against Ueland over his long career on the Hill described him as an especially important hire. Ueland previously served as chief of staff to former Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and was a senior adviser on the Senate Budget Committee. He also served as a top official on the Trump transition team and later worked in the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance at the State Department. The White House issued a statement on Thursday confirming Ueland's appointment, calling him a "a talented, highly respected individual," and a start date of June 17 Go deeper: How Trump can stall House Democrats

2019-11-27 00:00:00

It's Wednesday, November 27th, 2019, 64 days since House Democrats began impeachment proceedings. Every morning, the Impeachment Today podcast helps you separate what’s real and groundbreaking from what’s just, well, bullshit. You can listen to today's episode below, or check it out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. It's Wednesday, November 27th, 2019. 64 days into the impeachment saga and this is Impeachment Today. Good morning, I'm Hayes Brown, reporter and editor at Buzzfeed News. Happy day, you're probably stuck traveling to go home for Thanksgiving, also known as the most wonderful time of the year for podcasts. In fact, after you're done with this episode, you should probably go back and binge some more. Just a suggestion, just putting it out there for you. For now though, we are talking to Ryan Broderick about the conspiracy theories that came up during the impeachment hearings and how to respond to them if you can't just sit there and eat your food. But before we get to all that, let's catch up on what happened, yesterday. House Democrats dropped the last two transcripts of their closed door depositions on Tuesday afternoon. Rounding out the collection were Phillip Reeker and Mark Sandy, who worked for the State Department and White House Office of Management And Budget respectively. Phillip Reeker is Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and most of his testimony dealt with the fallout after Trump abruptly withdrew the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine in the face of a smear campaign spread by Rudy Giuliani. Unlike some witnesses Reeker, said that, yeah, it was very clear that when Giuliani was talking about investigating a company called Burisma, what he meant was an investigation into the Bidens. Getting Ukraine to announce the investigation into Hunter Biden's work for Burisma was one of Giuliani's main goals this spring and summer. He has said he was doing so on the behalf of the President as his lawyer. Meanwhile, Sandy was the only OMB official to answer a subpoena from Congress. He offered a crucial look into OMB's decision making process and gave us a few new important dates. On June 18th, Sandy said, he first learned that the President had seen a media article about U.S. military aid to Ukraine and began asking around about it. Sandy then was instructed in mid July to prepare a hold on that nearly $400 million for Ukraine. After some back and forth with OMB lawyers about whether that was even legal, Sandy signed the first official document freezing that money. The date he signed it, July 25th, the same day as Trump's now infamous phone call with Ukraine's president. A political appointee took over from Sandy after that first hold and he signed multiple renewals of the freeze between then and September 11th, when the hold was finally lifted. Sandy said that not only had he never seen a portfolio taken over from a career staffer like that, two people resigned over how weird the whole thing was. As of September, Sandy still had not been given an official reason the aid was held. It was only then he was told that the freeze was about making sure other countries had contributed their share to Ukraine, which is a claim that hasn't been very well supported. And apparently the President was well aware that the aid holdup could be a problem when he eventually released it. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump himself was personally briefed by White House lawyers about a whistleblower's complaint in late August. That complaint heavily featured Trump's July phone call and the political favors Trump requested from Ukraine during it. Democrats have been investigating whether the aid freeze was linked to those favors, which included the investigation into the Bidens. And that timing explains why when his Ambassador to the EU called him on September 1st, Trump had his response ready, "there is no quid pro quo." The President and his supporters have repeatedly pointed to that call as proof that Trump is innocent and this news is yet another reason that argument is wildly illogical. The President's lawyers will have their first chance to explain their side of the story in congress next week. The House Judiciary Committee announced that they are convening constitutional experts next Wednesday for a hearing on impeachment as it relates to Trump. It's Judiciary's first foray into the formal impeachment process. Once they receive reports summing up the inquiries results next week, it's up to them to draft any articles of impeachment. As Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler said in a letter to the White House, the President has until Sunday to decide whether he or his lawyers will attend the hearing. That's big considering how much Republicans have complained about the President being denied due process throughout the impeachment inquiry. That was the news, this was the noise. Impeachment may be moving forward, but tradition is tradition, which means Trump took to the Rose Garden to pardon a pair of turkeys named Bread and Butter. Being him, he popped off a few one liners about impeachment. Donald Trump: Thankfully Bread and Butter have been specially raised by the Jacksons to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important because they've already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff's basement on Thursday. But Bread and Butter, I should note that unlike previous witnesses, you and I have actually met, it's very unusual, very unusual. Hayes Brown: But don't worry even he didn't like the gags. Donald Trump: In any event, I expect this pardon will be a very popular one with the media. After all turkeys are closely related to vultures, I don't know if I like that line, but there is a little truth to it. Hayes Brown: Ha, ha? And now in our last reading of November, we turned to your friend and mine, our Nixometer. On our scale zero is a normal day in a normal White House and 10 is President Richard Nixon resigning and flying away in Marine One. This morning, we're at a 7.4 still, but it feels justified when we have a whole new hearing and a whole new committee next week. And with more evidence that the foreign aid hold was part of the bribery case that Democrats are building against Trump, the only thing sleepy around here is you after eating your third plate tomorrow. Okay, after the break we talked to Ryan about the conspiracies you may face at the dinner table tomorrow. You'll want to hear this one. All right. Time for a very special holiday edition of this fucking thing. The impeachment hearings were like a weird Rorschach test in a way, where what you took away from them depended a lot on where you watch them. And people took away some extremely interesting things. Here to help us figure out just what sort of weird shit might come up at Thanksgiving and at the end of the segment, game out some possible responses, is Buzzfeed News tech reporter, Ryan Broderick. Ryan Broderick: Hello. Hayes Brown: Okay Ryan, so we just got through two weeks of impeachment hearings and one of the things that you wrote on Buzzfeednews.com, the internet website, was how there are basically two different impeachment hearings happening for a lot of people in this country. Can you unpack that a little bit? RB: Yeah, I'm going to try my best here. So for a good chunk of the country, they watched the impeachment hearing and they waded in, sort of got a sense that maybe there was some presidential malfeasance happening and they could kind of follow along. For anyone that's consuming right wing media, they were watching a very different impeachment hearing. They're all going after a very different reality, which is based around one central conspiracy theory that it wasn't Russia that meddled in the 2016 election, it was the Democrats colluding with Ukraine. And because of that very core crazy nonsense thing, every single thing that right wing media has reported off the back of that exists in an alternate reality essentially. HB: That's absolutely horrifying because we had you on before to talk about the CrowdStrike server theory, which as part of this greater Ukraine conspiracy cinematic universe that you were just mentioning. So even though we've had debunk after debunk, including Fiona Hill at her testimony saying this is all a Russian plot, its reach is still growing. Like just yesterday, we had the Secretary of State Give this non-answer in a press appearance. So I'll take the second question first. Anytime there is information that indicates that any country has messed with American elections, we not only have a right but a duty to make sure we chase that down. HB: So why do you think this thing in particular will not die? RB: Well, it's been interesting because I follow a lot of journalists on Twitter. I read a lot of mainstream news, but I've spent all of the impeachment following it through Facebook groups, through right-wing media. I'll tell you, not a single thing that happened during the impeachment will affect anyone who reads that understanding of it. The Yovonovich testimony, which was very emotional for a lot of people, nothing. The Vindman testimony, nothing. Fiona Hill was considered like a huckster or a liar. HB: Wait, what? RB: Not a single thing that you're talking about has made any dent and based on Facebook traffic doesn't actually exist. HB: So all these two weeks of hearings, I mean, that- RB: Nothing, nothing. HB: That would make sense given the fact that polls hadn't really moved in October. So you're saying that in these like battle lines, these trenches, just none of the facts are getting down in there. The artillery fire of facts are just kind of bouncing off and even the fact shrapnel is not hitting them. RB: So it's been very interesting because you know there's all these blue checks on Twitter who are like, "Yes, Queen, go off, tell that truth!" And it's like, according to every metric I can figure out, the rest of the country feels the exact opposite way. HB: My face is very concerned right now for people listening out there. So is this a strategy at this point from the Republicans, especially those who are on the Intelligence Committee during those hearings, can we say that officially? Or is it just like the fever swamp out there doing their thing and no one can really control it? RB: I am always very hesitant to think that people are smart enough to do some sort of like psyop. HB: Yeah, nothing like that, nothing like that. RB: I have an easier time believing that a bunch of old people's brains have been broken by the internet and they actually believe this stuff. But also I think it's sort of like the end of that documentary Wild, Wild Country, where people in the cult can't admit that it's a cult because if they do, all of a sudden it all unravels and they have like a psychotic break. I think that's where Devin Nunes is right now. He's like last days of the Jim Jones compound. HB: Wow! RB: Because imagine you've spent three years making huge decisions and publicly standing for stuff that is complete nonsense. And you might suspect maybe this doesn't sound right, but if you were to admit that that's a shocking truth. I think it's really destabilizing for these people. So it's much easier to just spend six hours a day at impeachment hearings, prattling off crazy nonsense with the hope that your friends at Fox News will clip it down for you and make you look like a hero. HB: Right, so we saw that with the questioning from Nunes especially. I remember during the first couple of hearings, not really getting what he was doing. He was listing off all of these things like, "Couldn't it possibly have been Ukraine? Doesn't the President have within his right to go after any election malfeasance? And doesn't it make sense that the Ukrainians didn't like the President before the election? So he has a grudge against them." And it wasn't until like a couple days in like you said that it all clicked like, oh, he's not even talking to me right now, he's not talking to the witnesses right now. He's talking to everyone else. RB: Yes, the minute you're put in front of a camera in this country, you can become content for Fox, which is why the anonymous whistleblower is in such a powerful position, and it's why it's making them so angry. Because if you have a face and you have a name, all of a sudden you can be doxxed, you can be smeared, you can be Googled into a conspiracy theory, But as long as that person, that whistleblower's anonymous, they can't be fed into the Fox machine. HB: Couldn't this false narrative machine that is out there suddenly pivot and come against the people who have been pushing it? RB: Well, I mean there's two versions of this, right? There's like the end of the post-apocalyptic movie where they overthrow the robot overlords and they all see the truth like the end of The Matrix or something. HB: Yeah, yeah. RB: Although the end of that, they're actually all wearing rags and in a horrible world, but still you get the idea. HB: The point stands. RB: Or you have something like the Soviet Union or China, where the media machine just continues. There's a great documentary by this guy, Adam Curtis called HyperNormalisation and it's all about the idea where you can create an alternate reality out of things that aren't true and people just have to believe you because like it's too exhausting to debunk it. I mean, we're trying to have a very basic conversation about an impeachment inquiry and it's built on so many fabrications and like outright conspiracy theories that it's almost impossible to talk about with each other. And I imagine people at the dinner table this week are going to have a similar issue when they can't even decide which thing to like talk about first. HB: Ugh. With all that depression seeping into my bones, let's do some role play really quickly. RB: Sure. HB: Let me set the scene. It's Thanksgiving, the turkey's been sliced, grace has been said. We're about halfway through the first round of plates. I'm your boomer uncle. I'm loving Facebook. I'm loving the memes I'm getting sent. So I'm going to hit you with some things I may have gleaned from Fox and those memes. I just want to see how you would react and you would talk them down. Is that okay? RB: Okay, let's do this. HB: All right, it's training, think of it that way. So now the server, they still have that in Ukraine where the FBI can't get it. Why can't the FBI get that server? RB: Ugh. Okay, so it's not a physical server, there is no server in Ukraine. The FBI took the findings from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was hired by the Democrats in 2016. It was all done according to Department of Justice manual on how to do a digital investigation like that. Every single person who has heard about this was like, "yeah, that sounds pretty by the books." HB: So next up, Schiff and all these cronies held these hearings in a dungeon in the basement where nobody else could see them. RB: Oh, for God sakes. Yeah, yeah, okay. So the reason that they did them in the basement and in private is because of rules that were set up by John Boehner when he was the speaker of the house during the Republican majority in 2015 and they are actually following the Republican's rules to the letter. You collect depositions in private to see if those people are worthy of testifying and then you submit that evidence publicly like a normal trial, which is just what happened, Uncle Steve. HB: Well, dang it, okay. Well, but that Democrat woman, what's her name Andrea Gordito or whatever. She's the one who Soros paid to do all the real colluding with Ukraine. RB: Yes, so if you are talking about George Soros, Uncle Steve, it means you are absolutely an anti-Semite because that is where that comes from. And you're talking about Alexandra Chalupa, who was a DNC operative. There is one guy in the world who believes that she tried to get the Ukrainian embassy to collude with the Democrats and every other person says that did not happen. But that one guy is on conservative T.V. a lot and that's where that comes from. HB: For those of you who cannot see Ryan right now, which is all of you, he's very red in the face. His hands are up over his eyes. RB: I'm shaking, I'm getting like pre-PTSD for this conversation that I'm going to have in like three days with my own family. HB: Okay, so one more, one more. RB: Pre-PTSD. HB: One more, good call. RB: Thanks. HB: Write up the medical journals for that one. RB: Thank you, thank you. HB: Okay, one more and this is like a really big one. Trump did nothing wrong and this is all just a massive frame up by the Democrats to try and get him out of office, which they had been doing since day one. It's all garbage. And we've broken Ryan, sorry everyone out there, there is no good answer for that one it seems. RB: Okay, wait, hold on. Okay. What you could say is like, look, if that's true then you have nothing to worry about with the impeachment and they're going to find him totally innocent of everything. You fucking asshole, get out of my face and eat some stuffing and leave me alone. HB: Well Ryan, thank you. I for one feel much more prepared for the next few days. Thank you for helping us out at the cost of your brain and very soul. RB: Happy to help, yeah. HB: Happy Thanksgiving. RB: Happy to help, yeah. HB: Okay, that is it for today and the week. We'll be back with you on Monday. But before we go, we're still curious to hear your strategies for dealing with any impeachment talk that might come up tomorrow, so send them in. Also, if things at the dinner table do get weird, please let us know about that too. You are absolutely allowed to change the names of any family members you might be incriminating in your voice memo. Open up the voice memo app on your phone, record your message and email it to impeachment@buzzfeed.com or just send me a direct message on Twitter. I'm @hayesbrown, my DMS always open. Be sure to subscribe to Impeachment Today on the the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen - and a rating or a review would be ever so kind. And if you're feeling like a splurge on Black Friday, there is Impeachment Today merch up on shop.buzzfeed.com. Use the code peachpod30 for 30% off. Also, tell your friends and family about the show as we all figure this out together.

2019-10-29 00:00:00

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian carriers Telefonica Brasil and TIM Participações (TIMP3.SA) will consider acquiring assets from struggling rival Oi SA (OIBR4.SA) if they are put up for sale, executives from both companies said on Tuesday. In September, Reuters reported that Oi was in talks with the local subsidiaries of Spain’s Telefonica SA (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia SpA (TLIT.MI) to sell assets and avoid insolvency. “As the CEO of a publicly traded carrier, I have the duty to check whether or not it creates value to my shareholders once frequencies or backhauls (infrastructure networks) are made available,” TIM’s Chief Executive Pietro Labriola told reporters on the sidelines of Futurecom, a major telecoms event in Sao Paulo. Meanwhile, Telefonica Brasil Chief Executive Officer Christian Gebara said the company would consider acquiring Oi’s mobile operation for its frequencies. “This decision would depend on which frequencies will be auctioned for 5G and which mobile assets would be put up for sale ... We analyze the whole picture,” Gebara said. TIM is currently Brazil’s third-largest wireless carrier, and buying Oi’s mobile operation would allow it to gain vital market share and expand its coverage to challenge market leader Telefonica Brasil. TIM shares have risen less than 1% so far this year, underperforming Telefonica Brasil, which has climbed more than 22% in the same period. Besides the two companies, Mexico’s America Movil (AMXL.MX), through its local unit Claro, is also open to discussing a deal with Oi, Reuters has reported. Oi’s Chief Operating Officer Rodrigo Abreu has said the carrier would consider selling its mobile operation if it gets attractive offers. Both Gebara and Labriola emphasized it was too early to speculate on the rules for Brazil’s 5G spectrum auction, as the local regulator, Anatel, is still conducting tests on interference with other services. A 5G bidding round is now expected to take place in the second half of next year. “It is problematic if it happens tomorrow with rules that do not benefit the industry or the country ... I would be happier if it happens later but with the right rules that guarantee our investment’s return,” Labriola said. Besides the approval of a new regulatory framework bill for telecommunications approved by the Congress weeks ago, Gebara hopes for additional structural changes to guarantee the success of 5G deployment in Brazil. “The formula of the past will not be enough,” he said, saying there was a need for a tax reform and other measures to make the “technological leap” to 5G. Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Dan Grebler and Tom Brown

2016-01-15 14:25:00

Cameron Diaz‘s new book cover is here! The 43-year-old actress took to Twitter on Thursday to reveal the cover of The Longevity Book, a follow-up of Diaz’s New York Times bestseller The Body Book. “So proud and excited to share a sneak peek of #TheLongevityBook cover!” Diaz tweeted to her more than 600,000 followers. She shared a lengthier caption alongside the cover on Instagram. “I am so excited I can barely contain myself!! As soon as I saw it myself, I wanted to share with you the cover of THE LONGEVITY BOOK,” she wrote. “I am so proud of this book and very much looking forward to engaging us all in a new conversation about aging – how to do it with strength, grace, health and wisdom. “I also wanted to thank you again for your beautiful submissions, which we’ll eventually get to show you as part of the cover beyond the cover; a perfect representation of women standing beside other women, as a united front, to stage change and incite progress. I can’t wait until hard copies hit the stands in April so we can really get started!!” On the cover, Diaz is seen wearing little makeup with her blond tresses pulled back. The book, co-authored by Sandra Bark, promises to touch “the science of aging, the biology of strength and the privilege of time,” according to the book’s subtitle. The book is available for preorder ahead of the book’s April 5 release.

2019-05-08 00:00:00

On the evening before a shooter opened fire on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, he announced his plans on 8chan and shared a link to his manifesto. Less than six weeks later, a student in California shared his own manifesto on 8chan before opening fire on a synagogue near San Diego. Posters in 8chan’s /pol section immediately celebrated both attacks, and discussed the shooters’ “scores.” Sites like 8chan and others where racists can get radicalized online are key to counterterrorism efforts, experts say, but in a Wednesday hearing on domestic terrorism, U.S. intel officials from the FBI, DOJ and DHS seemed fairly unfamiliar with those platforms — or what to do about them. The purpose of the hearing, convened by the House Committee on Homeland Security, was to assess the nature of the threat posed by domestic terrorism and determine whether current counterterrorism infrastructure was adequate to combat it. “Do you have any recommendations about what can be done to address the violent hate speech and incitement of violence found on fringe sites like 8chan and Gab,” asked Rep. Mike Rogers, the ranking Republican member of the committee from Alabama, early on in the hearing. On the evening before a shooter opened fire on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, he announced his plans on 8chan and shared a link to his manifesto. Less than six weeks later, a student in California shared his own manifesto on 8chan before opening fire on a synagogue near San Diego. Posters in 8chan’s /pol section immediately celebrated both attacks, and discussed the shooters’ “scores.” Sites like 8chan and others where racists can get radicalized online are key to counterterrorism efforts, experts say, but in a Wednesday hearing on domestic terrorism, U.S. intel officials from the FBI, DOJ and DHS seemed fairly unfamiliar with those platforms — or what to do about them. The purpose of the hearing, convened by the House Committee on Homeland Security, was to assess the nature of the threat posed by domestic terrorism and determine whether current counterterrorism infrastructure was adequate to combat it. “Do you have any recommendations about what can be done to address the violent hate speech and incitement of violence found on fringe sites like 8chan and Gab,” asked Rep. Mike Rogers, the ranking Republican member of the committee from Alabama, early on in the hearing. His question was met with silence. “Y’all don’t have any suggestions for us?” Rogers said. “That’s scary.” 8chan has been around since 2013 and caters to a diverse range of communities, like anime enthusiasts, tickle festishists, and video gamers. But it’s best known for its /pol section, a hub for far-right conspiracy theorists and racists, and where many get radicalized. It came under fresh scrutiny in March following the New Zealand mosque attacks that left 50 dead, and later the Poway synagogue attack, which left one dead and many injured. Similarly, the man who attacked a synagogue in Pittsburgh last October posted on Gab right before he killed 11 people. “Among the new terror challenges is for the intelligence community to be analyzing public information on these platforms to interdict violence when there is a criminal predicate,” said Brian Levin, who leads the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Levin added that intelligence officials’ apparent unfamiliarity with sites like 8chan was “surprising” given recent events. The officials who testified on Wednesday acknowledged that domestic terror was a growing threat that has evolved over time alongside the maturation of the internet. “What we’ve seen in the last four to five years is the homegrown violent extremist threat, where someone can get on the internet and self-radicalize,” said Michael McGarrity, assistant director for counterterrorism at the FBI. “We’re seeing that same type of threat in the domestic terrorism world, where individual actors — lone wolves — can find their ideology to justify their actions online.” McGarrity estimated that the FBI had around 850 ongoing domestic terror investigations, and “a significant are racially motivated extremists who support the majority of the white race.” Intelligence officials stressed the importance of collaboration with social media companies. “The Department has engaged with social media companies,” said Brian Murphy, principal deputy undersecretary for Intelligence & Analysis, Department of Homeland Security. “And encouraged them to continue to police their website. We’ve been working with them.” Similarly, McGarrity said that the FBI has held training sessions with social media companies, teaching them how to identify potential threats. But they had less to say when it came to fringe sites. That kind of coordination may be especially important for 8chan, where posters are anonymous. If the FBI received a tip about a potential threat on 8chan, they’d likely need the posters’ IP addresses to look into it. “Let’s talk about 8chan,” said Rep. Max Rose, a Democrat from New York. “Is anyone aware of any direct outreach or communication with the owners of 8chan or the administrators, or have they contacted you?” “I’m not aware of any specific contact between the FBI and 8chan,” McGarrity replied. “But I can follow up and see.” “I’m especially concerned about this, because this is all based on relationships,” Rose said. “We know much of this is happening on 8chan, and if we have not had any direct contact with the administrators of 8chan, then I don’t know what protocols we have in place to make sure the materials are taken off 8chan as quickly as possible.” McGarrity added that FBI policy prohibits them from getting involved in First Amendment activity, so they wouldn’t be able to request 8chan to remove something they considered hateful. “If it’s speech, if it’s ideology, and it might be alarming as it is, we are prohibited from that,” McGarrity said. McGarrity added that he would get back to Rose with regards to contact between the FBI and 8chan on monitoring potential threats. It’s worth noting that a civilian came across the Poway synagogue shooter’s manifesto on 8chan and contacted the FBI only moments before the attack happened. Similarly, both Murphy and Brad Wiegmann, the deputy assistant attorney general at the DOJ’s National Security Division, punted in response to Rose’s question and said they’d get back to him. According to 8chan’s monthly “Transparency Report”, the site fielded and complied with three requests from U.S. government or law enforcement agencies, in April down from 12 requests the previous month. It’s difficult to know whether government agencies were contacting 8chan due to possible threats or other concerns outside of counterterrorism, like cybercrime and copyright infringement. However, the spike in requests in March is notable given that it coincided with the New Zealand shooting, and was up from only two requests in February. Cover: UNITED STATES - December 12: Max Rose, candidate for New York's 11th Congressional district, is interviewed by CQ Roll Call at their D.C. office, December 12, 2017. (Photo by Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call).

2018-05-09

Reddit, Pornhub, Tumblr, and other companies are supporting an upcoming net neutrality vote with a new publicity campaign. The Red Alert for Net Neutrality project is organized by activist groups Demand Progress, Free Press Action Fund, and Fight for the Future, which have run similar awareness campaigns in the past. It’s drawing attention to an upcoming vote in Congress, where Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and others are trying to restore net neutrality rules that were repealed last year. This protest seems lower-profile than last year’s net neutrality day of action, supported by giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, but it still has several big sites and services on board. Participants include Tinder, the Wikimedia Foundation, Vimeo, Imgur, Etsy, Mozilla, GitHub, and more organizations listed here. There’s also a widget that anyone can put on their site, urging people to contact their congresspeople. Why start today? Because today, a group of senators (led by Markey) are petitioning for a vote on 2017’s net neutrality repeal. They’re using the Congressional Review Act, a legislative tool that lets Congress reverse federal regulations with a simple majority vote. Under the CRA, any 30 senators can force a vote to be scheduled, rather than waiting for a committee decision. The Red Alert campaign is supposed to start with a high-visibility push today, then simmer until right before the vote — whenever that turns out to be. Democrats unanimously support this resolution, so it could pass the Senate if two Republicans flip to vote with them; right now, one — Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — has pledged support. The resolution has a lower chance of succeeding in the House of Representatives, and President Trump could ultimately veto it, but it’s still considered one of the best chances to preserve net neutrality right now. Markey is running a Q&A session on Reddit at 2:30PM ET today, and websites should be launching their campaigns throughout the day.

2017-10-22 00:00:00

There are two types of beauty trends: real and internet. The real ones—the color-blocked lids, the dark lips, the golden highlighter — actually appear on runways and in beauty collections, with the ostensible goal of one day showing up on your actual body.  The internet ones, by and large, are just done for Instagram. And that's why they can be so weird. Squiggle brows are great for the feed, but not so practical for real life.  They sure are fun to look at, though. Here are the best we've come up with so far ... and the year ain't over yet. A post shared by Claudia (@claudia__.w) on Jul 11, 2017 at 3:55am PDT This trend transforms your brows into tiny snakes, or worms, or little Taylor Swifts, or whatever you want to call them. And no, no one actually plucked their eye mustaches into a squiggle shape — they mostly used washable glue as a shaping agent. Ladies: are we here for this new squiggly lip trend? pic.twitter.com/14t2SOLZAk — brooke alyce (@brookegotuhookd) September 1, 2017 The obnoxious cousin of squiggle brows, squiggle lips quickly emerged as the mostly-a-prank way to freak out your Instagram followers with a single image. The earliest iterations were made with FaceTune, not actual lip products, but that didn't stop people from trying. A post shared by Davison (@davisonvideo) on Oct 6, 2017 at 7:41pm PDT As a species, we deserve nothing. As a result, now we have nose hair extensions. These are just fake eyelashes, but glued to a nose. (You can also glue them to your lips, or wherever else, we guess.) A post shared by Zakia WAHBI (@shinybeautiz) on Sep 18, 2017 at 7:25am PDT Squiggle brows, but for Harry Potter fans. You can also attempt lightning bolt eyeliner if you're feeling fancy. A post shared by @glitterowo on Sep 4, 2017 at 6:23am PDT Anyone can try braided brows, because they're not real. They're Photoshopped. But — and we do not say this lightly — they are a cool look, perfect for Instagram and nothing else. Some people have even mastered the look using makeup, but let's be real, no one expects you to do that. A post shared by D A H L I A (@dahliacreates) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:23am PDT Perhaps the most wearable look on this list, reverse cat eyeliner nonetheless requires a lot of genuine technical skill. For one thing, you have to have to master winged liquid eyeliner, which is already impossible. Then, you have to draw the wing on the inner corner of your eye. Geniuses only. A post shared by Heather Moorhouse (@makeupmouse) on May 6, 2017 at 2:00am PDT In May, several beauty bloggers welcomed the nascent springtime by affixing pom-poms to their faces with eyelash glue. If you want to look more like a ball pit, you're just one trip to the craft store away from your dream. Unfortunately, fidget spinners are over, but can fidget spinner nail art live on forever? (No.) Want to try one of these, er, looks for yourself? See you on Instagram. Or bring them out into the world if you want. Your life is yours to live.

2019-03-15

SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - * South Korea has found African swine fever in packed pork sausage brought into the country by a Chinese traveller, its agriculture ministry said on Friday * The traveller arrived at Pyeongtaek port in the country’s northeast on March 4, the ministry said in a statement * That marks the second time the highly contagious virus has been detected in Chinese foods carried to South Korea by travellers * South Korea has tightened quarantine operations at airports and ports since the first case was found in August last year, while asking livestock farmers to avoid countries that have seen outbreaks of swine fever such as China * The disease has not hit any hog farms in South Korea, which does not import pork products or live pigs from China * More than 100 outbreaks of the disease, which is incurable in pigs but harmless for humans, have been reported in China * Vietnam has also confirmed the spread of the virus (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Joseph Radford)

2018-12-20 00:00:00

LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The European Union has been clear that a managed no-deal Brexit is not available, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Thursday after one of her ministers said it was an option if the government’s deal with Brussels is rejected by parliament. The spokesman also said it was not plausible to hold a second referendum on Brexit. Work and pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said on Wednesday she could see the argument for another referendum if parliament cannot reach a consensus on the way forward. Reporting by William James, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison

2016-11-30 13:35:52

Letter To the Editor: Re “Trump Takes On a Big Business, and 1,000 Jobs Stay in Indiana” (front page, Nov. 30): What exactly has Donald Trump promised Carrier to get it to keep those jobs in Indiana? Your article says that he and Mike Pence are expected to reiterate campaign promises to ease corporate regulations and taxes and that “the state of Indiana also plans to give economic incentives to Carrier.” What are these incentives? We should get the full details of what we might be paying to keep these jobs. CLAUDIA ORENSTEIN New York

2019-12-20 00:00:00

Over the past several decades, the cost of college has steadily climbed, creating a student debt crisis and causing students to reconsider whether college is the right choice for them. Now, a Gallup poll of more than 2,000 American adults reveals that roughly half of Americans don't see college as a necessity. In 2013, Gallup found that 70% of U.S. adults considered a college education to be "very important," 23% felt it was "fairly important" and 6% said it was "not too important." In 2019, those figures have shifted to 51%, 36% and 13%, respectively. The biggest shift can be seen among young adults between the ages of 18 and 29. In 2013, 74% of Americans in this age group said college was "very important," but by 2019, just 41% said the same thing. Stephanie Marken, author of the new analysis and executive director of education research at Gallup, says the changes are cause for concern. "The decline in overall perceived importance is expected, given increased concerns about value, access and quality of education," she tells CNBC Make It over email. "However, that higher ed's target consumers, aged 18 to 29, are more negative for the first time in Gallup's history measuring this topic is particularly concerning." The United States is considerably behind goals (set by the Obama administration in 2009) to increase the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with college degrees or certificates to 60% by 2020, with the hopes of optimizing economic opportunity. At the current rate, it would take until at least 2056 for the United States to reach that threshold. "Educational failure puts the United States' future economic prosperity, global position and physical safety at risk," reads a report from the Council on Foreign Relations, led by Joel I. Klein, former head of New York City public schools and Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. secretary of state. "The United States will not be able to keep pace — much less lead — globally unless it moves to fix the problems it has allowed to fester for too long." "A woman with a bachelor's degree earns $61,000 per year on average, roughly equivalent to that of a man with an associate's degree," reads a 2018 report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce. "The same rule holds true for women with master's degrees compared to men with bachelor's degrees and for each successive level of educational attainment." The Georgetown CEW found that "women's earnings still lag those of men at every education level, even within the same majors and controlling for full-time, full-year employment." Black and Hispanic adults were more likely than white adults to say college is very important (65% and 66% versus 44%.) Just 41% of Republicans said that college was very important, compared to 62% of Democrats and 50% of independents who said the same. But while attitudes towards college have certainly shifted, and the financial calculation may be steeper than in the past, going to college remains a smart investment for many. Educational attainment has been found to cause a wide range of positive outcomes including longer life expectancy, lower unemployment and higher earnings. In 2018, college graduates earned weekly wages that were 80% higher than those of high school graduates, according to the Federal Reserve. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Americans with a bachelor's degree have median weekly earnings of $1,173, compared to just $712 a week for those who have a high school diploma. "Getting a college degree is increasingly important for individuals seeking better employment prospects and greater wages," Michael Mitchell, senior director at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities tells CNBC Make It. "Indeed, we know that communities benefit when more residents have college degrees. Areas with highly-educated residents attract stronger employers who pay higher wages. And this, in turn, can boost the area's economy so that the wages of all workers at all levels of education are higher." So why then are Americans increasingly skeptical of higher education? One likely reason is that college costs have steadily increased over the last several decades (and by more than 25% this decade) due to cuts to education funding, inflation and colleges increasing spending on construction. During the 1978 - 1979 school year, it cost the modern equivalent of $17,680 per year to attend a private college and $8,250 per year to attend a public college. By the 2008 - 2009 school year those costs had grown to $38,720 at private colleges and $16,460 at public colleges. Today, those costs are closer to $48,510 and $21,370, respectively. That means costs increased by roughly 25.3% at private colleges and about 29.8% at public colleges. These increased costs have made students second-guess their calculations about the cost — and value — of college. "Everyone is asking, 'Is college worth it?'" says CEW director Anthony P. Carnevale. But analysts stress that earning a college degree remains a strong investment. "Getting a college degree, if done right, is still the best investment you're ever gonna make," Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate tells CNBC Make It. "Even with a modest amount of debt, borrowing $30,000, which is the typical debt of an undergrad, for $1 million in additional lifetime earnings — that's a pretty good return on investment." Another potential reason students' belief in higher education has been shaken is a current emphasis on college scandals. Marken says especially that in the wake of the so-called "Varsity Blues" scandal, in which it was revealed that wealthy parents paid roughly $25 million to help their children gain admission to elite colleges and universities like Yale and Stanford, colleges and universities must prove to students that investing their time, effort and money in a college degree is worth it. "It reminds us that higher education has much to do to communicate the outcomes associated with a higher education degree and its ability to serve students from various backgrounds," she says. That's "a concept many have begun to question in light of the recent college admissions scandal." Finally, Americans have become enamored by the story of the millionaire, or billionaire, college dropout: people like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The two tech titans dropped out of Harvard to found successful companies. And while Zuckerberg and Gates' success is undeniable, the issue is that they are the exceptions to the rule. "Although I dropped out of college and got lucky pursuing a career in software, getting a degree is a much surer path to success," said Gates himself in 2015. "College graduates are more likely to find a rewarding job, earn higher income, and even, evidence shows, live healthier lives than if they didn't have degrees. They also bring training and skills into America's work force, helping our economy grow and stay competitive." One study of 11,745 U.S. leaders (including CEOs, federal judges, politicians, multi-millionaires and billionaires and business leaders) found that 94% of U.S. leaders attended college, and about 50% attended an elite school. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, just 41% of first-time full-time college students earn a bachelor's degree in four years, and only 59% earn a bachelor's in six years, driving up the cost of attending college significantly. Even Gates has criticized these dropout statistics. "This is tragic," he said in a blog post, emphasizing the importance of higher education. "Not just for the students and their families, but for our nation. Without more graduates, our country will face a shortage of skilled workers, and fewer low-income families will get the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty."

2017-10-05

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Weaknesses at KPMG South Africa are not systemic and reforms are underway to address mistakes made in work it carried out for business friends of President Jacob Zuma, the firm’s new local chief executive told parliament on Thursday. KPMG sacked a number of South African executives last month after it found work undertaken for firms owned by the Gupta family - a trio of Indian-born businessmen with close ties to Zuma - “fell considerably short” of its standards. Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia

2019-06-13

After months of delays, President Donald Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn could tell a federal judge on Friday that he has finished cooperating with the government and is ready to be sentenced. But the retired Army lieutenant general's recent decision to replace his legal team with Sidney Powell, a fiery critic of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian election interference, struck some as a signal that Flynn could be angling for a pardon. "It's a very delicate situation, and it's a strange choice to bring on a lawyer who regularly is lambasting the investigation that [Flynn] now is cooperating in," said former federal and New York state prosecutor Duncan Levin. "This could be a straight-up Machiavellian ploy for a presidential pardon," Levin said. "But then again, it could also just be a big coincidence." Flynn's lawyer and federal prosecutors face a Friday deadline to file a joint status report in Washington, D.C., federal court. In the last such report in March, Flynn asked Judge Emmet Sullivan for a 90-day extension because "there may be additional cooperation" for him to provide in a separate criminal case. The Washington Post reported Thursday that Flynn was still planning to testify in that case in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to a charge of lying to FBI agents about his conversations with a Russian diplomat in the weeks before Trump took office. Federal guidelines recommended a sentence of between zero and six months in jail — terms considered by some legal minds to be a sweetheart deal. "I accept full responsibility for my actions," Flynn said in a statement at that time. A year later, Flynn was set to be sentenced in court, where both Flynn's lawyers and prosecutors were prepared to argue that Flynn receive either no jail time at all — given his guilty plea and extensive cooperation with Mueller — or get the low end of the guideline range. But his sentencing was delayed when Sullivan suggested to Flynn that he would have a better chance of avoiding any jail time by waiting to be sentenced until after he had finished cooperating. Flynn also appeared more convinced to agree to a postponement after receiving a brutal tongue-lashing from Sullivan, who told him, "arguably, you sold your country out. " Sullivan's harshness surprised Powell, who recently replaced Robert Kelner and Stephen Anthony of Covington & Burling as Flynn's lawyer. Mueller brought the original charges against Flynn, but the case is now being handled by prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, who took over after Mueller's team completed its broader probe earlier this year. Powell is a former federal prosecutor who has described Mueller and other key figures related to the federal government's probes of Russian election interference — including former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe — as "creeps on a mission." She also argued in a February 2018 op-ed for The Daily Caller that Flynn should "withdraw his guilty plea," in no small part because she viewed Sullivan as "the best person to confront the egregious government misconduct [of the Mueller probe] and to right the injustices that have arisen from it." She had criticized the judge after Flynn's sentencing hearing last December. But Powell told The Hill on Wednesday that Flynn would continue to cooperate with the government as part of his plea agreement. And legal experts told CNBC that the possibility of Flynn successfully withdrawing his guilty plea was extremely remote. "The bottom line is, he got a great deal, and in all likelihood he's going to get probation," said defense attorney and former federal prosecutor David Weinstein. Trump, in a tweet Wednesday, called Powell a "GREAT LAWYER" and wished them both luck. "It is so highly inappropriate for the target of an investigation to comment on the lawyer of a witness," Levin said. But the tweet did suggest that Trump was still sympathetic to Flynn, and that he approved of Powell's hiring. Whether he is pardoned or not, both Flynn's attorney and federal prosecutors are expected to argue that the retired three-star general receive a sentence at the low end of his guideline range. "The only unknown is what the judge is going to do when they say, 'Okay, we're ready,'" Weinstein said.

2018-02-07

A super PAC tied to House GOP leadership released a television ad on Wednesday that links the Democratic candidate in a special election in Pennsylvania to House Minority Leader Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiWhy President Trump needs to speak out on Hong Kong Anti-Trump vets join Steyer group in pressing Democrats to impeach Trump Pelosi warns Mnuchin to stop 'illegal' .3B cut to foreign aid MORE's (D-Calif.) "crumbs" comments on the new tax law. The Congressional Leadership Fund's ad connects comments from 18th Congressional District Democratic candidate Conor Lamb suggesting that the GOP tax efforts are a "complete betrayal" to comments Pelosi made that the law is "armageddon" and that the bonuses companies have announced are "crumbs." "Pelosi and Lamb. Too out of touch. Too many taxes," the narrator says in the ad, part of a $1.7 million buy. It's the latest effort by Republicans link Pelosi to Lamb, who has called for new House Democratic leadership. The CLF last month released an ad arguing that Lamb will "join Pelosi's liberal flock." Republicans believe that hammering Pelosi on taxes will be a winning strategy for them, arguing that attacks on the California Democrat helped them in a special election for a House seat in Georgia last year. Lamb faces Republican Rick Saccone in the March 13 contest to replace former Rep. Tim MurphyTim MurphyA federal abortion law might be needed Female Dems see double standard in Klobuchar accusations Pennsylvania New Members 2019 MORE (R), who resigned in October following a report suggesting that he recommended that a woman he was having an affair with have an abortion. Trump easily carried the district in 2016, but Democrats are hoping that they can pull off an upset. The Cook Political Report rates the race as leaning Republican. Democrats argue that their message on the tax law resonates more with people. They argue that the law provides far less of a benefit to the middle class than it does to the wealthy. Lamb's "complete betrayal" comment was made on Twitter in December during the Senate's debate over its version of the legislation. He was retweeting Sen. Claire McCaskillClaire Conner McCaskillEx-CIA chief worries campaigns falling short on cybersecurity Ocasio-Cortez blasts NYT editor for suggesting Tlaib, Omar aren't representative of Midwest Trump nominees meet fiercest opposition from Warren, Sanders, Gillibrand MORE (D-Mo.), who said she got a list of amendments being added to the bill from lobbyists. "Complete betrayal of the middle class," Lamb tweeted. "We were promised infrastructure & jobs, instead we get big tax cuts for the rich written by & for corporate lobbyists. People in #PA18 are tired of being lied to. We'll put an end to this hypocrisy on March 13th." View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2019-05-28 00:00:00

Jean Shin’s “Allée Gathering” at Storm King shows how little many of us know about trees and nature. Advertise on Hyperallergic with Nectar Ads NEW WINDSOR, New York — I’m sitting at a massive picnic table in the middle of Storm King Art Center. Two sets of long wooden sheets abut each other, forming a 50-foot-long tabletop. The benches, too, are made of hewn trunks, their undersides showing the rough bark of the trees. It’s unlike any other bench at which I’ve sat: it’s as if one giant tree were cut down, then split down the middle and unfolded like paper.   The picnic table sits on a slight incline, the only sculptural work in the area. It runs parallel to what was once the Maple Allée, two rows of old maple trees standing on either side of a sloping road. But the maples are gone. They were planted just after the Art Center opened 50 years ago, and they’d reached the end of their life cycle. All that’s left of them are stumps; these seem ironic, even tragic, alongside the row of saplings planted to replace them. The soil around the saplings is still dark and fresh. We are sitting at the corpse of some giant beast, while the life cycle continues onward, indifferent to the towering body. The artist Jean Shin, whose exhibition Outlooks is on view here, sits at the table across from me, next to Senior Curator Nora Lawrence, while the rest of us on the tour (writers, photographers) sit around. It’s springtime, but it’s chilly and the sky is gray. The center lives up to its name: when clouds gather around the great mountain, it’s a sure indicator of storms. Our group was almost rained out earlier in the day, and before we arrived, a team had come to wipe down the bench so we could sit on it. Shin has to speak loudly over the wind, as it carries sound up and away from the table. She calls the piece “Allée Gathering,” explaining that she wanted to create “a memorial, a place of remembrance and gathering,” where people would “spend time with art and nature.” That is, of course, what we’re doing in this moment. That morning, I’d seen the table from a distance. We were in the stone mansion that holds Storm King’s galleries, previewing the exhibition Mark Dion: Follies, which also just opened. One of the second-floor galleries has a window looking out onto the grounds, with a clear view of the former allée. It felt a bit like looking back in time, into the kind of view I imagined from an English manor — the low sky, the green lawns, the symmetrical landscaping, the country road disappearing at the crest of the hill. But, of course, it was different. The saplings from a distance looked scraggly, fragile. It was hard to imagine them growing into full trees. And the table was hard to place. From that distance, it looked small, like a misplaced toy block. It looked different from the pieces I’d previously seen by Shin: large-scale installations made up of a plethora of smaller everyday objects — hundreds of lottery cards leaning on each other to create a miniature city, military uniforms turned into a mural-sized mosaic, orange prescription-pill bottles stacked into a tower. This piece was its own sort of assemblage, but one that came from nature. Up close, the table is impressive. I found myself staring at the wood grains, photographing the table at close range to capture its length, the way its two sides join together. From the side, it cuts a dramatic shape against the landscape, echoing the sloping line where treetops meet the horizon. Shin moves onto the second part of the exhibition, telling us she was inspired by the fallen maples to tap the trees around Storm King for syrup. She presents three bottles, one from a “distressed” tree, one from a green maple, and one from a healthy, adult tree. She and the curators pass around the three bottles, which we pour into metal spoons to taste. The first, the distressed tree, has a woody, almost smoky flavor and is a light amber color. The second feels closer to what I think of as maple syrup — sweeter, a little richer. And the third, from the healthy tree, is the closest to what we buy in stores, a dark, reddish brown, more viscous on the spoon. Shin points out two maples at the far end of the allée that were spared. The one on the left, she says, is distressed, while the one on the right is healthy. I hadn’t noticed, but now I can see the branches of the left tree have gaps between them, like bald patches. I realize how little I know about trees, about how we get this thing called syrup, and that syrup from different trees will taste different. The whole experience has a melancholy quality, trying to extract sweetness from trees, dying trees. Later, when we are indoors, I ask Shin about the process of creating the table. I was struck by how the sculpture seemed both simple and very difficult to make. She describes the long process of more or less inventing a method for creating the piece. She was told that nearby mills wouldn’t accept the job, so Shin and the Storm King staff had to figure out a way to make the table on site. “I said, what are my options?” she explains, “And the builder said, ‘Well, there’s a chance we can do vertical cuts.’ I don’t know much about carpentry, but I know you don’t do that.” Nora Lawrence excitedly pulls up a video on her phone. I watch a man holding a chainsaw, standing on a forklift next to a trunk that’s been shaved of its branches. In one dramatic movement, he cuts down the entire length of the trunk, and the thick slab of maple falls onto the ground. We laugh at the suddenness of it, the mix of elegant skill and brute force.  She describes going up to touch the inside of the tree the minute it opened. “I was filled with beauty,” she says. “I was weeping.” It was a hot day, but the wood was “cold inside, a different surface hidden from world.” Outlooks: Jean Shin continues at Storm King Art Center (1 Museum Road, New Windsor, New York) through November 24.

2019-01-25 00:00:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. fund managers are continuing their retreat from consumer-related stocks and increasing their defensive bets out of concerns that the U.S. economy is slowing even though government leaders had reached agreement to end the longest shutdown ever. While the S&P 500 index is up more than 5 percent since the start of January, money managers including Federated Investors, Baron Funds and Hodges Capital Management are bracing for a powerful knock-on effect on the consumer. The shutdown left roughly 800,000 federal workers without pay for 35 days, and U.S. consumer confidence fell in December by its largest amount in three years. President Donald Trump said on Friday afternoon that he had reached a deal with Congress to end the partial shutdown and restore government funding for three weeks while talks continue on funding a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, one of Trump’s signature campaign promises. Trump said that the government may shut down again on Feb. 15 or he will declare a national emergency if Congress does not appropriate money for a border wall. “The market right now is treating this like a hurricane, where you know there will be an economic impact but you tend to discount any hit to the data because you know there will be some catch up,” said Steve Chiavarone, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors. “But here’s what’s dangerous about that approach: the sample size is zero for shutdowns this long.” As a result, Chiavarone said he is becoming more cautious on consumer stocks. He noted that these probably saw revenue declines as government employees cut back and as that affected spending by owners or employees of restaurants, hotels, and retailers that depend on their business. Shawn Kravetz, Esplanade Capital LLC’s chief investment officer, said he expected consumer stocks like Walmart Inc and dollar-store chains like Dollar Tree Inc to benefit as furloughed workers “trade down” into more value-oriented chains, leaving higher-end department stores and travel companies ripe for a slowdown. “There’s no question that life is about cash flow. Even if you are highly confident that you will eventually get paid, people will pull in their horns and hunker down,” he said. The benchmark S&P 500 has been little changed during past government shutdowns, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist of U.S. equity strategy at New York-based CFRA. Each of the more than 20 government shutdowns since the 1970s has lasted a week on average and left the S&P 500 essentially flat, he said. The longest, a 21-day shutdown from December 1995 to January 1996, saw the S&P 500 rise 0.1 percent during the shutdown itself and gain 4 percent in the month after it finished. Michael Lippert, a portfolio manager at Baron Funds, said the shutdown is not likely to leave a lasting impact on portfolio holdings such as Amazon.com Inc that are still grabbing market share. Still, it could curtail investor enthusiasm for initial public offerings, he said. “Sentiment affects stock prices in the short term and my bigger worry is what dysfunction in D.C. will do to market confidence,” he said. “Could we see a pullback on the magnitude of what we saw in December? It’s certainly possible.” Eric Marshall, a portfolio manager at Dallas-based Hodges Capital Management, said the firm is underweight restaurant stocks in part because of the government shutdown and concerns about slowing economic growth. Marshall expects to see more companies lowering guidance as they report earnings over the coming weeks. S&P 500 earnings are now expected to grow by 5.9 percent in 2019, compared to October estimates that earnings would grow by 10.2 percent, according to data from Refinitiv. “You’re going to start seeing over the next couple of weeks whether companies factor the shutdown into their guidance, and whether it’s going to start to have some negative momentum in the economy,” he said. Reporting by David Randall; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio

2017-01-03

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Newron Pharmaceuticals Spa * Newron announces encouraging preliminary results of its phase IIa study with Evenamide in patients with schizophrenia Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)

2017-06-05 12:45:00

This article originally appeared on Entertainment Weekly.com. Bob Dylan finally accepted his Nobel Prize for Literature in early April, and now, he has the full-length acceptance speech — or “Nobel Lecture” — to go along with it. The 27-minute clip, which you can listen to above, was recorded in Los Angeles on Sunday and published by the Nobel Foundation on Monday. “When I received the Nobel Prize for Literature, I got to wondering exactly how my songs related to literature,” begins Dylan. “I wanted to reflect on that and see where the connection was. I’m going try and articulate that to you, but it will most likely go in a roundabout way.” Bob Dylan was presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature in Stockholm:https://t.co/Forbi304CO — bobdylan.com (@bobdylan) April 7, 2017 Nobel lectures are part of an annual tradition that sees the winners of their respective Nobel prizes present “lectures” leading up to the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony on Dec. 10. FROM COINAGE: What Is The Grammy Bounce? (No, It’s Not A Dance Move) While lectures are usually delivered in the week before, there have been laureates who’ve given their lectures after the fact. The Nobel Foundation rules for what can consist of a lecture are quite flexible, with laureates being invited to deliver everything from a short speech, a performance, a video broadcast, and or even a song. The only hard and fast rule Dylan had to abide by was presenting his lecture by June 10, or risk losing his prize money. Dylan had previously refused to acknowledge not only that he’d won the award “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition” but also whether he would be accepting it at the prize giving ceremony. You can hear Dylan’s entire Nobel Prize lecture above.

2018-08-27 00:00:00

When Matt Meshulam, a Chicago-based software engineer, received a cold recruiting email from Amazon, he already knew he wouldn’t be taking the interview. “I had been reading a lot in the last month or so about their providing tech to Palantir, and their warehouse labor practices, and their potential large contract with the Department of Defense,” Meshulam told BuzzFeed News. In his email to the recruiter, which he later tweeted, Meshulam wrote, “I am not willing to consider opportunities with Amazon as long as it sells facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies, and enables ICE’s separation of immigrant families by providing technology to Palantir.” Meshulam’s refusal to consider working for Amazon until the company addresses ethical concerns that employees and outside watchdogs have raised is part of a larger trend. Using the hashtag #TechWontBuildIt, a handful of tech workers on Twitter have shared how they’re rejecting interviews with companies like Amazon and Salesforce, either because they disagree with the company’s practices or don’t want to help build its products. Trained programmers, software engineers, and data scientists are in notoriously high demand in the tech industry. Companies spend millions of dollars on recruiting efforts every year and offer a dizzying array of perks and benefits (lengthy parental leave, infertility treatment, free beer, unlimited vacation) to entice workers. That means prospective employees have leverage — and some of them are trying to use it to get these companies to change their ways. The actions of a handful of individuals are unlikely to steer corporate policy, but the trend could signal a looming recruiting pipeline problem if the companies don’t change tack. “Literally, they get a job offer twice a week,” said San Francisco State University professor John Sullivan of the demand for qualified tech workers. As a result, whether its diversity or sustainability, “whatever people care about, you have to care about it too.” “Recruiters don’t really track it, so they don’t have a data sheet saying, ‘We’re losing people because of this,’” said Sullivan, who is also a recruiting adviser to companies, including Google and Facebook. “They haven’t made the connection, but it’s certainly real.” Meshulam also said he’s observing a shift in the tech industry. “A lot of people are waking up a little bit more now, and realizing we don’t really have much of a say in what we’re building, we don’t have much of a say in what our workplace looks like,” he said. “And people are starting to realize — there’s underutilized negotiating power.” Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Amazon wrote via email, “Over the past three years, Amazon has had millions of job applicants and grown by more than 300k employees. We welcome a variety of views on a wide range of topics, and we’re pleased to see independent data that shows Amazon is a sought after and great place to work.” Salesforce declined to comment on this story. There has been something of a tech employee awakening of late: Thousands of workers at Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce have signed petitions asking management to cancel contracts with government agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Defense. In June, Google employees succeeded in getting the company to agree not to renew its deal to help the Pentagon build AI tools for drone warfare. Communicating with recruiters is one way for tech workers to wield influence even if the companies aren’t currently employing them. That’s why Will, a software engineer in the Midwest who asked only to be referred to by his first name, said he knew he couldn’t accept an interview with Amazon after the company sent him a recruiting email, even though he’s actively looking to move to the West Coast. “If it was a different company that wasn’t so morally tainted, I probably would have considered it,” he told BuzzFeed News. Instead, Will wrote a quick reply. “While I’m sure this would be a great opportunity, I have no interest in working for a company that so eagerly provides the infrastructure that ICE relies on to keep human beings in cages, that sells facial recognition technology to police, and that treats its warehouse workers as less than human,” he wrote. Will’s message was written on impulse, and he didn’t realize other people had done the same thing until the saw their tweets. That realization made him feel empowered. “The fact that someone else independently had the same idea sort of implies there are probably a lot more people doing the same thing,” he said. “If there’s a significant amount, I feel like the recruiters are going to have to say something at some point, or that they’re at least more likely to report it to higher ups.” The recruiter at Amazon never responded to Will’s message, but other tech workers who sent similar interview declines did receive answers. Meshulam, the engineer from Chicago, said the recruiter he was in contact with thanked him for his candor and said he’d get back in touch if the employee petition made any headway. Dropbox engineer Anna Geiduschek, whose tweet about her rejection of an Amazon recruiter inspired Meshulam, was surprised by the answer she received. “Wow I honestly had no idea,” the recruiter that contacted her wrote in a response. “I will run this up to leadership. Usually they are really proactive about these kinds of things.” For Geiduschek, the recruiting email from Amazon felt like a powerful “personal leverage point,” an opportunity to share her disapproval of what Amazon is doing in a way that might actually get people to listen. “If it’s just me, it’s not going to change,” she said. “But if a tenth of the workforce was threatening to quit, or they felt like 10% of their recruiting pipeline was turning away when they would have otherwise taken a job, then I think it really would become on a lot of executives’ radars.” The likelihood is fairly low that tech executives would be seriously concerned over a handful of engineers turning down job opportunities, says Will Hunsinger, CEO of Riviera Partners, a tech recruiting firm with offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. “For every engineer or executive that takes a moral or ethical stand, there’s 99 on the individual contributor side and nine on the executive side who are ... going to engage with the company if that’s where they want to work,” he said. What companies should worry about, Hunsinger said, is retaining the employees they already have. “If [employees] believe that the company ... is doing things that are an antithesis to what they decided that they wanted to pursue as a professional career … they’re the ones who are going to answer a call from a recruiter that says, ‘This company is doing cool stuff, and they’re not working with ICE.’” But Sullivan, the SFSU professor, said in the last two years, he’s increasingly hearing from students who say they’d flat-out refuse to work for tech companies, especially Amazon. (“You get the warehouse stories number one ... and facial recognition for some reason is huge,” he said.) “If you talk to college students and say, ‘Do you want to work for this company?’ they say, ‘No way, not ever, it’s a deal breaker.’ But then you talk to recruiters, and I don’t hear them say, ‘We have to change our way of managing because it’s affecting our ability to recruit,’” Sullivan said. Sullivan estimates that Uber’s public meltdown over sexual harassment and discrimination cost the company around $100 million in recruiting because of talent that went elsewhere. While in the short term companies might choose lucrative government contracts despite losing a few new recruits, in the long term, the real cost will become apparent, he said. “At some point six months or a year from now, [HR is] going to get a yell from executives saying, ‘There’s a connection, we need to stop doing business this way or sell it better, because people have too many choices,’” he said. “Executives think business is business. That’s certainly Google’s response — ‘We make a lot of money out of this!’ Facial recognition at Amazon, they’re like, ‘This could be the future!’ Executives don’t want to stop it, and they don’t know how to handle the fact that employees say, ‘No, I won’t stand it.’”

2019-08-02

(Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) said on Friday the National Court of Papua New Guinea had ruled that the miner could continue to operate the Porgera gold mine, while the country’s government considers an application to extend the lease for the mine. Papua New Guinea’s government is looking into an application by Barrick Niugini Ltd, a joint venture between Barrick and China’s Zijin Mining Group (601899.SS), for a 20-year extension on Porgera’s special mining lease that expires on August 16, the company said. Reporting by Debroop Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

2016-01-28 00:00:00

An anti-corruption watchdog released its latest annual rankings of global corruption Wednesday, with nations such as Somalia, North Korea, Afghanistan and Sudan topping the list as states with the most corruption. The 2015 rankings, published by Transparency International, measure perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 to 100. The index is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption, looking at a range of factors like whether governmental leaders are held to account or go unpunished for corruption, the perceived prevalence of bribery, and whether public institutions respond to citizens' needs. This year's list found that 68% of countries "have a serious corruption problem," including half of the G20. Countries including Greece, Senegal, and the United Kingdom have improved since 2012. Others, such as Australia, Brazil, Libya, Spain and Turkey are more corrupt than they were four years ago. The least corrupt nation was Denmark. The U.S. rose one spot this year to 16th place with a score of 76, tying with Austria. The UK rose three spots to place 10th, with a score of 81 that tied it with Germany and Luxembourg. The other top spots, from second to ninth, were occupied by Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada. Russia sat in 119th place, tied with Azerbaijan, Guyana and Sierra Leone. Brazil, in the midst of a massive corruption scandal at the state-owned oil company Petrobras, posted the biggest decline, falling five points and dropping seven positions to 76th place. "The 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world," said Transparency International head Jose Ugaz. "But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption — people across the globe sent a strong signal to those in power: it is time to tackle grand corruption." Additional information from the Associated Press.

2017-03-31 23:08:52

Gilbert Baker, a self-described “gay Betsy Ross” who in 1978 hand-dyed and stitched together eight strips of vibrantly colored fabric into a rainbow flag, instantly creating an enduring international symbol of gay pride, was found dead on Friday at his home in New York City. He was 65. Cleve Jones, a friend and gay rights activist who confirmed the death, said that Mr. Baker had a stroke several years ago but had not been sick recently. As the gay rights movement spread from San Francisco and New York in the 1970s, Mr. Baker was often asked by friends aware of his creative talents to make banners for protests and marches. His creations, like others during that time, often included the pink triangle, which protesters had claimed as an icon after its initial use by the Nazis to identify gay men in concentration camps during World War II. Before a gay pride parade in 1978 in San Francisco, Harvey Milk, a city supervisor and gay rights leader who was assassinated that year, joined others in asking Mr. Baker to create an emblem to represent the movement. Mr. Baker, with help from volunteers, filled trash cans with dye in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco and pieced together the first flags, unveiling them in the parade on June 25, 1978. “We stood there and watched and saw the flags, and their faces lit up,” Mr. Jones said in a phone interview on Friday. “It needed no explanation. People knew immediately that it was our flag.” The first flags had eight colors, each stripe carrying its own significance: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for peace and purple for spirit. “A flag translates into everything, from tacky souvenirs to the names of organizations and the way that flags function,” Mr. Baker said in an interview in 2008. “I knew instantly when I saw the reaction that it was going to be something. I didn’t know what or how or — but I knew.” Since its introduction, the rainbow flag has become a universal symbol for inclusion, peace and love. It has been waved by gay rights supporters in China fighting for equality. It has been hung from apartment balconies as a sign of solidarity. After the United States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015, more than 26 million people on Facebook changed their profile photos to include the flag. The flag itself has changed since 1978, going to six colors from eight. Pink fabric was too expensive, Mr. Baker said, so it was removed, and turquoise and blue were combined into one color, royal blue. Gilbert Baker was born on June 2, 1951, in Chanute, Kan., a tiny rural town that was a stop on the Santa Fe Railway. His mother was a teacher, and his father was a lawyer and a judge. Mr. Baker said he was outgoing growing up but had always thought of himself as an outcast because he was gay. Mr. Baker spent a year in college before he was drafted into the Army. He served as a medic and was eventually stationed in San Francisco, where he remained after leaving the Army in 1972. San Francisco was then a center for the women’s rights and civil rights movements, and after a police raid in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, a gathering spot for gay New Yorkers, more people began coming out as gay. “For me and, really, a whole generation of people, that was really a defining time,” Mr. Baker said in 2008. After the 1978 parade, Mr. Baker joined a flag company in San Francisco that supported his idea of mass-producing his creation, but he later left for a career in art and design. He was nevertheless always associated with the flag. He created rainbow flags for the recent ABC mini-series “When We Rise,” about the gay-rights movement. In recent weeks he had finished creating 39 nine-color flags — the eight original colors, plus lavender to represent diversity — to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the first rainbow flag. “He got up every day and made art,” Charley Beal, a friend who was the art director of the 2008 film “Milk,” about Mr. Milk, said in an interview. Mr. Baker refused to apply for a trademark for his creation. “It was his gift to the world,” Mr. Jones said. “He told me when the flag first went up that he knew at that moment that it was his life’s work.”

2017-06-02 17:41:00

Repetitive, intricate ink drawings that jump off the page are Cambodian illustrator Visoth Kakvei's specialty. "When every page of my sketchbook is full of nature, I'd always want to get lost in it," he writes in the Instagram description of a recent drawing of a swirling vortex of vines, leaves, and flowers. "Would you?" The self-taught artist's ornamental style evokes the carvings on his homeland's ancient temples and landmarks like Angkor Wat. He's also indebted the natural world that defined his upbringing in the Cambodian countryside, where his family grew rice, fruits, and vegetables. Kakvei's parents toiled to send him to graphic design school in the city of Phnom Penh. In the last five years he's refocused on drawing, which he loved as a child but abandoned while he focused on his career. Two years ago he moved to Scarborough, ME, where he continues to hone his craft. Kakvei has accrued 800K+ followers on Instagram by posting mesmerizing process videos that reveal his smooth, confident drawing style. Many interrogate him about his precise, tedious technique, but they seem to be missing the point. "People who love to do one thing will do it correctly, passionately, and patiently," he tells Creators. "Every work I do, I have to make sure my heart and my hand reach an agreement. It means, I love what I'm going to do, and the hand is pleased to do it as well. This won't get you stressed out. And the patience occurs when you love what you're doing." The details of Kakvei's future plans remain vague, except for a stated desire to publish art books and continue doing what he loves. Check out his work below: Follow Visoth Kakvei here, and check out the Creators Instagram to find your next favorite artist. Know of an artist who should be featured on Creators? Send your submissions here. Related: 'Story of Flowers' Tells an Epic Animated Tale of Life and Death A Cambodian Artist's Intricate Ink | Monday Insta Illustrator Surreal Pencil Drawings Look Like How Repressing Your Emotions Feels

2016-03-29

Government spending would need to be cut to levels not seen since Harry Truman for the budget to be balanced under the tax plans of Republican presidential candidates Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpPossible GOP challenger says Trump doesn't doesn't deserve reelection, but would vote for him over Democrat O'Rourke: Trump driving global, U.S. economy into recession Manchin: Trump has 'golden opportunity' on gun reforms MORE and Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzTrump moves forward with F-16 sale to Taiwan opposed by China The Hill's Campaign Report: Battle for Senate begins to take shape O'Rourke says he will not 'in any scenario' run for Senate MORE, a report released Tuesday found. “Programs that receive support across the political spectrum and are important to the well-being of most Americans would dramatically shrink or disappear altogether,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) said in its report. The group’s analysis is based on revenue estimates of the Cruz and Trump tax plans by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC), as well as CBPP’s estimates of what those projected revenue levels would mean for spending. TPC estimates that Trump’s tax plan would lower government revenues by $9.5 trillion over 10 years, and Cruz’s plan would reduce revenues by $8.7 trillion over that time period. CBPP found that when measured as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Trump’s tax plan would cause revenues to fall to their lowest level since 1950, and Cruz’s tax plan would cause revenues to drop to their third-lowest level since 1950. “The 1950 revenue base is inadequate for today’s needs,” CBPP said, since Social Security spending was only a small percent of GDP that year and Medicare did not exist. Both Trump and the Texas senator support balancing the budget. But to offset the cost of their tax plans and balance the budget, Congress would have to cut spending by about 2.5 times more than spending is cut under the budget plan recently approved by the House Budget Committee, CBPP said. The cuts needed to balance the budget in 10 years would bring spending on federal programs as a percent of GDP to their lowest level since 1948 under Trump’s tax plan and to their lowest level since 1951 under Cruz’s tax plan. Under both candidates’ plans, achieving a balanced budget would require across-the-board spending cuts of about 40 percent. If Social Security, Medicare and defense were not cut, the remaining federal programs would basically need to be eliminated, CBPP said. Even if spending were only cut enough to offset Trump’s and Cruz’s proposed tax cuts and not to also balance the budget, the cuts would be significant, CBPP said. All federal programs would need to be cut by 17 percent under Cruz’s plan and by 20 percent under Trump’s plan. But Cruz and Trump have proposed some spending increases, notably for the military. Overall, low- and middle-income Americans would be hurt by Trump’s and Cruz’s tax and budget changes, CBPP said. “Because dramatic cuts to programs assisting low- and middle-income Americans would be needed to offset tax cuts that will be heavily tilted to the top, most Americans likely would lose on balance,” the group said in its report. CBPP did not discuss proposals from the third remaining GOP presidential candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, because TPC has not calculated revenue estimates. Kasich has provided fewer details about his tax plan than Cruz and Trump. TPC has estimated that the tax proposals from the Democratic presidential candidates would raise revenue. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2016-09-30

Republican nominee Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE’s momentum has come to an abrupt halt after Monday’s presidential debate, where he was widely cast as the loser to Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonTop Sanders adviser: Warren isn't competing for 'same pool of voters' Anti-Trump vets join Steyer group in pressing Democrats to impeach Trump Republicans plot comeback in New Jersey MORE.  The first polls in the days after the debate have shown movement in favor of the Democrat. And media coverage since the clash at Hofstra University has also exposed discontent within the Trump camp. Trump is still in a close race. Clinton leads by around 3 points in the RealClearPolitics national polling average, and Trump is given almost a 40 percent chance of prevailing by forecasting site FiveThirtyEight. But both those data points have moved in Clinton’s direction in recent days. Here are five things that Trump could do to try to re-establish momentum. Stop talking about the debate Trump is so loathe to admit that he lost the first debate that he has kept commenting on it, a tactic that has only kept it at the heart of the news agenda. Trump has complained about moderator Lester Holt of NBC "Nightly News" and his microphone, among other things. On Thursday, he suggested that the debate had been “rigged.” None of this helps Trump. Nor do media stories about how difficult it was to get him to practice for the first encounter or about whether his preparations for the second encounter might be helmed by a high-profile figure such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.  Trump isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about who won the debate at this stage. Every time he returns to the subject, he simply breathes more life into a negative story for his candidacy. Hit the themes that worked The first debate was a setback for Trump but not a catastrophe. In its early stages, in particular, he went toe-to-toe with Clinton on free trade in a way that was widely seen as effective. Trump surrogates also argue that he scored points by portraying Clinton as part of the political status quo for three decades. “He positioned himself very effectively as the candidate of change,” a senior policy adviser to the campaign, Peter Navarro, told The Hill the day after the debate. If Trump could keep sounding that theme, rather than getting dragged back into debates about the debate, he would likely have more success in putting Clinton under pressure. The free trade issue, in particular, is potent in critical Rust Belt states such as Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Get an assist from his running mate Trump and Clinton’s running mates will meet for their sole debate before the principals clash again.  The vice presidential debate will take place in Farmville, Va., on Tuesday. Neither Trump’s vice-presidential pick, Indiana Gov Mike PenceMichael (Mike) Richard PenceThe Hill's Morning Report - Trump on defense over economic jitters FEC chair calls on Trump to provide evidence of NH voter fraud Five years after Yazidi genocide, US warns ISIS is rebounding MORE, nor his Democratic counterpart, Virginia Sen. Tim KaineTimothy (Tim) Michael KaineA lesson of the Trump, Tlaib, Omar, Netanyahu affair Warren's pledge to avoid first nuclear strike sparks intense pushback Almost three-quarters say minimum age to buy tobacco should be 21: Gallup MORE, is over-endowed with charisma. But a strong performance from Pence could settle nerves in the Trump camp. It would also provide a more favorable backdrop for the GOP nominee as he debates Clinton for the second time five days later. Trump and Pence can take heart here from a 2012 precedent. Four years ago, President Obama had a miserable first debate against GOP nominee Mitt Romney. But Vice President Biden performed very well against Rep. Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanEmbattled Juul seeks allies in Washington Ex-Parkland students criticize Kellyanne Conway Latina leaders: 'It's a women's world more than anything' MORE (R-Wis.) eight days later, helping to right the ship in advance of Obama’s comeback in the second and third encounters. Flip the script One of Trump’s most obvious, and undeniable, skills since his campaign began has been a capacity to drive news coverage — including finding some new way to grab headlines when a bad story or a rival’s rise threatened to envelop him during the Republican primary process. He has — so far — failed to do that in the wake of the debate. As well as trying to talk up his own performance, he has also sought to defend remarks he made about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. There are ways to change the subject — and not all of them involve igniting a new controversy so big as to erase the existing ones.  One option is to deliver a major speech on some policy issue of choice. If Trump could do that, it would help him turn the page. Do better next time As of Friday morning, the next Clinton-Trump debate was only 9 days away. The GOP nominee simply has to perform better than he did at their initial encounter. That will mean more disciplined preparation before the debate and a better focus for its duration. Whether Trump can pull that off remains to be seen. If he can’t, he will be on the receiving end of another deluge of negative media coverage at a critical point of a challenging race.  View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2019-09-10 18:13:20

As Sept. 11-related deaths grow, a new bill would provide health insurance to families of up to 5,000 city employees not previously eligible. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] After the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, thousands of uniformed and civilian city employees assisted the police and firefighters with the rescue and recovery efforts. Corrections officers helped people evacuate Lower Manhattan; traffic agents directed vehicles; engineers checked the safety of surrounding buildings; sanitation workers sorted through debris at Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. That work exposed them to toxic dust and smoke that have been linked to respiratory illnesses, heart disease and potentially cancer. But unlike police officers and firefighters, if those city workers died of illnesses related to Sept. 11 after they retired, their survivors were not eligible for health insurance benefits. With the 18th anniversary of the attacks falling on Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to change that. He will introduce a measure that would make the families of 5,000 city employees eligible to receive those benefits. “On our city’s darkest day, thousands of city employees answered the call. They didn’t hesitate,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We need to be there for their families, now and always.” The mayor projected that the proposal, which requires City Council approval, would cost the city no more than $3 million per year. The estimate of 5,000 potentially eligible employees is based on those who have filed notice that they might be eligible for benefits because they participated in Sept. 11 search or recovery efforts. Survivors include a spouse or domestic partner, children under the age of 19 and children who are full-time college students up until they complete their degree or until the age of 26. Under current law, the families of corrections officers and sanitation workers are only eligible to receive city health benefits if their loved one dies of a Sept. 11-related illness while they are on active duty. The families of other civilian employees such as engineers, auto mechanics and traffic agents whose deaths are related to a Sept. 11 illness cannot currently receive city health benefits. Sherif Soliman, senior adviser to the first deputy mayor, said there were “gaps in certain benefits" in laws relating to helping those suffering from Sept. 11-related illnesses, as city officials begin to see more of those sicknesses over time. “It’s important that we close these gaps to support them and their families. This legislation would do just that for survivor health benefits,” Mr. Soliman said. The legislation received strong initial support from Corey Johnson, the speaker of the City Council, who said he was “looking forward” to reviewing the proposal. “The Council is committed to ensuring that the families and loved ones of all 9/11 victims are treated with dignity and fairness,” Mr. Johnson said. Allowing the survivors of city workers to get medical benefits from the city would provide parity with uniformed city employees and allow families to receive benefits more quickly than if they applied through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The fund has deemed almost 25,000 claims as eligible, including almost 19,000 from those considered responders. Harry Nespoli, president of Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association and chair of the Municipal Labor Committee, said sanitation workers were among the many unsung heroes of the attack. Sanitation workers cleared a path through debris so other emergency workers could get to the site of the collapsed buildings. In the weeks after the attack, sanitation workers helped clear out rotten food in the cafeterias of downtown buildings. Mr. Nespoli estimated that there were 300 sanitation workers in Lower Manhattan in the weeks after the attack. When the debris was floated out to Staten Island, sanitation workers helped sort through it. “We didn’t lose anybody that day, thank God for that, but we were down there chucking away,” Mr. Nespoli said. “Now, I’m getting calls from people who are retired that are coming down with the 9/11 illnesses.”

2017-08-04 18:40:02

As Game of Thrones fans nestled in to watch the HBO megahit on Sunday evening, many also kept an eye on Twitter. But the tweetstorm that erupted that night had little to do with their show. Instead, the protest hashtag #NoConfederate — which quickly trended to No. 1 in the US and No. 2 worldwide — was sparked by a separate project by the GoT creators: Confederate. Confederate, the sci-fi, alt-history drama of what the United States would look like if the North had lost the Civil War, had been announced by HBO in late July. The brainchild of Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the series is a four-part collaboration between Weiss and Benioff, who are white, and Nichelle Tramble Spellman and Malcolm Spellman, a married writer and producer couple, who are black. The Spellmans are behind hit television shows The Good Wife and Empire. The show, in early stages of development, has received major backlash. April Reign, creator of the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, mobilized the Twittersphere on Sunday night with #NoConfederate, a joint effort between Reign and activists Rebecca Theodore, Jamie Broadnax, Shanelle Little, and Lauren Warren. And they were not alone in their concerns — earlier, critic Roxane Gay had condemned the series in the New York Times, calling it "slavery fan fiction." The message? Do not run this show. Reign posits that the subject alone is reason enough to cancel the show, pointing out that the effects of slavery are still felt today. Responding to someone suggesting that the show might illustrate what living with racism is like, Reign tweeted: "You mean white people. People of color are well aware of this. We don't need a TV show. We have, you know, our daily existence and stuff." I spoke to Reign about her concerns about the subject matter of the show and its producers, the effects she thinks the show would have, and whether she will watch an episode of the series if it comes to fruition. Our conversation is edited for length and clarity. What were your initial feelings when you first learned about Confederate? I learned about Confederate the way I learn about just about everything: through Twitter. One red flag was the premise of the show itself. This is supposed to be alternate history, yet we see in the news almost every day the way that the Confederate mindset is still very alive and well in present-day 2017. You've got somebody like Dylann Roof, who is a Confederate flag waver, a white nationalist, very calmly going into a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and killing nine black people. You've got textbooks in the state of Texas literally rewriting history so that black people and Africans and African Americans were not "enslaved," they were merely workers. We have a state officeholder in South Carolina talking about how proud she is of the Confederacy. We have people last month protesting that Confederate monuments were coming down in New Orleans. So if that is our present day, how is Confederate going to be any different? The other red flag is the question about Benioff and Weiss in charge, and them bringing in two African-American writers to be producers and writers on the show. What they said [in a Vulture interview] was very telling. "…once we realized it was going to be a bigger story, we knew we didn’t wanna do it by ourselves because we’re … lazy." That blew me away. They have been consistently criticized for Game of Thrones' gratuitous depiction of rape and the lack of the significant characters of color and the lack of diversity behind the camera. When specifically asked in an interview right after the press release about these issues, they don't say, "We want to do it better in Confederate and so that's why we've brought on the Spellmans, so that they can handle these very sensitive issues with nuance and sensitivity." No, what they said is that they were too lazy to do this on our own, and so they brought in two black people — and let's talk about the optics of that — to do the brunt of our work. But when push comes to shove, and they say, "Hey, you may want to reshoot this a little differently," it's still going to be Benioff and Weiss who have the final say. How would you feel about this show if it had been created by totally different people? How central are Benioff and Weiss to your thoughts on it? The fact that they are attached does not help. We get a lot of pushback, me and the other four women who started this campaign. "Oh, you're complaining about something you haven't seen." Well, that's true. But the press release, plus Benioff and Weiss and their work over the past six or seven years, give us no confidence that they'll be able to handle this well. Regardless of who was at the helm, this is not an issue that we need to grapple with at this time as a country. So Confederate, on its own as it was presented to us, is a bad idea — even if you had an all-black crew. Our present-day reality is too close to the history that they want to show. The other thing that we get a lot of is, "Well, people need to see how bad racism was and this will be an educational tool." Well, if we have Roots, and Django Unchained, and Glory, and Birth of a Nation, and Twelve Years a Slave — if all of that media has not convinced you, if the whip marks on the backs of these people have not convinced you that slavery was a bad idea, what is it about this particular show that is going to be educational for you that doesn't already exist? Why do we need more commodification of black pain for your enjoyment? The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a totalitarian dystopia in which women are raped, tortured, and stripped of all rights. And women today are still battling to gain equal rights. Do you see parallels between this and Confederacy? Seeing the subjugation of these women, forced to repopulate their community — how has that changed the thinking and the mindset? That's what Confederate’s supposed to do, right? “Let's open up our wounds so that people can heal,” and yada yada yada. But Handmaid's Tale isn't doing that. It's this sick sort of voyeurism about the subjugation of women. Another comparison that we get a lot of pushback on is Man in the High Castle, an alternate history show where the Nazis are still in charge. The issue with that is Germany has attempted, at least, to grapple with its past. They have put Nazis and Nazi sympathizers on trial. They have gone to jail. Germany has paid reparations to Jewish folks and descendants of Jewish folks. They are trying to make things right, because of the incredibly awful history of the Holocaust. The United States has never done that. We have never attempted to reconcile our past with our present. When I say something like, "We're still living with the vestiges of the enslavement of black and brown people, so that's why we have the disparity in housing, in employment, in education, with mass incarceration. All of that comes from slavery," somebody says to me, "Oh, you just need to get over it. Slavery was in the past. You just need to stop being a victim." So are we leaving it in the past, or are we going to watch again? You've got to choose one. You can't both say you don't want to discuss slavery anymore but you want to see the show about slavery. Critics like Roxane Gay and others call this "slavery fan fiction" or argue that it’s "romanticizing" slavery. Do you think it's too early to make these claims, before the show has been written? No, I don't think it's too early, and I thought Roxane Gay's piece was brilliant. She's absolutely right because — what's the demographic for this show? Who is the intended audience? It can't possibly be black people, right? Because then what you're saying is, "Hey, black people, we know slavery is bad, but we want to show you how bad it was." For people of color, we already know how bad things are. My 17-year-old son — I shudder every time he leaves the house. He gets pulled over because he's driving an SUV and some cop thinks he doesn't look like he should be driving an SUV. That's my reality. If it's not being made for people of color, then that means this is made for white folk. Why, as a white person, would you want to see that unless it appeals to your base desire to see people enslaved and in pain? If you were an ally or, you know, a white person was trying to be "woke," watch Ava DuVernay's 13th documentary. Read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. There are things that do exist already for you to learn about the pain that our country has already suffered without this new show where they're going to be spending millions of dollars an episode. Your #OscarsSoWhite campaign on Twitter drew global attention to the lack of diversity at the Academy Awards. Are there parallels between that movement and #NoConfederate? What was your goal for that one, and how did that influence what you're doing right now? The goal of #OscarsSoWhite remains that people from traditionally underrepresented communities should have opportunities to tell their stories. There is natural synergy between #OscarsSoWhite and #NoConfederate. Why didn't Benioff and Weiss, who obviously have a considerable amount of leverage with HBO, take a step back and say, "You know what? The Spellmans are our friends for over 10 years. We are going to champion their work so that their stories can be told." That's what could have happened. That would have been the #OscarsSoWhite way to go, to involve more people in the process, in the decision-making stage, but also right at the very beginning at the screenwriting and pitch stage. It's not just about the faces that we see onscreen. It's whose story is being told and who is given the opportunity to tell the story, so having a director of color, or having an LGBTQIA screenwriter, or having a person with disabilities who is the editor on the show. All of those things make a difference, because we all operate with our own frames of reference. This was a natural continuation. One of the differences between the logistics is that #OscarsSoWhite was completely organic. It wasn't something that I planned. Here, with Confederate, four other women and I got together and intentionally said, "This is what we're going to do." It was much more organized. I'm curious about the reactions you’ve received since last week. Have you had any questions or conversations with friends or critics that have been surprising? We announced the #NoConfederate campaign last Friday morning. Sunday night at 9 pm, it was our intention to have the hashtag trending nationally. It trended No. 1 in the nation for over an hour for both Game of Thrones showings on the coast. It was also trending No. 2 in the world. So, yes, we have all had conversations with friends and foes. "We need to wait and see," or, "You're jumping the gun," or, "People need to see this so they know how bad things were." It's not just bigots and intolerant folk. It's also from people of color who don't understand why we're doing this. I don't want to make it sound as if it's incredibly binary, because it's not. We've had those conversations since Friday. If you don’t think this show should be created, who should be held responsible? HBO is airing it, but do the actors or the consumers have a role? Actors have to make difficult choices, and so do the folks who work on the show. I don't want to discount directors and scriptwriters and all. I don't fault them, because they still need to put food on the table, and sometimes you're just not in a position to take the stand that you would otherwise want to take. I understand that. I think the responsibility starts and ends with Benioff and Weiss. Now that they know there's going to be significant and continued backlash to their show, they need to scrap it and do something else. They still have the leverage with HBO to come up with a different idea or allow someone from a marginalized community to have an idea. Benioff and Weiss could do an open call. That's where the primary responsibility lies. Right after them is HBO, because they're the ones who've been investing millions of dollars on this. There's a reason why we're not boycotting HBO, because they do some good work. Insecure is great. They're committed to change all of the August Wilson cycle of plays into films, so they've started with Fences, but they're going to do the other nine as well. This is Confederate-specific. It's not about HBO just yet. There's also the consumer. The viewer also has a responsibility to say, "I'm not going to give HBO ratings for a show that shows the subjugation of people. That's going to be more divisive than inclusive, so I won't watch that show and perhaps I won't even stay with that network." If Benioff and Weiss flipped the whole idea and did something similar to Black America, Amazon's new show — another alt-history about the Civil War, in which former slaves from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama created the nation of New Colonia — what would you think about that? Well, they literally can't do that now, right — that's the reason Amazon dropped that press release when they did. Let's be clear: Black America is not about the subjugation of white folks. Black America is going to be about black people thriving in this country and I don't believe that white people were mentioned. That's the difference. Why must we show the subjugation of any people to show that another set of people are doing well? I think that's what show creator Will Packer is speaking to. We can have a positive and uplifting show, something that's alternate history, something that's going to be interesting and beautifully shot and all the rest of that stuff, but we don't have to show people who are enslaved to get there. Correction: “Homogenization” of black pain was corrected to “commodification.”

2016-02-22 14:22:00

Have Democrats and Republicans ever seemed as far apart as they do now? With the possibility of a socialist Jew from Brooklyn facing off against Donald Trump in a general election, there is an end of days quality to the latest election, and one that seems to have the country more polarized than ever. Enter Verona, an app seeking to bridge the gap between Fox News and MSNBC, Nascar lovers and pot smoking yogis. Named for the city where the fighting Montagues and Capulets caused the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, Verona is a Tinder-esque app originally conceived of to pair Palestinians with Israelis, which it has been doing for a year now, to great success. Recently, creator Matthew Nolan decided to expand the app to connect other populations at war, and Verona is now available to Republicans or Democrats seeking friendships across the aisle, as well Trump supporters and Latinos who might want to chat. Nolan is banking on the idea that exposure breeds good vibes, and that hanging out with a person who comes from the opposite side of a political divide can create enough connective tissue to bridge that divide. VICE caught up with Nolan to chat about Verona's latest foray into domestic politics. VICE: Last time we spoke, you had just launched an app matching Israelis and Palestinians. How's that working out for you?Matthew Nolan: It was an unexpected success. Since we last talked, it just kept growing. We're at tens of thousands of users. It got me thinking—the world is so polarized right now by the media and politicians. I think we're at a time when people need to come together, need to collaborate, instead of taking sides. So that's the motivation behind opening these new groups. When Trump made his election speech and said those terrible things about the Mexican community, I thought, well, I might be able to do something to help bring people together, when there are loud people in the media trying to separate us. By the media you mean...I mean media figureheads like Trump, like Bill O'Reilly—these very polarizing people. When people are experiencing economic trouble, to point out a group, to vilify them and say, "That's the reason why everything is going wrong"—whether that's the right vilifying the left or the left vilifying the right politically, or whether it's Trump vilifying the Latino community—Adolf Hitler did the same thing to the Jews; that's how he rose to power. Given the state of communication technology and given the challenges we all have to face right now, it's more important for people to come together and empathize with one another than at any other time. That's why I'm building this thing. So how does it work?When you sign on, you have three different options. You can join Israeli/Palestinian, and pick one or the other; Republicans and Democrats, and you pick one or the other, or Trump supporters and Latino Americans, and you pick one or the other. And whichever you pick, we show you the other; if you pick Democrat, we show you Republican, and vise-versa. And people are signing up?They are. And it looks like it's going to be growing pretty fast. So there are actual Trump supporters who are signing up to meet Latinos?Yes. Wow. With the Israeli/Palestinian group, when it first came out, people said, "That could never work—there would be nothing but arguing, nothing but negativity." There have been zero reports of any nastiness. It's been nothing but positivity. I think the fact that all the chats are private allows you to really empathize with the person. If you're in an elevator with somebody, it's a far better experience to just get along, you know what I mean? Are people using it for friendship or for romance?That's a great question. When it first came out, we said it was a dating thing, and then all of these people from the Middle East reached out and said, "Hey, that's great, but what we really need out here is a friendship app," so I sort of rebranded it as a friendship app, and people use it primarily for building friendships on either side of the divide. That said, there have been some dates. Users have reached out to us and thanked us for what we've done. They'll basically say, "Thank you for building this thing, I met someone very special on it," and I'm like, "Wait! Rewind! Who did you meet? Tell me the story." There have been reports of people entering the border into Israel from the West Bank and relationships forming that way. I know about a dozen of those, but there could be more. And we're talking about a guarded border there. But Verona is primarily a friendship platform. Are you on Verona? But I guess you're not Israeli or Palestinian...I tell people that even if you're only a fraction Jewish or a fraction Palestinian, or if you're neither, but maybe you have an ideology that resonates with one, choose that. I've made friends on Verona. Two weeks ago, I had a chat with someone in Jerusalem about Arab house music. So you signed in as Israeli?I sign in as Israeli. Well, I'm on as both. I kind of switch back and forth. For dating or friendship?I'm the barkeep. But I've made friends on there. I know you've just launched the new groups, but are there more Trump supporters signed up to meet Latinos? Or more Latinos signed up to meet Trump supporters?There's slightly more Latinos, but the numbers are changing a lot. Are there more Democrats or Republicans?More Democrats—about three quarters are Democrats. Does that mean that liberals really are more open minded?A lot of the work we're doing is based off studies by Arthur Aaron, who has done a lot of psychological research about reducing prejudice and how relationships form. The whole theory behind Verona is that if you make friends with someone who is in an out-group, and then you tell your friends you've made friends with someone from the other side, and they're really not that bad—studies have shown that reduces prejudice not just in you but also in your friends. There's a network effect. So people on either side of the Israeli/Palestinian thing will tell their friends, "Hey, I met someone on the other side, and they talked for half an hour about their passion, which is tennis—so how bad can they be, you know?" That's how we're building global empathy on either side. So is that the goal of Verona? Yes. We're trying to increase global empathy. A third of humanity is on the internet right now. It's crazy to me that there's not massive singing and dancing in the streets. Do you sympathize with Trump's positions?I can understand where his supporters are coming from ideologically. Or I think I understand. Or I'm trying to understand—and maybe Verona can help me understand—why they would gravitate towards the kind of message he broadcasts, and I think the important thing is that Trump supporters can communicate with Latinos, and vice-versa. What would you say to someone who says, "Trump supporters are racists. Why should they get a platform to explain themselves?"Not 100 percent of Trump's supporters are racists. And I think the cure for racism is empathy. As soon as you see life through someone's eyes, he or she is no different from you. Ninety-nine percent of our human wants and desires are all the same. Trump supporters and Latinos want the same thing—they want to take care of their family, they want a good job, they want security, they want to feel safe. They want a great America. We're giving them the opportunity to communicate. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Follow Batya Ungar-Sargon on Twitter.

2017-03-31 00:00:00

March 31 (Reuters) - Qep Resources Inc * CEO Charles B. Stanley's total compensation in 2016 was $7.1 million versus $7.6 million in 2015 - SEC filing Source text : [ID:bit.ly/2mWcnl2] Further company coverage:

2016-02-12

Bucks clamp down on defense, dump Wizards MILWAUKEE — Three times previously this season, Milwaukee played Washington, and in each of those meetings, the Wizards absolutely destroyed the Bucks from beyond the 3-point arc. So Thursday night, when the teams met for the fourth and final time this season, the Bucks made a conscious effort to take that shot away. The result was a satisfying 99-92 victory heading into the All-Star break. “We made a conscious effort,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “I thought everybody got out and ran them off the (3-point arc) and made them take a tougher two. Then, we finished plays. I thought that was a big thing; not giving up offensive rebounds that let them look for a wide-open three by (Bradley) Beal or (John) Wall.” In the three prior meetings this season, Washington destroyed the Bucks from long distance, hitting 12 3-pointers in each contest. Early on, it looked as if the script would hold, as the Wizards hit three of their first four attempts from beyond the arc. The Bucks responded from there, holding Washington to 3-for-28 long-distance shooting the rest of the way, including 3-for-18 in the second half. Beal and Wall had torched Milwaukee this season, and they scored 19 and 15, respectively, Thursday, but they had to work for every point. Beal hit a pair of 3-pointers and Wall had three, but they came on a combined 18 long-range attempts. The pair shot 11-for-34 from the floor overall. “The shot just didn’t go in tonight,” Beal said. “We have to figure out other ways to win games, and we just didn’t do that.” The Wizards’ 6-for-32 showing from beyond the arc dragged their shooting percentage down accordingly. Washington shot 38.6 percent from the field but didn’t help its cause by allowing 21 points on 14 turnovers. “I felt like we came out aggressively,” Wall said. “We came out and played the right way in the first and third quarters, but in the second and fourth, they just made bigger plays than we did and they were more physical than us.” Milwaukee overcame a slow start and took a 55-46 lead into halftime. Washington opened the second half with a 10-2 run and took a one-point lead heading to the fourth. The score was tied four times before the Bucks took the lead for good when shooting guard Khris Middleton sank a 3-pointer with 5:43 to play, making it an 84-81 game. Middleton scored 14 of his team-high 27 in the final quarter, including five from the free-throw line. “I was ready for it,” Middleton said. “I was just trying to get things under control and get good looks every time.” Middleton added nine assists, six rebounds and five steals. “He really stepped up for us,” Kidd said. “To have nine assists and only two turnovers shows that we can play through somebody else, not just (center Greg Monroe), on the pick-and-roll.” Middleton’s ability to create helped the Bucks (22-32) finish with four double-figure scorers. Monroe, coming off the bench for a second consecutive game, scored 12 and grabbed nine rebounds. Forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker added 17 each for the Bucks, who have won six of their past seven home games and head into the All-Star break having won two in a row. “Hopefully we can build on this week,” Kidd said. “We feel good about ourselves going into the break, and we feel that we can still continue to grow and get better.” The Wizards (23-28) head into the break in a slump, having lost seven of their past 10 and four of their past six. “We have to be better defensively these last 31 games,” Washington coach Randy Wittman said. “That includes rebounding the ball. Those two things, that’s going to determine whether we get into the playoffs or not.” NOTES: Bucks coach Jason Kidd opted to stick with the same shuffled lineup he used the last time out, so again C Greg Monroe and PG Michael Carter-Williams came off the bench while C Miles Plumlee and G O.J. Mayo moved into the starting unit. ... Milwaukee was again without F John Henson, who hasn’t practiced since sustaining a back injury in Milwaukee’s 107-100 victory over Orlando on Jan. 26. ... Washington G Gary Neal did not participate in the team’s shootaround Thursday, and he remained sidelined with a sore right leg. ... The Wizards were also without Fs Drew Gooden and Kris Humphries against the Bucks; both have been battling illnesses. ... Washington failed in its bid to sweep Milwaukee for the first time since the 1974-75 season.

2017-08-17 20:32:35

Mediator It took the death of a young woman at the hands of one of the neo-Nazis she was protesting to force the ever-expanding media universe to face a question it has been evading for years: Where’s the line? Google, Twitter and the web hosting company GoDaddy appeared to find it this week when they shut down The Daily Stormer, an American Nazi “publication,” after it mocked the peace activist Heather Heyer, who was killed Saturday at a white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Va. But The Daily Stormer had been comfortably operating in the established online matrix since it was founded in 2013. The Daily Caller, the conservative online publication that has the Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a founder, appeared to identify the line, too. This week it took down a truly vile video it produced in January celebrating motorists who had plowed into “liberal protesters,” advising its readers to “study the technique.” (The Daily Caller said on Thursday that the video was a young videographer’s “clumsy attempt at creating some levity” at a tense time, but added that any suggestion that the video had a role in causing “Nazis to be stupid, violent maniacs is patently absurd.”) The Fox News website Fox Nation, which apparently liked the video enough to repost it, also took it down this week, calling it “inappropriate” and expressing regret. There were the online platforms like Facebook, Reddit and, as my colleague Kevin Roose reported this week, Discord, which shut themselves off from the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who had been using the sites to spread their hateful message and to organize. And then there was The Associated Press, which made the thoughtful editorial judgment to avoid using the term “alt-right,” a neat bit of branding created to “disguise racist aims,” the A.P. said. Other news organizations should do the same. It may come as a relief that people in high places in the media and technology world decided it was no longer tenable to give extra oxygen — digital and financial — to those who worship the champions of slavery or march under the Nazi flag, glorifying one of the most morally reprehensible regimes in history. But it is truly remarkable that it only happened now, after the nation had to witness a white supremacist rally gone wrong, a latter-day Munich Beer Hall Putsch in miniature. And it was a resounding answer to what should be an easy hypothetical question, easier than the “baby Hitler” conundrum: Would you facilitate the publication of Hitler’s newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter, and provide him the means to organize his movement? It started as a joke, after all. You can view the Stormers and their ilk as fringy “losers,” as the White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon described them this week. But the internet can rocket the fringe to the front and the center in an instant. The Stormers certainly saw the rally as their step out of the web’s shadows, one made possible by the following they had built online. As a Daily Stormer “feature writer” says on the appropriately praised “Vice News Tonight” documentary on the rally, “As you can see we are stepping off the Internet in a big way.” Putting a finer point on it, he tells the Vice correspondent Elle Reeve, “People realize they are not atomized individuals. They are part of a larger whole because we have been spreading our memes. We have been organizing on the Internet, so now they’re coming out.” That came to an end this week when GoDaddy said it would no longer host The Daily Stormer because its article mocking Ms. Heyer “could incite violence, which violates our terms of service.” The Daily Stormer hit the same problem when it moved its domain to Google, where the “terms of service” also prohibit content that could incite violence. And then Google booted The Stormer from YouTube. A cascade of others followed: Visa, MasterCard and Discover said they were reassessing or ending their financial service agreements with extremist sites; GoFundMe shut down campaigns supporting the man accused of killing Ms. Heyer, James Fields; OKCupid banned the white supremacist Chris Cantwell for life; the streaming music service – and New York Times partner — Spotify told Billboard on Wednesday that it was removing a collection of bands that the Southern Poverty Law Center had identified as “hate bands.” Then again, that list had been out for three years. As we’ve seen time and time again in recent months, it often takes an extreme moment to push the platforms to address extreme content. Part of the problem is logistical: There is so much material flooding the platforms that the most dangerous items can slip through. But moves to stanch certain kinds of content also clash with the spirit of the First Amendment and, more to the point, the free-speech ethos that is so ingrained in the web. That ethos has been the game-changer, and often for the good. Unlike the last big communications revolutions — brought about with radio and then television — this one came with no barrier to entry in terms of expensive equipment like towers and studios. There have been no governmental limits like broadcasting standards and licensing requirements. That has democratized information, giving rise to new political and social movements as well as to a phalanx of innovative media ventures that have diminished the traditional gatekeeper role of the mainstream media. It gave anyone with an internet connection an opportunity to have his or her voice heard widely via Facebook or Twitter, Reddit or Medium. But as the downsides of informational democratization become more evident — the opening it has provided for nefarious state actors, terrorists and hate mongers — those who have some control over the web’s content stream have had a hard time figuring out where to build some much-needed dams. Google, in keeping with Silicon Valley’s aversion to the news media, would not provide anyone to speak on the record about its policies but pointed to new moves aimed at starving hateful or violent sites of advertising revenue and to detect and remove terrorist videos. The Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday vowed to do more to take down any message that “promotes or celebrates hate crimes or acts of terrorism” and said his staff was watching closely for “threats of physical harm.” The trouble has come in finding the line between what some may find offensive and what is objectively dangerous speech. YouTube shut down The Daily Stormer. But I had no trouble finding a recording of Thursday’s edition of “David Duke Radio” on YouTube, or, for that matter, the latest audio from “Stormfront Radio,” which is connected to an older supremacist site. Twitter has sought to ban or suspend accounts of brazen online troublemakers like the former Breitbart star Milo Yiannopoulos, yet it struggled to keep up with the frenzied attempts from the left and right to use the site to identify opposing demonstrators and make their lives miserable. In at least a couple of cases those attempts resulted in harassment campaigns against people who were nowhere near the rally. Then again, the efforts to police content can go too far. Mixed in with complaints from right-wing provocateurs who have already been shut down are serious conservative fears that the moves will result in censorship for right-leaning political thought. The challenge for all sides was laid bare last fall when Facebook removed a post of Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize winning photo of children, including a naked girl, fleeing a napalm attack. The conversation needs to continue. It can’t only be had at the height of a crisis, and it can’t only be relegated to social media. But at this point, if we can’t set a line at neo-Nazis and white nationalists inciting hatred and violence, can we set any line at all?

2016-03-01 00:00:00

SOFIA — On this first day of March, Fuehrer Adolf Hitler’s ‘‘lucky month,’’ a step was taken which will provide new military enterprises for his army. In its ‘‘defense of the Reich,’’ this mighty fighting organism has reached the Bulgarian capital, and already it throws its shadow over Greece. Soldiers in the gray-green uniforms of the German Army arrived in Sofia this afternoon. A few hours earlier Premier Bogdan Philoff had met with Hitler; Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister; Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian Foreign Minister; and Gen. Hiroshi Oshima, Japanese Ambassador to Germany, in the Belvedere Palace at Vienna to sign the tripartite military pact. — The New York Herald Tribune, March 2, 1941

2018-04-25 00:00:00

Michigan state Sen. Patrick Colbeck in 2016. A Republican candidate for governor in Michigan responded Wednesday to revelations that he used anti-Muslim unfounded conspiracy theories against a Muslim American Democratic rival with more unfounded conspiracy theories. BuzzFeed News on Tuesday reported that Patrick Colbeck, who is currently a state senator of Michigan’s 7th District, suggested during an April 2018 presentation that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is part of an unfounded Muslim plot to engage in “civilization jihad” that is subversively attempting to take over the country. Colbeck on Wednesday then went as far as to question El-Sayed’s loyalty to the US. In the April presentation at an event held by the United West, Colbeck said, “We also have somebody that I will likely be running against in the general election, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, whose parents apparently have ties to Muslim Brotherhood back in Egypt. This is scary stuff.” “They’re already advertising him as the first Muslim governor. So this is a big deal,” Colbeck said in the presentation. The group for which he spoke, the United West, has been classified as an “active anti-Muslim group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks the activity of hate organizations. On Wednesday, Colbeck responded to BuzzFeed News’ questions. When asked if he believes El-Sayed is engaging in “civilization jihad,” Colbeck referenced a document uncovered during the 2007 trial of the Holy Land Foundation. “Dr. El-Sayed is running for a high profile political position in our state government,” Colbeck wrote, before quoting from the document in question: “The Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilzation [sic] from within and ‘sabatoging’ [sic] its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.” As BuzzFeed News reported in 2016, the nearly 30-year-old document is often used by anti-Muslim organizations to stoke fear about Muslim Americans: “It [the memorandum] was uncovered during the 2007 trial of the Holy Land Foundation, an American pro-Palestine group convicted of financing terrorism. The 'Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America,' as it is officially titled, was written in 1991 by a man named Mohamed Akram, who presented it to the Muslim Brotherhood council. It is, in essence, an aspirational document, in which Akram beseeches the Brotherhood to consider what he called his ‘hopes, ambitions and challenges.’ There is no evidence that the Brotherhood paid attention to Akram’s entreaties. In other words, the fact that a functionary in a sprawling organization envisioned an elaborate plan 25 years ago does not mean that the plan has been put into place, much less successfully. And yet, for the anti-Islam lobby, these 15 pages are a smoking gun, cited constantly as proof that America is falling victim to a meticulously orchestrated plot.” “Politicians look at this [document] like it’s a smoking gun. There's nothing smoking about it,” said Nathan Lean, author of The Islamophobia Industry, and a former research director at Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative, a program dedicated to studying Islamophobia. “It was one document written in 1991,” Lean said. “We're talking about something that is nearly three decades old, which is one red flag. When you look at who wrote it, and you look at the kind of language used in it, and you look at the degree to which it did or did not gain traction within the community, you will know it’s a whimsical, fantastical, wishful document, that essentially says, ‘Wouldn't it be great if we could accomplish these things.'” The "Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America" Memo Lean was part of a team at Georgetown that wrote, “Civilization Jihad:” Debunking the Conspiracy Theory,” in 2016, after then-presidential candidate Ben Carson mentioned the same conspiracy theory in a speech. “We decided to take a look at the document for ourselves as it was bouncing around in the mainstream, not just being said by a gubernatorial candidate in Michigan,” Lean said, who added that not many people read the document and that the team at Georgetown had gone through it in its proper Arabic translation to reveal the aspirational tone of the memo. The continued promulgation of the 1991 memo continues to be pushed by well-financed anti-Muslim groups like Brigitte Gabriel’s ACT for America and ex-Pentagon official Frank Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy, which has received over $7 million in funding since 2001. Both groups have furthered conspiracy theories that have long contended that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated the US government, society, and even possibly the presidency. Gaffney is perhaps one of the most prolific pushers of the conspiracy theory. In addition to once serving as Sen. Ted Cruz’s foreign policy adviser, Gaffney has appeared on Steve Bannon’s Breitbart radio program 34 times, the New York Times reported. In 2015, then-senator Jeff Sessions, now Trump’s attorney general, accepted the Center for Security Policy’s “Keeper of the Flame Award.” In a response to Tuesday’s article by BuzzFeed News, El-Sayed said a statement, “I knew that in choosing to run for Governor as an unapologetic, proud Muslim and American, I was going to contend with the ugly face of white supremacy that Donald Trump and his friends have sanctioned.” “But I know that every day I serve this state and this country by holding us to our ideals and our constitution which empower and inspire me to serve every single person in our state, regardless of my ethnicity, color, or faith. I know how much this means to so many people of color who feel locked out of political representation and government decisions,” he said. The chair of the Michigan Democrats called on Bill Schuette, the leading Republican candidate for governor and current attorney general, to condemn the remarks. Michigan GOP spokesperson Sarah Anderson told BuzzFeed News, "The Michigan Republican Party isn’t interested in peddling any conspiracy theories. Anything Senator Colbeck said he was speaking for himself, not on behalf of the Party. We categorically condemn any sort of hate speech, regardless of the source." When asked if El-Sayed’s loyalty to the United States is in question, Colbeck said in his responses to BuzzFeed News that it was “beyond question” that El-Sayed “has strong connections to individuals and groups that are not loyal to the United States,” and referenced Women’s March cofounder and activist Linda Sarsour, who has vocally backed El-Sayed. Colbeck tried to support that by saying El-Sayed’s father-in-law is a former president and current board member on the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which was “formed by the IAP,” which “was listed in the ‘Explanatory Memorandum’ as one of the ‘friends’ of the Muslim Brotherhood.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a Muslim American civil rights and advocacy organization. The IAP is in reference to the Islamic Association of Palestine, a defunct organization that was named in the explanatory memorandum. Citing the memorandum again in his response to BuzzFeed News, Colbeck wrote: “Alah [sic] is my lord. Islam is my life…Jihad is my spirit. Pardise [sic] is my goal. I will die to establish Islam.” As an executive in an MSA chapter, El-Sayed certainly would have recited this pledge repeatedly. Lean, the author and former researcher at Georgetown, said that while there is a historical link between the Muslim Brotherhood and the MSA, it was because the first chapter of the Muslim Students' Association was formed in the early 1960s, a period where a wave of Muslim students came from the Middle East and South Asia. “It's the first time you see a visible presence of Muslims on college campuses. What are they going to do? They are going to identify with who they're with, they’re going to want to form a group with people of their faith,” Lean said. “The first MSA chapter was formed by people who had been affiliated with, at one point or another, with the Muslim Brotherhood, but this was 1963. The idea that today, in 2018, the MSA is directly connected with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is absurd,” Lean added. Colbeck’s allegation is similar to the unfounded allegations that Hillary Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, was a member. “Politicians use the Muslim Brotherhood as a means of fear-mongering,” Lean said. Finally, asked if Colbeck stood by the allegations in his presentation, he wrote that the only correction would be that El-Sayed’s father-in-law, not father, as he mentioned in the presentation, had a connection to the Muslim Brotherhood. “If any of my testimony is inaccurate, please cite evidence of inaccuracy,” Colbeck wrote to BuzzFeed News. “If you are unable to cite any substantive inaccuracies, I encourage you to share the facts cited above with your readers.”

2017-10-03 00:00:00

(Reuters) - Miner and commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L) has agreed to buy a further stake worth at least $531 million in Peru’s largest zinc miner, Volcan Compañia Minera SAA (VOL_pb.LM), the company said on Tuesday. Glencore, which has been a shareholder in Volcan since 2004 and holds a 7.68 economic interest, said it was buying at least 26.73 percent of the voting shares. The price of zinc CMZN3 hit 10-year highs for a second day on Tuesday as worries over production outages in China pushed up prices. The Lima stock exchange suspended trade in Volcan’s shares following the deal. Glencore’s London-listed shares closed up 0.8 percent at 354.15 pence. “Volcan’s operations are located in the richest polymetallic production area in Peru, producing some of the highest quality zinc concentrates,” Glencore said in a statement. “The transaction will provide an increase and extension of Glencore’s zinc production profile and the opportunity for synergies with Glencore’s existing Peruvian zinc operations.” Following the purchase, which will be implemented under Peruvian law via a tender offer for up to 48.19 percent of Volcan’s class A common shares, Glencore will have an economic interest in Volcan of between 18.98 percent and 28.07 percent, the company said. The total consideration payable by Glencore would be between $531 million and $956 million, depending on the level of acceptances. It would be paid out of existing cash resources and should be completed this year. Glencore has said it is focusing on strategic acquisitions, especially near existing resources, which will create synergies. Although the mining industry has recovered from the commodity price crash of 2015-16 the mood remains cautious and Glencore said its deal-making would limit its levels of debt to ensure an investment grade credit rating. “Glencore clearly sees opportunities for value add from the reasonably-sized operation, which is running at a circa 250,000 ton per annum rate,” Hunter Hillcoat, analyst at Investec, said of Tuesday’s zinc deal. Earlier this year Glencore entered a bidding war to buy Rio Tinto’s (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) coal interests in Hunter Valley, Australia, next to its own operations but ended up buying a 49 percent stake in the business after Rio agreed to sell to China’s Yancoal (YAL.AX) instead. Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala in Lonndon; Editing by Greg Mahlich

2018-09-04

SHANGHAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Chinese retailer JD.com Inc’s stock fell nearly 3 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday after the firm’s CEO was arrested in the United States on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct and later released. Richard Liu, who founded the firm in 1998, was arrested by police in the U.S. city of Minneapolis on Friday and released the next day before returning to China. U.S. markets were closed on Monday. Minneapolis police said on Sunday that “an active investigation” was under way. A Minnesota-based lawyer for Liu said on Monday that the Chinese magnate denied any wrongdoing and that he did not expect his client to be charged. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan; editing by Patrick Graham)

2018-06-17 00:00:00

Last week's cover of Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, shows a smug President Trump — backed by Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and proclaims "Das Zeitalter der Autokraten," the age of the autocrats. Why it matters: It's a common enough perception of Trump. So his description of North Korea's Kim Jong-un to Fox News' Steve Doocy on Friday got lots of coverage. "Hey, he’s the head of a country. And I mean he is the strong head. ... He speaks and his people sit up at attention. [Pointing to the West Wing.] I want my people to do the same." Asked about the comment a few minutes later during his first-ever gaggle on the North Lawn, Trump said: "I’m kidding. You don’t understand sarcasm. Who are you with? Wait, wait, who are you with? Who are you with? ... You’re with CNN!  Hey, you are the worst." Rewind some tape, and you find that this White House has used the "just kidding — you don't get it" response before: When Trump suggested to laughter by supporters that it was "treasonous" that Democrats were so stone-faced during his State of the Union address, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said he was "clearly joking." Asked during the campaign about his suggestion that Russia help Hillary Clinton find her emails, Trump said: "Of course I'm being sarcastic." When Trump was criticized even by law enforcement for telling officers they shouldn't "be too nice" to suspects ("Like, don't hit their head, and they just killed somebody"), Sanders said: "I believe he was making a joke at the time." After Trump called it "great" that Xi is "now president for life" ("Maybe we’ll give that a shot someday"), he said at a rally: "I'm joking about being president for life." When asked about Trump's remark that he'd like to "compare IQ tests" with then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (who had called his boss a moron), Sanders said Trump "made a joke — nothing more than that." Trump used the line in real time to take the edge off a tweet he clearly believes: "Lowest rated Oscars in HISTORY. Problem is, we don’t have Stars anymore - except your President (just kidding, of course)!" A couple of reactions to this defense: Max Boot, WashPost national security columnist, after the Xi remark: "The president’s comments are no laughing matter even if they were intended humorously, which is far from clear. ... That there is truth in wit as well as wine is now widely recognized." David Litt, a speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, told Reuters' Roberta Rampton after the "sit up at attention" comment: “Maybe Donald Trump is the kind of dry, deadpan humorist who does great material about how terrific dictators are - but if that’s the case, he should wait until he retires as president to start breaking out that particular part of his act." Be smart: Jokes are funnier if you don't have to say they're jokes.

2019-03-06

(CNN)Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday defended Rep. Ilhan Omar against the backlash to her comments slamming pro-Israel groups and politicians, which have been called anti-Semitic. Sanders, who is Jewish, said criticism of Omar and efforts to get her taken off the House Foreign Affairs Committee, primarily from House Republicans, are aimed at stopping a discussion about American's foreign policy toward Israel. "What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate," the Vermont independent said in a statement. "That's wrong." In her own statement, Harris called out all instances of bigotry and expressed concern that the focus on Omar "may put her at risk." "We all have a responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and all forms of hatred and bigotry, especially as we see a spike in hate crimes in America," the California Democrat said. "But like some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, I am concerned that the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk," she added. "We should be having a sound, respectful discussion about policy. You can both support Israel and be loyal to our country. I also believe there is a difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism. At the end of the day, we need a two-state solution and a commitment to peace, human rights, and democracy by all leaders in the region -- and a commitment by our country to help achieve that." Later Wednesday evening, Warren added herself to the list of candidates defending the freshman congresswoman. "We have a moral duty to combat hateful ideologies in our own country and around the world -- and that includes both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia," the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement. "In a democracy, we can and should have an open, respectful debate about the Middle East that focuses on policy. Branding criticism of Israel as automatically anti-Semitic has a chilling effect on our public discourse and makes it harder to achieve a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Threats of violence -- like those made against Rep. Omar -- are never acceptable." Last month, Omar faced criticism for tweets insinuating that the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee was effectively buying off US politicians. The Minnesota Democrat subsequently apologized after demands from Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and other members of House Democratic leadership, who urged that anti-Semitism be called out "without exception." And last week at an event at a Washington bookstore, Omar implied that pro-Israel lawmakers are under a "political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country." She argued that critics labeling her an anti-Semite looked to silence a necessary conversation. Sanders has been among the likely 2020 contenders most willing to denounce the Israeli government over its treatment of the Palestinians. He also differentiated between promoting anti-Semitism and criticizing Israel as a state. "Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology, which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world," Sanders said. "We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel. Rather, we must develop an evenhanded Middle East policy which brings Israelis and Palestinians together for a lasting peace." The senators' remarks come as House lawmakers prepare to vote this week on a resolution prompted by Omar's comments that condemns anti-Semitism and was updated Tuesday to also condemn Islamophobia. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel said Tuesday that he does not want Omar removed from her seat on the committee because of her recent comments, despite previously calling for her to apologize in a fiery statement. "I don't throw names around," the New York Democrat responded when asked by CNN's Erin Burnett whether Omar was an anti-Semite. "I think the remarks she made have been very troubling." "You hope that people get elected to office and they grow," he added. CNN's Ashley Killough, Kate Sullivan, Eli Watkins and Manu Raju contributed to this report.

2018-09-05

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - When documentary filmmaker Errol Morris asks Steve Bannon if he ever feels like Lucifer, the fallen angel who decided it’s “better to reign in Hell”, the former Donald Trump aide is delighted and finishes the quote from Milton’s “Paradise Lost” himself: “than serve in Heaven!” “American Dharma”, Morris’s extended interview with the alt-right cheerleader, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, with some critics saying it gave Bannon, who prides himself on his skill in manipulating the media, an easy ride. No fan of Trump, whom he called a “weasel”, Morris said he wanted to explore “what the hell is going on” in America and beyond with the rise of populist ultra-nationalism. Morris, 70, has made interview-based films on Donald Rumsfeld, “The Unknown Known”, and Robert McNamara, the U.S. defense secretary during the Vietnam War, called “The Fog of War”, which won him an Oscar in 2003, and which Bannon himself loved. “Dharma” is a Buddhist concept that Bannon says is his driving force and defines as “the combination of duty, fate, and destiny”. Variety critic Owen Gleiberman said Bannon comes over in “American Dharma” as “an avuncular and cultivated presence”, expounding on his favorite movies and chuckling about the Satan comparison. “It’s hard to escape the feeling that Errol Morris got played,” Gleiberman said, describing the interview style in the movie as “softball”. New Yorker magazine editor David Remnick, who had planned to interview Bannon at a live event, canceled it this week after filmmakers and his own staff complained it would give a platform to a man they say helped legitimize violent white nationalists. Director Judd Apatow said he would boycott the New Yorker Festival if the interview went ahead, tweeting: “I will not take part in an event that normalizes hate.” But, in Venice, Morris bristled when reporters suggested he had given Bannon an easy ride. “If you are telling me that (the rise of populist nationalism) is so deeply pernicious and destructive we shouldn’t talk about it all – I say that’s nonsense talk, you’re wrong. I think it’s extraordinarily important that we all talk about it and try to come to a deeper understanding of it. “I think remaining silent isn’t good, I’ll go even further – I’ll say it’s bad. Just simply affording him an opportunity for more public exposure – not good. Trying to explore the nature of what he calls ‘national populism’, what it means, what it means to the world, what it means for my country, I think is absolutely essential.” Bannon did not attend the news conference but, according to Variety, was in Venice and slipped into the premiere via a back entrance as security had advised him to avoid the red carpet. He did not speak to reporters. “American Dharma” screened out-of-competition at the Venice Film Festival which concludes on Sept 8. Reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Gareth Jones

2016-09-28 15:00:00

Though bloggers may have a reputation for sharing almost every aspect of their lives — from #OOTDs to dinner pics (hey, we're guilty of this, too) — rarely does the world see what things are like with no filter involved. It's that behind-the-scenes work that's most fascinating — and oftentimes, most complicated. By now, it's common knowledge that some fashion bloggers are paid by brands to wear their clothes, and yes, It Girls do get sent plenty of goodies gratis, but what about all the other facets that make blogging a successful business? And, are there any downsides?Like any job, plenty of tribulations come with blogging. In addition to the pressures of getting the perfect Instagram, there's paperwork, legal issues, networking, and — oh yeah — internet trolls. It's a role that requires almost 24/7 commitment, and social media breaks are sometimes a necessity. And, when it comes to being Insta-famous, making it is 90% of the battle. Ahead, we spoke to fashion bloggers about what they wish they knew before going viral.

2017-04-03 00:00:00

After losing three key players to injury during spring training, the Colorado Rockies are eager to turn the page with Monday’s season’s opener against the host Milwaukee Brewers. The Rockies saw first baseman Ian Desmond (hand), catcher Tom Murphy (forearm) and outfielder David Dahl (rib) go down with injuries this spring but could still have the firepower to surprise in the NL West. While Colorado hopes to have its trio of injured players back in late April, the Rockies appear to have the pieces in place to contend under new manager Bud Black. The Rockies are especially encouraged by their revamped bullpen, which added veteran Greg Holland to a proven group led by Adam Ottavino, Mike Dunn and Jake McGee. The rebuilding Brewers must contend with the World Series champion Chicago Cubs in the NL Central but hope to take a step forward with several new faces, including closer Neftali Perez. Milwaukee also has a pair of intriguing names at first base, where Eric Thames hopes to continue his success from the Korean Baseball Organization while holding off a challenge from 26-year-old Jesus Aguilar, whose stellar spring training stats earned him a roster spot. TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Colorado), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee) PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jon Gray (2016: 10-10, 4.61 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Junior Guerra (2016: 9-3, 2.81) Gray is set to become the team’s 18th opening day starting pitcher in 25 years after recording a Rockies rookie record with 185 strikeouts last season. The 25-year-old posted a 4.91 ERA on the road last season compared to a 4.30 ERA at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Gray received a no-decision against Milwaukee in his only previous start against the Brewers on Aug. 23, 2016, when he allowed two runs and struck out 10 over six innings. Guerra ranked as one of the biggest surprises in the majors last season, when he became the Brewers’ most consistent starter as a 31-year-old rookie. He began this spring training with several strong outings but allowed a total of 16 runs (11 earned) over his final two starts against Oakland and Cleveland. “I was probably over-thinking a little too much out there,” Guerra told reporters. “Just trying to think too much to each hitter instead of just going out there and doing my thing.” WALK-OFFS 1. The Rockies opened the 2015 season in Milwaukee and cruised to a 10-0 victory. 2. Milwaukee RHP Matt Garza (groin strain) will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list. 3. Colorado 3B Nolan Arenado has hit the third-most home runs in the majors (83) over the last two seasons. PREDICTION: Rockies 7, Brewers 5

2019-06-19

(Adds details on plan, context, background) June 19 (Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc will partner with China's Qianjiang Motorcycle Co to build a new smaller motorcycle than its trademark "big hogs", making good on promises to move more production outside the United States that have angered President Donald Trump. Trump last year threatened to impose higher taxes on Harley after it made plans to move production for European customers overseas, part of a longer-term strategy for dealing with lower sales in the U.S. and higher costs because of trade tariffs. The partnership Harley outlined on Wednesday is aimed both at taking a bigger chunk of China's huge bike and moped market, while also fitting in with a plan to cut costs and source half of all sales outside the United States by 2027. The new bike would have an engine displacement of 338 cubic centimeters, one of the smallest in the company's 116-year old history, and would be sold in China from the end of 2020. Harley's existing range of motorcycles are generally far larger and come with high price tags and engine capacities of more than 601 cubic centimeters. That has made the company a niche seller in Asia's big markets, where lightweight bikes and scooters dominate, and left it struggling to win over consumers globally to replace a traditional U.S. customer base which is aging. Harley declined to reveal a price range for the new motorbike, but Qianjiang said it would be "affordable" and Harley said it would be introduced elsewhere in Asia after the initial launch in China. "The international motorcycle market is huge, but Harley-Davidson has not been able to penetrate it with large/expensive bikes," said Craig Kennison, an analyst with brokerage Baird. "Our recent dealer survey work reinforces the need for Harley-Davidson to add more first-time riders. For many, affordability is an issue." Harley's sales in China grew 27 percent in 2018 compared to 2017, and the company has already boosted investment at its Thailand plant to serve that market and avoid additional import duty. Harley said it had picked Qianjiang, owned by Chinese Volvo brand operator Geely, based on its experience developing upscale smaller motorcycles, supply base and knowledge of emerging markets. The company said in 2018 that it planned to launch lightweight motorcycles in Asia and electric bikes globally. It expects to launch its first electric motorcycle without the traditional clutch and gear-shift controls later this year. As part of a plan it calls "More Roads to Harley-Davidson", the company expects to spend $675 million-$825 million over the next four years, cutting costs and generating $5.9 billion-$6.4 billion in revenue in 2022. (Reporting by Rachit Vats and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Bernard Orr)

2018-10-05 15:00:00

It may or may not say a lot about my friends and me, but all of us have our own methods for sneaking booze into a movie theater. One of us has been known to slide entire bottles of beer into his cowboy boots. Another tucks airplane bottles into the waistband of his pants. And I have, on more than one occasion, walked in with mini cans of Sofia Brut Rosé in the hood of my sweatshirt. I’m not advocating any of these behaviors, but they’re better options than what Kristina Gibson allegedly did last weekend. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Gibson reportedly filled her 5-year-old son’s sippy cup with an alcoholic beverage and proceeded to get shitfaced while the two of them watched a matinee. By the time the credits rolled, she was so hammered that she was “unable to walk, talk or care for” her son. Concerned staff members at the Merchants Walk Stadium Cinemas in Marietta, Georgia, called the police and—more importantly—stopped her from getting into her car. When officers from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Department arrived, they didn’t immediately arrest her; instead, she was taken to a nearby hospital. “She was that drunk,” Sgt. Wayne Delk, a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department, told the Journal-Constitution. (When one well-meaning cop tried to zip her purse, Gibson allegedly said “I will [expletive] kill you,” because she is made of good decisions.) An officer called one of Gibson’s friends to collect her son, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. (She was “not a threat” once she got to the hospital). She hadn’t been taken into custody more than five days later, but she does have pending charges of misdemeanor reckless conduct and public intoxication to look forward to. “We go to the movies to have a good time. But you know, that’s not the way to do it,” fellow moviegoer Joseph Ellison told WSB-TV. “The movies are a place to have a good time, but there’s different ways to do that other than ingesting substances, you know, and the fact that her child was with her.” Earlier this summer, a different Georgia family decided that yes, drinking was the way to have a good time at the movies—even though some of the kids were underage. According to 11 Alive, Daniel Ash and Linda Whitmore-Ash were arrested at the CineBistro in Brookhaven, Georgia, after allegedly buying a pitcher of beer and sharing it with their not-yet-21-year-old daughters. (Whitmore-Ash told a theater employee that the girls were old enough to drink, but they just didn’t have their ID with them. See what happens when you try to be the cool mom?) When management saw the couple giving beer to their kids, they went full narc and called the cops. When the officers arrived, Whitmore-Ash shouted for her daughters to “Run!,” which they did. They were caught later at a relative’s house. Both parents were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as was their 23-year-old son. If you’re going to try that booze-in-the-hoodie thing, get a babysitter.

2017-06-26

New Yorkers are accustomed to things disappearing. Every week, it seems, some beloved old diner, art-supply store, or punk den folds, to be supplanted by a CVS. (Latest heartbreak: Sunshine Cinema, on the Lower East Side.) Requiems follow. Then city life resumes, at its punishing clip. For the past ten years, a blogger going by the pseudonym Jeremiah Moss has refused to let go, grouchily chronicling each demise. The first entry of Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, in July, 2007, mourned the Greenwich Village speakeasy Chumley’s, which had closed after a chimney collapsed. When it reopened, not long ago, as a restaurant serving thirty-six-dollar cod, Moss was aghast. “The powers-that-be have body-snatched Chumley’s,” he wrote. In 2014, Moss turned from elegist to activist, when he launched a movement to save the Café Edison, a show-biz canteen on West Forty-seventh Street. He started a campaign with the hashtag #SaveCafeEdison and organized lunch mobs, causing several hundred New Yorkers to swarm the place for matzo-ball soup. It closed anyway, but Moss kept the movement going, lobbying politicians with #SaveNYC tweet storms and staging a funeral for a doomed shoe-repair shop in the Empire State Building. Through it all, he obsessively hid his identity. “Oh, this? Crazy story . . .” Jeremiah Moss is now ready to unmask himself. He is Griffin Hansbury, a forty-six-year-old psychoanalyst and social worker. “It’s nerve-racking,” he said on a recent afternoon, sitting near Astor Place. He could have been mistaken for an undercover agent—black cap, sunglasses, red beard—were it not for a T-shirt that said “More Jane Jacobs, Less Marc Jacobs.” Hansbury grew up in Massachusetts. He first visited New York in 1978, when he was seven years old and accompanied his father, a clothing salesman, on a business trip. On his way to see “Annie,” Hansbury was enthralled by the “scruffy sidewalk buskers” in Times Square. In 1993, he moved to the city to get a master’s degree in creative writing at New York University and settled in an East Village walkup, where he still lives. (“It was just purchased by an L.L.C. behind an L.L.C.,” he said. “They want to get us all out.”) Back then, his favorite spots were Verchovyna Tavern, on Seventh Street (vanished in 2005), and the De Robertis pasticceria, where he would get pignoli cookies (2014). He looked at a spot on Astor Place where there used to be a parking lot. “There was a guy on the other side who sold pornography,” he said, wistfully. “He had a table of milk crates filled with vintage porn magazines.” The biggest change in the neighborhood, he said, has been the demographic: punks and Ukrainians have been displaced by yuppies. Hansbury, who is transgender, was transitioning in the nineties, and he found a home in the downtown counterculture. Now, he said, “I feel alienated in my own neighborhood. It’s like a frat house.” He was feeling particularly glum in 2007, after writing a novel about a dyspeptic East Villager named Jeremiah Moss. When he started Vanishing New York, he didn’t give much thought to using a pen name, but he soon found that writing as Jeremiah was freeing: “If you took the crankiest part of me and isolated it, it would be him.” The novel was never published, but “Jeremiah” picked up thousands of readers, who sent in tips on endangered mom-and-pop shops. Hansbury said, “I’ve been writing and trying to publish since college, and having little to no success, and then this Jeremiah comes along and it’s, like, no problem.” Hansbury decided to reveal himself, he said, so he can show up at his own rallies and on panels. Also, “Vanishing New York” is now a book. Walking down St. Mark’s Place, past a dark-glass building that he called the Death Star, he mentioned a study that measured pedestrians’ skin conductivity outside a sleek Whole Foods and on a more diversified street. “They found that blocks that are all this glass stuff actually shorten the lives of senior citizens, because they’re so depressing,” he said. He stopped at Gem Spa, a stalwart cigarette-and-candy shop, where he ordered an egg cream. “How long has this place been here?” he asked the cashier. “A long, long time,” the guy said. “Since the start of Manhattan.” ♦

2018-11-19 21:35:27

11 Things We’d Really Like to Know Only bariatric surgery reliably leads to long-term weight loss. Now scientists hope to duplicate the effects with a pill. Whenever I see a photo from the 1960s or 1970s, I am startled. It’s not the clothes. It’s not the hair. It’s the bodies. So many people were skinny. In 1976, 15 percent of American adults were obese. Now it’s nearly 40 percent. No one really knows why bodies have changed so much. Scientists do a lot of hand-waving about our “obesogenic environment” and point to favorite culprits: the abundance of cheap fast foods and snacks; food companies making products so tasty they are addictive; larger serving sizes; the tendency to graze all day. Whatever the combination of factors at work, something about the environment is making many people as fat as their genetic makeup permits. Obesity has always been with us, but never has it been so common. Everyone — from doctors to drug companies, from public health officials to overweight people themselves — would love to see a cure, a treatment that brings weight to normal and keeps it there. Why hasn’t anyone discovered one? It’s not for lack of trying. [Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter.] Yes, some individuals have managed to go from fat to thin with diets and exercise, and have kept off the weight. But they are the rare exceptions. Most spend years dieting and regaining, dieting and regaining, in a fruitless, frustrating cycle. There is just one almost uniformly effective treatment, and it is woefully underused: only about 1 percent of the 24 million American adults who are eligible get the procedure. That treatment is bariatric surgery, a drastic operation that turns the stomach into a tiny pouch and, in one version, also reroutes the intestines. Most who have it lose significant amounts of weight — but many of them remain overweight, or even obese. Their health usually improves anyway. Many with diabetes no longer need insulin. Cholesterol and blood pressure levels tend to fall. Sleep apnea disappears. Backs, hips and knees stop aching. There are not nearly enough surgeons or facilities to operate on all the obese people who might be helped by bariatric surgery, noted Randy Seeley, director of the nutrition research center at the University of Michigan. And many patients and doctors persist in thinking — all evidence to the contrary — that if overweight people really set their minds to it, they could get thin and stay thin. Scientists got an unsparing look at what they were up against 50 years ago, when a clinical researcher at Rockefeller University, Dr. Jules Hirsch, did some old-fashioned experiments. He recruited obese people to stay at the hospital and subsist on a 600-calorie a day liquid diet until they reached a normal weight. The subjects lost 100 pounds on average, and they were thrilled. But as soon as they left the hospital, the pounds piled back on. Dr. Hirsch and Dr. Rudy Leibel, now at Columbia University, repeated the study again and again, with the same result. Eventually, they found that when a very fat person diets down to a normal weight, he or she physiologically comes to resemble a starving person, craving food with an avidity that is hard to imagine. The lesson never really penetrated the popular consciousness. Just a couple of years ago, Kevin Hall, a senior investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, made headlines with a study of contestants from the Biggest Loser television show. They lost enormous amounts of weight, he found, but rarely could keep it off. Obesity’s genetic connection was conclusively demonstrated in the 1980s in a series of papers showing that body weight is strongly inherited, almost as strongly as height. Children adopted as infants ended up with weights like those of their biological parents. Twins reared apart ended up with nearly identical body weights. It was beginning to look hopeless for obese people. And a few we’d rather not discuss Then, in 1995, Dr. Jeffrey Friedman of Rockefeller University discovered what looked like the equivalent of insulin for diabetes — a molecule he called leptin that is secreted by fat cells and tells the brain how much fat the body has. Leptin signals some sort of master controller in the brain. If a person is too thin — according to what the brain perceives as an acceptable weight — the brain signals that person to eat. In fat people, that controller is set too high: their brains make sure they stay fat. The drug company Amgen paid Rockefeller and Dr. Friedman $20 million for rights to leptin, hoping to develop it as an obesity treatment. The idea was to give leptin to obese patients so their brains would think they had too much fat. If it worked, they ought to lose their appetites and drop pounds. By tailoring leptin injections, doctors might even fine-tune a person’s weight. To everyone’s chagrin, leptin fizzled. Most people did not respond to leptin injections by losing weight. But leptin was a key to unlocking a complex network of hormones and brain signals that control body weight. The problem was that no single target seemed to make much difference in weight loss. “I think of eating as a survival mechanism,” said Dr. John Amatruda, a consultant and former executive at Bayer and Merck while trying to develop weight-loss drugs. “You need to eat, so our bodies are wired to have complex systems that are redundant.” The hope now is to figure out how to have the benefits of bariatric surgery without the surgery. The operation alters the body’s orchestra of hormones and signals, among them leptin but also many others. Afterward, tastes change. Many patients no longer crave the high-calorie foods that used to sate them. Many find they are no longer ravenously hungry. Might those effects be mimicked with a drug? Many researchers are trying, although most drug companies have dropped out of the obesity market, seeing no truly effective treatments on the horizon. Even when drugs have been approved, they are rarely used. That’s not surprising, Dr. Amatruda said, because obesity medications on the market are either minimally effective for most people or have significant side effects — or both. Dr. Seeley remains optimistic that a drug will be found. He studies mice and rats, giving them bariatric surgery and trying to untangle the web of biochemical changes that follow. “We think we have good clues,” he said, “but nothing is far enough along.” For now, researchers wish people — including fat people themselves — would stop blaming the obese for their problem. “This idea that people should eat less and exercise more — if only it were so simple,” Dr. Hall said.

2019-08-25 00:00:00

TL;DR: The powerful Google Home Max smart speaker is on sale in the PCMag Shop for $249.99. It's normally $399.99, so you'll save 17%. It's rare for a product to earn a Mashable's Choice Award. It's even more rare for a product to earn a Mashable's Choice Award *and* a coveted Editor's Choice Award from the good people over at PCMag (which is owned by Mashable’s publisher, Ziff Davis). Yet somehow the Google Home Max pulled it off. Nabbing an average score of just over 4/5 stars between the two sites, the Google Home Max is one of the few smart speakers on the market that doesn't skimp on audio quality. Mashable's Ray Wong was particularly impressed by its deep, thumping bass and loud volume, while Sascha Segan and Tim Gideon of PCMag were won over by its clarity and balance. Want to see what all the hype's about? Well, if you visit the PCMag Shop at some point within the next few days, you can snag a Google Home Max in one of two colors for just under $250 — that's 17% off its suggested retail price of $299.99. (That's even better than the prices at Walmart and Best Buy: It's going for $269.99 at both stores.) Featuring an acoustic fabric design that doesn't muddy its sound, the Google Home Max is able to produce such great audio thanks to the custom tweeters and dual 4.5-inch woofers within its durable plastic shell. It also gets by with a little help from Smart Sound, a machine learning technology that allows the speaker to automatically adjust its equalizer settings for its environment and the content it's playing. The Google Home Max comes equipped with the Google Assistant, which means you can have it play music, check traffic, set reminders, make a hands-free call, and control other smart home devices using a simple "Hey Google" voice command.  Order yours today in chalk or charcoal for just $249.99 — a $50 savings.  Google Home Max — $249.99 See Details

2018-08-30 00:00:00

U.S. stock futures were lower this morning, spelling a potential end to the four-day win streak for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq. The latter two closed at record highs yet again Wednesday. The Dow is coming off its highest close since Feb. 1. (CNBC) Campbell Soup (CPB) shares were lower after it announced this morning that it is selling two international units, including its Arnott's and Kelsen brands, as well as its fresh foods business as the 149-year old company struggles to regain its financial footing. (CNBC)* Campbell beats earnings estimates, misses on revenue (CNBC) Other earnings out this morning include the latest numbers from Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Dollar General (DG), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Signet Jewelers (SIG), and Michaels (MIK). Lululemon (LULU) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) issue quarterly earnings after today's closing bell. (CNBC) Amazon (AMZN) crossed the $2,000 per share level in premarket trading, a day after Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $2,500, the highest on Wall Street, representing a $1.2 trillion valuation. Investors will wait to see whether Amazon can close today above $2,000 for the first time ever. (CNBC) Two economic reports are out this morning concurrently at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the government releasing both weekly initial jobless claims as well as personal income and spending for July. (CNBC) President Donald Trump said he's optimistic Canada will join the new trade deal the U.S. forged with Mexico. He also reiterated his Friday deadline for the NAFTA replacement, which he coined "The United States-Mexico Trade Agreement." (CNBC)* U.S.-Mexico trade pact faces scrutiny from lawmakers (WSJ)* Trump's NAFTA replacement may help labor but hurt business and the economy (CNBC)* Trump signs proclamation allowing targeted relief on steel, aluminum quotas (Reuters) Less than a day after a new report confirmed that nearly 3,000 people on Puerto Rico died as a result of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Trump said at a White House event he believes his administration "did a fantastic job" responding to the storm. (CNBC) Late Arizona Sen. John McCain will receive a hero's welcome for three tribute-filled days beginning today. The 81-year-old's belief in the need for bipartisanship will be on display at the ceremonies and services. (USA Today)* Grieving McCain photo inspired support, love (USA Today) Trump has been personally lobbying Republican senators to turn on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to Politico. He also reportedly raised the prospect of firing Sessions last week in a phone call with South Carolina's Lindsey Graham. Special counsel Robert Mueller asked a federal judge for more time to decide whether to seek a retrial for former Trump campaign boss Paul Manafort on 10 criminal charges that jurors were unable to reach a verdict on last week. (CNBC) Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google unit continues to come under attack from Trump, who said the search engine didn't promote his State of the Union address. Google said it did, in fact, do so. He also accused the company of anti-conservative bias. (CNBC) California has become the first state to abolish cash bail. Now, beginning in October 2019, most suspects arrested for low-level offenses or nonviolent felonies will be released within 12 hours of being booked. (Axios) General Motors (GM) suffered a setback in its plan to increase electric vehicle production in China, according to the Wall Street Journal. GM found that China-made batteries did not meet its performance and safety standards during testing. Gas prices have been on the rise for some time now, which should make this weekend the most expensive Labor Day in the last four years to fill up your car, says the American Automobile Association. But the spike is not likely to be especially dramatic. (Fortune) Google's new $50 Titan Security Key adds extra security to your account, and helps protect Facebook (FB), Dropbox and other services, too, but don't lose it. CNBC's Todd Haselton reviews the security device.* (CNBC) Apple (AAPL) has acquired a start-up focused on making lenses for augmented reality glasses, a signal the tech giant has ambitions to make a wearable device that would superimpose digital information on the real world. (Reuters) Starbucks' (SBUX) Frappuccino is getting a makeover. The U.S. coffee giant is putting its drink on a diet, looking to reduce its high sugar levels, which have scared away health-conscious consumers and hurt sales. (WSJ) Salesforce (CRM) reported adjusted quarterly profit of 53 cents per share, 6 cents above estimates. The cloud software company's revenue also beat forecasts, but it also gave a weaker than expected profit outlook for the current quarter as it invests money to help boosts sales. PVH (PVH) earned an adjusted $2.18 per share for the second quarter, beating consensus forecasts by 8 cents, and the apparel maker saw revenue beat estimates. The maker of Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and other apparel brands also raised its profit forecast for the year, although its current quarter earnings guidance falls below estimates. Guess (GES) beat estimates by 4 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 36 cents per share, but the apparel maker's revenue fell below Street forecasts. The company also said it was on track to end the year with all of its business units profitable. Ford (F) remains on watch after Moody's downgraded its rating of the automaker's debt to one level above junk. Moody's cited shrinking profit margins in North America and continued losses in Europe, among other factors, but Ford said it is making progress in boosting its outlook and that the market will recognize that progress. Tempur Sealy (TPX) accused former customer Mattress Firm of selling copycat products that are "strikingly similar" to tis Tempur-Pedic brand, in a complained filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida. A long running supply deal between the two ended last year in a pricing dispute. Tronc (TRNC) said it would not comment on market rumors, following reports a buyer was interested in the media company. The "no comment" was issued during the company's earnings conference call, following its report of a lower than expected loss and a raised earnings outlook for the full year. Sorry, "Top Gun" fans. The release date for Tom Cruise's anticipated sequel will be delayed one year to June 26, 2020. Filmmakers will have the opportunity to work out the logistics of presenting flight sequences with new technology and planes. (USA Today)

2016-05-14

Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIFFlying a drone can come with some unforeseen hazards. Hawks have taken out drones on more than one occasion, but now, there’s another hazard for pilots to take into consideration: Spear-wielding Russian reenactors. A Russian drone team was flying over a reenactment settlement in Lipetsk, Russia, taking some fantastic footage of the event, showing off the encampment, large battles, and games. Towards the end of the day, one of the soldiers took issue with the future colliding with the past, and took out the drone with one well-thrown spear. So, in all those hypothetical matches between medieval and modern technology, keep in mind that old tech isn’t any less lethal. Either that, or just keep your distance from the Russians with spears. [UAV at Lipetsk, via Digital Trends]

2016-11-24

KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The U.N. refugee agency said on Thursday it was working with Malaysia on a pilot scheme to allow refugees from Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority to work in the country, in a move that it described as a “win-win” solution. Rights advocates have long urged Malaysia, which hosts some 150,000 refugees and asylum-seekers including about 55,000 Rohingya, to extend right of employment to the group as a way to ensure they enjoy greater protection and self-reliance. Many refugees are trapped in a limbo in Malaysia as they are not allowed to work legally while resettlement to a third country remains a slow process. Malaysia is not a signatory to the U.N. Refugee Convention. They end up finding odd jobs as cleaners or working in restaurants or on construction sites, but claims of abuses including denial of payments are widespread. Under the pilot scheme, a group of 300 Rohingya would be allowed to work legally in the plantation and manufacturing sectors, according to Malaysian officials. The UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur said the trial could pave the way for a broader work scheme for refugees in Malaysia. “A regulated scheme for refugees is a ‘win-win’ all round,” spokeswoman Yante Ismail said in a statement to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. She said refugees could be a valuable labor source for Malaysia’s economy and that by allowing them to work legally, it would help the government to better manage the group. “A (work) scheme would allow refugees in Malaysia to significantly improve their own protection and self-reliance thereby reducing their dependence on Malaysia for their wellbeing,” Yante added. Malaysian authorities have said in the past they would consider allowing refugees to work but details had been sketchy. Some officials feared a relaxation of the policy would lead to an influx of migrant workers. Malaysia’s deputy home minister told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in August that it was making a fresh push on the issue of access to work following the formation of a joint task force comprising several ministries as well as UNHCR. Reporting by Beh Lih Yi @behlihyi, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org

2017-01-20

People in the crowd listening to the acceptance speech given by Donald Trump after he was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, as seen from the Washington Mall, Friday January 20, 2017Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, as seen from the Washington Mall, Friday January 20, 2017Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures Attendees gather at the Washington Mall for the inauguration of president Donald Trump, Friday January 20, 2017.Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures Attendees gather at the Washington Mall for the inauguration of president Donald Trump, Friday January 20, 2017.Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures People in the crowd listening to the acceptance speech given by Donald Trump after he was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, as seen from the Washington Mall, Friday January 20, 2017Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures At the Washington Mall, people protest president-elect Donald Trump, Friday January 20, 2017. Today is the presidential inauguration of Trump.Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures People in the crowd listening to the acceptance speech given by Donald Trump after he was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, as seen from the Washington Mall, Friday January 20, 2017Photograph by Timothy Fadek / Redux Pictures A change in atmosphere rolled into Washington, DC, the very second Donald J. Trump approached the podium to deliver his first address as President of the United States. The skies, thick with gray clouds all morning, picked that precise moment to part and give way to rain. At the same time, as the crowd fumbled with their parkas and ponchos, the sunny picture of America that President Barack Obama has tried to paint these last eight years began to fade behind a darker palette.

2018-01-17 21:40:00

A pregnant Arizona woman was killed by a stray bullet during a family outing in the desert that has become popular for unregulated target shooting. Kami Gilstrap, 24, was spending the day in the desert in Buckeye, Arizona, on Sunday during a family outing when a stray bullet struck her in the chest, Tamela Skaggs, a spokeswoman for the Buckeye Police Department, told PEOPLE. She was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she later died. Gilstrap was pregnant with her first child. Gilstrap, who worked as a nanny, was the wife of an airman stationed at Luke Air Force Base. Her family issued a statement to ABC15, saying, “We are shocked and devastated at the passing of our beloved wife, daughter, and friend. We thank everyone who has reached out in love to share their condolences. They are much appreciated.” “As we seek answers both from God and from the open investigation into the events of this past Sunday, we ask for privacy as we grieve together.” A GoFundMe page was created help Gilstrap’s husband, Blake Gilstrap, pay for funeral expenses. Skaggs said the area was popular for recreational shooting. A suspect in the case has not been identified “due to the amount of people in the area” but the case will remain under investigation, she said. Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall told AZFamily.com that there were no regulations in the area Gilstrap was shot in. “There’s tons of ricochets. And our incident from yesterday was an indication that the round that was fired at our victim, yesterday, came from a completely different direction than where everybody’s firing right now. There are no regulations out here,” Hall said. “Out here we have tons of trash,” Hall told the outlet. “All that trash is potential for a round to ricochet and hit another shooter. And that’s where this whole situation out here is absolutely dangerous.” Jaime Rubio, who frequents the target shooting range, told the outlet that shooting there was “good bonding time with my kids, good pastime, stress reliever.” “The death makes you feel just a little more cautious about the people who are next to you,” Rubio said.

2017-11-09 00:00:00

Nov 9 (Reuters) - PIHLAJALINNA OYJ * Q3 REVENUE EUR ‍99.4​ MILLION VERSUS EUR 93.9 MILLION YEAR AGO * Q3 EBIT EUR ‍5.5​ MILLION VERSUS EUR 3.6 MILLION YEAR AGO * ‍OUTLOOK FOR 2017 UNCHANGED​ Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)

2016-06-20 14:35:00

The countdown to Vidcon 2016 has begun! The two-day convention celebrating YouTube stars and influencers kicks off on June 23rd at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, featuring over a hundred of the biggest online personalities. The Internet celebs will lead interactive workshops and panels about their journey to digital fame, plus talk about how to build your own online brand and more. Below, a look at some of the biggest names headed to this year s convention. The YouTube comedian, who has over 16 million subscribers, will be participating in a panel discussion called The First Time I hit Upload with Elliot Morgan, Flula, Dan Howell, Phil Lester and Marcus Butler on June 25. The stand up comedian turned YouTube Sensation, who was ranked 8th on Forbes list of World s Top Earning YouTube Stars of 2015, will be hosting a discussion called Defining a Unicorn with Lilly Singh. Singh will participate in the panels, #GirlLove on YouTube and In This Together: Creators and Communities. She will also be a part of a case study called The Team of an Online Video Creator. All of Singh s events are scheduled for June 23. The YouTube and podcast personality, who has over 8 million YouTube subscribers, will be interviewed by PEOPLE magazine and Entertainment Weekly on June 23. He will also serve on a panel called Behind the Book with Michael Buckley, Grace Helbig, GloZell and Niomi Smart on June 24. The actress and YouTuber, who has over 5 million subscribers and was the voice of Moxie in the movie Trolls, will be on a discussion panel called Beyond YouTube along with Lee Newton, Ricky Dillon, Arden Rose, and MyLifeAsEva on June 24. One of the most popular creators on the music video app Musical.ly, with 7 million followers, will be on a panel called The Next Big Platform with Shonduras, Olga Kay and Hailey Knox on June 24. The comedian and YouTube chef, who was a guest judge on Season 12 of Food Network Star, will be one of the speakers at the second annual Creator Keynote on June 25. Hart will also be a part of the Holy Trinity Q&A and the conversation about mental health called Everyone Struggles on June 24. She is also a panelist for the In This Together: Creators and Communities discussion on June 23. The famous baker and New York Times Best Selling Author, who has over 1 billion views on her YouTube channel, will be a panelist on the #GirlLove on YouTube discussion on June 23 and the The More You Know panel on June 25. Pansino will also be interviewed by PEOPLE magazine and Entertainment Weekly on June 25. The violinist, dancer and songwriter, who was 4th on Forbes World s Highest Paid YouTube Stars in 2015, will be a panelist on the #GirlLove on YouTube discussion. Beauty guru and fashion vlogger, who has over 1 billion views on YouTube, will be on the So Much More Than Beauty panel on June 25, along with Moj Mahdara, Lex Madeyewlook, Sonya Esman and Bretman Rock. Levin will also be interviewed by PEOPLE magazine and Entertainment Weekly on June 25. Actor and YouTube personality, who was a contestant on the 22nd and 24th seasons of The Amazing Race, will be hosting a Q&A about his new YouTube Red original series Escape the Night on June 24. Graceffa will also be a participant in the Cosplay Contest on June 24.

2019-07-10 00:00:00

FOR THE past twenty years or so, social scientists have affirmed what parents think when they are at their most exasperated and dyspeptic: children make you miserable. In 2004 Daniel Kahneman of Princeton University and others discovered that parents thought that looking after their children was about as enjoyable as doing the housework. Two meta-studies (studies of studies) in 2012 found that, in most of the research, self-reported “life satisfaction” (a measure of happiness) was a bit lower when there was a child in the house. The effect was not large. But there is something odd about these findings. In rich countries at least, people decide to have children. A few children are doubtless unplanned but only a few. If children make parents unhappy, why do they keep having them? The puzzle, says Letizia Mencarini of Bocconi University, is why isn’t fertility even lower in countries where people have a choice? Parents far outnumber the childless at every stage of adulthood. A new generation of research helps answer that question, and suggests that children are more likely to make parents happy than was once thought. Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. The new research is based on longer, more detailed statistical series measuring happiness—usually defined as “subjective well-being”—along with new techniques to analyse links between it and parenthood. To see the importance of this, remember that the point at which a parent’s happiness is measured makes a big difference, whether it is just before birth, just after or long after. Previous data sets were often too imprecise to measure this accurately. The new ones can. So what do they show? First, that in rich countries, happier people are more likely to have children. It has long been known this is true for countries such as Denmark and Sweden, which have higher fertility rates than average, between 1.8 and 1.9 (fertility rates measure the likely number of children an average woman will have during her lifetime). They also report unusually high levels of life satisfaction. Bulgaria and Hungary, on the other hand, have lower fertility rates (1.5 to 1.6) and lower levels of happiness. But that does not necessarily mean that happiness causes people to have children or vice versa: both low happiness and low fertility may be the result of being poorer, or worse educated, or of many other things. Ms Mencarini and three co-authors show that what is true for countries as a whole is true within countries too. They combed through the numbers for seven rich nations to isolate the impact of life satisfaction. They found that everywhere, happier people are more likely to have children. They also found that the influence of happiness was greater on the decision to have a second or a third child than it is on the first. This has significance for public policy in countries which want to increase very low fertility: they need to work out how to persuade couples with one child to have another.Sadly, a second finding of the research, shows why that is not easy. Though happier people are more likely to have children, it does not follow that children necessarily keep them cheerful. That depends on other things. Whether parents are married is one. Single parents are usually less happy than married ones. The age of the child is another. Children under ten seem to bring more joy than those over that age. And money matters a lot. David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College and Andrew Clarke of the Paris School of Economics managed to isolate the financial strain of raising children as an influence on parental happiness. They argue that it is the cost of raising kids, rather than children in the abstract, that reduces pleasure. But the most important influence seems to be the pressure of work. It has long been known that the difficulty of balancing the demands of work and home life increase exponentially when children arrive and this results in a significant amount of stress, especially for the mother, who is usually the main caregiver. Some parents also suffer a decline in well-being soon after a child’s birth, presumably as the reality of nappies sets in. This fall is consistently largest among parents who also report conflicts at work or (which has the same effect) family tension. So a work/life imbalance gets in the way of the pleasure parents feel in their children. Intriguingly, a study by Francesca Luppi, also of Bocconi University, finds that parents who report a good balance between life and work are more likely to have a second child and more likely to have one soon after the first. This has policy implications too. For governments which want to get their birth rates up, or simply put grins on the faces of their citizens, providing better child care seems to work well, certainly in France, for instance, and the Nordic countries. It increases both people’s happiness and their desire to have children. Children, in short, do seem to bring about happiness. And happiness brings about children.

2019-05-23 00:00:00

The program will specialize in interdisciplinary, beyond-the-studio learning. Applications are now open for Fall 2019. What should contemporary art education look like today? The new Media Arts MFA program at Purchase College,  State University of New York, embraces an interdisciplinary post-studio approach, centering its inquiries on contemporary art forms, social and political engagement, materiality, critical data studies, media ecologies, and alternative domains of cultural production and circulation. Purchase College’s excellent production facilities, funding, teaching opportunities, research, and public engagement opportunities provide a fertile environment for graduate art studies. Beyond the confines of a traditional studio art program, the Media Arts MFA prepares its students for further advancing their practice and critically reflecting on global sociopolitical and cultural events. Students can choose a two year or three year dual degree track, which allows them to complement their studies with an MA in Art History or Entrepreneurship in The Arts. Purchase College recently completed its first year of the program, in which they developed a unique curriculum supported by exhibitions, events, lectures, critique, and public engagement projects. This fall marks the opening of Purchase’s new Center for Media, Film and Theater, a state of the art building that will house the graduate program, serving as an intellectual hub while providing cutting-edge technologies for art production. Their public programming focuses on interdisciplinary encounters between artists, scientists, and scholars, and a series of colloquiums to critically reflect on the future of art education. Purchase College is a public liberal arts college and one of the most respected art schools—a hidden gem located within the greater New York City region. With its flourishing graduate programs and diverse student body, it provides unparalleled research and production opportunities. Its full-time graduate faculty is composed of artists, anthropologists, sociologists, engineers and media scholars. Its current and upcoming faculty includes Michael Bell-Smith, Rachel Fabian, Sara Magenheimer, Shaka McGlotten, Nathan Holmes, Steve Lambert, Jason Pine, Brooke Singer, and Hakan Topal. Currently accepting applications for Fall 2019. For more information, please visit, www.purchase.edu/media-arts-and-culture.

2016-05-11

HANOI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vietnam hosts a defense symposium this week attended by top American arms manufacturers, ahead of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama and as Washington weighs whether to lift an arms embargo on its former enemy. Secrecy has surrounded the event staged by the communist country and attended by firms including Boeing (BA.N) and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N). It coincides with the biggest arms buildup in the country since the Vietnam War. There has been no mention in state-controlled media and defense reporters are not covering the forum. Efforts by Reuters to gain permission to attend have been unsuccessful and Vietnam’s defense ministry could not be reached for comment. Vietnam has accelerated efforts to build a military deterrent and is the world’s eighth largest weapons importer, as neighbor China intensifies its push to fortify South China Sea islands it has either occupied or built from scratch. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank, which tracks defense trade over five-year periods, Vietnam’s total arms imports during 2011-2015 represented a 699 percent jump from 2006-2010. The Hanoi symposium comes amid debate within the U.S. administration over whether to respond to Vietnam’s longstanding request to remove an arms embargo that is one of the last major vestiges of the Vietnam War era. Washington eased the embargo in late 2014, but has said any decision to lift it completely would hinge on the extent to which Vietnam has demonstrated progress in improving its human rights record. Its top envoy in that field, Tom Malinowski, was in Hanoi earlier this week. Vietnam has been in talks with Western and U.S. arms manufacturers for several years now to boost its fleets of fighter jets, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft, although Russia, its traditional supplier, maintains a dominant position. Industry sources say Hanoi is keen on U.S. weapons yet wary of the threat of a future embargo even if the current one ends. The countries do have a common concern in China, however, whose assertiveness in the South China Sea has alarmed Washington. Obama is due to start his Vietnam visit on May 22, the first by a U.S. president in a decade, underlining the rapidly warming relationship between the countries at a time of testy ties and growing mistrust between Hanoi and Beijing, which have competing claims to the Paracel and Spratly islands. A spokesman for Lockheed Martin confirmed the company was attending the Hanoi event. Boeing is also attending, although the firm made it clear it was not in contravention of the embargo. “I would like to point out that any defense-related sales to Vietnam will follow development of U.S. government policy on Vietnam,” a spokesman said. “We believe Boeing has capabilities in mobility and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platforms that may meet Vietnam’s modernization needs.” Those needs have included the purchase of six modern Kilo-class submarines from Russia equipped with Klub cruise missiles, Russian-built S-300 surface-to-air missile batteries, and from Israel, Galil assault rifles and AD-STAR 2888 radars. Its navy is making Tarantul-class corvettes, known as Molniyas, modeled on Russian designs and equipped with 16 missiles with a range of 130 km (80 miles). Though the communist parties that run China and Vietnam officially have brotherly ties, experts say Beijing’s brinkmanship has forced Vietnam to recalibrate its defense strategy. A report in the defense ministry’s People’s Army Newspaper Online in March quoted the vice defense minister, Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, as saying Vietnam’s relationship with the United States lacked defense industry cooperation, and Hanoi wanted Washington “to provide modern, suitable and adaptable technology”. Its outreach so far has been weighted towards Russia, India and Israel in procurements, but analysts say it is unlikely to seek formal military alliances and would stick to its foreign policy of not relying on a single power. It has, however, mulled joint exercises with another South China Sea claimant at odds with China, the Philippines, and has received recent visits by Singaporean and Japanese warships at its new international port at Cam Ranh Bay, a strategic deepwater base that is home to its submarines. Tim Huxley, a regional security expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, said Vietnam’s interest in getting the arms embargo lifted was not only about access to U.S. technology, but boosting its bargaining power. “It reflects concern about what’s happening in the South China Sea and its need to restructure and re-arm, with a greater emphasis on greater naval and air capability,” he said. “It wants to widen options available and have more choices in the international market place in terms of range of technology and its negotiating position.” Additional reporting by Mai Nguyen in HANOI; Writing and additional reporting by Martin Petty in MANILA; Editing by Mike Collett-White

2018-10-22

(Adds Constellation Brands, Yandex, Weir, Providence Service Corp) Oct 22 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday: ** Constellation Brands Inc, the U.S. producer of Corona and Modelo beers, is looking to sell some of its U.S.-based wine brands, in a deal that could be worth more than $3 billion, according to four people familiar with the matter. ** Providence Service Corp, the largest provider of non-emergency medical transportation services in the United States, is exploring a sale after attracting interest from private equity firms, three people familiar with the matter said. ** Shares in Russian search engine Yandex fell after a report from the Interfax news agency said the government was proposing to limit foreign ownership in online news aggregators to 20 percent. ** British engineer Weir has launched the sale of its flow control business in a move that could value the supplier of pumps and valves at more than 300 million pounds ($389 million), according to sources with knowledge of the matter. ** European Union antitrust regulators will rule by Nov. 27 whether to clear U.S. battery maker Energizer Holdings’ $2-billion bid for Spectrum Brands’ battery and portable lighting business. ** American Railcar Industries Inc, majority-owned by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is selling itself to ITE Rail Fund in a $1.75 billion deal including debt, the company said. ** The head of Telefonica Deutschland called for EU regulators to block Vodafone’s planned acquisition of Liberty Global, saying it would lead to a “quasi-monopolisation” of the German cable TV market. ** Japan’s Calsonic Kansei, owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR, has agreed to buy Fiat Chrysler’s Magneti Marelli for 6.2 billion euros ($7.1 billion) to form the seventh-largest independent car parts supplier. ** U.S. firm Jacobs Engineering Group Inc has agreed to sell its energy, chemicals and resources business to WorleyParsons for $3.3 billion, in a deal that will double the size of the Australian engineering services firm. ** Blackstone Group has agreed a deal to acquire Ulterra Drilling Technologies, a manufacturer of drill bits and downhole tools for the oil and gas industry, for around $700 million, two sources familiar with the matter said. ** Sony Corp has not offered concessions to European Union antitrust regulators reviewing its $2.3 billion offer for control of EMI to become the world’s largest music publisher, the European Commission website showed. ** National Bank of Bahrain is weighing an acquisition of shares in Bahrain Islamic Bank, the company said in a disclosure. ** Rallye, the holding company that controls French supermarket retailer Casino, has received an offer for its ‘Courir’ sports brand, with both companies keen to sell assets and cut debts that have concerned some investors. (Compiled by Aakash Jagadeesh Babu and Manogna Maddipatla in Bengaluru)

2018-12-12

MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski is apologizing after she used a homophobic remark to describe  Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoAfghan president vows to take revenge after Islamic State attack on wedding The Hill's Morning Report - Trump on defense over economic jitters Latest pro-democracy rally draws tens of thousands in Hong Kong MORE Wednesday morning on "Morning Joe."  Brzezinski was speaking about Pompeo's interview on cable news rival "Fox & Friends," where the secretary of State reiterated that while the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was a "tragic incident" that America doesn't approve of, the Saudis are still "an important ally" of the United States. "I understand that Donald Trump doesn't care … But why doesn't Mike Pompeo care right now?" Brzezinski asked during an interview with Sen. Dick DurbinRichard (Dick) Joseph DurbinSenate Democrats push Trump to permanently shutter migrant detention facility House panel investigating decision to resume federal executions To combat domestic terrorism, Congress must equip law enforcement to fight rise in white supremacist attacks MORE (D-Ill.). "Are the pathetic deflections that we just heard when he appeared on 'Fox & Friends,' is that a patriot speaking, or a wannabe dictator's butt-boy? I'm dead serious. I'm asking, are these the words of a patriot?" Brzezinski's audio appeared to be cut right after the comment in an apparent attempt to bleep it. She later apologized on Twitter after her comment went viral on social media, calling it a "super bad" choice of words. "Totally agree with you -SUPER BAD choice of words," she wrote. "I should have said 'water boy'... like for football teams or something like that.. apologize to @SenatorDurbin too! SO SORRY!" Totally agree with you -SUPER BAD choice of words .. I should have said “water boy”... like for football teams or something like that.. apologize to @SenatorDurbin too! SO SORRY! https://t.co/zIqsGdK3Tk The blowback against Brzezisnki on social media was substantial. .@morningmika just asked if Mike Pompeo is a “wannabe dictator’s butt boy,” as homophobic a term as I’ve heard on national morning television. @MSNBC tried and failed to censor it, and did not transcribe her remark in the closed captioning. #journalism pic.twitter.com/3zK7H8evjh I was with you, @morningmika, right up to the “butt boy” comment. Try “toadie” or “lackey” or “stool pigeon” or “ass kisser,” or “traitor,” but maybe don’t equate homosexuality with Mike Pompeo carrying water for the murderous regime in Saudi Arabia. Holy shit. On Morning Joe, Mika just called #MikePompeo “a wannabe dictator’s butt boy.” Why does this surprise anyone? @JoyAnnReid tossed around countless homophobic and anti-Semitic slurs & @MSNBC did nothing. By doing nothing, they sent a message that anti-Semitism and homophobia is tolerated on their network. https://t.co/aEN1iDp7rB Sooooooooooo, @morningmika, the host of national news program called the sitting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “wannabe dictator’s butt boy.” Never mind her insult to @realDonaldTrump (that's a daily thing)...where is the outrage over the homophobia? This is disgusting! How can @KevinHart4real essentially be forced to lose his Oscar’s gig for comments he made years ago as a comedian, but Mika can make a seriously homophobic slur on a major news station, have the network try to cover it up & its not an issue? Give me a break! https://t.co/dTaBMkJa7x But @morningmika hates Trump, so I guess that makes her blatant homophobia cool and acceptable to @MSNBC. https://t.co/UuYwlwId8U Brzezinski, along with co-host and husband Joe Scarborough, have been among the network's staunchest critics of President TrumpDonald John TrumpFacebook releases audit on conservative bias claims Harry Reid: 'Decriminalizing border crossings is not something that should be at the top of the list' Recessions happen when presidents overlook key problems MORE and his administration after enjoying a friendly relationship and conducting multiple interviews with the then-candidate throughout the 2015-2016 GOP primaries. Trump and the "Morning Joe" hosts had a major falling out after the real estate mogul clinched the Republican nomination in May 2016. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2019-09-03 22:40:00

A reliable camp stove is a great way to enjoy a warm meal and a hot cup of coffee when you're out in the field. It can also be must-have for purifying water and safely cooking food.The MSR PocketRocket Deluxe is our top pick because it's compact, easy to use, and has a built-in igniter.Here are the best camp stoves you can buy:Best camp stove overall: MSR PocketRocket DeluxeBest budget camp stove: Coleman Bottle Top Propane StoveBest high-powered camp stove: Mr. Steak 1-Burner Infrared Portable GrillBest high-tech camp stove: BioLite CampStove 2Best stove for fast boiling: Jetboil FlashBest stove for world travel: MSR Whisperlite InternationalUpdated on 09/03/2019 by Les Shu: Updated prices, links, and formatting. Added MSR PocketRocket Deluxe, Jetboil Flash, and MSR Whisperlite International. The best camp stove overall The MSR PocketRocket Deluxe is a compact and lightweight stove that fits inside a coffee mug but has a convenient auto igniter and simmering capability.Pros: Cons: Buy on REI for $69.95 Buy on Moosejaw for $69.95 The best budget camp stove The Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove acts like a standard stovetop burner, and it's powerful, rugged, and well priced.Pros: Cons: Buy on Amazon for $29.89 The best high-powered camp stove The Mr. Steak 1-Burner Infrared Portable Grill cranks out 14,000 BTUs and can heat up to an astounding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.If you're pushing for the mountain summit of Denali or the Eiger, then it's probably best to leave the Mr. Steak 1-Burner Infrared Portable Grill back at base camp. At around 30 pounds and measuring 25 by 16 by 16 inches, this is most definitely a car camping grill. But with that size comes 165 square inches of cooking space, below which an immensely powerful ceramic infrared burner can heat up to as much as 1,000 degrees. Not that you will need that much heat most of the time, but hey, it's there for you.The Mr. Steak 1-Burner Infrared Portable Grill works with a standard one-pound propane cylinder (the squat green ones, like the ones the Coleman stove uses) and has an electronic ignition system. When you're not using the grill, you can fold its legs up for easier storage or transport, and when you are using it, you'll appreciate the cool-to-the-touch silicone cover on the handle and a latch that can hold the cover open while you're flipping burgers.An Amazon customer who owns a Mr. Steak grill says he "never would have thought [he] could personally grill steakhouse-quality steak on a lightweight, portable grill like this one," adding that it is "super easy to transport" (unless you're scaling Everest). Another customer calls the grill "the best of the best." And having owned one, I can attest to both customers' comments. — Steven JohnPros: Amazing heat output, large cook surface, electric ignition systemCons: Expensive, not suitable for hauling on foot Buy on Bass Pro Shops for $229.99 The best high-tech camp stove The BioLite CampStove 2 can cook your meal and charge your phone and GoPro camera at the same time thanks to an ingenious built-in generator fueled by heat.When you're out there in the wilderness, you shouldn't be staring at your phone; you should be looking at the stars, the mountains, or the valleys and such. That said, keeping a charged phone is important for safety — and for selfies. Keeping a rechargeable flashlight fully powered is always a good idea, and those GoPro camera batteries always seem to need recharging, don't they?Maintaining battery life in all those devices when in the field means carrying battery packs, using a solar charger, or firing up something you're probably traveling with: your stove.The BioLite CampStove 2 is a wood-burning stove that has a built-in generator capable of producing 3 watts of electricity while the fire is hot. That's enough power to charge small devices, illuminate a Biolite lamp, or to charge the unit's internal battery for later use when the fire isn't burning.Besides providing power, it's also a damn good stove. With a decent fire built up, the BioLite CampStove 2 can bring a liter of water to boil in less than five minutes and produces plentiful heat for cooking. In fact, there are compact fans inside the burn chamber that you can set at four different speeds to increase or decrease the intensity of the heat.That's right: This is a wood-burning, electricity-producing stove that effectively has adjustable heat settings. How badass is that?A reviewer from GearChase put the BioLite CampStove 2 through the motions and found it easy to cook "with fuel found easily around a campsite" thanks to the high heat output. He also found the "build quality very durable."The Insider Picks team is a fan of BioLite's gear, having tested a few of the products and visited its design studio. Check out our review of the BioLite FirePit. — Steven JohnPros: Charges small devices, built-in fans regulate heat, works with myriad accessoriesCons: Getting initial fire burning can be frustrating Buy on Amazon for $129.94 Buy on REI for $199.95 The best stove for fast boiling The Jetboil Flash gets a lot of water really hot, really fast. If you primarily rely on your stove to make hot drinks and rehydrate meals, this is the stove for you.When I get back from a long day on the trail, I want the most food in the shortest amount of time. This means pouring hot water onto couscous or a dehydrated meal. If it's the mornings, then it's coffee posthaste. For these moments, I rely on the Jetboil Flash. Using a cleverly-designed pot that's attached to a large burner — it looks (and sound) like a jet engine — the Flash can boil 16 ounces of water in less than two minutes. It is so fast that the first time I used it, it began boiling over while I was still prepping my meal.This is a product designed with backpackers in mind. The whole thing packs down into the provided pot and even has space for a small fuel canister. Not only does this mean it takes up very little space, it also makes it hard to lose or forget a part of the stove.If you want to sear, sauté, and simmer, the Jetboil Flash isn't for you. Although there are accessories that will let you use a frying pan, this is really a stove for heating your water fast, which is all most backpackers need. — James StoutPros: Boils water quickly, contains all the parts inside the pot, push-button ignitionCons: Can be hard to clean, can't be used with other pots or pans easily Buy on REI for $99.95 The best stove for world travel The Whisperlite International from MSR can go anywhere and burn almost anything. If you're traveling to remote locations, this is the reliable and rebuildable stove to take with you.Isobutane is great for cooking fast with a steady flame and comes packaged in convenient canisters. Unfortunately, you can't fly with it, which could be an issue if you're going to some remote area where there isn't a camping store nearby. In this type of situation, the MSR Whisperlite International is a better alternative. Not only can the stove burn white gas, kerosene, or unleaded gas, it is also incredibly robust.I own a Whisperlite that I've entirely rebuilt (under the supervision of a qualified technician, so don't worry if you come camping with me) and could easily fix in the field, even on long expeditions. MSR not only offers refurbishment of their stoves, they also include many of the tools and spare parts in the package, meaning that you could be taking the Whisperlite International on adventures for years to come.This reliability combines with MSR's clever "shaker jet" design, which prevents the fuel jet from getting clogged by using a needle inside the jet — cleaning it out when the stove is shaken. All of this makes the Whisperlite International the go-to choice for big expeditions.With some practice, you'll be able to quickly light the Whisperlite International (you do need to bring a lighter). Advanced users can regulate the flame enough to simmer water if required. I'll admit that most of my uses have been limited to heating water and making oatmeal and coffee, but more adventurous cooks will be happy with the Whisperlite, especially when the alternative is going stove-less or using a wood or alcohol stove with pitiful heat output. — James StoutPros: Compatible with various types of fuel, excellent longevityCons: Not the lightest stove Buy on REI for $99.95 Buy on Amazon for $99.95 Check out our other great camping gear guides The best tents you can buy for your next adventureWith a good tent, you can always feel at home, even when you're actually miles from civilization and a few thousand feet up in the mountains. TheMountainsmith Morrison EVO 2 Person tentis our top choice for best tent, thanks to its great price, ease of setup, and ability to keep you warm and dry even in bad weather.You should also consider theFlytop Outdoor Backpacking 2 Person Tent, theALPS Mountaineering Tasmanian 3 Person Tent, and theColeman Evanston Screened 6 Person Tent. One of these options will surely suit you and your fellow outdoor enthusiasts.The best camping cookware you can buyA great set of camping cookware brings the comfort of the kitchen to the campsite. TheGear4U Camping Cookware Mess Kitis our top pick because it contains 13 useful items that tuck together into one compact package weighing just 1.3 pounds. Here are all of our favorites:Best overall:GSI Bugaboo Camper CooksetBest low-cost set:MalloMe 10-Piece Cookware Mess KitBest for the solo camper:Stansport 360 Stainless Steel Mess KitBest for boiling water:Terra Hiker Camping Cookware SetThe best backpacking tents you can buySacrificing weight while backpacking is common, but you don't have to sacrifice comfort, too.Ultimately, the type of tent you pick to join you on the long haul depends on the type of trip you intend to take. Short trips can err on the side of a heavier tent while longer, multi-day trips may call for an ultralight option. No matter the scenario, tent makers like Big Agnes, MSR, and even REI have a sea of available options designed specifically to keep you cozy while catching some shut-eye.Here are our top picks for the best backpacking tents:Best tent overall: Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2Best tent for ultralight backpacking: Nemo Hornet 2Best tent for couples: MSR Hubba Hubba NX 2Best tent for 4-season backpackers: The North Face Mountain 25Best budget-friendly tent: REI Co-op Half Dome 2 PlusThe best sleeping bags you can buyA sleeping bag is more than a matter of comfort. In extreme circumstances, having the right sleeping bag can be a matter of life and death. But that's no reason not to find one that's nice and cozy, too.Here are the best sleeping bags you can buy:Best for extreme cold:Mountain Hardware Lamina Z BonfireBest on a budget:Coleman North Rim Extreme WeatherBest for comfort:Teton Sports FahrenheitBest for couples:Sleepingo Double Sleeping BagBest for kids:Kelty Big Dipper 30 Degree Sleeping Bag Subscribe to our newsletter. Find all the best offers at our Coupons page. Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.

2017-01-25

* Italy 10-year hits six-week high on court ruling * Euro zone caught up in broad bond sell off * Trump reflation trades push yields higher * ECB’s Lautenschlaeger comments unnerve market * Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Writes through) By Dhara Ranasinghe and Abhinav Ramnarayan LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Italian government bond yields hit their highest level in more than six weeks on concern over political instability after the Constitutional Court ruled that the voting system was invalid, paving the way for early elections. Lawmakers from Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement on Wednesday called for immediate elections after the ruling. Italy’s 10-year government bond yield ticked up 2 basis points (bps) to 2.11 percent, pushing its gains for the day to 9 bps. The spread over Spanish equivalents was at 56 bps, its widest close since February 2012. Rabobank strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor said it was still unlikely that 5-Star would take power given their support is at about 28 percent in opinion polls. “However, the flip side is that it also means that Italian governments will likely continue to be formed of disparate coalitions and so it will remain difficult to implement reforms,” he said. The yield on Portugal’s 10-year government bond meanwhile hit 4 percent for the first time in two weeks after the ruling, up 15 bps on the day. Investors tend to sell lower-rated “peripheral” euro zone bonds when there are any concerns over the future of the single currency bloc. Snap elections in Italy would add to the list of countries in the bloc going to the polls this year that have put political risk firmly in the spotlight following anti-establishment votes that rocked the U.S. and Britain last year. German yields hit six-week highs on Wednesday, as hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump will push ahead with fiscal spending reignited reinflation bets and an ECB official said the central bank may start planning an exit from its stimulus programme. Euro zone bond markets also faced pressure from new supply, with Germany selling 30-year debt and euro zone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism selling 3.5 billion euros of 30-year bonds. Strong gains in world stocks, fuelled by Trump’s economic policies, dented demand for safe-haven debt. Trump signed two executive orders on Tuesday to move forward with building the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back major Obama administration environmental actions in favour of expanding energy infrastructure. He also met with the heads of U.S. automakers to push for more cars to be built in the United States. “The fact that Trump is taking action, such as the pipeline deals, has raised confidence that he will fulfil other parts of the economic policies he’s flagged,” Credit Agricole European fixed income strategist Orlando Green said. The 10-year Bund yield, the benchmark for borrowing costs in the euro zone, rose 7 bps to 0.40 percent, its highest level in six weeks. French 10-year bond yields climbed to a one-year high at around 0.98 percent, while other euro zone equivalents were 7-10 bps higher on the day. Analysts said debt markets were also unnerved by comments from ECB Executive Board Member Sabine Lautenschlaeger. She said on Tuesday the ECB could start planning an exit from its unprecedented stimulus programme in a rare public discussion about ending the bond-buying scheme. (Editing by Louise Ireland)

2018-05-30 00:00:00

GAZA (Reuters) - The Israel-Gaza border fell quiet on Wednesday under a de facto ceasefire after the most intense flare-up of hostilities between Palestinian militants and Israel since a 2014 war. Militants from Hamas, the dominant group in Gaza, and Islamic Jihad fired dozens of rockets and mortar bombs at southern Israel throughout Tuesday and overnight, to which Israel responded with tank and air strikes on more than 50 targets in the small, coastal enclave. There were no reports of further attacks after Hamas announced early on Wednesday that it would cease fire if Israel did the same. Israel signaled it would halt its strikes if the rocket barrages stopped. But even during the fighting, both sides appeared bent on avoiding wider conflict after weeks of violence along the fenced border. Hamas did not launch long-range rockets at Israel’s heartland, even as salvoes from Gaza interrupted daily life in small Israeli border communities. Israeli forces targeted encampments that appeared to have been vacated in anticipation of attack. No deaths were reported by militant groups or by Israel, which said three of its soldiers were wounded by shrapnel from projectiles. A Palestinian official said Egyptian mediation led to a ceasefire, and terms of the “understanding” did not go beyond “a restoration of calm by both sides”. Hamas had largely abided by an Egyptian-brokered truce that ended the seven-week Gaza war four years ago. In Israeli towns near the frontier, where rocket warning sirens sounded frequently on Tuesday, schools reopened on Wednesday morning. Gaza’s streets were filled with shoppers. Israel stopped short of declaring any formal ceasefire with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which it, along with Western nations, regards as terrorist organizations, but said any resumption of Palestinian attacks would bring a stronger military response. “When they test us they pay immediately and if they continue to test us then they will pay far more,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a memorial service in Tel Aviv. Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israel Radio he understood there was an “indirect agreement with Hamas to end the current round (of fighting).” Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab, acknowledging a ceasefire was in effect, said its success would depend on “whether Israel will refrain from any military escalation against Gaza”. Both Hamas and the pro-Iran Islamic Jihad said they fired their salvoes in response to Israel’s killing of at least 116 Palestinians since March 30 in Gaza border protests. Islamic Jihad had vowed revenge in response to Israeli tank shelling that killed of three of its men on Sunday after explosives were planted along the Gaza frontier fence. Violence along the border escalated in recent weeks. Israel drew international condemnation for its use of deadly force against mass demonstrations by Gaza Palestinians. Palestinians are increasingly frustrated at their prospects for an independent state. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been moribund since April 2014 and Israeli settlements in occupied territories have expanded. By late Tuesday, Israeli aircraft had hit 55 facilities belonging to militant groups in Gaza, including a cross-border tunnel under construction, in response to the Palestinian barrages, the military said. Israel said some 70 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza into its southern territory. Some were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome rocket interceptor system and others landed in empty lots and farmland. One exploded in the yard of a kindergarten before it was due to open. Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Mark Heinrich

2018-09-17 05:45:08

The rising left needs more foreign policy. Here’s how it can start. Mr. Bessner is a historian of American foreign policy. As the insurgent left wing of the Democratic Party captures headlines and wins votes, many of its supporters are coalescing around a growing set of policy priorities: universal health care, higher taxes on the rich, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But when it comes to matters of war and peace and to America’s place in the world, the left is either silent or confused. In the 2016 Democratic presidential primary campaign, Bernie Sanders did not make foreign policy a focus. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently dismissed questions about the Israel-Palestine conflict by claiming she was “not the expert on geopolitics on this issue.” And as other candidates across the United States scramble to get votes from self-declared socialists by, say, supporting single-payer health care, few feel the need to appeal to the left on foreign policy. To be fair, there are good reasons leftists haven’t grappled much with foreign policy. For one, there are few decision makers from whom they can learn: Since the early days of the Cold War, foreign policymaking has been dominated by a bipartisan commitment to militarism and American hegemony; those who depart from the consensus view have largely been kept out of the State Department, the Pentagon and other parts of the government. At the same time, the left itself lacks institutions dedicated to developing foreign policy ideas. While Republicans and moderate Democrats have a host of think tanks pushing interventionism, no corporation or billionaire has yet decided to fund a left-wing foreign policy think tank to which politicians could turn for advice. But if the left wing of the Democratic Party wants to be taken seriously, it must speak convincingly about security and diplomacy. Without core, identifiable beliefs about foreign affairs, left-wing politicians will either embarrass themselves or repeat some version of the tired conventional wisdom. Moreover, there is an opportunity here: Just as many Americans are fed up with the economic status quo, so too are they fed up with business as usual in foreign policy. A foreign policy for the left won’t emerge overnight. A conversation is just starting to take place, and it will continue as more socialists win power and shape American politics. Though a concrete agenda remains a ways off, there are five broad principles that merge the left’s commitment to egalitarianism and democracy with a sober analysis of the limits of American power. Left-wing politics is, at its heart, about giving power to ordinary people. Foreign policy, especially recently, has been about the opposite. Since the 1940s, unelected officials ensconced in bodies like the National Security Council have been the primary makers of foreign policy. This trend has worsened since the Sept. 11 attacks, as Congress has relinquished its oversight role and granted officials in the executive branch and the military carte blanche. Foreign policy elites have been anything but wise and have promoted several of the worst foreign policy blunders in American history, including the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. The left should aim to bring democracy into foreign policy. This means taking some of the power away from the executive and, especially, White House institutions like the National Security Council and returning it to the hands of Congress. In particular, socialist politicians should push to reassert Congress’s long-abdicated role in declaring war, encourage more active oversight of the military and create bodies that make national security information available to the public so that Americans know exactly what their country is doing abroad. The American foreign policy establishment is notoriously forgiving — of itself. Rarely are policymakers held to account when they offer bad advice, such as supporting a disastrous war in Iraq or helping organize torture or assassinations. This amnesia has plagued Democrats and Republicans alike. This unaccountability cannot continue. A system that does not punish poor foreign-policy making is a system doomed to repeat its mistakes. Politicians on the left should make this a core tenet of their approach to foreign policy by promising that when they are elected, they will hold decision makers and advisers professionally accountable. But professional accountability is not enough. The left should demand that those who violated domestic or international law see justice, even if that means prosecuting them. It will enable the left to demonstrate to both the American people and the international community that it is serious about the rule of law. The United States controls roughly 800 military bases in dozens of countries around the world. This is far more than any other power. The United States also spends more on its military than China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, France, Britain and Japan combined. American Special Operations forces were deployed to 149 countries as of last year. Reducing this military footprint, and thus lessening the havoc the United States wreaks abroad, must be a priority for the left. This reduction should be framed as both a foreign policy goal and an issue of domestic justice. It is unconscionable that the United States spends so much on its military while inequality grows and social programs are underfunded. Cutting military spending will also address another priority of the left: corruption. As William Hartung at the Center for International Policy has argued, almost half of the military budget goes to private corporations that squander our tax dollars “on useless overhead, fat executive salaries and startling (yet commonplace) cost overruns on weapons systems and other military hardware that, in the end, won’t even perform as promised.” A less militaristic United States is a more just United States. We can bring our troops home and cut the military budget because the United States doesn’t face any serious external challengers. North Korea, Iran, the Islamic State, Russia and China can’t challenge American sovereignty in the ways Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union once did. While there are admittedly serious global threats, none are existential and none are unmanageable. But for too long, politicians have inflated international threats to justify military adventurism, boost military spending, increase domestic surveillance and campaign on a politics of fear. The left should change that. Candidates and policymakers alike should educate the public about the United States’ relative safety. Such education will encourage a military drawdown, engender a more honest domestic politics and protect Americans’ civil liberties. None of this means the United States should retreat from the world. Rather, America should engage with other countries through peaceful diplomacy. An important first step would be to embrace international treaties and institutions endorsed by most nations, like the Paris Agreement on climate change and the International Criminal Court. Moreover, policymakers should urge disarmament talks with all major powers and reinstate the Iran nuclear deal. The left should also commit itself to reducing global economic inequality by reordering the hierarchical relationships that benefit rich countries over poor ones. For example, the left should not allow American-led corporations to use underpaid and abused workers to produce inexpensive products. Policymakers should also prevent the wealthy from avoiding taxation by working with foreign countries to shutter tax havens. Finally, the left should take human rights seriously. In particular, left-wing foreign-policy makers should pressure allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel to stop committing human rights abuses by withholding arms transfers and other forms of assistance. A democratic socialist left is shaping the conversation in American politics right now. This makes it necessary for left-wing politicians to think beyond bread-and-butter issues and to develop new ways of approaching the United States’ world role. An explicit program may not yet exist, but the five principles discussed above can serve as the base upon which future leaders can build a left-wing foreign policy that ushers in a more just and peaceful era. Daniel Bessner (@dbessner) is an assistant professor in American foreign policy at the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the author of “Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual.” Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTOpinion).

2016-08-30 00:00:00

(CNN)A record 6,908 refugees and migrants were plucked from flimsy inflatable dinghies and wooden fishing boats on the central Mediterranean Sea during a 30-hour period starting Monday. Almost the same number -- 6,600 -- did not make it to safety during the last 12 months. From August 2015 through this month, those thousands drowned or went missing after their boats capsized while trying to reach Europe, according to a count kept by the International Organization for Migration. The people crossing the central Mediterranean mainly come from African nations, many of them landlocked like Mali, Niger or Ethiopia. Others hail from remote interior villages in Sudan and Nigeria. For some, the Italian Coast Guard or private operations like the Migrant Offshore Aid Station become their rescuers. For others, their first glimpse of the sea becomes their last.

2017-09-25

Sept 25 (Reuters) - La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co * La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company announces intent to submit Marketing Authorization Application for LJPC-501 in the third quarter of 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:

2018-03-06 00:00:00

March 6 (Reuters) - Align Technology Inc: * ALIGN TECHNOLOGY SAYS ‍IN CONNECTION WITH DALLAS'S APPOINTMENT, BOARD INCREASED SIZE OF BOARD FROM NINE TO TEN DIRECTORS - SEC FILING​ Source text: (bit.ly/2FtdfpG) Further company coverage:

2017-12-04 00:00:00

MONTREAL/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Aeromexico (AEROMEX.MX) has held preliminary talks to take some Bombardier (BBDb.TO) CSeries jets orders from Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N), which owns a stake in the Mexican carrier, to avoid possible U.S. trade duties levied on the planes, two sources familiar with the matter said. Mexico’s largest carrier, 49-percent owned by Delta, is considering taking an unknown number of the 75 CSeries planes ordered by Delta in 2016, one of the sources said. Delta’s CSeries deliveries, scheduled to begin in spring 2018, face a possible 300 percent U.S. duty stemming from a trade dispute with Boeing Co (BA.N). In October, Bombardier gave a controlling stake in the CSeries program to Airbus SE (AIR.PA), which would enable assembly in the United States in a move it says will help bypass potential import duties. Under the proposed Aeromexico deal, the single-aisle jets would be sold to Aeromexico and fly under the banner of the Mexican carrier which would not have to pay a U.S. duty, one of the sources added. “It’s not a way for Aeromexico to fly for Delta,” the same source said. “But it keeps the planes within the Delta family.” Aeromexico is now reviewing its fleet, a third source said, which is composed of Boeing and Brazil’s Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) jets. The carrier received a presentation about the 110-to-130 seat CSeries last week, and is expected to receive another from Bombardier’s Brazilian rival, the source said. Sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks are confidential. They cautioned that no final decision has been made and Aeromexico could still buy planes from Embraer. Embraer and Bombardier both declined to comment. Aeromexico referred questions to Delta. Delta did not comment on any specific deal, but spokesman Morgan Durrant referred to recent remarks by the company’s CEO who said the carrier would not pay any duties, but still intended to “take the aircraft.” An Aeromexico deal would offer a short-term solution to Bombardier and Delta in the trade dispute. A U.S. trade agency is expected to decide in early 2018 on Boeing’s complaint that the Canadian company benefited unfairly from subsidies and dumped the 110- to 130-seat CSeries jets in the U.S. market below cost. The case has fueled trade tensions between Canada and the United States and comes as the two countries, along with Mexico, are engaged in tense negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Bombardier has said it would assemble the CSeries jets destined for U.S. airlines at Airbus’ Alabama plant, which the two companies say would exempt them from duties. Boeing has countered that the CSeries should still be subject to duties, even if the planes are assembled in the United States. Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Christine Murray in Mexico City; Editing by Denny Thomas and Lisa Shumaker

2018-04-13

Federal prosecutors asked a U.S. District Court judge on Friday to deny a request from President Donald Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, that would give his attorneys veto power over what materials seized from Cohen by the FBI could be used by prosecutors. The prosecutorial filing called Cohen's proposal "extraordinary" and "unprecedented," and contended that Cohen's request for a temporary restraining order was intended "to delay the case" and deprive the prosecutors in the case from viewing the evidence. The prosecutors also hinted that "the crimes being investigated involve acts of concealment by Cohen" which prompted the U.S. attorney's office to seek and obtain the search warrants. Lawyers for Cohen did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the filing. The filing also offered new information about the "months-long investigation into Cohen" that led to the aggressive searches Monday morning. The prosecutors said in the filing that Cohen's residence, hotel room, office, safety deposit box and electronic devices were all searched by FBI agents on Monday. Each of the searches were approved in separate affidavits and "seek evidence of crimes, many of which have nothing to do with his work as an attorney, but rather relate to Cohen's own business dealings." Since the "overwhelming majority" of the evidence seized in the raids relates to Cohen's business work, the prosecutors argued that most of it would not be covered by attorney-client privilege. Trump had earlier sounded off on the raids in a Twitter message Monday, saying "Attorney-client privilege is dead!" But the prosecutors say they have already conducted searches of Cohen's email accounts, "covert until this point," which they say "indicate that Cohen is in fact performing little to no legal work, and that zero emails were exchanged with President Trump." This line of attack extends to a law firm from which Cohen received a $500,000 "strategic alliance fee" each year. "Based upon conversations with a representative of the law firm," the attorneys said they found that: "(1) Cohen did not have an email address associated with the firm; (2) Cohen did not have access to the firm's shared drives or document systems—and vice versa; (3) Cohen's documents were to be kept in a locked filing cabinet; and (4) Cohen did not have access to any of the firm's client files." Counsel for the Trump Organization told the prosecutors that it considers "each and every communication by, between or amongst" Cohen, the organization and its employees to be protected by attorney-client privilege. The U.S. attorneys called that claim "inaccurate and/or overbroad." They also asked the judge, Kimba Wood, to deny Cohen's request to appoint a so-called special master, instead of a "taint team" of separate federal lawyers, to review whether the seized material is protected by attorney-client privilege. "Appointment of a special master," the U.S. attorneys say, would "run the risk of creating significant delay in an ongoing criminal investigation." The prosecutors concluded by attacking the precedent Cohen's argument would set if enacted: The filing disputed Cohen's initial claims that "thousands" of documents potentially subject to attorney-client privilege were taken during the raids. Wood asked Cohen's lawyer, Todd Harrison, about the claim in the Friday court hearing. Harrison was unable to provide evidence for Cohen's claim. "I don't know the exact number," Harrison said. "It might be less than a thousand." Cohen could not back up his claim either, because he was not there. Harrison also had trouble producing a list of Cohen's clients requested by the judge. Wood, clearly irritated by Harrison's answers, ordered that Cohen attend the hearing when it reconvenes on Monday. While Cohen was a no-show at court, The New York Times reported that he did have a phone conversation with Trump on Friday. Two sources familiar with the call told the Times that Trump called to "check in" with Cohen. Michael Avenatti, attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, who is suing both men to void a nondisclosure deal barring her from discussing an alleged affair with Trump, said the reported phone call was "highly problematic" in an interview with CNBC. Avenatti said he didn't believe the conversation would be protected by attorney-client privilege. As Cohen's corruption investigation moves forward, Trump's advisors have concluded that the case now poses a greater threat to the president than special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into links between the Trump campaign and Russia, several people close to Trump told the New York Times on Friday. The newspaper reported that Trump struggled to hire a criminal defense attorney to represent him in the case. Indeed, Trump's lawyer in the Cohen case, Joanna Hendon, was retained by Trump only on Wednesday evening — more than two days after the raids occurred. The New York prosecutors have already sought more information about Cohen's connection to the Trump campaign, the Times reported. Specifically, prosecutors asked for all communications with former Trump advisors Corey Lewandowski and Hope Hicks, two people briefed on the warrants told the Times. Trump and Cohen's lawyers, caught off guard by the raids, fear that Cohen may not be transparent about the contents of the seized documents, according to the newspaper.

2017-08-12

Former President Obama tweeted a Nelson Mandela quote condemning racism just hours after a white supremacist rally in Virginia turned deadly. "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." Obama tweeted, featuring a photo of him talking to small children of different ethnicities through a window.  "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion..." pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm The quote comes from Mandela's 1994 inaugural address, when he became the first black president of South Africa. Obama’s message was in response to a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. A car plowed into a crowd of anti-fascism protestors, killing one person and leaving more than a dozen others injured. Two Virginia State police officers were also killed when their helicopter crashed, which authorities linked to the rally. President Trump condemned the violence at the rally but refused to single out white supremacists in his comments, drawing fire from GOP senators who demanded he call the event a terror attack. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides," Trump said at a press conference form his New Jersey golf course. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2020-02-13 00:00:00

AMMAN (Reuters) - More than 800,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled their homes during a Russian-backed Syrian military campaign to clear the opposition in northwest Syria since Dec. 1, a senior U.N. spokesperson said on Thursday. The exodus is expected to continue, with thousands of people on the move as whole towns and communities flee to the safety of areas near the Turkish border, David Swanson told Reuters. “Tragically, the number of people displaced – the vast majority of them women and children – has now surpassed 800,000,” Swanson said. Russian jets and Syrian artillery have pounded towns and villages since early December in a renewed assault backed by pro-Iranian militias and aimed at clearing the opposition. “Residents are fleeing by the thousands in open trucks or by foot; often at night to escape detection despite the bitter cold temperatures,” Swanson, the U.N. regional spokesman for Syria, told Reuters. U.N. officials say the region is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Those on the run in Idlib and adjoining Aleppo province are joining close to 400,000 people who fled earlier bouts of fighting to the safety of camps near the Turkish border. The latest offensive has brought the military campaign closer to heavily populated northern Idlib along the border, where nearly 3 million people are trapped, according to the United Nations. Families fleeing air strikes and advancing troops in Idlib province are sleeping rough in streets and olive groves, and burning toxic bundles of rubbish to stay warm in the biting winter weather, aid workers say. Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Catherine Evans and Frances Kerry

2016-02-22

Gmail was practically founded on the principle of never having to delete an email again. But the service has been kicking around since 2004, and all of those old newsletters, chain emails, and special deals aren’t doing much except counting against your Google account’s 15 GB storage capacity. Fortunately, a quick search is all it takes to identify messages worth deleting.Enter before:2014/21/31 (or any other date you like in the yyyy/mm/dd format) in the search box to see emails that arrived before 2015, for example. To get rid of them all, tick the select all box (top left), choose Select all conversations and then click the Delete button—all your forgotten Facebook alerts, work missives, and birthday invites are gone for good.Not only can you free up some space in your Gmail account, but future searches should also run faster and contain results that are much more recent and relevant. The search operator older_than: works as well—just add 1y, 2m, 3d or whatever value you want to get the relevant number of years, months or days.Adapting your searchSome of you might get a little nervous at such a permanent course of action—and maybe there are genuinely useful emails from the past you want to hang on to. By modifying the search you can filter out the messages that really are serving no useful purpose, particularly if you’ve carefully labelled incoming emails since you first logged into Gmail.Add label:xxx to the search to identify emails matching a particular label, for example, or category:social to bring up messages Gmail itself has highlighted as from social networks. (You don’t want to keep all those Twitter newsletters do you?) Switch social to updates and you get a list of the less-important automated emails identified by Google’s bots.A full list of advanced operators can also be found here. Admittedly not everyone is going to want to trash older messages in bulk, but for those that do—particularly people who don’t use Gmail as their primary email account—keeping your inbox trimmed down to messages from the last year, month, or week isn’t difficult.Image: Alexey Boldin / Shutterstock.com

2017-08-28

Aug 28 (Reuters) - Fragrance Group Ltd- * ‍acquired townhouse hotel located at 101 portland street, united kingdom for gbp 12.5 million​ * Hotel is expected to contribute positively to group’s results for current financial year ending 31 december 2017. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:

2020-03-03 00:00:00

March 3 (Reuters) - CHF Solutions Inc: * CHF SOLUTIONS, INC. ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS AND PROVIDES COMPANY UPDATE * ENDED YEAR WITH $1.3 MILLION IN CASH AND NO DEBT Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:

2017-08-17 14:14:00

"Awww, wassup Late Night," Tyler Hubbard said on yesterday's Late Night with Seth Myers. "Y'all ready to get your dance on?" This is not a question. I assume that the audience got its dance on. "This is great, seriously, you should all buy some," Tyler Hubbard told Seth Myers as he, his bandmate Brian "BK" Kelley, and the Late Night host sipped whiksey drinks. It was Old Camp Whiskey, the band's own brand. It was peach-pecan flavor. "Our fanbase is pretty diverse," Tyler Hubbard told the Late Night audience, either lying or referring to the split between Kasich voters, Cruz voters, and Trump voters in the band's base. Brian Kelley owns a treehouse just outside of Nashville. Tyler Hubbard goes there too. Alex Robert Ross needs to question so many of his life choices. Follow him on Twitter.

2017-08-24 16:20:00

The next time you use your phone to Google "depression," you may be prompted to answer a questionnaire to analyze your depression. It's a new feature that Google has developed in partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, to offer a lending hand to those who may be suffering from mental health problems. According to a blog post on Google, users will have the option to be taken to PHQ-9, a clinically-validated screening test that helps to determine a person's likely level of depression. As Mary Giliberti, CEO of NAMI, wrote in the blog post, 1 in 5 Americans experiences an episode of clinical depression in their lifetimes, but only about half of those who suffer seek help. "To help raise awareness of this condition, we’ve teamed up with Google to help provide more direct access to tools and information to people who may be suffering," she wrote. Though the questionnaire can't replace a diagnosis from a real doctor, it can help you determine your need for evaluation and help you have a more informed conversation with your doctor. The self-assessment is private and is meant to steer people towards getting treatment. "Statistics show that those who have symptoms of depression experience an average of a 6-8 year delay in getting treatment after the onset of symptoms," Giliberti wrote. "We believe that awareness of depression can help empower and educate you, enabling quicker access to treatment." By making the questionnaire more readily available on Google, NAMI hopes that it will encourage people to find help when they need it. If you are experiencing depression and need support, please call the National Depressive/Manic-Depressive Association Hotline at 1-800-826-3632 or the Crisis Call Center’s 24-hour hotline at 1-775-784-8090. Read these stories next: These 8 Free Apps Will Help You Manage Your Mental Health This Woman's Viral Photo Shows The Reality Of Depression The Depression Problem No One Talks About

2017-07-17

July 17 (Reuters) - Ocean Rig UDW Inc: * Ocean Rig UDW Inc - Lundin Norway as has declared their third option to extend existing contract of Leiv Eiriksson * Ocean Rig UDW Inc - in addition, co has granted Lundin 2 additional options to drill further wells in future * Ocean Rig UDW Inc - should Lundin exercise its additional seven one-well options, currently un-declared, rig could be employed until Q1 of 2019 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:

2018-05-02 00:00:00

Technically speaking, Cambridge Analytica, the scandal-ridden data analytics company that harvested the user data of up to 87 million Facebook users, is closing up shop, effective immediately. The company stands accused of taking Facebook data without users’ permission and using it to create what it called “psychographic profiles” of voters, who were then targeted with Trump campaign ads. As the scandal erupted, video of the company’s CEO, Alexander Nix, bragging about winning the election for Trump was leaked. Nix was put on leave in March, and now the whole company is shutting down — at least on paper. Though the company is now in bankruptcy, the right-wing Mercer family, which backed it, is reportedly plowing ahead in the data business under a new company called Emerdata, which will operate out of the U.K. An executive told Channel 4 News that Emerdata was founded in 2017 to bring Cambridge Analytica and its British affiliate, SCL Group, together under one corporate banner. Nix and Mercer’s daughters Rebekah and Jennifer, are reportedly involved. Still, the end of Cambridge Analytica was not without drama. In a press release dripping with condescension announcing the company’s “insolvency,” executives maintained that Cambridge Analytica did nothing wrong. “Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations and, despite the Company’s efforts to correct the record, has been vilified for activities that are not only legal but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas,” the company said. Technically speaking, Cambridge Analytica, the scandal-ridden data analytics company that harvested the user data of up to 87 million Facebook users, is closing up shop, effective immediately. The company stands accused of taking Facebook data without users’ permission and using it to create what it called “psychographic profiles” of voters, who were then targeted with Trump campaign ads. As the scandal erupted, video of the company’s CEO, Alexander Nix, bragging about winning the election for Trump was leaked. Nix was put on leave in March, and now the whole company is shutting down — at least on paper. Though the company is now in bankruptcy, the right-wing Mercer family, which backed it, is reportedly plowing ahead in the data business under a new company called Emerdata, which will operate out of the U.K. An executive told Channel 4 News that Emerdata was founded in 2017 to bring Cambridge Analytica and its British affiliate, SCL Group, together under one corporate banner. Nix and Mercer’s daughters Rebekah and Jennifer, are reportedly involved. Still, the end of Cambridge Analytica was not without drama. In a press release dripping with condescension announcing the company’s “insolvency,” executives maintained that Cambridge Analytica did nothing wrong. “Over the past several months, Cambridge Analytica has been the subject of numerous unfounded accusations and, despite the Company’s efforts to correct the record, has been vilified for activities that are not only legal but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas,” the company said. “The siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the Company’s customers and suppliers.” Wednesday marked the last day at work for all Cambridge Analytica employees, and they’ve already been asked to turn over their laptops, according to the Wall Street Journal. The analytics company — backed to the tune of $15 million by conservative megadonor Robert Mercer, who helped found the company alongside former Trump adviser Steve Bannon — claimed privately to have won Donald Trump the 2016 presidential election using the information it harvested from Facebook. But their celebrations came to a crashing halt after a 28-year-old leaker, Chris Wylie, blew the whistle on the company after he learned data had been stolen from 50 million Facebook users. (Facebook later revealed that up to 87 million user profiles could have been compromised.) “When you think about the fact that Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million votes but won the Electoral College vote, that's down to the data and the research," Nix said in the secretly taped video that ultimately cost him his job. Though there’s no doubt that the company was well-funded and braggadocious about their role in the election, experts have questioned how effective even well-targeted political advertising is on Facebook. And despite Nix’s bragging, the Trump campaign spent relatively little on the his company’s tools. Of the $325 million Trump spent running for president, only $5.9 million went to Cambridge Analytica.

2017-05-10

May 10 (Reuters) - Hardwoods Distribution Inc * Hardwoods announces record first quarter 2017 results * Q1 revenue, including rugby, increased 63.3% year-over-year to $257.1 million * Qtrly earnings per share $0.37 * Hardwoods views trump administration tax proposals as generally good for us-based businesses * Anticipates continued modest organic growth in 2017, supported by solid market fundamentals * Hardwoods distribution-while about 11% of sales currently affected by antidumping trade case, dont expect to have significant,long-term impact on business Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Bengaluru Newsroom)

2016-06-29

Happy birthday, America’s Interstate Highway System! We wish we could say you look good for 60 years old, but real talk: You do not. Sure, you’ve grown—when President Eisenhower authorized you in 1956, you were just a glimmer of asphalt. Look at you now! Fully 47,662 miles of roads, bridges, ramps, and curves, the meshwork that defined American post-war expansion and exceptionalism. But, dude, you're floundering. The Department of Transportation estimates that by 2030, you might have an annual $86 billion funding gap—and that's just to keep your flabby highways and bridges functioning. Actually improving the darn things could cost up $150 billion per year. Technology can only take you so far.

2019-01-07

Financial services companies have moved assets worth $1 trillion from the U.K. to the rest of Europe since the Brexit referendum, a new study from audit firm EY estimates. In a report published Monday, the consultancy said its "Brexit Tracker" estimated financial services firms had moved almost £800 billion ($1.02 trillion) out of Britain since the 2016 vote. However, EY acknowledged that this was a "conservative" amount in relation to the size of the U.K.'s financial sector. "This number is still modest given total assets of the U.K. banking sector alone is estimated to be almost £8 trillion, but may become larger as we move towards Brexit," the research said. The study tracked announcements from 222 companies in the sector — 20 of which had publicly declared intentions to move operations, staff members and other assets. Omar Ali, U.K. financial services leader at EY, said the number could grow as the risk of a no-deal Brexit heightened. "We know that behind the scenes firms are continuing to plan for a 'no deal' scenario. The closer we get to 29 March without a deal, the more assets will be transferred, and headcount hired locally or relocated," he said. "Inevitably, the contingency plans are for day one only, and in the event of 'no deal' will represent the tip of the iceberg as longer-term plans will be more strategic and extensive than those publicly announced to date." More than a third of firms included in the report said they were either considering or had already confirmed relocating operations or staff to the rest of Europe. That number rose to almost 50 percent when the industry was narrowed down to universal and investment banks, wealth and asset managers, and the insurance sector. Thirty percent of the companies EY followed had confirmed at least one European location where they would either move operations or add employees. Dublin, Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg were the locations gaining the most popularity. According to EY, more than 7,000 financial services jobs stood to be transferred from London to Europe, with around 2,000 new jobs set to be hired in European financial hubs over the U.K. capital. In October, a report from industry body The City UK said 2.3 million people were employed in Britain's financial services industry, with two-thirds of those jobs outside of London. "Deal or no deal, financial services companies' main priority is to protect their customers and investors from any post-Brexit fall-out and operational decisions are following a 'prepare for the worst, hope for the best' strategy," Ali added. "Whilst roles will no doubt move from the U.K., many firms are only moving those employees deemed essential and are hiring locally given the expense of relocation." In November, German business group Frankfurt Main Finance (FMF) released figures claiming assets worth 800 billion euros were being moved out of London. Managing Director Hubertus Vath told CNBC via email that EY's figures were in line with FMF's expectations, adding that the group was "convinced the number could nearly double within this year."

2019-01-27

Washington (CNN)Roger Stone said Sunday he would tell the truth about his communications with President Donald Trump and did not shut the door on the possibility of cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller. Asked on ABC's "This Week" about the chances he would cooperate with Mueller, Stone said his attorneys would need to discuss the subject but contended he would testify honestly about any wrongdoing that may have occurred. "If there's wrongdoing by other people in the campaign that I know about -- which I know of none -- but, if there is, I would certainly testify honestly," Stone said. "I would also testify honestly about any other matter, including any communications with the President. It's true that we spoke on the phone, but those communications are political in nature." Stone was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury in Washington on seven counts and was arrested on Friday morning in Florida. Mueller alleged in the indictment that Stone sought stolen emails from WikiLeaks in coordination with Trump campaign officials. Stone said Friday afternoon that he would plead not guilty and would not "bear false witness against the President." Asked then if he was cooperating with the special counsel, Stone said, "I don't want to address that question, but I have made it clear I will not testify against the President, because I would have to bear false witness against him." In Sunday's interview, Stone echoed Trump in his attacks on the special counsel investigation and denied any "conspiracy with Russia." Stone also said Trump had never suggested pardoning him. "I have never discussed a pardon," Stone said. "The only person that I have advocated a pardon for, as we have discussed previously, is a posthumous pardon for Marcus Garvey." CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.

2017-08-04 19:55:00

This article originally appeared on TIME.com. “Despacito” does it again. This time, the Spanish-language song from Luis Fonsi, featuring reggaeton king Daddy Yankee, has finally taken the crown as the most-watched video on YouTube. (Last month, it nabbed the title as most-streamed song of all time, with more than 4.6 billion streams on combined platforms.) On Friday, “Despacito” beat out Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s Fast and Furious anthem “See You Again” for the top spot with nearly 3 billion views; at its current rate, it should reach that new milestone shortly. “See You Again” had a brief reign, having taken over from the long-time favorite “Gangnam Style” just last month. In a video message sent to TIME, Daddy Yankee honored the record-breaking success of the inescapable track on the video platform. “Thank you YouTube for ‘Despacito”s success. I recognize the influence that the platform has,” he said. “The music industry has changed. The rules of music have changed. And YouTube has a big responsibility, and I recognize it. Breaking a record is overwhelming, and I’m happy to keep inspiring others to do the same,” he added, speaking from Puerto Rico. While some Americans may be more familiar with the Justin Bieber remix of the track, the original still reigns supreme in streaming and on YouTube. The music video was first posted to the platform in January 2017, and has enjoyed steady popularity ever since. The steamy, dance-filled music video takes place in Puerto Rico, the original home of both Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. The song, meanwhile, is now in its twelfth week at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. This also adds to Daddy Yankee’s own records as an artist. He currently ranks as the most-listened artist globally on Spotify, having recently surpassed Ed Sheeran.

2020-03-16 21:53:00

"I do not believe in the type of marketing that makes a woman not feel amazing in her own skin,” Adi Arezzini, CEO of "detox" tea company Teami Blend told The Independent last fall. “Personally, I am not a stick skinny woman and I do not promote that in our marketing.” That may be true, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a few other problems with Teami's marketing efforts, mostly that the company made "deceptive health claims"—including suggesting that its teas could help customers lose weight, fight cancer, "unclog arteries," decrease migraines, and prevent colds and flus—and that some of its celebrity endorsers did not appropriately disclose that they were being compensated to promote Teami on their Instagram accounts. The FTC says that it sent a warning letter to Teami in April 2018, one that required all of the company's Instagram endorsers to clearly disclose that they were being paid to promote the company without hiding that info behind the 'click here for more' parts of their photo captions. Teami seems to have shrugged off that warning, so the FTC followed up with a formal complaint and a proposed court order, one that imposed a $15.2 million judgment against the company. (That number represents the total sales of the products in question). According to a statement from the FTC, the judgment will be suspended upon payment of $1 million—because Teami doesn't seem to have enough cash to pay the full amount. “Social media is full of people peddling so-called detox teas, promising weight loss,” Andrew Smith, the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “Companies need to back up health claims with credible science and ensure influencers prominently disclose that they’re getting paid to promote a product." The 10 influencers who were named in the FTC complaint included Cardi B and former American Idol star Jordin Sparks, along with Adrienne Bailon, Katya Elise Henry, Jenicka Lopez, Princess Mae, Leyla Milani-Khoshbin, Darnell Nicole, Alexa PenaVega, and Brittany Renner. They also each received a sternly worded letter from the FTC which said, in part, that going forward, they had to "make obvious [their] financial or other relationship with the brand by clearly and conspicuously disclosing any material connection in the same post that [they] make the endorsement." It also clarified that "clearly and conspicuously" meant that those disclosures couldn't be tucked behind the "More" section of their Insta-captions. "Influencers should be on notice," FTC commissioner Noah Phillips echoed after the settlement was announced. "If you have a brand affiliation, you must clearly and conspicuously disclose material connections to the brand." Or maybe we could all just agree that "detox teas" are scams, and stop patronizing companies that suggest otherwise? Just a thought.

2018-11-23 18:17:07

Don’t worry, it’s not a Confundus Charm, but the new movie “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” can still be confusing even for the most learned of Harry Potter fans. Some of this is apparently by design: It seems the author and screenwriter J.K. Rowling is trying a retcon, reshaping the original Potter lore with new details. But the canon is still key, and more than any previous Potter film, this sequel to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” requires you to have read — and retained! — information from all of the books and fake textbooks, too. Here’s a crash course to help you make sense of the movie’s big twist. (Spoiler alert: Events in the movie’s finale will be discussed.) [Read our review of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”] A large part of the message of Harry Potter’s story was that there was much more to life than having a “pure” bloodline. Hermione, after all, was the best witch of her age despite having been born into a Muggle family. But in “Crimes of Grindelwald,” we’re contending with another generation of pure-blood fanatics, and so surnames and family trees are of concern once again. At the core of the story, revealed at the end, are the Dumbledores. Up until now, we’ve been told that Albus (here played by Jude Law) had two siblings, Aberforth and Ariana. Aberforth became the barman at the Hog’s Head, and didn’t seem to marry or have children, content with his goats. Ariana, however, had a more tragic history that’s only briefly referenced in the films. Long story short: When Ariana was 6, she was attacked by three Muggle boys after they spotted her doing some magic she couldn’t control. Aberforth told Ron and Hermione in the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” book that the attack “destroyed” Ariana: “She was never right again. She wouldn’t use magic, but she couldn’t get rid of it: it turned inwards and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn’t control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly she was sweet, and scared, and harmless.” (Hmm. Could there be an Obscurus at work here?) The Dumbledores’ father, Percival, sought revenge against the Muggle boys and was locked up in Azkaban for attacking them. Ariana was subsequently kept under a form of house arrest — prevented from attending Hogwarts and only allowed out at night. When she was just 14, she accidentally killed her mother, Kendra, in an explosion of uncontrolled magic. This left young Albus angry and bitter about having to take care of both “a damaged sister and a wayward brother,” as he later told Harry — and ripe for the influence of a friend eager to explore his newly discovered dark side. When Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp in the movies) was expelled from the wizarding school Durmstrang, he went to stay with a great-aunt in Godric’s Hollow and there became fast friends with Albus. Possibly more than friends. Together, the two young men dreamed of finding the Deathly Hallows (the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility), possession of which would make a witch or wizard the master of death. To demonstrate how different these two were: Albus hoped to resurrect loved ones, while Gellert wanted to create an army of the undead. They also wanted to put an end to the International Statute of Secrecy and make Muggles subservient to wizards. Learning of this, Aberforth was disgusted. He confronted Albus and reminded him that he couldn’t lead a wizarding revolution and take care of Ariana at the same time. Gellert, annoyed, used the agonizing Cruciatus Curse on Aberforth. In defending his brother, Albus set off a three-way duel with Aberforth and Gellert, but as the curses went flying among them, Ariana was hit with a mortal one and died. Something to keep in mind here: If Gellert and Albus had a blood pact that prevented them from hurting one another, that could be why Ariana died — and why Albus now needs to break the pact with Gellert before confronting him again. Gellert fled Godric’s Hollow before Ariana’s funeral, and continued pursuing the Deathly Hallows and his plan to lead a revolution on his own. With a slogan coined by Albus (“For the Greater Good”) and a stolen Elder Wand, Gellert started to accumulate followers — and commit mass murder. Seeking another weapon that could help him destroy Dumbledore — the Obscurus, a parasite that arises from suppressed magical powers and expresses itself with a dark, destructive force — is what led him to New York, and to Credence. Guilt over Ariana’s death tortured Albus until the end. We learn from the books and Rowling’s remarks that his Boggart, representing his deepest fear, was her corpse. His greatest desire, reflected in the Mirror of Erised, was his family intact and alive. (Striking a new note, “The Crimes of Grindelwald” offers another desire: a reunion with the now-estranged Gellert.) The despair that Albus felt when drinking that enchanted potion in the cave on the day of his death was caused by his guilt over Ariana. And something else: The reason he put on the cursed ring with the Resurrection Stone also stemmed from his desire to see Ariana again. This regret — so far largely unexplored in the films — may be the fuel for the story now. If Gellert Grindelwald is telling the truth in the “Fantastic Beasts” sequel — that the orphaned wizard Credence Barebone (played by Ezra Miller) is indeed a Dumbledore — a couple of new possibilities arise. Perhaps Albus’s Aunt Honoria (mentioned in “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,” Rowling’s book of wizard fairy tales) had children. Perhaps Rowling is changing Ariana’s age (as she did Minerva McGonagall’s), which makes it possible that the attack on Ariana was a rape and that Ariana had gotten pregnant and passed along an Obscurus. The child being a product of rape would explain his adoption, as well as the prophecy that speaks of a “son cruelly banished” and “despair of the daughter.” Otherwise, it seem distinctly odd that Gellert would know about an extra Dumbledore when the Dumbledores themselves were unaware of any such thing. Plot hole, reparo! An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a mirror that showed Albus his greatest desire. It is the Mirror of Erised, not of Esired.

2017-08-24 00:01:40

Silicon Valley venture firm Social Capital plans to help startups go public without the dreaded IPO process. And it’s something different from what Spotify is doing. Social Capital is creating a shell company known as a “SPAC” that exists solely to merge with a startup. These types of transactions are not rare outside of the venture world but have little precedent with tech startups. According to the prospectus, the holding company known as Hedosophia has been formed to make it easier for startups to trade on the stock market. It is raising $500 million by selling shares to investors. “The traditional technology company IPO process, which has been largely unchanged for decades, has also acted as a driving force to deter private company management teams and their pre-IPO stakeholders from pursuing IPOs,” reads the filing. “We believe management distraction, a sub-optimal price discovery mechanism and the resultant longer-term aftermarket impact have discouraged private technology companies from pursuing IPOs.” In other words, this will help startups avoid bankers. Known as “underwriters,” the big banks often mess up in recommending the right debut price. They also charge significant fees and find investors, who may or may not be interested in holding the stock for the long-run. Recent venture-backed IPOs like Snap and Blue Apron have faced significant backlash and even lawsuits for falling from the IPO price. Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya will act as CEO and chairman for the project. He’ll also be joined by former Twitter COO Adam Bain, who is on the board. Social Capital declined to comment.

2020-01-03 00:00:00

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Friday it will accept public comments until Feb. 3 on its determination that China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp pose national security risks. In November, the FCC voted unanimously to bar U.S. rural wireless providers from tapping an $8.5 billion government fund to purchase Huawei or ZTE telecommunications equipment. Last month, Huawei filed a petition with the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court in New Orleans challenging the FCC decision. The FCC will review public comments before finalizing the designations. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Richard Chang

2019-05-16

Photo: GettyThere’s plenty of evidence indicating that facial recognition tech is far from serving as a fair and accurate identification tool but because the sector is mostly lawless, this technology is easily weaponized. And according to a new report, in the hands of many cops, it is being used in profoundly dumb and irresponsible ways.A report from The Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law Center published on Thursday details a number of ways in which law enforcement agencies are taking their own creative liberties when it comes to photos being fed into facial recognition databases, furthering the likelihood of an inaccurate and unjust arrest. An NYPD presentation detailing suggested methods for using facial recognition was unearthed in the report. It described some unnerving ways of getting creative with the technology that have actually worked but did not detail any cases or approaches that have failed. One example detailed in the report is that detectives from an organization that runs facial recognition searches for the NYPD used an image of actor Woody Harrelson from a Google image search to run through the system because the suspect looked like him. When the algorithm detected a match in the system to the photo of Harrelson, investigating officers used that to find a suspect (not Harrelson). This same organization that works with the NYPD, Facial Identification Section (FIS), also used a photo of a New York Knicks player that looked like the doppelganger for an assault suspect.The report also states that at least six police departments in the country are running forensic sketches through facial recognition systems. So, rather than cross-check someone in the system with a photograph taken of a suspect’s face, they are trying to find matches based on semi-realistic drawings or computer mock-ups. And these aren’t generated based on actual photographs, they are created based on what an eyewitness remembers, which is not a particularly reliable account. Aside from using celebrity doppelganger’s photos and sketches, cops are also reportedly editing photos before feeding them to the algorithm. For example, according to the report, the NYPD has replaced entire facial features with ones they found on Google image search—like switching out an open mouth with an image of lips found on the internet or closed eyes with open ones found online. Detectives have also combined two different people’s faces that look alike into one (think “what would our nonexistent child look like?”) in order to find one of the included people. They’ve also used both the Blur effect and the Clone Stamp Tool to augment photos before searching it through the system. Sergeant Jessica McRorie, a Deputy Commissioner Public Information spokesperson, didn’t deny in an email to Gizmodo the claims that the NYPD used doppelgänger photos for its facial recognition system to identify a suspect, as well as replaced facial features in some suspect photos with features found on Google Image search. She did characterize facial recognition as “merely a lead” and stated that “it is not a positive identification and it is not probable cause to arrest,” but did not state whether the department had an explicit regulation prohibiting officers from using it as a positive ID, rather than just an assist. “No one has ever been arrested on the basis of a facial recognition match alone,” McRorie said. “As with any lead, further investigation is always needed to develop probable cause to arrest.” She continued:The NYPD has been deliberate and responsible in its use of facial recognition technology. We compare images from crime scenes to arrest photos in law enforcement records. We do not engage in mass or random collection of facial records from NYPD camera systems, the internet, or social media. In each case, whether it is to identify a lost or missing person or the perpetrator of a violent crime, facial recognition analysis starts with a specific image that is compared to other specific images to develop a possible lead. That lead will need to be investigated by detectives to develop evidence that will verify or discount it.The NYPD’s use of facial recognition has generated leads that have ultimately led to the recent arrest of one man for throwing urine at MTA conductors, and another for pushing a subway passenger onto the tracks. The leads generated have also led to arrests for homicides, rapes and robberies. The NYPD has also used facial recognition for non-criminal investigations, for example a woman hospitalized with Alzheimer’s was identified through an old arrest photo for driving without a license.The NYPD constantly reassesses our existing procedures and in line with that are in the process of reviewing our existent facial recognition protocols.There are several unsettling consequences to this experimental approach to facial recognition systems. As Georgetown Law Center points out in the report, these tweaks and unorthodox photo choices can lead to inaccurate identification. For investigative purposes, this means that the wrong person might be arrested. And that’s why, within the list of recommendations at the end of the report, the center urges these agencies to clearly delineate for officers what “sufficient corroboration of a possible match” looks like as well as completely banning facial recognition as a measure of a positive identification “under any circumstance.” In other words, cops can’t blindly take the word of an algorithmic match as the definitive suspect. The recommendations also suggest banning the use of doppelgangers and forensic art as legitimate data to be run through these facial recognition systems.“As the technology behind these face recognition systems continues to improve, it is natural to assume that the investigative leads become more accurate,” the report states. “Yet without rules governing what can—and can not—be submitted as a probe photo, this is far from a guarantee. Garbage in will still lead to garbage out.” We’re very much in the early stages of deploying these surveillance systems on a massive scale, and we’re already seeing how they can be weaponized against ethnic minorities and biased against women and people of color. These algorithms are also sometimes just comically bad at their job. And when the facial recognition space is mainly lawless and unregulated, it’s crucial to make sure there’s not only transparency and accountability on how powerful agencies are using the tech but that they have clearly outlined the ways in which they can use it. Otherwise, we’re going to see more of these idiotic use cases that only exacerbate systemic issues for the most vulnerable.

2016-02-29 00:00:00

An American student detained in North Korea appeared in a government-arranged press conference Monday and confessed to stealing banner with a political slogan from a Pyongyang hotel. “On the early morning on Jan. 1, 2016, I committed my crime of taking out the important political slogan from the staff-only area Yanggakdo International Hotel aimed at harming the work ethic and the motivation of the Korean people,” Otto Warmbier said, according to an Associated Press video of the news conference. “Please, I made the worst of mistake of my life," he said later while sobbing. It’s unclear if the press conference and confession were given under duress. Warmbier, an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, was arrested on Jan. 2 at a Pyongyang airport on his way back to China after a five-day trip, Reuters reported last month. According to North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Warmbier said a member of his church had offered him a $10,000 used car if took the banner as a trophy. He also said a secret society at his school, Z Society, encouraged him to do it, according to KCNA. “I am begging to the Korean people and government for my forgiveness, and I am praying to the heavens so that I may be returned home to my family,” he said at the press conference. News of Warmbier’s arrest broke after North Korea claimed to successfully tested hydrogen bomb. Tensions have only heightened since then after North Korea launched a long-range rocket. Last week, the United States proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for tough sanctions against North Korea in response to the nuclear test and rocket launch. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2018-05-17

May 17 (Reuters) - Nordstrom Inc: * WEATHER IMPACTED SOME SEASONALITY RELATED ITEMS AND CLASSIFICATIONS PREDOMINANTLY WOMEN’S APPAREL- PRESIDENT IN CONF CALL * WE HAD A CHALLENGED Q1 IN SHOES- CONF CALL * THERE WERE EXECUTION ISSUES & MOST MATERIAL WAS SOME BETS WE MADE IN SOME AREAS THAT WERE MORE SEASONALLY RELATED THAN, IN Q1 AT LEAST, DIDN’T PLAY OUT AS WELL Further company coverage:

2017-12-01 00:00:00

If 2017 has proven anything, it's that being a woman in the world is just as hard as we thought. Being a woman in comedy is even harder. Of the nine comedians picked for the 2018 season of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, only three identify as women. None of these women is a person of color. As in all industries, this lack of gender parity is frustrating because it's not like women aren't making comedy. They are — a lot of it! Now, as entertainers flock to satire as a way of understanding our absurd political situation, there is a funny surplus. It's just that the funny at the top of the chain isn't as diverse as it could be. As a way of bolstering diverse comedy, RIOT, Refinery29's comedy branch, is partnering with TBS for a comedy lab — think of it as a petri dish filled with support for diverse voices. The women participating are already formidable voices in comedy. For the lab, produced in collaboration with TBS, each woman submitted a video pitch and treatment. During the course itself, the writers will spend two days in New York City working on these treatments with Sasheer Zamata (SNL), Ashley Nicole Black (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), Meredith Scardino (The Colbert Report), and Lakshmi Sundaram (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). The end product of the lab will be one television pilot, produced by TBS, that the participant can then shop around. These labs are the birthplace of great television, so pay attention. Ahead, meet the talented participants for Refinery29's inaugural comedy lab. Read These Stories Next: The Viral Words You Need To Know The Problematic SATC Scene No One Talks AboutEvery Time A TV Character's Death Just About Killed You

2016-11-30 10:55:00

It’s been three years since Paul Walker‘s tragic death, but his presence is still felt in Hollywood and beyond. On the third anniversary of his death, those who were close to the actor are paying tribute to their late friend. Jordana Brewster took to social media to remember her Fast and Furious costar. “I miss you and I love you every single day,” she posted on Twitter alongside a photo of the two smiling at one another.  I miss you and I love you every single day #paulwalkerforever pic.twitter.com/ZxD8FekX6O — Jordana Brewster (@JordanaBrewster) November 30, 2016 Tyrese Gibson also shared a touching Instagram video of the two together as he reflected on their 14 years of friendship. “This week is always rough for those of us who really knew him personally 14 years of [laughter], hugs and love literally one of the nicest people on HUMAN FEET!!!! Nov 30th we lost an angel!” the Fast and Furious actor wrote. “Paul treated everyone with the [utmost] respect and went out of his way to make everyone feel like they mattered…… I love and I miss you dearly.”   The clip showed photos throughout their time working together on Fast and Furious, snippets from the films, as well as personal photos and videos. Gibson also asked fans to keep Walker’s family in their prayers. “We simply ask of you prayer warriors around the world pray for his daughter our niece Meadow Walker and his dear brothers CODY and Caleb and parents and his Besty named Roland and Brandon who were literally with him everyday!!!!!! May God rest your soul we hope we make you proud everyday!!!!! RIH ( rest in heaven )….. P-Dubber!!!!” Scott Eastwood also took to Instagram to pay tribute to his “big bro.” “Miss you Paul. I love this pic because it sums up how you made people feel. You taught me so much,” he wrote. “Lessons that I find myself passing on to people in my life now. Thanks for all the laughs big bro.” Ludacris shared a photo of the actor in character as Brian O’Conner with the words, “Always in our hearts.” Walker, who was 40, died in a car accident on Nov. 30, 2013, when the Porsche he was riding in crashed and exploded in Santa Clarita, California. Both his daughter, Meadow, and his father have filed respective wrongful death lawsuits against Porsche, claiming that the car lacked safety features that could have prevented Walker’s death.

2016-04-11 14:55:00

Jeremy Sicile-Kira is a nonverbal autistic artist with synesthesia. He paints with the colors of emotions: “Color is evident in everything to me,” Sicile-Kira tells The Creators Project via email. “I see people’s emotions translated into color when I look at them.” The artist then transposes these colors into vibrantly chaotic portraits of auras and experiences, a selection of which comprise his first-ever curated art exhibit, Inner Dimensions. The show opens tonight, on the first day of Autism Awareness Week at Space4Art in San Diego.  Sicile-Kira has long been in the public eye, most notably appearing in an award-winning 2007 episode of MTV’s True Life, “I Have Autism.” Painting, however, is a more recent endeavor. After years of literally dreaming of portraits, paintings, and gallery openings, Sicile-Kira's mother encouraged him to actualize these nighttime musings. Now, the artist works on five-to-six paintings at a time. Some, like his in-progress work Butterflies, are the result of influential experiences, excerpted moments from everyday life. The majority of Sicile-Kira’s work, however, are impressions from those around him. The subjects of these portraits range from the artist’s family—take, for instance, his favorite work in Inner Dimensions, My Mom the Storyteller—to those of the relative strangers Sicile-Kira meets in his studio, online, on Skype, or over FaceTime.  Sicile-Kira’s show is more than an exhibition of his own talents, however. Appearing at the opening of Autism Awareness Week, it is also the artist’s expression of a larger set of goals. “Truly my dream is about people hearing our story and parents feeling hope so children like me can come out of darkness by finding a way to communicate,” he says. Sicile-Kira identifies as nonverbal, a term not yet part of formal diagnostic criteria but one which applies to individuals who have difficulty with or lack the ability to communicate effectively through speech. Sicile-Kira effectively communicates through assistive technology. Through these means, the artist successfully graduated from high school with a full academic diploma, serves as a youth leader for the Autism Research Institute's Autism Global Initiative, and co-authored the book A Full Life with Autism. People must, he argues, “realize that we nonverbal people with sensory motor challenges need assistance to discover our talents […] I hope to make a positive impact on the community.” He adds, “I hope that the people who see my exhibit will wonder about what their aura painting would look like.”  I asked Sicile-Kira what it's like to have the ability to see the essences of people with all the clarity of ROYGBIV. “Frankly, when I see people’s emotions in color, I also feel them,” he says, “When [someone] laughs I see blue. When they are sad, I see red. My favorite color is green, the color of calm.” And the color of happiness? Yellow: “a good color of people to have around me.”  Inner Dimensions opens today at Space4Art in San Diego and runs until April 23. See more of Jeremy Sicile-Kira’s work on his website.  Related:  I Used Leap Motion to Touch a Virtual Rainbow Universe A CGI Monkey Sees Sounds and Hears Colors in This Synesthesia-Inducing Film Aura Photography Brings Occult Art Back To NYC

2017-09-14 10:24:00

In just seven episodes, Big Little Lies captivated viewers by intertwining a dark murder mystery plot with poignant commentary on the complexities of family life — so it’s not too surprising that fans are clamoring for a season 2 of the HBO series. That being said, so far, it doesn’t seem likely, at least not anytime soon. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on Wednesday, star and executive producer Reese Witherspoon was asked what she could tease about a potential new season — and she didn’t sound all too hopeful. “Oh! I can’t really — I don’t have any really to say,” she said. “We’re talking about it. We’re only going to do it if we really feel it’s as good as the first season. We’re thinking about ideas.” “The issue is there was only one book written,” host Andy Cohen said. “Yeah, and it ended!” responded Witherspoon, 41. “That’s what it was. So it would have to just sort of pick up on, I guess, did we get away with it?” The actress also pointed out that season 1 ended with all of the leading female characters overcoming their differences and banding together. “A lot of the fun and the humor was about that we weren’t all friends,” she said. “So we’d have to figure that out.” But Witherspoon fans, don’t despair: She’s got another exciting TV project coming our way, this time with her A-list friend Jennifer Aniston. “Jen and I are doing a show together based on morning talk show hosts,” Witherspoon told Cohen. “It’s going to be great! I need some tips. Maybe I’ll have to follow you around.” “I worked in morning TV for 10 years — it is fraught,” Cohen quipped. “It is a cauldron of drama!” Both Witherspoon and Aniston — who starred as sisters on a few episodes Friends back in the day — will executive-produce and star in their new show, which The Hollywood Reporter called “an untitled series exploring morning shows and the larger New York media scene that they inhabit.” “[I am] so excited,” Witherspoon told reporters last week at the New York screening for her film Home Again hosted by the Cinema Society. “[We’re having] so much fun brainstorming and laughing and sending each other emails,” she added. “We’re having a great time.” Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen airs Sunday through Thursday (11 p.m. ET) on Bravo.

2019-12-16 00:00:00

(Updates price, paragraphs 1 and 2) Dec 16 (Reuters) - The overnight repo rate was steady on Monday, after briefly rising to its highest level since Oct. 30, as demand for overnight loans was expected to rise on high corporate tax payments and the need to settle Treasury auction purchases. The cost to obtain an overnight loans backed by Treasury collateral increased to 1.70%, from 1.62% on Friday, before dropping back to 1.64%. It remains within the Fed's target range for the federal funds rate of 1.50% to 1.75%. The $2.2 trillion repurchase agreement (repo) market is a crucial source of funding and helps ensure that banks have the liquidity to meet their daily operational needs and maintain sufficient reserves. A flash stress in the market in September meant that cash available to short-term borrowers all but dried up as demand for funds to settle Treasury purchases and pay corporate taxes overwhelmed loans available. Investors are focused on the repo market this week as companies again face tax obligations while $78 billion in Treasury supply will need to be settled. The New York Federal Reserve has increased the amount of liquidity it is providing to the market through its daily repo operations in a bid to avoid a repeat of September's funding strains. A 32-day repo operation on Monday was slightly oversubscribed, with the Fed accepting $50 billion from $54.25 billion in bids. The Fed also accepted all $36.40 billion in bids at an overnight operation. (Reporting by Karen Brettell; editing by Jason Neely and David Gregorio)

2016-10-10

Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIFMalls were great in the 80's. Or so I hear. Big clothes. Even bigger hair. Comic book stores, record shops, arcades, and movie theaters. And a bunch of bored folks goofing around indoors because there was nothing else to do. Ah, what a carefree life those youths lived. This short animation, Mall 84 by Gervais Merryweather, gives us a glimpse of what life was like back then. I’d go back.

2018-03-08 09:54:44

Harold Soyinka, a midlevel executive at a Chicago pharmaceutical company, is originally from Nigeria. This puts someone in mind of those princely email swindles. It’s a pretty weak joke (made worse by the fact that Harold says an uncle of his made a fortune that way) and also an example of what passes for irony in “Gringo,” a new movie directed by Nash Edgerton from a screenplay by Anthony Tambakis and Matthew Stone. Harold, you see, is a perfect sucker, an innocent whose trusting good nature makes him an easy target for grifters, scammers and liars. There are a lot of those in his life, including his wife, Bonnie (Thandie Newton), and his boss, Richard (Joel Edgerton, the director’s brother), a type-A blowhard who insists that Harold is his friend. Richard and Elaine (Charlize Theron), his predatory colleague-with-benefits, are planning a merger and are also involved in some off-the-books deals in Mexico having to do with medical and nonmedical marijuana. A business trip down there goes south in fairly predictable ways, at least in the context of the kind of hectic, strenuous, nasty caper-comedy “Gringo” aspires to be. Harold, as he wises up to the fact that he’s been played, takes matters into his own hands, faking a kidnapping and setting off a flurry of chasing, shouting, coitus interruptus and gunplay. A few familiar characters are summoned from the cliché repository and outfitted with a random quirk or two. The ruthless drug kingpin (Carlos Corona) is obsessed with the Beatles. The international mercenary (Sharlto Copley) is running a nonprofit in Haiti. The small-time hood (Harry Treadaway) dragging his clueless girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) into potential danger has a British accent. Harold, as we’ve established, is from Nigeria. He is also played by David Oyelowo, which turns out to be a mixed blessing. Mr. Oyelowo is without a doubt the best thing in “Gringo,” supplying the only grace notes in a cacophony of secondhand attitude and facetious overacting. But the deck is stacked against him, much as it is against Harold, who as the designated nice guy is assumed to be the least interesting person in the movie. The attention is lavished on his foils and tormentors, who are cut from gaudy, worn-out cardboard and set in motion like furious windup toys. Ms. Theron vamps and sneers, Joel Edgerton struts and blusters, and everyone works hard to sustain a mood of jokey, wised-up menace. It is possible to sit through it all without feeling completely miserable, and to remember a time when these comic-grotesque shenanigans might have seemed fresh. The mid-90s, roughly, when this kind of knockoff of early Tarantino, middle-period Coen brothers and jaunty Elmore Leonardism enjoyed something of a vogue. If you’re tempted by “Gringo,” you might be better off streaming something from that era. By the time the violence escalates from the amputation of a toe — happy birthday, “The Big Lebowski” — to gunshots to the head, “Gringo” has long since blown out its own meager brains. You keep rooting for Harold, of course, because he’s a decent fellow who has done nothing whatsoever to deserve any of this.

2016-06-15 00:00:00

Scientists with the LIGO collaboration claim they have once again detected gravitational waves — the ripples in space-time produced by objects moving throughout the Universe. It’s the second time these researchers have picked up gravitational wave signals, after becoming the first team in history to do so earlier this year. "The first detection wasn’t just luck." This second detection boosts the likelihood that LIGO is truly measuring waves and not something else. "Seeing a second loud signal like this means the first detection wasn’t just luck," said Duncan Brown, a LIGO researcher and a professor of physics at Syracuse University. These two wave signals also occurred within just a few months of each other, hinting that these detections may happen pretty frequently for LIGO moving forward. As with the original finding, these waves came from the merger of two black holes — super dense objects that form when a star collapses and dies. During the merger, these black holes rapidly spun around each other several times a second, before joining together into a single extra-dense object. The whole process generated massive gravitational waves that rippled outward at the speed of light. Those waves billowed through space for 1.4 billion years before finally reaching Earth on December 26th (or December 25th for those in the US), when LIGO’s two observatories picked them up. The discovery was detailed in new study recently accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters. An animation of two black holes merging. (NASA) Although both of LIGO’s detections have stemmed from black hole mergers, the two events that spawned them are different. The black holes involved in today’s finding were much smaller than the first pair; these objects were about eight and 14 times the mass of our Sun, while the first ones were around 29 and 36 solar masses. Because these holes were smaller, they didn’t produce as strong of a signal. But the smaller sizes of the holes did make the resulting signal last longer. That’s because the less massive objects didn’t "pull" on each other as strongly, so their merger took more time. This produced a signal that LIGO measured for over an entire second — much longer than the 0.5 seconds of the first signal. That longer observation time allowed researchers to observe many more rotations of the merging black holes than before. This second detection hints that black hole mergers occur pretty frequently This second detection also hints that black hole mergers occur pretty frequently, and LIGO will be able to pick a lot of them up. LIGO’s first detection occurred in September, and this one happened just a few months later. There's even the possibility that the collaboration measured a third signal at the end of last year, but the researchers aren’t sure yet if it came from gravitational waves. One finding could be error; a second finding makes scientists more confident. Researchers now think they can start using gravitational wave signals as a way to learn more about the types of black holes distributed throughout the Universe. "With the first detection, we actually achieved detection of gravitational waves, marking the end of a very long era," said LIGO collaborator Susan Scott, a professor of quantum science at Australian National University. "With this second detection, we’ve started the era of gravitational wave astronomy." Gravitational waves are a big part of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which revolutionized physics when it first came out in 1916. Before that, space and time were considered fixed concepts that didn’t really have any effect on one another. General relativity changed all that by combining space and time into a single concept, space-time. The idea was that objects could actually warp and bend space-time around them; the bigger the object, the bigger its space-time imprint. And when these massive objects move, they create undulating space-time ripples, or gravitational waves, kind of like creating ripples in a pond. Detecting these ripples is a super precise science Up until recently, gravitational waves were the last piece of Einstein’s theory that still hadn’t been proven. That’s because detecting these ripples is a super precise science. Waves produced by the Sun and planets in our Solar System are too weak to pick up from Earth, so scientists are limited to picking up the waves from the movements of super dense objects far away — like black holes and stellar remnants called neutron stars. But even the gargantuan waves from these objects still weaken considerably by the time they reach Earth, requiring extra sensitive instrumentation to pick up. <!-- (function() { var l = function() { new pym.Parent( 'theverge-ligo-observatories__graphic', '//apps.voxmedia.com/at/theverge-ligo-observatories/'); }; if(typeof(pym) === 'undefined') { var h = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0], s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = 'https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/pym/0.4.5/pym.js'; s.onload = l; h.appendChild(s); } else { l(); } })(); // --> LIGO's two observatories in Louisiana and Washington. (LIGO) That's where LIGO comes in. The collaboration, which stands for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, has two facilities in Louisiana and Washington specially designed to measure gravitational ripples from big merging objects. Each observatory is shaped like a large L, the "arms" of which are two vacuum-sealed tubes stretching 2.5 miles long. At the end of each arm is a mirror that is kept as still as possible. That way, whenever a gravitational wave passes, one mirror appears to move farther away from the observatory while the other appears to move closer. LIGO scientists measure this movement by timing how long it takes for lasers to bounce off of each mirror. The mirrors don’t move very much though; their relative positions only change by one ten-thousandth the size of a proton. Using this method, LIGO made its first wave detection on September 14th, 2015, right when the collaboration started looking for signals. After that, the team continued observing around the clock until January 12th. At first, the researchers didn’t expect the observation to last that long, as they wanted stop before Christmastime. "We originally planned to stop running and give people a break around the holidays," said David Shoemaker, a LIGO collaborator and a senior research scientist at the MIT Kavli Institute. "But we asked the operators and the other people at the observatories if they could stick around and continue to watch the machine." A LIGO test mirror. (LIG) That turned out to be the right call, when the scientists got an alert of a potential detection late Christmas night at 11:38PM ET. During LIGO’s observation, the researchers ran a series of computer programs that continuously looked for patterns in the observatories’ data. The programs rapidly compare those patterns with thousands of predetermined templates of what a gravitational wave signal could look like. If the data matches up with a template, it’s possible that a wave just passed by. "The thing that happened on the 26th of December was that one of those templates lined up very nicely with some data," said Shoemaker. The researchers are eager to observe waves coming from different stellar remnants Now that LIGO has measured two black hole mergers, the researchers are eager to observe waves coming from different stellar remnants like neutron stars. Those are small, extra-dense stars leftover when a much bigger star collapses. There’s also the possibility of picking up the merger of a neutron star with a black hole. "There are so many other types of sources we’re going after that we haven’t yet detected," said Scott. "Binary black hole systems are just one of them." But moving forward, the team expects to observe many more black hole mergers very soon when the collaboration starts its next round of observations this fall. And the more they detect, the more they can learn about how big black holes are and how many there are throughout the cosmos. "If we can understand the distributions of black holes, we can start to understand the life and death of stars, which is really a question of where we came from and where the Universe is going," said Brown. "So that’s really cool that we can map out the history and evolution of the Universe by seeing these black holes colliding into each other." An artist rendering of a neutron star flaring brightly. (NASA)

2018-02-28

The Florida House Appropriations Committee approved a bill Tuesday to implement measures to prevent future school shootings, including a $67 million program to train teachers to carry guns. The Tampa Bay Times reported that the Republican-controlled committee voted along party lines to approve a “school marshal” program. The bill proposes putting 10 teachers trained to carry a gun in every school. The state's Senate Appropriations Committee passed a similar bill on Tuesday. The state would reportedly cover the costs of background checks, drug testing, psychological exams and 132 hours of training, but doesn’t address whether teachers would have to buy a gun for themselves.  The bill also includes provisions that impose a three-day waiting period for gun purchases in the state, raises the age requirement to buy a gun from 18 to 21 and calls for $400 million to improve school security. The vote comes two weeks after a gunman opened fire in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killing 17 people and injuring more than a dozen others. The latest mass shooting has prompted renewed discussion over school safety and gun laws, led largely by students from the Florida high school. President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE has repeatedly proposed arming teachers as a way to prevent future school shootings, suggesting those willing to carry a firearm could receive a bonus. He has also backed a proposal to raise the minimum age requirement to purchase a high-powered gun like the one used in Parkland from 18 to 21. Democrats have overwhelmingly opposed the idea of arming teachers, and multiple Republicans, including Sen. Marco RubioMarco Antonio RubioTrump moves forward with F-16 sale to Taiwan opposed by China The Hill's Morning Report — Trump and the new Israel-'squad' controversy Trump crosses new line with Omar, Tlaib, Israel move MORE (Fla.) and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, have said they disagree with the idea. Many educators, including some in Parkland, have also spoken out against the idea. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2017-01-29

Canada is offering temporary housing for people stranded there due to President Trump’s immigration ban. Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen made the announcement on Sunday, as thousands of Americans protested Trump’s executive order calling for a 90-day ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries entering the United States. The order also includes a 120-day halt on admitting refugees and an indefinite pause on admitting refugees from Syria. The CBC reported that Hussen said dual citizens of Canada and the U.S. should not be affected by the executive order. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said refugees are welcome in his country. "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada" Trudeau tweeted.  To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada A federal judge enacted a temporary stay on the executive order after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in the name of two men detained at New York's John F. Kennedy airport on Saturday. The move appeared to mark the first successful legal challenge to the Trump administration and affects those who have arrived in the U.S. with previously approved refugee applications or were in transit with valid visas. Similar rulings were later issued in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington state. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

2018-02-23 14:00:00

Servings: 4Prep: 10 minutesTotal: 20 minutes 1 teaspoon cornstarch 2 tablespoons canola oil 1 ½ pounds|675 grams Japanese eggplant, sliced on the bias 3 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds 1 red chili, stemmed and thinly sliced 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced 1. Mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and set aside. 2. Heat the canola oil in a wok over medium-high. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, until golden and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook another 1 minute. Stir in the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Cook 1 minute longer, then transfer to a platter to serve.

2019-05-13

May 13 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it may have accidentally collected and shared location data of some users accessing its app through Apple devices with an advertising partner. In a blog post https://help.twitter.com/en/location-data-collection, the social media platform said the information collected was not retained and only existed in their systems for a short time and have informed the people whose accounts were impacted to let them know the bug has been fixed. The advertising partner did not receive data such as user's twitter handle or other unique account ids that could have compromised identity, the company said. (Reporting by Sayanti Chakraborty in Bengaluru)

2018-01-21 00:00:00

I can't think of anything less likely than a Big Little Lies/30 Rock crossover, but one is basically happening IRL. Viewers of tonight's Screen Actors Guild Awards may have noticed that Alexander Skarsgård was sitting next to actor Jack McBrayer before standing to accept the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. At first glance, this just looks like the result of random seat assignments, but writer Jarett Wieselman pointed out on Twitter that the two are actually longtime BFFs. Feels like I should have been alerted immediately that Kenneth The Page and Eric from True Blood hang out on the reg, but I guess I just have to catch up right now. While it seems like they've been friends for some time, notable moments include this collaboration with Funny Or Die, in which the pals took a nine-day journey to the Arctic on a Greenpeace boat. "We were incredibly close until we spent nine days together on a boat in bunk beds," Skarsgård joked in an interview with Esquire. The dynamic duo also bring their friendship to social media. Just Jared pointed out that McBrayer often appears on Skarsgård's "secret" Instagram account. "Jack thinks award shows diminish the integrity of our art," he joked in one post from the 2017 Emmys. "Jack hates the spotlight," reads another caption. Turns out, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to iconic BFF pics: The characters the two men play couldn't be more different, which is why this friendship is so exciting. While we clearly weren't paying attention before, we are now, and ready to see what #BFFGoals these actors will create. Read These Stories Next:Happy Songs That Will Instantly Put You In A Good Mood Where Are They Now: 15 Of Your Favorite Celebs From 15 Years Ago See The Kardashians & Jenners As Disney Princesses (You Know You Want To)