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{ "text": [ "New York (AP) — Coffee futures trading on the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Wednesday:\n(37,500 lbs.; cents per lb.)" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch police say they shot and wounded a man who was standing on the balcony of a residential apartment block and reportedly was waving an ax and shouting \"Allahu akbar.\"\nIn a series of tweets, Rotterdam police say the shooting happened early Wednesday afternoon in Schiedam when police tried unsuccessfully to calm the man. When an arrest team entered the apartment, the man attempted to attack them and injured a police dog.\nPolice say they are investigating the man's background. His identity was not released.\nThe confrontation came a day after a man in Belgium attacked and killed two female police officers and fatally shot a passer-by." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HOLLAND, Mich. (AP) — Former Republican Congressman Pete Hoekstra (HUK'-struh) is the new U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.\nWhite House spokeswoman Vanessa Morrone says Hoekstra was sworn in Monday afternoon by Vice President Mike Pence.\nHoekstra was confirmed last month by the U.S. Senate. He previously served as chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was the ranking Republican on the Committee until 2011.\nFirst elected to Congress in 1992, Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 3. He was an executive with Michigan-based office furniture maker Herman Miller and later ran unsuccessful campaigns for Michigan governor and U.S. Senate.\nPresident Donald Trump nominated Hoekstra for the ambassador post earlier this year." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- As South Korea's defense ministry strives to complete the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by the end of this year, Hong Kong media reports that the US military also plans to sell the system to Taiwan to jointly establish an East Asian \"mini-NATO\" anti-missile network with Japan and South Korea.\nThe Hong Kong-based magazine Asia Week (亞洲週刊) published an article written by formerTaiwanese naval commander Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩) titled, \"U.S. Military Rumored to be Planning to Deploy THAAD System in Taiwan,\" asserting that in order to counter the ballistic missiles positioned in southern China aimed at Guam, Taiwan would be an ideal location to set up a THAAD system to intercept the Chinese missiles while still in the boost phase in the airspace over Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Nantou counties.\nAccording to Wendell Minnick from the US-based military news website Shephard, Taiwan intends to procure 150 F-35A conventional fighters and 60 short take-off/vertical landing F-35B stealth fighters to replace its aging Mirage 2000s, and Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF) fighters, and F-5 Tigers. But the US may use a shortfall in the number of F-35 fighters delivered as an excuse to recommend Taiwan buy the THAAD system.\nThe Asia Week article also speculated now that Japan and South Korea both appear to be receiving the THAAD system, the U.S. may be eyeing Taiwan next. In July of last year, South Korea agreed to the deployment of THAAD, while in August last year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense also launched a study into adopting the system. The article also mentioned in the future, the Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2) system built by U.S. defense contractor Raytheon may be deployed in Japan and South Korea along Beijing's so-called \"first island chain\" line of defense, and it is possible that the radar system could be positioned in Taiwan as well." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says North Korea wants meeting 'as soon as possible,' praises Kim Jong Un as 'very open' and 'very honorable'" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--Regulatory News:\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180422005011/en/\nThe shareholders of Stallergenes Greer plc (Paris:STAGR), a biopharmaceutical company specialising in treatments for respiratory allergies, are hereby informed that they are invited to attend the Company’s Annual General Meeting at la Maison de la Recherche, 54 rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France, on 7 June 2018 at 2:00p.m. (CET).\nNotice of the meeting is available in the “Investors” section of the Company website at www.stallergenesgreer.com. It contains the draft resolutions proposed by the Board of Directors, the explanatory notes and the main conditions under which shareholders may participate, vote and exercise their rights.\nAll documents are at the disposal of shareholders, as part of the Annual General Meeting, and are available at the registered office of the Company in London (40 Bernard Street, 3rd Floor, London WC1N 1LE, United Kingdom), in Antony (6 rue Alexis de Tocqueville, 92160 Antony, France), and also in the “Investors” section of the Company’s website ( www.stallergenesgreer.com ), in “Results & Presentations / Annual General Meeting / 2018”.\nABOUT STALLERGENES GREER PLC Headquartered in London (UK), Stallergenes Greer plc is a global healthcare company specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of allergies through the development and commercialization of allergy immunotherapy products and services. Stallergenes Greer plc is the parent company of GREER Laboratories, Inc. (whose registered office is in the US) and Stallergenes SAS (whose registered office is in France).\nTRADING INFORMATION Name: Stallergenes Greer ISIN: GB00BZ21RF93 1 - Ticker: STAGR ICB Classification: 4577 LEI: 213800CYVZA7GJQEME86 Market: Euronext Paris regulated market\nAdditional information is available at http://www.stallergenesgreer.com.\nThis document (including information incorporated by reference in this document), oral statements made and other information published by the Company contain statements that are or may be forward-looking with respect to the financial condition and/or results of operations and businesses of the Company. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as \"believe,\" \"expects,\" \"project,\" \"estimated,\" \"forecast,\" \"should,\" \"plan,\" \"may\" or the negative of any of these, or other variations thereof, or comparable terminology indicating expectations or beliefs concerning future events. These forward-looking statements include risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Without being exhaustive, such factors include economic situations and business conditions, including legal and product evaluation issues, fluctuations in currencies and demand, and changes in competitive factors. These and other factors are more fully described in the Company's 2016 annual report published on 28 April 2017 on the Company's website www.stallergenesgreer.com. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, due to various factors. Save as required by applicable law, neither the Company nor any other person assumes any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to notify any person of any such update.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180422005011/en/\nCONTACT: Stallergenes Greer plc\nCommunications and Investor Relations\nNatacha Gassenbach, Tel: +1 (617) 225 8013\nEmail:natacha.gassenbach@stallergenesgreer.com\nor\nCaitlin Stefanik, Tel: +1 (857) 331 4117\nEmail:caitlin.stefanik@stallergenesgreer.com\nor\nMedia Relations Agency\nHavas Paris (Europe)\nSamuel Rousseau, +33 6 77 88 32 43\nE-mail :samuel.rousseau@havas.com\nor\nInvestor Relations Agency\nFTI Consulting\nArnaud de Cheffontaines, Tel: +33 1 47 03 68 10\nEmail:stalleregenesgreer@fticonsulting.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES EUROPE NORTH AMERICA FRANCE\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: HEALTH BIOTECHNOLOGY CLINICAL TRIALS INFECTIOUS DISEASES PHARMACEUTICAL OTHER HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES RESEARCH SCIENCE GENERAL HEALTH\nSOURCE: Stallergenes Greer plc\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/23/2018 01:30 AM/DISC: 04/23/2018 01:30 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180422005011/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — On the day that gunfire shattered the morning calm of suburban Washington, dozens of family members of those killed by past gun violence had gathered in the capital to lobby against Republican-backed legislation to make it easier to buy gun silencers.\nThe lobbying effort and a related hearing were canceled in the aftermath of the shooting. But gun control advocates aren't going far.\nThey're plodding ahead, hopeful for action but pragmatic enough to know that the latest shooting doesn't dramatically alter the dynamics of their uphill battle.\n\"Anytime there's a tragedy, it just once again amplifies the problem with gun violence in our country,\" said Lucy McBath, whose son, Jordan Davis, was shot to death four years ago in a dispute over loud music.\nWednesday's shooting at a congressional baseball practice marked the first high-profile test of Trump-era gun politics: Republican control of Congress and the White House has all but eliminated talk of tightening federal gun laws. President Donald Trump won election in part by making clear his opposition to new restrictions on gun purchases.\nGun control advocates, already on the defensive, insist they're not abandoning their efforts in Congress or state legislatures. But after Wednesday's shooting of Republican Rep. Steve Scalise and several others, they did not immediately land on a new strategy to challenge Trump and the Republican-led Congress.\n\"It is frustrating. These kinds of tragedies happen every single day,\" said McBath. \"Americans should be able to play baseball and dance in a nightclub or attend religious services without the fear of being gunned down. Americans can do better and we deserve better.\"\nAs gun control advocates eyed the challenging political reality, the powerful National Rifle Association made clear it was not backing off.\nNRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch praised the Capitol Hill police, saying that \"good guys with guns kept this from getting worse.\" She said the organization would continue pushing for gun-friendly legislation at the state and federal level, arguing that new gun-control measures are not the answer.\n\"Evil is real, evil exists and it makes no sense that the good cannot protect themselves against evil,\" said Loesch. \"Those policies have failed where they have been implemented.\"\nEchoing those sentiments, the Republicans who control Washington dug in.\nTrump ally Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who has a permit to carry a gun, vowed to keep his weapon close: \"On a rare occasion I'd have my gun in the glove box or something, but it's going to be in my pocket from this day forward,\" Collins told a Buffalo ABC affiliate.\nRep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., argued that tougher gun laws aren't the answer. He noted the shooter had a criminal record and was from Illinois, which already has strict gun laws, \"yet he was still able to access a firearm somehow.\"\nThe shooter was identified as James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from Illinois who had several minor run-ins with the law in recent years and belonged to a Facebook group called \"Terminate the Republican Party.\" Officers in Scalise's security detail wounded Hodgkinson, who was taken into custody and later died.\nMany gun control groups spent the immediate aftermath of the shooting privately contemplating their strategy. Most decided to proceed with caution, issuing public statements that avoided the gun control debate altogether.\n\"This shooting is an attack on all who serve and on all who participate in our democracy,\" said former Rep. Gabby Giffords, the only other member of Congress shot in the last four decades. Giffords said in a statement that she was \"heartbroken\" for Scalise and the other victims.\nA group connected to the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre said the latest shooting showed that \"more conversations are needed.\"\n\"This is not about more guns, which we know would not have prevented this event in spite of the presence of Congressman Scalise's armed detail,\" said the group Sandy Hook Promise. \"This is about prevention and education, about knowing the signs of someone who might commit an act of violence and how to stop it from happening in the first place.\"\nThey're pushing ahead in a harsh environment.\nTrump, who has offered strong support for the NRA, appeared at the group's convention in April and told members: \"The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end.\"\nIn one early sign of the new pro-gun environment, Congress in February passed a resolution to block a rule that would have kept guns out of the hands of certain people with mental disorders. Trump quickly signed it.\nGun control groups hope to defeat an NRA-backed effort to enact a national \"concealed-carry reciprocity\" law that would require all states to recognize other states' concealed carry permits. They helped beat back such proposals in Congress repeatedly during Obama's presidency, but face a far steeper challenge in the Trump era.\nIn the face of it all, McBath said simply: \"I have hope.\"\n___\nAP writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appears divided over Texas' appeal to preserve congressional and legislative districts that a lower court struck down as racially discriminatory.\nThe justices heard arguments Tuesday in the latest round of court action over Texas electoral districts that began in 2011.\nAt issue are two congressional districts and statehouse districts in four counties.\nThe liberal justices seemed favorable to minority voters and civil rights groups that challenged the districts. The court's conservatives appeared to lean toward the state. Justice Anthony Kennedy said nothing to indicate where his potentially decisive vote would fall.\nThe justices last year kept the challenged districts in place, even after the lower court ruling. Texas held primary elections in those districts in March." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BRUSSELS (AP) — Movie star Angelina Jolie says she and NATO's chief have agreed on ways to help the military alliance better combat the use of sexual violence against women and children in conflict zones.\nJolie said Wednesday that wherever sexual violence occurs \"peace is far harder and far more costly to achieve. It therefore has a direct bearing on NATO's efforts to protect stability.\"\nSpeaking after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, she said: \"We are going to focus on training, reporting, monitoring and awareness as a way of ending impunity.\"\nJolie, a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, warned that rape is being \"used as a weapon to achieve political or military goals.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ABOARD CELEBRITY EQUINOX (AP) — Honeymooners Zach and Alyssa Bynum of Louisville, Kentucky, had never been on an ocean cruise until last summer when they sailed aboard Celebrity Equinox.\nThey were immediately enamored with this shiny ship and impressed by the overall experience. They likely will cruise again.\n\"We enjoyed the atmosphere and experience, including the excursions and onboard activities,\" said Zach Bynum. \"We have definitely talked about doing another.\"\nAfter all, what's not to like about cruising? Ocean views, exotic ports and beautiful ships with fine food, abundant activities and great entertainment.\nToday's ships are like floating cities, carrying thousands of passengers, and each year, new and bigger vessels are launched with ever more unique features. New ships offer everything from menus designed by celebrity chefs to sophisticated fitness centers and spas, kids' clubs and recreation ranging from basketball to water slides to laser tag. Entertainment includes cabaret, dance clubs, blues clubs, Broadway shows, comedy and circus acts.\nThe Bynums booked their trip after talking with Zach's grandmother, who'd cruised before. First-timers often book on the advice of family or friends, said Peter Giorgi, Celebrity Cruises' chief marketing officer, and those first-timers frequently come back. \"For someone to enjoy something so much that they can't help but recommend it to their friends, family and loved ones is the greatest co-sign of all,\" Giorgi said. \"No amount of advertising dollars can buy that.\"\nAnother Equinox passenger, Aaron Humphrey of Columbus, Ohio, was on his first cruise, too. \"I was surprised by how much there is to do on the ship,\" he said while basking on deck in the warm Caribbean sunshine during a lazy sailing day between ports. \"I was hooked on a cruise within the first couple of hours.\" His wife Megan, who'd cruised before, said they picked the trip because \"we wanted to chill and eat some local food in places we hadn't seen before, and we decided that a cruise was the best of both worlds. \"\nBut if you've never done it, the idea of a cruise might be daunting. Here are some tips for first-timers.\nBOOKING\nChoose cabins according to your finances. Inside cabins are cheapest, ocean view is next, then rooms with a balcony, and most expensive, suites. If prone to motion sickness, lower decks and cabins closest to ship's center are the most stable. Peruse layouts online before picking a cabin and to familiarize yourself with the ship's features.\nEvery cruise line has a different style. To book the right ship for you, experts recommend using a travel agent. It doesn't cost extra and might save money, because agents often have access to deals.\nPACKING, DEPARTURE AND BOARDING\nPlan your wardrobe carefully, depending on itinerary and expected weather. Laundry and dry cleaning onboard are expensive.\nThe days of required formal wear — jackets, ties, evening gowns — at dinner are long gone, though some passengers will dress up.\nPack a power strip. Most cabins have only one or two outlets. Shampoo and soap are provided but you may bring your own — and there's no size limit like there is for flying.\nIf you're flying to your departure port, arrive a day ahead. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you might miss the sailing.\nHave reservation documents in hand when checking in at the terminal, along with required identification such as driver's license or passport. Lines can be long as departure time nears.\nA mandatory muster drill — where everyone reports to a deck for safety and evacuation information — is held shortly after departure.\nIt takes a few hours for luggage to be delivered to cabins.\nSmoking on ships is restricted to certain areas and not allowed in cabins.\nWHAT'S FREE, WHAT'S NOT\nNo need for cash onboard. Cruises provide plastic cards (like credit cards) to charge purchases to your account and also as ID for exiting and reboarding the ship at ports.\nMeals in dining rooms, buffets and poolside are included with cruise fare, and you may order more than one main course or dessert. Specialty restaurants charge extra and often get booked up, so make reservations ahead.\nWater, coffee, tea, juice and milk are free. Alcohol and soda are not, except for the most upscale cruise lines. Cruises sell daily or weeklong alcohol and soft drink packages that may save you money, depending on your drinking habits.\nShows, gyms, water parks and many other facilities and activities are free. Some fitness classes are free, some are not. Spa services are extra. On a budget? Avoid the casino and gift shop.\nUsing cellphones at sea, if service is available, is costly. Consider putting phones in airplane mode. Most ships offer Wi-Fi packages but they're pricey, so you might wait to go online until you're at a hotspot in port.\nOn top of your cruise fare, cruise lines usually suggest an amount to tip the staff, or automatically add daily tips to your bill for distribution among room stewards, wait staff and others. Tips are automatically added to alcohol.\nEXCURSIONS\nShore excursions may be booked through the cruise line, or you can go off on your own in port or hire independent tour guides. Booking through the ship guarantees you will not be left behind if your tour is delayed for some reason. If you go off on your own and return late, the ship will leave without you.\n___\nFor more on cruising, listen to our @AP_Travel podcast \"Get Outta Here!\" at http://apple.co/2s2ruHY" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON (AP) — Ireland's health minister says abortion is a reality for Irish women regardless of whether the country repeals a constitutional ban on most terminations.\nSimon Harris told RTE television Tuesday he can't ignore the fact that more than 3,200 citizens traveled from Ireland to Britain in 2016 to have abortions they couldn't get at home.\nHe says he is working on proposed new legislation and will update the public next month.\nThe government has announced plans to hold a public referendum in late May on whether to repeal the eighth amendment to Ireland's constitution. Voters will be asked if they want to keep the anti-abortion amendment or repeal it so parliament can enact new legislation.\nIreland, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, has the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Several unions in Puerto Rico have sued a federal control board overseeing the U.S. territory's finances and are demanding that it be declared unconstitutional.\nThe lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court also names the U.S. government and Puerto Rico's governor and seeks that a fiscal plan the board approved last week be suspended until the island's debt is audited. The fiscal plan contains several austerity measures that the local government has refused to implement.\nIn addition, the lawsuit states that two of the board's seven members should be removed because of an alleged conflict of interest. It also seeks that the board and Puerto Rico's government be temporarily barred from selling the island's power company.\nA board spokesman declined comment, saying it is an ongoing legal matter." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The craze for smartphones, social media and universal connectivity is generating immense wealth but also deep unease in South Korea, source of a large share of the computer chips that make them work.\nSoaring demand for microchips used in smartphones, computer servers and data centers is driving profits for chip and smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and its smaller rival SK Hynix sky high, helping sustain growth in Asia's fourth largest economy.\nSamsung reported Wednesday that its annual net profit rose 84 percent to a record 41.3 trillion won ($38.6 billion) in 2017 on annual sales of 239.6 trillion won ($223.7 billion), up 19 percent from the previous year.\nBut pressures are building as youth unemployment approaches 10 percent and many elderly Koreans scrimp and scavenge to get by." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mitt Romney is running for re-election to Marriott International's board of directors, but his campaign said Monday that he'll resign from that post if elected in November to the U.S. Senate, which bars senators from serving as an officer or board member of any publicly-held company.\nThe Utah Senate candidate and former Republican presidential candidate is one of 14 members of Marriott's board running for another year-long term, according to the hotel chain's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.\nThe board members will be up for re-election at the corporation's annual stockholder meeting on May 4.\nThe Republican, who is well-known and popular in Utah, is expected to win the race to replace retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch.\nRomney's spokeswoman MJ Henshaw said Monday that Romney would comply with U.S. Senate rules and resign from the Marriott board if elected in November.\nMarriott spokeswoman Connie Kim declined to comment.\nRomney, who has longstanding ties to the Marriott family, has served on Marriott's board off-and-on since 1993.\nHe resigned from the board in 2002 to campaign for Massachusetts governor. He later rejoined the board in 2009 but left again in 2011 to start his campaign for U.S. president.\nRomney, whose full name is Willard Mitt Romney, was named after Marriott founder J.W. Marriott, a close friend of Romney's father. Marriott's full name was John Willard Marriott.\nIf Romney stayed on the board, the now 71-year-old would run up next year against the company's mandatory retirement for board members at age 72.\nThe company's SEC filings show Romney was paid $247,299 in 2016 in cash, stocks and other compensation.\nThe filings were first reported by Bloomberg on Friday." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BOONE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--The longleaf pine was once the dominant tree species in the Southeastern United States, covering more than 90 million acres and supporting nearly 900 different plant species. By the 1970s, the longleaf ecosystem had decreased to less than 3 million acres and included dozens of threatened and endangered species. Through reforestation efforts, the longleaf forest now covers 4.7 million acres, and a new partnership between Appalachian Mountain Brewery (AMB) and The Longleaf Alliance will help restore up to 80,000 more trees across the southeast over the next five years.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006396/en/\nAppalachian Mountain Brewery’s Long Leaf IPA is helping The Longleaf Alliance restore thousands of longleaf pines across the southeast. (Photo: Business Wire)\nDrink a Pint, Plant a Pine\nAs part of the partnership, AMB and The Longleaf Alliance collaborated on “Drink a Pint, Plant a Pine,” a unique program that unites beer and wilderness enthusiasts in an effort to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem. AMB’s flagship Long Leaf IPA, which takes its name from North Carolina’s state toast, was a natural fit for the program. For every case of AMB Long Leaf IPA sold at retail – or the case equivalent of pints sold at bars and restaurants – The Longleaf Alliance will plant one longleaf pine. To date, sales of Long Leaf IPA have supported the planting of 15,000 longleaf seedlings.\n“Long Leaf IPA was born out of the North Carolina State Toast, which celebrates the ‘land of the long leaf pine,’” said AMB Head Brewer Chris Zieber. “Making a positive impact on the local community through our craft beer is AMB’s way of sharing the spirit of the words written in the toast. We couldn’t be happier to partner with a group like The Longleaf Alliance to help restore and protect the landscape that so many millions of people enjoy and inhabit.”\n“I commend Appalachian Mountain Brewery for its long history of dedication and commitment to sustainability, community involvement and philanthropy,” said Longleaf Alliance President Robert Abernethy. “AMB is leading the community by example. As a fellow Tarheel, I am proud to add Appalachian Mountain Brewery to our growing list of corporate conservation partners, a partnership that will allow The Longleaf Alliance to plant longleaf seedlings in North Carolina and make significant strides in restoring the longleaf landscape that has been so important to the people of North Carolina since the state’s founding.”\nApril 27 National Arbor Day Fundraising Event\nAMB and The Longleaf Alliance are celebrating the partnership with a special fundraising event on Arbor Day, Friday, April 27 th at Sam’s Bottle Shop in Durham, NC from 6-8pm. During the event, representatives from AMB and The Longleaf Alliance will be available to share updates on their partnership and longleaf restoration progress. Proceeds from beer sales during the celebration will go towards The Longleaf Alliance. More information about the event can be found here.\nLast year, The Longleaf Alliance worked with partners and landowners across nine states that comprise the Southeastern longleaf range to assist with the planting of approximately 1.8 million longleaf seedlings on 3,220 acres and prescribed burns on 44,000 acres. Throughout 2018, the “Drink a Pint, Plant a Tree” program will support numerous Longleaf Alliance planting events that will allow The Longleaf Alliance to get closer to its vision of eight million acres of longleaf pine by 2024.\nAbout Appalachian Mountain Brewery\nNestled in the High Country of North Carolina, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, LLC, is Boone, NC’s Beer Pioneer. The brewery is dedicated to making seriously delicious craft beer while focusing its business model on community, sustainability and philanthropy. We support the We Can So You Can Foundation, a 501(c)3 started by AMB CEO Sean Spiegelman, and help local nonprofits via our Pints for Non-Profits program in the taproom. These programs are integral to AMB’s commitment to empowering local organizations working to enrich the land, water, air and people of the High Country. Appalachian Mountain Brewery has earned numerous awards for its innovative craft beers and ciders, including Boone Creek Blonde Ale, which won a Gold Medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championships in 2015 and a Gold Medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival Competition. The brewery’s core portfolio also includes Long Leaf IPA, Spoaty Oaty Pale Ale, and Porter, which is a gold medal winner at the Great International Beer and Cider Competition.\nAbout The Longleaf Alliance\nThe Longleaf Alliance is a 501(c)(3) conservation nonprofit. Our primary objectives include: outreach, education, habitat management, protection and restoration. We are the only conservation nonprofit organization solely dedicated to restoring the longleaf ecosystems of the South. Since its origin in 1995, The Longleaf Alliance has used education, outreach, research, direct involvement and hands-on experience to develop and provide the best available information and support to landowners, resource managers, policy makers, educators, scientists and the public. We also connect members of the longleaf community to pertinent research findings that can help them overcome management challenges. Our focus has expanded to include management and maintenance of existing longleaf pine forests, management of prescribed fire and planting longleaf seedlings to start the next forest. With the help of our partners, we allocated 85% of income to programs and services last year, a figure that increases steadily and of which we are quite proud.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006396/en/\nCONTACT: Appalachian Mountain Brewery\nCarrie Greer\ncarrie@amb.beer\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NORTH CAROLINA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: NATURAL RESOURCES AGRICULTURE PHILANTHROPY ENVIRONMENT RETAIL WINE & SPIRITS FOUNDATION FUND RAISING\nSOURCE: Appalachian Mountain Brewery, LLC\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 02:38 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 02:38 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006396/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BEIRUT (AP) — Donor nations are raising money for Syria's neighbors to aid in hosting refugees of the country's civil war.\nBut a leading international rights group and the U.N.'s refugee agency say Lebanese authorities are evicting refugees from towns and camps in the country on questionable legal grounds.\nThree years ago, Ahmad Mohsin was forced to relocate his campsite in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley after soldiers raided the community of Syrian refugees where he lived and smashed their belongings.\nThe message was clear, he says — they were not wanted.\nThough Syrian President Bashar Assad appears to have largely suppressed the revolt against him in many parts of neighboring Syria, the U.N. and rights groups say the country is still not safe for refugee return." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European businesses are unsettled as they watch the U.S. and China collide over trade. And for good reason: the nascent global trade war presents the biggest threat to the economic upswing that has helped the region get past its financial crisis.\nIn theory, some European companies could benefit, jumping into market niches if Chinese businesses are kept out of the U.S. market. But that would only be a few companies or sectors.\nWhen your entire economy is heavily dependent on trade, an overall slowdown in global commerce caused by tit-for-tat import taxes provokes fear and undermines confidence.\nAnd that's just what's happening in Europe. By one measure, business confidence has fallen in six of the past seven months in Germany, where exports are almost half of annual economic output.\n\"It's worth all our efforts to defuse this conflict, so it doesn't become a war,\" said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday.\nThe U.S. is due to put tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday. The Chinese will respond with tariffs on an equivalent value of U.S. products such as soybeans, seafood and crude oil.\nAmid all this, Europe has its own trade dispute with the U.S. After the U.S. put tariffs on steel and aluminum from many allies, including the European Union, the 28-country bloc responded with import taxes on some $3.25 billion of U.S. goods. The Trump administration is also studying the option of putting tariffs on cars, which would significantly escalate the confrontation.\nThe head of the European Union's executive commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will head to Washington in late July to try to personally persuade Trump against further measures targeting Europe.\nThe disputes over trade threaten to spoil the good times for Europe's economy.\nGrowth last year was the strongest in a decade, since before the global financial crisis. While that has eased in recent quarters the economy has still done well enough to reduce create jobs. The number of unemployed people fell by 125,000 in May, leaving unemployment in the 19 countries that use the euro at 8.4 percent, the lowest since 2008. Joblessness is still high in some places, like Greece and Spain, but the overall rate is down from a high of 12.1 percent in 2013.\n\"Trade tensions stoked by U.S. President Donald Trump are clouding the economic outlook in Europe,\" wrote analysts at Berenberg bank in London. They rated the risk ahead of troubles from Italy's heavy debt load or tighter credit conditions by central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve.\nMany European companies would suffer because they both produce and sell goods in the U.S. and China, the world's biggest economies.\nFor example, tariffs that China is expected to impose Friday on U.S.-made autos would hit German carmakers Daimler and BMW since they both make vehicles in the United States and export them to China.\nDaimler has already lowered its outlook for profits, citing higher than expected costs from the new tariffs. BMW warned in a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday that tariffs would make it harder for BMW to sell vehicles built at its U.S. factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina in China, \"potentially leading to a strongly reduced export volumes and negative effects on investment and employment in the United States.\"\nLast year, BMW exported 272,000 vehicles from the Spartanburg plant, more than half its total production. Of those, 81,000 — worth $2.37 billion — went to China. BMW says its exports reduced the U.S. trade deficit by around $1 billion.\nBy themselves, the tariffs that take effect Friday won't immediately have a dramatic impact on global trade. The fear is that retaliation will spiral, hitting the total amount of global commerce.\nEven if the overall effect is to harm growth, there could be benefits for some European companies and sectors. Economists Alicia Garcia Herrero and Jianwei Xu at the French bank Natixis say that European makers of cars, aircraft, chemicals, computer chips and factory machinery could in theory snare market gains by substituting for Chinese or American products in the two markets. But that's only if Europe's own trade dispute with the U.S. does not escalate — a big if.\nEurope is waiting to see whether the Trump administration will go ahead separately with tariffs on auto imports. European companies like BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen's Porsche and Audi divisions, and Fiat Chrysler send $46.6 billion worth of vehicles every year to the U.S. Some 13.3 million people, or 6.1 percent of the employed population of the EU, work in the automotive sector, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.\n\"Europe cannot win anything\" on an overall basis \"for one obvious reason: we are net exporters,\" said Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis and a senior fellow at European research institute Bruegel. \"But we should not understate the view that some sectors could get something out of a U.S.-China trade war.\"\nAmid the brewing conflict, China has sought to get Europe on its side, put on a diplomatic charm offensive during visits by Merkel and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. The EU and China agreed last month to deepen commercial ties and support trade rules. But the EU remains a close, longtime ally of the U.S. on a range of issues, despite the current tensions with the Trump administration.\nOne negative outcome for Europe, Herrero said, would be if Trump can push the Chinese into a trade agreement aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit. The additional U.S. goods to China could come at the expense of European competitors.\n\"If China concedes to the U.S. proposed agreement, the whole situation faced by the EU would be much tougher,\" she and Xu wrote in a research note. \"For China to massively reduce its trade surplus with the U.S., it has to in some way substitute its imports away from the EU to the U.S., which would have a significant negative impact on the EU producers.\"\n___\nComplete coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/Globaltrade" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court has sentenced the former Communist Party chief of the major northern Chinese province of Hebei to 15 years in prison on corruption charges.\nThe Intermediate People's Court in the southeastern port city of Xiamen handed down the sentence to Zhou Benshun on Wednesday, saying it also confiscated 2 million yuan ($300,000) of his personal assets.\nIt said Zhou, 64, abused his position for personal gain while serving as the top official in the province just outside Beijing and in lower level jobs between 2000 and 2015. It said he and his relatives had scooped up a total of more than 40 million yuan ($5.8 million) in bribes and kickbacks resulting from real estate and construction deals, safety approvals, bank loans and work promotions." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic will have its top players available next weekend for the Fed Cup against Switzerland.\nFifth-ranked Karolina Pliskova, who reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, will lead the host Czechs on Feb. 10-11 on an indoor hard court at the O2 Arena.\nTwo-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova will return to the team for the first time since recovering from injuries suffered during a knife attack at her home in December 2016.\nAlso, Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova have been named in the team by captain Petr Pala.\nThe winner will face Germany or Belarus in the semifinals in April." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the London high-rise fire (all times local):\n8:10 a.m.\nCommunity centers in London have been overwhelmed by the number of donations flooding in for those left homeless by a high-rise apartment building fire.\nSo much food, clothing, shoes and other items have been coming in that the centers, churches and mosques have had to start turning away new donations. At least 12 people have been killed in the inferno at the 24-story building, with the death toll expected to rise. Dozens of others have been hospitalized.\nMissing people posters have been put up throughout the north London neighborhood of North Kensington. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has offered free food for survivors at one of his nearby eateries.\n___\n7:40 a.m.\nLondon fire investigators are painstakingly searching for more victims of an inferno that engulfed a high-rise apartment building and killed at least 12 residents.\nAuthorities say the death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers sift through more of the wreckage on Thursday.\nThe fire early Wednesday in the 24-story building in west London's North Kensington district also injured dozens, 18 of them critically, and left an unknown number missing. The cause of the blaze is under investigation, but a tenants' group had complained for years about the risk of a fire.\nMore than 1 million pounds ($1.27 million) has been raised to help victims of the tragedy as volunteers and charities worked through the night to find shelter and food for people who lost their homes." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MIAMI (AP) — James Johnson scored a career-high 31 points, Kelly Olynyk added 30 off the bench and the Miami Heat set a franchise single-game scoring record by beating the Denver Nuggets 149-141 in double overtime Monday night.\nMiami's total was also an NBA season-high and helped the Heat get back to the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Houston and Oklahoma City each scored 148 in games earlier this season.\nWayne Ellington scored 29 points for the Heat. Nikola Jokic had 34 for Denver, while Wilson Chandler added 26 for the Nuggets.\n\"That was as playoffs as it comes right there,\" Olynyk said.\nThe NBA's stat system crashed late in the first overtime, and crews were scrambling to determine the final numbers long after the buzzer. All that ultimately mattered was the score — one that moved the Heat closer to a playoff berth and left the Nuggets two games back in the Western Conference race.\nNeither team was at full strength. For Miami, Dwyane Wade (left hamstring strain) missed his fourth consecutive game, and Hassan Whiteside (left hip pain) sat out his fifth straight contest. Denver was without leading scorer Gary Harris, sidelined again by a strained right knee that could keep him out several more days.\nDenver led 16-5 after 3 1/2 minutes, and that was the only double-digit lead by either side for about the next three hours. It was airtight until the very final moments, almost to an absurd degree.\nAfter one quarter, Denver led by one.\nHalftime, Miami led by one.\nAfter three, Miami still by one.\nAfter regulation, tied.\nAfter one overtime, still tied.\nBack and forth they went all night, two teams who played a one-point game at Denver back in November — that one not being decided until Dion Waiters' missed jumper as time expired sealed the Nuggets' win — and now are fighting with playoffs in mind. The Heat are essentially playing for a seed; the Nuggets are playing for a berth.\nDenver led by six midway through the fourth before Miami used a 10-2 run to reclaim the lead. Nikola Jokic tied it for Denver with 10 seconds left in regulation, Josh Richardson missed for Miami at the end and to overtime they went tied at 118. The Heat thought they merited a trip to the line when Johnson missed at the end of the first overtime, but no whistle came.\nSo in the second overtime, they seized control and outscored the Nuggets 18-10 in the final five minutes. Wayne Ellington rattled in a 3-pointer to start the second extra session, and the Heat didn't trail again.\nTIP-INS\nNuggets: Including the franchise's ABA days, all 28 previous Nuggets teams to finish .500 or better made the playoffs. ... Denver fell to 19-5 in games where it scores at least 115 points. The Nuggets are now 17-30 when allowing more than 105.\nHeat: It was the highest-scoring first four quarters of an overtime game in Heat history. The previous before-OT high was 115 at Golden State on Dec. 1, 2008. ... A pregame moment of silence was held for the six victims of last week's bridge collapse near Florida International University. ... The previous scoring record was 141 points, done twice.\nNEVER FORGET\nThe Heat continue paying tributes to the 17 victims of the shooting last month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and several players spent their day off Sunday at the Parkland Rec League Basketball Championship, honoring the lives of victims Joaquin Oliver, Luke Hoyer and Alex Schacter by announcing scholarships in their names — as well as a $500,000 donation.\nROAD TRIP\nThis seven-game trip for the Nuggets is their longest since a seven-gamer in the 2011-12 season. As if a late-season two-week trip wasn't tough enough, Denver's remaining schedule is brutal; after visiting Chicago on Wednesday, the Nuggets will have 10 games left — all against teams currently in the playoff mix.\nTOURNEY TIME\nThere's serious NCAA talk in the Heat locker room, with many players seeing their schools in the Sweet 16. The Heat-backed teams — Kentucky (Bam Adebayo), Duke (Justise Winslow), Nevada (Luke Babbitt), Kansas State (Rodney McGruder), Gonzaga (Kelly Olynyk), Syracuse (Dion Waiters) and Michigan (Derrick Walton Jr.).\nUP NEXT\nNuggets: Visit Chicago on Wednesday.\nHeat: Host New York on Wednesday.\n___\nMore AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Kenneth Chenault, the chairman and CEO of American Express, is retiring at the end of January after a 17-year run as the head of one of the nation's most well-known brands.\nChenault recently sat down with The Associated Press for his last interview before his retirement. He discussed key moments at AmEx, his legacy and what comes next. Here are excerpts from that interview, which have been edited for length and clarity.\n___\nAP: What do you see as your legacy at the company?\nChenault: This is something I've always felt but, over the last 10 years, has come in to more stark relief. You can generate good company performance over a two-year period or a five-year period. You can go through positive cycles; you can go through down cycles. But what really matters is: How does a company perform over the long term?\nI believe that we've created a culture that will endure. And, for me, my most important legacy is not just the achievements over the last 37 years, but how this company will perform 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now.\nAP: What do you make of the fact your competitors often hire former American Express executives to run their own credit card businesses?\nChenault: What you hear from (people who left) is, 'I haven't been able to replicate the experience that I've had at American Express.' The problem is, they don't have our business model. They don't have an integrated payment platform and what they don't have, from a culture standpoint, is 168 years of this service ethic and this mission.\nWhile we have populated the industry, what people have not been able to export is the uniqueness of our brand which gives us a major advantage. And very importantly, the fact that we have an integrated diversified business model and that's given us a major advantage.\nAP: Did you ever want to work somewhere other than American Express?\nGrowing up, I had no interest in business. I wanted to be a leader. I wanted to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. I grew up in the height of the Civil Rights Movement. I saw myself more in the social/political sector. There was no game plan or roadmap that I developed that I would go into business.\nI can honestly say that I was approached prior to becoming CEO during my tenure as CEO by larger companies. Some people would say, \"Boy, that's a great opportunity,\" but when I thought about the alignment of my personal values with the values of American Express, it wasn't even a question of whether I would stay there. I never seriously considered any other place or any other opportunity.\nAP: Your departure reduces the number of African American CEOs at Fortune 500 companies to three. What legacy would you talk about tied to that role you play in society, and also in business?\nChenault: Here's what's very important and I think I've been very clear is, that's embarrassing. It's embarrassing because there are thousands of people who are just as qualified or more qualified than I am who deserve the opportunity, but haven't been given the opportunity. People overcomplicate this issue. One is you need a pipeline of people coming in. You need to create an environment where people are embraced and engaged rather than just tolerated.\nYou need to, in fact, develop people strategies just as you do for business strategies. And you need to put metrics in place, and hold people accountable for making progress. And I must admit, I was encouraged the first few years that I was CEO because we saw an emergence (of more minority CEOs). You started to see some movement. And that has slowed down.\nCompany boards and management have to say: 'diversity and inclusion is a core priority. And it's not a flavor of the month. It's not something we're just going to try for a year or two. We're going to keep at it until we get it right.' And I think we need that level of intensity and focus.\nAP: You're joining the board of Facebook. What do you hope to bring to the company?\nChenault: I've known Mark (Zuckerberg) for at least eight years. And one of the things that I've talked to Mark about, and I believe he's fully committed to, is to build something that's enduring, that's going to make a meaningful difference in people's lives and a meaningful difference in our society.\nI think that Mark recognizes Facebook's importance of developing communities, but also understands the responsibilities. One of the things that excited me about the Facebook opportunity is the ability to help him achieve that vision." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "JORDAN-SYRIA BORDER (AP) — The commander of Jordan's border guards says Islamic State extremists are expanding their influence in a sprawling border camp for displaced Syrians, posing a growing threat to the U.S.-allied kingdom.\nBrig. Gen. Sami Kafawin spoke to The Associated Press during a tour of the desert area where Jordan, Syria and Iraq meet.\nA ride in a military helicopter offered a view of the Rukban camp, an expanse of makeshift shelters housing tens of thousands of Syrians.\nConditions in the camp deteriorated sharply after Jordan sealed its border in June, following a cross-border IS attack that killed seven Jordanian border guards.\nKafawin said on Tuesday that \"the (militant) threat is increasing, especially in this area.\"\nHe says that nonetheless, Jordan tries to ensure the displaced Syrians get food and medical treatment." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Advertisers including Budweiser, M&Ms, Groupon and others have begun to release their ads ahead of Super Bowl Sunday to try to drum up some buzz. It's a crucial time to capture attention since marketers spend $5 million per 30-second spot for airtime alone.\nWhile teaser ads abound, here's a look at the full Super Bowl ads that have been released as of Monday. So far advertisers are mostly focusing on silly humor and heartwarming messages. The Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles airs Sunday night on NBC.\nBudweiser: The beer maker's ad features a brewery that turns out cans of water for places in need, to the tune of \"Stand By Me.\"\nFebreze: The air freshener goes all in for toilet humor with a pseudo-documentary ad about Dave, a man whose \"bleep don't stink.\" The kicker is that David is not at your Super Bowl party — so you should use Febreze.\nGroupon: The deal-site's ad features Tiffany Haddish and shows football players kicking a football at a rich man who doesn't support local business.\nLexus: The carmaker promotes its new luxury sedan with an action-packed ad featuring the Black Panther character from Marvel's new movie.\nM&Ms: The chocolate candy's ad shows a cartoon M&M character transforming into Danny DeVito after he finds a lucky penny and is relieved that no one wants to eat him.\nPringles: Bill Hader stars in the snacks' ad that introduces the made-up practice of \"flavor-stacking,\" or eating different flavors of Pringles together to create new flavors.\nSee the ads:\nBudweiser: https://youtu.be/CxGUmtRLm5g\nFebreze: https://youtu.be/9NliY5tPp2k\nGroupon: https://youtu.be/GM1QDBvzm1Y\nLexus: https://youtu.be/01AEuxSlIMg\nM&Ms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfZcxeqa1g4\nPringles: https://youtu.be/gk0nVMU76bc" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on the health of former President George H.W. Bush (all times local):\n12:10 p.m.\nA family spokesman says former President George H.W. Bush is still \"responding and recovering\" as doctors treat him for an infection that's spread to his blood.\nBush has been hospitalized since Sunday, a day after attending the funeral of his wife, Barbara.\nFamily spokesman Jim McGrath issued the update Tuesday. He says previous updates also still stand, in that the 93-year-old former president is responding to treatments and appears to be recovering.\nBush has a form of Parkinson's disease along with a history of pneumonia and other infections. He's being treated at Houston Methodist Hospital.\n___\n3 a.m.\nA spokesman says former President George H.W. Bush is eager to get well so he can get to his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.\nJim McGrath says the 93-year-old Bush is \"the most goal-oriented person on this planet.\"\nBush has been hospitalized in Houston with an infection, just after attending the funeral of his wife, Barbara. McGrath said Monday that Bush is \"responding to treatments and appears to be recovering.\"\nMcGrath says he was admitted Sunday morning to Houston Methodist Hospital after an infection spread to his blood. He wouldn't elaborate on the 41st president's condition Monday night, saying updates will be issued \"as events warrant.\"\nBush uses a wheelchair and an electric scooter for mobility after developing a form of Parkinson's disease.\nBarbara Bush was laid to rest Saturday." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump put a human face on the threat posed by North Korea in his State of the Union address Tuesday, sharing the powerful story of a defector now living in South Korea and the pain of parents who lost their child after his imprisonment.\nIn one of the most emotional moments of the evening, legislators cheered as defector Ji Seong-ho waved aloft the crutches he had used to escape North Korea after a train ran over his limbs.\nTrump, who often fills his public remarks with superlatives about himself, instead put the spotlight Tuesday on the guests his team had invited to sit in the gallery with first lady Melania Trump. Trump described them as witnesses \"to the ominous nature\" of the North Korean regime as he pledged his resolve.\nIt was a very different approach for a president whose past remarks about North Korea have included taunting leader Kim Jong Un as \"Little Rocket Man\" and threatening to unleash \"fire and fury\" if Pyongyang escalates its nuclear program.\nTrump described how, as a boy, a starving Ji lost consciousness while taking coal from a train car to barter for food during the country's famine. Ji woke up as the train ran over his limbs, and he \"endured multiple amputations without anything to dull the pain,\" the president recounted. The White House said he lost his left hand and foot.\nTrump described Ji's siblings giving him what little food they had to help him recover while they instead ate dirt, stunting their growth. Trump said Ji was later tortured by North Korean authorities after returning from a brief trip to China, but eventually escaped.\n\"Seong-ho traveled thousands of miles on crutches all across China and Southeast Asia to freedom,\" Trump said. He now has a new leg and works to resettle fellow defectors and broadcast information into North Korea. But Ji still keeps his crutches as a reminder of how far he's come, Trump said.\nAfter Trump told the story, Ji stood and waved the crutches triumphantly in a made-for-TV moment, his face filled with emotion.\nAlso among Trump's guests: the parents of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died of injuries suffered in North Korean custody. Fred and Cindy Warmbier, their faces pained and fighting back tears, stood and received a round of applause.\nTheir son spent 17 months in North Korean captivity before being released to the U.S. He died four days after his return.\n\"You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength truly inspires us all,\" Trump told them. \"Tonight we pledge to honor Otto's memory with total American resolve.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Three hikers have been injured following a run-in with a bear at a campground near Alaska's largest city.\nAnchorage authorities say four young people were hiking in the woods around the Eagle River campground when three of them were injured by a grizzly bear with two cubs. They were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.\nAnchorage police said in a news release say that while responding officers were searching for the hikers they were charged by the bear and shot at it. The bear's status was not immediately known." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PRAGUE (AP) — Newcastle has completed the permanent signing of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Sparta Prague.\nSparta and Newcastle confirmed the transfer on Wednesday after the Premier League club activated an option to sign the 29-year-old Slovak, who joined the Magpies on loan in January.\nNewcastle says Dubravka signed a contract until June 2022.\nThe goalkeeper had an impressive debut for Newcastle in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United and played 12 league matches overall.\nNewcastle manager Rafa Benítez says: \"We're delighted to finalize the permanent signing of Martin to Newcastle United today. Ever since he arrived with us on loan he has shown a fantastic attitude and great work ethic, and of course we have been very impressed with his performances for us on the pitch last season.\"\nDubravka has played 10 internationals for Slovakia." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Telecommunications regulators and industry groups voiced opposition Monday to a government-built wireless network that the Trump administration is reportedly considering .\nThe news website Axios reported Sunday that national security officials may want a government-built next-generation \"5G\" mobile network because of concerns about China and cybersecurity. A White House spokesman referred inquiries to the National Security Council, which did not immediately respond to questions.\nThe telecom industry, which is powerful in Washington, is already working on 5G, which heralds better internet on smartphones as well as potential applications for self-driving cars and other new technology. The new standard is already being tested and could be widely available by 2020. AT&T has said that it expects to launch a mobile 5G service in 12 U.S. locations later this year.\nFederal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, said in a statement Monday that the federal government should not build and operate a nationwide 5G network. The agency's four other voting commissioners, both Democrats and Republicans, also criticized and expressed skepticism about such a proposal. The FCC regulates the nation's airwaves and auctions them off to phone, cable and broadcasting companies for use in networks.\nThe industry group USTelecom panned the idea as well.\n\"There is nothing that would slam the breaks more quickly on our hard-won momentum to be the leader in the global race for 5G network deployment more quickly than the federal government stepping in to build those networks,\" said its president, Jonathan Spalter, in an emailed statement.\nThe wireless trade group CTIA said the government should stick to \"free market policies.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 49 34 12 3 71 175 125 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 49 20 23 6 46 129 156 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 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 Minnesota 50 27 18 5 59 147 142 Colorado 48 27 18 3 57 157 139 Chicago 49 23 19 7 53 146 136 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 48 32 12 4 68 164 128 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 Los Angeles 49 26 18 5 57 139 121 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\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": [ "BOSTON (AP) — Child development experts and advocates are urging Facebook to pull the plug on its new messaging app aimed at kids.\nA group letter sent Tuesday to CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues that younger children — the app is intended for those under 13 — aren't ready to have social media accounts, navigate the complexities of online relationships or protect their own privacy.\nFacebook launched the free Messenger Kids app in December, pitching it as a way for children to chat with family members and parent-approved friends. It doesn't give kids separate Facebook or Messenger accounts. Rather, the app works as an extension of a parent's account, and parents get controls such as the ability to decide who their kids can chat with.\nThe social media giant has said it fills \"a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want.\"\n\"TARGETING YOUNGER CHILDREN\"\nBut a group of 100 experts, advocates and parenting organizations is contesting those claims. Led by the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the group includes psychiatrists, pediatricians, educators and the children's music singer Raffi Cavoukian.\n\"Messenger Kids is not responding to a need - it is creating one,\" the letter states. \"It appeals primarily to children who otherwise would not have their own social media accounts.\" Another passage criticized Facebook for \"targeting younger children with a new product.\"\nIn a statement, Facebook said on Monday that the app \"helps parents and children to chat in a safer way,\" and emphasized that parents are \"always in control\" of their kids' activity. The social media giant added that it consulted with parenting experts and families, and said \"there is no advertising in Messenger Kids.\"\nKIDS AND FACEBOOK\nA variety of experts and technology insiders have begun questioning the effects smartphones and social media apps are having on people's health and mental well-being — whether kids, teens or adults. Sean Parker, Facebook's first president, said late last year that the social media platform exploits \"vulnerability in human psychology\" to addict users. A chorus of other early employees and investors piled on with similar criticisms.\nMany preteens have already found their way onto Facebook and more youth-oriented social media platforms such as Snapchat and Facebook's own Instagram, despite internal rules that require users to be at least 13 years old. Those rules are based in part on federal law, which prohibits internet companies from collecting personal information on children without their parents' permission and imposes restrictions on advertising to them.\nSome companies have offered parental controls as a way of curbing unauthorized preteen use of their platforms. But Facebook's new kid-focused app, which features animations and emojis, seems to cater to a younger audience, said Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.\n\"It looks like something that would appeal to a 6-year-old or 7-year-old,\" he said.\nUNCERTAIN IMPACT\nFacebook wouldn't answer questions about said how popular the messaging app has been. But App Annie, an app analytics firm, said Messenger Kids has been downloaded about 80,000 times on iOS since it launched on Dec. 4. It's been in the top 40 most popular kids' apps since then. That sounds like a lukewarm reception at best.\nUniversity of Michigan developmental behavioral pediatrician Jenny Radesky, who co-signed the letter, said she's never met a parent who was clamoring to get their children onto social media at an earlier age.\n\"One can only assume that Facebook introduced it to engage users younger and younger,\" Radesky said.\nThat's troubling, she said, because younger children haven't yet developed the cognitive skills that enable them to think about and regulate their thoughts and actions and \"allow them to realize when persuasive technology design might be manipulating them.\"\nAt the time it launched Messenger Kids, Facebook said it won't show ads or collect data for marketing to kids. And it stressed that it won't automatically move users to the regular Messenger or Facebook when they get old enough — though it might give them the option to move contacts to Messenger down the line." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — On any weekday morning, Miles Thornback is working on marketing campaigns for real estate agents or dealing with tricky tech issues at the office.\nThornback, who has cerebral palsy, got hired three years ago at the RE/MAX Prestige real estate agency in Costa Mesa, California, after the owners heard that he'd spent six years applying for jobs at hundreds of companies and finding nothing but negative mindsets.\nMany small business owners are open to hiring or specifically recruit people who have disabilities, sometimes because they want to expand the opportunities for people with talent and skills but who can't find jobs. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities who want to be hired is 8 percent, more than twice the national average.\n\"I think a lot of people assume that if you're disabled, you can't work,\" says Thornback, 36, who uses a wheelchair.\nWhile some jobs he applied for would have required him to do errands, which he couldn't have done, at many places he never got a clear explanation of why he wasn't considered. In his job, he coordinates with real estate agents and data providers to create postcards and letters that advertise properties for sale.\nJay O'Brien, an owner at the RE/MAX office, learned about Thornback through Goodwill Industries, which works with the Regional Center of Orange County, an organization that provides training and services for people with developmental disabilities.\nO'Brien has been impressed with Thornback's technical abilities, as he's been able to resolve issues that confounded everyone else. O'Brien and his business partner, Sammer Mudawar, wanted to see Thornback flourish in his work.\n\"We didn't want it to be seen as a charity move,\" O'Brien says, such as, \"'You can park your wheelchair here for two hours a day and we'll pay you and we can feel better about ourselves.'\"\nThe kind of disability a person has can vary, and can be cognitive or physical. So employees may be capable of different types of work. They do face similar difficulties in the workplace that others don't.\nAlyssa and Shawn Cox, who volunteer at a camp for children with Down syndrome, created a store greeter position at one of their three Clothes Mentor locations in North Carolina with the intention of hiring someone with the genetic chromosomal disorder.\nThey hired Julia Cirone in December. The 20-year-old who works three days a week began by welcoming customers and \"aced that immediately,\" Alyssa Cox says.\nCirone has since started assisting shoppers, helping them pick out clothes. Sales haves increased since she began working at the store, the busiest of the three locations. While the Coxes would like to hire Cirone full time, she wants to do volunteer work the other two days.\nThere are plenty of people who want to be hired, an \"untapped\" talent pool, according to Joyce Bender, owner of Bender Consulting Services, a company that recruits workers with disabilities.\nFor businesses that are interested, Bender suggests resources including organizations that help people with disabilities, and state and local agencies including unemployment offices. Many universities have offices that provide services to students with disabilities, including job placement. Colleges, Bender noted, are a good resource for owners who want staffers with science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills.\nBusiness owners do need to abide by federal and state laws if employees with disabilities need help balancing their work and their personal or medical needs. That can mean flexible work hours, time off for doctor appointments and desks that can be raised or lowered, says Anne Marie Estevez, an employment law attorney with Morgan Lewis in Miami.\nOwners also need to get past some concerns, including what happens if a hire doesn't work out.\n\"Some employers feel, if I hire the person, I can never let them go even if they're doing a terrible job. That's not true,\" says Rebecca Shulman, senior program director at Jewish Vocational Service in East Orange, New Jersey. \"The employer has the right to let them go.\"\nCurtis Boyd had recruited a man with neurological problems to work at Future Solutions Media, a Los Angeles-based company that helps businesses handle negative online reviews. But the staffer was unable to sit in front of a computer for hours at a time, and had to leave the job.\nThough it didn't work out in that case, Boyd said he would hire a job candidate with a disability again.\nWhile many owners who recruit employees from nonprofit groups know what the person's disability is, they cannot under law ask for details, Estevez says.\nWhen Steven Hollins hired a 16-year-old young man two years ago for his Chick-Fil-A franchise restaurant in Buena Park, California, he knew the new staffer would likely need some extra training, and would have a job coach to help as needed. Hollins left it at that.\nThe man started out by bringing food to customers at their tables and cleaning up after they left. Within a few months, the job coach left — the employee didn't need any help getting his work done. As time went on, the man sought and was given more responsibilities, and now helps with maintenance tasks.\n\"He's willing to stay late and learn,\" Hollins said. \"That kind of attitude in our business goes a long way.\"\n_____\nFollow Joyce Rosenberg at www.twitter.com/JoyceMRosenberg . Her work can be found here: https://apnews.com/search/joyce%20rosenberg" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Financial Profiles, a strategic communications firm, has hired Rich Davis as its Chief Operating Officer. Davis brings more than 20 years of experience in roles as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of high profile public relations agencies that he helped grow. Rich will join the firm on May 2, 2018 and will report to Moira Conlon, Founder and President of Financial Profiles.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006347/en/\nRich Davis, Chief Operating Officer at Financial Profiles, Inc. (Photo: Business Wire)\n“We are delighted to welcome Rich,” said Moira Conlon. “This year marks the 10 th anniversary of our firm and it’s the ideal time to expand our leadership team. Rich brings a wealth of experience and a unique combination of operational, strategic and financial expertise. We have a long history of working together and I know he will play a key role in helping Financial Profiles successfully navigate our next phase of growth and success.”\nMost recently, Davis served in the roles of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of several of IPG’s global public relations agencies including Rogers & Cowan and Frukt. Previously he was the Western Region Chief Financial Officer for Weber Shandwick, Daily Advertising, Film Fashion, Current and the Axis Agency.\n“Financial Profiles has built an impressive business and I am excited to be joining the firm,” said Rich Davis. “I worked with Moira for many years when she oversaw Financial Relations Board’s West Coast operations for IPG. I look forward to collaborating with the entire team at Financial Profiles to strengthen its operational foundation to continue to provide exceptional client service and to support the firm’s continued growth.”\nAbout Financial Profiles\nFinancial Profiles is a strategic communications firm that specializes in creating value through effective communication. Public companies, pre-IPO companies and asset management firms come to us for our expertise in value-based corporate positioning and messaging and for access to investors, analysts and the press. We offer a range of specialized services, including investor relations, IPO preparation, M&A communications, media relations, media training and crisis management. We have a well-demonstrated track record of leveraging best-in class communications to help our clients enhance their profiles and build credibility and support among all key stakeholders. www.finprofiles.com\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006347/en/\nCONTACT: Financial Profiles\nTricia Ross, 310-622-8226\ntross@finprofiles.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONSULTING COMMUNICATIONS ADVERTISING MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS/INVESTOR RELATIONS\nSOURCE: Financial Profiles\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 02:01 PM/DISC: 04/24/2018 02:01 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424006347/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 4, 2018--Tinubu Square, a leading provider of trade credit, bonding & surety and receivables finance solutions, has been awarded the 2018 “Trophées du Cloud” by Eurocloud as “Best Vertical SaaS solution”.The company has been rewarded for its ability to support the digital transformation of the credit insurance industry.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005273/en/\nTrophee du Cloud (Photo: Business Wire)\nDuring the 12 th edition of the EuroCloud France “Trophées du Cloud” Awards yesterday, Tinubu Square won the award for the best “Vertical SaaS Solution”. This award ceremony, held during the Cloud Week Paris 2018, distinguished six companies amongst 52 applications. The aim was to highlight the success of the organisations in the cloud market.\nThe jury comprised 16 members, all experts and analysts in the cloud industry, and chose to reward Tinubu Square for its ability to rethink the management of commercial credit through a cloud-based platform which supports credit insurance companies during their digital transformation process.\n“The cloud is in the DNA of our company. Our know-how is based on a cloud-based software platform in SaaS mode and also on risk underwriting services. These cloud-based solutions have been adopted by major international players and credit insurers all over the world. They have chosen our technology to overcome technical constraints & implementation time, and improve their competitiveness in the globalized market,“ said Jérôme Pezé, Founder and CEO of Tinubu Square.\nOlivier Placca, Founder and Deputy CEO of Tinubu Square said: “It is a great honour for us to be recognized by this award, which will expand our visibility and credibility in the European market”.\nAbout Tinubu Square\nDelivering Insurance Digital Transformation\nFounded in 2000, Tinubu Square is a software vendor, enabler of the Trade Credit, Surety and Receivables Finance digital transformation. Tinubu Square enables organizations across the world to significantly reduce their exposure to risk and their financial, operational and technical costs with best-in-class technology solutions and services. Tinubu Square provides SaaS solutions and services to different businesses including credit insurers, receivables financing organizations and multinational corporations. Tinubu Square has built an ecosystem of customers in over 20 countries worldwide and has a global presence with offices in Paris, London, New York, Montreal and Singapore. For more information: www.tinubu.com\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005273/en/\nCONTACT: Ascendant\nJulie Kirby\njkirby@ascendcomms.net\n+44 (0) 7956 955625\nKEYWORD: EUROPE FRANCE\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE\nSOURCE: Tinubu Square\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 07/04/2018 12:24 PM/DISC: 07/04/2018 12:24 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180704005273/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "KILIS, Turkey (AP) — Intense clashes erupted Monday on a strategic hilltop in northwestern Syria as Kurdish forces tried to enter the area a day after it was captured by Turkish troops.\nTurkish military officials cancelled a government-organized press tour to Bursayah Hill, separating the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz, due to what they described as \"security concerns.\"\nSeparately, in the nearby rebel-held province of Idlib, suspected Syrian government airstrikes killed at least 21 people and put a hospital out of order.\nThe violence has overshadowed a peace conference hosted by Russia that was due to open in Sochi on Monday. Russia, a key ally of President Bashar Assad, says it invited 1,600 representatives to the Syrian Congress of National Dialogue, but so far only the government and opposition representatives tolerated by it have shown up. The main Syrian opposition body has boycotted the talks.\nThe main Syrian Kurdish militia, which is fighting in Afrin and controls some 25 percent of Syrian territory, has also declined to attend, saying it holds Russia responsible for the Turkish offensive.\nAlexander Lavrentiev, Russia's envoy for Syria, downplayed the violence, saying the situation in Afrin has \"somehow stabilized\" and expressing hope that \"potential provocations prior to and during the event won't affect its outcome.\"\n\"We still hope that common sense will prevail and that the leadership of the united Syrian opposition will still decide to attend the congress. This possibility has not been ruled out, and the invitations remain on the table,\" he said, according to Russian state agency Tass.\nThe Turkish incursion began on Jan. 20, with Ankara saying it seeks to drive \"terrorists\" away from its border and create a safe zone in the area. Turkey considers the Syrian Kurdish militia in control of Afrin, the People's Defense Units or YPG, an extension of the Kurdish insurgency within its borders.\nOn Monday, Turkish authorities said they had detained 311 people for allegedly engaging in \"terrorist propaganda\" through social media postings critical of the Afrin offensive. The Interior Ministry said the suspects, who are accused of supporting the Syrian Kurdish forces, were detained in the past week but did not provide further details.\nThe Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders called the detentions a government \"witch hunt against critics.\"\nTurkish troops and allied Syrian forces have met with stiff resistance as they try to push into Afrin, and the capture of Bursayah Hill marked their biggest advance since the start of the offensive. The operation has so far claimed the lives of 61 civilians in Afrin, three in Turkish towns along the border and five Turkish soldiers, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.\nThe Turkish-led offensive has opened a new front in the civil war, which is far from over despite recent gains by Assad's forces and the expulsion of the Islamic State group from nearly all the territory it once held.\nThe government is now focused on the northwestern province of Idlib, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants and home to more than 2.6 million people, nearly half of whom have fled from other areas.\nVolunteer first responders known as the White Helmets say the airstrikes on Monday hit the province's largest vegetable market, in the town of Saraqeb. The Qasioun news agency, which covers events in opposition-held areas, said 14 people were killed. The Observatory, an opposition-linked group that monitors all sides of the conflict, also said 14 were killed, including six children.\nAnother two people, including a child, were killed in the attack on the hospital.\nThe activist-run Edlib Media Center posted photographs of the exterior of the damaged building. Videos of rescuers sifting through the rubble showed them emerging with a survivor, apparently a medic. Mohammed Abrash, a doctor in Idlib city, said the only hospital in Saraqeb was now out of order.\nThe government appears to have stepped up its bombing campaign in Idlib in recent days. The Observatory reported 90 airstrikes in Idlib on Monday alone, killing a total of 21 people. It said airstrikes on Sunday killed 17.\nSandy al-Obeid, a resident of Saraqeb, said she heard the attack on the market from her home and could see the plane from her window.\n\"When I finally fell asleep, I dreamt there were airstrikes and we were hiding. It turned out there were airstrikes. But now nightmares are confused with reality,\" al-Obeid said in a series of text messages.\nNear the capital, Damascus, activists reported government shelling of Harasta, in the rebel-held suburbs known as eastern Ghouta. Fighting has raged in the area over the last few days despite a cease-fire negotiated between Russia and the opposition.\nRussia's Defense Ministry on Monday called on the Syrian government to hold talks with the rebels in eastern Ghouta to allow for medical evacuations.\n\"A cessation of hostilities is the only chance and the only condition for political settlement in eastern Ghouta and in Syria on the whole,\" it said.\n_____\nEl Deeb reported from Beirut." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on the death of the he man who authorities said was the mastermind behind a deadly 2012 house explosion in Indianapolis (all times local):\n4:35 p.m.\nAn Indiana Department of Correction spokesman says a man convicted in connection with a deadly Indianapolis house explosion died of natural causes.\nDepartment spokesman Doug Harrison confirmed the cause of death for 48-year-old Mark Leonard on Tuesday afternoon.\nHarrison says Leonard died at an Indianapolis hospital after being transferred from the Wabash Valley Correction Facility in southwestern Indiana. The department initially said he was found dead at the prison, but later clarified he died at the hospital.\nAn autopsy was planned Wednesday.\nLeonard was serving two life sentences without parole, plus 75 years, for the November 2012 natural gas explosion that destroyed his then-girlfriend's home and killed two next-door neighbors.\n___\n3:36 p.m.\nAn Indiana Department of Correction spokesman says a man convicted in connection with a deadly Indianapolis house explosion has been found dead.\nDepartment spokesman Doug Harrison says 48-year-old Mark Leonard died Tuesday morning at an Indianapolis hospital. Garrison says the cause of death wasn't immediately known.\nLeonard was convicted in 2015 of murder, arson and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud in the November 2012 natural gas explosion that destroyed his then-girlfriend's home and killed two next-door neighbors. That blast damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes on Indianapolis' south side.\nLeonard received two life sentences without parole, plus 75 years.\nLeonard also was sentenced to an additional 50 years in February 2017 for trying to have a witness killed.\n___\nThis story has been corrected to show Leonard died at an Indianapolis hospital, not in prison." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have raided the apartments of four Islamic clerics suspected of spying on opponents of the Turkish government.\nThe federal prosecutors' office said the Wednesday morning raids in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rheinland-Palatinate were carried out to collect evidence; no arrests were made. The unidentified targets are suspected of spying on supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by the Turkish government of orchestrating a July 15 coup.\nProsecutors say the four men were affiliated with the DITIB, the union of Turkish-Islamic cultural organizations in Germany, but refused to give further details.\nAn Austrian lawmaker this week said information indicates Turkish diplomatic offices around the world are gathering information to try to undermine organizations loyal to Gulen, who denies involvement in the coup." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Unification is an idea that moves most Koreans, North and South, on an emotional level.\nFor some, especially young people in the South, it may not be a burning issue. Details like the costs, the risks and what specifically both sides stand to gain are rarely given much thought by anyone who isn't an academic, politician or activist.\nBut when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in meet on Friday, the prospect of unification, even if only in the abstract, will loom large around them.\nCan Kim's nuclear-armed North and the K-pop capitalism of Moon's South ever merge into One Korea? Both leaders come to the table with distinct visions of what that would look like. And they are very different.\n___\nTHE DEMOCRATIC FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF KORYO\nAfter failing to take the South by force in the 1950s, North Korea's founder and \"eternal president,\" Kim Il Sung, announced a plan for what he thought a unified Korea should look like back in 1980.\nHe called it the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo. Koryo was an ancient Korean kingdom from which the word Korea is derived.\nKim's plan was for an arrangement something along the lines of what Hong Kong has with China, a unified nation with two separate systems of government.\nUnder his plan, the North and South would respect each other's ideology, social system and autonomy. Both sides would have an equal number of representatives in a supreme national assembly with equal rights and responsibilities. The assembly would also have representatives of Koreans overseas. It would have a standing committee that would administer state affairs.\nKim stressed the need for this new federation to remain neutral and independent, avoiding in particular military alliances with others.\nNot surprisingly, that looks a lot like North Korea today, with its Supreme People's Assembly, and the party's Politburo and Central Committee overseeing day-to-day policies. Even the name smacks of the North, which is officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.\nAn equal number of assembly seats would be a good deal for the North, which has half the South's population. The inclusion of Koreans overseas would boost that advantage even further since, for historical reasons, more often than not they have at least nominal allegiance to Pyongyang, not Seoul.\nWith so many devils lurking in the details, Kim's grand plan has never gotten much traction.\n___\nA KOREAN COMMONWEALTH AND BEYOND\nSouth Korea's three-step proposal ends in a similarly predictable place: its own system writ large across the peninsula.\nThe first priority, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry, is to develop a sustainable relationship and resolve the issue of North Korea's development of nuclear weapons.\nSeoul wants to substitute the unstable armistice that ended the fighting of the 1950-53 Korean War with a permanent peace treaty — a goal Pyongyang shares. This step could get a boost on Friday — it will almost certainly be taken up then and probably again at the summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in May or early June.\nSouth Korea wants to then develop trust and cooperation to the point where a sort of national consensus has been achieved. After a transitional commonwealth period, the next step would be the formation of a single market on the Korean Peninsula \"to create new growth engines and create an inter-Korean economic community of coexistence and co-prosperity.\"\n\"We will build a new economic order that will bring peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia,\" the ministry concludes.\nThe essentials of this plan were announced by President Roh Tae-woo in September 1989.\nThe succession of administrations that have taken office in the South since Roh have adhered fairly predictably to the principle of gradual, peaceful progress, while calibrating their willingness to engage with Pyongyang based on their assessment of its level of vulnerability or hostility.\nIn the long run, however, it makes no provision for a one-state, two-system future.\nUltimately, Seoul believes, the North Korean system has to go.\n___\nTalmadge is the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @EricTalmadge" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei is the 21st best university city in the world, while Hsinchu City is ranked No.75, according to rankings published by British higher education information service QS Quacquarelli Symonds.\nOn a separate list based on the evaluation by 18,000 students and graduates only, Taipei City rated as No.10, reports said Wednesday.\nThe study considered several factors, including safety, pollution, cost of living, college fees, and attractiveness to students in general. For the first time in the survey’s five-year history, students were also asked to help out with the rating, reports said.\nOnly cities with a population of more than 250,000 and with at least two universities which featured in the company’s recent lists were eligible.\nAfter having led the list for four consecutive years, Paris was pushed aside by Montreal, Canada. London was No.3, with the South Korean capital Seoul the best Asian university city at No.4. Tokyo was the only other Asian city in the top-ten, at No.7.\nFour Chinese cities were listed, Shanghai at No.25, Beijing at No.30, Nanjing at No.80, and Wuhan as the lowest on this year’s list, at No.100.\nOn the rankings selected by the students, the Canadian capital Ottawa came out first, Shanghai was No.3, Seoul No.8 and the Kansai area of Japan No.9 just ahead of Taipei.\nPositive factors for the Taiwanese capital included the relatively low cost of living and studying, convenient public transportation, and a healthy mix of tradition and modernity, QS said.\nHsinchu might be more relaxed, but it also offered interesting museums and Taiwan’s version of Silicon Valley nearby, according to the ratings group." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Blake Griffin had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and the Detroit Pistons pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Sacramento Kings 106-90 on Monday night.\nIsh Smith had 18 points, Reggie Bullock added 17 and Anthony Tolliver scored 12 points behind three 3-pointers — one of three Pistons with a trio of 3s. Andre Drummond had just four points but pulled down 16 rebounds to help Detroit end its three-game losing streak.\nThe Pistons won on the road for only the 10th time this season.\nOn a night when the Kings' Vince Carter had seven points to move past Patrick Ewing into 22nd place on the NBA's career scoring list, Griffin led Detroit to the lopsided win with another in a string of big games this month.\nGriffin scored on a spinning layup, a 3-pointer and a drive from the top of the key to spark a 13-4 run in the third quarter. He later drove around a pair of defenders for a two-handed dunk then added two free throws to put Detroit up 70-61.\nIt's the seventh time in 10 games that Griffin has scored 24 points or more.\nBullock made a pair of 3s in the fourth quarter to extend the Pistons lead to 98-76.\nDetroit won in Sacramento for the first time since Dec. 13, 2014.\nWillie Cauley-Stein scored 20 points for the Kings. De'Aaron Fox added 16 points and four assists while Justin Jackson had 15 points.\nCarter, the 41-year-old former dunk champion, had a thunderous one-handed jam to spark a 9-2 run early in the second quarter then added a 12-foot fadeaway later to put the Kings up 35-33. Carter later made a 3-pointer in the third quarter to pass Ewing.\nSacramento was still ahead when Griffin six of his 15 first-half points over the final 4 minutes to help tie the game at 44.\nThe two teams were still tied midway through the third when Griffin took over during a 13-4 run by Detroit.\nTIP-INS\nPistons: Reggie Jackson continues to make steady progress and could resume playing this week after missing more than two months with a severely sprained right ankle.\nKings: Sacramento missed eight of its first nine shots but still shot 40 percent in the first quarter. ... Bogdan Bogdanovic (sore left hamstring) did not play for the first time since missing the first three games of the season because of a sore ankle.\nUP NEXT\nPistons: Play at Phoenix on Tuesday.\nKings: Host Atlanta on Thursday.\n___\nMore AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Three women who have previously accused President Donald Trump of sexual harassment are sharing their stories on NBC's \"Megyn Kelly Today.\"\nJessica Leeds, Samantha Holvey and Rachel Crooks on Monday told of alleged harassment by Trump spanning decades.\nThe White House called the claims false and \"totally disputed in most cases.\" It said \"the timing and absurdity of these false claims speak volumes.\"\nOne of the accusers, Rachel Crooks, called the White House statement \"laughable.\"\nCrooks says of sexual misconduct: \"I think politicians seem to be immune to this.\"\nThe women, who first shared their stories before the November 2016 election, were holding a press conference later Monday to call for a congressional investigation into Trump's alleged behavior." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CLEVELAND (AP) — Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant is out of the lineup against the Cleveland Indians two days after being hit on the head by a pitch.\nCubs manager Joe Maddon said before Tuesday night's game that the 2016 National League MVP has a cut above his left eye but no concussion after being hit Sunday by Colorado's German Marquez.\nThe pitch hit the underside of the flap on Bryant's helmet, and he was helped off the field. Bryant is batting .319 with two homers and 11 RBIs this season.\nShortstop Addison Russell was in the lineup after experiencing an allergic reaction to a postgame meal Sunday. He spent the night in Denver after being hospitalized briefly and rejoined the team Monday.\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal immigration authorities have formalized the practice of sending deportation agents to federal, state and local courthouses to make arrests, dismissing complaints from judges and advocacy that it instills fear among crime victims, witnesses and family members.\nWednesday's directive from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it will enter courthouses only to capture specific targets, like convicted criminals, gang members, public safety threats and immigrants who have been previously deported or ordered to leave. Family, friends and witnesses won't be picked up for deportation but ICE leaves a caveat for \"special circumstances.\"\nThe policy, signed by ICE acting director Thomas Homan, says immigration agents should generally avoid arrests in non-criminal areas of the court, like family court and small claims, unless it has supervisor approval." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "FAIRFIELD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Renowned for product breakthroughs like the Stain Devils® laundry stain removal system, cleaning industry leader Carbona® today introduces another first-to-market innovation: the first washing machine cleaner with activated charcoal. Carbona Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal attracts and binds odor-causing residues, dirt, and limescale for a complete machine clean. A naturally occurring ingredient, charcoal becomes extremely porous and acts like a “sponge magnet” for dirt when activated – so laundry doesn’t become the magnet instead.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005970/en/\nCarbona Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal is now available nationwide in select retail locations and at Carbona.com. (Photo: Business Wire)\nHealth and personal care industries have proven the absorption power of activated charcoal in products including face masks, water purifiers, and stomach remedies. Now, consumers can leverage the effectiveness of this ingredient to help maintain the prime performance of their washing machines. Carbona Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal is now available nationwide in select retail locations and at Carbona.com.\n“Product innovation is a strategic growth driver for Carbona,” states Chris Albers, marketing director, Delta Carbona, L.P. “Our team is always looking at trends, inside and outside our product categories, for fresh ideas and inspiration for how we can help consumers achieve a better clean and live a life unstained. With activated charcoal—an ingredient known to absorb and remove dirt and impurities—we get performance and utility.”\nAdditional features and benefits of Carbona Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal include:\nVersatility: Unlike powdered products of its kind, Carbona liquid Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal can also be used to wipe down the detergent tray and rubber seal that tends to collect grime and stain residues. It works in all washing machine types, including top-and front-loaders and high-efficiency (HE) machines. Value: As a single-use product, consumers can maintain their washing machine’s performance at a lower cost than other multi-use products on the market.\nCarbona Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal is available nationwide at select retail outlets and online at Carbona.com for a suggested value of $3.49 (250 mL single-use bottle).\nFor more information on Carbona Washing Machine Cleaner with Activated Charcoal and other Carbona products, visit www.carbona.com.\nAbout Delta Carbona, L.P.\nDelta Carbona, L.P. is a privately held, family-owned consumer products company based in Fairfield, NJ responsible for sales, marketing, and distribution of Carbona® brand laundry care and household cleaning products. Carbona products help homeowners take on stains, conquer messes, and celebrate cleaning victories. Breakthrough products include the Stain Devils® laundry stain removal system, Color Grabber™, and its range of oxy-powered carpet cleaners with patented built-in brush top applicator. For more about how Carbona can help you live “life unstained,” visit www.carbona.com and follow Facebook.com/carbonausa and Instagram.com/carbonausa.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005970/en/\nCONTACT: The S3 Agency\nJoelle Speranza, 973-257-5548\njsperanza@thes3agency.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW JERSEY\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: WOMEN ONLINE RETAIL HOME GOODS RETAIL OTHER RETAIL CONSUMER FAMILY MEN\nSOURCE: Delta Carbona, L.P.\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 09:56 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 09:56 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005970/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's National Human Rights Commission has called on the government to institute protective measures for some 400 Guatemalans living in unsanitary conditions in a makeshift camp near the border.\nThe Guatemalan families fled through the jungle to Mexico in early June as Guatemalan police and soldiers moved in with a judge's order to remove them from a forest reserve where they had lived for years.\nThe rights commission said in a statement Wednesday that the camp in the community of El Desengano in Campeche state needs medical services to protect against outbreak of contagious disease.\nThe Guatemalans are demanding that their government allow them to return to their homes. Human rights organizations that visited the community of Laguna Larga last week said many homes had been burned." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HASSAN SHAM CAMP, Iraq (AP) — The United Nations says it's temporarily pausing aid operations to neighborhoods in the eastern half of the Iraqi city of Mosul as attacks by the Islamic State group continue to inflict heavy civilian casualties there.\nLise Grande, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, says \"the United Nations agencies made the decision that until security improves, it will be difficult for us to provide assistance.\"\nShe spoke during a visit to a camp for Iraqis displaced from Mosul on Wednesday.\nWhile Mosul's eastern half was declared \"fully liberated\" last month, some neighborhoods continue to be hit by attacks claimed by IS.\nThe pause in aide comes as Iraqi forces are moving into positions ahead of an anticipated assault on Mosul's western half that is still firmly under IS control." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest on the investigation into the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history (all times local):\n4:55 a.m.\nAn Arizona man identified in court documents as a \"person of interest\" after the Las Vegas massacre says he sold ammunition to the gunman, Stephen Paddock, and says he had no idea what Paddock was going to do when he met him weeks before the shooting.\nDouglas Haig tells \"CBS This Morning\" on Wednesday he sold more than 700 rounds of ammunition to Paddock. He says Paddock told him he was going to put on a \"light show\" with the tracer ammunition he purchased.\nHaig says he talked to Paddock three times and that officials won't find any connection between the two.\nHe says he wonders, \"What did I miss?\" and \"Why didn't I pick this up?\" in his interaction with Paddock.\n___\nMidnight\nAn Arizona man identified in court documents as a \"person of interest\" after the Las Vegas massacre says he sold ammunition to the gunman Stephen Paddock.\nDouglas Haig says he met the gunman one time and he had been contacted by investigators earlier in the case.\nHaig told The Associated Press on Tuesday night: \"I am the guy who sold ammunition to Stephen Paddock,\"\nHaig did not release other details before walking into his home in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.\nA law enforcement official told The Associated Press in October that Paddock bought 1,000 rounds of tracer ammunition from a private seller he met at a Phoenix gun show. The official spoke anonymously because they weren't authorized to disclose case information.\nRecords show Haig owns Specialized Military Ammunition, LLC. The company's website says it sold tracer and incendiary ammunition but is now \"closed indefinitely.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The agricultural working holiday program for New Southbound Policy countries is expected to be implemented as early as in June, Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien announced today.\nLin made the announcement in the kick-off meeting on April 24 for the National Agriculture Conference scheduled for September 7 and 8, reported the Liberty Times.\nThe program--aimed at Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand--is proposed to supplement the island’s agricultural workforce. A six-month trial-run for the program is being planned, with relatives of new immigrants already residing in Taiwan to receive priority for reviewing their application for the program.\nAccording to the proposal, a quota of 200 openings will be granted for each of the four countries. Relevant guidelines are currently being drawn up by the COA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Labor. The four countries have expressed interest in the program as they work on fast-tracking required administrative procedures.\nCOA is also in discussions with MOL on the viability of directing fishermen to aid in the agricultural sector during the fishing moratorium. The measure will be carried out as soon as next month when Taiwan could face a shortage of farm labor thanks to the expected bumper harvest for lychee in the southern part of the island.\nRegarding the wages for the workers enrolled in the working holiday program, COA gave a rough idea how much the individuals will earn. For garlic-picking, the daily wage ranges from NT$1,200 (US$40) to NT$1,500 (US$50), while those carrying rice seedlings will be paid a higher amount between NT$1,800 (US$60) and NT$2,000 (US$67) for eight hours of work." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LOS ANGELES (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Rhys Hoskins is likely headed to the disabled list after a further examination Wednesday revealed he has a fractured jaw.\nHoskins was hit in the mouth by his own foul ball in the ninth inning Monday while facing the Dodgers' Kenley Jansen. He was removed from the game but examinations, including a concussion test, cleared him to play Tuesday and he delivered a pinch-hit double.\nHowever, a more extensive examination Wednesday morning revealed the fracture.\n\"Rhys is likely to be a DL,\" Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. \"He had a CAT scan this morning that revealed a fracture. We're going to send him to Philly tonight to be evaluated by our oral surgeon. They wanted to do the CAT scan as a precautionary measure and they found a fracture in the jaw.\"\nThe Phillies did not immediately put Hoskins on the 10-day disabled list, leaving them one player down for Wednesday night's game against the Dodgers. Hoskins was 14 for 87 at the plate in May, after going 27 for 89 in March/April.\nInfielder Mitch Walding was added to the Phillies' active roster, but that was as a replacement for utility man Pedro Florimon, who was placed on the DL after he fractured a bone in his right foot on a foul ball in Tuesday night's game.\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — With the Supreme Court poised to rule on a case that could end the federal ban on sports gambling, more than a third of U.S. states are considering legislation to get in on the action, and professional leagues and casino interests are lobbying against each other for the biggest cut of the winnings.\nThe push to legalize betting on sports has already led to fractures in an uneasy alliance that had developed between leagues and gambling legalization advocates before Supreme Court arguments last fall.\nThe NBA and Major League Baseball have been asking states to give them 1 percent of the total amount wagered on their games, calling it an \"integrity fee\" so they can protect their products and snuff out attempts at cheating and game-fixing.\n\"Now, let's be clear — that's just a euphemism for a cut of the action,\" Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill U.S., a sports book operator, told New York state lawmakers in January. \"There will be plenty of financial benefits to the leagues.\"\nGambling proponents say kicking back that much to the leagues would make sports books unprofitable and prevent a legal, regulated betting market from developing. They're seeking an arrangement similar to what exists in Nevada, where the state takes 6.75 percent of winnings on top of a federal tax of 0.25 percent of the amount wagered.\nCasinos have a built-in edge when it comes to battling in statehouses. Casinos are legal in 40 states; the commercial companies and American Indian tribes that run them are well-versed in dealing with regulators and state lawmakers. The NBA and MLB, on the other hand, are new to lobbying states on gambling and have sometimes relied upon the bully pulpit of their commissioners to get their point across.\n\"The leagues feel like they're out of their element, and that's making them uncomfortable,\" said Kevin Braig, a Columbus, Ohio-based attorney, gambling industry analyst and handicapper. \"The gaming industry lobbies all the states. I think it goes even beyond that: They're almost partners in what they're doing. They have a very close relationship because they have very closely overlapping interests.\"\nBefore the Supreme Court heard New Jersey's challenge to the 1992 federal law limiting sports betting to the four states that already had laws on the books, casino interests — and their influential trade group, the American Gaming Association — were encouraged by the professional leagues' changing attitudes about gambling, even as leagues argued before the justices that the ban should remain. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said betting should be legalized and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said it could enhance fan interest in the sport. Although the NFL remains publicly opposed to gambling, Commissioner Roger Goodell has said his position has \"evolved.\"\nThe NFL and the NCAA have sat out the debate entirely in states considering legislation. That's despite the fact that 31 percent of sports gambling winnings in Nevada last year came from football bets, and more is wagered on college basketball's NCAA Tournament than on the Super Bowl.\nThe NBA and MLB argue their reputations are on the line because of the possibility of games being fixed. Sports fans are still familiar with the Black Sox scandal of 1919, Pete Rose's lifetime banishment from baseball for betting on games and a point-shaving scandal involving former NBA referee Tim Donaghy.\n\"The damage from even a hint of scandal will hurt the sports leagues far worse than anyone else,\" said Bryan Seeley, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at MLB.\n\"The NBA spends billions of dollars each year creating the games that would serve as the foundation for legalized sports betting, while bearing all of the risk and therefore incurring enormous additional expenses for compliance and enforcement,\" NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. \"As a result, we believe it is reasonable for operators to compensate the NBA with a small percentage of the total amount bet on our games.\"\nState regulators monitor wagering 24/7 in Nevada, and the leagues pay contractors to monitor overseas bets.\nCasinos argue that sports books don't make much money and are really there to get gamblers in the door. Unlike blackjack or slots, where casinos have a house edge, sports books make money by encouraging individual gamblers to each side of a wager, and then charging a percentage for placing the bet. Casinos say leagues will benefit from enhanced fan interest and gambling-company sponsorships.\nBills to legalize sports betting have been introduced in 18 states. This month, West Virginia approved a bill that would legalize sports betting immediately if the Supreme Court allows it. A decision by the court is expected this spring.\nMississippi, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania have also already authorized sports gambling. New York is considering whether to expand a law already on the books to allow sports gambling at racetracks and betting parlors. In Iowa, a bill to authorize sports books has advanced out of committee.\nThe states that have only introduced bills or are not as far along in the process are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Carolina.\nThe NBA and MLB haven't successfully sold lawmakers on a 1 percent cut so far, although the New York bill was amended to give 0.25 percent of the amount wagered to the leagues.\nWest Virginia's new law doesn't kick back anything to the leagues. Manfred said it has \"serious problems\" and benefits \"only the gaming industry.\" He may have found a sympathetic ear in Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who allowed the bill to become law without his signature and urged lawmakers to consider partnering with the leagues.\nWhile 1 percent may not sound like a lot, sports books generally hold onto only around 5 percent of what's wagered. That means a 1 percent tax on the handle can siphon away about 20 percent of gambling revenue. Add state and federal taxes, and casinos may find sports books to be a sucker bet.\nSara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs at the American Gaming Association, said the proposed fee runs counter to the leagues' and casinos' shared goal of curtailing illegal gambling.\n\"If you are trying to stamp out the illegal market and drive more traffic to the legal, regulated market,\" Slane said, \"you're not going to be able to accomplish that with this type of business model.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia man is facing a murder charge after authorities say he told his pastor he caused his mother's fatal overdose because he wanted to \"end her pain.\"\nNews outlets report that 44-year-old Bradford Spencer of Bluefield was arrested Saturday following the Jan. 31 death of 65-year-old Virginia Spencer.\nAuthorities say the man forced his mother to take numerous pain pills. He is charged with first-degree murder.\nBluefield police records say Spencer spoke to his pastor at a funeral home on Feb. 9, telling him that he regretted killing his mother, but he was tired of seeing her in pain. It's unclear what condition the woman was suffering from.\nSpencer was arraigned Monday and is being held on a $100,000 bond. Records do not show whether he has an attorney." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "VATICAN CITY (AP) — The retired cardinal of Hong Kong has revealed the behind-the-scenes drama of the Vatican's efforts to improve relations with China, including its request for a legitimate bishop to retire in favor of an excommunicated one who is recognized by Beijing.\nCardinal Joseph Zen, the most vocal opponent of Pope Francis' opening to China, bitterly criticized the proposed changing of the guard in Shantou diocese and revealed in a Facebook post Monday that he had traveled to the Vatican this month to personally raise it with the pope.\nZen confirmed reports by the AsiaNews missionary news agency that the Vatican had asked Shantou Bishop Peter Zhuang Jianjian, 88, to step down in favor of Bishop Joseph Huang Bingzhang. Huang was excommunicated by the Vatican in 2011 after he was consecrated without papal approval.\nZen said that he was exposing the \"confidential\" information — including the contents of his Jan. 14 audience with Francis — so that the Chinese faithful \"may know the truth to which they are entitled.\"\n\"My conscience tells me that in this case, the right to truth should override any such duty of confidentiality,\" he wrote.\nThe issue of bishop nominations is the key stumbling block in Vatican-Chinese relations that were officially severed when Beijing ordered Chinese Catholics to cut ties with the Holy See soon after the foundation of the Communist state in 1949.\nThe Vatican insists only the pope can nominate successors to Christ's apostles. China views the Vatican's insistence as interference in its sovereignty.\nPopes from John Paul II onward have expressed hope for restoring diplomatic ties, with Pope Benedict XVI taking the boldest step in 2007 by urging the millions of Chinese Catholics worshipping in both the state-controlled aboveground and the oft-persecuted clandestine underground churches to unite under his jurisdiction.\nFrancis is taking that overture further to try to reach a deal with the state-backed Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.\n\"Do I think that the Vatican is selling out the Catholic Church in China?\" Zen asked in his post. \"Yes, definitely, if they go in the direction which is obvious from all what they are doing in recent years and months.\"\nThe Vatican spokesman, Greg Burke, declined to comment, or to confirm or deny the AsiaNews report.\nThe news agency, which follows the Catholic Church closely in China, reported earlier this month that a Vatican delegation was in Beijing in December to negotiate Zhuang's retirement and Huang's nomination in Shantou.\nIn addition, the Vatican asked the legitimate bishop of Mindong, Monsignor Joseph Guo Xijin, to accept a demotion to become an auxiliary bishop to Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, who isn't recognized by the Vatican, the agency said.\nBut Zen wrote that when he raised the cases with Francis during a Jan. 14 private audience, the pope said he had told his aides \"not to create another Mindszenty case\" with regards to the Chinese bishops.\nThe reference was to the Hungarian Cardinal Josef Mindszenty, who was imprisoned by Hungary's communist rulers and, during a brief spell of freedom during the revolution of 1956, took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Budapest. Pope Paul VI eventually stripped him of his titles under pressure from the Hungarian government.\nZen said he felt encouraged by Francis' refusal to allow a similar fate to befall China's underground churchmen. \"His words should be rightly understood as of consolation and encouragement more for them than for me,\" he said.\nThe government-recognized bishop of Mindong, Vincent Zhan Silu said he didn't know about the changes.\n\"What I know is that China and Vatican remain in contact and are negotiating on some relevant issues. As for how far the negotiations have gone and how to carry out personnel exchanges, I am not sure about that,\" he told The Associated Press.\nCalls to the ethnic and religious authorities in the two dioceses went unanswered. There was also no answer at the China Patriotic Catholic Association.\n___\nAP writer Yu Bing contributed from Beijing." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — New allegations of racism and improper behavior against a Louisiana sheriff have delayed a civil trial involving a man who was fatally shot while handcuffed.\nThe trial had been scheduled to start next week.\nRelatives of Victor White III sued Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal and a deputy. The 22-year-old man was handcuffed behind his back in the rear of a patrol car when he died in March 2014.\nLawyers for White's family say a former sheriff's office employee told them that Ackal referred to black people as \"gorillas\" and gave coded instructions for writing reports to justify beatings of detainees.\nHanna delayed the trial to give Ackal's lawyer time to question the witness.\nA lawyer for Ackal and the deputy didn't respond to an email seeking comment." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The head of Oregon's emergency management agency has apologized after a cryptic emergency alert was forced out to cellphones in and around Oregon's capital city, displaying the words \"Civil Emergency\" and \"Prepare for Action,\" but carrying little other information.\nAndrew Phelps said late Tuesday that a technical glitch had cut off crucial information: that the alert concerned elevated levels of a natural toxin in a local reservoir. Children and people with compromised immune systems have been told not to drink tap water in the Salem, Oregon, area, after an algae bloom caused the spike.\n\"The integrated public alert warning system inadvertently defaulted to a generic message,\" Phelps said in a video posted on the social media by the Office of Emergency Management. \"I apologize for the confusion and the anxiety this incomplete message has caused.\"\nThe incident marked a high-profile glitch in authorities' use of emergency alert systems, following a false alarm sent out by Hawaii officials in January warning of an incoming ballistic missile.\nThe systems are capable of pushing messages directly to every cellphone in a given area even if users haven't subscribed or downloaded an app. Phelps said the message had also been broadcast via local television stations.\nConfusion surrounded the initial alert even within the emergency management agency, with a spokesperson telling reporters the message had caught them unawares and state police asking residents via a Facebook post not to call 911 about the alert.\nOfficials sent a second message 31 minutes later with more information and a link to a municipal website, which briefly crashed under the load.\nWithin hours of the alert going out Tuesday night, the aisles at one supermarket in the city's downtown center were stripped of bottled water, and a shopping cart lay tipped on its side in front of the empty shelves. Workers had brought out a pallet of sparkling water, which they placed at the front of the store, and told customers they hoped they'd get more regular water in the morning.\nWednesday morning Cole Mahaffey, a Salem resident, set down a case of bottled water he was carrying down the sidewalk and described the uneasy feeling of seeing the first alert arrive on his phone, with an ominous warning but no other information.\n\"It almost made me not want to go outside,\" Mahaffey said, adding that the alert caught him at the gym, and that he had interrupted his exercise routine to ask staff at the front desk if they knew what it was about. \"I didn't know if there was something going on in the area, or if there was a shooter, you just had no way of knowing.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police say R&B singer Trey Songz has been arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence for punching a woman at a Los Angeles party.\nLAPD spokesman Officer Drake Madison says Songz, whose real name is Tremaine Neverson, turned himself in at a Hollywood police station Monday morning.\nJail records show the 33-year-old was released about two hours later on $50,000 bail.\nAndrea Buera said at a news conference last week that she was the woman Songz had assaulted. Buera said he punched her repeatedly because he was upset she was talking to another man at a party Feb. 18.\nSongz attorney Shawn Chapman Holley did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.\nSongz tweeted Monday that he was being lied about and falsely accused for someone else's personal gain." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — AP sources: Trump administration expected to renew temporary protected status for Syrians but not take new applicants." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 23, 2018--After initially launching in Asia and with an upcoming debut in the United States and Canada, SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX) is extending its popular anime collaboration to Europe as well with the launch of Skechers X One Piece. The colorful collection unites Toei Animation’s popular anime series with Skechers D’Lites, one of the footwear company’s original styles.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005239/en/\nSkechers launches limited edition One Piece collection in Europe (Photo: Business Wire)\n“Pairing the iconic long-running anime series One Piece with one of our top heritage styles resonated with our consumers in South Korea and China who have been driving trends for the past few years,” began Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “And now fashion moves at light speed, so as influencers around the world had already been embracing Skechers D’Lites and the chunky sneaker trend, we started to see style purveyors—from Hypebae, Hypebeast, GQ, and High Snobiety —covering Skechers X One Piece collaboration as a must have fashion style. We’ve moved fast to share the collaboration with the United States, Canada, and now Europe—one of the largest international markets for Skechers.”\n“We’re thrilled to partner with an amazing global footwear brand in Skechers to launch this exciting fashion initiative across Europe,” said Ryuji Kochi, President of Toei Animation Europe. “Skechers D’Lites embody an energetic trend that’s been taking the world by storm and much like the Straw Hat Pirates in One Piece, our fans are always enthusiastically seeking out the next new adventure in life, so this partnership is a perfect fit. We are confident that the combined merchandising efforts of both Toei Animation and Skechers will bring long-lasting success for this collaboration.”\n“The red hot chunky sneaker look has been taking over fashion runways in Europe, creating intense buzz,” added Marvin Bernstein, managing partner of SKECHERS S.à.r.l. “So it’s a unique opportunity for us to bring the collaboration of the D’Lites, the originator of the chunky look, and the legendary One Piece series to Europe where we expect it will resonate with stylish consumers across the continent. We’re thrilled that this is all happening with Toei Animation, the pioneers of Japanese animation.”\nOriginally exclusive to the South Korean and China markets, the collection will be imported to Europe in multiple different colorways—each embracing a unique One Piece character: Luffy, Chopper, Sanji, Zoro, Law, and Doflamingo. The footwear will be available beginning July 2018 at Skechers retail stores and select specialty stores in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain/Portugal, United Kingdom, and Central Eastern Europe [Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia].\nEiichiro Oda’s One Piece is the best-selling manga in history with more than 430 million copies worldwide. In 1997, it spawned an acclaimed anime series that has produced 830+ episodes plus 15 movies. Following the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his fearless Straw Hat Pirates, fans are taken on a fantastical journey across a world teeming with wonders and imagination. A multi-generational property, it continues to captivate viewers both young and old. The story and its characters have also expanded across other media into film, television, and video/mobile games, as well as a theme park in Japan.\nSkechers pioneered the chunky sneaker look two decades ago with the Skechers Energy for men and women as well as the Skechers Stamina for men. The style evolved and the Company introduced Skechers D’Lites—a lighter version of its original style—in 2007. Though the collection has always had a dedicated consumer base, sales accelerated across Asia over the last two years after regional marketing included K-Pop groups. In 2017, the Company relaunched an even lighter update of Skechers D’Lites in celebration of its ten-year anniversary.\nAbout SKECHERS USA, Inc.\nSKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops, and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women, and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, 2,651 SKECHERS Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia and the Middle East, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, throughout Europe, and Latin America. For more information, please visit skechers.com and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERS) and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).\nAbout Toei Animation Europe\nFounded in 1956 in Tokyo, Toei Animation ranks amongst the world’s most prolific animation production studios. The company’s operations include animation development and production, and worldwide marketing and program licensing with sales offices in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Paris. Toei Animation Europe is managing the distribution and exploitation of Toei Animation’s animated series in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Among its most famous titles: Dragon Ball, One Piece, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Digimon, Mazinger Z, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, and Captain Future. www.toei-animation.com\nThis announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005239/en/\nCONTACT: Media Contact:\nSKECHERS CORPORATE\nJennifer Clay, (310) 937-1326\njennc@skechers.com\nor\nSKECHERS UK/IRELAND\nWill Cheung, +441707655955\nwillch@eu.skechers.com\nor\nSKECHERS CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE\nGordana Dulic, +36 30 749 1258\ngordanad@eu.skechers.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES EUROPE NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: WOMEN ENTERTAINMENT LICENSING (ENTERTAINMENT) TV AND RADIO FILM & MOTION PICTURES GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT CHILDREN RETAIL FASHION OTHER RETAIL CONSUMER FAMILY MEN\nSOURCE: SKECHERS USA, Inc.\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/23/2018 03:00 AM/DISC: 04/23/2018 03:00 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005239/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew A. Cherry, a filmmaker and former NFL player, is working on a picture book.\nCherry and illustrator Vashti Harrison will collaborate on \"Hair Love,\" Dial Books for Young Readers told The Associated Press on Tuesday. \"Hair Love\" will tell of an African-American father and his work on his daughter's hair as she prepares for a special outing. The book, scheduled for spring 2019, is based on an animated short film by Cherry.\nCherry was a wide receiver for the Jackson Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens, among other teams, before he retired in 2007. His other films include \"The Last Fall.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times EDT EASTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Home Away Div Tampa Bay 72 49 19 4 102 260 202 26-8-2 23-11-2 15-7-2 Boston 71 45 17 9 99 239 184 25-7-5 20-10-4 15-5-2 Toronto 72 43 22 7 93 243 204 25-8-2 18-14-5 13-6-3 Washington 72 41 24 7 89 225 214 25-9-2 16-15-5 13-7-3 Pittsburgh 72 41 26 5 87 237 218 26-8-1 15-18-4 15-6-1 Columbus 73 40 28 5 85 205 203 24-11-2 16-17-3 13-10-3 Philadelphia 73 37 25 11 85 218 215 18-13-6 19-12-5 11-7-5 New Jersey 72 37 27 8 82 217 215 18-14-3 19-13-5 12-9-1 Florida 70 36 27 7 79 212 216 22-11-3 14-16-4 13-6-2 Carolina 72 31 30 11 73 194 225 16-14-6 15-16-5 9-10-5 N.Y. Rangers 72 32 32 8 72 208 231 20-13-4 12-19-4 9-8-3 N.Y. Islanders 72 30 32 10 70 231 262 16-14-4 14-18-6 10-12-2 Montreal 73 26 35 12 64 182 232 17-12-8 9-23-4 10-9-5 Ottawa 71 26 34 11 63 197 244 15-14-6 11-20-5 8-11-4 Detroit 72 26 35 11 63 184 224 13-14-8 13-21-3 6-13-4 Buffalo 72 23 37 12 58 172 236 11-21-5 12-16-7 10-8-3 WESTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Home Away Div Nashville 72 48 14 10 106 236 178 25-7-4 23-7-6 17-4-2 Vegas 72 46 21 5 97 244 199 25-9-2 21-12-3 17-3-2 Winnipeg 72 43 19 10 96 240 189 26-7-2 17-12-8 13-8-2 Minnesota 73 41 24 8 90 227 210 24-6-7 17-18-1 11-11-0 San Jose 72 40 23 9 89 219 199 21-11-3 19-12-6 19-4-3 Colorado 72 39 25 8 86 231 209 25-9-2 14-16-6 10-10-3 Los Angeles 73 40 27 6 86 211 184 19-14-3 21-13-3 11-10-4 Anaheim 73 37 24 12 86 206 197 22-10-5 15-14-7 11-6-7 Dallas 73 38 27 8 84 209 197 24-10-3 14-17-5 11-13-0 St. Louis 72 39 28 5 83 201 193 21-15-0 18-13-5 10-10-3 Calgary 74 35 29 10 80 204 222 15-17-4 20-12-6 10-10-3 Chicago 73 30 34 9 69 208 223 17-15-4 13-19-5 7-10-3 Edmonton 72 31 36 5 67 201 231 16-17-3 15-19-2 13-9-1 Vancouver 72 25 38 9 59 186 236 12-18-6 13-20-3 6-16-1 Arizona 72 24 37 11 59 175 230 15-20-4 9-17-7 8-10-6\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.\nSunday's Games\nColorado 5, Detroit 1\nVegas 4, Calgary 0\nTampa Bay 3, Edmonton 1\nCarolina 4, N.Y. Islanders 3\nPhiladelphia 6, Washington 3\nWinnipeg 4, Dallas 2\nSt. Louis 5, Chicago 4, OT\nAnaheim 4, New Jersey 2\nMonday's Games\nColumbus 5, Boston 4, OT\nNashville 4, Buffalo 0\nFlorida 2, Montreal 0\nLos Angeles 4, Minnesota 3, OT\nArizona 5, Calgary 2\nTuesday's Games\nColumbus at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.\nDallas at Washington, 7 p.m.\nPittsburgh at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.\nEdmonton at Carolina, 7 p.m.\nFlorida at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.\nPhiladelphia at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.\nToronto at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.\nLos Angeles at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.\nColorado at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.\nVancouver at Vegas, 10 p.m.\nNew Jersey at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.\nWednesday's Games\nMontreal at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.\nArizona at Buffalo, 7 p.m.\nBoston at St. Louis, 8 p.m.\nAnaheim at Calgary, 9:30 p.m.\nThursday's Games\nN.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.\nArizona at Carolina, 7 p.m.\nFlorida at Columbus, 7 p.m.\nTampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.\nWashington at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.\nEdmonton at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.\nToronto at Nashville, 8 p.m.\nVancouver at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.\nLos Angeles at Colorado, 9 p.m.\nVegas at San Jose, 10 p.m." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) was absent from his company’s post-Lunar New Year ceremony due to frequent trips to China possibly related to planned investments in the United States, Chinese-language Next Magazine reported Wednesday.\nGou, one of Taiwan’s wealthiest businessmen, runs one of the world’s biggest electronics contract makers, known as Foxconn, and has also taken control of Japan’s ailing Sharp Corporation.\nHe has recently been torn between plans to invest more in the U.S. in a response to President Donald Trump, and his interests in China, where Foxconn runs huge manufacturing complexes which turn out electronics products for major world brands, such as Apple Inc.\nWhen Hon Hai held the traditional back-to-work ceremony at its headquarters in Tucheng, New Taipei City, following the end of the Lunar New Year on February 6, Gou was unexpectedly absent, Next Magazine noted.\nThe report explained the fact by saying he had flown to the Chinese city of Shenzhen in the company of most of his company’s senior managers. At the local Foxconn plant, he had held a key meeting to discuss the group’s future operations, Next reported. The meeting also involved a teleconferencing discussion with Gou’s deputy, Tai Jeng-wu (戴正吳), Sharp’s CEO in Osaka, according to the magazine.\nNext suggested that the Taiwanese tycoon also hosted Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma (馬雲) and SoftBank Group chief Masayoshi Son (孫正義) at the Shenzhen plant. The three Asian business leaders reportedly promised Trump they would set up more businesses in the U.S. and create thousands of jobs.\nIn Gou’s case, he reportedly plans to invest US$70 billion (NT$2.1 trillion) and create 50,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, reports said.\nJust before and after the Lunar New Year, he paid short visits to Beijing where he tried to persuade the Chinese government that his plans for investments the U.S. would not adversely impact his expansion in China’s province of Guangdong, Next said.\nGou has vehemently denied suggestions in the Taiwanese media that he was considering a bid for president in 2020." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DALLAS (AP) — Residents of a coastal area southwest of Houston are cleaning up debris after severe storms, including at least six tornadoes, swept through the area.\nAt least six people were injured in Van Vleck, about 70 miles southwest of Houston, by a weak tornado rated by a federal survey team as of EF1 strength with winds of 86 to 110 mph. An EF2 tornado with winds of 111-135 mph caused extensive damage to subdivisions 27 miles southwest of Houston. A weak tornado also was confirmed in Wharton.\nElsewhere, more than 3 inches of rain fell in some areas west of Austin, and rain was mixing with snow in the Texas Panhandle, resulting in slick roads and delays in school openings." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — One night about a year ago, Leandro Mota Generoso was sleeping on a street in downtown Rio de Janeiro when he felt something jagged strike his face.\nSomebody — he didn't see the person, but believes it was a resident in the neighborhood — had slashed his nose with broken glass from a Vodka bottle. He awoke in a pool of blood.\n\"I can't sleep at night anymore,\" said Generoso, 23, who has been homeless since the grandfather who was raising him died five years ago. \"To many people, we are rats, garbage or whatever thing.\"\n\"That is the reality, and now there are many more homeless in the streets,\" he added.\nA year after Rio de Janeiro hosted the Olympic Games, a grinding economic crisis has led to an influx of thousands of homeless people, creating a climate of tension that city officials are scrambling to address.\nWarm temperatures and miles of beaches have long made Brazil's most famous city a place with a large street population. But city officials say it's more than tripled in the last few years, to an estimated 15,000 people.\nWhile many U.S. cities have experienced sharp increases in people living outdoors thanks to rising housing prices amid a recovering economy, in Rio the driving factors have been fallout from Brazil's worst recession in decades and long-standing inequalities.\nToday's homeless in Rio include thousands who came from other states for work before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics and subsequently lost their jobs.\n\"Rio de Janeiro is facing the worst possible scenario when it comes to the homeless,\" said Pedro Fernandes, the city's secretary of social assistance and human rights. \"We have never had such a large number in the streets.\"\nTensions have been steadily increasing, particularly in affluent and touristy neighborhoods where residents and businesses are frustrated with the throngs of people sleeping on the streets. In August, a residential building in the iconic Copacabana neighborhood installed sprinklers below its awnings to rouse unwanted campers below. The city later forced the sprinklers to be removed.\nPeople in several affluent neighborhoods post messages on community Facebook groups urging police to act and imploring neighbors not to feed the homeless.\nIn some cases, violence has erupted. Forty-year-old Fernanda Rodrigues dos Santos was fatally shot in the chest while sleeping in the street in Copacabana in October. Police say 24-year-old Rodrigo Gomes Rodrigues, a medical student who lives in the neighborhood, has confessed to the killing. Police say he and a friend argued earlier in the night with another homeless person, went to get a gun and returned looking for revenge.\n\"How many Fernandas are still in the streets?\" said Wilham Rodrigues dos Santos, Fernanda's brother. \"We can't accept that this aggression becomes normal.\"\nCarla Beatriz Nunes Maia, from the Public Prosecutors office, has been leading visits to the homeless at night to get a sense of what they are facing. She says complaints about rough-handed tactics by police have given way to even more complaints about friction with residents in affluent neighborhoods.\n\"There is a repressive movement to keep people from helping the homeless,\" said Maia, referring to the calls on social media not to give food or money.\nThe city has launched an initiative to spruce up shelters and persuade more homeless people to use them. Many shun shelters because they often have strict rules and, by the city's own acknowledgement, have fallen into disrepair, with infestations of bugs and filthy bathrooms.\n\"You may go into a shelter healthy, but then how will you come out?\" said Nancy Gouveia, a 49-year-old who has been on the streets three years.\nWhen her marriage broke up, the former housewife with no work experience said she had nowhere to go but the street. While many people have helped her, she said she has also had water and diesel thrown on her. A man once tried to light her on fire while she slept.\n\"All of us on the street want to get off it. But how?\" Gouveia said as she lay on a frayed cushion in front of a bank near the ocean in Copacabana.\nSitting on a chair next to Gouveia, Patricio Santos added there would be no change until the economy improves.\n\"We need jobs,\" said Santos, 34, who has been on the streets six months since losing his job as a telemarketer.\nWhile some of the nearly 2,200 beds in shelters go empty each night, successfully persuading more homeless people to use them could create its own problems, as there are vastly more potential users than space for them. Given that reality, the city is also working to help migrants return to their home states, and in some cases even other countries.\nDespite the grim situation, there are signs of hope. Though growth is tepid, Brazil officially emerged from recession earlier this year. And city officials say some businesses are donating food and clothes as well as providing jobs for some homeless.\nOn a recent day, hundreds of homeless showed up at a park where the city offered services ranging from free haircuts to recovering documents and help with job searches.\nOne of those who showed up was Generoso, who wanted more information about a shelter where he might be able to stop worrying about being attacked again.\n\"I want to find a place to sleep,\" he said. \"There is only misery on the streets.\"\n___\nPeter Prengaman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterprengaman" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United and Chelsea couldn't afford any slip-ups if they were to have even the slightest chance of catching runaway leader Manchester City in the final few months of the Premier League.\nBoth lost on Wednesday, and saw City rack up another big win to move even closer to the title.\nUnited conceded a goal inside 11 seconds to Christian Eriksen and was beaten 2-0 by Tottenham at Wembley Stadium in front of a record Premier League attendance of 81, 978.\nChelsea had an even heavier loss, upset 3-0 by Bournemouth at home after conceding three goals in a 16-minute spell in the second half.\nCity took its opportunity to push 15 points clear in what is turning into a procession to the title, beating West Bromwich Albion 3-0 on the back of another masterful display by Kevin De Bruyne.\nDe Bruyne set up Fernandinho for the opener and then scored himself, before Sergio Aguero added a late third at Etihad Stadium. In the process, City went past 100 goals for the season in all competitions.\nUnited stayed in second place while Chelsea dropped to fourth — below Liverpool on goal difference — and is now 18 points behind City.\nLeicester was without Riyad Mahrez for its trip to Everton, with the Algerian not included in the squad after being the subject of a bid from Man City on Tuesday, and missed its star winger in a 2-1 loss at Goodison Park.\nBurnley and Southampton came from behind to secure 1-1 draws against Newcastle and Brighton, respectively. Stoke and Watford drew 0-0.\n___\nSteve Douglas is at www.twitter.com/sdouglas80" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "HUDDERSFIELD, England (AP) — Huddersfield says head coach David Wagner has signed a contract extension to stay at the Premier League club for three more years.\nWagner, his assistant Christophe Buhler and first-team coach Andrew Hughes all signed new deals that will keep them at the club until 2021.\nThe trio all had 12 months left on their previous contracts, and Wagner had been linked with bigger clubs after an impressive debut season in the Premier League.\nHowever, the German-American said \"the decision to extend my stay at this club was not a difficult one.\"\nWagner took over Huddersfield in November 2015 and then led the team to promotion to the Premier League in his first full season. The team finished 16th in its first season in England's top flight in 45 years." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "For anyone who has ever read \"Crime and Punishment\" and then really wanted to see a frat boy version — Bro-stoyevsky, if you will — your movie has finally arrived.\n\"American Animals\" is about a foursome of Kentucky college students — all white kids from privileged backgrounds — who in 2004 decided to steal some extremely valuable books from the Lexington library at Transylvania University. They are motivated less by the millions the books (particularly John James Audubon's multi-volume \"The Birds of America\") could fetch than a desire to step beyond a line and turn their regular lives into something \"special.\"\n\"We're supposed to be hunter gatherers, man,\" one says to another in a grocery store aisle.\nThe irony is that their brazen plot turns them into just another kind of cliché — hapless, dimwitted criminals — and leaves them ultimately with nothing but regret and shame. Oh, and this movie.\nBart Layton's \"American Animals\" isn't just a dramatization of the 2004 heist. It's frequently narrated and commented upon by the real guys whose story the film is based on. Warren Lipka, Spencer Reinhard, Eric Bosuk and Charles Allen II all appear in documentary-style interviews that punctuate the heist narrative, looking back years later with ashen remorse that may or may not mask their pleasure at starring in their own movie.\nIt opens, cleverly, with the words \"This is not based on a true story.\" Then, with a puff, the middle words blow away leaving only, \"This is a true story.\" Layton has previously played with hybrids of fiction and nonfiction. His 2012 documentary \"The Imposter,\" about the shape-shifting con artist Frederic Bourdin, was as manipulative and deceptive as its sly subject.\nAnd especially in the first half of \"American Animals,\" Layton works hard — too hard — to impress its own stranger-than-fiction playfulness. The talking-head testimonies of the guys, along with their parents and teachers, are joined with scenes in which characters question each other's memories. Layton sometimes plays multiple versions of scenes, like the foggily remembered meeting with a possible fence to sell the books in New York.\nThe what's-true-what's-not tricks, reminiscent of last year's \"I, Tonya,\" are — like the students' own high-minded plans — not quite as smart as Layton seems to think. But the actors are quite good. Barry Keoghan (\"The Killing of a Sacred Deer\") plays Spencer, a talented painter in search of some artistic suffering. \"Art has to be about something more than: My life is great and I'm really good at drawing,\" he says.\nThe valuable books first catch his eye, but it's his friend Warren (Evan Peters) who's the ringleader. While his parents are divorcing, Warren lets his athletic scholarship slide and refashions himself as a James Dean rebel and small-time thief. Through charisma and cajoling, he assembles a team (Jared Abrahamson and Blake Jenner play Bosuk and Allen) and what starts as a hypothetical lark turns into a genuine if poorly considered plot, predicated on disabling the middle-aged librarian (Ann Dowd) and dressing up as elderly men in costumes that mostly resemble 1970s Dick Van Dykes.\nThey make a study of heist movies, watching films like Stanley Kubrick's \"The Killing,\" giving themselves \"Reservoir Dogs\" nicknames and imagining a smooth, stylish \"Ocean's 11\" operation. In a sense, \"American Animals\" rewards them with the notoriety they sought. And it's reasonable to wonder if the film — which conflates their crime with the existential malaise of American youth — isn't just another way for them to profit for what they deserve only punishment. (Allen also wrote a 2010 book titled \"Mr. Pink.\" Reinhard is still painting.)\nThere's plenty hollow in the self-aware machinations of \"American Animals.\" But there's also something affecting in Reinhard's regret and how the film charts the swift, crushing fall of a dopey, quixotic idea hatched by kids who don't realize that what they're playing at isn't a game. \"American Animals\" would be a legitimate cautionary tale if it wasn't invalidated by its own existence.\n\"American Animals,\" a The Orchard and MoviePass Ventures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for \"language throughout, some drug use and brief crude/sexual material.\" Running time: 116 minutes. Two stars out of four.\n___\nMPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.\n___\nFollow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawsuit against a North Carolina city for allegedly discriminating against an African-American-owned television network will go forward after the Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case.\nThe Supreme Court's announcement Monday that it would not get involved in the dispute leaves in place a ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit earlier this year that revived the lawsuit. A trial court had initially dismissed it.\nBlack Network Television claims the City of Greensboro rescinded a $300,000 economic development loan because of race. The city says race had nothing to do with it. Appeals court judges ruled 2-1 that the lawsuit had been improperly dismissed." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) — The National Park Service wants further review of an oil refinery proposed near North Dakota's Theodore Roosevelt National Park to see how emergency flaring could affect air quality.\nThe Park Service's request is among about 11,000 emails received by the North Dakota Department of Public Health during a comment period for the refinery's air quality permit, which ended last week.\nMeridian Energy Group wants to build the Davis Refinery near Belfield, which is about three miles from the park. The health department is reviewing a permit for a refinery capable of processing 55,000 barrels of oil per day.\nAn analysis by the National Park Service's Air Resources Division found that the refinery wouldn't significantly impact the park under normal operations, the Bismarck Tribune reported . But the Park Service said more evaluation is needed on the impact of flaring, which could significantly increase emissions.\n\"Based on our analysis, emissions from the refinery could cause visibility impairment at Theodore Roosevelt NP under upset conditions when blowdown emissions are exhausted through the flares,\" the Park Service wrote in a letter.\nWendy Ross, the park's superintendent, said the Park Service is also concerned about future impact if Meridian wants to expand.\nMeridian Energy Group has said it would be the \"cleanest refinery on the planet.\"\nThe Environmental Protection Agency has also been involved in the refinery's permit review process. The federal agency submitted technical comments and recommended that the health department analyze air quality impact from phase one of the refinery, which will process 27,500 barrels of oil per day.\nTerry O'Clair, director of the health department's air quality division, said reviewing and responding to comments and making a final recommendation will take about two months.\nHealth officials said that the project's review process has been more rigorous than required because of public interest.\n___\nInformation from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times EST EASTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 50 34 13 3 71 176 128 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 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 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 WESTERN CONFERENCE GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 49 33 12 4 70 168 130 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 San Jose 49 26 16 7 59 145 138 Los Angeles 50 27 18 5 59 142 121 Minnesota 50 27 18 5 59 147 142 Anaheim 51 25 17 9 59 144 142 Calgary 50 25 17 8 58 139 139 Colorado 48 27 18 3 57 157 139 Chicago 50 24 19 7 55 148 137 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": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Republican congressman, members of the U.S. Capitol Police, a congressional aide and a lobbyist were injured when a gunman opened fire at a baseball practice. The assailant later died after the incident.\n— Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., House Majority Whip and third in leadership. Elected in 2008, he represents a district in Louisiana that includes New Orleans suburbs and the southwest part of the state.\n— Matt Mika, former aide to Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., who said Mika is a graduate of Adrian College and a former baseball player who worked as a volunteer at Wednesday's practice to help the congressional team get ready for the game. His family released a statement saying paramedics told them Mika was shot multiple times and is in critical condition. Mika is director of government relations for Tyson Foods Washington, D.C., office and has worked for the company for more than six years.\n— Zachary Barth, legislative aide for Republican Rep. Roger Williams of Texas. Williams says Barth is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.\n— Special Agents David Bailey and Crystal Griner, members of the U.S. Capitol Police whose actions Speaker Paul Ryan credited with saving lives.\nThe shooter in the attack has been identified as James. T. Hodgkinson, a resident of Illinois. After an exchange of gunfire with police, the shooter died." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy commander says an Iranian naval patrol boat shined a laser at a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter flying over the Strait of Hormuz in what officials say was an unsafe encounter.\nU.S. Navy Cmdr. Bill Urban says the Iranian vessel also turned its spotlight on two Navy ships that were moving through the strait on Tuesday. Urban, a U.S. Fifth Fleet spokesman, says the Iranian boat came within 800 yards of the USS Bataan, scanned it from bow to stern with the spotlight and shined the light on the USS Cole.\nThe helicopter automatically fired flares in response.\nUrban says the action was considered dangerous because shining lasers at a helicopter at night can impair pilots' vision and disorient them if they're wearing night vision goggles." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles says it is a \"great joy\" to be a grandfather once again, issuing a statement to express his pleasure with the arrival of a boy to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.\nThe 8-pound, 7-ounce (3.8 kilogram) boy was born Monday morning. The new prince is fifth in line to the throne and is a younger brother to 4-year-old Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who turns 3 next week.\nCharles said in a statement Tuesday that \"it is a great joy to have another grandchild, the only trouble is I don't know how I am going to keep up with them.\"\nThe birth is being marked by bell ringing at Westminster Abbey and a gun salute in London's Hyde Park." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III says it would be easy to dismiss the first year of President Donald Trump's presidency as \"chaos\" marked by partisanship and politics.\nBut Kennedy says Trump has caused serious problems for the American people, including proposals that target Muslims, transgendered people and others.\nKennedy, who is delivering the Democratic response to Trump's State of the Union address, said in excerpts released early that the Trump administration \"isn't just targeting the laws that protect us — they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection.\"\nIn apparent reference to Trump, Kennedy says \"bullies may land a punch\" and leave a mark but have \"never managed to match the strength and spirit of a people united in defense of their future.\"\nThe 37-year-old Kennedy, a three-term congressman and grandson of former attorney general and senator Robert F. Kennedy, has argued that Democrats should focus on the economic worries of working-class voters who bolted the party in the 2016 elections.\nKennedy was set to deliver the speech from a vocational high school in Fall River, Massachusetts, a onetime manufacturing hub now struggling with high unemployment and other problems.\nFall River demonstrates the value of that message, he said: \"Fall River has faced its share of storms. But people here are tough. They fight for each other. They pull for their city.\"\nKennedy was elected to the House in 2012, returning the family to Congress two years after the retirement of Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, the son of Joe Kennedy III's great-uncle Ted.\nKnown mostly for his famous last name, Kennedy's selection has been criticized by some as tone-deaf at a time when sexual harassment of women and the Black Lives Matter movement are at the forefront of Democratic politics.\nStill, Kennedy outlined a Democratic vision, touting a \"better deal for all who call this country home.\"\nDemocrats support a higher minimum wage, paid leave for employees and affordable child care, among other priorities, he said.\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 invited U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, a transgender woman, as his guest to the State of the Union. King, an infantry squad leader at Fort Lewis, Washington, was the first person to have gender reassignment surgery paid for by the military." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge who ordered a detained immigration rights activist facing deportation to be immediately released raised \"grave concern\" over the argument that he had been targeted because of his political activities, a concern also expressed by immigrants and their advocates over his and others' cases.\nDuring a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Monday over the detention of Ravi Ragbir, U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest asked a prosecutor what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had gotten out of detaining the activist. Ragbir has been fighting deportation for years following a wire fraud conviction and is executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, a coalition of 150 faith-based groups.\nRagbir was taken into custody on Jan. 11 when he checked in with immigration authorities and was told that he was being detained. In her ruling, Forrest called his treatment \"unnecessarily cruel\" and ordered that he be immediately let out of detention. She also refused a government request to halt her order for a possible appeal.\n\"It ought not to be — and it has never before been — that those who have lived without incident in this country for years are subjected to treatment we associate with regimes we revile as unjust, regimes where those who have long lived in a country may be taken without notice from streets, home, and work. And sent away.\"\nIn a footnote, Forrest wrote, \"The Court also notes with grave concern the argument that petitioner has been targeted as a result of his speech and political advocacy on behalf of immigrants' rights and social justice.\"\nRagbir's lawyer, Alina Das, said in court papers that Scott Mechkowski, deputy field office director at the ICE office where Ragbir was detained, told her on Jan. 8 that he felt \"resentment\" about Ragbir's previously scheduled check-in on March 9.\nShe said Mechkowski told her that he had heard statements that Ragbir had made to the press and that he continues to see him at prayer vigils outside his Manhattan office. She said he also expressed anger that elected officials accompanied Ragbir to his check-ins, and he asked why lawyers bother to include so many letters from the community in efforts to keep Ragbir in the country.\nAssistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Waterman labeled the claim that Ragbir was targeted as \"pure speculation\" and said the government had seen no evidence in support of that contention.\nIn a statement, ICE said it \"does not target unlawfully present aliens for arrest based on advocacy positions they hold or in retaliation for critical comments they make. Any suggestion to the contrary is irresponsible, speculative and inaccurate.\"\nImmigrants and their advocates have been claiming in recent weeks that ICE is targeting those who speak out against detention and deportation, pointing to Ragbir and his group's co-founder, Jean Montrevil, who was deported to Haiti a couple of weeks ago.\nThey also cite cases like that of Eliseo Jurado, the detained husband of an immigrant woman who is an activist and has claimed sanctuary from deportation in a church, and Maru Mora Villalpando, an activist and citizen of Mexico living in Bellingham, Washington, who said she got a letter from ICE putting her in deportation proceedings despite her not having any kind of criminal record.\nRagbir's wife, immigration attorney Amy Gottlieb, said she was moved \"by the judge's powerful language about what it means to live in a democracy.\"\nU.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, a New York Democrat, said she hopes Ragbir will go to Washington for Tuesday's State of the Union address. Gottlieb had already accepted Velazquez's invitation.\nThe citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, a legal U.S. resident since 1994, fought deportation after his Sept. 12, 2001, conspiracy and wire fraud conviction for accepting fraudulent loan applications while working at a now-defunct loan company. Placed into removal proceedings, he was detained nearly two years before his 2008 release. The U.S. Supreme Court refused legal relief in October 2011. Subsequent court efforts failed. His attorneys have filed other appeals, which have still to be decided." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The three-day miaohui (廟會) or temple festival held by the Bangka Qingshan Temple (艋舺青山宮) in which the King of Qingshan (青山靈安尊王) toured Taipei's Wanhua District, concluded on Saturday (Dec. 9).\nThe annual Bangka Qingshan Temple festival started in 1905 and is one the three largest in the city of Taipei. The three-day pilgrimage, which includes both night and day patrols, is held to drive away evil spirits and honor the Taoist deity the King of Qingshan, who is said to have rid Wanhua of the plague hundreds of years ago. The god was originally brought with Chinese immigrants during the Qing Dynasty to Taipei from Quanzhou in Fujian province.\nThe following are photos taken during the last day of the festival on Saturday.\nBangka Qingshan Temple Eight General Retinue\nFemale retinue that travel with Bajiajiang (Eight Generals).\nThe incense that burns on the back of their heads signifies that they are possessed by a spirit.\nLiving embodiment of King of Qingshan\nA young boy is selected to represent the living embodiment of the King of Qingshan.\nHe is surrounded by the Bajiajiang, the temple's top guardians to protect him.\nExtremely rare sighting of the Yinyang diety. This is the first time he has appeared at the festival in 30 years.\nQingshan Wang\nWooden statue representing the King of Qingshan, which is paraded through the streets of Wanhua on all three days.\nSedan which carries the King of Qingshan.\nBangka Qingshan Temple\nThe interior of the top floor of the Qingshan Temple.\nEach floor of the temple houses different deities, with the top floor containing the Jade Emperor.\nDragon keeping watch on a roof of Qingshan Temple.\nFestival dancers\nTo provide entertainment for the gods and to attract the younger generation, dancers in skimpy outfits on stage have become another attraction at the festival.\nDancers tease the crowd members with the promise of a free poster to those who raise their hands.\nYoung women dressed in revealing kimonos to also entertain the gods and attract attention.\nBajiajiang Spiritual Warriors\nProcession of Bajiajiang as they prepare to perform.\nVideo of nighttime ceremony shot by Erik Schicketanz on Dec. 8." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid has denied reaching an agreement to sign France forward Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain.\nThe Spanish club released a statement Wednesday calling reports of an agreement between Madrid and PSG \"completely false.\"\nMadrid says it \"has not made any offer to PSG or the player and condemns the spreading of this type of information that has not been proven by the parties concerned.\"\nThe denial comes two days after Madrid dismissed a report that it had offered to buy Neymar from PSG for a world record transfer of 310 million euros ($360 million).\nIt said the report by Spanish public broadcaster TVE was \"absolutely untrue.\"\nPSG is under pressure from UEFA to raise cash from selling players. The French club needs to comply with \"Financial Fair Play\" rules which monitor overspending on transfers and wages.\nPSG spent a record 222 million euros ($260 million) last year to buy Neymar from Barcelona.\nUEFA warned the French champions three weeks ago they will \"remain under close scrutiny\" when they submit accounts for the financial year, which ended last Saturday.\nReal Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo hinted after the Champions League final that he may leave the Spanish club. He has not talked about his club future since joining Portugal for the World Cup.\n___\nMore AP Spanish soccer coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Nominees for the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Thursday in Beverly Hills, California, by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association:\nMOTION PICTURES\n—Picture, Drama: \"Call Me By Your Name,\" ''Dunkirk,\" ''The Post,\" The Shape of Water\" and \"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.\"\n—Picture, Musical or Comedy: \"The Disaster Artist,\" ''Get Out,\" ''The Greatest Showman,\" ''Lady Bird\" and \"I, Tonya.\"\n—Foreign Language: \"Fantastic Woman,\" ''First They Killed My Father,\" \"In the Fade,\" ''Loveless\" and \"The Square.\"\n—Animated Film: \"The Boss Baby,\" ''The Breadwinner,\" ''Coco,\" ''Ferdinand,\" ''Loving Vincent.\"\nTELEVISION\n—Series, Drama: \"The Crown,\" ''The Handmaid's Tale,\" ''This Is Us,\" ''Stranger Things\" and \"Game of Thrones.\"\n—Series, Musical or Comedy: \"black-ish,\" ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,\" ''Master of None,\" ''Smilf\" and \"Will & Grace.\"\n—Movie or Limited Series: \"Big Little Lies,\" ''Fargo,\" ''Feud: Bette and Joan,\" ''The Sinner\" and \"Top of the Lake: China Girl.\"\n—Actor, Movie or Limited Series: Robert De Niro, \"The Wizard of Lies.\" Jude Law, \"The Young Pope,\" Kyle MacLachlan, \"Twin Peaks,\" Ewan McGregor, \"Fargo,\" Geoffrey Rush, \"Genius,\"\n—Actress, Musical or Comedy: Pamela Adlon, \"Better Things\"; Alison Brie, \"Glow\"; Rachel Brosnahan, \"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel\"; Issa Rae, \"Insecure\" and Frankie Shaw, \"Smilf.\"\n—Actor, Movie or Limited Series: Anthony Anderson, \"black-ish\"; Aziz Ansari, \"Master of None\"; Kevin Bacon, \"I Love Dick\"; William H. Macy, \"Shameless\" and Eric McCormack, \"Will & Grace.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — As a big league umpire, Dale Scott saw maybe 1 million pitches from the field. His final call, it turned out, was the easiest of all.\nRather than risk yet another concussion, Scott has decided to retire at 58.\n\"I'm done,\" he told The Associated Press.\nThe veteran crew chief missed nearly the entire 2017 season after a foul ball off the bat of Baltimore slugger Mark Trumbo in Toronto on April 14 caught him hard in the mask, causing Scott's second concussion in nine months and fourth in five years.\nWithin a few days, while undergoing treatment for head, neck and shoulder injuries, Scott realized it was the end of a major league career that began in 1985 and included three World Series assignments, three All-Star Games and 91 postseason games.\n\"In fact, it was pretty easy,\" he said. \"I wasn't planning on this year being the last one. But I thought, this is a sign.\"\nEspecially when he asked three doctors about the possible long-term effects if he got jarred again.\n\"They said, 'We just don't know,'\" Scott said. \"But they told me that the more times you get hit, the more probability that you'll have issues.\"\nThis summer, he saw Bruno Mars and Green Day in concert, watched Fourth of July fireworks from a boat near his home in Portland, Oregon, and enjoyed more time with husband Michael Rausch.\nThey've been together since 1986 and were married in November 2013 in Palm Springs, California, by the city's mayor.\nScott came out as gay after the 2014 season. The next spring training, Reds outfielder Marlon Byrd gave Scott a big hug while trotting to the dugout.\n\"You're free, brother. I'm so proud of you,\" Byrd told him.\nSays Scott: \"I did feel free. I am who I am.\"\nScott's decision will resonate, said Billy Bean, Major League Baseball's vice president for social responsibility and inclusion. Bean came out as gay after his big league career ended in 1995.\n\"He has achieved everything in his umpiring career, and has carried himself with integrity and garnered the respect of his peers and MLB players,\" Bean said. \"I am filled with pride as I reflect on all of his accomplishments. He's a pro's pro, who's been a wonderful example to the LGBT community and all sports fans.\"\n\"Years ago, Dale reached out to me after my personal story went public,\" he said. \"If we had been able to have that conversation when I was still playing, I know it would have changed the course of my career. Dale's legacy will undoubtedly continue to inspire others to pursue their dreams, and I hope we see the results around MLB soon.\"\nScott worked 3,897 regular-season games and was a crew chief for 16 seasons, half his career.\n\"I was fortunate enough to have Dale as my crew chief for 10-plus years. A gifted umpire and true professional, he ran the crew with a smile as he mentored many of today's most successful umpires,\" fellow ump Dan Iassogna said.\n\"The courage that he showed in coming out while still working on the field is as much of an accomplishment as his many World Series and postseason assignments,\" he added.\nScott acknowledged his decision to retire might have been more difficult if his circumstances were different — say, he was 40 and hadn't worked the World Series.\nNow, he walks away with his health intact. And if there were any doubts, he keeps the video of that last violent concussion on his cellphone.\nMLB provides long-term disability for umpires who cannot work because of concussion effects, the same as it does for other permanent injuries.\nScott wonders about umpires who are cleared as part of the concussion protocol and then face the choice of continuing to work and risk further injury, or leaving the game.\n\"That needs to be addressed,\" he said. \"Maybe my situation can be a catalyst for that.\"\nHis future will include rooting like crazy for the Oregon Ducks and, having been a Top 40 AM radio DJ in high school, perhaps some voice work.\nScott also can look back on all the games he did: Among them, he was the plate umpire for Scott Erickson's no-hitter, he worked a season-opening series in Australia, and was the last umpire to eject hot-tempered manager Billy Martin.\nAnd there was that game at old County Stadium in 1986, when a big crowd turned out to welcome the hugely popular Gorman Thomas back to the Milwaukee Brewers.\nThe first time Thomas batted, Scott called strike three. The fading slugger went 0 for 4 and when he got rung up in his last at-bat, it was more than Thomas could take.\n\"It's my night,\" he pleaded with the rookie ump, \"not yours!\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — Brushing aside opposition from the Justice Department, Republicans on the House intelligence committee voted Monday to release a classified memo that purports to show improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation.\nThe four-page memo has become a political flashpoint, with President Donald Trump and many Republicans pushing for its release and suggesting that some in the Justice Department and FBI have conspired against the president.\nThe memo was written by Republicans on the committee, led by chairman Rep. Devin Nunes of California, a close Trump ally who has become a fierce critic of the FBI and the Justice Department. Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump's campaign was involved.\nRepublicans have said the memo reveals grave concerns about abuses of the government surveillance powers in the Russia investigation. Democrats have called it a selectively edited group of GOP talking points that attempt to distract from the committee's own investigation into Russian meddling.\nThe vote to release the memo is an unprecedented move by the committee, which typically goes out of its way to protect classified information in the interest of protecting intelligence sources and methods. The memo was delivered by courier to the White House on Monday evening. Trump now has five days to object to its release by the committee.\nThe White House said late Monday that the president will meet with his national security team and White House counsel to discuss the memo in the coming days.\nRepublicans said they are confident that the release won't harm national security. They also said they would not release the underlying intelligence that informed the memo.\n\"You'll see for yourself that it's not necessary,\" said Texas Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, who's leading the House's Russia investigation.\nBut Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the panel had \"crossed a deeply regrettable line.\"\n\"Today this committee voted to put the president's personal interests, perhaps their own political interest, above the national interest,\" he said, noting that the memo's release could compromise intelligence sources and methods.\nWhile Trump's White House signaled he would likely support the Republican memo's release, his Justice Department has voiced concerns.\nIn a letter to Nunes last week, Justice officials said releasing the classified memo could be \"extraordinarily reckless\" and asked to review it. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd suggested that releasing classified information could damage the United States' relationship with other countries with which it shares intelligence.\nAfter those complaints, FBI Director Christopher Wray reviewed the memo over the weekend.\nRep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who was with Wray when he reviewed the memo, said the FBI director did not raise any national security concerns with him. Gowdy said the memo doesn't reveal any intelligence methods but it does reveal \"one source.\"\nBut Schiff said that Wray told him Monday that the review didn't satisfy his concerns about the release of the memo. Wray wanted to brief the committee about FBI and Justice Department concerns ahead of any release, a request committee Republicans blocked, Schiff said.\nThe FBI did not respond to a request for comment Monday evening.\nPrivately, Trump has been fuming over the Justice Department's opposition to releasing the memo, according to an administration official not authorized to discuss private conversations and speaking on condition of anonymity.\nAt the behest of Trump, White House chief of staff John Kelly and other White House officials contacted Justice Department officials in the past week to convey the president's displeasure with the department's leadership on the issue specifically, the official said. In a series of calls, Kelly urged the Justice officials to do more within the bounds of the law to get the memo out, the official said.\nIt is still unclear how exactly when or how the memo will be released.\nConaway said the memo could be released within the five-day window if Trump signals his approval for releasing it. But committee rules don't address how that approval must be given — or what happens if it comes in the form of a tweet.\nSome Republican senators have said they don't want to release the memo, and Democrats have pushed back on Republican criticism of the FBI, saying it is an attempt to discredit Mueller's investigation. The probe has already resulted in charges against four of Trump's former campaign advisers and has recently moved closer to Trump's inner circle.\n\"They will trample on anything to protect the White House at this point in time,\" said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., of the Republican move to release the memo.\nLate Monday, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi blamed House Speaker Paul Ryan, who oversees the intelligence panel and has deferred to Nunes, whom she called a \"stooge.\" She said on CNN that Ryan is allowing the release of a \"false memo based on a false premise.\"\nIn response, Democrats on the panel have put together their own memo. On Monday, the committee voted to make the Democratic memo available to all House members — but not the public. Conaway said he was open to making it public after House members have a chance to review it.\nThe fate of the Nunes memo is only the latest flashpoint in the contentious relationship between Trump and the Justice Department.\nTrump has frequently raged at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe, a move the president believes was disloyal and led to the appointment of Mueller.\nSeparately Monday, Schiff and Conaway said former White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon, will appear for a closed-door interview Wednesday.\nBannon was interviewed by the committee earlier this month but refused to answer questions about his time in the Trump administration at the direction of the White House counsel's office. Bannon served on Trump's campaign and was the chief strategist in the White House until he left in August.\nBannon's refusal drew a subpoena from Nunes seeking to compel him to answer the committee's questions.\nOn Monday, Conaway said, \"I expect our subpoena will be complied with.\"\n___\nAssociated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration will launch the new Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Taiwan Tourist Shuttle line on June 1, with stops including the newly inaugurated Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Visitor Service Park and many other attractions along the Yilan coastline.\nThe scenic area administration said on Thursday that the design of the Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Visitor Service Park is inspired by the area’s natural sand-dune landscape and is equipped with a visitor center, an exhibition center, and a “Forest of Tomorrow” shop.\nThe service park, located by 149.3K, Provincial Highway 2, provides visitors with high-quality facilities and services, the scenic area administration said.\nIn order for visitors to be able to visit the new visitor service park and other attraction along the Yilan coastline, the scenic area administration said it will launch the new Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Taiwan Tourist Shuttle line that connects Yilan Transfer Station with Toucheng Railway Station (Green 18) on June 1.\nAlong the line, there are stops at many popular places and hot Facebook check-in spots, including Yilan Railway Station (Jimmy Square), Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Visitor Service Park, Yongzhen Seaside Park, the Dafu coastal recreation area, Toucheng Forest Park (the octagonal observation tower), Seaview Coffee, and Wushi Harbor, the agency said.\nBus service operation hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and the service frequency is a bus every 60 minutes on weekdays, and 30 minutes between buses on weekends and holidays, the scenic area administration said, adding that the bus fare is calculated on the basis of sections. The fare is divided into two sections, with the Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Visitor Service Park being the dividing point, and the fare for each section is NT$20, the agency said.\nIn addition, five specially priced Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Line ticket packages, including the package for biking along the Yilan Coastal Bikeway, will be on sale, beginning June 7.\nFor tourists who would like to visit the Yilan Coastal Bikeway, the launch of the Zhuangwei Sand-Dun Line is really great news.\nFor more information, visit the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle official website.\nJimmy Square by JerryLai0208\n​\nThe Zhuangwei Sand-Dune Visitor Service Park (Photo by the Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Administration)\n​" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a free speech fight over California's attempt to regulate anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers.\nThe case being argued Tuesday involves information required by a state law that the centers must provide clients about the availability of contraception, abortion and pre-natal care, at little or no cost. Centers that are unlicensed also must post a sign that says so.\nThe centers say that they are being forced to deliver a message with which they disagree because their aim is to steer women away from abortion.\nCalifornia and abortions rights group that backed the law say its goal is to provide accurate information about the range of options facing a pregnant woman.\nThe outcome also could affect laws in other states that seek to regulate doctors' speech.\nIn Louisiana, Texas and Wisconsin, doctors must display a sonogram and describe the fetus to most pregnant women considering an abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Similar laws have been blocked in Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma.\nDoctors' speech has also been an issue in non-abortion cases. A federal appeals court struck down parts of a 2011 Florida law that sought to prohibit doctors from talking about gun safety with their patients. Under the law, doctors faced fines and the possible loss of their medical licenses for discussing guns with patients.\nIn another lawsuit over regulating crisis pregnancy centers, a federal appeals court in New York struck down parts of a New York City ordinance, although it upheld the requirement for unlicensed centers to say that they lack a license.\nThe abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice California was a prime sponsor of the California law. NARAL contends that the centers mislead women about their options and try to pressure them to forgo abortion. Estimates of the number of crisis pregnancy centers in the U.S. run from 2,500 to more than 4,000, compared with fewer than 1,500 abortion providers, women's rights groups said in a Supreme Court filing.\nCalifornia's law was challenged by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, an organization with ties to 1,500 pregnancy centers nationwide and 140 in California." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "SAO PAULO (AP) — A new poll shows former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva enjoying a strong lead ahead of the Oct.7 presidential elections despite his recent conviction on corruption charges.\nThe Datafolha poll published Wednesday is the first since an appeals court last week upheld a corruption conviction against da Silva — a decision likely to knock him out of contention.\nThe survey finds that if da Silva is allowed to run, would get between 34 and 37 percent of votes in the first round. That's a comfortable lead over second-place right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, with 16 to 18 percent of the vote.\nIn a second round, da Silva would defeat Bolsonaro by 49 to 32 percent. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LONDON (AP) — A Cambridge University professor at the heart of the Facebook privacy scandal says that the former CEO of data firm Cambridge Analytica lied to a British parliamentary committee investigating fake news.\nAcademic Aleksandr Kogan's company, Global Science Research, developed a Facebook app that vacuumed up information from users as well as additional data from their Facebook friends.\nEx-employees of Cambridge Analytica say the company used that data from millions of users to help Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign. The company denies the charge.\nKogan told Parliament's media committee Tuesday that Cambridge Analytica's ex-CEO, Alexander Nix, lied in his testimony on their work together.\nWhen asked by committee chair Damian Collins about Nix's testimony that none of his data came from Global Science Research, Kogan said, \"That's a fabrication.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MAYA BAY, Thailand (AP) — Once a pristine Thai paradise, mass tourism has exhausted the secluded bay made world famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie \"The Beach.\"\nNow it's to get some respite from the daily influx of dozens of boats and thousands of visitors unsuccessfully scrambling for an unspoiled view of glistening white sands and emerald waters.\nMaya Bay on Phi Phi Leh Island in the Andaman Sea will close to tourists for four months from Friday to give its coral reefs and sea life a chance to recover from an onslaught that began nearly two decades ago.\nThai authorities have promoted unfettered tourism but now claim to be striving to balance profit and conservation. They say the closure will happen every year." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Officials say rescuers are searching for up to six people still missing after landslides killed at least 141 in southeastern Bangladesh.\nFire department deputy director Jasim Uddin said Thursday that all of those still missing were in the worst-hit region of Rangamati.\nElsewhere, the government turned its focus to providing food and other aid to some 4,500 people whose homes were swamped by mud and debris unleashed in the landslides Tuesday.\nWith power cut off since Tuesday in the remote, hilly region, information was slow to trickle out." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "All Times Eastern\nNASCAR\nCOKE ZERO SUGAR 400\nSite: Daytona Beach, Florida.\nSchedule: Thursday, practice, 2:05 & 4:05 p.m. (NBCSN); Friday, qualifying, 4:10 p.m. (NBCSN); Saturday, race, 7 p.m., NBCSN.\nTrack: Daytona International Speedway (oval, 2.5 miles).\nRace distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.\nLast year: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won after starting sixth.\nLast race: Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at Chicagoland for the fifth time in 2018.\nFast facts: Busch and Kevin Harvick each have five wins in their first 17 starts of the season. That's only happened one other time since 1977, as Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson had five victories by this point in the season in 2010. ...The last six races at Daytona have been determined by less than a half-second, and a 2007 race was the third closest since the inception of electronic scoring and timing. Jamie McMurray beat Kyle Busch by 0.005 seconds 11 years ago. ... William Byron leads Bubba Wallace by 37 points in the rookie of the year standings.\nNext race: Quaker State 400, July 14, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky.\nOnline: http://www.nascar.com\n___\nXFINITY\nCOCA-COLA FIRECRACKER 250\nSite: Daytona Beach, Florida\nSchedule: Thursday, practice, 1:05 & 3:05 p.m. (NBCSN); Friday, qualifying, 2:10 p.m. (NBCSN), race, 7:30 p.m., NBCSN.\nTrack: Daytona International Speedway.\nRace distance: 250 miles, 100 laps.\nLast year: William Byron won at Daytona, his second straight victory.\nLast race: Kyle Larson won at Chicagoland from the pole.\nFast facts: The last six series races at Daytona have produced six different winners. ...JR Motorsports has taken first in five of the last nine events at the track, including Tyler Reddick earlier this season. ...Cole Custer is atop the series standings for the first time in his career. Custer is three points ahead of Daniel Hemric and four points better than Elliott Sadler. ...Justin Haley will make his series debut in the No. 23 Chevrolet for GMS Racing.\nNext race: Alsco 300, July 13, Kentucky Speedway.\nOnline: http://www.nascar.com\n___\nCAMPING WORLD TRUCK\nLast race: Brett Moffitt won for the second time in three starts at Chicagoland.\nNext race: Buckle Up in Your Truck 225, July 12, Kentucky Speedway.\nOnline: http://www.nascar.com\n___\nVERIZON INDYCAR\nIOWA CORN 300\nSite: Newton, Iowa\nSchedule: Saturday, practice, 11:15 a.m., qualifying, 3:30 p.m. (NBCSN), practice, 6:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2 p.m., NBCSN.\nTrack: Iowa Speedway (oval, 0.894 miles)\nRace distance: 268.2 miles, 300 laps.\nLast year: Former series star Helio Castroneves took first at Iowa.\nLast race: Josef Newgarden won for the third time in 2018 at Road America.\nFast facts: Iowa will be the fourth oval race of the season. Newgarden (Phoenix), Will Power (Indianapolis) and Scott Dixon (Texas) won the first three. ... . Ryan Hunter-Reay is the only active driver to take first at Iowa more than once. He won in 2012, 2014 and 2015. ... No pole sitter has won in Newton in 11 tries. ... Matheus Leist took the Indy Lights race at Iowa in 2017 after starting 10th.\nNext race: Honda Indy Toronto, July 15, Streets of Toronto, Toronto.\nOnline: http://www.indycar.com\n___\nFORMULA ONE\nBRITISH GRAND PRIX\nSite: Silverstone, England\nSchedule: Friday, practice, 5 & 9 a.m.; Saturday, practice, 6 a.m., qualifying, 9 a.m.; Sunday, race, 9:10 a.m.\nTrack: Silverstone Circuit (3.66 miles).\nRace distance: 190.3 miles, 52 laps.\nLast year: Lewis Hamilton won from the pole on his home track.\nLast race: Max Verstappen won his first race of the season in Austria.\nFast facts: Hamilton, Valterri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo were among six drivers whose races ended early last week. Those issues helped shake up the standings, with Sebastian Vettel vaulting over Hamilton for first place. But Vettel's lead is by just one point (146-145). ... McLaren racing director Eric Boullier resigned this week after the team notched just four points in the last four races.\nNext race: German Grand Prix, July 22, Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany.\nOnline: http://www.formula1.com\n___\nNHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING\nNEW ENGLAND NATIONALS\nSite: Epping, New Hampshire.\nSchedule: Friday, qualifying, 5 & 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 2 & 4:30 p.m.; Sunday, finals, 3:37 p.m.\nTrack: New England Dragway\nLast year: Brittany Force won in New Hampshire in early June 2017.\nLast race: Blake Alexander claimed his first career win in Top Fuel in Ohio.\nFast facts: Alexander qualified 12th and beat Antron Brown, Tony Schumacher and Leah Pritchett before entering his second career final round, where he took down Terry McMillen. ... Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Tanner Gray (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed victories in Norwalk two weeks ago. It was the second win of the season for Hagan, a two-time world champion.\nNext race: Mile High Nationals, July 20-22, Bandimere Speedway, Morrison, Colorado.\nOnline: http://www.nhra.com\n___\nOTHER RACES\nWORLD OF OUTLAWS: Friday & Saturday; FVP Platinum Battery Showdown, Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wisconsin.\nOnline: http://www.woosprint.com" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — Harri Sateri stopped 32 shots for his first career victory, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 Tuesday night.\nMike Matheson, Evgenii Dadonov, Keith Yandle and Jonathan Huberdeau scored for Florida, which snapped a three-game skid and improved to 3-6-1 since closing December with five straight victories.\nSateri was making his fourth start with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer sidelined by lower-body injuries. The 28-year-old rookie, who spent the previous three seasons in the KHL, made his NHL debut Jan. 2 at Minnesota and came in 0-3-0 with 4.59 goals-against average.\nAdam Pelech scored for the Islanders, who have lost four of their last six. Jaroslav Halak, starting for the sixth straight game and 15th in the last 17, finished with 36 saves." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "ROME (AP) — Italy's president, who is holding and playing a key card in the nation's fast-evolving political crisis, was a timid law professor abruptly thrust into public life when the Mafia gunned down his brother on a Sicilian street in 1980.\nIn the decades since, Sergio Mattarella has developed a reputation as a principled politician who has transformed what was viewed as a mainly ceremonial office into the dynamic role of defender of Italy's place in Europe.\nMattarella, 76, a former parliamentary law professor and Constitutional Court jurist, came under verbal attack this week from his country's populist politicians — and citizens who want them to take power. They allege the president is thwarting the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box on March 4.\nEarlier this week, Luigi Di Maio, who leads Parliament's largest party, the euro-skeptic 5-Star Movement, raised the specter of impeaching Mattarella. The threat came after the president refused to submit to populist demands to appoint, as economy minister, an advocate of a backup plan for Italy's exit from the euro currency.\nMattarella stood his ground, as did Di Maio and fellow populist Matteo Salvini, who demanded the euroskeptic economy minister be part of what would have been the nation's first populist government. As head of state, the president has constitutional authority to name the premier and approve new ministers.\nHis refusal to bow to pressure reflects his character and courage of convictions, those who have followed Mattarella's career say.\nMattarella is someone \"with strong, deep values,\" said Sergio Fabbrini, director of the school of government at Rome's private LUISS university. \"His family was a bourgeois family that stood up to the Mafia and refused to compromise\" with the powerful organization based in Sicily.\nIn his native Palermo, Mattarella and his family were ready for Epiphany Day Mass in 1980, when his older brother, Piersanti, then governor of Sicily, was assassinated in his car on one of the city's most elegant streets. Sergio Mattarella rushed to the car, cradling his brother, still breathing, in his arms.\nUntil that moment, the future president \"had been a shy law professor,\" said Paolo Pagliaro, an Italian journalist. \"That day signaled the start of the public life of Sergio Mattarella.\"\nThree years later, Mattarella entered Parliament. In some ways, he seemed the classic Christian Democrat, stressing moderation and compromise. His politics tilted toward the center-left.\nBut as he climbed the political ladder, Mattarella also left no doubt that on some matters, there could be no compromise.\nIn 1990, he quit his post as education minister to protest a law that helped to pave the way for Silvio Berlusconi to assemble a media empire, including all three of Italy's main private TV networks.\nThat decade saw the main political parties, including the Christian Democrats, swept from power by the Clean Hands corruption probes.\n\"All the public institutions were shaken. The only institution that guaranteed the state was the president of the Republic,\" Fabbrini said in a telephone interview.\nThe head of state is elected by Parliament and serves a seven-year term.\nThe new prestige translated into a growing role for Italy's head of state, which developed into \"a sort of guarantor of internal equilibrium and the reference point for European politics,\" he said.\nThus, Mattarella, who was serving as a Constitutional Court judge before being elected president in 2015, not only defends the 1948 Constitution, but European constitution as well, said Fabbrini.\nMattarella's willingness to accommodate different viewpoints — but also to draw lines he won't cross — ultimately played out in the current political crisis.\nIn rebuffing the populists' demands, Mattarella evoked a sense of justice, describing how the markets' turmoil was eroding Italians savings and driving up business loan costs.\nThe populist narrative, Fabbrini said, depicts institutions like the presidency as \"the bastion of the elite\" and the \"enemy of the people.\"\nIn a critical moment, Mattarella crafted an alternative narrative.\n___\nFrances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says OPEC is \"doing little to help\" rising gas prices and claims \"if anything, they are driving prices higher.\"\nTrump tweeted Wednesday: \"The OPEC Monopoly must remember that gas prices are up & they are doing little to help. If anything, they are driving prices higher as the United States defends many of their members for very little $'s. This must be a two way street. REDUCE PRICING NOW!\"\nLast month, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel agreed to pump 1 million barrels more crude oil daily, a move that should help contain the recent rise in global energy prices. However, summer months in the U.S. usually lead to increased demand for oil, boosting the price of gasoline in a midterm election year." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "BENTONVILLE, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 24, 2018--Walmart and DoorDash today announced they are teaming up to help expand the retailer’s popular Online Grocery Delivery option beginning with the Atlanta metro area. DoorDash and Walmart will broaden their work together in more markets in the coming months as the retailer expands to reach more than 40 percent of U.S. households with delivery by the end of the year.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005088/en/\n“We’re connecting all the parts of our business to create a shopping experience like no one else can. With the expansion of our Online Grocery Delivery program, customers can have great items at everyday low prices delivered to their door with the click of a button,” said Greg Foran, president and CEO, Walmart U.S. “With the help of DoorDash, we’re delivering the best of Walmart to customers in Atlanta and beyond.”\nDoorDash, along with Walmart’s team of more than 18,000 personal shoppers, will bring delivery to thousands of customers in Atlanta allowing them to shop for and have fresh groceries without ever leaving their couch. Personal shoppers must complete a three-week training program learning how to select the freshest produce and the best cuts of meat for Online Grocery customers.\n“Our work with Walmart marks DoorDash’s official launch beyond restaurant delivery,” said DoorDash’s Chief Operating Officer, Christopher Payne. “We look forward to expanding across the country, enabling Walmart customers everywhere to spend more time doing the things they love.”\nWalmart Grocery Delivery brings customers the convenience of shopping when and where they want for quality, fresh produce, meat, seafood and bakery items, along with pantry staples, consumables and seasonal general merchandise. To use delivery, customers in Atlanta place their orders online at Walmart.com/grocery or on the existing Walmart Grocery App, switch to the Delivery tab, and select a delivery window at checkout. After orders have been picked by Walmart’s personal shoppers, a DoorDash “Dasher” retrieves the order from a Walmart store and delivers it right to the customer during their specified delivery window.\nGroceries can be delivered to customers as soon as the same day. Walmart’s Online Grocery Delivery carries a simple $9.95 fee and a $30 minimum order - no subscription, no price markups. Customers can get their first order delivered for free with promo code FRESHCAR with a $50 minimum order.\nThe retailer also offers an Online Grocery Pickup service that allows customers to order their groceries online and pick them up in stores without ever getting out of their cars. The service, which has become a customer favorite and touted as a “Grocery Hero” for moms on the go and time-strapped families, is now available in 1,200 stores, nearly 30 in Atlanta, with 1,000 more to be added this year.\nAbout Walmart Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly 270 million customers and members visit our more than 11,700 stores under 65 banners in 28 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2018 revenue of $500.3 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.\nAbout DoorDash DoorDash is a technology company that connects customers with their favorite local and national businesses in more than 650 cities across the United States and Canada. Founded in the summer of 2013, DoorDash empowers merchants to grow their businesses by offering on-demand delivery, data-driven insights, and better in-store efficiency, providing delightful experiences from door to door. By building the last mile delivery infrastructure for local cities, DoorDash is bringing communities closer, one doorstep at a time. Read more on the DoorDash blog or at www.doordash.com.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005088/en/\nCONTACT: Walmart Inc.\nMolly Blakeman, 800-331-0085\nnews.walmart.com/reporter\nor\nDoorDash\nBecky Sosnov\nBecky@doordash.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ARKANSAS GEORGIA\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: DISCOUNT/VARIETY ONLINE RETAIL RETAIL SUPERMARKET\nSOURCE: Walmart Inc.\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 04/24/2018 08:00 AM/DISC: 04/24/2018 08:01 AM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180424005088/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the plans tells The Associated Press that Major League Baseball is working to finalize a two-game series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox at London's Olympic Stadium on June 29-30 in 2019, the sport's first regular-season games in Europe.\nThe Red Sox have the option of having both games be Boston home games, the person familiar with the planning said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because no announcement had been made.\nBaseball officials have long hoped for games on London and settled last year on Olympic Stadium, which is in its second season as home of West Ham of the Premier League. Because it originally was built for a 400-meter track, it is wider than other large stadiums in the London area and can best accommodate the dimensions of a baseball field.\nMLB chose the June window because it is after the Premier League season and before the stadium must be made available for summer track and field events. MLB hopes to make an announcement within the next two months.\nEach player would get $60,000 for participating in the games, according to the collective bargaining agreement.\nMLB is playing regular-season games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Monterrey, Mexico, this year.\nBaseball opened its season at Monterrey in 1999 (Colorado vs. San Diego); the Tokyo Dome in 2000 (Chicago Cubs-New York Mets), 2004 (Tampa Bay-Yankees), 2008 (Boston-Oakland) and 2012 (Seattle-Oakland); and at Sydney, Australia in 2014 (Los Angeles Dodgers-Arizona). The collective bargaining agreement had a provision for a 2019 opener in Toyko.\nAdditional regular-season games were played at Monterrey in 1996 (San Diego-Mets); and at San Juan in 2001 (Toronto-Texas), 2003-04 (a total of 43 Montreal home games) and 2010 (Mets-Florida Marlins).\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP aide: No lawmakers injured in accident involving train carrying members of Congress to Republican meeting ." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "CLEVELAND (AP) — The Latest on the fatal house fire in Cleveland that killed two children and two adults (all times local):\n9 p.m.\nAuthorities have located the bodies of all four victims of a house fire in Cleveland.\nFire officials and family members say a 3-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, the boy's 46-year-old father and the man's 44-year-old nephew were in the house when the blaze broke out overnight Tuesday and were unable to escape.\nCrews needed heavy equipment to take apart and stabilize the heavily damaged home before it was safe to go inside and search for the victims.\nBy late Tuesday night, officials had announced that all four victims had been found.\nThe cause of the fire remains under investigation.\n___\n5:05 p.m.\nFire investigators have recovered the bodies of three people who died in a Cleveland house fire and are continuing to search for a fourth victim.\nThe city's fire chief says the search has been hampered by heavy damage to the home that first made it unsafe for firefighters to look for the victims.\nInvestigators and family members say a 3-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, the boy's 46-year-old father and the man's 44-year-old nephew were in the house when the fire started overnight Tuesday.\nFirefighters say the mother of one of the children escaped by jumping from a second-floor window.\nA fire department spokesman tells Cleveland.com that the woman said she and her husband tried but couldn't get to the children.\nA cause of the fire hasn't been released.\n___\n1:30 p.m.\nFire investigators say a heavily damaged home where two children and two adults are missing after an overnight fire in Cleveland is too dangerous to search.\nA fire department spokesman says construction equipment will be used to take apart the home and make it safe for firefighters to search inside.\nHe says search crews will be careful not to disturb any potential evidence that could help determine what caused the fire.\nFirefighters say a woman believed to be the children's mother escaped by jumping from a second floor window early Tuesday morning.\nInvestigators say a 4-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, their father and another man are missing.\nThe fire department spokesman tells Cleveland.com that the woman who survived said she tried but couldn't get to her children.\n___\n11 a.m.\nInvestigators are using cadaver dogs to search through a Cleveland home where two children and two adults are missing after an overnight house fire.\nFirefighters say a woman believed to be the children's mother escaped the fire early Tuesday morning by jumping from the home on the city's east side. She was taken to a hospital, and information about her condition wasn't immediately released.\nInvestigators say a 4-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, their father and another man are missing.\nThere was no immediate word on what caused the fire.\nA relative of a man who was in the house says investigators told her they are checking for signs of arson.\nFirefighters say the blaze caused severe damage, hindering their ability to search the charred home.\n___\n6:45 a.m.\nAuthorities say two children and two adults are unaccounted for after an overnight house fire in Cleveland.\nFirefighters say a woman believed to be the children's mother escaped the fire early Tuesday morning by jumping from the home on the city's east side. She was taken to a hospital, and information about her condition wasn't immediately released.\nInvestigators say a 4-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, their father and another man are missing.\nFirefighters say the blaze caused severe damage, hindering their ability to search the charred home.\nThere was no immediate word on what caused the fire. The state fire marshal's office will help investigate." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "NILES, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2018--Johnson & Quin, a recognized name in full-service direct mail production and mailing services, announced that Jim Onorato has joined the company as National Sales Director. Onorato will be responsible for new business development and fostering relationships with accounts in a variety of vertical markets throughout the country. Onorato has extensive experience working with corporate clients in a variety of industries to develop strategic marketing plans for printing and direct mail programs. He has developed practical, cost-effective marketing solutions that meet client response and financial objectives.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006472/en/\nJim Onorato (Photo: Business Wire)\nOnorato has worked with many leading marketing services and technology companies including Vision Integrated Graphics Group, SG360° (a Segerdahl Company), RT Associates, Inc. and others throughout his extensive career in print and direct mail. He has been responsible for customer acquisition and retention, as well as sales leadership and strategic business development.\n“Jim brings extensive knowledge in digital print technologies, direct mail and multi-channel marketing services to provide our clients with innovative marketing and communications solutions. Our sales team looks forward to working with Jim to identify new business opportunities and develop solutions here at Johnson & Quin. We have made significant investments in high speed color inkjet, color digital printing and high-speed production equipment. Jim will focus on presenting these exciting technologies and our secure, quality processes to clients and prospects,” said Andrew Henkel, Vice President of Sales at Johnson & Quin. “We are very excited to welcome Jim to the company.”\nAbout Johnson & Quin\nJohnson & Quin offers the latest production technologies including high-speed full color inkjet printing in combination with postal and mailing services to achieve the lowest postage and delivery costs. Johnson & Quin offers data services, other digital personalization and printing options, and certified data security. Johnson & Quin excels at high volume complex projects requiring personalized and variable data printing. For more information see www.j-quin.com, or find Johnson & Quin on Twitter or Facebook.\nView source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006472/en/\nCONTACT: Johnson & Quin, Inc.\nKay Wilt, 847-588-4549\nDirector Marketing\nKwilt@j-quin.com\nKEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA ILLINOIS\nINDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMMUNICATIONS MARKETING OTHER COMMUNICATIONS\nSOURCE: Johnson & Quin\nCopyright Business Wire 2018.\nPUB: 05/30/2018 04:52 PM/DISC: 05/30/2018 04:52 PM\nhttp://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006472/en" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "Super Rugby-winning coach Chris Boyd will leave the Wellington-based Hurricanes at the end of the tournament to join England club Northampton as its director of rugby.\nBoyd, who is also a former coach of the New Zealand Under-20s, was seen as a possible future All Blacks coach but has chosen to join an exodus of top New Zealand coaching talent to overseas clubs.\nHe follows Dave Rennie, who won two Super Rugby titles with the Chiefs and is now coaching in Scotland, and Jamie Joseph, who guided the Highlanders to a maiden Super Rugby title, and is now coaching Japan.\nBoyd said it was tough to leave the Hurricanes after four seasons \"but the opportunity at Northampton presented an exciting new challenge that was too good to pass up.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's 2018 elections will come into clearer focus Tuesday, the deadline for candidates to file for top offices such as governor, Congress and the Legislature.\nNext is a 3½-month slog to the August primary, followed by the general election in November.\nFor Democrats, 2018 is make or break — a chance to take back power from Republicans who fully control the governments in Lansing and Washington, D.C. For the GOP, it is an opportunity to defy historical and cyclical trends that suggest trouble for the president's party in midterm elections despite Donald Trump's surprise Michigan victory in 2016.\nA look at the key races:\n___\nGOVERNOR\nSecond-term Gov. Rick Snyder's impending departure under term limits has led four Republicans and three Democrats into a battle to follow him. The GOP field includes three candidates with elective experience — state Attorney General Bill Schuette, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and state Sen. Patrick Colbeck — and one newcomer, Dr. Jim Hines. Calley is running on Michigan's economic turnaround under Snyder's watch, while rival Schuette is touting a proposed income tax cut and his support from President Donald Trump. The conservative Colbeck bills himself as an anti-special interest candidate with \"principled solutions,\" while Hines is the non-politician outsider.\nThe Democratic side features former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer and two candidates who have never held elective office: businessman Shri Thanedar and ex-Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed. Whitmer says her legislative experience is needed to fix roads and schools neglected by Republicans. Thanedar is spending millions of his own money as Snyder did and hopes his rags-to-riches immigrant story resonates. El-Sayed, a young doctor and public health expert who would be the country's first Muslim governor, is refusing corporate campaign money and touting liberal issues such as Medicare for all and a $15-an-hour minimum wage.\n___\nSENATE\nDemocratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow is up for re-election after coasting to victory in her two previous re-election campaigns. Her Republican opponent will be John James, an African-American Iraq War veteran and executive in his family's logistics business, or Sandy Pensler, a business turnaround expert whose investment group owns four manufacturing plants. Pensler has given $5 million to his campaign and said unlike the GOP nominees who lost to Stabenow in 2012 and 2006, \"I haven't been in politics before.\" He says that he has the money to hold Stabenow \"to her record, which is not a good one for Michigan.\" James said he can broaden the party to include millennial and minority voters. \"This seat will not be bought. It must be earned,\" he said. Outside spending will depend on the national battle for control of the Senate, where the map favors Republicans but the national climate favors Democrats.\n___\nHOUSE\nDemocrats need to pick up at least 24 seats to take control of the House for the last two years of Trump's first term, and some key targets are in Michigan. They include the GOP-leaning 11th District in suburban Detroit, where Rep. Dave Trott is retiring. At least five Republicans and three Democrats had filed as of noon. Another competitive seat is the 8th, which stretches between the northern Detroit suburbs and Lansing and is represented by Republican Rep. Mike Bishop. Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who had U.S. intelligence, national security and defense roles during the Obama and Bush administrations, must first win a primary against progressive Michigan State University professor Chris Smith to advance.\nFormer Rep. John Conyers' resignation and the approaching retirement of Rep. Sandy Levin have sparked a number of Democrats — including their sons — to jump into primaries that will decide the long-time lawmakers' successors, given they are Democratic-heavy seats. In the 9th District in suburban Detroit, Levin's son Andy will face two other Democrats. In the 13th, which includes parts of Detroit and western Wayne County, candidates include Conyers' son John and state Sen. Coleman Young II — the son of the former Detroit mayor. Many more were expected to file by day's end.\n___\nOnline:\nList of who has filed: http://miboecfr.nictusa.com/election/candlist/2018PRI_CANDLIST.html\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": [ "MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian Olympic Committee says its athletes are overwhelmingly in favor of competing at the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics.\nSofia Velikaya says the ROC athletes' commission, which she chairs, has heard from \"all the athletes in all sports\" on the Olympic program, with a majority in favor of competing.\nVelikaya says no athletes have told the ROC they would rather boycott and adds \"at the current moment, everyone's training and everyone's hoping to take part in the Olympics.\"\nThe International Olympic Committee last week barred the Russian team from the Olympics because of doping offenses at the 2014 Sochi Games, but is allowing Russians to compete under a neutral flag as \"Olympic Athletes from Russia.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Authorities in Guatemala have raised by more than 130 the number of people officially missing from last month's deadly eruption of the Volcano of Fire.\nThe country's disaster agency says in a statement that the new figure is 332, up from 197 previously.\nIt said Wednesday that the revision followed a review of nearly 200,000 records and verifying lists of people living in shelters.\nThe Volcano of Fire is one of the region's most active, located to the southwest of Guatemala City.\nAuthorities have confirmed at least 113 deaths from the June 3 eruption, which sent superheated flows raging through small villages. Eighty-five of those bodies have been identified." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "MIAMI (AP) — Marcell Ozuna homered to start the Miami Marlins' comeback from an early four-run deficit, and they beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 Wednesday to complete a two-game sweep.\nOzuna hit his 17th home run to start the second inning, added a double and had three RBIs. Tyler Moore hit his fifth homer and scored three times to help the Marlins overcome a wobbly outing by Edinson Volquez, who had a no-hitter in his most recent home start.\nIchiro Suzuki had a pinch-hit single in the fifth for his 365th interleague hit, breaking Derek Jeter's major league record.\nRyon Healy hit a three-run homer for the Athletics (27-38), who fell to 11 games below .500 for the first time. They went 1-5 on their trip and lost their ninth consecutive road series, their longest such streak since 1986.\nOakland lost after leading by three or more runs three times on the trip. Daniel Gossett (0-1) couldn't hold a 4-0 lead in his major league debut after being called up from Triple-A Nashville, and allowed seven runs, six earned, in 3 1-3 innings.\nVolquez lasted only four innings and gave up four hits, four walks and five runs, four earned.\nKyle Barraclough (2-1), the first of six Miami relievers, pitched a scoreless fifth.\nPITCHER HITTING\nGossett reached in the fourth on an infield single, his first major league hit and the first by Athletics pitchers in their past 27 at-bats over two seasons. He then scored on Jed Lowrie's double to put Oakland ahead 5-4.\nTRAINER'S ROOM\nOakland: RF Matt Joyce left in the third, one inning after he cut his chin colliding with first baseman Yonder Alonso pursuing a popup, which Alonso caught.\nMiami: LHP Braxton Garrett, the Marlins' top prospect, will receive a second opinion on his sore left elbow next week from specialist Dr. James Andrews. Garrett has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament and could require Tommy John surgery.\nROSTER MOVE\nTo make room on the roster for Gossett, 1B-OF Matt Olson was optioned to Nashville.\nDRAFT PICK\nThe Marlins took the brother of Chicago Bears tight end Dion Sims in the 14th round of the draft. Demetrius Sims is a shortstop at Bethune-Cookman.\nUP NEXT\nMiami: The Marlins hit the road after winning for the 10th time in their past 12 home games. They begin a three-game series at Atlanta on Friday, when RHP Dan Straily (4-4, 3.89) will pitch against LHP Sean Newcomb (0-1, 0.00).\nOakland: The A's return home for a four-game series against the Yankees beginning Thursday, when RHP Sonny Gray (2-2, 4.37) will face LHP Jordan Montgomery (4-4, 3.55).\n___\nMore AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "The figure skating contingent from Canada, at 17 strong the largest of any nation, intends to lead its country into the Winter Olympics next week in ways both literal and figurative.\nThe literal: Two-time ice dance medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, one of the favorites to win gold, will carry the maple leaf flag into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony.\nThe figurative: With three ice dance couples, three pairs, three women and two men, the Canadians are podium threats in all four disciplines, not to mention heavy favorites in the team event.\n\"I'm so impressed by the depth of this team,\" said Isabelle Charest, the Canadian chef de mission and a three-time Olympic medalist in speed skating. \"There are so many strong contenders and we have tremendous hope for them heading into the games.\"\nThe hope is grounded in some accomplished resumes.\nVirtue and Moir, the reigning world champions, are a good place to start. The eight-time national champions were unbeaten all of last season and have put up huge marks to their Rolling Stones-inspired short program and their equally mesmerizing free dance set to music from \"Moulin Rouge!\"\nThey'll be joined in the ice dance competition by the teams of Piper Gilles-Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver-Andrew Poje, the latter two-time world championship medalists.\n\"We've grown up together,\" Moir said, \"and it's going to be a special moment to take the ice with them and go for gold. We're looking forward to embracing the Olympic spirit.\"\nTwo-time world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, who took silver at last year's Four Continents on the same Olympic ice, give the Canadians a medal contender in the pairs event. The teams of Julianne Sequin-Charlie Bilodeau and Kirsten Moore-Towers-Michael Marino also will compete.\nWhile all eyes in the women's event will be on Russian stars Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova, Canadians Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman are nearly as formidable. They finished second and third behind Medvedeva at last year's worlds in Finland.\nAnd rising star Larkyn Austman will have her first Olympic experience.\n\"In 2014, Canada didn't have any medal contenders at the Olympics,\" Osmond said, \"and you almost forget that Gabby and I finished second and third (at worlds) last year. \"It's exciting that we're able to send three women to the Olympics, especially because we haven't done it in many years.\"\nOlympic silver medalist Patrick Chan, a three-time world champion and two-time Grand Prix final champ, will be joined by Keegan Messing in a wide-open men's event.\n\"I feel really good about my confidence for the whole team,\" Chan said. \"After seeing how my teammates have done during the Grand Prix season, talking to Eric and Scott, it's been great. We have really great team energy.\"\nFigure skating historically has been an individual sport, even with the inclusion of a team event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics — where the Canadians finished second to Russia. But there is a strong sense of camaraderie within Team Canada, a close-knit feeling where everyone roots for everyone else.\nEven if they happen to be skating against them.\nPerhaps their nation's somewhat puzzling Olympic pedigree plays into it. Canada has won 25 medals in figure skating, one behind Russia for second most (the U.S. has 49). But only four of those have been gold, including the pairs medal that Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were forced to share with the Russian team after a scoring controversy at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.\nVirtue and Moir have two of Canada's three ice dance medals, Barbara Ann Scott won its only ladies gold at the 1948 St. Moritz Games and the men have won five silver and four bronze but no gold.\nChan was the latest, finishing behind Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu in Sochi.\nThis could be Canada's big chance, though. Its sizeable stable, deep experience and the fact that it has contenders in every event could make \"O Canada!\" the soundtrack of the Olympics.\nIt could also make its flag quite popular — especially after Virtue and Moir carry it for the opening ceremony.\n\"The figure skating team is something else,\" Virtue said, \"but Team Canada across the board is something fierce. It's great to be part of that.\"" ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }

{ "text": [ "The Detroit Pistons shook up their struggling roster in dramatic fashion, acquiring star forward Blake Griffin in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.\nThe Pistons announced the deal early Tuesday morning. Detroit sent forward Tobias Harris, guard Avery Bradley and center Boban Marjanovic to Los Angeles, with the Clippers also receiving draft picks. Detroit also acquired forward Brice Johnson and center Willie Reed in the deal.\n\"We are serious about winning, and this is a major move to improve our team,\" Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. \"Blake Griffin is one of the NBA's elite players, and when you get an opportunity to add that kind of talent, you take it.\"\nGriffin is averaging 22.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 33 games this season, but the Clippers have been plagued by injuries and are ninth in the Western Conference standings.\nDetroit is scuffling as well. The Pistons have lost eight straight heading into Tuesday night's game against Cleveland.\nThe 28-year-old Griffin has been the face of the Clippers, and last July, he agreed to a $171 million, five-year deal, ending a brief flirtation with free agency. He told his teammates, coach Doc Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer, \"I want my legacy to be a Clipper.\"\nThe deal didn't include a no-trade clause.\nThe addition of Griffin gives Detroit's frontcourt another standout alongside Andre Drummond, but it also represents a clear change in course from the roster the Pistons had assembled. Detroit acquired Bradley in a trade with Boston last offseason, but he's in the final season of his contract. Harris has been impressive for the Pistons this season, shooting a career-best 41 percent from 3-point range.\n\"The move is not without risk. We gave up a lot to get him, including Tobias Harris — one of the hardest-working, highest-character players I know — and two high-quality young men in Avery Bradley and Boban Marjanovic,\" Gores said. \"But we are very excited to bring Blake Griffin to Detroit. He is a great fit for our team and will bring a combination of toughness and athleticism that will elevate our team and excite our fans.\"\nDetroit's season was looking promising until a late-December injury to point guard Reggie Jackson. The Pistons have stumbled while he's been out with a sprained right ankle, and the team is facing the prospect of missing the playoffs in its first season at its new downtown arena.\nDetroit's next six games are at home, so the Pistons will have a chance to turn this season around — and an opportunity to build for a future with both Griffin and Drummond.\n\"His presence will help us offensively and his size gives us another rebounder and weapon in the paint,\" said Stan Van Gundy, Detroit's coach and team president. \"Willie Reed and Brice Johnson are two young players that give us size and depth.\"\nFor the Clippers, moving Griffin continues a makeover of a franchise that has never made it past the second round of the playoffs.\nThe Clippers traded All-Star point guard Chris Paul to Houston last summer. He had been credited with bringing respectability to the team that was once the laughingstock of the league. Without Paul, Los Angeles won its first four games to open the season, and then lost nine of its next 11. The team is one game above .500 going into Tuesday night's game against Portland.\nPaul's replacement, Patrick Beverley, has missed the entire season after right knee surgery. Also missing time have been DeAndre Jordan, Danilo Gallinari, Austin Rivers and Milos Teodosic.\nLos Angeles receives a protected first-round draft choice and a second-round pick from the Pistons.\nThe Clippers drafted Griffin first overall out of Oklahoma in 2009. However, he missed the 2009-10 season after surgery on his broken left kneecap, the first of several injuries that have marred his career.\nGriffin missed 21 games last season and 47 in 2015-16 because of injuries.\nAs a rookie, he was an All-Star, won the slam dunk contest and was named NBA Rookie of the Year.\nHe has averaged 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his career.\nEven before the Pistons announced the deal, there was plenty of reaction on social media Monday night. Harris had a message on his accounts thanking Detroit for its support. Griffin's Twitter account had its own message with no words — just an image of actor Will Smith with a surprised expression on his face.\n___\nMore AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball\n___\nFollow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister\n___\nAP Sports Writer Beth Harris contributed to this report." ], "answer_start": [ 0 ] }