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TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—Most people know that Zhuzihu (竹子湖) ) is home to Yangmingshan's calla lilies, but few have any idea that the valley tucked between Taipei’s Mt. Tatun and Mt. Qixing was the earliest breeding base of Ponlai Rice (Japonica rice) when Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule (1895 to 1945). A couple of trails in Zhuzihu have been renovated and connected by Taipei’s Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) to serve as a reminder of the local rice culture in the old days.
During the Japanese colonial period, a Japanese engineer found that the Zhuzihu area was very suitable for planting short-grained Japanese rice cultivars because the area was situated on high terrain, the temperatures were low and the water quality was good. Therefore, cultivation of rice began in the area as early as in the 1920s.
The GEO said that using the Waterwheel Liao (水車寮) at Dinghu (頂湖) as the center, the office had connected the Waterwheel Liao trail, which was used for hauling rice in the old days, with the newly renovated irrigation ditch trail (水圳步徑) to form a circular trail network. For a connection with the historic rice culture of this area, start a walking tour from the Zhuzihu Ponlai Rice Foundation Seed Field Story House (竹子湖蓬萊米故事館), stroll the trails between the farm fields and hydrangea gardens, and end the tour at the original site of the Ponlai cultivation (蓬來米原種田), the GEO recommended.
Members of the public are recommended to take Bus S8 and S9 and get off at Zhuzihu (Hutian Elementary School). Walk for five minutes along the Waterwheel Liao trail to reach the irrigation ditch trail; the whole trip takes about 20 minutes.
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO)
(photo courtesy of GEO) |
NAIROBI,Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan court has released seven doctors who are officials in the medics' union and who were jailed earlier this week for not calling off a strike by doctors working in public institutions.
The decision to free the seven was made Wednesday by three judges of the appellate court.
About 1,000 doctors outside the court celebrated the officials' release and held a peaceful march to Parliament and Nairobi's Freedom Park. More than 5,000 doctors from public hospitals are on strike over pay and to protest Kenya's dilapidated health care system.
Health minister Dr. Cleopa Mailu told the Senate committee for health that he had agreed to the release of the officials. The union had said that no negotiations would be held until the seven were freed. |
SOUTH ELGIN, Ill. (AP) — The Latest on a police standoff in suburban Chicago (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
Police say a 52-year-old suburban Chicago man who was fatally shot after a four-hour standoff immediately opened fire on officers as they arrived at his home.
South Elgin Police Sgt. Mike Doty says three officers were "struck by gunfire." He says their injuries are not life threatening.
Police say Frank Dripps fired at officers with a shotgun Tuesday night after they were called to his home in South Elgin, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. He then barricaded himself inside a stairwell of the condominium building where he lived.
Doty says Dripps yelled vulgarities at officers and stated "he would shoot officers if they came at him." Doty also says Dripps raised his shotgun and a rifle with a scope to his shoulder "off and on" before police shot and killed him early Wednesday morning.
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9:15 am
A suburban Chicago police officer fatally shot a man who fired at officers, wounding three, during an overnight standoff.
The officers' injuries were not life threatening.
The Chicago Tribune reports the standoff began late Tuesday when police were called to a home in South Elgin, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Chicago, for a report of shots fired.
Police Sgt. Mike Doty says at least two shotgun blasts were fired at officers as they approached. Police surrounded the building and evacuated neighboring homes.
Officers began negotiating with the man, who barricaded himself in a stairwell. Police believed he was armed with a scoped rifle as well as the shotgun.
Police say an officer shot and killed the unidentified man after he fired at police again around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. |
AMSTERDAM (AP) — The Netherlands' spy service broke into the computers used by a powerful Russian hacking group and may be sitting on evidence relating to the breach of the U.S. Democratic National Committee, a Dutch newspaper and television show jointly reported Friday.
Reports carried in the respected daily Volkskrant and by the current affairs show Nieuwsuur said hackers working for the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service penetrated the computers used by the group, often nicknamed Cozy Bear, in mid-2014 and watched them for at least a year, even managing to catch the hackers on camera.
Dutch Interior Minister Kajsa Ollongren, interviewed by reporters in The Hague before the government's weekly Cabinet meeting, declined to address the report, saying only that she was "very happy that we have good security services in the Netherlands that do their work well."
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he had yet to see any official comment from the Dutch intelligence services on the matter.
"If the Dutch media want to fuel anti-Russian hysteria in the U.S., it's an activity that can't be called honorable," he added.
Volkskrant and Nieuwsuur said that the Dutch spies used their access to help oust Cozy Bear from U.S. State Department computers in late 2014. Volkskrant said American spies were so grateful they sent the Dutch cake and flowers.
Ko Colijn, a researcher at Clingendael, the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, said the report may indicate a leveling trend in which small but tech-savvy countries like the Netherlands "can compensate their military inferiority with cyber quality surpluses."
The news drew particular attention in Washington, where Cozy Bear has been identified as one of two Russian government-linked hacking groups that broke in to the DNC ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The other group is usually called Fancy Bear.
Unmasking the Cozy Bear hackers would provide key evidence for investigators trying to unravel the DNC breach, but it may not dispel the mystery surrounding the leaks that followed.
A recent AP investigation found that all but one of the two dozen or so officials whose emails were published in the run-up to the 2016 election were targeted by Fancy Bear, which cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said operated independently from Cozy Bear.
The Kremlin has denied meddling in the U.S. presidential vote.
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Satter reported from London. Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
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Online:
Volkskrant report (in English): https://www.volkskrant.nl/media/dutch-agencies-provide-crucial-intel-about-russia-s-interference-in-us-elections~a4561913/
Niewsuur report (in Dutch): https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2213762-hackteam-aivd-gaf-fbi-cruciale-info-over-russische-inmenging-verkiezingen.html |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe drafted a memo on the firing of his onetime boss, James Comey.
That's according to a person familiar with the memo, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a secret document that has been provided to special counsel Robert Mueller.
The person says the memo concerned a conversation McCabe had with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about Rosenstein's preparations for Comey's firing.
The Associated Press reported in March that McCabe had drafted multiple memos, including about his interactions with President Donald Trump.
The New York Times first reported on the content of this particular memo.
McCabe became FBI acting director following Comey's firing last May. He was fired as deputy director in March amid an inspector general finding that he had misled internal investigators. |
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man who repeatedly stabbed a woman in an Atlantic City casino parking garage last year has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
David Legette entered his plea Tuesday as part of a deal with Atlantic County prosecutors. The 54-year-old Bristol Township man faces a 16-year state prison term when he's sentenced July 20.
Authorities say the victim had an active restraining order against Legette when the attack occurred July 2. Prosecutors say Legette stabbed her 19 times, then locked the car doors so she couldn't escape.
As Legette drove in nearby Ventnor, the woman reached out of the window and opened the door from the outside. She then rolled herself out of the car and landed in the middle of the road as Legette drove off. She survived the ordeal. |
NEW YORK (AP) — AP POLL ALERT: At No. 7, Tennessee back in women's top 10 for first time since 2015; Texas drops to No. 8. |
Today in History
Today is Saturday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2018. There are 331 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Feb. 3, 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived. (Four Army chaplains on board gave away their life jackets to save others and went down with the ship.)
On this date:
In 1690, the first paper money in America was issued by the Massachusetts Bay Colony to finance a military expedition to Canada.
In 1783, Spain formally recognized American independence.
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
In 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
In 1918, actor-comedian Joey Bishop, a member of Hollywood's legendary "Rat Pack," was born Joseph Abraham Gottlieb in the Bronx, New York.
In 1924, the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.
In 1930, the chief justice of the United States, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons. (He died just over a month later.)
In 1959, rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. An American Airlines Lockheed Electra crashed into New York's East River, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.
In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.
In 1972, the XI Olympic Winter Games opened in Sapporo, Japan.
In 1988, the U.S. House of Representatives handed President Ronald Reagan a major defeat, rejecting his request for $36.2 million in new aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219-211.
In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, 38, for the pickax killings of two people in 1983; she was the first woman executed in the United States since 1984. A U.S. Marine plane sliced through the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, causing the car to plunge hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.
Ten years ago: The New York Giants scored a late touchdown to win Super Bowl XLII, 17-14, ending the New England Patriots' run at a perfect season; Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who hit Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard fade with 35 seconds left, was named Most Valuable Player.
Five years ago: Eight people were killed when a tour bus crashed in San Bernardino County, California, while returning 38 tourists to Tijuana, Mexico. A fired Los Angeles police officer launched a revenge war on law enforcement and the families of those he blamed for ending his career, killing four people during a 6-day manhunt that ended with his apparent suicide at a cabin in San Bernardino County. The Baltimore Ravens survived a partial power outage during Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans to edge the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.
One year ago: President Donald Trump launched his long-promised attack on banking rules that were rushed into law after the nation's economic crisis, signing new orders after meeting with business and investment chiefs and pledging further action to free big banks from restrictions. Paris was plunged into panic — again — when soldiers guarding the Louvre Museum shot an attacker who lunged at them with two machetes and shouted "Allahu Akbar!" as the historic landmark went into lockdown; the suspect, believed to be Egyptian, was taken into custody.
Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., is 85. Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 78. Actress Bridget Hanley is 77. Actress Blythe Danner is 75. Singer Dennis Edwards is 75. Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 73. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 71. Singer Melanie is 71. Actress Morgan Fairchild is 68. Actress Pamela Franklin is 68. Actor Nathan Lane is 62. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 62. Actor Thomas Calabro is 59. Rock musician/author Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) is 59. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 57. Actress Michele Greene is 56. Country singer Matraca (muh-TRAY'-suh) Berg is 54. Actress Maura Tierney is 53. Actor Warwick Davis is 48. Actress Elisa Donovan is 47. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 42. Actress Isla (EYE'-luh) Fisher is 42. Musician Grant Barry is 41. Human rights activist Amal Clooney is 40. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 36. Actor Matthew Moy is 34. Rapper Sean Kingston is 28. Actor Brandon Micheal (cq) Hall is 25.
Thought for Today: "Your friend will argue with you." — Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer (1918-2008). |
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas Strip headliner David Copperfield is due to return to the witness stand in a lawsuit by a British tourist who claims he was seriously hurt in a fall while taking part in one of Copperfield's signature illusions in 2013.
The magician resumes testimony Tuesday after last week revealing secrets behind a trick that appears to make volunteer audience members vanish onstage and appear a few moments later in the back of the theater.
Plaintiff Gavin Cox of Kent, England, alleges he fell after being hurried by stagehands through an MGM Grand hotel alleyway coated with a powdery residue near a trailer-sized trash bin.
Copperfield's lawyers lost pretrial bids to close proceedings to the public to avoid revealing performance secrets
Cox and his wife are seeking unspecified damages. |
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Negotiators from Venezuelan's government and opposition say they'll return home to consult with their supporters on potential aspects of an accord to settle the nation's deep divides.
The leaders emerged Wednesday from the latest round of closed-door negotiations in the Dominican Republic with contrasting assessments of how far the negotiations have advanced.
Venezuela's Minister of Communications Jorge Rodriguez said a tentative deal had been signed, but opposition lawmaker Julio Borges said they'd only reached an agreement on certain points.
Borges said there's no deal until both sides agree to all agenda items.
Both sides are flying back to Caracas for consultations and are expected to return Monday.
The opposition is pressing for fair presidential elections, among other demands. The government wants the opposition's help in easing international sanctions. |
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Just how well informed is Pope Francis about the goings-on in his 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church?
That question is making the rounds after the pope seemed completely unaware of the details of a Chilean sex abuse scandal that soured his recent trip there and forced him to do an about-face.
It also came up after his abrupt, no-explanation dismissal of a respected Vatican bank manager. And it rose to the fore when Francis was accused by a cardinal of not realizing that his own diplomats were "selling out" the underground Catholic Church in China for the sake of political expediency.
Vatican watchers say the pope has built an informal, parallel network of friends and informants but their information is not always up to the standards a world leader needs. |
PHOENIX (AP) — Mookie Betts beat the Boston Red Sox in the first salary arbitration case of the year. The All-Star outfielder will get a raise from $950,000 to $10.5 million instead of the team's $7.5 million.
Arbitrators Daniel Brent, Mark Burstein and Phillip LaPorte made the decision Wednesday, a day after hearing arguments.
The 25-year-old hit .264 with 24 homers and 102 RBIs last year, when he made his second straight AL All-Star team. He batted .318 with 31 homers and 113 RBIs in 2016.
His gap was the largest among the 27 players who swapped figures with their teams on Jan. 12. Just two of them reached agreements, leaving the rest headed toward hearings, which are scheduled through Feb. 16.
Teams won eight of 15 decisions last winter. Several clubs refused to negotiate after the exchange of proposed arbitration salaries, a so-called file and trial strategy.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball |
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is sending the Vatican's most respected sex crimes expert to Chile to investigate a bishop accused by abuse victims of covering up for the country's most notorious pedophile priest.
The Vatican said Tuesday that Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna would travel to Chile "to listen to those who have expressed the desire to provide elements" about the case of Bishop Juan Barros.
The Barros controversy dominated Francis' just-ended trip to Chile. While in Chile, Francis accused victims of Barros' mentor, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, of slander. The victims say Barros was aware of Karadima's abuse but stood by and did nothing. Barros denies the charges.
Francis seemed unaware that victims had placed Barros at the scene.
He staunchly stood by the bishop, telling reporters that he believed him innocent. |
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man who frequently checked a teenager out of school without her parents' knowledge and fled to Mexico with her will soon be in the custody of Pennsylvania authorities.
Federal agents and Mexican authorities found 45-year-old Kevin Esterly and 16-year-old Amy Yu in Playa del Carmen on Saturday and flew them to Miami. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's office says an extradition hearing was held Monday for Esterly, and he will be returned to Pennsylvania in the next two weeks.
The girl arrived Sunday in Philadelphia and was taken home to Allentown, 60 miles (97 kilometers) away.
Esterly faces a felony charge of interference with the custody of a child. Authorities believe Amy willingly traveled with him to Mexico. |
BURLEY, Idaho (AP) — An unexploded bomb has been found in the doorway of a new, unopened downtown Idaho restaurant.
The Times-News reports a bomb squad from Twin Falls detonated the bomb in Burley shortly after 8 a.m. Monday.
Authorities say the bomb's fuse had been lit but the device didn't detonate.
Firefighters found the bomb while extinguishing a blaze at an empty building across the street. Authorities say they're not certain whether a bomb started the fire, but they're working under that assumption.
No one was injured.
Cassia County Undersheriff George Warrell says authorities are hoping someone has more information about a white pickup spotted in the area around the time they believe the bomb was set.
The incident is under investigation.
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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Poland for top-level talks that will focus on the European Union's future and security, and on bilateral issues between the neighboring countries.
Merkel was greeted Monday by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki before going into talks on the EU's post-Brexit future, the bloc's budget, ways of solving the migration crisis and Poland's refusal to accept migrants under an EU plan.
They will also discuss the EU's energy security and Poland's opposition to a planned Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline, as well as Europe's strained relations with Moscow.
Merkel will also meet with President Andrzej Duda.
She is making her second foreign trip, after visiting Paris, since she was sworn in for a fourth term last week.
Germany's new foreign minister visited Warsaw on Friday. |
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored twice late in the third period to lead the Arizona Coyotes to a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Monday night.
Max Domi also had two goals for Arizona, including an empty-netter with 21 seconds left, and had an assist on Ekman-Larsson's tiebreaking goal. Richard Panik scored early in the second period for the Coyotes, and Antti Raanta stopped 42 shots.
Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Sean Monahan also scored as Calgary lost for the fourth time in five games. Mike Smith finished with 25 saves.
Domi stole a pass in the Calgary zone and beat Smith to tie the score at 2-2 with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the second period.
Both teams missed several scoring chances in the third period until Ekman-Larsson put the Coyotes ahead with 3:41 remaining with his 100th career goal. He then had an empty-netter 2:04 later for his 13th of the season to double the lead.
Smith started his first game at Gila River Arena since the Flames acquired him from Arizona last summer. A video tribute to the Coyotes' all-time leader in games played and shutouts was shown during a stoppage in play in the first period, and Smith offered a quick wave after being welcomed back.
Arizona went up 1-0 on Panik's goal at 5:15 of the second. Panik fired in a wrist shot from his knees off Clayton Keller's cross-ice pass. Keller, a rookie, scored a point in his fifth straight game and has nine in his last 10 games. His 53 points lead the Coyotes this season.
The Flames tied it on Hamilton's goal at 9:05 of the second, his 16th of the season. Hamilton's 43 points lead Calgary defensemen.
Zac Rinaldo got free on a breakaway late in the period, but Smith kept the puck out of the net, pinning it to the near post where Rinaldo tried to stuff it home.
The Flames took the lead with 4:32 left in the middle period as Monahan put in a rebound for his team-leading 31st. The advantage lasted just two minutes.
Neither team scored in the first period, but a goal by Monahan at with about seven minutes to go was disallowed because of a delayed penalty. The Coyotes totaled six penalty minutes in the first, all related to physical play and scuffles with Flames players.
Domi was called for high sticking and raised his penalty-minute total to 67, which leads the Coyotes.
NOTES: The Coyotes were without head coach Rick Tocchet on Monday, as he left the team to attend his mother's funeral near Toronto. Tocchet is expected to rejoin the Coyotes on Wednesday when they visit Buffalo. ... The Coyotes embark on a six-game road trip after Monday's game and will play eight of their final 10 regular-season games away from home. ... Flames D TJ Brodie missed his first game of the season, scratched due to an upper-body injury suffered Sunday at Vegas. ... F Matthew Tkachuk was also scratched, missing his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. ... C Sam Bennett served four penalty minutes for roughing.
UP NEXT
Flames: Host Anaheim on Wednesday night.
Coyotes: At Buffalo on Wednesday night. |
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Dec. 12 at 11:40 a.m., the Taiwan Tourism Bureau along with representatives from China Airlines, and Taoyuan International Airport welcomed the arrival of 10 millionth international traveler to Taiwan this year.
The surprise celebration and a welcome worthy of a superstar took Ms. Tan Jue-Ping entirely by surprise after landing at 10:40 a.m. and waiting in line at immigration. Tan was traveling with her family from Singapore, and was already looking forward to her first time visiting Taiwan.
Thanks to the gift package from the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, the lucky traveler will be spending her time in Taiwan at the height of luxury. Not only can she extend her planned stay in Taiwan with vouchers for free hotel stays at the Regent Taipei, the Howard Plaza Hotel in Kaohsiung, and the Parkview resort in Hualien, but China Airlines will also take care of her flight home as well.
Tan is travelling with 12 members of her family, and they were already planning a trip to include Taipei and Taichung, and then visits to Qingjing Farm in Nantou as well as a stop by Hualien to see the East coast.
One of Tan's family members remarked that they had come to Taiwan nearly 30 years ago on their honey moon to see Alishan and Sun Moon Lake. They said the decision to return to Taiwan on this trip was definitely the right decision.
This is the third year in a row that Taiwan has welcomed over 10 million international travelers. The extravagant welcome for Tan and her family was also a celebration of the successes Taiwan has had over recent years in attracting foreign visitors and raising the profile of Taiwan abroad.
Over the last year, the Tourism Bureau has been working on a five part strategy to enhance tourism in Taiwan. The comprehensive plan includes; exploring more diverse markets, continuing to promote national tourism, working with various industries to integrate transformational strategies congenial to tourism, developing "smart" sightseeing experiences, and promoting experiential tourism.
According to a press release, the Director of Taiwan's Tourism Bureau Zhou Yong-hui (周永暉) said that the Bureau will continue to do everything it can to promote tourism in Taiwan abroad, and to improve the quality of visitor experience.
He also extended a warm welcome to people all over the world to visit Taiwan, and experience the island's beauty for themselves. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Republicans are telling President Donald Trump in ever blunter terms to lay off his escalating criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller and the Russia probe. But party leaders are taking no action to protect Mueller, embracing a familiar strategy with the president — simply waiting out the storm.
Trump blistered Mueller and his investigation all weekend on Twitter and started in again Monday, questioning the probe's legitimacy with language no recent president has used for a federal inquiry. "A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!" Trump tweeted.
Mueller is leading a criminal probe into whether Trump's 2016 presidential campaign had ties to Russia and whether there has been obstruction of justice since then.
Trump was told to cut it out on Sunday by such notable Republicans as Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Then on Monday he was told that firing Mueller would be "the stupidest thing the president could do" by Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
But Hatch, on CNN, also said he didn't see any need for legislation to protect Mueller. And that sentiment was widely echoed by GOP leaders.
In recent months, bills to protect the special counsel have stalled, and Republican leaders have stuck to muted statements endorsing Mueller or denying he is in trouble. So far, that tactic has worked for them as Trump has lambasted the Russia investigation on Twitter but allowed Mueller to continue his work.
Democrats say legislation is needed.
"Immediately," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. And Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, a frequent Trump critic, said, "If you don't pick this fight, then we might as well not be here."
But GOP leaders saw no reason to leap to stop a firing they don't think is in sight.
"I don't think that's going to happen so I just think it's not necessary, and obviously legislation requires a presidential signature," said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. "I don't see the necessity of picking that fight right now."
Still, Cornyn said there would be "a number of unintended consequences" if Mueller were to be removed, and lawmakers had communicated that message to Trump "informally and formally."
White House lawyer Ty Cobb issued a statement Sunday tamping down the speculation, saying Trump is not "considering or discussing" Mueller's removal. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump has "some well-established frustration" about the probe but insisted there is no internal discussion about removing Mueller.
Separately, Trump's legal team has provided documents to Mueller summarizing their views on key matters being investigated, according to a person familiar with the situation. That person insisted on anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The records were given as Trump's lawyers negotiate with Mueller's team about the scope and terms of a possible interview with the president.
Also, Trump added a new lawyer. Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, will join his team later this week.
DiGenova has been outspoken in his defense of Trump, talking of a "brazen plot" to exonerate Hillary Clinton in an email investigation and to "frame" Trump with a "falsely created crime."
Multiple White House officials said Monday that they believe Trump is now acutely aware of the political — and even legal — consequences of taking action against Mueller. For now, they predicted, Trump will snipe at Mueller from the outside.
His sniping is getting more pointed.
Trump challenged the probe's existence over the weekend and strongly suggested political bias on the part of Mueller's investigators.
The tweets ruffled some GOP lawmakers. South Carolina's Gowdy admonished the president's lawyers, saying that if Trump is innocent, "act like it."
But House and Senate leaders remained quiet, and decidedly unruffled.
"As the speaker has always said, Mr. Mueller and his team should be able to do their job," said AshLee Strong, spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to comments that McConnell made in January saying he wasn't worried that Mueller would be ousted.
Two bipartisan Senate bills introduced last summer, when Trump first started criticizing Mueller's probe, would make it harder to fire a special counsel by requiring a judicial review. But Republicans backing the bills have not been able to agree on the details, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has shown little interest in moving them. McConnell has said he thinks they are unnecessary.
Still, some of the White House officials acknowledged that Trump did once flirt with removing Mueller.
That came last summer, when Trump's legal team — then led by New York attorney Marc Kasowitz — was looking into potential conflicts of interest with Mueller and his team and planning to make a case to have him removed, according to people familiar with the strategy. Those people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversations.
As that strategy was being formulated, Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn in June to call Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to raise the perceived conflicts and push for Mueller's removal, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
McGahn put off making the call because he disagreed with the strategy, the person said. When Trump persisted in pressing the issue, McGahn told other senior White House officials he would resign if Trump didn't back off. Trump let the matter drop, the person said.
Trump cannot directly fire Mueller. Any dismissal, for cause, would have to be carried out by Rosenstein, who appointed the counsel and has continued to express support.
Trump has fumed to confidants that the Mueller probe is "going to choke the life out of" his presidency if allowed to continue indefinitely, according to an outside adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations with the president.
Likely contributing to Trump's sense of frustration, The New York Times reported last week that Mueller had subpoenaed the Trump Organization for Russia-related documents. Trump had said Mueller would cross a red line with such a step.
"Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans?" he tweeted Sunday.
Some of Mueller's investigators indeed have contributed to Democratic political candidates including Hillary Clinton, but Justice Department policy and federal service law bar discrimination in the hiring of career positions on the basis of political affiliation. Mueller is a Republican.
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Darlene Superville and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report. |
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An analysis by The Associated Press shows that the cost of putting on last year's Rio de Janeiro Olympic was $13.1 billion.
At a news conference Wednesday, officials of Brazil's Public Authority for Olympic Legacy said the cost for only "sports-related venues" was 7.23 billion reals ($2.06 billion). In addition, the Rio organizing committee previously listed the costs of running the Games at 9 billion reals ($2.8 billion).
The Olympic legacy body did not account for other Olympic-related costs. But the AP obtained them in emailed statements from city, state and federal agencies.
Those costs were 26.385 billion reals ($8.2 billion) for, among other things, a subway line, a doping laboratory, a renovated port and cleanup of polluted Guanabara Bay.
Federal prosecutor Leandro Mitidiery told the AP he had to ask himself if a "country with such inequality as Brazil should have hosted such an event." |
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the vote by employees of Boeing's plant in North Charleston on whether to join a union (all times local):
6:45 a.m.
Voting is underway as thousands of workers at Boeing's South Carolina plant decide if they want to unionize.
Polling places opened early Wednesday morning throughout the aviation giant's sprawling facility in North Charleston. A second wave of voting takes place this afternoon.
Nearly 3,000 production workers are eligible to vote in the election to determine if they'll be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union initially petitioned for a vote in 2015 but called off that election because of what the union called a toxic atmosphere and political interference.
The global aviation giant came to South Carolina in part because of the state's minuscule union presence. Labor experts say a "yes" vote would have repercussions throughout the South, potentially inspiring other workers to think about unionizing.
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4:10 a.m.
Nearly 3,000 production workers at Boeing's South Carolina plant are deciding if they want to unionize, writing the next chapter in efforts to organize labor in large manufacturing plants across the South.
If successful, Wednesday's balloting on whether employees should join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would send a significant message to politicians both in the region and Washington that workers here are demanding the same protections and benefits as their colleagues in other areas.
And, to the leaders trying to recruit businesses by promoting their states' lack of union presence, it'd make their jobs more difficult.
Labor experts say a "yes" vote would have repercussions throughout the South, potentially inspiring other workers to think about unionizing. |
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 4, 2018--The global stretchable conductive materials market is expected to register a CAGR of around 30% during the period 2018-2022, according to the latest market research report by .
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005227/en/
Technavio has published a new market research report on the global stretchable conductive materials market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)
A key factor driving the market’s growth is the increasing demand for wearable devices. Stretchable conductive materials are used mainly in wearable devices. Thus, the growth in the wearable devices market will increase the use of stretchable conductive materials. The development of conductive elastomers that exhibit electrical conductivity and mechanical stretchability is a key contributor to the rising demand for wearable devices.
This market research report on the provides an analysis of the most important trends expected to impact the market outlook during the forecast period. Technavio predicts an emerging trend as a major factor that has the potential to significantly impact the market and contribute to its growth or decline.
This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only:
In this report, Technavio highlights the increased R&D in wearable technology as one of the key emerging trends in the global stretchable conductive materials market:
Global stretchable conductive materials market: Increased R&D in wearable technology
The global stretchable conductive materials market is registering significant growth and will post a high growth rate during the forecast period. Technological advances and R&D activities, particularly in the wearable devices sector will lead to an increase in the use of stretchable conductive materials during the forecast period. For instance, advanced R&D has led to the increased compatibility of smartwatches with media players, tablets, and headsets.
“The introduction of smart textile wearables and advances in nanotechnology, plastic electronics, and conducting polymers have led to improvements in wearable technologies. The healthcare industry invests heavily in R&D activities for the development of advanced wearable technologies,” says a senior market research analyst at Technavio.
Global stretchable conductive materials market: Segmentation analysis
This market research report segments the global stretchable conductive materials market into the following products (graphene, carbon nanotubes, silver, and copper) and key regions (the Americas, APAC, and EMEA).
The graphene segment held the largest market share in 2017, accounting for nearly 31% of the market. This product segment is expected to dominate the global market throughout the forecast period.
The Americas held the highest share of the global stretchable conductive materials market in 2017, accounting for a market share of more than 39%. The market share occupied by this region is anticipated to increase by almost 1% during 2018-2022.
Looking for more information on this market? Request a free sample report
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.
Some of the key topics covered in the report include:
Market Landscape
Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis
Market Sizing
Market sizing Market size and forecast
Five Forces Analysis
Market Segmentation
Geographical Segmentation
Regional comparison Key leading countries
Market Drivers
Market Challenges
Market Trends
Vendor Landscape
Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Competitive scenario
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.
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View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005227/en/
CONTACT: Technavio Research
Jesse Maida
Media & Marketing Executive
US: +1 844 364 1100
UK: +44 203 893 3200
www.technavio.com
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY OTHER TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING CHEMICALS/PLASTICS OTHER MANUFACTURING
SOURCE: Technavio Research
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 07/04/2018 11:08 AM/DISC: 07/04/2018 11:08 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005227/en |
ALLIANCE, Ohio (AP) — A truck crash in Ohio has left hundreds of chickens dead, and those that did survive huddled together in a nearby ditch.
The Review in Alliance reports a tractor trailer carrying crates of chickens veered off the road, struck a utility pole and overturned Monday in Stark County's Washington Township.
The road where the crash occurred was closed for several hours.
Washington Township is roughly 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Akron.
The driver of the tractor trailer owned by Case Farms wasn't injured, but was taken to hospital to be tested for controlled substances.
Houses in the area lost power after the accident.
The state Highway Patrol is investigating.
___
Information from: The Review, http://www.the-review.com |
NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say the alleged leader of a homicidal drug ring that imported tons of cocaine from Colombia into the U.S. has been brought to New York to face charges.
Daniel Rendon-Herrera, also known as "Don Mario," pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn on Tuesday to leading a continuing criminal enterprise.
There was no immediate comment from the defense.
Federal authorities say that the organization sent multi-ton, U.S.-bound shipments of cocaine from Colombia through Central America between about June 2003 and December 2014.
U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue says the group also employed hit men across North and South America. |
TAICHUNG, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) joined the Taiwan Patient Safety Culture Club (TPSCC) at the 2 nd Annual Patient Safety Rally hosted by the TPSCC in Taichung, Taiwan on April 21, 2018. Sixteen healthcare organizations, including fourteen hospitals, committed to implementing the PSMF’s evidence-based Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS), which have been proven to improve healthcare quality and eliminate preventable harm, and deaths, in hospitals.
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More than 150 attendees, including hospital executives and staff, attended this year's 2nd Annual Patient Safety Rally in Taiwan (Photo: Business Wire)
“I’ve said before that we must not hope for zero preventable patient deaths, we must plan for zero. We are thrilled by the leadership of Dr. Mingi Chan Liao M.D., Ph.D. and the Taiwan Patient Safety Culture Club who have rallied Taiwan’s hospitals to act on behalf of patients everywhere. Only through action will we be able to eliminate preventable harm from hospitals,” explained Joe Kiani, Founder, and Chairman of the Patient Safety Movement.
At the rally, Joe Kiani welcomed attendees with a short video. Each hospital’s leadership and executive staff took the stage to publicly announce their commitments to implement the APSS that, when implemented, will positively improve the care provided in their facilities. The list of committed hospitals and partners include:
1. Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital
2. Taitung Hospital
3. Chiayi Branch, Taichung Veterans General Hospital
4. Ministry of Health and Welfare Pingtung Hospital
5. Keelung Hospital Ministry of Health and Welfare
6. Taipei Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare
7. Jianan Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare
8. Hua-lien Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare
9. Pingtung Christian Hospital
10. St. Joseph’s Hospital
11. Tung's Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital
12. Penghu Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare
13. Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation
14. Changhua Christian Children’s Hospital
15. Committed Partner: Taiwan Healthcare Quality Association
16. Committed Partner: Unison Healthcare Group
Also speaking at the rally were Ms. Maria Cvach, the director of Policy Management and Integration at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Dr. Shin Ushiro, a professor of safety management at Kyushu University Hospital, Japan. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation’s Vice President, Ariana Longley, was on hand to support the work being done by the TPSCC, as one of the PSMF’s most active committed partners internationally. More than 120 supporters attended the rally as the Taiwan Patient Safety Culture Club works to join the PSMF in unifying the healthcare ecosystem.
“To improve patient safety, we must not only listen but act. I am thrilled by the commitment of all sixteen committed hospitals and partners who have shown great leadership by implementing evidence-based processes proven to improve patient safety. The combined commitments from our two rallies means that 19 out of 22 administrative regions have embraced patient safety with the commitment to ZERO preventable deaths by 2020,” explained Dr. Chan Liao.
Following the rally, Ms. Longley joined the Club’s President, Dr. Chan Liao, for visits to local hospitals. The rally is the second in the last year by Taiwan’s hospitals to raise awareness and take action to improve patient safety in hospitals. Last year, 19 Taiwanese hospitals made commitments to implementing APSS.
For more information on the rally or the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, please visit patientsafetymovement.org or contact Tanya Lyon, Public Relations Manager at (949) 351-2858 or tanya.lyon@patientsafetymovement.org.
About Patient Safety Movement Foundation:
More than 200,000 U.S. patients and three million worldwide die each year from preventable causes. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare to reduce that number of preventable deaths to zero by 2020 (0X2020). Improving patient safety requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers. The PSMF works with all stakeholders to address problems with actionable solutions. The Foundation also convenes the World Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit bringing together some of the world’s best minds for thought-provoking discussions and new ideas that challenge the status quo. By presenting specific, high-impact solutions to meet patient safety challenges, called Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, encouraging medical technology companies to share the data their products are purchased for, and asking hospitals to make commitments to implement Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation is working toward zero preventable deaths by 2020. Visit http://patientsafetymovement.org/.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005360/en/
CONTACT: Patient Safety Movement Foundation
Tanya Lyon, 949-351-2858
Public Relations Manager
tanya.lyon@patientsafetymovement.org
KEYWORD: ASIA PACIFIC NORTH AMERICA CANADA TAIWAN
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT HEALTH HOSPITALS NURSING MANAGED CARE
SOURCE: Patient Safety Movement Foundation
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 04/23/2018 08:00 AM/DISC: 04/23/2018 08:01 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005360/en |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A United Nations prosecution lawyer has urged appeals judges to convict former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on a second genocide count and increase his 40-year sentence for overseeing Serb atrocities during the Bosnian war to a life sentence.
Prosecutor Katrina Gustafson told a five-judge appellate panel at the U.N. Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals that Karadzic "abused his immense power to spill the blood of countless victims. Justice requires that he receive the highest possible sentence — a life sentence."
Karadzic's lawyers said Tuesday that not only should he not be convicted of a second genocide count, but the genocide conviction imposed by trial judges in 2016 for Karadzic's role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre should be overturned on appeal. |
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire has proclaimed a day in tribute to a local teacher who died in the NASA space shuttle Challenger disaster decades ago.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu (soo-NOO'-noo) said Sunday would be known as Christa McAuliffe Day in honor of the Concord (KAHN'-kard) woman selected to become the first educator in space out of 11,000 applicants.
McAuliffe never made it to orbit because she and six crewmates were killed when the Challenger broke apart shortly after takeoff on Jan. 28, 1986.
McAuliffe would have been NASA's first designated teacher in space. She was going to experiment with fluids and demonstrate Newton's laws of motion for schoolchildren.
Astronauts Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold recently said they will pay tribute to McAuliffe by carrying out her science classes on the International Space Station. |
BEIJING (AP) — China's supreme court has thrown out the fraud conviction of a retail tycoon in an unusual gesture of official leniency toward entrepreneurs amid a string of high-profile detentions and prosecutions that has rattled the Chinese business world.
The Supreme People's Court ruling Thursday reversed the conviction of Zhang Wenzhong, former chairman of Wumart Stores, who served 12 years in prison on charges of improperly obtaining technology development subsidies.
A number of Chinese businesspeople have been prosecuted or detained for questioning about possible offenses including embezzlement and bribery.
On Wednesday, a lawyer for the imprisoned founder of the insurance company that owns New York City's Waldorf Hotel said he planned to appeal his 18-year sentence imposed this month on fraud charges. |
"The Wedding Date" (Berkley), by Jasmine Guillory
If you've ever met someone and felt an instant connection, you're not alone. It happened to Alexa Monroe, who was visiting her out-of--town sister at San Francisco's Fairmont hotel.
Shortly after she walked into the elevator, it stalled. Conversation ensued with the disabled lift's other rider, a hot doctor named Drew Nichols. This is the premise of "The Wedding Date," Jasmine Guillory's debut novel.
Readers are taken on a journey following the main characters' relationship. The elevator pair start by sharing cheese and crackers and a bottle of champagne originally meant for Alexa's sister as they wait for a repairman.
Drew is in town from Los Angeles for an ex-girlfriend's wedding. He has no date. After a drink and light flirting, he asks Alexa to accompany him to the soiree, to be held the next day.
"I am a dateless groomsman in the wedding of my ex-girlfriend and former best friend," Drew says. "My date bailed on me last-minute, so I'm going to look pathetic, and I'll probably get drunk and hit on a bridesmaid — the whole thing is going to be a nightmare."
"The Wedding Date" is a romance story with plenty of sex, though not on the scale of "Fifty Shades of Grey." Guillory, whose writing is clean, yet elegant, does a fine job of leaving much of the sexual content to the reader's imagination.
The book also explores, on a surface level, interracial relationships. Alexa is black; Drew is white. They have plenty in common: they're both highly educated, have successful careers and live in big coastal cities. Some modern dating themes are also explored.
The novel is a light-hearted and quick read with fully drawn characters, and it's likely to resonate with many readers.
___
Online:
https://www.jasmineguillory.com/ |
TOKYO (AP) — Mario is getting together with the Minions.
Japanese video-game company Nintendo Co. says a movie starring the plumber in the Super Mario franchise is in the works, being co-produced with Chris Meledandri, the chief executive of Illumination Entertainment, the U.S. animation studio behind the popular "Despicable Me" series.
Nintendo's star game designer Shigeru Miyamoto told reporters Thursday the script is mostly finished and is promising a "fun" movie, since Meledandri shares his thinking on creative projects.
The movie, two years in the making after a meeting between Meledandri and Miyamoto, is set for global distribution through Universal, which co-owns Illumination, according to the Kyoto-based maker of Pokemon games and the popular Switch machine.
They did not give other details. |
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian official says the goal of establishing a state of Palestine alongside Israel enjoys broad international support, expressing surprise at a Trump administration suggestion that a peace deal may not come in the form of a two-state solution.
Husam Zomlot, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, says the "two-state solution is not something we just came up with."
Zomlot spoke ahead of a White House meeting on Wednesday between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A White House official has said that it's up to Israelis and Palestinians to decide what peace will entail, and that peace, not a two-state solution, is the goal.
Zomlot says it's not clear if the comments signal a shift from long-standing U.S. policy of supporting a two-state deal. |
DUNKIRK, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a 77-year-old western New York man has died after the ambulance transporting him from a Pennsylvania hospital to a nursing home crashed into a ditch.
New York State Police say an EmergyCare ambulance left the road at about 5:40 p.m. Tuesday, entered a ditch and hit a culvert in the Chautauqua (shuh-TAW'-kwuh) County town of Dunkirk, 35 miles southwest of Buffalo.
Troopers say the ambulance was taking Arthur McArthur, of Dunkirk, from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Erie to a nursing home in Chautauqua County. Police say McArthur suffered fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The ambulance's 49-year-old driver was treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash is under investigation. |
"Into the Black Nowhere: an UNSUB novel" (Dutton), by Meg Gardiner
Meg Gardiner's follow-up to her best-selling "UNSUB" novel continues the riveting adventure of FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix.
Saturday nights in southern Texas have become dangerous as a result of a killer who appears to use charisma to charm his victims into letting down their guard. Women have been abducted in plain sight, and one person was abducted from a crowded movie theater. When two of the victims are found wearing a white nightgown and surrounded by Polaroid photos, the evidence suggests there are more victims than first thought. Before Hendrix can truly profile the killer, a possible suspect is revealed. Now she must prove her suspicions.
What starts as a forensic gathering of evidence turns into a deadly game, and Caitlin channels the TV detective Columbo as she frequently questions the suspect while waiting for him to slip or reveal his killer instinct. But is he really the culprit?
Novels that deal with serial killers have a tendency to dive into depravity and gruesome violence to tell the story. It becomes about the shock rather than the law enforcement path to justice. Gardiner doesn't fall into that trap with "Into the Black Nowhere," and when it comes close to that line, she veers away.
This series is all about Caitlin's character and the collection of facts and uncovering of clues to stop the madness. She is also a strong female character who is never the victim, and that is rare in this genre.
___
Online:
http://meggardiner.com/ |
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's farewell note to Manchester United's fans said much about his state of mind.
"At this stage of my career," he wrote on Instagram after moving to Arsenal in exchange for Alexis Sanchez, "I simply have to enjoy myself on the pitch and play."
By the end of his time at United, he did neither.
Mkhitaryan's underwhelming 18-month spell at Old Trafford ended just like it started: Substituted at halftime in a match, with United supporters at Old Trafford wondering if this really was the same player who joined for $33.5 million after starring in the German league for Borussia Dortmund.
The last sighting of Mkhitaryan in the red of United was 45 error-strewn minutes in an FA Cup match against second-tier club Derby County. He gave the ball away, his first touch let him down, and he didn't reappear after halftime.
That was almost a month ago.
Now it's time to see if Arsene Wenger can do what Jose Mourinho failed to do, and get the best out of Mkhitaryan.
The Armenia captain is set to make his debut for Arsenal at Swansea in the Premier League on Wednesday and Wenger's naturally attacking philosophy should suit Mkhitaryan.
"Until now, he has played in a wide role," Wenger said, "but he can certainly absorb that role in a kind of winger or playmaker. I don't rule it out for him to become a box-to-box player."
Wherever he ends up, Mkhitaryan is unlikely to face the tactical rigidity he had under Mourinho and should be free to express himself more going forward.
At least that is what his national team coach thinks.
"We are very happy with this transfer from Manchester United," Armenia coach Artur Petrosyan said. "His style of play will be better suited at Arsenal.
"It is my impression that I think Henrikh had a problem with the coach (Mourinho) and, at Arsenal, it will be another thing and not the same situation. There will not be so much pressure on him defensively."
Mkhitaryan started one league game for United in the last two months so he might need time to get up to speed at Arsenal. He could end up as one of the two playmakers — alongside Mesut Ozil — behind the striker in a 3-4-2-1 formation or as a wide forward in a 4-3-3, which is where he was deployed at Dortmund when he scored 23 goals and set up 32 more in his final season.
He needs to show he is cut out for the physicality and intensity of the Premier League, which was the criticism aimed at him by Mourinho. He rarely completed 90 minutes at United and his form fell away after starting the season with five assists in his first three games.
Mkhitaryan is best remembered at United for two acrobatic goals — one from a "scorpion kick" in the league against Sunderland and the other from a flying volley in the 2-0 win over Ajax in the Europa League final in Stockholm.
They were flashes of brilliance in an otherwise forgettable period of his career. Arsenal is a fresh start.
___
OLD RIVAL
Mkhitaryan will be hoping to settle at Arsenal as quickly as Sanchez has at United.
The Chile forward set up two goals and was heavily involved in United's 4-0 win over fourth-tier club Yeovil Town in the FA Cup on Friday. A much sterner test awaits in the form of Tottenham in the league on Wednesday, but it was still encouraging for Sanchez.
The question now is who, out of Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, misses out to accommodate Sanchez. With Martial and Lingard in good scoring form in recent months, Mata could be the fall guy.
___
CITY'S INJURIES
What Manchester City would give to have Sanchez now.
The league leaders turned down the opportunity to sign the forward, saying his financial demands were too much and that the team's harmony might have been disrupted.
But now that Leroy Sane has joined Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines with an injury sustained in the FA Cup on Sunday, City is short of attacking options.
There isn't much cover behind what should be a front three of Raheem Sterling, Serio Aguero and Bernardo Silva for City's home match against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.
City leads United by 12 points with 14 games left.
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Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80 |
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A federal appeals court has been asked to allow a class-action lawsuit against the Veterans Affairs Department by veterans who say they became ill from radiation exposure after responding to a 1966 accident involving U.S. hydrogen bombs in Spain.
Yale Law School students in Connecticut filed the request Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims on behalf of veterans who sought disability benefits from the VA but were denied.
The students represent Air Force veteran Victor Skaar, of Nixa, Missouri, and want to expand the lawsuit to include other veterans.
VA officials did not immediately return messages Monday.
Radioactive plutonium was released near Palomares, Spain, in January 1966, after a U.S. B-52 bomber and refueling plane crashed. Four hydrogen bombs crashed, but there were no nuclear explosions. |
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):
9:35 a.m.
Stocks are opening solidly higher on Wall Street after a number of big U.S. companies reported strong quarterly earnings.
Boeing jumped 6 percent in early trading Wednesday. The aerospace giant has been the biggest gainer in the Dow Jones industrial average over the past year.
Xerox rose 10.5 percent after reporting a strong quarter of its own. Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices rose 4.7 percent and Electronic Arts rose 8.6 percent.
The early gains recovered some of the ground the market lost a day earlier, when it had its biggest drop since August.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,837.
The Dow rose 238 points, or 0.9 percent, to 26,318. The Nasdaq climbed 48 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,451. |
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — A fatal pedestrian crash involving a self-driving Uber SUV in a Phoenix suburb could have far-reaching consequences for the new technology as automakers and other companies race to be the first with cars that operate on their own.
The crash Sunday night in Tempe was the first death involving a full autonomous test vehicle. The Volvo was in self-driving mode with a human backup driver at the wheel when it struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg as she was walking a bicycle outside the lines of a crosswalk in Tempe, police said.
Uber immediately suspended all road-testing of such autos in the Phoenix area, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Toronto. The ride-sharing company has been testing self-driving vehicles for months as it competes with other technology companies and automakers like Ford and General Motors.
Though many in the industries had been dreading a fatal crash they knew it was inevitable.
Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock said local authorities haven't determined fault but urged people to use crosswalks. He told reporters at a news conference Monday the Uber vehicle was traveling around 40 mph when it hit Helzberg immediately as she stepped on to the street.
Neither she nor the backup driver showed signs of impairment, he said.
"The pedestrian was outside of the crosswalk, so it was midblock," Elcock said. "And as soon as she walked into the lane of traffic, she was struck by the vehicle."
The National Transportation Safety Board, which makes recommendations for preventing crashes, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which can enact regulations, sent investigators.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi expressed condolences on his Twitter account and said the company is cooperating with investigators.
The public's image of the vehicles will be defined by stories like the crash in Tempe, said Bryant Walker Smith, a University of South Carolina law professor who studies self-driving vehicles. It may turn out that there was nothing either the vehicle or its human backup could have done to avoid the crash, he said.
Either way, the fatality could hurt the technology's image and lead to a push for more regulations at the state and federal levels, Smith said.
Autonomous vehicles with laser, radar and camera sensors and sophisticated computers have been billed as the way to reduce the more than 40,000 traffic deaths a year in the U.S. alone. Ninety-four percent of crashes are caused by human error, the government says.
Self-driving vehicles don't drive drunk, don't get sleepy and aren't easily distracted. But they do have faults.
"We should be concerned about automated driving," Smith said. "We should be terrified about human driving."
In 2016, the latest year available, more than 6,000 U.S. pedestrians were killed by vehicles.
The federal government has voluntary guidelines for companies that want to test autonomous vehicles, leaving much of the regulation up to states.
Many states, including Michigan and Arizona, have taken a largely hands-off approach, hoping to gain jobs from the new technology, while California and others have taken a harder line.
California is among states that require manufacturers to report any incidents during the testing phase. As of early March, the state's motor vehicle agency had received 59 such reports.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey used light regulations to entice Uber to the state after the company had a shaky rollout of test cars in San Francisco. Arizona has no reporting requirements. Hundreds of vehicles with automated driving systems have been on Arizona's roads.
Ducey's office expressed sympathy for Herzberg's family and said safety is the top priority.
The crash in Arizona isn't the first involving an Uber autonomous test vehicle. In March 2017, an Uber SUV flipped onto its side, also in Tempe. No serious injuries were reported, and the driver of the other car was cited for a violation.
Herzberg's death is the first involving an autonomous test vehicle but not the first in a car with some self-driving features. The driver of a Tesla Model S was killed in 2016 when his car, operating on its Autopilot system, crashed into a tractor-trailer in Florida.
The NTSB said that driver inattention was to blame but that design limitations with the system played a major role in the crash.
The U.S. Transportation Department is considering further voluntary guidelines that it says would help foster innovation. Proposals also are pending in Congress, including one that would stop states from regulating autonomous vehicles, Smith said.
Peter Kurdock, director of regulatory affairs for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Washington, said the group sent a letter Monday to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao saying it is concerned about a lack of action and oversight by the department as autonomous vehicles are developed. That letter was planned before the crash.
Kurdock said the deadly accident should serve as a "startling reminder" to members of Congress that they need to "think through all the issues to put together the best bill they can to hopefully prevent more of these tragedies from occurring."
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Krisher reported from Detroit. Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed to this story. |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A United Nations expert on extreme poverty and human rights is meeting with hurricane victims in Puerto Rico, marking the first time such an envoy has visited the U.S. territory in recent history.
Special rapporteur Philip Alston's trip Monday comes as Puerto Ricans and some government officials voice complaints that the U.S. has not provided sufficient help after Hurricane Maria hit the island on Sept. 20.
The Category 4 storm killed dozens of people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. Ten of the island's 78 municipalities are still without power, and thousands of businesses remain closed.
Alston told The Associated Press that there is a disproportionate number of Puerto Ricans living in poverty and that he's trying to assess the effectiveness of measures taken by the federal government. |
DENVER (AP) — Sales of outdoor equipment are slipping as millennials drive changes in U.S. consumer habits by favoring clothes and sporting goods that are less specialized and more versatile, analysts say.
Industry retail sales totaled $18.9 billion from December 2016 through November 2017, down 6 percent from the previous 12 months, according to NPD Group, a market research company that tracks trends in two dozen industries.
The company announced the numbers this week as manufacturers and buyers gathered in Denver for the Outdoor Retailer and Snow Show, the industry's biggest winter marketplace.
Millennials — sometimes defined as people born between 1982 and 2004 — are less likely than the previous generation to demand outdoor gear that stands up to extreme conditions, said Matt Powell, NPD's senior adviser for the sports industry. He used boots as an example.
"The hardest, the most extreme condition some of these boots are going to have is walking from the Prius to the craft brewery," he said.
Powell also cited mountain bikes, which riders can use on streets or trails without special clothing and usually cost less than specialized road bikes.
"I describe it as good-enough products. A product that will get me through most of what I want to do, and a product that is versatile," he said.
Millennials are outdoorsy and support environmental preservation and sustainability, Powell said, but they have a different take on health and fitness than their predecessors. They have a more lighthearted approach that involves their friends, he said.
Some individual retailers and manufacturers have adapted, but the overall industry has not, Powell said.
"I think the outdoor industry has not responded enough to this shift in the mindset of consumers," he said.
Greg Thomsen, U.S. managing director for Adidas Outdoors, said his company is focusing on consumers in their 20s and younger.
"This industry has been aging for a long time, and it's nice to bring in some new people," he said.
Thomsen said millennials like Adidas' Flyloft jacket, which isn't suitable for severely cold weather but still works for outdoor recreation. It's less expensive, easier to care for and more versatile than more a hard-core outdoor jacket, he said, and it's suitable for a day in the mountains or a night on the town.
The Outdoor Retailer and Snow Show gives retail buyers a look at goods they can sell starting next fall. About 1,000 manufacturers are showing new products to 11,000 retail buyers at the show, which opened Thursday and runs through Sunday.
The 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) expo is packed with nearly everything outdoors people might need, and a few things they might not: Ski parkas and bikinis, snow boots and sandals, axes and accounting software, snowboards and sleds, bicycles and camper vans, packaged food and Colorado whiskey.
Displays range from a humble table to elaborate, two-story exhibits with changing rooms or conference tables. Some exhibitors wore clingy ski pants; another wore a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform complete with scarlet tunic.
This is the first Outdoor Retailer Show since it left its longtime home in Salt Lake City. Some big players in the outdoor industry argued that Utah's political leaders were too hostile toward preserving public lands, so the show moved to Colorado, whose environmental politics are more in tune with the industry's.
This week's show is also the first since its producer, Emerald Expositions, acquired the SnowSports Industries America Snow Show, which had been held each January in Denver. Organizers say it's the first time in nearly 30 years that the outdoor and snow industries have a combined show.
Snow industry sales, which include skis, snowboards, boots, bindings and other equipment, are faring better than the larger outdoor industry. For the first four months of the current winter season, sales totaled $2 billion, up 7.8 percent
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Associated Press writer James Anderson contributed to this report.
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Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/dan%20elliott . |
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — Authorities: Brother of teen charged in Florida school shooting has been arrested for trespassing at the same school. |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stars react to the Golden Globe Award nominations announced Monday morning in Beverly Hills, California:
— "It was my morning to carpool, so I just dropped the kids off." — Laurie Metcalf, nominated for her supporting role in "Lady Bird," on her not-so-glamorous morning.
— "It's a good day when you wake up and find out that your show is on a list with 'Game of Thrones.'" — Dan Fogelman, creator of "This Is Us," nominated for TV drama series.
— "I'm descending into nonsensical happy words because I am not, I can't believe it, it's just amazing. It's just amazing." — Greta Gerwig, nominated for writing "Lady Bird," which she also directed.
— "I haven't started yet, but I've been looking at a bottle and it's staring me back." — Armie Hammer, on whether it's too early to start drinking Champagne to celebrate his supporting actor nod for "Call Me By Your Name."
— "We're having champagne for breakfast!" — Margot Robbie, a double nominee as producer and star of "I, Tonya."
— "This is a Chanukah miracle." - Pamela Adlon, up for actress in a TV comedy series for "Better Things."
— "We are, in a few hours, we are about to have our London premiere of 'Darkest Hour.' Tonight. So this is sort of a bit of frosting on the cake." — Gary Oldman, nominated for actor in a drama film for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.
— "Issa Rae is a hero of mine. I'm going to try not to stalk her at the Globes. I nearly died when I heard my name and hers in the same sentence. I'm dweebing out pretty hard." — Rachel Brosnahan of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," nominated alongside Rae for actress in a TV comedy series.
— "What wonderful news on such a snowy day in London." — Judi Dench, nominated for her leading role in "Victoria & Abdul."
— "This is good news for Albert Einstein." — Geoffrey Rush, nominated for playing the scientist in "Genius."
— "No matter how long you do it, it's an uncertain life, so you're always happy for encouragement. You're always happy for someone to say, 'Keep going. Keep going. We like what you're doing.'" — Willem Dafoe on his supporting actor nod for "The Florida Project."
— " I guess what I was really trying to do in retrospect is have a conversation about what it's like to be a woman in the world, and do it while playing a sex worker." — Maggie Gyllenhaal, nominated for her performance in the TV drama "The Deuce."
— "To have people recognize me still as a singer and ... you know, just for my work as Mary J. Blige and Florence — it's like yes! It's the cherry on top of the cake." — Mary J. Blige, a double nominee for her supporting performance in "Mudbound" and writing its original song.
— "My morning plans are to do a little bit of chores around the house." — Guillermo del Toro, writer and director of Monday's top nominee, "The Shape of Water," on how he'll celebrate.
— "Today is my father's birthday, and my father has been dead for many years, but he was a huge supporter of me being an actor. I don't think he was crazy about it at the beginning. But it's really, really fabulous to have this happen on his birthday." — Richard Jenkins, a supporting actor nominee for "The Shape of Water." |
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose in January at the fastest pace in nearly four years, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.
The Labor Department says consumer prices rose 0.6 percent last month, most since February 2013. A 7.8 percent jump in gasoline prices accounted for almost half the increase. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, consumer inflation rose 0.3 percent.
Overall, consumer prices rose 2.5 percent from a year earlier, most since March 2012.
After remaining low following the 2007-2009 Great Recession, inflation is running above the Fed's 2 percent annual target.
The Fed left a key interest rate unchanged at its Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting. It said it needs more time to monitor the economy but still expects to raise rates gradually. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pentagon says it will allow transgender people to enlist in the military beginning Jan. 1, despite Trump's opposition. |
ERIN, Wis. (AP) — Jack Nicklaus was good enough to win the U.S. Open as an amateur, and he nearly did.
Nicklaus was a 20-year-old U.S. Amateur champion at Cherry Hills, leading by one shot with six holes to play until he missed too many short putts and Arnold Palmer capped off a signature charge to win the 1960 U.S. Open.
That explains why Nicklaus had a wry smile when asked if he regarded Marty Fleckman as a threat 50 years ago in the U.S. Open.
Fleckman was a 23-year-old amateur, an NCAA champion at Houston and winner of the Texas State Amateur. He had a one-shot lead over Nicklaus, Palmer and Billy Casper in the final round in 1967 at Baltusrol.
"Let me put it this way," Nicklaus said. "He was leading after 54 holes. He had a very good chance to win the Open."
But he didn't.
Amateurs just don't win the U.S. Open anymore, bad news for the 14 amateurs at Erin Hills this week. The last amateur winner was Johnny Goodman in 1933, and there's little evidence that will change. Fleckman and Jim Simons in 1971 were the last ones to have a 54-hole lead.
Fleckman shot 80 in the final round that day, quickly stepping aside for a brief Nicklaus-Palmer duel that ended with Nicklaus by four shots, the second of his four U.S. Open titles. Fleckman drove up to Rhode Island the following week and won the prestigious Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett.
The U.S. Open, for 83 years and counting, belongs to the pros.
"It was a wonderful experience," said Fleckman, the director of golf instruction at Blackhorse Teaching Center in Texas. "I got off to a shaky start. I knew I couldn't win any money, so I tried to attack the golf course. You don't really attack a U.S. Open venue, and I paid the piper."
Simons was a threat to the end at Merion. He was one shot behind going to the 18th hole until making a double bogey to finish three shots out of a playoff that Lee Trevino won the following day over Nicklaus.
Goodman had such a big lead that he shot 76 and still won the U.S. Open. He later won the U.S. Amateur.
Bobby Jones in 1930 at Hoylake is the last amateur to win the British Open. No amateur has ever won the Masters, which also has had its share of close calls, most notably Ken Venturi in 1956 until he shot 80 on the last day.
The amateurs at Erin Hills are facing Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. The gap between the pros and the amateurs is growing by the year, especially as the competition at the professional level is stronger than ever.
"If it's going to be done, it would be at the U.S. Open, where you can get on the good side of the draw and par is a good score and you're not giving anything to the field," Spieth said. "I imagine it will be done."
Not by him. He was low amateur in 2012, but he wasn't the best teenager at Olympic Club until it was over and 17-year-old Beau Hossler stumbled at the end.
Jordan Niebrugge, who was to hit the opening tee shot at Erin Hills on Thursday, was the low amateur at St. Andrews in the 2015 British Open, and he wasn't even the amateur attraction that week. Paul Dunne of Ireland shared the 54-hole lead with Day and Louis Oosthuizen, but fell back quickly and shot 78.
Dunne also is at Erin Hills. Much like Fleckman in 1967, the Irishman looks back on that final round as a great experience sprinkled with regrets.
"Major golf courses seem to be set up as different tests from any other week," Dunne said. "Because of that, it can take a few people by surprise. And it can take an amateur by surprise to get in a position he didn't think he'd be in the first place."
Dunne, Spieth and Nicklaus would not rule out an amateur winning a major. So why hasn't it happened?
The simple answer is because they turn pro.
Jon Rahm was low amateur at Oakmont last year in the U.S. Open. After a year of playing PGA Tour competition, he is No. 10 in the world and a threat to win this week. Spieth turned pro during his sophomore year at Texas. His game matured against the best.
Dunne also considered sheer numbers.
"The amateur game is strong," Dunne said. "The top end amateurs, everyone is quite professional in hos they go about their business. It's hard to see it happening because there are so few amateurs. If you took the top 75 ranked players, and let in the next 75 top amateurs, you'd definitely have an amateur winner in a few years."
Nicklaus still believes if a player is good enough, he can win anywhere, like he almost did in 1960. A year later, still an amateur, Nicklaus tied for seventh in the Masters and tied for fourth in the U.S. Open. And the year after that, he beat Palmer in a playoff at Oakmont for the first of his 18 majors.
"Most of them don't stay amateur very long," Nicklaus said of today's crop. "If I had stayed amateur, do I think I would have won it? Yeah. You have amateurs who are good players, but they usually turn pro before they get real good." |
PICO RIVERA, Calif. (AP) — White House Chief of Staff John Kelly says a Los Angeles-area high school teacher "ought to go to hell" for disparaging U.S. military service members in classroom remarks.
The retired Marine general blasted Gregory Salcido on Wednesday during an interview with Fox News Radio.
Salcido is on leave from El Rancho High School in suburban Pico Rivera.
A video surfaced on Friday in which the teacher is heard berating a 17-year-old student who wore a Marine Corps sweatshirt.
Salcido uses crude terms to describe people who join the military and refers to them as the "lowest of our low." He urges the student not to join the military.
Salcido told the Los Angeles Times he wouldn't comment because he and his family have received "vulgar and violent threats." |
Just as the Hollywood award shows this year have been dominated by the Time's Up movement, the 60th annual Grammy Awards became a platform for artists to address sexual harassment and abuse, but also President Donald Trump, immigration and gun violence.
Artists arrived on the red carpet with white roses to show support for female equality, but others skewered Trump or criticized his administration's treatment of immigrants with the Statue of Liberty serving as a backdrop. Kendrick Lamar opened the show with a gun-rattling performance while country stars mourned victims of the country's largest mass shooting.
These are the top moments of Sunday's Grammy Awards:
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FIRE AND FURY
The Grammy Awards didn't hold back in a pre-recorded skit aimed at President Trump, which featured a surprise appearance by Hillary Clinton and others reading embarrassing passages from the Trump tell-all "Fire And Fury."
The skit featured musicians such as John Legend, Cher, Snoop Dogg and DJ Khaled reading portions of the book as an audition for the audio book. Rapper Cardi B added her own opinion after reading about Trump's regular routines, saying "This is how he lives his life?" But it was Clinton's appearance that gathered the loudest applause from the crowd at Madison Square Garden.
Predictably it was a hot topic on Twitter soon after, prompting United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley to post that the segment was "trash."
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NOT JUST HOLLYWOOD
Janelle Monae pointed her finger at the music industry's role and responsibility following a wave of sexual harassment and abuse scandals that have rocked Hollywood.
"It's not just going in Hollywood," Monae announced during the show. "It's not just going on in Washington. It's right here in our industry as well."
Kesha delivered the most powerful performance of her career as she sang "Praying," backed by a chorus of women in white, with her emotions raw on her face and in her voice.
The pop singer, who has accused her former producer Dr. Luke of raping and drugging her, sang directly to overcoming an abusive relationship and finding forgiveness. (Dr. Luke has denied her accusations.) At the end, the women embraced Kesha in a group hug.
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ACTS OF VIOLENCE
The Grammys opened the show with a mix of rap, rock and comedy featuring Kendrick Lamar, U2 and Dave Chappelle. Lamar has a history at the Grammys of combining performance art and music, which he did again with an army of marching camouflaged dancers in front of the images of the American flag.
Lamar performed "XXX" with Bono and The Edge, with Chappelle adding moments of levity, while the screen declared "This is a satire by Kendrick Lamar." But he ended the performance as the sound of gun shots filled the air behind his rapid fire rapping and his backup dancers fell to the floor one by one.
Later on in the Grammy show, three country artists gathered in a solemn tribute to victims of a mass shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival and a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in England.
Seated in front of names of victims, the stoic Eric Church seemed to struggle behind his sunglasses to get through a performance of Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," along with Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne.
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A COUNTRY OF DREAMERS
Singer Camila Cabello, a Cuban-Mexican immigrant brought to the United States as a child, spoke about the American dream in a thinly veiled reference to the Trump administration's policies on immigration.
"This country was built by dreamers for dreamers," said Cabello, a likely reference to the group of young immigrants protected under the Obama-era program that was canceled by Trump last year.
After a reading of the poem that is etched into the base of the Statue of Liberty, Irish rock band U2 used the iconic image as a backdrop for a pre-recorded performance of "Get Out of Your Own Way" from a barge in the Hudson River.
Even Sting's performance of his 1987 song "Englishman in New York," seemed a bit more on the nose as the country deals with reforming immigration laws.
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DANCER DUET
Elton John and Miley Cyrus had one of the most talked-about moments at the 2018 Grammy awards with a powerhouse rendition of John's ballad "Tiny Dancer."
John's 1972 single never won a Grammy, but is now considered a classic.
John began the song, sitting a piano topped with a white rose, symbol of the "Time's Up" movement. Cyrus, in a flowing red Zac Posen gown, joined in to give the song a country tinge.
The duet drew praise on social media, with former "Dawson's Creek" star James Van Der Beek Tweeting "bravo" to Cyrus.
Last week, 70-year-old John announced details of a three-year world tour that he says will be his last.
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MUSICAL REWIND
It may have been the 60th anniversary of the Grammy Awards, but Bruno Mars brought the show back to the '90s with a colorful performance of his song "Finesse."
Mars was the big winner of the night with six awards and beating out leading nominee Jay-Z. Together with rapper Cardi B, the performance was musical and cultural homage to new jack swing, "In Living Color" and Mars' brand of funk and R&B.
Cardi B kept up with Mars and his band's killer dance moves, while showing off her own flamboyant skills on the mic.
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BACK TO BROADWAY
The Grammy Awards returned to New York City for the first time in more than a decade with a nod to the city's rich history of musical theater.
Tony Award winners Ben Platt and Patti LuPone delivered impressive tributes to composers Andrew Lloyd Webber and Leonard Bernstein.
LuPone returned to her iconic performance from "Evita" with a symphony backing her on "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," proving she is among Broadway's greatest singers.
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Online:
www.grammy.com
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For full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason |
LONDON (AP) — Here are words millions of readers have waited many years to hear: Lyra Belacqua, and her daemon, are back.
The irrepressible young heroine of Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy "His Dark Materials" returns in a new novel being published in Britain and the U.S. on Oct. 19, the first part of a new three-book series collectively entitled "The Book of Dust."
For readers and booksellers, this is news to rival the discovery of a new Harry Potter story. "His Dark Materials" has sold more than 17.5 million copies around the world. It spawned a Hollywood movie, "The Golden Compass," and a hit stage adaptation.
Published between 1995 and 2000, the first three novels — "Northern Lights," ''The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass" — took Lyra from her home at Oxford University's ancient Jordan College to the North Pole and into parallel worlds on a twisting, hazardous quest. (The first book was retitled "The Golden Compass" in North America).
In Lyra's intriguingly unfamiliar world, Victorian-style technology mixes with advanced science and society is overshadowed by an oppressive religious hierarchy known as the Magisterium. Humans live alongside witches and armored polar bears, and every person is accompanied by an animal companion known as a daemon (pronounced demon) — essentially their soul made flesh.
Yet the 70-year-old Pullman hesitates to call his books fantasy.
"I prefer to think I am writing realism," he said. "I'm writing realism about a different place."
Speaking to The Associated Press from his home in Oxford, Pullman scrupulously guards the secrets of the new book. Even its title has yet to be disclosed.
The new book begins a decade before the start of the original trilogy, but Pullman says is not a prequel. Nor is it a sequel. Pullman prefers to call it an "equel," or companion story.
"The first part will deal with something that happened when Lyra was less than 1 year old," he said. "So in that sense she's the center of the story, but she's not actually an agent in the story. She is acted upon, so to speak, by other people who are very important.
"The second part, which will come out later, will deal with events when Lyra is about 20."
There's a new hero — a boy readers have encountered before "if we were paying attention" — and "a terrifying adventure that takes him into a new world." Multiple worlds abound in Pullman's complex, philosophically rich fictional multiverse.
And Pullman says we will learn a lot more about the nature of Dust, a mysterious substance loathed by the religious authorities in "His Dark Materials."
"The Book of Dust," published in the U.S. by Random House Children's and in the U.K. by Penguin Random House Children's and David Fickling Books, is likely to be one of the autumn's biggest sellers.
James Daunt, managing director of Britain's Waterstone's book store chain, says Pullman ranks with J.K. Rowling in his impact on publishing and reading.
Daunt said a generation of young readers "read first Harry Potter, then the complex, gripping and provocative 'His Dark Materials.'"
"Other books, other authors make claims and bring huge rewards, but these two imprint on everyone who calls themselves a reader," Daunt said.
For fans, the mischievous Lyra is one of fiction's great child characters, up there with Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Scout Finch from Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Pullman calls her "this awkward, difficult, prying, nosy, lying, greedy, untrustworthy child."
"She's not a special child," he said. "She's not divinely gifted or anything like that. But she does have certain characteristics that lead her into trouble and which help her get out of trouble."
Some critics have ranked Pullman's trilogy alongside J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy saga "The Lord of the Rings," though he doesn't particularly like the comparison.
In Tolkien's Middle Earth, he says, "what's good is good and what's bad is bad and there isn't very much discussion about it."
Pullman prefers fantasy which wrestles with moral ambiguity and has "one foot firmly in this world."
He is also often contrasted with C.S. Lewis, whose saga "The Chronicles of Narnia" has large doses of Christian allegory.
Pullman has called himself an atheist, and some Christian groups have objected to his negative depiction of organized religion. "His Dark Materials" has been pulled from some Catholic school library shelves in Canada and the United States over the years.
Pullman says he thinks most objections to his books come from people who haven't read them. "His Dark Materials" took its title form John Milton's biblical epic poem "Paradise Lost," and Pullman's saga has a searching spirituality running alongside its mistrust of organized religion.
He says "The Book of Dust" centers on "the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organization, which wants to stifle speculation and inquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free."
Global events make that a more pressing and urgent struggle than ever. Pullman says he doesn't try to draw overt parallels with the real world, but "they are always present in my mind."
"Why do we vote into power people who seem to have the interests of themselves and other large, powerful people in mind rather than ours?" he said. "Why do we vote to do something so obviously self-destructive as leaving the European Union?
"I might not be writing about Donald Trump or Brexit or Nigel Farage directly in 'The Book of Dust,'" he added, but the "questions they pose and the situations they set up are very much part of the world that I'm writing about."
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Follow Jill Lawless on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless |
LONDON (AP) — The eurozone economy, for so long a source of uncertainty, has enjoyed its best year in a decade, clear evidence it has broken out of its prolonged and acute debt crisis that raised fears about the very survival of the euro currency.
In its first estimate for the fourth quarter, Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, said Tuesday that the eurozone expanded by 0.6 percent in the October-December period from the three months before.
That more-than-healthy level of growth means that for the whole of 2017, the eurozone economy expanded by 2.5 percent, its best performance since 2007, when it grew 3 percent. The eurozone even grew faster than the U.S., which expanded by 2.3 percent.
In the decade since 2007, the eurozone has had to grapple with one crisis after another, starting with the financial crash of 2008 that prompted the deepest worldwide recession since World War II. That exposed the weak underbelly of the eurozone — the state of the public finances in a number of member economies.
Four countries — Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus — had to be bailed out by their partners in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, and in return they made deep budget cuts to get their public finances into shape, hitting their economies hard. The Greek economy, for example, shed around a quarter of its output, and saw unemployment and poverty levels ratchet higher.
It's only recently that fears of a eurozone break-up have eased. Greece, notably, is set to emerge from its bailout era this summer, eight years after it first faced potential bankruptcy.
With fears of a break-up of the eurozone largely evaporated, confidence across the bloc has risen. That's evident in the fact that growth isn't just reliant on the big economies of Germany and France. Stronger growth is being recorded in those countries that were at the forefront of the crisis and that's helping to bring down unemployment, potentially reinforcing the recovery even more.
Following the defeat of several populist political movements in elections in 2017, such as in France and the Netherlands, there are fewer fears about the prospect of anti-euro politicians taking the helm. Meanwhile, the recovery has been boosted by the European Central Bank's massive stimulus program and its move to slash interest rates.
But the growth boon is not just about improvements in the eurozone. The global economy, in particular trade, is on the up, and that's supporting the eurozone's exporters.
That combination of positive factors is widely expected to hold in 2018 and growth is anticipated to come in around 2017's level. Two potential headwinds are the recent appreciation in the value of the euro, particularly against the dollar, which makes eurozone exports less competitive in international markets, and the prospect of less monetary stimulus from the ECB. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani says he has repeatedly counseled President Donald Trump against firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions despite the president's ongoing anger over Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe.
Giuliani tells The Associated Press that Trump has asked him multiple times — before and since the former New York City mayor joined the president's legal team last month — about whether Sessions should have been fired.
He says he doesn't think the president should do it, and says he's told him so.
The former mayor adds that he does not believe Trump will fire Sessions. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump is trying to tamp down speculation about why she's not been seen in public in nearly three weeks.
The first lady tweeted Wednesday about the media "working overtime speculating where I am & what I'm doing. Rest assured, I'm here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!"
Mrs. Trump was last seen in public in the wee hours of May 10 when she joined President Donald Trump to welcome home three Americans released from detention in North Korea.
The White House announced four days later that she had been admitted to a hospital to treat a benign kidney condition.
The first lady had recently launched her initiative to teach kindness to children. |
NEW YORK (AP) — James Comey's "A Higher Loyalty" had a very big opening week.
Flatiron Books announced Tuesday that sales topped 600,000 copies, a number that includes print, audio and e-books. The former FBI director's memoir has been one of the year's most anticipated releases. It includes his accounts of investigating Hillary Clinton's emails and of his awkward encounters with President Donald Trump.
Comey, fired by Trump a year ago, has likened the president to a crime boss who values personal loyalty over service to the country. Published April 17, "A Higher Loyalty" is the hottest political book since Michael Wolff's million-selling "Fire and Fury," which came out in January.
Both books were published by imprints of Macmillan. |
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Musgrove pitched seven strong innings and his hard slide led to both teams emptying their benches in another tense moment in the series between NL Central rivals, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Musgrove (2-0) helped end the Pirates' four-game losing streak by overcoming a shaky first inning to allow one run on seven hits and four walks. He also had five strikeouts, five days after pitching seven scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals to win his Pirates' debut.
Musgrove slid hard into second baseman Javier Baez to break up a potential double play in the third inning. Baez was knocked off balance but did not hit the ground.
No punches were thrown as both teams milled around the infield and there were no ejections.
Umpire crew chief Gerry Davis instituted a video replay review to see if Musgrove interfered with Baez. However, replay officials at Major League Baseball's central office in New York informed Davis that it was not a reviewable play.
The Pirates were angered Monday when Anthony Rizzo's slide upended catcher Elias Diaz at home plate, successfully breaking up a potential double play in the eighth inning of Chicago's 7-0 win.
The umpiring crew and replay officials ruled Rizzo did not interfere with Diaz. However, Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre informed both clubs Tuesday that Rizzo should have been called for interference for swiping Diaz's right leg.
Musgrove began the season on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. He was acquired with three other players from the Houston Astros in an offseason trade for Gerrit Cole.
He outpitched Kyle Hendricks (4-4), who surrendered two runs and seven hits in five innings while striking out one and walking one. The Cubs' three-game winning streak was snapped.
Josh Harrison hit the sixth leadoff home run of his career in the bottom of the first inning and Gregory Polanco put the Pirates ahead 2-1 in the second with a sacrifice fly that scored Corey Dickerson, who led off with a triple. Polanco went 0 for 3 and is hitless in his last 21 at-bats.
Albert Almora Jr. led off the game with a double and scored on Baez's single as the Cubs took a quick 1-0 lead. However, Musgrove struck out Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell to escape a bases-loaded jam and Chicago wound up stranding 11 runners.
Felipe Vazquez pitched a scoreless ninth, getting Kris Bryant to hit a game-ending groundout with two men on, for his 10th save in 13 opportunities. The left-hander blew each of his three previous chances.
Pittsburgh's Colin Moran and Chicago's Jason Heyward had three hits apiece.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: RHP Yu Darvish was found to have inflammation in his right triceps but no structural damage after undergoing an MRI. Signed to a $126-million, six-year contract in February as a free agent, Darvish last pitched May 20. . RHP Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and RHP Cory Mazzoni was recalled from Triple-A Iowa. Edwards felt pain after pitching one scoreless inning in Tuesday night's win over the Pirates. Mazzoni got two outs in a scoreless inning.
Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli returned to the lineup after missing three games with flu-like symptoms and was 0 for 4. . RHP Ivan Nova (sprained right ring finger) will miss his second straight start Sunday at St. Louis and either pitch a simulated game or make a minor league rehab start before being activated from the DL. . LHP Enny Romero (left shoulder impingement) has started throwing off the slope of the mound at extended spring training in Bradenton, Florida.
UP NEXT
Cubs: LHP Jose Quintana (5-4, 4.78 ERA) will start against Mets RHP Seth Lugo (1-1, 2.48) in the opener of a four-game series at New York. Quintana has a 3.18 ERA in five road starts, compared to a 6.66 mark in five home starts.
Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (5-3, 3.43) will face Cardinals RHP Jack Flaherty (2-1, 2.15) in the first game of a four-game series at St. Louis. Since winning his first three starts this season, Williams is 2-3 with a 4.14 ERA in eight starts.
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball |
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Ezekiel Elliott plopped a cowboy hat on his head and flashed a wide smile that made him look like someone closing in on a few weeks of vacation.
"Feel like a real cowboy," the star Dallas running back said after the second-to-last offseason practice Wednesday. "Do I look the part?"
He certainly looked the part in what mattered last year: NFL rushing champion as a rookie fourth overall draft pick. Now the question is the encore, and the offseason handling of a known commodity at a position predisposed to short careers.
"We're pushing forward with him," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. "We've got to still manage that for him. But certainly we'll want to amp it up this year as far as his ability to affect the game in the run game and the pass game."
Elliott missed the first week of offseason practices after hitting his head as a passenger in a car accident, the second straight year he was involved in a car wreck during the offseason program.
Still not cleared by the NFL despite authorities dropping a domestic case in Ohio last year, Elliott made headlines again in March when he pulled down a woman's shirt during a St. Patrick's Day parade. As a result, questions about his off-field activities persist.
Running backs coach Gary Brown says he sees a more disciplined Elliott, and the former Ohio State star acknowledged easing up on his nightlife in recent weeks as the team's offseason program accelerated.
"You learn from your mistakes," Elliott said. "And if you don't, it could be brutal."
When Elliott reports to training camp after a five-week break, he'll be preparing for what figures to be a similar workload after he led the NFL with 322 carries for his league-best 1,631 yards.
Because Elliott is a good blocker and pass-catcher, the Cowboys really don't have a reason to take their All-Pro off the field, except they know they must.
And that's why the question comes up even though Elliott turns just 22 the day the team is scheduled to arrive in California.
"You have to learn how much your body can take," said Elliott, the fifth rookie to lead the NFL in rushing since the 1970 merger.
"That's really important, so developing a routine, week in, week out, that will keep you fresh, that will keep you from having those nagging injuries."
Quarterback Dak Prescott was the fellow rookie sensation who helped the Cowboys to a 13-3 record and top seed in the NFC before losing to Green Bay in a divisional playoff. The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year faces the same encore question.
"We're going to get better together," said Prescott, who set rookie records in passer rating (104.9) and completion rate (67.8 percent). "He's kind of my partner in crime. If I need something, he's going to make sure on the field and off the field it happens."
Elliott had a 60-yard score and an 83-yard touchdown on a screen pass as a rookie, but breakaway runs top his list of ways to improve in his second season. Brown said drills where Elliott tries to elude defensive backs are one way to work on what they call second-level running.
"You try to come up with different creative ways to keep him motivated, other than the way he is motivated already by just being better," Brown said. "But you've still got to give him more. You don't want it to get stale."
Elliott is listening.
"You can say I've proven myself, but I've got to keep doing that," he said. "So it's all just kind of learning this offense inside out and kind of learning more beyond what I do."
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More AP NFL: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL |
MIAMI (AP) — What are the latest cruise trends? Have Caribbean ports recovered post-hurricane? What about the old saying that cruises are for the "overfed, the newlywed and the nearly dead"?
Three experts discussed these issues and more Jan. 4 in Miami aboard the Seabourn Sojourn. The panel was taped for The Associated Press' "Get Outta Here!" podcast. Panelists were CruiseCritic.com's Carolyn Spencer Brown, Miami Herald business editor Jane Wooldridge and Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald, chairman of the Cruise Lines International Association.
The experts said small ships are booming, but a number of new large ships debut this year, too, reflecting demand.
They also said Caribbean ports impacted by hurricanes have reopened.
As for cruise stereotypes, today's ships have healthy eating and fitness options, and millennials are showing interest in cruising. |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Latest on Cynthia Nixon running for New York governor (all times local):
5:55 p.m.
A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo is responding to the gubernatorial candidacy of liberal activist Cynthia Nixon by saying Cuomo has delivered more progressive wins than any other Democrat in the country.
Former "Sex and the City" star Nixon tweeted Monday that she'll challenge Cuomo in New York's Democratic primary in September. In a campaign video, 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."
Cuomo's campaign said the two-term governor's progressive wins include legalized gay marriage, tough gun laws, a $15 minimum wage, expanded school funding and a ban on a drilling technique known as fracking.
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2:22 p.m.
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. |
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--AppArmor, the industry standard in custom mobile safety apps for higher education institutions and healthcare facilities across the globe is proud to announce that both the AppArmor Safety Apps and the AppArmor Alert Unified Mass Notification System received the 2018 “Platinum” distinction in this year’s Secure Campus Awards from Campus Security & Life Safety.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005187/en/
AppArmor was the shared Platinum winner of the Emergency Notification/Mass Notification category and the exclusive Platinum winner of the Security & Personal Safety Smartphone Applications. The full list of organizations can be found here.
An independent panel of judges from the security industry selected the top entries in the 2018 categories and named them winners using criteria including Features, Innovation, User Friendliness, Interoperability, Quality, Design, Market Opportunity and Impact in the Security Industry, Technical Advances, and Scalability.
“As a trusted safety app and mass notification provider for over 170 institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and the Caribbean, AppArmor is thrilled to have been selected by the independent judging panel of career professionals in the security industry” said David Sinkinson, Co-Founder of AppArmor. “Our dedication to secure and scalable emergency response and safety technology are reflected in these two great awards.”
President and group publisher of the Infrastructure Solutions Group of 1105 Media, Kevin O’Grady, added: “Campus security has been a real issue across the country lately, so it is great to see all the outstanding products and services that are available to the marketplace. Campus Security & Life Safety’s goal is to continue to educate professionals in this important industry.”
AppArmor Safety apps, the flagship product of AppArmor, give organizations over 50 powerful safety features which can be provided to end-users. This includes unlimited push notifications, location services features, geofencing capabilities, and much more. Further, all apps on the platform are fully branded to the organization, leading to 50-100 times more downloads than other safety app options in the market.
AppArmor Alert, the unified mass notification system from AppArmor, further complements the safety app push notification offering by including mass email, mass text messages, mass outbound calling, desktop notifications (with optional panic button), social media broadcasting, and more. All mechanisms are aggregated into a single dashboard and fully CAP compliant.
Any organizations interested in the platform are encouraged to contact AppArmor for a free no obligation trial of the software.
About AppArmor Mobile
A division of CutCom Software, AppArmor develops custom mobile safety applications and emergency notification systems for universities, colleges, healthcare facilities and private institutions across the globe. AppArmor is a leader in safety, security, and emergency notification software.
To learn more about AppArmor's services, please visit http://www.apparmor.com/
Twitter: @AppArmorMobile
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005187/en/
CONTACT: David Sinkinson,
Co-Founder at AppArmor
dsinkinson@apparmor.com
KEYWORD: NORTH AMERICA CANADA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE SECURITY HEALTH PUBLIC POLICY/GOVERNMENT LAW ENFORCEMENT/EMERGENCY SERVICES HOMELAND SECURITY MOBILE/WIRELESS GENERAL HEALTH
SOURCE: AppArmor
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 04/24/2018 09:23 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 09:23 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005187/en |
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bucks forward Jabari Parker is set to return to the court Friday against the New York Knicks, nearly a year after being sidelined with the second major left knee injury of his career.
Milwaukee said Monday night that Parker was medically cleared, making the announcement during the second quarter of its 107-95 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Parker tore his left ACL on Feb. 8, 2017, against Miami. At the time, he was averaging a career-high 20.1 points and 6.2 rebounds as one of the franchise cornerstones.
Parker tore the same ACL in December 2014, ending his rookie season after 25 games. Milwaukee selected Parker with the second overall pick of the 2014 draft.
The return of Parker comes at an important time, about a week before the NBA trade deadline. The Bucks are also trying to reassert themselves as a contender in the East following the firing of coach Jason Kidd.
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For more NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music journalist, publicist and songwriter Hazel Smith has died. She was 83.
Her granddaughter Tara Bruchas said she died at a Nashville hospital on Sunday.
Smith is credited with coining the term "outlaw country" in the 1970s. She worked as a publicist for Kinky Friedman and worked out of Tompall Glaser's studio with artists like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. And it was there she came up with the movement's moniker for artists who were bucking Music Row trends.
She wrote a regular popular column for "Country Music" magazine, as well as writing for other outlets, and had songs recorded by Tammy Wynette and Dr. Hook. She also worked with Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White and was the host of a CMT series "Southern Fried Flicks." |
HONG KONG (AP) — A monthly survey shows Chinese factory activity has risen to an eight-month high, in a positive sign for the world's No. 2 economy.
The official purchasing managers' index released Thursday rose to 51.9 in May from 51.4 the previous month.
Readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that figure indicate contraction on the index's 100-point scale.
The China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing's survey found that production, new export orders and overall new orders all increased from the previous month, indicating an uptick in demand.
The latest figures come despite continued tensions between China and the U.S. over the trading relationship between the world's two biggest economies.
Activity in China's increasingly important services sector also expanded. The group's non-manufacturing PMI rose to 54.9 for the month from 54.8 previously. |
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — It's been over for 40-plus years, the war that Americans simply call Vietnam but the Vietnamese refer to as their Resistance War Against America.
Yet it lingers in so many ways, as was apparent this week when Defense Secretary Jim Mattis dropped in for a couple of days of defense diplomacy with a former enemy. Although he never served in Vietnam and had not previously visited the country, Mattis has said he learned from a lot of Marines who did.
In his meeting with Vietnamese government leaders, Mattis' focus was on a peaceful future. Not the bloody past.
Still, the legacy of the conflict that divided America and ultimately unified Vietnam confronted Mattis almost immediately after his arrival on Wednesday as he visited a U.S. office that oversees the search for remains of American servicemen still missing from the war.
More than 1,200 Americans are unaccounted for in Vietnam and 350 more are missing in Laos, Cambodia and China, according to the Pentagon's POW-MIA Accounting Agency. That accounting effort, decades in the making and dependent on cooperation from Hanoi, is likely to continue for decades.
Later, while talking to his Vietnamese counterpart, Mattis was presented with photo identification cards of two U.S. servicemen from the war. Details weren't made public.
More than 58,000 U.S. service members were killed in the war, including more than 1,200 in Cambodia and Laos.
Estimates of the number of Vietnamese killed vary widely, from about 2 million to nearly twice that. For the Vietnamese, the war was a continuation of their fight for independence from French colonial masters. And it was quickly followed by a border war with China in 1979. The country reunified and remains communist, although it has opened up to foreign investment. Hanoi is a bustling, vibrant capital city.
Among Vietnam's other reminders of the war: environmental damage and unexploded mines. Vietnamese still suffer from the effects of herbicides, including Agent Orange, sprayed by U.S. forces to defoliate the countryside.
"We're still remediating the effects of the war," Mattis told reporters Thursday as he flew out of the country. The U.S. government has helped clean up contamination from bases American forces used before completing their withdrawal in 1975. Last year the U.S. and Vietnam finished the first phase of dioxin cleanup at Danang airport.
Remarkably, given this history, Vietnam indicated during Mattis's visit that it may permit a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier to make a port visit in March — something that has never happened in the postwar period.
Just down the street from the hotel where Mattis stayed is Hoa Lo prison, known to the Americans who spent part of the war there as the Hanoi Hilton. Inside are dark reminders of the suffering, the sacrifice and the shackles — not just of the Americans held there but also Vietnamese imprisoned in earlier decades by the French.
One of those American prisoners was John McCain, shot down on a bombing mission over Hanoi in 1967, before the U.S. anti-war movement was in full swing. Along the lake from which a badly injured McCain was recovered by his captors stands a concrete marker depicting the captured pilot and noting that his Navy plane was one of several shot down that day.
Mattis' motorcade drove by the McCain marker as the Pentagon boss made his way to a lakeside pagoda to show his respect for Vietnamese culture. He told the monk there that he enjoyed the serene setting.
"Beautiful. Peaceful. It makes you think more deeply," Mattis said.
By coincidence, Mattis' visit came just days before the Vietnamese marked the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive. That series of assaults by the North Vietnamese was timed to coincide with Tet, the Lunar New Year holiday, on Jan. 31, 1968. Militarily it was a failure, but the offensive marked a turning point in the war because it punctured American hopes of certain and swift victory. After Tet, the U.S. began to focus less on how to win and more on how to get out.
Even with past hostilities in mind, Mattis said his visit made clear that Americans and Vietnamese have shared interests that in some cases predate the Vietnam War.
"Neither of us liked being colonized," he said. |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The leader of the oldest Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. said Wednesday he has "rescinded" a letter endorsing President Donald Trump's immigration framework that includes a border wall after receiving angry criticism from members and activists.
Roger Rocha, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said he wrote the letter at the request of the Trump administration while the group was in negotiations for an immigration reform compromise.
"It's just bad timing because most people think this letter is endorsing what the president said about immigration at the State of the Union," Rocha said. "It's not. The letter was about conversations we had before. We can't help it that the president changed his mind."
Rocha wrote Trump this week that the civil rights group would support his plan for a wall and immigration restrictions in exchange for protecting young immigrants brought to the country illegally.
"The four pillars which you have outlined, (Border Security, DACA Legalization, Protect the Nuclear Family and Elimination of the Lottery and Repurpose Visas) are items that LULAC can support if they remain within the current framework you have proposed," Rocha wrote in a letter dated Jan. 28. "I encourage you to stay engaged on what you have proposed in order to prevent other variations from being introduced by Congress."
The group's endorsement of the border wall and new restrictions on legal immigration drew strong reactions from members and activists across the country who say such policies would hurt Hispanics.
"Like everyone else, I'd like Congress to find a permanent solution for DACA students," said LULAC member Ralph Arellanes of Albuquerque, referring to the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. "But the wall ... that's not the message you want to send."
On social media, group members and Latino activists attacked Rocha for the letter and criticized him for supporting a plan many called racist.
Washington state LULAC Director Diana Perez said Rocha's letter was not approved nor seen by the national board before it was released.
"We are working together to address this unfortunate situation and remain united as a civil rights organization with clear purpose and direction," Perez said in a statement.
Some members were circulating petitions calling on Rocha to resign.
Rocha, of Laredo, Texas, called the reaction "normal LULAC politics" and said he had no intention of stepping down.
He said the group is not turning its back on the immigration community and doesn't support any changes that would prevent immigrants from legally requesting their family's entrance into the U.S.
"We are the only Latino civil rights group at the table," Rocha said. "We will continue to engage with the administration."
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Associated Press writer Russell Contreras is a member of the AP's race and ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras |
SYDNEY (AP) — New coach Bert van Marwijk is confident Australia can qualify from its soccer World Cup group stage and says he will have the team play his style to get there.
A few hours after arriving in Sydney on Thursday, the Dutch coach said at a media conference that there was nothing wrong with the philosophy of his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, but said he is a "realistic coach" who will do what it takes to win.
Postecoglou was criticized at times for persevering with a three-man defensive system, and for Australia's lack of finish in front of goal in Asian qualifying when missed opportunities forced them into the difficult playoff route to Russia.
He quit as coach in November a week after leading Australia to a two-legged intercontinental playoff win over Honduras.
"I have respect for the former coach, (but) I do it in my way," van Marwijk said. "I go to the World Cup with only one thing that counts, (and that's) to survive the first round.
Australia will play in Group C at the World Cup with France, Denmark and Peru.
"I'm a realistic coach," van Marwijk said. "I like creative football, I like to have the ball, but I also like to win — that is the most important thing."
Van Marwijk said his biggest challenge was the short time frame he had to familiarize himself with the current players before the World Cup begins in June.
The 65-year-old will have only the international window in March, when Australia play Norway and Colombia in Europe, and perhaps a farewell friendly in Australia.
"I have to get to know the players very well in a very short time," he said. "That makes the challenge for me even greater."
Van Marwijk, who led Saudi Arabia to direct qualification from Australia's group as an opposition coach, saw physicality as the Socceroos' main strength.
"They are strong, physically strong," he said. "The challenge is to let them play in a way that gives them a chance to win games." |
Rejecting accusations he is a sexist, Phil Neville said Monday he has the character and status to be a role model after taking on the "ultimate job" as coach of England's women's national soccer team.
The decision to hire the former Manchester United defender brought scrutiny last week because of his lack of coaching experience and his Twitter postings six years ago that were deemed sexist and misogynistic.
"My character stands up to any accusation that has been leveled at me," Neville said after being presented in his new role. "I've lived my life right. I think I have a lot of respect within the game."
Questioned for the first time about the tweets, which he sent in 2011 and '12 when still a player at Everton, Neville said "they aren't right today and they weren't then."
In one of the Twitter posts from 2012, Neville said he thought women would be "busy preparing breakfast/getting kids ready/making beds" instead of watching cricket like men.
The previous year, he said women "always wanted equality until it comes to paying the bills," while another tweet read: "Relax, I'm back chilled- just battered the wife!!! Feel better now!"
Neville defended that tweet by saying he was referring to games of table tennis and basketball he had with his wife on holiday, but accepted he was "disappointed" that he used wording that related to domestic violence.
"That tweet wasn't sent out as a joke to domestic violence," Neville said.
The 41-year-old Neville has taken charge of the No. 3-ranked international team in the women's game, having only had brief spells as an assistant coach with the England under-21 men's team, Man United and Valencia since retiring as a player in 2013.
He believes that is enough.
"I've coached the best players in the men's game at the top level and I believe that the players I'll be coaching in the England women's team are top, top-class players at the elite level," Neville said. "For us to get from third to first in the world, I think they'll need a coach with that type of experience.
"I cannot be more qualified for this job ... The principles that I see in women's football and men's football are very similar. The gap is closing."
Neville said he isn't using the job as a "stepping stone" to other positions in the game.
"This, for me, is the ultimate job," Neville said. "It doesn't get any better than managing your country."
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Steve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — As people gear up for the "Black Panther" movie, Ta-Nehisi Coates wants them to check out the original source, Marvel's Black Panther comic book, where he's booting up a massive outer space adventure for the king of Wakanda.
The award-winning author and journalist, in an interview with The Associated Press, predicted that the Black Panther movie would "be the best Marvel film so far."
"(But) if people want something that they can be deeply involved in, if people want something that raises questions that extend out of the comic book and into the real world, if people want to see some amazing high-tech (stuff), this is a good jumping on point," said Coates, now in his second year writing the adventures one of the first comic books heroes of color for Marvel.
The Black Panther is the alter-ego of T'Challa, the leader of Wakanda, a technologically-advanced (but make-believe) African country. A longtime ally and one-time member of both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, T'Challa uses his wealth, inventions, and country's resources to battle against evil from both inside and outside his country's borders while serving as the head of the government.
The character got a boost as a supporting character in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War." The much-hyped movie "Black Panther," starring Chadwick Boseman as the eponymous superhero, opens on February 16, picking up the adventures of the African king and superhero.
Coates said he's seen parts of next month's movie helmed by "Fruitvale Station" and "Creed" director Ryan Coogler, and calls the director a "superior filmmaker" and a "once-in-a-generation talent."
"Black people have not really had avatars out there like that they can identify with, and Panther is the biggest one right now," Coates said. "I think what Ryan is going to do in terms of how this is going to look is going to blow people away ... It feels like thematically a natural tie."
Coates wrote his first Black Panther comic book in 2016 but the series is getting a new start in April with a story line called "The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda," where T'Challa discovers some of his Wakandan subjects have colonized alien planets in his name and created a civilization where he's almost worshipped as a god.
"This is not even just about T'Challa being in space or the idea of Wakanda in space. There have been core questions about kings, responsibly and morality that have extended throughout the book," he said. "There have been core questions especially this year about the nature of divinity and gods and this Intergalactic Empire is an extension of that."
Coates is best known for his political and social commentary. He won the National Book Award last year for "Between the World and Me," an anguished meditation on police violence against blacks. He also released "We Were Eight Years in Power," which collects his writings about Obama, last year.
Earlier this month, Coates deleted his widely followed Twitter accounted; it followed after criticism from activist Cornel West became a hot and much debated topic on social media.
Coates said he feels his departure from Twitter is akin to getting out of a dysfunctional relationship.
"I miss it, but Twitter is that bad girlfriend I had to catch in bed with two dudes in order to leave, that I knew was a bad girlfriend before that, that I knew I should have left, so I did and I'm gone and I'm glad she's out of my life," he said.
Coates is also not interested in talking about West.
"I wish Cornel the best. It's the 25th anniversary of his book, 'Race Matters' and I don't really want to do anything that would overshadow the work that he's doing. I also don't want to do anything to overshadow the work I'm doing," he said.
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Online:
http://ta-nehisicoates.com/
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Jesse J. Holland covers race and ethnicity for The Associated Press. Contact him at jholland@ap.org, on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jessejholland. You can read his stories at AP at http://bit.ly/storiesbyjessejholland . He is also the author of a number of non-fiction and fiction books, including "Black Panther: Who Is The Black Panther?" which is a novel based on the Black Panther character. |
NEW YORK (AP) — This may or may not come as a surprise: Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2017 is "feminism."
Yes, it's been a big year or two or 100 for the word. In 2017, lookups for feminism increased 70 percent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com and spiked several times after key events, lexicographer Peter Sokolowski, the company's editor at large, told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday's annual word reveal.
There was the Women's March on Washington in January, along with sister demonstrations around the globe. And heading into the year was Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and references linking her to white-clad suffragettes, along with her loss to President Donald Trump, who once boasted about grabbing women.
The "Me Too" movement rose out of Harvey Weinstein's dust, and other "silence breakers" brought down rich and famous men of media, politics and the entertainment worlds.
Feminism has been in Merriam-Webster's annual Top 10 for the last few years, including sharing word-of-the-year honors with other "isms" in 2015. Socialism, fascism, racism, communism, capitalism and terrorism rounded out the bunch. Surreal was the word of the year last year.
"The word feminism was being use in a kind of general way," Sokolowski said by phone from the company's headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts. "The feminism of this big protest, but it was also used in a kind of specific way: What does it mean to be a feminist in 2017? Those kinds of questions are the kinds of things, I think, that send people to the dictionary."
Feminism's roots are in the Latin for "woman" and the word "female," which dates to 14th century English. Sokolowski had to look no further than his company's founder, Noah Webster, for the first dictionary reference, in 1841, which isn't all that old in the history of English.
"It was a very new word at that time," Sokolowski said. "His definition is not the definition that you and I would understand today. His definition was, 'The qualities of females,' so basically feminism to Noah Webster meant femaleness. We do see evidence that the word was used in the 19th century in a medical sense, for the physical characteristics of a developing teenager, before it was used as a political term, if you will."
Webster added the word in revisions to his "An American Dictionary of the English Language." They were his last. He died in 1843. He also added the word terrorism that year.
"We had no idea he was the original dictionary source of feminism. We don't have a lot of evidence of what he was looking at," Sokolowski said.
Today, Merriam-Webster defines feminism as the "theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes" and "organized activities on behalf of women's rights and interests."
Another spike for the word feminism in 2017 occurred in February, after Kellyanne Conway spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee.
"It's difficult for me to call myself a feminist in the classic sense because it seems to be very anti-male and it certainly seems to be very pro-abortion. I'm neither anti-male or pro-abortion," she said. "There's an individual feminism, if you will, that you make your own choices. ... I look at myself as a product of my choices, not a victim of my circumstances. And to me, that's what conservative feminism is all about."
She was applauded, and she sent many people to their dictionaries, Sokolowski said. The company would not release actual lookup numbers.
Other events that drew interest to the word feminism was the popular Hulu series, "The Handmaid's Tale," and the blockbuster movie, "Wonder Woman," directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins, Sokolowski said.
Merriam-Webster had nine runners-up, in no particular order:
— Complicit , competitor Dictionary.com's word of the year.
— Recuse , in reference to Jeff Sessions and the Russia investigation.
— Empathy , which hung high all year.
— Dotard , used by Kim Jong-un to describe Trump.
— Syzygy , the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse.
— Gyro , which can be pronounced three different ways, a phenom celebrated in a Jimmy Fallon sketch on "The Tonight Show."
— Federalism , which Lindsey Graham referred to in discussing the future of the Affordable Care Act.
— Hurricane , which Sokolowski suspects is because people are confused about wind speed.
— Gaffe , such as what happened at the Academy Awards when the wrong best picture winner was announced. That was a go-to word for the media, Sokolowski said. |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed go from being teammates to opponents in match play.
Spieth and Reed have a 7-2-2 record as partners in two Ryder Cups and last year's Presidents Cup. They were drawn in the same four-man group for the Dell Technologies Match Play, which starts Wednesday at Austin Country Club. Spieth knows the course well from his days playing for the Texas Longhorns.
The format at this World Golf Championship is round-robin play through Friday, with the winners of each 16 groups advancing to a weekend of single elimination.
Dustin Johnson is the No. 1 seed. Also in his group is Kevin Kisner, one of his best friends from junior golf in South Carolina.
Tommy Fleetwood faces an all-England match Wednesday against Ian Poulter. |
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Blake Griffin admits he was shocked by the trade that sent him from the Los Angeles Clippers to Detroit. The star forward says he wants to be with a team that wants him.
Griffin, Brice Johnson and Willie Reed were introduced Wednesday by the Pistons, who acquired the trio earlier this week in a blockbuster deal with the Clippers. They should be available to play Thursday night when Detroit hosts the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Pistons sent Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic and two draft picks to the Clippers. The deal came seven months after Griffin signed a $171 million, five-year contract to stay with Los Angeles.
Griffin says the Pistons clearly want him, and that's the kind of organization he wants to play for.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball
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Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister |
Another person has died in Malaysia from injuries inflicted by a faulty Takata air bag inflator, raising the worldwide death toll to 22.
The unidentified driver was killed when a 2004 Honda City crashed on New Year's day in central Selangor state, according to Honda of Malaysia. The death was the sixth in Malaysia due to exploding Takata air bag inflators. Takata's inflators can explode with too much force, hurling shrapnel into drivers and passengers.
Nineteen auto and truck makers are recalling up to 69 million inflators in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide. The deaths have occurred since May 2009:
— May 27, 2009: Ashley Parham, 18, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, 2001 Honda Accord
— Dec. 24, 2009: Gurjit Rathore, 33, of Richmond, Virginia, 2001 Honda Accord
— Sept. 13, 2013: Hai Ming Xu, of Alhambra, California, 2002 Acura TL
— July 27, 2014: Law Suk Leh of Sibu, Malaysia, 2003 Honda City
— Sept. 7, 2014: Jewel Brangman, 26, of California, 2001 Honda Civic
— Sept. 29, 2014: Hien Thi Tran, 51, of Orlando, Florida, 2001 Honda Accord
— Jan. 18, 2015: Carlos Solis, 35, of Spring, Texas, 2002 Honda Accord
— April 15, 2015: Kylan Langlinais, 23, of Lafayette, Louisiana, 2005 Honda Accord
— July 22, 2015: Unidentified 13-year-old boy, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, 2001 Honda Accord
— Dec. 22, 2015: Joel Knight, 52, of Kershaw, South Carolina, 2006 Ford Ranger
— March 31, 2016: Huma Hanif, 17, of Fort Bend County, Texas, 2002 Honda Civic
— April 16, 2016: Unidentified person, Sabah State, Malaysia, 2006 Honda City. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.
— May 1, 2016: Unidentified person, Malaysia, 2003 Honda City. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.
— June, 2016: Unidentified person in Malaysia. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.
—June 19, 2016: Ramon Kuffo, 81, Hialeah, Florida. Inflator ruptured while he was repairing interior of car.
— Sept. 24, 2016: Unidentified driver, Johor State, Malaysia, 2009 Honda City. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.
— Sept. 30, 2016: Delia Robles, 50, of Corona, California, 2001 Honda Civic.
— July 1, 2017: Steve Mollohan, 56, of West Virginia, 2006 Ford Ranger.
— July 10, 2017: George R. Sharp, 61, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2004 Honda Civic.
— July 13, 2017: Unidentified 58-year-old man in suburban Sydney, 2007 Honda CR-V.
— July 19, 2017: Nichol Lynn Barker, 34, of Holiday, Florida, 2002 Honda Accord.
— Jan. 1, 2018: Unidentified driver in central Selangor state, Malaysia, 2004 Honda City.
Sources: Associated Press archives, Center for Auto Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Honda Motor Co., legal documents and police reports |
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says it has mistakenly invited a banned Russian athlete to the Pyeongchang Games as a coach.
The IOC says it has canceled the invitation for Sergei Chudinov, who was banned from the Olympics for life in November when the IOC's disciplinary commission ruled he was part of a Russian doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games.
Chudinov was fifth in the men's skeleton in Sochi and later became a coach for the Russian national skeleton team.
The IOC says "he has since been declared ineligible for an invitation."
Chudinov had been the only invited skeleton coach listed in Russian Olympic Committee records.
Russian athletes must compete under a neutral flag in Pyeongchang as part of the IOC's sanctions for doping. |
CHICO, Calif. (AP) — At churches, fairgrounds and other makeshift shelters, thousands of Californians packed what belongings they had into garbage bags and suitcases to return home Tuesday, two days after they were told to flee the threat of massive flooding from a dam's damaged spillway.
They expressed relief as authorities lifted an evacuation order for nearly 200,000 residents who live below the nation's tallest dam. Some voiced frustration at how authorities handled the disaster that never happened. Most were just happy to be heading home.
"You don't appreciate home until it's taken away from you," said Oroville resident Margaret Johnston, 69, one of hundreds who had sought shelter at the Neighborhood Church of Chico, northwest of her town.
Johnston and others huddled around televisions to watch a live broadcast where Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said the risk of the spillway collapsing was significantly reduced. But he said the region would remain under an evacuation warning, meaning residents needed to be ready to flee again if conditions worsen.
"It was just frustrating. Very frustrating," Johnston said about the back-and-forth from officials and the mad rush to get out of Oroville after the evacuation order Sunday.
She fled with her two sons, packing a few blankets, pillows and clothes into a black garbage bag.
"It feels great to be going home," Johnston said.
State water officials said they had drained enough of the lake behind Oroville Dam so that its earthen emergency spillway will not be needed to handle runoff from an approaching storm.
"It's great, all of us can finally go home," said Pedro Mota of Gridley, who has been staying at a Red Cross shelter at a fairground in Chico with his wife and four young children. He wasn't concerned by the on-again, off-again evacuation.
"They're doing their job. They're going to know more than me," he said by telephone. "I'm just going to listen to them and follow their advice on it."
Mota said he would be prepared if the sirens sound again.
"I'm still going to play it by ear, head back home but still have things packed and ready to go just in case they make it mandatory," he said.
Rod Remocal and his wife, Kelly, were taking the same cautious approach.
"This time we're going to be on call like they said," said Remocal, who lives in Biggs, west of Oroville.
When the couple left in a rush Sunday night, they grabbed their four dogs, blankets and a few important papers as sirens sounded and a fire truck's loud speaker told them to flee immediately.
"We're all coming back and pack and be ready this time," he said by telephone after leaving the Red Cross shelter earlier in the day.
On his drive back, Remocal noticed law enforcement stationed at every major intersection as officers prepared to guide the expected parade of vehicles back home. He said traffic was flowing smoothly, in sharp contrast with the chaotic mass flight of thousands of vehicles two days earlier.
He praised the Red Cross and other emergency workers and said he was happy when the evacuation order ended.
"It just took a big load off me, man, just the thrill of relief," he said.
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Thompson reported from Sacramento. Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker contributed from San Francisco. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department's plan to provide only partial relief to some students defrauded by for-profit colleges could reduce overall payments by about 60 percent, according to a preliminary analysis obtained by The Associated Press.
The agency announced in December that it was discontinuing the Obama administration's practice of fully wiping out the loans of students deceived by the now defunct Corinthian Colleges under the so-called borrower defense rule.
The department said that some students will now be getting only partial loan forgiveness in order to make the process fair and protect taxpayers from excessive costs. The agency will look at average income for specific programs to determine if the loans should be forgiven fully or partially.
A department document drafted in the fall and viewed by the AP shows that such an approach could cut the overall amount of relief granted to students by around 60 percent. To arrive at the initial estimate, officials looked at student loans that had been forgiven in their entirety to determine the impact had partial relief been granted.
Education Department Press Secretary Liz Hill said in a statement Tuesday, "This is not an official calculation from the Department of Education. It is an impossible calculation to make at this stage in the process as we continue to adjudicate claims."
Critics said the idea of partial relief was unfair since thousands of Corinthian students had already had their loans canceled in full under Obama. The agency said in December that it had tens of thousands of claims from Corinthian students still pending.
The action comes as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rewrites regulations governing student protections with regard to for-profit schools. Last year she froze two Obama-era rules that were meant to put additional checks on for-profits. Critics point to the Trump administration's ties with the sector and accuse the department of protecting industry interests, but DeVos says that the Obama rules were too broad and could be misused at taxpayers' expense.
Eileen Connor, a litigator at Harvard University's Project on Predatory Student Lending, which has represented hundreds of defrauded Corinthian students, criticized the projections.
"I think that is terrible, it's another example of the Department of Education picking the side of fraudulent schools and not doing right by those who have been hurt by them," said Connor. "And we have every intention of channeling the department's action in this regard."
When announcing the partial relief program, DeVos said that "no fraud is acceptable, and students deserve relief if the school they attended acted dishonestly." But she added that the process also "protects taxpayers from being forced to shoulder massive costs that may be unjustified." |
Conventional pro football wisdom suggests that pass catchers begin to hit stride in their third year. That's when some greats like Jerry Rice and Lance Allworth had their first chart-topping seasons toward Hall of Fame careers.
While it's far too early to suggest anyone from the rookie class of 2016 are locks to reach Canton, fantasy football players should take a closer look at several third-year receivers who have a chance to be highly productive this season.
Michael Thomas (Saints) and Tyreek Hill (Chiefs) have already established their fantasy credentials and will be gone early in fantasy drafts. Hunter Henry (Chargers) would have been a lock to be off most boards by the seventh round but a torn ACL sustained in practice last week ended his 2018 campaign.
One third-year receiver to watch is Houston's Will Fuller, whose draft value could have been several rounds higher had quarterback Deshaun Watson not suffered a season-ending knee injury. With Watson throwing, Fuller had a four-game stretch where he caught seven touchdowns on just 22 targets. If both he and Watson are healthy, the duo could be good for 8-10 scoring strikes, especially if Fuller's average targets per game increases. Fuller will be a great back-end draft selection.
Sterling Shepard of the Giants will benefit from the arrival of running back Saquon Barkley and the return of Odell Beckham, Jr. Even with Eli Manning's struggles in 2017, Shepard would have eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards had he not missed five games. Shepard improved his catch percentage to 70.2 percent and his yards per game to 66.5, potential signs of a breakout in 2018. He would make a sneaky good flex option in point-per-reception formats and could equal the eight touchdowns he scored as a rookie.
Cleveland's Corey Coleman, Josh Doctson of Washington and Malcolm Mitchell of the Patriots are each later stage targets who have both the upside and opportunity to take bigger steps forward. In the case of Mitchell, his recovery from knee surgery makes him a deep sleeper worth an endgame play.
RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL REDBIRD
Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes made his return to the mound on Wednesday, his first appearance since having Tommy John surgery in 2016. One of the game's elite prospects, Reyes will cause a frenzy in leagues where he is eligible to picked up in free agency. Those looking to pursue the hard-throwing Reyes should proceed with caution as the Cards will treat him with kid gloves. There is strikeout potential there, but expectations need to be tempered.
Reyes' return will also spark a run on trade proposals for those who own him in keeper/dynasty leagues. Reyes owners could sell high, especially if winning immediately is a priority.
SAY "YES" TO BOWYER AT POCONO
Clint Bowyer has yet to win at Pocono Raceway, site of Sunday's NASCAR Monster Energy Pocono 400. Bowyer ($9,400 at DraftKings, $10,600 at FanDuel) has 10 top 10 finishes in 24 career visits to the track, including a sixth-place finish last year.
Since a second-place finish at Dover, Bowyer has finished 15th at Kansas and 12th at Charlotte, breaking what had been a streak of four straight top 10 finishes. Look for him to have a solid outing as he stands a good chance to earn his first checkered flag at Pocono.
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This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com |
It's no secret that U.S. consumers prefer SUVs and trucks nowadays, and that means car sales are sliding. That's forcing automakers to offer big discounts to sell them. Car sales fell to just 36 percent of U.S. auto sales last month, a record low for a January. Generally, discounts are bigger on cars with the highest inventory. Here are the top 10 cars with the biggest stockpiles, measured by the number of days the inventory could meet demand at the current sales rate:
Brand Vehicle Days' supply Buick Lacrosse 330 Buick Cascada 298 Chevrolet Corvette 267 Volkswagen CC 259 Chevrolet Camaro 236 Buick Verano 234 Mitsubishi Mirage 231 Acura ILX 227 Chrysler 200 225 Buick Regal 222
Source: WardsAuto |
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted slightly fewer job openings in October than the previous month, but the number of people being hired improved.
The Labor Department says nearly 6 million jobs were available at the end of October, down from 6.18 million in September. Manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and the information sector advertised fewer jobs.
But total hires rose 4.4 percent to 5.55 million.
The government said last week that employers added a net total of 244,000 jobs in October and 228,000 in November. That partly reflected a recovery in hiring after the hurricanes dragged down jobs gains in September.
Despite the healthy job market, many people are staying in their jobs rather than departing for new ones. The number of quits held steady for a second straight month at 3.18 million. |
DALLAS (AP) — A man who spent 15 years in prison for the 2001 killing of a teenager was freed on Wednesday after a judge agreed with prosecutors that he didn't commit the crime.
Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said Quintin Lee Alonzo, 38, was freed after the judge agreed with a petition from prosecutors declaring him innocent in the 2001 death of Santos Gauna, who was killed when a fight broke out at a party celebrating his high school graduation and decision to join the Marines.
Although Alonzo was freed because prosecutors and the judge believe he's innocent, due largely to the confession of a condemned man the day before that man's execution, Alonzo would still need the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to formally exonerate him to be eligible for state compensation for being falsely imprisoned. That ruling could take months.
Officials say an "exhaustive investigation" corroborated the 2015 confession that Licho Escamilla gave to investigators from the district attorney's office's conviction integrity unit right before Escamilla was put to death for the killing of an off-duty Dallas police officer.
"He was facing execution the next day," said Cynthia Garza, who heads the unit. "We believe he was doing this to make peace with God and make things right for him."
Escamilla was a suspect in Guana's killing. But a person identified Alonzo as the shooter from a photo lineup, and Johnson said the jury at his 2003 trial relied heavily on that identification to convict him.
Alonzo was sentenced to life in prison.
Escamilla, meanwhile, was convicted in 2002 in the death of officer Christopher Kevin James, who was among four uniformed Dallas officers working off-duty security at a club when a brawl broke out and James was shot multiple times by Escamilla.
Prosecutors say that before Escamilla was convicted in James' killing, he confessed to killing Gauna and that he also confessed later to his appellate attorneys. Johnson acknowledged that rumors circulated after the teen's death that Escamilla was responsible, but she said Alonzo's attorney argued this point at Alonzo's trial and jurors didn't buy it. |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — O.J. Simpson is cashing in on autographs since his release from prison and should pay the money toward a wrongful death judgment that now exceeds $70 million, according to a lawyer for the family of Fred Goldman whose son was killed in 1994 along with Simpson's ex-wife.
Attorney David Cook is asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge Tuesday to order Simpson to hand over future money he makes from celebrity appearances or autographing sports memorabilia to satisfy the judgment in the wrongful deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.
Simpson was acquitted of two counts of murder in the 1994 slayings, but a civil court jury found him liable and ordered him to pay $33.5 million, which has more than doubled over two decades.
Goldman's father, Fred, has hounded Simpson for years and Cook said the former football star has never willingly paid a cent of the court order.
"Mr. Simpson has sought to subvert this wrongful death judgment by his abject refusal to pay, much less accept personal responsibility," Cook said in court papers.
Simpson sold autographs shortly after his release from a Nevada prison in October to pay legal bills and has no interest in signing memorabilia, one of his lawyers, Malcolm LaVergne, said in court papers objecting to any order relinquishing his right to publicity.
Goldman and Cook have "attempted to drag Mr. Simpson into court every time they hear a rumor, see something on television, or read in an internet news posting, a mere vague allegation involving Mr. Simpson's commercial exploitation of himself," attorney Ronald Slates wrote in court papers on behalf of Simpson.
While most of the court award has been unpaid, Fred Goldman has been able to seize some of the Pro Football Hall of Famer's assets, including video game royalties and the rights to the book "If I Did It," a ghostwritten account in which Simpson tells how he might have killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.
Goldman was also able to acquire memorabilia Simpson claimed he was trying to take back when he led five men, two with guns, into a Las Vegas casino hotel in September 2007 to confront two sports collectibles dealers.
Simpson, 70, served nine years in Nevada state prison for armed robbery and assault with a weapon in an ill-fated bid to retrieve memorabilia. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's repeated clapping throughout his first State of the Union drew reactions from amusement to derision on social media.
Trump's applause during Tuesday night's address was audible over and over again as cameras cut away from the president and showed lawmakers and others offering varied levels of approval to his remarks.
Twitter users posted videos of Trump clapping for himself, with some noting that it became an annoying distraction. Others chimed in to question why the president would keep clapping for himself.
In the House chamber itself in Washington, majority Republicans led multiple rounds of enthusiastic applause during the speech. Democrats, meanwhile, provided a short spurt of polite applause for Trump as he entered the chamber, but offered muted reactions throughout the speech. |
SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Jim Murphy & Associates and TLCD Architecture announced today that their collaboration on American AgCredit’s new headquarters office building in Santa Rosa has received the “Best of the Best” Award from ENR (Engineering News Record). ENR chooses one winner for each category from across the entire United States “which reaches the pinnacle of design and construction achievement.” Don Tomasi, Principal at TLCD Architecture accepted the award in the Office/Retail/Mixed Use category at a ceremony in New York City on April 5, 2018.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006287/en/
American AgCredit winner of ENR’s “Best of the Best” Award in the Office/Retail/Mixed Use category (Photo: Business Wire)
This unique project from two leaders in Northern California’s design and construction industry is the result of a true partnership between client, contractor and architect. Close teamwork was instrumental in completing the project in 18 months and bypassing the typical design-bid-build delivery process. Design and construction took place during a time of active growth and reorganization for the owner. In response, flexible planning modules, use of demountable partitions and an under-floor “plug and play” power system allowed the project to change and adapt to shifting programmatic needs.
The striking 120,000 sf three-story building features two forms that wrap around a central courtyard and are connected by walkways and three pedestrian bridges. The slender building shapes are clad in glass and a custom-tailored zinc shroud, which enables dramatic 360-degree views of Sonoma County’s vineyard filled hills. A highly energy-efficient building, the team incorporated unobtrusive sustainable design strategies including displacement ventilation, automatic shading and daylight harvesting. In addition to housing the company’s administrative headquarters, pre-planned expansion zones are now home to other agricultural and wine related businesses. A locally owned caterer operates a popular café on the ground floor and is on hand to serve the many social events and business meetings that take place throughout the facility.
Despite the challenging pace of construction to meet the owner’s completion date, worker safety took top priority and was emphasized daily and widely to all subcontractors. Because of this constant emphasis by project leadership at Jim Murphy & Associates, the team logged zero lost time accidents, an absolute requirement to qualify for an ENR Best award.
“Our team would like to acknowledge American AgCredit’s consistent support for quality at every level of design, construction and technology integration. We are deeply honored to see such a rewarding project achieve this national award,” says Don Tomasi.
About Jim Murphy & Associates
Jim Murphy & Associates (JMA) is a residential and commercial construction company based in Santa Rosa, CA. In business since 1976, JMA specializes in building and remodeling distinctive custom homes and commercial projects including: winery facilities, office buildings, hospitality facilities including resorts, restaurants, industrial buildings, medical and dental offices, and light retail construction. For information, visit the company’s website: www.j-m-a.com or call 707.576.7337.
About TLCD Architecture
Located in the San Francisco North Bay region, TLCD Architecture (TLCD) has designed memorable architecture and interior environments for over 50 years. TLCD has earned a reputation for design excellence and is responsible for many of the North Bay’s most important architectural projects. For information, visit the company’s website: www.tlcd.com or call 707.525.5600.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006287/en/
CONTACT: TLCD Architecture
Marina Starkey, 707-535-5290
marina.starkey@tlcd.com
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA NEW YORK
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BUILDING SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR DESIGN CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY COMMERCIAL BUILDING & REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING & REAL ESTATE
SOURCE: TLCD Architecture
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 04/24/2018 01:10 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 01:11 PM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006287/en |
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — A U.N. negotiator is due in Macedonia for talks with the country's leadership, in a revived effort to settle a peculiar but acrimonious dispute with neighboring Greece over Macedonia's name.
Matthew Nimetz has already met Greek officials in Athens, and says there appears to be momentum for solving the dispute that has poisoned the two countries' relations since Macedonia won independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
He is expected in the capital, Skopje, later Wednesday. On Thursday, Nimetz will meet Macedonia's president, government officials and opposition leaders.
The dispute has frozen Macedonia's NATO accession hopes, as Greece, an alliance member, refuses to endorse its bid until a solution is found.
Greece says the country's name implies claims on its own adjoining province of Macedonia. Skopje denies that. |
NEW YORK (AP) — Tennessee moves back into the top 10 after a big win while UConn continues to be No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll.
The Lady Vols (10-0) knocked off then-No. 2 Texas on Sunday and climbed four spots to seventh in the Top 25 on Monday. Tennessee, which was a perennial top team in the sport, hasn't been among the first 10 teams in the poll since Nov. 30, 2015. The Longhorns dropped six spots to eighth.
Both teams are chasing the Huskies (8-0), who routed DePaul in their only game this past week. UConn received all 32 first place votes from a national media panel. The Huskies, like many other teams, are off for exams this week.
Notre Dame, Louisville, Mississippi State and South Carolina follow UConn. Baylor, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon and West Virginia round out the first 10.
Iowa (10-1) entered the Top 25 for the first time since 2015, coming in at No. 25. Kentucky fell out.
Other poll tidbits:
OKLAHOMA BLUES: UCLA and South Florida slipped up this week losing at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma respectively. The Bruins dropped four spots to No. 11 while the Bulls fell six places to No. 22. UCLA has a two-game eastern swing at Seton Hall and Fordham coming up before beginning Pac-12 play.
SURGING WILDCATS: No. 20 Villanova is off to its best start since the 1979-80 season, winning its first nine games. The Wildcats held off Temple down the stretch on Sunday, winning 69-65 to equal the squad's mark from 38 years ago. Villanova has its best ranking since Jan. 12, 2004 when the team was 19th.
SHE SAID IT: "If that was the No. 2 team in the country, where do we stand now?" Tennessee senior Mercedes Russell asked after the win over Texas. "82-75. There's your answer right there."
BIG GAMES: There are two games this week between ranked teams as No. 9 Oregon visits sixth-ranked Mississippi State on Wednesday. The 12th-ranked Florida State Seminoles visit No. 8 Texas on Sunday.
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See the full poll: https://collegebasketball.ap.org/ap-womens-basketball-poll-week-6-0
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Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg |
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) invites guests to come along on a culinary adventure from the comfort of their local CPK, with the arrival of its new, globally inspired seasonal menu for spring and summer. Featuring a variety of innovative items bursting with fresh and unique ingredients, CPK’s new seasonal menu includes dishes like the Shanghai Power Bowl with black heirloom Forbidden Rice ® * and seared shrimp, the Sonoma Grilled Chicken Flatbread topped with roasted red grapes and double cream Brie, the Caribbean-inspired Tropical Mule with flavors of coconut, ginger and passion fruit, and more. The fan-favorite Strawberry Shortcake also will be returning for a limited time. Today also marks the arrival of CPK’s new loyalty rewards program, CPK Rewards ™, offering guests delicious perks for dining creatively.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005352/en/
The Shanghai Power Bowl is the newest addition to California Pizza Kitchen's popular Power Bowl line up. (Photo: Business Wire)
“At CPK, we love to take inspiration from different parts of the world and create dishes that take our guests on a culinary adventure, with a CPK twist of course,” said Brian Sullivan, SVP of Culinary Innovation at CPK. “Our newest menu innovations feature exciting ingredients like antioxidant-rich heirloom black rice and a spiced coconut lime sauce with fresh veggies and shrimp in our Shanghai Power Bowl, oven roasted red grapes, grilled chicken and Brie on our Sonoma-style flatbread inspired by our California roots, and refreshing summer flavors of watermelon, passion fruit, and white peach in our seasonal lineup of hand-crafted beverages. These new menu items are as fresh and colorful as they are creative, and we look forward to guiding guests on this flavorful journey.”
Available at CPK restaurants nationwide for a limited time, the new spring and summer seasonal menu features the following items, made fresh to order:
Shanghai Power Bowl: CPK’s newest addition to its popular Power Bowl line up, featuring seared shrimp with black heirloom Forbidden Rice ® *, baby broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, and watermelon radish, served warm in a housemade Shanghai sauce featuring coconut milk, ginger, lime, and spices Sonoma Grilled Chicken Flatbread: Marinated red grapes roasted in the hearth oven with grilled chicken, double cream Brie and Parmesan cheeses, caramelized onions, and fresh arugula Strawberry Shortcake: A fresh shortcake biscuit piled high with seasonal strawberries, whipped cream, and housemade candied lemon zest Sparkling Watermelon-Lime: A non-alcoholic blend of refreshing Perrier® Lemon Sparkling Water with a light watermelon flavor, fresh mint and lime (non-refillable) Tropical Mule: Grey Goose® vodka, RumHaven® coconut rum, ginger beer, Monin® passion fruit, and fresh agave served in a classic copper mug White Peach Sangria: A sweet blend of rosé wine, St. Germain® Elderflower Liqueur, Perfect Purée of Napa Valley® in white peach, and fresh agave sour
Fan-Favorites Join Permanent Menu
In addition to these new seasonal offerings, CPK is also expanding its permanent menu with two fan-favorite cocktails as well as their own take on Mexican Street Corn – all previously offered for a limited-time only.
CPK’s new permanent menu items include:
Mexican Street Corn – Creamy sweet corn removed from the cob and roasted with smoked paprika, Feta and Parmesan cheeses, served with fresh cilantro, lime and housemade ranchito sauce Spiked Cucumber – Hendrick’s Gin hand-shaken with freshly puréed pineapple and cucumber, Monin® Cucumber, torn mint, and agave sour topped with sparkling water Sparkling Berry-Lemon – A refreshing, non-alcoholic blend of Perrier® Lemon Sparkling Water with a light berry flavor, fresh lemon, blueberries and thyme
New Loyalty Program: CPK Rewards
Also launching today, CPK introduces its new loyalty rewards program, CPK Rewards™, making it easier than ever to earn special rewards for dining creatively. Perks include:
After completing registration, new members will receive a free small plate menu item reward, added to their account the next day Note: current Pizza Dough ® Rewards members are automatically enrolled in the new program For every $1 spent, members will receive 1 point (excluding tax, gratuity, gift card, alcohol, and retail purchases) 75 points earns a $5 reward Free birthday dessert Special offers throughout the year
To celebrate the launch of the new program, members will receive double the reward points from April 24 through May 31, 2018. To join, guests may register with their server, visit cpk.com/cpkrewards or download the new CPK Rewards ™ app for iOS and Android, which also allows users to track rewards, pay by mobile, order online and more.
To learn more about CPK’s spring/summer menu and check the availability of items in your area, please visit www.cpk.com/menu/.
*Forbidden Rice is a registered trademark of Lotus Foods, all rights reserved.
About California Pizza Kitchen
In 1985, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) opened its first restaurant in Beverly Hills and introduced diners to innovative California-style pizza. With a passion for combining fresh, seasonal ingredients with flavor inspirations from around the world, today CPK is a global brand serving creative California cuisine in more than 250 restaurants in 13 countries and U.S. territories. From signature, hand-tossed pizzas and high-quality main plates to inventive better-for-you options, Lunch Duos, premium wines and hand-crafted beverages, CPK adds its imaginative twist to create a memorable casual dining experience. For more information, visit cpk.com. Connect with CPK on Twitter at @calpizzakitchen (#NEWCPK), Instagram at @californiapizzakitchen, and Facebook at facebook.com/californiapizzakitchen. Download the new CPK Rewards ™ app for iOS and Android to earn rewards for dining creatively, pay by mobile, order online and more.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005352/en/
CONTACT: California Pizza Kitchen
Toni Hyman, 310-342-4715
cpkmedia@cpk.com
or
Coast Public Relations for CPK
Kate Franklin, 818-606-9784
kate@coastprgroup.com
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OTHER CONSUMER RESTAURANT/BAR RETAIL COMMUNICATIONS MARKETING FOOD/BEVERAGE WINE & SPIRITS CONSUMER
SOURCE: California Pizza Kitchen
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 04/24/2018 08:00 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 08:01 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005352/en |
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Bitcoin futures soar amid frenzy over virtual currency
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street got its first taste of bitcoin on Monday, with the price of the first-ever futures contract for the digital currency jumping 20 percent. It's a step forward for the bitcoin, which has soared this year despite concerns that the surge of investor interest has transformed it from a new-age currency into just the latest speculative bubble.
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Trump to make final pitch for GOP tax plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will make his final pitch for the Republican tax plan in a speech to the American people. The White House says Trump will give a speech Wednesday on how tax reform will help taxpayers and their families. Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have promoted the massive tax plan by promising the tax cuts will boost the economy. The $1.5 trillion House and Senate tax bills combine steep tax cuts for corporations with modest reductions for individuals.
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Apple orchestrates deal for song-recognition app Shazam
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has bought Shazam, the maker of a song-recognition app that Apple's digital assistant Siri has already been using to help people identify the music playing on their iPhones. The companies didn't disclose the price of the acquisition announced Monday, but previous reports placed the value at about $400 million. Siri began drawing upon Shazam's technology to answer questions about songs in a 2014 update to the iPhone's operating system.
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Some glitches seen in deadline week for 'Obamacare' sign-ups
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer advocates are reporting some glitches in the final days for "Obamacare" sign-ups, but the Trump administration largely seems to be keeping its promise of a smooth enrollment experience. Some HealthCare.gov customers got an incorrect message that no plans were available. President Donald Trump came into office promising to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, but it survived. Now his administration is overseeing the finale to sign-ups. Friday, Dec. 15 is the last day in most states.
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Will misconduct scandals make men wary of women at work?
NEW YORK (AP) — Some people worry that the same climate that's embolden women to speak out against sexual harassment could make some men wary of female colleagues. The Miami-based owner of a food line says her business involves working mostly with men, and business often ends over lunch or drinks. But Ana Quincoces says those opportunities are dwindling because many of the men she encounters on the job "are terrified."
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Zinke, House GOP face criticism over Patagonia attacks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and House Republicans are escalating their feud with an outdoor retail company that opposes the Trump administration's plan to shrink two sprawling Utah national monuments. The House Natural Resources Committee said in a tweet that clothing giant Patagonia is "lying" about Trump's plan in order "to sell more products to wealthy elitist urban dwellers from New York to San Francisco."
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In tax push, Trump's team uses a dubious growth estimate
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Treasury memo includes an assumption that tax cuts and other Trump administration policies would cause the economy to expand at a 2.9 percent annual pace over 10 years. Growth at that level would, in theory, keep the national debt from rising. But most independent analyses have concluded that the Senate tax overhaul would add at least $1 trillion to budget deficits in the next decade because they foresee far less growth resulting from the tax cuts.
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Waiting for Congress, Mnuchin makes 2nd emergency debt move
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday he is making a second emergency move to keep the government from going above the debt limit while awaiting congressional action to raise the threshold. In a letter to congressional leaders, Mnuchin said he will not be able to fully invest in a large civil service retirement and disability fund. Skipped investments will be restored once the debt limit has been raised, he said.
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US stocks close modestly higher; S&P 500, Dow hit new highs
NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies led U.S. stocks modestly higher Monday, driving the market to another set of milestones. The Standard & Poor's 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average finished at all-time highs. Solid gains by health care companies also helped lift the market, outweighing losses among banks and industrial stocks. Energy stocks rose along with the price of crude oil.
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The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.49 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,659.99. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.87 points, or 0.2 percent, to 24,386.03. The Nasdaq composite added 35 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,875.08. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks slipped 1.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,519.84.
Benchmark U.S. crude gained 63 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $57.99 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, added $1.29, or 2 percent, to close at $64.69 per barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline picked up 1 cent to $1.73 per gallon, while heating oil gained 2 cents to $1.95 per gallon. Natural gas rose 6 cents, or 2 percent, to $2.83 per 1,000 cubic feet. |
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs blew a 16-point lead to the injury-ravaged Golden State Warriors before pulling away for an 89-75 victory on Monday night.
The Spurs beat Golden State for the first time in four tries this season and won their fourth straight overall to move into fifth place in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of idle Utah and New Orleans.
Already without injured All-Stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Warriors lost Draymond Green in the second quarter to a bruise in the pelvic area. Green took a knee to the groin while defending a drive to the basket by Danny Green.
The Warriors weren't getting any sympathy from a Spurs team that has played without Kawhi Leonard for much of the season.
Golden State still managed to hold the Spurs to 12 points in the third quarter, matching their season low for points in any period.
Two blocked shots propelled the Warriors to their first lead of the game.
JaVale McGee blocked Dejounte Murray's attempted floater and then scored on a dunk to pull Golden State within 59-57 with 2:21 remaining in the third. Quinn Cook tied the game on a jumper after Patrick McCaw came from the weak side defensively to stuff Pau Gasol near the rim. Kevon Looney gave the Warriors the lead at 63-61 on jumper with 2 seconds left in the frame.
Aldridge scored five straight points early in the fourth quarter to help the Spurs recapture a 66-65 advantage. He finished with 17 points in the fourth, including 11 straight that erased a four-point deficit and gave San Antonio a 72-65 lead it would not relinquish.
Cook led Golden State with 20 points, Looney added 12 and Andre Iguodala and Nick Young had 10 each.
Mills finished with 12 points and Danny Green added 11.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Curry (right ankle), Durant (fractured rib) and Thompson (fractured right thumb) did not travel with the team, remaining in Oakland to continue rehabilitating their injuries. ... Curry was scheduled to be reevaluated Tuesday. ... The Warriors' highest point total in a quarter was 22 in the third. Golden State scored 42 points in the third quarter against Phoenix on Saturday, the 11th time it has scored 40-plus in a quarter this season. ... Golden State has won six games when trailing by 15-plus points.
Spurs: Leonard was not on the bench, as he has been for much of the team's current six-game homestand. Leonard (right quadriceps tendinopathy) has played in only nine games this season. ... Murray had eight rebounds to set the franchise record for rebounds in a single season by a point guard. Murray has 385 rebounds in 1,436 minutes, surpassing Johnny Moore's total of 378 collected in 2,689 minutes.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Host Atlanta on Friday night.
Spurs: Host Washington on Wednesday night.
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More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball |
NEW YORK (AP) — Watching NFL football games on your phone used to be mainly limited to Verizon customers. Soon anyone will be able to watch football games on the go for free on Yahoo's app, now that Verizon owns Yahoo.
But people who want to watch football through online-TV services like Sling will have more problems. An NFL game on ESPN will still be blocked on the Sling app on a phone — and starting next season, on tablets, too. Verizon apps will have the exclusive rights on phones and tablets.
Verizon bought Yahoo in June and is trying to build a digital ad business to rival Facebook and Google. Verizon's multi-year deal with the NFL takes effect in January. Playoffs will stream on Yahoo, Verizon's app go90 and the NFL's own app. |
PLAINVILLE, Mass. (AP) — Nearly 13,000 gamblers have signed up for a unique gambling addiction prevention effort being tested at Massachusetts' first casino.
According to a report submitted Wednesday to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the "Play My Way" program at Plainridge Park Casino has enrolled 12,670 players since its launch last June.
That's about 10 percent of eligible patrons at the Plainville slots parlor and harness racing track. Of those, 10,857 are still actively using the program, which allows players to voluntarily set a spending budget before they gamble.
The initiative is considered the first of its kind in the country. Similar systems have been tried in Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden and elsewhere.
Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance researchers are evaluating the program. They're expected to release their initial findings in August. |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York Islanders will split their regular-season home games between Long Island's Nassau Coliseum and Brooklyn's Barclays Center beginning next year while a new arena is built at Belmont Park under an arrangement announced Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The Islanders plan to play 12 games at the Coliseum in Nassau County next season, and 48 more games over the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. The new arena is expected to open in time for the following season.
"Let's rock the barn!" team owner Jon Ledecky said Monday, using a fan nickname for the Coliseum, where the Islanders played from 1972 until 2015, when they relocated to Brooklyn.
Fans expressed displeasure with that move, and last month the team announced plans for the facility on the grounds at Belmont, home of the third leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. The $1 billion project will also include a hotel, restaurants, meeting space and other amenities.
"We're going to fill all 18,000 seats when we open the NHL season at Belmont arena," Cuomo said.
To meet NHL venue requirements the state will invest $6 million in upgrades at the Coliseum. The work is expected to be finished this fall, in time for the start of next season. |
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia city workers have cleared out two homeless encampments populated mostly by men and women addicted to heroin.
Police on Wednesday read eviction notices to residents, who packed up their belongings, stuffing some in shopping carts. Sanitation workers then threw mattresses, tents, tables and other debris into garbage trucks and power washed the areas.
The action marked the end of a monthlong effort by the city to get help for those in the encampments and make the Kensington neighborhood safer.
City officials say more than 120 people from the encampments have accepted services, and nearly four dozen entered treatment.
But they acknowledge some of those forced to move will not have access to shelter and will likely just move on to other homeless encampments. |
HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) — Former Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra (HUK'-struh) is the new U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.
White House spokeswoman Vanessa Morrone says Hoekstra was sworn in Monday afternoon by Vice President Mike Pence.
Hoekstra was confirmed last month by the U.S. Senate. He previously served as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was the ranking Republican on the Committee until 2011.
First elected to Congress in 1992, Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 3. He was an executive with Michigan-based office furniture maker Herman Miller and later ran unsuccessful campaigns for Michigan governor and U.S. Senate.
President Donald Trump nominated Hoekstra for the ambassador post earlier this year. |
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- As South Korea's defense ministry strives to complete the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by the end of this year, Hong Kong media reports that the US military also plans to sell the system to Taiwan to jointly establish an East Asian "mini-NATO" anti-missile network with Japan and South Korea.
The Hong Kong-based magazine Asia Week (亞洲週刊) published an article written by formerTaiwanese naval commander Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩) titled, "U.S. Military Rumored to be Planning to Deploy THAAD System in Taiwan," asserting that in order to counter the ballistic missiles positioned in southern China aimed at Guam, Taiwan would be an ideal location to set up a THAAD system to intercept the Chinese missiles while still in the boost phase in the airspace over Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Nantou counties.
According to Wendell Minnick from the US-based military news website Shephard, Taiwan intends to procure 150 F-35A conventional fighters and 60 short take-off/vertical landing F-35B stealth fighters to replace its aging Mirage 2000s, and Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF) fighters, and F-5 Tigers. But the US may use a shortfall in the number of F-35 fighters delivered as an excuse to recommend Taiwan buy the THAAD system.
The Asia Week article also speculated now that Japan and South Korea both appear to be receiving the THAAD system, the U.S. may be eyeing Taiwan next. In July of last year, South Korea agreed to the deployment of THAAD, while in August last year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense also launched a study into adopting the system. The article also mentioned in the future, the Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2) system built by U.S. defense contractor Raytheon may be deployed in Japan and South Korea along Beijing's so-called "first island chain" line of defense, and it is possible that the radar system could be positioned in Taiwan as well. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says North Korea wants meeting 'as soon as possible,' praises Kim Jong Un as 'very open' and 'very honorable' |
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--Regulatory News:
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180422005011/en/
The shareholders of Stallergenes Greer plc (Paris:STAGR), a biopharmaceutical company specialising in treatments for respiratory allergies, are hereby informed that they are invited to attend the Company’s Annual General Meeting at la Maison de la Recherche, 54 rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France, on 7 June 2018 at 2:00p.m. (CET).
Notice of the meeting is available in the “Investors” section of the Company website at www.stallergenesgreer.com. It contains the draft resolutions proposed by the Board of Directors, the explanatory notes and the main conditions under which shareholders may participate, vote and exercise their rights.
All documents are at the disposal of shareholders, as part of the Annual General Meeting, and are available at the registered office of the Company in London (40 Bernard Street, 3rd Floor, London WC1N 1LE, United Kingdom), in Antony (6 rue Alexis de Tocqueville, 92160 Antony, France), and also in the “Investors” section of the Company’s website ( www.stallergenesgreer.com ), in “Results & Presentations / Annual General Meeting / 2018”.
ABOUT STALLERGENES GREER PLC Headquartered in London (UK), Stallergenes Greer plc is a global healthcare company specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies through the development and commercialization of allergy immunotherapy products and services. Stallergenes Greer plc is the parent company of GREER Laboratories, Inc. (whose registered office is in the US) and Stallergenes SAS (whose registered office is in France).
TRADING INFORMATION Name: Stallergenes Greer ISIN: GB00BZ21RF93 1 - Ticker: STAGR ICB Classification: 4577 LEI: 213800CYVZA7GJQEME86 Market: Euronext Paris regulated market
Additional information is available at http://www.stallergenesgreer.com.
This document (including information incorporated by reference in this document), oral statements made and other information published by the Company contain statements that are or may be forward-looking with respect to the financial condition and/or results of operations and businesses of the Company. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expects," "project," "estimated," "forecast," "should," "plan," "may" or the negative of any of these, or other variations thereof, or comparable terminology indicating expectations or beliefs concerning future events. These forward-looking statements include risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Without being exhaustive, such factors include economic situations and business conditions, including legal and product evaluation issues, fluctuations in currencies and demand, and changes in competitive factors. These and other factors are more fully described in the Company's 2016 annual report published on 28 April 2017 on the Company's website www.stallergenesgreer.com. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, due to various factors. Save as required by applicable law, neither the Company nor any other person assumes any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to notify any person of any such update.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180422005011/en/
CONTACT: Stallergenes Greer plc
Communications and Investor Relations
Natacha Gassenbach, Tel: +1 (617) 225 8013
Email:natacha.gassenbach@stallergenesgreer.com
or
Caitlin Stefanik, Tel: +1 (857) 331 4117
Email:caitlin.stefanik@stallergenesgreer.com
or
Media Relations Agency
Havas Paris (Europe)
Samuel Rousseau, +33 6 77 88 32 43
E-mail :samuel.rousseau@havas.com
or
Investor Relations Agency
FTI Consulting
Arnaud de Cheffontaines, Tel: +33 1 47 03 68 10
Email:stalleregenesgreer@fticonsulting.com
KEYWORD: UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES EUROPE NORTH AMERICA FRANCE
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY CLINICAL TRIALS INFECTIOUS DISEASES PHARMACEUTICAL OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RESEARCH SCIENCE GENERAL HEALTH
SOURCE: Stallergenes Greer plc
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 04/23/2018 01:30 AM/DISC: 04/23/2018 01:30 AM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180422005011/en |
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the day that gunfire shattered the morning calm of suburban Washington, dozens of family members of those killed by past gun violence had gathered in the capital to lobby against Republican-backed legislation to make it easier to buy gun silencers.
The lobbying effort and a related hearing were canceled in the aftermath of the shooting. But gun control advocates aren't going far.
They're plodding ahead, hopeful for action but pragmatic enough to know that the latest shooting doesn't dramatically alter the dynamics of their uphill battle.
"Anytime there's a tragedy, it just once again amplifies the problem with gun violence in our country," said Lucy McBath, whose son, Jordan Davis, was shot to death four years ago in a dispute over loud music.
Wednesday's shooting at a congressional baseball practice marked the first high-profile test of Trump-era gun politics: Republican control of Congress and the White House has all but eliminated talk of tightening federal gun laws. President Donald Trump won election in part by making clear his opposition to new restrictions on gun purchases.
Gun control advocates, already on the defensive, insist they're not abandoning their efforts in Congress or state legislatures. But after Wednesday's shooting of Republican Rep. Steve Scalise and several others, they did not immediately land on a new strategy to challenge Trump and the Republican-led Congress.
"It is frustrating. These kinds of tragedies happen every single day," said McBath. "Americans should be able to play baseball and dance in a nightclub or attend religious services without the fear of being gunned down. Americans can do better and we deserve better."
As gun control advocates eyed the challenging political reality, the powerful National Rifle Association made clear it was not backing off.
NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch praised the Capitol Hill police, saying that "good guys with guns kept this from getting worse." She said the organization would continue pushing for gun-friendly legislation at the state and federal level, arguing that new gun-control measures are not the answer.
"Evil is real, evil exists and it makes no sense that the good cannot protect themselves against evil," said Loesch. "Those policies have failed where they have been implemented."
Echoing those sentiments, the Republicans who control Washington dug in.
Trump ally Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who has a permit to carry a gun, vowed to keep his weapon close: "On a rare occasion I'd have my gun in the glove box or something, but it's going to be in my pocket from this day forward," Collins told a Buffalo ABC affiliate.
Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., argued that tougher gun laws aren't the answer. He noted the shooter had a criminal record and was from Illinois, which already has strict gun laws, "yet he was still able to access a firearm somehow."
The shooter was identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from Illinois who had several minor run-ins with the law in recent years and belonged to a Facebook group called "Terminate the Republican Party." Officers in Scalise's security detail wounded Hodgkinson, who was taken into custody and later died.
Many gun control groups spent the immediate aftermath of the shooting privately contemplating their strategy. Most decided to proceed with caution, issuing public statements that avoided the gun control debate altogether.
"This shooting is an attack on all who serve and on all who participate in our democracy," said former Rep. Gabby Giffords, the only other member of Congress shot in the last four decades. Giffords said in a statement that she was "heartbroken" for Scalise and the other victims.
A group connected to the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre said the latest shooting showed that "more conversations are needed."
"This is not about more guns, which we know would not have prevented this event in spite of the presence of Congressman Scalise's armed detail," said the group Sandy Hook Promise. "This is about prevention and education, about knowing the signs of someone who might commit an act of violence and how to stop it from happening in the first place."
They're pushing ahead in a harsh environment.
Trump, who has offered strong support for the NRA, appeared at the group's convention in April and told members: "The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end."
In one early sign of the new pro-gun environment, Congress in February passed a resolution to block a rule that would have kept guns out of the hands of certain people with mental disorders. Trump quickly signed it.
Gun control groups hope to defeat an NRA-backed effort to enact a national "concealed-carry reciprocity" law that would require all states to recognize other states' concealed carry permits. They helped beat back such proposals in Congress repeatedly during Obama's presidency, but face a far steeper challenge in the Trump era.
In the face of it all, McBath said simply: "I have hope."
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AP writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appears divided over Texas' appeal to preserve congressional and legislative districts that a lower court struck down as racially discriminatory.
The justices heard arguments Tuesday in the latest round of court action over Texas electoral districts that began in 2011.
At issue are two congressional districts and statehouse districts in four counties.
The liberal justices seemed favorable to minority voters and civil rights groups that challenged the districts. The court's conservatives appeared to lean toward the state. Justice Anthony Kennedy said nothing to indicate where his potentially decisive vote would fall.
The justices last year kept the challenged districts in place, even after the lower court ruling. Texas held primary elections in those districts in March. |
BRUSSELS (AP) — Movie star Angelina Jolie says she and NATO's chief have agreed on ways to help the military alliance better combat the use of sexual violence against women and children in conflict zones.
Jolie said Wednesday that wherever sexual violence occurs "peace is far harder and far more costly to achieve. It therefore has a direct bearing on NATO's efforts to protect stability."
Speaking after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, she said: "We are going to focus on training, reporting, monitoring and awareness as a way of ending impunity."
Jolie, a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, warned that rape is being "used as a weapon to achieve political or military goals." |
ABOARD CELEBRITY EQUINOX (AP) — Honeymooners Zach and Alyssa Bynum of Louisville, Kentucky, had never been on an ocean cruise until last summer when they sailed aboard Celebrity Equinox.
They were immediately enamored with this shiny ship and impressed by the overall experience. They likely will cruise again.
"We enjoyed the atmosphere and experience, including the excursions and onboard activities," said Zach Bynum. "We have definitely talked about doing another."
After all, what's not to like about cruising? Ocean views, exotic ports and beautiful ships with fine food, abundant activities and great entertainment.
Today's ships are like floating cities, carrying thousands of passengers, and each year, new and bigger vessels are launched with ever more unique features. New ships offer everything from menus designed by celebrity chefs to sophisticated fitness centers and spas, kids' clubs and recreation ranging from basketball to water slides to laser tag. Entertainment includes cabaret, dance clubs, blues clubs, Broadway shows, comedy and circus acts.
The Bynums booked their trip after talking with Zach's grandmother, who'd cruised before. First-timers often book on the advice of family or friends, said Peter Giorgi, Celebrity Cruises' chief marketing officer, and those first-timers frequently come back. "For someone to enjoy something so much that they can't help but recommend it to their friends, family and loved ones is the greatest co-sign of all," Giorgi said. "No amount of advertising dollars can buy that."
Another Equinox passenger, Aaron Humphrey of Columbus, Ohio, was on his first cruise, too. "I was surprised by how much there is to do on the ship," he said while basking on deck in the warm Caribbean sunshine during a lazy sailing day between ports. "I was hooked on a cruise within the first couple of hours." His wife Megan, who'd cruised before, said they picked the trip because "we wanted to chill and eat some local food in places we hadn't seen before, and we decided that a cruise was the best of both worlds. "
But if you've never done it, the idea of a cruise might be daunting. Here are some tips for first-timers.
BOOKING
Choose cabins according to your finances. Inside cabins are cheapest, ocean view is next, then rooms with a balcony, and most expensive, suites. If prone to motion sickness, lower decks and cabins closest to ship's center are the most stable. Peruse layouts online before picking a cabin and to familiarize yourself with the ship's features.
Every cruise line has a different style. To book the right ship for you, experts recommend using a travel agent. It doesn't cost extra and might save money, because agents often have access to deals.
PACKING, DEPARTURE AND BOARDING
Plan your wardrobe carefully, depending on itinerary and expected weather. Laundry and dry cleaning onboard are expensive.
The days of required formal wear — jackets, ties, evening gowns — at dinner are long gone, though some passengers will dress up.
Pack a power strip. Most cabins have only one or two outlets. Shampoo and soap are provided but you may bring your own — and there's no size limit like there is for flying.
If you're flying to your departure port, arrive a day ahead. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you might miss the sailing.
Have reservation documents in hand when checking in at the terminal, along with required identification such as driver's license or passport. Lines can be long as departure time nears.
A mandatory muster drill — where everyone reports to a deck for safety and evacuation information — is held shortly after departure.
It takes a few hours for luggage to be delivered to cabins.
Smoking on ships is restricted to certain areas and not allowed in cabins.
WHAT'S FREE, WHAT'S NOT
No need for cash onboard. Cruises provide plastic cards (like credit cards) to charge purchases to your account and also as ID for exiting and reboarding the ship at ports.
Meals in dining rooms, buffets and poolside are included with cruise fare, and you may order more than one main course or dessert. Specialty restaurants charge extra and often get booked up, so make reservations ahead.
Water, coffee, tea, juice and milk are free. Alcohol and soda are not, except for the most upscale cruise lines. Cruises sell daily or weeklong alcohol and soft drink packages that may save you money, depending on your drinking habits.
Shows, gyms, water parks and many other facilities and activities are free. Some fitness classes are free, some are not. Spa services are extra. On a budget? Avoid the casino and gift shop.
Using cellphones at sea, if service is available, is costly. Consider putting phones in airplane mode. Most ships offer Wi-Fi packages but they're pricey, so you might wait to go online until you're at a hotspot in port.
On top of your cruise fare, cruise lines usually suggest an amount to tip the staff, or automatically add daily tips to your bill for distribution among room stewards, wait staff and others. Tips are automatically added to alcohol.
EXCURSIONS
Shore excursions may be booked through the cruise line, or you can go off on your own in port or hire independent tour guides. Booking through the ship guarantees you will not be left behind if your tour is delayed for some reason. If you go off on your own and return late, the ship will leave without you.
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For more on cruising, listen to our @AP_Travel podcast "Get Outta Here!" at http://apple.co/2s2ruHY |
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The craze for smartphones, social media and universal connectivity is generating immense wealth but also deep unease in South Korea, source of a large share of the computer chips that make them work.
Soaring demand for microchips used in smartphones, computer servers and data centers is driving profits for chip and smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and its smaller rival SK Hynix sky high, helping sustain growth in Asia's fourth largest economy.
Samsung reported Wednesday that its annual net profit rose 84 percent to a record 41.3 trillion won ($38.6 billion) in 2017 on annual sales of 239.6 trillion won ($223.7 billion), up 19 percent from the previous year.
But pressures are building as youth unemployment approaches 10 percent and many elderly Koreans scrimp and scavenge to get by. |
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitt Romney is running for re-election to Marriott International's board of directors, but his campaign said Monday that he'll resign from that post if elected in November to the U.S. Senate, which bars senators from serving as an officer or board member of any publicly-held company.
The Utah Senate candidate and former Republican presidential candidate is one of 14 members of Marriott's board running for another year-long term, according to the hotel chain's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
The board members will be up for re-election at the corporation's annual stockholder meeting on May 4.
The Republican, who is well-known and popular in Utah, is expected to win the race to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch.
Romney's spokeswoman MJ Henshaw said Monday that Romney would comply with U.S. Senate rules and resign from the Marriott board if elected in November.
Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim declined to comment.
Romney, who has longstanding ties to the Marriott family, has served on Marriott's board off-and-on since 1993.
He resigned from the board in 2002 to campaign for Massachusetts governor. He later rejoined the board in 2009 but left again in 2011 to start his campaign for U.S. president.
Romney, whose full name is Willard Mitt Romney, was named after Marriott founder J.W. Marriott, a close friend of Romney's father. Marriott's full name was John Willard Marriott.
If Romney stayed on the board, the now 71-year-old would run up next year against the company's mandatory retirement for board members at age 72.
The company's SEC filings show Romney was paid $247,299 in 2016 in cash, stocks and other compensation.
The filings were first reported by Bloomberg on Friday. |
BOONE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--The longleaf pine was once the dominant tree species in the Southeastern United States, covering more than 90 million acres and supporting nearly 900 different plant species. By the 1970s, the longleaf ecosystem had decreased to less than 3 million acres and included dozens of threatened and endangered species. Through reforestation efforts, the longleaf forest now covers 4.7 million acres, and a new partnership between Appalachian Mountain Brewery (AMB) and The Longleaf Alliance will help restore up to 80,000 more trees across the southeast over the next five years.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006396/en/
Appalachian Mountain Brewery’s Long Leaf IPA is helping The Longleaf Alliance restore thousands of longleaf pines across the southeast. (Photo: Business Wire)
Drink a Pint, Plant a Pine
As part of the partnership, AMB and The Longleaf Alliance collaborated on “Drink a Pint, Plant a Pine,” a unique program that unites beer and wilderness enthusiasts in an effort to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem. AMB’s flagship Long Leaf IPA, which takes its name from North Carolina’s state toast, was a natural fit for the program. For every case of AMB Long Leaf IPA sold at retail – or the case equivalent of pints sold at bars and restaurants – The Longleaf Alliance will plant one longleaf pine. To date, sales of Long Leaf IPA have supported the planting of 15,000 longleaf seedlings.
“Long Leaf IPA was born out of the North Carolina State Toast, which celebrates the ‘land of the long leaf pine,’” said AMB Head Brewer Chris Zieber. “Making a positive impact on the local community through our craft beer is AMB’s way of sharing the spirit of the words written in the toast. We couldn’t be happier to partner with a group like The Longleaf Alliance to help restore and protect the landscape that so many millions of people enjoy and inhabit.”
“I commend Appalachian Mountain Brewery for its long history of dedication and commitment to sustainability, community involvement and philanthropy,” said Longleaf Alliance President Robert Abernethy. “AMB is leading the community by example. As a fellow Tarheel, I am proud to add Appalachian Mountain Brewery to our growing list of corporate conservation partners, a partnership that will allow The Longleaf Alliance to plant longleaf seedlings in North Carolina and make significant strides in restoring the longleaf landscape that has been so important to the people of North Carolina since the state’s founding.”
April 27 National Arbor Day Fundraising Event
AMB and The Longleaf Alliance are celebrating the partnership with a special fundraising event on Arbor Day, Friday, April 27 th at Sam’s Bottle Shop in Durham, NC from 6-8pm. During the event, representatives from AMB and The Longleaf Alliance will be available to share updates on their partnership and longleaf restoration progress. Proceeds from beer sales during the celebration will go towards The Longleaf Alliance. More information about the event can be found here.
Last year, The Longleaf Alliance worked with partners and landowners across nine states that comprise the Southeastern longleaf range to assist with the planting of approximately 1.8 million longleaf seedlings on 3,220 acres and prescribed burns on 44,000 acres. Throughout 2018, the “Drink a Pint, Plant a Tree” program will support numerous Longleaf Alliance planting events that will allow The Longleaf Alliance to get closer to its vision of eight million acres of longleaf pine by 2024.
About Appalachian Mountain Brewery
Nestled in the High Country of North Carolina, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, LLC, is Boone, NC’s Beer Pioneer. The brewery is dedicated to making seriously delicious craft beer while focusing its business model on community, sustainability and philanthropy. We support the We Can So You Can Foundation, a 501(c)3 started by AMB CEO Sean Spiegelman, and help local nonprofits via our Pints for Non-Profits program in the taproom. These programs are integral to AMB’s commitment to empowering local organizations working to enrich the land, water, air and people of the High Country. Appalachian Mountain Brewery has earned numerous awards for its innovative craft beers and ciders, including Boone Creek Blonde Ale, which won a Gold Medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championships in 2015 and a Gold Medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival Competition. The brewery’s core portfolio also includes Long Leaf IPA, Spoaty Oaty Pale Ale, and Porter, which is a gold medal winner at the Great International Beer and Cider Competition.
About The Longleaf Alliance
The Longleaf Alliance is a 501(c)(3) conservation nonprofit. Our primary objectives include: outreach, education, habitat management, protection and restoration. We are the only conservation nonprofit organization solely dedicated to restoring the longleaf ecosystems of the South. Since its origin in 1995, The Longleaf Alliance has used education, outreach, research, direct involvement and hands-on experience to develop and provide the best available information and support to landowners, resource managers, policy makers, educators, scientists and the public. We also connect members of the longleaf community to pertinent research findings that can help them overcome management challenges. Our focus has expanded to include management and maintenance of existing longleaf pine forests, management of prescribed fire and planting longleaf seedlings to start the next forest. With the help of our partners, we allocated 85% of income to programs and services last year, a figure that increases steadily and of which we are quite proud.
View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006396/en/
CONTACT: Appalachian Mountain Brewery
Carrie Greer
carrie@amb.beer
KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NORTH CAROLINA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: NATURAL RESOURCES AGRICULTURE PHILANTHROPY ENVIRONMENT RETAIL WINE & SPIRITS FOUNDATION FUND RAISING
SOURCE: Appalachian Mountain Brewery, LLC
Copyright Business Wire 2018.
PUB: 04/24/2018 02:38 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 02:38 PM
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006396/en |
BEIRUT (AP) — Donor nations are raising money for Syria's neighbors to aid in hosting refugees of the country's civil war.
But a leading international rights group and the U.N.'s refugee agency say Lebanese authorities are evicting refugees from towns and camps in the country on questionable legal grounds.
Three years ago, Ahmad Mohsin was forced to relocate his campsite in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley after soldiers raided the community of Syrian refugees where he lived and smashed their belongings.
The message was clear, he says — they were not wanted.
Though Syrian President Bashar Assad appears to have largely suppressed the revolt against him in many parts of neighboring Syria, the U.N. and rights groups say the country is still not safe for refugee return. |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European businesses are unsettled as they watch the U.S. and China collide over trade. And for good reason: the nascent global trade war presents the biggest threat to the economic upswing that has helped the region get past its financial crisis.
In theory, some European companies could benefit, jumping into market niches if Chinese businesses are kept out of the U.S. market. But that would only be a few companies or sectors.
When your entire economy is heavily dependent on trade, an overall slowdown in global commerce caused by tit-for-tat import taxes provokes fear and undermines confidence.
And that's just what's happening in Europe. By one measure, business confidence has fallen in six of the past seven months in Germany, where exports are almost half of annual economic output.
"It's worth all our efforts to defuse this conflict, so it doesn't become a war," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.
The U.S. is due to put tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday. The Chinese will respond with tariffs on an equivalent value of U.S. products such as soybeans, seafood and crude oil.
Amid all this, Europe has its own trade dispute with the U.S. After the U.S. put tariffs on steel and aluminum from many allies, including the European Union, the 28-country bloc responded with import taxes on some $3.25 billion of U.S. goods. The Trump administration is also studying the option of putting tariffs on cars, which would significantly escalate the confrontation.
The head of the European Union's executive commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will head to Washington in late July to try to personally persuade Trump against further measures targeting Europe.
The disputes over trade threaten to spoil the good times for Europe's economy.
Growth last year was the strongest in a decade, since before the global financial crisis. While that has eased in recent quarters the economy has still done well enough to reduce create jobs. The number of unemployed people fell by 125,000 in May, leaving unemployment in the 19 countries that use the euro at 8.4 percent, the lowest since 2008. Joblessness is still high in some places, like Greece and Spain, but the overall rate is down from a high of 12.1 percent in 2013.
"Trade tensions stoked by U.S. President Donald Trump are clouding the economic outlook in Europe," wrote analysts at Berenberg bank in London. They rated the risk ahead of troubles from Italy's heavy debt load or tighter credit conditions by central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Many European companies would suffer because they both produce and sell goods in the U.S. and China, the world's biggest economies.
For example, tariffs that China is expected to impose Friday on U.S.-made autos would hit German carmakers Daimler and BMW since they both make vehicles in the United States and export them to China.
Daimler has already lowered its outlook for profits, citing higher than expected costs from the new tariffs. BMW warned in a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday that tariffs would make it harder for BMW to sell vehicles built at its U.S. factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina in China, "potentially leading to a strongly reduced export volumes and negative effects on investment and employment in the United States."
Last year, BMW exported 272,000 vehicles from the Spartanburg plant, more than half its total production. Of those, 81,000 — worth $2.37 billion — went to China. BMW says its exports reduced the U.S. trade deficit by around $1 billion.
By themselves, the tariffs that take effect Friday won't immediately have a dramatic impact on global trade. The fear is that retaliation will spiral, hitting the total amount of global commerce.
Even if the overall effect is to harm growth, there could be benefits for some European companies and sectors. Economists Alicia Garcia Herrero and Jianwei Xu at the French bank Natixis say that European makers of cars, aircraft, chemicals, computer chips and factory machinery could in theory snare market gains by substituting for Chinese or American products in the two markets. But that's only if Europe's own trade dispute with the U.S. does not escalate — a big if.
Europe is waiting to see whether the Trump administration will go ahead separately with tariffs on auto imports. European companies like BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen's Porsche and Audi divisions, and Fiat Chrysler send $46.6 billion worth of vehicles every year to the U.S. Some 13.3 million people, or 6.1 percent of the employed population of the EU, work in the automotive sector, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.
"Europe cannot win anything" on an overall basis "for one obvious reason: we are net exporters," said Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis and a senior fellow at European research institute Bruegel. "But we should not understate the view that some sectors could get something out of a U.S.-China trade war."
Amid the brewing conflict, China has sought to get Europe on its side, put on a diplomatic charm offensive during visits by Merkel and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. The EU and China agreed last month to deepen commercial ties and support trade rules. But the EU remains a close, longtime ally of the U.S. on a range of issues, despite the current tensions with the Trump administration.
One negative outcome for Europe, Herrero said, would be if Trump can push the Chinese into a trade agreement aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit. The additional U.S. goods to China could come at the expense of European competitors.
"If China concedes to the U.S. proposed agreement, the whole situation faced by the EU would be much tougher," she and Xu wrote in a research note. "For China to massively reduce its trade surplus with the U.S., it has to in some way substitute its imports away from the EU to the U.S., which would have a significant negative impact on the EU producers."
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Complete coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/Globaltrade |