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{ "text": [ "PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, on low-key return to Pyongyang, has given the North Korean sports minister a copy of President Donald Trump's book \"The Art of the Deal.\"\nIt wasn't signed by Trump, who was Rodman's boss for two seasons of the \"Celebrity Apprentice\" reality TV show.\nRodman's arrival on Tuesday came just hours after the North decided to release Otto Warmbier, an American university student who had been imprisoned for 15 years with hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda banner.\nWarmbier, who had been confined for 17 months, has apparently fallen into a coma not long after his confinement began. Pyongyang said Thursday saying it decided to let him go for \"humanitarian reasons.\"\nOfficials in Washington and Pyongyang said Rodman played no role in the release." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "EAST WINDSOR, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Adents, a leading provider of premier, versatile serialization and track & trace solutions, has announced a for its PhiladelphiaSerialization Innovation Summit. Featuring experts from global IT and technology leaders such as Microsoft and Siemens, as well as officials from government oversight and advocacy groups such as the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, GS1, and Medicines for Europe, the event is slated for June 20-21 at Le Meridien Hotel in Philadelphia, PA.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005878/en/\nAdents Serialization Innovation Summit - Paris 5 & 6 april 2018. (Photo: Adents)\nThe Adents Serialization Innovation Summit is a three-continent set of events that kicked off with a very successful first edition in Paris April 5-6. Following the Philadelphia event, a subsequent gathering is scheduled for Shanghai this October.\nThe summit will address pharma applications of various new technologies – including blockchain, augmented reality, and virtual batch record – as well as the myriad of ways that data generated by serialization can be utilized to improve production and business practices for beyond-compliance ROI.\nDuring the 1½-day conference, participants will meet with world-leading technologyevangelists and traceability experts to understand the future challenges faced by various pharma industry players.\nIn Philadelphia, experts from Microsoft will explore areas such as Cloud architecture, intra and inter-system connectivity, AI, and blockchain. Thought leaders from international organizations such as GS1 Healthcare will discuss efforts to standardize – and therefore simplify – serialization, and representatives from the Healthcare Distribution Alliance and Medicines for Europe will discuss the push toward regulatory compliance on both sides of the Atlantic.\nThe track & trace needs of pharmaceutical dispensers will also be addressed, and experts will be on hand to discuss serialization’s far-reaching supply chain implications. Confirmed speakers to date include (but are not limited to):\nPaul Slater, Worldwide Director of Industry Strategy, Life Sciences for Microsoft, will present how the newest Microsoft technologies impact the Pharma Industry Greg Bylo, Vice President for GS1 US Healthcare, will present GS1 Standards for interconnected Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Perry Fri, COO & Executive VP of Industry Relations, Membership & Education for the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, presents HDA Origin and Beyond, addressing efforts toward a common, digitized serialization reporting hub for DSCSA compliance Todd Lybrook, Life Sciences Director for Siemens, will discuss various aspects of pharmaceutical digitalization Maarten Van Baelen, Market Access Director at Medicines for Europe, will discuss requirements for the European Hub serialization reporting network and give an update on the level of readiness in the EU. Jeff Denton, Senior Director, IT Global Secure Supply Chain for AmerisourceBergen, will present Serialization Challenges for Wholesalers.\n“Serialization and the data it generates impacts all aspects of pharmaceutical production, from packaging line configurations and production floor OEE to IT architecture, personnel allocation and supply chain procedures,” said Christophe Devins, CEO & Co-Founder of Adents. “The Philadelphia Summit brings together experts from various corners of the track & trace landscape and high-level technology evangelists, in an effort to showcase serialization’s significance to various business processes and niches. It’s a way to tell an overarching story through several intertwined chapters.”\nTo register for the Philadelphia conference, for which seats are limited, please visit .\n# # #\nAbout Adents\nAdents is a leading provider of premier serialization solutions for unique product identification and traceability. Adents helps pharmaceutical companies, Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) and their Supply Chain Partners adapt to market changes and comply with regulations on drug traceability.\nAdents Seriza, a serialization solution for manufacturing sites, has been selected as a preferred solution by Siemens for its customers. Adents Prodigi, a cloud solution jointly developed with Microsoft and powered by Azure technologies, allows for secure data exchange and helps leverage the power of serialization data.\nAdents operates globally, with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia and with a worldwide network of solution partners. For more info, visit www.adents.com.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005878/en/\nCONTACT: Turchette Agency\nChristopher Dale\n(973) 227-8080 ext. 116\ncdale@turchette.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW JERSEY PENNSYLVANIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY DATA MANAGEMENT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT VENTURE CAPITAL SOFTWARE HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY PHARMACEUTICAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RETAIL\nSOURCE: Adents\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 02:30 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 02:30 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005878/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told visiting members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday the U.S. would no longer talk with the Taliban following a recent string of deadly attacks in Afghanistan.\nTrump railed against a series of \"atrocities\" in Afghanistan and said as a result the U.S. would not engage in any future talks with the Taliban as the administration seeks to end a stalemate in America's longest war.\n\"Innocent people are being killed left and right. Bombing, in the middle of children, in the middle of families, bombing, killing all over Afghanistan,\" Trump said. \"So we don't want to talk with the Taliban. There may be a time but it's going to be a long time.\"\nThe president's comments followed a deadly car bombing attack in Kabul, the Afghan capital, that killed at least 95 people and wounded 158 more. Earlier this month, Americans were killed and injured in the Taliban's 13-hour siege of a hotel in Kabul.\nTrump's remarks at the diplomatic luncheon marked a shift in tone on Afghanistan. The U.S. has said previously that any peace talks with the Taliban need to be part of an Afghan-led process, but the U.S. has never precluded talking to the Taliban.\nSecretary of State Rex Tillerson, who sat next to the president at the luncheon, has said previously that after an effective military effort, a political settlement including some Taliban might be possible, echoing language from former President Barack Obama's administration. Tillerson had said the U.S. would support peace talks with the Taliban \"without preconditions.\"\nEarlier in the month, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who helped organize Monday's luncheon, said the U.S. policy on Afghanistan was working and the parties were \"closer to talks with the Taliban and the peace process than we've seen before.\"\nSeveral attempts to hold peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have failed. In 2013, hopes were raised when the Taliban opened an office in Qatar aimed at facilitating those talks, but a controversy over the Taliban's move to hoist the flag it used in Afghanistan during its five-year rule ultimately derailed the talks. Since then, efforts to lure the Taliban into talks have yielded little progress.\nTrump has sought to change the course of the long-running conflict, sending thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan and moving away from a \"time-based\" approach to one that more explicitly links U.S. assistance to concrete results from the Afghan government.\nThere are now about 14,000 U.S. forces there, and more trainers and advisers are scheduled to deploy in the coming months.\nDefense Secretary Jim Mattis earlier this month said this will make it possible for U.S. advisers to serve with more of the Afghan units, strengthening them in the fight against the insurgents. The U.S.-led coalition has also increased targeting of Taliban opium operations, including narcotic processing facilities in Helmand Province in the south.\nIn more recent briefings, military leaders have said they believe the momentum is shifting. As the military operations escalate, Mattis said the next step would be to \"really come on strong at the reconciliation effort because that's the way this is going to end.\"\nThe White House lunch was attended by representatives from the 15-member U.N. Security Council, including ambassadors from China, France, Russia and Britain. The discussions were expected to also focus on international hotspots such as Iran, North Korea and terrorism.\nFrance's U.N. ambassador Francois Delattre called the discussion \"very cordial\" and told The Associated Press that a broad range of issues were discussed, including North Korea, Iran, Yemen, Syria and a new 5,000-troop African force to fight extremists in western Africa's vast Sahel region.\nEarlier, attendees viewed missile remnants the U.S. says are proof that Iran has been arming rebels in Yemen. The Trump administration has pushed to punish Iran for funneling weapons to Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen, which Tehran has emphatically denied.\nThe itinerary also included a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with national security adviser H.R. McMaster.\n__\nAssociated Press writers Josh Lederman and Lolita Baldor in Washington and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "Here are some of the deadliest mass murders in recent Canadian history:\nApril 23, 2018: A man drives a white van for about a mile along a crowded Toronto sidewalk, killing 10 people and seriously injuring at least 13 others. Police arrest suspect Alek Minassian. The motive remains unclear.\nJan. 29, 2017: Six people are killed and eight injured when a man goes on a shooting rampage at a Quebec City mosque. University student Alexandre Bissonnette, who had taken far-right political positions on social media, pleads guilty.\nJune 4, 2015: A man uses a semi-automatic rifle to fatally shoot three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and wound two others in Moncton, New Brunswick. It's the deadliest attack on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police since four officers were killed by a gunman in the western province of Alberta in 2005. That attack remains the deadliest on Canadian police officers in 120 years.\nDec. 29, 2014: In the worst mass shooting in Edmonton, a man suspected of domestic violence shoots and kills six adults and two young children in two different homes before killing himself in a restaurant where he worked.\nApril 5, 1996: Angered by his wife's divorce action, Rajwar Gakhal kills her and eight other members of her family in Vernon, British Columbia, before shooting himself.\nSept. 18, 1992: A bomb kills nine strike-breaking workers at the Giant Yellowknife gold mine in the Northwest Territories.\nDec. 6, 1989: A man with a semi-automatic rifle storms into an engineering classroom at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, asks men to leave and then kills 14 women before turning the gun on himself. Gunman Marc Lepine says he was \"fighting against feminists\" he blamed for his troubles.\nSept. 1, 1972: An arson attack on a downtown Montreal night club kills 37 people and injures 64. Gasoline was spread on the stairway of Blue Bird Cafe and then ignited. Most of the deaths occurred in the Wagon Wheel country-western bar upstairs. Three young men from Montreal who had earlier been denied entry for drunkenness were convicted and sentenced to life in prison." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):\n5:30 a.m.\nCrews aided by calm overnight winds kept a wall of flames from descending from mountains into coastal towns after a huge Southern California wildfire exploded in size over the weekend.\nThousands remain under evacuation orders Monday as the fire churns west through foothill areas of Carpinteria and Montecito, Santa Barbara County seaside towns about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. Much of the fire's new growth occurred on the eastern and northern fronts into unoccupied areas of Los Padres National Forest.\nThe fire, which had already destroyed more than 750 buildings, burned six more in Carpinteria on Sunday. It's just 10 percent contained after burning nearly 360 square miles (930 square kilometers).\nOfficials say the blaze, which broke out a week ago in neighboring Ventura County, is now the 5th largest in California history." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has reversed his own order and will keep a self-professed neo-Nazi accused of collecting bomb-making materials in jail during legal proceedings.\nU.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas McCoun III on Wednesday vacated his previous order that set terms of release for 21-year-old Brandon Russell.\nRussell was arrested last month after authorities investigating the murder of two of his roommates by a third roommate found explosives and other materials consistent with bomb-making in his Tampa apartment.\nMcCoun said the government proved Russell would pose a danger after presenting evidence, including two rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition found in Russell's car during his arrest.\nRussell's roommate, Devon Arthurs, faces two murder charges for slaying two other roommates. Arthurs told investigators Russell was planning a bombing." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The state of the union is ...\nGreat again? Or not quite?\nHowever he describes the country's condition on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump will defend his accomplishments and lay out his plans before a chamber packed with members of Congress, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court plus a few choice guests — and with millions of Americans watching on television. It will be the former reality show star's first State of the Union speech, a formal report to Congress that the Constitution requires of the president \"from time to time.\"\nFor any president, the prime-time speech is a high-stakes statement of purpose. A year into his presidency, Trump stands before the nation to account for his promise to \"make America great again\" amid talk of a rising threat of nuclear war and special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of the president and his 2016 campaign.\nFor both parties, the speech operates like the pop of a starting gun for the midterm elections, when Republicans will defend their majorities in the House and Senate.\nA look at what to watch:\n___\nHOW SUPERLATIVE?\nWhite House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday previewed the speech by describing the state of the union as \"incredible.\"\nBut will the hyperbole-loving president tone down his bombastic speaking style a bit? The White House is setting expectations as close to \"yes\" as possible — but only for as long as the speech itself lasts. Expect the president to cast the tax overhaul he signed in December and the strong economy as Trump initiatives that help all Americans. Thematically, Trump is expected to speak of having built the foundation for a safer and stronger nation.\nBut can Trump stay on message — and off Twitter — after the reviews come in?\n___\nTHE ELEPHANT IN THE CHAMBER\nWill Trump make any mention of Mueller's probe of Russian connections and obstruction of justice, or his own expressed willingness to be interviewed under oath? Trump told reporters last week he'd \"love\" to be interviewed under oath about the matter. But his lawyers didn't seem as enthusiastic and are still negotiating.\n___\nFLOTUS\nFirst lady Melania Trump will face extra scrutiny this year — and not just because of the former model's fashionable couture.\nMrs. Trump's movements have been closely ever watched since The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the president's lawyer had arranged a payment to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels, to keep her from talking about an alleged 2006 affair with the future president. The couple's 13th wedding anniversary passed without public comment last week, and Mrs. Trump abruptly announced she was skipping a trip with her husband to an economic summit last week in Switzerland.\n___\nWHO'S THERE\nOften who is in the chamber reflects the president's priorities. Seated around Mrs. Trump will be more than a dozen guests, including small-business owners, beneficiaries of tax relief, victims of gang violence and a police officer who adopted a baby from parents addicted to opioids.\nDemocrats are strategically populating their guest lists, too — with faces of the immigration debate that is roiling Congress and vexing Trump. Their guests will include immigrants who are among the nearly 700,000 people who received protection from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump canceled the program last year but gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix.\n___\nWHO'S NOT\nTraditionally, one member of the Cabinet stays away from the address for security reasons. One question is whether Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump nominated for the Supreme Court, will attend the speech. Justice Samuel Alito, who shook his head and mouthed \"not true\" at President Barack Obama during the 2010 State of the Union speech, has not attended a presidential address since.\nSome Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott the president's address.\n___\nWHAT THEY WEAR\nTypically, some female lawmakers wear bright colors so they will stand out on television. But this year, several Democratic women plan to wear black to protest sexual harassment after a season of scandals toppled male leaders across industries. Congress is no exception: Accusations have forced resignations and retirements in both parties. Trump, too, has faced sexual assault allegations.\n___\nREBUTTAL\nRep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts will deliver the Democratic response to the president's address. He is the grandson of the late Robert F. Kennedy, the senator and U.S. attorney general, and the son of former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, who served in the House from 1987 to 1999. Democratic leaders are pitching Kennedy as someone who can champion Democratic policies to the middle class.\n___\nTHEN THIS HAPPENS\nDaniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is scheduled to appear on ABC's \"Jimmy Kimmel Live!\" following Trump's address. She said she had an affair with Trump shortly after he married Melania Trump.\n___\nFollow Kellman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellman" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAN DIEGO (AP) — One year later, Tiger Woods looked five years younger.\nThere are intangibles that are hard to measure, though at this stage in his return, they mean more than the traditional measure of a golfer.\nWoods was walking just as tall at the end of the week as when he arrived at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open, and not just because he played four rounds on the PGA Tour for the first time in 29 months.\nIt's not often that Woods says words like \"pleased\" and \"positive\" after a tie for 23rd.\nBut it would be hard to argue with him.\nThis did not look like the previous five comebacks from when he had the first of four back surgeries a week before the 2014 Masters. There was no sense of how long he would last, rather how long it would take for him to get sharper.\n\"Ninety holes over five days in a row ... I know he did that in the Bahamas, but those were 3½ hours, and now we're playing five-hour rounds,\" caddie Joe LaCava said. \"That makes a difference because you're adding about seven, eight hours on your feet, playing golf, thinking about what to hit, and hitting shots. So I'm glad he got through that. I'm not saying health isn't going to be an issue, but it certainly looks better than it has.\"\nThe only concern was off the tee. Woods hit 17 out of 56 fairways for the week, tied for last among the 77 players who made the cut. He hit only three fairways in each of the final three rounds, and his drive on the par-5 10th hole on the North Course was 65 yards left of the edge of the fairway.\nBut then, that might have worked in his favor.\nHow else would he get a sense that his back could handle so many violent swings required to get him out of that mess?\n\"Some of the shots I had to hit out of the rough, out of the trees, shaping them both ways, and a few times I had to jack up the speed,\" Woods said after the final round. \"And had no issues at all.\"\nThe issue was being there in the first place, but there's time.\nWoods headed home for two weeks before he comes back out to California for the Genesis Open at Riviera, a course where he made his PGA Tour debut at age 16 in 1992 but last played in 2006. He's likely to play the Honda Classic a week later, and then have two weeks off before the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.\nThat might be it before the Masters. Woods is not in the two World Golf Championships in March. He is contemplating the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook, but that would mean four tournaments in five weeks, and that might be too much too soon.\nIf there was curiosity about his performance at Torrey Pines, there is even more about how he plays Riviera.\n\"We can see the swing is out of sync. He can feel it's out of sync,\" six-time major winner Nick Faldo said before the final round. \"I'm thinking he's going to go away for two weeks and it will be very interesting if he can put his finger on the things he needs to work on.\"\nKeeping score should be easy in golf, except when it comes to this version of Woods.\nThere is a call for patience because he has played so little tournament golf and even less with a semblance of good health. But at some point, he should be measured against the field. He should be measured not so much by winning, but by having a chance.\nAsked what he thought of Woods' return, two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange took the right path.\n\"It's not for me to pass judgment on four rounds of golf,\" he said Tuesday. \"I'm giving him most of the year, and then we'll revisit.\"\nIn the meantime, his return was as advertised.\nTournament officials issued a notice a few hours after Woods two-putted for birdie from 75 feet to make the cut on the number. It said public parking for Saturday was sold out.\nThe gallery for the final group on Saturday — which included Jon Rahm, who had a chance at reaching No. 1 in the world — was typical of the last two years, mainly because the thousands of additional fans were with Woods. From behind the third green, one could see across the gorge to the 14th hole, where fans stood shoulder to shoulder from the tee to the corporate box next to the green.\nOn Sunday, Woods worked his way through the gallery behind the eighth green, across the 18th fairway and then through another throng to get to his final hole. Everyone wanted a glimpse of him. Right after Woods walked by, one woman broke into a big smile and said to her friend, \"Those 45 minutes were so worth it.\"\nThere is no greater appeal in golf than Woods, especially when it looks as though he might be around a while." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower on Wednesday after U.S. stocks succumbed to a sell-off in the final minutes of trading, snapping a three-day winning streak.\nKEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3 percent to 21,717.04 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.8 percent to 2,764.29. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.2 percent to 28,215.16 and the Kospi in South Korea lost 0.2 percent to 2,268.89. Australia's S&P ASX/200 gave up 0.5 percent to 6,181.20. Shares turned higher in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.\nWALL STREET: Technology companies and banks led the market slide, outweighing gains in health care and energy stocks. The trading session, shortened ahead of the Independence Day holiday, pulled the S&P 500 index down 0.5 percent to 2,713.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.5 percent to 24,174.82 and the Nasdaq lost 0.9 percent to 7,502.67. Smaller-company stocks bucked the broader market decline, with the Russell 2000 index picking up 0.3 percent, to 1,660.42.\nCHINA-U.S. TRADE: On Friday the U.S. is set to impose a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports. And China is expected to strike back with tariffs on a similar amount of U.S. exports. The big question is how far the two countries will go in their dispute over trade. The Trump administration has said it won't target an additional $16 billion worth of Chinese goods until it gathers further public comments. It's also identifying an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods for 10 percent tariffs, which could take effect if Beijing retaliates.\nCHINESE CURRENCY: Reported comments by the head of China's central bank saying he's closely watching the recent slide in the value of the yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB), against the U.S. dollar have helped to reassure investors. People's Bank of China Gov. Yi Gang said financial risks were under control and the China's international balance of payments and currency flows were stable.\nANALYST VIEWPOINT: \"The statement puts paid to any fears that the PBOC could be engineering a depreciation to cushion the economy, as Yi Gang stakes his credibility on the RMB being stable within the bounds of broad USD volatility,\" Chang Weiliang of Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. The yuan fell to 6.70 yuan to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday but ended the day at 6.64 yuan in its first trading day gain in two weeks, Chang said.\nENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 31 cents to $74.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It added 20 cents to $74.14 a barrel on Tuesday, reaching more than $75 a barrel in early trading. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 26 cents to $78.02 per barrel.\nCURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 110.35 yen from 110.59 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1677 from $1.1657." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has handed a victory to the government's beleaguered consumer finance watchdog agency, ruling that its director's power isn't excessive and the president shouldn't have freer rein to fire that person.\nThe decision came Wednesday in the politically charged case involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The nine-member panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a 2016 ruling by a smaller panel that would have made it easier for President Donald Trump to fire then-CFPB director Richard Cordray, an Obama appointee.\nThe decision comes as the agency is engulfed in turmoil and confusion. Cordray stepped down in November and Trump named White House budget director Mick Mulvaney as acting CFPB director. Mulvaney has moved to soften agency regulations and slash its funding." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "Three artists who performed at a country music festival that became the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history honored those music fans lost at deadly concert attacks with a tearful performance at the Grammy Awards.\nCountry artists Eric Church, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne delivered a moving performance of Eric Clapton's Grammy-winning classic \"Tears in Heaven,\" during the 60th annual Grammys Awards in New York City on Sunday, the names of victims behind them.\n\"All of country music was reminded in the most tragic way then connection we share with fans and the loving power that music will always provide,\" said Eric Church who seemed to struggle to speak.\nThe artists put their own spin on the mournful song in honor of the victims at the Route 91 Harvest Festival last October in Las Vegas, as well as a bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, in May.\n\"Tears in Heaven,\" which won three Grammys in 1993 including record and song of the year, was written after Clapton's four-year-old son died in 1991 after falling out of a high-rise window.\nThe touching tribute was handled tenderly between singer TJ Osborne's soulful baritone, Morris' Texas twang and Church's forceful singing, although a bad microphone made much of Morris' intro before the song unintelligible.\n\"The painful truth is that this year in just those two events 81 music lovers, just like us, went out to enjoy a night of music and never came back home,\" Morris said.\n___\nFor full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):\n11:25 a.m.\nPresident Donald Trump has tweeted a military-themed, Independence Day video greeting to the nation.\nIn a short recording, Trump said Wednesday he and first lady Melania Trump wished everyone a happy holiday.\nTrump noted the day marked the 242nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But his focus was on the U.S. military and veterans. Trump declared, \"Our freedom has been earned through the blood and sweat and sacrifice of American heroes. And these are great American heroes.\"\nTrump is to hold a picnic Wednesday afternoon for military families at the White House, followed by a concert and with a view of the National Park Service's fireworks display.\n___\n12:04 a.m.\nPresident Donald Trump celebrated active-duty service members and veterans during a military tribute on the eve of Independence Day.\nDelivering remarks at a \"Salute to Service\" charity dinner at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Trump praised \"Americans of every generation\" who served in the armed forces.\nThe event was held in conjunction with the PGA Tour's Greenbrier Classic, which has been rechristened as \"A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.\" The venerable resort is owned by the state's Republican governor, presidential ally Jim Justice.\nHighlighting his efforts to boost spending for the military, Trump said, \"As the golfers can tell you, the stronger we get, the less likely it is that we will have to use it.\"\nAn avid golfer, Trump praised the \"incredible athletes\" in attendance." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2018--DHL will expand its global innovation footprint to the Americas region by breaking ground for its new Americas Innovation Center in Rosemont, Illinois, which will offer unique insights into the future of logistics. Joining the DHL Innovation Center in Troisdorf, Germany, and the Asia Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore, the Americas Innovation Center will exhibit the technologies and innovations in logistics that DHL is already implementing across the region, and will foster the development of future logistics and supply chain solutions while serving as a regional platform for collaborative innovation. The opening is planned for summer 2019.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006388/en/\nDHL's Americas Innovation Center marks the third for the DPDHL Group, expanding the Group's global innovation footprint in the region. The state-of-the-art facility is set to open its doors summer 2019, housing DHL's logistic innovations and robotics and offering customers and partners a peek into the future of logistics. (Photo: Business Wire)\n“With our third Innovation Center worldwide, we will be able to create a platform for research and collaborative innovation between DHL customers, start-ups, academia, industry partners, and innovation experts in the Americas region,” commented Matthias Heutger, SVP, Global Head of Innovation & Commercial Development at DHL. “This visionary innovation center will further promote and nurture our worldwide leading position as the logistics innovation frontrunner in one of our key markets. It will also help us to further build on successful partnerships that we have established with technology leaders and innovative start-ups in the region.”\nDHL’s logistic innovations footprint in the Americas\nAs a global leader in logistics, DHL continuously evaluates its innovative customer-centric solutions, already implementing advanced technologies in all of its operations to boost productivity and serve the evolving needs of customers.\nDHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics specialist within Deutsche Post DHL Group, has seen average productivity increases of 15 percent in trials of augmented reality technology in warehouses, with smart glasses that provide visual displays of order picking instructions and item locations. It has also deployed drones with surveillance cameras to ramp up security at warehousing sites in Brazil and Mexico.\nRobotics, ranked the most important physical technology with 63 percent in a recent global survey by DHL of about 350 supply chain and operations professionals, also play a significant role in DHL’s innovation activities. DHL Supply Chain uses collaborative robots designed to help with repetitive and precise tasks, such as picking and packing, in a number of its North American warehouses.\nDHL Global Forwarding, the leading specialist in air and ocean transport, and DHL Express, the world's leading international express delivery company, also use virtual reality and artificial intelligence in countries like the United States and Chile for employee training programs and to optimize customer service.\nVisions, Trends, Solutions – A physical representation of innovation in logistics\nThe new Americas Innovation Center will house DHL’s logistic innovations and robotics, and will offer customers and partners a peek into the future of logistics, showcasing visions of what the world and its transport infrastructure might look like in 2050, as well as the latest technology trends in robotics and automation, artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles, the Internet of Things, and virtual reality – all of which are already being tested or implemented by the Group.\n“Rosemont is a central destination for businesses to meet and connect thanks to our strategic location between Chicago O’Hare International Airport and the City of Chicago, and we’re thrilled to have DHL mark our Village as a new destination for technology and innovation,” said Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens. “Companies look for ideas on the newest trends in this digital era, and now they can come here to look into the future of logistics.”\nOn a surface area of 24,000 square feet, the state-of-the-art facility can host trend and innovation events for up to 300 guests with high-tech features, futuristic designs, an impressive foyer and inspiring meeting spaces that will be available to the public.\n“Inspire, connect and engage – these are the main goals we pursue with our innovation centers. While inspiring our visitors in a unique environment and connecting them with logistics and innovation experts, we aim to support strategic customer engagement that has the potential to create new business and leverage thought leadership to explore the different ways in which technological development can benefit DHL and our customers in the future. Our new Americas Innovation Center – in close proximity to some of the world’s most dynamic technology and innovation hubs – will help us to shape the future of logistics,” added Heutger.\nYou can find the press release for download as well as further information on dpdhl.com/pressreleases.\nDHL –The logistics company for the world\nDHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL family of divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 360,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, energy, automotive and retail, a proven commitment to corporate responsibility and an unrivalled presence in developing markets, DHL is decisively positioned as “The logistics company for the world”.\nDHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 60 billion euros in 2017.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006388/en/\nCONTACT: Deutsche Post DHL Group\nMedia Relations\nPamela Duque, 954-614-6809\nE-mail:Pamela.duque@dhl.com\nOn the Internet:dpdhl.de/press\nFollow us at:twitter.com/DeutschePostDHL\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ILLINOIS\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY OTHER TECHNOLOGY TRANSPORT LOGISTICS/SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATIONS MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS/INVESTOR RELATIONS\nSOURCE: DHL\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 05/30/2018 04:00 PM/DISC: 05/30/2018 04:00 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006388/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The Zimbabwe Football Association says one of its referees has reported being offered a bribe of $10,000 to fix a Confederation Cup game in Equatorial Guinea.\nIt's the second time in two weeks that a match official has claimed to have been approached to fix a game in Africa's second-biggest club tournament.\nGladmore Mzambi, vice chairman of the Zimbabwe association's referees committee, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that referee Norman Matemera reported being offered the bribe by representatives of Equatorial Guinea's Deportivo Niefang club. They wanted the ref to influence the second leg of their knockout tie against Ivory Coast's Williamsville AC so they could overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit.\nMzambi says that Matemera has reported that when he refused the bribe, he was approached by the match commissioner, Togo's Lawson Mahuwe, who also tried to bribe him on behalf of Deportivo Niefang.\nThe alleged attempt by Deportivo Niafeng did not work, with the team going out of the competition on aggregate despite winning the game in question last week 2-1.\nSouth African referee Victor Gomes says that he and his assistants were offered $30,000 to fix a game in the same competition in Nigeria two weeks ago." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden became the first player in NBA history to score 60 points as part of a triple-double and the short-handed Houston Rockets beat the Orlando Magic 114-107 on Tuesday night.\nHarden scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to eclipse the 57 points Calvin Murphy scored in 1978 to break Houston's single-game scoring record. After Harden broke the record, cameras in the arena showed a shot of Murphy, who works on the television broadcast team, smiling and clapping for the Beard, who also had 10 rebounds and 11 assists.\nThe game was tied at 107 after a basket by Marreese Speights with just under four minutes to play. Neither team scored for more than two minutes after that before Harden took over, scoring the next six points to make it 113-107 with 45 seconds left.\nHe set the scoring mark when he stepped back and made a 3-pointer before crashing to the court after being fouled by Mario Hezonja. He then made the free throw to give him 60 points and bringing the crowd to its feet.\nHezonja and Speights scored 17 points each for the Magic, who dropped their third straight.\nPISTONS 125, CAVALIERS 114\nDETROIT (AP) — Andre Drummond had 21 points and 22 rebounds, and the short-handed Detroit Pistons beat Cleveland after the Cavaliers lost Kevin Love to a potentially season-altering hand injury.\nLove exited in the first quarter with a broken left hand, and the Pistons took advantage of his absence, snapping an eight-game losing streak despite a roster that was depleted by their blockbuster trade for Blake Griffin.\nDetroit gave up three players to get Griffin, and neither he nor the other two players the Pistons received in return were available against Cleveland. Drummond — whose own status was in question because of an illness — had a huge game, and Stanley Johnson added a career-high 26 points.\nLeBron James scored 21 points for the Cavs, but Cleveland was listless early and outplayed late — and the result felt secondary to Love's health. The team said he had a non-displaced fracture in his fifth metacarpal and his status would be updated after additional examination Wednesday in Cleveland.\nWIZARDS 102, THUNDER 96\nWASHINGTON (AP) — Beginning what could be a significant stretch without All-Star point guard John Wall, the Washington Wizards got 25 points from Otto Porter Jr., limited Russell Westbrook to 13 and stopped Oklahoma City's eight-game win streak.\nBradley Beal had 21 points and nine assists for Washington, which announced about 7 1/2 hours before tipoff that Wall will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Wednesday.\nPaul George had 28 points for Oklahoma City, but zero in the fourth quarter. Carmelo Anthony scored 19, but he missed three shots in the final 30 seconds. Westbrook wound up with 10 assists, six rebounds and seven turnovers and made only 5 of 18 shots.\nWall, picked for his fifth All-Star game last week, is second on the Wizards in scoring, averaging 19.4 points, and is second in the league with 9.3 assists per game.\nIn July, he agreed to a $170 million, four-year contract extension that starts next season.\nJAZZ 129, WARRIORS 99\nSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ricky Rubio scored 23 points and handed out 11 assists as the Jazz stunned the Warriors.\nThe loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Warriors, who had won seven of eight before facing the Jazz. It was their largest loss of the season.\nWarriors coach Steve Kerr seemed to waive the white flag with more than six minutes left in the game, pulling his starters.\nKlay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points and six rebounds while Kevin Durant finished with 17.\nKNICKS 111, NETS 95\nNEW YORK (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points, Enes Kanter had 20 points, 20 rebounds and five assists, and the Knicks completed a New York City sweep of the Nets with a victory.\nThe Knicks returned home from their longest road trip of the season in new uniforms but their same old dominance of the Nets, with their fourth victory in four tries this season. They dominated the interior again and swept the series for the first time since 2010-11 — before the rivals shared the same city.\nDeMarre Carroll scored 13 points for the Nets, who lost their fourth straight game.\nRAPTORS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 104\nTORONTO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 11 rebounds and the Raptors rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Timberwolves.\nKyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka each scored 15 points and Jakob Poeltl had six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Raptors won their 14th straight home meeting with the Timberwolves.\nMinnesota has not won in Toronto since Jan. 21, 2004, when current Timberwolves star Andrew Wiggins was eight years old.\nToronto is 19-4 at home this season, the second-best record in the NBA behind San Antonio (21-4).\nJimmy Butler scored 25 points, Wiggins had 15 and Jeff Teague and Gorgiu Dieng each finished with 14 but the Timberwolves lost for the fourth time in five games.\nKINGS 114, PELICANS 103\nNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zach Randolph scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and the Kings beat the Pelicans.\nKosta Koufos had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Kings, who were able to exploit the absence of Pelicans All-Star and former King DeMarcus Cousins by getting double-doubles from both of their starting big men.\nRookie De'Aaron Fox and reserve guard Garrett Temple, a former LSU player, each scored 15 for the Kings, who've won three of their last four games.\nAnthony Davis had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, while Jrue Holiday scored 21 points and Ian Clark a season-high 20, hitting nine of 10 shots.\nSPURS 106, NUGGETS 104\nSAN ANTONIO (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 30 points and the Spurs escaped with a victory over the Nuggets.\nThe Spurs had four players in double figures, including 18 points each from Kyle Anderson and Pau Gasol.\nEvery Denver starter scored in double figures with Jamal Murray leading the way with 18 points and Gary Harris adding 17.\nSan Antonio had to battle to win its 11th straight at home over Denver. There were 18 lead changes and the Nuggets came within inches of a game-winning 19th.\nTRAIL BLAZERS 104, CLIPPERS 96\nLOS ANGELES (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 28 points and the Trail Blazers pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Clippers.\nLos Angeles was playing its first game since Blake Griffin's stunning trade to Detroit on Monday.\nCJ McCollum added 16 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Blazers, who ended a seven-game skid against the Clippers while winning their third in a row.\nLou Williams scored 20 points off the bench and DeAndre Jordan had 19 rebounds for the Clippers, who made a run in the fourth after they trailed by 20." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "FAR HILLS, N.J. (AP) — Two-time champion Karrie Webb has received a special exemption to the U.S. Women's Open at Shoal Creek in Alabama.\nWebb won consecutive U.S. Women's Open titles by a combined 13 shots when she was at the top of her game. She beat Cristie Kerr and Meg Mallon by five shots at The Merit Club outside Chicago in 2000 and Se Ri Pak by eight shots at Pine Needles in North Carolina a year later.\nThe U.S. Women's Open at Shoal Creek starts May 31.\nWebb received a 10-year exemption for her 2001 victory, and she has remained exempt through other categories every year since then.\nThe Australian is the first player to receive a special exemption to the Women's Open since Pak in 2016 at CordeValle." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana will remain one of just five states without a hate crimes law after key lawmakers in the GOP-dominated Senate announced Tuesday that they were abandoning a bill targeting crimes motivated by bias.\nLeaders of Indiana's GOP-dominated Statehouse have consistently opposed hate crimes legislation. But that changed this year in the wake of clashes between white supremacists and counter demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left one woman dead in August.\nThe bill by Republican Sen. Sue Glick had support from GOP leaders, including House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate leader David Long. Then on Tuesday the chairman of a key Senate committee decided to not take a vote on the bill.\n\"It's a matter of peoples' opinions. We just couldn't come to consensus,\" Long, of Fort Wayne, said late at a press conference announcing the effort was done for the year.\nA deep thread of social conservatism runs throughout the state and lawmakers, headed into an election year, faced intense pressure from activists who argue that creating a hate crimes law would create a special protected class of victims.\nAt the same time, much of Indiana's business community was in lock-step support of the measure, which they say is important to lure talent and new business to the state.\nIndianapolis was named one of 20 finalists competing to be the location of a second Amazon headquarters. A coalition of central Indiana municipal officials, including Republicans, had pushed for a hate crimes law in hopes of making the state more appealing.\nDespite his support for the measure, Long dismissed their worries.\n\"I really don't think it should affect anything,\" said Long. \"Nor do I think we should tailor all of our legislation in hopes that a company would locate here. I would hope they'd be coming to Indiana because we are a welcoming state, because we have a great economy and we have low cost of living.\"\nThe bill by Glick, a former county prosecutor from LaGrange County, would have specifically allowed a judge to take into account whether a crime was motivated by someone's race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation or ethnicity. It would also require such crimes to be reported to the FBI. Currently, Indiana law enforcement agencies are not required to do so.\nAdvocates say anecdotal accounts suggest the number of so-called bias crimes are on the rise and the Southern Poverty Law Center reports 26 active hate groups in the state.\nDemocratic Sen. Greg Taylor, of Indianapolis, ripped Republicans for being content with the status quo.\n\"What we did today was say to companies like Amazon ... 'We don't need your business, we don't need your economic development, we don't need your jobs,'\" said Taylor. \"We are comfortable with the status quo.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Amid China’s current campaign pressuring companies to change their designation of Taiwan, BBC China conducted a survey of 100 major international company websites to compile a list of companies in compliance with China’s dictates.\nThe survey of company websites was conducted over May 28 -29, and of the 100 companies, reportedly randomly selected, it was found that 11 out of 100 display “Taiwan” as an available choice under the category of country or nation on website menus.\nThe vast majority of websites surveyed have Taiwan listed alongside other countries under politically safe categories like “Location,” “Region” or “Country or Region.”\nOnly eight of 100 described Taiwan as \"Chinese\" or specifically designate Taiwan as a region of China (ex. 中國台灣, 中華台北, 台灣地區).\nTen out of 100 remained ambiguous, either avoiding any designation, or providing alternate designations on Chinese website menus from those displayed on the sites in English or other languages.\nCompanies that designate “Taiwan” under nation or country listings separate from \"China\"include: Twitter, HTC, Puma, Netflix, Mitsukoshi, H&M, ASOS, KFC, Chanel, Prada and Fiat.\nThe eight companies that described Taiwan as “Chinese” or simply as a region in China include: Lenovo, Honda, Peugeot, Benz, Ford Motor, Hilton, Louise Vuitton, and Hewlett Packard.\nCompanies with alternate designations for specific Chinese webpages, or where a specific term of designation is avoided are: Instagram, BMW, Walmart, GAP, Uniqlo, Zara, Gucci, Toyota, Marriot Hotels, Neutrogena.\nFinally, the majority of websites who use non-specific categories of “location,” “region,”or the politically ambiguous “country or region” as reported by BBC China are:\n-Amazon\n-Yahoo\n-Google\n-Facebook\n-Apple\n-Microsoft\n-eBay\n-LinkedIn\n-Dell\n-Android\n-Acer\n-Panasonic\n-Philips\n-Siemens\n-Samsung\n-Bosch\n-Sony\n-Nokia\n-LG\n-Armani\n-Dior\n-Versace\n-Burberry\n-Calvin Klein\n-Valentino\n-Zara\n-Topshop\n-GAP\n-Ferragamo\n-Nike\n-Adidas\n-SK-II\n-Kao Corp.\n-Kanebo\n-SaSa\n-Gatsby\n-MAC\n-Dove\n-Laneige\n-Estee Lauder\n-Clinique\n-Nivea\n-Kiehl's\n-Maybelline\n-Muji\n-IKEA\n-Carrefour\n-Lotte\n-Starbucks\n-Costa\n-McDonald's\n-Coca-Cola\n-Burger King\n-Mos Burger\n-Pizza Hut\n-7-eleven\n-Nissan\n-Volkswagen\n-booking.com\n-hotels.com\n-Agoda\n-Trivago\n-Kayak\n-Tripadvisor\n-Expedia\n-Skyscanner\n-Hyatt Hotels Group\n-Carlson Company\n-Starwood\n-Accor\n-InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG)\nIt is not unreasonable to expect that the eleven companies who have listed Taiwan under the “country” category will soon receive a threatening letter for Chinese authorities demanding they comply with “Chinese law.”" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia (AP) — First, it was his hand. Then, his teeth. Luis Suarez's feet and football ability are yet to take center stage for Uruguay at a World Cup.\nMaybe this time, now that his head is right.\nLike Barcelona teammate and close friend Lionel Messi, Suarez could be playing for his World Cup legacy in Russia. At best he has three games left, starting with Friday's quarterfinal against France.\nMessi's failures at the World Cup have been well documented. Suarez's experiences have been far rawer.\nAt both his previous tournaments, the Uruguay striker hasn't just left disappointed, he's left in disgrace, labeled a cheat in one and the world's dirtiest player in the other.\n\"You mature, you learn things and you live in the present,\" Suarez said at Uruguay's team base in Russia in the buildup to the France game.\nIn South Africa in 2010, Suarez's defining act was to block a goal-bound header from Ghana with his hand in the dying seconds of extra time in their quarterfinal. Suarez was sent off for the intentional handball but Ghana missed the resulting penalty.\nSuarez's clear cheating and wild celebrations on the side of the field incensed a continent as it helped Uruguay reach the semifinals at the expense of Africa's last hope.\nFour years ago in Brazil, there was an even more shocking exit: Suarez bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in a group game — leaving visible teeth marks in Chiellini's left shoulder — and FIFA banned him for nine matches and four months, ending his tournament. It was the third time Suarez had been banned for biting an opponent.\nSuarez, now 31, is back for another go at the World Cup, maybe his last.\nAt Uruguay's base he appeared unaffected by his ignominious history at the tournament, answering questions from journalists about previous disciplinary breakdowns with no outward signs of discomfort. There seemed to be no attempts to hide anything, either.\nSuarez has taken steps to address his on-field behavior for Uruguay, he said, with the help of Oscar Tabarez, the coach and former teacher who has been in charge for Suarez's entire international career.\n\"Tabarez helps a lot. He's one of the best coaches in the world because of his personality, the way he helps players,\" Suarez said. \"Personally, he has helped me a lot. Before games, he always talks to me about what goes on in my head. That's important to me. That talk I have with him is important.\"\nFor over a decade, Tabarez has worked to develop a specific team mantra in the Uruguay squad, putting emphasis on humility, work ethic and respect for others.\nThat has manifested itself at the team's World Cup base in Russia, a sports center on the outskirts of Nizhny Novgorod where the players' accommodation is more like school dormitories than five-star luxury.\nFrom the camp, stories emerge of Uruguay's best players and biggest stars being asked to clear away their own plates and cutlery after meals, wash their own boots, carry training equipment to and from the field, and, in a nod to plain good manners, start press conferences by greeting journalists with a \"good morning\" or \"good afternoon.\"\nSuarez also spoke about the \"serenity\" Tabarez brought to the squad and referred to himself, once the troublemaker, as now a veteran and a role model.\n\"Now I'm one of the oldest, an example ... the younger ones look up to us,\" Suarez said. \"You get nervous (in games), but at the same time you are one of the ones who has to remain calm. You have to set a good example to the younger ones. You have learned how to handle these situations.\"\n___\nMore AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/WorldCup" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CHICAGO (AP) — The Laver Cup was a hit last year, and now Roger Federer is hoping it proves popular on U.S. soil.\nThe 20-time Grand Slam champion made his first-ever visit to Chicago on Monday to promote the second Laver Cup, a team competition that debuted last year in Prague.\nFederer, shaking off a three-set loss to Juan Martin del Potro on Sunday in the final at Indian Wells that ended his 17-match winning streak, was joined by tennis legends Rod Laver and John McEnroe, along with young Australian star Nick Kyrgios.\nFederer's management team was instrumental in launching the Laver Cup, which pits Team Europe against Team World. After its third year, he said he'll entertain possible changes to the format.\n\"Down the road I'm totally open to anything,\" Federer said. \"I've heard already from women players. They would love to do it as well.\"\nFour of the six players on each team are chosen on rankings after Wimbledon. The other two are captain's picks, and captain McEnroe didn't wait Monday — he announced the talented Kyrgios was already on the World Team.\nKyrgios lost a tight final singles match to Federer in Prague last season, which clinched the cup for Team Europe.\nWhat impact the Laver Cup has on the future of Davis Cup, the long-standing competition between nations, is still debatable. But there is a proposal from the International Tennis Federation to play the top level of Davis Cup in a single-week, 18-nation format. It must be approved by a vote of the membership.\n\"It just takes so much out of the players to be available four weekends during the year every single year,\" Federer said. \"I played a lot of Davis Cup when I was younger and happy I did. I was happy it existed, but eventually it was just too much.\"\nFederer added: \"I do believe that the Laver Cup has sparked some change, some inspiration to other cups that maybe we'll see in tennis. But that's a good thing. We'll take that as a sign of flattery.\"\nMcEnroe, once a staple for the U.S. Davis Cup team, said changes in that competition are overdue and certainly the success of the Laver Cup has not gone unnoticed.\n\"For me, I say, 'When's the last time anyone's asked me about how many Davis Cup teams I was part of winning?'\" McEnroe said.\n\"In the last 10 years, how many people have asked me that? You know how many people? None. Which is sad, 'cause I played a lot of Davis Cup and I loved it.\"\nThe 2018 Laver Cup will be played Sept. 21-23 at United Center before returning to Europe the following year." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TORONTO (AP) — The first victim publicly identified after a van plowed down a Toronto sidewalk and killed 10 people worked at an investment management firm and enjoyed sports and volunteering.\nAnne Marie D'Amico, 30, worked at Invesco, which is near the scene of Monday's incident. Toronto City Councilor Cesar Palacio said D'Amico was a friend of his daughter, and he remembers her as \"a brilliant young girl\" who was interested in improving society.\nOn Tuesday he spoke with her parents, who live in his ward. \"You can imagine the nightmare, the living nightmare they're going through at this moment,\" he said.\nD'Amico volunteered at a Canada-based international humanitarian charity called Live Different. She helped build houses in the Dominican Republic in 2015 and 2017, according to Dave Hamilton, the charity's manager of school partnerships. He remembered her as \"super-positive, always smiling, a funny person, always up for a challenge, and really wanted to help people out.\"\nD'Amico also volunteered with the nonprofit Tennis Canada association, working at the Rogers Cup tournament since the age of 12. She started out as a ball girl and worked her way up to be an \"integral\" part of the volunteer team, most recently leading a committee on stadium control, the association said. She was voted volunteer of the year in 2016.\n\"Anne Marie lived for working at Rogers Cup and seeing her fellow volunteers each summer,\" said Gavin Ziv, the association's vice president of professional events. \"The tournament was such a large part of her life, and we were so lucky to have her on our team each summer.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "___\nFed proposes easing rule that limits risky bank trading\nWASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is proposing to ease a rule aimed at defusing the kind of risk-taking on Wall Street that helped trigger the 2008 financial meltdown. The Fed under new leadership on Wednesday unveiled proposed changes to the Volcker Rule, which bars banks' risky trading bets for their own profit with depositors' money. The high-risk activity is known as proprietary trading.\n___\nBarr blames Ambien for tweet; drugmaker replies\nNEW YORK (AP) — After Roseanne Barr explains the offensive tweet that got her show canceled by saying she was on Ambien at two in the morning, the drugmaker Sanofi tweets back that 'racism is not a known side effect' of its product. Barr is busy on Twitter, even though the social media platform led to her demise. ABC canceled 'Roseanne' following her racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.\n___\nEurope expects to be hit by US tariffs on steel and aluminum\nPARIS (AP) — Europe is bracing for the United States to slap restrictions Thursday on imported steel and aluminum. Top European officials were holding last-ditch talks in Paris with American trade officials to avoid U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.\n___\nUS economic growth revised down to 2.2 percent rate in Q1\nWASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a weaker 2.2 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, as consumers and businesses slowed their spending. But given the economy's recent performance, analysts are still looking for a solid rebound in the current quarter. The Commerce Department reports that growth in the gross domestic product, the economy's total output of goods and services, came in slightly below the first estimate last month of 2.3 percent in the January-March period.\n___\nNeed an entry-level job at a store? It can be harder now\nNEW YORK (AP) — Getting a job as a store cashier or a sales assistant — often an easy way into the economy for an unskilled worker — used to be easy. Now, that path is getting much more complicated as employers demand higher-level skills.\n___\nQ&A: Should you reboot your router like the FBI says?\nLast week, the FBI recommended rebooting home and small office routers that might have been infected with disruptive malware. But cycling the power on an infected router is only a temporary solution that would leave the core infection intact and listening for instructions. Cisco researchers say the good news is that the FBI has disrupted the command-and-control server that sends instructions to infected routers. The bad news is that another such server could be set up.\n___\nFed finds nationwide pickup in manufacturing activity\nWASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve's latest survey of business conditions found manufacturing activity accelerating in many parts of the country in late April and early May even as some businesses expressed concern about uncertainty caused by rising trade tensions. The survey described the economy as expanding at a moderate pace with more than half of the Fed's 12 regions reporting a pickup in industrial activity.\n___\nWeinstein won't testify before grand jury in rape case\nNEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein won't testify before the New York grand jury weighing whether to indict him on rape and other sex charges. A statement issued through a spokesman Wednesday says Weinstein's lawyers decided there wasn't enough time to prepare him to testify after his arrest Friday. The former movie mogul has consistently denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.\n___\nSurvey: US businesses add a solid 178,000 jobs in May\nWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses added 178,000 jobs in May, according to a survey, a solid total but below the average monthly gains accumulated over the winter. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that hiring was strong in construction, education and health care, and professional and business services, which includes accounting, engineering and legal services. Retailers cut jobs.\n___\nStock markets reverse course and surge as Italy fears fade\nNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks recover most of their sharp losses from a day earlier and bond yields turn higher as investors hope Italy might be able to avoid a new round of elections. Banks surge and energy companies rally as oil prices break out of a five-day slump. An index made up of small-company stocks, which tend to be more domestically focused, hit another record high as trade tensions with ramp up again with China and Europe.\n___\nThe S&P 500 index jumped 34.15 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,724.01. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 306.33 points, or 1.3 percent, to 24,667.78. The Nasdaq composite gained 65.86 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,462.45. The Russell 2000 index surged 24.34 points, or 1.5 percent, and closed at a record high of 1,647.99.\nU.S. crude oil climbed 2.2 percent to $68.21 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 2.8 percent to $77.50 a barrel in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 1.9 percent to $2.18 a gallon. Heating oil gained 2.1 percent to $2.23 a gallon. Natural gas slid 0.6 percent to $2.89 per 1,000 cubic feet." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on extending temporary special protections for 7,000 Syrians (all times local):\n8 p.m.\nThe Trump administration confirms it is extending protections for nearly 7,000 Syrian citizens living in the U.S. for another 18 months, saying the action is justified by civil war.\nFacing a Wednesday deadline, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says \"the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary conditions\" were reasons to let them remain until September 2019.\nSyrians were first granted Temporary Protected Status in 2012, a humanitarian program that can be extended for up to 18 months at a time.\nIt's a huge relief for Syrians, considering that the administration has ended protections for other groups. But applicants must have been in the U.S. since August 2016, disappointing newer arrivals.\n----\n2:15 p.m.\nThe Trump administration is expected to extend protections for nearly 7,000 Syrian citizens living in the U.S. for another 18 months. But it won't let more applicants from Syria enter the program.\nTwo U.S. officials familiar with the administration's plan say that \"Temporary Protected Status\" for Syrians will be renewed Wednesday. But they say the Homeland Security Department won't re-designate Syria as having conditions preventing citizens from returning safely.\nThat means Syrians already receiving the protections can stay, but more can't apply once the current program expires in March.\nThe officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the decision publicly.\nThe expected decision follows a contentious debate within the Trump administration about whether to cut off the program." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CANTON, Miss. (AP) — Nissan Motor Co. says it will increase van production at its Mississippi plant, adding a second shift in April.\nThe company made the announcement Monday as it marked the 4 millionth vehicle produced at the plant since it opened in 2003.\nSpokeswoman Lloryn Love-Carter says about 250 workers will be redeployed from other areas to staff the second shift assembling NV vans. The Canton plant is the only plant worldwide that makes the large vans for Nissan. The Japanese automaker sold about 18,000 NV vans in the United States last year, according to company figures.\nAbout 6,400 Nissan employees and contractors work at the Canton complex.\nThe plant is donating a NV van to a Canton soup kitchen, Our Daily Bread Ministries, to mark its 4 millionth vehicle." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PARIS (AP) — A French judicial official says a prominent Swiss Islamic scholar is in police custody over allegations of rape and sexual assault.\nThe Paris prosecutor's office is investigating the case against Tariq Ramadan, who has denied any wrongdoing so far.\nLe Monde and Le Parisien newspapers reported last year that two women recently filed complaints in France against Ramadan for an alleged rape in 2009 and an assault in 2012. The judicial official confirmed that two lawsuits have been filed against Ramadan.\nIn the wake of the investigation, Ramadan took a leave of absence from Oxford University, where his website says he is professor of contemporary Islamic studies.\nA leading authority on Islam, Ramadan has written numerous books on the faith and the integration of Muslims in Europe." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Police were checking surveillance tapes Wednesday for clues about who may have assassinated the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, a senior official said.\nAn autopsy will also be performed on the body of Kim Jong Nam, police said. Kim, 46, was targeted Monday in the shopping concourse at the airport and had not gone through immigration yet for his flight to Macau, said a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case involves sensitive diplomacy.\nHe was taken to the airport clinic and then died on the way to the hospital, the official said.\nKim, who died on the way to a hospital, told medical workers before he died that he had been attacked with a chemical spray, the official said.\nSelangor police chief Abdul Samah Mat said police were searching for clues in the CCTV footage. The airport is in Selangor near Kuala Lumpur.\nKim Jong Nam was estranged from his younger brother, the North Korean leader. Although he had been tipped by some outsiders as a possible successor to his dictator father, others thought that was unlikely because he lived outside the country, including recently in Macau, Singapore and Malaysia.\nHe reportedly fell further out of favor when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport in 2001, saying he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.\nMultiple South Korean media reports, citing unidentified sources, said Kim Jong Nam was killed at the airport by two women believed to be North Korean agents. They fled in a taxi and were being sought by Malaysian police, the reports said.\nA Malaysian police statement confirmed the death of a 46-year-old North Korean man whom it identified from his travel document as Kim Chol, born in Pyongyang on June 10, 1970. \"Investigation is in progress and a post mortem examination request has been made to ascertain the cause of death,\" the statement said.\nKen Gause, at the CNA think tank in Washington who has studied North Korea's leadership for 30 years, said Kim Chol was a name that Kim Jong Nam has traveled under. He is believed to have been born May 10, 1971, although birthdays are always unclear for senior North Koreans, Gause said.\nMark Tokola, vice president of the Korea Economic Institute in Washington and a former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, said it would be surprising if Kim Jong Nam was not killed on the orders of his brother, given that North Korean agents have reportedly tried to assassinate Kim Jong Nam in the past.\n\"It seems probable that the motivation for the murder was a continuing sense of paranoia on the part of Kim Jong Un,\" Tokola wrote in a commentary Tuesday. Although there was scant evidence that Kim Jong Nam was plotting against the North Korean leader, he provided an alternative for North Koreans who would want to depose his brother.\nThe reported killing came as North Korea celebrated its latest missile launch, which foreign experts were analyzing for evidence of advancement in the country's missile capabilities. For the next several days, North Korea will be marking the birthday of its late leader Kim Jong Il, the brothers' father, though they have different mothers. The major holiday this Thursday is called the \"Day of the Shining Star\" and will be feted with figure skating and synchronized swimming exhibitions, fireworks and mass rallies.\nSince taking power in late 2011, Kim Jong Un has executed or purged a slew of high-level government officials in what the South Korean government has described as a \"reign of terror.\" The most spectacular was the 2013 execution by anti-aircraft fire of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered the country's second-most-powerful man, for what the North alleged was treason.\nGause said Kim Jong Nam had been forthright that he did not have political ambitions, although he was publicly critical of the North Korean regime and his brother's legitimacy in the past.\nKim Jong Nam had been less outspoken since 2011, when North Korean assassins reportedly tried to shoot him in Macau, Gause said, though the details of the attempted killing are murky. South Korea also reportedly jailed a North Korean spy in 2012 who admitted to trying to organize a hit-and-run accident targeting Kim Jong Nam in China in 2010.\nDespite the attempts on his life, Kim Jong Nam had reportedly traveled to North Korea since then, so it was assumed he was no longer under threat. Kim Jong Nam may have become more vulnerable as his defender in the North Korean hierarchy, Kim Kyong Hui — Kim Jong Un's aunt and the husband of his executed uncle, Jang Song Thaek — appears to have fallen from favor or died. She has not been seen in public for more than three years, Gause said.\nKim Jong Il had at least three sons with two women, as well as a daughter by a third. Kim Jong Nam was the eldest, followed by Kim Jong Chul, who is a few years older than Kim Jong Un and is known as a playboy who reportedly attended Eric Clapton concerts in London in 2015. It's unclear what positon he has in the North Korean government. A younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was named a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee during a North Korean party congress last May. She has a position in a propaganda and agitation department and is known as Kim Jong Un's gatekeeper, Gause said.\nWhile the most likely explanation for the killing was that Kim Jong Un was removing a potential challenger to North Korean leadership within his own family, he could also be sending a warning to North Korean officials to demonstrate the reach of the regime. It follows the defection last year of a senior diplomat from the North Korean Embassy in London who has spoken of his despair at Kim's purges." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the accident involving a train carrying lawmakers to a policy retreat in West Virginia (all times local):\n1:55 p.m.\nThe organization that's hosting a retreat for congressional Republicans says the event will go on with an adjusted program in the wake of the train accident carrying participants to a West Virginia resort.\nThe Congressional Institute says the decision was made after consulting with Republican leaders.\nThe White House is confirming one fatality and one serious injury after the chartered train hit a garbage truck.\nWhite House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says there are no serious injuries among members of Congress or congressional staff.\n___\n1:15 p.m.\nA congressman on the train involved in an accident on its way to a GOP retreat in West Virginia says three lawmakers who are doctors tended to crash victims.\nRep. James Comer of Kentucky says the collision destroyed a garbage truck, leaving it \"just in pieces.\"\nComer says Reps. Larry Bucshon of Indiana, Roger Marshall of Kansas and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio came to the aid of crash victims before emergency personnel — including a transport helicopter — arrived.\nThe train was en route to a conference at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and hit the truck in Crozet, Virginia — which is near west of Charlottesville.\nComer says lawmakers, spouses, and aides had been on the train for about two hours when suddenly there was a crash. The impact made him jump out of his seat.\n___\n12:40 p.m.\nAn Amtrak spokeswoman says a train has come into contact with a vehicle on the tracks in central Virginia — the same area where members of Congress are reporting their train struck a truck.\nAmtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods says there are no reported injuries to passengers or crew members after the incident that happened around 11:20 a.m. in Crozet, Virginia. Crozet is about 15 miles west of Charlottesville.\nWoods says the train originated in Washington, but she couldn't confirm that members of Congress were aboard.\nShe says local law enforcement is investigating and crews are inspecting equipment for damage.\n___\n12:35 p.m.\nThe White House is confirming one fatality and one serious injury after a chartered train carrying Republican lawmakers to a retreat in West Virginia hit a garbage truck.\nWhite House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says there are no serious injuries among members of Congress or congressional staff.\nSanders says President Donald Trump has been fully briefed on the matter and is receiving regular updates.\nThe train carrying the lawmakers hit a garbage truck south of Charlottesville, Virginia.\nLawmakers are heading to their annual legislative retreat at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals had hoped to retain some of the core players that helped them to back-to-back American League pennants and a World Series title after hitting free agency this offseason.\nThey accomplished it with at least one of them.\nKansas City signed Alcides Escobar to a $2.5 million deal for the upcoming season Monday, keeping their longtime shortstop on the roster after he joined first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and pitcher Jason Vargas in hitting the open market.\nRoyals general manager Dayton Moore said last week, when the framework for a contract was in place, that he hoped Escobar could give the club more time for top prospect Raul Mondesi Jr. to mature.\n\"It's important to have a lot of depth up the middle, as you know, although we really appreciate and admire the talent of Raul,\" Moore said. \"We'll see how that unfolds.\"\nEscobar, who can earn up to $1.5 million in bonuses based on plate appearances, has spent the past seven seasons with Kansas City. He hit .250 with six homers, 54 RBIs and a career-high 102 strikeouts last season, though he seemed to ignite the Royals with a midseason hot streak.\n\"It's no joke when Esky got going last year the team started to get going a little bit. He can do a lot of things and his defense is second-to-none,\" said designated hitter Brandon Moss, who spent last season with the Royals and was part of a four-player trade to Oakland on Monday.\n\"He doesn't get a lot of talk on TV, but in the clubhouse he's respected.\"\nThe 31-year-old Escobar was hoping for a long-term contract in free agency, but the offers never materialized in what has been a sluggish market for all positions. He ultimately had to settle for a deal with the Royals, who are poised to rebuild after years of inflated payrolls.\nThose were some of the best years in franchise history, though.\nEscobar arrived with Cain in a 2011 trade with Milwaukee, and together with Hosmer and Moustakas, formed the basis of a franchise renaissance. He batted .285 during the 2014 season, when the Royals won their first American League pennant since 1985, and was voted an All-Star and won a Gold Glove the next season, when the Royals beat the New York Mets for their first championship in 30 years.\nHe would earn $75,000 apiece for 125 plate appearances and each additional 25 through 600.\nNow that Escobar is back, the Royals figure to take a close look at the rest of their free agents.\nCain has already finalized an $80 million, five-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Royals believe they have the outfield depth to replace him. They don't have the same kind of depth at first base, where they have professed their hope of keeping Hosmer with a long-term deal.\nThere have been rumors that Kansas City has offered Hosmer, a four-time Gold Glove winner, a $140 million, seven-year contract, while the San Diego Padres are among other clubs linked to him.\nThe Royals have not been mentioned in discussions for Moustakas and Vargas.\n\"All of them could end up back here,\" Royals pitcher Jason Hammel said. \"Here's hoping.\"\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has struck a stridently nationalistic tone in his closing address to the annual session of the ceremonial parliament at which term limits on his rule were abolished.\nXi told the nearly 3,000 delegates to the National People's Congress on Tuesday that \"not one inch\" of Chinese territory would ever be separated from the nation.\nHe declared that any attempt to separate Taiwan from the Chinese nation was \"doomed to failure,\" despite the self-governing island democracy's de-facto independent status.\nHe said Chinese are \"closer now than at any time in history to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people.\"\nThe congress' most significant achievement was the passage of a constitutional amendment ending term limits on the president and vice president, allowing Xi to rule indefinitely." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state TV says police have arrested a man who was hoarding two tons of gold coins in order to manipulate the market.\nThe Wednesday report quotes Tehran police chief Gen. Hossein Rahimi as saying the 58-year-old suspect had accomplices who helped him collect the coins over the past 10 months. He did not identify the suspect, who state media referred to as the \"Sultan of Coins.\"\nTwo tons would be the equivalent of around 250,000 coins.\nIranians have stocked up on gold coins and other safe haven investments as the local currency has plummeted in recent months. The Iranian rial has plunged to 90,000 to the dollar — double the government rate of 42,000." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "KAZAN, Russia (AP) — To get past Belgium in the quarterfinals at the World Cup, Brazil has to do something it has not been able to do since it last won the tournament in 2002: overcome European opposition in the knockout stages.\nSince beating Germany 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup final, the five-time winner has been eliminated by European sides in the three subsequent competitions. Brazil lost to France and the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and was humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals four years ago at home.\nFortunately for the Selecao, Belgium has a poor record against South American sides at the World Cup. Not only has Belgium not won any of its games against South American teams in the knockout stages, it hasn't even managed to score a goal. Most recently, Belgium lost 1-0 to Argentina in the 2014 quarterfinals.\nThe core of that side remains in place in Russia, where Belgium has won all four of its matches, including coming back from 2-0 down to beat Japan in the round of 16 with a thrilling counterattack in the final seconds of injury time.\nEveryone knew about the array of talent running through the Belgium side, from Thibaut Courtois in goal to Kevin De Bruyne in midfield and Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku up front. The main questions following disappointing defeats in the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship centered on the team's character.\nThat 3-2 victory over Japan was the first time a team has overcome a two-goal deficit to win outright since West Germany beat England in 1970, and the first to do it in regulation since Portugal came from three down to beat North Korea in 1966. It has fueled confidence inside the Belgium camp that it can deal with adversity and make the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1986.\n\"Maybe it's this sort of match that we needed for the future,\" said Hazard, the captain.\nCoach Roberto Martinez won praise for his substitutions, with both Marouane Fellaini and Nacer Chadli scoring, the latter with practically the last kick of the match.\n\"You have to find solutions, you have to find reaction but what you have to find more than anything is the desire and togetherness of a group of players, that they are desperate to perform,\" Martinez said.\nUnlike the game against Japan, Martinez said, Belgium will be the underdog in the quarterfinal against Brazil and as such should play with a certain amount of freedom.\n\"I think it's a game that when you are a little boy, you dream of being involved in a World Cup, facing Brazil in a quarterfinal,\" he said, \"so from our point of view we can enjoy from the first second.\"\nBrazil coach Tite dismissed talk that his team is the favorite to win the match against Belgium, let alone the World Cup.\n\"Everything is open, up for grabs,\" he said.\nThe winner will play France or Uruguay in the semifinals in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.\nWHAT WILL GIVE?\nBelgium is the competition's top scorer with 12 in its four games, with the goals spread around the team. Lukaku has four but seven of his teammates have scored, too.\nThough Brazil has yet to hit the heights on the attacking front, it and Uruguay have been the meanest defenses in the competition, conceding just one goal apiece in four matches.\nThere is a worry for Brazil heading into the Belgium match: The team will be without midfielder Casemiro, who is suspended after picking up a second yellow card in the 2-0 win over Mexico in the round of 16. Casemiro has provided a strong shield in front of the Brazilian defense. One option could see Fernandinho come into the side for a role he is accustomed to playing at Manchester City.\nWALKING A TIGHTROPE\nAs has been the case throughout this World Cup, Brazilian forward Neymar will likely garner much of the attention during the match, both for his skills and speed as well as his on-field theatrics. Neymar will have to be careful not to pick up another booking as he would miss a semifinal should Brazil prevail. Others walking a tightrope are midfielder Philippe Coutinho and defender Filipe Luis.\nFor Belgium, defender Jan Vertonghen and De Bruyne are carrying yellow cards as well.\n___\nSamuel Petrequin in Kazan, Russia, contributed to this report.\n___\nMore AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/WorldCup" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Rick Snyder and legislative leaders on Wednesday committed up to $50 million to upgrade the Soo Locks, a bid to persuade the federal government to fund the long-sought $1 billion proposal to build a second large lock that allows commercial ships to traverse the Great Lakes.\nThe money is part of an additional $400 million for infrastructure from a surplus that was included in a state budget deal last week. The Republican governor said he would ask other Great Lakes states to also contribute funds because if the U.S. government ultimately helps pay for the project, the Trump administration has indicated it wants 20 percent to come from non-federal sources and that large-scale projects with such funding would be moved to the top of the priority list.\n\"Michigan is stepping up now to say, 'We're going to put our money where our mouth is,'\" Snyder said at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. \"It's not time to talk about a lock. It's not time to authorize a lock. It's time to build a lock.\"\nHe renewed warnings that a prolonged shutdown of an existing lock, which helps moves iron ore mined in Michigan and Minnesota, would cripple the U.S. economy — especially North American production of automobiles, office furniture, paints, bottles, cans and other goods.\nIn 1986, Congress authorized construction of a new lock on the site of two smaller locks. But funding, which could total $900 million to $1 billion, has never come through.\nIn a visit to Michigan in April, President Donald Trump mentioned wanting to \"fix\" the Soo Locks, which has buoyed those advocating for the project. He said they are \"going to hell,\" and he vowed to call the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers — which operates the locks — though U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan said Wednesday that call has not yet been made. The Army Corps is conducting a new cost-benefit study, which is due to be released by the end of June, after members of the state's congressional delegation faulted a past one for erroneously assuming that iron ore could be transported instead by rail in the event of a lock shutdown.\n\"I am hopeful that the fact that the president said that ... means they'll be supportive of moving this along as much as we can,\" Stabenow said.\nIn advocating for other states to also commit funding, Snyder pointed to an interstate partnership that was announced earlier this year to help cover the costs of operating a system proposed for a Chicago-area waterway that would help keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and the Canadian province of Ontario joined the partnership.\nLt. Gov. Brian Calley, the state's point person on the locks, said the state funding is a \"big, game-changing difference.\" GOP legislative leaders said they had also agreed with Snyder to commit funding toward Asian carp prevention and to protect twin oil pipelines in a sensitive Great Lakes waterway. Details were unavailable.\n___\nFollow David Eggert on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DavidEggert00 . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/David%20Eggert" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Blockchain technology can make transactions safe and secure, but crypto-currency exchanges trading bitcoins and other virtual currencies that are based on this technology have been hacked because they are not working on secure networks, experts say. Late last week, the Tokyo-based Coincheck exchange reported a 58 billion yen ($530 million) loss of crypto currency due to hacking. The Coincheck exchange has halted trading of the stolen currency, NEM and restricted dealings in most other crypto currencies. It was the second major hacking assault on a Japanese crypto exchange after the Mt. Gox debacle in 2014. Here's a look at the security concerns surrounding crypto currencies.\n___\nWHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?\nAs its name implies, blockchain is a chain of digital \"blocks\" that contain records of transactions, says Curtis Miles at IBM Blockchain. Each such block is connected to those before and behind it, making tampering difficult because a hacker would need to change the block containing that record and all those linked to it to avoid detection. The records on a blockchain are secured through cryptography and network participants have private keys assigned to their transactions that act as personal digital signatures. Any alteration will make those signatures invalid and alert others in the network to the changes. Blockchains are kept in so-called \"peer-to-peer\" networks that are continually updated and synchronized. Huge amounts of computing power would be required to access every instance of a certain blockchain and alter all its blocks simultaneously.\n___\nPOOR SECURITY\nWhile a blockchain can be secure, the exchanges that are crucial in increasing the amount of crypto trading, enabling bitcoin and other such currencies go mainstream, do not use the same technology, says Simon Choi, a director at anti-virus software company Hauri Inc. South Korean exchanges reportedly get poor reviews for cyber security, and officials have said those that fail to beef up such precautions will face fines. \"If security on the exchanges' is not secure, their currencies can be stolen,\" Choi said. \"If the exchanges are to play their intermediary role, they should be as safe as banks and strengthen their security.\"\n___\nRISING HACKS\nAccording to crypto currency research firm Chainalysis, losses of bitcoin, including stealing individuals' holdings through scams, malicious computer software known as ransom ware and hacks, increased at least 30 times to $95 million in 2016 from at least $3 million in 2013.\nThe attack on Coincheck, which did not affect its holdings of bitcoin, was the second major hacking assault on a Japanese crypto exchange after Mt. Gox, the world's largest bitcoin trading exchange before its collapse, lost hundreds of thousands of bitcoins likely stolen through hacking.\nCoincheck has apologized and promised to reimburse customers for their NEM losses. It has pledged to comply with a Financial Services Agency's order to determine why the losses happened, and improve its security to prevent a recurrence.\nDetails of how the losses happened or who might be behind them are still unclear.\nThe Mt. Gox case put many Japanese investors off bitcoin, at least for a time, and prompted authorities to impose more regulations. Chainalysis estimates that the bitcoins lost at Mt. Gox were worth $7.5 million at the time the coins were stolen but now worth nearly $10 billion as of January.\n___\nIDENTIFYING HACKERS\nIt's possible to trace blockchain transactions but not to identify the owners of the \"wallets\" where the crypto currencies are kept, says Choi.\n\"It's the biggest weakness,\" said Choi. \"You can track the blocks based on the records in the blocks but you cannot tell whose wallet it is. They went to hackers' wallet but if we don't know who the hackers are we cannot catch them.\"\nThe rising hacks have prompted the crypto community to seek ways to halt the bad guys.\nSouth Korea's government is trying to make crypto transactions traceable by implementing a system that links crypto accounts to existing bank accounts that have been vetted by financial institutions. Such efforts however will not help identify hackers if they send crypto currencies to exchanges outside Korea that do not identify their users.\n___\nAP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HAVANA (AP) — Two years after taking office, President Raul Castro widened the niche for private enterprise in Cuba's state-dominated economy. Capitalism came pouring in.\nSlowly at first, then gaining speed, spare rooms for rent became rental homes, which became boutique hotels. Backyard cafes became elegant restaurants and bustling nightclubs, backed with millions in capital from the prosperous Cuban diaspora in Miami, Latin America and Spain. English tutors started citywide private after-school programs. And the booming private economy reached into the Communist-led bureaucracy — paying off inspectors, buying stolen state goods and recruiting talented employees with salaries dwarfing those in the public sector.\nEight years later, on the verge of leaving office, Castro has thrown the brakes on private enterprise in Cuba again, warning of the rapid pace of change and criminal activity. The decision has raised fundamental questions about the nation's economic path.\nThe Cuban government proclaimed in August that it was putting a temporary halt on new licenses for bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants and other businesses until it could issue new regulations to control illegality. Entrepreneurs whispered about new regulations coming in a month, maybe two. But summer stretched into fall, fall into the new year, and six months later, Cuba's private economy remains frozen.\nThe state-run economy responsible for 70 percent to 80 percent of GDP is stagnant. A once-promising worker-owned cooperative sector has shown little recent growth. Cubans are increasingly wondering when the private economy will be allowed to grow again, and, more broadly, how their government intends to deliver on promises of a sustainable, prosperous socialist system.\n\"We've already been this way several times before,\" economist and Communist Party member Esteban Morales wrote on his blog last week. \"Many of us think that these measures aren't just to organize private enterprise better, as they've said, but to restrict it. Self-employment generates jobs that the state can't. That's something that hasn't been taken advantage of before, and would be very smart to do.\"\nThe freeze has led to a slowdown in private investment in Cuba at a time of economic fragility and uncertainty. The flow of subsidized oil from Venezuela is dropping as its economy collapses. In 2016 Cuba had its first recession in 20 years and growth last year was 1.6 percent, meaning the economy has remained essentially flat for two years. U.S. tourism, a bright spot, is dropping in the wake of new U.S. restrictions.\nThe number of self-employed Cubans has grown from 157,000 in 2010, the year of Castro's reforms, to 567,000 at the start of last year, roughly 12 percent of the workforce.\n\"Self-employed workers aren't asking for neoliberalism or political change, just that they let us work,\" said Camilo Condis, a 32-year-old industrial engineer who rents out an apartment and has a license to work in a restaurant.\nEntrepreneurs interviewed by The Associated Press said they and relatives who backed them from overseas were canceling plans to invest in new or expanded businesses.\nIn 2010, the Cuban government began allowing 201 types of self-employment, from child's party clown to real-estate agent. It started issuing licenses for other categories — like restaurant and bed-and-breakfast — that were approved by Castro's predecessor and brother Fidel during Cuba's post-Soviet crisis in the 1990s, then frozen again for years.\nSome categories of self-employment became vehicles for small businesses with dozens of employees. Their owners' conspicuous consumption became a source of social tension in a country where the average salary still hovers around $25 a month.\nA first sign of trouble came in July, when Castro told the National Assembly that \"crimes have been committed.\"\n\"There's information on cases where the same person has two, three, four, even five restaurants. And not in one province, but in several. Someone who's traveled more than 30 times to different countries,\" Castro said. \"Where did he get the money? How did he make it?\"\nCastro told assembly members that self-employment would remain part of the economic picture, but \"there's been a heavy dose of superficiality and an excess of enthusiasm and desire to advance faster than we're really capable of.\"\nA month later, licenses were frozen. Over the fall, about six successful private restaurants were closed after police raids. No information has been released about the seizures but such operations typically occur in cases where officials suspect serious crimes like drug use, money laundering and large-scale buying of stolen goods. The government has also gone on the offensive against pervasive tax evasion, pressuring foreign-owned employers to report their Cuban employees' incomes, and conducting government assessments of taxes on property sales instead of depending on buyers and sellers to report prices, a notorious source of tax evasion.\nVice President Marino Murillo, the man who oversees Cuba's economic reforms, told the assembly in December that Cubans would no longer be able to hold more than one self-employment license, meaning Condis, for example, could no longer rent out an apartment and work in a restaurant.\n\"There's great uncertainly,\" economist Omar Everleny Perez said. \"They announced that there'd be a new law, but it hasn't come out and no one dares to start a new enterprise without knowing what it will say.\"\n___\nAndrea Rodriguez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARodriguezAP" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 49 34 12 3 71 175 125 Boston 48 29 11 8 66 157 119 Washington 49 29 15 5 63 150 138 Toronto 51 28 18 5 61 162 146 Pittsburgh 52 28 21 3 59 156 155 New Jersey 49 25 16 8 58 147 147 Columbus 49 27 19 3 57 131 137 Philadelphia 49 24 17 8 56 141 141 N.Y. Rangers 50 25 20 5 55 153 151 N.Y. Islanders 51 25 21 5 55 173 184 Carolina 50 23 19 8 54 139 155 Florida 48 20 22 6 46 136 159 Detroit 48 19 21 8 46 126 146 Montreal 49 20 23 6 46 129 156 Ottawa 48 15 24 9 39 125 168 Buffalo 50 14 27 9 37 115 166 WESTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 48 32 12 4 68 164 128 Winnipeg 50 29 13 8 66 164 136 Nashville 47 29 11 7 65 145 123 St. Louis 51 30 18 3 63 148 130 Dallas 50 28 18 4 60 155 134 San Jose 49 26 16 7 59 145 138 Anaheim 51 25 17 9 59 144 142 Calgary 49 25 16 8 58 137 135 Colorado 48 27 18 3 57 157 139 Minnesota 49 26 18 5 57 144 140 Los Angeles 49 26 18 5 57 139 121 Chicago 49 23 19 7 53 146 136 Edmonton 49 22 24 3 47 135 157 Vancouver 49 19 24 6 44 127 159 Arizona 50 12 29 9 33 118 172\nNOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.\nMonday's Games No games scheduled\nTuesday's Games\nPittsburgh 5, San Jose 2\nFlorida 4, N.Y. Islanders 1\nAnaheim 3, Boston 1\nCarolina 2, Ottawa 1\nNew Jersey 3, Buffalo 1\nMinnesota at Columbus, 7 p.m.\nTampa Bay at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.\nMontreal at St. Louis, 8 p.m.\nChicago at Nashville, 8 p.m.\nLos Angeles at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.\nVegas at Calgary, 9 p.m.\nColorado at Vancouver, 10 p.m.\nWednesday's Games\nN.Y. Islanders at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.\nSan Jose at Detroit, 8 p.m.\nPhiladelphia at Washington, 8 p.m.\nThursday's Games\nToronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.\nMontreal at Carolina, 7 p.m.\nSt. Louis at Boston, 7 p.m.\nFlorida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.\nAnaheim at Ottawa, 7 p.m.\nPhiladelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m.\nVegas at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.\nLos Angeles at Nashville, 8:30 p.m.\nTampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m.\nDallas at Arizona, 9 p.m.\nColorado at Edmonton, 9 p.m.\nChicago at Vancouver, 10 p.m.\nFriday's Games\nWashington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.\nDetroit at Carolina, 7 p.m.\nSan Jose at Columbus, 7 p.m.\nVegas at Minnesota, 8 p.m." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--In celebration of National Superhero Day (April 28, 2018), Love Your Melon will spend this week spreading their impact wider than ever before by connecting with children battling cancer across the world and launching its new Beanie Giving Machine Initiative.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005394/en/\nLove Your Melon Celebrates Superhero Day with Worldwide Impact and New Beanie Giving Machines (Photo: Love Your Melon)\nThe brand new Beanie Giving Machines are Love Your Melon’s innovative way to provide an immediate impact for children battling cancer when they need it most. The giving machines feature an interactive screen that will allow children to choose their beanie and read Love Your Melon’s recently published children’s book, Adventures of the SuperCrew.\nIn honor of National Superhero Day, the first giving machines will be unveiled on April 26, 2018, in some of the largest children’s hospitals across the United States, including Advocate Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Florida Children’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital and the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital, with more launching in the next month. Love Your Melon’s goal is to put a Beanie Giving Machine in every children’s hospital. To request a machine in a children’s hospital near you, email info@loveyourmelon.com.\nIn addition to the launch of the Beanie Giving Machines, Love Your Melon will celebrate National Superhero Day by hosting over 200 events in six different countries across the world. They will be visiting children’s hospitals, hosting Superhero Adventures, teaming up with nonprofit partners such as Make-A-Wish and overall giving more than 10,000 beanies to children battling cancer.\n“Superhero Day is about helping as many children as possible,” said Love Your Melon President, Zachary Quinn. “We believe in making children feel like the superheroes they are during the difficult process of cancer treatment. We look forward to sharing more beanies with children across the world using our new Beanie Giving Machines and continuing to fight cancer through research and family support.”\nLove Your Melon Superhero Day is taking place at hospitals across the United States as well as in Ireland, England, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. See attached list for all locations ( Superhero Day Hospitals ).\nTo learn more about Love Your Melon, visit loveyourmelon.com.\nABOUT LOVE YOUR MELON Love Your Melon is an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America as well as supporting nonprofit organizations who lead the fight against pediatric cancer. Zachary Quinn and Brian Keller founded the company in 2012 while the two were sophomores in college. To date, the brand has given more than 135,000 beanies to children battling cancer and more than $4.5 million to fund cancer research initiatives. Fifty percent (50%) of profit from the sale of all Love Your Melon products is given to Love Your Melon’s nonprofit partners in the fight against pediatric cancer. More information on Love Your Melon can be found at loveyourmelon.com. Follow Love Your Melon on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005394/en/\nCONTACT: Love Your Melon\nKatie Spiegle, 612-801-7444\nmedia@loveyourmelon.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA MINNESOTA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH HOSPITALS ONCOLOGY PHILANTHROPY CHILDREN TEENS RETAIL FASHION OTHER PHILANTHROPY SPECIALTY CONSUMER FAMILY GENERAL HEALTH MANAGED CARE\nSOURCE: Love Your Melon\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 08:00 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 08:01 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005394/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is taking a second emergency move to keep the government from going above the debt limit that is now back in effect.\nIn a letter to congressional leaders, Mnuchin says he will not be able to fully invest in a large civil service retirement and disability fund. He says skipped investments will be restored once the debt limit has been raised.\nIn September, Congress agreed to suspend the debt limit, allowing the government to borrow as much as it needed. But that suspension ended Friday.\nThe government says the debt subject to limit stood at $20.46 trillion on Friday. Mnuchin has said he will employ various \"extraordinary measures\" to buy time until Congress raises the limit." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's state TV is reporting that the country's security forces have killed two militants and arrested five others in southeastern Iran.\nThe TV report Wednesday says Iran's intelligence forces killed two alleged \"terrorists\" in a shootout around the city of Chabahar in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baliouchestan. It did not elaborate on which militant groups the men allegedly belong to.\nAccording to the report, one intelligence officer was killed and one was injured during the shootout.\nIranian forces on Monday killed four gunmen allegedly linked to the Islamic State group in southern Hormozgan province.\nFive IS-linked attackers stormed Iran's parliament and a shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini last Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 50." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah won the toss and opted to bat first in the first of the two-test series against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.\nLeft arm spinner Sunzamul Islam will make his debut for the hosts to form a three-pronged spin attack with off-spinner Mehidy Hasan and left arm spinner Taijul Islam.\nMustafizur Rahman is the only pacer in the side.\nWith Angelo Mathews ruled out from the first test, Kusal Mendis is back to the Sri Lankan side after missing the last series against India.\nSri Lanka also went with three spinners with Rangana Herath returning.\nBangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hassan, Sunzamul Islam.\nSri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Roshen Silva, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan, Lahiru Kumara.\nUmpires: Rod Tucker, Australia, and, Marais Erasmus, South Africa.\nTV Umpire: Joel Wilson, West Indies. Match Referee: David Boon, Australia." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — At least 15 Mississippi companies are heading to the Middle East next month in the hopes of establishing new partnerships.\nThe Clarion-Ledger (http://on.thec-l.com/2lPofQX ) reports that the businesses will be visiting Dubai and Jordan in late March as part of a Mississippi Development Authority trade mission.\nCiting Dubai's expansive and continual growth, MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough Jr. said the region was ripe with opportunity for partnerships with Mississippi companies.\nCompanies that will be going on the trip include Belmont-based air compressor manufacturer Wood Industries, as well as Hattiesburg-based Bio Soil Enhancers, a company that manufactures microbial products to improve crop production without fertilizers.\nMore than 100 Mississippi companies, large and small, went on MDA-hosted trade missions last year. The group has 10 international trade missions planned for 2017.\n___\nInformation from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month, slowing down from a solid 1 percent gain in December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.\nOverall sales likely pulled back from a December bump in holiday shopping online and at auto dealers, while Americans spent more than normally expected last month at clothiers, department stores, electronics outlets and sporting goods retailers.\nHigher gas prices drove a 2.3 percent sales increase at service stations last month. Gasoline prices climbed 7.8 percent between January and December, according to a separate Labor Department report released Wednesday. The retail sales report does not adjust its figures for prices.\nPurchases at restaurants and bars climbed 1.4 percent. Building materials stores saw a slight 0.3 percent gain.\nBut sales at auto dealers slipped 1.2 percent, a sharp pull back after jumping 2.9 percent in December.\nSales at non-store retailers such as internet outlets were flat in January, although they have climbed 12 percent over the past year as more Americans prefer to shop via their computers and phones.\nOver the past 12 months, total retail sales have risen a solid 5.6 percent. The greater spending likely reflects the improving job market. Employers added 227,000 workers in January, while the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.8 percent because more people started looking for jobs and were counted as unemployed." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Recording Academy President Neil Portnow says his comments following the 60th annual Grammy Awards were taken out of context after he was criticized for saying women in the music industry need to \"step up.\"\nIn a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Portnow says he regrettably used the words \"step up\" and that the words were taken out of context and neither convey his beliefs nor the point he was trying to make. The show ended Sunday with only two female winners onstage. Lorde, the only woman nominated for album of the year, didn't perform.\nHe says the music industry must recognize that female musicians \"face barriers that men have never faced.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PUERTO CABELLO, Venezuela (AP) — The cab of Carlos Del Pino's big rig gave him a nerve-rattling front-row seat to a surge in mob attacks on Venezuela's neighborhood markets, cattle ranches and food delivery trucks like his.\nShortly after pulling away from the docks at Puerto Cabello, the country's biggest port, he witnessed 20 people swarm a truck ahead of him and in a frenzy fill up their sacks with the corn it was carrying to a food-processing plant. The driver was held at gunpoint.\n\"It fills you with terror,\" Del Pino said.\nHe has hauled cargo for 14 years, and on a good month earns the equivalent of about $100, enough to support his wife and two daughters. Yet, despite his fears, he sympathizes with his impoverished countrymen, who are becoming desperate amid Venezuela's widespread food shortages and sky-high inflation.\n\"They have to loot to eat,\" he said.\nSporadic looting, food riots and protests driven by the hungry poor have surged in Venezuela, a country that's no stranger to unrest. But the uprisings playing out recently have a different face than the mostly middle-class protesters who took to the streets for months last year in political demonstrations trying to oust President Nicolas Maduro.\n\"These protests are coming from people of the lower classes who simply cannot get enough to eat,\" said David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America, who has spent decades researching Venezuela. \"They want relief, not necessarily to force Maduro from power.\"\nVenezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves and was once among Latin America's wealthiest nations. But after nearly two decades of socialist rule and mismanagement of the state-run oil company, it is being battered by the worst economic crisis in its history.\nThe surge in violent food protests began in poor neighborhoods across the country around Christmas, when Maduro had promised that holiday hams were coming in government food baskets distributed to his supporters.\nBut many didn't arrive, sparking protests with small groups burning garbage in the street and looting. Opposition pundits called it the \"pork revolution.\" Trying to bring calm, Maduro ordered hundreds of supermarkets to slash prices to the previous month's level — a tall order in a country where prices have been doubling every few weeks.\nRepeating a common refrain, the government blamed the absence of hams on sabotage by its foreign critics, in this case Portugal, which it said was taking orders from the U.S.\n\"Why didn't the ham arrive? Because of the blockade against us,\" socialist party leader Diosdado Cabello said on state TV, blaming the \"gringos\" but providing no evidence.\nThe unrest has cooled some, but many Venezuelans fear it will be a temporary lull as the economy spins further out of control. The International Monetary Fund estimates inflation will reach five digits this year, while the economy, in its fifth straight year of recession, will shrink 15 percent.\nBarely solvent businesses say they are reluctant to import more goods, fearing another government-ordered fire sale. As the currency crashes on the flourishing black market, the monthly minimum wage is now worth the equivalent of just $3.\nFinancial sanctions imposed in August by the Trump administration are only adding to Venezuelans' misery, choking off the country's access to credit and scaring away oil companies.\nMeanwhile, hunger is widespread.\nRecently a dozen men stormed a street-side deli in the western city of Barquisimeto. Surveillance cameras captured them leaping over the glass counter as customers and employees scrambled out of the way. They wiped the store clean in minutes.\nCattle ranchers say at least two farms have been raided by people who slaughtered cows. A video on Twitter shows a dozen men in the state of Merida killing a cow with rocks and a machete, one shouting: \"We are hungry.\"\nIn the first half of January, there were at least 110 incidents of looting, more than five times than in the same period a year earlier, says the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, a non-governmental group that tracks unrest.\nFood and the cash to pay for it are more difficult to find, especially outside the capital of Caracas. And even when people have money, prices are often beyond their reach, with the inflation rate soaring above 2,600 percent in 2017, the opposition- controlled National Assembly says.\nLooting is part of a wider trend in hunger-related crimes, said Roberto Briceno Leon, director of the Caracas-based Venezuelan Observatory for Violence.\nStreet gangs are luring poor children as young as age 9 with food, he said. Standing in as a lookout during a burglary used to earn a recruit Nike shoes or Wrangler jeans. Now, they get a McDonald's hamburger, he said.\nBriceno Leon adds that some hungry people unable to buy groceries steal food by eating it inside stores. Men riding motorbikes increasingly yank bags of food away from customers who have stood in line for hours, spending what little money they had.\n\"It's not just that you do not have money,\" he said. \"There's little money to shop with and few products.\"\nTruckers hauling food — from rice to live chickens — have become targets while stopped in traffic or making a pit stop.\nWhen the mob recently waylaid the truck in front of him, Del Pino rolled up his cab windows and locked the doors in fear the hungry mob would turn on him next.\nHe pulled his semi out of the line, dodging an attack.\n\"Here the problem is just that — hunger. Hunger is killing people,\" Del Pino said.\n___\nAssociated Press writer Scott Smith reported this story in Puerto Cabello and AP writer Fabiola Sanchez reported in Villa de Cura, Venezuela.\n___\nScott Smith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ScottSmithAP .\nFabiola Sanchez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fisanchezn ." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — A former New Jersey police officer convicted of causing a wrong-way crash that killed a fellow officer and another friend has been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison.\nWABC-TV (http://7ny.tv/2rs3kur ) reports that a judge on Staten Island gave Pedro Abad the maximum sentence on Wednesday — 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison. Abad had sought the minimum sentence of one year behind bars.\nProsecutors say the former Linden police officer was drunk when he crashed into a tractor-trailer after a night at a strip club with friends in 2015.\nOfficer Frank Viggiano and friend Joseph Rodriguez died in the crash. A third Linden officer was critically injured.\nAbad's attorney argued that Abad's blood sample wasn't obtained properly and disputed that the accident was caused by intoxication.\n___\nInformation from: WABC-TV, http://www.7online.com" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Catalan chamber postpones investiture of new regional chief until Spain allows re-election of fugitive ex-president." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's ruling military junta has filed charges against seven democracy activists for calling for elections and an end to military rule.\nPolice Lt. Col. Samak Panyawong said Tuesday that a junta representative had filed charges of sedition and violating a ban on political gatherings against the activists, who demonstrated on Saturday.\nThailand has been under military rule since a 2014 coup ousted an elected government. One of many oppressive laws the junta has imposed is a ban on political gatherings of over five people. Sedition, or illicit efforts to bring about change in the country's laws, is punishable by up to seven years in prison.\nThe junta has pushed back several promised election deadlines, and recently indicated that polls intended for 2018 may be delayed." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NYON, Switzerland (AP) — AC Milan's hunt for the only European title it lacks will continue against Ludogorets Razgrad in the last 32 of the Europa League.\nWith Milan currently seventh in Serie A, the Champions League place awarded to the Europa League winner could be the best chance for the seven-time European champion to return to the elite competition.\nAtletico Madrid, the 2010 and 2012 Europa League winner, was drawn to face Copenhagen after placing third in its Champions League group. Napoli will play Leipzig in a pairing of two more teams which dropped down from the Champions League.\nAlso, it was: Celtic vs. Zenit St. Petersburg; Ostersund vs. Arsenal; and Astana vs. Sporting Lisbon.\nThe first legs will be played on Feb. 15, with the return games on Feb. 22." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — At least one Prince superfan hopes the late superstar's Paisley Park jacked up the price to rent out his former home and studio outside Minneapolis for a Justin Timberlake party ahead of the Super Bowl.\n\"That's probably what Prince would have done with Justin being there,\" laughed Jeremiah Freed, known as Dr. Funkenberry in the Prince fandom.\nThe idea of Timberlake being allowed at the Chanhassen mecca has upset fans some still mourning the Purple One, as has the idea of Prince's 65,000-square-foot spread being granted a temporary liquor license for the duration of Super Bowl mania.\nBut Freed, who hosts a Prince podcast out of Los Angeles, isn't terribly bothered. Paisley was turned into a museum after Prince died of an accidental drug overdose in April 2016 and his urn is displayed in the front room atrium, far from the Timberlake listening session's presumed location.\n\"I think the fans are just worried that they're going to be walking around Paisley and they're going to get wine on the carpet or wine on one of the displays. I imagine it would be just how it was in the past, in the soundstage area only for drinks,\" Freed told The Associated Press in a recent interview.\nDespite Prince's no-alcohol reputation, there have been liquor licenses issued for Paisley in the past, including one for an event planned by Prince himself for the month after he died, Freed said.\nDennis Roszkowski, at 61 a top Prince memorabilia collector outside Detroit and a former correspondent for a British-based fan magazine called \"Controversy,\" said that among some fans, \"emotions are still playing out.\"\n\"It's like our home. We don't want anything to happen to it,\" he said of the unease over the Super Bowl event.\nSherry Stacy, 47, grew up in Detroit and has loved Prince since she was 8.\n\"I think it's very rude (to allow alcohol) and it goes against everything Prince was about,\" Stacy said. \"Prince did his thing without drinking and people had fun without it when he would play there. It seems like it's all for the wrong reasons, not to honor the man.\"\nAmerican Express, sponsors of Timberlake's listening tour, Paisley overseers and a Timberlake representative did not respond to requests for comment, but Freed figures the party for AmEx cardholders in celebration of Timberlake's \"Man of the Woods\" album will not include a free run of the place.\nThe Paisley soundstage holds about 1,800. American Express informed ticket buyers all ticket sales from Timberlake's event will be donated to the National Park Foundation, the charitable arm of the U.S. National Park Service. He had no idea what American Express was charged to use Paisley. Timberlake will be in town to perform at halftime during the game.\n\"They're probably making a lot of money off of this and it helps keep Paisley Park alive,\" Freed said by telephone.\nThe sold-out Feb. 1 Timberlake party comes with a diss history between the two, initiated by Prince back in 2006 when he said of the \"Sexyback\" singer: \"Sexy never left.\" Timberlake, responded, in part by making fun of Prince's short stature at an awards show but has declared himself a fan. He posted a moving Instagram tribute soon after Prince's death and attended his Hollywood parties. The two never performed or recorded together.\n\"This whole JT thing, it's a very sad situation to me. Justin was kind of snide about the whole thing with Prince,\" Stacy said. \"I think this is just a money grab. True Prince fams (what he called his fans) are all about real music played by real musicians, not a JT. I would rather see local musicians from the area. They would sell out, too.\"\nBut Freed says he thinks it was just a friendly rivalry.\n\"With someone like Prince, he felt like there was no competition so he would make up competition in his head. He would constantly, with artists that were relevant, try to make little rivalries because it motivated him. You know, I'm better than Justin. The only competition was him and the past.\"\nRamon Muntjewerff, 49, is a Dutchman living in Dungarvan, on the south coast of Ireland. Muntjewerff, too, was a correspondent for \"Controversy,\" which was also a fan club. Both shut down around 1993 after the fan-founder had a falling out with Prince.\n\"I don't think Prince would be too happy about all of this,\" Muntjewerff said of the Timberlake party. \"If it's just a money grabbing thing, to get more money when they don't need it, it's the wrong way. But then again Prince was into finding all sorts of new ways to make money and he didn't make some people happy about that, either.\"\nFreed's final word on how Prince would feel?\n\"Only Prince knows,\" he concluded." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after President Donald Trump deemed Jeff Sessions \"beleaguered\" and threatened to fire him last July, members of the president's inner circle made a desperate case to save the attorney general's job.\nThe White House chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and the president's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, pleaded with Trump during a heated Oval Office meeting to keep Sessions, warning that his dismissal would only pour gasoline on the Russia investigation. And, they said, it could alienate those in Trump's conservative base, supporters enamored with the attorney general's tough stances on law enforcement and immigration.\nPriebus and Bannon both lost their jobs within the month. But Sessions survived, his reprieve delivered by John Kelly as one of his first acts as chief of staff.\nTen months later, the Republican campaign to save Sessions has continued and — at least for now — succeeded. In private meetings, public appearances on television and late-night phone calls, Trump's advisers and allies have done all they can to persuade the president not to fire a Cabinet official he dismisses as disloyal. The effort is one of the few effective Republican attempts to install guardrails around a president who delights in defying advice and breaking the rules.\nIt's an ongoing effort, though not everyone is convinced the relationship is sustainable for the long term.\nAs recently as this month, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the president had raised the issue again, wondering aloud if he'd made a mistake in not firing Sessions. And both Giuliani and influential Republican lawmakers have hinted that, once special counsel Robert Mueller's probe wraps up, Sessions could be in danger again.\n\"There's no doubt he's complained about him, there's no doubt he has some grievances. I don't know they've aired them out yet. He's not going to fire him before this is over,\" Giuliani told reporters Wednesday. \"Nor do I think he should.\"\nTrump showed Wednesday the campaign to save Sessions hasn't tempered his anger at the attorney general's decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe, an act the president believed birthed the Mueller investigation, which is imperiling his presidency. In a tweet, Trump again declared he regretted appointing the former Alabama senator to the job in a familiar, but no less stunning, public rebuke of a sitting Cabinet official.\nDespite the withering complaints, Trump appears to comprehend the potential consequences of firing Session and seems resigned to the idea that he's stuck with him for the time being, according to nearly a dozen people close to the decision, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations\nThe case that Sessions' protectors have outlined to Trump time and again largely consists of three components: Firing Sessions, a witness in Mueller's investigation of obstruction of justice, would add legal peril to his standing in the Russia probe; doing so would anger the president's political base, which Trump cares deeply about, especially with midterm election looming this fall; and a number of Republican senators would rebel against the treatment of a longtime colleague who was following Justice Department guidelines in his recusal.\nSenate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said that he will not schedule a confirmation hearing for another attorney general nominee if Sessions is fired.\nGiuliani told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Trump has asked him multiple times, before and after the former New York mayor joined the president's legal team last month, about whether Sessions should have been fired.\nGiuliani said Trump consulted him last summer during the height of his rage about Sessions' recusal. More recently, he said, Trump has not actively considered firing Sessions, but has wondered if he made the right decision in not doing so previously.\n\"And when he asks, 'Should I have done that?' I say, 'No, the way it is now has worked out,'\" Giuliani said, adding that he did not believe Trump would fire Sessions. Later, speaking to reporters at the White House, he compared the president's temper to that of the late George Steinbrenner, the mercurial owner of the New York Yankees.\nInfluential conservatives have also heard Trump lash out about Sessions and, though some have sympathy for the concerns, have repeatedly talked him out of doing anything drastic, said one person in touch with both men who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. The person recalled a venting session after a meeting at the White House last fall, when the president aired his frustrations with the attorney general about his recusal. The person expressed sympathy but argued against firing Sessions, in part because of his success in carrying out the president's agenda.\nTrump's complaints about Sessions have at times won sympathy from some friends who believe Sessions' recusal was too broad and ill-timed and undercut the positive attention from a State of the Union address the president had recently delivered.\nWhile the recusal remains Sessions' original sin in Trump's eyes, the president has also fumed that he sees Sessions as failing to get a handle on immigration and not placing enough emphasis on combating transnational criminal organizations.\nAfter being berated by Trump over the recusal decision last spring, Sessions offered his resignation, but the overture was rejected. He is widely viewed as determined to stay in the job because he believes in the president's agenda, which largely mirrors his own interests, and is reluctant to leave a job for which he gave up a safe Senate seat. Hours after the president's attack on Wednesday, Sessions visited the White House for a routine litigation issue, a Justice Department official said.\nThere may be a limit to how long the campaign to save Sessions can hold on. Giuliani on Wednesday only offered assurances Trump would not fire Sessions during the Mueller investigation, due to the \"distraction\" it would cause.\nAnd a number of Republican senators who have supported Sessions have indicated in recent days that they are warming to Trump's complaints.\nSen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who in March said firing Sessions would \"blow up\" the Senate Judiciary Committee, struck a different tone Wednesday, noting that Cabinet positions are \"not lifetime appointments.\" Looking ahead to fall elections, he has reinforced to Trump that the best approach now \"is to keep focused on good governance in the midterms.\"\nAt some point, Graham said, Sessions will \"have to make a decision\" that if \"you don't have the confidence\" of the president, \"that will affect your ability to be effective.\"\n___\nAssociated Press writers Chad Day and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City's casinos saw gambling revenue increase 4.3 percent in May compared to a year ago, to more than $229 million.\nAnd if the now-shuttered Trump Taj Mahal were removed from the equation, the seven surviving casinos would have posted a 12-percent increase last month.\nFigures released Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement also show the continued steady rise of internet gambling revenue in the largest online market in the country. Online gambling revenue was up more than 27 percent in May.\nOnly Bally's saw a revenue decrease in May, and it was a minuscule decline.\nThrough the first five months of this 2017, Atlantic City's casinos have won $1.07 billion. That's an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the same period last year." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made numerous trips to Africa, is in Tunisia for two days to further boost the close partnership between France and the North African country, a budding democracy struggling economically while contending with Islamic extremists.\nIt is Macron's first state visit — the highest-level trip — since taking office last May, underscoring the importance of Wednesday and Thursday's event for both sides.\nA four-point accord setting out ties for years to come in the economic, security and judicial, cultural and educational spheres was being signed.\nHis office said that Macron, traveling with a delegation of business leaders and cultural figures, will give a major speech Thursday before parliament to affirm French support for Tunisia's democratic transition as a model of hope for the Arab-Muslim world." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CAIRO (AP) — The U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group says a service member has died in a \"non-combat-related incident.\"\nThe statement released by the U.S. Central Command on Thursday did not give the soldier's nationality or provide further details. It says the soldier died Wednesday and that the incident is under investigation.\nThe soldier was part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the mission to defeat the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Sean Manaea's father is from American Samoa, where he grew up playing cricket and rugby and didn't really know anything about baseball.\nThe younger Manaea was born in Indiana, loved baseball from an early age and blossomed into a hard-throwing 6-foot-5 lefty who in his last start for the Oakland Athletics threw a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox .\n\"My parents never played baseball,\" Manaea said. \"They just signed me up one day, and I was like, 'All right, let's do that.' ... From then on, something grabbed me and just kept pulling me toward it. It's just been my first love since I started playing.\"\nWhile Oakland's first no-hitter since 2010 is certainly the highlight so far for Manaea, the 26-year-old is off to an impressive start overall in his third big league season.\nManaea has a 3-2 record — the A's scored only one run total in his two losses — with a 1.23 ERA. His 36 2/3 innings matched the major league lead going into Tuesday night's games. Opposing teams are hitting only .130 against him while managing 3.93 hits per nine innings, both second-best in the majors.\n\"A no-hitter obviously is a no-hitter. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's going to do the rest of the season,\" A's catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. \"The way he's thrown so far this year is really, really special.\"\nManaea struck out 10, walked two and threw 108 pitches in the 3-0 win at home Saturday night. Manaea mixed in changeups and sliders with his fastball against the best team in the big leagues so far this season.\n\"I don't know how you don't gain confidence from something like that. It's one thing to throw a no-hitter. It's another thing to throw a no-hitter against the Red Sox the way they're playing,\" A's manager Bob Melvin said. \"He's a confident pitcher as is, but to be able to finish off a game like that should carry with him for a while.\"\nManaea's next start will be Friday night in Houston against the World Series champion Astros.\n\"I'm going to treat it like any other game. That's what I did with the Red Sox, and what I'm going to do for the Astros,\" Manaea said. \"I'm not going to change anything just because something really cool happened.\"\nThat no-no was the first for the A's since Dallas Braden's perfect game against Tampa Bay in 2010. It had been almost exactly 25 years since the Red Sox were held hitless.\nManaea's father settled in Indiana after being stationed there in the Army, so except for his own family, he didn't grow up around the Polynesian-like culture known for producing big football players, many of them now in the NFL, instead of big league pitchers.\n\"I played basketball from fourth grade to my sophomore year. I was tall and it was something to do in the winter,\" he said. \"It was fun for a while, but after my sophomore year, I was like, 'Yeah this isn't for me.' I can't dribble the ball, I'm not physical enough. I'm skinny.\"\nManaea continued to progress and excel in baseball. He went to Indiana State and had a standout summer in the Cape Cod League before the Kansas City Royals picked him 34th overall in the 2013 amateur draft.\nThe Royals traded Manaea to Oakland in 2015 when acquiring Ben Zobrist. Manaea made his big league debut the next season, and in his 58th career start Saturday threw his first complete game.\n\"The thing that impresses me the most is he's doing it differently than he did when he first got here,\" Melvin said. \"Just his stuff, he could get away with making some mistakes. ... He's a three-pitch pitcher now. He commands both sides of the plate.\"\nMelvin describes him now as a \"true pitcher\" and not just a thrower anymore.\nManaea didn't really get any sleep Saturday night.\n\"My mind was going a million miles a second, and I just couldn't get that moment out of my head,\" he said. \"It's something I never really dreamed of. ... It's just a really, really cool moment.\"\nBefore watching the highlights over and over throughout the night, he had a video call with his parents, who over the years have become obsessed with baseball like their son.\n\"They love everything about the A's,\" Manaea said. \"Ever since I started getting more and more advanced with baseball, they were always there for me, and they drove me to practices, drove me to games. They're all in on baseball.\"\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway fans are buzzing over the release of a new song by two popular Tony winners in support of the upcoming March for Our Lives.\n\"Hamilton\" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt, the original star of \"Dear Evan Hansen,\" have recorded a duet called \"Found/Tonight,' mixing lyrics from \"You Will Be Found\" from \"Dear Evan Hansen\" and \"The Story of Tonight\" from \"Hamilton.\"\nThe song was released at midnight on Monday and is No. 1 on the iTunes singles chart.\nThe multi-city March for Our Lives on March 24 was planned after the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.\nMiranda has been releasing \"Hamilton\"-related content each month in a series called Hamildrop.\n___\nOnline:\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aQykuIaJVI&feature=youtu.be\n___" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Symphony Orchestra is returning to its seasonal home at Tanglewood.\nMusic director Andris Nelsons will conduct works by Mozart and Tchaikovsky as the renowned orchestra kicks off its 2018 outdoor season on Friday evening at the western Massachusetts venue.\nSuperstar pianist Lang Lang will play Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor.\nThis summer's season, which runs through Sept. 2, continues the BSO's yearlong homage to Leonard Bernstein.\nThe Massachusetts-born conductor and composer would have turned 100 on Aug. 25. He died in 1990 at age 72 in New York City.\nBernstein was a fixture at the annual summer music festival at Tanglewood for half a century." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NOVOKUZNETSK, Russia (AP) — Three months ahead of Russia's presidential election, apathy and disappointment pervade incumbent Vladimir Putin's heartland.\nAlexandra Chekh, a retired kindergarten director, voted for Putin the last time around in 2012. Now she wonders if he has anything to offer.\n\"Change? If he could do it, he would have done it by now,\" she said. \"If nothing gets done, then maybe we will need a new person.\"\nA new person is unlikely — the 65-year-old Putin is the overwhelming favorite in Russia's March 18 presidential vote. But the dim view taken by former supporters such as Chekh is notable in a city like Novokuznetsk, part of the Kemerovo region in southwestern Siberia where Putin tallied 77 percent of the vote in 2012.\nThe city itself lies 4,500 miles (7,240 kilometers) east of Moscow.\nSince that last election, anti-corruption campaigner and adamant Putin foe Alexei Navalny has been able to spread his message far beyond the prosperous and educated urban circles of Moscow and St. Petersburg where his support started. But Navalny is saddled by a fraud and embezzlement conviction — which his supporters view as politically motivated — that will prevent him from running in the presidential race unless he's pardoned or some other dispensation is made.\nNavalny is pressing on, nonetheless. On Saturday, several hundred people showed up at his rally in Novokuznetsk, a city of nearly 550,000 people that is home to coal mines, metals plants and soot-smelling air. Some at the rally came without hats or gloves despite the minus -15 Celsius (minus -5 Fahrenheit) temperatures.\nNavalny focused on the grievances he has been highlighting throughout the campaign: low pay for state employees, the concentration of wealth in Moscow and the Kremlin's excessive funding for foreign policy forays.\nOfficial statistics show the region's average monthly pay as 31,600 rubles ($532), a little under the Russian average. But Novokuznetsk residents think those figures are inflated by officials. When Navalny asked the crowd how much a nurse makes in Novokuznetsk, they shouted \"10,000\" or \"15,000.\"\nIf Putin's 18 years in power have induced apathy and a sense of helplessness among Russian voters, that's the big issue in Navalny's view.\nPutin has made voters in industrial cities like Novokuznetsk his base, touting stability as the key achievement of his rule. But these days, finding a fervent Putin supporter on Novokuznetsk's snow-covered streets can be hard.\nOf seven residents approached by an AP reporter, only four said they supported Putin. None of them expressed enthusiasm.\nA survey by the independent polling agency Levada Center suggests that enthusiasm for Putin is in decline countrywide. It found that 51 percent of those questioned said they were tired of waiting for Putin to bring \"positive change,\" 10 percentage points higher than a year ago.\nThrough his canny, energetic use of social media and YouTube, Navalny has done an end-run around Russia's state-controlled news media, which is the main source of information for people outside of the country's main cities. Demonstrations called by Navalny this year rattled the Kremlin, not only because of their large turnouts but due to the fact they were taking place in provincial cities throughout the country.\nMany of those who showed up at the Novokuznetsk rally say Putin does have support there, but nowhere near as overwhelmingly as the last election figures indicated. The real picture, they say, is distorted by widespread voting fraud.\nNavalny told The Associated Press after the rally that he is encouraged by the warm reception he is seeing in Russia's regions. He says that proves support for Putin in the places that habitually give him 80 percent of the vote at the polls is \"fiction and falsification.\"\nNavalny's activists all over Russia have been canvassing all year on the streets and going door-to-door to talk to voters, despite threats and intimidation from authorities.\n\"If we can hold such a big rally here, with all the pressure and intimidation, it means that we enjoy at least significant support here,\" Navalny said after an hour of posing for photos with rally attendees in Novokuznetsk.\nNavalny initially laughed off a question about what is going to happen if authorities — when the presidential campaign officially starts later this month — formally bar him from running.\n\"(The Kremlin) cannot bar me from running if such a big number of people is supporting me,\" he declared.\nBut he later offered a glimpse into his plans.\n\"If they don't register me, people together with me will not recognize this election and we will boycott this election,\" he said.\nA low presidential turnout is something the Kremlin is very wary about.\nFighting apathy is one of the most common theories behind the surprise presidential bid of socialite-turned-journalist Ksenia Sobchak. The 36-year-old candidate has been mildly critical of Putin but faces none of the obstacles that Navalny's supporters do. Many Russians think her efforts are designed to boost interest in an otherwise bland presidential campaign — a claim that Sobchak absolutely denies.\nBut Navalny probably does not even need to call for a boycott to bring the turnout even lower, because many residents of the Kemerovo region have already given up on the presidential vote.\nSergei Maslyukov, 40, watched his daughter slide off a mammoth mound of snow on Novokuznetsk's main square. He did not go to Navalny's rally Saturday and has not heard much about the popular activist. He is also disappointed in Putin but sees no viable alternative to the Russian leader.\n\"The promises he made . he did not make good on them,\" Maslyukov said. \"What promises? Do you think average pay in Russia correlates to the prices? I'm not going to vote for anyone.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin got his 12th career hat trick and Bryan Rust scored two goals as the surging Pittsburgh Penguins rallied for a 5-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.\nMalkin's 24th goal of the season late in the second period tied it. His 25th early in the third gave Pittsburgh the lead for good and his 26th rolled into an empty net with just more than a minute remaining as the Penguins won for the eighth time in 10 games.\nMatt Murray stopped 40 shots in his first start since the death of his father, James, this month.\nBrent Burns and Logan Couture scored power-play goals for the Sharks but San Jose dropped its second straight game without Joe Thornton, who is out indefinitely with a right leg injury.\nMartin Jones finished with 26 saves but also gave the puck away behind the San Jose net in the third period. Patric Hornqvist intercepted Jones' sloppy clearing attempt and fed it in front to a streaking Malkin, who had little trouble putting it into an open net 6:01 into the third.\nRust, hindered by injuries this season, doubled Pittsburgh's advantage 13:58 into the third thanks to a pretty between-the-legs drop pass from Tom Kuhnhackl before Malkin finished off Pittsburgh's sixth straight home victory.\nThe Penguins returned from the All-Star break looking to build off their best extended play of the season, which has lifted the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions out of a funk and back into the thick of the packed Metropolitan Division race.\nIt's a surge they've made largely without Murray, who took a leave of absence after his father died on Jan. 16. Casey DeSmith and Tristian Jarry filled in capably with Murray out, but the 23-year-old let coach Mike Sullivan know he was ready to go as his team began what it hopes is a push toward another long playoff run.\nMurray certainly looked sharp in his first start since shutting out Boston on Jan. 7, keeping the Penguins in it as San Jose dominated play for long stretches.\nRust's first goal since Nov. 27 on a slick backhand that slid by Jones gave Pittsburgh the lead 11:09 into the first, but the Sharks used a pair of power-play goals in the second to surge ahead. Burns slipped a wrist shot from the point through traffic to tie it at the game's midway point and Couture pounded home a rebound 18:35 into the second to put San Jose in front.\nWith time winding down in the second, Phil Kessel went to the corner and fed a blind backhand pass to Malkin, who ripped it by Jones with just four seconds left to even the score and give the Penguins a serious boost.\nNOTES: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby got an assist on Malkin's empty-netter to extend his point streak to 10 games. ... Malkin played in his 754th career game, passing Jean Provonost for fourth-most in franchise history. ... The Sharks scratched forward Jannik Hansen, C Daniel O'Regan and D Tim Heed. The Penguins scratched D Chad Ruhwedel, D Matt Hunwick and forward Ryan Reaves. ... Pittsburgh went 0 for 3 on the power play. The Sharks were 2 for 5 with the man advantage.\nUP NEXT\nSharks: Continue their five-game road trip Wednesday in Detroit.\nPenguins: Host the Washington Capitals on Friday.\n___\nMore AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A woman who was found dead Wednesday in a stairwell of a power plant at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital had dementia and vanished from a nearby mental health facility 10 days ago, her daughter said.\nA staff member found the body at about 1 p.m. The county medical examiner's office identified the woman as Ruby Andersen, 75.\nAn autopsy was pending.\n\"I don't know how she died,\" her daughter, Charlene Roberts, told KRON-TV . \"Did she have a stroke or fell? I don't know what happened.\"\nRoberts, who gave her mother's age as 76, said the woman had dementia and two hearing aids and went missing on May 20 from a mental health facility.\n\"We almost hired a private investigator\" to look for her, Roberts said.\nHospital spokeswoman Rachael Kagan said the woman was not a patient at San Francisco General but noted that there were other facilities on the same campus operated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. They include the 47-bed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center.\nAndersen was found in a stairwell that usually is locked and only accessible to maintenance workers, Kagan said.\n\"We are very concerned how this could have happened,\" she said.\nPolice, public health and sheriff's investigators were working on the case.\nFive years ago, the body of a missing patient was found in a stairwell at the same hospital, more than two weeks after a patient disappeared from her room.\nAn autopsy determined that 57-year-old Lynne Spalding had been dead for several days before her body was found in a stairwell that was supposed to be routinely checked by security.\nThe Sheriff's Department, which is responsible for the hospital's security, paid Spalding's family $3 million to settle a legal claim." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Europe's top human rights institution is urging Turkey's leaders to \"urgently change course\" and reverse violations of media freedoms and the rule of law, voicing alarm over democracy in the country.\nThe call comes as Turkey is set to hold a referendum in April on switching to a presidential system — a move critics fear will concentrate too many powers in the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.\nThe Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, said in a report released Wednesday that Turkey's already worrisome state of media freedoms and freedom of expression had reached \"seriously alarming\" levels since a state of emergency was declared following a failed coup attempt.\nThe commissioner also expressed concerns over the constitutional amendments that will be voted on in the referendum." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON (AP) — Arsenal signs Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for what it says is a club-record fee." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CHICAGO (AP) — Futures trading on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday.:\nSettle WHEAT (5,000 bu ; cents per bushel) Mar 457 1-4 May 470 3-4 Jul 483 1-2 Sep 496 3-4 Dec 515 3-4 Mar 531 1-4 May 536 1-2 Jul 536 1-2 Sep 545 Dec 558 1-2 Mar 569 May 566 1-2 Jul 555 CORN (5,000 bu ; cents per bushel) Mar 361 1-2 May 369 3-4 Jul 377 1-2 Sep 384 3-4 Dec 393 1-2 Mar 401 3-4 May 406 3-4 Jul 411 Sep 407 1-4 Dec 409 1-4 Mar 416 May 419 1-2 Jul 424 1-2 Sep 424 1-4 Dec 413 3-4 Jul 421 3-4 Dec 419 1-2 OATS (5,000 bu ; cents per bushel) Mar 270 May 264 1-2 Jul 267 1-2 Sep 269 1-2 Dec 267 1-4 Mar 267 1-4 May 267 1-4 Jul 267 1-4 Sep 268 1-2 Dec 268 1-2 Jul 267 Sep 267 SOYBEANS (5,000 bu ; cents per bushel) Mar 1000 1-4 May 1011 1-4 Jul 1021 Aug 1022 1-4 Sep 1015 1-2 Nov 1013 1-2 Jan 1019 3-4 Mar 1020 3-4 May 1024 1-4 Jul 1029 3-4 Aug 1024 3-4 Sep 1013 3-4 Nov 1001 3-4 Jan 1006 1-2 Mar 1007 May 1014 1-2 Jul 1018 3-4 Aug 1011 1-4 Sep 1009 1-4 Nov 992 Jul 992 Nov 992 SOYBEAN OIL (60,000 lbs; cents per lb) Mar 33.08 May 33.28 Jul 33.49 Aug 33.55 Sep 33.60 Oct 33.60 Dec 33.74 Jan 33.83 Mar 33.92 May 34.02 Jul 34.14 Aug 34.11 Sep 34.08 Oct 33.73 Dec 33.70 Jan 33.81 Mar 34.02 May 34.03 Jul 34.23 Aug 34.23 Sep 34.23 Oct 34.23 Dec 34.23 Jul 34.23 Oct 34.23 Dec 34.23 SOYBEAN MEAL (100 tons; dollars per ton) Mar 340.50 May 343.90 Jul 345.80 Aug 344.70 Sep 343.20 Oct 340.20 Dec 340.90 Jan 341.20 Mar 342.10 May 343.50 Jul 345.10 Aug 344.70 Sep 343.50 Oct 339.10 Dec 338.90 Jan 339.60 Mar 340.60 May 340.60 Jul 342.10 Aug 342.10 Sep 342.10 Oct 342.10 Dec 343.30 Jul 343.30 Oct 343.30 Dec 343.30" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PARIS (AP) — First-half goals from Radamel Falcao sent Monaco back into the League Cup final after a 2-0 home win against Montpellier on Wednesday.\nMonaco will play Paris Saint-Germain on March 31 in a repeat of last year's final, which PSG won 4-1 for a fourth straight League Cup title.\nMonaco had a first-half penalty overruled and a second-half strike from midfielder Rony Lopes disallowed on Wednesday after both were referred to the Video Assistant Referee. Montpellier wasted a couple of chances in the first half but otherwise showed scant attacking intent.\nFalcao reacted with great awareness and nimble footwork to fire Monaco ahead in the 15th minute. Collecting a pass from defender Djibril Sidibe, he let the ball roll onto his foot, deftly flicked it up toward knee height and then swiveled to volley a shot into the bottom left corner.\nThe Colombia striker made it 22 goals in all competitions when he tapped in at the back post after a firm cross from the dynamic Lopes in the 29th.\nPrior to that, Monaco was given a penalty in the 17th when forward Steven Jovetic tumbled under a challenge from goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte. But the penalty was withdrawn after referee Amaury Deleru referred it to the VAR. Images showed Lecomte touching the ball with his arm before connecting with Jovetic's leg.\nLopes thought he had made it 3-0 in the 65th, finishing confidently after Falcao's cut-back from the left flank. But the VAR review disallowed it — once again correctly — because Falcao was marginally offside when receiving a pass before peeling away to set up his teammate.\nPSG won 3-2 away to Rennes in Tuesday's semifinal, where the VAR was used three times. Each side had a goal disallowed and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe was sent off." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2018--Cook Medical received a Rare Impact Award from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) this month. Accepting the award were Dr. Mario Zaritzky and, Vihar Surti, a director of Global Research & Development at Cook, who collaborated to develop the Flourish™ Pediatric Esophageal Atresia device.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006022/en/\nIllustration of the Flourish™ Pediatric Esophageal Atresia device. (Graphic: Business Wire)\nEsophageal atresia is a birth defect of the esophagus – the tubular structure that connects the mouth to the stomach. In babies born with this condition, the upper part of the esophagus does not connect to the lower part of the esophagus and the stomach, making it impossible for them to eat normally.\nThe Flourish™ Pediatric Esophageal Atresia device uses rare earth magnets that are inserted into the upper and lower ends of the infant’s esophagus. Over the course of several days, the magnets gradually stretch both ends of the esophagus, after which the tissue connects to form an intact esophagus. Previously, this condition could only be repaired surgically, but now doctors have another option.\n“We have one thing in mind every day at Cook, and that’s making a difference in patients’ lives,” said Barry Slowey, president of Cook Winston-Salem and vice president of Cook Medical’s Endoscopy speciality. “Flourish holds a very special place for so many of us here at Cook and to see the positive effects that it’s had on these children, is a wonderful reminder of the mission and passion we all share.”\nIn order to treat pediatric patients affected by this rare disorder, Flourish™ received approval from the FDA in 2017. The product is not yet available to physicians. Esophageal atresia affects around 1 in 2,500 newborns. 1 Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designations are reserved for the treatment or diagnosis of a disease or condition that affects fewer than 8,000 individuals in the United States per year. Between the time that FDA granted HUD designation in 2010 and approved the Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) for Flourish in 2017, 16 babies were successfully treated.\nThe Rare Impact Awards are presented each year by NORD, to organizations that provide care for the 1 in 10 Americans living with a rare disease. As an advocate for those affected by rare medical disorders, NORD has offered services to patients and their families for 35 years. The group is made of over 260 patient organizations working towards the cure and treatment of rare disorders, similar to Cook’s work with pediatric esophageal atresia.\n1 Mahoney L., Rosen R., Feeding Difficulties in Children with Esophageal Atresia. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2016 Jun;19:21-7. doi: 10.1016/j.prrv.2015.06.002.\nDevice information:\nIndications for Use: The Flourish Pediatric Esophageal Atresia Device is indicated for use in lengthening atretic esophageal ends and creating an anastomosis with a non-surgical procedure in pediatric patients, up to one year of age with esophageal atresia without a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) or in pediatric patients up to one year of age for whom a concurrent TEF has been closed as a result of a prior procedure. This device is indicated for atretic segments <4cm a part.\nHumanitarian Device. Authorized by Federal law for use in the treatment of lengthening atretic esophageal ends and creating an anastomosis with a non-surgical procedure in pediatric patients, up to one year of age with esophageal atresia without a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), or in pediatric patients up to one year of age for whom a concurrent TEF has been closed as a result of a prior procedure. The effectiveness of this device for this use has not been demonstrated.\nData supporting the safety and probable benefit of the Flourish device include results from 16 patients who had the Flourish device placed. In the limited data provided, all 16 infants had a successful joining of their esophagus, with no remaining gap, within three to 10 days after receiving the device. However, 14 of the 16 patients developed a complication that caused a narrowing in their esophagus (anastomotic stricture). Thirteen of sixteen (13/16) patients required balloon dilation,and /or stent placement to widen or keep the anastomosis patent. One of sixteen (1/16) required surgical re-anastomosis due to unsuccessful dilation efforts. Anastomotic strictures also occur from traditional surgery to repair the condition.\nThe Flourish device should not be used in patients older than one year, or who have teeth, which may damage the oral catheter. This device should not be used for the creation of an anastomosis other than in the esophagus, in patients without an established and appropriately sized gastrostomy tract, or in patients having gastrostomy site signs of significant infection. Potential procedural complications include ulceration or tissue irritation around the gastric catheter or gum irritation due to pressure from the oral catheter.\nPotential late complications following successful anastomosis include gastroesophageal reflux, tracheomalacia, esophageal dysmotility, recurrent asthma, and pulmonary infections.\nAbout Cook Medical\nSince 1963 Cook Medical has worked closely with clinicians to develop technologies that eliminate the need for open surgery. Today we are combining medical devices, biologic materials and cellular therapies to help the world's healthcare systems deliver better outcomes more efficiently. We have always remained family owned so that we have the freedom to focus on what we care about: patients, our employees and our communities. Find out more at cookmedical.com, and for the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006022/en/\nCONTACT: Cook Medical\nMarsha Lovejoy - Manager, Global External Corporate Communications\n812-320-6903 (mobile)\n812-339-2235, ext. 10-2750 (office)\nmarsha.lovejoy@cookmedical.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDIANA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: SURGERY HEALTH HOSPITALS MEDICAL DEVICES OTHER HEALTH GENERAL HEALTH\nSOURCE: Cook Medical\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 05/30/2018 11:25 AM/DISC: 05/30/2018 11:25 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006022/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The Barrett brothers will become the first trio of siblings to play in a rugby test for New Zealand when they line up in Friday's Pacific Challenge match against Samoa.\nFlyhalf Beauden will play his 50th test while utility back Jordie is set to make his debut from the bench, where he has been named beside lock Scott.\nBen Smith will captain New Zealand for the first time in the absence of Kieran Read, who is recovering from a broken thumb. He will become New Zealand's 68th test captain and the first fullback to lead the All Blacks since Mils Muliaina in 2009.\nSonny Bill Williams will start at inside center in his first test since the 2015 Rugby World Cup final, combining in midfield with Anton Lienert Brown.\nJulian Savea and Israel Dagg have been named on the wings, holding out Waisake Naholo who starred in the Highlanders win over the British and Irish Lions on Tuesday.\nArdie Savea takes Read's place at No. 8 while Jerome Kaino returns from knee surgery to take his usual place on the blindside flank.\nCodie Taylor will start at hooker in the absence of Dane Coles, who is recovering from concussion.\nUncapped lock Vaea Fifita has been named on the bench, also providing backrow cover, while Lima Sopoaga provides backup to Beauden Barrett at flyhalf as Aaron Cruden recovers from a knee injury.\nHead coach Steve Hansen congratulated Smith on his appointment as captain.\n\"He's been our vice-captain for a few years now and captain of the Highlanders where he's been doing a fantastic job so was the logical choice,\" Hansen said. \"He leads by example and is an inspiration to his teammates.\"\nHansen said while the match was planned to help the All Blacks prepare for the three-test series against the Lions, it was important in its own right.\n\"This is a test match against a quality and very capable opponent,\" he said. \"Samoa is about to kick off the qualifying stage of their Rugby World Cup campaign so this will make them even more dangerous.\"\nNew Zealand and Samoa have met in seven previous tests, most recently in Apia in 2016 when the All Blacks won 25-16.\nWales will also play Tonga in the Pacific Challenge doubleheader at Eden Park on Friday.\n___\nTeams\nNew Zealand: Ben Smith (captain), Israel Dagg, Anton Lienert-Brown, Sonny Bill Williams, Julian Savea, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Joe Moody. Replacements: Nathan Harris, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Scott Barrett, Vaea Fifita, TJ Perenara, Lima Sopoaga, Jordie Barrett.\nSamoa: Ah See Tuala, Albert Nikoro, Kieron Fonotia, Alapati Leiua, Tim Nanai Williams, Tusi Pisi, Kahn Fotuali'i; Faifili Levave, Jack Lam, Piula Faasalele, Faatiga Lemalu, Chris Vui, Census Johnston, Maatulimanu Leiatua, Viliamu Afatia. Replacements: Seilala Lam, Nephi Leatigaga, Paul Alo-Emile, Taiasina Tuifua, Alafoti Faosiliva, Auvasa Falealii, D'Angelo Leuila, Ken Pisi." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Investors seem certain about this: The Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates this week for the third time this year.\nThey're less sure about what the central bank might have in store for 2018, and they will look to Janet Yellen's final news conference as Fed chair Wednesday for any clues.\nWill the Fed's policymaking change once Yellen steps down in February and is succeeded by Jerome Powell? Powell was a Yellen ally who backed her cautious stance toward rate hikes in his five years on the Fed's board. Yet no one can know how his leadership or rate policy might depart from hers.\nWhat's more, Powell will be joined by several new Fed board members who, like him, are being chosen by President Donald Trump. Some analysts say they think that while Powell might not deviate much from Yellen's rate policy, he and the new board members will adopt a looser approach to the regulation of the banking system.\nMost analysts have said they think the still-strengthening U.S. economy will lead the Fed to raise rates three more times next year. A few, though, have held out the possibility that a Powell-led Fed will be compelled to step up the pace of rate hikes as inflation finally picks up and the economy, perhaps helped by the Republican tax cuts, begins accelerating.\n\"While the Fed has been indicating that they will hike rates another three times in 2018, I think Powell will depart from that forecast and the Fed will end up hiking rates four times,\" said David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors. \"That is based on the added growth that will come from the tax cuts.\"\nAt his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Powell impressed his listeners as an evenhanded moderate who favored the kind of incremental stance on rate hikes that both Yellen and her predecessor, Ben Bernanke, embraced. The committee approved Powell's nomination and sent it to the full Senate, where his confirmation is considered certain.\nBesides Powell, Trump has so far chosen two new members for the seven-member board. And he has the opening to nominate three more, including a Fed vice chair. In his view of the Fed, Trump has made clear that he favors low rates. But he has also expressed a desire to pull back on many of the regulations that were imposed on banks after the 2008 financial crisis. Trump and many Republicans argue that those regulations are too burdensome, especially for smaller banks.\nIt was in the midst of the 2008 crisis that the Fed cut its key rate to a record low near zero and left it there for seven years. Eventually under Yellen, the Fed responded to a steadily improving job market and economy by modestly raising the rate — in December 2015, in December 2016 and twice this year. Since June, the policymakers have left rates alone while puzzling over why inflation has slipped farther below their 2 percent annual target.\nThe widespread expectation that the Fed will raise rates three additional times next year — possibly causing higher rates on some consumer and business loans — comes from the Fed's so-called \"dot plot.\" The dot plot, updated quarterly, displays the anonymous projections of individual Fed officials for the path of their benchmark rate as well as for inflation and economic growth. The dot plot, which the Fed will update when its policy meeting ends Wednesday, most recently showed an expectation of three rate increases in 2018.\nIn updating its projections, it's possible the Fed will take account of the likelihood that Congress will pass tax cuts and perhaps cause the economy to accelerate next year. In its latest survey, SIFMA, a lobbying group for the U.S. securities industry, found that 41 percent of its respondents foresee three rate hikes next year, 38 percent foresee two hikes and 17 percent expect four.\nBrett Ryan, senior U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities and chairman of SIFMA's economic advisory group, said his personal forecast was for four hikes because of the boost he expects from tax cuts.\n\"While the tax package is not a game changer, it does add more confidence that the Fed can keep going\" with its rate increases, Ryan said.\nHe suggested, too, that the Fed's evolving committee of board members and regional bank presidents who set rates will tilt slightly toward \"hawkish\" officials — those who tend to worry more about the threat of higher inflation than about the need to further increase employment.\nOn Wednesday, at her final news conference as Fed chair, Yellen may feel at liberty to go further than usual in illuminating the Fed's outlook for the coming months.\n\"I would expect her to be more vocal about her beliefs,\" said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University, Channel Islands. \"This could be one of the more interesting press conferences she has given.\"\nOthers said they would be surprised if Yellen diverts from her usual cautious demeanor.\n\"Yellen gets to do a victory lap: She is going out with low unemployment and stronger growth,\" said Diane Swonk, chief economist at DS Economics. \"But with just one month to go in her term, she doesn't want to do anything to undermine Jay Powell.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A merry band of about a thousand yellow-clad Sweden fans stayed after the game, singing in a stand behind the goal and ignoring repeated requests from the stadium announcer to make their way out.\nTheir team had just reached a World Cup quarterfinal for the first time in 24 years, and they were going to enjoy the moment.\nThe object of their affections was clear.\n\"It feels quite extraordinary and quite strange,\" Sweden coach Janne Andersson said. \"The fact that they are staying on after the game, calling out and shouting my name, just makes you want to go out and thank them.\"\nSo he did, emerging back out from the dressing room with captain Andreas Granqvist to applaud the block of supporters who had been the most vocal throughout the 1-0, round-of-16 win over Switzerland on Tuesday.\nIn 39 years as a player and then a coach, Andersson hasn't worked outside Sweden, and many of his clubs were in the country's lower leagues, like Alets and Laholms.\nBespectacled, thick set and with short, cropped hair, the 55-year-old Andersson has no global profile, although that might be about to change with a quarterfinal against England on Saturday.\nThrough his insistence on working as a team (or as a \"collective,\" as he often says), Andersson has changed the national team's philosophy. No more cult of the individual — Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruled the team for more than a decade before retiring from international play in 2016 — but instead an emphasis on the team.\n\"If I'm the symbol, I can live with that but this is very much about the team, not about me or any other individual,\" Andersson said. \"Football is a team sport and this team really personifies that approach. We share. We work for each other on and off the pitch. I'm incredibly happy it's paying off. Football is a game played by a team. Never forget that.\"\nWas that an indirect reference to Ibrahimovic, who often refers to himself as \"God\" or a \"lion?\"\nSweden is doing better at this World Cup than it ever did with Ibra.\nAndersson's Sweden is hard-working, well-drilled, tough to break down — and dull to watch.\n\"I would not call you boring,\" Switzerland playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri told Swedish reporters after Tuesday's game, \"but people at home may not like watching you.\"\nSweden has three shutouts in four games despite a possession disadvantage: 29 percent against Germany, 35 percent versus Mexico and 37 percent against Switzerland. Tactics include long passes to 6-foot-4 (1.92 meter) striker Ola Toivonen and throw-ins into the penalty area with the hope of flick-ons.\n\"We are right on the mark everywhere,\" midfielder Albin Ekdal said. \"It's incredibly difficult to score against us.\"\nAfter the victory against Switzerland, Andersson deflected a question about whether Sweden is starting to think about winning its first World Cup. Its side of the bracket opened with the exits of Germany, Spain, Portugal and Argentina.\n\"If you start to lower the bar or the level of ambition, that's not going to make for satisfaction,\" he said.\n___\nMore AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/WorldCup\n___\nSteve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times EDT Eastern Conference W L T Pts GF GA FC Cincinnati 10 3 4 34 35 21 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 7 1 7 28 18 7 Nashville SC 7 3 5 26 17 10 Louisville City FC 7 3 5 26 22 16 Indy Eleven 7 4 4 25 20 16 Charleston Battery 6 3 7 25 22 16 Charlotte Independence 6 5 6 24 26 25 Bethlehem Steel FC 6 5 5 23 26 20 New York Red Bulls II 5 5 7 22 30 28 Penn FC 5 4 7 22 18 18 FC Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 6 4 19 22 21 North Carolina FC 5 7 3 18 23 21 Ottawa Fury FC 5 7 3 18 14 21 Richmond Kickers 4 9 2 14 16 28 Atlanta United 2 2 8 5 11 16 31 Toronto FC II 0 13 3 3 16 40 Western Conference W L T Pts GF GA Real Monarchs SLC 12 4 1 37 27 16 Phoenix Rising FC 10 3 5 35 34 15 Reno 1868 FC 8 3 7 31 26 20 Orange County SC 9 5 3 30 29 12 Sacramento Republic FC 8 5 5 29 21 19 Swope Park Rangers 8 4 4 28 25 25 Portland Timbers II 8 7 2 26 26 22 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 7 9 3 24 20 16 Fresno FC 5 7 7 22 24 22 Saint Louis FC 5 5 7 22 19 21 San Antonio FC 5 4 6 21 15 16 Las Vegas Lights 4 6 5 17 23 30 OKC Energy FC 5 10 1 16 13 24 LA Galaxy II 4 9 4 16 28 33 Rio Grande Valley FC 1 6 9 12 14 20 Seattle Sounders II 3 9 2 11 16 30 Tulsa Roughnecks FC 1 8 8 11 15 36\nNOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie.\n___\nTuesday, June 26\nIndy Eleven 2, Nashville SC 0\nReal Monarchs SLC 1, Fresno FC 0\nWednesday, June 27\nFC Cincinnati 3, Toronto FC II 3, tie\nPittsburgh Riverhounds 1, Louisville City FC 0\nFC Tampa Bay Rowdies 2, Charlotte Independence 2, tie\nTulsa Roughnecks FC 2, LA Galaxy II 0\nFriday, June 29\nPhoenix Rising FC 1, Orange County SC 0\nSaturday, June 30\nBethlehem Steel FC 4, Charlotte Independence 1\nNorth Carolina FC 3, Richmond Kickers 1\nPenn FC 1, Indy Eleven 1, tie\nFC Cincinnati 2, Ottawa Fury FC 0\nNew York Red Bulls II 3, Louisville City FC 3, tie\nLas Vegas Lights 2, Tulsa Roughnecks FC 2, tie\nNashville SC 3, Atlanta United 2 0\nRio Grande Valley FC 0, Saint Louis FC 0, tie\nSan Antonio FC 1, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 1, tie\nFresno FC 2, Sacramento Republic FC 0\nReno 1868 FC 1, Portland Timbers II 0\nSunday, July 1\nCharleston Battery 4, Toronto FC II 0\nLA Galaxy II 5, Seattle Sounders II 3\nTuesday, July 3\nOrange County SC 1, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0\nReno 1868 FC 3, Real Monarchs SLC 0\nWednesday, July 4\nNorth Carolina FC at Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 7 p.m.\nOttawa Fury FC at Indy Eleven, 7 p.m.\nToronto FC II at FC Tampa Bay Rowdies, 7 p.m.\nOKC Energy FC at San Antonio FC, 8:30 p.m.\nThursday, July 5\nSwope Park Rangers at Seattle Sounders II, 10 p.m.\nFriday, July 6\nAtlanta United 2 at New York Red Bulls II, 7 p.m.\nBethlehem Steel FC at Penn FC, 7 p.m.\nSaturday, July 7\nCharleston Battery at North Carolina FC, 7 p.m.\nCharlotte Independence at Indy Eleven, 7 p.m.\nLouisville City FC at FC Tampa Bay Rowdies, 7:30 p.m.\nColorado Springs Switchbacks FC at OKC Energy FC, 8:30 p.m.\nFC Cincinnati at Nashville SC, 8:30 p.m.\nTulsa Roughnecks FC at Rio Grande Valley FC, 8:30 p.m.\nLA Galaxy II at Orange County SC, 10 p.m.\nReal Monarchs SLC at Sacramento Republic FC, 11 p.m.\nSaint Louis FC at Las Vegas Lights, 11 p.m.\nSunday, July 8\nPittsburgh Riverhounds at Ottawa Fury FC, 1 p.m.\nReno 1868 FC at Seattle Sounders II, 4:30 p.m.\nFresno FC at Portland Timbers II, 5 p.m." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW DELHI (AP) — Afghanistan is set to play its debut cricket test next year against India, with dates and a venue expected to be announced soon.\nAfghanistan and Ireland were elevated to full test membership of the International Cricket Council last June, and Ireland has already confirmed its inaugural test match will be against Pakistan in May.\nBoard of Control for Cricket in India Rahul Johri posted a message on social media after Monday's special general meeting in Delhi to say \"India to play inaugural test against Afghanistan. Welcome them to five-day cricket.\"\nAfghanistan Cricket Board officials met with Johri in October in Mumbai, requesting the No. 1-ranked team take on the newest member of sport's elite.\nACB chief executive Shafiq Stanikzai responded on Twitter, thanking the BCCI for accepting the offer \"to play our inaugural test match with India (our) traditional friends. My dream come true so as most of Afghan Cricket lovers,\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2018--E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) today announced results from the most recent wave of StreetWise, the E*TRADE quarterly tracking study of experienced investors. Results reveal a pronounced divide between generations when it comes to how respondents perceive the financial knowledge of recent grads:\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006374/en/\n88 percent of surveyed investors overall do not believe recent grads are very knowledgeable about saving and investing for retirement. 67 percent of Millennials do not believe recent grads are very knowledgeable. But when it comes to Baby Boomers, the number jumps to 99 percent.\nDespite these perceptions, the data suggest that younger generations are in fact focused on investing for retirement:\nThe top two pieces of financial advice from Millennials to recent grads are: Take advantage of a 401(k), and start a portfolio. Millennials are the only generation most likely to give the gift of a financial account to a recent grad—Gen Xers and Boomers prioritize cash as gifts.\n“It’s understandable that retirement would not be top of mind for graduates during their college years,” commented Mike Loewengart, VP of Investment Strategy at E*TRADE Financial. “But as they enter the workforce, now is a great time to take that all-important first step in retirement investing, and ignite the immense power of compound interest, which is in their favor considering their time horizon. Starting to sock away even a small percentage of their paycheck now can pay serious dividends down the road.”\nMr. Loewengart provided some additional considerations for recent graduates as they enter the workforce:\nEmployer matches carry a serious punch. The 401(k) contribution match that many employers offer is as close to free money as one will ever come in the investing world. It is probably the easiest way to seriously kick-start long-term investing. If one already gets a match, it may be worth ramping up contributions—even just a small amount. Some investing plans are automated. Avoid emotional investing pitfalls—like trying to time the market—by putting an investing and savings plan on autopilot. Automatic investing is based on the strategy of dollar-cost averaging, in which an investor commits a fixed dollar amount to a particular investment at regularly scheduled intervals. It’s a time-tested strategy that helps reduce risk by taking advantage of the natural ups and downs of the market. It’s more about the individual than it is about day-to-day market moves. Financial markets can get a little crazy from time to time. That’s why it’s so important to maintain a long-term point of view, defined by one’s unique goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Doing so can help prevent one from making sudden, ill-advised moves and allow for participation in the market’s long-term returns.\nE*TRADE aims to enhance the financial independence of traders and investors through a powerful digital offering and professional guidance. To learn more about E*TRADE’s trading and investing platforms and tools, visit etrade.com.\nFor useful trading and investing insights from E*TRADE, follow the company on Twitter, @ETRADE.\nAbout the Survey\nThis wave of the survey was conducted from April 1 to April 11 of 2018 among an online US sample of 947 self-directed active investors who manage at least $10,000 in an online brokerage account. The survey has a margin of error of ±3.18 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. It was fielded and administered by Research Now. The panel is broken into thirds of active (trade more than once a week), swing (trade less than once a week but more than once a month), and passive (trade less than once a month). The panel is 64 percent male and 36 percent female, with an even distribution across online brokerages, geographic regions, and age bands.\n“Millennial” defined as age 25–34 // “Gen X” defined as age 35–54 // “Baby Boomer” defined as age 55+\nAbout E*TRADE Financial and Important Notices\nE*TRADE Financial and its subsidiaries provide financial services including brokerage and banking products and services to retail customers. Securities products and services are offered by E*TRADE Securities LLC (Member FINRA/SIPC). Commodity futures and options on futures products and services are offered by E*TRADE Futures LLC (Member NFA). Managed Account Solutions are offered through E*TRADE Capital Management, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser. Bank products and services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, and RIA custody solutions are offered by E*TRADE Savings Bank, both of which are federal savings banks (Members FDIC). More information is available at www.etrade.com.\nAutomatic Investment Plans and dollar-cost averaging do not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in declining markets. Investors should consider their financial ability to continue their purchases through periods of low price levels.\nThe information provided herein is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.\nE*TRADE Financial, E*TRADE, and the E*TRADE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of E*TRADE Financial Corporation. ETFC-G\n© 2018 E*TRADE Financial Corporation. All rights reserved.\nE*TRADE Financial Corporation and Research Now are separate companies that are not affiliated. E*TRADE Financial Corporation engages Research Now to program, field, and tabulate the study. Research Now Group, Inc. provides digital research data and has locations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please go to www.researchnow.com.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006374/en/\nCONTACT: E*TRADE Media Relations\n646-521-4418\nmediainq@etrade.com\nor\nE*TRADE Investor Relations\n646-521-4406\nIR@etrade.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BANKING CONSULTING FINANCE\nSOURCE: E*TRADE Financial Corporation\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 05/30/2018 04:05 PM/DISC: 05/30/2018 04:05 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006374/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The newest generation of the Kennedy political dynasty will be introduced to a national audience Tuesday night as he delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union.\nRep. Joe Kennedy III, a 37-year-old Massachusetts congressman and grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, says Democrats should focus on the economic worries of working-class voters who bolted the party in the 2016 elections.\nTo drive home the message, Kennedy will deliver his speech at a vocational high school in Fall River, Massachusetts, a gritty former textile hub 55 miles (89 kilometers) south of Boston.\n\"From health care to economic justice to civil rights, the Democratic agenda stands in powerful contrast to President Trump's broken promises to American families,\" Kennedy said in a statement, adding that his speech will be \"guided by a simple belief that equality and economic dignity should be afforded to every American.\"\nKennedy, the red-haired son of former Rep. Joe Kennedy II, D-Mass., was elected to the House in 2012, returning the family to Congress two years after the retirement of Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, who is the son of Joe Kennedy III's great-uncle Ted.\nBesides his famous last name, Joe Kennedy III also is among a wave of younger Democrats in a caucus whose three top leaders are all in their 70s.\nA former Peace Corps volunteer, Kennedy was an assistant district attorney in two Massachusetts districts before being elected to Congress. He has focused on economic and social justice in Congress and has advocated on behalf of vocational schools and community colleges and championed issues such as transgender rights and marriage equality.\nTo illustrate that message, Kennedy has invited Staff Sgt. Patricia King, a transgender infantry solider, to represent him at the State of the Union. King, an 18-year Army veteran, has twice been deployed to Afghanistan and has been awarded the Bronze Star.\nHouse Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called Kennedy \"a relentless fighter for working Americans\" and said he \"profoundly understands the challenges facing hard-working men and women across the country.\"\nMatt Gorman, a spokesman for the campaign arm of House Republicans, could not conceal his glee as he welcomed the latest Kennedy as the voice of Democrats.\n\"Democrats using the multi-millionaire scion of a political dynasty as the face of their party shows they've learned absolutely nothing,\" Gorman said in an email, adding that the only way to give the GOP an easier target would be for Kennedy to make the speech \"live from the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis,\" Massachusetts.\nDemocratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley said Kennedy will focus on education and the importance of preparing future generations for jobs while also pointing out \"how Republicans fall short, and certainly the president.\"\nKennedy \"will be talking to the forgotten men and women — the people the president says he is speaking to but since has shown he has little or no regard for,\" said Crowley, D-N.Y.\nThe speech is an opportunity for the three-term lawmaker to \"step out a bit and make his own mark\" in national politics, said Crowley, who recommended Kennedy for the role.\n\"He's young, talented and smart. He's got a great last name, but on his own, he's a wonderful man and that will come through as well,\" Crowley said. \"The sky's the limit for him, frankly.\"\nBefore this speech, Kennedy's best-known moment was a 2017 speech criticizing House Speaker Paul Ryan for defending the GOP effort to repeal former President Barack Obama's health care law as \"an act of mercy.\"\nKennedy called the GOP effort \"an act of malice\" in a late-night speech that was viewed millions of times on social media.\nKennedy's speech will be followed by a Spanish-language response delivered by Elizabeth Guzman, one of the first Latinas elected to the Virginia House of Delegates." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton ’s (NYSE: HLT) award-winning, global upscale brand of hotels, announces the opening of four hotels in diverse locations across the U.S., as well as Turkey and Colombia. Each new property is unique to the local area, minutes away from natural landmarks, business parks, and thriving entertainment and shopping venues. Catering to the needs of today’s modern traveler, Hilton Garden Inn is extending the guest experience far beyond the four walls of a guest room – thanks in part to healthier, on-trend menu choices, handcrafted cocktails and local wine and craft beer.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006212/en/\nRendering of the new Hilton Garden Inn Lehi in Utah, which opened earlier this month along with three other Hilton Garden Inn properties around the globe. (Photo: Business Wire)\n“Hilton Garden Inn continues its robust expansion from vacation hot-spots to leading business destinations,” said John Greenleaf, global head, Hilton Garden Inn. “Our diverse line-up of nearly 800 hotels across the globe makes it easy to find a property that is conveniently located – whether that be for an important business meeting or for a relaxing weekend at the beach.”\nNew Hotel Highlights Include:\nOklahoma: Hilton Garden Inn Tulsa-Broken Arrow A modern property, southeast of downtown Tulsa, near some of the area’s top shops and restaurants, the hotel features more than 4,100 square feet of flexible event space. This contemporary hotel also boasts an indoor pool, whirlpool and evening room service. Turkey: Hilton Garden Inn Isparata In the heart of what is fondly known as the “rose capital of the world,” the hotel is steps from expansive fragrant and colorful flower fields in the popular Centrum Garden Complex. Highlights include complimentary ski storage for guests visiting Mount Davraz and large event spaces with an abundance of natural light. Utah: Hilton Garden Inn Lehi Conveniently located near the Silicon Slopes area situated in the foothills of beautiful Mount Timpampogos, this contemporary hotel provides complimentary shuttle travel to nearby corporate offices and Outlets of Traverse Mountain. Other highlights include an indoor swimming pool as well as its proximity to picturesque running and biking trails. Colombia: Hilton Garden Inn Santa Marta Hilton Garden Inn Santa Marta offers comfortable guest rooms and thoughtful amenities in a location convenient to many of the area's top attractions. The hotel, just a five-minute drive from Prado Plaza Shopping Center and Tesoro del Mar Shopping Center, provides guests with a view of the Marina of Santa Marta.\nWith recent enhancements to its award-winning food & beverage offerings, Hilton Garden Inn provides numerous choices for diners in each hotel’s restaurant, lounge and 24/7 retail space –from handcrafted cocktails to locally-inspired small plates and entrees. Guest rooms are designed for work and comfort, with large work desks, Serta beds, a mini-fridge, HDTV and complementary Wi-Fi.\nAll Hilton Garden Inn hotels are part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 14 distinct hotel brands. Members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels save time and money and gain instant access to the benefits they care about most, such as an exclusive member discount, free Wi-Fi and a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay. Members can also redeem their Points for free nights, to gain access to unique events through the Hilton Honors auction platform or to make purchases with Amazon Shop with Points.\nFor more information about Hilton Garden Inn, please visit www.hgi.com or news.hgi.com.\n*Service of alcohol subject to state and local laws. Must be of legal drinking age.\nAbout Hilton Garden Inn\nThe award-winning Hilton Garden Inn brand provides business and leisure guests with upscale yet affordable accommodations and modern amenities for a successful and comfortable stay. The satisfaction promise affirms the brand’s goal to make each stay better and brighter. Guaranteed. As a recognized F&B leader, Hilton Garden Inn serves daily cooked-to-order breakfast and offers full service restaurants and bars. Team Members at more than 770 hotels around the world are committed to guaranteeing today’s busy travelers have a bright and satisfying experience from the first hello when they arrive. Hilton Garden Inn is part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest loyalty program for Hilton’s 14 distinct hotel brands. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount that can’t be found anywhere else, free standard Wi-Fi and digital amenities like digital check-in with room selection and Digital Key (select locations), available exclusively through the industry-leading Hilton Honors app. For more information about Hilton Garden Inn, visit www.hgi.com or news.hgi.com, or connect on social media at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.\nAbout Hilton\nHilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company, with a portfolio of 14 world-class brands comprising more than 5,200 properties with more than 856,000 rooms, in 105 countries and territories. Hilton is dedicated to fulfilling its mission to be the world’s most hospitable company by delivering exceptional experiences – every hotel, every guest, every time. The company's portfolio includes Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages an award-winning customer loyalty program, Hilton Honors. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose exactly how many Points to combine with money, an exclusive member discount that can’t be found anywhere else, and free standard Wi-Fi. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006212/en/\nCONTACT: Jennifer Hughes\nDirector, Brand Public Relations\nHilton Garden Inn\n+1 901 374 6518\njennifer.hughes@hilton.com\nor\nLauren Butler\nFor Hilton Garden Inn\n+1 214 259 3436\nlauren.butler@ketchum.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA OKLAHOMA UTAH VIRGINIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TRAVEL DESTINATIONS VACATION LODGING CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY COMMERCIAL BUILDING & REAL ESTATE\nSOURCE: Hilton Garden Inn\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 12:19 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 12:19 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006212/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 50 34 13 3 71 176 128 Boston 48 29 11 8 66 157 119 Toronto 51 28 18 5 61 162 146 Florida 48 20 22 6 46 136 159 Detroit 48 19 21 8 46 126 146 Montreal 50 20 24 6 46 130 159 Ottawa 48 15 24 9 39 125 168 Buffalo 50 14 27 9 37 115 166 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Washington 49 29 15 5 63 150 138 Pittsburgh 52 28 21 3 59 156 155 New Jersey 49 25 16 8 58 147 147 Columbus 50 27 19 4 58 133 140 Philadelphia 49 24 17 8 56 141 141 N.Y. Rangers 50 25 20 5 55 153 151 N.Y. Islanders 51 25 21 5 55 173 184 Carolina 50 23 19 8 54 139 155 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Winnipeg 51 30 13 8 68 167 137 Nashville 48 29 12 7 65 146 125 St. Louis 52 31 18 3 65 151 131 Dallas 51 28 19 4 60 155 137 Minnesota 50 27 18 5 59 147 142 Colorado 48 27 18 3 57 157 139 Chicago 50 24 19 7 55 148 137 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 49 33 12 4 70 168 130 San Jose 49 26 16 7 59 145 138 Los Angeles 50 27 18 5 59 142 121 Anaheim 51 25 17 9 59 144 142 Calgary 50 25 17 8 58 139 139 Edmonton 49 22 24 3 47 135 157 Vancouver 49 19 24 6 44 127 159 Arizona 50 12 29 9 33 118 172\nNOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.\nMonday's Games No games scheduled\nTuesday's Games\nMinnesota 3, Columbus 2, SO\nPittsburgh 5, San Jose 2\nFlorida 4, N.Y. Islanders 1\nAnaheim 3, Boston 1\nCarolina 2, Ottawa 1\nNew Jersey 3, Buffalo 1\nWinnipeg 3, Tampa Bay 1\nSt. Louis 3, Montreal 1\nChicago 2, Nashville 1\nLos Angeles 3, Dallas 0\nVegas 4, Calgary 2\nColorado at Vancouver, 10 p.m.\nWednesday's Games\nN.Y. Islanders at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.\nSan Jose at Detroit, 8 p.m.\nPhiladelphia at Washington, 8 p.m.\nThursday's Games\nToronto at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.\nMontreal at Carolina, 7 p.m.\nSt. Louis at Boston, 7 p.m.\nFlorida at Buffalo, 7 p.m.\nAnaheim at Ottawa, 7 p.m.\nPhiladelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m.\nVegas at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.\nLos Angeles at Nashville, 8:30 p.m.\nTampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m.\nDallas at Arizona, 9 p.m.\nColorado at Edmonton, 9 p.m.\nChicago at Vancouver, 10 p.m.\nFriday's Games\nWashington at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.\nDetroit at Carolina, 7 p.m.\nSan Jose at Columbus, 7 p.m.\nVegas at Minnesota, 8 p.m." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DENVER (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining and the struggling Boston Celtics edged the Denver Nuggets 111-110 on Monday night.\nDenver had a chance to win in dramatic fashion at the end but Torrey Craig's tip-in of Will Barton's long attempt from 3-point range was too late.\nIrving finished 11 of 17 from the field to lead the Celtics to just their second win in seven games. Jayson Tatum added 20 points and Marcus Morris had 14 off the bench.\nBoston blew a 20-point lead and trailed heading into the final period. Then the Celtics couldn't hold onto a six-point advantage in the final two minutes as the Nuggets tied the game at 108 with 43 seconds to go.\nNikola Jokic had a double-double by the first minute of the second half for Denver, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Barton scored 19, Gary Harris 15 and Jamal Murray 14.\nMason Plumlee had 16 points and eight rebounds before he left with a leg injury in the fourth.\nThe Celtics beat Denver for the second time this season, also prevailing 124-118 on Dec. 13.\nBoston made 10 of its first 16 shots from beyond the perimeter to go up 51-31 in the second quarter and led 56-45 at halftime. Irving led the way with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting.\nThe Nuggets climbed back on the strength of a 14-5 run to end the half and outscored Boston 37-24 in the third to go up 82-80.\nTIP-INS\nCeltics: G Terry Rozier played despite spraining his right ankle at Golden State on Saturday and scored eight points off the bench. The backup guard has played in every game this season. ... Daniel Theis had 11 points and Al Horford scored 10.\nNuggets: Jokic has recorded a double-double in 20 of his past 40 games. ... F Wilson Chandler sat out with an illness. He'd been dealing with symptoms of a migraine since he left in the first half of Saturday's win over Dallas. . F Kenneth Faried played for the first time in four games and had zero points and five rebounds in five minutes.\nUP NEXT\nCeltics: Host the New York Knicks on Wednesday to open a three-game homestand.\nNuggets: At the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, looking to end a 10-game losing streak at AT&T Center.\n___\nMore NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government’s Atomic Energy Council (AEC) sent a letter to state utility Taiwan Power Co. Tuesday giving it the green light to restart the second reactor at the nation’s second nuclear plant.\nThe reactor had been under repair since the middle of 2016 after a short circuit caused by problems with lightning conductors, the Central News Agency reported.\nThe nuclear plant in Wanli, New Taipei City, on Taiwan’s north coast, is one of three operating in the country, with the government of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) having set 2025 as the target for Taiwan going entirely nuclear-free.\nThe second reactor at the second nuclear plant can be fully operational nine days after the reception of the AEC letter, according to CNA.\nTaipower originally requested the restart on February 5, but the AEC needed one month to complete its review of the application, followed by a discussion at the Legislative Yuan. Instead of going ahead with the approval immediately after that, the AEC went on another inspection tour of the plant before sending Tuesday’s letter, CNA reported.\nWithout the second reactor at the second plant operating, Taipower said the electricity supply in April would face a difficult situation. At present, only one reactor at the second plant and both reactors at the third nuclear plant, located in Pingtung County, are working.\nThe first reactor at the first nuclear plant in New Taipei City stopped operating in 2014 and will be completely taken out of service by the end of this year. The second reactor at the power station was switched off last June and should stop service altogether in June 2019.\nThe restart of the second reactor at the second plant is just one of several energy decisions by the government which have met with resistance from former supporters. Environmentalists are also fiercely opposed to the restart of a coal-fired station project in Shen’ao, also in New Taipei City, which they say goes against aims to cut down carbon emissions and reduce air pollution in general." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Nicole Eggert claims her former \"Charles in Charge\" co-star Scott Baio sexually abused her for years starting when she was 14.\nSpeaking on \"Megyn Kelly Today\" on Tuesday, Eggert said Baio first molested her when she was 14 and they had sexual intercourse when she was 17. Baio is more than 11 years older than Eggert.\nThe age of consent in California is 18.\nBaio in a previous Facebook Live video says he is being falsely accused and says he and Eggert had a consensual relationship after she was over the age of 18.\nEggert says she is exploring all legal options and is considering filing a police report. A representative for Baio didn't immediately respond to The Associated Press." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEWBURY, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 4, 2018--Kahootz, a UK based cloud collaboration service provider, is pleased to announce the signing this month of two G-Cloud contracts, one with the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) and the other with NHS England (NHSE). Both agreements allow these organisations, and all their Arm’s-length Bodies (ALBs), to call-off Kahootz Enterprise user licenses using preferential discounted partnership terms.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005237/en/\nThe UK National Health Service are now in Kahootz with their partner agencies, suppliers and key stakeholder groups. (Photo: Business Wire)\nFollowing a review of their requirements and competing services available via the UK Government’s Digital Marketplace, DHSC have decided to re-sign with Kahootz for a third G-Cloud contract term. Under their previous agreements, Kahootz collaboration sites have been deployed by the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS Digital, NHS Improvement, Public Health England, the Health Research Authority and NHS England. With assistance from these organisations, over 42,000 users across the UK health sector are already in Kahootz with each other, and this number is likely to double this year.\n“When we initially short-listed, and subsequently contracted, Kahootz in 2014 we specifically requested an option for all of our ALBs to benefit from shared terms.” said Bob Armstrong, DHSC’s Head of Technology Services. “I’m very pleased to see the impressive adoption rates and popularity of the Kahootz collaboration service throughout our partner agencies. It’s certainly helping to empower our staff and stakeholders to find new ways to work together across the UK health sector.” Bob added, “We are also delighted to hear NHS England are keen to make the service more widely available across their ALBs to improve team working and knowledge sharing, locally, regionally and nationally.”\nThe new NHS England contract builds on the successful roll-out of Kahootz to support team-working, across geographies and organisations, on all of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund and NHS Vanguard projects. With an increasing number of requests from other NHSE project areas, an independent audit by Agile Elephant of the futureNHS collaboration platform (powered by Kahootz) was commissioned last year which calculated a first-year net operating benefit of £1.5m, rising to £8.9m in Year 2. The evaluation report provided a strong evidence base for the need for a collaboration platform in health and social care.\n“The futureNHS platform is a secure, cloud-based collaboration platform that was initially intended to support the NHS new care models programme but is being used for much more and further programmes now,” stated Agile Elephant founder and CXO David Terrar.\n“It gives them a single platform that spans boundaries and siloes in NHS, local government and third sector organisations, bringing people together to help deliver integrated care. It provides a new way of sharing learning and developing policy collaboratively, giving them intelligent knowledge management where stakeholders can work more effectively together in one place.”\nSpeaking on behalf of Kahootz, John Glover, their Sales & Marketing Director, commented “With these two call-off contracts in place Kahootz are now in a great position to help collaborations and service transformation right across the health sector and beyond by making it quicker, easier and more cost effective for NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to involve their suppliers, partner agencies and key stakeholders. We look forward to working with them to achieve these goals.”\nPlease contact us for further background or interview contacts at DHSC, Agile Elephant or Kahootz.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005237/en/\nCONTACT: Kahootz\nJohn Glover\nSales & Marketing Director\njohn.glover@kahootz.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED KINGDOM EUROPE\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY DATA MANAGEMENT NETWORKS SOFTWARE TELECOMMUNICATIONS HEALTH PUBLIC POLICY/GOVERNMENT OTHER GOVERNMENT MANAGED CARE\nSOURCE: Kahootz\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 07/04/2018 11:27 AM/DISC: 07/04/2018 11:26 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005237/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BEIJING (AP) — China has criticized proposed U.S. investment controls as a violation of global trade rules and says it reserves the right to retaliate if they take effect.\nThe Commerce Ministry's comment Thursday came as the two sides prepared for weekend talks in Beijing on American complaints about China's trade surplus and Beijing's promise to buy more American goods.\nA ministry spokesman, Gao Feng, said the White House proposal to restrict Chinese investment in the United States violates the \"rules and basic spirit\" of the World Trade Organization.\nGao said, \"The Chinese side will carefully evaluate the U.S. measures and reserves the right to take corresponding measures.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW DELHI (Taiwan News) -- Buddhist spiritual leader and Nobel laureate Dalai Lama has said that India's tradition of ahimsa (non-violence) can make today's angry world a compassionate place.\nThe 82-year-old spiritual master told Times of India that using force to solve problems is outdated and the time has come to practice \"karuna\" through education.\n\"The concept of ahimsa has been in India for over a thousand years. Because of this 1,000-year-old tradition of ahimsa, I think modern India is more peaceful than Pakistan. Pakistan has a large number of Muslims, but India has a larger number of Muslims and is more peaceful though they read the same Quran. This is because of the long culture of nonviolence still alive,\" he said prior to the 28th anniversary of his receiving the Nobel Prize for peace.\n\"It should not be considered 'old' thinking; it is not only ancient knowledge of India but relevant in today's world. I realize this in my own experience. When I began to study ancient Indian knowledge, it was with great reluctance and no interest — because my only interest was to play, to run here and there, I did not like sitting seriously in front of my tutor! (laughs). But those subjects I learnt with great reluctance I now find so useful, firstly to keep my peace of mind, and, when I pass through difficulties.\"\n\"The education rooted in ancient Indian knowledge gave me a sound basis of will-power — the long run is very important. The short run, perhaps with use of weapons, is decisive, for power. But in the long run, the power of truth prevails,\" he said." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MOSCOW (AP) — A car veered onto the sidewalk and struck people near a bus stop in the Russian city of Sochi, killing one pedestrian and injuring five others.\nIn a video shown by state news channel Russia-24, a black car traveling at high speed on a main street veers across two lanes of traffic and crashes into the pedestrians, then plows through a railing and collides with a car travelling on a cross-street.\nNews reports said preliminary information suggested the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.\nWednesday's accident occurred in the Dagomys district of Sochi, one of the 11 cities hosting soccer World Cup matches." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HONG KONG (AP) — A monthly index shows that Chinese manufacturing started the year off at a slower pace as factory activity eased on softer demand, especially for exports.\nThe official purchasing managers' index for January, released on Wednesday, slipped to 51.3, down from December's 51.6 and the weakest reading in eight months.\nThe index is based on a 100-point scale where the 50 mark separates expansion from contraction.\nOutput and new orders continued to grow but at a slower pace than the previous month.\nThe PMI is a widely watched gauge for manufacturing in the world's second-largest economy.\nChina posted 6.9 percent economic growth last year, beating the government's official target and analyst forecasts. Economists expect activity to slow this year as the government strives to cool the property market." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BERLIN (AP) — Having sealed his move to Arsenal, striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has apologized to Borussia Dortmund fans for the breakdown in his relations with the German club.\nAubameyang moved to the Premier League club on Wednesday for 63.75 million euros ($80 million), a record fee for Arsenal.\nThe 28-year-old Gabon international was recently dropped by Dortmund for two league games after missing a club appointment, with coach Peter Stoeger saying he felt the player lacked focus. It was the third time the club had sanctioned the player for disciplinary reasons in a little over a year.\n\"First of all, sorry for everything that happened in the last month,\" Aubameyang posted on his Instagram account. \"But I wanted to move already last summer and it didn't work out, but now it had to. Perhaps I didn't pick the best way, but everyone knows that Auba is crazy - and yeah, I'm a crazy guy, hahahaha!\n\"I made a mistake but not from bad intentions. I'll never forget these four and half years, because you all gave me the strength for the level I'm at now. I thank the whole BVB family, the fans, the club, the staff and of course my teammates! Your Auba17!!!\"\nAubameyang was the Bundesliga's top scorer last season with 31 goals. He had 13 in 16 league games this season.\n\"After the unpleasant events of the last weeks, we prefer to remember that the story of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was a success over more than four years,\" Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — Southampton says it has sacked Frenchman Claude Puel after one year as coach of the Premier League club.\nThe south coast club said in a short statement that it had \"terminated the contract of Claude Puel with immediate effect\" and that \"the search for a new management team is underway.\"\nPuel guided the team to last season's League Cup final, where it narrowly lost to Manchester United in February, and an eighth-place finish in the Premier League." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW DELHI (Taiwan News) -- Watercolor paintings of several Taiwanese artists are on display at an international exhibition being held at the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society (AIFACS) in New Delhi.\nThe show, which began on Saturday, was participated by artists from 50 countries. Organized by the International Watercolor Society (IWS), the exhibition displays more than 450 artworks. Some artists are giving live demonstrations of their works.\nIn the exhibition titled Second International Watercolor Society India Biennial 2017-18, its theme is 'Harmony Through Watercolor.' According to the organizers, it is aimed at giving the younger artists of the next generation from around the world a platform which will shape their future and enable Indian watercolor painters to exchange their ideas with painters of the rest of the world.\n\"Watercolor is a beautiful medium but it has not got its deserved place in the contemporary art world. We are trying and working continuously for a change. I have assured that this festival will be full of discussions, seminars, demonstrations so that we can all learn and exchange ideas,\" said Amit Kapoor, IWS Vice President and IWS India Country Head." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The top commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan says some Taliban fighters and leaders are talking to the Afghan government about peace prospects.\nGen. John Nicholson told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that he could not be more specific about this because the talks are confidential. He said they involve mid-level as well as high-level Taliban figures in exploratory contacts that are taking place \"off stage,\" even as fighting continues.\nIn what he suggested was evidence of interest in a peace process, Nicholson said the Taliban's spring offensive, announced in late April, has been less intense than in recent years. He also argued that Afghan government forces are demonstrating an improved ability to defeat Taliban attacks." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A police officer has testified that an Oklahoma man charged with a hate crime in the killing of his Lebanese neighbor said the slain man didn't like him because he is gay.\nTestimony resumed Wednesday in the first-degree murder trial of 63-year-old Stanley Majors for the 2016 shooting death of 37-year-old Khalid Jabara.\nTulsa officer Josh Metcalf testified Tuesday that Majors called Jabara \"creepy\" and a terrorist who disliked him because of his sexuality.\nDefense attorneys have tried to show that Majors was mentally ill and have said he feared that Jabara's family targeted him because he's gay.\nMajors has pleaded not guilty and was found competent to stand trial.\nProsecutors say Majors shot Jabara after years of harassment that included calling the family \"filthy Lebanese\" and \"Moo-slems.\" The Jabaras are Christian." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered a criminal investigation into claims that former doctor Larry Nassar abused some of his victims at a Texas ranch that was the training ground for U.S. women's gymnastics.\nAbbott ordered the Texas Rangers, the state's top criminal investigations unit, to look into the Karolyi Ranch. It hosted training camps for more than a decade until earlier this year. The Walker County Sheriff's Office is already investigating.\nSeveral gymnasts have said Nassar abused them at the ranch.\nAbbott called the allegations \"gut-wrenching.\" He ordered the state investigation because the claims involve multiple jurisdictions and states.\nNassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison last week. More than 150 women and girls have said he had molested them under the guise of medical treatment." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MIAMI (AP) — The head of the U.S. government's disaster response agency says Puerto Rico is building emergency management capabilities to help the Caribbean island withstand future disasters.\nBrock Long of the Federal Emergency Management Agency spoke Wednesday at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, two days before the Atlantic hurricane season begins. He said FEMA has been bolstering resources in the U.S. territory, hiring roughly 1,600 residents to build local disaster response systems that didn't exist before Hurricane Maria hit the island.\nLong said Puerto Rico presented a challenge for FEMA because its government lacked the response capabilities of states such as Florida and Texas.\nAt the hurricane center, Long met with FEMA employees, forecasters and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.\nNielsen said hurricane preparedness begins with individuals and their local communities." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The special counsel appointed to investigate Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign has met with a Senate committee probing the same matter.\nThe leaders of the Senate intelligence committee say In a statement issued Wednesday that they \"look forward to future engagements\" with Robert Mueller.\nNorth Carolina Republican Richard Burr and Virginia Democrat Mark Warner aren't providing any other details regarding the meeting.\nIt comes a day after lawmakers questioned Justice Department officials about the probe and Mueller's independence.\nThose questions were prompted after a friend of President Donald Trump said the White House was considering firing Mueller.\nBut Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller last month, testified Tuesday he has seen no evidence of good cause to fire Mueller." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 50 years ago fractured a nation that was already in turmoil.\nBut RFK's funeral, particularly the train that took his body from a memorial service in New York City to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, brought the country together when an estimated 2 million people spontaneously gathered beside railroad tracks to honor him as the train passed by.\nAn exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Train: RFK's Last Journey , displays 21 of the 1,000 unique color slides photographer Paul Fusco made that day.\nThe photos offer a moving portrait of Americans of all colors and classes. Catholic schoolgirls, field hands, firemen, blue-collar workers and housewives came to say farewell to the man many knew simply as \"Bobby.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW DELHI (AP) — A deeply felt preference for boys has left more than 63 million women statistically \"missing\" across India, and more than 21 million girls unwanted by their families, government officials say.\nThe skewed ratio of men to women is largely the result of sex-selective abortions, and better nutrition and medical care for boys, according to the government's annual economic survey, which was released Monday. In addition, the survey found that \"families where a son is born are more likely to stop having children than families where a girl is born.\"\nStatistics indicate that India has 63 million fewer women than it should have, scientists say, a \"missing\" population explained by sex-selective abortions and a range of other issues.\nThe birth of a son is often a cause for celebration and family pride, while the birth of a daughter can be a time of embarrassment and even mourning as parents look toward the immense debts they'll need to take on to pay for marriage dowries. Studies have long shown that Indian girls are less educated than boys, have poorer nutrition and get less medical attention. Many women — including educated, wealthy women — say they face intense pressure, most often from mothers-in-law, to have sons.\nBy analyzing birth rates and the gender of last-born children, the report also estimated that more than 21 million Indian girls are not wanted by their families.\n\"The challenge of gender is long-standing, probably going back millennia,\" wrote the report's author, chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, noting that India must \"confront the societal preference for boys.\"\nThe report also noted that increasing wealth does not mean an end to male preferences among families, with some comparatively wealthy areas, including New Delhi, faring worse over the years.\nMany of the best scores for women's development, the report noted, were in India's northeast — \"a model for the rest of the country\" — a cluster of states that hang off the country's edge where most people are ethnically closer to China and Myanmar, and where some people don't even see themselves as Indian." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturers cranked out more steel, machinery and electronics last month as factories appear to be rebounding after two years of stagnation.\nFactory output rose 0.2 percent in January, its second straight increase, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday . While modest, the gain is equal to the industry's growth in all of 2016.\nManufacturers are benefiting from increased spending by businesses on industrial machinery and other equipment. Oil and gas drillers are building new rigs now that energy prices have stabilized after falling sharply two years ago. Cutbacks by drillers had caused orders for steel pipe and other drilling equipment to plummet. And weak overseas economies in Europe and China also cut into exports.\nYet those trends have largely reversed. Mining production rose 2.8 percent last month, pushed higher by a solid gain in oil and gas drilling.\nUtility production fell 5.7 percent last month, as unseasonably warm weather reduced demand for heating. A broader measure of industrial production, which includes manufacturing, mining and utilities, dropped 0.3 percent.\nOther measures of manufacturing output show steady improvement. Factories expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years last month, according to a private survey of purchasing managers. That survey also found that factories are hiring more.\nAnd a separate gauge of new orders for U.S. factory goods rose in December at a solid pace, lifted by greater business spending on big-ticket items such as machinery and computers.\nA strong dollar has weighed on exports because it makes U.S. goods more expensive overseas, though manufacturers appear to be adjusting to the currency's strength." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BERLIN (AP) — Police say one man has been killed and two people injured in a knife attack on a train in the northern German city of Flensburg.\nFederal police said in a statement the incident took place Wednesday at around 7 p.m. local time.\nThey said the details of the attack were not clear yet, but that one of the injured was a 22-year-old female police officer. The statement said she appeared to have used her pistol, suggesting she may have killed the man.\nGerman daily Bild reported that following a dispute, one man attacked another man with a knife and then a police officer who was called to intervene.\nThe German news agency dpa reported the Flensburg main train station had been evacuated and service to Flensburg had been interrupted temporarily." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "About 1.2 billion children face severe risks from conflict, poverty or sexual discrimination, said Save the Children rights organization in a report published on Wednesday.\nThe main threats to childhood are child labor, exclusion from education, early pregnancy and child marriage, with conflict often inflating the risks.\n\"Around the world, conflict denies children of theirs rights to health, education, protection and freedom from fear, leading to a sudden end of childhood,\" the organization said.\n\"Child marriage, child labor and malnutrition are just a few of the alarming living conditions that can deprive children of their childhood,\" said Susanna Krüger, managing director Save the Children in Germany.\nChildhood under threat\nAccording to the report, many of the worst-ranked countries were located in central and western Africa. Niger ranked at the bottom of the list, with Mali and the Central African Republic not far behind.\n\"Children in these countries are the least likely to fully experience childhood,\" the report said. \"In these and many other countries around the world, children are robbed of significant portions of their childhoods.\"\nRead more: Not just for the boys! Women and girls embrace science in Kenya\nAt the opposite end of the list, Singapore and Slovenia shared the top spot. Germany ranked 12 globally, while the US came in 36 and Russia right behind it at 37.\n\"Seven other Western European countries also rank in the top 10, attaining very high scores for children's health, education and protection status,\" the report said.\nOut of the 175 countries ranked in the study, 95 of them showed improvement in one of the risk areas. Meanwhile, in 20 countries, children are exposed to all three threats.\n'Leave no one behind'\nThe report recommended the international community take steps and use the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework as a way to secure childhood across the globe.\n\"We call on world leaders to value children and their right to survive, thrive and be protected by following through on the commitments made under the SDGs, and by taking immediate steps to implement the pledge to leave no one behind,\" Save the Children said.\n\"In addition to these cross-cutting global guarantees, specific actions are needed to address poverty, conflict and gender, with a focus on girls and children who are refugees.\"\nRead more: Why many Indians prefer sons over daughters\nls/rc (AFP, dpa)\nEach evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PARIS (AP) — French consumer fraud authorities are investigating a promotional campaign for Nutella that prompted scuffles in several supermarkets — and even a police intervention.\nThe Finance Ministry's fraud agency said Tuesday it will examine whether the campaign by the Intermarche supermarket chain violated pricing regulations. An official with the agency would not give further details.\nIntermarche drew big crowds at several stores last week after announcing sales of the chocolate and hazelnut spread for just 1.41 euros ($1.74), some 70 percent below the regular price.\nVideo circulated online of ensuing scuffles in some stores, drawing worldwide attention — and questions from authorities.\nNutella manufacturer Ferrero has distanced itself, saying Intermarche is entirely responsible.\nThe investigation comes as the government prepares to present a draft law this week aimed at stricter and clearer regulation for big retailers." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Police in New Hampshire found an array of drugs in an apartment during an investigation into the death of a 20-month-old child.\nPolice say two people have been charged with drug possession after Wednesday's discovery.\nAuthorities in Manchester say the toddler died on May 25, and they executed a search warrant that day as part of the death investigation.\nThirty-one-year-old Joshua Garvey and 33-year-old Christen Gelinas were each charged with possession of controlled drugs with intent to distribute. Police say they found heroin, cocaine, crack and suboxone that had an estimated street value of over $5,400. Garvey also faces bail violation charges.\nGelinas and Garvey faced arraignment Wednesday. It wasn't immediately known if they had lawyers.\nThere were no details on their relationship to the toddler or the child's identity." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Small businesses created fewer jobs during May, joining larger companies in a slowdown that may be due to a lack of qualified candidates.\nPayroll company ADP said Wednesday it counted 38,000 new jobs at its customers with 49 or fewer employees. That's down from an average of nearly 59,000 in the first four months of this year.\nADP's tally of new jobs at companies of all sizes fell to 178,000 from a four-month average of nearly 229,000.\nSome companies have said in surveys they want to hire but struggle to find candidates with the right skills. A survey released Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife showed that 32 percent of the 1,002 small business owners questioned between late March and late April expect to hire.\nIn a separate survey taken in early April by Wells Fargo and Gallup, 43 percent of the 603 owners questioned want to hire." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BERLIN (AP) — An emergency official says a small plane has crashed at an airfield in eastern Austria, killing two people aboard.\nLower Austria province fire service spokesman Franz Resperger told the Austria Press Agency that the aircraft came down nose-first Wednesday morning in a field next to the runway at the Voeslau-Kottingbrunn airfield, south of Vienna. The two men were trapped in the badly damaged cockpit.\nThere was no immediate word on the cause of the crash." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A senior Palestinian official has lashed out at President Donald Trump, saying \"real estate men\" can't resolve the Middle East conflict.\nTuesday's remarks by Saeb Erekat, a veteran peace negotiator, came as the White House is expected to unveil a long-awaited peace plan.\nErekat says the White House \"should be run by great men, not real estate men,\" and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict \"won't be solved by the tools of real estate men.\"\nErekat also said the Palestinian Authority will continue its payments to the families of jailed or slain Palestinian militants, after Israel passed a law this week withholding millions in taxes it collects for the Palestinians which are allocated for that purpose.\nThe Israeli move deepened a budget crunch for the Palestinians, already hit by U.S. aid cuts." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A detention hearing for rapper Juelz Santana has been postponed until authorities decide who will prosecute the drug and gun charges he faces following an incident at Newark Liberty International Airport.\nA judge was due to decide Monday whether Santana would remain jailed until his trial. Officials say that hearing will likely now occur sometime this week.\nSantana pleaded not guilty to state charges last week. He also faces federal charges in the same incident\nAuthorities say security personnel found a loaded .38-caliber handgun and oxycodone pills he didn't have a prescription for in a carry-on bag containing his identification.\nThey say he fled the area, leaving two bags behind. He turned himself in three days later.\nThe 36-year-old New York City-born rapper lives in Totowa, New Jersey. His real name is LaRon James." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The start of Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial is being pushed back a few days to give both sides more time to wrangle over pretrial issues.\nJudge Steven O'Neill issued an order Monday moving the start of jury selection to April 2. It had been scheduled for March 29.\nO'Neill says he'll instead hold final pretrial hearings March 29 and 30.\nCosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he drugged and molested Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.\nO'Neill hasn't ruled on whether jurors can hear about Cosby's settlement with Constand or if his lawyers can mention another accuser by name in their opening statement. Cosby's lawyers are objecting to O'Neill's ruling allowing up to five other accusers to testify.\nCosby's first trial last year ended in a hung jury.\nThe Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.\n___\nFor more on the Cosby trial, go to https://apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }