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{ "text": [ "Romania's lower house of parliament voted 168 to 97 in favor of controversial changes to the country's penal code on Wednesday.\nThe amendments were approved at lightning speed — passing through the legislative process within a week — and come on the heels of a Supreme Court decision finding ruling Social Democrat party leader Liviu Dragnea guilty on charges of abuse of office.\nA look at the changes\nAbuse of office is no longer a crime under certain circumstances.\nProsecutors must now have to prove without a doubt that the defendant committed the deed for his or her own benefit, or to benefit their close relatives.\nOfficials who make less than 1,900 lei (€407; $476) while committing their crime would not be prosecuted.\nThe maximum jail sentence for abuse of office has been knocked down from seven to five years.\nThose convicted of abuse of office who are over 60-years-old would now only serve a third of their prison sentence.\nHow this could impact\nDragnea's conviction\nThe 55-year-old leader of the ruling Social Democrats was found guilty by the Supreme Court last month of inciting others to commit an abuse of office. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.\nThe case concerned a fake jobs scandal, where he kept two women on the payroll of a state agency from 2006-2013 although they were employed by his party at the time.\nDragnea, considered to be Romania's most powerful politician, would stand to benefit from the rule changes since he was not found guilty of committing a crime that benefited himself or any of his close relatives.\nLeft-wing coalition defends reforms:\nPresident decries 'dictatorship' of ruling party:\nThe left-wing ruling coalition has said the reforms are necessary to stop \"abuses\" from parts of the judiciary. They argue that Romania has a much harsher criminal law compared to other European Union member states and the changes will help prevent people from going to prison for minor crimes.Romanian President Klaus Iohannis slammed the parliament's decision on Wednesday. He and the center-right opposition contest that the penal code reforms are an attempt to overturn Dragnea's prison sentence.\n\"What we've seen these days is called dictatorship of the majority and is profoundly harmful for democracy,\" Iohannis said in a statement.\nEU voices concern:\nA spokesman with the European Commission said it will examine the final text of the bill to see if it is compatible with EU law. He said the European Commission \"will not hesitate to take action where necessary to ensure such compatibility.\"\nLast week, 12 countries issued a joint warning to Romania that the proposed judicial reforms could \"impede international law enforcement cooperation.\" Anti-corruption investigators in Romania have said over 200 corruption cases involving abuse of office could be thrown out under the new reforms.\nLatest round of judicial reforms:\nWhat happens next:\nIn June, parliament also passed another raft of laws that altered the penal code, including limiting criminal investigations to one year and forcing courts to throw out certain types of wiretapping evidence. The amendments also limit the number of offences for which a suspect can be held in pre-trial detention.The bill will not likely go into effect for now, as Iohannis would be the one to sign it into law and he shows no interest in doing so. The president and the opposition have said they will challenge the bill at the constitutional court.\nrs/kms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)\nEach evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — A $25 million pledge to fight the food industry's influence on public health is coming from a surprising source — the CEO of a snack bar maker.\nKind founder Daniel Lubetzky says he's pledging his own money to create a group called \"Feed the Truth\" dedicated to revealing corporate influence in the nutrition field, with activities like education campaigns and investigative journalism.\nThe move underscores the division between older \"Big Food\" companies and newer businesses that market themselves as wholesome alternatives aligned with health advocates. Kind, known for its fruit and nut bars, touts its use of \"real\" ingredients and has proven deft at mixing marketing with nutrition issues.\nA public health and ethics expert not involved with the group says much depends on how it is set up, and that one tactic to neutralize potential critics is to engage them.\nThree high-profile health and nutrition experts have been enlisted to name Feed the Truth's board, which will hire an executive director. Lubetzky said he and Kind will have no involvement, and the group will be free to scrutinize the company. \"We don't have any skeletons in our closet,\" he said.\nSince Kind was launched in 2004, the company's annual revenue has grown to $673.4 million, according to market researcher Euromonitor.\nThe company was in the spotlight after the Food and Drug Administration warned that it was inappropriately using the term \"healthy\" on packaging. Kind launched a petition asking the FDA to update its guidelines, saying the fat in almonds and avocados shouldn't count against it, and declared victory when the agency said last year it was re-evaluating.\nLubetzky cited that experience and recent reporting by The Associated Press and The New York Times revealing the food industry's influence on nutrition science for his decision to create Feed the Truth. Kind said he will sign a letter of intent to donate $2.5 million a year for the next 10 years.\nLubetzky said he did not donate the money to the Center for Science in the Public Interest because the advocacy group does not accept industry funding. That raises the question of whether Feed the Truth will accept money from other food companies, and if so, under what terms. Lubetzky said that will be up to the board and director.\nThe irony of such a group being established by a snack bar CEO is not lost on Marion Nestle, a professor of food studies at New York University who is helping nominate the board. She said she usually keeps industry at arm's length, but found Lubetzky \"very persuasive\" and felt Feed the Truth could raise awareness about corporate influence in nutrition research.\nDeb Eschmeyer, a senior policy adviser on nutrition under the Obama administration, said the project reflects the new ways companies and executives are engaging with the public. Michael Jacobson, executive director of CSPI, said the money being pledged in advance should help give the group independence.\nKind said the three advisers are not being paid, though it covered Nestle's travel costs for a meeting. The company said it would not be involved once the board is established.\nLeigh Turner, a professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, said that whether the group remains free from Lubetzky and Kind's influence remains to be seen. He noted that engaging critics is one way for companies to neutralize them, and that the group could be a boon to Kind's image.\n\"This is a business that wants to present itself as a healthy alternative to candy bars,\" Turner said.\nAs an example of how Kind presents itself, the company launched a \"Nutrition Collective\" for dietitians last year, which it said was for discussion of major public health issues. A signup page said members would not be paid, but being involved included letting people how \"Kind can be a part of their new lifestyle.\"\nAlthough Feed the Truth may boost Kind's image, Lubetzky said that wasn't the goal.\n\"I would hope that people say, OK, these guys are doing the right thing for society, I'm going to be more loyal to the brand,\" Lubetzky said.\n____\nFollow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "New York (AP) — Sugar futures trading on the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Wednesday:\n(112,000 lbs.; cents per lb.)" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Lumosity announced today that they are granting players unlimited, free access to their most popular game, Train of Thought. The game, which has been played half-a-billion times by 20 million people, is part of Lumosity’s cognitive Attention category and specifically challenges divided attention. Previously, Lumosity games have been exclusively available to their registered free members and subscribers, with free members having access to a daily workout of three games. For the next week, new players can play Train of Thought without having to register for the full Lumosity program, while existing free members will have unlimited access to the game for seven days in addition to their daily workouts. The unlocked game is live now at https://www.lumosity.com/games-lp/train-of-thought-landing-page.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005040/en/\nLumosity's Train of Thought has been played half-a-billion times and challenges divided attention skills (Graphic: Business Wire)\n“Lumosity was created with the aim of bringing research out of the lab and making brain training accessible to everyone,” said Steve Berkowitz, CEO of Lumos Labs. “Making Train of Thought freely available, without requiring registration or any other strings attached, takes that aim a step further than ever before, and we’re excited to give new audiences a taste of brain training.”\nFirst released in 2013, Train of Thought was designed by Lumosity’s scientists, engineers and artists to challenge divided attention. Divided attention refers to the ability to simultaneously respond to multiple tasks or task demands, and the game asks players to direct an increasingly fast stream of trains to their corresponding stations. The game has 14 levels, and an analysis by the Lumosity Research team found that Train of Thought also challenges planning skills: the ability to plan ahead is correlated with players’ likelihood of advancing to a higher level. Within a week of its initial release, Train of Thought became the program’s most popular game, a status it has generally maintained since. According to an analysis from the Lumosity Data Science team, Train of Thought is especially popular among women, who also exhibit stronger planning skills in the game.\n“Train of Thought’s success hinges on its quality of being simultaneously challenging and rewarding, and it was designed with Bushnell’s Law in mind: easy to learn, difficult to master,” said Berkowitz. “Even as we’ve expanded Lumosity to include Math and Vocabulary categories, Train of Thought remains the standard by which we measure our work.”\nIn addition to providing new and free players with unlimited access to Train of Thought, the company has also released a new Train of Thought Insight for subscribers. The Insight analyzes subscribers’ performance on Train of Thought, calculating their planning scores and providing personalized, actionable pointers for mastering the game. Over the course of the next week, Lumosity plans to unlock the Insight for their free members, as well. For more information, please visit https://www.lumosity.com/press/news.\nAbout Lumos Labs\nLumos Labs, maker of the world’s leading cognitive training program, Lumosity, is on a mission to help people pursue their potential. With both free and premium memberships and over 90 million users in 180 countries, Lumosity has taken brain training out of the lab and made it accessible to people around the world. Adaptive and research-based, Lumosity challenges a broad range of mental abilities, including Memory, Attention, Math, Vocabulary and Mindfulness. Additionally, the company’s partnerships with over 100 researchers have produced more than 20 peer-reviewed publications to date, in an effort to advance human cognition and cognitive training. Lumosity is available at lumosity.com and as a mobile app on iOS and Android.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005040/en/\nCONTACT: Lumos Labs\nBrandon Stander\nbstander@lumoslabs.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION OTHER EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY INTERNET SOFTWARE MOBILE/WIRELESS RESEARCH SCIENCE\nSOURCE: Lumos Labs\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 11:00 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 11:01 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005040/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ROCK TAVERN, N.Y. (AP) — Every Oscar fist-pumped or tearfully cradled by Academy Award winners is first cast, buffed and fussed over at a foundry far from Hollywood.\nWorkers at the Polich Tallix (POH'-lich TAH'-liks) foundry north of New York City spent the last several months making 60 identical Oscars for the Feb. 26 awards.\nThe foundry, in its second year of making the awards, has tweaked the look of the stylized knight to something closer to the statuettes first handed out in 1929.\nEach of the statuettes is 13½ inches tall with the same distinctive Art Deco features polished to a mirror finish. Each glossy black base lacks only a winner's nameplate, which is added after the ceremony." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON (AP) — The former head of the official \"Leave\" campaign in Britain's 2016 vote on European Union membership is denying breaking spending rules ahead of a report from the country's electoral watchdog.\nThe Electoral Commission has not yet published its report on Vote Leave.\nBut Matthew Elliott, who headed the group, says the commission has concluded that Vote Leave broke rules by donating more than 600,000 pounds ($800,000) to another group then using the money for its own activities.\nElliott denied wrongdoing Wednesday, saying Vote Leave acted \"both within the letter of the law and also the spirit.\"\nThe Electoral Commission has conducted several investigations into the referendum, which was won by those wanting Britain to leave the EU.\nAnother pro-Brexit organization, Leave.EU, was fined 70,000 pounds in May for overspending and filing inaccurate records." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "As the US continues to move forward on diplomatic negotiations with North Korea, assessments from US intelligence agencies and several reports from satellite imagery analysts emerged this week providing evidence that Pyongyang is continuing to expand weapons production capability, which Washington says poses a threat to the US and its allies in Asia.\nSome of the reports suggested that the Kim regime was expanding weapons production facilities even as it made tentative statements promising to \"denuclearize\" in the run up to the June 12 summit in Singapore between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.\nRead more: Opinion: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's summit of friendliness\nA report published recently by NBC News, citing unnamed US officials, said US intelligence agencies \"believe North Korea has increased production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites in recent months and may try to hide these while seeking concessions in talks with the United States.\"\nAnother US official was quoted saying there is \"absolutely unequivocal evidence\" that North Korea was trying to \"deceive\" the US.\n\"The intelligence community assessment that North Korea is taking steps to deceive the United States would be consistent with regime behavior during all previous diplomatic negotiations,\" Bruce Klinger, a former CIA division chief for Korea and senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, told DW.\nHowever, Klinger emphasized that expanding production of fissile material did not violate the US-North Korea joint declaration signed in Singapore. \"No real denuclearization agreement has yet been reached,\" he said.\n\"As the US seeks to put meat on the meager bones of the Singapore Communique, it needs to emulate the lengthy, detailed treaty text and robust verification regimes of arms control treaties with the Soviet Union rather than the flawed North Korean agreements of the past,\" added Klinger.\nRead more: Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un summit: North Korea commits to 'complete denuclearization'\n'Very clear' expectations from Washington\nUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading to North Korea on Thursday for the first round of talks following the June summit. According to a US State Department press briefing, the visit will center on \"consultations with the North Korean government\" about what Trump and Kim \"agreed to\" in Singapore.\nState Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that North Korea was \"very clear\" in terms of US expectations and Secretary Pompeo would be \"very blunt\" in what he \"expects from the North Koreans.\"\nRead more: Mike Pompeo: US ready to help make North Korea rich if it gives up nukes\nPompeo tweeted before the Singapore summit that the US remained \"committed to the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.\" This is commonly referred to as \"CIVD.\"\nAfter the summit on June 13, he told reporters in Seoul, \"I hope we'll see — you used the term 'major disarmament' — yes, we're hopeful that we can achieve that in the next two and a half years.\"\n\"Secretary of State Pompeo will need to get Pyongyang to publicly and unambiguously embrace the CVID concept and accept extensive inspections if the Trump administration is going to achieve real denuclearization,\" said analyst Klinger.\n'Complete denuclearization?'\nPresident Trump's statements since the Singapore summit indicate the administration wants to capitalize on the political significance of the meeting. While dialogue itself is a breakthrough, there has yet to be any indication that North Korea is diminishing its weapons program, despite concessions from the US.\nDirectly after the summit, Trump tweeted that \"there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.\" Yesterday, the US leader declared, \"If not for me, we would be at war with North Korea.\"\nDespite Trump's assertions, a recent report released by 38 North, a North Korea research and analysis website run by the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, concluded that Pyongyang was carrying out upgrades to North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center.\nThe report said that \"commercial satellite imagery from June 21\" indicated \"improvements to the infrastructure\" at Yongbyon were \"continuing at a rapid pace.\" This included the completion of a cooling system for the plutonium production reactor.\nSlowing down production?\nJenny Town, Managing Editor at 38 North, told DW that it would be incorrect to assume that Pyongyang would slow down its weapons production capability ahead of any agreements with the US. The pace of North Korea's scaling down of weapons production would depend on the content and outcome of negotiations, all of which remain uncertain.\n\"The only definitive take away from the imagery is that work, which had started at these sites prior to the summit, did not stop immediately. It would have been actually quite surprising if it had,\" said Town, adding that new unpublished imagery acquired on Tuesday by 38 North appears to show that work at the site had slowed.\n\"We would expect that trend to continue and no new projects to be started,\" she said, adding that work at the major facilities should \"begin to slow or stop as negotiations progress.\"\nRead more: From Little Rocket Man to denuclearization: A timeline of US-North Korea relations under Kim Jong Un\nTrump-Kim summit: South Koreans wary of losing US defense assurance\nSieren's China: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un choose peace\n\"However, until the agreement is settled, I would expect that some level of activity at these sites, even if it's just for maintenance, is likely to continue.\"\nAnother image analysis released on July 2, by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, shows that North Korea is expanding an important missile production site at the Chemical Material Institute in Hamhung. According to the report, the facility produces essential parts for solid-fueled missiles, including the Pukgugsong series.\nUnrealistic timelines from the US\nOn Sunday, President Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton told CBS that the US could \"move very quickly\" and that Secretary Pompeo would discuss with the North Koreans \"how to dismantle all of their weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a year.\"\nExperts say this assessment vastly underestimates the state of North Korea's capability.\n\"North Korea's nuclear program and program infrastructure is quite extensive with many unknowns,\" said Town, adding that technical experts with deep knowledge of North Korea's nuclear program give estimates of between five and 10 years to \"engineer complete, verifiable dismantling of the nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure.\"\nRead more: SIPRI: Nuclear weapons are still being developed\n\"Politically, there is no trust between the US and North Korea. Pyongyang would therefore be reluctant to dismantle its core nuclear capabilities and become vulnerable to US (and South Korean) policy shifts in the future, especially as administrations change,\" she said.\n\"Despite Trump's claim that 'there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea,' there has been no diminution in Pyongyang's arsenal or programs,\" said Klinger.\n\"The regime continues to have an estimated arsenal of more than 30 nuclear weapons, missiles that can already threaten South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapons and, according to then-CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is only a 'handful of months' away from having the ability to target the entire United States with nuclear weapons,\" he added.\n\"President Trump's claim that the North Korea nuclear problem is solved is premature to say the least.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DETROIT (AP) — Well over half of drivers in every age group have texted behind the wheel, run a red light or driven faster than the speed limit in the last 30 days, according to a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.\nYoung people are the worst offenders. Eighty-eight percent of drivers ages 19 to 24 admitted to texting, speeding or running a red light.\nBut 10 percent of drivers ages 60 to 74 have texted or sent email on the road, while 37 percent of drivers over 75 said they'd run a red light.\nDrivers' behavior sometimes contradicts their instincts. More than three-quarters of drivers say it's unacceptable to text or email while driving, but 31 percent had done so in the last month." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's Supreme Court has rejected an application for bail for an Australian filmmaker who was charged with endangering national security last year for flying a camera-loaded drone over an opposition party campaign rally.\nJames Ricketson, 68, was arrested in the capital Phnom Penh on June 3 after filming the last day of campaigning for local elections a day earlier. The government of Prime Minister Hun Sen has been critical of media it considers sympathetic to the opposition, and Ricketson often filmed the activities of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, which late last year was dissolved by a court ruling.\nA Supreme Court statement Tuesday said the denial of bail was based on a decision made by a lower court according to the law." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday:\nCaterpillar Inc., down $9.55 to $144.44\nThe company said it doesn't expect to top its first-quarter profit for the rest of the year.\nAlphabet Inc., down $51.17 to $1,022.64\nGoogle's parent company reported greater ad sales but also said costs climbed.\nWaters Corp., down $16.42 to $193.18\nThe maker of products used in drug discovery and development posted weak pharmaceutical and industrial sales.\nRestaurant Brands Inc., up $2.80 to $56.30\nA new burger and a spicy chicken sandwich sold well at Burger King, helping boost profits.\nWhirlpool Corp., up $5.64 to $155.96\nThe appliance maker had a stronger first quarter than Wall Street had forecast.\nShire PLC, up $3.85 to $163.93\nThe drugmaker said it is considering a new buyout offer from Japan's Takeda.\n3M Co., down $14.75 to $201.13\nThe industrial coatings and Post-it note maker cut its annual profit forecast.\nFifth Third Bancorp., up $1.32 to $33.25\nThe bank reported an increase in net interest income and analysts were pleased with its annual forecast." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "OLD LYME, Conn. (AP) — A TV personality who has appeared on home remodeling reality shows has been accused of molesting a 10-year-old girl.\nChristopher Dionne, of Old Lyme, Connecticut, has appeared on HGTV's pilot of the show \"Family Flip\" and a yet-to-be-aired A&E show called \"House Rescue\" and turned himself in to police Monday to face charges of sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.\nPolice say the 36-year-old Dionne is accused of touching the girl's chest when she was sleeping over after a birthday party for her friend. Dionne also is accused of taking pictures of the girl's chest and asking if she wanted to see his penis.\nDionne says the girl put her hand on his stomach and began rubbing and he told her it was inappropriate.\nA&E says it has suspended production of \"House Rescue.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A district attorney ruled Monday that state police acted properly a year ago when they shot and killed a man they suspected of murdering a state trooper in a rural area of central Pennsylvania.\nHuntingdon County District Attorney David Smith issued his decision in the Dec. 31 death in Hesston of 32-year-old Jason Robison.\nThe two-page report said troopers searching for Robison found him inside a camper not far from where Trooper Landon Weaver had been killed.\nSmith said the investigators retreated and secured the area, and a short time later, Robison appeared at the camper door, holding a pistol.\n\"Troopers at the scene ordered Robison numerous times to drop his gun, which he refused to do,\" Smith wrote. \"Robison moved as if to advance from the camper while still holding the pistol in his hand. After Robison began to move, members of the state police fired shots at Robison, who was struck in the head, torso, arms and legs.\"\nA .32-caliber Beretta pistol was recovered beside Robison's body. It contained eight live rounds, and there were two other bullets in the pocket of his jacket.\nThe prosecutor deemed the killing as justified and said authorities will not the release the names of troopers involved.\nInvestigators said earlier this year they recovered 22 spent rounds from the scene, none that matched Robison's gun.\nWeaver had gone to Robison's home to investigate an alleged violation of a protective order for texting his ex-girlfriend.\nRobison's mother, Sherry Lou Robison, told investigators her son pulled a handgun out of his pants and walked toward the trooper. She then heard a popping sound and saw Weaver fall to the floor, bleeding.\nWeaver, 23, had been with the state police for about a year. He had been married about six months before his murder.\n." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Worcester wing Josh Adams will make his debut for Wales against Scotland in Six Nations rugby in Cardiff on Saturday.\nAdams, the leading try-scorer in the English Premiership with nine, joins six Scarlets in the backline chosen on Tuesday.\nCohesion was a tipping factor in picking Rhys Patchell as the starting flyhalf ahead of the more pragmatic Gareth Anscombe, who was in the reserves. Patchell, capped five times, will continue his club combination with scrumhalf Gareth Davies.\nWith eight front-line players out, seven of them British Lions including Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau, George North, Jonathan Davies, Dan Biggar, Liam Williams, and Dan Lydiate, the Welsh selectors went with known combinations in an effort to compensate for lack of experience.\nThere are 10 Scarlets in the 15, including the front row.\nRoss Moriarty, who suffered nerve damage in his back in the first match of the Lions tour in New Zealand and didn't return to action until this month, makes a timely return to No. 8. Plus, openside flanker Josh Navidi and blindside Aaron Shingler, who started together three times in the autumn tests, have been retained, leaving Lions flanker Justin Tipuric in the reserves.\n\"We know what a quality player Ross is, it's great he is back and available and we are looking forward to seeing his explosive ball carrying on Saturday,\" coach Warren Gatland said in a statement.\n\"Rhys and Gareth have been training really well over the last couple of weeks. It was a tough call between them, Rhys has started most of his games for the Scarlets at 10, we are really happy with his form and the combination with Gareth at nine.\n\"For this opening game, we looked at a lot of combinations, especially the front row. It is exciting to see Samson (Lee) back playing well and the familiarity of the Scarlets front row will be important.\"\n___\nWales: Leigh Halfpenny, Josh Adams, Scott Williams, Hadleigh Parkes, Steff Evans, Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies; Ross Moriarty, Josh Navidi, Aaron Shingler, Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Cory Hill, Samson Lee, Ken Owens, Rob Evans. Reserves: Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones, Tomas Francis, Bradley Davies, Justin Tipuric, Aled Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Owen Watkin." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TEMPE, Arizona (AP) — Mike Scioscia has been the Angels' manager since the 20th century, way back when Anaheim was at the front of the club's official name instead of the back. He has been a constant in Orange County since long before its housewives had a reality show.\nScioscia is the longest-tenured manager in baseball by seven years as he heads into his 18th season with the Angels. He realizes that such faith in a leader is positively remarkable in professional sports, and he enters every Cactus League campaign with a determination to justify it.\n\"Believe me, I don't take this opportunity for granted,\" Scioscia said Tuesday after the Angels' pitchers and catchers reported to Tempe Diablo Stadium. \"I know it's a long time, and I love it. (We're) going to keep moving toward that championship. I think it starts with when you have ownership that commits to putting good teams out there, and I think this year is a good example.\"\nThe Angels are coming back from a 74-88 season in 2016, the worst of Scioscia's tenure. He realizes other managers of his vintage likely would have been in trouble, even given the Angels' brutal series of pitching injuries last summer.\nBut owner Arte Moreno has remained steadfastly behind his only bench boss since he bought the team in early 2003, several months after Scioscia won the franchise's only World Series title. And Scioscia is still firmly committed to the sometimes frustrating job of running the big-budget Angels, who didn't make any headline-grabbing offseason signings while general manager Billy Eppler continues to grapple with a payroll limited by past years of lavish free-agent deals.\nInstead of worrying about what he doesn't have, Scioscia is clearly thrilled by his next challenge: Assembling the good players from last season's team and a handful of experienced newcomers around AL MVP Mike Trout to build something new and exciting.\n\"I absolutely love it,\" Scioscia said. \"I love the challenges. I love our staff. I love our team, and that gives you the inspiration to go on and continue to try to achieve. I don't take that lightly, and when we don't achieve, I take that hard, and it's been an incredible opportunity.\"\nScioscia has been the Angels' manager for seven seasons longer than the San Francisco Giants tenure of Bruce Bochy, the second-longest tenured manager. Only Gregg Popovich and Bill Belichick — hired by the Patriots two months after the Angels landed Scioscia — have comparable longevity in major North American pro sports.\nPopovich, Belichick and Bochy all have a few more rings than Scioscia, but the Angels have been a steady winner for most of his tenure. He is 10 wins away from 1,500 in his career, which will make him the 22nd manager to hit the milestone.\nHe should do it early in the season, but not much else is certain for a franchise hoping for a quick return to the pennant race after last season's stumbles — and that's part of the fun for Scioscia. He must figure out what to keep from last season's rotation, which lost nearly every starter to a significant injury at some point, and who will fill out the bullpen behind relievers Huston Street and Cam Bedrosian, who also are returning from injuries.\n\"I don't think there's anybody that's going to look at last year as a group of guys that underachieved, because that's not what happened,\" Scioscia said. \"These guys played their hearts out, and a lot of the young kids that came up to pitch pitched their hearts out, and that was inspiring for a lot of us.\"\nNOTES: Albert Pujols is already in camp and doing everything but running, the slugger said. He remains hopeful of returning from foot surgery in time for opening day, but the Angels won't know for sure until shortly before then. ... Scioscia is eager to monitor the progress of RHP Garrett Richards, who told reporters he expects to have a pitch limit in his return from nearly a full year of rest and rehabilitation for a strained elbow ligament. Richards had platelet-rich plasma injections in an effort to avoid Tommy John surgery." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has arrived in Oman as part of a two-state visit aimed at reviving ties with Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors.\nThe official Oman News Agency said Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed met with the Iranian president following his arrival on Wednesday to the sultanate, which sits at the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and shares control of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.\nRouhani is expected to travel to Kuwait after visiting Oman.\nTehran's relations with the six-member, Saudi-dominated Gulf Cooperation Council of Arab states have been strained since Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations with the Shiite power Iran last year.\nIran's official IRNA news agency reported that Iran has received a message from the GCC states aimed at removing misunderstandings and improving relations." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a bill before Congress to requires governing bodies for amateur athletics to promptly report abuse claims to law enforcement (all times local):\n10 p.m.\nThe House has followed up on the sex abuse scandal involving sports doctor Larry Nassar by passing legislation that requires governing bodies for amateur athletics to promptly report abuse claims to law enforcement.\nNassar was sentenced last week to up to 175 years in prison for sexually abusing more than 150 women and girls over 25 years.\nThe sentencing sparked new calls from lawmakers to complete action on legislation that had already received widespread support in both chambers of Congress.\nThe House took up the Senate version of the bill to speed up its passage, approving it Monday by a vote of 406-3. Because of a change in the bill, it now goes back to the Senate for approval before heading to President Donald Trump for his signature." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is urging key players in Guinea-Bissau to implement a road map to resolve the political crisis in the country that political leaders agreed to on Sept. 10.\nCouncil members stressed \"the urgent need to ensure an inclusive dialogue among key national actors to ensure effective functioning of the government.\"\nThe council statement followed a briefing Tuesday by U.N. envoy Modibo Ibrahim Toure, who said that \"despite the political crisis, Guinea-Bissau's economic performance has been remarkable.\"\nHe said the economy is estimated to have expanded by 5 percent in 2016, reflecting a bumper cashew harvest, the country's main export.\nGuinea-Bissau has had so many coups and countercoups that no elected leader has been able to complete his term since the country won independence from Portugal in 1974." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller expressed uncertainty over his future upon returning Monday to Halas Hall after a series of serious knee surgeries.\nWhat Miller did know was he's been through a nightmare that nearly resulted in the amputation of his left leg. It was a nightmare with a happy ending.\n\"That was very real, a couple wrong turns away from actually happening,\" Miller said about losing his leg. \"I had a ton of care, a lot of people helping me out throughout that entire process. But we were a couple minutes away from having that be real.\"\nWith tears in his eyes at times, Miller spoke to reporters about the ordeal resulting from a season-ending dislocated knee suffered Oct. 29 at New Orleans.\nMiller had surgery for a popliteal artery behind the knee in order to restore blood flow.\nAt the time of the injury, Miller wasn't told of the chance he'd lose his leg, but he knew from the way it was filling up with blood that it was serious.\n\"I remember, before I got into the emergency surgery, the last thing I was telling the doctors was 'Please, save my leg!'\" Miller said. \"Because I knew that something wasn't quite right just in the way my leg was feeling and the way it was filling up. I knew we had issues.\"\nMiller injured the leg making a touchdown catch, but later replay negated the TD and it was ruled he failed to maintain possession throughout the process.\n\"Forever be a touchdown for me,\" Miller said.\nMiller called the outpouring of support he's received a life-changing event, and especially cited help received from Bears board chairman George McCaskey.\n\"That guy's been awesome, and that'll be a memory I'll keep forever,\" Miller said.\nSince suffering the injury, Miller has sought out others who've had similar injuries, including former Raiders running back Napoleon Kaufman and current Raider Pharaoh Brown.\nHe also has been in contact with California high school football player Alex Ruiz, who still faces possible amputation of part of a leg following a similar injury.\n\"I've had a number of people reach out to me who have had an injury similar to this or worse doing everyday things, whether it be recreational activity, hanging out, swimming,\" Miller said. \"This type of thing is actually more prevalent than you may think, but I've had people reach out to me.\"\nMiller is taking a day-by-day approach to recovery.\n\"I've been a football player my whole life,\" Miller said. \"I would love to play football. We'll cross that road when it's time.\"\nMost of Miller's surgeries were related to the blood flow, which he said is now good. The knee's structure remains solid.\n\"The main ligaments that I've got are good,\" he said.\nMiller, 33, is a free agent after this season. He suffered a season-ending foot fracture in 2016, and with past teams had a torn Achilles in 2012 and a season-ending shoulder injury in 2011.\nBears coach John Fox said Miller will continue to have a supporting role in the background the rest of the season.\n\"When you get knocked down, you see people's real character and how they respond,\" Fox said. \"He's handled it like a champ. And I think most everybody that knew him or knows him, he acted like you'd expect Zach to act. It's very impressive.\"\nMiller's return to the facility came a day after the Bears (4-9) broke a five-game losing streak with a 33-7 win at Cincinnati. He said he enjoyed being around teammates.\n\"It just felt good to be back,\" Miller said. \"There are a lot of people I still haven't seen that I need to see. But there have been a lot of hugs to go around.\"\n___\nFor more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians are dropping the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms next year after decades of protests and complaints that the grinning, red-faced caricature used in one version or another since 1947 is racist.\nThe move, announced Monday, came after protracted discussions between team owner Paul Dolan and baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.\nThe cartoonish image of a big-toothed American Indian with a scarlet face and a single feather in his headdress will come off the team's sleeves and caps starting with the 2019 season, when Cleveland will host the All-Star Game.\n\"Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,\" Manfred said in a statement. He said the logo \"is no longer appropriate for on-field use.\"\nThe decision is unlikely to quell complaints from Native American organizations and others who see the symbol — and the team's very name — as insensitive. The Indians will continue to wear the Wahoo logo in 2018, and even after it is gone from the uniform, the club will sell merchandise featuring the mascot in the Cleveland area.\n\"I'm elated,\" Philip Yenyo, executive director of the American Indian Movement of Ohio, said of the decision to remove Wahoo from uniforms. \"But at the same time, I think it should be this year. I don't understand why they're drawing this out. It doesn't make any sense to me, unless they want to continue to make what's basically blood money.\"\nHe added: \"Just make the leap already.\"\nYenyo and others have demanded that the team go further and drop \"Indians\" as its name: \"If they don't get rid of the name, then you're still going to have fans going down there wearing headdresses and painted in redface.\"\nAmid the intensifying debate, the club has slowly moved away from the logo in recent years. The Indians replaced it with a \"C'' as their primary logo and removed signs depicting Chief Wahoo from Progressive Field, the team's ballpark.\nThere was no immediate reaction from Indians players.\n\"It's a big disappointment,\" Jeremiah Baker said at a sporting goods store in suburban Westlake as he picked through a clearance bin of caps with his wife and two children. \"Chief Wahoo has been so iconic for so many years, and I understand that some people may be offended, but it's a blow to native Clevelanders.\"\nNational criticism and scrutiny over Chief Wahoo grew in 2016, when the Indians made the World Series and Manfred expressed his desire to have the team drop the symbol. During the playoffs, a lawsuit was filed while the club was playing in Toronto to have the logo and team name banned from Canadian TV. A judge dismissed the case.\nThe Indians' bid to host the 2019 All-Star Game heightened the debate.\n\"While we recognize many of our fans have a longstanding attachment to Chief Wahoo, I'm ultimately in agreement with Commissioner Manfred's desire to remove the logo from our uniforms in 2019,\" Dolan said in announcing the decision.\nThe presence of the Wahoo logo is likely to remain strong in the stands on caps, T-shirts and signs, and other Native American references in the stadium will probably persist. For over 40 years, one fan, John Adams, has pounded a tom-tom in the left-field bleachers.\nThe team will continue to sell Chief Wahoo gear because if it stops doing so, it will lose ownership of the trademark, and others will be able to use the symbol as they please.\nReaction to the announcement was swift on social media as fans took sides on a touchy topic that has become part of the Cleveland sports landscape for generations.\nEvery year, Native American groups have protested outside the stadium before the home opener in hopes of getting the Indians not only to abolish Chief Wahoo but to change the team name.\nMany fans are dedicated to preserving Chief Wahoo and see the logo as a symbol of the city's resurgence in the mid-1990s, when the Indians opened their new ballpark and the team made the World Series for the first time since 1954.\nThe NFL's Washington Redskins have come under similar pressure to change their less-cartoonish Indian-head logo and their name but so far have resisted. Last year, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in another case made it clear that the Redskins name cannot be stripped of trademark protection just because some find it offensive.\nStanford, Illinois and Dartmouth are among the colleges and universities that have dropped Native American nicknames or symbols for their teams over the years.\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CHICAGO (AP) — The numbers are just part of the picture. Jose Abreu's value to the Chicago White Sox extends far beyond the field.\nSo while the rebuilding project continues on the South Side, Abreu remains with the only major league team he has ever known. The slugging first baseman means so much to Chicago in so many ways that it's tough to find a trade that is worth it for the White Sox.\n\"There was clearly speculation that he could conceivably have been moved this past offseason,\" general manager Rick Hahn said Friday on the first day of the team's annual fan convention. \"Part of the reason that he wasn't is that we do put a large value on what he does in the clubhouse, how he represents himself and the organization, what he does for our young players. The way he goes about his business is the epitome of what we expect from a White Sox player.\n\"That probably leads to us valuing him more highly than other organizations who haven't had the pleasure of having him, which makes it that much more difficult to line up on finding value in a trade.\"\nThat is more than fine for Abreu, who remains loyal to Chicago despite going through four straight losing seasons since he agreed to his first contract with the White Sox in October 2013. From Abreu's perspective, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and executives Kenny Williams and Hahn took a chance on him coming out of Cuba, and that means something to him.\n\"I love the city. I love the fans. I love the team,\" Abreu said through a translator. \"I love Jerry, Kenny, Rick, because they believed in me at a point where I didn't know if people can believe in me because I was out of my comfort zone. The only thing I can say is I feel honored to be here and I feel honored to wear this jersey every day.\"\nAbreu has been remarkably consistent since joining the White Sox, hitting .290 or better with at least 25 homers and 100 RBIs every year. He was the unanimous choice for AL Rookie of the Year in 2014.\nWhile he remains productive at the plate, it's his connection to two of Chicago's top prospects that might provide the most value to the team at this point. Abreu has served as a mentor to Yoan Moncada since the Cuban second baseman was acquired in the Chris Sale trade with Boston in December 2016, and he helped recruit countryman Luis Robert to the White Sox.\n\"He's been awesome for me,\" Moncada said through a translator. \"As a player, as a human being, he's an example for me and I've been trying always to follow him, to follow him as an example, as the guy that I want to be. Being able to stay with him here and play with him is a huge opportunity for me.\"\nAbreu, who turns 31 on Monday, picked Moncada up at the airport when he was promoted to Chicago in July. Now Moncada has taken an active role in helping Robert get used to professional baseball in the U.S.\n\"I passed through that process that Luis is passing right now,\" Moncada said. \"Abreu was a big help for me during the process and then I learned a few things that I want to teach them, thanks to Abreu.\"\nAbreu hit .304 with 33 homers and 102 RBIs last season, but Chicago finished fourth in the AL Central with a 67-95 record. He said he lost about 10 pounds over the winter by working hard and eating healthy.\nAs more of Chicago's top prospects make it to the majors, he is hoping to be there for them as well.\n\"I know that my English is probably not so good right now, but I'm trying to get better in that aspect and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be better this year in how I can influence all of them in the clubhouse,\" Abreu said. \"That's one of my goals. I started on it last year and I think that this year I'm going to be more able to do it with more confidence.\"\n___\nJay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "YORK, Pa. (AP) — When she walks onto a golf course as one of the few black women on the links, Sandra Harrison fills with pride and hopes her play will dispel stereotypes and disarm her fellow players — who are often white and male.\nWhat she felt playing at the Grandview Golf Club as a new member in her community could not have been more opposite, Harrison said. The 59-year-old retiree said she was traumatized, rattled and hurt after she said she and the group of black women she was playing with were run off the course before police were called when a white man claimed the women were playing too slowly.\n\"It was like we were playing with targets on our backs,\" Harrison said. \"What other reason could there be other than we were guilty of being black while golfing?\"\nNo charges were filed, but the confrontation Saturday touched a raw nerve after two other somewhat similar incidents. Two black men in Philadelphia were handcuffed and arrested on April 12 after a Starbucks employee called police because they hadn't bought anything in the store. And employees of an LA Fitness in New Jersey wrongly accused a black member and his guest of not paying to work out and called police, prompting an apology from the company.\nHarrison and Sandra Thompson said they were at the second hole when representatives of the Grandview Golf Club told the group they were playing too slowly.\n\"We knew we snapped those balls and moved right ahead,\" Thompson said in an interview with The Associated Press.\nAccording to Thompson, one of the other women said she was confronted by a man with a posturing, aggressive demeanor who said, \"You need to move forward! I'm the owner!\"\nNot wanting to lose the day, the group attempted to power through the front nine, Harrison said, but the confrontations made them increasingly upset and unable to concentrate on the game.\nAfter the ninth hole, three of the women dropped out and headed home.\n\"I said, 'I don't want to do this anymore,'\" Harrison said. \"I was traumatized.\"\nDown to two players, Thompson figured she and her partner could continue without being bothered. Again, they were approached.\nThe message this time: \"Get off our property.\" The women were informed the police had been called.\nAfter they were questioned, police declined to proceed further. Thompson said she was offered a check refunding her membership, but refused.\nOn Sunday club co-owner JJ Chronister told the York Daily Record she called the women personally to \"sincerely apologize.\"\nOn Monday, she issued a second statement to the newspaper saying players who are slow typically leave the course when asked by club personnel.\n\"In this instance, the members refused to leave so we called police to ensure an amicable result,\" the statement reads. It says the women skipped holes and took an extended break.\n\"During the second conversation we asked members to leave as per our policy noted on the scorecard, voices escalated, and police were called to ensure an amicable resolution,\" it reads.\nIt's part of golf etiquette that slow-moving players let groups behind them play through if they are holding things up, and often golf courses have employees who monitor the pace of play, letting golfers know when they are taking too long.\nThe five are part of a larger group of local women known as Sisters in the Fairway. The group has been around for at least a decade, and all of its members are experienced players who have golfed all over the country and world. They're very familiar with golf etiquette.\n\"Our name implies that we want to live life in a fair way,\" Harrison said. We want to be sisters in the fairway, in golf and in life.\"\nNormally, clubs don't allow groups larger than four. Sandra Thompson was the last member to arrive, and checked with a clerk to see if it was OK to join the four others, knowing a fifth member might be an issue. The clerk said it was fine, said Thompson, an attorney and president of the York branch of the NAACP.\nThompson posted a video on her Facebook page showing the interaction with club co-owner Jordan Chronister, his father, former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister, and several other white, male employees.\nIn it, Jordan Chronister tells the women he's been timing them and that they must leave the premises. The women respond that they took an appropriate break and that the men behind them were still on their beer break and not ready to tee off. The women are then told that the police have been called. And so they wait.\nNorthern York County Regional Police arrived, conducted interviews and left without charging anyone.\n\"We were called there for an issue, the issue did not warrant any charges,\" Northern York County Regional Police Chief Mark Bentzel told the York Daily Record.\nJJ Chronister, who owns the club with her husband Jordan Chronister, told the newspaper Sunday that she called the women personally to apologize. She said she hopes to meet with them to discuss how the club can use what happened as a learning experience and do better in the future." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ISTANBUL (AP) — The Latest on Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Syria, Egypt and Turkey: (all times local):\n10:15 p.m.\nRussian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the U.S. administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, warning that it could destabilize the region and derail the Middle East peace process.\nSpeaking Monday after a hectic day that took him from a Russian base in Syria to Cairo to Ankara, Putin said the Trump administration's move \"doesn't help the Mideast settlement and, just the opposite, destabilizes the already difficult situation in the region.\"\nThe Russian leader added that it may \"finish prospects for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.\"\nHe added that Moscow believes the status of Jerusalem can only be settled through talks between the Palestinians and Israel in line with United Nations resolutions.\n___\n8:15 p.m.\nRussian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Ankara to meet his Turkish counterpart, following visits to Syria and Egypt.\nPutin and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are meeting Monday evening to discuss developments in Syria and the Middle East, as well as bilateral relations, according to the Turkish president's office.\nPutin and Erdogan met several times this year and regularly talk on the telephone as they and Iran work to broker a solution in Syria.\nRelations between the two countries were tense after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet for violating its airspace in 2015. But the two have since restored bilateral relations.\nPutin and Erdogan are expected to hold a joint news conference after their meeting." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HAVANA (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it is not cutting off food and water supplies to Puerto Rico despite reports that it intended to do so.\nFEMA spokesman William Booher tells The Associated Press that the agency had been evaluating whether enough stores and supermarkets had reopened by Jan. 31 to justify ending distribution of food and water to municipal governments on the island. He says that decision had not actually been taken but officials mistakenly made the date public this week.\nBooher says FEMA is in the process of winding down food and water distribution as stories and markets come back online, but will continue to distribute aid to needy towns for the foreseeable future." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The game will go on.\nThe annual Congressional Baseball Game, which dates to 1909 and is a summertime tradition on Capitol Hill, will be played Thursday despite Wednesday's shooting at the GOP squad's practice in Alexandria, Virginia.\nIt's an annual tradition in which aging former Little Leaguers don their spikes and dust off their gloves in a game played for bragging rights and to benefit several charities. It's also a somewhat rare example of bipartisanship in an increasingly polarized Washington.\nHouse Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., assured lawmakers assembled at a members' briefing that the game will be played as scheduled, prompting a standing ovation.\n\"It will be 'Play Ball!' tomorrow night at 7:05,\" said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the longtime manager of the GOP squad.\nOnce a relatively cozy affair, played at a minor league ballpark in Maryland, the game has gone big time in recent years and has been played at Nationals Park, just a few blocks from the Capitol.\n\"We do it for really three reasons. We do it for fellowship amongst ourselves. We do it for charity,\" Barton said. \"We raise a lot of money for three charities. And we do it because we like to play baseball and try to recapture a little bit of our youth. It's a positive thing. Of all the things Congress does, this is one of the most benign, positive activities.\"\nMembers of Congress practice for months for the event, and typically don the jerseys of a team from back home. The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call sponsors the game and awards a trophy once a side wins three of five games.\n\"It's a good way raise money for charity and for members to get to know each other,\" said Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., whose election in 2010 upended the competitive balance of the annual event. Richmond played baseball in college and kicked off his congressional career with a one-hitter in 2011 and has been the game's dominant player pretty much since then.\nLast year, however, Democrats lost the game 8-7, ending a seven-game winning streak that mostly coincided with Richmond joining the Democratic side.\n\"I was fresh off of surgery, but they made more plays than we made last year,\" Richmond told reporters. \"This was a year we wanted to get even.\"\nCongressional leaders typically attend the event and former President Barack Obama — famous for shunning opportunities to rub shoulders with lawmakers — even went two years ago, watching from the Democratic dugout. Obama's appearance came as he was struggling to win Democratic votes for an unpopular trade-related measure.\nPresident Donald Trump will not be attending Thursday's game, however, due to security concerns.\n\"While the president would like to attend the game and show his support for all of these brave public servants, he has been advised that there is not enough time to follow Secret Service protocols,\" Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday.\nTo lawmakers, the annual game is one of the better opportunities for lawmakers to get to know each other outside of their partisan roles.\n\"The things that used to bring members together, whether it's travel - that's frowned upon. If you belong to the gym, they think 'well, that's a perk you shouldn't have,'\" said Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, the manager of the Democratic team. \"All the chances to interact with each other outside our suits, and outside floor debate, are few and far between.\"\n___\nOnline: https://www.congressionalbaseball.org/" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "U.S. Rep. Bob Brady of Philadelphia will not seek another term in Congress, giving up the seat he's held for two decades, his office said Wednesday.\nBrady revealed the news to reporters and Democratic Party ward leaders in Philadelphia, his hometown and the city where he has been the longtime Democratic Party leader.\nBrady, 72, was facing a potentially stiff primary challenge from a former city official, Nina Ahmad, as his district faced near-certain changes now that a gerrymandering lawsuit has prompted the state Supreme Court to order a redrawing of the boundaries of Pennsylvania's 18 congressional districts. The decision is on appeal by top state Republican lawmakers at the U.S. Supreme Court.\nBrady's district is heavily Democratic, and will likely remain in Democratic hands.\nBrady's retirement means there are six open seats in Pennsylvania, the most in decades. Four Republican congressmen have announced that they would not seek re-election — one, Lou Barletta, is running for U.S. Senate — while another Republican congressman, Tim Murphy, resigned in a scandal last fall.\nBrady's decision comes after the FBI investigated a payment his campaign made to a primary opponent in 2012.\nBrady's campaign gave a city judge who challenged him in the 2012 primary $90,000 to quit the race, according to the plea memo unsealed after the judge's campaign aide pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws. And Brady himself tried to \"influence\" a witness in the case, according to prosecutors, who said they filed the case under seal for fear he would \"corrupt(ly)\" pressure the aide not to cooperate.\nBrady has denied any wrongdoing and was not charged. Last month, a political consultant for Brady pleaded guilty to lying about the payment." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's governmental rights agency says many of the country's prisons are unsafe, overcrowded and understaffed.\nThe National Human Rights Commission says it surveyed conditions at over 190 state, local and federal jails.\nIt found that inmates often controlled some areas of prisons, or had contraband inside.\nThe report released Wednesday cited insufficient staff, unsafe procedures and poor medical care at many facilities.\nThe conclusions come as no surprise. In recent months, inmates in Mexico have staged mass escapes, battled each other and shot it out with police and guards with guns smuggled into prison." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:\n1. POLICE MAKE DIRECT APPEAL TO BOMBER\nIn the search for answers to a series of explosions in Austin, Texas, authorities have come ahead with a simple plea to whoever's behind the blasts: Talk to us.\n2. SELF-DRIVING UBER STRIKES, KILLS PEDESTRIAN\nThe fatality in a Phoenix suburb is the first involving a fully autonomous test vehicle, prompting the ride-hailing company to suspend all road-testing of such autos in the U.S. and Canada.\n3. TRUMP UNVEILS PLAN TO COMBAT OPIOIDS\nThe president calls for stiffer penalties for drug traffickers, including embracing a tactic employed by some of the global strongmen he admires: the death penalty.\n4. DATA MINING CREATES STIR\nA Trump-affiliated group, Cambridge Analytica, reportedly tried to influence elections using data, including likes, inappropriately obtained on tens of millions of Facebook users. What's not clear is how effective that was.\n5. WHAT'S NEXT FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN\nAs the Russian leader shifts into his next six-year term, he could groom a successor, scrap term limits, or create for himself a new behind-the-scenes position of power.\n6. TURKEY VOWS NO LET-UP\nPresident Erdogan says he intends to keep pressure on a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia — and could expand Turkey's military offensive into other Kurdish-held areas across northern Syria and even into neighboring Iraq.\n7. MISSISSIPPI LAW STANDS ALONE\nThe state's governor signs the nation's tightest abortion restrictions into law, banning most abortions after 15 weeks.\n8. HOW TO STAY HEALTHY WHILE FLYING\nWorried about catching a cold or the flu on an airplane? Get a window seat, and don't leave it until the flight is over, researchers advise.\n9. NCAA TOURNAMENT HAS NEW LOOK\nSixteen teams are now left. Top seeds Virginia and Xavier are gone. Ditto No. 2 seeds North Carolina and Cincinnati.\n10. WHO'S STEPPING ONTO POLITICAL STAGE\nFormer \"Sex and the City\" star Cynthia Nixon says she's running for New York governor." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's GOP and Democratic leaders can't agree on much, but they both say they want to dedicate weeks to passing legislation to fund the government next year — and avoid the annual take-it-or-leave-it vote on a foot-tall, $1 trillion-plus catchall spending bill.\nFor now, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer are saying all the right things to try to revive the older, more deliberative ways of doing Senate business rather than bundling the 12 annual spending bills together.\nCritics say it gives too much power to top leaders while rank and file lawmakers are shut out of secretive negotiations.\nPresident Donald Trump is playing a role as well, promising that he won't sign any more such \"omnibus\" appropriations bills." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel held his baby son as he returned to his late-night son from a week off for the boy's heart surgery.\nKimmel was crying from the first moment of his monologue Monday night as he pleaded with Congress to restore and improve children's health coverage, a cause he has championed since his son Billy was born with a heart defect in April.\nBilly needed one surgery just after his birth and had a follow-up operation last week.\nKimmel kept up his ardent advocacy Monday night, urging Congress to restore the Children's Health Insurance Program, which has been left unfunded and stuck in a political stalemate since September.\nKimmel said it's \"disgusting\" that Congress is putting tax cuts for millionaires ahead of the lives of children." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CROZET, Va. (AP) — Republican members of Congress with medical experience put their skills to work after a train carrying dozens of them crashed into a garbage truck in rural Virginia, killing one person in the truck and injuring others.\nThe congressmen were on their way to a strategy retreat in the countryside when the collision occurred around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday in Crozet, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Washington.\nNo serious injuries were reported aboard the chartered Amtrak train, which set out from the nation's capital with lawmakers, family members and staff for the luxury Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. At least two other people in the truck were reported seriously hurt.\nRep. James Comer of Kentucky said about 100 Republican lawmakers were on the train when the crash made him jump out of his seat.\n\"I looked out the side of the window and then I could see a truck, just in pieces out the side of the window,\" Comer said. He said Capitol police officers quickly jumped off the train but came back and asked for any doctors to help.\nFlorida Rep. Neal Dunn, a former Army surgeon, said he and other lawmakers who are doctors joined other passengers who are nurses or paramedics and jumped out with the basic medical gear they had. They broke into three teams to help the injured people in the truck, he said.\n\"The first gentleman was somebody who had really, really, really devastating injuries. We did try to resuscitate, but ultimately you had to realize it wasn't possible,\" Dunn said. He said another man in the truck was critically injured and a third was seriously hurt.\nRep. Phil Roe, a doctor from Tennessee, said the truck driver was killed instantly.\nSen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and his wife, both doctors, were among those who came to the rescue. He said he helped a man from the truck who was badly injured.\n\"My role was quite simple: I picked up his feet so the blood in his feet would go to his heart and his brain,\" Cassidy said.\nSen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said seeing the lawmakers tending to the injured reminded him of the shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise at a GOP baseball practice last June.\n\"I thought then I never want to experience a day like this again,\" Flake said. \"Unfortunately, it came too soon.\"\nAuthorities gave no details on the cause of the wreck, which took place at a crossing protected by gates, flashing lights, bells and warning signs. The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate and would spend several days at the site, spokesman Earl Weener said Wednesday night.\nBenny Layne, on whose property the truck landed, said the crossing arms had been known to malfunction, sometimes coming down even though no train was approaching. Sometimes, he said, they stayed down for hours.\nHe said motorists would get out of their cars to help guide other motorists around the malfunctioning arms so they could cross the tracks.\n\"A guy was up here just yesterday or the day before taking a look at them,\" he said.\nCarrie Brown, human resources manager at Buckingham Branch Railroad, which leases the stretch of track and is responsible for maintenance, said she was unaware of any problems with equipment at the crossing. At a Wednesday night news conference, Weener said signal experts would be looking at the safety of the crossing.\nOfficials gave varying figures on the number hurt. But Amtrak said two crew members and three passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.\nMinnesota Rep. Jason Lewis' staff tweeted that the first-term congressman was among those taken to the hospital and was later discharged after suffering a concussion. Others aboard the train reported bumps, bruises and sore joints.\nThe GOP policy retreat, an annual event, was scheduled to last three days and feature speeches from President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. By early afternoon, lawmakers were boarding buses to resume their trip.\nLater Wednesday, Pence told Republicans at the party retreat that he knows \"it's been a harrowing day for all of you.\" Pence, a former House member, said he has fond memories of the retreat and the train rides back and forth. \"Just know our hearts are with you,\" he said.\nPence was the featured speaker Wednesday night at the GOP retreat. Trump was to address lawmakers Thursday.\nOther doctor-lawmakers who assisted included Reps. Michael Burgess of Texas, Phil Roe of Tennessee, Larry Bucshon of Indiana and Roger Marshall of Kansas, according to those aboard.\nHouse Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was on the train and was unhurt, aides said.\n___\nFram reported from Washington. AP reporters Denise Lavoie and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia; Adam Beam in Frankfort, Kentucky; Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Andrew Taylor in Washington contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine military says it has deployed a Japanese-donated patrol plane to a disputed shoal guarded by China in the South China Sea, and the aircraft did not encounter any Chinese resistance.\nThe military's Northern Luzon Command says the Beechcraft King Air C90 flew low at 800 feet (240 meters) around Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday during its first mission for the Philippine navy. It said it spotted nine Chinese vessels, including four Chinese coast guard ships, and four Philippine fishing boats.\nThe military says it \"will utilize all available assets and resources to protect our national territory.\"\nThe plane is one of five refurbished C90 aircraft which were leased and later donated by Japan to the Philippines. The Asian nations are both locked in territorial disputes with China." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MANCHESTER, England (AP) — FIFA player of the year Carli Lloyd is joining English women's champion Manchester City.\nAfter spending her entire career playing for clubs in her homeland, the United States captain signed Wednesday to play for City this spring.\nThe 34-year-old Lloyd is expected to rejoin the Houston Dash of the National Women's Soccer League in June, although City's statement did not mention the Texas team.\nLloyd says City is \"leading the development of women's football both on and off the pitch.\"\nLloyd adds that \"the chance to fulfil a long held ambition to test myself in a new footballing environment, as well as playing in the Champions League, is something I am relishing.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ZURICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--South Korea, Germany and Singapore are the world’s top-ranked nations in their preparations for smoothly integrating intelligent automation into their economies, according to an index and report released today by ABB and The Economist Intelligence Unit.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005873/en/\nThe report \" The Automation Readiness Index (ARI): Who Is Ready for the Coming Wave of Innovation? \" finds that even the best-prepared countries must develop even more effective education policies and training programs, as well as place a new emphasis on continual learning over the course of a career.\nThose policies and programs, the report recommends, must ensure that the rapid adoption of automation technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) will not leave people unprepared for the new, more human-oriented jobs that will be needed as robots and algorithms take on more of the routine tasks that can be and will be automated.\n\"The report showcases the success pattern of the future. We must take advantage of these recommendations,\" says Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB. \"The pace of innovation and job change today is so fast that everyone must have access to lifelong learning. Augmenting human potential with technology, in a responsible way, while providing ongoing education and training, is an opportunity to drive prosperity and growth.\"\nThe report, which surveyed and ranked 25 countries on their automation readiness, found that many nations across the globe are just beginning to come to grips with the opportunities and challenges posed by AI and robotics-based automation. It found that \"more engagement between government, industry, educational specialists and other stakeholders is needed if policymaking is to keep pace with innovation in automation.\"\nThe report emphasizes that, whether policymakers are ready or not, businesses are rapidly integrating AI and advanced robotics into their operations. As that adoption accelerates in coming years, the impact on economies and workforces – and the need for a more concerted approach to education and training – will become clearer, and more urgent.\nIn addition to South Korea, Germany and Singapore, the countries best positioned to embrace this wave of change are the other members of the ARI that round out the top 10 in ranked order: Japan, Canada, Estonia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.\nThe analysis in the report is based on a new and original index, built by The Economist Intelligence Unit, as well as a series of in-depth interviews with subject matter experts from around the world. Rankings were determined based on a total of 52 qualitative and quantitative indicators selected in consultation with experts in automation, education and economics.\nThrough its YuMi collaborative robot and ABB Ability TM cross-industry portfolio of digital solutions for monitoring and controlling automation systems, ABB is helping manufacturers shaping factories of the future, where people remain a vital part of operations, working side by side with robots.\nThis new paradigm of human-robot collaboration has the potential to free people to focus their time and energy to higher-value work requiring human skills and talent, while leaving to robots the highly repetitive or physically demanding or even dangerous tasks. Such human work is likely to include designing the processes and operations for the robots to carry out, and also monitoring and overseeing the automated work performed by the machines.\nIdeally, a successful transition to a manufacturing economy built around intelligent automation will provide human talent with the opportunity to achieve higher levels of productivity, and, ultimately, more rewarding jobs.\nBut to achieve that better future, the report notes that most countries will have to elevate their vocational training programs. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula remain important, the report finds. But automation and AI place even greater need for basic education programs and new types of teacher training.\nABB and The Economist Intelligence Unit plan to conduct the ARI research annually and revise the rankings each year as warranted. That will enable the index to fulfill its purpose as a tool to help governments continually identify and pursue policies that support successful participation in the highly automated, intensively digitalized global economy.\nFor its part, ABB is preparing for the future by creating “digital workplace” environments, training employees to use digital and automation tools. ABB also supports innovation at its corporate research centers and via collaborative partnerships with startups through the ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) venture capital unit.\nIn the global policy and educational arenas, ABB remains committed to continuing its work with trade bodies, multilateral organizations and academic institutions. The company also stands ready to brief public policymakers as requested, to enable intelligent automation to become a positive benefit to society by delivering higher levels of productivity and creating meaningful employment opportunities.\nABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing a history of innovation spanning more than 130 years, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization with two clear value propositions: bringing electricity from any power plant to any plug and automating industries from natural resources to finished products. As title partner of Formula E, the fully electric international FIA motorsport class, ABB is pushing the boundaries of e-mobility to contribute to a sustainable future. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 135,000 employees. www.abb.com\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005873/en/\nCONTACT: ABB Ltd\nMedia Relations\nPhone: +41 43 317 71 11\nEmail:media.relations@ch.abb.com\nKEYWORD: EUROPE ASIA PACIFIC NORTH AMERICA CANADA SWITZERLAND\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE SOFTWARE OTHER TECHNOLOGY\nSOURCE: ABB\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/23/2018 10:35 AM/DISC: 04/23/2018 10:35 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005873/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Dec. 9 the winners of the Taiwan Young Lions Competition, an annual social media contest for youths, during a ceremony at Tamkang University in New Taipei City.\nEach year, the MOFA invites local youths to create social media campaigns that increase awareness of Taiwan’s natural beauty and commitment to playing a more significant role in the international community.\nAccording to the ministry, this year’s competition attracted 39 submissions, which can all be viewed on the MOFA-organized Trending Taiwan YouTube channel. A total of 29 two-member teams made it to the finals, where contestants were given 24 hours to produce a one-minute video on Taiwan’s efforts to expand its international participation.\nFirst place and a prize of NT$250,000 (US$8,333) went to Lin Jung-an and Lee Hsin-ning, who impressed the judges with their Taiwan Emoji Project, a series of emojis depicting iconic features of Taiwan such as bubble milk tea and the Taipei 101 skyscraper.\nSecond place, which also came with a NT$250,000 prize, went to Chuang Chih-yuan and Fan Chun-ta for their online ambient music that fuses original electronic compositions with sounds recorded in some of Taiwan’s most iconic locales such as beaches, night markets and forests. The “white noise” soundtracks are designed for a variety of purposes, such as relaxation or concentration.\nIn addition to the cash prizes, the two winning teams will also act as Taiwan’s representatives to the Young Lions Competition slated for June 18-22 next year in Cannes, France. Lin and Lee will compete in the digital category, while Chuang and Fang will compete for best film.\nThe Taiwan Young Lions Competition is organized by the MOFA in collaboration with Taipei City-based event management company Kleinerfisch, which represents Taiwan at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, branded as one of the largest events geared toward the creative and marketing communications industry.\nAccording to the ministry, Trending Taiwan has added over 600 video clips showcasing the diversity and vitality of Taiwan and its people since its YouTube channel’s inauguration in 2015." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:\n1. PUTIN MAKES SURPRISE STOP IN SYRIA EN ROUTE TO CAIRO\nThe Russian president visits a Russian military air base in Latakia and announces a partial pullout of his forces from the country.\n2. DIVERGENT VIEWS ON WHAT ALABAMA SENATE VOTE MEANS\nThe matchup between Roy Moore and Doug Jones mixes both the Deep South state's tortured history and the nation's current divisive, bitterly partisan politics.\n3. MYANMAR MILITARY'S RAPE OF ROHINGYA MUSLIMS SWEEPING, METHODICAL\nIn interviews with the AP, more than two dozen women and girls bolster the U.N.'s contention that the Myanmar armed forces are systematically using rape as a \"calculated tool of terror\" to exterminate the Rohingya people.\n4. FOR TRUMP, GOP A MOMENTOUS 2 WEEKS\nRepublicans are determined to deliver the first revamp of the nation's tax code in three decades and agree on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown over the holidays.\n5. WHAT ARE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF WORKPLACE SCANDALS\nSome women, and men, worry the same climate that's emboldening women to speak up about sexual misconduct could backfire by making some men wary of female colleagues.\n6. FIREFIGHTERS BRACE FOR 2ND WEEK OF CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES\nSouthern California fire officials anticipate more growth and danger due to continued strong wind gusts, no rain and decades-old dry vegetation.\n7. DEADLINE WEEK CRUNCH FOR HEALTH LAW SIGN-UPS\nFriday is the last day for millions of people still eligible to enroll in subsidized private coverage in 39 states served by the federal HealthCare.gov website.\n8. BITCOIN FUTURES RISE AS VIRTUAL CURRENCY HITS MAJOR EXCHANGE\nThe futures contract that expires in January surges more than $3,000 to $18,580 eight hours after trading for the popular virtual currency launched on the Chicago Board Options Exchange.\n9. WHO ARE FAVORITES FOR POST-WEINSTEIN GOLDEN GLOBES\nSteven Spielberg's Pentagon Papers drama \"The Post\" and Christopher Nolan's World War II tale \"Dunkirk\" are expected to lead the film categories, while Hulu's \"The Handmaid's Tale\" and HBO's \"Big Little Lies\" could be in for a big day on the TV side.\n10. STEELERS CLINCH AFC NORTH\nBen Roethlisberger throws for 506 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to top 500 yards passing three times, as Pittsburgh (11-2) rallies past Baltimore 39-38." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish low-cost fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz AB says its fourth-quarter profit fell to 3.99 billion kronor ($506 million), down from 5.91 billion kronor.\nSales during the same period have dropped 2 percent to 50.4 million kronor ($6.4 million) as \"the industry changes are challenging everyone and this will continue in 2018.\"\nCEO Karl-Johan Persson says \"at the heart of the transformation is digitalization and it is driving the need to transform and re-think faster and faster.\"\nPersson said Wednesday the group's 2017 performance \"was mixed,\" adding there were \"difficulties.\"\nIn recent weeks, the Stockholm-based group had been accused of racism over an ad showing a black child dressed in a hoodie reading \"coolest monkey in the jungle\" for which H&M has apologized." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Tuesday:\nApple Inc., down 99 cents to $166.97\nThe Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is cutting its first-quarter forecasts for iPhone X sales.\nMetLife Inc., down $4.67 to $49.73\nThe insurance company said it discovered problems in its internal financial reports.\nCallidus Software Inc., up $3.25 to $35.95\nThe business software company agreed to be bought by SAP for $36 a share, or $2.53 billion.\nThomson Reuters Corp., up $3.07 to $46.52\nReuters reported that the company may sell a majority stake in its financial and risk business to Blackstone Group.\nHarley-Davidson Inc., down $4.45 to $50.84\nThe motorcycle maker said shipments will decline again in 2018 and said it plans to close a plant in Kansas City, Missouri.\nExpress Scripts Inc., down $2.61 to $79.31\nShares in health care companies fell after Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway announced plans for a health care venture.\nHCA Inc., up $3.83 to $101.45\nThe hospital chain had a better fourth quarter than analysts had expected.\nScotts Miracle-Gro Co., down $15.21 to $91.96\nThe lawn and garden products company had a weak quarter and said its recently acquired Hawthorne business is struggling." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says a wide-reaching anti-corruption campaign has netted more than $106 billion in financial settlements with 65 people who remain in custody.\nSaudi Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said on Tuesday that the settlements reached include seizure of real estate assets, commercial entities, securities and cash. His statement didn't disclose further details on the types of businesses or real estate that was acquired.\nThe attorney general says the remaining 65 still in custody have not reached a financial settlement \"due to other pending criminal cases, or in order to continue the investigation process.\"\nAmong those released over the weekend was billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was among at least 11 princes and dozens of businessmen and officials detained in the sweep that began on Nov. 4." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo's prime minister has suspended significant pay increases for top government officials amid a wave of criticism.\nRamush Haradinaj on Wednesday said the government suspended them and will wait for a Constitutional Court verdict on the issue.\nOn Tuesday, Kosovo's Agency Against Corruption said there was no legal basis for the government's decision to double or significantly raise the salaries of top officials. Thirty lawmakers then asked the Constitutional Court's opinion on the legal basis of such a decision.\nIn late December, the government decided to raise salaries, doubling it for the prime minister to 2,950 euros ($3,656) a month before taxes. The average salary in the country is 354 euros a month ($438).\nKosovo is one of Europe's poorest countries." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 4, 2018--The global fruits and vegetables coatings market is expected to register a CAGR of close to 7% during the period 2018-2022, according to the latest market research report by .\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005165/en/\nTechnavio has published a new market research report on the global fruits and vegetables coatings market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)\nA key factor driving the market’s growth is the reduction in the price of editing software. Coatings help in restoring the natural coatings of fruit and vegetables and prevent dehydration. Several post-harvested conventional and organically approved processing solutions are used for coating fruits and vegetables. Some of the popular coatings include vegetables waxes such as carnauba, animal-based waxes such as shellac, and mineral and synthetic waxes.\nThis market research report on the provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook during the forecast period. Technavio predicts an emerging trend as a major factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline.\nThis report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only:\nIn this report, Technavio highlights the increasing demand for food products with long shelf lives as one of the key emerging trends in the global fruits and vegetables coatings market:\nGlobal fruits and vegetables coatings market: Increasing demand for food products with long shelf lives\nAt present, the emphasis on reducing food wastage has increased in many countries, especially in regions such as APAC. It is estimated that 1.3 billion tons, which is approximately one-third of the food produced globally, is wasted annually. Wastage of food products leads to financial losses for retailers and manufacturers. Fruit harvesters and exporters apply fruit coatings in order to increase the shelf life of fruits and thus reducing wastage.\n“Consumers prefer the enhanced flavor and freshness of coated fruits and vegetables. A key factor driving the growth of the market is the extended shelf life of coated fruit and vegetables. Applying wax coatings on fruits and vegetables significantly decreases the chances of post-harvest decay. These coatings reduce weight loss in fruits and increases tissue firmness during transportation and storage,” says a senior analyst at Technavio for research on food service.\nGlobal fruits and vegetables coatings market: Segmentation analysis\nThis market research report segments the global fruits and vegetables coatings market into the following products (fruits coatings and vegetables coatings) and key regions (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA).\nThe fruits coatings segment held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for nearly 68% of the market. This product segment is expected to dominate the global market throughout the forecast period.\nAPAC held the highest share of the global fruits and vegetables coatings market in 2017, accounting for a market share of approximately 40%. The market share occupied by this region is anticipated to increase by nearly 1% during 2018-2022.\nLooking for more information on this market?\nTechnavio’s sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.\nSome of the key topics covered in the report include:\nMarket Landscape\nMarket ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis\nMarket Sizing\nMarket sizing Market size and forecast\nFive Forces Analysis\nMarket Segmentation\nGeographical Segmentation\nRegional comparison Key leading countries\nMarket Drivers\nMarket Challenges\nMarket Trends\nVendor Landscape\nVendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario\nAbout Technavio\nis a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.\nWith over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio’s report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio’s comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.\nIf you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at .\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005165/en/\nCONTACT: Technavio Research\nJesse Maida\nMedia & Marketing Executive\nUS: +1 844 364 1100\nUK: +44 203 893 3200\nwww.technavio.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY OTHER TECHNOLOGY RETAIL FOOD/BEVERAGE OTHER RETAIL\nSOURCE: Technavio Research\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 07/04/2018 09:18 AM/DISC: 07/04/2018 09:17 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005165/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LAS VEGAS (AP) — Attorneys for embattled casino mogul Steve Wynn say in court documents that he brokered a settlement with a second woman who accused him of sexual misconduct more than a decade ago.\nThe documents received earlier this month in state court in Las Vegas say Wynn recently went to the FBI to accuse the woman of trying to extort him by threatening to go public with details from the 2006 settlement.\nLawyer Lisa Bloom, who represents the woman, says her client denies the extortion allegations.\nThe Associated Press generally doesn't name people who say they are victims of sexual misconduct.\nWynn resigned as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts last month amid allegations from several women that he denied.\nThe FBI declined to confirm Monday whether it has investigated." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Below is the statement the Fed released Wednesday after its policy meeting ended:\nInformation received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in May indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising moderately so far this year. Job gains have moderated but have been solid, on average, since the beginning of the year, and the unemployment rate has declined.\nHousehold spending has picked up in recent months, and business fixed investment has continued to expand. On a 12-month basis, inflation has declined recently and, like the measure excluding food and energy prices, is running somewhat below 2 percent. Market-based measures of inflation compensation remain low; survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance.\nConsistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee continues to expect that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace, and labor market conditions will strengthen somewhat further.\nInflation on a 12-month basis is expected to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term but to stabilize around the Committee's 2 percent objective over the medium term. Near term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced, but the Committee is monitoring inflation developments closely.\nIn view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1 to 1-1/4 percent. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting some further strengthening in labor market conditions and a sustained return to 2 percent inflation.\nIn determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation. This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments.\nThe Committee will carefully monitor actual and expected inflation developments relative to its symmetric inflation goal. The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate; the federal funds rate is likely to remain, for some time, below levels that are expected to prevail in the longer run. However, the actual path of the federal funds rate will depend on the economic outlook as informed by incoming data.\nThe Committee is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction. The Committee currently expects to begin implementing a balance sheet normalization program this year, provided that the economy evolves broadly as anticipated.\nThis program, which would gradually reduce the Federal Reserve's securities holdings by decreasing reinvestment of principal payments from those securities, is described in the accompanying addendum to the Committee's Policy Normalization Principles and Plans.\nVoting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Janet L. Yellen, Chair; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Lael Brainard; Charles L. Evans; Stanley Fischer; Patrick Harker; Robert S. Kaplan; and Jerome H. Powell. Voting against the action was Neel Kashkari, who preferred at this meeting to maintain the existing target range for the federal funds rate." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A 25-year-old Alaska man on Monday won the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.\nThe Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports (http://bit.ly/2lIfWu1) Matt Hall of Two Rivers crossed the finish line in downtown Fairbanks just after noon. It's Hall's first win in four tries in the race that goes between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon, where the Yukon Quest started Feb. 4.\nHe finished fourth in the Yukon Quest last year after scratching in 2015. He was third in 2014.\nHall took command of the race when then-leader Brent Sass had problems with his team. Sass scratched in Central, which gave Hall a lead of a couple hours over his nearest competitor.\nThe world's most famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, will have its ceremonial start in Anchorage on March 4. Poor snow conditions in the Alaska Range have forced the official start to Fairbanks on March 6. The winner of the nearly thousand-mile race is expected in Nome about nine days later." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — SpaceX is seeking up to $5 million more in new state funding to build a commercial spaceport in Texas, a high-profile project that's behind schedule after breaking ground in 2014.\nSpaceX is seeking the money to help build infrastructure related to the launch facility at Boca Chica beach outside Brownsville, the Austin American-Statesman reported .\nThe Cameron County Spaceport Development Corp. recently applied for the $5 million at the request of SpaceX, according to county Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. The new money for the project would come from the Spaceport Trust Fund, a state economic development fund.\nThe application was due last month. Gov. Greg Abbott's economic development and tourism division is currently considering the application, said a spokeswoman for the governor.\nAbout $15.3 million in state funding has already been set aside for the planned spaceport, but less than $3 million has been used so far. SpaceX has also returned a small portion of the funds pledged from the state's jobs-focused Texas Enterprise Fund because the company fell short of hiring goals as the project couldn't keep pace with its original timetable.\nThe California-based company was founded by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing the cost of space travel and eventually facilitating the colonization of Mars.\nMusk initially said that SpaceX will invest $100 million at the site, predicting it could send up rockets by late 2016, however that date has since been pushed to at least late 2018.\n___\nInformation from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) joined a Hello Kitty costume character on Saturday to open the Pingtung Tropic Agriculture Expo in southern Taiwan and even took a selfie with a rice farm on which an image of Hello Kitty and friends was shown through different colors of rice.\nThe rice farm with special images has proved popular among visitors. After collaborating with Sony Pictures to create the image of “Resident Evil” in 2017, the county government decided to work with Sanrio this year, with the hope of attracting the fans of one of the most popular fictional characters in the world. Through the picture one can see two Hello Kitty characters with five friends extending across a huge rice farm.\n► 2018 Pingtung Tropic Agriculture Expo (Screen capture of President Tsai Ing-wen's Facebook page)\nAccording to the event organizer, the image is created by different types of rice seedlings which, after being cultivated, have come up with five colors of rice leaves, including purple, white, yellow, black, and green.\nThe organizer said the special seedlings were provided and controlled by the Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute, and that they were for appreciation only.\nDuring the opening remark, President Tsai recommended families take a trip to the fair, for it was combined with land art and several workshops related to farming and food-making.\nThe president said the expo demonstrated the county’s agricultural development, such as cocoa production. Although many people in Taiwan might know little about Pingtung’s cocoa and coffee beans, their high quality had been recognized in international competitions, added the president.\nApart from Hello Kitty and cocoa, there are 12 other sections where visitors can appreciate a huge garden, experience horse-riding, and buy local produce and seafood, according to the county government.\nThe agriculture expo will remain open until March 4 and admission is free. For more information, please visit the website." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Latest on the mock inauguration of Kenya's opposition leader (all times local):\n5:05 p.m.\nThe lawyer for the man who swore in Kenya's opposition leader during a mock inauguration says he has been arrested.\nPeter Kaluma says opposition legislator and lawyer T.J. Kajwang has been taken to the Nairobi's criminal investigations department for questioning.\nThe arrest occurred soon after Interior Minister Fred Matiangi announced that the government had launched investigations into Tuesday's mock inauguration of Raila Odinga as \"the people's president.\"\nThe minister says the investigations will extend to \"conspirators and facilitators.\"\nA government shutdown of the country's top three TV channels continues, and the former Kenyan vice president who had been blocked from being sworn in as Odinga's deputy says his home was attacked overnight in \"an assassination attempt.\"\n___\n6:15 a.m.\nFormer Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka says gunshots were fired at his home and a grenade detonated in what was \"an assassination attempt.\"\nMusyoka told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday the attack occurred hours after his police security was withdrawn and he had been blocked from attending a mock inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga protesting President Uhuru Kenyatta's new term after months of deadly election turmoil.\nMusyoka was to take the oath as Odinga's deputy president in the mock inauguration.\nThe opposition successfully challenged the August election in court, claiming vote-rigging, but boycotted a fresh election in October, claiming a lack of electoral reforms.\nKenya's government cut transmission of three TV channels airing live broadcasts of the Odinga inauguration Tuesday." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — President Donald Trump in a new letter to African leaders says he \"deeply respects\" the people of Africa and that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make an \"extended visit\" to the continent in March, his first in that role.\nThe letter dated Thursday is addressed to African leaders as they gather for an African Union summit this weekend in Ethiopia's capital.\nU.S. diplomats have scrambled for days to address shock and condemnation after Trump's reported comparison of African nations to a dirty toilet. Trump has said he didn't use such language, while others present say he did.\nMany in Africa were taken aback by the comments after nearly a year of little attention by the Trump administration to the world's second most populous continent. Concerns have been widespread over proposed deep cuts to U.S. foreign aid and a shift from humanitarian assistance to counterterrorism.\nTrump's letter, seen by The Associated Press and confirmed by two U.S. officials, says the U.S. \"profoundly respects\" the partnerships and values shared by the U.S. and Africans and that the president's commitment to strong relationships with African nations is \"firm.\"\nThe letter offers Trump's \"deepest compliments\" to the African leaders as they gather for Sunday's summit of their 55-nation continental body. It also notes that U.S. soldiers are \"fighting side by side\" against extremism on the continent and that the U.S. is working to increase \"free, fair and reciprocal trade\" with African countries and partnering to \"safeguard legal immigration.\"\nThe letter gives no details on Tillerson's upcoming visit. A State Department official said it was expected to include stops in four to six countries.\nOn Friday, Trump had a rare meeting with an African leader at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, calling Rwanda's president and new African Union chair Paul Kagame a \"friend.\"\nFor his part, Kagame tweeted: \"Had very good bilateral meeting with @realDonaldTrump!\" The Rwandan government said Kagame had \"observed that many of the world's fastest-growing economies are in Africa.\"\nNeither side referred to Trump's vulgar comment.\nBut African leaders are expected to respond to Trump during Sunday's summit. The U.S. will be represented at the gathering by Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard, the U.S. envoy to the AU, instead of the traditional high-level Washington delegation.\nAn AU spokeswoman has said the organization was \"frankly alarmed\" by Trump's remark, and a number of African nations have spoken out or summoned U.S. diplomats for an explanation. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, however, countered by expressing his love for Trump and saying he should be praised for not mincing his words.\nDozens of former U.S. ambassadors to African countries wrote a letter to Trump expressing \"deep concern\" over his comments and asking him to reconsider.\nThe State Department's Bureau of African Affairs, in trying to calm things down, has tweeted that \"the United States will continue to robustly, enthusiastically and forcefully engage\" with African countries.\n___\nAnna reported from Johannesburg." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }