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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Technavio’s latest market research report on the provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook from 2018-2022. defines an emerging trend as a factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006378/en/ Technavio has published a new market research report on the global GIS market in telecom sector from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire) According to Technavio market research analysts, the will grow at a CAGR of over 11% during the forecast period. Increased use of GIS for capacity planning is a major factor driving the market’s growth. Globally, telecom companies are capitalizing on the increasing demand for mobile phones and Internet. To increase their customer reach, they are providing a broad range of services. In urban areas, the telecom industry is saturated, and the competition is intense. The demand is rising in rural areas because of the increase in the literacy rate and relatively low competition, and this is enabling the players to focus on such markets. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: Save more with Technavio. Buy2 reports and get the third for FREE: In this report, Technavio highlights the use of GIS and big data as one of the key emerging trends in the global GIS market in the telecom sector: Use of GIS and big data The use of GIS data with big data and big data analytics is a new way of analyzing massive volumes of cluttered data to get meaningful and useful data. Companies such as Esri has built GIS tools for Hadoop. These tools help in using the Hadoop framework for the analysis of spatial data. It is an open source software for big spatial data analysis. Some of the major functions of the software include visualization and analysis of maps, publication of map applications online, large volume of data is recorded in Hadoop, large volume of Polygon analysis is performed to obtain new informative results and carrying out operations on billions of spatial data records based on location. “GIS tools for Hadoop helps in analyzing the impact of driver carpooling based on an analysis of automobile GPS position data. For the study, places with the highest number of trips with similar origin and destination locations were considered. With the help of GPS, the data collected includes 40 million vehicle position records gathered in a single day. The data included longitude, latitude, date, speed, and time. To analyze a vast number of data sets, the Hadoop MapReduce framework was used for distributed parallel computation,” says a senior analyst at Technavio for research on . Looking for more information on this market? Technavio’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. Global GIS market in the telecom sector – segmentation analysis This market research report segments the into the following products, including software, data, and services and key regions, the Americas, APAC, and EMEA. The software segment held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for nearly 47% of the market. The market share for this product is expected to decrease by 2022. The fastest growing product is services, which will account for nearly 23% of the total market share by 2022. The Americas was the leading region for the global GIS market in the telecom sector in 2017, accounting for a market share of nearly 45%. By 2022, APAC is expected to witness the highest growth rate. About Technavio is 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. With 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. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at . View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006378/en/ CONTACT: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com KEYWORD: INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY DATA MANAGEMENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOURCE: Technavio Research Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 02:33 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 02:33 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006378/en

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — A murder trial began Monday for a woman accused of deliberately driving off a cliff in Hawaii and killing her identical twin sister. The 2016 crash was a tragic accident, Alexandria Duval's defense attorney, Birney Bervar said in his opening statement. There's reasonable doubt of any criminal behavior, he said. Authorities described the 2016 crash as a hair-pulling fight over the steering wheel. The sisters, who were 38 at the time, were seen arguing on the narrow, winding Hana Highway on the island of Maui before their SUV plunged 200 feet over a cliff. Anastasia Duval was in the passenger seat and was killed, and her sister Alexandria Duval was arrested. A judge later ordered Alexandria Duval released after finding no probable cause for a murder charge. She traveled to upstate New York and was arrested again months later in Albany after a grand jury indicted her. Duval opted to have a judge instead of a jury decide the case. The judge is expected to reach a verdict this week. Maui resident Chad Smith testified that while the women were passing him on the highway he could see them arguing. Smith, who was headed to a church, said he couldn't hear anything but the women looked angry. He had to swerve out of their way, he said. The sisters, born Alison and Ann Dadow in the Utica, New York, area, operated popular yoga studios in Florida before they changed their names. They moved to Hawaii in 2015 from Utah. Duval isn't expected to testify, Bervar said.

PARIS (AP) — A young American man tried an underhand serve while cramping during a five-setter at the French Open. Hmm. Seen that before, haven't we? Except there was one key difference this time: For 21-year-old Jared Donaldson against No. 4-seed Grigor Dimitrov on Wednesday, unlike for 17-year-old — and eventual tournament champion — Michael Chang against Ivan Lendl in 1989, the unorthodox strategy didn't come in a victory. Dimitrov came back to beat the 57th-ranked Donaldson 6-7 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in a second-round match that lasted 4 hours, 19 minutes on the new Court 18 at Roland Garros. The most memorable aspect was Donaldson's two unusual service motions; he won the point the first time, but not the other. "I would never try it if I was feeling 100 percent and stuff," said Donaldson, who could barely move by the end because of painful cramps in his legs. "But obviously Grigor was playing so far back on the return that I felt like, 'You know, maybe it's just something that I'll try.' He obviously wasn't expecting it, you know what I mean? It's kind of a cheeky way to get a point." Donaldson said he has never seen footage of what Chang did 29 years ago. He did, however, know of the episode: Chang used an underhand serve while cramping during a fourth-round win over Lendl on the way to the French Open title; he remains the youngest man to win a major singles championship. Dimitrov was not angered by the tactic. Quite the opposite, actually, shrugging his shoulders and conceding it was smart for Donaldson to try it. "It was beautiful, right?" Dimitrov said. "He wanted to use something different to kind of try to put me off guard." Before his first underhand attempt, Donaldson was actually two points from the victory, leading 6-5 in the fifth set and at love-30 on Dimitrov's serve. But Dimitrov took the next four points. In the next game, at 6-all, 40-30, Donaldson successfully used the underhand motion. He hit a short serve that two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Dimitrov returned long to allow Donaldson to hold. After Dimitrov broke to lead 8-7 and serve for the victory, Donaldson broke right back. In the next game, though, Donaldson could barely stand, let alone run. He double-faulted. Then he tried his second underhand serve, dropping the point. Dimitrov hit a winner to break for a 9-8 lead, Donaldson slowly limped to the sideline for the changeover and, soon enough, it was over. "It wasn't that I was tired or anything," Donaldson said. "It was just my leg muscles had reached their limit, basically." After the final point, Dimitrov leaned forward while raising each knee to give it a kiss — thanking his own legs for carrying him to the win while Donaldson's gave way. "I had quite a little bit left in the tank, so that was great," said Dimitrov, who equaled his best French Open showing by reaching the third round. "And I think it meant a lot to the whole team, but especially to my fitness guy. ... It's great to win a match in five sets. I think it stays with you. You keep it." ___ Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ___ More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German automaker Daimler AG says its net profit rose 24 percent to a record 10.9 billion euros ($13.5 billion) last year, helped by strong sales of its Mercedes-Benz SUVs and new E-Class luxury sedan. The Stuttgart-based company gave a measured earnings outlook for this year, saying that operating earnings would be of "the magnitude of the previous year" instead of increasing. Daimler said its earnings would be burdened by "very high" expenditure on new models and technologies such as battery-powered cars. Like others, the company also has to prepare for autonomous driving and a shift to transportation services such as car-sharing and ride-hailing through smartphone apps. Revenue rose 7 percent on the year to 164.3 billion euros and management proposed its highest dividend to date, 3.65 per share.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's a bittersweet morning for the songwriters of "Remember Me" from "Coco." Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez learned of their Golden Globe nomination just as a bomb exploded on the New York City subway. The couple said they turned on the television to watch the Globe nominations when news of the Port Authority explosion broke Monday. This is the second nomination for the songwriting pair, who were previously recognized for "Let It Go" from "Frozen." Anderson-Lopez said they are now at work on "Frozen 2" and the Broadway version of "Frozen." The couple says it's a "giant thrill" to be nominated, but they didn't plan to do much celebrating. Their cat is terminally ill and may be put down today. Anderson-Lopez said they planned to sing "Remember Me" to him.

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AP) — Malik Monk had 20 points and a career-high eight rebounds, Derek Willis had 16 points and No. 13 Kentucky made 10 of its 11 3-point attempts in the first half to roll past Tennessee 83-58 on Tuesday night. Seeking to stay atop the Southeastern Conference, the Wildcats avenged last month's 82-80 road loss to the Volunteers with their best performance in a while. Long-range shooting provided the biggest lift as Kentucky (21-5, 11-2) made 11 3s, its first double-digit effort from behind the arc in a month, as Monk and Willis each made four in the first half. The Wildcats held Tennessee (14-12, 6-7) to 35 percent shooting and led by as many as 28 points in handing the Volunteers their third loss in four games. De'Aaron Fox had 13 points and six assists and Bam Adebayo grabbed 12 rebounds in Kentucky's third straight win. Admiral Schofield had 17 points and Jordan Bone added 15 for Tennessee. ___ No. 15 FLORIDA 114, AUBURN 95 AUBURN, Alabama (AP) — Canyon Barry scored a season-high 30 points for Florida. The Gators (21-5, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) blew past their previous scoring high of 106 points en route to a seventh straight win. They dominated after going into halftime locked in a 50-50 tie, coming out of the locker room on a 13-3 run and never looking back. Florida shot 56 percent from the field and made 11 of 19 3-point attempts and 37 of 42 free throws. Anfernee McLemore led Auburn (16-10, 5-8) with 19 points, T.J. Dunans had 13 and Ronnie Johnson 12. ___ No. 16 PURDUE 74, RUTGERS 55 WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (AP) — Center Isaac Haas had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and power forward Caleb Swanigan added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Purdue. Purdue (21-5, 10-3 Big Ten) led only 45-39 with just over 12:30 remaining, but from the 11:15 mark until he left the game with 2:20 to play, Haas scored 16 points, and the Boilermakers pulled away for their fourth consecutive victory. Nigel Johnson scored 23 points to lead Rutgers (13-14, 2-12), which had no answer for Purdue's big men. ___ No. 25 NOTRE DAME 84, BOSTON COLLEGE 76 BOSTON (AP) — Bonzie Colson scored 20 points and Matt Farrell had 19 as Notre Dame overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to send Boston College to its 10th straight loss. V.J. Beachem had 16 points and Steve Vasturia added 15 for the Fighting Irish (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference). It is coach Mike Brey's 13th time winning at least 20 games with Notre Dame. Ky Bowman led Boston College (9-18, 2-12) with 29 points and Mo Jeffers had 12. BC had sliced it to 78-76 on Bowman's two free throws with just under a minute to play, but Beachem grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on the ensuing possession. He hit both free throws with 24.1 seconds to play.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon said on Twitter Monday that she'll challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York's Democratic primary in September. Her announcement sets up a race pitting an openly gay liberal activist against a two-term incumbent with a $30 million war chest and possible presidential ambitions. In a video on Twitter, the public education advocate said, "We want our government to work again." Nixon in recent speeches has called on Democrats nationally to carve out a strong liberal identity instead of being merely the "anti-Trump party." The 51-year-old Manhattan mother of three is an ally of Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who frequently clashes with Cuomo on various issues. The 60-year-old Cuomo was favored 66 percent to 19 percent over Nixon in a recent Siena College poll.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Pakistan had five balls to spare when it beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets on Wednesday and eliminated the African host from the Twenty20 tri-series tournament. Solomon Mire missed out on the chance to become Zimbabwe's first century-maker in a T20 international as his 94-run knock carried Zimbabwe to 162-4 after captain Hamilton Masakadza lost his first toss in the tri-series and his team was put in to bat. Opener Fakhar Zaman (47) and Hussain Talat (44) led Pakistan to 163-3 in 19.1 overs against an inexperienced bowling attack as Pakistan registered its second win against Zimbabwe. It was Zimbabwe's third straight loss. Australia plays against Pakistan on Thursday before both teams meet in Sunday's final. Mire stood tall against Pakistan's full-strength attack as left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir (1-25) got his first game of the series and replaced Usman Khan. Mire and Cephas Zhuwao (24) provided a solid opening partnership of 49 runs before Tarisai Musakanda (33) added 64 runs for the third wicket with Mire. Mire, who hit six sixes and six fours, reached his half-century off 32 balls when he hoisted left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz for a six over long off in the 11th over. Pakistan struggled for wickets despite seamer Faheem Ashraf (1-24) and leg-spinner Shadab Khan (1-28) bowling a decent four overs each in the middle overs. Mire looked set to become the first Zimbabwe batsman to score a century in a Twenty20 before he holed out at deep mid-wicket off seamer Talat in the 18th over — only a ball after Asif Ali missed a sitter at deep square leg. Mire also featured in two dismissals during Pakistan's innings as he took a fine catch in the deep to dismiss Haris Sohail. He then denied Zaman a half century through his medium pace when the left-hander was caught at mid-on. Captain Sarfraz Ahmed (38 not out) and experienced Shoaib Malik (12 not out) kept their composure and carried Pakistan home. Ahmed was not happy with his bowlers, saying it "was not up to the mark, they have to work hard."

All Times EDT EASTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 72 49 19 4 102 260 202 Boston 71 45 17 9 99 239 184 Toronto 72 43 22 7 93 243 204 Washington 72 41 24 7 89 225 214 Pittsburgh 72 41 26 5 87 237 218 Columbus 73 40 28 5 85 205 203 Philadelphia 73 37 25 11 85 218 215 New Jersey 72 37 27 8 82 217 215 Florida 70 36 27 7 79 212 216 Carolina 72 31 30 11 73 194 225 N.Y. Rangers 72 32 32 8 72 208 231 N.Y. Islanders 72 30 32 10 70 231 262 Montreal 73 26 35 12 64 182 232 Ottawa 71 26 34 11 63 197 244 Detroit 72 26 35 11 63 184 224 Buffalo 72 23 37 12 58 172 236 WESTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Nashville 72 48 14 10 106 236 178 Vegas 72 46 21 5 97 244 199 Winnipeg 72 43 19 10 96 240 189 Minnesota 73 41 24 8 90 227 210 San Jose 72 40 23 9 89 219 199 Colorado 72 39 25 8 86 231 209 Los Angeles 73 40 27 6 86 211 184 Anaheim 73 37 24 12 86 206 197 Dallas 73 38 27 8 84 209 197 St. Louis 72 39 28 5 83 201 193 Calgary 74 35 29 10 80 204 222 Chicago 73 30 34 9 69 208 223 Edmonton 72 31 36 5 67 201 231 Vancouver 72 25 38 9 59 186 236 Arizona 72 24 37 11 59 175 230 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. Sunday's Games Colorado 5, Detroit 1 Vegas 4, Calgary 0 Tampa Bay 3, Edmonton 1 Carolina 4, N.Y. Islanders 3 Philadelphia 6, Washington 3 Winnipeg 4, Dallas 2 St. Louis 5, Chicago 4, OT Anaheim 4, New Jersey 2 Monday's Games Columbus 5, Boston 4, OT Nashville 4, Buffalo 0 Florida 2, Montreal 0 Los Angeles 4, Minnesota 3, OT Arizona 5, Calgary 2 Tuesday's Games Columbus at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Dallas at Washington, 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. Edmonton at Carolina, 7 p.m. Florida at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Colorado at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Vancouver at Vegas, 10 p.m. New Jersey at San Jose, 10:30 p.m. Wednesday's Games Montreal at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Arizona at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Boston at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Anaheim at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. Thursday's Games N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Arizona at Carolina, 7 p.m. Florida at Columbus, 7 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. Washington at Detroit, 7:30 p.m. Edmonton at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Nashville, 8 p.m. Vancouver at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles at Colorado, 9 p.m. Vegas at San Jose, 10 p.m.

Text of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, as provided by Federal News Service: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, first lady of the United States, and my fellow Americans, less than one year has passed since I first stood at this podium in this majestic chamber to speak on behalf of the American people and to address their concerns, their hopes and their dreams. That night, our new Administration had already taken very swift action. A new tide of optimism was already sweeping across our land. Each day since, we have gone forward with a clear vision and a righteous mission: to make America great again for all Americans. Over the last year, we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected and others we could never have imagined. We have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship. We have endured floods and fires and storms. But through it all, we have seen the beauty of America's soul and the steel in America's spine. Each test has forged new American heroes to remind us who we are and show us what we can be. We saw the volunteers of the Cajun Navy, racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a totally devastating hurricane. We saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the Las Vegas strip. We heard tales of Americans, like Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashlee Leppert, who is here tonight in the gallery with Melania. Ashlee was aboard one of the first helicopters on the scene in Houston during the Hurricane Harvey. Through 18 hours of wind and rain, Ashlee braved live power lines and deep water to help save more than 40 lives. Ashlee, we all thank you. Thank you very much. We heard about Americans like firefighter David Dahlberg. He's here with us, also. David faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 children trapped at a California summer camp threatened by those devastating wildfires. To everyone still recovering in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, everywhere, we are with you, we love you, and we always will pull through together always. Thank you to David and the brave people of California. Thank you very much, David. Great job. Some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally. With us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this House, a guy who took a bullet, almost died, and was back to work three-and-a-half months later, the legend from Louisiana, Congressman Steve Scalise. I think they like you, Steve. We're incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police officers, the Alexandria Police, and the doctors, nurses, and paramedics who saved his life and the lives of many others, some in this room. In the aftermath — yes. Yes. In the aftermath of that terrible shooting, we came together, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as representatives of the people. But it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy. Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This is really the key. These are the people we were elected to serve. Thank you. Over the last year, the world has seen what we always knew: that no people on Earth are so fearless, or daring, or determined as Americans. If there is a mountain, we climb it. If there's a frontier, we cross it. If there's a challenge, we tame it. If there's an opportunity, we seize it. So let's begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our union is strong because our people are strong. And together we are building a safe, strong, and proud America. Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including ... including 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. Tremendous number. After years and years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages. Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. And something I'm very proud of, African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded. And Hispanic-American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history. Small-business confidence is at an all-time high. The stock market has smashed one record after another, gaining $8 trillion and more in value in just this short period of time. The great news ... the great news for Americans, 401K, retirement, pension, and college savings accounts have gone through the roof. And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history. Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small business. To lower tax rates for hardworking Americans, we nearly doubled the standard deduction for everyone. Now the first $24,000 earned by a married couple is completely tax-free. We also doubled the child tax credit. A typical family of four making $75,000 will see their tax bill reduced by $2,000, slashing their tax bill in half. In April, this will be the last time you will ever file under the old and very broken system, and millions of Americans will have more take-home pay starting next month. A lot more. We eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on Americans making less than $50,000 a year, forcing them to pay tremendous penalties simply because they couldn't afford government-ordered health plans. We repealed the core of the disastrous Obamacare. The individual mandate is now gone. We slashed the business tax rate from 35 percent all the way down to 21 percent, so American companies can compete and win against anyone else anywhere in the world. These changes alone are estimated to increase average family income by more than $4,000. A lot of money. Small businesses have also received a massive tax cut and can now deduct 20 percent of their business income. Here tonight are Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger of Staub Manufacturing, a small beautiful business in Ohio. They've just finished the best year in their 20-year history. Because of tax reform, they are handing out raises, hiring an additional 14 people, and expanding into the building next door. Good feeling. One of Staub's employees, Corey Adams, is also with us tonight. Corey is an all-American worker. He supported himself through high school, lost his job during the 2008 recession, and was later hired by Staub, where he trained to become a welder. Like many hardworking Americans, Corey plans to invest his tax cut raise into his new home and his two daughters' education. Corey, please stand. And he's a great welder. I was told that by the man that owns that company that's doing so well, so congratulations, Corey. Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses, many of them thousands and thousands of dollars per worker. And it's getting more every month, every week. Apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in America and hire another 20,000 workers. And just a little while ago, ExxonMobil announced a $50 billion investment in the United States. Just a little while ago. This, in fact, is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American dream. So to every citizen watching at home tonight, no matter where you've been or where you've come from, this is your time. If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve absolutely anything. Tonight, I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to have and what kind of a nation we are going to be. All of us, together, as one team, one people, and one American family can do anything. We all share the same home, the same heart, the same destiny, and the same great American flag. Together, we are rediscovering the American way. In America, we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the center of American life. The motto is "in God we trust." And we celebrate our police, our military, and our amazing veterans as heroes who deserve our total and unwavering support. Here tonight is Preston Sharp, a 12-year-old boy from Redding, California, who noticed that veterans' graves were not marked with flags on Veterans Day. He decided all by himself to change that and started a movement that has now placed 40,000 flags at the graves of our great heroes. Preston, a job well done. Young patriots like Preston teach all of us about our civic duty as Americans. And I met Preston a little while ago, and he is something very special, that I can tell you. Great future. Thank you very much for all you've done, Preston. Thank you very much. Preston's reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the Pledge of Allegiance, and why we proudly stand for the national anthem. Americans love their country. And they deserve a government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return. For the last year, we have sought to restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their government. Working with the Senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret the Constitution as written, including a great new Supreme Court justice and more circuit court judges than any new administration in the history of our country. We are totally defending our Second Amendment and have taken historic actions to protect religious liberty. And we are serving our brave veterans, including giving our veterans choice in their health care decisions. Last year, Congress also passed, and I signed, the landmark V.A. Accountability Act. Since its passage, my administration has already removed more than 1,500 V.A. employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve, and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do. And I will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of, which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey. All Americans deserve accountability and respect, and that's what we are giving to our wonderful heroes, our veterans. Thank you. So tonight, I call on Congress to empower every cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people. In our drive to make Washington accountable, we have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration in the history of our country. We have ended the war on American energy, and we have ended the war on beautiful clean coal. We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world. In Detroit, I halted government mandates that crippled America's great, beautiful autoworkers so that we can get Motor City revving its engines again. And that's what's happening. Many car companies are now building and expanding plants in the United States, something we haven't seen for decades. Chrysler is moving a major plant from Mexico to Michigan. Toyota and Mazda are opening up a plant in Alabama, a big one. And we haven't seen this in a long time. It's all coming back. Very soon, auto plants and other plants will be opening up all over our country. This is all news Americans are totally unaccustomed to hearing. For many years, companies and jobs were only leaving us. But now they are roaring back, they're coming back. They want to be where the action is. They want to be in the United States of America. That's where they want to be. Exciting progress is happening every single day. To speed access to breakthrough cures and affordable generic drugs, last year the FDA approved more new and generic drugs and medical devices than ever before in our country's history. We also believe that patients with terminal conditions and terminal illness should have access to experimental treatment immediately that could potentially save their lives. People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure. I want to give them a chance right here at home. It's time for Congress to give these wonderful, incredible Americans the right to try. One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. And it's very, very unfair. That is why I have directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of my top priorities for the year. And prices will come down substantially. Watch. America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs, and our wealth. Our nation has lost its wealth, but we're getting it back so fast. The era of economic surrender is totally over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and, very importantly, reciprocal. We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones. And they'll be good ones, but they'll be fair. And we will protect American workers and American intellectual property through strong enforcement of our trade rules. As we rebuild our industries, it is also time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just one year. Isn't it a disgrace that it can now take 10 years just to get a minor permit approved for the building of a simple road? I am asking both parties to come together to give us safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve. Tonight I'm calling on Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs. Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit. And we can do it. Any bill must also streamline the permitting and approval process, getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one. Together, we can reclaim our great building heritage. We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land. And we will do it with American heart, American hands, and American grit. We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day's work. We want every child to be safe in their home at night. And we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we all love so much. We can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to independence, and from poverty to prosperity. As ... as tax cuts create new jobs, let's invest in workforce development and let's invest in job training, which we need so badly. Let's open great vocational schools so our future workers can learn a craft and realize their full potential. And let's support working families by supporting paid family leave. As America regains its strength, opportunity must be extended to all citizens. That is why this year we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second chance at life. Struggling communities, especially immigrant communities, will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of American workers and American families. For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They've allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives. Here tonight are two fathers and two mothers: Evelyn Rodriguez, Freddy Cuevas, Elizabeth Alvarado, and Robert Mickens. Their two teenage daughters — Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens — were close friends on Long Island. But in September 2016, on the eve of Nisa's 16th birthday, such a happy time it should have been, neither of them came home. These two precious girls were brutally murdered while walking together in their hometown. Six members of the savage MS-13 gang have been charged with Kayla and Nisa's murders. Many of these gang members took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as illegal unaccompanied alien minors and wound up in Kayla and Nisa's high school. Evelyn, Elizabeth, Freddy, and Robert, tonight, everyone in this chamber is praying for you. Everyone in America is grieving for you. Please stand. Thank you very much. I want you to know that 320 million hearts are right now breaking for you. We love you. Thank you. While we cannot imagine the depths of that kind of sorrow, we can make sure that other families never have to endure this kind of pain. Tonight, I am calling on Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13, and other criminal gangs, to break into our country. We have proposed new legislation that will fix our immigration laws, and support our ICE and Border Patrol agents — these are great people, these are great, great people that work so hard in the midst of such danger — so that this can never happen again. The United States is a compassionate nation. We are proud that we do more than any other country anywhere in the world to help the needy, the struggling, and the underprivileged all over the world. But as president of the United States, my highest loyalty, my greatest compassion, my constant concern is for America's children, America's struggling workers, and America's forgotten communities. I want our youth to grow up to achieve great things. I want our poor to have their chance to rise. So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties — Democrats and Republicans — to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed. My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans, to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American dream. Because Americans are dreamers, too. Here tonight is one leader in the effort to defend our country, Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Celestino Martinez. He goes by DJ. And CJ. He said call me either one. So we'll call you CJ. Served 15 years in the Air Force before becoming an ICE agent and spending the last 15 years fighting gang violence and getting dangerous criminals off of our streets. Tough job. At one point, MS-13 leaders ordered CJ's murder, and they wanted it to happen quickly. But he did not cave to threats or to fear. Last May, he commanded an operation to track down gang members on Long Island. His team has arrested nearly 400, including more than 220 MS-13 gang members. And I have to tell you what the Border Patrol and ICE have done. We have sent thousands and thousands and thousands of MS-13 horrible people out of this country or into our prisons. So I just want to congratulate you, CJ. You're a brave guy. Thank you very much. And I asked CJ, what's the secret? He said, "We're just tougher than they are." And I like that answer. Now let's get Congress to send you — and all of the people in this great chamber have to do it, we have no choice — CJ, we're going to send you reinforcements and we're going to send them to you quickly. It's what you need. Over the next few weeks, the House and Senate will be voting on an immigration reform package. In recent months, my administration has met extensively with both Democrats and Republicans to craft a bipartisan approach to immigration reform. Based on these discussions, we presented Congress with a detailed proposal that should be supported by both parties as a fair compromise, one where nobody gets everything they want, but where our country gets the critical reforms it needs and must have. Here are the four pillars of our plan. The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age. That covers almost three times more people than the previous administration covered. Under our plan, those who meet education and work requirements, and show good moral character, will be able to become full citizens of the United States over a 12-year period. The second pillar fully secures the border. That means building a great wall on the southern border, and it means hiring more heroes like CJ to keep our communities safe. Crucially, our plan closes the terrible loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country, and it finally ends the horrible and dangerous practice of catch and release. The third pillar ends the visa lottery, a program that randomly hands out green cards without any regard for skill, merit, or the safety of American people. It's time to begin moving toward a merit-based immigration system, one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country. The fourth and final pillar protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration. Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security and for the future of America. In recent weeks, two terrorist attacks in New York were made possible by the visa lottery and chain migration. In the age of terrorism, these programs present risks we can just no longer afford. It's time to reform ... these outdated immigration rules and finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century. These four pillars represent a down-the-middle compromise and one that will create a safe, modern, and lawful immigration system. For over 30 years, Washington has tried and failed to solve this problem. This Congress can be the one that finally makes it happen. Most importantly, these four pillars will produce legislation that fulfills my ironclad pledge to sign a bill that puts America first. So let's come together, set politics aside, and finally get the job done. These reforms will also support our response to the terrible crisis of opioid and drug addiction. Never before has it been like it is now. It is terrible. We have to do something about it. In 2016, we lost 64,000 Americans to drug overdoses, 174 deaths per day, seven per hour. We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge. My administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need, for those who have been so terribly hurt. The struggle will be long and it will be difficult, but as Americans always do, in the end, we will succeed, we will prevail. As we have seen tonight, the most difficult challenges bring out the best in America. We see a vivid expression of this truth in the story of the Holets family of New Mexico. Ryan Holets is 27 years old, an officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. He's here tonight with his wife, Rebecca. Thank you, Ryan. Last year, Ryan was on duty when he saw a pregnant, homeless woman preparing to inject heroin. When Ryan told her she was going to harm her unborn child, she began to weep. She told him she didn't know where to turn, but badly wanted a safe home for her baby. In that moment, Ryan said he felt God speak to him: "You will do it because you can." He heard those words. He took out a picture of his wife and their four kids. Then he went home to tell his wife, Rebecca. In an instant, she agreed to adopt. The Holets named their new daughter Hope. Ryan and Rebecca, you embody the goodness of our nation. Thank you. Thank you, Ryan and Rebecca. As we rebuild America's strength and confidence at home, we are also restoring our strength and standing abroad. Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values. In confronting these horrible dangers, we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means to our true and great defense. For this reason, I am asking Congress to end the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military. As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and so powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else. Perhaps some day in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly. Last year, I also pledged that we would work with our allies to extinguish ISIS from the face of the Earth. One year later, I am proud to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated very close to 100 percent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and in Syria and in other locations, as well. But there is much more work to be done. We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated. Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck is here tonight. Near Raqqa last November, Justin and his comrade, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, were on a mission to clear buildings that ISIS had rigged with explosive so that civilians could return to that city, hopefully soon and hopefully safely. Clearing the second floor of a vital hospital, Kenton Stacy was severely wounded by an explosion. Immediately, Justin bounded into the booby-trapped and unbelievably dangerous and unsafe building and found Kenton, but in very, very bad shape. He applied pressure to the wound and inserted a tube to reopen an airway. He then performed CPR for 20 straight minutes during the ground transport and maintained artificial respiration through two-and-a-half hours and through emergency surgery. Kenton Stacy would have died if it were not for Justin's selfless love for his fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated. And Justin is wearing his new Bronze Star, with a V for Valor. Staff Sergeant Peck: All of America salutes you. Terrorists who do things like place bombs in civilian hospitals are evil. When possible, we have no choice but to annihilate them. When necessary, we must be able to detain and question them. But we must be clear: Terrorists are not merely criminals. They are unlawful enemy combatants. And when captured overseas, they should be treated like the terrorists they are. In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield, including the ISIS leader, al-Baghdadi, who we captured, who we had, who we released. So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed prior to waling in an order directing Secretary Mattis — who is doing a great job, thank you ... to re-examine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay. I am asking Congress to ensure that in the fight against ISIS and Al Qaida we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists, wherever we chase them down, wherever we find them. And in many cases, for them it will now be Guantanamo Bay. At the same time, as of a few months ago, our warriors in Afghanistan have new rules of engagement. Along with their heroic Afghan partners, our military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines, and we no longer tell our enemies our plans. Last month, I also took an action endorsed unanimously by the U.S. Senate just months before. I recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Shortly afterwards, dozens of countries voted in the United Nations General Assembly against America's sovereign right to make this decision. In 2016, American taxpayers generously sent those same countries more than $20 billion in aid. That is why tonight I am asking Congress to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign assistance dollars always serve American interests and only go to friends of America, not enemies of America. As we strengthen friendships all around the world, we are also restoring clarity about our adversaries. When the people of Iran rose up against the crimes of their corrupt dictatorship, I did not stay silent. America stands with the people of Iran in their courageous struggle for freedom. I am asking Congress to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible Iran nuclear deal. My administration has also imposed tough sanctions on the communist and socialist dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela. But no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in North Korea. North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening. Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this very dangerous position. We need only look at the depraved character of the North Korean regime to understand the nature of the nuclear threat it could pose to America and to our allies. Otto Warmbier was a hardworking student at the University of Virginia. And a great student, he was. On his way to study abroad in Asia, Otto joined a tour to North Korea. At its conclusion, this wonderful young man was arrested and charged with crimes against the state. After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labor, before returning him to America last June, horribly injured and on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return. Otto's wonderful parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, are here with us tonight, along with Otto's brother and sister, Austin and Greta. Please. Incredible people. You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength truly inspires us all. Thank you very much. Thank you. Tonight we pledge to honor Otto's memory with total American resolve. Thank you. Finally ... we are joined by one more witness to the ominous nature of this regime. His name is Mr. Ji Seong-ho. In 1996, Seong-ho was a starving boy in North Korea. One day, he tried to steal coal from a railroad car to barter for a few scraps of food, which were very hard to get. In the process, he passed out on the train tracks, exhausted from hunger. He woke up as a train ran over his limbs. He then endured multiple amputations without anything to dull the pain or the hurt. His brother and sister gave what little food they had to help him recover and ate dirt themselves, permanently stunting their own growth. Later, he was tortured by North Korean authorities after returning from a brief visit to China. His tormentors wanted to know if he'd met any Christians. He had, and he resolved after that to be free. Seong-ho traveled thousands of miles on crutches all across China and Southeast Asia to freedom. Most of his family followed. His father was caught trying to escape and was tortured to death. Today he lives in Seoul, where he rescues other defectors, and broadcasts into North Korea what the regime fears most: the truth. Today he has a new leg, but Seong-ho, I understand you still keep those old crutches as a reminder of how far you've come. Your great sacrifice is an inspiration to us all. Please. Thank you. Seong-ho's story is a testament to the yearning of every human soul to live in freedom. It was that same yearning for freedom that nearly 250 years ago gave birth to a special place called America. It was a small cluster of colonies caught between a great ocean and a vast wilderness. It was home to an incredible people with a revolutionary idea, that they could rule themselves, that they could chart their own destiny, and that, together, they could light up the entire world. That is what our country has always been about. That is what Americans have always stood for, always strived for, and always done. Atop the dome of this Capitol stands the Statue of Freedom. She stands tall and dignified among the monuments to our ancestors who fought and lived and died to protect her. Monuments to Washington and Jefferson, and Lincoln and King. Memorials to the heroes of Yorktown and Saratoga, to young Americans who shed their blood on the shores of Normandy and the fields beyond. And others who went down in the waters of the Pacific and the skies all over Asia. And freedom stands tall over one more monument: this one. This Capitol. This living monument. This is the monument to the American people. We're a people whose heroes live not only in the past, but all around us, defending hope, pride, and defending the American way. They work in every trade. They sacrifice to raise a family. They care for our children at home. They defend our flag abroad. And they are strong moms and brave kids. They are firefighters and police officers and border agents, medics and Marines. But above all else, they are Americans. And this Capitol, this city, this Nation belongs entirely to them. Our task is to respect them, to listen to them, to serve them, to protect them, and to always be worthy of them. Americans fill the world with art and music. They push the bounds of science and discovery. And they forever remind us of what we should never, ever forget: The people dreamed this country. The people built this country. And it's the people who are making America great again. As long as we are proud of who we are and what we are fighting for, there is nothing we cannot achieve. As long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens, and trust in our God, we will never fail. Our families will thrive. Our people will prosper. And our nation will forever be safe and strong and proud and mighty and free. Thank you, and God bless America. Good night.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese vlogger posted a social experiment on YouTube testing if travelers can communicate with the average person in Taipei in English. Ya Ting Yu, 26, known as Iris Virus on the internet, is a digital marketer and photographer who resides and works in Taipei City. Iris is often asked by her YouTube subscribers if the Taiwanese speak much English. Therefore, she decided to make a video to figure out the answer of her own. In the video, she posed as a tourist and asked people in Taipei for directions and food menus in English. She first asked the information center in a metro station and the counter in the department about directions. Both service people answered her questions in English immediately. She then approached a Taiwanese woman and a man on the road and asked them how to travel to her destination again. The two Taiwanese quickly understood what she said and pointed out the directions for her. After the successful experiences about asking directions, Iris tried to order drinks and food in the shops. A clerk from a tea stand introduced to her their most popular drink and explained the menu to her in English, while another clerk from a bun shop described all the products they have to her. After the social experiment, Iris was very impressed by the English ability of ordinary Taiwanese. She successfully arrived at her destination, bought a delicious pork cabbage bun and a cup of green tea without a word of Mandarin. She invited all the video viewers to come to Taiwan and visit the friendly country. Many viewers left positive messages below video. Viewers Angie Yu and WH Lin said they were really surprised by the English ability of the bun vendor. E Sky said the video is better than any other videos from Taiwan Tourist Bureau. Henrik Matzen thought the video shows the always wonderful and friendly nature of the Taiwanese people. It would be interesting to conduct a similar experiment in other cities in Taiwan and rural areas in the south, where far fewer tourists venture.

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AP) — The Pentagon is changing the name of the U.S. military's Pacific headquarters to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in a bow to America's growing connection to India and its expanding security role in the region. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is formally announcing the name change during a ceremony marking a leadership handover at the command. U.S. Navy Adm. Philip Davidson is taking over PACOM from Adm. Harry Harris, who has been nominated to be the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea. The change is largely symbolic in nature. It carries no fundamental shifts in troops, military missions or other Pentagon activities. Instead, Mattis says, it's a recognition of the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans. The U.S. and India have been forging stronger security ties in recent years.

CAIRO (AP) — Islamic State group claims the man who killed 4 people in the Belgian city of Liege was a 'soldier of the caliphate'

BERLIN (AP) — Bavaria's conservative government is ordering Christian crosses to be placed at the entrance of all state administrative buildings. The regional government says the crosses shouldn't be seen as religious symbols, but are meant to reflect the southern German state's "cultural identity and Christian-western influence." German news agency dpa reported that Tuesday's decree won't affect municipal and federal government buildings in Bavaria. Crosses are already compulsory in public schools and courtrooms in predominantly Catholic Bavaria. The governing Christian Social Union — the Bavaria-only wing of Chancellor Angela Merkel's party — is hoping to avoid losing its state majority to Alternative for Germany, a party on the right whose anti-Muslim campaigns have struck a chord with some German voters.

In this photo by Associated Press photographer Rick Rycroft, deckhands on Wild Oats XI prepare a sail during the Big Boat Challenge. The challenge is a lead-up event to the Sydney Hobart open ocean yacht race. The Sydney Hobart yacht race begins on Dec. 26 in Sydney Harbour. ___ This image was made with a lens at a focal length of 200mm, a shutter speed of 1/4000, aperture of f5, and ISO 250.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Peele has been dreaming of his Oscar moment since he was 13, but now that it's happened, he can hardly believe it. The 38-year-old received Academy Award nominations last week for best picture, director and original screenplay for his directorial debut, "Get Out." The star of the horror/satire, Daniel Kaluuya, was also nominated for best actor. "Get Out" may be Peele's breakthrough, but the actor, writer, director and producer has been honing his skills for more than a dozen years. He started getting awards notice in 2008, when he shared in an Emmy nomination for a sketch he wrote for MADtv. He was nominated seven more times for his contributions to "Key & Peele," the hit Comedy Central sketch show he created with Keegan-Michael Key. Peele also co-wrote and co-starred (with Key) in the 2016 action-comedy "Keanu." He said having his work recognized by the film academy has given him "faith in my voice." "It's like jet fuel," Peele said in an interview after last week's nominations. "It makes me want to make as many movies that I can in my life." Peele's comments have been edited for clarity and brevity. ___ AP: So how does it feel to be a triple Academy Award nominee? Peele: Well, I'm not used to hearing yet. It's a really overwhelming thing to try and process. I'm trying understand how I got here from this time last year not knowing if this movie was going to really work or really not work. AP: What a difference a year makes. Peele: I'm definitely feeling the love and feeling with joy and honor of this accomplishment. But it is it has been a bittersweet year knowing that it has not been a great one for everybody. AP: How was Oscar nominations morning for you? Peele: I woke up a few minutes after the announcements were made. I was just getting really great texts from just about everybody I've ever met. And my (6-month-old) son slept through the night, so that was also huge. So it was like kind of a party at my house... Both he and I with our greatest accomplishments to date on the same morning. AP: Did you allow yourself to consider this possibility when you were writing sketches for "Key & Peele?" Peele: I've been dreaming about this moment since I was 13. I've gone through times where I believed in it and times when I didn't believe in it. So to have it happen, it comes with a really important lesson and realization for me which is that it's bigger than me. It's an important thing for a lot of people and the people who supported the film and the people out there who have the same dream but feel like they can't do it for whatever reason. AP: Audiences loved "Get Out," but does the academy love feel different? Peele: Yes, it does mean something different. I didn't know that it would, but now that this has arrived, I'm reminded of when I watched Whoopi Goldberg win her Oscar for "Ghost." And I remember she sent a message out in her speech that was for me. She said, 'Don't let anything stop you. If you want this, if you have a dream, follow that dream and you can achieve it.' And I'll always remember that. So hopefully that's the message that this sends to other young artists of color and women and people who ... feel like they're outsiders and won't be won't be allowed into this industry or won't be accepted. Hopefully they can sort of feel some of that message too. AP: Is the recognition even sweeter given that this is an unconventional film with a lot to say? Peele: Making this film, putting it out was very scary. I thought that it was very possible that the world wouldn't be ready; that they would reject it or that it would not be received. But I knew that I loved it. I knew that it was something that needed to be said. And so the fact that it was scary is kind of how I knew it was important and that was it was my duty as an artist to face that fear and really risk it all. ___ For full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason

All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 50 34 13 3 71 176 128 Boston 48 29 11 8 66 157 119 Toronto 52 29 18 5 63 167 146 Detroit 49 20 21 8 48 128 147 Florida 48 20 22 6 46 136 159 Montreal 50 20 24 6 46 130 159 Ottawa 48 15 24 9 39 125 168 Buffalo 50 14 27 9 37 115 166 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 50 30 15 5 65 155 141 Pittsburgh 52 28 21 3 59 156 155 New Jersey 49 25 16 8 58 147 147 Columbus 50 27 19 4 58 133 140 Philadelphia 50 24 18 8 56 144 146 N.Y. Rangers 50 25 20 5 55 153 151 N.Y. Islanders 52 25 22 5 55 173 189 Carolina 50 23 19 8 54 139 155 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Winnipeg 51 30 13 8 68 167 137 Nashville 48 29 12 7 65 146 125 St. Louis 52 31 18 3 65 151 131 Dallas 51 28 19 4 60 155 137 Minnesota 50 27 18 5 59 147 142 Colorado 49 27 18 4 58 160 143 Chicago 50 24 19 7 55 148 137 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 49 33 12 4 70 168 130 San Jose 50 26 16 8 60 146 140 Los Angeles 50 27 18 5 59 142 121 Anaheim 51 25 17 9 59 144 142 Calgary 50 25 17 8 58 139 139 Edmonton 49 22 24 3 47 135 157 Vancouver 50 20 24 6 46 131 162 Arizona 50 12 29 9 33 118 172 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. Tuesday's Games Minnesota 3, Columbus 2, SO Pittsburgh 5, San Jose 2 Florida 4, N.Y. Islanders 1 Anaheim 3, Boston 1 Carolina 2, Ottawa 1 New Jersey 3, Buffalo 1 Winnipeg 3, Tampa Bay 1 St. Louis 3, Montreal 1 Chicago 2, Nashville 1 Los Angeles 3, Dallas 0 Vegas 4, Calgary 2 Vancouver 4, Colorado 3, OT Wednesday's Games Toronto 5, N.Y. Islanders 0 Detroit 2, San Jose 1, SO Washington 5, Philadelphia 3 Thursday's Games Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Montreal at Carolina, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Boston, 7 p.m. Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Anaheim at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m. Vegas at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Los Angeles at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m. Dallas at Arizona, 9 p.m. Colorado at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Chicago at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Friday's Games Washington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Detroit at Carolina, 7 p.m. San Jose at Columbus, 7 p.m. Vegas at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Saturday's Games Ottawa at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Anaheim at Montreal, 1 p.m. Detroit at Florida, 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Columbus at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. Colorado at Winnipeg, 7 p.m. Toronto at Boston, 7 p.m. N.Y. Rangers at Nashville, 8 p.m. Minnesota at Dallas, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Chicago at Calgary, 10 p.m. Arizona at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch safety watchdog says cross-border cooperation with neighboring Germany and Belgium needs to be improved to ensure the nations are properly prepared to deal with a nuclear accident that could impact all three countries. The Dutch Safety Board issued a report Wednesday amid public concern over the safety of Belgian nuclear plants Doel and Tihange, but also looked at the Borselle and Emsland nuclear power plants in the Netherlands and Germany. The watchdog said that in addition to improving crisis planning, the countries need to conduct more joint exercises and arrange coordination of measures they would take in the event of an accident. The board says it "takes a positive view" of cooperation between the three countries aimed at preventing a nuclear accident.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Transgender recruits will be allowed to enlist in the military beginning Jan. 1, the Pentagon said, as President Donald Trump's ordered ban suffered more legal setbacks. The new policy divulged Monday reflects the difficult hurdles the federal government would have to cross to enforce Trump's demand earlier this year to bar transgender individuals from the military. Three federal courts have ruled against the ban, including one Monday in Washington state. In October, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly barred the Trump administration from proceeding with its plan to exclude transgender people from military service. Part of the effect of the ruling was that the military would be required to allow transgender people to enlist beginning Jan. 1. The government had asked Kollar-Kotelly to put the Jan. 1 date on hold while it appealed her full ruling but she declined Monday, reaffirming the Jan. 1 start date. The Department of Justice is now asking a federal appeals court to intervene and put the Jan. 1 requirement on hold. Potential transgender recruits will have to overcome a lengthy and strict set of physical, medical and mental conditions that could make it difficult for them to join the armed services. Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said the enlistment of transgender recruits will begin next month and proceed amid legal battles. The Defense Department also is doing a review, which is expected to carry into 2018. Eastburn told The Associated Press on Monday that the new guidelines mean the Pentagon can disqualify potential recruits with gender dysphoria, a history of medical treatments associated with gender transition and those who underwent reconstruction. But such recruits are allowed in if a medical provider certifies they've been clinically stable in the preferred sex for 18 months and are free of significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas. Transgender individuals receiving hormone therapy must be stable on their medication for 18 months. The requirements make it challenging for a transgender recruit to pass. But they mirror concerns President Barack Obama's administration laid out when the Pentagon initially lifted its ban on transgender service last year. "Due to the complexity of this new medical standard, trained medical officers will perform a medical prescreen of transgender applicants for military service who otherwise meet all applicable applicant standards," Eastburn said. Aaron Belkin, director of the California-based Palm Center, an independent institute that has conducted research on sexual minorities in the military, said the 18-month timeline is fair. "It's a good standard because the Pentagon is treating gender dysphoria according to the same standards that are applied to all medical conditions," he said. However, Elaine Donnelly, president for the Center For Military readiness, said Trump "has every right to review, revise, or repeal his predecessor's military transgender policies, which would detract from mission readiness and combat lethality." Court judges, she said, are not qualified to run the military. The Pentagon move Monday signals the growing sense within the government that authorities are likely to lose the legal fight. "The controversy will not be about whether you allow transgender enlistees, it's going to be on what terms," said Brad Carson, who was deeply involved in the last administration's decisions. "That's really where the controversy will lie." Carson worried, however, that the Defense Department could opt to comply with a deadline on allowing transgender recruits, but "under such onerous terms that practically there will be none." Carson, who worked for Ash Carter as the acting undersecretary of defense for personnel, said requiring 18 months of stability in the preferred sex is a reasonable time. "It doesn't have any basis in science," he said, noting that experts have suggested six months is enough. "But as a compromise among competing interests and perhaps to err on the side of caution, 18 months was what people came around to. And that's a reasonable position and defensible." Sarah McBride, spokeswoman for Human Rights Campaign, praised the court's ruling, saying that it affirms "there is simply no legitimate reason to forbid willing and able transgender Americans from serving their country." ___ Associated Press Writer Jessica Gresko in Washington contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Advocates for District of Columbia statehood are making their annual pitch to members of Congress. This year's "lobby day" organized by D.C. Vote comes amid an attempt by House Republicans to invalidate a local law. On Monday, a House committee voted in favor of a resolution that would strike down the District's new assisted-suicide law. Congress hasn't invalidated a city law since 1991, and it's unlikely the House and Senate will vote on the resolution in time to stop doctor-assisted suicide from becoming legal. But Congress often finds other ways to block local policies that members don't like. Supporters of statehood will be visiting House and Senate offices Wednesday, armed with talking points about how District residents are "second-class citizens" because they lack voting representation in Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and North Korea (all times local): 6:45 p.m. The Trump administration is considering nominating the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, to fill the long-vacant ambassadorship to South Korea. That would entail a shuffle in the administration's plans for key diplomatic assignments. Harris has already been nominated to be ambassador to Australia. And the change would come only several weeks before a planned summit between the U.S. and North Korea. A White House official and a congressional aide describe the plan on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss them by name. The aide says the State Department and the governments in both Australia and South Korea have been informed that the administration is looking at a switch of postings for Harris, although nothing has been made official yet. Harris' Senate confirmation hearing for the Australia post had been scheduled to take place Tuesday but was postponed. ___ 11:35 a.m. President Donald Trump says North Korea wants to hold a high-stakes meeting "as soon as possible" and he is praising Kim Jong Un as "very open" and "very honorable." Trump is addressing his upcoming plans to meet with the North Korean leader during his discussions at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump's praise for the North Korean dictator stands in stark contrast to his past comments in which he referred to Kim as "Little Rocket Man." The Trump-Kim meeting is expected in May or June. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is meeting with Kim on Friday to kick off a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Pyongyang.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--How does an Army veteran go from selling pantyhose from the basement of his home in Wisconsin to becoming a franchise savant? It is a long and crazy road that Amazing Lash Studio regional developer and franchisee Dennis Conklin has been on, and he wouldn’t change it for the world. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005130/en/ Regional developers, Amazing Lash Studio, Dani Conklin and her father, Dennis Conklin. (Photo: Business Wire) Born and raised in Wisconsin, after high school Dennis went into the Army and did his tour of duty in Germany. While stationed there he met and married his wife, Rosemarie. They had three kids, Gabi, Dennis Jr. and Danielle. Upon leaving the Army and with a family to support, Dennis began looking for sales opportunities and started Sheer Delight, a pantyhose company. “Here I am, this macho military man peddling pantyhose – but could I sell,” said Dennis. It started out from the basement of his home in Greenfield, Wisconsin, and later moved to a warehouse, which Rosemarie oversaw as the business grew – and grew. “Pantyhose were a staple to women in the '70s, but as style and fashion changed, pantyhose were not an everyday item for women,” said Dennis. Always looking for opportunities and looking to get out of the cold, Dennis moved his family to Arizona and next ventured into the skin care business with Forever Young products, selling massage creams and lotions. For the next 15 years he had much success in building his business until franchise fate intervened. In 2005, Rosemarie came home after a massage at Massage Envy and told Dennis about the new and first-to-market member-based concept. Intrigued, he began his due diligence and looked to sell his Forever Living products in the clinics. After an initial meeting at Massage Envy corporate, his creams and lotions weren’t in the clinics, but his confidence in the brand was. He bought regional developer and franchisee rights to San Diego without ever stepping foot into a Massage Envy. “This was such a unique business model, and I knew I wanted to be part of it from the start.” As the business grew at epic speed, in 2007 Dennis reached out to his youngest daughter, Dani, to come on board. “I was 20 years in the corporate world and was currently the district manager for Young’s Columbia in Seattle when I got the call from my dad to operate the clinic in Carlsbad,” said Dani. “I was excited about the brand and working with my father.” After successfully building the Massage Envy brand in San Diego, in 2010 the father-daughter team signed on to become the regional developers and franchisees for European Wax Center (EWC). With the franchise market providing several solid opportunities, in 2012 Dennis signed on to become the regional developer of The Joint…the chiropractic place in San Diego and Orange County. “This was being operated by the original Massage Envy team, who I was very confident in,” said Dennis. He grew the brand until an opportunity to sell it back to the franchisor was offered, and he took it. “It remains a solid business model, but I wanted to focus on my Massage Envy clinics and our EWC growth.” In 2014, they sold their regional developer rights to the European Wax Center concept but continued to own and operate three centers. This dynamic duo found their next brand-building opportunity, Amazing Lash Studio. “My dad asked me to fly to Houston to meet with Edward Le, co-founder and CEO of Amazing Lash Studio, and as I had been hooked on lash extensions since 2006, I was really excited about the concept,” says Dani. “It was a fabulous meeting, and I returned to San Diego, shared my excitement with my dad and we were all in. It has been nothing but amazing since the get-go.” Their efforts have not gone unnoticed in any of the four brands with accolades including 2 Million Dollar Club and strongest sales closing at Massage Envy and Brand Ambassador at Amazing Lash Studio. They sold their regional developer rights to Massage Envy last year. “It was time to focus and grow our new concepts, as it really takes 150% in the beginning,” says Dennis. What does this franchise duo see in their future? “My dad most likely will retire in three years when he turns 80 and go full-time into driving my mom crazy,” says Dani with a grin. “I will continue to build the businesses I have and work with all these great franchisees while looking for unique brands, and of course have fun doing it!” About Amazing Lash Studio Amazing Lash Studio was founded in 2010 by Edward and Jessica Le, with a vision to be the leading provider of affordable eyelash extensions. Amazing Lash Studios are retail salons that apply semi-permanent eyelash extensions with a proprietary, patented process to the clients’ own lashes, replicating the curve and size of natural lashes. The concept began franchising in 2013, and to date has 183 open studios in 27 states, and has recently earned the rank of #5 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top New Franchise s. For additional information go to amazinglashstudio.com. View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005130/en/ CONTACT: CH Media Barbara Carrera Holland, 602-810-1924 KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ARIZONA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: WOMEN OTHER CONSUMER LUXURY SMALL BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TEENS RETAIL COSMETICS FASHION SPECIALTY OTHER RETAIL CONSUMER BRIDAL SOURCE: Amazing Lash Studio Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 09:00 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 09:01 AM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005130/en

LONDON (AP) — Christian Eriksen has scored after 11 seconds for Tottenham against Manchester United for the Premier League's fastest goal since Ledley King netted after a record 10 seconds for the north London club in 2000. Eriksen's goal against United at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday came directly after the kickoff. Jan Vertonghen's high, long pass from inside his own half reached Harry Kane who headed to Dele Alli and the midfielder flicked the ball across for Eriksen to finish. The fastest goal in the Premier League was scored by King against Bradford in 2000 in a game that Tottenham drew 3-3.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--, a global procurement intelligence advisory firm, has announced the release of their ‘ . ’ The insights and data in this report provide a strategic analysis of the supply markets, factors influencing purchasing decisions, procurement best practices, pricing models, supplier landscape, and an analysis of the supplier capability matrix for the . This report breaks down the data and analysis behind the procurement of fruits and vegetable processing equipment and acts as an all-inclusive guide for making smart purchasing decisions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006326/en/ Fruits and Vegetable Processing Equipment Procurement Report (Graphic: Business Wire) “An increase in the consumption of processed fruits and vegetables in emerging economies such as India and China will drive the growth of the market,” says SpendEdge procurement analyst Bhuvaneshwari Udayakumar. “Also, North America and Europe are the largest producers of fruits and vegetable processing equipment, owing to the increased cultivation of fruits and vegetables,” added Bhuvaneshwari. Looking for more insights from this report? SpendEdge sample reports are free of charge and provide insights that focus on cost-saving aspects of procurement and optimization of category spend. Procurement analysts at SpendEdge highlight the following top three market trends that are contributing to the growth of the Global Fruits and Vegetable Processing Equipment Market: Focus on adoption of advanced processing technologies by buyers Growing prospects for processed food equipment market due to surge in demand for organic fruits and vegetables in Europe Rise in government initiative for increased trade of processed fruits and vegetables This report is available at USD 1000 discount for a limited time only: Focus on adoption of advanced processing technologies by buyers In the fruits and vegetable processing equipment market, the suppliers are adopting various advanced technologies to meet the rising demand from the consumers. This helps the buyers increase the efficiency and quality of the food items. Growing prospects for processed food equipment market due to surge in demand for organic fruits and vegetables in Europe In the recent years, there has been considerable growth in the production of organic fruits and vegetables. This ensures the limited addition of artificial colors, chemicals, and flavors and further ensures purity and quality for the buyers. Rise in government initiative for increased trade of processed fruits and vegetables In the fruits and vegetable processing equipment, the governments across the globe are taking initiatives to improve inter-regional trade. This also helps to scale up the base of food processing machinery and equipment. to gain detailed insights into the current market trends. Get unlimited access to all our reports. Our Insights platform provides ready-to-use procurement research reports, latest supplier news, innovation landscape, markets insights, supplier tracking, and much more at the click of a button. We also reports to meet clients’ requirements. Related Reports: About SpendEdge SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are a preferred procurement market intelligence partner for Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence that helps sourcing and procurement professionals make informed decisions. These innovative procurement solutions help enterprises transform structural capabilities, improve execution efficiency, and fast-track time to savings. View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006326/en/ CONTACT: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Consultant US: +1 630 984 7340 hello@spendedge.com KEYWORD: INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MANUFACTURING OTHER MANUFACTURING SOURCE: SpendEdge Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 05:15 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 05:15 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006326/en

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man accused of plotting an attack on a federal medical facility in Texas asked a judge in December to deport him instead of sending him to prison, saying he didn't deserve to spend time behind bars, records show. Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud told federal Judge Michael Watson that he didn't want to leave his family but called his proposal "completely fair and just." "I truly don't believe I deserve prison at all," Mohamud said in the Dec. 12 letter, filed in the official court record on Thursday. He added: "So if the concern is risk assessment then deportation would set everyone's hearts at ease." Mohamud, who was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. at 2 years old, may eventually get his wish. After Mohamud was sentenced to 22 years in prison last week, the local Homeland Security Investigations office said it would seek to strip him of his citizenship and deport him to Somalia. At sentencing on Jan. 22, Mohamud told Watson that he knew what he'd done was wrong and that he'd fallen into the trap of radicalization while abroad. Mohamud, 26, tried to fire his attorney in a second letter dated Dec. 15, saying they weren't communicating well. A handwritten note on the letter says Mohamud's request was withdrawn Jan. 9 in court. His attorney, veteran Columbus defense lawyer Sam Shamansky, declined to comment. Mohamud planned to fly to Texas and attack the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth in an attempt to free Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist convicted of shooting at two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, Watson said as he outlined the allegations against Mohamud. According to the government, Mohamud applied for a passport to travel abroad only a week after he became a U.S. citizen in 2014. He bought a ticket to Greece with a stop in Turkey, where he disembarked before going to Syria, prosecutors said in court documents. They said he never intended to go to Greece. Mohamud trained with al-Nusra Front, an extremist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda, prosecutors said. Mohamud was arrested in 2015 and pleaded guilty a few months later. The attacks were never carried out. Shamansky asked for leniency, saying Mohamud didn't have his father around when he was growing up, was brainwashed while abroad "by professional head twisters" but later realized his error and abandoned his plot. Prosecutors noted Mohamud contacted others from jail after his arrest and told them not to say anything. ___ Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.

Jarring as it may have been to see Texans quarterback Tom Savage lying on the ground with his hands twitching after a brutal hit in the end zone, what happened moments later was every bit as disturbing. Savage came back onto the field. The NFL's concussion protocol came under heavy criticism after it failed Savage on Sunday in Houston's 26-16 loss to the 49ers. Only after Savage briefly returned to the game did the medical crew determine that the quarterback did, indeed, have a concussion and remove him from the game. The fact that Savage was allowed back in after being thrown to the ground by Elvis Dumervil of the 49ers — his hands twitching as he laid directly underneath referee John Hussey — will lead to more questions this week about how the NFL handles head trauma. The NFL requires two trained spotters in the press box, a team doctor and an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant on the sideline to help diagnose concussions. "They try and make the best decision for the player," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. More to the point was this from Chris Nowinski , a longtime critic of the NFL's handling of concussions: "Disgusted that the Houston Texans allowed Tom Savage to return to the game after two plays after showing these horrifying concussion signs (is that a seizure?) after a head impact," Nowinski tweeted. In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL season's 14th Sunday: BIG WIN, BIGGER LOSS: The Eagles clinched the NFC East with a 43-35 win over the Rams, but may have lost quarterback Carson Wentz to a knee injury in the process. Wentz took Mark Barron's helmet to his left knee while diving into the end zone for a touchdown that was called back because of a holding penalty. Wentz is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday to evaluate the severity of the injury. Two people familiar with the injury told Associated Press that Wentz tore his ACL and would be out for the season. The people did not want their names used because they were not authorized to discuss the injury. Other QBs hurt Sunday were Marcus Mariota of the Titans (knee) and Josh McCown of the Jets (hand). BIG BEN: Ben Roethlisberger became the first quarterback to throw for 500 yards in three games and the Steelers, after squandering an early 14-point lead, rallied from 11 down for a 39-38 win over Baltimore. Roethlisberger's numbers: 44 for 66 for 506 yards and two touchdowns. Roethlisberger's previous 500-yard games came in 2014 (522 yards vs. Colts) and 2009 (503 vs. Packers). SNOW DAY: Snowball fight! On a day like this, Bills linebacker Ryan Davis could hardly resist. Davis scooped up handfuls of the white stuff and started pelting teammates to celebrate a sack. It was one of dozens of must-see moments from Buffalo's 13-7 overtime win over Indianapolis that will be remembered for one thing: snow. Fans built snowmen in the stands, players did snow angels on the field and all 11 members of the Colts special teams — plus some sideline personnel who were later removed from the field by officials — had to kick away piles of ankle-high snow to clear a spot for Adam Vinatieri to try the game-tying extra point late in the fourth quarter. WALK-OFF WIN: Davante Adams closed out Green Bay's comeback win over the Browns in style. After catching the pass from Brett Hundley and spinning away, he scooted into the end zone, then kept right on running into the tunnel . Final score: Green Bay 27, Cleveland 21. It was Green Bay's second straight overtime win and it kept the Packers alive in the playoff hunt, at 7-6, with Aaron Rodgers rounding into health and possibly available to return next week. Oh, and poor Cleveland found yet another way to lose. The Browns led 21-7 with 13 minutes left, but fell to 0-13. FINE TIME: The NFL might be getting into some Seahawks' wallets this week. The Jaguars were taking a knee after icing their 30-24 win over Seattle, but Seahawks defensive tackle Michael Bennett dived at center Brandon Linder's knees and triggered a fight. Seattle's Sheldon Richardson was ejected for throwing a punch, and Fournette went after Bennett. More pushing and shoving ensued after the next kneel-down, and defensive end Quinton Jefferson was tossed. Jefferson tried to climb into the stands after getting hit with what looked like a plastic bottle. Seattle coach Pete Carroll also got flagged for coming onto the field. ___ AP Sports Writers Rob Maaddi and Mark Long contributed to this report.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota activists are using the Super Bowl spectacle to speak out against police brutality, racism, corporate greed and other issues. Several rallies are planned this week, including a march outside U.S. Bank Stadium just before Sunday's game. One group called Take a Knee Nation is holding a conference against police violence. The Minneapolis area has seen several police shootings, including the killings of Philando Castile and Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Mel Reeves says the group is building on the movement begun by professional athletes who refused to stand for the national anthem at games, and is using that to educate people about racism and the right to protest. Jess Sundin, organizer for another rally against racism and corporate greed, says it is important to use the opportunity to call for change.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Intellectual Property law firm Marshall Gerstein today announced the opening of a new office near Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, North Carolina, its first office outside of Chicago. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005183/en/ Marshall Gerstein biotechnology partner Joshua T. Elliott will head the firm's Raleigh office. (Photo: Business Wire) “We’re excited about taking this next step in Research Triangle Park – an area known as the nation’s leading high-technology research and science park,” managing partner Jeffrey S. Sharp said. “Over the past 63 years, we’ve built our firm’s reputation on being the best at understanding the hard science behind our clients’ innovations and how to use that knowledge to help them achieve their business goals. Having an office in such an important hub of innovation feels like a natural fit for us.” Sharp continued: “In fact, we’ve been serving clients in this area for quite some time, but this new office will allow us to expand our existing capabilities and position us to better serve the growing demand for intellectual property legal services in the region.” Marshall Gerstein biotechnology partner Joshua T. Elliott will head the Raleigh office. Elliott focuses his practice on patent law matters related to biochemistry and biotechnology, including advising and counseling clients on issues such as freedom-to-operate, infringement, validity, and design-around strategies. To start, Sharp and four additional Marshall Gerstein attorneys will split their time between Chicago and the new office: Michael P. Furmanek, chair of the firm’s industrial and mechanical technologies practice; Julie M. Watson, special counsel in the firm’s IP transactions practice; Randall G. Rueth, chair of the firm’s electrical and computer technologies practice; and Matthew R. Carey, partner in the electrical and computer technologies practice. The office is located at 555 Fayetteville Street, Suite 300, Raleigh, North Carolina. About Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP is exclusively focused on intellectual property law. The firm provides sophisticated intellectual property advice and legal services to many of the world’s largest, most innovative businesses, research institutions, universities, and entrepreneurs. Chambers & Partners has ranked Marshall, Gerstein as “first-rate for litigation,” and “one of the best biotechnology practices in the entire country.” Corporate Counsel magazine lists the Firm as a “Go-To Law Firm of the Top 500 Companies” for intellectual property and litigation. The Firm is also ranked as a top intellectual property law firm by Managing IP, Fortune, Intellectual PropertyToday, and Intellectual Asset Management magazines. Learn more at www.marshallip.com and www.PTABWatch.com. View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005183/en/ CONTACT: Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP Kristina Bencak, 312-474-9503 KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ILLINOIS NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LEGAL OTHER SCIENCE SCIENCE SOURCE: Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 09:12 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 09:12 AM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005183/en

ISTANBUL (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Ankara to meet his Turkish counterpart, following visits to Syria and Egypt. Putin 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. Putin and Erdogan met several times this year and regularly talk on the telephone as they and Iran work to broker a solution in Syria. Relations 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. Putin and Erdogan are expected to hold a joint news conference after their meeting.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A woman detained and deported to Mexico in 2013 despite being in the United States legally will not be allowed to pursue a wrongful arrest lawsuit against the U.S. government. An appeals court in New Orleans upheld a Texas federal judge's dismissal of the lawsuit by Guadalupe Chaidez Campos. Court records say Campos had entered the country illegally in 2012 and was ordered out. But she also applied for and received legal "nonimmigrant" status. Agents detained and deported her when she reported to a probation office in El Paso, even though she had proof of her legal status. She returned in 2014. Tuesday's ruling said the government is immune from her lawsuit because the border agents, who had seen the 2012 deportation order, acted within their discretion.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has made progress fighting soccer racism ahead of next year's World Cup, but players, coaches and fans still risk abuse, a new report says. There were 89 racist and far-right incidents at Russian games in the 2016-17 season, slightly below the two previous seasons, according to Thursday's report by European anti-discrimination group FARE and Russia-based SOVA. In one case, an African player complained of racist abuse by an opponent during a Russian Premier League game. In another case, a hardline fan group segregated part of a stadium for people of "Slavic appearance," the report alleges. Fans of Russian champion Spartak Moscow flew anti-Semitic banners. The Russian Football Union's disciplinary committee, however, has said it didn't detect a single racist incident in any of the top three divisions this season. The report comes ahead of the Confederations Cup, starting Saturday, and a year ahead of the World Cup. "The Russian football authorities and the government authorities have realized ... the way both of these competitions will be tarnished by the fear of racism occurring and they've taken some quite strong measures," FARE's executive director Piara Powar told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "There still remains the danger of some isolated incidents taking place." Russian authorities have taken measures to blacklist at least 191 fans from attending sports events, while the RFU ejected an influential fan leader, Alexander Shprygin, from its organization. He was deported twice from France last year following violence around Russia's match with England at the European Championship, and has been accused of posting far-right symbols on social media, a charge he denied. Shprygin was dragged out of a bathroom at an RFU conference in September by police and detained, reportedly in connection with an investigation into fan violence. FARE says Russia has made some progress, and that it didn't observe monkey chants or openly Nazi flags in any top-flight games this season. However, it warns far-right fans instead fly banners with concealed messages such as runes and number codes used by Nazi and ultranationalist groups. The RFU punished two clubs in the 2015-16 season for such banners, but didn't pursue any such cases this season — something which Powar says indicates it may be "turning a blind eye." That was despite cases of anti-Semitic banners being flown by Spartak fans, including taunts aimed at rival CSKA Moscow, whose club president and then-coach are both Jewish. Another Spartak banner showed a Russian rock singer caricaturized as an Orthodox Jew, accompanied by personal abuse. CSKA fans also targeted their own coach, Leonid Slutsky — now at England's Hull City — with a banner linking his Jewish faith to poor results. FARE says the number of violent racist incidents fell from five to two last season compared to the year before. There was also no repeat of large-scale violent attacks on foreign fans, such as those which took place between Russian and English fans in Marseille a year ago during the European Championship. However, there are indications that football-related violence between different ethnic groups in Russia is becoming more entrenched, with fans from Russia's largely Muslim regions in the North Caucasus forming "fan groups which adopt football hooligans' rules and initiate fights with Moscow teams." In another case last month at a playoff game for a place in the Russian Premier League, one fan group from the Yenisei Krasnoyarsk team issued a statement on social media saying that its sector of the stadium was only available to fans of "Slavic appearance." A member of the group, Artyom Kirillov, suggested the group had been misunderstood. "A lot was made up" in local media reports of the incident, he told the AP. "We are loyal to all Russian citizens." FIFA said Wednesday that Confederations Cup games will use a three-stage process in the event of fan racism. Referees will first request a public announcement, then suspend the game if the behavior doesn't stop. If racist incidents still persist, they can stop the game.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Qatar's defense minister says his country is expanding the major military base used by the U.S. military to make it more comfortable for Americans. Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah says Qatar has a plan to build family compounds, entertainment centers and other facilities at al-Udeid Air Base. The base hosts some 10,000 American troops and acts as U.S. Central Command's forward operating base. Attiyah says the expansion will also increase dormitory capacity for Americans on the base. The move comes as Qatar seeks to cement even closer security ties to the United States, in part as a hedge against Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. Those nations have been feuding with Qatar and encouraging the U.S. to limit ties to the tiny gas-rich nation.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Three more Russian athletes, including an Olympic silver medalist, have filed appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against their sanctions for doping at the 2014 Sochi Games. The court said the three are biathlete Olga Zaitseva, who won silver in the women's relay, and cross-country skiers Yulia Chekaleva and Anastasia Dotsenko. The three were disqualified from the Sochi Olympics and banned from all future games last week by the International Olympic Committee. That followed investigations into doping by Russian athletes and tampering with their drug-test samples during the Sochi Games. CAS has so far registered 25 appeals brought by Russian athletes against disqualifications from the 2014 Olympics.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — As her mother listened on the telephone, 9-year-old Faith Battaglia pleaded with her father. "No, daddy, please don't, don't do it!" the child begged. Mary Jane Pearle yelled into the phone for Faith and her 6-year-old sister, Liberty, to run. Then Pearle heard gunshots. On Thursday, her ex-husband, John David Battaglia is set for execution for the May 2001 slayings of their daughters. "Merry ... Christmas," Battaglia told Pearle from his Dallas apartment, the words of the holiday greeting derisively divided by an obscenity. She heard more gunshots, then called 911. Faith was shot three times and Liberty five. Hours later, Battaglia was at a nearby tattoo shop getting two large red roses inked on his left arm to commemorate his daughters. It took four officers to subdue and arrest him when he walked outside. A fully loaded revolver was found in his truck and more than a dozen firearms were recovered from his apartment. Battaglia's attorneys asked a federal appeals court and the U.S. Supreme Court to block his lethal injection — the second in the nation this week and third this year, all in Texas — and review his case, arguing he is mentally incompetent for execution. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, misapplied the Supreme Court's guidance when it ruled Battaglia is competent for the death penalty, lawyers argued. The Supreme Court has ruled prisoners can be executed if they're aware the death penalty is to be carried out and have a rational understanding of why they're facing that punishment. Attorneys for the 62-year-old Battaglia contend he doesn't have that understanding. Prosecutors said the high court hasn't defined "rational understanding" so the Texas courts did an "exhaustive" analysis of cases to ensure proper legal standards were followed. A state judge and the state appeals court found Battaglia was competent, not mentally ill and was faking mental illness to try to avoid execution. He was described as highly intelligent. "The defendant is a vengeful, manipulative, cunning and deceitful person with the motive and intellectual capability to maintain a deliberate ploy or ruse to avoid his execution," State District Judge Robert Burns said in finding the former accountant competent. Battaglia's lawyers also argued to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a federal judge improperly denied their requests for additional money to hire an expert to collect information about his competency, which long has been a focus of appeals in the case. Evidence showed Battaglia became enraged over his ex-wife going to police about his harassment and likely arrest, and used the May 2, 2001, visit with their two young daughters to avenge his anger. That evening, Pearle left their daughters with him for a planned dinner. She received a message that one of the girls had called for her and it was during her returned call that the shootings occurred. Battaglia told The Dallas Morning News in 2014 his daughters were his "best little friends" and that he had photos of them displayed in his prison cell. "I don't feel like I killed them," he said. "I am a little bit in the blank about what happened." Evidence at his 2002 capital murder trial showed at the time of the shootings Battaglia was on probation for a Christmas 1999 attack on Pearle. His profanity-laced Christmas greeting to his estranged wife during the shooting was an apparent reference to that.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the Carolina Panthers and unrestricted free agent slot wide receiver Jarius Wright have agreed on a three-year deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press Monday on condition of anonymity because the Panthers have not announced the move. Financial terms of the deal were not immediately known. The 28-year-old Wright has spent all six NFL seasons with the Vikings and is familiar with Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner, having worked under him in Minnesota. The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Wright had 18 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns last season. His most productive season game in 2014, when he caught 42 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns. Wright has 153 catches for 2,039 yards and 10 touchdowns during his career with Minnesota. __ More AP NFL: https://pro32.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Taipei (Taiwan News) -- Twitter user Jeff Wang took this photo of the 2017 Taipei Lantern Festival on Feb. 12 as he sketched a drawing of the site. The Taipei Lantern Festival was held on the city's west side for the first time in its 20-year history from Feb. 4-12. The biggest and most popular event during the festival was the Ximen Lantern Festival Parade on the official day of the Lantern Festival Feb. 11, which attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors that day.

NEW YORK (AP) — A would-be suicide bomber's rush-hour blast in the heart of the New York City subway system failed to cause the bloodshed he intended, authorities said, but it gave new fuel to President Donald Trump's push to limit immigration. Hours after Monday's explosion in an underground passageway connecting two of Manhattan's busiest stations, Trump cited the background of the alleged bomber in renewing his call for closer scrutiny of foreigners who come to the country and less immigration based on family ties. The man arrested in the bombing, Akayed Ullah — who told investigators he wanted to retaliate for American action against Islamic State extremists — came to the U.S. from Bangladesh in 2011 on a visa available to certain relatives of U.S. citizens. "Today's terror suspect entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security," Trump said in a statement that called for various changes to the immigration system. Earlier, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump's proposed policies "could have prevented this." In a scenario New York had dreaded for years, Ullah strapped on a crude pipe bomb with Velcro and plastic ties, slipped unnoticed into the nation's busiest subway system and set off the device, authorities said. The device didn't work as intended; authorities said Ullah, 27, was the only person seriously wounded. But the attack sent frightened commuters fleeing through a smoky passageway, and three people suffered headaches and ringing ears from the first bomb blast in the subway in more than two decades. "This is one of my nightmares ... a terrorist attack in the subway system," Gov. Andrew Cuomo told cable channel NY1. "The good news is: We were on top of it." Ullah was being treated for burns to his hands and abdomen but spoke to investigators from his hospital bed, law enforcement officials said. He was "all over the place" about his motive but indicated he wanted to avenge what he portrayed as U.S. aggression against the Islamic State group, a law enforcement official said. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the blast. Ullah's low-tech bomb used explosive powder, a nine-volt battery, a Christmas light and matches, the officials said. Investigators said the suspect was seen on surveillance footage igniting the bomb. In the end, it wasn't powerful enough to turn the pipe into deadly shrapnel, the officials said. Law enforcement officials said Ullah looked at IS propaganda online but is not known to have any direct contact with the militants and probably acted alone. Cuomo said there was no evidence, so far, of other bombs or a larger plot. The Democrat said officials were exploring whether Ullah had been on authorities' radar, but there was no indication yet that he was. The attack came less than two months after eight people died near the World Trade Center in a truck attack that, authorities said, was carried out by an Uzbek immigrant who admired the Islamic State group. Since 1965, America's immigration policy has centered on giving preference to people with advanced education or skills, or people with family ties to U.S. citizens and, in some cases, legal permanent residents. Citizens have been able to apply for spouses, parents, children, siblings and the siblings' spouses and minor children; the would-be immigrants are then screened by U.S. officials to determine whether they can come. Trump's administration has called for a "merit-based" immigration system that would limit family-based green cards to spouses and minor children. Ullah lived with his father, mother and brother in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Bangladeshi community, residents said. He was licensed to drive a livery cab between 2012 and 2015, but the license was allowed to lapse, according to law enforcement officials and New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission. His family was "deeply saddened" by the attack but also "outraged by the way we have been targeted by law enforcement," the family said in a statement sent by the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. A teenage relative was pulled out of class and questioned in school without a parent, guardian or lawyer, the statement said. Security cameras captured the attacker walking casually through a crowded passageway when the bomb went off around 7:20 a.m. A plume of white smoke cleared to show the man sprawled on the ground and commuters scattering. Port Authority police said officers found the man injured on the ground, with wires protruding from his jacket and the device strapped to his torso. They said he was reaching for a cellphone and they grabbed his hands. The last bomb blast in the subway system was believed to be in December 1994, when an explosive made from mayonnaise jars and batteries wounded 48 people in a car in lower Manhattan. Prosecutors said unemployed computer programmer Edward Leary set off the explosion to try to extort $2 million from the city's transit agency; he claimed insanity. He was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 94 years in prison. ___ Associated Press writers Tom Hays, Jake Pearson, Kiley Armstrong, Larry Neumeister and David James Jeans in New York, Michael Balsamo in Los Angeles, Matt Pennington in Washington, D.C., and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The man who finished second in Venezuela's recent presidential election is asking the Supreme Court to order a new vote. Henri Falcon argued on Wednesday that Maduro's ruling socialist party unfairly influenced the election by setting up kiosks near voting centers and giving poor residents bonuses. Official results showed Maduro winning a second six-year term in a landslide victory on May 20 despite a historic crisis in the once-wealthy OPEC nation. The appeal is unlikely to prosper in the Supreme Court, which rarely if ever votes against Maduro. The legal challenge comes as Canada is slapping 14 Venezuelan leaders with sanctions, condemning the election as illegitimate and anti-democratic. Cuba's newly installed President Miguel Diaz-Canel, however, was visiting Caracas and congratulated Maduro, reaffirming strong ties between their two nations.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — After months of acrimonious campaigning, the capital of predominantly Muslim Indonesia on Wednesday faced a stark choice: elect an outspoken minority Christian who has made progress in cleaning up the chaotic city or heed the urgings of influential conservative clerics to vote in a Muslim. The more than 13,000 polling booths closed at 1 p.m. and quick-count results based on a sample of the vote are expected in several hours. The election is one of dozens taking place across Indonesia. More than 7 million were eligible to vote in Jakarta, the capital. Incumbent Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian on trial for alleged blasphemy, is vying against Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, who is the son of a former president, and Anies Rasyid Baswedan, a moderate now courting the votes of conservative and hard-line Muslims. Religion and race, rather than the slew of problems that face a car-clogged and sinking Jakarta, dominated the campaign and transformed the election into a high-stakes tussle between conservatives, who want Islam to be ascendant in politics and society, and moderates. Ahok's chances appeared dashed after blasphemy accusations led to criminal charges and trial but he has recently rebounded in opinion polls. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. Hadiyul Umam, a civil servant, said voting for Ahok would go against everything he believes in. "As a Muslim, I believe that non-Muslims are not allowed to lead Muslims in this country, and personally, I do not like the way Ahok leads, which is not pro-poor people and his words were disrespectful and rude," he said. Ahok's blasphemy trial and the ease with which hard-liners attracted several hundred thousand to protest against him in Jakarta have undermined Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam and shaken the centrist government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Calls for Ahok to be killed and anti-Chinese sentiment were disturbing elements of the protests, one of which turned violent, with dozens injured and one person dying from the effects of tear gas. Defeat for Ahok would also be a defeat for Indonesia's moderate political and religious leaders and further embolden hard-liners, who say a non-Muslim should not lead Muslims. The governorship is also seen as a launching pad into national politics and possibly the presidency. There will be a runoff election in April if none of the candidates gets the 50 percent plus one vote required for an outright win. One scenario is that Ahok proceeds to the runoff but is defeated by anti-Ahok voters uniting behind the remaining Muslim candidate. Jokowi voted in a neighborhood of central Jakarta and called for national unity. "Differences of political choice should not to divide us," he said. "After this election, we want everything to be back as brothers, we all need to maintain our unity and integrity." Ahok had been popular because of his drive to eliminate corruption from the Jakarta administration and his efforts to make the city more livable. But brutal demolitions of some of the slum neighborhoods that are home to millions and ill-considered outspokenness proved to be his Achilles' heel. Opponents seized their moment last year when a video surfaced of Ahok telling voters they were being deceived if they believed a specific verse in the Quran prohibited Muslims from electing a non-Muslim as leader. "I voted for Ahok because he is already showing results of real work and honesty," said Sriyana Dewi, as she left a polling booth with her 7-old-month son in a sling. ___ Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos contributed to this report.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Police in El Salvador have arrested the domestic partner of a journalist killed over the weekend. National Police director Howard Cotto said Tuesday that Mario Huezo Portillo has been arrested for killing journalist Karla Lisseth Turcios. Prosecutor Max Munoz says cameras traced Huezo Portillo when he went to dump the woman's body. Turcios worked for El Economista, part of La Prensa Grafica media group in the gang-plagued Central American nation. Huezo Portillo initially told police that he and their son left her resting at home around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. He said when they returned, Turcios had disappeared and did not answer her cellphone or respond to messages. The 33-year-old journalist's body was found hours later on a highway northeast of the Salvadoran capital, San Salvador. Police said was strangled.

All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Home Away Div Tampa Bay 50 34 13 3 71 176 128 17-5-1 17-8-2 9-3-1 Boston 48 29 11 8 66 157 119 16-6-4 13-5-4 10-1-2 Washington 49 29 15 5 63 150 138 18-7-1 11-8-4 8-4-3 Toronto 51 28 18 5 61 162 146 13-8-2 15-10-3 6-4-1 Pittsburgh 52 28 21 3 59 156 155 18-7-1 10-14-2 10-4-0 New Jersey 49 25 16 8 58 147 147 13-8-3 12-8-5 5-6-1 Columbus 50 27 19 4 58 133 140 16-8-1 11-11-3 8-5-2 Philadelphia 49 24 17 8 56 141 141 13-9-4 11-8-4 5-2-4 N.Y. Rangers 50 25 20 5 55 153 151 17-8-3 8-12-2 7-6-3 N.Y. Islanders 51 25 21 5 55 173 184 13-8-3 12-13-2 7-7-1 Carolina 50 23 19 8 54 139 155 11-7-4 12-12-4 6-5-3 Florida 48 20 22 6 46 136 159 11-8-3 9-14-3 6-4-1 Detroit 48 19 21 8 46 126 146 10-10-7 9-11-1 6-9-2 Montreal 50 20 24 6 46 130 159 12-10-5 8-14-1 9-6-2 Ottawa 48 15 24 9 39 125 168 9-11-5 6-13-4 5-8-3 Buffalo 50 14 27 9 37 115 166 6-13-3 8-14-6 3-5-2 WESTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Home Away Div Vegas 49 33 12 4 70 168 130 19-3-2 14-9-2 12-1-1 Winnipeg 51 30 13 8 68 167 137 18-3-1 12-10-7 7-5-2 Nashville 48 29 12 7 65 146 125 16-5-3 13-7-4 10-4-2 St. Louis 52 31 18 3 65 151 131 18-10-0 13-8-3 7-4-1 Dallas 51 28 19 4 60 155 137 17-8-1 11-11-3 7-10-0 San Jose 49 26 16 7 59 145 138 14-7-3 12-9-4 12-2-3 Minnesota 50 27 18 5 59 147 142 17-4-4 10-14-1 8-8-0 Los Angeles 50 27 18 5 59 142 121 12-9-3 15-9-2 6-9-3 Anaheim 51 25 17 9 59 144 142 14-9-3 11-8-6 8-5-5 Colorado 49 27 18 4 58 160 143 18-7-1 9-11-3 7-6-1 Calgary 50 25 17 8 58 139 139 12-12-3 13-5-5 8-6-3 Chicago 50 24 19 7 55 148 137 12-10-3 12-9-4 6-7-2 Edmonton 49 22 24 3 47 135 157 11-13-1 11-11-2 10-2-0 Vancouver 50 20 24 6 46 131 162 9-13-3 11-11-3 5-9-1 Arizona 50 12 29 9 33 118 172 6-15-3 6-14-6 1-7-5 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. Monday's Games No games scheduled Tuesday's Games Minnesota 3, Columbus 2, SO Pittsburgh 5, San Jose 2 Florida 4, N.Y. Islanders 1 Anaheim 3, Boston 1 Carolina 2, Ottawa 1 New Jersey 3, Buffalo 1 Winnipeg 3, Tampa Bay 1 St. Louis 3, Montreal 1 Chicago 2, Nashville 1 Los Angeles 3, Dallas 0 Vegas 4, Calgary 2 Vancouver 4, Colorado 3, OT Wednesday's Games N.Y. Islanders at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. San Jose at Detroit, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 8 p.m. Thursday's Games Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Montreal at Carolina, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Boston, 7 p.m. Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Anaheim at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m. Vegas at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Los Angeles at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m. Dallas at Arizona, 9 p.m. Colorado at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Chicago at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Friday's Games Washington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Detroit at Carolina, 7 p.m. San Jose at Columbus, 7 p.m. Vegas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Influential business leaders in Nicaragua are calling for early elections to resolve a political standoff between President Daniel Ortega's government and protesters demanding his exit from office. Carlos Pellas Chamorro is the country's most prominent businessman. He said Wednesday that the Ortega government's political model is "worn out" and the solution is moving up the next election, due to take place in 2021. Conglomerate Grupo Lafise Bancocentro also issued a statement calling for the will of the people to be heard through "the advancement of elections." Protests that began in April over now-scrapped social security changes have since expanded into a broader movement seeking Ortega's exit. Human rights observers say more than 80 people have been killed amid a harsh crackdown by government security forces and allied civilian groups.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A life-size bronze statue of a red-haired, freckled Archie will soon greet visitors at a New Hampshire town in honor of the local man who drew the comic book character and his group of wholesome teenage friends. Bob Montana illustrated Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead from 1942 until his death in 1975 at age 54. He lived in Meredith, New Hampshire, for 35 years until he died from a heart attack while cross-country skiing. "It is a privilege to be able to draw attention to one of our community members who did so much and did it so quietly and so well," said Monica Philbin, executive director of the Greater Meredith Program. The Greater Meredith Program, a community development nonprofit, raised nearly $57,000 for the project in less than six months mostly from residents. Architect Chris Williams originally suggested the idea to honor the former Meredith resident with an Archie statue. Williams said no other sculpture of the character exists anywhere. The one-of-a-kind statue will be commemorated Aug. 9 in Meredith's Community Park to coincide with the town's 250th anniversary. Montana brought the Archie Andrews character to life when he drew the first "Archie" comic strip while renting a cottage on Lake Waukewan in 1942. He was joined by other illustrators over the years, including Tom Moore, who also chronicled Archie's escapades from 1953 until he retired in the 1980s. The comic strip was distributed in newspapers nationwide a few years later. Its popularity led the company that originally published the comic books, MLJ Comics, to change their name to Archie Comic Publications in 1946. Over the years, the comic sold billions of copies worldwide and inspired several television shows including "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and "Riverdale." In a book about Montana's life, author Carol Lee Anderson noted that he placed Archie at various New Hampshire landmarks, including Lake Winnipesaukee, and even modeled characters after people in the Lakes Region town. Archie's gang of friends were said to be inspired by the cartoonist's high school classmates in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Montana used drawings of his characters for community fundraisers, including an effort to save a mill building in Laconia. "My father was very proud to be able to earn his living by bringing a smile to people's faces," said his daughter Lynn Montana, who lives in Meredith. "He wanted to empower Archie as a force of good that was bigger than the comic strip." Despite his fame, Lynn said her father was a humble and private man, partially why he raised his family in "peaceful" Meredith. "In his eyes, Archie was famous, but he was not," Lynn said. Montana's impact in Meredith went beyond the comic strip. He had a vision of turning Meredith into an art colony, his daughter said, at one point converting a gas station into an art studio and frame shop. He introduced several artists to the small town and created a local theater group. Montana once united the community to change zoning laws, which prevented commercial development from being built along the waterfront in Meredith. He also successfully fought to have the town's parking meters removed, according to his daughter. "He was a lot more than just a cartoonist, he was a wonderful friend, neighbor and leader in our community," said the project's chairman, Jim McFarlin, adding that there are still people in Meredith who remember the days when Montana would take children out for rides in his 1923 Model T Ford, the same car Archie drove in early comics. The beaming statue will sit on a bench and look toward his workshop, now vacant, where Montana spent his days quietly drawing cartoons. The Belarusian artist commissioned to do the sculpture, Valery Mahuchy, said he wants to bring people together and offer unity with the statue. "It's like a dream come true to have my father permanently honored in the town and we're so grateful to the community for supporting it in the way they have," Lynn said. "It's a testament to my dad's work that it's still alive and meaningful to people today."

MADRID (AP) — Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Donald Trump should stand "on the right side of history" by reconsidering the decision to pull his country out of the Paris climate change accord, a decision Ban called "misguided" and responding to a "short-term vision." The U.S president's decision has larger political consequences beyond the impact on global greenhouse gas emissions, Ban told The Associated Press in Madrid. He said the choice leaves a leadership vacuum in international diplomacy. For almost a decade, Ban spearheaded negotiations that led to the pledge of keeping global temperatures from raising another degree Celsius by 2100. Nearly 200 countries signed the agreement in December 2015. Ban on Wednesday joined more than 50 former world leaders in a statement criticizing Trump administration's decision.

BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — I stood with three friends on a beach littered with dead fish, cigarette butts, the leavings of lunch and empty soda cans. We were in Banjul, Gambia, and about to set off on an adventure to Jinack Island. Our pirogue — a large dugout with a muscular motor — awaited us just offshore, bobbing in the Gambia River with a herd of other colorful boats filled with furniture, groceries and people. There was no way we would walk through the mucky beach and water to get to our ride. Clearly, our much-anticipated day excursion to an island paradise was ruined. Suddenly, I was airborne and moving through the water. I let out a gasp and realized I was on the shoulders of a 20-something, bare-chested man, who had, without a word, bent down and lifted me in one fluid move. He swished through the waist-deep river, my shoes never getting wet. As we neared the boat, the water rose to his chest and he gently placed me in the pirogue. I turned to see my friends, Shelley Clark and Barbara Ligeti, on the shoulders of two other men. Shelley's aunt, Alice Taylor, was cradled in the arms of another. Gambia is a nugget of land surrounded by Senegal on three sides and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. The Gambia River runs through it. Banjul, its capital and major port, was the sixth stop on our monthlong cruise of West Africa aboard The Marina, an Oceania ship, with around 900 other passengers. We booked early, in April for a Nov. 3-Dec. 3 vacation, and got a discount rate for verandah suites, which you need on a long voyage. Cost of cruise: around $10,000, including $400 for visas. I found a good business-class fare to our departure city of Lisbon and home from our last port, Cape Town. Oceania offered discounted airfares for coach. This December, Oceania offers a 30-day Africa voyage, Dubai to Cape Town with stops in Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania, starting at $8,000. Cruise lines visiting Gambia in 2018 include Holland America, Silversea and Regent. Our rooms were beautifully appointed with amenities that included Bulgari bath and beauty products; two bottles of Champagne awaited us in the cabin. The ship had 2,000 artworks hand-picked by Oceania founder Frank Del Rio (an audio tour is available), nine restaurants featuring just about every cuisine, and various bars, boutiques, a casino, music areas, a theater. Oceania prides itself on fine dining and upscale menus. Jacques Pepin is the line's consultant and the food does not disappoint. The trip was amazing, informative, fun and adventurous. It was also deeply emotional at times as we viewed the devastation and horrors of the slave trade and European colonialism. The cruise traced the Portuguese exploration and enslavement of West Africa, with stops in countries colonized by other European powers. (Gambia was colonized by Great Britain.) The melodic Portuguese language is still spoken in certain regions and remnants of Portuguese culture are everywhere, including cuisine. From Lisbon, we went to Madeira, Portugal, the Canary Islands (La Palma and Tenerife), Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Sao Tome, Angola, Namibia and South Africa. We stayed in Cape Town a few days, rented a car and went on safari for a couple days along the Garden Route. Although Europeans flock to Gambia's pretty beaches during winter's chill, few Americans give it much thought. It is one of Africa's poorest countries. Shore excursions booked through cruise lines can be pricey. On The Marina, tours ran over $300 apiece. We booked our tours online with local vendors; all cost well under $100. Not only did we get what amounted to private tours, but we got to do and see more than those on ship tours. We also had friends in some cities who gave us their cars and drivers for the day. The Gambia tour was around $40 and advertised a boat ride on the river, day at Kayira Beach Resort run by a British couple, Penny and Paul Westhead, a visit with school kids who would perform for us, a ride on a donkey cart, a beach barbecue and swimming. The Westheads greeted us with icy bottles of local beer. Nowhere in sight, though, was the resort we expected. Instead, a concrete main house and a couple huts used as guest quarters hunkered among the trees. The Westheads said they had suffered beach erosion and run out of funds to finish their hotel. The plucky pair pressed on and was preparing for a group of Dutch tourists at the Christmas holiday. We could have dissolved into a huge funk. Instead, we looked at one another and laughed. It was an adventure. Besides, the Westheads were a hoot and very entertaining. Clark and I swam in the clear, warm water, while Taylor sipped a beer from the shade of a tree. Ligeti set off through the bush to deliver school supplies we had brought with us from New York. The Westheads' chef, a talented young woman who had changed into her fanciest dress for the occasion, made a spicy beef and vegetable stew, and perfectly cooked jasmine rice. Jinack Island was not what we expected but it was a fun day. We learned about a country we did not know. We swam in the Gambia River, made some school kids happy and rode on the shoulders of robust young men. ____ More on cruise trends and issues in AP Travel's "Get Outta Here!" podcast: https://apnews.com/afs:Content:1762250007

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Attorneys general from three states say a $275 million federal plan for keeping Asian carp from migrating into the Great Lakes is too pricey and rejects the most effective solution. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is recommending technologies such as electric barriers and water cannons at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois, which stands between the carp-infested Illinois River and Lake Michigan. Attorneys general Bill Schuette of Michigan, Lori Swanson of Minnesota and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania say a better way is replacing the lock gates with a concrete wall that would divide the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds. That would cost only about $5.9 million. They say the Corps plan favors the needs of shipping companies over those of the Great Lakes fishing industry.

All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Home Away Div Tampa Bay 50 34 13 3 71 176 128 17-5-1 17-8-2 9-3-1 Boston 48 29 11 8 66 157 119 16-6-4 13-5-4 10-1-2 Washington 49 29 15 5 63 150 138 18-7-1 11-8-4 8-4-3 Toronto 51 28 18 5 61 162 146 13-8-2 15-10-3 6-4-1 Pittsburgh 52 28 21 3 59 156 155 18-7-1 10-14-2 10-4-0 New Jersey 49 25 16 8 58 147 147 13-8-3 12-8-5 5-6-1 Columbus 50 27 19 4 58 133 140 16-8-1 11-11-3 8-5-2 Philadelphia 49 24 17 8 56 141 141 13-9-4 11-8-4 5-2-4 N.Y. Rangers 50 25 20 5 55 153 151 17-8-3 8-12-2 7-6-3 N.Y. Islanders 51 25 21 5 55 173 184 13-8-3 12-13-2 7-7-1 Carolina 50 23 19 8 54 139 155 11-7-4 12-12-4 6-5-3 Florida 48 20 22 6 46 136 159 11-8-3 9-14-3 6-4-1 Detroit 48 19 21 8 46 126 146 10-10-7 9-11-1 6-9-2 Montreal 50 20 24 6 46 130 159 12-10-5 8-14-1 9-6-2 Ottawa 48 15 24 9 39 125 168 9-11-5 6-13-4 5-8-3 Buffalo 50 14 27 9 37 115 166 6-13-3 8-14-6 3-5-2 WESTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Home Away Div Vegas 48 32 12 4 68 164 128 19-3-2 13-9-2 11-1-1 Winnipeg 51 30 13 8 68 167 137 18-3-1 12-10-7 7-5-2 Nashville 48 29 12 7 65 146 125 16-5-3 13-7-4 10-4-2 St. Louis 52 31 18 3 65 151 131 18-10-0 13-8-3 7-4-1 Dallas 51 28 19 4 60 155 137 17-8-1 11-11-3 7-10-0 San Jose 49 26 16 7 59 145 138 14-7-3 12-9-4 12-2-3 Los Angeles 50 27 18 5 59 142 121 12-9-3 15-9-2 6-9-3 Minnesota 50 27 18 5 59 147 142 17-4-4 10-14-1 8-8-0 Anaheim 51 25 17 9 59 144 142 14-9-3 11-8-6 8-5-5 Calgary 49 25 16 8 58 137 135 12-11-3 13-5-5 8-5-3 Colorado 48 27 18 3 57 157 139 18-7-1 9-11-2 7-6-1 Chicago 50 24 19 7 55 148 137 12-10-3 12-9-4 6-7-2 Edmonton 49 22 24 3 47 135 157 11-13-1 11-11-2 10-2-0 Vancouver 49 19 24 6 44 127 159 8-13-3 11-11-3 5-9-1 Arizona 50 12 29 9 33 118 172 6-15-3 6-14-6 1-7-5 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs. Monday's Games No games scheduled Tuesday's Games Minnesota 3, Columbus 2, SO Pittsburgh 5, San Jose 2 Florida 4, N.Y. Islanders 1 Anaheim 3, Boston 1 Carolina 2, Ottawa 1 New Jersey 3, Buffalo 1 Winnipeg 3, Tampa Bay 1 St. Louis 3, Montreal 1 Chicago 2, Nashville 1 Los Angeles 3, Dallas 0 Vegas at Calgary, 9 p.m. Colorado at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Wednesday's Games N.Y. Islanders at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. San Jose at Detroit, 8 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington, 8 p.m. Thursday's Games Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Montreal at Carolina, 7 p.m. St. Louis at Boston, 7 p.m. Florida at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Anaheim at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m. Vegas at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Los Angeles at Nashville, 8:30 p.m. Tampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m. Dallas at Arizona, 9 p.m. Colorado at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Chicago at Vancouver, 10 p.m. Friday's Games Washington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. Detroit at Carolina, 7 p.m. San Jose at Columbus, 7 p.m. Vegas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

SAO PAULO (AP) — A woman believed to be the first in Brazil to ask the state for permission to end a pregnancy that did not result from a rape or involve medical issues has had an abortion — in Colombia. Rebeca Mendes filed a case with the Supreme Court in late November seeking to have an abortion when she was six weeks pregnant, but the court rejected her request. While waiting for a decision on another petition, Mendes traveled to Colombia last week. She told The Associated Press on Monday that she had an abortion there. Her decision to have an abortion ends her involvement in a case that garnered national headlines in Brazil and sought to push back against restrictive abortion laws.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has decided not to punish anybody for now under new sanctions retaliating for Russia's election-meddling, the State Department said Monday, in a surprising move that fueled further questions about whether President Donald Trump is too soft on Moscow. The government had until Monday to take two steps under a law passed by Congress last year in the wake of the 2016 presidential campaign. The first required the U.S. to slap sanctions on anyone doing "significant" business with people linked to Russia's defense and intelligence agencies, using a blacklist the U.S. released in October. The second required the administration to publish a list of Russian "political figures and oligarchs" who have grown rich under President Vladimir Putin. On the first item, the administration decided it didn't need to penalize anyone, even though several countries have had multibillion-dollar arms deals with Russia in the works. State Department officials said the threat of sanctions had been deterrent enough, and that "sanctions on specific entities or individuals will not need to be imposed." "We estimate that foreign governments have abandoned planned or announced purchases of several billion dollars in Russian defense acquisitions," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. She did not provide evidence or cite any examples. On the second item — the "Putin list" — the day came and went with no sign of if or when it would be released. The Treasury Department did not respond to several inquiries. In the past, the administration has breezed past several such deadlines, including the October deadline to produce a blacklist, only to follow through later after pressure from Congress mounted. By itself, being on the Putin list doesn't trigger U.S. sanctions. Yet the list, being developed by the Treasury Department, has induced fear among rich Russians who are concerned that it could lead later to U.S. sanctions or to being informally blacklisted in the global financial system. It has triggered a fierce lobbying campaign, with Russia hawks in Congress pushing the administration to include certain names and lobbyists hired by Russian businessmen urging the administration to keep their clients off. Companies or foreign governments that had been doing business with blacklisted Russian entities had been given a three-month grace period to extricate themselves from transactions, starting in October when the blacklist was published and ending Monday. But only those engaged in "significant transactions" are to be punished, and the United States has never defined that term or given a dollar figure. That ambiguity has made it impossible for the public to know exactly what is and isn't permissible. Late last year, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said one reason the U.S. was proceeding cautiously was that major U.S. allies have much at stake. Turkey, a NATO ally, has a deal to buy the S-400, Russia's most advanced air defense missile system. And key security partner Saudi Arabia recently struck an array of deals with Moscow, including contracts for weapons. It was unclear whether either country had since abandoned those deals to avoid running afoul of the U.S. sanctions. New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, lambasted the move to punish no one, saying he was "fed up" and that Trump's administration had chosen to "let Russia off the hook yet again." He dismissed the State Department's claim that "the mere threat of sanctions" would stop Moscow from further meddling in America's elections. "How do you deter an attack that happened two years ago, and another that's already underway?" Engel said. "It just doesn't make sense." ___ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. ___ Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

ERIN, Wis. (AP) — One of the many quirks at Erin Hills is what was originally called the Bye Hole — a devilish, downhill par-3 positioned between the old ninth and No. 10. It was initially built to be just for fun and wasn't supposed to count on the official scorecard. By the end of the U.S. Open, a lot of these players might wish the course architects had kept it that way. The old ninth hole is now No. 8, and the Bye Hole is now No. 9. The 135-yard par-3 is what the makers of Erin Hills consider their answer to one of the world's most picturesque golf holes — the short, downhill seventh at Pebble Beach. "We didn't have the ocean, so we put in erosion bunkers," said writer/architect Ron Whitten, who helped design Erin Hills. They also designed a rolling, multi-sectioned green that, in places, is near-impossible to hold, along with a tee box on an exposed, wind-swept hill. As is the case at Pebble Beach, where the seventh measures 109 yards, on most days the shot requires nothing more than a pitching wedge. But where No. 7 at Pebble Beach ranked as the third-easiest hole at the 2010 U.S. Open, No. 9 at Erin Hills is designed to cause more trouble than that. "Honestly, there are a couple spots where you just do not want to be," said Garrett Osborn, a onetime regular on the Web.com Tour who qualified for his first U.S. Open this year. No. 9 has been described — and we'll keep it just to the printable things — as the shortest par-5 in golf, the hole with the scariest second shot at Erin Hills (if you miss the green on the first) and, as Alex Noren of Sweden said, "a hole where there's no way you can just hit a decent shot to get on there, you have to hit a super-good shot to have a chance." During his practice round Wednesday, Noren tried to simulate what happens if the shot is not "super good." He randomly dropped a ball in one of the seven bunkers that surround the severely pitched green. He stepped in, leaned down and took a mighty hack. The ball stayed in. He leaned down again and got it out on the second try, then walked to the ball, picked it up, looked at it and threw it toward the stands. The ball had an inch-long gash just above the Callaway logo from his first failed attempt. Not that avoiding the bunkers guarantees success. The middle of the putting surface pitches severely right and funnels downhill into a tightly mowed collection area that can leave a tricky flop shot for a second. "Guys are going to get a little upset with that if the ball hits the middle of the green and it rolls all the way off the green and maybe 10 yards down into a chipping area," Steve Stricker said. "I think at some point that may need to get a little softened." Rain might do that, but during summer in Wisconsin, rain almost always means wind, too, and picking a club while playing downhill with a helping or crossing wind will be hard. Osborn said he expects more players than not to end up short of the green, in part because the bunkers that guard the back are tougher — filled with uneven lies, uneven distribution of sand and little dimples of scrub and turf that protrude into the traps themselves. All part of the plan. "You could have a side-hill lie, a lie that might be in one of those little fingers where you can't even get the club on the ball," Whitten said. "You might have a lie where you can't take the club back. You might have to turn sideways or turn backward. "But if you were in the water, it'd be even worse." No. 9 offers the most extreme example of the architects' philosophy across the course: Use the natural form of the land to turn bunkers back into hazards. "They shouldn't be so cushy and consistent and uniform from hole to hole," Whitten said. The bunkering will increase the degree of difficulty on what is already the longest layout in U.S. Open history, at 7,741 yards. And yet, it's the shortest hole that could give these players the biggest fits. "Not super long," Noren said, "but it's probably one of the hardest greens I've ever seen."

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. wildlife managers failed to adopt a recovery plan for the endangered Mexican gray wolf that would protect against illegal killings and the consequences of inbreeding, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by environmentalists. A coalition of environmental groups filed the complaint in federal court in Arizona, marking the latest challenge in a decades-long battle over efforts to re-establish the predator in its historic range in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. The lawsuit alleges the plan adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service set inadequate population goals for the wolves, cut off access to vital habitat in other parts of the West and failed to respond to mounting genetic threats. In approving the recovery plan, federal authorities acknowledged that majority of documented mortalities in the United States are human-caused "Mexican wolves urgently need more room to roam, protection from killing and more releases of wolves into the wild to improve genetic diversity, but the Mexican wolf recovery plan provides none of these things," said Earthjustice attorney Elizabeth Forsyth, who is representing the groups. "The wolves will face an ongoing threat to their survival unless major changes are made." Federal officials did not immediately respond Tuesday to emailed messages seeking comment about the lawsuit but have previously defended the plan, which was adopted in November after decades of legal wrangling and political battles. The majority of documented Mexican gray wolf deaths in the U.S. are human-caused, and officials said in the recovery plan that reducing mortalities from illegal shootings and vehicle collisions may "provide our best opportunity to improve population performance and speed the time to recovery." Investigations of illegal shootings over the years have not produced suspects, but federal authorities offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of individuals responsible for illegal Mexican wolf killings. Other groups have donated more money, meaning tipsters could get as much as $58,000 depending on the information they provide. Under the plan, management of the wolves would eventually revert to state wildlife agencies in New Mexico and Arizona but not until the population averages 320 wolves over an eight-year period. In each of the last three years, the population would have to exceed the average to ensure the species doesn't backslide. Officials with the wolf recovery team are currently surveying the population to get an updated count. Last year, the survey found at least 113 wolves in the wild in mountainous areas along the Arizona-New Mexico border. Environmentalists have pressed for years for more captive wolves to be released into the wild. Ranchers and elected officials in rural communities argue against doing so, citing wolf attacks on livestock. According to the lawsuit, the Mexican gray wolf is one of the most genetically and ecologically distinct lineages of wolves in the Western Hemisphere. After extermination campaigns on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border decades ago, the last known wild Mexican gray wolf in the United States was killed in 1970, officials have said. Seven wolves formed the stock for a captive breeding program. Five had been captured in Mexico between 1977 and 1980 and the other two were already in captivity. The reintroduction effort began in 1998 with the release of 11 captive-bred wolves.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City prosecutors say they have arrested a man who signed off on an apparently faulty construction project that collapsed in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake of Sept. 19 and killed two women. Prosecutors have not identified the suspect, who faces homicide charges. But they said Monday he was in charge of ensuring the seven-story apartment building was constructed according to approved plans in 2016. The prosecutor's office says the building's foundations didn't meet specifications approved for the site. It says the structure had "little resistance" and didn't meet specifications. The quake killed 369 people in all, 228 of them in the capital. Experts say recently built structures should have been able to withstand the quake. Another suspect was arrested previously in the case.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--Peloton, the technology company that revolutionized the fitness industry with its category-creating indoor cycling bike and its recently announced Peloton Tread, today announced that Pamela Thomas-Graham has been elected to the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Thomas-Graham is a seasoned entrepreneur, executive and long-time public company board member with nearly three decades of experience in the financial services, media and fashion industries. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423006292/en/ Pamela Thomas-Graham (Photo: Business Wire) “Peloton is reinventing the fitness experience in an incredibly innovative way, and I’m honored and thrilled to be joining its Board,” said Thomas-Graham. “As both an executive and a fitness enthusiast, I look forward to working with John Foley, his team and my fellow Board members to help drive the future of this disruptive business.” Currently, Thomas-Graham is the Founder and CEO of Dandelion Chandelier LLC, a private digital media enterprise reporting on luxury goods and services. Prior to that, she spent over six years with Credit Suisse, where she was the first female member of the bank’s Executive Board; Chief Marketing and Talent Officer; and Head of Private Banking and Wealth Management New Markets. Before assuming leadership roles in financial services, Thomas-Graham served as a Group President at Liz Claiborne (subsequently Kate Spade & Company, now part of Tapestry), where she was responsible for the P&L of 18 global apparel brands. Previously, Thomas-Graham spent six years at NBCUniversal, where she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CNBC.com and, later, as global Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CNBC Television. She began her career at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 1989, and became the firm’s first African-American female partner in 1995. She was named one of the “Top 10 Consultants in America” by Consulting Magazine in 1999. As a consultant she worked on strategy and operational issues with clients in consumer packaged goods, media and retail. “Pamela’s insight and perspective will be a welcome addition to our already impressive Board,” said Peloton CEO and Co-founder John Foley. “Her extensive experience across a variety of consumer businesses--from finance to beauty to media--will help us immensely as we continue to innovate and grow.” Thomas-Graham holds Bachelor of Arts in Economics; Master of Business Administration; and Doctor of Law degrees from Harvard University. Since 2005, she has served on the board of The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX), and currently serves as its Lead Independent Director. In December 2017, she joined the board of N.T. Butterfield & Sons Bank (NASDAQ: NTB), a full service bank and wealth manager headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. About Peloton Founded in 2012, Peloton is revolutionizing the fitness industry by merging high design with modern technology to provide access to live and on-demand fitness group classes led by elite NYC instructors. With instant access to classes, performance tracking metrics and a motivating real-time leaderboard, Peloton is changing the way people get fit through a comprehensive and socially connected experience that makes every workout both efficient and addictive. Peloton is sold online and in a growing number of showrooms across the US. For more information, visit www.onepeloton.com. View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423006292/en/ CONTACT: Media: Peloton: Michael Braun, (212) 334-0333 peloton@id-pr.com or Jessica Kleiman, (646) 829-1633 press@onepeloton.com KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OTHER SPORTS LUXURY HEALTH FITNESS & NUTRITION HOME GOODS GENERAL SPORTS RETAIL SPECIALTY OTHER RETAIL SPORTS GENERAL HEALTH SOURCE: Peloton Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/23/2018 02:45 PM/DISC: 04/23/2018 02:45 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423006292/en

BAGHDAD (AP) — An influential Iraqi Shiite cleric is urging his fighters to hand state-issued weapons back to the government following the declaration of victory against the Islamic State group. Muqtada al-Sadr also called on his forces to hand some of the territory they control to other branches of Iraq's security forces, but said his men would remain as protectors of a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad. Al-Sadr's speech was broadcast on Iraq television on Monday. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over IS in a national address on Saturday evening, after Iraqi forces cleared the last IS strongholds from Iraq's western desert. Al-Sadr's fighters took up arms against IS in the summer of 2014 after the fall of Mosul and are officially part of the government-sanctioned Popular Mobilization Forces.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The moon is putting on a rare cosmic show Wednesday. It's the first time in 35 years a blue moon has synced up with a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse. Hawaii and Alaska have the best seats, along with the Canadian Yukon, Australia and Asia. The western U.S. should have good viewing, too, along with Russia. The U.S. East Coast, Europe and most of South America and Africa are out of luck for the eclipse. The second full moon in a calendar month is a blue moon. This one also happens to be an especially close and bright moon, or supermoon. Add a total eclipse, known as a blood moon for its red tint, and it's a lunar showstopper. NASA is calling it a lunar trifecta: the first super blue blood moon since 1982. That combination won't happen again until 2037. The space agency plans to provide a live stream of the moon from ground telescopes, throughout the eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. Scientists are keen to study the sharp, sudden drop in temperature at the lunar surface, as Earth's shadow blankets the moon. During the more than one hour of totality, the temperature will plunge 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), said lunar scientist Noah Petro of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. He's deputy project scientist for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, circling the moon since 2009. His team is taking special precautions to keep the spacecraft warm during the eclipse. Perhaps just as important, Petro and others are hoping the big event gets more people looking up — not just Wednesday, but every day. For the trivia crowd, the moon will be 223,820 miles (360,200 kilometers) away at the peak of the eclipse, close enough for supermoon status. ___ Online: NASA: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html.

PLANTATION, Fla. & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--In conjunction with World Immunization Week and National Infant Immunization Week, Pediatric Associates of Florida and TruMed Systems, maker of the AccuVax® Vaccine Management System, today jointly announced that AccuVax will be used at all Pediatric Associates sites to optimize vaccine storage and management. Pediatric Associates, America’s largest private pediatric practice, is replacing its conventional refrigerator/freezer units with the AccuVax Vaccine Management System, a state-of-the-art vaccine management platform that automates vaccine storage, monitoring and handling. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005650/en/ Liz Wallin, clinical manager at Pediatric Associates, using the AccuVax Vaccine Management System. (Photo: Business Wire) AccuVax ensures that vaccine efficacy and safety is maintained to the strictest of standards through a unique door-less design and built-in battery backup that maintain ideal temperature management. Further, because it’s fully automated, it eliminates burdensome vaccine administrative work, allowing clinical staff to focus on patient care. “AccuVax optimally protects vaccines and minimizes cumbersome vaccine management activities, supporting Pediatric Associates’ mission to enhance the lives of all children, their families and communities by delivering the highest quality pediatric healthcare and services in a compassionate and healthy environment,” said Scott D. Farr, Pediatric Associates’ Chief Operating Officer. “AccuVax is the first and only door-less vaccine storage unit on the market, and it ensures that the temperature variation vaccines experience is minimal, which means they remain in their most effective and safe state until administered.” AccuVax was developed by TruMed Systems of San Diego, which is installing units in medical practices and health systems across the country. Pediatric Associates has unique experience with AccuVax as it participated as one of 20 pilot sites nationwide to provide real-world feedback to help improve the System. Clinical managers Virginia Lyons and Liz Wallin were part of the pilot and say the new system has helped to simplify the time-consuming procedures they had to follow to manage vaccine inventories. It has also given them peace of mind that the vaccines they are giving their patients are at optimal potency. “The storage of the vaccines is really important and often underappreciated,” said Lyons. “If you don’t keep them at the correct temperature, it can distort what the vaccine is meant to do, which is to protect our kids and keep them safe.” Lyons estimates that her clinic alone dispenses more than 200 vaccine doses a day. “Doing inventory is a dream with AccuVax, we can easily keep track of inventory and temperature logs through the unit’s touchscreen interface or remotely via a secure web-based portal,” Wallin added. “Previously our staff would have to restock the conventional refrigerator/freezers in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Now we are able to keep hundreds of vaccine doses in the new unit and receive advance notices if a vaccine is going to expire or supplies are running low. It saves us a lot of time.” Inventory losses due to power failure, 1 improper storage and expired doses are common, 2 and have created challenges for even the most advanced practices and health systems. Wallin, who has worked at Pediatric Associates for 24 years, is all too familiar with the amount of effort and stress involved in managing a busy practice’s vaccine supply and trying to avoid inventory waste. She stated that the automated system has dramatically reduced the amount of work and worry involved in managing the large number of vaccines they deliver to their patients. “It sounds silly, but I sleep better because I’m not worried,” said Wallin, recalling having to go to the office at 2 o’clock in the morning after an alarm alerted her to temperature fluctuations in one of her old vaccine storage units. “You don’t have the alarm calling you in the middle of the night. We haven’t experienced any temperature excursions since the decision to implement AccuVax at all our sites; it’s perfect.” Because of the benefits afforded by the AccuVax System, Pediatric Associates is now installing units throughout its network of clinics from Jacksonville to South Florida to better protect their patients and communities. “We can only optimally protect our children and communities from debilitating and deadly diseases if we safeguard the potency of the vaccines we rely on. TruMed’s vision is to provide the medical community with a solution that helps ensure optimal protection against preventable diseases,” said Jesper Jensen, CEO of TruMed Systems. “We’re honored to work with Pediatric Associates, a recognized leader in pediatric medicine, to place our AccuVax Systems across their 34 sites.” TruMed Systems announced the commercial availability of the AccuVax Vaccine Management System in September of 2017. About Pediatric Associates Pediatric Associates is the nation’s largest privately owned primary care pediatric practice, with more than 250 providers and 34 convenient locations extending from Jacksonville to Miami. Its facilities offer families comprehensive services, including X-ray and state certified laboratories. Pediatric Associates is open 365 days a year with weekend, evening and holiday hours for patient convenience. Its mission is to enhance the lives of all children and their families by delivering the highest quality pediatric healthcare in a compassionate and healthy environment. For more information, visit www.pediatricassociates.com. About AccuVax® Vaccine Management System AccuVax is the purpose-built vaccine supply management system that automates product control and integrity, minimizes risks of incorrect vaccine delivery, and optimizes office work flow so that providers can focus on care delivery. AccuVax is an integrated solution that includes hardware, software, online access, software updates, training, optional integrations, technical support and maintenance. AccuVax is already being used in many individual clinics, major health systems and public healthcare facilities throughout the U.S. The vaccine management system is available as a monthly subscription, requiring no down payment and no capital expense. More information about the AccuVax Vaccine Management System can be found by visiting http://www.accuvax.com or calling 1-844-TruMed1. Watch the YouTube video on AccuVax. Contact TruMed Systems at sales@trumedsystems.com today on how to order. About TruMed ® Systems TruMed Systems, a medical technology company, develops innovative point-of-care supply management systems for healthcare professionals. TruMed Systems’ mission is to improve healthcare practitioners’ total vaccine outcomes by creating point-of-care supply management systems that support product efficacy and practice objectives. For more information, visit www.trumedsystems.com. 1 U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=27892. 2 Hibbs et al. Vaccine. 2015 Jun 22;33(28):3171-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.05.006. Epub 2015 May 14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25980429 View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005650/en/ CONTACT: Pediatric Associates Kate Manly Marketing Communications Manager 954.487.1089 kmanly@pediatricassociates.com www.pediatricassociates.com or TruMed Systems Jesper Jensen 858.429.9330 jesper.jensen@trumedsystems.com www.trumedsystems.com or Impact Health Communications, LLC Amanda Crowe, MA, MPH 203.829.6219 acrowe@impacthealthcommunications.com www.impacthealthcommunications.com KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA FLORIDA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT HEALTH HOSPITALS OTHER HEALTH BABY/MATERNITY CHILDREN PARENTING CONSUMER MEDICAL SUPPLIES NURSING FAMILY GENERAL HEALTH SOURCE: TruMed Systems Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/23/2018 08:00 AM/DISC: 04/23/2018 08:01 AM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005650/en

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (AP) — Luke Air Force Base officials say an F-16C from the 56th Fighter Wing crashed while attempting to land at a municipal airport in Arizona. The pilot ejected and wasn't seriously injured. Officials say the jet was on a training flight Tuesday when it diverted to the Lake Havasu City airport and went off the runway while landing, prompting the pilot to eject. Staff Sgt. Jenna Bigham says the pilot is in good condition and was transported to a hospital. She says she couldn't provide information on why the plane diverted. The Today's News-Herald newspaper posted a photo showing the plane apparently missing the nose area of its fuselage. Lake Havasu City is 134 miles (216 kilometers) northwest of Luke, located in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish amateur league football club has transferred a player by paying him with Bitcoin, in what the club chairman said is the first signing of a player in cryptocurrency. Harunustaspor chairman Haldun Sehit told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency late Tuesday that the club paid player Omer Faruk Kiroglu 2,000 Turkish liras worth of Bitcoin (0.0534 Bitcoin) in addition to 2,000 Turkish Lira ($540). Sehit told Anadolu the club decided to sign Kiroglu with the cryptocurrency to make the team known "in Turkey and the world." Sehit said: "God willing, Bitcoin will bring us the championship." The club competes in the first division of Sakarya's Amateur League.

GAUHATI, India (AP) — A tiny wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India has reported a jump in the number of one-horned rhinoceroses. Pradipta Baruah, supervisor of a census carried out Sunday at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, says there are now 102 one-horned rhinos living in the park, up from 93 during the last count, in 1993. The reserve, which is just 38 square kilometers (15 square miles), is outside of the Assam state capital, Gauhati. India's Kaziranga National Park, also in Assam, is the main home of the one-horned rhino, with more than 2,000. All of the world's five rhino species are under constant threat from poachers who sell their horns on black markets, often in countries where rhino horn is believed to increase male potency.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope asks Vatican's top sex crimes expert to look into case of Chilean bishop accused of cover-up.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — With the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics slated to start next week, Lake Placid in upstate New York is rolling out the welcome mat for travelers who won't make that trip but might want to celebrate in a village that embraces the Olympic spirit like nowhere else. The Empire State Winter Games kick off the monthlong celebration Thursday. Another highlight will be Winterfest, Feb. 24, which will include meet-and-greets with former Olympians. Whiteface-Lake Placid has been ranked No. 1 for much of the last three decades for off-hill activities by Ski Magazine. Its readers selected it the No. 2 resort overall in the eastern United States. That's partly because of great lodging and restaurant options in addition to the variety of winter recreation.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A court in Hanoi has handed down prison terms up to eight years to three activists after finding them guilty of posting video clips on social media critical of the communist government. A lawyer says Vu Quang Thuan was convicted on charges of spreading propaganda against the state and sentenced to eight years in a trial that lasted half a day Wednesday. Thuan's accomplices Nguyen Van Dien and Tran Hoang Phuc received 6 1/2 years and 6 years respectively on the same charges. They were accused of posting 17 video clips prosecutors said vilified the country's leaders and the state. They have denied they committed a crime. Human Rights Watch says at least 24 people were convicted for their writings and advocacy on democracy and human rights last year.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana Department of Correction spokesman says a man convicted in connection with a deadly Indianapolis house explosion has been found dead. Department spokesman Doug Harrison says 48-year-old Mark Leonard was found dead Tuesday morning at the Wabash Valley Correction Facility in southwestern Indiana. Garrison says the cause of death wasn't immediately known. Leonard was convicted in 2015 of murder, arson and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in the November 2012 natural gas explosion that destroyed his then-girlfriend's home and killed two next-door neighbors. That blast damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes on Indianapolis' south side. Leonard received two life sentences without parole, plus 75 years. Leonard also was sentenced to an additional 50 years in February 2017 for trying to have a witness killed.

The Syrian government has recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two Georgian breakaway regions backed by Russia, as independent countries. "A deal has been reached between the Syrian Arab Republic, the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia to exchange recognition and set up diplomatic ties at the embassy level," said a Syrian Foreign Ministry official in comments circulated by the state-run SANA news agency on Tuesday. Read more: Caucasus history almost repeats itself in Crimea The move prompted the Georgian government to announce its decision to sever official ties with Syria, blaming Russia for orchestrating the diplomatic stunt. "With this act, the Assad regime declared its support for Russia's military aggression against Georgia, the illegal occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali [South Ossetia] regions and the ethnic cleansing that has been taking place for years," said a statement from the Georgian Foreign Ministry. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Abkhazia and South Ossetia were internationally recognized as part of Georgia. But in 2008, Russia waged war over the regions, deploying thousands of troops and recognizing them as independent states. Politics of recognition After the brief war, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru recognized both regions as independent of Georgia. Although Syria has maintained close ties with Russia for decades, Moscow's involvement in the country's conflict in recent years has strengthened their bond. Read more: Georgia's internally displaced face uncertain future Abkhazia and South Ossetia have historically been autonomous regions of Georgia, even during the Soviet Union. In the wake of the Cold War, separatists fought a war against Georgian forces, a conflict that displaced 250,000 people and killed more than 12,000 others. Both the US and EU have refused to recognize the breakaway regions, saying they form part of Georgia's territorial integrity. ls/cmk (AFP, Reuters) Each 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.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. & LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Leading health and well-being company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is teaming up with home-based medical care company Landmark to offer an in-home medical, behavioral and palliative care coordination program for Humana Medicare Advantage members with multiple chronic conditions in seven states. The program gives patients the opportunity to receive quality care in the privacy and comfort of a residential setting. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005029/en/ Landmark physicians and advanced practice providers (Complexivists®) utilize an integrated care model to treat the whole patient. The company also employs pharmacists, nurses, social workers, behavioral health clinicians, and dieticians to provide care management in support of, and in coordination with, the patient’s existing primary care physician - Landmark does not replace patients’ regular doctors, but augments their care plans in the home. The program will be available to eligible Humana Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO members with complex health needs - due to multiple chronic conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, and end-stage renal disease – who live in select counties in Washington (starting in May); Kansas and Missouri (starting in June); Kentucky and Ohio (starting in July); and Louisiana and Mississippi (starting in August). Available services will include urgent house-call visits 24 hours a day, seven days a week; maintenance visits to proactively monitor conditions; post-hospital discharge visits to assist with transition back into the home; and continuity-of-care in coordination with the patient’s primary care physician or specialist. “This is a very exciting opportunity for Landmark for two key reasons,” said Landmark Chief Business Officer Eric Van Horn. “First, we are aligned in our beliefs that clinical excellence and coordinated care will help people reach their best health outcomes. Second, Humana offers us the opportunity to reach more chronically-ill patients with the type of care we’d want for our own loved ones.” “We’re pleased to work with Landmark to bring this kind of coordinated, at-home care model to our Medicare Advantage members for the first time,” said Humana Health Guidance Organization Vice President Chuck Stemple, D.O. “This collaboration will provide care in a comforting setting with the benefit of an entire care team working in coordination with the patient’s existing primary care physician in a holistic approach.” The agreement with Landmark is part of Humana’s longstanding commitment to value-based care, which emphasizes: More personal time with health professionals and personalized care that is tailored to each person’s unique health situation; Access to proactive health screenings and programs that are focused on preventing illness; Improved care for people living with chronic conditions with a focus on avoiding health complications (watch Humana’s “Better Chronic Management Through Value-Based Care” video); Leveraging technologies, such as data analytics, that connect physicians and help them work as a team to coordinate care around the patient; and Reimbursement to physicians linked to the health outcomes of their patients rather than solely on the quantity of services they provide (fee-for-service). Humana has an extensive and growing value-based care presence. As of December 31, 2017, Humana has 1.9 million individual Medicare Advantage members and approximately 140,000 commercial members who are cared for by 52,000 primary care physicians in more than 1,000 value-based relationships across 43 states and Puerto Rico. Humana reached its 2017 calendar year goal of having 66 percent of Humana’s 2.9 million total individual Medicare Advantage members seeing primary care physicians in value-based payment relationships. Humana’s total Medicare Advantage membership is approximately 3.3 million members, which includes members affiliated with providers in value-based and standard Medicare Advantage settings. For more information, visit humana.com/valuebasedcare. About Landmark Landmark is an industry leader of home-based medical care for patients with complex health needs, covering more than 80,000 lives. Its community-based, physician-led medical teams specialize in house calls and deliver medical, behavioral, social and palliative care to individuals with multiple chronic conditions wherever they reside, and wherever they need it. Landmark’s teams of mobile clinicians collaborate with patients’ families, caregivers and other medical providers to bring coordinated healthcare to people who need it the most. Landmark operates nationally, expanding coverage to reach 13 states in 2018. For more information, visit www.landmarkhealth.org. About Humana Humana Inc. is committed to helping our millions of medical and specialty members achieve their best health. Our successful history in care delivery and health plan administration is helping us create a new kind of integrated care with the power to improve health and well-being and lower costs. Our efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large. To accomplish that, we support physicians and other health care professionals as they work to deliver the right care in the right place for their patients, our members. Our range of clinical capabilities, resources and tools – such as in-home care, behavioral health, pharmacy services, data analytics and wellness solutions – combine to produce a simplified experience that makes health care easier to navigate and more effective. More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.humana.com, including copies of: Annual reports to stockholders Securities and Exchange Commission filings Most recent investor conference presentations Quarterly earnings news releases and conference calls Calendar of events Corporate Governance information Additional Information Humana is a Medicare Advantage HMO and PPO organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in a Humana plan depends on contract renewal. The benefit information provided is a brief summary, not a complete description of benefits. For more information, contact the plan. Limitations, copayments and restrictions may apply. Benefits, premium and member cost-share may change on January 1 of each year. The Formulary, pharmacy network, and/or provider network may change at any time. You will receive notice when necessary. Y0040_GHHK6QKEN Accepted View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005029/en/ CONTACT: Landmark Health Jessica Diaz, 657-234-8416 jdiaz@landmarkhealth.org or Humana Corporate Communications Alissa Krinsky, 312-441-5576 akrinsky@humana.com KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CARIBBEAN CALIFORNIA PUERTO RICO KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI OHIO WASHINGTON INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH OTHER HEALTH NURSING GENERAL HEALTH MANAGED CARE SOURCE: Landmark Health Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 10:00 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 10:00 AM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005029/en

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — It looks like a perfectly staged assassination, straight out of the pages of a spy novel: North Korean royalty Kim Jong Nam, the estranged, exiled half-brother of leader Kim Jong Un, falls ill at a Malaysian airport, complains of being sprayed with some sort of chemical, and drops dead. But, as with many things about the alleged motives of cloistered North Korea, the unknowns currently far outweigh the certainties. A look at what officials are trying to piece together as they work to reconstruct one of the most audacious, mysterious assassinations in recent Asian history: ___ WHY NOW? This is the big one: Motive. Kim Jong Nam, a jovial, overweight gambler and playboy, had embarrassed Pyongyang before — he tried to sneak into Tokyo Disney; he criticized his half-brother — but he's been generally seen more as an annoyance than an existential threat to North Korea's stability. Why would Kim Jong Un go through the massive logistical trouble — and potential embarrassment — of staging the risky assassination of a blood relation on foreign soil? Without elaborating, South Korea's spy service told lawmakers Wednesday that the North had been trying to kill Kim Jong Nam for five years. Spy officials offered a single, shaky motive for the death: Kim Jong Un's "paranoia" over his estranged brother. But the South's National Intelligence Service has a long history of botching intelligence on North Korea and has long sought to portray the North's leadership as mentally unstable. Some in Seoul wonder if Kim Jong Un might have become enraged when a South Korean newspaper reported last week that Kim Jong Nam tried to defect to the South in 2012. South Korea's spy service denied this, but it's still an open question: Could public speculation that a member of the exalted Kim dynasty wanted to flee to the hated South have pushed Kim Jong Un to order his brother's assassination? ___ WHY THE AIRPORT IN MALAYSIA? There would seem to be easier, less public places to kill such a high-profile target. A possible explanation might be found in another nugget provided by South Korea's spy agency: China had long protected Kim Jong Nam and his family in their home base of Macau. Analysts have seen Beijing as looking to Kim Jong Nam as a potential leader should North Korea's regime collapse. With security, presumably overseen by China, tight in Macau, could there have been a security gap in Malaysia that offered North Korean assassins an opportunity they couldn't have gotten elsewhere? ___ WHO ARE THE MYSTERY WOMEN? The details of the attack itself are a tangled mess as of now. Kim told medical workers that he'd been sprayed with a chemical, which brings to mind past attacks with poison-tipped pens linked to North Korean assassins. South Korea's spy agency says two women believed to be North Korean agents attacked Kim. They then reportedly fled. Japanese media quoted the government in Tokyo as saying those women may now be dead. None of this has been confirmed yet. Still, finding out who these women are and who hired them could go a long way to unlocking the mystery. ___ WHAT NEXT? North Korea has said nothing officially about the death, but that's not unusual. The country's propaganda specialists are masters at reporting only details that lionize the Kim family as paragons of virtue. This clearly doesn't do that. China may be angry at the killing of a close North Korean contact, so there could be some sort of reaction, possibly back-channel, from Beijing. But a more concrete punishment could come from Washington. Cheong Seong-Chang, a South Korean analyst, said the assassination might convince the U.S. Congress to relist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, further isolating the already widely shunned country. ___ Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Theresa May is flying to China seeking a major economic partner for post-Brexit Britain. She leaves behind a divided government, a feuding Conservative Party — and a question mark over how long she will remain leader once she returns. May leaves Tuesday for a three-day trip with stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan and meetings with Chinese premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping. Accompanied by 50 British business leaders, May is looking to burnish the "golden era" between the two countries announced by Xi in 2015. China is key to British hopes of forging new trade deals and partnerships around the world after it leaves the EU. China expert Kerry Brown, of King's College London, says May's challenge is to "inject a little dynamism into the relationship."

NEW YORK (AP) — Top American and North Korean officials plan a full day of meetings in New York aimed at deciding whether a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can be salvaged. Ahead of the meetings Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the North's former military intelligence chief, Kim Yong Chol, had dinner Wednesday night. Kim had flown in from Beijing and Pompeo from Washington. The talks come as preparations for a highly anticipated summit in Singapore barrel ahead amid lingering uncertainty about whether it will actually take place, and when. Trump cancelled the June 12 summit last week, then suggested it could still happen. U.S. teams have been meeting with North Korean officials in Singapore and in the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," which has been quoted by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was made popular by folk singer Pete Seeger, has been declared a part of public domain. Ludlow Music, the song's publisher, agreed in a New York federal court last week to back down on claims of copyright after losing a summary judgment in the case. The publisher said in a stipulation filed last Friday that it waived the right to appeal the judge's opinion and agreed the melody and lyrics are "dedicated to the public domain." The lawsuit was filed by the We Shall Overcome Foundation, a group that wanted to make a documentary about the song, and Butler Films, which produced the 2013 film "The Butler."

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) — Josh McDaniels didn't know what he didn't know. In 2009, he was the baby-faced 32-year-old prodigy plucked out of Bill Belichick's roost and Tom Brady's shadow to serve as Mike Shanahan's replacement in Denver, holding down two jobs he'd never had: head coach and de facto general manager. He'd trade away his starting quarterback, draft Tim Tebow and win his first six games, including one against his mentor. But he was fired halfway through his four-year contract, losing 17 of his next 22 games and presiding over his very own videotape scandal. The Broncos blamed themselves for giving McDaniels too much power with so little experience. Denver then embarked on a renaissance under general manager John Elway and Peyton Manning. McDaniels spent a year with the Rams before returning for a highly successful second stint with Brady and Belichick, preparing him for his second NFL head coaching gig with the Indianapolis Colts , which will become official after the Super Bowl. Now 41, McDaniels still doesn't look his age, but he says he is a much wiser than the brash coach who wore the gray hoodie in Denver eight years ago. McDaniels said he was a much better trainee and tutor in his return to New England, much more appreciative of the breadth of Belichick's artistry and the depth of Brady's genius . "It's a unique perspective," seeing things a second time after getting a firsthand look behind the coaching curtain, McDaniels said Wednesday, as he helped Brady and Belichick prepare for their eighth Super Bowl. "Bill does a tremendous job of understanding the pulse of his team. He relates to everyone very well and I've been able to see that and look at that through a different lens. When we need a push, he pushes us. When we need love, he loves us. When we need a pat on the back, he does that. When we need to run hills, we run hills," McDaniels said. "He just has a tremendous ability to understand when to do what as a head coach. And he serves us in so many ways to make us better coaches, to make the players better players. He's there to help us, he doesn't take it away from us. Believe me, I make tons of mistakes in my role and he's there to help." McDaniels didn't think it was possible, but he now holds Belichick in even higher regard than he did during his first stint from 2006-08, because he now realizes all the juggling head coaches have to do. "Before you leave and you do that, it's hard to say that you know what he's going through because you really don't," McDaniels said. "I'm very happy for the experiences that I've gone through. A lot of the failings in my career have been some of the best teachers that I've had. I've really learned a lot from them, I think I'm a better person, a better coach, a better communicator, a lot of things because of the things that I haven't done well." One thing he's done exceptionally well is working with Brady, who's going for his sixth Super Bowl ring Sunday when the Patriots play the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles . McDaniels has long held that working with Brady made him a better coach, because he always had to be prepared to answer the quarterback's incessant questions, to justify the smallest of his decisions, to explain what everyone's role was on every single play. "We haven't treated each other any differently. He treats me with the respect of a coach and I treat him like I need to make him a better player," McDaniels said. "And I think that's the only way to do it. I know his experience and his understanding is above all others as a player. But I don't really focus a whole lot on that. I focus on the next team, the next week, the next practice, our scheme, what we're trying to do and he's very respectful of that. And we listen and learn from each other. "We have a tremendous relationship and it's been an honor of my lifetime in coaching to have an opportunity to work with a guy like that as long as I have." ___ For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ___ Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

SYDNEY (AP) — The men's and women's finals of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in 2020 will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as Cricket Australia affords both tournaments equal billing. For the first time, the men's and women's tournaments will be played as stand-alone events in the same country. The 10-team women's event will run from Feb. 21 to March 8 and the 16-team men's tournament from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15. Both semifinals of the women's tournament will be played in Sydney while the men's semifinals will be split between the Sydney Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval. Finals will then take place at the 100,000-seat MCG, Australia's largest stadium and venue for the final of the 2015 men's one-day international World Cup, which drew 93,000 fans. A total of 13 stadiums in eight Australian cities — Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Geelong, Hobart, Perth and Brisbane — will host matches during the two events. The men's tournament has been expanded so that the previous Super 10 stage now becomes a Super 12 with eight automatic qualifiers, and the top two teams from two four-team pools which will contest the group stage. The International Cricket Council is hoping the women's final will draw a world record crowd for a women's sports event after 24,000 attended the final of the women's 50-overs World Cup at Lord's in July last year. The Australian record for a women's sports event is 41,000, which attended a soccer match in Adelaide in 1929. The world record is 90,185 for the women's FIFA World Cup final in 1999. "Australia is a sporting nation, with diverse and passionate fans who love cricket," organizing committee chief executive Nick Hockey said. "We've designed ICC World T20, comprising stand-alone women's and men's events, to be more inclusive, more accessible and more connected than ever before so that everyone can join in." The Australian women's team has won three of the previous five Twenty20 World Cups and will be attempting to win back the world crown they lost to the West Indies in 2016. The West Indies are also the current men's champions.

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Otsuka) announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved JYNARQUE ™ (tolvaptan) as the first drug treatment to slow kidney function decline in adults at risk of rapidly progressing autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006422/en/ ADPKD Infographic (Graphic: Business Wire) ADPKD is a genetic disease with consequences that can lead to dialysis or kidney transplantation. It is a progressively debilitating and often painful disorder in which fluid-filled cysts develop in the kidneys over time. These cysts enlarge the kidneys and impair their ability to function normally, leading to kidney failure in most patients. 3 ADPKD is diagnosed in approximately 140,000 people in the U.S., 4,5 and impacts families across multiple generations, since a parent with ADPKD has a 50 percent chance of passing the disease on to each of their children. 6,7 The efficacy of tolvaptan was demonstrated in two pivotal trials, lasting one year and three years, respectively. In the one-year REPRISE study, the primary endpoint was the treatment difference in the change of eGFR from pretreatment baseline to post-treatment follow-up, annualized by dividing by each subject’s treatment duration. In the randomized period, the change of eGFR from pretreatment baseline to post-treatment follow-up was −2.3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 /year with tolvaptan as compared with −3.6 mL/min/1.73 m 2 /year with placebo, corresponding to a treatment effect of 1.3 mL/min/1.73 m 2 /year (p <0.0001). In the three-year TEMPO 3:4 study, tolvaptan reduced the rate of decline in eGFR by 1.0 mL /min /1.73m 2 /year (95 % confidence interval of 0.6 to 1.4) as compared to placebo in patients with earlier stages of ADPKD. In the extension trial, eGFR differences produced by the third year of the TEMPO 3:4 trial were maintained over the next 2 years of JYNARQUE treatment. The primary endpoint in TEMPO 3:4 study was the intergroup difference for rate of change of total kidney volume (TKV) normalized as a percentage. The trial met its pre-specified primary endpoint of 3-year change in TKV (p<0.0001). The difference in TKV between treatment groups mostly developed within the first year, the earliest assessment, with little further difference in years two and three. In years 4 and 5 during the TEMPO 3:4 extension trial, both groups received JYNARQUE and the difference between the groups in TKV was not maintained. Tolvaptan has little effect on kidney size beyond what accrues during the first year of treatment. The key secondary composite endpoint (ADPKD progression) was time to multiple clinical progression events of: 1) worsening kidney function (defined as a persistent 25% reduction in reciprocal serum creatinine during treatment (from end of titration to last on-drug visit); 2) medically significant kidney pain (defined as requiring prescribed leave, last-resort analgesics, narcotic and anti-nociceptive, radiologic or surgical interventions); 3) worsening hypertension (defined as a persistent increase in blood pressure category or an increased anti-hypertensive prescription); 4) worsening albuminuria (defined as a persistent increase in albumin/creatinine ratio category). The relative rate of ADPKD-related events was decreased by 13.5% in tolvaptan-treated patients, (44 vs. 50 events per 100 person-years; hazard ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.97; p=0.0095). As shown in the table below, the result of the key secondary composite endpoint was driven by effects on worsening kidney function and kidney pain events. In contrast, there was no effect of tolvaptan on either progression of hypertension or albuminuria. Few subjects in either arm required a radiologic or surgical intervention for kidney pain. Most kidney pain events reflected use of a medication to treat pain such as use of paracetamol, tricyclic antidepressants, narcotics and other non-narcotic agents. JYNARQUE can cause serious and potentially fatal liver injury, and acute liver failure requiring liver transplantation has been reported. JYNARQUE has been associated with elevations of blood alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST), with infrequent cases of concomitant elevations in bilirubin-total (BT). To ensure the safety of patients taking JYNARQUE, it is necessary to measure ALT, AST and bilirubin before initiating treatment, at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after initiation, then monthly for 18 months and every 3 months thereafter, for as long as the patient is on JYNARQUE (tolvaptan) treatment. Because of the risks of serious liver injury, JYNARQUE is available only through a restricted distribution program supported by a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program approved by the FDA. For more information about JYNARQUE, please visit www.JYNARQUE.com. "The progressive nature of ADPKD means that kidney function gets worse over time, eventually leading to end-stage renal disease. This progression happens more rapidly for some patients than others.” said Michal Mrug, M.D., Associate Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and investigator on the REPRISE trial. “Today’s approval is great news for adults at risk of rapidly progressing ADPKD because by slowing the decline in kidney function, this therapy may give them more time before kidney transplant or dialysis.” Andy Betts, CEO of the PKD Foundation, observed, “Today is an historic day in providing hope to patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, and we are thrilled to be a part of this first milestone in treatment. For the past 35 years, our goal has been to walk with PKD patients every step of the way. It is gratifying to play a part in the inception of the discovery of this treatment, and to see it come to fruition. We hope that this is just the beginning of a new chapter for adults at risk of rapidly progressing ADPKD who suffer from the disease.” Also, Tatsuo Higuchi, president and representative director of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., commented, “This approval is important news for many adults at risk of rapidly progressing ADPKD in the U.S., who have had no therapeutic alternatives to delay the eventual end-stage interventions of dialysis or kidney transplantation. We are humbled to be able to offer an earlier, proactive course of action to slow the progression of this disease, which we know means so much to patients, their families and healthcare providers. Simultaneously, we are grateful to the patients and researchers who through their continued commitment made this milestone possible.” About ADPKD ADPKD is a progressively debilitating and often painful genetic disorder in which fluid-filled cysts develop in the kidneys over time. These cysts enlarge the kidneys and impair their ability to function normally, leading to kidney failure in most patients. ADPKD can impact quality of life, and is also associated with cardiovascular complications that can cause death. 3 ADPKD is diagnosed in approximately 140,000 people in the U.S., 4,5 and is the fourth leading cause of end-stage renal disease. 1,2 ADPKD impacts families across multiple generations, since a parent with ADPKD has a 50 percent chance of passing the disease on to each of their children. 6,7 Risk factors for rapid disease progression include having a greater TKV than expected for age, 8,9 family history of end-stage renal disease before 58 years of age, 10 high blood pressure before 35 years of age, 11 certain urologic events before 35 years of age, 12 a historical decline in eGFR of ≥5 mL/min/1.73 m 2 within 1 year, 10 certain inherited genetic profiles, 12 or male sex. 12 Visit https://pkdcure.org/what-is-pkd/adpkd/ for more information about ADPKD. About JYNARQUE ™ (tolvaptan) JYNARQUE is a selective vasopressin V 2 -receptor antagonist indicated to slow kidney function decline in adults at risk of rapidly progressing ADPKD. The medication has been approved as a treatment for adults with ADPKD in Japan, the EU, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia, Turkey and Taiwan. See local prescribing information for specific indications in each country. The FDA approval of JYNARQUE is supported by data from the TEMPO 3:4 (Tolvaptan Efficacy and Safety in Management of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease and Its Outcomes) and REPRISE (Replicating Evidence of Preserved Renal Function: an Investigation of Tolvaptan Safety and Efficacy in ADPKD) clinical trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2012 and November 2017, respectively. JYNARQUE will be sold in a 28-day treatment pack at a wholesale acquisition cost of $13,041.10. More information for U.S. Healthcare Providers can be found at www.JYNARQUEhcp.com. INDICATION and IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION for JYNARQUE TM (tolvaptan) INDICATION: JYNARQUE is indicated to slow kidney function decline in adults at risk of rapidly progressing autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION: WARNING: RISK OF SERIOUS LIVER INJURY JYNARQUE (tolvaptan) can cause serious and potentially fatal liver injury. Acute liver failure requiring liver transplantation has been reported Measure transaminases (ALT, AST) and bilirubin before initiating treatment, at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after initiation, then monthly for the first 18 months and every 3 months thereafter. Prompt action in response to laboratory abnormalities, signs, or symptoms indicative of hepatic injury can mitigate, but not eliminate, the risk of serious hepatotoxicity. Because of the risks of serious liver injury, JYNARQUE is available only through a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program called the JYNARQUE REMS Program CONTRAINDICATIONS: History, signs or symptoms of significant liver impairment or injury. This contraindication does not apply to uncomplicated polycystic liver disease Taking strong CYP3A inhibitors With uncorrected abnormal blood sodium concentrations Unable to sense or respond to thirst Hypovolemia Hypersensitivity (e.g., anaphylaxis, rash) to JYNARQUE or any component of the product Uncorrected urinary outflow obstruction Anuria Serious Liver Injury: JYNARQUE can cause serious and potentially fatal liver injury. Acute liver failure requiring liver transplantation has been reported in the post-marketing ADPKD experience. Discontinuation in response to laboratory abnormalities or signs or symptoms of liver injury (such as fatigue, anorexia, nausea, right upper abdominal discomfort, vomiting, fever, rash, pruritus, icterus, dark urine or jaundice) can reduce the risk of severe hepatotoxicity. To reduce the risk of significant or irreversible liver injury, assess ALT, AST and bilirubin prior to initiating JYNARQUE, at 2 weeks and 4 weeks after initiation, then monthly for 18 months and every 3 months thereafter. Hypernatremia, Dehydration and Hypovolemia: JYNARQUE therapy increases free water clearance which can lead to dehydration, hypovolemia and hypernatremia. Instruct patients to drink water when thirsty, and throughout the day and night if awake. Monitor for weight loss, tachycardia and hypotension because they may signal dehydration. Ensure abnormalities in sodium concentrations are corrected before initiating therapy. If serum sodium increases above normal or the patient becomes hypovolemic or dehydrated and fluid intake cannot be increased, suspend JYNARQUE until serum sodium, hydration status and volume status parameters are within the normal range. Inhibitors of CYP3A: Concomitant use of JYNARQUE with drugs that are moderate or strong CYP3A inhibitors (e.g., ketoconazole, itraconazole, lopinavir/ritonavir, indinavir/ritonavir, ritonavir, and conivaptan) increases tolvaptan exposure. Use with strong CYP3A inhibitors is contraindicated; dose reduction of JYNARQUE is recommended for patients taking moderate CYP3A inhibitors. Patients should avoid grapefruit juice beverages while taking JYNARQUE. Adverse Reactions: Most common observed adverse reactions with JYNARQUE (incidence >10% and at least twice that for placebo) were thirst, polyuria, nocturia, pollakiuria and polydipsia. Other Drug Interactions: Strong CYP3A Inducers: Co-administration with strong CYP3A inducers reduces exposure to JYNARQUE. Avoid concomitant use of JYNARQUE with strong CYP3A inducers OATP1B1/3 and OAT3 Transporter Substrates: Caution should be used in patients who take JYNARQUE and OATP1B1/B3 and OAT3 substrates (e.g., statins, bosentan, glyburide, nateglinide, repaglinide, methotrexate, furosemide), as the plasma concentrations of these substrates may be increased. BCRP Transporter Substrates: Tolvaptan is an inhibitor of BCRP. Patients who take JYNARQUE, should avoid concomitant use with BCRP substrates (e.g., rosuvastatin) V 2 -Receptor Agonist: Tolvaptan interferes with the V 2 -agonist activity of desmopressin (dDAVP). Avoid concomitant use of JYNARQUE with a V 2 -agonist. Pregnancy and Lactation: Based on animal data, JYNARQUE may cause fetal harm. In general, JYNARQUE should be discontinued during pregnancy. Advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with JYNARQUE. To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. at 1-800-438-9927 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 ( www.fda.gov/medwatch ). Please see FULL PRESCRIBING INFORMATION, including BOXED WARNING. Otsuka, maker of JYNARQUE (tolvaptan), is committed to helping patients access the medications they need. Otsuka is committed to helping adults at risk of rapidly progressing ADPKD and will work closely with these patients, providers and payers to ensure JYNARQUE is broadly accessible. Otsuka offers a number of support programs for eligible patients, including the JYNARQUE Copay Savings program, which ensures that eligible commercially insured patients do not pay more than $10 per prescription for JYNARQUE. Further details about program limitations and legally required exclusions are available at www.JYNARQUE.com/Copay-Savings. The Otsuka Patient Assistance Foundation (OPAF), a separate and independent entity, provides support for eligible patients who are unable to afford their medication. OPAF’s mission is to eliminate financial barriers to drug therapies for uninsured or underinsured patients. For more information, please visit www.otsukapatientassistance.com. About Otsuka Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: “Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide.” Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products to meet unmet medical needs and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health. In pharmaceuticals, Otsuka is a leader in the challenging area of mental health and also has R&D programs in areas including nephrology and cardiology. These commitments illustrate how Otsuka is a “big venture” company at heart, applying a youthful spirit of creativity in everything it does. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company is a subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The Otsuka group of companies employed 46,000 people worldwide and had consolidated sales of approximately USD 11.1 billion in 2017. All Otsuka stories start by taking the road less travelled. Learn more about Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company on its global website at https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en. Learn more about Otsuka in the U.S. at www.otsuka-us.com and connect with us on Twitter at @OtsukaUS. 1 United States Renal Data System. National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, MD, 2016. Available at: https://www.usrds.org/2016/download/v2_ESRD_16.pdf (accessed August 8, 2017). 2 Lentine, K. L. (2015). Renal Function and Healthcare Costs in Patients with Polycystic Kidney Disease. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology , 5, 1471-1479. 3 Chebib F, Torres V et al. Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: core curriculum 2016. Am J Kidney Dis. May 2016; 67(5): 792-810. 4 Data on file. Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc., 2018 5 Willey, CJ et al. Epidemiology of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease in the United States. Poster presented at American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week; 2013 Nov 5-10; Atlanta, GA 6 Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Fact Sheet. NIH Reports. Accessed online on March 30 2018 at https://report.nih.gov/NIHfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=29&key=A#A\ 7 Torres VE, Grantham JJ. Cystic diseases of the kidney. In: Taal MW, Chertow GM, Mardsen PA, Skorecki K, Yu ASL, Brenner BM, eds. Brenner & Rector’s The Kidney. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012:1626-1667 8 Irazabal MV. Imaging Classification of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: a simple model for selecting patients for clinical trials. J Am Soc Neph. 2015 vol. 26 no. 1 160-172. 9 Chapman A. et al. Kidney Volume and Functional Outcomes in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 2012; 7; 479-486. 10 Gansevoort RT. Recommendations for the use of tolvaptan in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: a position statement on behalf of the ERA-EDTA Working Groups on Inherited Kidney Disorders and European Renal Best Practice. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation 2016, Vol. 31, 337–3489 11 Schrier JASN 2010/p891/col1/1/ln1-3] 12 Cornec Le Gall E. The PROPKD score: a new algorithm to predict renal survival in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2016 Mar;27(3):942-51 View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006422/en/ CONTACT: Otsuka (In the U.S.) Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. Kimberly Whitefield Corporate Communications +1-609-535-9259 Kimberly.whitefield@otsuka-us.com or (Outside the U.S.) Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Jeffrey Gilbert Leader, Pharmaceutical Public Relations +81-3-6361-7379 Gilbert.jeffrey@otsuka.jp KEYWORD: ASIA PACIFIC JAPAN INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY CLINICAL TRIALS INFECTIOUS DISEASES PHARMACEUTICAL OTHER HEALTH FDA SOURCE: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 03:00 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 03:01 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006422/en

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Gaza health official says the death of a 9-month-old girl remains under investigation, two weeks after a medical official cast doubt on claims she died from Israeli tear gas. A medical report issued on May 14, the day of Layla Ghandour's death, and seen by The Associated Press makes no mention of tear gas. It says she suffered from a congenital heart defect and died after her blood circulation and respiratory system stopped. Dozens of Palestinians were killed that day by Israeli fire and hundreds were hurt, including by tear gas, in Gaza border protests. Layla's relatives claimed she was at the scene of the protests. Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said Wednesday that her death remains under investigation. The ministry initially announced she was killed by tear gas.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell has won nine of the 29 deep-water oil exploration blocks Mexico put up for bid in the Gulf of Mexico. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant won four of those bids in alliance with other companies. Shell was the biggest winner in the bidding round, in which 10 blocks drew no bids. Malaysia's PC Carigali won seven blocks alone or in alliances, and Mexico's state-owned Pemex won four blocks, two of them as part of an alliance. The head of Mexico's National Oil Commission said Wednesday the bidding ensures that nearly two dozen deep-water exploration wells would be drilled as part of billions of dollars in investment. Shell said in a statement México "is ready to successfully compete in attracting investment in the oil and gas sector."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was overheard Tuesday night telling a Republican lawmaker he is "100 percent" in favor of releasing a classified memo on the Russia investigation that has sparked a political fight pitting Republicans against the FBI and the Justice Department. "Oh yeah, don't worry," the president told South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan on the House floor after his first State of the Union address. "100 percent." Duncan had implored Trump to "release the memo." Television cameras captured the exchange as Trump was leaving the chamber. The White House had said before the speech that it was still conducting a legal and national security review of the document, and press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters earlier Tuesday that Trump still had not been briefed on its contents. The memo arrived at the White House on Monday evening after Republicans on the House intelligence committee brushed aside opposition from the Justice Department and voted to release it. Under committee rules, the president has five days to object to its release. The four-page memo was written by Republicans on the committee, led by chairman Rep. Devin Nunes of California, a close Trump ally who has become a fierce critic of the FBI and the Justice Department. Republicans have said the memo reveals improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation. Democrats have called it a selectively edited group of GOP talking points that attempt to distract from the committee's own investigation into Russian meddling. On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said he supports the memo's release but doesn't want Republicans to use it to attack special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump's campaign was involved. "This is a completely separate matter from Bob Mueller's investigation and his investigation should be allowed to take its course," Ryan said, noting that he also supports Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller. Ryan said the memo shows "there may have been malfeasance at the FBI by certain individuals." He did not provide additional details, only saying that "there are legitimate questions about whether an American's civil liberties were violated by the FISA process," a reference to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It's unclear how FBI malfeasance could have solely resulted in a judge signing off on a FISA warrant. Applications for such warrants are submitted by Justice Department lawyers before a judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Those lawyers would have to authorize and ultimately prepare any filing that is made. The vote to release the memo is an unprecedented move by the committee, which typically goes out of its way to protect classified information in the interest of protecting intelligence sources and methods. It also came after Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray warned White House chief of staff John Kelly that releasing the memo publicly could set a dangerous precedent, according to a person familiar with the conversation. Rosenstein and Wray voiced their concerns personally to Kelly during a meeting at the White House on Monday ahead of the vote by the House intelligence committee, said the person, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Rosenstein also told Kelly the memo didn't accurately characterize the FBI's investigative practices, the person said. The Washington Post first reported the details of the White House meeting. The FBI and the Justice Department declined comment. The Justice Department had said in a letter last week that it would be "extraordinarily reckless" to release the memo without first giving the FBI and the department the chance to review it. After those complaints, Wray reviewed the memo over the weekend. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who was with Wray when he reviewed the memo, said the FBI director did not raise any national security concerns with him. Gowdy said the memo doesn't reveal any intelligence methods but it does reveal "one source." But Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said Wray told him Monday that the review didn't satisfy his concerns about the memo's release. Wray wanted to brief the committee about FBI and Justice Department concerns ahead of any release, a request committee Republicans blocked, Schiff said. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders pushed back on reports that the release was imminent, saying the White House has no "current plans" to do so. "The President has not seen or been briefed on the memo or reviewed its contents," she said. A senior White House official said the National Security Council is leading an interagency review of the memo. If Trump decides to release the memo, it could be made public as early as Wednesday afternoon, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential internal deliberations. So far, the official said, the Justice Department is the only agency opposing its release. Asked Tuesday about the department's position on the memo's release, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores declined comment. Republicans said they are confident the release won't harm national security. They also said they would not release the underlying intelligence that informed the memo. "You'll see for yourself that it's not necessary," said Texas Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, who's leading the House's Russia investigation. But Schiff said the memo's release could compromise intelligence sources and methods. Some Republican senators have also said they don't want to release the memo, and Democrats have pushed back on Republican criticism of the FBI, saying it is an attempt to discredit Mueller's investigation. The probe has already resulted in charges against four of Trump's former campaign advisers and has recently moved closer to Trump's inner circle. In response, Democrats on the panel have put together their own memo. On Monday, the committee voted to make the Democratic memo available to all House members — but not the public. Conaway said he was open to making it public after House members have a chance to review it. Separately Tuesday, the House committee's interview with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was delayed, according to two people familiar with the decision. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private committee deliberations. Bannon was set to be interviewed behind closed doors Wednesday. But one of the people familiar with the decision to delay it said it was premature to schedule it this week because discussions have only just started with the White House over what Bannon can tell the committee. ___ Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Jonathan Lemire, Tom LoBianco, Mary Clare Jalonick and Andy Taylor contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court is weighing in on an unusual lawsuit by a group of young people who say the Trump administration is violating their constitutional rights by failing to address climate change. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday from attorneys for the administration and the 21 young people, who range in age from 10 to 21. The Trump administration wants the 9th Circuit to order a lower court to dismiss the suit, saying it is broad and without merit. The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bayareane.ws/2knQczY ) that two of the judges voiced skepticism about the administration's request. The lawsuit was originally filed against the Obama administration in 2015.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has cancelled one of the key joint cooperation projects with South Korea planned for next month's Winter Olympics, officials said, further proving the delicate nature of ties between the rivals split for seven decades. North Korea on Monday night sent a message saying it won't hold a joint cultural event at the North's Diamond Mountain on Feb. 4 to mark the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry. The ministry cited North Korea as saying it has no other option but to cancel the project because of South Korean media reports that it says defamed its "sincere" measures for the Olympics. The North also accused South Korean media of picking a fight over an unspecified domestic festival in North Korea, according to the ministry statement. The statement said South Korea considers the North's decision "very regrettable." The North didn't say which media reports were at issue. But some reports had criticized the North's plan to stage a major event to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its military on Feb. 8, just one day before the Olympics' opening ceremony. South Korean officials have said the North plans a massive military parade on the anniversary. It's not clear how the latest development would affect other planned Olympics-related cooperation projects between the Koreas. They agreed to field a joint women's hockey team and have their athletes parade together under a single flag during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony. A dozen North Korean hockey players arrived in South Korea last week to practice with their South Korean teammates. North Korea has a history of last-minute cancellations and unexplained reversals, and some experts say it might have sought to gain concessions from the South. The visit earlier this month of a prominent band leader to inspect artistic venues in the South was delayed by North Korea but eventually took place. The Koreas' current reconciliation mood followed a year of heightened animosities over North Korea's nuclear program. Many analysts say the North may want to use improved ties with South Korea to weaken U.S.-led international pressure and sanctions on the country.

BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the war in Syria (all times local): 2:15 p.m. Russia says demands for Iran's complete withdrawal from Syria are "unrealistic." Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday after meeting with his Jordanian counterpart that Iran is one of the key powers in the region, and that it would be "absolutely unrealistic" to expect it to abandon its interests. He said regional powers should discuss mutual complaints and negotiate a compromise. Russia and Iran have provided crucial military support to Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, helping them turn the tide in the civil war. Israel has said it will not tolerate an Iranian military presence in Syria and has launched military strikes against Iranian targets there in recent months. Lavrov said Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump would discuss the situation in southern Syria, where government forces are waging a new offensive, at their July 16 summit. He said a cease-fire in the region brokered by Russia, Jordan and the U.S. had envisioned the withdrawal of non-Syrian forces and the deployment of Syrian troops along the frontier with Israel. ___ 10:45 a.m. Islamic State media outlets are reporting that the son of the group's leader has been killed fighting Syrian government forces. The announcement of the death of the young son of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared on the group's social media accounts late Tuesday. It included a picture of a young boy carrying a rifle and identified him as Huthaifa al-Badri. The statement did not specify when he was killed. It said he was an elite fighter who was killed while fighting Syrian and Russia troops at a power station in the central Homs province. Al-Baghdadi has been reported killed or wounded on a number of occasions but is widely believed to still be alive. IS has been driven from nearly all the territory it once controlled in Syria and Iraq.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A mountain climber who was rescued from a Himalayan peak where her climbing partner is presumed to have died has returned home to France, a representative of a Pakistani mountaineering group said Tuesday. Karrar Haidri of the Alpine Club of Pakistan said Elisabeth Revol left Pakistan before dawn. Revol praised everyone who participated in rescuing her from Nanga Parbat, said Haidri, who visited her at the Islamabad where she was treated. Suffering from frostbite and exhaustion, Revol was rescued Sunday by Polish climbers who were on a separate expedition and braved high winds and low nighttime temperatures to bring her down from Nanga Parba, the world's ninth-highest peak at 8,126 meters (26,660 feet.) In an account published Tuesday, the climbers, Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki, described the difficult decision to call off trying to save Revol's partner, Tomasz Mackiewicz of Poland, after Revol reported the poor condition he was in when she last saw him. Revol said Mackiewicz had frostbitten hands and legs and face, no sense of time or space, was snow blind, and unable to move unassisted. The two mountaineers got stuck Thursday while climbing Nanga Parbat, Pakistan began a rescue operation when the weather cooperated Saturday. The Polish climbers thanked the Pakistani helicopter pilots who transported them. Their expedition to attempt the first winter ascent of K2, the world's second-highest mountain, plans to resume. _________ Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed.

SEATTLE (AP) — A man who was brought to the U.S. illegally as a child but was protected from deportation by the Obama administration has been taken into custody in the Seattle area in what could be the first case of its kind in the country. Northwest Immigrants Rights Project Legal Director Matt Adams told The Associated Press Tuesday that 23-year-old Daniel Ramirez Medina was arrested Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Adams says he believes the young man was apprehended by mistake. Adams says agents were at the Seattle home to arrest the man's father and that they took both men into custody. Ramirez Medina has a work permit under Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He's being held in Tacoma. Adams says the man is the first person he knows of with DACA status who has been detained.

GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) — The man fired from his radio DJ job for groping superstar Taylor Swift has been hired by a Mississippi radio station. The Washington Post quotes Delta Radio CEO David Fuss as telling news outlets he believes David Mueller's side of the story and hired him because he sounds good on air. Swift sued Mueller for a dollar last year, saying he grabbing her bare backside while posing for photo. Mueller, who uses the last name "Jackson" on air, denies the allegation and started co-hosting a show on Monday called "Jackson and Jonbob." Mueller's hiring comes amid the #MeToo movement aimed at drawing attention to sexual assault and harassment. Fuss says the hiring decision was also "maybe a tiny bit" about publicity. Neither party has responded to the newspaper's requests for comment.

GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — Olympic swimming gold medalist Grant Hackett was detained by police on Australia's Gold Coast on Wednesday after his father called for help. Hackett's brother, Craig, said the family was struggling to cope with the 36-year-old retired swimmer's mental health issues. "The whole family have done everything that we can but now it's kind of out of our hands," Craig Hackett was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press. "The Grant Hackett that Australia fell in love with, they can still have that affection toward him. This is not 'Grant Hackett.'" Craig Hackett said his younger brother's personality had become almost unrecognizable. "This is a completely different person," Craig Hackett said. "I don't know this person, my mum and dad don't know this person. He's there in body, but he's not there in mind, soul or spirit." Hackett's father, former police detective Neville, called police to his Gold Coast home around noon Wednesday after two-time Olympic 1,500-meter freestyle champion became agitated and aggressive. The former swimming star agreed to go with police and was later released, but not before the episode had made national news. "This is now a chronic problem and it looks like it's not going to go away in a hurry," Craig Hackett said. "From a mental health perspective I hope something can be done. "To see someone who is so dominant and had the world at his feet to now, really we don't know what's going to happen — it doesn't look encouraging." Hackett had a high profile as a swimmer and TV personality after winning gold in the 1,500 at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics, holding the world record in the event, and finishing with silver at Beijing in 2008. After his TV career unraveled following a series of out-of-competition troubles, he tried to make a comeback for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last year but didn't qualify for the Australian team. Last April, he publicly apologized for a drunken incident on a flight home from the Australian Olympic trials when he was accused of groping a male passenger who reclined the seat in front of him. Hackett admitted he'd been drinking alcohol before the flight and would seek help to quit. He said his career was tarnished by "pure stupidity, making poor decisions at crucial times in my life" and he felt "a huge amount of regret." Hackett said he struggled being back in the public spotlight after six years away from competitive swimming, leading to "unacceptable" and "embarrassing" actions. "I have to live with that. It is very difficult. A deep sense of shame, guilt, embarrassment, of regret, I am so sorry for my actions and the people it has impacted," he said. Hackett traveled to the United States in 2014 to undergo treatment for a dependency on the sleeping medication Stilnox. His stint in rehabilitation followed the publication of a photograph of him partially nude and disoriented at a Melbourne hotel, searching for his young son, and the very public breakup of his marriage.

LONDON (AP) — British package holiday travelers used to having to rush to secure poolside lounge chairs first thing in the morning can now sleep in. Travel company Thomas Cook is offering to reserve poolside chairs for a fee of 25 euros ($31) per person per stay, sparing its guests the morning dash to put a towel on a lounger to claim it for the day. British travelers to southern Europe have long complained that diehard sun worshippers — especially the German ones — get up early and claim loungers as soon as hotel pools open and hog the spaces all day, even when they aren't beside the water. Videos on social media have captured moments that resemble stampedes as pools open and guests race in, tossing towels on choice spots. The Sun tabloid splashed the story on its front page Monday, showing a poolside lounge chair draped in a Union Jack with the headline "Brits beat Germans by booking sunbeds. Wish you were here?" Just to show the feeling is mutual, the Germans counter that the Brits are the real sun lounge lizards. The popular newspaper Bild, for example, noted "Wait a minute: the Brits are worse than the Germans, aren't they?" Thomas Cook, the British travel company credited with inventing the package holiday, points no fingers, sticking with careful neutrality. Instead, the company insists its policy is about choice. Anyone can pay for a little marker on the poolside chair that denotes a reserved seat. The plan should cover 30 hotels by the summer. Thomas Cook says the loungers will be displayed on a map featuring a compass to help people determine whether certain areas will be in the sun or shade at different times of day. Only a portion of loungers will be bookable, so travelers who don't want to pay extra can vie for sunny spots in the poolside equivalent of open seating — just like before. "Traditional package holidays are a thing of the past," said Thomas Cook's U.K. Managing Director Chris Mottershead. "Holidaymakers today want to personalize their package, mixing and matching the elements that best fit their needs and lifestyle."

Bernhard Langer has compiled 36 victories and just over $25 million in earnings on the PGA Tour Champions, and he is a seven-time player of the year. It might help the others if the 60-year-old German takes a week off every now and then. "Sometimes they say, 'Why don't you take a week off?' I joke back and say, 'If you pay me some disappearance fee, I might.' But I haven't received any yet," Langer said Monday while previewing the Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Leave it to Langer's son to arrange that. Langer revealed that he won't be able to defend his title on May 24-27 because his youngest son, 18-year-old Jason, is graduating from high school that weekend. "Family always comes first in my life, so I've got to be there to support him, to celebrate him moving on to college," Langer said. He said his son will attend Penn's Wharton School of Business and plans to play golf. "I wouldn't want to miss that," Langer said. "I'm going to miss competing for this, but hopefully, there will be more chances in the future." Langer won last year at Trump National outside Washington to complete the career Grand Slam on the 50-and-older circuit. A year ago, Phil Mickelson sat out the U.S. Open at Erin Hills went his second-oldest daughter graduated from high school. Corey Pavin nearly had the same conflict in 2005 for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, but he flew cross-country after his opening round Thursday and caught a redeye back to North Carolina for his second round. TOP 60 LOOMS Patton Kizzire already has two PGA Tour victories this season and is No. 2 in the FedEx Cup. That still might not be enough to avoid qualifying for the U.S. Open. The USGA in 2012 eliminated its exemption for multiple winners on the PGA Tour from the previous U.S. Open when it revamped its criteria that focused more on the top 60 in the world ranking. Kizzire is at No. 57 this week. The cutoff for being among the top 60 is on May 21, after the AT&T Byron Nelson. There also is another cutoff for the top 60 on June 11, the final ranking going into the U.S. Open on June 14-17 at Shinnecock Hills. Chief among the prominent names not yet eligible is Adam Scott, who has played in 67 consecutive majors dating to the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Scott, who missed the cut last week in the Texas Open, is at No. 64. Alexander Levy of France moved up 19 spots to No. 47 with his victory last week on the European Tour, and that might be enough to secure his spot. Among those near the top 60 with three tournaments remaining — the Zurich Classic in New Orleans does not offer world ranking points as a team event — are Luke List and Thomas Pieters (tied at No. 54), Bernd Wiesberger (No. 60), Ryan Moore (No. 62), Charles Howell III (No. 63) and former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel (No. 65). Schwartzel has played in every major dating to the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. The winner of The Players Championship in three weeks gets a three-year exemption. NIEMANN'S DEBUT Joaquin Niemann already has shown a knack for the big occasion this year. The 19-year-old from Chile thought he was playing his final round as an amateur in January until he shot a 63 in the last round to win the Latin American Amateur Championship, which got him into the Masters. He delayed turning pro to play at Augusta National. And in his pro debut, Niemann shot 67-67 on the weekend to finish sixth in the Texas Open. The top-10 finish will get him into the Wells Fargo Championship next week at Quail Hollow, along with giving him a big start toward earning special temporary membership on the PGA Tour and having access to unlimited sponsor exemptions. He has 100 FedEx Cup points and needs 365 to earn special temporary membership. Niemann says he already has received exemptions for the AT&T Byron Nelson and the Memorial. "I think this is going to give me a lot of confidence to try to do my card for this year," Niemann said. "Thing is, I've got a couple more tournaments coming and I just can't wait for it." Niemann also is exempt into the final stage of U.S. Open qualifying. He gave that up from his Latin American Amateur victory by turning pro, but the U.S. Open exempts Mark H. McCormack Medal winners (No. 1 in the world amateur ranking) into sectional qualifying if they no longer are amateur. SCOTT'S SCHEDULING Adam Scott tends to play less rather than more, though he's not opposed to making it up as he goes along depending on the mood and the game. That's one reason he chose to play the Texas Open coming off a 70-71 weekend at the Masters. It didn't work out as Scott played in the windy side of the draw in San Antonio, didn't play particularly well and missed the cut. But it reminded him of an occasion 10 years ago, when he tied for 25th at the Masters with a reasonable performance. He flew home to Australia and played golf with some of his friends. And he was playing well. "And I'm like, 'Why am I wasting my good golf on you guys?'" Scott said. "So I flew back the next week to Dallas and won the Byron Nelson. Kind of one of those things where you can't be so stubborn. I'm trying to be really in tune with where my game's at and identify why I'm just not having better results. To change that, I've got to change something. Otherwise, I'm just going to do the same thing." DIVOTS Luke Donald is stepping away to try to heal an ailing back. Donald, a former world No. 1 who hasn't won since the end of 2013 in Japan, said on Twitter that he has been trying to play with back pain for the last few months and has decided to get treatment and take time off to recover. "Gutted about this but I'm fully committed to getting back out onto the course," he tweeted. ... CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz will receive the Ambassador of Golf Award this year at the Bridgestone Invitational. He joins two former colleagues, producer Frank Chirkinian and lead analyst Ken Venturi, in receiving the award. ... The LPGA Tour is back in Los Angeles and San Francisco, giving California 12 tournaments on the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions combined. ... Inbee Park has returned to No. 1 in the world in women's golf. Five players were at No. 1 since Park last topped the ranking in October 2015. STAT OF THE WEEK The Zurich Classic is the first time the four reigning major champions are at the same tournament since the Tour Championship. FINAL WORD "I feel like a veteran right now. I feel like a tour player now. I know I can beat these guys and just going to wait for my week and try to win." — Joaquin Niemann after finishing sixth in his professional debut at the Texas Open.

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) — A 21-year-old North Carolina man suffered severe burns after falling into a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. Park officials say Gervais Dylan Gatete of Raleigh, an employee of park concessionaire Xanterra Parks and Resorts, fell into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin just north of Old Faithful late Tuesday. Gatete was with seven other people when he fell. The group flagged down a ranger, Gatete was taken by ambulance to the airport in West Yellowstone, Montana, and he was flown a Salt Lake City burn hospital. Park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin says the incident is still under investigation. She did not know Gatete's medical condition. This is the first serious injury in a thermal area in Yellowstone this year. Last June, a man left the boardwalk and died after falling into a hot spring in the Norris Geyser Basin.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on disclosures the Kushner Cos. filed false documents with the New York City (all times local): 11:50 a.m. A New York City official is launching an investigation into falsified documents filed by the Kushner Cos. with the city, saying that they should have been discovered earlier because the documents were hidden in plain sight. Councilman Ritchie Torres says that the Department of Buildings should have spotted the falsified numbers because paperwork at the city taxation agency contradicted those them. The Associated Press reported Sunday that a tenant rights watchdog group found that the Kushner Cos. had filed more than 80 documents stating that it had no rent-regulated units in its buildings. It had hundreds. The falsified documents allowed the Kushner Cos. to escape extra scrutiny during construction projects that the watchdog group said led to harassment of rent regulated tenants. ------ 1 a.m. Jared Kushner's family real estate company routinely has filed false documents with New York City claiming it had no rent-regulated tenants in its buildings when, in fact, it had hundreds. Documents compiled by a tenants' rights group and shared with The Associated Press show the Kushner Cos. filed at least 80 construction applications over three years claiming it had zero rent-regulated tenants in 34 buildings. Tax records show those buildings actually had more than 300 rent-regulated units. Tenant advocates say the tactic is used by landlords to avoid protections that prevent them from forcing out low-paying tenants. The Kushner Cos. says it outsources the preparations of such documents and fixes any mistakes immediately. Records show the company did file some amended documents, often more than a year later.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--, a global procurement intelligence advisory firm, has announced the release of their ‘ .’ The insights and data in this report provide a strategic analysis of the supply markets, factors influencing purchasing decisions, procurement best practices, pricing models, supplier landscape, and an analysis of the supplier capability matrix for the . This report breaks down the data and analysis behind the procurement of pharmaceutical packaging equipment and acts as an all-inclusive guide for making smart purchasing decisions. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006252/en/ Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Report “The rapidly growing CRO and biopharma industries worldwide drive the growth of the global pharmaceutical packaging equipment market,” says SpendEdge procurement analyst Bhuvaneshwari Udayakumar. “APAC is considered as a major contributor to the market, owing to the increasing foreign investments in the region,” added Bhuvaneshwari. Looking for more insights from this report? SpendEdge sample reports are free of charge and provide insights that focus on cost-saving aspects of procurement and optimization of category spend. Procurement analysts at SpendEdge highlight the following top three market trends that are contributing to the growth of the Global Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market: Rising popularity of modular platforms with integrated packaging technologies Increasing equipment automation Increasing equipment automation This report is available at USD 1000 discount for a limited time only: Rising popularity of modular platforms with integrated packaging technologies In the pharmaceutical packaging equipment category, the suppliers are focusing on manufacturing modular equipment that is compact and equipped with the latest packaging technologies. It helps the buyers gain faster and efficient automated packaging solutions. Increasing equipment automation Globally, the suppliers are incorporating high levels of automation in their equipment such as robotics. This helps the buyers to obtain clarifications regarding environment-friendly practices. Increasing development of production lines for small batch size The suppliers in the market are increasingly adopting practices for manufacturing equipment that produces smaller lot sizes. This practices also help the buyers reduce amortization and storage costs. to gain detailed insights into the current market trends. Get unlimited access to all our reports. Our Insights platform provides ready-to-use procurement research reports, latest supplier news, innovation landscape, markets insights, supplier tracking, and much more at the click of a button. We also reports to meet clients’ requirements. Related Reports: About SpendEdge SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are a preferred procurement market intelligence partner for Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence that helps sourcing and procurement professionals make informed decisions. These innovative procurement solutions help enterprises transform structural capabilities, improve execution efficiency, and fast-track time to savings. View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006252/en/ CONTACT: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Consultant US: +1 630 984 7340 hello@spendedge.com KEYWORD: INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING PACKAGING SOURCE: SpendEdge Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 04/24/2018 04:31 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 04:31 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006252/en

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. (AP) — A man is accused of hitting another man with a machete during a road-rage incident in Florida. A Zephyrhills police report says 34-year-old Jonathan Bailey was arrested Tuesday night outside a Wal-Mart store. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Bailey pulled his car up beside the victim's vehicle and "swung a sword," cutting the man's hand. The victim told officers the incident happened because he had cut Bailey off in traffic earlier. Bailey told police he used a machete but only because the other driver was following him. Bailey was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and remained in jail Wednesday on a $10,000 bond. A lawyer wasn't listed in jail records. The victim had a cut on his hand between his thumb and index finger.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked Congress to extend by one year the martial law he declared in the south to ensure the "total eradication" of pro-Islamic State group extremists. Duterte warned that extremists continue to plot public uprisings aimed at establishing a caliphate in Southeast Asia despite a failed but disastrous attempt to set up one in the southern Philippines. Duterte said in a letter to the Senate and the House of Representatives that extending his martial law declaration in the south through the end of 2018 would allow government forces to press offensives against other armed groups, including the brutal Abu Sayyaf group and communist guerrillas, who have intensified their attacks. A copy of the president's letter was made available to reporters Monday.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A government safety panel on Monday urged the temporary shutdown of twin oil pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac until their operator can finish inspections and repair coating gaps, after some members expressed concerns over a recent deal between the state and Enbridge Inc. The Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board approved the non-binding resolution after members of Gov. Rick Snyder's administration who sit on the panel abstained from voting. Other non-binding resolutions call for temporarily halting the flow of oil during storms that produce sustained waves at least 3 feet (0.9 meter) high for longer than an hour, instead of an 8-foot (2.4-meter) threshold included in the agreement, and recommended that a "more robust" study of alternatives to Line 5 be completed. The agreement, announced Nov. 27, sets an Aug. 15 deadline for determining the future of the nearly 5-mile-long (8-kilometer) segment beneath the channel where Lakes Huron and Michigan converge. Options include shutting down the pipeline or routing it through a tunnel beneath the lakebed where it now rests. Because five or six members of the 16-person board voted for the measures while many others abstained, there was confusion over whether they had passed. Co-chairwoman Valerie Brader, executive director of the Michigan Agency for Energy, said she expected the Republican governor's administration to consider the resolutions as advisory while also taking note of the number of abstentions. Board member Jennifer McKay of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council said she hopes the governor gives the resolutions "due consideration" and seeks amendments to the deal. Although the federal government regulates oil pipelines, Michigan owns the lake bottom and in 1953 granted an easement to the Canadian company allowing the pipeline to go there. "We know we have coating gaps. It's a violation of the easement and it only makes sense to shut down the pipeline until Enbridge can adequately address and fix the coating issues to ensure we don't have any type of rupture or leak," she said. The line transports about 23 million gallons (87 million liters) daily between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario. At least four board members expressed frustration that Snyder struck the agreement without their input, contending it short-circuited the public process and signals that tunneling the pipeline is ultimately the state's preference. State officials on the board, however, said the deal is an interim one and is not intended to "prejudge" the fate of the pipeline. "Certainly apologies if there was any perceived disrespect," said Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Keith Creagh. "As we heard about the entire length of the pipeline, there were some measures put into place ... to ensure that there was a higher standard essentially in the interim as this board contemplates the future of Line 5." While not ruling out a permanent shutdown, the agreement includes a series of steps intended to boost the underwater pipes' safety. Enbridge agreed to evaluate three options by June for routing the underwater segment through a tunnel or trench, on or beneath the lakebed — either using the existing pipes or building a new one. The company promised steps to prevent the lines from being damaged by a ship anchor, expedite monitoring of the pipelines with cameras or other devices, and speed up methods for detecting potential ruptures and responding to spills. Additionally, Enbridge said it would replace another section of Line 5 beneath the St. Clair River where it crosses the U.S.-Canadian border with a new pipe inside a tunnel after receiving federal and state permits. ___ Follow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/David%20Eggert .

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico's governor has signed a law meant to speed and encourage adoptions, partly by allowing unmarried couples to adopt children in the socially conservative U.S. territory. The law also allows biological mothers to hand over a newborn to hospitals without facing charges of child abandonment. And the law signed will create a central registry of people seeking to adopt a child. It aims to streamline the process so children can be placed with their adoptive parents within two months. The measure was submitted by Puerto Rico House of Representatives President Carlos Mendez. He is adopted and has said that his case took 19 years to resolve under old laws. Most U.S. states require couples to be married if they jointly adopt children.

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey community has raised enough money to send a beloved school bus driver and die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan to the Super Bowl. A group of parents and students surprised Gary Kelmer with the present when he pulled up to the last stop on his bus route on Monday in Mount Laurel. Parents Amy and Izaak Smith wanted to raise money as a way to thank "Mr. Gary" for his daily kindness. They raised more than $5,000 in just a few days on the fundraising site GoFundMe to send Kelmer and his wife to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Smiths purchased tickets, airfare and personalized jerseys for the couple. A stunned Kelmer on Monday called it a "special dream come true" and exclaimed "I'm ecstatic."

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2018-- market research analysts forecast the to grow at a CAGR of close to 5% during the period 2018-2022, according to their latest report. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006007/en/ Technavio has published a new market research report on the global dental handpieces market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire) In this report, Technavio highlights the technological advances as one of the key emerging trends driving the global dental handpieces market. Current technological advances in dental handpieces have increased to improve the effectiveness of dental tasks. Hence, many hospitals and dental clinics are adopting technologically advanced dental handpieces to increase the efficiency and safety of their dental procedures. Dental handpieces are redesigned or upgraded with the latest technological advancements to become accurate and sophisticated tools as they are essential elements for dentist armamentarium. Companies are focusing on advanced technologies such as optimum Glide path technology, which enables the operators to use the glide path rapidly, safely, and mechanically. Optimum torque release technology is also integrated with the handpieces, which assists in changing its rotational direction upon exceeding a certain torque. This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: Save more with Technavio. Buy2 reports and get the third for FREE: In this report, Technavio analysts highlight the high demand for high-speed handpieces as a key factor contributing to the growth of the : High demand for high-speed handpieces The availability of a wide-range of high-speed dental handpieces has charged the dynamics of the market for dentistry. Players in the market offer dental handpieces with sophisticated combinations of precise parts moving in synchronization at high-speeds. With the advent of this new technology, dental handpieces can achieve a rotational speed of 280,000 to 380,000 revolutions per minute. These high-speed dental handpieces are safe, thereby allowing operators to make precise cuts with small-diameter instruments. According to a senior analyst at Technavio for , “Players in the market are focusing on enhancing their product portfolio by developing new and advanced high-speed dental handpieces that provide controlled mechanism to adjust torque to clinical settings owing to the increasing demand for high-speed dental handpieces.” Looking for more information on this market? Technavio’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. Global dental handpieces market segmentation This market research report segments the global dental handpieces market into the following products (air-driven dental handpieces, electric dental handpieces, and hybrid dental handpieces), end-users (hospitals and dental clinics), and key regions (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA). Of the three major products, the air-driven dental handpieces segment held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for nearly 65% of the market. The market share for this product is expected to decrease nearly 3% by 2022. The fastest growing product is electric dental handpieces, which will account for nearly 35% of the total market share by 2022. The Americas was the leading region for the global dental handpieces market in 2017, accounting for a market share of nearly 42%. By 2022, APAC is expected to register the highest growth of nearly 3%. About Technavio is 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. With 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. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at . View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006007/en/ CONTACT: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 www.technavio.com KEYWORD: INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH DENTAL MEDICAL DEVICES SOURCE: Technavio Research Copyright Business Wire 2018. PUB: 05/30/2018 11:16 AM/DISC: 05/30/2018 11:16 AM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006007/en

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a Bahamian national who had been missing for two weeks. A Coast Guard statement said a good Samaritan notified them that a boat with one person on board was taking on water some 10 miles (16 kilometers) off West Palm Beach Monday afternoon. The cutter Cochito rescued the man, who was taken to a hospital because he was suffering from a possible chemical reaction. The agency didn't have any additional information about the man's condition. Coast Guard officials said the man had been missing since Jan. 13. His name wasn't released.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (mih-NOO'-shin) will soon travel to China for talks as the two global economic powers deal with trade tensions. Trump says during a White House news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron that Mnuchin will be going to China "in a few days to negotiate on trade." Trump says the U.S. and China are "very serious" and is reiterating plans to impose tariffs up to $100 billion more on Chinese goods. Trump says the U.S. "will continue unless we make a trade deal." But he adds, "I think we've got a very good chance of making a deal." Mnuchin has expressed optimism that the countries could avoid a trade war. He met last week with financial officials from China, Japan and Europe.

PARIS (AP) — For a glimpse at President Emmanuel Macron's vision for the new French economy, look no farther than Station F. Entrepreneurs don virtual reality goggles and share ideas with business angels in this old Paris train station-turned-startup incubator. The buzzing business center founded by telecom tycoon Xavier Niel hosts over 3,500 people, all hoping to see some of the 1,000 startups based here bloom into a global firm capable of competing with Silicon Valley behemoths. It's part of what Macron hopes is a fundamental shift in the French economy, which confirmed this week that it's back on the upswing after years of stagnation. Niel, who revolutionized telecoms in France in the early 2000s, says young startup entrepreneurs look at Macron's meteoric rise to the presidency and think: "You can be president when you are 39 years old. You were nobody 2 or 3 years ago. ... can't I create the biggest startup in the world by starting now? A guy can become the French president so can't I create something big, alone, when I'm 25 or 30 years old?" With the support of Mayor Anne Hidalgo and then-President Francois Hollande, Niel founded Station F in 2017 to bring together young and eager startup managers, financial players and key public institutions in an effort to develop France's budding tech ecosystem. The vast space hums with energy and electronic devices, as its mostly youthful workers take breaks around multi-colored sofas, or bounce ideas off each other in shared meeting rooms. Station F includes people from multiple countries, and Niel is notably keen to attract talented people looking to leave London as Brexit looms. "We need to create - we need these startups to build tomorrow's big companies and to do that we need to attract talents from as many places as possible," Niel, CEO of Iliad and founder of coding school 42, told The Associated Press. Among entrepreneurs thriving off Station F's atmosphere is Gildas Dussauze, who founded virtual reality social platform Virtuoz just under three years ago and spends most of his waking hours in search of clients and cash to finally start paying his staff of six. "The combination of Station F and Macron, yes, it has turned France's image upside down, in a good way. It's an image of audacity, youth, enthusiasm and that's good," he told The AP. Not everything is perfect. Dussauze said France's banking bureaucracy "is not in sync with startups." But Station F includes representatives from French institutions like the public postal service La Poste and employment office Pole Emploi, in an effort to make startups a more integral part of the national economy. Dussauze says they are "very dynamic and have completely changed the way they talk to us and have adapted to our needs." Macron's election last May, his relentless public relations campaign to put France back onto the world map of innovation and a changing business environment have fueled a quick shift in the country's image. France's economy grew 1.9 percent in 2017, its highest level since 2011, according to figures released Tuesday. That's partly because of Macron but also because of an improving climate Europe-wide and measures taken under his predecessor. Still, Macron has boosted investor confidence. The state statistics agency's business confidence indicator hit its highest point in a decade in December, across multiple sectors. The startup sector remains a relatively small piece of the French economy but Macron, Niel and the residents of Station F are banking on it to grow. Macron, who visited Station F last month, is notably trying to shake up labor laws that had favored big, traditional firms and made it difficult for small businesses to set up, hire and lay off workers when markets shift. He also abolished the wealth tax, to the joy of tycoons like Niel and anger of the left-wing opposition. "During the campaign, he was really pro-startups, pro-business and by having him as president it helps this ecosystem we have in Paris," Niel said. "Now, from a global point of view and in any country you can go, people are always talking about Macron being elected and how it's a big change for France."

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Doctors Without Borders is warning of a worsening situation in the Yemeni city of Taiz, where hospitals have been repeatedly attacked and where some 200,000 people are facing shortages of food, water and medicine. Djoen Besselink, the head of the aid group's Yemen mission, told reporters in Jordan on Monday that attacks on hospitals, ambulances and medical staff had severely limited the group's activities in the city, which has been partially besieged by Houthi rebels since April 2015. Besselink, who visited Taiz last month, said he's "never seen such destruction" at the four hospitals his group supports. He says "there's not a single room without bullet holes, the windows are gone, there's no more equipment. It's total failure." He says the four hospitals treated over 10,000 people in 2016.

ROME (AP) — Italians fed up with the country's lousy postal service may now have found a culprit: Police say they discovered nearly a half-ton of undelivered mail in a rogue postman's garage. The postal police said the 573-kilogram stash in the Vicenza home of the 56-year-old postman was the biggest seizure of mail ever undertaken in Italy. The missing mail had been collecting for the past eight years and included utility bills, bank statements, old phone books and political propaganda mailings from the 2010 regional elections. Police were tipped off when volunteers from a recycling center reported receiving 25 big yellow containers from the postal service, with mail still inside. The postal police say the mail will now be delivered to its rightful owners, a few years late.

NEW YORK (AP) — Worried about catching a cold or the flu on an airplane? Get a window seat, and don't leave it until the flight is over. That's what some experts have been saying for years, and it's perhaps the best advice coming out of a new attempt to determine the risks of catching germs on an airplane. It turns out there's been little research on the risks of catching a cold or flu during air travel. Some experts believed that sitting in a window seat would keep a passenger away from infectious people who may be on the aisle or moving around. The new study, published Monday, came to the same conclusion. For somebody who doesn't want to get sick, "get in that window seat and don't move," the study's lead researcher, Vicki Stover Hertzberg of Emory University in Atlanta. The study was ambitious: Squads of researchers jetted around the globe to test cabin surfaces and air for viruses and to observe how people came into contact with each other. But it also had shortcomings. In a total of 10 flights, they observed only one person coughing. And though the experiment was done during a flu season five years ago, they didn't find even one of 18 cold and flu viruses they tested for. It's possible that the researchers were unlucky, in that they were on planes that happened to not have sick people on them, Hertzberg said. The new study was initiated and funded by Boeing Co. The Chicago-based jet manufacturer also recruited one of the researchers, Georgia Tech's Howard Weiss, and had input in the writing of the results. "But there was no particular pressure to change stuff or orient it one way or the other," Hertzberg said. The article was published electronically by a peer-reviewed scientific journal , the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers did some mathematical modeling and computer simulations to determine how likely people were to come close to a hypothetical infectious passenger sitting in an aisle seat on the 14th row of a single-aisle airplane. They concluded that on average, only one person on a flight of about 150 passengers would be infected. Researchers who were not involved said it would be difficult to use the relatively small study to make any general conclusions about the risks of an airline passenger getting a cold or flu, let alone other diseases like measles or tuberculosis. But it's a novel study about a subject that hasn't been well researched, they said. Studies have looked at how respiratory viruses spread in labs and in homes, but "this is the first time I've seen it done for airplanes," said Seema Lakdawala, a University of Pittsburgh biologist who studies how flu spreads. She and others not involved in the research were intrigued by the study's findings about how people moved about the cabin and came in contact with each other. It found: —About 38 percent of passengers never left their seat, 38 percent left once, 13 percent left twice, and 11 percent left more than twice. —Not surprisingly, a lot of the people getting up had an aisle seat. About 80 percent of people sitting on the aisle moved at least once during their flights, compared with 62 percent in middle seats and 43 percent in window seats. —The 11 people sitting closest to a person with a cold or flu are at the highest risk. That included two people sitting to their left, the two to their right, and people in the row immediately in front of them and those in the row behind. A lot of frequent fliers will be interested in the study's results, said Edward Pizzarello, an investor in a Washington-area venture-capital firm who also writes a travel blog . "It's absolutely a fear I hear from people all the time. They just believe that they're going to get sick from going on an airplane, or they got sick from being on an airplane," he said. Pizzarello said he's an aisle person, because he doesn't want to feel trapped in the window seat if he needs to get up. Will he now go for the window? Maybe, he said, if a sick person sits next to him. __ The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

NEW YORK (AP) — The television audience for Bruno Mars' dominating night at the Grammy Awards was a sparser one than music's big night has seen for nearly a decade, and a steep decline of 24 percent from the program a year earlier. The Nielsen company estimated Monday that 19.8 million people watched the Grammys, compared to 26.1 million last year. It was the Grammys' smallest audience since 19 million watched in 2009. This year's show suffered from a lack of star power, with big-selling artists Adele, Beyonce and Taylor Swift absent from the stage. It was billed going in as a big night for rap, and while that may be music's most popular style now, it may have been off-putting for some casual music fans. Rapper Kendrick Lamar opened with a medley that featured a portrayal of dancers being felled by bullets. Comic Dave Chappelle even offered an explanation for viewers who may have been uncomfortable: "The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is a black man being honest in America," he said. The show featured some political content, including a cameo of Hillary Clinton reading from Michael Wolff's best-seller on the Trump administration, "Fire and Fury," as well as commentaries on women's rights and gun violence. It was a popular theory on Fox News Channel that an "anti-Trump diatribe" was responsible for some viewers staying away. "I can imagine sets turning off when it gets that political," said Ainsley Earhardt, a host on "Fox & Friends," the president's favorite morning show. The viewership decline was notable compared to other awards shows recently. The most recent Golden Globes and Oscars telecasts were down 4 percent from the previous year, while last September's Emmys viewership was roughly the same as the year before, Nielsen said. Grammy viewership has generally been between 20 and 30 million this past decade, from a high of 39.9 million people who watched in 2012, when the awards took place shortly after Whitney Houston's death.