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(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click or type LIVE/ in a news window) * Nike dips as North America revenue disappoints * Carnival Corp top pct gainer on S&P 500 * Consumer spending rose 0.4% last month * Indexes up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 0.4%, Nasdaq 0.2% (Updates to open) Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks inched to fresh record highs on Friday, as investors remained optimistic about improving trade relations between Washington and Beijing in the run-up to the holiday season. All three major stock indexes have been trading at record levels for over a week, boosted by the announcement of an initial U.S.-China trade agreement and upbeat economic indicators. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday the long-awaited trade deal had been penned down and would be signed in early January, dispelling fears of another escalation in the tariff dispute. Beijing, however, later dodged questions about specific details about the agreement. "While we're waiting to hear the details of a deal, what we're not doing is increasing tariffs," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York. "We're not escalating, and that's what the market cares about." The S&P 500 hit a record high for the seventh straight session on Friday, its longest streak since October 2017. With gains of nearly 28% this year, the benchmark index is eyeing its best annual performance since 2013. The Dow Industrials and Nasdaq touched all-time highs for the second straight session. Markets are likely to become volatile on Friday due to "quadruple witching," where investors unwind positions in futures and options contracts before their expiration. At 10:12 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 82.01 points, or 0.29%, at 28,458.97, the S&P 500 was up 11.94 points, or 0.37%, at 3,217.31 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 20.43 points, or 0.23%, at 8,907.65. The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending rose 0.4% last month, in line with expectations, as households stepped up purchases of motor vehicles and spent more on healthcare. Nike Inc fell 1.7% after the world's largest sportswear maker reported lower-than-expected growth in revenue from North America. Boeing Co's biggest supplier, Spirit AeroSystems Inc dropped 1.4% after saying it would temporarily halt production of 737 MAX parts beginning Jan. 1. Boeing shares fell 1.0%. Carnival Corp rose 8.5% and was the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P 500, after the cruise operator forecast a 2020 profit largely above estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and 1.13-to-1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 66 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 110 new highs and 21 new lows. (Reporting by Uday Sampath and C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Shounak Dasgupta)

Technology

Semiconductors

Imagine living in a neighborhood where a huge blast, like a stick of dynamite, exploded every 10-12 seconds non-stop for weeks to months on-end.  Under the Trump administration’s plan to rollback existing protections against offshore drilling in the Atlantic, seismic airgun blasting – the way companies propose searching for oil and gas deposits on the Outer Continental Shelf – could be coming our way. Boats towing lines with up to 40 seismic airguns will detonate them to map potential oil and gas deep below the ocean’s floor – a precursor to oil platforms and related infrastructure lining East Coast communities. The blasts – among the loudest man-made sounds in the ocean – can be heard underwater up to 2,500 miles away. Scientists confirm that the explosions could be harmful and disruptive to marine life, possibly forcing whales and sea turtles to change their migratory and mating patterns, and driving fish away from their feeding grounds.  Under President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE’s plan, blasting activities could be permitted along the mid- and south-Atlantic coast, stretching 800 miles from Delaware to Cape Canaveral, Fla., and offshore up to 400 miles. Seven companies have pending applications to start seismic blasting off the Atlantic Coast for timeframes that could extend up to a year. In 2016, 28 marine biologists who specialize in the endangered North Atlantic right whale, of which only 500 remain, wrote then-President Obama and successfully urged him to suspend seismic blasting. For right whales, “seismic airgun surveys may well represent a tipping point for the survival of this endangered whale, contributing significantly to a decline towards extinction,” they said. For those who think that’s too alarmist, consider estimates the surveying companies themselves submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service as part of their applications. The blasts from seismic airguns could subject whales and dolphins to a “disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering” over 445,000 times if all the companies are approved. This would include 94 instances for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale; over 11,000 times for large whales like the Humback, Minke, Fin and Sperm; nearly 50,000 times for the small whale species including beaked whales and pilot whales; and over 380,000 times for all the dolphin species in the range.  Worse, seismic airgun blasting is a warm-up for the main event: oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. Beyond the environmental arguments against this approach to our energy future, there are overwhelming economic reasons to extend the Obama-era freeze on drilling in the Atlantic.  First, where is the demand for more oil? At roughly $50 a barrel, oil prices remain near 10-year lows, with little sign of a rebound. As 27 senators said in an April 27 letter to Interior Secretary Ryan ZinkeRyan Keith ZinkeNew policy at Interior's in-house watchdog clamps down on interactions with press Overnight Energy: EPA proposes scrapping limits on coal plant waste | Appointee overseeing federal lands once advocated selling them | EPA lifts Obama-era block on controversial mine Latest appointee overseeing federal public lands once advocated to sell them MORE, “When oil companies are currently holding and warehousing leases in the Gulf of Mexico that comprise an area nearly the size of Kentucky, we should first ensure that they are taking full advantage of the areas that are already available before contemplating opening any new areas to drilling and the threat of a spill.” The impact of a spill in the Atlantic would be catastrophic. Thousands of jobs and billions in revenue associated with tourism, fishing, and recreation, are at risk. In North Carolina, these activities support about 30,000 jobs and generate $3 billion in GDP. But because of Gulf Stream currents, a major spill could affect the entire eastern seaboard, where about 1.4 million jobs and $95 billion in GDP depend on healthy ocean ecosystems.  Weigh that against the impact of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout, during which more than 4.9 million barrels oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico: 11 workers dead; an estimated $8.7 billion and 22,000 jobs lost by fisheries by 2020; 10 million user-days of beach, fishing and boating activities lost; 1 million birds killed; and $13.1 billion paid by BP to repair economic and environmental damage. The oil and gas industry argues that such mega-spills are rare and claims that much has been done to improve safety. The truth is that offshore drilling in the Atlantic threatens to change the character of the East Coast with the major infrastructure required to pump, move, and process oil and gas while simultaneously leaking millions of gallons of product every year. In an annual review of recorded spills, E&E News discovered 8,519 spills across the United States last year, an average of 23 spills per day. The facts are overwhelming. There is no need for offshore drilling or risky seismic airgun blasting. Along the East Coast, more than 130 municipalities, 1,200 elected officials, 41,000 businesses and 500,000 commercial fishing families have publicly opposed it. Seismic airguns harm marine life and are the precursor to an industry that could devastate our environment and coastal economies. Leaders at every level – from local elected officials, municipality leaders, coastal state governors, members of Congress and the administration - should say no to any proposals for blasting and drilling in the Atlantic to protect our vibrant coastal industries and jobs that rely on a healthy ocean. Jacqueline Savitz is senior vice president of Oceana, the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Ann Colley is executive director and vice president of The Moore Charitable Foundation and its North Carolina Affiliate, the Orton Foundation. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Natural Disasters

Volcanoes

Here's an excerpt from Anelise Chen's debut novel So Many Olympic Exertions, out in June from Kaya Press. I first had the pleasure of publishing Chen's fiction in Gigantic, which I co-edit, in 2011. Although the story we published (also titled "So Many Olympic Exertions") isn't included in the book, it's wonderful to see how marvelously this project has evolved. Chen's style is easygoing yet analytical, hilarious yet existential, poignant, and always surprising. A semiautobiographical work, the novel channels such influences as David Markson and Lydia Davis, fusing obscure sports trivia, self-help manuals, the journals of Kafka and Virginia Woolf, philosophy, mythology, and athlete profiles (along with conversations with one's immigrant parents) to explore the hazier interstices where the self exists within our culture's dichotomies of mind and body, nerd and jock, ecstasy and defeat.  —James Yeh, culture editor "Hey, Mom! Why did you want me to swim so badly? Where did you even get the idea?" I am asking her this at breakfast as she eats her habitual bowl of plain, instant oatmeal. My parents have just finished a job, and now they stay home with me all day, Dad browsing funny things nonstop online, Mom barging into my room whenever she is about to do something. I am going to sauté some cabbage! I am going to hang the clothes out!  Throughout our childhood, their work would always seesaw like this: periods of dizzying, 16-hour days, then nothing. The doldrums. Waiting for the next client to call. As a kid, I could never be completely present with them: I resented them for all the times they were busy and couldn't treasure the quiet times, never knowing when another job was going to make them disappear again.  This time, I find myself silently irritated by their intrusion into my writing routine. At least this is what I tell myself. Actually I know I'm just using them as an excuse, armor against my own inability to finish my dissertation. I'll start again when they start another job, I tell myself.  "I mean, why did you throw me into the pool and force me to join swim team?"  Mom scoffs in protest. "How come I sign you up to do swimming? I did not! You want to swim all by yourself! You force me to!"  "Obviously you wanted me to do it. Why else would you let me do it for so long?"  "I don't know what you are talking about. You do it because you keep saying you want to do it. I just think OK, stubborn girl, I cannot stop you. I was confused mom. Because you know when you were five years old before we leave Taiwan? On weekend I take you to play with your cousins in Yilan, with San San and Di Di, and they always jump around like crazy monkeys, so active, so confident. But you? No, no, no. You always treat your body like diplomat, OK? Very polite and careful. They climb up and down playground screaming shouting jumping, but you just let your body hang upside down on monkey bars like wet mop. Like you can let go and fall down, no strength. I notice that right away. I think, Wow, this cannot be. We are about to go to America and you are like tiptoeing little mouse! You know my favorite show when I was a girl? Leave to Beaver. My favorite movie actor? Clint Eastwood. Cowboy Indians, so much excitement! We are going there to a big place so you have to be strong like that. But when we get here I take you to rolling skater rink and right away you break your arm! Then you fall down on bicycle and break your foot! My god. Next year when we looking to buy this new house, the pool was in backyard and I think yes, good idea! So after we go swimming. You were so scared of water. When you take shower you have to dip your head back like this so water only touch your forehead. Can you imagine when I throw you in the pool first time? You were so scared and screaming crying like crazy and fighting but I think it's OK, water cannot break bones. I walk around the pool with leaf net to fish you up, ha ha ha! You remember? Ha ha. Sorry. I was bad. Child abuse. Ha ha ha! But slowly you like to do it. Remember? All the time, telling me to take you to swimming class. I had no time because I had to work. Finally I say OK, take you to join swim team. Maybe you were fourth, fifth grade? Fifth probably. Take up all your time. Tammy's mama took you to practice every day right? You still get good grades, so I think it's OK. But in high school your grades are not so good, but I think maybe you can just keep going because it is American way. Didn't I explain to you? I never explain to you why I think swimming is so magnificent? About swimmer I saw on the TV? The boy from my town, Yilan? No? Are you sure? OK. Now I tell you amazing story, OK? Remember forever. Long time ago, when you were in my stomach, when me and Daddy thinking about coming here, I hear something in the news that is so unbelievable. One American woman is swimming from Cuba to Florida! With her body by itself! Her purpose accordingly is she want to fix relationship of US and Cuba..." Mom says she never learned how to swim herself, and even the thought of being in a boat terrified her. Though she knew it was irrational, she never believed that water had enough density to buoy her up sufficiently. But late one night on her TV, she saw this American woman trying to swim across the ocean. The woman was fearless, almost inhuman, like a paddling, kicking, breathing machine, arms churning stroke after stroke without stopping. A tiny mote on the sea. The only sound that kept her company was the repetitive splash of her own arms hitting the water, the sloshy gurgle of the waves hitting the support boat that drifted behind her at a sanctioned distance. Sometimes this woman would unknowingly swim into patches of disc-sized jellyfish and Portuguese man o'wars. The pain of their stings were like nothing anyone knew the words to. It was not a terrestrial pain. As the hours passed, the woman's tongue became so swollen from the salt water that she lost the ability to speak. Morning came. Her crew fed her through a tube. Weather carried her farther from her designated course. Each time she poked her head up to hear her progress, how many more miles, her crew would have to lie. Her crew didn't have the heart to tell her that she wouldn't be able to make it.  Meanwhile, this boy, my mom's former neighbor, was down in Jinmen, Taiwan, where he had volunteered to join the military in a fit of patriotic feeling. A brilliant scholar who went to all the elite schools, he had bought into the nationalist rhetoric of his youth, but his stint in the military was causing him to have serious reservations. Ever since the Nationalists had fled the mainland to this speck of an island, the borders had been sealed tight. But he had begun to see the cracks in the edifice. Their bastion of democracy was nothing more than a kingdom of the shipwrecked.  That summer, this boy also watched the same television broadcast of the American swimmer. He thought about her often. At the lookout where he stood guard every morning, he could see China, an edge of land just beyond a cold stretch of sea. The propaganda that blared from its emergency system loudspeakers sounded like warbly, cavernous echoes. Return to the homeland! You will be a hero! Taiwan's emergency systems responded, clear and shrill: Join us! Join us! The future of the Han is in Taiwan!  For an entire summer, the boy considered his options. "This distance is nothing compared to what that woman swam," he thought to himself. "I can see the land. I can touch it." "You don't know how to swim," another voice in his head chimed in. "You won't make it across alive."  But he had made up his mind. Whenever he got time in the private bathroom stall, he would study maps and charts of the tides and currents. He did extra pushups and practiced the flutter kick while lying on his back.  That summer was particularly hot, and an unprecedented number of jelly fish washed up on the shore. At night, he would sneak out half naked to the rocky shore and pick up the goopy masses, spreading them all over his body. Their sting felt first like a mild itch, then like a hot iron. He would lie there, bearing it. If anyone asked, this was a new type of beauty regimen. If anyone asked, he was sleepwalking.  The day he'd set for his departure finally came. The weather that day was balmy and sedate, the ocean placid and inviting. No, actually, there was a storm brewing, a Category 2 hurricane. But he was a desperate man. With a basketball tucked under each arm, he launched himself quietly, an airplane on water, kicking quietly underwater so as not to be heard...  After he swam to the mainland, he became a Chinese hero. He worked as a translator, an ambassador, and eventually as leader of the World Bank. He was so rich he became one of the first people to own a private car in Beijing. All because he dared to swim.  "OK. Seriously? That's not even a real story." Mom smiles. "If you say so. But I think to myself all the time." I just went and googled the World Bank guy. He really does exist. And he really did swim to China.  So, after all these years, it turns out that Mom always thought of swimming in this imperial, conquering way, as though it would eventually take me somewhere. But I never swam my way anywhere, never arrived any place worth getting to.  Did I even learn anything from all those years in training? I learned that I could not be the best. I learned that I had no fighting instinct. I learned I was desperate for approval and spurred on always by fear and shame rather than by desire. I had no desire to win. I learned mantras that only filled me with more shame. Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Winners never quit and quitters never win.  We learned so many of these mantras, with more and more coming at us all the time in different variations. How did this motivation mechanism work? was something I never learned. In the deepest depths of the most punishing swim workouts, when my fingers and toes would get tingly and I would start seeing stars from lack of oxygen, I was never able to derive power from those phrases, not when it really mattered. It was like holding onto a charm that contained no magic.  Another troubling observation: Mom is always sitting down. "Why do you sit to blow dry your hair? Why do you sit when you wait for the kettle to boil?" She makes a motion along her legs.  "What? Sore back?" She nods.  "How long has it been?" I demand. "Please go see a doctor! Go see one right now!"  She shakes her head and snorts in a semi-patronizing way. That brusque "Hnh! " that means "Silly girl! Do you know how much it costs to go to the doctor?"  "What insurance do you have anyway?" I interrogate further. "Don't you pay like $800 a month?"  She shrugs. "Business is bad so we can't afford now."  For the next hour, I make promises to myself: One day I will... and One day this won't... and One day when I... The promises sound empty. I'm afraid to finish the sentences. One day when I get a well-paying, secure job with my American Studies PhD...  All I can do is look up chiropractors on Yelp and read the reviews out loud to her.  She says: "Don't you have a dissertation to finish? You take care of yourself, and I take care of me, OK?"  From now on I am going to the library to work.  And here I am writing about bodies, bodies, bodies. Excerpted from So Many Olympic Exertions by Anelise Chen by arrangement with the author and the publisher. So Many Olympic Exertions will be published in June by Kaya Press.

Literature

Books

NEW YORK (LPC) - Private equity firm Platinum Equity’s US$2.1bn offer to acquire blood glucose monitoring systems maker LifeScan, Inc from US health care products company Johnson & Johnson is backed by US$1.875bn of loans, according to two sources familiar with the matter. J&J has been evaluating strategic options for the troubled unit, as well as its other diabetes care businesses, which include insulin pumps maker Animas Corp and wearable insulin pumps maker Calibra Medical Inc, since January 2017 amid falling sales. The company last October announced it would close down Animas after failing to find a buyer. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is providing the entire debt commitment to Platinum Equity initially but will carve out a portion to other banks, the sources said. The carveout could be as high as 60%, one of the sources said. The debt will be split between a US$1.4bn secured term loan with a first priority claim and a US$350m secured term loan with a second priority claim, the sources said. The financing includes a US$125m revolving credit facility that will be undrawn at close, the sources added. J&J, BAML and Platinum did not respond to requests for comment. LifeScan’s performance has been weighed down in recent years due to pricing pressure stemming from competition, the sources said. The unit has also faced challenges securing rights to newer technology, a third source said. Due to declining Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, the debt underwriting process centered around an absolute debt amount rather than the more typical factor in leveraged lending, a debt-to-Ebitda multiple, sources said. The Ebitda figure that will be used to market the deal has not been solidified. The metric ranges between US$450m and US$600m depending on whether it’s calculated on a last 12-months’, full-year 2017/2018, or trough basis, one of the sources said. Leverage would be 3.9 times and 2.9 times at the low and high end of that range, respectively. The timing of the syndication of the debt is also fluid, as the closing process is likely to be protracted due to regulatory concerns and the new owner may seek to avoid paying ticking fees, the sources said. Assuming the offer is accepted, closing is expected by year-end, according to a J&J’s press release. Platinum on March 16 announced it had submitted a binding offer to acquire LifeScan for approximately US$2.1bn. It has given J&J until June 15 to accept the offer, to allow for consultations with work councils that represent employees. LifeScan is headquartered in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania and Zug, Switzerland. Reporting by Andrew Berlin; Editing by Michelle Sierra, Lynn Adler

Finance

Banking

British swimsuit and lingerie model Demi Rose isn’t letting haters get to her. After a video resurfaced on Twitter of Demi’s runway appearance at the Oh Polly fashion show during Miami Fashion Week in July, commenters began making fun of her walk. “Why is Demi Rose‘s walk strange?” one person tweeted. Someone else wrote, “Demi rose is beautiful but her runway walk was embarrassing.”  But the model, 24, quickly shut down the critics and defended her strut. “All jokes aside yes I’m not the best runway model. I was super nervous, didn’t want to do it, my top went missing backstage, my shoes were too big for me in height and size not to mention I was dealing with personal issues loosing my parents, my mom a month before,” Demi said.   She continued: “I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone, make them and myself proud and that takes a lot of bravery, so for that I’m proud of myself because there’s a lot that wouldn’t have done it. But it’s done now. I can laugh too but I’m still here and it’s all Gucccci!” I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone, make them and myself proud and that takes a lot of bravery, so for that I’m proud of myself because there’s a lot that wouldn’t have done it. But it’s done now. I can laugh too but I’m still here and it’s all Gucccci! 💗 — Demi Rose 💕 (@DemiRoseMawby) November 13, 2019 In hindsight it was a really fun experience, showcasing my own collection which I was really proud of. I’m really grateful for all the opportunities I’ve got given. Thank you to those who support me! — Demi Rose 💕 (@DemiRoseMawby) November 13, 2019 Despite some of the criticism, Demi said she doesn’t regret participating in the Oh Polly fashion show. “In hindsight it was a really fun experience, showcasing my own collection which I was really proud of. I’m really grateful for all the opportunities I’ve got given. Thank you to those who support me!” she said. Since first breaking into the modeling industry, Demi has posed for WorldStar HipHop and men’s magazines like FHM, Nuts and Zoo.

Fashion

Clothing

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain intends to prevent a hard border in Ireland after leaving the European Union whatever the outcome of talks with the bloc, UK’s Brexit minister said on Monday, saying comments that this was not legally enforceable were taken out of context. Davis on Sunday said that a pledge on the Irish border agreed as part of a divorce settlement was “a statement of intent” rather than a legally binding move, but said the media had twisted his words. “Of course it’s legally enforceable, under the withdrawal agreement, but even if that didn’t for some reason, if something went wrong, we would still be seeking to provide a frictionless, invisible border,” Davis told LBC radio. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Michael Holden

Politics

Brexit

RIYADH, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will take appropriate steps to respond to an attack on its oil facilities if, as expected, a Saudi investigation confirms that Iran is responsible, a senior official said on Saturday. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said the probe would prove that the Sept. 14 strikes had come from the north and that Iran bore responsibility. Tehran denies the accusation. Riyadh has already said the investigation so far shows that Iranian weapons were used and that the attack came from the north. Saudi Arabia is consulting with its allies to “take the necessary steps”, Jubeir told a news conference, urging the international community to take a stand. (Reporting by Stephen Kalin in Riyadh; Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli in Dubai; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous)

Politics

Middle East

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Patients taking an experimental eczema drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi Inc experienced significant relief in itching and in anxiety and depression symptoms, meeting secondary goals of two large studies, researchers said on Saturday. Regeneron and Sanofi recently asked U.S. regulators to approve the injectable medicine, Dupixent (dupilumab), after it significantly cleared skin lesions in the same pair of studies without serious side effects typically seen with standard treatments for the chronic inflammatory skin disease. The studies involved a total of 1,400 adults with moderate to severe disease. “Reduction of itch intensity is important because itching is one of the most burdensome symptoms for patients and can impact other aspects of their lives, such as sleep,” said Dr. Eric Simpson, a dermatologist at Oregon Health & Science University who led the trials. He presented the new secondary data at the annual European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress being held in Vienna. Researchers said significant reduction in patient-reported itch was seen two weeks, four weeks and 16 weeks after treatment began, based on the Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale, which ranks itch severity on a 0- to 10-point basis. At 16 weeks, a range of 36 to 41 percent of patients taking Dupixent either weekly or every two weeks reported a four-point or greater reduction in itch, compared with 10 to 12 percent of patients receiving placebos. Patients taking Dupixent also reported improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms, researchers said, meeting other secondary goals of the studies. Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, affects an estimated 2 percent of U.S. adults, and as many as 10 percent to 20 percent of children - the majority of cases being of mild to moderate severity. If cleared by regulators, Dupixent would be the first approved systemic treatment for eczema, which in severe cases produces infection-prone rashes and a constant itch as bad as poison ivy. Some analysts expect Dupixent to cost up to $30,000 a year and to capture eventual annual sales of more than $5 billion. The drug works by blocking IL-4 and IL-13, proteins that Regeneron believes to be underlying causes not only of eczema, but of other allergic conditions like asthma and nasal polyps for which the drug has shown favorable results in smaller Regeneron studies. Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Leslie Adler

Other

Other

THE nine justices of the Supreme Court are used to applying 18th-century principles to an America that would bewilder the constitution’s framers. Yet sometimes this is really hard. On November 29th the court considered how a 226-year-old rule, the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures, bears on one arrow in the government’s investigative quiver: tracking people’s movements via their mobile-phone signals. At least six justices seemed keen to widen the Fourth Amendment umbrella for the digital age, but no single way to do so emerged. “This is an open box”, a forlorn Justice Stephen Breyer said. “We know not where we go.” The matter dates to 2011, when Timothy Carpenter was arrested for masterminding a string of armed robberies in Michigan and Ohio. The FBI built their case against Mr Carpenter on 127 days of mobile-tower data placing him near the scenes of the crimes. Under the Stored Communications Act of 1986, investigators who have “reasonable grounds to believe” a suspect’s electronic data include “specific and articulable facts” that are “relevant and material” to their investigation can secure an order compelling providers to hand it over. That’s a far easier bar to reach than reasonable suspicion—the threshold for a search warrant. In Carpenter v United States, the justices are considering whether this higher standard, known as “probable cause”, should apply when the government seeks to track digital footprints. Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. According to Nathan Wessler, Mr Carpenter’s lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), collecting location information without a warrant defies a “long-standing, practical expectation” that Americans’ “longer-term movements in public and private spaces will remain private”. Government collection of location data “is a categorically new power that is made possible by these perfect tracking devices that 95% of Americans carry in their pockets”. And with an explosion of newly built cell towers, providers can now estimate their users’ positions within “a broadcast radius as small as ten metres”, or “half the size of this courtroom”. Justices Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy pushed Mr Wessler to explain why an individual would be more worried about keeping his tracks out of spooks’ file drawers than safeguarding his bank or landline phone records—data Supreme Court precedent says the government may access without a warrant. As sensitive as that information may be, Mr Wessler replied, it does not compare to “a minute-by-minute account of a person’s movements and associations” over weeks or months. Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed—and then some. Carpenter may concern only cell-tower data, but “a cell phone can be pinged in your bedroom”, she said. “It can ping you in the most intimate details of your life. Presumably at some point even in a dressing room as you’re undressing.” One day soon, she mused, “a provider could turn on my cell phone and listen to my conversations.” Given these imminent risks to Americans’ privacy, Justice Sotomayor gestured towards a more robust application of the Fourth Amendment than Mr Wessler was requesting. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, was an unlikely ally in this line of questioning. When Mr Wessler said that police should be able to see no more than 24 hours of cell-location data without a warrant, the chief suggested that warrantless access to even a smidgen of data may violate an individual’s privacy, outflanking the ACLU lawyer from the left. He asked Michael Dreeben, the government’s lawyer, how the claim that people voluntarily share location data when they wander about with their phones squares with Riley v California, a ruling of 2014 that police need a warrant to search a mobile phone. Riley, the chief said, “emphasised that you really don’t have a choice these days if you want to have a cell phone.” With only Justices Alito and Kennedy seeming to buy the government’s argument, the newest justice, Neil Gorsuch, voiced his own take on why Mr Carpenter should win. Justice Gorsuch doubted that “the original understanding of the constitution” sanctioned easy access to individuals’ location information—especially if Americans have a “property interest” in their own data. Citing John Adams, he noted that one impetus for the revolutionary war was the government’s use of “snitches and snoops” to spy on Americans. Open-ended “writs of assistance” gave authorities licence to search anything they liked, infuriating the colonists and inspiring the Fourth Amendment. For Jeffrey Rosen, president of the non-partisan National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, Justice Gorsuch’s approach was somewhat surprising, if reassuring. “It suggests that he, like his predecessor Justice Antonin Scalia, may be a vigorous defender of the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches of our digital effects.” Ian Samuel of Harvard Law School agreed. The colonial-era reference caught the government’s lawyer “entirely off-guard”, he says. Now the justices must reckon with how to find for Mr Carpenter—no mean feat in light of the competing interests of privacy and policing. As he often does, Justice Breyer turned to the lawyers for help. “So where are we going? Is this the right line?” A solid majority of the justices know what decision they want, but “how do we, in fact, write it?” An answer should appear by the end of June.

Technology

Security

Previously, only fruits and vegetables had been considered zero points. Now, that list includes eggs, corn, all fish, all seafood, skinless chicken breast, skinless turkey breast, nonfat plain yogurt, beans, peas, lentils, and tofu, the company said in a press release. The company promised the new system, called "Freestyle," would give dieters better results and said participants in a six-month clinical trial saw "significant benefits both on and off the scale." “The new freestyle program offers a wide range of zero points foods that guide members toward a healthier pattern of eating," the company's chief scientific officer, Gary Foster, said. "It gives people the freedom and flexibility they need to make significant changes on and off the scale. The results are the best we’ve ever seen for a Weight Watchers program in a clinical trial.”

Other

Other

Well, it's almost time. On January 20th, noted L.L. Bean fanatic Donald Trump will take the oath of office and be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States in the nation's capital. It should be a really interesting time. We were able to get our hands on the updated schedule of events for the special day and it sounds like it's going to be pretty cool! 9:30 a.m. Presidential Cabinet and Vice President-elect Mike Pence take their seats on big gold thrones.  9:45 a.m. Trump takes his seat on even bigger golder [sic] throne.  10:00 a.m. The Queen Of Piss SOMEBODY NOT OF SIGNIFICANCE takes her seat. 10:15 a.m. The cast of Duck Dynasty take their seats.  10:45 a.m. Kid Rock sings “America Kicks Ass (And My Dick Hurts)”  11:00 a.m. Actor James Woods threatens to sue each individual audience member.  11:15 a.m. Actor Scott Baio says “safe space” and “snowflake” alternatively for 15 minutes.  11:30 a.m. Kid Rock and Ted Nugent reprise “America Kicks Ass (And My Dick Hurts)”  11:50 a.m. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts Dennis Rodman administers the presidential oath of office to President-elect Trump. Trump dons “Crown of Power.”  12:00 p.m. President Trump delivers inaugural address.   12:01 p.m. End of Trump’s inaugural address.  12:05 p.m. Jeff Dunham and Achmed, the dead terrorist puppet, address nation.  1:00 p.m. Donald Trump, Jr. ceremoniously shoots the earth’s last male white rhino.  1:15 p.m. Barron Trump reads the list of active ingredients in Tylenol AM.  1:30 p.m. Kid Rock performs “Money Is So Good (Need To Get My Dick Looked At Pronto)” 1:45 p.m. Eric Trump morphs into bat.   7:00 p.m. Inaugural ball (Must have minimum $15 million net worth to be admitted. CASH BAR.)  Wow, looks great. Make sure to tune in. You won't want to miss this!

Politics

Current Events

Niantic, the company behind the hit mobile game Pokémon Go and its predecessor, Ingress, announced today it has acquired the team from the startup Evertoon to help it further build out its mobile products. Deal terms were not disclosed, but from how it’s described, the move seems to be more of an acqui-hire focused on gaining access to talent, rather than Evertoon’s IP. Launched last year, Evertoon’s app was designed to help users make short, personalized films that could be shared out to social networks like YouTube and Twitter. The app allowed users to upload a photo to use on top of a predesigned avatar, which they could then program to do certain things by typing emoji commands. For example, typing a thumbs up emoji would have the avatar perform that action, while a fist would have the avatar throwing a punch. Users could also upload their own background photo and add their voices to the videos. Evertoon has been live for 18 months, and during that time, people have used Evertoon to make animated fan fiction, celebrity satire, and music videos, the company says today in its announcement. The development taught them a lot about building a community and social experiences, it says. Niantic’s interest in the toon-making app is less about the technical mechanics of creating these mini-movies, and more about the team’s engineering capabilities, as well as their understanding of social systems. “Niniane [Wang, founder of Evertoon] and her team have been exploring innovative ways to add social mechanics to digital products. As our products and platform evolve, they will help build social systems that will benefit our entire community,” Niantic says in its blog post about the acquisition. Evertoon’s team will be tasked with adding a social platform to Niantic’s  games, including Pokémon Go, Ingress, and its future titles. As a result of being acquired, Evertoon will shut down its iOS application. The app will go offline on November 30, 2017, though users with version 3.0 of app installed on their phone will still be able to make animated movies. However, the community component of the Evertoon product will be removed, and older versions of the app will cease working on the cut off date. If you want to save your previously created videos, you’ll need to download them to your device, the company says. (Evertoon’s FAQ goes into more detail.) Evertoon was still a fairly small startup with just five employees led by founder Niniane Wang. Wang was previously at Google, which is how she’s connected Niantic and its leadership. (Google was home to Niantic before it was spun out.) The startup had raised $1.7 million to date, according to Crunchbase, from investors including Greylock Partners, Arena Ventures, CRCM Ventures, Amino Capital, Charlie Cheever, Alison Rosenthal, Ben Davenport, Ellen Pao, and Lucy Zhang. The company declined to discuss deal terms or IP, saying only that the “social mechanics” was the focus. The full announcement, written by Niantic CEO, John Hanke, is below: Hello everyone, The Niantic family is growing, and we couldn’t be more pleased to welcome a great group of people who will help evolve, challenge and grow our company in new ways. Today I am excited to announce that we have acquired the Evertoon team, who bring with them a wealth of talent and experience in mobile products, tools for creativity, and community building. Niniane and her team have been exploring innovative ways to add social mechanics to digital products. As our products and platform evolve, they will help build social systems that will benefit our entire community. We are also excited to have Niniane’s engineering leadership and team management skills, as our team grows. jh

Technology

Social Media

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says he's "not too worried" about what will happen if new FCC chairman Ajit Pai eliminates the Title II regulations that have guaranteed a neutral internet experience for US consumers in recent years. Speaking to a group of journalists at Netflix's headquarters in Los Gatos, California earlier today, Hastings said he believes "the culture around net neutrality is very strong. The expectations of consumers are very strong. So even if the formal framework gets weakened," he continued, "we don't see a big risk actualizing, because consumers know they're entitled to getting all of the web services." Hastings was responding to questions The Verge asked during the briefing, and stressed that Netflix is only participating in so-called zero-rating schemes with US wireless carriers because "they're not choosing one over the other .... they're providing consumers with a better value without being a gateway." Net neutrality has been a hot-button topic in the US since new president Donald Trump chose Pai as the new chairman of the FCC. Pai is a well-known opponent of the FCC establishing net neutrality rules, which exist to prevent internet service providers from prioritizing certain content, and which officially went into effect under the Obama administration in 2015. Since Pai's appointment, there have been many questions around how the rules might change, and whether the overarching principle of internet neutrality could be compromised. In the past, Hastings has been outspoken about practices he believed went against net neutrality principles, calling out Comcast on his Facebook page back in 2012 and again in 2014 (in a company blog post that now appears to redirect back to the main page of the Netflix blog). Then in 2015, Netflix announced a deal with Australian ISP iiNet to exempt its traffic from data caps, and last year said it would work with US carrier T-Mobile on its Binge On program, which lets customers stream video from Netflix and HBO without it racking up monthly data usage. Some net neutrality activists saw this as a reversal in Netflix's earlier position. Hastings said he doesn't see programs like Binge On as a conflict because "T-Mobile in the US is making it open to all video providers ... and so the key thing is that it's neutral, and any video provider, our competitors or us, can sign up. There's no fees. The key thing that T-Mobile requires is that you stream at a lower bit rate, about one megabyte, and that saves them a lot at the network bandwidth." He went on to say that programs like this are a positive because "you see how competitive the market is. They've been gaining market share in the US, and now you've gotten responses from AT&T and others increasing unlimited [data]. We're big fans of these programs that are neutral, and free to customers." Hastings' analysis of programs like Binge On as neutral is, of course, not entirely unmotivated. As the key player in internet video, his company already has partnerships set up to ensure that he's in any conversations about zero-rating video services — something a brand new video startup won't have.

Technology

Internet

GOP strategist Karl Rove on Friday said he and his super-PAC are not warming to Republican presidential front-runner Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpPossible GOP challenger says Trump doesn't doesn't deserve reelection, but would vote for him over Democrat O'Rourke: Trump driving global, U.S. economy into recession Manchin: Trump has 'golden opportunity' on gun reforms MORE. “The answer is no,” Rove said in response to a question from Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer on Friday. “It was a story in yesterday's Politico ... on a conference call we had with our donors by a reporter who loves sensationalism and doesn't like to do the hard work of reporting,” he said Friday. The report from Politico said Rove’s super-PAC American Crossroads was warming to Trump and beginning to see him in a more favorable light. It said the super-PAC planned to advertise against Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonLewandowski on potential NH Senate run: If I run, 'I'm going to win' Fighter pilot vs. astronaut match-up in Arizona could determine control of Senate Progressive Democrats' turnout plans simply don't add up MORE in the fall if she is the Democratic nominee. “We had a conference call in which we briefed our donors ... we're involved in a continuing set of research, focus groups and polls, focused on Hillary Clinton and how to beat her,” Rove said.  Rove, who served as senior adviser to former President George W. Bush, said the American Crossroads research took Trump, whom national polls say is “the weakest Republican candidate” and tried to find out how Clinton would fare against him in “critical battleground states” and then in "so-called opportunity states” such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. “And the evidence is that as weak a candidate as she is, he can't exploit those weaknesses,” Rove said. Rove concluded by reiterating that his personal view is that Trump cannot beat Clinton in a general election. He says it's important to keep attacking Clinton and suppressing her popularity in order for the Republicans to succeed in November.  View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

US

WASHINGTON — Buses overflowed, bike lanes swelled and highways across Maryland and Virginia were stop-and-go as this city crawled its way through two elongated and unpredictable rush hours on Wednesday, brought on by a decision to shutter the region’s subway system for an emergency safety inspection. But for much of the day in downtown Washington, where Metro, as the region’s subway is known, was gated shut, there was relative calm, as street and foot traffic — made lighter by legions of workers clocking in from home — moved at a steady clip. Many who went about their weekday routines said they could deal with a day’s disruption if it meant safer rides on a public transportation system where reliability and safety have become perennial concerns. Late Wednesday afternoon, Paul J. Wiedefeld, Metro’s general manager, said that the inspections had helped to do just that and that he had authorized the system to reopen on Thursday morning as planned, after repairs to more than two dozen cables found to be damaged are completed. “I know this has presented hardship to the region,” Mr. Wiedefeld said at a news conference. “The shutdown today was necessary.” The closing came as officials fanned out across the system’s six lines and 91 stations to inspect about 600 electrical cables on what is known as the third rail. One of those cables, in a downtown tunnel, caught fire on Monday, creating long delays and evoking memories of a similar episode in January 2015 that resulted in one passenger’s death while sickening several others. Mr. Wiedefeld said that by 5 p.m. Wednesday, inspection crews had found 26 areas where similar cables or connector boots needed to be replaced. Inspectors were expected to continue working throughout the night and, if necessary, into Thursday if any additional problems were found. The decision to close Metro, which was hastily announced on Tuesday afternoon after Mr. Wiedefeld consulted with Metro’s board of directors, displaced hundreds of thousands of subway riders and led many area residents to work from home. Riders take about 700,000 trips a day on Metro’s lines, which are the second busiest in the country. About 38 percent of the city’s work force uses some form of public transportation to get to work, according to the United States Census Bureau. “Just take a deep breath because you can’t really do anything about it,” said Marilia Rojas, a student at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, said near the White House about 8 a.m. A regular Metro rider, Ms. Rojas, 24, said she was not all that surprised when she heard the system would shut down for the day given its problems. But after her hour-and-a-half commute from her home in suburban Bethesda, Md., took three times as long, she was considering a lifestyle change. “It makes me want to move into the city or something,” she said. Wednesday’s closing was the latest in a string of setbacks for Metro, a system billed as a modern marvel when it opened here four decades ago but better known in recent years for revenue shortages, management problems and aging infrastructure. The system’s failings were most notably on display in June 2009, when one train slammed into another. killing eight passengers and a train operator. But riders consistently report service delays, cancellations and exceptionally long wait times, a recent internal report found. Ridership, in turn, has dropped in recent months to low levels not seen here in a decade. In October, the transportation secretary, Anthony Foxx, directed the Federal Transit Administration to take responsibility for Metro safety as the three jurisdictions that normally oversee it — Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia — were ordered to set up a new, more powerful safety oversight body that would comply with federal standards. The jurisdictions have not yet done so. “For months, I have called on the jurisdictions to form an effective state safety oversight organization,” Mr. Foxx said during a previously scheduled appearance before a Senate committee on Wednesday. “And yet we have no concrete movement on the part of these jurisdictions. That would be a good start.” Mr. Foxx said he ordered the transit agency to locate unspent Metro funds that could be used for safety improvements and to begin conducting “a safety inspection blitz” next week focused on operators running red lights, track integrity and the use of emergency breaks. “I don’t think it’s just resources,” that will solve Metro’s problems, he said. “I think it is culture and I think it is a deliberate decision needed by those involved in this.” Despite dire warnings on Capitol Hill and around Washington in the hours after its announcement, closings around the region were rare and schools, hospitals and most other institutions were largely unaffected. Students who could not make it to classes in Washington’s public schools had their absences excused. Spring break tourists enjoying the warm weather outside the White House said they were traveling the region by bus and had been unaffected by the closing. Metro’s bus service — and its competitors — raced to absorb the thousands of displaced commuters. The D.C. Circulator, a limited city-run bus service, did not charge riders for the day, nor did Capital Bikeshare. Uber and Lyft both offered credits to first-time riders; Uber reported record number of its drivers on the city’s roadways. At Union Station, Washington’s ground transportation hub near the Capitol, there was a noticeable dearth of commuters as many employers offered the option to work from home. The escalators from the underground Metro station there continued to run, eerily devoid of workers and tourists for a weekday morning. A few who traveled by Amtrak or one of the regional train systems waited for taxis in a short line out front, mumbling about how inconvenient the shutdown was. John Heffner, 70, of Alexandria, Va., said he was trying to accommodate what he saw as a wise decision on the part of Metro officials. Still, Mr. Heffner, an attorney who focuses on rail transportation law, said, “If this happened in New York, it would be revolution.”

Government

Politics

There are a lot of concerns about bitcoin as two exchanges prepare to trade futures on the unregulated cryptocurrency starting Sunday. However, former market regulator Bart Chilton believes trading bitcoin futures will be safe and could actually help stabilize the cryptocurrency, he told CNBC on Thursday. Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets is set to launch bitcoin futures on Sunday, and CME, the world's largest futures exchange, is planning to launch its futures product next week. Both exchanges are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which Chilton used to head. "They know what they are doing in these markets. CME is the most liquid, diverse traded futures contracts around the world," Chilton said in an interview with CNBC's "Power Lunch. " "The quicker that we can get to some transparency, the quicker we can know who is in these markets — is it institutional investors, is it individuals — then the underlying [bitcoin] will also have a little bit more stability in it than we see now," he added. Bitcoin has been on a wild ride over the past few days, soaring above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before falling sharply. At 3:13 p.m. ET, it traded at $15,981.14 on the Coinbase exchange. The volatility has led to some concern over the cryptocurrency and bitcoin futures. The Futures Industry Association, a global organization representing 64 clearing members, sent a letter to the CFTC on Wednesday laying out concerns about that volatility as well as the risks clearing firms will have to absorb if there is a default. Chilton said the CME and Cboe know what the risks are and are very adept at setting their margins, which are constantly adjusted in things that are more volatile. The CFTC has said that government regulation aims to preserve the integrity of the contracts. The exchanges are looking at the underlying cash contract to make sure it's not manipulated, " Andrew Busch, chief market intelligence officer at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told CNBC. "Our role as a derivatives regulator is to make sure that the futures contract is not manipulated. We're going to do that for sure." Chilton has long been a proponent of regulating the digital currency, which has no central authority. Its transactions are recorded in an anonymous public log called the blockchain. "It doesn't have to be a full-throated regulation that thwarts innovation. I support digital currencies. But there needs to be some consumer protections," he said. Notable critics such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon have called bitcoin a "fraud." — CNBC's Matthew Belvedere and Patti Domm contributed to this report.

Technology

Cryptocurrency

The FBI and other federal agencies are investigating after at least seven suspected pipe bombs were sent to the homes and office buildings of prominent Democrats, CNN, and a leading critic of President Donald Trump in a domestic terrorism incident that drew a massive law enforcement response across the US. Now in the throes of an intense hunt for the serial mail bomber, authorities discovered the first suspicious package late Tuesday night. The Secret Service intercepted a manila envelope addressed to Hillary Clinton's home in Westchester County, New York. Officials found a similar bomb addressed to former President Obama in Washington, DC, early Wednesday. Hours later, after 9 a.m., a suspicious package containing a "live explosive device" and white powder was sent to the New York City building that holds offices of CNN — a constant target of Trump's anger — which led to an evacuation, authorities said. The packages are all similar in appearance and contain "potentially destructive devices," the FBI said in a statement Wednesday, noting that they are being sent to the agency's lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. The FBI emphasized that there may have been additional packages mailed to other locations. “This investigation is of the highest priority for the FBI. We have committed the full strength of the FBI’s resources and, together with our partners on our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, we will continue to work to identify and arrest whoever is responsible for sending these packages,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. CNN later reported that the package was addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, a leading critic of the president. Brennan is a contributor to MSNBC and NBC News, but not CNN. The package was delivered by courier, CNN reported. The offices of US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, were later evacuated after the building received a suspicious package. That package was actually addressed to former attorney general Eric Holder, the FBI explained, but was sent back to Wasserman Schultz's office because it was listed as the return address — an obvious ruse that was also on the package addressed to Brennan. A spokesperson for Holder, who served under Obama, referred all questions to authorities. At least five of the packages were mailed in manila envelopes with a bubble wrap interior, had computer-printed address labels, and six American flag "forever" stamps, the FBI said. Each had a return address of “DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ [sic]” in Florida. Later on Wednesday, a package addressed to Democratic US Rep. Maxine Waters, from California, was intercepted at a congressional mail facility in College Heights, Maryland, a Democratic aide confirmed to BuzzFeed News. Capitol Police said in a statement that it and the FBI were investigating a suspicious package reported at a congressional mailing facility and addressed to a member of Congress, though the statement did not specify which one. The FBI confirmed late that night that another package was addressed to Waters' office in South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the package was discovered at a USPS mail facility, spurring authorities to evacuate the building. The Department of Homeland Security, which condemned the threats in a statement, said it was working with the FBI and Secret Service, and that it heightened security at federal facilities around the country. The series of incidents came after billionaire philanthropist and liberal megadonor George Soros received an explosive device in the mailbox of his New York home earlier in the week. The acts of terrorism prompted a sprawling law enforcement investigation from Florida to upstate New York. Authorities have so far indicated that there are similarities among the packages and devices. "It appears that an individual or individuals sent out multiple similar packages," Bryan Paarmann, special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division for the FBI New York field office, said Wednesday. So far, the devices appear to be pipe bombs. "This clearly is an act of terror, attempting to undermine our free press and leaders of this country through acts of violence," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. He and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasted the current polarized political rhetoric, with thinly veiled references to Trump. "To all public officials of all partisan affiliations, don't encourage violence," de Blasio said. "Don't encourage hatred. Don't encourage attacks on media. You can disagree but you have to show respect for people and air your disagreements peacefully. Unfortunately, this atmosphere of hatred is contributing to the choices people are making to turn to violence." For his part, Cuomo criticized "overheated rhetoric" and "extremism that pushes people to violence." "And at the end of the day, we may have political differences, but this is one country," he added. He also announced that he was deploying National Guard troops and directing state authorities to double security at major assets across the state, including airports, mass transit systems, bridges, and tunnels. CNN President Jeff Zucker directly blamed Trump's rhetoric against the media, saying in a statement, "There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media." Zucker called out Trump and White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for having shown "no comprehension" that "their words matter." Late Wednesday afternoon, Trump called on the country to "unify," and condemned whoever sent the devices to the very people and outlets that he often rails against in front of adoring crowds who adopt his rhetoric. "I just want to tell you that in these times we have to unify. We have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America," Trump said. "We're extremely angry, upset, unhappy about what witnessed this morning, and we will get to the bottom of it." He added that the "full weight of the government" was being deployed to find those responsible for the "despicable acts." Meanwhile, Cuomo said authorities "wouldn't be at all surprised if more devices show up." CNN's Shimon Prokupecz reported that the device at his office was similar to the other potential explosive devices that were addressed to Soros, Clinton, and Obama. He said that he was told the device looked "sort of like a pipe bomb" similar to the others intercepted by the Secret Service. The incident prompted CNN's anchors to rush off the air. The packages addressed to Clinton and Obama were identified as potential explosive devices during routine mail screening procedures, the Secret Service said. Both packages were intercepted by authorities before being delivered to Clinton's and Obama's residences. They did not receive the packages, nor were at any risk of receiving them, according to the Secret Service. "Thanks to the men and women of the Secret Service who intercepted the package addressed to us long before it made its way to our home. Every day we are grateful for their service and commitment and obviously never more than today," Hillary Clinton said. "But it is a troubling time, isn't it? And it's a time of deep divisions, and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together." Chelsea Clinton thanked the Secret Service in a tweet, saying, "Every day, I am grateful to the women and men of the United States Secret Service." The New York Times reported that the explosive device addressed to Clinton was similar to the one found in Soros's mailbox on Monday night. The spate of suspicious packages sparked a wave of precautionary measures and reactions from police departments, newsrooms, and government centers across the US. After evacuating Wasserman Schultz's office in Sunrise, Florida, police in nearby Aventura said they evacuated city hall, where the Democrat also has an office. About an hour later, however, police deemed the package safe and stated that it "has no nexus to any of the other national incidents that occurred today." The Los Angeles Times called in the El Segundo Fire Department's hazmat team to examine four suspicious envelopes that were placed in a box outside their building, hours after a package forced the San Diego Union-Tribune, a sister publication of the Times, to evacuate. Authorities found that package to be harmless.

Technology

Cybersecurity

Martha McSally and Cory Gardner both face tough reelection races in 2020 in battleground states. But the two Republican senators are taking completely different approaches to the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. McSally (R-Ariz.) is predicting political doom for Democrats, deeming it a “kamikaze mission” that will help Republicans across the board. Gardner is keeping his opinion as close to the vest as possible. “Literally they are on a path to re-elect the president, keep the Senate majority [Republican] and possibly flip the House. It’s a total distraction,” McSally said in an interview of the House Democrats' path. “For the people I represent, this is not what they’re talking about.” Gardner said Trump's conversations with the president of Ukraine about Joe Biden and his family as well as a whistleblower complaint about the president's conversations with a world leader are a “serious issue.” Asked if he still supported Trump’s reelection, Gardner declined to address the question: “Let’s find out what’s happening. Let’s get to the bottom of this.” “I’m not going to get in front of the facts that I simply don’t have right now,” he added. If House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry turns into an attempt to remove the president from office, Gardner and McSally will be two of the most closely watched votes. And for now no one on the Senate Republican side is even endorsing an inquiry, much less suggesting they might vote to convict the president. Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina spoke to the 53-member caucus on Tuesday afternoon at lunch, senators said. He “suggested we get the facts before people start jumping to conclusions,” recalled Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Shortly after Republicans were in harmony, saying they need more information about the Trump call with the Ukrainian president and the whistleblower to say whether it’s troubling that Trump reportedly pressured President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig into Biden and his son, Hunter, in order to receive U.S. aid. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. “It would be much more helpful if we can just get the full and honest story out there. There’s a lot of speculation about what was really said. So, hard to say until we see what’s real,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), an occasional Trump critic. “It’s early to be having those conversations. There’s so much which we don’t know,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) of impeachment. That will change soon. On Wednesday, Trump will release his transcript of the call with the Ukrainian president. On Thursday, the House and Senate Intelligence committees will both hear from intelligence officials about the whistleblower case. Republican senators said there was no real concern exhibited in their party lunch on Tuesday about a possible impeachment trial in the chamber. But Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), who is among the most popular members among Republicans, said he’d sensed a shift among his colleagues. “I have not heard a peep [from Republicans]. They’re being unusually circumspect, changing the subject, just not willing to talk about it,” Coons said. Tuesday’s rapid shift toward impeachment in the House is just the opening gun in what’s going to turn into a marathon march for Senate Republicans, who are the president’s firewall in any attempt at removal. At least 20 Senate Republicans would have to join with all 47 Senate Democratic Caucus members to remove the president, which now seems an impossibly high number. “There will be a huge backlash. And this will be just seen as the next step after Hillary Clinton’s defeat and the Russian investigation,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), another incumbent Republican. “I’m kind of scratching my head why all of a sudden the House’s hair is on fire.” “I see nothing so far. Impeachment is a political decision. And their base ... they hate the president and they’re searching for a reason to impeach him,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), another incumbent. “It’s a different question if there’s anything to convict him.” Senate leaders said Democrats face all the risk, minimizing the pivotal role that Senate Republicans may play in the coming months as potential jurors in Trump’s Senate trial. “This path, which we discovered 20 years ago when I was in the House, it’s not always smooth sailing. And sometimes the things you do to satisfy your base don’t help you with the majority of the American people,” said Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.). For Cornyn and Cassidy, the impeachment question is relatively easy: Their states are conservative and there’s no path to victory by breaking with the president. McSally’s state is trending Democratic but still leans red. Yet impeachment is still being celebrated in all corners of the party, reflecting the complex decisions ahead for the GOP. And no one has a more difficult political calculus than Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has not endorsed Trump’s reelection but supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year. And she’s been trying to pass firearms legislation and prescription drug reforms in an already volatile environment. “I don’t know what evidence they’re using at this point,” Collins said of the House’s impeachment push. “I still hold hope out that we can legislate … but this could affect everything.” Indeed, the one shared lament on Tuesday among Senate Republicans is that their attempts at legislating were increasingly likely to flail on guns, prescription drugs and potentially the new North American trade agreement. It was also slowly sinking in that their time in Congress during the first term of Donald Trump was going to be consumed by impeachment. “It probably will eat up a lot of energy in the room to talk about other things that I think the public is interested in our addressing,” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). “It all eats up time and energy.”

Politics

Government

China issued an upbeat but vague promise Wednesday to carry out a tariff cease-fire with Washington but gave no details that might dispel confusion about what Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump agreed to in Argentina. China has yet to confirm Trump's claim that Beijing committed to cut auto tariffs and buy more American farm exports. That, coupled with conflicting statements by Trump and U.S. officials, helped trigger a tumble in U.S. stock prices Tuesday amid doubt about the chances for a lasting settlement of a battle over technology that threatens to chill global economic growth. "China will start from implementing specific issues on which consensus has been reached, and the sooner, the better," the Commerce Ministry said on its website. The two sides have a "clear timetable and road map" for talks, the ministry said, but gave no details. The ministry didn't respond to questions by phone and fax. The Chinese silence prompted questions about what Trump said was a promise by Beijing to buy more American exports and negotiate over U.S. complaints that it steals American technology. Stock markets rose Monday after U.S. officials touted the agreement as a historic breakthrough. But they plunged Tuesday after Trump called himself "Tariff Man" on Twitter and renewed threats of penalty duties. Be patient, said Ma Hong, a trade expert at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He said Chinese leaders are right to move carefully as they deal with contentious details. The delay in talking "isn't a sign of rejection, but of cautiousness," said Ma. "The United States has put forward many demands, not all of them reasonable," he said. Negotiations will proceed "step by step, not based on the rhythm of the United States." Trump is pressing Beijing to roll back plans for state-led development of Chinese technology champions that Washington says violate its market-opening commitments. Chinese leaders have offered to change some details of plans such as "Made in China 2025." They have rejected pressure to scrap strategies they see as a path to prosperity and global influence, but foreign analysts say they might be starting to understand the depth of foreign opposition to their plans. Beijing has tried without success to recruit Europe, South Korea and other countries as allies against Trump. They criticize Washington's tactics but share its complaints. This week's confusion highlights the clash between the secrecy and measured pace of the ruling Communist Party and Trump, who fires off dozens of Twitter comments a day and cultivates an image as a fast-paced, unpredictable deal-maker. Chinese leaders routinely use delays of months or years to pressure negotiating partners. Even on routine matters, with no voters to placate and total control of Chinese media, they can frustrate other governments by leaving them waiting weeks or months for a response. Beijing is less informative than Washington, which "might sometimes be too transparent," with officials issuing conflicting statements, said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics. Despite the Chinese silence, the "atmosphere is more constructive" and Beijing might be more willing to negotiate, Kuijs said. He noted all the major American players attended the Argentina meeting, giving a sign of "buy in" on a U.S. position. China has responded to Washington's list of demands, though it is unclear what Beijing said. The Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, citing unidentified sources, said Beijing was preparing to send a 30-member negotiating team to Washington. "I think there is a higher likelihood that we get meaningful discussions now than in much of the last six months," said Kuijs. Questions began to swirl after China's foreign minister read a statement Saturday in Buenos Aires that said Washington agreed to halt tariff hikes. Wang Yi failed to mention industrial policy or Trump's demand that Beijing make progress in changing it or face renewed duty increases. That prompted some economists to ask whether Beijing was presenting a positive image for Chinese audiences or didn't understand the depth of American opposition to its technology plans. On Tuesday, China's government issued a pledge that appeared to be aimed at mollifying U.S. complaints about rampant violations of patents and copyrights. It promised to create a list of violators that would make it harder for them to do business or get government support. Analysts noted, however, there were no additional enforcement efforts. "The notice won't convince President Trump that China is taking a serious stance on the matter," Irene Pang of ING said in a report. Meanwhile, Rabobank suggested a simpler explanation Wednesday for China's silence: Xi has yet to return to Beijing to approve official statements. The president, China's most powerful leader since at least the 1980s, flew from Argentina to Panama for an official visit and on Wednesday was in Portugal. "Talk about one-man rule!" Rabobank researchers said in a report. "(And does the man not have email?)"

Politics

International Relations

WHEN American officials announced last month that laptops and tablets would be banned from aeroplane cabins on flights from certain Muslim countries, many questioned the administration's motive. Was it a proportionate response to specific intelligence about a terrorist threat? Or had the government taken the opportunity to clobber swanky foreign operators that compete with the country’s own woeful airlines? If the latter view is too cynical, we can at least say that, for America’s carriers, it has been a serendipitous byproduct. On April 19th, Emirates announced that it is cutting its services to the United States by 20%. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the airline’s home, was one of ten Muslim countries covered by the laptop ban. By happy coincidence, no American carriers served airports that were affected. Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. The restrictions on electronic devices are a particular problem for Emirates and the other Middle Eastern “superconnectors”, Etihad, also of the UAE, and Qatar Airways. Direct traffic between America and these airlines’ hubs is modest: most passengers use them to connect to or from other destinations across the globe. That gives customers a wide choice. The laptop ban has probably encouraged those flying between America and Asia, for example, to connect in Europe, which was not affected by the edict. Despite the superconnectors coming up with novel ways around the restrictions—such as loaning premium travellers laptops for the duration of a flight—the thought of 12 hours in the air without a personal device is clearly too much for many passengers to bear. The new administration has made life difficult for the big Middle Eastern airlines in other ways, too. Emirates and the rest also cater to connecting traffic from the Muslim countries affected by President Trump’s immigration ban, such as Iran. (That order has since been overturned by the courts.) More widely, many travellers, particularly Muslims, have become nervous about travelling to America, fearing over-zealous interrogation by immigration officials, or being denied entry on spurious grounds. All of which has forced Emirates to clip its wings. The airline currently operates 126 flights from Dubai to 12 American cities. Next month it will fly 101. Neither Qatar Airways or Etihad have yet said they will follow suit, but it is likely that they are feeling the pinch too. It is not just these airlines’ owners that need be concerned. The cuts by Emirates are indicative of two wider problems. The first is the effect that Donald Trump is having on America’s travel sector. On April 17th, Arne Sorenson, the boss of Marriott, the world’s largest hotel chain, became the latest in what has become a long line of travel-industry beasts to warn that interest in visiting America is waning in the wake of the president’s actions. Travel and touriusm currently accounts for 8% of the country’s GDP and 13.7m jobs. That should give cause for worry. But American flyers should care too. As our leader in this week’s print edition spells out, there is one simple reason why service on the country’s airlines lags so far behind Europe and Asia: a lack of competition. The cosy oligopoly operated by American, United and Delta, which stifles competition on many routes, allows them to treat customers with disdain. If foreign carriers like Emirates, renowned for exemplary service, start to operate fewer flights, domestic airlines will have even less reason to be nice.

Transportation

Aviation

Tennessee has played two solid games against ranked teams at the Maui Invitational, but the Volunteers don’t have any wins to show for it - something they hope to change against tournament host Chaminade in Wednesday’s seventh-place game. Tennessee briefly led No. 14 Wisconsin in the second half of Monday’s tournament opener before losing by 12 points, then came back and pushed No. 12 Oregon to overtime Tuesday before losing 69-65. Tennessee guard Detrick Mostella had another stellar first half for the Vols on Tuesday, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the first 20 minutes, a day after scoring all 12 of his points in the first half against Wisconsin. Mostella made 8-of-11 shots, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, further bettering his chances of moving back into the starting lineup - a role he briefly had in the season opener. Jordan Bowden would likely be the odd-guard out among the current starters, as he’s 4-for-14 from the floor in Maui and 1-for-8 from 3-point range. Chaminade has won just seven games since it began hosting this tournament in 1984 and came close to its eighth Tuesday against Connecticut before eventually losing 93-82. TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU ABOUT TENNESSEE (1-3): The Vols certainly need more production from their starting five, as none reached double figures in scoring against Oregon and together they shot 7-for-29 with three assists and 15 turnovers. Freshman John Fulkerson made his bid for a starting spot, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in 37 minutes against the Ducks. Fulkerson had combined for just 20 minutes in the first three games and took only one field goal attempt in that span, so it will be interesting how he’s used against smaller Chaminade. ABOUT CHAMINADE (2-2): Rohndell Goodwin and Kiran Shastri came into the tournament averaging just over 20 points a game and the Silverswords will continue looking at them for offense. Goodwin scored 20 points against Connecticut and 18 in Monday’s loss to No. 4 North Carolina, and Shastri has put up 13 and 19 points in the first two games. Chaminade has nobody in its rotation taller than 6-7, however, and that could be a real problem against Tennessee and players like Fulkerson. TIP-INS 1. Tennessee has used a different starting lineup in each of its first four games. 2. Fulkerson is the first Tennessee freshman to record a double-double since current Denver Nuggets forward Jarnell Stokes had 11 points and 14 rebounds against Vanderbilt on March 3, 2012. 3. Chaminade’s last victory at this tournament came against Texas in 2012, when the Longhorns were coached by Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. PREDICTION: Tennessee 83, Chaminade 71

Sports

Basketball

Critic’s Pick If you prefer to be totally surprised by your TV shows, put down this review and watch “Russian Doll” when it comes out on Netflix on Friday. It’s eight short, acerbic, wittily profound episodes with a richly satisfying ending(s). If you don’t mind a teensy spoiler, without which we can’t really discuss the series: The protagonist dies. This is not as big a surprise as it might seem. Nadia Vulvokov (Natasha Lyonne) is at a party for her 36th birthday, downing booze, sucking down a joint laced with a certain something and contemplating her self-destructiveness and mortality. “I smoke two packs a day,” she tells a friend. “I have the internal organs of a man twice my age.” Good news: Her lungs don’t kill her. Bad news: A car does, later that night. Disorienting news: She comes back to life, in the bathroom of the same downtown New York apartment, at the same party. Then she dies again and materializes in the bathroom again, over and over, reviving each time to the tune of Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up.” While this might seem to tell you everything about “Russian Doll” — another variation on “Groundhog Day,” premiering, wink wink, the day before Groundhog Day — the story is barely getting started. It’s the way the series twists and complicates the premise that makes it much more than a copycat. And that, finally, I will not spoil. A party is the right place to meet Nadia. She’s a gregarious loner, warmly embracing her boho friends but allergic to any long-term attachment or dependence. She keeps a still-devoted former lover (Yul Vazquez) at arm’s length. Her longest-running relationships are with Ruth (Elizabeth Ashley), a family friend and therapist, and Oatmeal, the cat whose custody she shares with a local bodega. Like Nadia, Oatmeal likes to keep things open-ended. Lyonne created “Russian Doll” with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, and it’s a terrific match of performer and character. Lyonne’s throaty rasp sounds like a cigarette would if it could talk, but she also has a presence and an impish spark that cuts Nadia’s cynicism. She’s both ancient and brand-new, or as Nadia describes herself, “like if Andrew Dice Clay and the little girl from ‘Brave’ made a baby.” When Nadia first dies and comes back to life, she suspects it may be a bad drug trip. When it happens again — well, kill me once, shame on you. Nadia, a video game programmer by trade, approaches her Groundhog Night dilemma accordingly. To break the loop, she needs to figure out the rules by which this recurring game works. Then she needs to debug it, and thus herself. Life, Nadia discovers, is a very complex program, and her attempts to relive it take on a different cast from the romantic comedy of “Groundhog Day.” “Russian Doll” is more a detective story, with elements of slapstick, sci-fi and even horror. She’s not trying to mechanically create the perfect day so much as to, per the title, delve through her concentric shells and find her kernel. If you watched, and I use the term loosely, Netflix’s interactive “Black Mirror” fiction “Bandersnatch,” you will recognize a parallel. That story too was about a game programmer, and it invited the viewer to send him down different life pathways — many of which ended with him dead — before starting over. “Russian Doll” is a linear story, yet it has a greater sense of possibility and variety than that choose-your-own-adventure. It acknowledges that the other characters in Nadia’s story also have volition, that they too are capable of choosing differently — of having their own do-overs — when the same scenario repeats. This becomes important when Nadia strikes a connection with Alan (Charlie Barnett), an uptight stranger wrestling with his own crises, whose path crosses and recrosses hers in significant ways. Nadia tells him that her idea of hell is to have to depend on another person, and he points out that she’s said as much through one of the games she programmed, “an impossible game with a single character who has to do everything on her own.” For all its memento mori philosophy, the show is a hoot, as adept with physical comedy as with its quips — watching Lyonne navigate a flight of stairs on which she’s met several demises is priceless. If you spend a lot of time walking in New York (or anywhere else, probably), “Russian Doll” will leave you conscious of the myriad ways death could be around any corner, or teetering on any windowsill. Which is not the worst service a TV show can provide. “Russian Doll” joins a boomlet of eschatological TV comedies (“The Good Place,” “Forever”) that use death and rebirth to attempt screwball inquiries into how to live. Like its peers, “Russian Doll” resolves on the necessity of human connection, a familiar homily, but it’s too inventive and irascible to feel pat. This is a show with a big heart, but a nicotine-stained heart that’s been dropped in the gutter and kicked around a few times. “Russian Doll” is lean and snappily paced; it even managed the rare feat, in the era of streaming-TV bloat, of making me wish for a bit more. Would it kill Nadia to keep the story going just a little longer? The answer, of course, is yes.

Names

People

Takata is arranging for a potential Chapter 11 filing for its U.S. unit because of huge costs from the company's widespread air bag recalls, according to Dow Jones, citing Japanese financial news service Nikkei. The report said the move for TK Holdings could help the Japanese air bag maker find a financial backer for its parts-supply operation. If possible, the Tokyo-based company could keep TK Holdings' operations afloat as its seeks to turn things around. Takata, which has supplied air bags to Honda, Toyota and other big name automakers, faces recall costs more than 1 trillion yen ($9.7 billion) that includes 69 million air bags on recall in the U.S. alone, according to Dow Jones. Over a dozen automakers are recalling vehicles equipped with the air bags, which authorities have said have the potential to rupture and spray shrapnel. U.S. safety regulators have linked 11 deaths to Takata air bags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has called it largest and most complex safety recall in history. for the latest on the markets.

Other

Other

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA.N) said on Friday it will tack on a fee for users of a new oil pipeline to pay for the cost of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported steel, with analysts and traders calling it the first U.S. energy pipeline operator to do so. In addition to the steel levies announced last year, President Donald Trump on Thursday said he plans to expand U.S. tariffs to $300 billion in Chinese imports, escalating a trade dispute that has increased costs for American consumers of everything from steel to electronics to shoes. Houston-based Plains will begin charging shippers a 5 cents per barrel fee on its 670,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Cactus II pipeline next April to offset higher construction costs from “governmental regulation and tariffs,” according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Plains last year estimated the 25% steel tariff would add $40 million to its costs for the $1.1 billion pipeline, which runs 550 miles (885 km) from the Permian basin of West Texas and New Mexico, the top U.S. shale field, to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Trump administration last year imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to shield U.S. producers from overseas competition and protect jobs. It was one in a series of tariffs imposed by Trump since becoming president in 2017. “This is an example of how harmful trade policies such as steel tariffs and quotas are hurting the U.S. energy industry, economy, and potentially energy consumers,” said Natalia Sharova, a spokeswoman for the trade group American Petroleum Institute. Two other new pipelines could also raise their prices if Plains’ surcharge sticks, three analysts said. They pointed to Kinder Morgan Inc’s (KMI.N) Gulf Coast Express pipeline and a EPIC Midstream’s pipeline, which were constructed after the steel tariffs were levied. “There’s certainly a risk of them passing on inflationary costs,” said Kendrick Rhea, an analyst at pipeline industry researcher East Daley Capital. “This is an issue for the next go-around of pipelines,” added Matthew Blair, an analyst at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) declined to comment. EPIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Plains Chief Executive Officer Willie Chiang last year told a congressional hearing that the tariffs on critical energy projects could have “significant unintended consequences that could undermine important progress towards realizing American energy independence, strengthening national security and improving the balance of trade.” The U.S. Commerce Department rejected Plains’ two initial requests for a waiver, and the company has filed a third request, said Brad Leone, a Plains spokesman. He did not say how much the surcharge would raise. “It’s making it clear the steel sanctions are increasing costs,” Sandy Fielden, an analyst at financial services firm Morningstar, said of the company’s new fee. “The shipper’s going to have to pay, come what may.” Plains disclosed spot tariff rates on the new pipeline from $4.75 to $5.60 per barrel, according to Friday’s regulatory filing. The tariff went into effect on Friday. It is one of three new pipelines beginning service over the next few months and is expected to relieve a crude bottleneck that has weighed on regional oil prices for more than a year. Permian crude differentials rallied on market speculation that the Cactus II pipeline will begin service in August, traders said. West Texas Intermediate crude at Midland WTC-WTM for delivery in September traded at a 55-cents-per-barrel discount to U.S. crude futures, the strongest level since mid-July and up from around a $1.10 a barrel on Thursday, traders said. WTI Midland for delivery in the fourth quarter traded at a 35-cents premium, up 20 cents, traders said. Another pipeline operator, EPIC Midstream Holdings LP, recently began filling a new 400,000 bpd crude pipeline from the Permian and expects to begin making deliveries this quarter, President Brian Freed said in an interview with Reuters on Monday. Reporting by Collin Eaton in Houston and Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and David Gregorio

Energy

Oil

David Leonhardt This article is part of the Opinion Today newsletter. You can sign up here to receive the newsletter each weekday. The key to a legitimate Russia investigation has always been Republicans not named Donald Trump. In Congress, Republicans — and only Republicans — have the power to make clear that Trump’s presidency is effectively over if he fires Robert Mueller, the special counsel. At the Justice Department, Republicans can refuse to carry out any order to fire Mueller and create a firestorm if Trump subsequently fires them. And at the White House, Republicans serving under Trump can explain to him that he would create a true constitutional crisis if he tried to subvert the rule of law. We now know — thanks to Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman of The Times — that Trump did try to subvert the rule of law. In June, he issued an order to fire Mueller, with three silly justifications (including the fact Mueller once quit Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.). But the White House counsel, Donald McGahn (pronounced “McGann”), refused to send the order to the Justice Department, which would have had to carry out any firing. Removing Mueller, McGahn told other White House officials, “would have a catastrophic effect” on Trump’s presidency. As McGahn expected, Trump then backed down. I would caution people not to lionize McGahn. He’s been involved in some of this administration’s seedier acts, including the nomination of unqualified federal-judge candidates, at least one of whom had personal ties to him. He also played a role in previous attempts by the White House to muck up the Russia investigation, including the firing of James Comey as the F.B.I. director. But McGahn acted honorably and bravely when it mattered most. He flat-out refused an order from his boss, which is never easy, let alone when your boss is the president and the order deals with the most explosive subject in politics. He doesn’t deserve to be lionized, but he does deserve praise. Unfortunately, other Republicans may soon find themselves facing the same decision as McGahn did. Trump has recently been offering conciliatory words about the investigation, but there is every reason to think he is afraid of it — and willing to do almost anything to obstruct it. Here’s hoping other Republicans show the same courage as McGahn. Elsewhere, Jonathan Chait writes in New York magazine — even before the news of the June order broke — that Paul Ryan is actively helping Trump undermine the rule of law. In a recent episode of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Neal Katyal gave a particularly clear explanation to Terry Gross of the legal and political dynamic: The system is designed to let the president fire a special counsel, but to make it logistically and politically difficult. “I know it’s not the key point tonight, but for someone who built a TV show around it, Trump turns out to be very bad at firing people,” notes Matthew Waxman, a former official in the George W. Bush administration. On his Fox News show last night, Sean Hannity performed a pretty amazing and rapid about-face on the McGahn story. You can watch it courtesy of HuffPost’s Matt Fuller. And Asha Rangappa, a former F.B.I. special agent in counterintelligence, points out the emerging Republican talking point: McGahn’s refusal shows that the Trump administration is functionally just fine. Which ... would not be accurate.

Politics

Law

L.J. Figueroa had 19 points and St. John’s won at home for the first time in more than a month in an 80-69 win over visiting Providence on Wednesday night in Queens, N.Y. Figueroa was 6 of 14 from the field and hit four 3-pointers while also recording four of the Red Storm’s 12 steals, helping them score 22 points off 24 Providence turnovers. St. John’s (14-11, 3-9 Big East) snapped a three-game skid and improved to 9-2 at the on-campus Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm hadn’t played there since Dec. 31 and had not won either there or Madison Square Garden since Jan. 11 against DePaul, losing their past three home games. Playing without senior guard Mustapha Heron, who sat out with a right ankle injury and could be done for the season, the Red Storm led by eight at the half and extended that to a 45-32 advantage with 16:21 to go when their aggressiveness got the better of them. A pair of hook-and-hold flagrant fouls on David Caraher and Marcellus Earlington — with a technical on St. John’s coach Mike Anderson — in a 55-second span allowed Providence (13-12, 6-6) to chip away. The Friars made 3 of 6 free throws along with a layup during that time frame, then a 3-pointer by Alpha Diallo — who had 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds — cut the deficit to 51-47 with 11:45 to go. But Providence only made one basket in the next four minutes as St. John’s rebuilt the double-digit lead. A 3-pointer by Figueroa and then a technical on Providence coach Ed Cooley (with Figueroa making 1 of 2 foul shots) made it 69-54 with 4:54 left. A 7-0 Friars run got them within 74-68 with 1:06 remaining but St. John’s made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to hold on. Three other Red Storm players scored in double figures, with freshman Julian Champagnie recording 14 points and seven rebounds, Rasheem Dunn scoring 13 points and Earlington adding 12. A.J. Reed and David Duke each scored 12 points for Providence, which returns home to face No. 10 Seton Hall on Saturday. St. John’s is off for the rest of the week and won’t be back in action until Monday, when it hosts Xavier. —Field Level Media

Sports

Basketball

The Weeknd is approaching.  The Grammy award-winning singer looks to be in full third-studio-album mode, and thankfully, he blessed us all with a little glimpse of what sort of vibes we can expect from the project.    🐱 A video posted by ⚡️✝⚡️ STARBOY ⚡️✝⚡️ (@abelxo) on Aug 24, 2016 at 10:47am PDT While we can't actually hear any lyrics in Abel Tesfaye's latest Instagram post, it's still a beautiful short clip of lush instrumentals and features what The Weeknd does best: deploy his vocals and usual sonic flair to build a mysterious atmosphere.  The singer is also rumored to be working with Daft Punk on the project. And if his Instagram is any indication, he's been putting in serious time at the studio. There's no official announcements regarding an album release date, but we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more snippets.  🤖🤖 A photo posted by ⚡️✝⚡️ STARBOY ⚡️✝⚡️ (@abelxo) on Aug 7, 2016 at 8:58pm PDT

Music

Hip-Hop

Fresh from raising $750 million in new financing this week, Uber rival in Southeast Asia Grab is now making a move into the self-driving car space after it agreed to a partnership with NuTonomy, the MIT spin-out that is developing autonomous vehicles. NuTonomy gained attention for beating Uber to publicly testing self-driving cars when it switched on a pilot in Singapore in August — just before Uber began tests in Pittsburgh, U.S.. Its agreement with Grab will see it extend that trial by including customers from Grab in the testing phase for an initial two months. NuTonomy’s pilot is limited to one part of Singapore — a 2.5km square business district area called ‘One North’ that the government designated to testing self-driving cars — but Grab passengers are permitted to go beyond those boundaries and take a trip into nearby neighborhoods. In that case, one of the supervisors overseeing the autonomous vehicle will take the wheel to complete the journey. Despite raising over $1.3 billion from investors to date, Grab has not focused self-driving cars in the same way as Uber. In fact, the press release for its funding this week made no reference to self-driving cars or autonomous technology. While it is true that the infrastructure in most of the six countries that it serves in Southeast Asia are some way from being able to support the technology, the fact that autonomous vehicles are emerging in Singapore — Grab’s HQ and a market where the government has thrust its weight behind the idea — might be enough to get its attention. Nutonomy co-founder and CEO Karl Iagnemma with Grab Singapore head Lim Kell Jay A Grab spokesperson told TechCrunch that the tie-in with NuTonomy does not include an investment in either party, so for now this looks purely like a partnership play. Grab gets to see what state autonomous vehicle technology is at, while NuTonomy gains the benefits of Grab’s tech resources for routing, managing supply/demand, mapping and more. Grab indicated to us that it has an interest in offering self-driving cars in other parts of Southeast Asia in the long run, but for now Singapore is the primary focus. “This landmark tech partnership is a step towards supplementing Singapore’s transport network with an innovative driverless commuting option for underserved areas of Singapore — all accessible through the Grab app,” Grab CEO and co-founder Anthony Tan said in a statement. NuTonomy raised $18 million earlier this year from investors that included the Singapore Economic Development Board. The company is running trials in the UK and U.S. and it hopes to introduce a fully commercial self-driving ‘robo’ taxi fleet by 2018. We asked Grab a couple of addition questions around the deal. TechCrunch: Is Grab developing its own self-driving technology outside of this partnership? Grab: Self-driving vehicles (SDVs) are a nascent technology and concept in Singapore and all around the world. We believe that partnering with NuTonomy, the leading SDV software developer, will enable us to research and refine the SDV user experience, study the application of SDVs in Singapore, as well as improve the efficiency of matching SDVs to passengers. Grab’s app platform is robust, highly scalable and widely used by commuters in Singapore. We have a strong understanding of Singapore commuter’s travel patterns and behaviors, we have one of the most accurate maps in Singapore that is updated constantly to ensure location accuracy, and we have built a robust fleet routing technology. These are critical components to move SDV from a trial phase into a real-world application. We believe that SDVs are a complementary service and an innovative solution to enhance the efficiency of Singapore’s land transport network, particularly where additional first-mile and last-mile connectivity is needed — as well as in underserved neighborhoods. Grab and NuTonomy bring complementary skillsets to the table. NuTonomy has proven expertise in building software for self-driving vehicles, while Grab has the know-how in fleet routing technology and localized mapping. By each focusing on our core strengths, we can more effectively create the most robust e-hailing platform for self-driving vehicles. TC: Are there plans to expand this trial to other countries outside of Singapore in the future? Grab: Singapore is the ideal test bed for SDVs due to its more advanced infrastructure and strong government support. It will be a longer runway for SDVs to be a viable transport service in other SEA cities, and Grab will continue to offer multiple transport services that meet the local needs of consumers, such as taxis, cars or bikes.

Technology

Self-Driving Cars

Political communication has changed more in the past five years than it has since the advent of television. Technology allows campaign professionals to place messages before your eyes and in your ears in an ever-evolving way — in essence, by surrounding you. Gone are the days when campaigns could place an ad on television and call it a day. We live with multiple screens — cell phones, desktop computers, laptop computers and tablets. Voters listen to music through streaming services and podcasts, as well as traditional radio. Where and what information we receive throughout the day is a blur, often dictated by the time of day. We awake and look at our phones. We stream music while working out, or listen to podcasts while driving. We spend hours before a screen at work and, back at home, turn on the TV or grab the laptop.   Given the multitude of places we get messages, it is more difficult than ever to reach voters. Winning campaigns must embrace and employ technological advances. A bit of background to hopefully credential my views. I am one of a few second-generation national political consultants. I have sweat election days all of my life at the knee of a father who helped pioneer the industry of political media consultants. My high school and college summer job was driving light trucks and carrying gear for campaigns. The first TV targeting I recall was Dad’s firm using different ads for former U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) in media markets throughout Texas in 1988. Prior to that, it was unheard of to not just run a single ad statewide regardless of the state. Some of the most advanced television targeting nationally comes to satellite subscribers, where you can target individual households — matched to a custom voter file — to deliver the message likely to be most appealing to the viewer. It is called “addressable targeting” and can be considered direct mail for your screens. In some markets, such as New York City, cable providers offer this service. Other national cable providers have been talking about adding the feature for years but are just now beginning to roll it out. Yes, you read that correctly — the satellite TV box in your home tracks everything you watch and makes that information available to advertisers. Advertisers don’t know it is you watching, specifically, since privacy rules only allow for meta-data. But when you’re targeted on “addressable” services it doesn’t matter if you’re watching the playoffs on ESPN or reruns of “Friends” — targeted voters will receive ads when their televisions are on. Vizio televisions track your viewing habits and sell the information to data brokers to help tailor ads much like with digital placement. This allows an advertiser to counter, or further support, information your viewing history indicates you were exposed to. For example, someone who watched Fox News could be sent a spot the following night to counter the premise of Fox News, or CNN or the like. Membership lists also are being matched for addressable television and digital targeting. A major labor union matched its members to satellite dish subscriptions and the general president of the union filmed a video encouraging his members to vote. The union members were surprised to see their leader speaking directly to his membership while discussing the union. It’s likely these viewers believed their neighbors were watching the same piece.    But TV alone won’t reach voters. Campaigns must have a multi-layered communications strategy to be successful. Viewers are cutting the cord to cable and satellite at an increasing pace and streaming shows. So, cutting-edge campaigns employ voter file-matched and IP-targeted digital advertising delivered directly to specific voters or households across all their devices. This type of targeting also is available on programmatic audio, or streaming media services. For example, Pandora allows a voter file match as well as a tight geographic target for efficiency. Location-specific targeting, often known as geofencing, can allow campaigns to target specific locations such as a candidate rally or debate hall. The key is placing a cookie into the phone or computer of someone in that specific location. Their device then becomes a target for ads regardless of where one goes. This technique has proven helpful when pushing lawmakers to support or oppose legislation. By directing video and ads directly to phones and devices, it is more likely an organization’s message will be seen by decision-makers.   And, with all things digital, advances in artificial intelligence allow campaigns to automatically optimize their content to get a broader reach — sometimes running 100 or 200 variations on specific content to optimize for viewability and clicks. As we witnessed in the last presidential campaign, not all of this technology is being used for the common good. So campaigns also must battle fake news designed to harm candidates with lies. Some innovative services allow campaigns to respond to fake news directly — but only to the voters who have been exposed to the false narratives. The tool hasn’t been perfected but it’s an important advance. The goal of campaigns is to reach the voters where they are; it doesn’t matter if they’re jogging, driving, scrolling on their phone while waiting in a line, or watching TV at home. Campaigns must master a multi-layered approach to communication or they will lose. The good news for campaigns is that utilizing cutting-edge technology is far less expensive than traditional TV advertising. The good news for veteran campaign consultants is that employing these placement techniques is complicated and requires creating far more case studies than a newbie or a politician can muster or master. The good news (and bad news) for voters is, you are going to see and hear a politician’s message as if surrounded by it — because you are. Dane Strother, a partner in Strother Nuckels Strategies, is a veteran Democratic strategist and communications consultant. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Technology

Innovation

Amazon just formally revealed the Echo Show, its newest Alexa-infused product that, for the first time, adds a screen to the mix. But in the flood of information about the new device, chances are you might have missed a few of the more interesting details about the screen touting virtual assistant. Alexa skills, not apps Despite the seven-inch touchscreen on the Echo Show, it’s strictly not a tablet. The Echo Show is built to run Alexa skills, the same as the audio-only Echo speakers. (Developers will be able to add visual components and direct video links to existing skills.) So you wont be able to run Amazon’s own Fire OS apps, much less anything from the Google Play Store. And while Amazon’s hardware chief Dave Limp confirmed to Wired that “there’s no reason” services like Netflix or Hulu couldn’t build skills to work with the Echo Show, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be able to do that out of the box. Drop In While the Echo Show is capable of voice calls and direct messages between Echo devices and the Alexa app, there’s also the slightly unsettling Drop In feature, which allows you to white-list individual contacts who’ll be able to pop up and start a video chat on your Echo Show unannounced. As USA Today notes, when someone Drops In on you, they’ll be presented with a “frosted-glass” view for 10 seconds before the video automatically starts, during which time you’ll be able to reject the video call entirely or switch to an audio-only mode. I personally cannot imagine ever letting my friends have this power, but maybe that’s just me. Single user only Amazon is still sticking to a mainly single-user system for the Echo Show. So while the device has improved functionality in the form of calendars and taking calls, if you have multiple Echo Shows and Echo speakers, it’s still an all-or-nothing proposition when it comes to accessing content (while Amazon will allow you to add multiple users to an Echo, once added all Echo’s attached to the primary account will have access.) So when someone calls you over the Alexa messaging system, all your devices will ring and anyone in your house will have access to your shopping list. Bluetooth is still here It’s certainly not the primary purpose of it, and it’s definitely odd to think of a speaker with a screen, but the Echo Show still functions as a Bluetooth speaker that you can stream music to from a connected device. It also supports Bluetooth for streaming from the Echo Show to another speaker, should you prefer. $100 discount Amazon is offering $100 off if you buy two Echo Shows for a limited time, which is certainly nice if you’re planning on buying a second one. Correction: Clarified multi-account support on Echo devices.

Technology

Smart Home

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Feb. 27, 2020. The journalists at BuzzFeed News are proud to bring you trustworthy and relevant reporting about the coronavirus. To help keep this news free, become a member and sign up for our newsletter, Outbreak Today. All Californians, nearly 40 million people, have been ordered to stay at home except for when it is absolutely necessary for them to leave "until further notice" to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the order late Thursday, just an hour after officials in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the US, issued a similar mandate. Earlier this week, their Bay Area counterparts handed down similar "shelter-in-place" orders, the strictest measures taken in the country so far. "This is a moment we need to make tough decisions," Newsom said. "This is a moment where we need some straight talk and we need to tell people the truth: We need to bend the curve in the state of California." Across the state of California, health officials have confirmed 675 cases of COVID-19 and 16 deaths from the disease as of Wednesday evening, behind Washington state and New York, where more than 5,000 cases have been confirmed. The state's order takes effect immediately and will be in place indefinitely with Newsom telling reporters that officials "could not give a deadline that we really could believe in." "This is a dynamic situation," he said. The Los Angeles order, which will stay in effect until at least April 19, requires all businesses, including museums, malls, retail stores, and workplaces, to stop operations and only allows people to leave their home for "essential activities," like to pick up food, go to the doctor, or take a walk in the neighborhood. It will take effect midnight Thursday, though businesses will have an additional day to prepare to close. "We’ve already radically changed how we live in Los Angeles," Mayor Eric Garcetti said during a press briefing. "We need to be painfully honest tonight that we're about to enter into a new way of living here." Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. The state's order, which does not have a set end date, includes exemptions for public safety and health care operations as well as other essential services, including laundromats, grocery stores, and restaurants that offer takeout or delivery. But even those essential businesses will need to incorporate social distancing practices — keeping 6 feet of space between individual employees and customers, officials said. Like the orders announced by health officers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and the city of Berkeley on Monday, violations of the state and Los Angeles orders would be punishable as a misdemeanor. "This is not shelter in place like a school shooting, this is stay at home because you’re safer at home," Garcetti said. "This is not a request. This is an order." Under state law, violations of the order are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or by imprisonment for no more than six months — however, Newsom and local officials have stressed they do not plan to have police handling enforcement. "There's a social contract here people I think recognize the need to do more," Newsom said, talking about the social pressure he expects will be placed on people to abide by the order. "Of course we have the capacity to move beyond that." Earlier on Thursday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all businesses except those that are "life-sustaining" to shut down until further notice. Under that order, only businesses deemed critical, like grocery stores, gas stations, and transit operations, may continue to operate. Establishments that are found out of compliance of the new rules could face enforcement actions, Wolf said. The Los Angeles order came hours after the county announced its second death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 40 newly confirmed cases, bringing the county's total number of infections to 231. The deceased was a person in their thirties with underlying health conditions from an unincorporated area outside of Pasadena. "This is a disease that can strike almost everybody who lives here in LA County, and there is no security in thinking that you're either not going to be affected or don't have the responsibility to protect others," LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. "Each one us on any given day can be carrying this infection." Ferrer said recent studies have shown that the measures the county is taking could potentially result in tens of thousands of fewer people getting infected over a shorter period of time. However, she noted that it's harder to predict how long it would take to see enough of a reduction in the rate of transmission to a point where officials could relax some of the restrictions. The point, she explained, is to slow the rate of transmission so as not to overwhelm the health care system with a large peak in the number of people who are sick. "We think we have a wonderful health care system here, but the best way to keep it highly functional is to actually make sure that we don't see that peak of tens of thousands of people that all need care at the same time," Ferrer said.

Science

Biology

Image: Nicholas Stango/GizmodoLast year, Panasonic revived the famous Technics 1200 line of turntables. We were stoked to see the beloved DJ-staple make a comeback, but the mouth-watering $4,000 price point put it out of contention for most DJs or vinyl snobs.That’s exactly why we were excited to see Panasonic unveil the updated Technics SL-1200GR (the “R” is the new designation), with a promised lower price. And then we got a glimpse at that price. When the Technics SL-1200GR goes on sale in June, it will retail for $2,300 CAD, so we’re going to assume it will cost about $2,000 USD. Cool budget model, guys.Image: PanasonicGranted, this price is certainly better, but it’s still ridiculously expensive. Historically, Technics 1200 decks cost closer to $1,000, so charging double instead of four times as much still feels a bit like highway robbery.Moreover, after abandoning the DJ community that made its turntables famous, Panasonic seems to have no incentive of even trying to win them back. An article earlier this week in The New York Times explored how Panasonic was struggling to make amends with the community it abandoned in 2008. Something tells us a $2,000 turntable might not be the way to do it.[Panasonic]We’re on the ground at CES 2017 in Las Vegas! Follow all of our coverage of the latest and greatest in tech here.

Other

Other

Elizabeth Holmes' family members insist that her deep voice is in fact real, TMZ reports. Apparently, many people in the family have deep voices, including Holmes' grandmother. However, Elizabeth will sometimes "change her pitch to a higher octave — especially when she gets excited or passionate," TMZ reports. UPDATE: This story was originally published on January 24. Elizabeth Holmes is notorious for a few things: wearing a Steve Jobs-esque black turtleneck uniform, running a fraudulent biotech company Theranos, which sold single-drop blood tests that claimed to accurately test for hundreds of diseases, and speaking in a distinctive, serious, baritone voice. Since Holmes gave her first TED Talk back in 2014, people on Reddit and Twitter have speculated that the voice she uses in professional settings was fake. In various interviews, former Theranos employees have recounted times when Holmes would occasionally slip out of character and speak in a higher tone. "It was maybe at one of the company parties, and maybe she had too much to drink or what not, but she fell out of character and exposed that that was not necessarily her true voice," Ana Arriola, a former Theranos employee, said on "The Dropout," a new podcast about the scandal. "Maybe she needed to be more convincing to project a persona within a room among male VCs. I'm not really quite sure." While it's next to impossible to know the truth about the origin of Holmes' particular trait, there are a few things we know about the psychology of deep voices. Research has shown that people tend to perceive leaders with lower voices as attractive, honest, dominant, confident, and capable — at least when they're men. But studies have found that women in leadership with lower-pitched voices are also often viewed as stronger, and more competent and trustworthy, too. Other research suggests that women who speak with a vocal fry — often a result of trying to lower the pitch of their voice — are perceived as being "more neurotic" than women with clear voices. Some studies have looked specifically at how vocal pitch affects business. For example, a 2013 study from Duke University examined the voices of 792 (male) CEOs from the Standard and Poor's 1500 stock index, and found that CEOs with lower voices tend to manage larger companies and make more money. In fact, a decrease in voice pitch of 22.1 Hertz translated to an salary increase of $187,000 a year, and a longer tenure, according to the study. Other studies from Duke have shown that voters tend to prefer politicians with lower-pitched voices. Perhaps more in line with Arriola's theory that Holmes was trying to appear more "convincing," other research shows that people's vocal pitch tends to change when they lie. A 2012 study found that people's voices go up in pitch when they lie, even when they're aware that their voice changes during times of "deception." Of course, it's normal for people's voices to fluctuate along with their thoughts and emotions when they talk, but some communication experts say that people tend to use a monotone voice when telling a lie. In general, people tend to change the pitch of their voice depending on who they're talking to and the circumstance. In a 2017 study, researchers found that people who see themselves as dominant are less likely to shift their (usually lower) pitch. When answering questions about conflict in particular, people in the study lowered their voice. Of course, dissecting the way that any person speaks can only tell us so much. A new ABC News "Nightline" documentary about Holmes, clips of which aired last night, featured never-before-seen footage from her testimony before the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2017. Holmes pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, agreed to pay a $500,000 fine, and could face up to 20 years in prison. During the testimony, she said, "I don't know," in her signature voice, more than 600 times. For as selective as she is with her words, it's no wonder people have attempted to pick apart her tone and style of speaking. Because often what matters isn't what you say, but how you say it.

Other

Other

The composer behind the eerie music in Us got his start in film because Jordan Peele got people to track him down. Michael Abels sat down with BuzzFeed News hosts Saeed Jones and Stephanie McNeal on AM to DM to chat about how his relationship with Peele began, and he answered some burning questions about his music choices in Us. “Jordan saw my concert orchestral music on YouTube before Get Out and he made the producers hunt me down and find me,” Abels said. The content had about “a couple hundred hits, but one of them was Jordan Peele,” he added. In the movie, which has so far made $90 million, the song “I Got 5 On It” by the hip-hop duo Luniz plays frequently throughout the movie, but it’s given a horror bent, which Abels said is exactly what Peele sought to do. The composer said Peele had the song in the original draft of the script, and it’s “used in the beginning of the film as a way for you to get to know the family that’s at the center of the story.” “Jordan loves taking something that you think of in one context and twisting it and putting it in another way that makes you never look at it or hear it the same way,” Abels said. “So that was his idea to really take it to the dark side.” Abels, who also composed the music in Get Out, said “all music is really storytelling of a different type,” and intentionally wanted the song that opens the film — “Anthem” — to be an unnerving clue about things that happen in the movie. The movie opens with a camera centered on a caged rabbit. The shot begins tight and opens up until you realize there are dozens and dozens of caged rabbits that look really creepy, all while the music of “Anthem” gets more intense. “There’s people and they’re organizing and they’re not happy,” Abels said of the song. “It’s really kind of a battle rally and you feel that evil energy building behind the music. It’s a multicultural march.” For anyone who has seen the film, this is a huge clue because ***spoiler alert*** in the end, we see that there’s an entire population of people who look like us and who live underground and subsist on nothing but rabbits. And they later organize and wreak havoc on their aboveground counterparts. Scary stuff indeed. Watch the complete interview below:

Music

Pop

(Adds Sears, Nutrien, DEPA, Murphy Oil, Acuris, Evoca, PAG, Eaton Corp, MTN Group, Restaurant Group, Eurasia Drilling; updates Unilever, Experian, NordLB) Nov 28 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2100 GMT on Wednesday: ** Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund and Cyrus Capital Partners LP are preparing a potential takeover bid to keep the bankrupt retailer running, Bloomberg reported. ** Canadian fertilizer giant Nutrien will auction its 23.77 percent share in Chile’s SQM on Dec. 3, the Chilean stock exchange said, a final step toward completing the sale of a coveted stake in the world´s No. 2 lithium producer to China’s Tianqi. ** Greece’s state-controlled DEPA gas company has concluded the acquisition of Shell’s 49 percent stake in a domestic gas supplier and in a gas distributor in Athens, becoming the sole stakeholder in the two companies, it said. ** Murphy Oil Corporation is in talks to sell its Malaysian oil and gas assets after an unsolicited bid that could fetch between $2 billion to $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said, in the latest energy M&A deal in the Southeast Asian nation. ** European buyout fund BC Partners is preparing to sell its financial news and data business Acuris in a deal that could be worth more than 1 billion pounds, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. ** Private equity fund Lone Star has hired Deutsche Bank to explore a potential sale of its Italian vending and coffee machine maker Evoca, which includes iconic brand Gaggia, Evoca CEO Andrea Zocchi told Reuters. ** Hong Kong-based PAG’s bid to buy Spring Real Estate Investment Trust fell through as it failed to secure the required acceptances from the realty firm’s unitholders. ** U.S.-listed power management company Eaton Corp is in advanced talks to buy Turkey’s Ulusoy Elektrik for around $300 million, two sources with knowledge of the deal told Reuters. ** A South African state-owned pension fund has raised its stake in mobile phone operator MTN Group to nearly 24 percent, regulatory filings showed, a bet on the company in the middle of $10.1 billion dispute with Nigeria. ** Restaurant Group’s investors approved its proposed acquisition of noodle chain Wagamama, a day after proxy voting adviser Pensions and Investment Research Consultants Limited asked shareholders to oppose the deal. ** Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are in talks to buy a 16 percent stake in Russian oil drilling firm Eurasia Drilling, the head of the Russian fund said. ** German public sector bank NordLB has received four binding bids from private equity groups for a stake in the bank, a source close to the matter said. ** Canada’s Ensign Energy Services Inc said on Tuesday 56.38 percent of Trinidad Drilling Ltd shares have been tendered in its hostile offer, resulting in rival bidder Precision Drilling Corp walking away and the resignation of Trinidad’s top executives. ** Britain’s competition watchdog indicated it may block credit data company Experian’s takeover of rival ClearScore and warned the deal could stifle development of digital products that help customers understand personal finances. ** Shares of India’s Jet Airways Ltd rose sharply following a report that founder Naresh Goyal has agreed to sell his controlling stake and give up operational control of the struggling carrier. ** Telecom operator Zain Saudi Arabia has accepted an offer from IHS Holding, a mobile tower operator, for the sale and leaseback of its tower infrastructure in a deal valued at 2.43 billion riyals ($647.7 million), it said. ** French cosmetics maker L’Occitane International SA is drawing bids from private equity firms, including Advent International, the Financial Times reported. ** Unilever has emerged as the leading bidder in a tight contest for GlaxoSmithKline’s Indian Horlicks nutrition business, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters. (Compiled by Mary Ann Alapatt and Bharath Manjesh in Bengaluru)

Energy

Oil

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan soldiers and policemen surrounded the house of Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum on Tuesday in an apparent effort to arrest nine of his aides accused of kidnapping and raping a political opponent on his orders. The attempt to bring about the arrests came after the attorney general complained to police authorities that they had ignored previous orders to carry out the arrests. The police had said they feared an armed confrontation and would have to evacuate the residential neighborhood “to avoid civilian casualties,” according to copies of official documents obtained by The New York Times. Stung by the attorney general’s criticism, police officials promised on Monday to take action. On Tuesday, more than 100 police and soldiers surrounded the downtown Kabul compound of Mr. Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek who is the more senior of the country’s two vice presidents. Observers said it appeared to be a siege, although there was no gunfire and the mood was calm. Mr. Dostum is believed to have hundreds of armed irregulars under his command, and on Tuesday, his home in the Sherpur quarter was guarded with trucks mounted with artillery and heavy machine guns, but it was unclear how many militiamen were inside the cordon. On Monday, Mr. Dostum defiantly went under heavy guard to his office in the presidential compound, after having claimed the role of acting president in the absence of President Ashraf Ghani, who was at an international security conference in Munich. Mr. Ghani returned in time to make the announced assumption of powers moot. The prospect of Mr. Dostum’s taking even temporary charge of the Afghan government is an alarming one to Western diplomats and the Afghan political establishment. Although he ran on the same ticket as Mr. Ghani, he has since become estranged from the president, complaining of being sidelined and ignored. Mr. Dostum’s record as a warlord accused of mass murders during Afghanistan’s civil war has been compounded by his threats to turn against the government here. Mr. Ghani himself, before the election, described his first vice president as a “known killer.” Mr. Ghani’s aides have denied that Mr. Dostum is entitled to become acting president if Mr. Ghani is abroad. Just as worrisome has been Mr. Dostum’s often bizarre behavior, including allegations of public drunkenness, tearful outbursts during speeches and thinly veiled threats to kill political opponents. After carrying out a supposed military operation against the Taliban in his northern home province of Jowzjan two years ago, Mr. Dostum returned in a victory procession to Kabul flanked by two uniformed and armed dwarves he had enlisted along the way. The standoff over the arrests of the general’s aides has emerged as an important test of Afghanistan’s commitment to the rule of law, and of Mr. Ghani’s authority over a shaky coalition government. Western diplomats have closely followed the case, and in December the European Union called for an investigation into what it described as “reports of gross human rights violations” committed against Ahmad Ishchi, 63, a former provincial governor who has long been a critic of Mr. Dostum. In 2008, there was a similar standoff around Mr. Dostum’s house after earlier complaints of abuse against him. That standoff lasted for a year, keeping him under effective house arrest until he agreed to go into exile in Turkey. Despite the charges against him, Mr. Dostum remained highly popular among the Uzbek minority and in 2009, President Hamid Karzai brought him back from exile to help in his election campaign. Mr. Ghani similarly overlooked his earlier distaste and embraced him during the 2014 campaign. The current case stems from an episode last November in northern Afghanistan at a buzkashi match, the traditional Uzbek sport that resembles polo with a goat as the puck. According to multiple witnesses, Mr. Dostum, 62, ordered his bodyguards to kidnap Mr. Ishchi, another Uzbek leader. In an interview, Mr. Ishchi said he was held for five days in the general’s Jowzjan compound and was anally penetrated with rifle barrels by Mr. Dostum’s bodyguards on his orders. He also accused Mr. Dostum of personally trying to rape him, but he said the general was physically incapable of doing so. Instead, the general ordered his guards to take photographs showing him simulating sex acts against Mr. Ishchi, and later ordered his bodyguards to torture and sexually abuse him, according to Mr. Ishchi’s account. Mr. Dostum’s spokesmen deny those charges, saying Mr. Ishchi was not kidnapped but was arrested as part of a criminal investigation. They denied the validity of forensic evidence showing physical injury to Mr. Ishchi that corroborated his charges. A spokesman also maintained that the authorities had no right to arrest his aides or question the general himself because he believes he is constitutionally protected from prosecution. The arrest warrant in the case was issued in January but not made public. A copy that was obtained by The Times names Gen. Abdul Sattar, a top aide to the vice president and the chief of his security detail, as well as eight other people believed to be bodyguards, for the “insult, torture, rape and illegal detention” of Mr. Ishchi. Mr. Dostum remains under investigation in the case, officials said.

Politics

Afghanistan

You don't always need a college degree to be successful. Look at Adam Savage, who has channeled his creativity into a career as the former co-host of the hit TV show "Mythbusters," a special effects designer, and a public speaker — along with dozens of other jobs. Savage did all this without a degree. "I have a high school diploma and I have a few classes I took and some other things after I graduated from high school," he tells CNBC Make It. He did enroll at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, but dropped out six months into his first year in the acting program. But Savage — who has a new show,  "Savage Builds" out next month — is quick to point out that he's not against getting a college degree. Instead, he advocates attending with a clear purpose. "I'm a big believer in knowing why you're going to college. I don't think 'because everyone else is going' is a good enough reason," he says. Cost plays a big factor in his advice. Over half of those graduating college this year say they have student loan debt. Among those, the average amount is $22,919. That's according to a survey of 2,500 recent and upcoming college graduates by education and technology company Cengage. "The current expense of the college system is crazy to me," Savage says. So it's important to have a reason for spending on your education. Not sure what you want to pursue? Savage recommends exploring your passions first. "In the house I grew up in, my folks put real value on following one's passionate interest wherever they may lead," Savage writes in his new book "Every Tool's a Hammer: Life Is What You Make It." It's a model he's carried into his own family. When his twin boys were considering college, he says he encouraged them to take a gap year and spend some time in the working world. This gives you some experience and allows you to see what the world is like, he says. "When you've been out in private industry and seen the mechanics of your average office, it fills in blanks that college can't possibly quite tell you about," Savage says. And then after that experience, if you do go to school, you're hopefully going for a reason, he says. "You know what you want to get out of it, whether it's music production, or painting, or writing or engineering," Savage says, adding that having a purpose generally leads to success. "When you know what you want out of it you'll never get anything but an 'A' for the rest of your life, because you're invested in it," he says. But going to college doesn't need to mean racking up debt. "I'm also a believer in going to get your requirements at community college," Savage says. About 8.7 million students are studying at public two-year colleges, or community colleges, according to the most recent figures from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). And, on average, tuition at these schools for the 2018 - 2019 school year was $3,660, but many students end up paying significantly less. "I don't think it makes sense in this day and age to go into huge amounts of debt," he says.

Education

College

Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIFThe average GPS satnav is a boring rectangular affair that will stick out like a sore thumb if you tried to mount one to a scooter. But just because you drive a curvaceous classic Vespa doesn’t mean you won’t ever get lost, so TomTom has created an adorable circular satnav designed to complement your scooter.However, the compact VIO doesn’t work as a standalone GPS navigator. It instead relies on a smartphone for its brain, wirelessly connecting to the TomTom mobile app and serving as more of an auxiliary touchscreen display. But while it lacks its own processor and other standalone electronics, it does contain additional GPS hardware of for improved location tracking. It’s also waterproof, comes with a bunch of colored housings to help it match your scooter, and can even be operated with gloves while you’re riding.In addition to providing turn-by-turn directions and visual warnings if you’re speeding, the VIO also displays information about incoming calls allowing a rider wearing a connected Bluetooth headset to answer or ignore them. At around $200 it isn’t cheap given its limited functionality without a smartphone nearby, but it’s so cute few Vespa riders would care.[TomTom via Pocket-Lint]

Other

Other

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith had sharp words for President TrumpDonald John TrumpFacebook releases audit on conservative bias claims Harry Reid: 'Decriminalizing border crossings is not something that should be at the top of the list' Recessions happen when presidents overlook key problems MORE on Wednesday after the White House welcomed the national champion Clemson University Tigers football team with a fast-food dinner including McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King on Monday. During Wednesday's episode of ESPN's "First Take," Smith unloaded on the president for what he said was insufficient respect shown to the football team that he credited with a "shocking and stellar performance" in the college football playoffs this season. "I think it was classless on the part of the president of the United States," Smith said. "I don't give a damn about, they're talking about White House employees are furloughed." "At the end of the day, these are elite athletes, that are national champions, that put forth an absolutely shocking and stellar performance, and this is how you greet them?" Smith continued. "It's disgraceful, it was classless, it was wrong to do, he could do better than that." "Good Morning America" host Michael Strahan invited the college football team out to a "proper" dinner this week after photos of the White House event emerged on social media. “I would like to invite the Clemson Tigers football team here for a great meal,” Strahan said on his show Tuesday morning.  “Lobster, whatever you want, we’re gonna take care of you,” he added. “We’re gonna give you the proper meal that you deserve because that was one great game." The team was also invited to restaurants operated by some of Trump's critics, including the owners of Chicago's Alinea and Ayesha Curry. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Sports

Protest

Oct 15 (Reuters) - COMPAGNIE FINANCIERE MICHELIN SCMA: * ANNOUNCES PROJECT OF TAKEOVER BID FOLLOWED BY SQUEEZE-OUT CONCERNING SHARES OF SIPH SA * SAYS OFFER DURATION OF 10 TRADING DAYS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdansk Newsroom)

Technology

Internet

A Democratic candidate has won the state of Arizona only once in the past 40 years, but McCain is worried that Trump could bring out record Hispanic turnout in the state—and cost him the Senate seat he’s held since 1987. “If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, here in Arizona, with over 30 percent of the vote being the Hispanic vote, no doubt that this may be the race of my life,” McCain said at a closed-door fundraiser. “If you listen or watch Hispanic media in the state and in the country, you will see that it is all anti-Trump. The Hispanic community is roused and angry in a way that I’ve never seen in 30 years.” It’s possible that McCain was overstating the case—this was a fundraiser, after all, and donors are more likely to give money in contested races. But it also indicates that Trump may not just be a threat to down-ballot Republicans in so-called blue or purple states—Republicans in diverse red states like Arizona may also be in jeopardy.

Politics

Government

One third of the wealthiest people in the U.K. are currently under investigation by the country's official tax collection agency, according to a report Tuesday by the country's National Audit Office (NAO). The tax collecting HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched a specialist unit in 2009 which studies the tax accounting of the U.K.'s 6,500 richest individuals. This is a group which makes up only 0.02 percent of the population and counts over £20 million ($24.5 million) worth of assets apiece. The dedicated unit uncovered an additional £416 million of tax for collection in 2015 to 2016 on top of what was paid voluntarily by these individuals. This is a more than doubling of the £200 million secured by similar investigations four years earlier. It was also a sum that came in far ahead of the HMRC's internal target of £250 million for the period. Tina Riches, national tax partner at financial affairs adviser Smith & Williamson, told CNBC via telephone that the theme of tax entities keeping a closer watch was not just restricted to the U.K. According to Riches: "Across the board all tax authorities are trying to step up a gear in terms of pursuing any taxpayer where they feel they can squeeze some extra tax out of them." Turning to the U.K. specifically, she noted while the first strategic objective for HMRC had been simply to "maximize revenues", this mandate was expanded in February 2016 to "maximize revenues due and bear down on avoidance and evasion." This prioritization to tackle what in some cases may be considered routine tax planning is said to have marked a notable change of direction for the agency. The report was keen to emphasise that the discrepancies primarily relate to tax avoidance schemes and the legal interpretation of complicated tax issues rather than outright – and illegal – tax evasion. The complexity of some cases and the high amount of capital at stake mean that investigations can drag on at length, with 4,000 now having been open for over three years. The report also stated that an average of four issues are being looked into for each taxpayer involved in the probe. Further complexities concern even the initial identification of high net worth individuals as reporting is not required for most of the information about their wealth, including sources of income or assets owned. The risk to HMRC of targets slipping under the radar is evident from the unit's uncovering of an additional 1,000 people with net worth above the £20 million cut-off point. Drilling down into the numbers, Riches cautioned about the haul reported by the NAO, saying some of the money collected was due to newly introduced powers to demand accelerated payments, where taxpayers are required to pay a requested amount in advance of the final agreed tax charge being decided and while the case remains open. The report notes that by March 2016, HMRC had issued 1,400 accelerated payment notices to high net worth individuals with the average value of such a notice to a high net worth individual being around £450,000, compared with £75,000 for the broader population. Follow CNBC International on and Facebook.

Business

Investment

President Trump and French President Macron&aposs relationship has severely deteriorated since the two met each other three years ago. On Tuesday, Trump called Macron "very, very nasty" after the French leader criticized the US for withdrawing troops from Syria.Insider analyzed the rocky relationship the two world leaders share.  Visit Insider&aposs homepage for more stories. In the three years since the two world leaders first met each other, US President Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron&aposs relationship has slowly deteriorated. Trump, who once said he has a "great relationship" with Macron, on Tuesday told reporters that comments by the French leader were "very, very nasty" and "insulting". Trump&aposs statements were in response to an interview Macron had with The Economist last month where he said the NATO defense alliance was experiencing "brain death," claiming the US withdrew troops from Syria without consulting alliance partners. The tension between the two world leaders indicates a dramatic deterioration since they shared lengthy handshakes and Trump picked dandruff off Macron&aposs shoulder to prepare him for a photo. Here&aposs how Trump and Macron&aposs relationship has evolved since meeting in 2017. May 25, 2017In their first meeting in Brussels before a NATO summit shortly after Macron&aposs election, the duo was seen shaking each other&aposs hands for an uncomfortably long time before Trump finally pulled away.  —Department of State (@StateDept) May 25, 2017 At the time, Trump was widely speculated to support Macron&aposs hard-right opponent Marine Le Pen in the French presidential elections, who he said had a tougher stance on borders. On the same day, Trump — who has a penchant for awkward handshakes — was seen pulling Macron&aposs hand while shaking it after Macron chose to greet German Chancellor Angela Merkel first. —Calvin (@calvinstowell) May 25, 2017 Days later, Macron told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the handshake was "not innocent.""It&aposs not the alpha and the omega of a policy, but a moment of truth… We must show that we will not make small concessions, even symbolic, but nothing overmediate either," Macron was quoted as saying at the time. He also told Vanity Fair that he watched videos of Trump&aposs handshakes in preparation for their first meeting.July 13, 2017 President Donald Trump, in a rather inappropriate move, told Macron&aposs wife Brigitte that she is in "such good shape" ahead of France&aposs Bastille Day celebrations in Paris. After repeating the statement to Macron, Trump turned to Brigitte again and called her "beautiful."Brigitte Macron, 64, is 25 years older than Macron, almost the same as the 24-year age gap between Trump and his wife Melania.   Macron invited Trump to the national French holiday to honor the close relationship between France and the US.  The next day, Trump enthusiastically shook Macron&aposs hand for about 25 seconds and at one point, he shook both Macron and Brigitte&aposs hands at the same time.Speaking about the French visit to the New York Times later, Trump said he has a "great relationship" with Macron. "He&aposs a great guy," Trump said. "Smart. Strong. Loves holding my hand."Trump said he was also inspired by the military display at Bastille Day to host a similar July 4 military parade at the US Capitol.  December 12, 2017 Following Trump&aposs withdrawal from the Paris Accord, the S was not invited to a climate change meeting in Paris with world leaders. At the time Macron, who had steadily criticized Trump&aposs climate change beliefs over the past several years, also encouraged US scientists to relocate to France. Macron said France "will be there to replace" US financing of climate research. He named the grant to help scientists relocate to France the "Make Our Planet Great Again" grant in a sardonic nod to Trump&aposs "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan. April 24, 2018 During Macron&aposs first state visit to the US, Trump said he brushed some dandruff off of Macron&aposs shoulder because the French president — 32 years his junior — should be "perfect". "It&aposs a great honor, a great honor to be here," Trump said during a press briefing at the White House. "We do have a very special relationship. In fact, I&aposll get that little piece of dandruff off — little piece. We have to make him perfect. He is perfect."Later that day, the Macron/Trump handshake wars were ratcheted up to a partial embrace and ended with Trump kissing Macron on the cheek, saying, "I like him a lot." June 7, 2018 At a meeting of the G7, Macron threatened to exclude Trump from participating with other leaders in a joint declaration of unity. Macron also tweeted his disapproval with Trump over steel tariffs on European goods ahead of the summit. "The American President may not mind being isolated, but neither do we mind signing a six-country agreement if need be," Macron wrote on Twitter. —Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 7, 2018 "Because these six countries represent values, they represent an economic market which has the weight of history behind it and which is now a true international force," he continued.In response, Trump claimed Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau charged massive tariffs on US goods. November 13, 2018 After Macron suggested that Europe strengthen its own military capabilities, Trump slammed France saying, "They were starting to learn German in Paris before the US came along an apparent dig at France&aposs occupation by Germany during World War II. —Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018 In a speech, Macron warned that Europe couldn&apost longer depend on the US for its military defense and called for urgent new security policies in the face of rising nationalism and extremism.Trump then volleyed back, and called Macron&aposs comments "very insulting" and claimed that France charges large tariffs on US products. Macron, Trump said in a tweet, has a very low approval rating and high unemployment numbers. —Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018 June 12, 2019 Macron announced he would send Trump a new "friendship tree" to be planted at the White House after the original died, a week after he encouraged the US to fight for the freedom of others. The original tree was brought over from Belleau Wood in France, where about 2,000 American servicemen died during World War I.A week before Macron said he would send another tree, he attended a D-Day commemoration in France with Trump. In a speech at the commemoration, Macron said: "The United States is never greater than when it is fighting for the freedom of others. The United States of America is never greater than when it shows its loyalty."December 3, 2019  On the sidelines of a NATO summit, Trump said Macron made a "very, very nasty statement" when he described NATO as brain-dead in an interview with The Economist in November. Macron made the statement while discussing Trump&aposs withdrawal of US troops from northeastern Syria in October, and slammed Trump for not warning NATO of the planned withdrawal. After Trump called Macron&aposs comments "insulting," he then claimed  France&aposs economy was suffering, and referred to the yearlong "yellow vest" protests against Macron&aposs pro-business economic policies.The US also threatened to add tariffs on French cheese, champagne, make-up and handbags after France started taxing US digital companies such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Later that day, Macron was recorded in a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which the three laughed at Trump&aposs antics. That probably didn&apost go over well. Read more:The NATO summit started as uncomfortably as expected, with Trump slamming Macron&aposs &aposvery, very nasty&apos statement on the group being brain-dead\NATO braces for an awkward summit as Boris Johnson tells Trump to butt out of UK politics, Russia edges closer to Europe, and Macron calls the group brain-deadTrump keeps criticizing NATO allies over spending. Here&aposs how NATO&aposs budget actually worksBoris Johnson is trying to keep his distance from Donald Trump amid fears the US President could blow up his election campaignIt&aposs getting harder for NATO to hide that Turkey&aposs becoming &aposa thorn in everyone&aposs side Read the original article on INSIDER. Copyright 2019. Follow INSIDER on Facebook. Follow INSIDER on Twitter.

Politics

French Politics

CHENNAI, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The death of 10 workers in a boiler explosion at a Bangladesh garment factory is one in a series of deadly mishaps that illustrate the neglect of workplace safety, union leaders said Tuesday. Demanding more effective implementation of regulations put in place after the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster that killed more than 1,100 people, workers’ unions have called for zero tolerance to such lapses in safety. “There can be no negotiations on worker safety and no tolerance for such accidents,” said Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garment Workers Federation, seven of whose members were among the over 50 injured in the factory blast. “After Rana Plaza, the coming together of various stakeholders has brought in better regulation in the industry but casualties in such accidents are still on the higher side.” The boiler explosion on Monday night occurred at a plant of Multifabs Limited, a Bangladeshi company on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka. The firm supplies knitted apparel to clients in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Spain, Netherlands and Britain, including to Littlewoods, one of Britain’s oldest retail brands. The company said the plant was functioning well and the boiler, procured from Germany, had just been serviced. The factory had been shut for 10 days for the Eid period at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and was being readied to resume operations from Tuesday. The company had undergone mandatory independent safety inspections as it supplies to brands that are signatories to the Bangladesh Accord on fire and building safety, an independent, legally binding framework set up after the Rana Plaza collapse. Bangladesh’s garment-making industry, the biggest in the world after China’s, came under scrutiny after the collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory complex and a fire at a garment factory in 2012 that killed 112 workers. “Implementation of various programs since Rana Plaza have been uneven and this accident is a reminder that there has to be greater capacity building on ground,” said Raisul Islam Khan of UNI Global Union, a federation of trade unions. Bangladesh’s labor department needs to be strengthened, labor inspectors better qualified and more local initiatives are needed to plug the gaps, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Campaigners say the progress in fixing problems in the supply chain has been slow in the industry that employs 4 million people and generates 80 percent of Bangladesh’s export earnings. They have criticized many retailers for failing to improve working conditions - with long hours, low pay, poor safety standards and not being allowed to form trade unions common complaints from garment workers. “The accident shows that process started after Rana Plaza is far from over and reforms need to be expedited,” said Amin. Reporting by Anuradha Nagaraj, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking and climate change. Visit www.trust.org

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Screenshot via Facebook Live2017 is bound to usher in an assortment of changes to our society. Most of them will be bad—we’re sure to suffer—but some will be good. For example, last night a Los Angeles-based hero vandalized, or rather modernized, the city’s iconic Hollywood sign to read “Hollyweed.”According to Sgt. Guy Juneau of the LAPD’s Security Services, security camera footage showed “a ‘lone individual’ climbing up Mount Lee, scaling the sign using the built-in ladders and hanging tarpaulins over the sign’s O’s to change them to E’s” at around midnight on Saturday, the LA Times reports.That’s right, baby: In 2017, we shall know it as “Hollyweed.” Weed is more legal now than it’s ever been—California, along with Massachusetts and Nevada, recently legalized recreational use of the substance.The high-minded folks at CBS Los Angeles have been kind enough to live-stream what’s going at Mount Lee. Of course, the government narcs are restoring the sign to its old name. But don’t fear. This isn’t the first time vandals have done god’s work at Mount Lee. The vandal’s art recalls a famous incident from New Years Day 1976 when a student at Cal State Northridge named Danny Finegood pulled the same stunt.After Finegood passed away in 2007, his wife Bonnie told the Times, “For a long time, he had this idea that if you just changed the two O’s you could change the whole meaning of the sign.” And it seems Finegood’s nifty prank has inspired the generations that came after him.It might be 2017, but I, for one, will be writing 420 on my checks all year long.

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STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden’s spring mini-budget on Wednesday contained reforms totaling 4.5 billion crowns ($486 million) and highlighted the center-left coalition government’s focus on climate change. The spring budget is mainly an adjustment to the main budget in the autumn. In 2018, the opposition forced its budget through a hung parliament, a measure which included 20 billion Swedish crowns ($2.16 billion) in tax cuts and left Social Democrat Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson little room for new spending. While debt is at its lowest since the late 1970s, the government has prioritized strong finances and Andersson said new spending would be offset by cuts in other areas. “The economic situation in Sweden has improved in recent years and growth has been high,” Andersson said in a statement. “However, in recent times there have been several indicators to suggest that economic development has dropped somewhat, which indicates that growth will slow in 2019.” Measures in the budget included 2.0 billion crowns in measures to fight climate change, 1.1 billion to cut employers labor taxes and 900 million for teaching assistants in schools. The measures were all well flagged by the government of the Social Democrats and Greens. The budget was the first chance for the minority coalition to put its stamp on fiscal policy since taking power in January. However, Andersson’s hands are tied by an agreement with two centrer-right parties who back the government. Under the cross-party deal, the government has said it will cut income taxes for top earners from the start of next year, increase climate taxes and take steps to deregulate the labor market. Reporting by Johan Ahlander, Simon Johnson and Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Angus MacSwan

Finance

Economics

It wouldn't be an understatement to say that Johnny Depp has just a tiny bit of a "thing" for good wine. The swashbuckling movie star has an arm tattoo that reads "Wino Forever" (a cover-up of the "Winona Forever" tattoo that he got while dating Winona Ryder), built a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed wine cave in his French estate, and has been known to fly in cases of wine from France to the film sets he works on. That's all well and good, but it has now been revealed that Depp's love for vino just might have crossed the line from passion into straight-up crippling obsession. Just how crippling of an obsession are we talking about? How about spending upwards of $30,000 a month on wine? Back in January, Depp sued his former business managers for "gross misconduct" and asked to be compensated $25 million. Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter published court documents it obtained in connection with that lawsuit; the documents revealed that the actor was living a lifestyle he allegedly couldn't afford, and was spending upwards of $2 million per month on living expenses. The court documents also revealed that Depp regularly spends around $30,000 a month on wine alone. Michael Kump, an attorney for Depp's former management company, wrote in the cross-complaint, "Depp lived an ultra-extravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost Depp in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford." So, what kind of wine is Depp blowing his fortune on? The actor has made it no secret that he has a taste for wines from Bordeaux, and considers Domaine de la Romanée-Conti to be one of his favorite Burgundy estates. During an interview with Madame Figaro magazine, Depp said, "I like Pétrus [and] Château Cheval-Blanc." Petrus is known for its high prices; one bottle can sell for as much as $2500. But, hey, that's a bargain in some circles: a three-liter bottle of Chateau Cheval-Blanc recently sold for over $135,000. In short, the dude has expensive taste. If we wanted to step up our dad joke game, we just might be compelled to say that the revelation gives a whole new meaning to the role of Gilbert Grape. Just saying...

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Other

A majority of registered voters say Chief Justice John Roberts should rule in favor of motions to allow new witnesses at President TrumpDonald John TrumpSchiff: Bolton 'refused' to submit affidavit on Trump's involvement in Ukraine controversy Yang congratulates Romney for 'voting his conscious and character' in convicting Trump McConnell 'disappointed' by Romney impeachment vote, but 'I'm going to need his support' MORE’s impeachment trial, according to a new poll from a liberal advocacy group. More than twice as many respondents — 57 percent to 25 percent — expressed support rather than opposition to Roberts using his authority as the Senate trial’s presiding officer to admit new testimony, according to the YouGov Blue poll conducted on behalf of the group Demand Justice. “John Roberts clearly wants to avoid the hot seat, but the public is expecting him to ensure the impeachment trial includes witnesses and is not just a cover-up to protect Trump,” said Demand Justice Executive Director Brian Fallon. “Roberts is not going to be able to remain a potted plant during this whole trial or else it will make him complicit in Republicans’ sham proceeding.” A spokesman for Demand Justice said the online poll drew from a demographically representative U.S. sample of more than 1,000 registered voters and was designed to mimic a randomized sample. Its margin of error is 3.8 percentage points. The poll was conducted Jan. 24, so it’s possible opinion may have shifted, as the public has since heard in full the opening arguments from House managers and Trump’s defense team, as well as Wednesday’s question-and-answer session between the legal teams and senators.  The poll was also taken prior to a bombshell New York Times report about a forthcoming book by former national security adviser John BoltonJohn BoltonSchiff: Bolton 'refused' to submit affidavit on Trump's involvement in Ukraine controversy Schumer: 'Giant asterisk' next to Trump's acquittal Senate acquits Trump, ending impeachment saga MORE. The former official reportedly wrote that Trump told him last August that he wanted to continue to suspend security assistance to Ukraine until the country helped with investigations into Democrats. The Constitution appoints the chief justice to preside over presidential impeachment trials in the Senate. The rules that govern the arrangement between the Senate and Roberts say the presiding officer “may rule” on all questions of evidence. House impeachment managers and President Trump's defense have sharply contrasting views of Roberts’s proper role in the fight over witnesses. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

Government

SAN RAMON, Calif., July 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Armanino LLP, the largest independent accounting and business consulting firm based in California, announced today that it launched a Corporate Finance practice area. Armanino’s Corporate Finance services include sell-side representation to help owners and investors maximize value in an exit transaction. As businesses expand and evolve, receiving support and assistance with business transactions is vital to building value. “For years, we have helped clients monetize their businesses during an exit. Whether it’s a company at the end of its cycle or the retirement of founders and owners who are looking for help with a business sale and Estate Planning, Armanino gets the maximum value,” said Andy Armanino, managing partner at Armanino. “Our new Corporate Finance practice will bring together our existing consulting solutions to provide clients with options on how best to proceed at the next step of their business lifecycle.” The firm is also equipped to assist with intellectual property and patent sales through its highly structured Auction90TM sales process, by which it completes a competitive auction within 90 days.  Armanino’s Transaction Advisory practice has also assisted clients looking to grow through acquisitions with buy-side representation for decades. Armanino has a roster of industry analysts with deep expertise in a variety of industries who help clients understand the true value of their businesses and assets. Across the firm, Armanino has professionals immersed in industries such as software/internet, semiconductor, media and entertainment, food and beverage, life science, medical devices and manufacturing, among others.  With tremendous expertise developed through numerous M&A, divesture and strategic partner transactions and a holistic approach including tax and financial structuring, Armanino is well-equipped to expand its Corporate Finance service offerings to better serve its clients. The firm is currently engaged in several sell-side projects in the area of food & beverage, semiconductor, and technology. More information on the Corporate Finance practice can be found here. Armanino LLP (www.armaninollp.com) is the largest independent accounting and business consulting firm based in California and one of the largest in the United States. Armanino provides an integrated set of audit, tax, business management, consulting and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and globally. The firm helps clients adapt and change in every stage of business from start-up through rapid growth to the sale of a company. Armanino emphasizes smart technology; leading a cloud revolution of financial, operational, sales and compliance tools that are transforming the way companies do business. Armanino extends its global services to more than 100 countries through its membership in Moore Stephens International Limited – one of the world's major accounting and consulting membership organizations. In addition to its core consulting and accounting practices, Armanino operates its division – AMF Media Group (www.amfmediagroup.com) a media and communications services agency. Its affiliates include Intersect Capital (www.intersectcapitalllc.com), an independent financial planning, wealth and lifestyle management firm, and The Brenner Group (www.thebrennergroup.com), an Armanino company dedicated to interim CFO and permanent placement services and a comprehensive suite of specialized financial and management services. Kyle McGuire, AMF Media Group925.790.2788 / Kyle@amfmediagroup.com Source: Armanino

Finance

Banking

Frank Bruni Weiner or no Weiner, Hillary Clinton is likely to be our next president. But she can’t seem to escape insatiable men. She married one — for better, for “bimbo eruptions,” for two terms in the White House, for impeachment. She’s in the climactic week of a grotesque battle with another. If she prevails, his boasts of sexual aggression will partly be why. And if she fails? Again there’s a priapic protagonist. The F.B.I. wouldn’t be examining Anthony Weiner’s laptop if he hadn’t invited so many strangers to examine his lap, and her fate is enmeshed once more with the wanton misdeeds of the weaker sex. Over so many of her travails hangs a cloud of testosterone. No woman before her earned a major party’s presidential nomination, drawing this close to the Oval Office. Should she reach that milestone and make that history, she’d probably also work with a Congress in which there are more female lawmakers than ever before. But her journey doesn’t only reflect the advances of women. It has also been shaped by the appetites and anxieties of men. (Maybe the two dynamics go hand in hand.) And it has exposed gross male behavior while prompting fresh examples of it. Prominent men on the edge of obsolescence have never acted so wounded, so angry, so desperate. Yes, Newt Gingrich, I’m looking at you, though you’ll have to wait your turn while I assess your master. Donald Trump’s candidacy is an unalloyed expression of male id: Yield to me, worship me, never question the expanse of my reach, do not impugn the majesty of my endowment. It’s less a political mission than a hormonal one, and it harks back to an era when women were arm candy and a man reveled in his sweet tooth. His archaic masculinity is her opportunity: a stroke of good fortune in a presidential bid with plenty of bad luck, too. When he seethed that she was a “nasty woman,” he might as well have been offering to carry her luggage into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s hardly the first time that a man’s cravings colored her fate. How much of her Achilles’-heel defensiveness is a byproduct of her marriage to Bill? When he was governor of Arkansas and when he ran for president in 1992, there were constant rumors of his philandering and a ceaseless effort to keep them from spreading. She learned early on to see the media as invasive, her opponents as merciless, and privacy as something to be guarded at all costs. That doesn’t excuse her use of a private email server as secretary of state, but it does help to explain it. Her husband converged with Gingrich in Washington in the 1990s, and when Gingrich’s Republican troops conquered Congress in 1994, it was widely characterized as the revenge of angry white men, whose provocations included her assertiveness. The president and Gingrich were both portraits of epic neediness. They were as impulsive and messy as little boys. They were destined to torment each other, and did. The humiliations that she suffered — and the public sympathy that she reaped — were inextricable from the dueling displays of male vanity around her. Fast forward two decades. While there are still angry white men and they favor Trump, it appears that there aren’t enough to counter her advantage with women, who are poised to get the president of their wishes. Not everyone is taking this well. Just days after Trump called Clinton a “nasty woman,” Gingrich lashed out at Megyn Kelly of Fox News for being unduly “fascinated with sex,” a rich remark from a thrice-married man with a record of affairs. He wasn’t just a pol jousting with a journalist. He was a portly, toppled despot aghast at how stubbornly an intelligent woman refused to defer to him. He was an aged Everyman, reeling at changed roles and altered rules. Around the country there are Senate and House races with a similar flavor: older man, younger woman, stew of resentments. In Illinois, Senator Mark Kirk, 57, made fun of the Thai heritage of his challenger, Representative Tammy Duckworth, 48, and when I watched the exchange, I wondered if the tension between them was a function of gender as well as race. In Florida, Representative John Mica, 73, dismissed Stephanie Murphy, the 37-year-old college professor who is running against him, as a “nice lady” who just isn’t ready for prime time. Maybe he has always been that big a boor and having a female opponent just made it obvious. But Clinton gets under Trump’s skin in a way that male rivals didn’t. In that sense, her gender is not a weakness but a weapon. It’s about time.

Politics

US

LOS ANGELES, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” album sold 1.216 million copies in its first week and debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, Nielsen Music said on Monday, the biggest album debut of the year. The first week sales for “Reputation” outpaced the year’s previous biggest debut, rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “Damn.,” which opened with 603,000 album units in April. (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Other

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s Sao Paulo state said on Friday it would offer fresh tax incentives to automakers, weeks after Ford Motor Co said it would shut down a plant there with 3,000 employees and General Motors Co hinted it might do the same before backtracking. Sao Paulo is the historical center of Brazil’s auto industry, which was one of the world’s five biggest until a recent downturn from which it is still recovering. It has been losing ground in recent years to other Brazilian states which have showered automakers with incentives. Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria said at a press conference that the state would offer a discount of up to 25 percent over Brazil’s ICMS value-added tax to automakers which invest at least 1 billion reais ($258.78 million) and create 400 new jobs. Doria added that the government is still trying to help sell Ford’s factory in Sao Bernardo do Campo, which is scheduled to be closed by year’s end. He said the state is negotiating with three companies, which he did not name. He did not say when the incentives would take effect. Legislative approval is not required. Ford declined to comment, while GM said in a statement the incentives would help as the industry seeks to be more competitive. Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Writing by Marcelo Rochabrun; Editing by Richard Chang

Politics

Government

MILWAUKEE-- House Republican leaders have scheduled a conference call with members the day after the election, according to a notice obtained by POLITICO. The call is being hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, meaning it will be political in nature. It is scheduled for Wednesday at 1p.m. A top Republican aide said the call will be a chance for leaders to take the temperature of members after a bruising election season. Republican insiders expect to lose about a dozen seats, but others say the losses could total as many as 20 seats. The House is coming back into session next week, and Republican leaders are expected to hold an internal party election. No one has announced a challenge to any sitting GOP leader. The already fractured House GOP conference has been further divided by Donald Trump's candidacy this election cycle. Some Trump Hill surrogates have urged their colleagues to stick with the nominee despite his controversial remarks. Others, particularly vulnerable Republicans in swing districts, have distanced themselves from the top of the ticket. Some are quietly pushing top Republicans to postpone the leadership elections to give lawmakers more time to consider their leadership team. Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) said in an interview this weekend that he personally wants a delay so the divided conference can unify, though several GOP sources dismissed his request as a ploy to buy time. (Renacci is on a congressional jaunt to London starting Wednesday and returning just as the leadership elections are set to get underway.)

Politics

Government

Last month, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time in history to reconsider international drug prohibition with an eye toward policies focused on health and human rights. Facing unprecedented drug gang–related violence, Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala had insisted the global confab be moved up by two years. Yet somehow there was no sense of urgency, and no actual changes were made, in large part due to the intransigence of Russia and China. Still, the meeting did clearly illustrate one reality: Because the US itself is violating international drug conventions by allowing individual states to legalize marijuana, America has basically resigned as the world's lead narcotics cops. (At least until President Donald Trump is a thing.) And that means countries like Canada and Jamaica, which are legalizing or plan to legalize marijuana, will be able to do so without facing threats of trade war or other sanctions, as they have in the past. The consensus that prohibition is the only possible approach to drug use has been broken. So what would it take to bring real change? The UN will revisit the issue around 2019, and there are some critical questions reformers must address between now and then to set the stage for better drug policy in decades ahead. The first, and probably most pressing, is to increase public understanding of the real nature of addiction and its causes. Only 10 to 20 percent of people who take even the most addictive drugs like heroin and meth actually become addicted—the vast majority of drug use never results in addiction, or any other type of harm. Once this is understood, the real question for drug policy becomes: How do we prevent addiction and other drug-related harm? This is the heart of the drug policy strategy known as "harm reduction." Unfortunately, decades of racist propaganda and media scare tactics have obscured the fact that addiction is rarely, if ever, caused by simple exposure to particular drugs. Typically, addiction results from young people's attempts to medicate emotional and social despair, with 90 percent of all addictions starting before the mid 20s. And importantly, the people with the most severe addictions often start in their teens or earlier, and use multiple drugs. At least two thirds have suffered from traumatic childhoods and more than 50 percent mental illness or personality disorders. Drugs are not the sole source of their problems; in their eyes, drugs are an apparent solution that went wrong. Consequently, stamping out particular drugs—if that were even possible—won't change the fact that people vulnerable to addiction exist, and will often seek ways to make their consciousness more bearable. Recognizing that addiction is not "created" by shady doctors or drug dealers but by a complex tangle of developmental experience is crucial, as is realizing that reducing drug-related harm—not use—is the only plausible goal. When the UN last met on drug policy in 1998, the outcome was a document that suggested we would have a drug free world by now. At least this time, the agency is aiming for a world free of "drug abuse," which might be a tiny bit more realistic. Indeed, the history of world drug policy is a sad story of panics over particular drugs followed by crackdowns, which, at best, shift production from one country to another while failing to affect long-term supply. And during these panics, the people who suffer most tend to be the racial minorities that politicians associate with the drugs, and the people who nonetheless became addicted, as well as their families. To create better policy, we need to focus on the humanity of drug users, and the fact that world drug law is based on racist myths and colonial power grabs, not science. No rational policymaker could ever determine that alcohol and tobacco should be legal while marijuana is illegal—the reason that some drugs are legal and others aren't is related to who had power and who did not when the laws were made, plain and simple. Pretending that this system has some kind of rational basis simply serves to perpetuate bad outcomes. We also need a better understanding of how much substitution there is between different classes of drugs. Some research suggests, for example, that medical marijuana legalization is linked with reduced rates of opioid overdose deaths, which makes sense because both can be used as painkillers. But there is little data on how often this substitution occurs and how large an effect it has—and similarly, we don't know enough about substitution between alcohol and marijuana. If people simply add marijuana to their current drinking habits, this won't reduce harm. But if people drink significantly less when they smoke or eat more pot, that would be an overall positive effect. Using computer modeling to try to answer such questions seems like an obvious tactic, because variables like pricing can be changed to explore potential effects. Another key unanswered question centers on the effects of commercialization on drug markets. We know that decriminalizing personal possession and shifting the savings to treatment doesn't necessarily increase use. In fact, when Portugal did so in 2001, the result was dramatic reductions in HIV and IV drug use, without increases in drug use that were any different from their neighbors (which had maintained criminalization). But what about legalizing drug sales? How much of an effect does advertising really have? There is some evidence from the Netherlands that marijuana use didn't increase after the Dutch made it quasi-legal to sell and buy in "coffee shops"—at least not until those shops proliferated and became more visible. Even then, however, use by young people remained (and still does) below the levels America has under strict prohibition. More research is needed on the effects of marketing and price. Clearly, even with a highly addictive drug like tobacco, high prices and counter marketing matter. To put this all together, we also need to improve public understanding of the concept of "harm reduction" as the primary goal of drug policy. For years, prohibitionists and others have argued that harm reduction is a Trojan horse for legalization, a sort of softer rebranding to sell a dangerous policy. In fact, harm reduction as a philosophy of drug policy is neutral on legalization. But in reality, harm-reduction supporters overwhelmingly support decriminalization of drug possession and may also favor legalization of sales. The reason is that the core of harm reduction is keeping people safe and healthy. Harm reductionists don't care whether using psychoactive drugs per se is bad; they care about ensuring that it doesn't do damage. And once you start looking at minimizing harm rather than simply assuming drugs are evil, you also must start looking at harm that comes from drug policy, as opposed to bad things that stem directly from use. That's where harm reductionists tend rapidly to become legalizers. Data we already have from around the world makes it screamingly obvious that criminal laws targeting drug users don't protect the public from high levels of drug use. But they do harm drug users—and trafficking related violence has killed tens of thousands of people in Mexico alone. Before the next UN meeting on drugs, and as individual states and nations consider how to regulate marijuana and other drugs, drug reformers need to get this message out to policymakers and politicians. A prohibition approach that increases violence, disease, and disability in the name of fighting immoral substances, while failing to move the needle on use levels and making life hellish for users is not viable in the modern world. Follow Maia Szalavitz on Twitter.

Politics

Legalization of Marijuana

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump, petulant and impetuous, never lets a slight go unanswered. Because, at the end of (every) day, it's all about him -- and what he wants. Witness Trump's last-minute decision Thursday to cancel House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's planned trip to Afghanistan as a way to punish her for her request that he postpone his State of the Union speech until after the government is reopened. To be clear: Pelosi's move, like Trump's, was political. She wanted to drive home two things to the President: 1) Congress is on equal footing with the White House, according to the Constitution, and 2) The shutdown could be made to impact him, too. There was some hope -- amid Trump's silence in the wake of Pelosi's SOTU letter -- that he might not take the bait, that he might, for once, see that engaging in a tit-for-tat political knife fight with Pelosi didn't help the 800,000 furloughed federal workers or the country more broadly. But that hope, like the hope that Trump would act more presidential once he was the GOP nominee or once he was elected president or once he was sworn in or once, well, you get the idea, was doomed from the start. Trump is Trump. Over and over again -- in both the campaign and in the White House -- Trump has shown that his first priority is doing what he believes is best for him (or gives him the most immediate satisfaction), not the right thing for the country. Whether you blame Pelosi for provoking or Trump for his totally unpresidential response, the result is the same: The chances of a compromise that would resolve this already-longest-ever government shutdown went from "not very good" to "very, very bad" on Thursday. And, what's all the more remarkable -- and by "remarkable" I mean "terribly, terribly depressing" -- is that what we are talking about is an inability to keep the government open, the single most basic task of our elected officials. This ain't complex foreign policy or some sort of broad-scale deal on entitlement reform. This is keeping the lights on. Basic stuff. Easy stuff. The Point: This political pissing match represents a failure of our government the likes of which we haven't seen -- even in an era in which it feels like every political norm has already been smashed.

Politics

Government

Jazz unites two brothers, one accused of plotting terrorism, in Idris Goodwin’s play. When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed play or musical through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Across the table from each other in a jail’s visiting room, the brothers are scatting, their vocal jam making sweet jazz in a cold, hard space where instruments are not allowed. When the hovering guard tells them time’s up, the classically trained younger brother, Eric, will go home to his apartment and his keyboard — and to a cherished upright bass that was his older brother’s livelihood before he was arrested in a federal sting. Bilal, the elder sibling, accused of terrorist plotting, will return to his cell, where the compositions in his head will keep him company. Idris Goodwin’s play “Bars and Measures,” making its New York premiere in Kristan Seemel’s smart, supple production at Urban Stages, is “loosely based on true events,” a note in the script says. Those events are the story of Tarik Shah, a jazz musician from the Bronx who in 2007 pleaded guilty to plotting to help Al Qaeda, and Antoine Dowdell, his older brother whose visits to Shah at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan were filled with music-making. In the play, which is infused with original music by Justin Ellington (yes, he is related to Duke, but distantly), jazz is an easier topic of visiting-day conversation than Bilal’s impending trial or how he got arrested. He insists on his innocence, and Eric (Roderick Lawrence) fervently believes him. Planning to perform in a benefit for his brother’s defense fund, Eric needs Bilal (Shabazz Green) to help him sharpen his own jazz chops. Their parents raised them on jazz, and Bilal gets as much spiritual sustenance from it as he does from his faith. But there’s a political element to his affinity for jazz and his contempt for classical music (“Jazz is the black man’s classical tradition,” he says), just as there is to his reverence for Islam, which he calls “the black man’s true religion.” Bilal sees all Muslims as his brothers, and after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the profiling and persecution of them infuriates him. What ensues between him and a man who turns out to be an F.B.I. informant is less benign than Bilal has led Eric to believe. Proceeding through Bilal’s trial to its shattered aftermath, “Bars and Measures” is about kinship and allegiance: the messy, painful, tenacious bonds of family, and what you owe to your nation if it looks at you and sees the enemy. But this is also a tale about getting lost, and whether and how you can find your way back — which could describe the gauntlet thrown down with any jazz solo. An off note in the play — a plot strand that begins with great charm before taking on an awkward didacticism — concerns Eric’s involvement with Sylvia (Salma Shaw), a Muslim vocalist whose narrative purpose ultimately seems to be to debunk stereotypes. (Like Abraham Makany, the fourth member of the fine cast, Shaw plays multiple roles.) But this production (with a set by Frank J. Oliva, lighting by John Salutz and sound by David Margolin Lawson) is for the most part handsomely polished, and Goodwin mirrors the brothers’ relationship in the play’s very form. Its ending is a callback to a composition Bilal writes — unresolved and, as such, absolutely apt. Bars and MeasuresThrough Nov. 10 at Urban Stages Theater, Manhattan; 866-811-4111, urbanstages.org. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes.

Other

Other

Image 1 of 1 TOKYO – Doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara and six of his followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, closing a chapter on one of Japan&aposs most shocking crimes in recent memory. During the morning rush hour of March 20, 1995, members of the Asahara&aposs Aum Shinrikyo cult punctured plastic bags to release sarin nerve gas inside subway cars, killing 13 people and sickening more than 6,000. Japan&aposs Justice Ministry announced the executions of Asahara, 63, and his followers. Two major Japanese newspapers issued extra editions about the executions and handed them out at train stations. "This gave me a piece of mind," Kiyoe Iwata, who lost her daughter in the subway attack, told Japanese broadcaster NHK. "I have always been wondering why it had to be my daughter and why she had to be killed. Now, I can pay a visit to her grave and tell her of this." Asahara and five of the six executed were implicated in the subway attack. The cult also carried out other crimes that together with the subway attack killed 27 people in total. Six other followers remain on death row. The others hanged Friday included two scientists who led the production of the sarin gas and one of the men who carried out the actual attack on the subway. Japan&aposs justice minister, who approved the hangings Tuesday, said she doesn&apost take executions lightly but felt they were justified in this case because of the unprecedentedly seriousness of the crimes. "The fear, pain and sorrow of the victims, survivors and their families — because of the heinous cult crimes — must have been so severe, and that is beyond my imagination," Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told a news conference. She said the crime affected not only Japan but also sowed fear abroad. Asahara, whose original name was Chizuo Matsumoto, founded Aum Shinrikyo, or Supreme Truth, in 1984. The cult attracted many young people, including graduates of top universities. Asahara hand-picked some as close aides. The group amassed an arsenal of chemical, biological and conventional weapons to carry out Asahara&aposs escalating criminal orders in anticipation of an apocalyptic showdown with the government. During his eight-year trial, Asahara talked incoherently, occasionally babbling in broken English, and never acknowledged his responsibility or offered meaningful explanations. He was on death row for about 14 years. His family has said he was a broken man, constantly wetting and soiling the floor of his prison cell and not communicating with his family or lawyers. Some survivors of the cult&aposs crimes opposed the executions, saying they would end hopes for a fuller explanation of the crimes. Shizue Takahashi, whose husband was a subway deputy station master who died in the attack, also expressed regret that six of Asahara&aposs followers had been killed. "I wanted the others to talk more about what they did as lessons for anti-terrorism measures in this country, and I wanted the authorities and experts to learn more from them," she told a televised news conference. "I regret that is no longer possible." The cult claimed 10,000 members in Japan and 30,000 in Russia. It has disbanded, though nearly 2,000 people follow its rituals in three splinter groups, monitored by authorities. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Suga said authorities are taking precautionary measures in case of any retaliation by his followers. ___ Associated Press video journalists Kaori Hitomi and Haruka Nuga contributed to this story.

Terrorism

Violence

Monday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new efficiency rules for air conditioners, battery chargers, and dehumidifiers. Battery chargers: The Department of Energy (DOE) is moving forward with new efficiency rules for battery chargers. The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on Friday strengthened the energy conservation standards for battery chargers. The DOE estimates the rule will contribute to a "significant conservation of energy.” It will cost manufacturers about $529 million to comply, but save consumers as much as $1.2 billion. This follows a September 2015 supplemental notice of proposed rule-making. The rule goes into effect on Aug. 12. Air conditioners: The Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing new efficiency rules for portable air conditioners. The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy proposed Friday new energy conservation standards for portable air conditioners. This follows the DOE’s determination in April that it has the authority to regulate these devices. The DOE estimates the energy conservation standards would cost manufacturers more than $220 million to comply with, which could shrink the sector by 30 percent. But the rules would also save consumers as much as $5.2 billion, according to DOE estimates. The public has 60 days to comment. Dehumidifiers: The Department of Energy (DOE) is moving forward with more stringent efficiency rules for dehumidifiers. The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on Friday strengthened the energy conservation standards for dehumidifiers. The DOE estimates the rule will cost manufacturers more than $37 million, which would shrink the industry by about 20 percent. But it would save consumers as much as $2.7 billion. The new rule goes into effect on Aug. 12. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Technology

Transportation

March 18 (Reuters) - Volitionrx Ltd * Announces pricing of public offering of common stock * Says public offering of 3.77 million common shares priced at $3.25 per share Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Bengaluru Newsroom: +1-646-223-8780)

Investment

Stock Market

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-four U.S. senators on Wednesday voted to find President Donald Trump not guilty of abusing his powers as had been charged in articles of impeachment by the House of Representatives, enough to guarantee acquittal on the charge. Although voting on the charge was ongoing, it would take 67 votes in the 100-seat Senate to convict Trump on the charge and remove him from office. The Senate will vote later on a second charge that Trump obstructed Congress’ investigation into whether he acted improperly in withholding U.S. security aid to Ukraine. Reporting by Richard Cowan and Eric Beech; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Tim Ahmann

Politics

Government

It is a tenuous time in the world. America's international ties will certainly be tested with the incoming administration. That's why now, more than ever, we need competent people abroad as conduits for the country. In the NFL, no team has embodied competency, strong communication, and—what President Donald Trump values more than anything else—winning more than the New York Jets. Certainly, that is why Jets owner Woody Johnson will be named, according to CNBC, the new ambassador to the United Kingdom. This isn't unprecedented. Steelers owner Dan Rooney was named Irish ambassador by Barack Obama. The only difference, really, is that Dan Rooney did not own a flaming pile of dog shit that had been dropped on the New York metropolitan area's doorstep when he got his gig. Who knows what this will mean for the Jets. Johnson has been involved in decision-making there and maybe someone else will take over the operation in his stead. Johnson is also on three important NFL committees. What will they do without him? But at least Johnson is finally doing all he can for the Jets. He had made the mistake of chairing Jeb! Bush's failed presidential run before realizing Trump was his man. After the lowly last years of Rex Ryan, the buttfumble, the Tebow era, and, uh, now, Trump will finally make the Jets great again, too.

Sports

Basketball

Who says a wheel has to be round? On the Aston Martin DB11 steering wheel, square is the new round. I use the description “square” loosely. It’s not a perfect square, but rather it tapers off in more pronounced angle in the tradition of the 820 horsepower Vulcan supercar and its smart steering wheel. Thick and sculptural, it was the first thing I noticed when I climbed into the cockpit to test drive this James Bond-inspired sports car. The shape of the DB11 wheel gives this $214,000 vehicle a sense of purpose. The wheel is cast in an oblong shape, which means that you can also see more of the dashboard and the pedals peeking through. Its coated in hand-stitched, buttery caramel leather, which emphasizes the embossed wings of the Aston Martin logo. The effect is stunning and it’s almost as if the wheel is beckoning you to climb in and take it for a spin. And what this form adds to the interior is a powerful message to a driver in the age of smart-phone distraction: keep your hands at nine and three o’clock. It’s not the first time Aston Martin has toyed with this squarish-round shape. It’s gleaned from the rare 2010 one-77 hyper car of which 77 examples were made, and is now standard on the DB11 flagship. Until now, this wheel shape has only been sold as a pricy option available on the Vanquish. On the DB11, this obtuse wheel is the first of its kind equipped with electric power-assisted steering. Memories of the not-so-amazing Ford steering wheel used on an early 2000s Vantage model over a decade ago are placed in the distant rear view mirror. The lush shape also helps distract from the physical black controls placed on the side, which are the most the company has used in a production car, and include the thumb buttons that maneuver transmission modes, the home screen, telephone, volume knob, and are all part and parcel of the brand’s technical partnership with Daimler. The plasticky black paddle controls are tucked neatly behind the wheel, ensuring that your hands never stray far. It’s easy to overlook details such as the shape of the wheel on a car that boasts a stunning exterior, designed by Marek Reichman and his team. In reality, car designers agonize over these complex and highly engineered bits for hours. The steering wheel engages multiple senses. Its tactile feel is the key connection between the driver and the road. In the case of a sports car like the DB11, it’s the connection between the joy of opening up the engine and laying down the throttle as you’re coming out of an apex of a turn into a straightway, or perhaps breezing by the water along the Amalfi coast, zipping from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4 seconds flat. The steering wheel has its own history independent of the automobile. Steering wheels were first widely used on 19th century ships. But the image of a captain navigating a wheel large in diameter to bring his ship to shore is far removed from the slick wheels we see in contemporary sports car. Steering in the first motor cars were controlled by levers, which gave way to wooden wheels. While Francis W Davis invented power steering in the 1920s, the feature didn’t become popular in cars until the 1950s, after hydraulics systems were popularized and Chrysler used it in the Imperial. But in recent years, Aston Martin, like many automakers, has switched to electric power assisted steering, which means that an electric motor controls the wheel. While the jury is still out on the responsiveness, these systems are only getting better and more accurate than the hydraulic counterparts. But technical performance and function aside, the exterior shape of the wheel in this case is more referential. In recent times, the evolution of the wheel is closely tied to motorsports, and what gives the driver the ability to maneuver most efficiently in both Formula One and GT racing. Marshall Pruett reported for Road & Track, “In abstract terms, there are few components on a racing car that have changed more and become almost unrecognizable since the sport was in its infancy more than a decade ago.” The steering wheel is one of many beautiful bits on the DB11, a car that has grace and visceral power, as well as other remarkable details such as full LED headlamps. In contemporary cars, the wheel is what guides the driving experience. Of course the concept of a steering wheel in passenger cars, may one day be one of pure nostalgia as we move into the age of autonomous driving. Many of the self-driving car prototypes are cars with no steering wheels at all.

Other

Other

LONDON — On a chilly summer night, the South African star Wayde van Niekerk successfully defended his 400-meter title at the world track and field championships on Tuesday. But his biggest potential obstacle to winning gold, Isaac Makwala of Botswana, was missing from the final after being barred from competing by the sport’s governing body because of an illness. The unusual decision spurred debate and frustration in the track and field community and made for an unpleasant scene when the 30-year-old Makwala, upset at being excluded, arrived at London Stadium and was stopped by security from using the athletes’ entrance. About 30 athletes and support staff members staying at one of the event’s official hotels in London near Tower Bridge have fallen ill with a gastrointestinal virus, according to Public Health England, an agency of the United Kingdom’s Department of Health. The ill include members of the Canadian, German and Irish teams, some of whom reportedly have been separated from other athletes in their hotel. Two of the cases, according to the public health agency, were confirmed by laboratory testing to be norovirus, which is often transmitted by close contact or by touching contaminated surfaces. It was unclear whether Makwala was one of those with norovirus. In a statement released on Tuesday night, the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, said it was following government health regulations in requesting that Makwala be “quarantined in his room for 48 hours.” It said the quarantine was set to end by 2 p.m. Wednesday, too late for Makwala, one of the top contenders in the 200 and the 400, to continue participating in either event. He was withdrawn from the opening round of the 200 on Monday because of the illness. “The I.A.A.F. is very sorry that the hard work and talent of Isaac Makwala won’t be on display tonight, but we have to think of the welfare of all athletes,” the federation said in its statement. Makwala told the BBC that although he had vomited before the 200 heats, he was able to compete. Though he said he had not been tested, the I.A.A.F. indicated that the decision to withdraw him from the two events had been made after an examination conducted at the stadium on Monday by “a qualified doctor.” In an interview with Britain’s ITV News, Makwala suggested that he might have been allowed to compete if he had been from the host nation. “I asked myself, ‘What if I was a Great British guy, would they not allow me to run?’” he said. “I don’t think they would not allow me to run. If they saw the guy had potential, they are going to allow him to run.” Van Niekerk, who will run in the 200-meter final on Wednesday, might very well have still won with Makwala present and at full strength. Van Niekerk, 25, did break Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old world record in the 400 by winning gold in 43.03 seconds at last year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Still, Makwala has been in rare form this season. Last month in Madrid, he became the first man to run a sub-20-second time in the 200 and a sub-44-second time in the 400 on the same day, as he finished in 19.77 and 43.92. Makwala also came close to beating Van Niekerk in a 400 in Monaco. But only one men’s double at the world championships is still possible. Van Niekerk won the gold medal in the 400 on Tuesday, easing off to finish in 43.98 seconds. Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas was a distant second at 44.41, with Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar third in 44.48. “He was in great, great form,” van Niekerk said of Makwala. “I believe he would have done very well in these championships. I have so much sympathy for him.” Van Niekerk seemed unconcerned about having come into close contact with Makwala. “I saw him just before the 200-meter heats, and the only think I could think of was just wrapping my arms around him and saying he should get well soon,” he said. Van Niekerk now has a chance to become the first man to complete the 200-400 double at the world championships since Johnson in 1995. Van Niekerk will run in the 200 semifinals on Wednesday night and, if he qualifies, the final on Thursday night. “The body seems to be ready, and I’ll give it my best shot,” he said.

Sports

Olympics

TOP-20 SUNRISE COMMUNICATIONS SHAREHOLDER SAYS IT FINDS UPC PRICE TOO HIGH, WILL VOTE AGAINST RIGHTS ISSUE

Other

Other

On Sunday evening, actress Susan Sarandon walked the SAG Awards red carpet in a gorgeous navy blue sequined off-the-shoulder dress by Alberta Ferretti, but it was her statement shades that caught our eye. It's a move we often see at the front row of a fashion show, but not so much on the step-and-repeat of one of Hollywood's biggest events. Perhaps Sarandon was channeling her inner Anna Wintour, or perhaps she was just tired from her busy weekend participating in the Women’s March in Los Angeles on Saturday. She shared her feelings on Instagram in a caption, writing: “Beautiful day to stand strong with women and say no to violence & discrimination against all women in all countries and to stand together with our DREAMers, future leaders, and their parents who make this country strong.” Though, after sharing a photo of her makeup on Instagram and thanking her glam squad, it seems that The Feud actress maybe just wanted to make a killer statement. Twitter, however, isn’t convinced and has mixed feelings on her look. But as one user pointed out, this could just be a case of functional fashion done right. @LoriJulia tweeted: “the sun is stabbing everyone in the eye so bright [and the] only person wearing sunglasses on carpet is Susan Sarandon.” Others were more divided. While the sunglasses may be divisive — and honestly, we live for someone who wants to spice up their look on an awards show red carpet — you can get the now-iconic pair for yourself by clicking ‘add to cart’ on Moooi x Gentle Monster’s Divinity shades which retail for $240. You can buy them here.

Politics

US

(CNN)"Curb Your Enthusiasm" has returned and Larry David has found all new ways of pissing people off. David is in fine form in Sunday night's 10th season premiere, with fresh complaints about too-cold coffee, politically correct sayings, and most other things in his path as he tries to get through another day of being Larry David. Among the many things that irritate him this season is when he catches a pregnant woman exercising. "You're jostling the fetus," he tells her. The season premiere, titled "Happy New Year," also takes aim at Harvey Weinstein and President Trump. After Jeff Garlin complains about a golfing pal wearing a MAGA hat, David sets about wearing the red cap as a "people repulser." Also, this season, we see David fighting with nemesis Susie Greene (Susie Essman) and trying to reunite with his ex wife, Cheryl Hines. At the start of Sunday's episode, David, walking with Leon (JB Smoove) grab a stranger's selfie stick and snap it in half. If that's any indication of whats to come, we're in for prime Larry David.

Television

Comedy

South Carolina’s football coach, Will Muschamp, was asked recently if the Gamecocks had planned their preseason camp around Monday’s solar eclipse. It seemed to be a logical question: The Gamecocks’ hometown, Columbia, was squarely in the path of totality, one of the last stops on the continentwide diagonal trajectory that would leave entire cities and towns shrouded from sunlight for anywhere from several seconds to two and a half minutes. But Muschamp replied with a look that made it crystal clear his preseason practice plan did not account for eclipses. “Are you kidding?” he said, going on to ask, “What day is the eclipse going to happen?” (He appeared not to be kidding.) “I’m not very good with that kind of stuff,” he added. Let the record show that the team itself planned to watch, according to an athletics department spokesman, and that the speakers at Williams-Brice Stadium blasted “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” famously used in the film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” at the moment of totality. But Muschamp’s response inadvertently pointed to a larger truth the eclipse has revealed: There may be no other job in the United States in which sheer monomania — the kind where a rather cool and potentially once-in-a-lifetime event like the continental solar eclipse does not even qualify as an afterthought — is tolerated the way it is in a football coach. For Muschamp and others, these crucial weeks of August camp are the time to get the team ready for the dozen or so games it will play this season. To a coach like Muschamp, stopping those preparations for even a minute or two to consider an eclipse probably won’t help you beat Clemson. “I watch the Weather Channel every day,” Alabama Coach Nick Saban said. “They’re already saying what it’s going to look like in every city in America. So what’s going to be significant?” At least Saban seemed aware that the eclipse was a thing that existed. (The moon, in fact, was to cover as much as 90 percent of the sun in Tuscaloosa, Ala.) And other coaches and athletes eagerly soaked up the rare experience. Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh took off his glasses to put on special eclipse ones, and colleges like Georgia and Southern Illinois opens their stadium gates for watch parties. Rafael Nadal sneaked a peek while practicing for the United States Open in New York, and the Minnesota Twins gathered on the infield at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago hours before a game against the White Sox. Unlike Muschamp and Saban, Tennessee Titans Coach Mike Mularkey stopped practice entirely so his players could watch. Many donned paper glasses, or lounged on the field staring up at the sky. Minor league baseball teams, especially those in the eclipse’s path, went even further, with a handful rescheduling games to take full advantage. In Salem, Ore., the Class A Hillsboro Hops and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes paused their game — moved to the morning — for what they billed as baseball’s first-ever eclipse delay. The game got off to a slightly late start because the Hops were stuck in traffic, then stopped in the middle of the first inning as fans and players paused to watch the sky go dark. In Nebraska, the Lincoln Saltdogs wore special eclipse jerseys and announced that they had sold tickets to buyers from as far as the United Kingdom and Germany. Other teams hosting events in the eclipse’s path included the Idaho Falls Chukars, in Idaho; the Bowling Green Hot Rods, in Kentucky; the Nashville Sounds; and at least three clubs in South Carolina: the Greenville Drive, the Columbia Fireflies and the Charleston RiverDogs. At Oregon State, according to a spokesman, football practice was moved back, and the university’s teams were allowed to watch from a deck at Reser Stadium. At Boise State, athletes were invited to attend an on-campus event if they were interested, a spokesman said, while Vanderbilt’s team planned to watch together on its practice field, the university said. And while Muschamp laughed last month at even the suggestion that he would carve out a window to watch the eclipse, Clemson, also in South Carolina, did just the opposite. “Football had it blocked off on training camp schedule developed in summer!” a spokesman wrote in an email Monday morning. The Tigers, though, could afford the reward of a brief break: They are, after all, the defending national champions.

Other

Other

Letters To the Editor: The tax bill being voted on this week is a disaster for the American people. It has been prepared with little transparency, significant input from lobbyists and considerable misrepresentation. We have no idea how much this bill will cost us, but I am sure it will be more than the $1.5 trillion we have been told. The major beneficiaries of this bill are large corporations, the real estate industry and the wealthiest Americans. Corporations will spend these savings on stock buybacks and dividends to drive up the price of their stock and options — none of which generate jobs. A period of low unemployment and rising wages is absolutely the wrong time to create a huge federal deficit. We should be paying down prior debt used to stimulate the economy. This bill is a payoff to the financial supporters of members of Congress, and we are footing the bill. Our government is going into debt to transfer more wealth to the wealthy. This is crazy and irresponsible. RICHARD L. HECHT, WHITE PLAINS The writer is a certified public accountant. To the Editor: There are two ways to increase the deficit over the next 10 years. One way is to spend a trillion dollars on social programs, infrastructure and finding ways to improve health care and education. That would promote positive economic activity and create jobs. The other way is to cut taxes on corporations and the rich. That would cut funding for social programs, health care and education, and our infrastructure would continue to crumble. The impact on the economy and jobs is questionable. We have picked the wrong way. KENNETH A. TIMPECHARLOTTE, N.C. To the Editor: As a former registered Republican voter, now an independent, I question whether there are any Republican members of Congress who are representing their constituents and not their donors. They have proposed two disastrous pieces of legislation, a health care bill (which fortunately failed), and a tax bill, which provides most of the benefits to the top income earners and corporations. I am appalled that Republicans in Congress are ignoring the wishes of their constituents, who are mostly opposed to the bill. Senator Lindsey Graham admitted that if the Senate did not pass the bill, “financial contributions will stop” for Senate Republicans in the 2018 election. I hope voters remember how the Republicans in Congress value them when they go to the polls next year. KAREN COFFEY, WESTWOOD, MASS. To the Editor: Isaac Martin (“How Republicans Learned to Sell Tax Cuts for the Rich,” Op-Ed, nytimes.com, Dec. 18) is absolutely correct. The evidence is clear that corporations are getting a huge tax break on the backs of the poor and the middle class. Yes, the people are “hopping mad,” and this is exactly the climate that will foster a wave of authentic populism among an electorate that overwhelmingly believes in progressive taxation. The opportunity for a populist uprising was missed in 2008 during the Great Recession, which was caused by the reckless and criminal behavior of Wall Street. The appropriate anger that swept the populace at that time was cleverly directed away from the financial community and redirected against government by the Tea Party folks. The polls indicate that the American people are not being fooled this time. ARTHUR SALZKEW GARDENS, QUEENS

Politics

Government

April 2 (Reuters) - Shenzhen Stock Exchange : * FILING SHOWS BLOCK TRADE OF JIANGSU ZHONGNAN CONSTRUCTION GROUP CO LTD'S 63.2 MILLION SHARES INVOLVING 448.7 MILLION YUAN ($71.44 million)ON APRIL 2 Source text in Chinese: bit.ly/2grA0v1 Further company coverage: ($1 = 6.2810 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)

Technology

Internet

A BuzzFeed News analysis has identified the 50 fake news stories that attracted the most engagement on Facebook this year. Together they totaled 21.5 million likes, comments, and shares. Of these stories, 23 were about US politics, two were about women using their vaginas as murder weapons, and one was about a clown doll that actually was a person the whole time. BuzzFeed News defined “fake news” as news that was verifiably “100 percent false” and drawn from a list of 96 websites purposely created to disseminate false information. You can read the full list of stories, but here are the top five: Notably, the domain name for the top fake news story of the year is “abcnews.com.co.” In a November interview with The Verge, Professor Nicole A. Cooke of the University of Illinois’ School of Information Sciences cited the slight modification of familiar domains as a particularly dangerous and common tactic for fake news sites. They make the source look reputable at first glance. The man who operates abcnews.com.co told The Washington Post that he believes his websites were a key factor in the election of Donald Trump. And, at random, some other highlights from the list: You might want to hope that people shared these articles as a joke. I want to hope that. But we can’t: the analysis points to a recent BuzzFeed and Ipsos Public Affairs poll which found that 75 percent of Americans (84 percent of Republicans and 71 percent of Democrats) were easily tricked by fake headlines. What a fantastic year for fact-checking and rational thought and Mark Zuckerberg’s self-awareness.

Politics

Current Events

A Long Island man from a wealthy family who argued he was brainwashed to kill his cousin’s former boyfriend was convicted of attempted murder on Monday, after a lengthy trial that featured expert witnesses who testified about the effect of indoctrination on a weak psyche. A Manhattan jury took only 50 minutes to find the man, Jacob Nolan, 23, guilty of all charges in connection with the bludgeoning and stabbing of Michael Weiss, an Upper West Side psychiatrist, in his home office on West 57th Street on Nov. 12, 2012. Mr. Nolan showed no expression as the jury foreman read the verdict, while his mother broke into tears in the audience. He was found guilty of attempted murder, burglary and assault, and could be sentenced to between five and 25 years on the top charge. Defense lawyers never disputed that Mr. Nolan, who had a history of mental illness, went to Mr. Weiss’s apartment that day with a sledgehammer and a knife in a duffel bag. Mr. Weiss testified that Mr. Nolan tried to hit him in the head with the sledgehammer, then stabbed him seven times, before he was able to break free. But the defense argued that Mr. Nolan was not acting of his own volition. They said he had been programmed by Mr. Weiss’s former girlfriend, Pamela Buchbinder, who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Mr. Weiss over their young son. In the weeks leading up to the attack, Mr. Nolan had been living with Ms. Buchbinder, a 43-year-old cousin who is also a psychiatrist. Steven Brounstein, a defense lawyer, said in his closing argument that Ms. Buchbinder had taken advantage of Mr. Nolan’s mental illness and submissive personality, indoctrinating him with the idea that Mr. Weiss had to be eliminated because he posed a threat to her son. Mr. Brounstein contended Ms. Buchbinder had turned Mr. Nolan into a weapon, and he argued Mr. Nolan was so brainwashed that he did not understand the consequences of his actions, sitting down after the attack and taking bloody photos of himself rather than fleeing. “He was putty,” Mr. Brounstein argued. “He was sand in the hands of a master.” But the lead prosecutor, Linda Ford, argued that Mr. Nolan, though mentally ill, knew precisely what he was doing and intended to kill Mr. Weiss. She said his motive might have been to help Ms. Buchbinder because he craved her approval and love, but he still had the mental capacity to understand his acts. “He’s a young man who is fully functional,” she said. “Mentally ill? Absolutely. He has bipolar disease. That doesn’t turn him into a babbling idiot who has no control over his faculties.” The night before the attack, Ms. Buchbinder and Mr. Nolan bought the sledgehammer at Home Depot, according to evidence presented at the trial. In addition, Ms. Buchbinder had drawn a map for Mr. Nolan, instructing him how to gain access to Mr. Weiss’s apartment. Ms. Buchbinder has not been charged with any crime in connection with the assault. Defense lawyers pleaded with Justice Thomas Farber of State Supreme Court to take steps to ensure that Mr. Nolan, the son of a wealthy real estate investor, continue to receive medications in prison. Justice Farber said he would ask the New York City Correction Department to place him on a suicide watch.

Crime

Murder

Op-Ed Contributor Istanbul — AS I walked by the military museum in the Harbiye neighborhood of Istanbul on Friday evening, I was expecting a silent end to a busy week. I was on my way to an adjoining coffee shop where I planned to drink a cup of hot cocoa and read a literary magazine. The museum was eerily silent, but I didn’t think much of it, passing the human-sized mannequins of Ottoman-era janissary soldiers displayed in the windows. It was after 10 p.m. In the coffee shop someone said that, shortly before, soldiers had closed public access to the Bosporus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges, which connect Istanbul’s European and Asian sides. I didn’t think much of that either, linking the news to anxiety about another terrorist attack. The soldiers were probably just there to protect the city’s residents. It was only when I saw, on my phone, videos of fights between police officers and soldiers near the president’s offices that I thought: military coup. I asked the waiter to put my cocoa in a paper cup and headed for Gezi Park, the center of major protests in the summer of 2013. But last night it was breezy and silent, filled with silhouettes of other night-strollers. The park seemed oblivious to politics. I walked to Cihangir, the bobo neighborhood where I live, and met some friends on side streets who were half-drunkenly discussing the difference between a “darbe” (a coup) and a “derbi” (a local soccer competition). “Darbe is like this super-total military control,” said one who had never experienced a coup. My cleaning lady called to ask when things would “return to normal.” I told her, “Sabah ola hayrola,” a Turkish expression that advises waiting until the morning, after things have settled down. Then a friend called to tell me I should stock up on supplies, especially pasta, water and bread. “The market is still open,” she whispered. “This may be last your chance. Go there now.” The supermarket nearby was packed with hipsters who alternated between checking their smartphones and checking out one another, tattooed arms leaden with groceries. I ran into a friend who was talking on the phone to a mother full of wisdom acquired during the 1980 coup. It was the same advice: Buy pasta, water and bread. I brought plenty of that back to my apartment. Amira, a curator friend who works in a contemporary art gallery nearby, sought refuge there: Cabs weren’t taking passengers, she said; she couldn’t get back home, in the Anatolian part of the city. We started watching the street through the window. Five minutes later, about 50 youths started running in panic, looking over their shoulders, jumping into open-air cafes. What was going on? I was reminded of the mayhem in Nice, France, the day before. In the living room, we watched as someone on CNN Turk used FaceTime to interview President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former president Abdullah Gul. They seemed angry, and yet somehow managed to speak calmly. Mr. Erdogan was scheduled to arrive at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, the site of a terrorist attack last month. The pundits on CNN Turk were saying that all would be fine, that things were returning to normal. It was only when Amira and I opened a bottle of white wine to calm ourselves down that the most spectacular events of the evening happened. Military helicopters started bombing Parliament in Ankara while CNN Turk was broadcasting footage of parliamentarians inside. One member of Parliament could be seen pointing her iPhone at the destroyed corners of the building. Then soldiers barged into CNN Turk’s headquarters, made an on-air appearance in the studio and cut off the broadcast. Meanwhile, Cihangir remained deserted, except for the flickering iPad screens I could see from my window in other apartments. The neighborhood was silent, like a classroom of students after the headmaster walks in. According to Facebook, though, people in Tophane, a neighborhood nearby, were marching toward the Bosporus Bridge or taking their cars and heading to the airport. Turkey’s General Directorate of Security had taken to Twitter urging the city’s residents to hit the streets and fill the squares — an extraordinary request coming from cops. Then it was Mr. Erdogan who sent his own text messages to millions of Turks, calling on them to rally and march. “Our nation hunted coup plotters instead of Pokemons last night,” one journalist tweeted. “This is how the Turkish nation is.” Not knowing what else to do, I went to bed. It was already time for the morning prayer from the Cihangir mosque. The imam was asking the people to stand with the government. I heard the sound of jets again. Then there was silence, and I fell asleep. When I woke up, around 7 a.m., birds were chirping in the trees. Just half a day after I’d first heard news of the coup attempt, I went for a walk by the Bosporus Strait, magazine in hand, and joined sandal-wearing Istanbul residents who were talking about the events of the night before — events that killed hundreds of people — as if they’d only been part of a TV show. In the background was the waterway, a burning sun and two bridges that span two continents, where just hours before tanks had been firing shots. OpinionThe Editorial Board OpinionRoger Cohen

Politics

Turkey

“Sesame Street” celebrates its 50th anniversary. And Netflix heads into the holiday season with “Let It Snow.” SESAME STREET’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 7 p.m. on HBO. For 50 years, Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, Ernie and the rest of the Sesame Street gang have been an integral part of many children’s lives, helping kids sing, count, spell and live a kinder existence. Now “Sesame Street” will take a trip down memory lane with a special anniversary celebration, hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The show will recreate iconic musical numbers, like “People in Your Neighborhood” and “It’s Not Easy Being Green” with Kermit the Frog. Over the years, musicians like Johnny Cash and Destiny’s Child have stopped by to sing on Sesame Street, and the anniversary will be no different, welcoming stars like Meghan Trainor, Patti LaBelle, Elvis Costello and Nile Rodgers to join the beloved characters for special segments and songs. BLUE PLANET NOW 9 p.m. on BBC America. The nature series “Blue Planet” and “Blue Planet II” told the stories of the ocean by following the creatures who call it home. But this follow-up throws humans in the mix to research how our oceans are coping with changes in real time. The four-part series sends the hosts Steve Backshall, Liz Bonnin and Chris Packham out to study the health of marine life across the globe. In the premiere, Packham heads to the world’s largest whale nursery in Mexico to catch the arrival of gray whale mothers and their babies. Backshall travels to the Bahamas to get close with some tiger sharks, and Bonnin embeds with a research station near the Great Barrier Reef to study how baby sea turtles make their arduous journey from the shores where they hatch back into the sea. LET IT SNOW Stream on Netflix. Kiernan Shipka, the star of one of Netflix’s more Halloween-centric shows, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” shifts gears for this holiday-inspired movie. Shipka joins Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore and Mitchell Hope in this film adaptation of a book by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle that follows a group of high school seniors stranded on Christmas Eve after a snowstorm hits their small Midwestern town. The group decides to throw a Christmas Eve party at the local Waffle Town restaurant, and the tomboy (Shipka) starts to question her feelings for her best friend (Hope); a holiday cynic (Merced) accidentally befriends a global pop star (Moore); and a member of a visiting competitive dance team (the YouTube star Anna Akana) bumps into her former flame (Liv Hewson). GREATEST EVENTS OF WWII IN COLOUR Stream on Netflix. Earlier this year, Peter Jackson’s “They Shall Not Grow Old” immersed audiences in the events of World War I by digitally restoring and colorizing original footage from the conflict. Now audiences can experience a similar phenomenon with this 10-part series about World War II, revisiting major events like D-Day, the Battle of Britain and Hiroshima in vivid color.

Other

Other

(Reuters) - Shares in British fashion retailer Ted Baker (TED.L) surged as much as 17% on Monday on reports that its founder and former chief executive Ray Kelvin would support a private equity buyout months after he quit over allegations of misconduct. Kelvin, who had been CEO since the company's launch in 1988, has indicated that he would support a deal to take the company private under the existing management, the Sunday Times reported here. Speculation of a buyout comes after Ted Baker’s shares lost more than a quarter of their value last month when the retailer warned that underlying profit for the year would fall short of analysts’ estimates. The warning underlined the task facing Lindsay Page, who was promoted to permanent boss in April as the high street retailer sought to move on from misconduct allegations against its leading shareholder Kelvin. Another media report said here Kelvin would ask Page to help him run the retailer if he took it private. Ted Baker and representatives for Kelvin declined to comment on the reports. Ted Baker also reported its first drop in annual profit since 2008 in March as brick and mortar clothing chains suffered in the face of online competitors and as consumers reined in spending. “Ted Baker’s pair of profit warnings, perceived corporate governance woes and slumping share price have all had analysts wondering whether the firm was open for a bid,” said Russ Mould, investment director at stockbrokers AJ Bell. Mould said Kelvin is the most logical bidder for the firm, should one ever appear. “With the private equity industry awash with cash, such funding should be around for anyone prepared to back Mr Kelvin’s judgment,” he added. Kelvin resigned as boss of the company in March to allow the fashion brand he founded to move on from claims he presided over a culture of “forced hugging”. He has denied all allegations of misconduct. (For a graphic on 'Ted Baker leads life without CEO Kelvin' click tmsnrt.rs/32J0NLm) Kelvin owns 34.9% of the company according to Refinitiv Eikon data, implying that any deal to buy Ted Baker could require his approval. “While the buyout will surely be a good thing for Ray Kelvin, for other shareholders the question remains: what is the motive to keep the company’s shares as part of their portfolio?” Fiona Cincotta, Senior Market Analyst at Cityindex, said. Ted Baker's shares were 13.8% higher at 951.9 pence at 1108 GMT, taking them to the top of London's midcap index .FTMC. Ted Baker opened its first store in Glasgow in 1988 with quirky details on suits, shirts and dresses helping the company stand out from rivals. The retailer has 560 stores and concessions globally. Mould said Ted Baker had lost some credibility with analysts and investors, but it still resonates with customers. He also pointed to Ted Baker’s modest debt pile with no pension deficit. Any deal would also come at a time when British retailers are facing a perfect storm of rising costs, slowing growth and the hit to uncertainty spurred by Britain’s chaotic departure from the European Union. (For a graphic on 'Ted Baker sales over 13 years' click tmsnrt.rs/2Cu4s4j) Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens

Business

Management

Jimmy John's is about to make some major changes to its employee contracts. The Illinois-based sandwich chain has agreed to stop including noncompete agreements in its hiring documents, a practice that was deemed "unlawful" by the New York attorney general's office. The announcement follows an investigation by that office into Jimmy John's use of noncompete agreements with franchisees in New York, which began in December 2014. The agreements had barred departing employees from taking jobs with competitors of Jimmy John's for two years after leaving the company and from working within two miles of a Jimmy John's store that made more than 10 percent of its revenue from sandwiches. "Noncompete agreements for low-wage workers are unconscionable," Eric Schneiderman, New York's attorney general, said in a statement. "They limit mobility and opportunity for vulnerable workers and bully them into staying with the threat of being sued. Companies should stop using these agreements for minimum wage employees." In a statement, Jimmy John's said, "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to resolve its inquiry regarding the use of noncompete agreements by Jimmy John's franchisees in the State of New York. We worked closely with the OAG and provided assurances that, as a franchisor, we would not support the enforcement of a franchisee's noncompete agreement against an in-store employee." The chain said it also agreed to inform its New York franchisees that these agreements "are disfavored by New York law and that the OAG believes that those franchisees should void any such agreements." Earlier this month, the Illinois attorney general's office filed a lawsuit against the sandwich company due to its noncompete agreements. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company had stopped issuing sample agreements to franchisees in 2014. Franchisees who implemented the agreements have agreed to void all past agreements, according to a statement from New York's attorney general.

Labor

Unions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday at a summit designed to show that Washington is not the only power able to set the agenda on Pyongyang's nuclear program. The two men embarked on a day of talks on an island off the Russian Pacific city of Vladivostok two months after Kim's summit with U.S. President Donald Trump ended in disagreement, cooling hopes of a breakthrough in the  decades-old nuclear row. Putin and Kim, in their first ever face-to-face encounter, shook hands outside the summit venue, a university campus, then sat down in a conference room to exchange greetings in front of the television cameras. Putin said he hoped Kim's visit would "help us better understand by what means we can reach a settlement on the Korean peninsula, what we can do together, what Russia can do to support the positive processes now underway. " "Without question we welcome your efforts to develop dialogue between the Koreas, and to normalize North Korean-U.S. relations," Putin said. Kim, who had arrived in Vladivostok a day earlier on board his armored train, told Putin the meeting would help strengthen and develop ties between Russia and North Korea, which share a long history of friendship.  "As world attention is focused on the Korean Peninsula, there will be very meaningful dialogue for us to jointly assess the Korean peninsula policies and share, coordinate and study our views," Kim said. The summit in Vladivostok provides Pyongyang with an opportunity to seek support from a new quarter, Russia, and possible relief from the sanctions hurting its economy. For the Kremlin, the summit is a chance to show it is a global diplomatic player, despite efforts by the United States and other Western states to isolate it. But with Moscow committed to upholding sanctions until the North dismantles its nuclear program, analysts said the summit was unlikely to produce any tangible help for Pyongyang, beyond a show of camaraderie.

Politics

International Relations

ZURICH (Reuters) - A fire broke out at a chocolate factory at Lindt & Spruengli’s headquarters in Kilchberg near Zurich on Tuesday but was quickly extinguished, Swiss police and the company said. Two people sustained slight injuries and the Zurich cantonal police said investigators suspected a machine overheating was the cause of the fire. “We had to evacuate the building, a few people appear to have suffered smoke poisoning,” a spokeswoman for the cantonal police said. The police said the cost of the physical damages to the factory would amount to several thousand Swiss francs. Lindt & Spruengli, which owns the Russell Stover brand of chocolates in the United States, is known for its gold foil-wrapped Easter chocolate bunnies and Lindor chocolate balls. The company has factories in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Austria and the United States. Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz and Joshua Franklin; Editing by Mark Potter and Susan Fenton

Other

Other

President Donald Trump shot back at reports that he has secretly acted as a Russian asset, bragging sarcastically on Twitter about an increase in U.S. domestic oil production that he indicated had hurt Russia's energy industry, a main driver of its economy. Trump cited a segment on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” that touted lower gas prices across the country, a dip that the generally pro-Trump program attributed to the Trump administration’s deregulatory push in the U.S. energy sector and its increased oil output. “But this is bad news for Russia, why would President Trump do such a thing? Thought he worked for Kremlin?” Trump tweeted. The president's social media post appeared to be a jab at The New York Times, which reported on Friday that the FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into wheth er Trump was secretly acting on behalf of Russia shortly after the president fired FBI Director James Comey. Though the White House denounced the report as “absurd,” Trump in an interview over the weekend did not deny the report outright, instead calling it “insulting.” The Times reported that investigation has now been taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is examining how Russia interfered in the 2016 election, whether Trump or his campaign sought to assist in those efforts, and whether Trump obstructed justice in the investigation. Also over the weekend, The Washington Post reported that Trump on at least one occasion had confiscated the notes of his translator in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and had gone to “extraordinary lengths” to conceal the details of his interactions with Putin over the last two years. Trump has pushed back on the reports, insisting that he has been tougher on Russia than any of his predecessors while at the same time repeating his calls for a friendlier relationship with Moscow, despite its reputation within the national security establishment as an adversary of the U.S. The Trump administration has made a massive push for U.S. energy independence, with oil production and exports boosted by a shale boom and deregulatory policies emanating from the White House and federal agencies. While the White House's agenda of deregulation has benefited fossil fuel producers, the growth in U.S. energy production began well before Trump took office with the introduction of new drilling techniques that unlocked previously unreachable underground reserves. And while the president claimed that the price of gas has dropped since his arrival at the White House, the average price of gas nationwide is just 10 cents lower than it was in January, 2017. The larger impact on global oil supplies and prices comes from Saudi Arabia, which has some of the world's largest oil reserves and plays an outsize role in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the global oil cartel that has massive sway in setting prices worldwide. In a separate tweet Monday, Trump ripped into the news media, accusing outlets of becoming "crazier and more dishonest every single day" and remarking that it was "amazing to watch as certain people covering me, and the tremendous success of this administration, have truly gone MAD!" He accused journalists of creating "anger and disunity" with "fake reporting." He also said reporters should “chill!” and suggested they "take two weeks off and come back rested." The post appeared another jab at the Russia reporting of the Times and the Post from the weekend, although the president made no direct mention of either article. Despite Trump's pushback, senior counselor Kellyanne Conway appeared to confirm at least one part of the Post's report on Monday. According to several reporters, Conway indicated that Trump did take possession of his interpreter's notes on one occasion, citing concerns following a number of leaks about the president's communications with other world leaders. Trump disputed the reports more forcefully later Monday morning as he left the White House for a trip to New Orleans. “I never worked for Russia,” Trump told reporters. “Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it is a disgrace you asked that question. It is a whole big fat hoax. It is just a hoax.” He indicated that any investigation into whether he was a Russian asset would be tainted by accusations of political bias, pointing to several top FBI officials who were forced out of the agency and labeling them “bad cops,” despite no evidence that bias inside the bureau has had any impact on the Russia investigation.

Politics

International Relations

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Euronext NV : * Euronext closes acquisition of a 20 pct stake in EuroCCP Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)

Technology

Telecommunications

ENTERING TO Bruce Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own”, as his friend Barack Obama used to, Joe Biden performed a dress rehearsal for his long-awaited entry to the Democratic primary in Washington, DC, earlier this month. His audience, burly delegates of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, were the sort of working-class voters the 76-year-old former vice-president is counting on to nullify the hard-left. He duly regaled them with familiar lines about Scranton, the Pennsylvanian mining-town his family fled almost seven decades ago. He also cracked gags about the recent controversy over his career-long habit of sniffing, kissing and pawing at women. “I just want you to know,” he deadpanned to the union men—twinkly old Uncle Joe style—that he “had permission to hug” their leader. If that is how Mr Biden, who enters the primary this week as the front-runner, means to handle his long and spotted history of statements and behaviour anathema to the modern Democratic Party, he might not last long. As things stand, he owes his lead status to propitious circumstances, including the apparent lack of an outstanding alternative and his association with the revered Mr Obama. There is an obvious risk that he will fizzle as he did during two previous presidential runs, when he was an outsider and much less of a target to his opponents than he is now. Mr Biden is knowledgeable, likeable, right-minded, hugely experienced and polished in the way of an old-style variety show host. The way he glides up and down the emotional register—one moment seething, the next lachrymose—is something to behold. He is also garrulous, gaffe-prone and not obviously au fait with modern America. In other words, he has work to do, assuming he has the energy for it. Meanwhile, the suspicion that his candidacy is an anachronism makes it an extreme test-case for the Democrats’ biggest dilemma: how to reconcile the ideological purity demanded by an activist wing increasingly dedicated to racial, gender and sexual equality, with the real world of muddy compromises and more mixed social attitudes. Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. This tension in the party is in part a product of the erosion of its unionised base, which has left it with a more fractured coalition of hipsters, minorities and immigrants. Such diversity requires constant management, leading to an almost fetishistic attention to liberal unifying principles by Democratic activists, which engenders intolerance. This is at odds with the more nuanced views of most voters. Mr Biden’s partnership with Mr Obama—the hip son of an African migrant—bridged the gap. The question is whether the bridge can still stand in the absence of its Obama-sized pier. Hence the early attention to the many ways Mr Biden—over the course of a career in Democratic politics that began when the party still contained segregationists—has offended against contemporary liberal standards. Early examples include his dismissive treatment, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, of Anita Hill, a black woman who accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing; Mr Biden’s disdainful attitude towards busing as a means to racially integrate schools; and his support for Bill Clinton’s draconian criminal-justice reforms. More such examples will arise. Mr Biden has a decades-long reputation for stirring controversy and his current main rival, Bernie Sanders, an emerging one for ruthlessness. Certain kinds of past transgression are now straightforwardly disqualifying among Democrats. In light of #MeToo, Mr Clinton has become an embarrassment. The more interesting thing about Mr Biden’s case is that he does not appear guilty of anything that was considered inappropriate at the time. His mistreatment of Ms Hill reflected the usual 1980s male chauvinism. It was also intended to help a black man reach the Supreme Court bench. Similarly, some of his policy positions have come to seem controversial mainly due to ignorance about their circumstances. Criminal-justice reform in the 1990s was fuelled by a fear of violent crime that has been largely forgotten on the left. Busing was in many places counter-productive; it exacerbated racial tension and left schools as segregated but worse-run than they were before. These contradictions represent a challenge to the Democrats’ liberal mullahs which is further complicated by Mr Biden’s mercurial nature. American politics has a strong redemption tradition. Yet Mr Biden’s career is not merely defined by a relentless and contrite movement towards more liberal positions. Rather, he has always been broadly liberal, but with a propensity to lapse. He started work on the Violence Against Women Act, one of his big achievements, a year before his mishandling of Ms Hill. This makes him, warts and all, as contradictory as most voters, and in that sense a cautionary lesson for the purist left. Whether it can learn from it, however, will depend less on Mr Biden’s record than his present skill at explaining, defending and, where necessary, apologising for it. This is also the main reason to worry about his candidacy. “The past is never past, it is always present”, Mr Biden’s favourite singer, Mr Springsteen, once said. In the same way, political skeletons tend to do damage only when they highlight some current weakness. Mr Sanders had no trouble brushing off his patchy history on gun control because his progressive bona fides were not in doubt. Hillary Clinton’s callousness towards her husband’s female accusers was damaging, because it chimed with her reputation for cynicism. Mr Biden, who enters the race much-loved on the left, despite his shortcomings, has an easier opportunity to account for his record. He should defend his support for criminal-justice reform, explain his opposition to busing—and apologise to Ms Hill and to anyone upset by his handsiness. But does he have the contemporary political nous to make such necessary judgments and the discipline to stick by them? If not, he will fail, because those are also the biggest questions about his candidacy. That is why his recent joking about groping was so ominous.

Politics

US

President TrumpDonald John TrumpFacebook releases audit on conservative bias claims Harry Reid: 'Decriminalizing border crossings is not something that should be at the top of the list' Recessions happen when presidents overlook key problems MORE on Wednesday went on a spree of retweets, linking to a number of pro-Trump accounts from firefighters, but in the process the president retweeted an account that is urging voters to oust him in 2020. The account, @gIamourizes, had changed its display name to read "F--- Donald Trump" Wednesday morning following Trump's retweet of a seemingly innocuous reply indicating support for the president. "My husband a New York City firefighter for 15 years will be voting Trump 2020 all the way!!" read a tweet from the account in reply to conservative commentator Dan Bongino. The president retweeted the post. My husband a New York City firefighter for 15 years will be voting Trump 2020 all the way!!   The account changed its name and profile image shortly after Trump's retweet. It now has an image of the campaign logo for Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersHarry Reid: 'Decriminalizing border crossings is not something that should be at the top of the list' The exhaustion of Democrats' anti-Trump delusions Warren offers plan to repeal 1994 crime law authored by Biden MORE's (I-Vt.) White House bid. The account owner later tweeted that they had set up the account to prove that the president was “dumb enough to” retweet any praise. "What a great morning. In all seriousness, our president is an awful, hateful human being who wants nothing more than to keep the status quo and hatred prevalent in our country when we should be pushing forward with the rest of the world towards progress and change," wrote the Twitter user in the account's only two tweets that did not exist as replies to Trump or other conservatives. "For the record this account is neither a bot nor a hack, every single tweet has been legitimate," the anonymous account continued. "I just am the type of committed idiot who thought over the past 2 years the President was surely dumb enough to RT literally any praising response to him." What a great morning. In all seriousness, our president is an awful, hateful human being who wants nothing more than to keep the status quo and hatred prevalent in our country when we should be pushing forward with the rest of the world towards progress and change. Please vote For the record this account is neither a bot nor a hack, every single tweet has been legitimate I just am the type of committed idiot who thought over the past 2 years the President was surely dumb enough to RT literally any praising response to him   An account with a similar Twitter handle and the display name "lana del fenty" complained after the president's retweet, saying that the @gIamourizes account, which was made in September 2017, had copied her account in an attempt to lure the president into retweeting after the “del fenty” account had been retweeted by Trump. "Ever since i got a retweet from the president, this person (@giamourizes) created an account, pretended to be me at first, & started tweeting support to him," wrote @Glamourizes. "now that the president has retweeted them, they’re now bashing him. that’s not me lol. i actually support trump." ever since i got a retweet from the president, this person (@giamourizes) created an account, pretended to be me at first, & started tweeting support to him. now that the president has retweeted them, they’re now bashing him. that’s not me lol. i actually support trump. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

US

The "Fast Money " traders shared their first moves for the market open. Tim Seymour is a buyer of the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF. Karen Finerman is a buyer of Apple. Dan Nathan is a buyer of Square. Guy Adami is a buyer of Allstate. Trader disclosure: On February 8, 2018, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long AMZA, APC, BABA, BAC, BX, C, CCJ, CLF, CMG, CSCO, CX, DAL, DPZ, DVYE, EEM, ERJ, EUFN, EWM, FB, FXI, GE, GILD, GM, GOOGL, HAL, INTC, JD, MAT, MCD, MO, MOS, MPEL, PAK, PHM, PYPL, RAI, RH, RL, SBUX, SQ, T, TIF, TWTR, UA, UAL, VALE, VIAB, VIPS, VOD, VRX, X, XLE, XRT, 700.HK. Tim is short IWM, RACE, SPY. Karen Finerman is long AAL, BAC, BOT Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, C, DAL, DVYE, DXJ, EEM, EPI, EWW, EWZ, DVYE, FB, FL, GM, GMLP, GLNG, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KFL, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, MTW, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, URI, WIFI, WFM. Karen Finerman is short TBT calls. Bitcoin and Ethereum are in her kids' Trust.Her firm is long AAPL, ANTM, C, FB, FNAC, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS puts, LYV, NXPI, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, WIFI. Her firm is short ESRX, IWM, MDY, VRX calls. Karen's firm bought AAPL. Dan Nathan is long INTC, SQ. Dan is short SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.

Technology

Internet

The Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun drama has been secretly stewing behind closed doors. Swift revealed via social media on Thursday night that Braun and Big Machine Records founder Scott Borchetta have made another power grab in their battle over her music. Over the summer, Borachetta sold Big Machine Records, and all of Swift's masters to Braun, who Swift has accused of past bullying and manipulation. Swift planned to re-record those masters in 2020 to regain ownership, but claimed on Thursday that the two men are preventing her from singing a medley of her past songs at the upcoming American Music Awards, as well as using them in a Netflix documentary that's reportedly currently in progress. This news once again made waves in the industry, but nobody is more pissed than longtime pal Selena Gomez. "My heart is so heavy right now,” she wrote on her Instagram Story. “It makes me sick and extremely angry. I don’t mind if there may be retaliation. This is my opinion. It’s greed, manipulation and power." Gomez pointed out that these aren't just songs that Braun and Borchetta are holding hostage, but a life's work that began in a teenager's bedroom, and that this is just one of many injustices Swift has had to face in her career. "I have known Taylor for 13 years. She is the most dedicated, fearless, feisty, strongest woman I’ve ever known," Gomez continued. "People can say bitch, but what I’m saying to you is that it’s called a woman with true identity and strength who takes no shit. I listened to Fearless before it came out and I just remember us jumping on a bed and she was just sparkling, so proud of her diary being read by the whole world. Nervous of people not liking it…but that became one of the biggest records — an album that saved so many young women who felt alone." Gomez wasn't the only celebrity fired up. Halsey also took to Instagram Story with a similar message, pointing out the fact that this doesn't even make sense as a business move. "This is punishment," she wrote. "This is hoping to silence her from speaking about things by dangling this over her head. These people are protected because they inspire complicity with fear." Other celebrities, like Gigi Hadid, Lily Allen, and Sara Bareilles, posted their support on Twitter, where Halsey continued her message. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also stepped in on the platform to defend Swift. The Music Artists Coalition, a recently-formed group that advocates for the protection of artists, also released a statement in support of Swift, Billboard reports. “The Music Artists Coalition supports the rights of all artists to control their music,” the statement reads. “Taylor Swift should be allowed to perform her songs where she wants and when she wants. And she should be allowed to use her music to tell her story through her documentary.  For a label to take positions contrary to that would be unprecedented. We applaud Taylor for reminding all artists to be aware of their rights and to stand up for themselves.” Refinery29 has reached out to Borchetta, Braun, Swift, and Netflix for comment. This article was originally published on November 15, 2019 and has been updated throughout. Related Content:

Music

Pop

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investors have agreed to increase their stake in a deal to buy the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX) to prevent the politically sensitive bid, led by China-based investors, from falling apart, sources familiar with the matter said. A sale would mark the first time Chinese investors have been direct owners of a U.S. stock exchange. Worth up to $25 million, the deal has drawn the attention of several lawmakers who have argued that despite its small size, a sale could expose the U.S. financial system to undue influence from the Chinese government. The future of CHX has been in limbo since August, when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stayed a decision by its staff approving the sale to a consortium of 13 investors, led by China-based Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group. The planned sale, which was announced in February 2016, was cleared in December by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which scrutinizes deals for potential national security concerns. Three would-be investors - China-based Chongqing Jintian Industrial Co Ltd and Chongqing Longshang Decoration Co Ltd, and U.S.-based Xian Tong Enterprises, Inc. - have dropped out because of the delays, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the details are not public. Under the new structure, Chinese ownership of CHX would be reduced to 40 percent, compared with 49.5 percent under the earlier plan. The remaining 60 percent would be owned by U.S.-based investors who are not Chinese citizens, the people said. Executives at CHX, which has a market share of just 0.5 percent, have argued the deal would create U.S. jobs and investments. One of the long-term objectives of the deal is to list Chinese companies on the exchange, they said. President Donald Trump, prior to being elected, brought the deal up twice during a February 2016 Republican primary debate as an example of how jobs and wealth were leaving the United States. Trump is scheduled to begin a 3-day visit to China on Wednesday. Executives from nearly 30 U.S.-based companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), General Electric Co (GE.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N), will join him on a trade mission, led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, aimed at signing deals worth billions in U.S. investments. A spokesman for CHX declined to comment on the new deal structure, but said CHX executives were not invited on the U.S. trade mission to China. Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Dan Grebler

Technology

Computers

Fiction When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. CLASSBy Lucinda Rosenfeld341 pp. Little, Brown & Company. $26. In 2000, The New Yorker excerpted Lucinda Rosenfeld’s first novel, “What She Saw. . . . ” Along with the story, the magazine ran a full-page photo of Rosenfeld sitting on a Brooklyn stoop in a strappy tank top, an image that helped seal her fate as a lit chick. Et tu, New Yorker? But Rosenfeld’s work had meat on the bone. “What She Saw. . .” belonged to a coterie of novels published within a year of one another, including Myla Goldberg’s “Bee Season” and Thisbe Nissen’s “The Good People of New York,” smart books about smart girls becoming women. Over the course of three subsequent novels, Rosenfeld stood out for her garrulous narrators who sharply examined the bonds of sisterhood and friendship. Her work has long been a balancing act between satire and farce, between observation and cliché. But with Rosenfeld’s fifth novel, “Class,” the story of an overbearing mother in a gentrifying neighborhood, the scales have tipped. At the risk of being the person in the balcony shouting “Play ‘Free Bird’!” I will say that “Class” had me missing the old Rosenfeld. Karen Kipple is floating along in her marriage to Matt, an unobservant and underemployed Marxist liberal with whom she has “fairly decent if infrequent sex.” Karen is devoted to two things: Hungry Kids, the nonprofit she helps run, and seeing to it that her 8-year-old daughter, Ruby, has the best education money can’t buy. Over the past two years, while not working on an op-ed about childhood nutrition (a peculiar amount of time to develop an opinion on a topic that is also one’s job), Karen has been congratulating herself for sending Ruby to an integrated public school. Alas, it’s not the “Benetton ad from the ’80s” she hoped it would be. Using Ruby as a shield for her idealism, Karen secretly cherishes the one blond-haired child in her daughter’s class, speculates on the ability of poor families to “recognize the Evite format” and lives in fear of processed foods and twerking. But her real fear, as it well should be, is being perceived as a flagrant racist. Perhaps the most self-aware thought she has over the course of the entire novel is this: “College-educated white liberals were nearly as terrified of being seen as racists as they were of encountering black male teenagers on an empty street after dark.” When a child from a nearby housing project (he “never met his father, if such an individual could even be identified”) becomes violent in class and seems to threaten Ruby, Karen guiltily and unceremoniously yanks her daughter out of the school. A couple of white lies later and Ruby is enrolled in a more prestigious school, where Karen is faced with a whole new ilk of intolerable parent — the kind intent on teaching the lunchroom workers to cook with olive oil instead of Crisco. (“It’s been a fairly steep learning curve,” one mother smiles “knowingly.”) This is the point at which either Karen should inspire empathy or the novel’s satire of privileged motherhood should manifest. We should view this fresh crop of hackneyed harpies through her eyes. But Karen is so cringe-inducing; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. She does mean well. Her and Matt’s love for their daughter, though unflaggingly saccharine (pet names include “whippersnapper” and “Scooby Doobie”), is the most effective part of the book. When Ruby is ditched by a classmate, Karen takes it personally because she “had never been good at separating her own history of social rejections from those of her young daughter’s.” This is the kind of deeper truth for which Rosenfeld is known. Ruby herself is the only sympathetic character, which may have been Rosenfeld’s intent — this pea of innocence oblivious to the childlike adults swirling around her — but any texture she adds is flattened by the weight of her mother. Karen can’t make it five pages without being tormented by crippling self-consciousness over appetizers, furniture, shopping, racial politics or her own daughter’s name. A Puerto Rican child’s designer shirt triggers a mild conniption fit: How could her mother afford to spend “that kind of dough on her daughter’s clothing? Or was it simply that Michelle took pride in her daughter looking cute and, like all mothers, splurged on occasion, putting the charges on Visa? But if the latter was true, was there an aspirational element to the selection? Or had the polo-player logo long since ceased to signify a desire to hang out with the kind of people who actually played polo? And how did that relate to the fact that Mia’s current best friend (Ruby) was Caucasian? Or did Michelle not think about these things?” This could be a piece of observational art in its own right, but Rosenfeld’s novel isn’t zoned for that. The premise of “Class” is a strong one — a take-no-prisoners racial romp and commentary on modern motherhood as told by a descendant of Tracy Flick — and Karen’s shenanigans in the second half quicken the pace. But the execution is too general to invest in the outcome and the result is a novel that reads like a summary of itself. Karen connects with a college friend, a stand-in for Christian Grey who comes with a private plane, blue eyes “like two little swimming pools” and a taste for Tiffany, and who smells of “citrus and cedarwood” — an indication of nothing except, perhaps, a moth problem. Matt and Karen refer to the local housing project with a French accent, as in “pro-jay,” yet Karen “still hadn’t determined if it was offensive or funny.” What she does not allow for is that it may be neither. The only way we know something is funny is because a character has laughed at it. “Class” is full of giggles suppressed, escaped and rising in windpipes, in response to lazy cracks about (say) Bill Cosby. The narrative is padded with empty-calorie musings: “That was the thing about clichés, she’d learned — and yet somehow kept not learning. They were often true. Just as often, they weren’t.” Karen tries “not to judge how other people raised their children, but in truth, she rarely missed an opportunity to do so” and “never considered herself to be a particularly competitive person. But even if winning wasn’t her life’s goal, it was also true that she hated to lose.” Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. For satire to run as it should, the reader needs specificity of detail and the sure presence of the author behind the curtain, in full control of the seemingly chaotic experiment. Both are missing here, and as a result Karen feels more one-dimensional than the subjects of her scrutiny. Unlikable and conflicted characters, specifically female ones, are to be cherished so long as they have reason. But from the start, Karen sends unbelievable emails, obsesses over other families and denies a play date with one of Ruby’s sorely needed friends because of her own spiteful beef with the kid’s mother. She is jealous of or despises every woman she meets with the exception of the ones she fetishizes. All of this would be unpleasant and yet none of it would be quite so problematic if “Class” didn’t keep hinting that we are supposed to be on Karen’s side as she attempts to “live in accordance with the politics and principles she believed in.” We are supposed to be discomforted as we recognize our own worst selves in her. We are supposed to believe she is one of us, only snapped. Alas, the novel provides no entry point for that argument. If “Class” is a bomb meant to be thrown at the hypocrisies of gentrified life, it’s as if the bomb went off in Rosenfeld’s hands.

Literature

Books

BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission said the European Central Bank can impose capital requirements on banks to provide for bad loans only on a case-by-case basis, a document published on Friday said, in a boost for the European Parliament in a dispute over the ECB’s bad loan guidelines for the sector. The Commission’s position is at odds with ECB’s plans to require all banks to set aside more funds from January against credit that turns sour. The ECB plans sparked sharp criticism in Italy, and in the European Parliament which said EU legislators should be involved in such sector wide guidelines. The Commission also said that new ECB rules to avoid the build-up of bad loans should be applied only to new loans granted after a cut-off date that needs to be decided. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio)

Finance

Banking

The Division of Continuing Education Information Sessions give you the chance to spend an evening with some of New York City’s top creative talent. Learn about SVA’s courses, get the inside scoop on career opportunities, and discover the latest on industry trends and innovations. These special evenings are offered to the general public, free of charge. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Sessions begin promptly at 6:30pm. Advertising Tuesday, May 10 209 East 23rd Street Room 311, 3rd floor Film, Video and Animation Wednesday, May 11 209 East 23rd Street Room 502, 5th floor Fine Arts: Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, and Printmaking Wednesday, May 11 133/141 West 21st Street Room 602C, 6th floor Visual and Critical Studies Wednesday, May 11 RSVP to [email protected] Tuesday, August 25 133/141 West 21st Street Room 402C, 4th floor Design Monday, May 9 209 East 23rd Street Room 311, 3rd floor Illustration and Cartooning Tuesday, May 10 209 East 23rd Street Room 502, 5th floor Interior Design Tuesday, May 17 131/141 West 21st Street Room 1104C, 11th floor Photography Monday, May 16 214 East 21st Street, Room 407A, 4th floor Computer Art Tuesday, May 24 133/141 West 21st Street Room 301C, 3rd floor For more details on each information session please visit sva.edu/continuing-education/information-sessions

Cultural

Art

President Trump on Thursday falsely claimed he had the biggest Electoral College win since former President Ronald Reagan. "I guess it was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan," he said during a heated press conference at the White House. "In other words the media is trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made and they're not happy about it, for whatever reason. But a lot of people are happy about it." But, in 2012, former President Obama received 332 electoral votes, and in 2008 he won 365 electoral votes. Former President Bill ClintonWilliam (Bill) Jefferson Clinton3 real problems Republicans need to address to win in 2020 Buckingham Palace: Any suggestion Prince Andrew was involved in Epstein scandal 'abhorrent' The magic of majority rule in elections MORE also received more electoral votes than Trump during both of his elections, as did former President George H.W. Bush in 1988. A reporter pressed Trump on his claims, questioning why Americans should trust Trump when he is providing false information. "I was given that information," Trump said in response. "Actually, I've seen that information around. But it was a very substantial victory. Do you agree with that?" Peter Alexander fact-checks Trump on his victory.Trump: "I was just given that information. I don't know." pic.twitter.com/kaNYmLqIeR View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

US

Aug 23 (Reuters) - REDSENSE MEDICAL AB (PUBL) * RECEIVED INFORMATION ABOUT FUTURE PATENT APPROVAL FROM EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE EPO * PATENT, ENTITLED “DETECTION OF BLOOD LEAKAGE BY DETECTING A VOLATILE AGENT” WILL BE VALID FROM 31 OCTOBER 2031 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)

Science

Biology

Margaret Renkl NASHVILLE — A few years ago an app surfaced on Facebook that could identify how many of your friends were liberal and how many were conservative. One of my real-life friends clicked the button to see how her Facebook list stacked up and was shocked by the result. “I had no idea I liked so many Republicans,” she said. No wonder she was surprised. Facebook is very, very good at tracking our political leanings — and at serving up more of what it has decided we want. So we interact online with like-minded people far more than we do with those whose views we find objectionable. And online it’s easy for a heated exchange, or even a sorry joke, to end with the unfriend button. A recent study in The American Journal of Political Science concluded that in terms of political identity, “the polarization of the American electorate has dramatically increased.” The article is titled “Fear and Loathing Across Party Lines.” Maybe that’s true on Facebook, but are the lines really so clear in ordinary life? People aren’t simply their political opinions, not even the most deeply held and sacred ones. Surely we are all so much more than the shrill conversation online implies. Twenty-one years ago, my husband and I bought our house here, in what was Nashville’s answer to Levittown — a circle of small, plain, matching houses built for young families buying their first homes thanks to the G.I. Bill. Once the original homeowners began to cash out and head to retirement communities, young families like ours moved in, and things started to look the way they surely did back in the ’50s. Children race through the half-acre yards in half-feral packs, climbing back fences and low-branched trees as hide-and-seek gives way to flashlight tag in the failing light. With one family’s oldest child best-friending another family’s youngest, relationships continue to spread and deepen even as new families move in and a younger crew replaces the kids now old enough to drive. My own children are mostly grown now, and I don’t know my younger neighbors as well as I know the parents of the children who grew up with mine, but I know they are still calling one another to ask: “Are the kids in your yard? Did they say where they were going?” That’s how friendships, not “friend”-ships, are formed. Most of my children’s packmates have left for college, but you’ll still find me standing in the street with their mothers, or sitting with them on the porch, or carpooling with them to the closest taco place. We talk about what all longtime friends discuss: our aging parents, books and sex and movies and bras and all the ways we’ve embarrassed our kids lately. What we don’t ever talk about is politics. But it’s not as if we don’t all know where we stand. During the last election, when canvassers from the beleaguered Tennessee Democratic Party were making the rounds, several neighbors pointed them toward our house. When one of them arrived, he said, “You’re the token liberals around here, I guess.” We aren’t actually the only liberals here, but political leanings are beside the point on this little block. Knowing our neighbors’ party affiliations would tell you nothing about which one of them makes a killer margarita, or which one volunteers at a homeless shelter, or which one secretly hung a lime-green thong on the back side of a neighbor’s Christmas tree after the caroling party. For more than two decades we have fed one another’s dogs and watered one another’s tomatoes and seen one another through every struggle imaginable: infertility and childbirth and postpartum depression and infidelity and divorce and troubled teenagers and dying parents and medical crises and, by far the most devastating of all, the loss of a child. Is there any difference at the ballot box that could even touch what it means to clutch a friend in the street, wailing, or to text in the middle of the night, grieving in the dark? Our votes may cancel out, but we belong to one another. Years ago one of my neighbors tried to tell his wife that it would make more sense to move out than to add a second story onto the 65-year-old foundation of their house. Her response: “The only way I’m leaving this neighborhood is in a box.” This summer Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg caused a little uproar when she joked about moving to New Zealand if Donald Trump were elected, but we all know she isn’t going anywhere. Divisions in this country are genuine and deep, and the consequences of this election will be huge and far-reaching, but our nation is still our neighborhood in the end, and we’re a lot better at getting along than it sometimes seems.

Politics

Political Science

New York (CNN Business)Fiat Chrysler may revive a shuttered Detroit factory, signaling the automaker wants to expand its American manufacturing — even as competitors scale back their US operations. The company wants to repurpose a building in the northwestern side of the Detroit as an assembly site for a forthcoming three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV that will debut in model year 2021, according to The Detroit News. The site used to house engine production for Chrysler, but the automaker closed its doors in 2012. When reopened, the plant reportedly will employ up to 400 people. Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) declined to comment to CNN Business. The news comes just over a week after General Motors announced it would lay off 15% of its salaried workers and shut five plants in North America, including one in Motor City. GM (GM) said the layoffs are closures are part of a plan to slash costs by $6 billion a year by the end of 2020 as the company looks to retire most of its sedan models, which have waned in popularity, in favor of SUVs. GM said it needs to cut about 8,000 salaried workers as well as about 3,300 hourly workers at four US plants. GM wants to cut costs to invest more in the next generation of electric and self-driving cars. President Donald Trump condemned GM's decision, and chief executive Mary Barra went to Capitol Hill Wednesday to explain the decision to lawmakers. Trump has tried to convince American corporations to bring manufacturing onto US shores rather than outsourcing production. CNN Business' Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

Automotive

Vehicles

Iran's reaction to the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions in November could lead to some kind of "unintended military escalation" – a risk currently underappreciated by markets, RBC Capital Markets closely-watched oil market expert Helima Croft said on Wednesday. "We maintain that Iran 's response to the coercive measures will play an important role in determining the potential upward trajectory of prices," Croft and her team of oil analysts said in a note Wednesday. The note titled "Winter is coming" warned that "if the Iranian regime restarts its nuclear program, increases support for regional proxy groups, or makes a genuine effort to restrict maritime traffic through vital chokepoints, fear price premium calculations will become of paramount importance." RBC Capital Markets' base-case scenario is that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei will opt for an approach of "contained escalation" and will seek to avoid a direct military confrontation with its regional rivals, like Saudi Arabia and Israel, that support the U.S. sanctions. Still, there's a risk that any retaliatory measures could get out of hand. "An unintended military escalation through miscalculation continues to be one of the most underappreciated risks in our view," Croft and her team warned. "Even if the probability of such a scenario remains relatively low, it would serve as the ultimate high-impact event for oil prices. " The type of Iranian "provocation" will matter materially for oil prices, RBC's team said, as will the reactions of powerful rivals such Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the U.S. "If Tehran opts to avoid escalatory measures and attempts to wait out the Trump administration, the impact on oil prices would be more muted and largely limited to how many of its barrels are removed from the market by sanctions," Croft's team, including Christopher Louney, Michael Tran and Megan Schippmann, wrote. While the analysts noted that trade war and emerging market contagion fears could still serve to keep a lid on prices in the near term, they believed "the geopolitical risks remain skewed quite heavily to the upside." Emerging market currencies have succumbed to yet another sell-off – with some hitting record lows – as concerns rise about potential contagion across multiple regions. Sanctions on Iran's oil industry are being re-imposed by the U.S. on November 4 after President Trump's decision to withdraw from an international nuclear deal. They will severely impact its oil industry, port operators, shipping sector and petroleum-related transactions. They follow a first series of U.S. sanctions, imposed in August, targeting other Iranian sectors. The U.S. has warned other countries that they too will be hit by secondary sanctions if they buy Iran's oil. The sanctions are expected to lead to export losses for the Islamic republic that surpass 1.2 million barrels a day (mb/d) during the first quarter of 2019. "Beyond the barrel loss and the tightening fundamental backdrop, we think oil's fear premium could stage a comeback depending on the Iranian response," Croft and her team wrote. Aside from Iran, geopolitical events affecting other oil producers, notably Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq and Libya (along with Algeria, they are known as the "fragile five"), could also impact global oil supply and prices, accordingly. "We started the year warning that the economic and political crisis in Venezuela could cause its production to plunge by close to 1 mb/d in 2018; we now anticipate that the snapback of U.S. sanctions could take similar volumes of Iranian exports off the market as the year comes to a close," Croft said. "These two producers alone represent a very real supply gap risk of nearly two million barrels, and we continue to caution that an additional 500 kb/d is credibly at risk for periodic outages in Libya and Nigeria, as the security situation in both countries remains fragile and upcoming elections could bring additional unrest." With oil supply disruptions a distinct possibility, market analysts are questioning the capacity of other major oil producers, like Saudi Arabia and Russia, to step up production if there are outages that prompt a sharp rise in prices. Saudi Arabia is viewed as the "only holder" of significant spare capacity in RBC's view, but Croft noted that although it has ramped up output by more than 280, 000 barrels a day since May, "questions remain about how much more output it can easily bring on and about its willingness to risk another contraction in prices given its own domestic revenue requirements."

Politics

International Relations

Last August, a handwritten ledger surfaced in Ukraine with dollar amounts and dates next to the name of Paul Manafort, who was then Donald Trump's campaign chairman. Ukrainian investigators called it evidence of off-the-books payments from a pro-Russian political party — and part of a larger pattern of corruption under the country's former president. Manafort, who worked for the party as an international political consultant, has publicly questioned the ledger's authenticity. Now, financial records newly obtained by The Associated Press confirm that at least $1.2 million in payments listed in the ledger next to Manafort's name were actually received by his consulting firm in the United States. They include payments in 2007 and 2009, providing the first evidence that Manafort's firm received at least some money listed in the so-called Black Ledger. The two payments came years before Manafort became involved in Trump's campaign, but for the first time bolster the credibility of the ledger. They also put the ledger in a new light, as federal prosecutors in the U.S. have been investigating Manafort's work in Eastern Europe as part of a larger anti-corruption probe. Separately, Manafort is also under scrutiny as part of congressional and FBI investigations into possible contacts between Trump associates and Russia's government under President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. The payments detailed in the ledger and confirmed by the documents obtained by the AP are unrelated to the 2016 presidential campaign and came years before Manafort worked as Trump's unpaid campaign chairman. In a statement to the AP, Manafort did not deny that his firm received the money but said "any wire transactions received by my company are legitimate payments for political consulting work that was provided. I invoiced my clients and they paid via wire transfer, which I received through a U.S. bank." Manafort noted that he agreed to be paid according to his "clients' preferred financial institutions and instructions." Previously, Manafort and his spokesman, Jason Maloni, have maintained the ledger was fabricated and said no public evidence existed that Manafort or others received payments recorded in it. The AP, however, identified in the records two payments received by Manafort that aligned with the ledger: one for $750,000 that a Ukrainian lawmaker said last month was part of a money-laundering effort that should be investigated by U.S. authorities. The other was $455,249 and also matched a ledger entry. The newly obtained records also expand the global scope of Manafort's financial activities related to his Ukrainian political consulting, because both payments came from companies once registered in the Central American country of Belize. Last month, the AP reported that the U.S. government has examined Manafort's financial transactions in the Mediterranean country of Cyprus as part of its probe. Federal prosecutors have been looking into Manafort's work for years as part of an effort to recover Ukrainian assets stolen after the 2014 ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia. No charges have been filed as part of the investigation. Manafort, a longtime Republican political operative, led the presidential campaign from March until August last year when Trump asked him to resign. The resignation came after a tumultuous week in which The New York Times revealed that Manafort's name appeared in the Ukraine ledger — although the newspaper said at the time that officials were unsure whether Manafort actually received the money — and after the AP separately reported that he had orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation until 2014 on behalf of Ukraine's pro-Russian Party of Regions. Officials with the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which is investigating corruption under Yanukovych, have said they believe the ledger is genuine. But they have previously noted that they have no way of knowing whether Manafort received the money listed next to his name. The bureau said it is not investigating Manafort because he is not a Ukrainian citizen. Still, Manafort's work continues to draw attention in Ukrainian politics. Last month, Ukrainian lawmaker Serhiy Leshchenko revealed an invoice bearing the letterhead of Manafort's namesake company, Davis Manafort, that Leshchenko said was crafted to conceal a payment to Manafort as a purchase of 501 computers. The AP provided to Manafort the amounts of the payments, dates and number of the bank account where they were received. Manafort told the AP that he was unable to review his own banking records showing receipt of the payments because his bank destroyed the records after a standard 7-year retention period. He said Tuesday the "computer sales contract is a fraud." "The signature is not mine, and I didn't sell computers," he said in a statement. "What is clear, however, is individuals with political motivations are taking disparate pieces of information and distorting their significance through a campaign of smear and innuendo." Leshchenko said last month the 2009 invoice was one of about 50 pages of documents, including private paperwork and copies of employee-issued debit cards, that were found in Manafort's former Kiev office by a new tenant. The amount of the invoice — $750,000— and the payment date of Oct. 14, 2009, matches one entry on the ledger indicating payments to Manafort from the Party of Regions. The invoice was addressed to Neocom Systems Ltd., a company formerly registered in Belize, and included the account and routing numbers and postal address for Manafort's account at a branch of Wachovia National Bank in Alexandria, Virginia. The AP had previously been unable to independently verify the $750,000 payment went to a Manafort company, but the newly obtained financial records reflect Manafort's receipt of that payment. The records show that Davis Manafort received the amount from Neocom Systems the day after the date of the invoice. Leshchenko contended to AP that Yanukovych, as Ukraine's leader, paid Manafort money that came from his government's budget and was "stolen from Ukrainian citizens." He said: "Money received by Manafort has to be returned to the Ukrainian people." Leshchenko said U.S. authorities should investigate what he described as corrupt deals between Manafort and Yanukovych. "It's about a U.S. citizen and money was transferred to a U.S. bank account," he said. A $455,249 payment in November 2007 also matches the amount in the ledger. It came from Graten Alliance, a company that had also been registered in Belize. It is now inactive. The AP reported last month that federal prosecutors are looking into Manafort's financial transactions in Cyprus, an island nation once known as a favored locale for money laundering. Among those transactions was a $1 million payment in October 2009 routed through the Bank of Cyprus. The money was deposited into an account controlled by a Manafort-linked company, then left the account on the same day, broken into two disbursements of $500,000, according to documents obtained by the AP. The records of Manafort's Cypriot transactions were requested by the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which works internationally with agencies to track money laundering and the movement of illicit funds around the globe. Dozens of Ukrainian political figures mentioned in the Black Ledger are under investigation in Ukraine. The anti-corruption bureau, which has been looking into the Black Ledger, publicly confirmed the authenticity of the signature of one top official mentioned there. In December, the bureau accused Mykhaylo Okhendovsky of receiving more than $160,000 from Party of Regions officials in 2012, when he was Ukraine's main election official. The bureau said it would identify more suspects in the coming months.

Legal

Crime

Chris Christie on Wednesday accused rival John Kasich of hiding behind his super PAC, which has attacked the New Jersey governor's economic track record. Christie was asked on Fox News about the contrast between the tone of the pro-Kasich super PAC's broadsides and the Ohio governor's own comments that he sees himself as the "Prince of Light and Hope." “I’ve known John for a long time, and I’ve been around when his colleagues talk about him. I’ve heard John called a lot of things. The Prince of Light and Hope has never been one of them,” Christie said to Fox’s Neil Cavuto. “The fact is John wants to hide, he wants to let the super PAC, who is running most of his campaign in New Hampshire, do all his dirty work. He wants to come out and act like he’s some angel.” The pro-Kasich New Day for America super PAC said Christie was exaggerating the facts. "Once again Governor Christie is saying one thing when the facts paint a different picture," New Day for America spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp said in a statement. "Just like Bridgegate, I'm sure he'll blame a staffer for the email from his campaign this morning and claim no knowledge of it. That's not leadership; it's sad." Kasich’s campaign refused to return fire. "The governor is proud of his record of accomplishment and of running a campaign based on that record and his vision for the future,” Kasich spokesman Scott Milburn told POLITICO. The two candidates are tied at 6 percent in a New Hampshire poll out Wednesday.

Politics

Government

President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE will head to Ohio on Monday for a visit just days after his first State of the Union address, according to a White House official. The purpose for the visit to the battleground state has not yet been announced, but the trip comes after the president previewed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan in his State of the Union address earlier this week. A White House official confirmed plans for the trip to The Hill. An official announcement is expected later Thursday. Trump made rebuilding the nation's roads and bridges a central theme of his address to Congress and the nation Tuesday night. "As we rebuild our industries, it is also time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure," the president said. "I am asking both parties to come together to give us safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve," he added. "Tonight, I am calling on the Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment we need." On Thursday, the president was in West Virginia, where he spoke to Republican lawmakers attending a GOP retreat at The Greenbrier resort. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

Government

Apple didn't shy away from criticizing Silicon Valley rival Facebook Monday at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in California. Why it matters: The feud is part of a bigger battle brewing between the two companies over their governing philosophies and practices. The remarks were made in conjunction with the announcement Monday that Apple would be shutting down "like" buttons that track Internet activity of users logged into certain social platforms, like Facebook. Apple showed an image of a Safari browser blocking "Facebook.com" from using cookies and website data in a demo on stage. Facebook was quick to fire back: "If this is about protecting privacy, and not just cute virtue signaling, then they should block all 3rd party JS and pixels," Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos tweeted. Apple also highlighted new features to help customers better manage the amount of time and attention they devote to their devices, as well as parental controls, another not-so-subtle reference to criticism Facebook (along with other tech companies) has recently faced, per Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva. Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook took a swipe at Facebook, arguing his company would never have been in a situation like Facebook's when it comes to user privacy because it elects not to make the consumer's data "the product" the company is selling. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg later called his criticism "glib." The quarrel comes as Facebook is facing Congressional inquiries over a New York Times report that it gave device partners (including Apple) access to user data, which could have potentially violated a regulatory decree. But as Axios' Scott Rosenberg points out, many people aren't understanding what Facebook was doing. For the most part it was letting phone makers either build their own Facebook apps, or include direct Facebook posting into their products. Both firms are also trying to navigate the ever-complicated news business, with Apple announcing Monday that it's bringing its Apple News product to Macbooks and Facebook announcing last week that it's ending its Trending Topics news feature, in an effort to reportedly replace it with curated news shows. The two companies are currently nearly neck and neck when it comes to current trade value, although Apple's market value is nearly 70% higher than Facebook's. Go deeper: Axios' Ina Fried has a full run-down of all developer conference updates.

Technology

Social Media

(Recasts, new comments throughout) By Huw Jones and David Milliken LONDON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union must find a way to settle future differences over how Britain’s huge finance industry can do business in the bloc without resorting to a “metaphorical punch-up,” the next governor of the Bank of England said. Andrew Bailey said it would be surprising if Britain’s financial sector was not deemed to be “equivalent” by the EU and able to do business in the bloc from the start of next year, when the current post-Brexit transition period ends. The bigger challenge would be how both sides deal with the inevitable divergence in the rules they set for their industries, he said. “You would want to have a mechanism to say OK, let’s sit down and talk about what we’re doing here,” Bailey — currently head of the Financial Conduct Authority regulator, who is due to replace Mark Carney as BoE governor on March 16 — told lawmakers in the upper house of Britain’s parliament. “If that ended up in a sort of metaphorical punch-up every time and a threat to withdraw equivalence, that process would just not work properly.” Bailey also said there was a risk that Britain’s finance industry is subject to higher standards than rivals from elsewhere because Britain was “big and near” to the EU Financial services represent Britain’s biggest export industry and the EU is the sector’s biggest export market, worth about 26 billion pounds ($33.75 billion) annually. British finance minister Sajid Javid has said he wants a durable relationship over financial services that would last for decades to come, but that Britain should be free to set its own rules for the sector. Bankers are worried that their access to the EU will depend on a broader trade-off such as Britain allowing fishing in its waters, a concession the government is under pressure from Brexit supporters not to make. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday that London should be “under no illusion” on financial services. Sam Woods, a BoE deputy governor who also spoke in parliament on Wednesday, said the risk that the EU’s recognition of equivalence could be withdrawn at 30 days’ notice would deter cross-border activity. “The firms are going to be quite reluctant to put much weight on it so I do hope that it will be possible to agree something more durable,” he said. “But whether that will be the case in the negotiations, hard to say.” There was a risk that the EU was tempted to take a “mercantilist” approach to disputes over finance rules as way to grab business from London, Woods said. A first test will be whether Britain gets permission from the EU for its clearing houses to continue processing trillions of pounds of derivatives for customers in the bloc. The London Stock Exchange’s LCH unit holds positions worth 57 trillion pounds ($74 trillion) on behalf of clients in the EU and needs permission to continue clearing for them after December. “I’m cautiously optimistic that our colleagues in the EU will deal with that one,” Woods said. Without permission by September, LCH will have to serve notice on its customers that they should shift their positions to a clearing house recognised by the EU. $1 = 0.7703 pounds Reporting by Huw Jones and David Milliken Writing by William Schomberg Editing by Catherine Evans

Finance

Banking

Critic’s Notebook An adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” makes a picnic of pentameter, and decadent dining accompanies William Blake in “The Devouring.” The road of excess, William Blake believed, leads to the palace of wisdom. Or possibly to a plate of CBD-infused doughnuts with a chocolate dipping sauce, then an aerial pas de deux. Earlier this summer I visited two high-end dinner theater productions, “The Devouring: A Marriage of Heaven and Hell” and “Midsummer: A Banquet.” Dinner and theater don’t necessarily go together: Fine dining is already performative, and good theater is satiating. Why complicate either? The idea of a “culinary theater,” an art that feeds our baser senses and fails to engage our intellect, made Bertolt Brecht apoplectic. Then again, he probably never tried the welcome cocktail at “The Devouring.” In “Midsummer,” Third Rail Projects, an immersive theater outfit, and Food of Love Productions, a company that makes a picnic of pentameter, want you to follow Shakespeare’s young lovers into the Athenian woods. But they don’t want you to go in hungry. Or do they? When you arrive at Café Fae, in an art nouveau space I remember as having been a brunch spot and a clothing store, a cast member clad in jodhpurs leads you to your table and presents you with various appetizers — crudités, spreads, a few cold cuts, a bag of bread rolls. (The plating leans toward Mason jars and gingham. Athens: so homespun.) Then the comedy begins, with awkward stops for more snacks, like the Forest Picnic, a peculiar riff on a grain bowl, and the Love Bundle, a few cherries and a peach so hard I struggled to slice it. Which shrewd and knavish sprites devised the Faerie Kebabs, each one a toothpick jammed into an olive, a mushroom and a dried apricot? Are they sorry? If this is an improvement over the feast that the “Midsummer” character Bottom requests — oats, hay, dried peas (does this explain the grain bowl?) — the repast isn’t especially delicious. And, as the old joke goes, there was so little of it. Especially when a ticket will run you $150. The food mostly distracts from the experience rather than enhancing it. It’s difficult to have your Shakespeare and eat it, too. About that Shakespeare. Directed and choreographed by Zach Morris, with more attention to movement than words, this “Midsummer” makes nifty use of the space. The eight energetic actors — double- and triple-cast, while also serving your Love Bundles and refilling your water — deserve more. Tip Puck on your way out. Swankier, sexier, altogether more succulent, “The Devouring” is inspired — in a manner as loose and flimsy as a negligee — by one of Blake’s illuminated books, an allegorical exploration of good and evil. It occupies the Paradise Club, a purpose-built lounge on the seventh floor of a Times Square hotel. Twin murals, in the style of Hieronymus Bosch, adorn the room, while a scarlet sunburst sparkles overhead. Because why not contemplate eschatology while you enjoy oysters on a bed of chilled rock salt and seared duck breast with an apricot foie gras coulis? After the savories, angels and demons descend in a nightclub act created by Anya Sapozhnikova, the creative director of the hot spot House of Yes in Brooklyn, and Matthew Dailey. The show, hosted by a serpentine Nik Alexander, includes sword-swallowing, break dancing, umbrella-juggling and libidinal aerial acts, mostly expert. The performers break for dessert, then they writhe some more and repurpose Nine Inch Nails’s “Closer” as a lullaby. When the show ends, the dance party begins. Call it sinner theater. Or, if you want to mix and match theologies, a bacchanal. There is something grotesque about “The Devouring” in the way that a lot of luxury is grotesque if you really think about it. (The preshow dinner begins at 8 p.m. and lasts an hour and a half, so there is a lot of time to think.) If “Midsummer” offers too little in the way of decadence, “The Devouring” provides much too much. Then it brings you a candied egg and a mallet to smash it with. The egg disgorges chocolate pearls. The menu will change on Aug. 15, to more closely mirror the show’s themes. But let’s talk about one current dish: Caviar Nachos, potato chips heaped with three kinds of roe and crème fraîche. It’s the sleaziest thing I have ever eaten, and it’s delicious. That’s “The Devouring” in a goblet: a hedonic overload that skims the ludicrous. I kind of loved it (the athleticism, the impenitent extravagance, the yuzu soda that our server, solicitous to the point of perversity, handed me) and kind of hated it (the waste, the hypersexuality, the audience members in tight dresses and tighter shirts lofting iPhone cameras). But it’s like Blake said: Love and hate are necessary to human existence. He didn’t mention nachos. At $195 per person, “The Devouring” isn’t cheap, but compared with a lot of Broadway — does “Dear Evan Hansen” beguile you with asparagus in ramp butter? — it is nearly a bargain. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend devouring “The Devouring” the way I did, mostly sober and with my mother. Still, it had the feel of something delirious, fantastic, extraordinary. Paradise? Not quite. A midsummer night’s dream? Definitely. Midsummer: A BanquetThrough Sept. 7 at Café Fae, Manhattan; 866-811-4111, foodofloveproductions.com. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes. The Devouring: A Marriage of Heaven and HellAt Paradise Club, Manhattan; paradiseclubnyc.com. Running time: 3 hours.

Theater

Broadway

The Salt Lake City school board has voted to change the name of the city's oldest elementary school over an outcry about its namesake, former President Andrew Jackson. The school board voted unanimously earlier this week to change the name of Andrew Jackson Elementary School to Mary Jackson Elementary School, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The school's name now honors the first black female NASA engineer whose story was featured in the film “Hidden Figures.” It is also the first Utah school to be named after a woman. The Tribune reported that while changing the school’s name had been under consideration for years, the board did not move forward until it was determined that 73 percent of parents, alumni and other community members supported a change. “Some of my colleagues thought it was beyond offensive to have to go to a school named [for Andrew] Jackson,” principal Jana Edward told the Tribune. The school prides itself on its diverse population, according to the Tribune, which noted that 85 percent of students are children of color. As outcry over statues honoring Confederate soldiers continues to build, many have highlighted Andrew Jackson’s treatment of Native Americans, particularly the “Trail of Tears” relocation that forced thousands of Native American families from their homes. Jackson also owned more than 100 slaves during his lifetime. “It kind of surprised me when I learned that he was a really bad person,” one student said. “I didn’t know they would name a school after someone like that.” President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE has spoken highly of Andrew Jackson, pointing to his populist election, and hung a picture of the former president in the Oval Office at the start of his administration. Trump also criticized an Obama-era Treasury Department move to replace Jackson on the $20 bill with abolitionist Harriet Tubman, calling it “pure political correctness.” View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Other

Other

El Cajon, California (CNN)Two protesters were arrested after 50 people blocked an intersection in El Cajon, California, to demand accountability following the police shooting of an unarmed black man. Alfred Olango, 38, pulled a vaping device from his pocket and pointed it at police Tuesday before one officer fatally shot him and another discharged a Taser, El Cajon police said. His death set off demonstrations in the San Diego suburb as activists demanded authorities release video of the shooting. They also want a federal probe into Olango's death. Protesters stopped cars and broke windows Thursday night, according to El Cajon police. A motorcyclist was knocked off his bike during the confrontation. Some threw glass bottles at police and pepper balls were used to disperse crowds, they said. There were no reported injuries. 'They don't feel heard' Police have released little information except for a still photograph showing Olango in what authorities described as a "shooting stance," facing off with the two officers in a parking lot. By Wednesday evening, police identified the object as a vaping device. The identity of one officer was revealed as Richard Gonsalves, a 21-year veteran of the force. In a news conference, Mayor Bill Wells did not identify the second officer, except to say he was also a 21-year veteran. Wells said he understood the frustration of demonstrators, who blocked a freeway exit Wednesday. The protests were "angry and loud" but peaceful, he said. "It's their First Amendment right," he said. "I understand that they don't feel heard. I understand that they're wanting more information." Wells said he had seen the video and it pained him, but he called for patience as the investigation runs its course. "I saw a man who was distraught, a man who was acting in ways that looked like he was in great pain, and I saw him get gunned down and killed and it broke my heart," he said. "If it was my son, I would be devastated." Not acting like himself On Tuesday afternoon, El Cajon police responded to a 911 call reporting a man in his 30s was behaving "erratically" behind a restaurant, Lt. Rob Ransweiler said. According to the call, the man was "not acting like himself" and had been walking in traffic, endangering himself and motorists, police Chief Jeff Davis said. The woman calling 911 claimed to be the man's sister and told the dispatcher he was mentally ill and unarmed, Davis said. Investigators have not been able to confirm whether the caller was the man's sister, he said. Olango's mother, Pamela Benge, later said he was not mentally ill. He was mourning the loss of a friend, she said. "He wasn't mentally ill, never," she said. "He was going through a mental breakdown. He lost someone dearly ... mental breakdown was not easy to control, he needed someone to calm him down." Davis said they have tried to talk to the woman who made the 911 call. "We tried to get her to talk to us. As you can understand, she was upset. She was not cooperating with us," the chief said, asking the woman to come forward to speak with investigators. Officers did not respond to the first 911 call for 50 minutes because "it did take us that long to clear officers to get out there," Davis said. Once they arrived, Olango kept his hands concealed in his pockets while pacing back and forth, police said. As a second officer prepared a Taser, the man "rapidly drew an object" and placed both hands on it "like you would be holding a firearm," Davis said. One officer fired his gun at Olango, while a second officer discharged his Taser, he said. Both are on three-day administrative leave. The El Cajon Police Department's homicide unit will investigate the shooting, and the district attorney's office will review it, Davis said. Asked if he should consult an outside agency to investigate the fatal shooting, the police chief said, "I trust my investigators. I trust the system. I trust the protocol, the district attorney's office and the FBI." No trust in prosecutors to investigate police Such assurances have done little to allay the community's concerns. The Rev. Shane Harris, president of the San Diego chapter of the National Action Network, called the decision to release a still photo "cowardly." Harris, who said he had spoken to Olango's family, was one of several speakers addressing reporters in front of the El Cajon Police Department. "We do not trust local prosecutors to investigate local police," he said, explaining the family's desire for a federal investigation. Harris questioned how police could release such a seemingly damning photo while purporting to pursue all the facts and refusing to release video from witnesses and a nearby restaurant. "We don't want to see a still picture of him pointing something that is not gun," said Bishop Cornelius Bowser of the Charity Apostolic Church. "The best way to move forward right now is through transparency." Citing a countywide protocol pertaining to officer-involved shootings, Davis said Tuesday he was merely following guidelines in not making the video public. His department released the photo to counter "disinformation," he said. What we know, and what we don't "This (video) is considered evidence, and until it is deemed otherwise, it will be under the control of the district attorney's office," he said. 'They killed my brother' In the aftermath of the shooting and Olango's death, Rumbie Mubaiwa began filming the scene on Facebook Live. In the video, a distraught woman says she called 911 to get help for the man she says was her brother. She describes him as "sick." A police officer interviews a witness, and two others put up yellow police tape. Officers can be seen congregating in the background as the sister sits on a rock wailing. "You guys killed my brother in front of me," she cries as Mubaiwa records the scene. "Why couldn't you guys Tase him? Why? Why? Why? Why?" Police have not confirmed whether the woman in the Facebook Live footage was Olango's sister. Christopher Rice-Wilson, director of civic engagement for Alliance San Diego, told reporters Wednesday that family members requested privacy while they grieve and would make statements at some point. Olango twice ordered deported Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had twice tried to deport Olango, the law enforcement agency said in a statement Thursday. Olango came to the United States in 1991 as a refugee. In 2002 an immigration judge ordered him deported after he was convicted of transporting and selling narcotics, the statement said. ICE officials tried multiple times to get travel documentation needed from Uganda in order to remove Olango from the country. He eventually was released from custody in 2003 under an order of supervision requiring him to report to the agency regularly. His release complied with a Supreme Court ruling that banned the detention of foreign nationals if repatriation is not likely after six months of detention, the statement said. In 2009, Olango was returned to ICE custody after serving a prison term for a firearms conviction in Colorado. Again officials tried unsuccessfully to get necessary travel documentation from Uganda. Olango was re-released from ICE custody on another order of supervision. ICE said he reported to the agency as required until February 2015. CNN's Paul Vercammen reported from El Cajon, and Eliott C. McLaughlin and Max Blau wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Amanda Watts, Jason Hanna, Dottie Evans and Sheena Jones contributed to this report.

Crime

Police