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This story requires our BI Prime membership. To read the full article, simply click here to claim your deal and get access to all exclusive Business Insider PRIME content. Oracle is known as a major enterprise IT player, but it has struggled to become a bigger presence in the fast-growing cloud market dominated by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.These 12 executives are leading Oracle's bid to expand its reach in cloud computing.They are focused on leveraging Oracle's strengths in database, security, and applications to gain a bigger piece of the cloud market.Click here for more BI Prime stories.Oracle has been known as an enterprise tech powerhouse for more than 40 years, but the Silicon Valley giant is viewed as a minor player in what has become a critical arena of that market: the cloud.This was underscored recently in the battle over the Pentagon's JEDI cloud project. In affirming its decision to reject Oracle's bid and name Microsoft and Amazon Web Services the finalists for the $10 billion public cloud contract, the Pentagon said that Oracle "is not in the same class as Microsoft and AWS."Oracle is a top vendor in cloud software, but in the broader cloud market it has struggled against rivals like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.One problem is that it's been hard for Oracle — founded in 1977 by the billionaire Larry Ellison, now its chief technology officer — to break away from the old ways of selling software to enterprises, which involves hefty licensing agreements and maintenance fees, said the analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group."Oracle's leadership doesn't know the cloud," he told Business Insider. "The top leadership of Oracle is largely living in the 1980s from the standpoint of the business model, and that model doesn't appear to work for cloud businesses."That's probably a key reason the company has turned to some outsiders, including its top rivals, in its bid to become a bigger presence in the cloud.This push is so critical for Oracle that many of these executives on this list — which is based on input from analysts, news coverage of the company, and Oracle itself — report to Ellison.Here are 12 executives leading Oracle's cloud offensive: Edward Screven, Oracle's chief corporate architect, has been with Oracle since 1986. Title: Chief corporate architectReports to: EllisonScreven has seen the company navigate the major tech waves of the past 30 years. Today, that wave is the cloud, a trend that critics say Oracle was late to embrace."We definitely started after Amazon," he told Business Insider in an interview in May. "The bad news is they have market share. The good news is we get to learn a lot."Oracle also has a lot going for it, he said. Founded in 1977, the Silicon Valley company is an enterprise IT powerhouse whose database and business-applications technologies are used by hundreds of thousands of businesses throughout the world.Screven said Oracle is building a cloud infrastructure that offers more security and more sophisticated and efficient ways to manage data."We have hundreds of thousands of customers that store their most important data in Oracle databases," Screven said. "We could do a far better job for them than any other cloud provider. We are doing a far better job for them."Amazon may dominate the cloud, but Screven suggested that Oracle is well-positioned to catch up."Mindshare, that may be their biggest asset," he said of Amazon. "But there is no technology they have that is concerning to me at all."Enderle pointed to a downside to Screven's standing as an Oracle veteran: "Screven isn't a cloud guy, he is an Oracle guy, and when you are driving disruption you need a subject-matter expert for that disruption."Edward is a loyalist instead, and while that makes sense from a command-and-control perspective, given Oracle's leadership doesn't know the cloud either, this will work against the success of the effort." Steve Daheb left Citrix to lead Oracle's cloud marketing strategy. Title: Senior vice president, cloud go-to-marketReports to: Judith Sim, chief of staff and senior vice president of marketingChanging the perception that Oracle is a minor player in the cloud is one of the tech giant's major problems. And that's where Daheb comes in.Daheb joined Oracle in 2015 after serving as the chief marketing officer of Citrix, a cloud pioneer that let businesses set up computing networks on web-based platforms instead of on-premise data centers, leading to dramatic IT cost savings.Daheb also saw the unexpected rise of Amazon as the king of cloud computing.In the early 2000s, the tech behemoth that's known for selling pretty much everything online realized it could make some extra money by giving businesses access to its massive but underutilized computing infrastructure, hosted from its data centers. That led to Amazon Web Services.Daheb compared Amazon's ascent in the cloud to the rise of Airbnb."Amazon had spare computing resources to rent out," he said. "It's like, 'Hey, man, I got an extra room in the house during the summer when it's not spike retail time. There's nobody in there, so why don't I put this thing on Airbnb and see if anybody wants it?'"Like others on the Oracle team, he thinks the software giant's technology and track record of working with major players and industries will eventually propel it to the top of the cloud."There's a level of understanding we have, and there's a level of empathy we have for enterprise users," he said. "We serve the major banks. We serve transportation. We serve healthcare ... We brought this enterprise mentality to it." Juergen Lindner left SAP to lead Oracle's software-as-a-service marketing strategy. Title: Senior vice president, software-as-a-service marketingReports to: Dave Donatelli, executive vice president of the cloud business groupLindner spent most of his career helping SAP outsell Oracle in the enterprise-software market. He said he joined Oracle three years ago when he became more impressed with the Silicon Valley giant's strategy in adapting to a major shift in the way corporations bought and used software.SAP and Oracle dominated the market when businesses paid hefty licensing and maintenance fees for software applications installed in their private data centers.That changed with the rise of software-as-a-service, when businesses accessed applications through cloud platforms and paid for software via a subscription, usually based on the number of users granted access, allowing them to cut costs dramatically.This posed a problem for traditional software vendors like SAP and Oracle that scrambled to adapt to the new market. Lindner said it became clear to him that Oracle had a better strategy for the cloud-software era."Oracle has architected a very sustainable cloud infrastructure and applications strategy," he told Business Insider, largely because the company "has been serving customers for a long time."Enderle said that bringing Lindner in was a smart move."There is a strong match between skill set and the job he has been selected to do," Enderle said. "He should be an asset to the team." Juan Loaiza, who has been with Oracle since 1988, is in charge of mission-critical database technologies. Title: Executive vice president, mission-critical database technologiesReports to: EllisonLoaiza, who has been with Oracle for more than 30 years, is helping to lead the company's efforts to expand the reach of its flagship database product.The Oracle Autonomous Database uses machine learning to create a cloud-based automated data-management platform that can quickly repair and update itself.Loaiza compared this fairly new initiative to the development of the self-driving car."It took a long time to get to a point where we are now and say the next step is a self-driving car," he told Business Insider. "It's got to be safe. It has to have seatbelts and airbags and a navigation system. All that stuff was necessary before you take it to the next stage ... It's similar to the database."A key factor, he added, is the rise of artificial intelligence — "a critical component" — and machine learning. Don Johnson left Amazon to focus on Oracle's cloud infrastructure. Title: Executive vice president, cloud infrastructureReports to: EllisonJohnson worked for Amazon Web Services for 10 years before joining Oracle in 2014.He launched the company's cloud engineering development center in Seattle, which it says now has thousands of engineers.Under Johnson's leadership, Oracle is looking to open 19 new cloud-data-center regions by the end of this year, it said. Johnson also played a key role in forming a major cloud partnership with Microsoft.Enderle said that while Johnson was at Amazon when its cloud business was growing fast, he had doubts about Johnson's ability to shine at Oracle."He should know the market and technology well, but he is an Oracle outsider and likely will be overshadowed by non-experts around him that are better connected," he told Business Insider. "He is a great choice but likely will be unable to reach his potential given the skill set of his peers." T. K. Anand left Microsoft to help Oracle with analytics. Title: Senior vice president, analyticsReports to: EllisonAnand, who's responsible for Oracle's analytics platform, worked at Microsoft for 22 years before joining Oracle last year.He quickly found himself assuming a bigger role in the company's cloud strategy when he was tapped to take on the responsibilities of Thomas Kurian, the top Oracle exec who left suddenly to lead Google's cloud business.Meanwhile, Oracle has formed a partnership with Microsoft. Beth Boettcher left Accenture to help Oracle with applications consulting. Title: Senior vice president, North America applications consultingReports to: Christopher Donato, senior vice president, North America applications and consultingBoettcher worked for 19 years at Accenture, where she built the IT-services company's cloud business before joining Oracle in 2017.She leads Oracle consulting business. Last year, she helped lead the launch of Oracle Soar, business tools to help clients migrate their applications to the cloud.Boettcher also launched the Oracle Cloud Institute, where employees, partners, and customers can get training and mentoring on Oracle's cloud products. Jason Williamson left Amazon to lead Oracle's outreach to startups. Title: Vice president, Oracle for StartupsReports to: Mamei Sun, Ellison's chief of staffThe cloud has led to the rise of startups offering new tools and services from security and data storage to analytics and AI. Like other major cloud players, Oracle is looking to draw those startups and entrepreneurs into its orbit.That's where Williamson comes in. His role is to make Oracle's products and services more accessible to startups.His Amazon background gives him an edge in this task. Williamson led AWS's private-equity team before joining Oracle in 2017.Oracle said that cultivating ties with startups is also an area that Ellison is focused on, as he's known to host startup entrepreneurs in his home "to offer them guidance." Evan Goldberg cofounded NetSuite, which is now part of Oracle. Title: Executive vice president, NetSuiteReports to: CEO Mark HurdGoldberg is part of the elite club of Oracle alums who went on to launch successful enterprise-software companies. (Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is perhaps the best-known.)Goldberg left a long career at Oracle in the late 1990s to launch NetSuite, a cloud-based provider of financial- and accounting-management services. He was the chief technology officer alongside CEO Zach Nelson, another Oracle alum. Ellison was actually one of their early backers.Oracle said that since acquiring NetSuite in 2016, NetSuite has become one of its successful cloud-software businesses, with more than 18,000 customers. Steve Miranda has been with Oracle since 1992 and leads cloud-applications development. Title: Executive vice president, applications product developmentReports to: EllisonMiranda is an Oracle veteran in charge of different aspects of the company's cloud-software business, including product development and strategy.This covers applications used for major business operations, like supply-chain management, human resources, and enterprise performance management. Rondy Ng, who's been with Oracle since 1990, is helping Oracle develop enterprise-resource-planning cloud applications. Title: Senior vice president, ERP applications developmentReports to: MirandaNg leads Oracle's initiatives in offering cloud software used by enterprises to run different parts of the business, also referred to as enterprise resource planning, or ERP.This is actually a market where Oracle is considered a leading player. Gartner even named Oracle the leading provider of ERP software to midsize enterprises. Rob Tarkoff worked for Adobe and EMC before joining Oracle to help lead its cloud-applications business. Title: Executive vice president and general manager, CX CloudReports to: MirandaTarkoff has years of experience with Adobe and EMC. He joined Oracle late last year to take charge of the company's CX Cloud, a suite of cloud-based tools, including software for managing customer relations and sales.He's been a more visible Oracle spokesman recently, touting the company's cloud offerings for small businesses and financial services. In a recent interview with Pymts, Tarkoff highlighted how Oracle was using new technologies like AI and the internet of things to improve the way businesses use cloud applications.

Technology

Cloud Computing

BERLIN (Reuters) - Greece’s Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas has said that closing the borders to the Balkans would trigger a “major humanitarian crisis” in his country and would not stop the influx of migrants. He told German business daily Handelsblatt that the only way to stop refugees coming was to put an end to Syria’s civil war. He said the European Union needed to work on that as well as tackling the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. “That’s the only way we can overcome the crisis. Border closures don’t help,” he said in an interview published on Thursday, just before a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels with the refugee crisis high on the agenda. Macedonia has erected two lines of metal fencing topped with razor wire at the main crossing point for migrants along its southern border with Greece. Asked about the impact that sealing frontiers with the Balkans would have, Mouzalas said: “If a border were to be closed now, it would cause a major humanitarian crisis in Greece.” He said only 430 refugees had so far been resettled from Greece as part of an EU scheme that stipulated the relocation of at least 160,000 from Greece and Italy. EU members Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are deeply opposed to any quota system and want tighter controls on the borders of Balkan countries neighboring Greece if attempts to limit the numbers from Turkey to Greece fail. On Tuesday, EU Council President Donald Tusk said Europe needed to improve the protection of its external borders and that required more efforts by Greece as well as more support from its European Union partners. But Mouzalas said Greece was protecting its borders and had “the best possible controls” in place on both land and sea. He said that there were 700 officers from Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, in place on Greek islands but that was less than the 1,800 Greece had asked for. Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Tom Heneghan

Politics

International Relations

DUBAI (Reuters) - Prominent Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar said on Sunday he had teamed up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and other private investors to launch a $1 billion Middle Eastern-focused e-commerce platform. Noon.com was 50 percent owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Alabbar said at a news conference in Dubai, while the other 50 percent was owned by him and other regional private investors, which he declined to identify. “This is going to be on a global scale,” Alabbar said. PIF, and the other investors had so far put a total of $1 billion towards the project, he said. E-commerce has struggled to gain a significant foothold in the Middle East, despite its young and tech-savvy population, hampered by inadequate logistics and electronic payment methods. Noon.com will launch operations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in January, with 20 million products on the platform, Alabbar said. The company plans to expand to Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, by late 2017, and is also looking at Kuwait and Oman, though Alabbar did not give a timeframe. To compensate for issues around electronic payments, the venture will accept both online payments as well as cash upon delivery, Noon.com’s chief executive Fodhil Benturquia said. According to his LinkedIn profile, Benturquia served as a former executive at Middle East e-commerce platform Souq.com. The Riyadh-headquartered company, which takes its name from the Arabic letter ‘noon’, is targeting profitability within five years and a possible stock market flotation within five to seven years, Alabbar said. Alabbar made his name as chairman of Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), the Dubai government-linked builder of the world’s tallest building and whose subsidiary Emaar Malls (EMAA.DU) owns and operates Dubai Mall, which accounts for around 50 percent of the emirate’s luxury goods spending. In recent months he has made several investments which would support an e-commerce platform, including buying stakes in Italian online retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter YNAP.MI (YNAP), Dubai-listed logistics firm Aramex ARMX.DU and Kuwait Food Co FOOD.KW (Americana). Noon.com will use Aramex’s and Americana’s logistic capabilities to deliver goods, Alabbar said. Alabbar also confirmed local media reports that he recently met with Amazon (AMZN.O) founder Jeff Bezos in Dubai. “It was a friendly meeting. They came around to explore what’s going on in the Middle East,” he said. PIF also recently made technology-related investments, including the purchase of a $3.5 billion stake in ride-hailing app Uber in June and a pledge for 45 percent of funding for a $100 billion tech investment fund with Japan’s SoftBank Group (9984.T). Editing by David French and Raissa Kasolowsky

Finance

Stock Market

Stills via Endless on Apple Music Last night, Frank Ocean released a 45-minute visual album on Apple Music called Endless. It shows him building a spiral staircase, and in the background there's an 18-track album. Both visually and musically, it's quite an undertaking, and it involved a huge team beyond Frank himself, including filmmaker Francisco Soriano as director of photography and a cast of musicians like Jazmine Sullivan, Sampha, Alex G, James Blake, and Arca. The full list of credits scrolls by at the end of the video, along with some cool Endless graphics. Since they're kind of hard to read, and we are masochists, we've written the whole thing out for you below. Director: Frank OceanDirector of Photography: Francisco SorianoProduction Designer: Thomas MastorakosProducer: Wendi MorrisWardrobe: Rita ZebdiWardrobe Assistant: Henri HelanderArt Department: Paper Mache MonkeySet Construction: TMGVFX: Grant LauColorist: Brandon ChavezSound Mixer: Caleb Laven1st AC: Keith FerreiraEditor: Francisco SorianoAssistant Editor/ DIT: Taj FrancoisSound Designer: Maarten Hofmeijer, Brent Kiser “Device Control” (W. Tilmans) Synthesizers: Tim Knapp and Kyle CombsDrum Programming: Tim Knapp and Kyle CombsDrums: Rosie SlaterRecorded at Wolfgang’s Home. Grafica Maiadouro and Studio G, Brooklyn “Alabama” (F. Ocean)Piano: Frank OceanAdditional Vocals: Sampha and Jazmine SullivanRecorded at The Mercer Hotel and Capitol Studios “U-N-I-T-Y” (F. Ocean)Piano: Christophe ChassolRecorded at Capitol Studios “Commes Des Garcons” (F. Ocean)Synthesizers: Buddy RossDrum Programming: Troy Moka and Joe ThornalleyBass: Ben ReedAdditional Vocals: Rita ZebdiRecorded at MSR & Capitol Studios “Wither” (F. Ocean)Guitars: Alex G.Background Vocals: Jazmine SullivanBass: Ben ReedPiano: Frank OceanRecorded at Mercer Hotel “In Here Somewhere” (F. Ocean, T. Noka, J. Thornalley)Guitars: SpacemanSynthesizers: Troy MokaDrum Programming: Troy Noka and Joe ThornalleyAdditional Programming: Frank OceanRecorded at MSR & Capitol Studios “Sideways” (F. Ocean)Synthesizers: Buddy RossDrum Programming: Nolife and Joe ThornalleyBass: Ben ReedRecorded at Mercer Hotel, Capitol Studios and MSR Studios “Deathwish (ASR)” (F. Ocean, T. Noka, J. Thornalley)Guitars: SpacemanProgramming: Troy Noka and Joe ThornalleyAdditional Programming: Frank OceanRecorded at MSR & Mercer Hotel “Rushes To” (F. Ocean, T. Noka, J. Thornalley, M. Uzowuru)Guitars: Frank OceanProgramming: Troy Noka, Joe Thornalley and Michael UzowuruRecorded at Capitol Studio and MSR Studios “At Your Best (You Are Love)” (E.Isley, C.Jasper, R.Isley, O.Isley, R. isley)String Orchestration: Jonny GreenwoodOrchestra Credits: London ContemporaryOrchestra Engineer: Graeme StewartPiano: Om’ Mas KeithSynthesizers: James BlakeCover of the Isley Brothers song ‘At Your Best (You Are Love)’Cover Recorded at Abbey Road and East West Studios “Mine” (F.Ocean)Programming: ArcaRecorded at Abbey Road AMBIENCE 001: “In A Certain Way” AMBIENCE 002: “Honeybaby” “Hublots” (F. Ocean)Piano: Frank OceanVocals: Jazmine Sullivan “Slide On Me” (F. Ocean)Guitars: Alex G.Bass: Joe ThornalleyDrum Programming: Joe ThornalleySynthesizers: Buddy RossAdditional Programming: SebastianRecorded at Capitol Studios and MSR “Florida” (F. Ocean)Bass: Buddy RossRecorded at Conway Studios and Setai Studios “Rushes” (F. Ocean)Guitars: Alex G. and SpacemanBacking Vocals: Jazmine SullivanBass: Ben ReedProgramming: SebastianRecorded at Capitol Studios and Mercer Hotel “Higgs” (F.Ocean)Guitars: Alex G. and Austin HollowsProgramming: SebastianRecorded at Hotel Bel-Air and Capitol Studios Executive Producer: Frank OceanProduction: Frank Ocean, Joe Thornalley, Troy Noka, Michael UzowuruRecording Engineer: Caleb LavenMix Engineer: Tom Elmhirst, Noah GoldsteinAssistant Mix Engineer: Joe ViscianoMastering: Mike DeanCreative Direction: Frank Ocean, Thomas MastorakosGraphic Design: Michel Egger, Kevin McCaugheyPhotography: Thomas MastorakosManagement: Three Six ZeroLabel: Def JamA&R: Caius PawsonLegal: King, Holmes, Paterno and Soriano, LLP London Contemporary OrchestraConductor: Robert AmesFirst Violins: Daniel Pioro, Sophie Lockett, Cerys Jones, Francesca Barritt, Laura Virtanen, Charis Jenson, Zara Benyounes, Beatrice Philips, Yuka MatsumotoSecond Violins: Galya Bisengalieva, Eboisa-Fleur Thom, Patrick Savage, Hannah Dawson, Jeremy Isaac, Gillon Cameron, Alessandro Ruisi, Emily Holland, Anna OvsyanikovaViolas: Max Baillie, Ian Anderson, Matthew Kettle, Stephanie Edmundson, Asher Zaccardelli, Tetsuumi NagataDouble Basses: Dave Brown, Billy Cole, Roger Linley, James BerseyMusic Preparation: Hugh Brunt, Daisy ChuteCellos: Oliver Coates, Claire O’Connell, Brian O’Kane, Zoë Martlew, Kwesi Edman, Reinoud Ford Special Thanks to: Tom Sachs, Nate and Grady Follow Noisey on Twitter.

Music

Rock

Wordplay THURSDAY PUZZLE — It’s hard for me to believe that this is only Erik Agard’s fourth puzzle in The New York Times. He has been published in many other places, of course, plus he has his website, Glutton For Pun, where he posts free puzzles, as well as a funky puzzle collection called A-Garde, which is available for purchase on a pay-what-you-want basis. Mr. Agard’s puzzles are clean and fresh, but what I really like about them is that the ideas he presents in them are very clever. His grids are filled with something for everyone, and they always leave me with a smile. Today’s is no different, even if Mr. Agard is trying to cut in front of us. Have you ever had one of those days where you think you’ve cracked the theme, but then it turns out that the theme has, in fact, cracked you? At first, I thought this was a mere anagram theme, where the last word in each phrase was anagrammed. And truth be told, I wasn’t very impressed. Then, as they say, it hit me. Or rather, I solved the revealer at 54A. The “Trailblazer’s declaration, “I’LL GO FIRST,” can also be read as “I WILL GO FIRST,” which means that we are supposed to take the letter I out of the last word of each theme phrase and put it at the beginning of that word. For example, at 17A, we have the clue “Possible result of spilling grape juice on a map of the Middle East?” and the answer is PURPLE IRAN, which is pretty much what you would get if you knocked over the Welch’s. But what kind of phrase is PURPLE IRAN? It’s what you would get if you took the I out of Prince’s song, “Purple Rain,” and put it first. This song still makes me tear up. Nice tribute, Mr. Agard. Want more? How about COVER IVERSON for “Guard the 2001 N.B.A. M.V.P.?”, which is what you get from COVER VERSION when the I goes first. O.K., I went first; now you figure out the other two. ■ 3D: On first reading, “Word between ‘facts’ and ‘facts’” might seem impenetrable, but if you think about it, how many three-letter words would really fit there? Facts ARE facts, after all. ■ 29D: “One who might get down to Alabama?” sounds like someone is traveling, but for this clue and answer pair, they’re only traversing the dance floor. The person in the clue is a LINE DANCER “getting down” to the country band, Alabama. ■ 48: Did you have trouble visualizing the “Service symbolized by a dot and three curved lines”? It’s that icon on your computer screen that tells you whether or not you’re on WI-FI. The idea for this puzzle came to me as I was watching the documentary “IVERSON,” which I emphatically recommend even if you’re not big on sports. The grid went through a couple of revisions, chiefly to remove this extra theme answer: [The blood of Jesus, say?] (6,5). I am fully at peace with that decision. I am less at peace with what is going on at 4-Down. Not my clue, not my president, not my breakfast test. If this worsened your solving experience at all, my apologies. On the bright side, I got a kick out of the shortcut at 12-Across and the vocabulary at 40-Down (both Shortz et al. ’s finds). Not sure I’ll ever have occasion to use the former, but I promise to work the latter into as many conversations as I can. Thanks for reading, and stay well. Here’s the answer key to today’s puzzle.

Puzzles

Crosswords

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei called itself the victim of U.S. “bullying” on Tuesday and said it was working with Google to respond to trade restrictions imposed by Washington last week, a senior Huawei executive said. Google declined to comment. The U.S. government said it imposed the restrictions because of Huawei’s involvement in activities contrary to national security or foreign policy interests. On Monday, it temporarily eased the curbs to minimize disruption for customers, a move dismissed by Huawei’s founder who said the tech firm had prepared for U.S. action. Reuters reported on Sunday that Alphabet Inc’s Google suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing, citing a source familiar with the matter. “They (Google) have zero motivation to block us. We are working closely with Google to find out how Huawei can handle the situation and the impact from the U.S. Department of Commerce decision,” Abraham Liu, Huawei’s representative to the EU institutions told Reuters. Liu said Huawei did not blame Google for its decision and that it was too early to say what the consequences will be. “Huawei is becoming the victim of the bullying by the U.S. administration. This is not just an attack against Huawei. It is an attack on the liberal, rules-based order,” Liu added. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel and David Gregorio

Technology

Telecommunications

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese tariffs on American pork would have a limited impact on WH Group-owned Smithfield Foods, chief executive Kenneth Sullivan said on Tuesday, seeking to reassure investors days after news of the possible duties hit the parent’s stock. Shares in WH Group, owner of China’s biggest buyer of U.S. pork, have fallen nearly 12 percent since Thursday’s close, before Beijing said it may slap 25 percent tariffs on American pork. China said it would consider the move, along with other duties, to counter tough trade steps from Washington. But China buys no more than 7 percent of Smithfield’s fresh pork output, Sullivan said in an analyst call after the company reported earnings late on Monday. “We’ll find markets, we ship to more than 40 countries,” said Sullivan. “We may very well ship to China even with an increased tariff,” he said. Investors have over-reacted, he said. WH Group shares fell more than 3 percent in Hong Kong on Tuesday following declines in excess of 4 percent in each of the previous two sessions. The tariffs may even benefit the firm’s packaged meat business, which generates more than 70 percent of profits, by pressuring fresh pork prices in the U.S., Sullivan said. Industry experts expect the tariffs could force exporters to sell at lower prices to offset the duties. China buys mainly fresh pork from abroad and processes it at home. WH Group’s profit rose 7.5 percent to $1.09 billion, driven by U.S. and Europe operations, but profits from the China business missed estimates, falling 1.9 percent to 4.3 billion yuan ($687 million). Analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets said in a note that the miss was partly due to lower sales of chilled processed meat. The company has been trying to shift away from lower-margin, heat-treated products that make up the bulk of China’s packaged meat category but face stagnating growth. But WH Group’s traditional distributors have not adapted well to selling the new products, said Ma Xiangjie, president of its China business, Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development. The company will look for new distributors to specialize in different categories in different regions, he said. The company is also trying to boost its sales on online platforms and to food-service clients. It has phased out some poor performing products and expects growth in packaged meat sales volumes in 2018 of at least 10 percent, according Wan Long, chairman of WH Group. Reporting by Dominique Patton; Editing by Aaron Sheldrick

Industry

Manufacturing

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - U.S.-led talks on the Syria conflict in Lausanne on Saturday had a good consensus on a number of possibilities that could lead to a ceasefire in Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. Kerry added to reporters, however, that there were some difficult, tense moments in the talks and that the next contact between sides at the talks would be on Monday to discuss future steps. He said the parties “might be able to shape some different approaches” from Saturday’s meeting. Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Stephanie Ulmer-Nebehay and Alexander Winning; Editing by Kevin Liffey

Politics

International Relations

The Harvard professor who has spooked the right talks to Samuel P. Jacobs about her past life as a Republican.

Other

Other

After weeks of trying to bar Iranians from entering the United States, President Donald Trump on Wednesday offered his "best wishes" to them on their most beloved holiday, Now-Ruz, and expressed pride in the many successes of Iranians who were allowed to reach America. The statement from Trump was released after multiple discussions about whether the new president should say anything at all, a source familiar with the situation said. It is unlikely to alleviate the deep unhappiness within the Iranian American community over Trump's targeting of their kin overseas through his attempts at a travel ban. Now-Ruz, which means "new day," is also known as the Persian New Year's, and it coincides with the start of spring. It is celebrated primarily in Iran but also in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and other places where many people have Persian heritage. Now-Ruz "is an occasion to celebrate new beginnings, a sentiment that is particularly meaningful for so many Iranians who have come to our country in recent decades to make a new start in a free land," Trump said. "For many years, I have greatly enjoyed wonderful friendships with Iranian-Americans, one of the most successful immigrant groups in our country’s contemporary history," Trump added. "They come from diverse religious backgrounds — including Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Baha’i — but all share an affection for their ancestral heritage." The statement pointed out that millions who celebrate the holiday "will come together with their families during this time." That bit was striking considering many Iranians felt compelled to cancel plans to visit relatives in the United States for Now-Ruz because of Trump's efforts to bar them. The statement was also somewhat late. Now-Ruz is usually observed on the 20th or 21st of March, though in some places it may be on the 22nd. The president, via an executive order that's been put on hold due to lawsuits, has ordered bans on the entry of visitors and immigrants from Iran and five other predominantly Muslim countries. Iranians have accounted for more than half of the visitors and immigrants from those six countries. Although the Trump administration has cast the ban as a temporary national security measure, it is likely to prove indefinite for Iranians. That's because the government of Iran, which does not have diplomatic relations with the United States, is unlikely to meet Trump's demands for greater cooperation to vet travelers. Now-Ruz messages have been a way for past U.S. presidents to reach out to the Iranian people and offer a message of friendship that bypasses the Islamist government in Tehran. Former President Barack Obama released video messages wishing the Iranian people well while pushing ahead with the Iran nuclear deal negotiations.

Other

Other

Reports said Lauer felt the two lacked chemistry as cohosts, and Curry — an award-winning journalist who has reported from war zones and natural disasters — blamed the "boys' club" atmosphere at the show. Following Curry's emotional departure from Today, Lauer ended up on Star Magazine's 20 Most Hated Celebrities in Hollywood list. In 2015, Curry left NBC News for her own media startup. According to reports, she and Lauer never made up after their fallout, and the pair haven't spoken to each other since she was axed from Today. In an interview later on Wednesday with People magazine, Curry declined to comment specifically on Lauer's termination, but said, "I’m still really processing it." Curry said that she admired all women "who have been willing to speak up both anonymously and on the record" about sexual misconduct generally. "We need to move this revolution forward and make our workplaces safe," she said. NBC News has said it will face the news of Lauer's firing in as "transparent a manner as we can." BuzzFeed News has reached out to Lauer's agent for comment.

Entertainment

Television

Beyonce is super pregnant, but you gotta have quick eyes to know, because she's definitely not posin' for the paps. Bey was leaving Beauty & Essex Tuesday in L.A., and made a quick exit to her SUV in under 5 seconds -- while her security scrambled trying to shield the queen. As you know, Bey is having twins and bailed on Coachella per doctor's orders. But clearly she's not bedridden. Looks like she's rockin' her "Lemonade" braids again. Then again ... it was all such a blur.

Entertainment

Television

Police in the French capital fire tear gas at taxi drivers blocking a major intersection during the second major protest over wages and working conditions in recent months. Watch more Quick Hits at VICE News

Other

Other

CBS and Dish Network resolved a dispute over the fees the satellite TV provider pays to the broadcaster, ending a three-day blackout that affected customers across 26 states. CBS said late Thursday it reached a multi-year agreement with Dish for carrying its local stations as well as three cable channels. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The agreement comes just ahead of the Southeastern Conference football coverage over the weekend. The blackout had prevented nearly 3 million Dish subscribers from watching the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers play the Dallas Cowboys on the Thanksgiving holiday. The CBS channels are being restored, Dish said in a separate statement. CBS content was pulled off Dish networks on Tuesday over a dispute that revolved around how much Dish would pay for 28 local CBS channels as well as three cable channels: Smithsonian Channel, Pop, and CBS Sports Network. Negotiations between content distributors and programmers have become increasingly fraught as more viewers opt to watch their favorite shows online. CBS went dark for about 12 hours during a similar carriage dispute with Dish in 2014.

Television

Broadcasting

April 6 (Reuters) - UBS Group AG: * UBS SAYS INTENDS TO REDEEM THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING USD 1.5BN TIER 2 SUBORDINATED NOTES (ISIN: CH0214139930) (THE "NOTES") ON 22 MAY 2018, THE FIRST OPTIONAL REDEMPTION DATE Source text for Eikon: here Further company coverage: (Reporting By Zurich newsroom)

Finance

Banking

As a student in rural Georgia, long before she became a successful mystery writer, Amanda Kyle Williams struggled to read even the simplest sentences. The words on the page looked jumbled, like jigsaw puzzle pieces that wouldn’t connect. Teachers thought she was anxious. Her family said she was lazy. She often heard words like “slow” or “stupid” being used to describe her. At 16 she dropped out of high school. She became addicted to cocaine and checked into a rehabilitation center. It wasn’t until she was 22 that a psychologist told her she was dyslexic. “The diagnosis changed every way I felt about myself and every way I felt about my chances in the world,” she said in a 2014 interview with Camp Spring Creek, a summer camp in Bakersville, N.C., for children with dyslexia, a learning disability. With the psychologist’s help, she learned to read, and at 23 she did something that had once filled her with dread: She walked into a library. There she finished her first book, “Pride and Prejudice.” And from there, feeling confident and becoming fascinated by how the written word could convey a story, she went on to publish her first book at 28 and eventually landed a $1 million contract to write a mystery series about a tough female private investigator named Keye Street. Ms. Williams died on Aug. 31 at her home in Decatur, Ga. She was 61. The cause was endometrial cancer, said Rebecca Guinn, the chief executive of LifeLine Animal Project, a nonprofit in Georgia for which Ms. Williams was a founding board member. Ms. Williams was born on Aug. 17, 1957, in Norfolk, Va., to Fred and Violet M. (Dale) Williams. She spent her childhood in Colorado and Georgia, where her father was a sales executive for a carpet company. Her mother was a homemaker. After dropping out of high school, Ms. Williams worked as a house painter, a property manager and a commercial embroiderer. She also took a job as a courier for a private investigator and learned some tricks about serving subpoenas to people who were evading lawsuits — planting documents, for example, in pizza boxes, or flower bouquets, or sweepstakes prize packages. The work inspired her to write a crime thriller, “Club Twelve,” about a spy named Madison McGuire who works undercover for the government. She shopped her manuscript around to every publisher she could think of and received one rejection letter after another. Then Naiad Press, a small publisher that focused on lesbian literature, said it would publish her book if she made the lead character a lesbian. (Ms. Williams, who was openly lesbian by then, was happy to make the change.) “Club Twelve” was published in 1990, and Ms. Williams wrote three more books about the character, but the series did not gain much attention. Meanwhile, “to keep the lights on,” she said, she started a dog-walking business and freelanced for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2009 she dreamed up another female protagonist, a tough Chinese-American private investigator. The character was inspired by her brother’s adopted daughter, up to a point: Unlike the daughter, the heroine, Keye Street, was a recovering addict who worked odd jobs, much like Ms. Williams. “She’s slightly damaged, seriously flawed; a sober alcoholic with a mighty Krispy Kreme doughnut addiction,” Ms. Williams wrote of the character on her website. “She feels real to me.” Ms. Williams took courses in criminal profiling and consulted with professionals in law enforcement and forensics. She then wrote a manuscript and sent it to her agent. In November 2009, she was outside her house preparing to walk the dogs when her agent called. Would Ms. Williams give up her dog-walking business and develop Keye Street into a series? If so, a contract promised $1 million if the book hit sales targets. Ms. Williams hung up the phone and, she recalled, began sobbing on her porch. When a neighbor asked if she was all right, she replied: “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” The first book, “The Stranger You Seek” (2011), was well-received and translated into seven languages It followed the tale of Keye Street as she helped a small-town sheriff solve a mystery that began with the discovery of two murdered teenage girls. “Williams handles crime scene procedures with assurance, uses forthright language to portray a frightful killer and isn’t above injecting a bit of Southern humor into a grim situation,” Marilyn Stasio wrote in 2011 in The New York Times Book Review. She wrote two sequels, “Stranger in the Room,” which was published in 2012, and “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” published in 2014. That year, Ms. Williams learned she had stage three endometrial cancer, which begins in the uterus. She later teamed with a photographer to publish an online essay about her cancer struggle titled “Bald.” Ms. Williams’s survivors include her father; her stepmother, Betty Williams; her brother, Parkhill Scott Williams; and her sister, Heather Brianna Williams. Ms. Williams often said that dyslexia was the most beautiful word she had ever heard. “I lived in that undiagnosed, unsupported world for many years,” she said. “When you grow up feeling less than, feeling dumb, being told you’re not trying or not smart enough to do what is asked of you in school, it marks you. It just does.”

Art

Visual Arts

linger@ March 2 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Monday on concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus, with losses led by oil and gas producer MEG Energy, which sought to shelve an oil sands project. * At 9:50 a.m. ET (1444 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite index was down 23.62 points, or 0.15%, at 16,239.43. * The global death toll from the virus outbreak rose above 3,000, with the virus having spread to 53 countries outside China. * MEG Energy fell 5% in early trading, and was the top percentage loser on the main index. * MEG Energy Corp has asked Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) for a three-year delay to the approval process of a proposed oil sands project in the province, because of what it called continuing difficulties, the Globe and Mail reported. * Seven of the index's 11 major sectors were lower, led by the energy sector, which dropped 1.2%. * The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners, added 1.1% as gold prices gained in the risk-off environment. * In a bright spot, data showed Canadian manufacturing activity expanded in February at its quickest pace in a year, which could offer some reassurance to the central bank on economic outlook ahead of an interest rate decision this week. * On the TSX, 101 issues were higher, while 127 issues declined for a 1.26-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 42.81 million shares traded. * The biggest percentage gainers on the TSX were MAG Silver Corp, which jumped 5.4%, followed by shares in Ballard Power, which rose 4.9%. * Shares of Suncor Energy and Bombardier Inc were the most heavily traded by volume. * The TSX posted no new 52-week high and four new lows. * Across all Canadian issues there were 10 new 52-week highs and 26 new lows, with total volume of 71.52 million shares. (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

Manufacturing

Industry

WINDHAM, New Hampshire — In 2004, Commander David Fravor, an aviator in the U.S. Navy, saw something in the skies he'd never seen before. He wasn't sure what it was, but he decided to follow it in his F/A-18 Super Hornet, and he became convinced that the object's maneuvering could not be explained by the existing capabilities of modern aircraft. “It was far beyond the technology that we have,” he told VICE News. For a long time, Fravor, a skeptic of the notion of extraterrestrial visitors, said nothing. But in 2017, he and his co-pilot went public with their stories in the New York Times. The response was immediate: The UFO community saw their accounts as proof of extraterrestrial life, and Fravor became a sort of messiah. The newfound notoriety made Fravor deeply uncomfortable. “I’m not that kind of person," he said. “I underestimated the power of a New York Times article. I’ll never do that again.” He also vowed to stay out of the spotlight. But last month, Fravor reluctantly agreed to be a featured speaker at the McMenamins UFO Fest, in McMinnville, Oregon, the world's premier extraterrestrial expo. VICE News was there for Fravor's first public appearance since the article in the Times — and, he swears, his last.

Other

Other

A New York Uber driver has been charged with the kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl after he allegedly tried to take her to his home. At around 11:15 p.m. on July 12, Sean Williams, 32, picked up the young girl from a Sweet 16 party in Atlantic Beach with a scheduled drop off in Merrick, Nassau County District Attorney revealed in a press release. However, before getting to the destination, Williams allegedly canceled the route and “attempted to convince the minor to go drinking with him,” the press release states. “It is also alleged that the defendant wanted the 15-year-old girl to go to his home in Brooklyn where he intended to sexually assault her,” the release says. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Freightened, the victim warned Williams of her age and asked him multiple times to take her home. Williams allegedly continued driving “in the wrong direction,” according to the release. That’s when the teenager came up with a plan. After reaching Brooklyn, the victim begged Williams to let her out to use the bathroom. She then ran into a McDonald’s on Linden Boulevard and called the police, according to the release. Williams allegedly followed her into the fast food chain, but fled the scene before police arrived. A few days later on July 16, Williams was arrested outside of his home, the release says. On Monday, he was arraigned on a grand jury indictment for the alleged kidnapping. He was charged with kidnapping in the second degree as a sexually motivated felony, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, according to the press release. Williams’ bail was set at $150,000 bond or $75,000 cash. He is expected back in court on Sep. 18. If convicted “of the top count,” he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, according to the news release. “The family of a 15-year-old girl relied on a car service to get their daughter home safely after she attended a Sweet Sixteen party, but the defendant allegedly kidnapped her and wanted to sexually assault her after giving her alcohol,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said in the release. “The girl was terrorized by the defendant’s alleged behavior and bravely took action to contact police and free herself,” Singas said. An attorney for Williams could not immediately be found.

Science

Psychology

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it had dismantled an Islamic State cell in the capital Riyadh, in connection with a plot to launch a suicide attack on the defense ministry. Two militants were killed and five others arrested in raids on three locations on Wednesday, an official source in the newly-created Presidency of State Security said in a statement on state-run television. Deadly bombing and shooting attacks have been mounted by Islamic State militants against security forces and Shi’ite Muslims in Saudi Arabia. Islamic State has for years criticized the leadership of the Western-allied kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, accusing it of deviating from their strict interpretation of Islam and advancing the interests of their U.S. enemies. Thursday’s statement said a suicide bomber in the eastern Riyadh district of al-Rimal detonated his vest after security forces surrounded a house used to manufacture suicide vests and explosives. Another militant was killed by security forces after he holed up with firearms in an apartment in the western district of al-Namar, it said. The third raid was at a horse stable in the southern Riyadh suburb of al-Ghanamia which the statement said had been used as a headquarters. Security forces seized firearms and bomb-making materials, shown on state television along with a burned out car and a damaged building where the first militant had blown himself up. The suspects were not identified. Security forces closed off several areas in Riyadh on Wednesday, and videos shared online showed a plume of smoke rising at one location. The plot to attack the defense ministry, uncovered last month, allegedly involved two Yemeni nationals and two Saudi citizens. A Saudi security source said at the time that one of the detainees was a member of the armed Houthi movement, which is locked in a 2-1/2-year-old war with a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Reporting by Stephen Kalin and Mostafa Hashem; editing by Andrew Roche

Politics

Middle East

Kenny Stills says people have threatened to murder him after he criticized Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for supporting Trump ... but the WR says he ain't backing down. The 27-year-old blasted Ross -- his boss -- on Twitter earlier this week ... calling the guy a hypocrite for running a charity championing "equality" while simultaneously supporting Trump. "You can’t have a non profit with this mission statement then open your doors to Trump,” Stills wrote. The tweet was met with plenty of backlash ... and Stills says at least five to ten people threatened to take his life for the criticism. But, Stills doubled down on his feelings on Ross after the Dolphins beat the Falcons in their preseason opener Thursday night nonetheless ... further explaining why he feels the need to call out the owner. Miami Dolphins WR Kenny Stills speaks to the media after tonight’s 34-27 victory over the Falcons. Stills recently had some critical comments regarding team owner Stephen Ross’ President Trump fundraiser. #FinsUp #NFLPreseason #NABJ19 #ATLvsMIA #MeetMeInMiami pic.twitter.com/EPbHkKERbR "Our country's in a rough place right now and I think we could be doing more," Stills told reporters at his locker. "I think there’s other candidates that he could support. It’s not about Democrat or Republican or any of those things. It’s literally about why. Why are you trying to help this man raise money to continue to do things that he’s been doing?" For his part, Ross released a statement this week defending himself, saying, "I have known Donald Trump for 40 years, and while we agree on some issues, we strongly disagree on many others and I have never been bashful about expressing my opinions." Stills says he has yet to speak with the owner about the whole ordeal ... but says when the two do sit and chat, his message will be the same as the one he posted on Twitter. "It just doesn't make sense to me," Stills told reporters ... "It just doesn't align to be running a nonprofit focused on equality and talking about sports and equality and then to be holding a fundraiser for a man that we know isn't standing up for that same cause or championing that same cause."

Sports

Football

North and South Korea on Tuesday took down large speakers along the border between the two countries that had been used for years to blast propaganda. The Associated Press reported that South Korean soldiers began dismantling the speakers and taking them away from the border. A South Korean military officer told the AP that North Korea had begun doing the same thing. Both countries had turned off the broadcasts flowing through the speakers last week ahead of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It was the first time Kim had crossed into South Korea. The removal of the speakers is the latest in a series of steps that indicate improving relations between the two countries. It also comes as President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE prepares for an expected meeting with the North Korean leader in the coming weeks. Multiple reports over the weekend indicated that North Korea has offered major concessions, such as ending its nuclear program, if the U.S. agrees not to invade the country in the future. Trump, who has demanded complete denuclearization in North Korea, said Monday that Singapore and the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea are being considered as potential meeting sites. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

International Relations

Reporter’s Notebook KRAKOW, Poland — Last week, in the sun-bathed, historic city of Krakow, the streets were lined with posters for the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice party, which looks set to make gains in local elections on Sunday. Also unmissable were advertisements for “Clergy,” Wojciech Smarzowski’s excoriating film about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, which has become a surprise domestic hit despite condemnation from members of the Law and Justice party and the church itself. The sense of a divided city persisted elsewhere. Krakow is also home to Unsound, an annual festival of experimental and club music from across the globe, staged in dramatic venues across the city. It’s one of the world’s more unusual music festivals. And it is a roaring success — despite now being been banned from the city’s churches, after a furor in 2015 in which a blog accused one of the festival’s acts of being a Satanist. Unsound was founded in 2003 by Mat Schulz, an Australian writer living in Krakow, who was persuaded by his roommate to stage a small festival celebrating the sort of esoteric music they both loved. It expanded throughout Krakow, and now the weeklong October festival takes place in buildings ranging from a synagogue to a Baroque palace to Hotel Forum, a huge disused Soviet-era hotel, which hosts the club portion of the program. Unsound also has several international offshoots, and stages festivals in London; Minsk, Belarus; Adelaide, Australia; and New York. Success in the United States (“the Polish dream,” according to the festival’s executive director, Gosia Plysa), impressed Polish authorities and attracted local government support. Weeklong passes for the Krakow festival now regularly sell out in under a minute, Mr. Schulz said. One of the highlights of this year’s festival took place in the ornate Tempel Synagogue in Kazimierz, the city’s Jewish district. The concert combined a set of gorgeous, bucolic ambient music played by the sound artist Lea Bertucci with a true oddity: a live performance of “Music and Poetry of the Kesh,” an album of electronic music by Todd Barton and the late science-fiction writer Ursula K. Le Guin. “Music and Poetry of the Kesh” was created by Mr. Barton and Ms. Le Guin as a soundtrack to be played while reading her 1985 novel “Always Coming Home.” For decades, it was only available as a cassette that came with the original hardback edition of the book. But in March, the obscure album was rereleased by the New York record label Freedom to Spend, and it had its live premiere at Unsound. Mr. Barton played synthesizers and was joined by the Kesh Ensemble, a group of Polish musicians who sang and played percussion. The performance was startlingly beautiful: a warm, slightly ramshackle night of poetry and song with a spiritual air. It built to the extraordinary “Heron Dance,” a hypnotic number with vague hints of Indonesian gamelan music that otherwise sounded completely unearthly. Another standout concert took place 440 feet underground, in the concert hall of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a major tourist attraction today that was the source of much of medieval Poland’s wealth. A set of soporific ambient sounds from the Colombian artist Lucrecia Dalt had many audience members snoozing under the dim glow of the rock salt chandeliers. But the first ever performance in Poland by the great minimalist composer Terry Riley was livelier. Playing piano and occasionally singing, Mr. Riley’s performance ranged from Indian-influenced devotional music to a meandering electronic jam. Toward the end of the concert, the audience thinned: People were heading for the surface and to the club at Hotel Forum, the main point of the festival for many. The night’s lineup was stupendously eclectic. But whether the Berlin-based producer Lotic’s avant-garde electro ballads, Adam Golebiewskie’s brutal solo drumming demonstration or the Spanish D.J. JASSS’s rumbling audiovisual show were great in their own right was somewhat beside the point. It was the texture of the three run together, in this hulk of a building, that felt special, and exciting. There was surely no better example of Unsound’s dedication to the eclectic than “Clickbait,” a performance that took in ICE Krakow, a plush conference center. Audint, a British multimedia group, presented a paranoid short film that speculated on claims that diplomats at the United States Embassy in Havana had been subjected to attacks by sonic weapons. (Cuba says there is no proof of this.) The movie was soundtracked by rumbling bass notes. Next, in a queasy collaboration between the musician Rabit, the visual artist Sam Rolfes and the Texan performance artists House of Kenzo, a live image of a dancer was manipulated on a big screen so that it looked like a hideous skeletal beast, and three other dancers moved provocatively through the crowd. Mr. Schulz said the appeal of Unsound rests in seeing something you’ve never seen before. It certainly offers that. Indeed, many shows were commissioned for the festival. There is something undeniably exhilarating about it all in total, a sense of adventure, discovery and gleeful boundary-testing. And much of it is transgressive, too: discomforting, or political, or nakedly sexual. It feels radically at odds with the traditional values espoused by Law and Justice, or the picturesque old town that most tourists experience. And indeed, the festival has already clashed with the church, though Mr. Schulz said he was hopeful that the ban would be reversed in future. Mr. Schulz acknowledged there was a danger that Unsound could be seen as some sort of alternative bubble, largely populated by an international audience. But he said a number of efforts had been made to reach out to Krakow residents, most notably by reserving tickets at the door for locals to the club nights in Hotel Forum. Still, Unsound seems like a strange fit with Krakow. “But that’s a reason to keep doing it here,” Mr. Schulz said.

Other

Other

Lawmakers want a big raise but without the limits on outside income that a pay committee recommended. The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section. Give one group of New York officials a pat on the back, and another inevitably slaps you in the face. It was good news that a special pay committee recommended that state legislators not only get a substantial raise to recognize that their positions are full-time jobs but also that there be strict limitations on their outside income and bureaucratic perks. Now legislative leaders may be scheming to get one without the other. (Guess which one they want.) Under legislation that set up the committee this year, its recommendation of a $50,500 raise to their $79,500 salary, limits on outside income to 15 percent of base pay, and limits on stipends for the heads of legislative committees will become law on Jan. 1 unless the Legislature formally rejects it. Silly us for thinking they wouldn’t do that and, even though many legislators objected to restrictions on outside income, this important block on corruption would finally become law. Now there’s word that the Republican John Flanagan, in his final days as State Senate majority leader, is considering calling his chamber into session to approve the raise and reject the reforms. (“No immediate plans” to do so, his office says.) Disturbingly, but not surprisingly, the Democrat Carl Heastie, speaker of the Assembly, has not rejected pulling a similar move in his chamber. (In a cryptic email, his office implied that he thought the ethics reforms were legal “overreaches” by the committee.) If such a bill passed, the governor — who has said he supports a raise but only with the limits on outside income — promises to veto it, in which case its supporters would need Senate Democrats to override it. Cynics might say that Mr. Heastie is dropping this controversy in the lap of Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who will be the Senate majority leader when Democrats take over in January. Since Ms. Stewart-Cousins does not think legislators should reject the committee’s recommendation, she could face up to this mess as a matter of honor, reject the bill and show leadership on ethics even before she takes over leadership of the Senate. Outside income played a role in the corruption convictions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and other lawmakers. If legislators get a $130,000 salary, commensurate with a full-time job, they should not be paid for outside employment that could influence legislation. The pay committee’s compromise on this point is reasonable. Republicans have been consistent opponents of ethics reforms for years, so Mr. Flanagan’s position is to be expected. But it’s sad that, as Democrats prepare to control both houses of the Legislature after being elected on a promise of reform and transformation, Mr. Heastie might take a stand that would make voters feel like saps. Don’t reject the pay committee’s recommendation. The next time state legislators take their seats in Albany, it should be to act for the people of New York, not for themselves. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Finance

Taxes

China is BMW’s largest market, and the German automaker knows in order to capture the country’s demanding consumers, its future models must support robust autonomous driving capability. But to build it itself in China is hardly possible. The success of autonomous driving relies in part on high-definition mapping, a process that requires an expansive collection of geographic information. By law, foreign entities can’t host China-based data without local partnerships. Apple noticeably works with a Chinese firm to store user emails, text messages and other forms of digital footprint in the country. That appears to be one of the catalysts for BMW’s new partnership with Tencent. The Chinese tech giant, which is best known for WeChat and runs an expanding cloud computing business, said on Friday it’s setting up a data computing and storage platform for the German premium carmaker. Reuters reported that the pair plans to launch the computing center by the end of this year in Tianjin, a port city near Beijing. The tie-up came months after BMW’s earlier data expansion in the world’s largest passenger car market. In February, Here — a Google Maps alternative partly owned by BWM — joined forces with Chinese navigation service Navinfo, which would help Here collect data locally. It’s perhaps by no coincidence that Navinfo and Tencent both bought small shares in Here three years ago. As BMW gets more familiar with China’s road conditions, there’s no reason why it won’t apply the data to its freshly minted ride-hailing venture. BMW’s premium ride-hailing service is now live in China Teaming up with BMW can be a big win for Tencent, which has been placing more focus on enterprise-facing endeavors as its main gaming business copes with regulatory pressure. In the world of transportation, “Tencent is committed to assisting automotive companies in the digital transformation,” said Dowson Tong, the company’s president of Cloud and Smart Industry, in a statement. BMW has previously sought another Chinese tech leader to automate its vehicles. It has been working with Baidu, the country’s largest search engine provider with a growing list of artificial intelligence initiatives, on automated driving since 2014. Last October, the duo ramped up their alliance after the German automaker joined Baidu’s autonomous driving open platform Apollo. The deal carried larger diplomatic significance as it came about during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit in Germany to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Baidu president Zhang Yaqin said at the time the deal was meant to “accelerate the development of autonomous driving technologies that align with the Chinese market.” BMW’s relationship with Tencent, on the other hand, has previously played out on other fronts, including joint research into autonomous driving security and testing that involved Tencent’s noted Keen Security Lab. Baidu and Tencent don’t compete directly for their core businesses, but both are making a big push into the future of mobility, whether the effort pertains to in-car entertainment or self-driving. It’s not uncommon for tech rivals in China to target the same partner. A spokeswoman for BMW told TechCrunch that “there is no overlap in the collaboration” and the German firm is “cooperating with different top-notch Chinese companies in different fields.” Indeed, the setup with Tencent seems more comprehensive at first glance. The Chinese company is providing “IT architecture, tools and platforms supporting the entire process of [BMW’s] automated driving research and development,” according to the spokeswoman. When it comes to Baidu, she cited an example of the pair working on a self-driving safety white paper that also involved ten other partners. That might be a roundabout way of saying that the Baidu alliance is looser. It’s worth pointing out that BMW isn’t unique to Apollo, which bills itself as the “Android for autonomous cars” and now counts more than 100 auto partners from across the world. A large network helps generate conversations and potential leads down the road, but keeping it this way could compromise the depth of “collaboration” — a word that’s too often co-opted by publicists. As Cao Xudong, founder of Chinese autonomous driving unicorn Momenta, told TechCrunch earlier, collaboration in the auto sector “demands deep, resource-intensive collaboration, so less [fewer partnerships] is believed to be more.” What about the other heavyweight, Alibaba, which also wants to own the future of driving? The Chinese e-commerce and cloud computing company has become pally with state-owned car maker SAIC, with which it has set up a joint venture called Banma to create autonomous driving solutions. This existing marriage means BMW will unlikely tap Alibaba for automation, an employee at a major Chinese self-driving startup suggested to me.

Technology

E-commerce

The Chinese electronics maker Huawei on Wednesday said that it didn’t collect or store its device users' Facebook data after Facebook announced it shared data access with the company, The Associated Press reported. “Like all leading smartphone providers, Huawei worked with Facebook to make Facebook’s services more convenient for users,” Huawei spokesman Joe Kelly told the AP, adding that the company “has never collected or stored any Facebook user data.” Huawei, which the U.S. had flagged as a national security threat, was one of at least four companies that Facebook had data-sharing partnerships with, The New York Times reported. U.S. lawmakers have for years advised American carriers to refrain from buying Huawei equipment because of the company’s close ties to the Chinese government. Along with Lenovo, Oppo and TCL, Huawei had deals that gave the device makers access to the data of users’ friends without explicit consent. Facebook noted that data shared with Huawei stayed on users’ phones and never went to the company’s servers. Although the partnerships with the four companies are still in effect, Facebook will end its agreement with Huawei by the end of the week. “Facebook along with many other US tech companies have worked with [Huawei] and other Chinese manufacturers to integrate their services onto these phones,” Francisco Varela, a Facebook vice president, said in a statement to The Hill. “Facebook's integrations with Huawei, Lenovo, OPPO and TCL were controlled from the get go — and we approved the Facebook experiences these companies built.” “Given the interest from Congress, we wanted to make clear that all the information from these integrations with Huawei was stored on the device, not on Huawei's servers,” he added. The Trump administration has recently gone after Huawei and its rival, ZTE, by banning U.S. suppliers from selling to the companies, citing national security risks. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Technology

Telecommunications

China's industry ministry on Thursday said it has added Tesla to a government list of approved automotive manufacturers.The company has long said it hopes to begin production before the end of the year. Tesla is now the first fully-foreign owned company to operate a plant in the country. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Tesla Inc was added to a government list of approved automotive manufacturers, China's industry ministry said on Thursday, as it granted the electric-vehicle maker a certificate it needs to start production in the country.The list was published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.This means "the green light is fully given to Tesla for production in China," said Yale Zhang, head of the Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. Tesla can start production any time, he saidTesla did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment. The $2 billion factory it is building in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai is its first car manufacturing site overseas.Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla plans to start production at its China factory this month. It is unclear when it will meet year-end production targets because of uncertainties around orders, labor and suppliers.Tesla intends to produce at least 1,000 Model 3s a week from the Shanghai factory by the end of this year, as it tries to boost sales in the world's biggest auto market and avoid higher import tariffs imposed on U.S. cars.The factory, China's first fully foreign-owned car plant, also reflects Beijing's broader shift to open up its car market.Shanghai authorities have offered Tesla assistance to speed up construction, and China excluded Tesla models from a 10% car purchase tax on Aug. 30. Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2019. Follow Reuters on Twitter.

Technology

Transportation

ROME, May 17 (Reuters) - The leaders of Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League on Thursday gave their approval to a joint policy programme for their planned coalition government, a 5-Star source said. 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini are still discussing who should be prime minister of the new administration, but had made progress on the issue, the source said. The programme, which was not immediately released, contains no reference to possible exit from the euro single currency or “anything that could cause any concern regarding Italy’s euro membership,” the source added. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, Writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Crispian Balmer

Politics

Government

LOS ANGELES — “Get Out,” a meet-the-parents-gone-wrong horror film, was an instant hit over the weekend, selling more than $30 million in tickets in its first three days in theaters. And critics adored it. According to the aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, it received 100 percent positive reviews. None of the films nominated for best picture for this year’s Academy Awards achieved either of those feats. But the real kicker is that “Get Out,” written and directed by Jordan Peele, belongs to a genre that has long been seen in Hollywood as a cinematically unserious money grab. It may be time to reassess that notion. “Get Out” (Universal), which is really about racism in the liberal white suburbs, is the latest in a string of bloody horror films that attempt to contribute to America’s cultural conversation in a meaningful way. “Don’t Breathe” (Sony), a critical and commercial hit from last summer about young thieves who prey on a blind man, was really a commentary on social decay. “The Gift” (STX Entertainment), a well-reviewed stalker film from 2015, ruminated on bullying. “The Witch” (A24), set in New England in the 1630s, became a breakout horror success last year by exploring religious fanaticism and groupthink. “The Purge” horror series (Universal) is about gun control. Like the “Purge” movies, about people unleashed on a government-set schedule to get crime out of their systems, “Get Out” was made by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions, which has a model of making movies for relative pennies, allowing filmmakers more freedom. “Get Out” cost about $4.5 million. Starring Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams and shepherded by Couper Samuelson, Blumhouse’s president of feature films, “Get Out” was easily the No. 1 movie of the weekend. The rest of the top five were holdovers, starting with “The Lego Batman Movie” (Warner Bros.), which took in about $19 million in second place, for a three-week domestic total of $133 million, according to comScore.

Entertainment

Film

When Barbara Walters told the Kardashian sisters that they "have no talent," she unwittingly challenged the Kar-Jenner clan to upend everything we knew about celebrity, social media, fame, and marketing. Good or bad, the Kardashians have actually and tangibly changed the game: selfie-made faces are now assets on Instagram and so are appropriative behinds. Paparazzi shots of their fast food runs have become a stage to showcase the latest from Yeezy. With their Instagram empires, the famous family has proven that there is no one item too ridiculous to be photographed with. They can arguably be credited with helping build influencer culture as we know and love-hate it today. And the incomparable Kardashian work ethic is responsible for the latest from Khloé: sponsored content featuring bejeweled Febreze bottles. To her credit, this shoot fits right in with the pastel dreamscape she's curated on her grid. With all the light flares, possibly courtesy of Hujis, Khloé Kardashian's Instagram feed is true to its mid-2000's roots. The soft pink lighting of the third image is surely proof that Khloé has TikTok lights in her home. She, in fact, uses a colored light bulb in the lamp on her bedside table. Bedazzling is an oddly popular rich-Youtuber trend, whoever had these bottles blinged-out likely used Jeffree Star's or Trisha Paytas' bling-person. But home products are Khloé's jam. She is almost as famous for how much thought she puts into her home as she is for her revolutionary denim brand. If you have tall jars of meticulously-stacked Oreos, or if you have big plans to reorganize your pantry, you may have been influenced by Khloé.  She calls herself Khlo-Money for a reason. And no matter how many seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians are filmed, Khloé is showing us that the baby sister has to work hard to earn her keep.

Fashion

Clothing

Brace yourselves. The U.S. may be soon experience a severe case of regulatory whiplash. With the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress committed to rolling back a wide swath of federal regulations, hundreds of rules covering everything from food labeling to overtime pay could be eliminated in the next few months. The latest signal that the Trump administration plans to roll back rules and regulatory policies put in place by President Barack Obama came Thursday with the choice of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt has been a fierce critic of the EPA, and has been tied to the oil and gas industry, which aligns with Trump's signaling of an interest in loosening energy regulations. "Environmental protection, what they do is a disgrace; every week they come out with new regulations," Trump said during a television interview earlier this year. Among the Obama administration's major accomplishments was a sweeping series of environmental regulations governing everything from clean air and water to greenhouse gas emissions and auto fuel efficiency. But those regulations could be just the start of a wave of deregulation not seen since the Reagan administration overturned decades of regulations governing industries from transportation to telecommunications. Dozens of major regulations, overseen by almost every White House department and affecting millions of employers, consumers, workers, retailers, investors, retirees and other groups, are potentially subject to reversal. There are several forces shaping up to produce a tsunami of federal deregulation. One is the stark shift in policies advanced by Obama and the campaign pledges of his successor. Trump's promises to roll back regulations are made easily by the GOP control of Congress. There are also more rules subject to reversal. Thwarted by relentless GOP opposition to implementing policy through legislation, the Obama administration has recently resorted to applying executive rule-making powers to advance its agenda. That leaves its most recently enacted rules especially vulnerable to reversal, thanks to a relatively obscure provision of the 20-year-old Congressional Review Act than was enacted as part of the Republican led "Contract with America" during the Clinton administration. Under that law, Congress can undo any regulations that are pending — or have only been finalized within the last 60 "legislative days" (defined as days when Congress is officially in session). Some on Capitol Hill saw this coming as far back as February, when the Congressional Research Service weighed in with guidance on how the law could be applied Under the law, there are multiple timelines that create windows of opportunity for a Republican rule rollback, but the CRS said rules finalized as far back as May 31 of this year could be fair game for a regulatory hit list. Congress has considered several rule rollbacks since 1996, but the procedure has successfully overturned only one agency final rule, according to the CRS note. That was a 2000 Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule related to workplace ergonomics standards. The law has been applied so rarely, the CRS said, because any move to reverse a White House regulation also requires a two-thirds majority to override the likely veto from the president who created the rule in the first place. Obama vetoed four such resolutions presented to him by Congress, the CRA noted. But now, thanks to the Trump's support of GOP congressional zeal for "cutting red tape," those vetoes are less likely. And supporters of deregulation have a long list of rules to choose from. Some 140 major rules and regulations, overseen by dozens of federal agencies, could be struck down, according to Wayne Crews, vice president for policy and director of technology studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who has compiled a list. The list may get even longer before Obama leaves office in January. Republicans have already warned that any rules created or finalized in the last days of the Obama administration would be subject to extra scrutiny. These so-called midnight regulations have become more common in the final hours of recent administrations; both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush each issued a flurry of regulations in the weeks before leaving office. (Hours after taking office, Obama froze rule-making underway by the Bush administration.) Last week, White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters the administration plans to keep working on rule-making that has already begun, hoping to finish before Trump is inaugurated next month. "The regulatory work that's being done in this administration is not going to be characterized by a last-minute rush on the way out the door," he said. "I think what it will be characterized by is a continuous and persistent effort to complete the work that's already been started."

Politics

Government

If you’re always in awe of how perfect your fave celebrities’ hair looks all the time, well, you need to try one of their go-to brands: Bumble & Bumble. The brand is known to be loved and used by models and actresses alike, including Emily Ratajkowski, Busy Philipps, Penelope Cruz, and more! And since we know the cold weather can truly be a nightmare for your hair, we got you an exclusive opportunity to try the celeb-loved brand at a major discount! Right now through December 31, Bumble and Bumble is offering PEOPLE readers 20 percent off sitewide with the code PEOPLEHAIR. You can score EmRata’s favorite Bumble and Bumble dry shampoo and Busy Philipps’ ride-or-die Bumble and Bumble sea salt spray on sale, just in time for a last-minute Christmas gift — or a gift to yourself! Keep scrolling to what other Bumble and Bumble hair products we’re buying with this exclusive discount thanks to these rave reviews from celebrities. Need a morning hair boost? Emily Ratajkowski feels you. When it comes to a quick fix for the 27-year-old model’s long brunette locks, she always reaches for her Bumble and Bumble Prêt-à-Powder dry shampoo. But this isn’t your average dry shampoo. No, it’s a multi-purpose spray that absorbs oils, adds texture, and instantly creates volume — the trifecta! Buy It! Bumble and Bumble Prêt-à-Powder 0.3 oz., $10.40 (orig. $13); bumbleandbumble.com What do Busy Philipps and Kendall Jenner have in common? They’re both huge fans of Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Spray. “I don’t blow-dry my hair,” Philipps told InStyle. “Occasionally I’ll use dry shampoo for volume and the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray.” Spritz the celeb-favorite original sea salt spray on damp hair to reap its texturizing and volumizing benefits, and create the beachiest waves that’ll have you dreaming of summer. Buy It! Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray 4 oz., $21.60 (orig. $27); bumbleandbumble.com She grew up hanging out in her mom’s Spanish hair salon, so it’s only natural she became fond of all things hair. In an interview with InStyle, she called out Bb. Thickening Dryspun Texture spray as one of her top five go-to products. The one-of-a-kind hair spray formula lifts the hair and adds airy volume. Buy It! Bb. Thickening Dryspun Texture Spray 3.6 oz., $24.80 (orig. $31); bumbleandbumble.com When it comes to maintaining her signature shiny braids, Zoe Kravitz turns to Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Dry Oil Finishing Spray. “It moisturizes the hair, but doesn’t leave it greasy,” Kravitz told InStyle. Buy It! Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil UV Protective Dry Oil Finishing Spray 3.2 oz, $27.20 (orig. $34); bumbleandbumble.com

Beauty

Hair

New Delhi, India (CNN)Fourteen bodies have been recovered after a bridge on a highway connecting the city of Mumbai to the state of Goa collapsed Wednesday, sending vehicles tumbling into floodwaters below. The number of missing has risen to 28, Sushma Satpute, the sub-divisional magistrate of Raigad district said Friday, as multiple private cars were confirmed to have fallen into the swollen Savitri River along with two buses. Initially, authorities reported that two state passenger buses carrying 22 people were involved in the collapse. Officials are using a 300 kilogram (661 pound) magnet to trace the missing vehicles, Satpute added, joining boats and divers with the search. Chief Minister of Maharashtra state Devandra Fadnavis said 50,000 rupees (about $7,483) would be given to victims' families. Probe into bridge condition A judicial inquiry has also been launched into this incident, with a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai already assembled, Fadnavis tweeted. Repairs of the bridge would be immediately undertaken to be completed before August 25. High pressure from the flooding of the Savitri River caused the collapse, Fadnavis previously stated. The single-lane bridge was built in British-era colonial times. India has been hit by severe flooding in recent days, which has killed at least 163 people and affected as many as 7.78 million, according to the National Disaster Response Force.

Other

Other

Dec 31 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Carlos Ghosn, the former chairman of Nissan Motor Co Ltd who was facing charges of financial wrongdoing in Japan, has fled the country and taken refuge in Lebanon, to escape what he called "injustice and political persecution." nyti.ms/2Qy1t0H - Uber Technologies Inc and courier services provider Postmates filed a lawsuit in federal court in California on Monday, seeking an injunction to prevent the state's landmark freelancer law from taking effect against them on Jan. 1 as scheduled. nyti.ms/2u6kUq1 - Wyze Labs executives said that information like camera information, Wi-Fi network details and email addresses of customers of 2.4 million of customers had been exposed to the public. nyti.ms/2MJc3ko - A court in China on Monday sentenced He Jiankui, the researcher that claimed to have created the world's first "gene-edited" babies, to three years in prison for carrying out "illegal medical practices." nyti.ms/37pvYgh Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom

Technology

Internet

May 24 (Reuters) - * AFGlobal completes recapitalization, reduces debt by $680 million * AFGlobal - certain funds managed by Carlyle Group, Eaton Vance Corp, first reserve, among others have committed $120 million of new capital to company Source text for Eikon:

Finance

Banking

Kylie Jenner just threw down millions for a very well-placed pile of dirt, and it's the first sign the mom-to-be could be looking to expand ... TMZ has learned. Kylie scooped up the plot of land adjacent to her $12 million Hidden Hills home for a cool $5 million ... ALL CASH! The corner lot is about 1.5 acres, and we're told the plan is to turn it into a garden and possible barn with horses since there's a ton of horse trails nearby. Although nothing's set in stone yet ... the purchase gives KJ plenty of room -- 3 acres when combined with her current crib. She could also build a badass playground for that baby she's got on the way. As we told you, the Kardashians just signed a new $150 million TV deal -- and while the elder sisters are getting a bigger chunk of the deal, Kylie's obviously more than making due. Kylie's go-to realtor, Tomer Fridman of Compass, helped her seal the deal.

Entertainment

Television

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday she would bring a vote on a revised Brexit deal back to parliament as soon as possible but only when it was the right time to do so after securing changes to it from the European Union. “Obviously we are in these discussions with the European Union and we will bring a vote back to this house when it is possible to bring a deal that deals with the issue that the House of Commons has raised,” she told parliament. “We have listened to the House of Commons, we are working on the views of the House of Commons with the European Union, and we will bring a vote back when it is the right time to do so.” Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Kylie MacLellan

Politics

UK

Christiane Amanpour is CNN's chief international correspondent. The opinions in this article belong to the author. (CNN)The United States, Britain, France and their allies have decided to call time on the normalization of the use of chemical weapons. This has been a signature development by Bashar al-Assad and his regime since the Syrian civil war began in 2011. President Donald Trump has now twice shown that he will reinforce the red line against the use of chemical weapons, which like all weapons of mass destruction are banned under international law. Russia is also a signatory to that law. Even Syria joined in 2013, when it staved off threats of a previous strike by pledging to disarm its stockpiles of chemical weapons. Now as the allies make their bomb damage assessment, it's worth recalling what the former head of Britain's MI6 told me as the action was being prepared. John Sawers said a tougher line is emerging against Moscow. "I think is quite important because there have been a series of Russian actions against which the West has pushed back ... ," Sawers said. Referring to the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in England, he said, "(In) the Skripal case ... I think the Russians were surprised that it wasn't just Britain that responded, but there were 26 countries as well as the NATO headquarters that had expelled Russian intelligence officers, and the United States has taken action in response to Russian meddling in the US elections with a whole series of sanctions against oligarchs and Russian companies. "And we're announcing this action is Syria. Now, this isn't part of a concerted plot against Russia, but the Russians might see it that way. So, one thing which is really important here is clarity of communication to the Russians about what this is about. We had that during the Cold War. It's decayed a bit frankly over the last 20 years." Indeed, communications have decayed so badly that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday at the UN Security Council that "the Cold War is back -- with a vengeance, but with a difference. The mechanisms and the safeguards to manage the risks of escalation that existed in the past no longer seem to be present." The US-led alliance insists it deliberately avoided targets that could harm any Russians on the ground in Syria and that the military "deconfliction channel" was used. These strikes can also be seen as part of a military process that began in the summer and fall of 2014 when the United States and many allies started a sustained campaign to bomb ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. They continue to say the current military action is not aimed at toppling Assad or taking sides in the civil war. Regarding the risk of getting into an accidental war with Russia -- it is again worth recalling the recent past: that accidents do happen, and they do not necessarily lead to a shooting war between major powers. As CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in his confirmation hearings to become secretary of state this week, a lot of Russians were killed by US forces on the ground in Syria in February: He told Congress that "in Syria, now a handful of weeks ago, the Russians met their match. A couple hundred Russians were killed." (They were reported to be military contractors, not Russian government troops.) But this did not lead to any retaliation against the United States. Even further back, in 1999, NATO accidentally bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during its humanitarian intervention in Kosovo. Again, this terrible accident did not lead to military conflict between Beijing and Washington. But where to now in Syria? Russia and Syria blame Israel for a barrage of missiles at a Syria base after the suspected chemical attack last week in Douma, and the former commander of the Israeli air force, Maj. Gen. Eitan Ben Eliyahu, told me this week that to really cripple Assad's chemical weapons ability, a sustained military effort is necessary. "We can continue and we do that. But with a very close support from the United States, we can launch more and more and more (attacks)." When I asked him if he agreed with analysts who said all Syria's airfields should be taken out, he gave this clear answer: "Well, yes, I do. I certainly do." That is unlikely to happen, at least now. But Trump and President Emmanuel Macron of France have said there will be more if Assad uses chemical weapons again. In the meantime, the only way a military campaign can have a lasting impact is if it is part of a wider diplomatic and political strategy. As former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told me: "I am not just for using military force. I think that we need to look at the full spectrum of tools. "I think that the sanctions that have finally been put on need to be really enforced. I do think, there (needs) to be diplomatic contact," said Albright, having been central to the Clinton administration's muscular diplomacy to end wars in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. "And what is the long term here because frankly, I don't think there's any solution in Syria unless there is a political settlement of some kind, where the various parties are involved, and where there's a plan for what the next steps are." About a one-off military action, Albright added: "The problem has been, this kind of immediate gratification on something, and what we need to do is to have a longer term (view), and it has to involve that combination of tools."

Politics

Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc, whose digital currency project Libra has been abandoned by several high-profile partners including PayPal, Visa and Mastercard, still expects to get 100 banks and financial firms on board once it addresses regulatory concerns, the head of the project said on Wednesday. “It will take time for us to address all of the regulatory concerns that were raised and it’s our duty and our responsibility to come with answers to all of these questions,” head of Libra David Marcus told a panel at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conference in Washington. “I think once we’ve done this then I think we’ll see more banks and traditional financial services firms join the effort,” Marcus said, adding it was harder for large, regulated financial firms to “take an active part in this fight right now, given the climate and the pressure.” Facebook’s ambitious efforts to establish a global digital currency have suffered severe setbacks in recent days. Other key members to pull out included Stripe, eBay Inc and Booking Holdings Inc. PayPal Holdings Inc said it was leaving earlier this month. The exodus followed intense skepticism from global policymakers and regulators in the United States and Europe who worry Libra could upend the global financial system, threaten users’ privacy and facilitate money laundering. Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard reiterated those concerns on Wednesday, saying at a separate event in Washington that the Libra project “must address a core set of legal and regulatory challenges” before it can go live. Facebook is left without the backing of any major payments firms for the project, due to launch by June 2020. Speaking at the IMF event, Marcus said around 1,600 entities globally had initially expressed an interest in joining the project and that Libra should have “no problem” reaching its goal of launching with 100 members. On Monday, the Libra Association’s 21 remaining members forged ahead, holding their inaugural meeting in Geneva and selecting a five-member board. Marcus said it was now in Libra’s hands to run a process to select more members. He added that Libra also needed time to build up its staff to address the regulatory issues, rather than Facebook “carrying that flag.” Reporting by Michelle Price; editing by David Evans and David Gregorio

Technology

Cryptocurrency

Jan 12(Reuters) - Jiangsu Akcome Science & Technology Co Ltd * Says co’s Jiangsu-based wholly owned energy research institute unit set up branch in Shanghai, to use blockchain technology in energy internet area Source text in Chinese: goo.gl/TPWHDC Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News)

Technology

Manufacturing

Microsoft has announced a quartet of new initiatives focusing on using artificial intelligence in health care. The company says its researchers are effectively working to "solve" cancer, deploying machine learning techniques for tasks like analyzing tumors and designing new medication regimes. Another projects wants to construct detailed simulations of how cancer develops in different patients' bodies, while one particularly ambitious project — which Microsoft is calling its "moonshot" effort — aims to create biological cells that are programmable like computers. Now, creating cells designed to fight cancer is obviously an ambitious task (if it's even possible) and Microsoft is not offering much detail about this particular project. However, personalizing medicine using AI is a much more attainable — and hopefully effective — goal. Cancer is notoriously varied in how it attacks individuals, and the drugs used to target tumors are just as diverse, with hundreds of different combinations available. Microsoft's Project Hanover aims to help doctors narrow their search for the right drug regime, sifting through medical papers to suggest the most effective treatments. IBM is working on a similar project, using 600,000 medical and 1.5 million patient records to explore better cancer treatments. Another initiative from Microsoft wants to apply AI to radiology, using machine vision tools to analyze CT scans of tumors. Again, Microsoft isn't the only tech company looking into this, with Google's DeepMind exploring similar projects in the UK. DeepMind researchers are currently working with University College Hospital to develop a tool to direct radiation treatments for head and neck cancers, and are also looking into early detection systems for eye diseases. So although Microsoft may be pouring new resources into AI and health care, it's certainly not the only player in this game.

Technology

Artificial Intelligence

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more. Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is one of the most popular choices for families visiting Walt Disney World, not only for its close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, but for the exotic, tropical touches that make it feel like a far-flung vacation destination. Nightly rates begin around $486 making it one of the most expensive Walt Disney World Resorts. However, excellent amenities such as pools, activities, shopping, restaurants and bars, plus clever theming make it feel worth the splurge. I stayed in a Garden View Room on two occasions and loved it both times. But plan ahead — the well-designed concept and great location means the hotel is often booked up far in advance.Read all Business Insider hotel reviews here.Staying at Walt Disney's World's Polynesian Village Resort is like getting two vacations in one — the fun of a family-friendly Disney resort as well as an exotic Polynesian escape.One of the first resorts to open at Walt Disney World, the Polynesian has been a top choice for visitors for almost 50 years since it opened back in 1971. Inspired by South Seas and the islands of Polynesia, the hotel features tropical touches such as imposing tiki figures, colorful prints, and lush landscaping. Of all the resorts I've experienced at Walt Disney World, which are many, the Polynesian boasts one of the most well-executed themes. When I'm there, I really feel like I've been transported from Orlando to the tropics. Even though the hotel is just two stops from Magic Kingdom, it manages to feel worlds away, likely because there's so much to do on property.There are over 846 guest rooms and suites spread out among a handful of buildings named for islands such as Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, and Fiji. Plus, there are two pools, organized activities, shopping, six on-site restaurants, two bars, and even one Dole Whip counter serving up Disney's celebrated pineapple soft-serve treat that's so very hard to resist.If you opt to leave Disney's version of paradise, hotel guests enjoy park perks like Extra Magic Hours (time before or after regular park operating hours that are reserved just those staying at Disney resorts), which cuts down on time spent standing in line for attractions. There are other helpful resort perks too; guests can take advantage of airport transportation to and from Orlando International Airport, as well as the option to check your bags directly to your flight from the hotel. This deluxe resort is consistently at the top of the price range for Walt Disney Resorts, almost as pricey as Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. A standard Garden View Room, the least expensive guest room, will generally cost between $486 to $690, depending on the time of year. A theme park view will add another $200 to $300 a night, and for those who really want to splurge, there's the overwater bungalow, which sleeps eight, and costs upwards of $2,875 per night.Want more Disney World hotel suggestions? Read our list of the best hotels and resorts in Walt Disney WorldI've stayed at the Polynesian twice, both times in one of a standard Garden View room and it's remained one of my favorite Walt Disney World Resorts. The unique theming, friendly service, lively restaurants and bars, and the breathtaking grounds all make it more convenient than a trip to Fiji or Bora Bora. Plus, the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise are just minutes away, which is a big bonus. After all, you're still here to visit Walt Disney World.The first impressionThe roomOn-site amenitiesWhat's nearbyWhat others sayWhat you need to knowThe bottom lineBook Walt Disney's World's Polynesian Village Resort starting at $486 a nightKeep reading to see why I was so impressed by Walt Disney's World's Polynesian Village Resort. The Polynesian Village Resort is located right across the lagoon from the Magic Kingdom (and within walking distance of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort). While the convenient locale makes it a popular choice for those wanting to be near Disney's most iconic theme park, it's the unconventional theme that really attracts visitors. This resort is not just a place to crash after a long day at the parks; it has a starring role in a Disney World vacation.The resort is comprised of a collection of longhouses with lush landscaping and a variety of Polynesian touches from traditional tapa designs to large carved tikis.I felt the exotic island vibe as soon as I arrived outside of the Great Ceremonial House, where the main lobby is located and could almost feel an island breeze and the faint scent of gardenia.The main door was flanked by a large pond surrounded by tropical plants such as palms and bromeliads, with exotic wood statues welcoming visitors at the entryway.  Once I entered the large light-filled lobby, it was hard to believe I was in central Florida and not Hawaii or Tahiti. A doorman greeted me wearing a vibrant Hawaiian print shirt with a friendly "Aloha," which added to the island vibe.  The focal point was a majestic centerpiece featuring a smiling wooden tiki holding a fresh flower lei, surrounded by lava-like rocks and tropical plants. It's a popular photo-op for families that took turns to pose in front of the statue. I waited my turn to take a photo without getting a snap of a random family's next Christmas card photo The lobby mixes traditional Polynesian style with mid-century design, and visitors of all ages mingled about. Kids skipped across the stone floor, grandparents rested in the lounge chairs, and young couples held hands as they walked through and admired the space. There wasn't a line for check-in as all guests receive a Magic Band, which is part of any resort reservation. It's a useful Disney feature that assists with making a Walt Disney World vacation seamless. Before arriving, guests receive complimentary Magic Bands that are synced with their My Disney Experience account, which can hold park tickets, resort reservations, and allow charging privileges. It can also act as your room key.If you don't have a Magic Band handy when you go to your room, you can also use the My Disney Experience app to unlock your room. The app will let you know when your room is ready and the smart system has drastically cut down on long lines, though, you might want to stop by the check-in counter for one welcoming touch — a faux flower lei so you look the part at the Polynesian. The two times I've stayed at the Polynesian, I have booked their least expensive hotel room, the standard Garden View Room, which, with a starting price in the mid $400s isn't exactly cheap. But the hotel has always been pricey, so the Garden View Room is what has worked with my budget. All of the resorts' rooms are a bit of a walk from the main building. They're located in low-slung buildings scattered around the property that are easily accessible via well-landscaped pathways.The Garden View rooms are surprisingly large, furnished with an island flair and a touch of mid-century style, similar to the approach seen in the lobby.As I entered the room, I could almost imagine the island sounds of Hawaiian singer Don Ho. A vibrant muumuu waited for me in the closet, and the rooms were rich with pastel greens and earthy brown colors. I noticed floral bed throws, carved wood mirrors, stately woven headboards, bamboo chairs, and accent pillows emblazoned with the Maori word moemoeā (dream), and the Hawaiian phrase mana'o nani (sweet dreams).The interior design reminded me of a retro Waikiki resort with a relaxed feel that boldly exclaimed, "you're on vacation."The rooms sleeps five with two Queen-sized beds along with a day bed that folded out for an additional person. There was a large screen TV with many Disney channels, as well as free Wi-Fi.The guest rooms, as well as the entire resort, are quite clean. I noticed housekeepers in the halls throughout my stay, and they always greeted me with a smile and a friendly "Aloha." The wood-accented bathroom was large, with a large double sink vanity, bathtub, and toilet area. I thought the statement wall with tortoise printed wallpaper added a nice touch.The toiletries were, as with all Disney properties, by H20, including shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing lotion, shower gel, mouth wash, and a bar of facial soap. I'm a big fan of their products and always bring home the Sea Salt shower gel infused with Vitamin E and an invigorating green tea aroma.The mattresses had just the right amount of firmness with a layer of plushness to please all sleepers. The beds were appointed with crisp white sheets and a soft, light blanket. I prefer to sleep with a bit of heft, and fortunately, they always stock an extra pillow and blanket in the closet.I've always slept well at the Polynesian; the rooms are surprisingly quiet. Since the longhouses are only two or three floors, loud elevators aren't an issue since most guests use the stairs. If you have a room next to the pool areas or a busy path by the lobby, you may be in for more ambient noise. If this is a concern, request a quieter area.  On the two occasions I've stayed at the hotel, I've had a ground floor room, which included a patio area. While there wasn't any privacy (the resort pathways are plentiful), I enjoyed being able to walk right out from the patio to the pool. Rooms on the second and third floors come with balconies that do offer a bit more intimacy. However, there are a few more impressive room options, if you have the budget.I was impressed by the Deluxe Studios, which start at $662, and have a different color palette and room accessories with more space. These units are part of the Disney Vacation Club (their popular timeshare program) but are available to anyone to book.Since they've been remodeled and upgraded, these villas and studios have a more luxe look and feel and feature a kitchenette with a sink, mini-fridge, microwave, toaster, and coffee maker. I was charmed by the fold-down twin murphy bed that features an adorable mural of "Lilo & Stitch," Disney's animated feature that takes place in Hawaii. The resort's newest addition — also part of Disney Vacation Club — are overwater bungalows. These luxury villas are free-standing units inspired by the romantic overwater bungalows you'd find in Fiji or Bora Bora but with a big dose of Disney magic.These two-bedroom bungalows sleep eight, have a full kitchen, two full bathrooms, a private deck with a plunge pool, and unique details such as Disney concept art, tiki figurines, and high-end furnishings.But all this comes at a price; rates start at a whopping $2,875 a night. Even though these villas are expensive, they're often booked up by those celebrating a big life event such as a wedding or anniversary. I've always been so delighted by the entire resort experience and long felt the price was worth it. But those expecting the high price means a five-star hotel room ala a Ritz Carlton or a Four Seasons will be disappointed (unless in a bungalow). Most rooms here are far more basic. You are paying a premium to be in the Polynesian Resort bubble; to splash with tikis, grab a Dole Whip, and to enjoy a late-night cocktail or two at Trader Sam's.But while standard rooms do feel dated, they are nicely appointed and comfortable. The rooms aren't as exotic or impressive as the hotel's common spaces, but the many on-site offerings, the transportive experience, and ease of visiting the Magic Kingdom make staying here feel worth it, even for the high price. Disney seeks to entertain the whole family, and there are places and activities at this hotel designed for every age.The Lava Pool is family-focused with a faux volcano with a 142-foot water slide alongside the whimsically-designed Kiki Tiki toddler splash pool area. The pool has a zero-depth entry so you can wade in as you please as if you were at the beach.The Oasis Pool is smaller and far more tranquil, which makes it popular with adults looking for a bit of rest and relaxation. It's a simple oval pool with a zero-depth entry and a hot tub nearby. With plenty of lounge chairs, the Oasis a great place for a break, especially since the Oasis Pool Bar and Grill is right there to order a Mai Tai or a Frosty Pineapple (a Dole Whip topped with rum). For exercise, the resort has a sand volleyball court by the water as well as a scenic jogging path. A variety of activities are offered including nightly marshmallow roasts, outdoor movies (Disney of course), and boat rentals right off the resort's dock.In the evenings, you can head to the water's edge for fireworks viewing. The resort pipes in a soundtrack to accompany the show, and it's a lovely way to end the day. You may also glimpse the classic Electrical Water Pageant, a charming floating parade that's been gliding through the resort's waters for decades.The Great Ceremonial House is the center for entertainment and dining at the Polynesian. One of the big draws of the resort is Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, a retro tiki bar with tropical cocktails, limited edition tiki mugs, and a variety of special effects that accompany the drinks.In addition to the Trader Sam's, there are three other bars — Trader Sam's Tiki Terrace (their outdoors outpost), the Barefoot Pool Bar, and Tambu Lounge.Visitors from all over Walt Disney World come to the Polynesian for Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, an open-air all-you-can-enjoy luau with hula dancing, fire dancing, and drummers.The other popular dining choice in the resort is 'Ohana, an all-you-can-enjoy dining experience with characters such as Lilo and Stitch. Make sure you book a spot early. For more casual dining, the Kona Café serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with on-stage sushi chefs creating nigiri, sashimi, and rolls. Capt. Cook's, Oasis Bar and Grill, and On the Green Grill are the resort's counter service restaurants for a quick bite. There is always a line at the Pineapple Lanai where people are happy to wait for one of the soft-serve Dole Whips. They even offer a Dole Whip with a rum floater for adults.Another amenity I found useful was the Resort Airline Check-in. Instead of keeping your bags at the Bell Desk while enjoying the last day at the parks, the hotel will check your suitcases directly through to the airport and even give you your boarding passes. Another great perk was the free shuttle — The Magical Express — to and from the Orlando airport. You'll need to call Disney to arrange this service. Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is centrally located with a Monorail stop and the Magic Kingdom is just two stops away. You can also travel to the Magic Kingdom via the boat that connects nearby resorts with the theme park.Getting to Epcot is also relatively easy and just requires a quick Monorail transfer. Other theme parks like Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and water parks are reachable by Disney's bus system. All Disney transportation is complimentary. For a change of scenery, the stately Grand Floridian Resort is a short walk away. Check flight prices to Orlando on Expedia Disney's Polynesian Village Resort has a rating of 4 out of 5-stars on Trip Advisor with 3,890 reviews and holds a Certificate of Excellence. On Expedia, the Polynesian also has a 4.3 out of 5 with 1,212 reviews.  Guests appreciate the retro tropical theme, as well as the wide variety of dining and amenities available, especially Trader Sam's and 'Ohana. Those who plan to spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom enjoy the fact that it's so close to the action.A few guests were disappointed by how busy the resort gets, especially with crowds who aren't staying at the resort to visit the restaurants and bars. I was surprised by how long I had to wait to get a table at Trader Sam's, which took over an hour.Some also noted that older rooms and hallways show a bit of wear and tear, but this is not the case for the studios and villas, which have been updated more recently.Read reviews, compare prices, and book Disney's Polynesian Village Resort on Trip Advisor Who stays here: Walt Disney World visitors looking for a unique resort experience and a hotel that will play a big part of their vacation experience rather than just a place to sleep. It's popular with families thanks to a kids pool and character dining and adults that enjoy the tiki bar, luau, and tropical theme.We like: The convenience of taking the boat or the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom is a great perk that saves time, especially when compared to other Walt Disney World resorts.We love (don't miss this feature): Trader Sam's Grog Grotto and the special effects triggered by various drink orders are a lot of fun. You might need to wait for a table, so make sure to get there early and put your name on the list. It's worth the wait.We think you should know: 'Ohana and the Spirit of Aloha book up far in advance, so make sure to make reservations as early as possible.We'd do this differently next time: Splurge and book one of the studio, villas, or if we win the lottery, the overwater bungalow. Even though Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is one of the more expensive resorts in Walt Disney World, it is also one of the most memorable. It's only slightly more costly than other Disney resorts making the difference in price minimal in low season.While the guest rooms can feel dated, especially given the high price, you're paying for the entire resort experience rather than just a place to sleep. With theme park perks, fun pools, bars, and dining, plus a prime position close to the Magic Kingdom, the Polynesian is well worth the price to elevate your vacation.For the best price, aim to book in the off season. The highest prices will hit during the prime spring break months and during the holidays.Book Walt Disney's World's Polynesian Village Resort starting at $486 per night Subscribe to our newsletter. You can purchase syndication rights to this story here. Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com. window._taboola = window._taboola || []; window._taboola = window._taboola || [];

Other

Other

Small caps are playing catch-up. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), which tracks the small-cap-heavy Russell 2000 index, is handily outperforming the S&P 500 this week, climbing over 4% week versus the S&P's roughly 3.5% gain. After years of underperformance by the index, the move is notably bullish for the group, especially if fears around the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on Chinese markets subside, said John Petrides, portfolio manager at Tocqueville Asset Management. Tie in the Federal Reserve being "on hold" with interest rates, and investors could find a "home" in the small caps, he told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Wednesday. "Valuations are quite attractive [there] compared to their large-cap brethren," he added. But there's still one lingering problem with small-cap companies that's worth watching, the wealth manager said. "I think the biggest issue for small caps, actually, is leverage ratios," or how much debt a company has versus its equity and capital, Petrides said. "Typically, their balance sheets have more debt relative to large cap. They're just smaller, so they're plagued by a law of lower numbers." So, if interest rates rise for any reason, that could squeeze small caps' balance sheets, putting their underlying stocks in a bit of a crunch, he said. "That's the fly in the ointment here," he said. "If we can stay contained, then I think valuations warrant higher multiple expansion on the small-cap side." In the same "Trading Nation" segment, technical analyst Katie Stockton focused on the IWM's performance relative to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P. "The ratio is definitely in a downtrend that's been very well established. It is surprising, with that in mind, to see this outperformance," said Stockton, founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies. "We did not see a January effect this year, which usually calls for outperformance by small caps in January in sort of a tax-loss selling bounce," she said. "But now, it does appear due for a relief rally favoring small caps over large caps." She added that the chart is also starting to flash "some downside exhaustion signals" similar to ones in 2016 and 2014, which ended up creating "intermediate-term lows" in the small caps' performance relative to the large-cap S&P ETF. "So, there are reasons to expect a relief rally in relative terms," Stockton said. The IWM was down slightly Thursday morning. Disclaimer

Finance

Investment

Hedge funds bought protection against a South Korean default after North Korea on the July 4 holiday tested a missile some believe could strike the U.S. "There's definitely elevated risk," said Larry McDonald, author of the Bear Traps Report investment newsletter. "But I'm shocked we're not seeing more carryover to other things." The cost of protection against South Korea's inability to pay back loans, as measured by the country's 5-year credit default swap, climbed to 57.43. That's its highest since May 19, but still below the year's high of 61.47 on April 19. S&P had an AA credit rating and a stable outlook for South Korea as of August 2016. Source: Reuters However, safe haven trades in the broader market showed little sign of fear Wednesday. Gold futures for August delivery rose about $2 to trade near $1,221.10 an ounce. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields traded lower after hitting multi-week highs last week. The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 12, its highest since just Thursday. "The market's become numb to North Korea," McDonald said, adding that trade volume on the credit-default swaps was likely light due to the July 4 holiday. He also noted the last time hedge funds significantly stepped up their purchases of insurance against a South Korean default, that trade didn't work out so well for them. In April, the cost of the default swap leaped to its highest since July 2016 as North Korea's nuclear threat grew amid a war of words between North Korean state media and President Donald Trump's tweets. But the price subsequently declined as the nuclear threat appeared to wane. North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test came just ahead of Independence Day celebrations, when U.S. markets were closed following a light half-day trading session Monday. In response, the U.S. and South Korean soldiers fired "deep strike" precision missiles into South Korean waters Tuesday, according to U.S. military officials in Seoul cited by the Associated Press. Asian markets closed slightly higher, with the Korea Kospi up 0.33 percent and the Hang Seng up half a percent. European stocks traded mildly higher. The iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF (EWY) briefly fell more than 1 percent. In morning U.S. trade, stocks traded mixed after markets reopened following the July 4 holiday. Energy stocks led S&P 500 declines and Home Depot had the greatest negative impact on the Dow Jones industrial average. "I just don't see a military solution. I think the market feels the same way," said Ian Winer, head of equities at Wedbush. To be sure, he pointed out that North Korea could soon find other reasons to test its missiles. Saturday marks the anniversary of the death of the state's founding dictator, Kim Il Sung. Trump is scheduled during the G20 meeting this week in Germany to meet the leaders of two major countries neighboring North Korea: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Finance

Investing

The Treasury Department and IRS on Wednesday released eagerly anticipated guidance on a key part of the new tax law that allows certain businesses to significantly reduce their tax bills. The guidance is intended to answer questions related to the tax law's 20 percent deduction for income of noncorporate businesses known as “pass-throughs.” The pass-through deduction is one of the areas of the tax law that businesses have most wanted guidance from Treasury and the IRS about, since the deduction is a brand-new section of the tax code and has a number of complexities to it. A senior Treasury official said the department’s aim with its new guidance was to release a fairly comprehensive set of rules that pertain to most pass-through businesses. “This was intended to give small-business taxpayers everything they needed to navigate these rules,” the official said. Pass-throughs, which have their income taxed through the individual code on their owners' return, include businesses such as sole proprietorships and partnerships. Many small businesses are pass-throughs, as are businesses such as real estate firms. Married couples with income under $315,000 can claim the deduction without restrictions. For those making more than that amount, there are limits on the deduction. Treasury said that the proposed guidance has three main components. The first component involves ensuring that pass-through business income below the $315,000 threshold is eligible for the deduction without complications. The second component of the guidance focuses on clarifying the process for claiming the deduction for taxpayers with income above the threshold. This section of the guidance includes rules that streamline the process for taxpayers with income from multiple pass-throughs to aggregate their income across entities for purposes of calculating the deduction amount. It also includes information about what constitutes a specified service, trade or business. Under the tax law, a married couple with income of over $415,000 can’t take the pass-through deduction for income from a specified service, trade or business, such as a law or accounting firm. The third component of the proposed rules focuses on preventing taxpayers from abusing the deduction to avoid paying taxes. For example, the proposal prevents employees from being relabeled as independent contractors or treated as business owners when there’s been no economic change in employees’ relationship with the business, a senior Treasury official said. Along with the proposed regulations, the IRS also released frequently asked questions about the deduction and guidance about how to calculate wages for the purposes of limits on the deduction. “Pass-through businesses play a critical role in our economy,” Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinFive key players in Trump's trade battles Pelosi warns Mnuchin to stop 'illegal' .3B cut to foreign aid Trump phoned bank CEOs as stock market plunged Wednesday: report MORE said in a statement. “This 20-percent deduction will lead to more investment in U.S. companies and higher wages for hardworking Americans.” Lawmakers, businesses and tax experts on Wednesday offered some preliminary thoughts about the proposed rules as they started to examine the 184-page document. “I think they did a good job of answering a lot of the questions,” said Debbie Fields, partner-in-charge of the pass-throughs group in the Washington national tax practice of KPMG. She added that she expects that stakeholders will provide the government with comments on how to improve the rules. The Republican chairmen of the tax-writing committees were positive about Treasury's release of the guidance. "These proposed regulations are intended to provide certainty and flexibility for Main Street businesses in this historic new small business deduction," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin BradyKevin Patrick BradyRepublicans' rendezvous with reality — their plan is to cut Social Security The Social Security 2100 Act is critical for millennials and small business owners House panel releases documents of presidential tax return request before Trump MORE (R-Texas) said in a statement. "We encourage local businesses to comment on these proposed rules as Congress and the Treasury Department work together to maximize the tax relief and the economic growth of America's new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act."  Julia Lawless, a spokeswoman for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin HatchOrrin Grant HatchTrump to award racing legend Roger Penske with Presidential Medal of Freedom Trump awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to economist, former Reagan adviser Arthur Laffer Second ex-Senate staffer charged in aiding doxxing of GOP senators MORE (R-Utah) said that the chairman "appreciates Treasury’s steady pace in releasing new regulations to help implement the new pro-growth tax law." One piece of the proposed rules that stakeholders in particular were pleased with is the rule allowing aggregation. Businesses are often comprised of several entities, and in some circumstances businesses might not have been able to take advantage of the deduction if they had to calculate the deduction for each subsidiary separately. “The U.S. Chamber is encouraged to see the IRS and Treasury issue guidance to bring tax code certainty to small and mid-size businesses," said Caroline Harris, chief tax policy counsel at the Chamber. "We continue to review the new guidance and are pleased to see the proposed rule’s aggregation approach." Another piece of the proposal that stakeholders view positively is the effort to prevent taxpayers from using the deduction to improperly avoid taxes by being reclassified as independent contractors. Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, called that part of the proposal "clever." Kyle Pomerleau, director of the Tax Foundation's quantitative analysis center, said that "it’s good that they addressed" the issue of reclassifying workers, since that was one of the most obvious ways that tax lawyers could have come up with schemes to use the deduction to avoid taxes. But other parts of the proposed rules received criticism, particularly from Democrats. Many Democrats have argued that the deduction largely benefits wealthy taxpayers and is confusing. “These new rules confirm that the fortunate few win and Mom-and-Pop shops lose under Trump’s tax law,” said Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron WydenRonald (Ron) Lee WydenWyden blasts FEC Republicans for blocking probe into NRA over possible Russia donations Wyden calls for end to political ad targeting on Facebook, Google Ex-CIA chief worries campaigns falling short on cybersecurity MORE (D-Ore). “Small business owners searching for clarity aren’t getting pulled out of a bureaucratic twilight zone any time soon. Many are still left wondering whether their business is blacklisted. For high fliers, the path ahead is paved in gold. Tax planners are already scouring through the nearly 200 pages of regulations in search of new ways to keep wealthy clients from paying their fair share.” Some stakeholders have been critical of the fact that under the tax law, income from some types of businesses is eligible for the deduction while income from other types of businesses often isn't. They argue that the regulations only exacerbate the arbitrariness of which types of businesses qualify. For example, under the proposed rules, managing real estate isn't considered a specified service business subject to restrictions, while managing a hedge fund is, Rosenthal said. David Kamin, a law professor at New York University, said that Treasury decided to narrowly define service businesses that are based on the "reputation or skill" of their owners. As a result, more high earners will be able to take advantage of the deduction than would have if Treasury had defined the meaning of "reputation or skill" more broadly. Kamin said that the rules emphasize "the poor decision making by Congress in their construction of this provision.”  - Updated at 4:23 p.m. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Finance

Taxes

State and local prosecutors in New York have opened inquiries into CBS regarding the sexual harassment claims made against its top leaders, including Leslie Moonves, the chief executive who was ousted from the network this month after 12 women accused him of sexual misconduct. The Manhattan district attorney’s office and the New York City Commission on Human Rights issued subpoenas for any information related to CBS’s own investigation, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by the network on Friday. The filing said the New York State attorney general has also requested information. The network enlisted two law firms in August to investigate the allegations against Mr. Moonves, as well as claims that executives allowed a culture of harassment to fester. A separate examination of CBS News — underway since March — has been folded into the larger investigation. Mr. Moonves was the subject of two New Yorker articles in which a total of a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment going back several decades. His departure was a stunning end for an executive who is credited with turning CBS into television’s most-watched network. The company, which is controlled by Shari Redstone through her family company, National Amusements, also installed a newly configured board of directors. Richard Parsons was named its interim chairman this week. Days after the dismissal of Mr. Moonves, Jeff Fager, the longtime executive producer of “60 Minutes,” was fired. He sent a text message that threatened the career of a CBS reporter who was looking into allegations of sexual harassment made against him and Mr. Moonves. The district attorney’s office opened an investigation after the alleged conduct at CBS was publicly reported, according to a person briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation. That person said the inquiry was in its early stages. The district attorney’s office investigates criminal sexual assault, and the city’s Human Rights Commission investigates sexual harassment. The New York State attorney general’s office is conducting a civil inquiry to determine whether CBS broke any laws by harboring a culture of sexual harassment, according to a person briefed on the matter, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation. It did the same in the cases of the Weinstein Company and the Manhattan restaurant the Spotted Pig. If it finds that laws have been broken, it can bring a lawsuit. The CBS board hired Nancy Kestenbaum of Covington & Burling and Mary Jo White of Debevoise & Plimpton to conduct its internal investigation. Ms. White led the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Obama administration and was previously the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Kestenbaum was also a federal prosecutor with the same district. Mr. Moonves is one of a number of high-powered entertainment figure to be ousted in the #MeToo era. The movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been accused by scores of women of sexual assault and now faces felony charges. Matt Lauer stepped down as the anchor of NBC’s most valuable news program, “Today,” after several women alleged incidents of sexual harassment. Charlie Rose of CBS and PBS left the airwaves after he, too, was implicated by multiple women. And Fox News saw the departures of the founding executive Roger E. Ailes and its top-rated host, Bill O’Reilly. All of those men have denied any nonconsensual sexual activity.

Entertainment

Television

(CNN)Joe Biden is (finally) running for president. And while he is a clear top-tier candidate, he's got issues to deal with from his age (he's 76) to his centrist approach to policy. But it's possible that none of those things are the biggest immediate problem facing the early days of his campaign. What might that problem be? Money. Yes, on its face, it seems ridiculous. After all, Biden spent eight years as Barack Obama's vice president. And more than four decades in the Senate before that. If anyone should be able to raise money, you would think it would be someone with a resume like Biden's. But that assumption overlooks two very important problems built into Biden and his fundraising operation: 1) He's never been a prolific fundraiser in past campaigns, largely because he makes no secret that he loathes asking for money and 2) The model of fundraising for presidential campaigns has radically changed in the last 10 years. On the first issue: Biden was first elected in 1972 with 51%. But in all of his reelection races he never won with less than 58% of the vote -- and wasn't seriously challenged. In his last Senate race in 2008, Biden raised just north of $7 million -- not an insignificant sum but not the tens of millions that other Senate candidates -- Elizabeth Warren and Beto O'Rourke, to name two -- have collected in previous runs. When Biden ran for president in 2008, he collected $14 million total -- well off the frontrunners. He was never seen as a serious candidate in that contest. Twenty years before, in the 1988 presidential race, Biden collected $4 million. He was considered one of the race's frontrunners before being run out of the contest due to allegations of plagiarism. Of course, Biden did spend eight years beside the single most prodigious fundraiser in Democratic political history in Obama. And the VP did raise a fair amount of money for the ticket. But the donors there were, largely, Obama donors first and, maybe Biden donors second. They were giving to either elect or re-elect Obama. Biden was part of the deal, sure, but he wasn't the big selling point. On the second issue: Fundraising -- especially for Democrats at the national level -- has changed dramatically over the past decade. Even as recently as 2008, the model was simple: Build your fundraising operation from the top down. Find wealthy and well connected people who could bundle thousands of $2,800 checks to your campaign. Then find more. And more. Anything you get in smaller donations and online is gravy but not the main thrust of your cash push. Obama's focus on online, small-dollar donors began changing that dynamic. But Bernie Sanders' 2016 challenge to Hillary Clinton was the watershed moment. While Clinton used the traditional top-down fundraising model, Sanders built a fundraising operation around small-dollar donations solicited and contributed online. He wound up raising $237 million for his primary race, a stunning testament to the power of online donations. (Another side benefit: Raising money online has very few related overhead costs and don't require the candidate to carve time out of his or her schedule to give a series of speeches in front of well-heeled donors who are being separated from their checkbooks.) O'Rourke's 2018 campaign against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) built on the Sanders model, raising more than $80 million -- a previously unheard-of sum. And now, with Democratic base voters souring on corporations and their influence on politics, Sanders is leading the charge among 2020 Democratic candidate to focus on small dollar donors rather than the on the uber-rich bundlers. Biden's problem is that he doesn't have the sort of national, small dollar fundraising list that Sanders, Warren and O'Rourke do. And to build that sort of thing while also running for president -- and doing so as the establishment candidate -- is no easy task. Now. Biden is one of the frontrunners. And if past is prologue, there's some segment of donors who will give to candidate who they think have the best chance of winning. (We all like a winner!) But there's no question that Biden could well struggle to keep up with the fundraising pace of the likes of Sanders, O'Rourke and California Sen. Kamala Harris -- a fact he himself acknowledged in a conference call with top supporters and donors on Wednesday night. "The money's important. We're going to be judged by what we can do in the first 24 hours, the first week," said Biden on the call, according to Politico. "People think Iowa and New Hampshire are the first test. It's not. The first 24 hours. That's the first test."

Politics

US

Advertise on Hyperallergic with Nectar Ads Last week, a food blogger called into question the Mast Brothers’ artisanal chocolate’s “bean-to-bar” reputation, and the controversy has continued, setting off, as reported by The New York Times, “an intense and at times vitriolic discussion”: Some chocolate insiders acted as if the brothers had disgraced the craft. People who think all small-batch food producers are scam artists, meanwhile, took the micro-scandal as proof that anyone paying more than $2 for a candy bar is a pretentious sucker. Oh, you are a very poor soldier — a chocolate cream soldier! —George Bernard Shaw, Arms and the Man What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate. —Katharine Hepburn The slopping of the sea grew still one night And in the summer morning hued the deck And made one think of rosy chocolate And gilt umbrellas. —Wallace Stevens, “A Sea Surface Full of Clouds” Made a lightning trip to Vienna, Eating chocolate cake in a bag. —John Lennon, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” The Duchess set about studying Annette and shortly found her adversary’s tragic flaw. Chocolate. —William Goldman, The Princess Bride Every now and then, I’ll run into someone who claims not to like chocolate, and while we live in a country where everyone has the right to eat what they want, I want to say for the record that I don’t trust these people, that I think something is wrong with them, and that they’re probably – and this must be said – total duds in bed. —Steve Almond, Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America Believe me, there’s no metaphysics on earth like chocolates, And all religions put together teach no more than the candy shop. Eat, dirty little girl, eat! If only I could eat chocolates with the same truth as you! But I think and, removing the silver paper that’s tinfoil, I throw it on the ground, as I’ve thrown out life. —Fernando Pessoa, “The Tobacco Shop” Carob is a brown powder made from the pulverized fruit of a Mediterranean evergreen. Some consider carob an adequate substitute for chocolate because it has some similar nutrients (calcium, phosphorus), and because it can, when combined with vegetable fat and sugar, be made to approximate the color and consistency of chocolate. Of course, the same arguments can as persuasively be made in favor of dirt. —Sandra Boynton He showed the words “chocolate cake” to a group of Americans and recorded their word associations. “Guilt” was the top response. If that strikes you as unexceptional, consider the response of French eaters to the same prompt: “celebration.” —Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto He turned and reached behind him for the chocolate bar, then he turned back again and handed it to Charlie. Charlie grabbed it and quickly tore off the wrapper and took an enormous bite. Then he took another…and another…and oh, the joy of being able to cram large pieces of something sweet and solid into one’s mouth! The sheer blissful joy of being able to fill one’s mouth with rich solid food! “You look like you wanted that one, sonny,” the shopkeeper said pleasantly. Charlie nodded, his mouth bulging with chocolate. —Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory It was like having a box of chocolates shut in the bedroom drawer. Until the box was empty it occupied the mind too much. —Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter A good night’s sleep, or a ten-minute brawl, or a pint of chocolate ice cream, or all three together, is good medicine. —Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine Las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso. (Ideas should be clear and chocolate thick.) —Proverb

Food

Desserts

From our Expert Voices conversation on AI and medicine. AI will transform medicine, but our thinking about the role it will play requires a little less hyperbole and a little more context. Medicine is and will remain the human practice of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and illness — AI is simply a "how." It is tempting to argue that breakthrough AI efficiencies — such as superior speed, throughput, and accuracy in parsing diagnostic imaging — could replace every discrete function in medical practice. In theory, you could have the discussion of symptoms handled by natural language processing, tests ordered via issue-tree automation around a standard of care, and treatment action and follow-up adjustment provided through deep learning systems. A technical build from the bottom up solves medicine … or so it would seem. But this entire line of thinking dangerously misinterprets AI capabilities and underestimates the complexity of the interaction between a physician and patient. It routinely requires empathy and nuance, as well as expertise, complex decision making, context shifting, and unpredictable physical activity — often all at the same time. That's human terrain. AI will serve as a better tool for many laborious functions, augmenting diagnostic capability and enabling physicians to practice at the top of their license. But the one role it cannot replace is that of the doctor. The bottom line: We still need the human factor, but introducing AI to health care provides an enormous opportunity to supplement practice and enhance care. Other voices in the conversation: Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine, Scripps Research Institute: Improving the doctor-patient relationship Ethan Weiss, associate professor, UC-San Francisco School of Medicine: Helping doctors make better diagnoses Christine Cassel, planning dean, Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine: Don't forget the patient

Technology

Artificial Intelligence

Did you guys hear about the huge fourth of July party Taylor Swift threw over the weekend? Of course you did. It seemed as though all of Hollywood descended upon the pop star's Rhode Island estate, with Tom Hiddleston, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Uzo Aduba, Ruby Rose, Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, Este Haim, and more prancing around in swimwear while the paparazzi closed in like hungry sharks. This time Swift has saved them the trouble. She's just shared a snap from her Monday night soirée, with Cara Delevingne, actress Halston Sage, and singer Rachel Platten joining the squad for fireworks and the modeling of Americana onesies. It's what the forefathers would have wanted. You'll also spy Rose and her girlfriend Harley Gusman, Haim, Aduba, Lively, and Hadid in the lineup. It's like a Ralph Lauren campaign brought to life under the watchful eye of Swift, who's rocking a LOVER top. But where oh where is T-Hiddy?

Entertainment

Television

In our astrological study, the planets get plenty of attention. But what about the little guys? Though they might not be on every astrological enthusiast's mind, asteroids play an important role in determining the more granular aspects of our personalities. Where the planets command broader areas of our lives (communication, action, spirituality), the asteroids affect how we behave in certain settings, whether those situations are erotic, reflective, or something else altogether. If you only have a passing interest in astrology, you don't have to be an asteroid expert. And, even here, we're just scratching the surface. It'd take years of study to get to know all the asteroids (not to mention, all of the dwarf planets that may appear in our charts), and new ones are always being discovered. So, consider this an introduction to the most important asteroids in astrology — and let this be your gateway to further celestial exploration. ErosAs its name suggests, this asteroid rules eroticism in our lives. Along with your Mars and Venus signs, your Eros sign can help you understand why you're attracted to certain people. For instance, having Eros in Cancer may mean you crave an emotional connection with your sexual partners, while Eros in Libra can make you a bit of a flirt and even fickle in your pursuits. Your Eros sign can affect you outside of the bedroom, too — this asteroid influences any area of your life where passion plays a role. PsycheNASA has dreams of mining Psyche for metal, but, astrologically speaking, we'd rather mine it for the meaning of our innermost selves. As is the case with most asteroids, we don't feel Psyche's influence in a particularly direct or obvious way. Rather, we feel it on a more instinctive level, as the ruler of our souls and minds. Psyche is believed to command how we think, feel, and process our memories. The next time you're in a reflective mood, look up your Psyche sign to see what drives your thoughts. ChironYou might know Chiron as that needling voice in your head that reminds you of your deepest insecurities at the least opportune moment. And, yes, that is the most immediate effect this asteroid has on our everyday lives, but that isn't all there is to Chiron's placement in your chart. When interpreted in the long-term, it indicates areas in our lives where we face challenges, as well as how we might start to overcome them. So, while that little voice might provoke discomfort, if you listen long enough (and sit with your deep-set fears), it may whisper a solution to you. JunoIf Eros determines who you choose for a steamy fling, Juno directs you toward someone who's life-partner material. Juno's placement in your chart can illuminate your intimacy style: what you need from a live-in partner, how you tend to bond with your significant other, and the qualities that put you completely at ease. You may not be acting with your Juno sign when you set up a Tinder date, but you probably are when you and your partner talk marriage.

Astrology

Zodiac

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Hulic Reit Inc * Says co received a notice from Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd., confirming unit subscription * Says co will issue 3,200 new units to Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. and Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. will pay 475.9 million yen to the co * Says proceeds will be mainly used for loans repayment and acquisition fund Source text in Japanese: goo.gl/pq6F5R Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News)

Technology

IT

Several Senate Republicans are criticizing their own party for negotiating and writing an ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill largely behind closed doors and without input from Democrats.  “Healthcare is such an important thing. I think we should have debated it in open, in committee hearings, have both sides bring in witnesses,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday. “I would like a more open process, that's for sure,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), another key vote on the bill. Republican leaders plan to call a vote on the healthcare measure next week even though there is not yet legislative text; lawmakers still don’t know the entirety of what will be in the legislation. Senate Republicans also did not hold any committee hearings on their bill, instead crafting it behind closed doors.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellAre Democrats turning Trump-like? House Democrat calls for gun control: Cities can ban plastic straws but 'we can't ban assault weapons?' Churches are arming and training congregants in response to mass shootings: report MORE (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that a “discussion draft” of the bill would be presented to Republicans on Thursday, giving lawmakers about a week to review it. “We’re going to lay out a discussion draft Thursday morning,” he told reporters. “You’ll be able to take a look at it.” But some Republicans say they should have seen the bill long ago. Conservative Sen. Mike LeeMichael (Mike) Shumway LeeMcConnell, allies lean into Twitter, media 'war' Conservatives buck Trump over worries of 'socialist' drug pricing Criminal justice reform should extend to student financial aid MORE (R-Utah) delivered perhaps the sharpest critique of the secretive process. “Even though I’ve been a member of this working group among Senate Republicans assigned to help narrow some of the focus of this, I haven’t seen the bill,” Lee said in a video on his Facebook page. “And it has become increasingly apparent in the last few days that even though we thought we were going to be in charge of writing a bill within this working group, it’s not being written by us, it’s apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the Republican leadership in the Senate.” Lee added that if the vote is going to be next week, “we should have been able to see it weeks ago.” Yet despite the complaints from GOP senators, none have said they will vote against the bill because of the rushed process. Many could end up voting for the legislation anyway.    Paul, asked if he would have enough time to review the bill before a vote next week, said, “That’s a big question.”  Murkowski said she hasn’t seen a bill and doesn’t know how she’ll vote. “I cannot say what I would vote for if I haven’t seen it,” she said. “That’s where a real problem is, because nobody — I shouldn’t say that. This person has not seen anything.”  Before McConnell’s announcement Tuesday afternoon, even senators were not sure when they would see the text. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Tuesday morning he had heard from the “rumor mill” that he would see the text later this week but had not heard that from McConnell. Asked if he was comfortable voting next week without having seen a bill as of Tuesday, Cassidy said: “I’ve always said I would have preferred a more open process.” Democrats have seized on the secrecy surrounding the bill in an attempt to divide Republicans and stop ObamaCare repeal in its tracks. Three Senate Democrats went to the Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday to draw attention to the lack of a public bill. “If they were proud of the bill, they would announce it,” said Senate Democratic Leader Charles SchumerCharles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerLewandowski on potential NH Senate run: If I run, 'I'm going to win' Appropriators warn White House against clawing back foreign aid Colorado candidates vying to take on Gardner warn Hickenlooper they won't back down MORE (N.Y.), pointing to the 23 million additional people who the Congressional Budget Office projected would become uninsured under the House version of the bill. “They would have brass bands going down Main Street America saying, ‘Look at our bill.’ They can’t even whisper what it’s about — they are so, so ashamed of it.” McConnell pushed back against criticism of the process on Tuesday, telling reporters he found complaints on the subject “laughable.”  He noted that in 2009, Democrats held a vote on ObamaCare on Christmas Eve in the Senate. Asked by a reporter how many days the public would have to review the bill, McConnell said: “Everybody will have an adequate time to take a look at it.” “I think this will be about as transparent as it could be,” he said. “No transparency would have been added by having hearings in which Democrats offered endless single-payer-system amendments. That is not what this Republican Senate was sent here to do.”  In 2009, the Senate considered ObamaCare for 25 straight legislative days, and the Finance Committee held more than 50 hearings, with eight days to mark up the bill with amendments.  Leaders point out that all senators will have the opportunity to offer amendments to the bill, which will then be voted on in a long series known as a “vote-a-rama.” Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said there would “absolutely” be enough time to review the bill before a vote next week.   “We’ve all been debating this for seven years, and the House bill is sort of the starting point in the Senate. I expect there to be some changes, but I think there will be plenty of time,” he said. “We’ll have a vote-a-rama, there will be dozens if not hundreds of amendments, and we will debate as long as the Democrats want to debate.” This story was updated at 6:30 p.m. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

Policy

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Glory Ltd * Says it repurchased 200,000 shares of its common stock for 875 million yen on Nov. 8 via ToSTNeT-3 Source text in Japanese: goo.gl/fmKfsg Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News)

Technology

IT

Darren Knight is an Alabama comedian who shot to internet fame when his character “Southern Momma” went viral two years ago — but you've probably never heard of him. Those who have likely remember when Knight was one of 10 comics chosen by Variety magazine to perform at “Just For Laughs,” the largest and most prestigious stand-up comedy festival in the world. Things did not go well. Knight was the only white guy on the bill — and the only one booed off the stage after he admonished his fellow comedians for being too focused on subjects like sexual orientation and racism. Twitter exploded and he was denounced as a racist and a homophobe. His detractors were uncompromising, declaring that Knight’s opinions had no place in comedy. Before the dust settled, Knight’s New York-based talent agent, ICM Partners, had dropped him. For most up-and-coming comics, this would be the end of the line. But not for Knight. His videos and stage act have translated into millions in revenue, taking Knight from a single-wide trailer in the woods to a sprawling antebellum-era plantation — and to the front lines of the comedy culture wars. This segment originally aired September 4, 2018 on VICE News Tonight on HBO.

Other

Other

April 29 (Reuters) - Scanfil Oyj : * Q1 turnover 130.4 million euros ($148.46 million) versus 45.9 million euros a year ago * Q1 operating profit 0.4 million euros versus 2.7 million euros a year ago Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: ($1 = 0.8783 euros) (Gdynia Newsroom)

Technology

Telecommunications

Employee review site Comparably examined the ratings and reviews of anonymous women employees to come up with its list of the 50 best CEOs for women, and these CEOs earned top marks. Looking at responses for more than 60,000 organizations, Comparably focused on how female employees rated company culture and their CEO's management style on a scale of one to 10. To qualify, CEOs of large companies with 500 employees or more had to receive a minimum of 75 reviews between June 7, 2018, and June 7, 2019. CEOs of small/mid-size companies with fewer than 500 employees had to receive at least 25 employee reviews during that same time frame. This year, T-Mobile CEO John Legere ranked No. 1 on the list of large companies, up from his No. 6 spot last year. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella dropped to No. 19 on the list this year, after coming in at No. 2 last year. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Apple's Tim Cook, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos all landed outside the top 20. Last year no women CEOs made the top 10, but this year's list includes Shipt CEO Kelly Caruso, at No. 6, and Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert at No. 9. (Engelbert will start a new role as commissioner of the WNBA on July 17.) Take a look below to see the 10 best CEOs for women, according to Comparably: Here's Comparably's full list of the 50 best CEOs for women, according to female employees:

Business

Management

Jennifer Lopez wowed at the Billboard Latin Music Awards Thursday night. The 47-year-old singer and actress rocked a transparent beaded gown by Julien Macdonald with a plunging neckline, sky-high slit, and cutouts in all the right places — the bold look showed off J. Lo’s incredibly toned physique. Just how does the mama to twins Max and Emme keep her body so, well, bangin’? We have a feeling her personal trainer and Health‘s contributing fitness editor, Tracy Anderson, has a little something to do with it. Known for developing her own eponymous fitness method, Anderson is a pro at helping people strengthen and tone from head to toe. In the video below, she shows how to target your tush, so you can sculpt your own J.Lo-level backside. Follow along to give your derrière the love it deserves.

Fashion

Clothing

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s antitrust regulator inspected Google’s Seoul headquarters to investigate whether the firm is engaged in anticompetitive behavior over its Android operating system, Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday. Yonhap, citing unnamed sources, said the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) made the inspection last week and was probing whether Google forced smartphone makers using Android on their devices to not sell products using other operating systems. Regulators began looking into the matter after the European Union brought charges against Google for anticompetitive behavior earlier this year. A person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters the KFTC conducted an on-site inspection at Google’s South Korean headquarters but declined to elaborate further. Google and the KFTC declined to comment. South Korea’s antitrust regulator has investigated Google before. In 2013, the KFTC cleared Google of wrongdoing after a two-year investigation on whether the company hurt competition by forcing smartphone makers using Android to pre-load its search engine on the handsets. Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates

Technology

Internet

What to Cook Sam Sifton emails readers of Cooking five days a week to talk about food and suggest recipes. That email also appears here. To receive it in your inbox, register here. Good morning. How’s the weather in your part of the world? The forecast looks excellent in mine, but I know the drill as well as anyone else who watches the charts and radar this time of year: It seems as if it’s been raining for the better part of the past few weeks, on and off and especially on weekends when I want to be outside, under bluebird skies, doing things that don’t require keyboards and internet access, but tools and fire. So I’m Eeyore today despite the soft spring air. I’m anhedonic. Grilled shrimp for dinner? Grilled broccoli? Grilled garlic bread? Grilled fruit skewers for dessert, everyone in bare feet, sun-kissed and the best kind of tired? Scattered showers will find me, sure as taxes. Maybe come July. But I’ll try. I always try. This weekend (even if it’s nice!) I’ll try to cook Tejal Rao’s new recipe for pork-braised butter beans, which she learned from the San Francisco chef Gonzalo Guzmán while reporting her latest “Eat” column for The New York Times Magazine. It ought to deliver warmth and good feelings in any weather. That and hot cocoa in the morning, before settling in to binge-watch the third season of “Bloodline” on Netflix? To mangle Shakespeare, that art more lovely and more temperate than, for instance, the sight of the dog staring out the window if there’s an endless drip, drip, drip. Let’s embrace the possibilities together. Make a big platter of Yotam Ottolenghi’s chermoula eggplant with bulgur and yogurt? Or one of Korean-style chicken wings? I think some pressure cooker short ribs in plum sauce might lift spirits, and I know a tureen of my lobster bisque would. There’s a cool technique in the recipe, where you simmer a little rice in the stock for a long time, then blitz it into creaminess. It takes the place of a roux or the excessive use of cream, and it makes for a cashmere bisque, luxury in a bowl. Try that and breathe slow and easy. Life’s good: Just two lobsters will feed four to six people in style. Maybe make spicy scrambled eggs for breakfast tomorrow or Sunday, or yogurt parfaits with cherries and pistachios? Perchance a crustless quiche for lunch? Or a radish sandwich with butter and salt? Then you could round out the weekend with Samin Nosrat’s recipe for buttermilk-brined roast chicken, Kim Severson’s recipe for potato mousseline and the recipe for Vichy carrots I picked up from the chef Jody Williams of Buvette in New York. Dessert: Christina Tosi’s crockpot cake, easy breezy, an antidote to despair, especially alongside ice cream or fresh sliced strawberries or both. You can find thousands of other recipes to lift the spirits on Cooking. You can save those you like to your recipe box and organize them as you see fit — creating folders for recipes for a rainy day, for instance, or for Aunt Ethel’s birthday celebration just next month, for gluten-free meals for the kid home from college real soon, or romantic dinners to deploy if you don’t get ghosted by that connection you made at the coffee shop, at the farmers’ market, at the D.M.V. You can save recipes even if they don’t come from The Times; we built a cool little feature that allows for that. Go install it now, and then use it on this nice recipe from Hank Shaw at Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, for halibut puttanesca. Rate the recipes with stars. Put notes on them as well, if you have hacks to share or ingredient substitutions to suggest. As a community of cooks we rise together, learning new skills and sharing our knowledge. (You can do so on social media, as well, where we monitor the hashtag #NYTCooking on Twitter and Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.) And if you find yourself in a pickle, confused either by the cooking or the technology we use to power our site and apps, do reach out for help. We’ll get back to you: cookingcare@nytimes.com. Now, let’s move out of the kitchen and onto the couch, with a cup of red zinger. Dwight Garner’s review got me way excited to read Catherine Lacey’s new novel, “The Answers.” There’s a new Harry Hole novel from Jo Nesbo, “The Thirst.” Could knock that out in 12 hours and call Saturday a win. Finally, I enjoyed Hilton Als’s article about the photographer Diane Arbus, in The New York Review of Books. He quoted Joseph Mitchell talking about her: “I urged Diane not to romanticize freaks. I told her that freaks can be as boring and ordinary as so-called ‘normal’ people. I told her what I found interesting about Olga, the bearded lady, was that she yearned to be a stenographer and kept geraniums on her windowsill.” (And here for context is the profile Mitchell wrote of Lady Olga, in 1940, in The New Yorker.) Have a great weekend. cooking cooking cooking

Food

Cuisine

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, met with Senate Intelligence Committee investigators on Tuesday to discuss the June 2016 meeting between a Russian lawyer and Mr. Trump’s inner circle that was set up for the campaign to receive damaging information about Hillary Clinton, according to a spokesman for Mr. Manafort. “Paul Manafort met this morning, by previous agreement, with the bipartisan staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee and answered their questions fully,” said the spokesman, Jason Maloni. Mr. Manafort gave the investigators notes he had taken during the meeting, according to one person familiar with Tuesday’s discussion with congressional investigators at a Washington law firm. The meeting came as another panel, the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that it issued a subpoena for Mr. Manafort to appear at a hearing on Wednesday. But the committee later rescinded the subpoena and canceled his appearance. Mr. Manafort’s lawyers are now working out how and when he will be interviewed by the committee. The panel is conducting its own investigation into possible ties between Mr. Trump’s campaign and the Russian government. Mr. Manafort has been at the center of inquiries into whether Mr. Trump’s senior advisers coordinated with Kremlin efforts to disrupt last year’s election. Mr. Manafort met with investigators a day after the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, provided his own account of the June 2016 meeting to them. The meeting at Trump Tower was set up by Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, who had been told by an intermediary that the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had damaging information about Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Kushner met with the House Intelligence Committee, which is also conducting an investigation, on Tuesday. The subpoena announcement was a sign of a brewing turf battle between congressional committees conducting their own investigations into the election. The Senate Intelligence Committee, which began investigating the issue at the beginning of the year, had offered to provide a transcript of Mr. Manafort’s Tuesday interview to the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee’s top two senators rejected the offer. “Mr. Manafort, through his attorney, said that he would be willing to provide only a single transcribed interview to Congress, which would not be available to the Judiciary Committee members or staff,” a committee news release said on Tuesday. “While the Judiciary Committee was willing to cooperate on equal terms with any other committee to accommodate Mr. Manafort’s request, ultimately that was not possible.” The panel’s hearing on Wednesday is about the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires anyone who lobbies in the United States on behalf of foreign interests to disclose their work to the Justice Department. Mr. Manafort has disclosed that his consulting firm was paid more than $17 million over two years from a Ukrainian political party with links to the Kremlin. Lawyers for Mr. Manafort, who is under federal investigation, are wary of letting him appear publicly before the Judiciary Committee to answer a broad range of questions at this point.

Legal

Crime

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States strongly condemns the assumption of legislative powers by Venezuela’s new Constituent Assembly, the State Department said in a statement on Friday. “This power grab is designed to supplant the democratically-elected National Assembly with an authoritarian committee operating above the law,” the statement said. Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by David Alexander

Politics

Government

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Alarm.Com Holdings Inc - * For full year 2016 SaaS and license revenue is expected to be in range of $172.5 million to $172.8 million * FY2016 earnings per share view $0.50, revenue view $245.2 million — Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Q3 adjusted non-gaap earnings per share $0.19 * Q3 revenue $67.8 million versus I/B/E/S view $59.7 million * Sees FY 2016 adjusted non-gaap earnings per share $0.58 to $0.59 * Alarm.com reports third quarter 2016 results * Q3 earnings per share $0.05 * Q3 earnings per share view $0.11 — Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S * Sees FY 2016 revenue $254 million to $256.3 million Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:

Finance

Investment

Olympic judo superstar Kayla Harrison says Ronda Rousey has given her "a lot of help" when it comes to making the transition into MMA -- but the real question ... would she ever take a fight against her old friend? TMZ Sports spoke with 26-year-old Harrison -- a 2-time Olympic gold medalist in judo -- who says she trained with Rousey every day for 7 years as they fought their way to the top of the sport. Now, with Harrison signing a contract with the World Series of Fighting -- she says she'll reflect on the advice she got from her old friend as she begins her training. So, who's Kayla's dream MMA fight? We asked ... wait'll you hear her answer!

Sports

Mixed Martial Arts

The gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 may cause large deletions and rearrange the DNA it is targeting in some cases, according to a new U.K. study published in Nature Biotechnology Monday. Why it matters: Scientists hope CRISPR can one day be used to treat cancer, HIV, haemophilia and sickle cell disease. But this and other recent studies find it can cause unintended edits, and possibly trigger cancer. What they did: The three scientists edited two types of mouse cells and human cells and sequenced long stretches of the DNA in the edited sections. What they found: Deletions of up to several thousand DNA bases were seen, along with complex rearrangements at the target site, which means neighboring genes could be affected or cell function altered, the authors said. In one experiment, they found two-thirds of the edited genes showed expected levels of small unwanted changes, but 20% of them had large unplanned deletions. "As genetic damage is frequent, extensive and undetectable by the short-range PCR assays that are commonly used, comprehensive genomic analysis is warranted to identify cells with normal genomes before patient administration," the authors warned in their study. Yes but: Patrick Hsu, principal investigator and Salk Helmsley Fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, tells Axios in an emailed statement, "It’s worth noting that the large deletions found in this study are still in the single digit kilobase range, so they are still mostly local events that may not necessarily affect neighboring genes." More reactions: “I do believe the findings are robust,” Gaetan Burgio of the Australian National University, who has debunked previous studies questioning the method’s safety, tells New Scientist. “This is a well-performed study and fairly significant.” Very careful work is needed “to verify that the alterations to the DNA sequence are those, and only those, that had been designed to occur,” stem cell expert Robin Lovell-Badge told Reuters.“But the results give no reason to panic or to lose faith in the methods when they are carried out by those who know what they are doing.” What's next: "This study raises important parameters that should be tracked and monitored for therapeutic applications. There are clear paths forward for each of these potential challenges, but both the challenges and solutions are still at the blackboard level. We won’t necessarily know their relative importance until we are in the clinic," says Hsu, who was not part of this study.

Other

Other

WASHINGTON — For months, President Trump and his aides have insisted that they had no contact with Russian officials during the presidential campaign, a denial Mr. Trump repeated last week. “I have nothing to do with Russia,” he told reporters on Thursday. “To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.” The denial stands at odds with statements by Russian officials, who have at least twice acknowledged contacts with aides to Mr. Trump before the election. It is not uncommon for a presidential campaign to speak to foreign officials, which makes the dispute particularly unusual. At the same time, any contacts would have taken place during a period when American intelligence agencies believe the Russian government was trying to disrupt the election with a campaign of computer hacking. The dispute began two days after the Nov. 8 election, when Sergei A. Ryabkov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, said his government had maintained contacts with members of Mr. Trump’s “immediate entourage” during the campaign. “I cannot say that all, but a number of them maintained contacts with Russian representatives,” Mr. Ryabkov said during an interview with the Interfax news agency. Mr. Ryabkov’s comments were met with a swift denial from Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump and now a member of the White House press team. More recently, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Sergey I. Kislyak, told The Washington Post that he had communicated frequently during the campaign with Michael T. Flynn, a close campaign adviser to Mr. Trump who became the president’s national security adviser before resigning from the position last week. “It’s something all diplomats do,” The Post quoted Mr. Kislyak as saying, though he refused to say what subjects they discussed. Mr. Trump and his aides denied any contacts occurred during the campaign. “This is a nonstory because to the best of our knowledge, no contacts took place, so it’s hard to make a comment on something that never happened,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said on Monday. The Russian government did not respond to a message over the weekend seeking comment. Separately, The New York Times and other news outlets reported last week that Trump campaign advisers and other associates of Mr. Trump’s had repeated contacts last year with Russian intelligence officials. Those reports, citing anonymous current and former American government officials, were vigorously denied by the White House. On Thursday, Mr. Trump made clear his annoyance when questioned about contacts with Russia. “How many times do I have to answer this question? Russia is a ruse. I have nothing to do with Russia,” he said during a White House news conference. The president also lashed out at “illegal” leaks for bringing down Mr. Flynn, who the White House has acknowledged had multiple conversations after the election — in late December — with Mr. Kislyak about sanctions that were being imposed by the Obama administration. Under ordinary circumstances, few in Washington would blink at the statements by Mr. Ryabkov or Mr. Kislyak. It is common for foreign governments to reach out to American presidential candidates, and many foreign diplomats believe it is part of their job to get to know people who may soon be crucial to maintaining alliances or repairing broken relationships. “They want to better understand policy views of a particular candidate so they can perhaps make their case for certain policies,” said Derek Chollet, who was part of the Obama transition in 2008 and then served in senior roles at the State Department, the White House and the Pentagon. Mostly, though, “it’s about relationship building — they want to get to know the people who are possibly going to be in important jobs,” he added. The closest contacts between campaigns and foreign officials tend to be with allies. The Australian Embassy said it was in contact with the Trump and Clinton campaigns, and British officials said they had extensive contacts with the president’s top aides in the months before the election. Contacts with potential adversaries, such as Russia, are also not unusual, but they are more complicated. Michael McFaul, who advised the Obama campaign in 2008 and later served as United States ambassador to Russia, said that he traveled to Moscow during the presidential race that year and that “everyone in Moscow knew that I was advising the campaign.” The American Embassy even hosted a lunch for him with Russian officials. But “I was not there to discuss Obama policy but to better inform my views on Russian attitudes about U.S.-Russia relations,” Mr. McFaul said. He said that during the transition, Russian officials wanted to talk about policy issues, but the Obama administration officials refused — in keeping with the tradition that there should be only “one president at a time.” An article on Tuesday about statements from Russian officials regarding contacts with aides to President Trump before the election erroneously stated that Mr. Trump visited Israel during the campaign trip. While he did announce plans to visit, the trip was canceled.

Politics

International Relations

“I took care of Roy, and I had to use the facilities myself. So I figure, you know, kill two birds.” TOM MCDONALD, a Mets fan who is disposing of the ashes of his childhood friend Roy Riegel by flushing them away in ballparks across the country.

Other

Other

Disney’s CGI remake of its 1994 film The Lion King has crossed $1.3 billion at the international box office, officially beating out Frozen’s $1.27 billion to become the top-grossing animated film of all time, per CinemaBlend. That is, it’s sort of the biggest animated film ever since Disney has been loath to call it an animated film at all. While it’s entirely computer-generated footage (save for one shot), Disney continues to refer to it as a live-action film. That’s an odd stance for the studio to take, given how often it likes to crow about its record-breaking blockbusters. But Disney has been oddly insistent on avoiding the animated label for the Lion King remake, despite the fact that it’s essentially just as visually manufactured as the original 1994 film. Director Jon Favreau hedged when asked point-blank whether he’d call his film live action, commenting to SlashFilm earlier this year, “It depends what standard you’re using. Because there’s no real animals, and there’s no real cameras, and there’s not even any performance that’s being captured that’s underlying data that’s real. Everything is coming through the hands of artists. But to say it’s animated, I think, is misleading as far as what the expectations might be.” Why does everyone involved seem so insistent on avoiding the “animation” label? There are a few possible reasons. American animated films are still stigmatized as less serious cinema than live-action movies. (Just ask the Academy Awards.) The company may want to emphasize the perceived superiority of its new photorealistic CGI technology by avoiding even calling it “animated” at all. Disney may even want to boost the numbers for its live-action reboot brand on the accounting sheets. It’s not like Disney has to worry about holding the top spot on the animation charts. Frozen, the previous record-holder, is a Disney film, as are most of the slots in the top 10 highest-earner list. Plus, all this may be a moot point, given that Frozen 2 is scheduled for a 2019 release, and it may take the top slot from both the original Frozen and the new Lion King. Like most of the discussion around the 2019 box office, that makes this debate less of a categorization issue and more of a reminder of Disney’s intimidating power at the box office. Live-action, animated, or something in between, the only thing that matters to Disney at the end of the day is profit, and the new Lion King certainly succeeded there.

Entertainment

Movies

Newly reported quotes show that a heated segment between CNN's Jake Tapper and White House adviser Stephen Miller continued off-camera on Sunday, with Tapper telling Miller, "Don't act so offended." CBS News producer Arden Farhi obtained the back-and-forth, which occurred just after Tapper abruptly ended the interview by stating Miller had "wasted enough of my viewers' time."  Here’s a transcript of at least part of the not-seen-on-TV conversation between Stephen Miller and @jaketapper during the commercial break that followed the @CNNSotu interview... pic.twitter.com/NhBFrEeesA "Jake, what I care about is having three minutes to tell the truth about the president of the United States," Miller said to Tapper after "State of the Union" cut to commercial. "You had plenty of time,” Tapper said. “I let you give like a three-minute filibuster at the very top.”"You gave me two minutes," Miller shot back, later adding, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Honestly." “This is the reason they don’t put you out on TV,” Tapper said. “OK? This is the reason.”“You spent the entire interview attacking CNN ... OK, so don’t act all offended," the host added later in the exchange. “I’m not acting offended,” Miller said. “I am offended. I’m offended by you and I’m offended by your network.”Miller reportedly was escorted off the set by CNN security after refusing to leave after that. The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment. The verbal tussle between Tapper and Miller occurred after the latter accused CNN of creating a "toxic environment" and the host saying Miller was only trying to impress President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump pushes back on recent polling data, says internal numbers are 'strongest we've had so far' Illinois state lawmaker apologizes for photos depicting mock assassination of Trump Scaramucci assembling team of former Cabinet members to speak out against Trump MORE by attacking the network. “Not only do I think they help it, but I think in the toxic environment that you've created here and CNN and cable news, which is a real crisis of legitimacy for your network,” Miller said during the interview when asked about Trump's Sunday tweet claiming to be “a very stable genius.”“I get it. There’s one viewer that you care about right now and you're being obsequious and you’re being a factotum in order to please him, OK,” Tapper said to Miller in a reference to Trump. “And I think I’ve wasted enough of my viewers’ time. Thank you, Stephen,” Tapper added before teasing the next segment and going to break. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

US

12:08 PM PT -- Jenny Sushe -- along with Allred -- just addressed the media and said the boxer not only kissed her without consent, he also groped her butt after the interview. After the interview, Sushe claims the boxer asked her to remove the kiss from the interview because he knew how it would play out in public, but she refused. In a letter to the California State Athletic Commission, Allred says, "We hereby request that the commission conduct an immediate investigation into the serious allegations." "We request that Mr. Pulov's boxing license be suspended." The female reporter who was suddenly kissed by a boxer she was interviewing AFTER his fight has lawyered up ... hiring Gloria Allred to go after his ass. The video went viral over the weekend -- showing 37-year-old Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev planting a kiss on the mouth of reporter Jenny Sushe during a post-fight media session. Following the incident, Pulev said the Vegas Sports Daily reporter is a "friend of mine" -- and he passed the whole thing off as no big deal. Bruh wtf is this interview man lmao! Pulev is alpha af. (Watch until end) pic.twitter.com/sUoiqFprhi "On the video, after our kiss, we both laughed about it and thanked each other," Pulev said ..."There really is nothing more to this." Well, clearly Sushe thinks it's a big deal ... she's hired Allred and she's planning to take legal action against the boxer. In fact, in classic Allred form ... the attorney is holding a press conference Thursday to announce the plan of attack. Originally Published -- 8:01 AM PT

Sports

Mixed Martial Arts

LONDON (Reuters) - Emerging market central banks accelerated interest rate cuts in June, with policymakers rushing to trim benchmarks as major central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank adopted a more dovish tone. Interest rate moves by central banks across a group of 37 developing economies showed a net five rate cuts last month — the largest number since September 2017. In May, developing market central banks recorded a net two rate cuts. The fifth month of net rate cuts follows a tightening cycle that ended in early 2019. Then, interest rate hikes by emerging market central banks outstripped or matched cuts for nine straight months as they battled the fallout from a strong dollar, rising inflation and softer currencies. For an interactive version of the above graphic, click here tmsnrt.rs/2VtMl5w. Below is a list of recent emerging market central bank monetary policy changes: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Policymakers cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 5% on June 30. bit.ly/2Jg2erB COSTA RICA - The central bank cut the key policy rate to 4.50% from 4.75% from June 20. bit.ly/2Wk9Qmf MOZAMBIQUE - The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points on June 19. MOLDOVA - The central bank raised its key rate to 7% on June 19. RUSSIA - The central bank cut its key interest rate on June 14 and flagged that one or two more cuts were possible later this year as Russia faces sluggish economic growth and slowing inflation. CHILE - Chile’s central bank unexpectedly cut the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 2.5% on June 7 as it braced for a sharper economic slowdown because of the U.S.-China trade dispute. AZERBAIJAN - Azerbaijan’s central bank on June 7 cut its refinancing rate to 8.50% from 8.75% citing stable inflation expectations. INDIA - The Reserve Bank of India cut its policy interest rate by 25 basis points in a widely expected move on June 6, while also changing its policy stance to “accommodative,” after latest data showed the economy growing at its slowest in over four years. SRI LANKA - The central bank cut its key interest rates by 50 basis points on May 31, as widely expected, to support its faltering economy as overall business and consumer confidence slumped following last month’s deadly bomb attacks. TAJIKISTAN - The central bank reduced the refinancing rate to 13.25% from 14.75% on May 31. KYRGYZSTAN - Policy makers in the Central Asian nation cut the benchmark rate to 4.25% from 4.50% on May 28, citing slowing inflation. ANGOLA - Angola’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 15.5% on May 24. ZAMBIA - The central bank in Lusaka raised the benchmark lending rate to 10.25% from 9.75% on May 22 to counter inflationary pressure and support macroeconomic stability. PAKISTAN - Soaring inflation prompted Pakistan’s central bank to raise its key interest rate to 12.25% on May 20 with policy makers flagging further rises on the back of higher oil prices and reforms required for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. JAMAICA - Jamaica's central bank cut its interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.75% on May 19 - the third cut since the start of the year. bit.ly/2WdAUyB THE PHILIPPINES - The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate on May 9 by 25 basis points to 4.50%, on expectations inflation will ease after the economy grew at its slowest pace in four years in the first quarter. MALAYSIA - The central bank on May 7 became the first in Southeast Asia to cut its key interest rate this year, by 25 basis points to 3.0%, moving to support its economy at a time of concern about global growth. RWANDA - Rwanda’s central bank cut its key repo rate by 50 basis points on May 6 to 5.0%. MALAWI - Malawi’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate by 100 basis points on May 3 to 3.5%. CZECH REPUBLIC - The Czech National Bank raised interest rates on May 2, using a window of opportunity created by easing economic risks abroad to stem rising domestic inflation by fine-tuning a tightening cycle it had paused at the end of 2018. UKRAINE - Ukraine’s central bank trimmed its main interest rate to 17.5% on April 25, the first decrease in the past two years. KAZAKHSTAN - Policymakers cut the policy rate by 25 basis points to 9.00% on April 15 in an expected move taken after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered them to make credit more affordable. NIGERIA - In a surprise move, the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 13.5% from 14% on March 26 as part of an attempt to stimulate growth in Africa’s biggest economy and signal a “new direction”. PARAGUAY - Paraguay’s central bank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% on March 22. GEORGIA - The central bank cut its refinancing rate to 6.5% from 6.75% on March 13, citing forecasts suggesting that annual inflation would stay close to its 3% target this year. TUNISIA - Policymakers in Tunisia raised the key interest rate to 7.75% from 6.75% on Feb. 19 to combat high inflation - the third such hike in the past 12 months. EGYPT - Egypt’s central bank made a surprise cut to its overnight deposit rate on Feb. 14, citing a strong drop in inflation and an improvement in other macroeconomic indicators. The bank lowered its deposit rate to 15.75% from 16.75 and its lending rate to 16.75% from 17.75%, its first rate cuts since March 2018. Reporting by Karin Strohecker,; Graphic by Ritvik Carvalho,; Editing by Catherine Evans

Finance

Economics

* GDP registered 0.0 pct q/q growth in Q4 * After Q3 contraction, Germany just avoids recession * Economists cautious on outlook given trade, Brexit angst (Adds fresh economist comment, background) BERLIN, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The German economy stalled in the final quarter of last year, narrowly escaping recession, as the fallout from global trade disputes and Brexit threatened to derail a decade-long expansion in Europe's economic powerhouse. Gross domestic product in Europe's biggest economy was unchanged for the quarter, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday. A Reuters poll had forecast growth of 0.1 percent. German companies are grappling with a cooling global economy and trade disputes triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump. It also faces the risk that Britain will leave the European Union in March without an agreement on the terms of its withdrawal. "Germany got away with a black eye," DekaBank economist Andreas Scheuerle said of the fourth-quarter numbers. "But the first quarter is not looking like it is going to be easy, either, as political uncertainties are weighing heavily on corporate confidence." With growth unchanged in the fourth quarter, the economy escaped recession -- defined as two or more consecutive quarters of contraction -- after it shrank by 0.2 percent in the third quarter. Germany's economy grew at its weakest rate in five years in 2018. Growth is forecast to shrink further to 1 percent this year, and the country faces a budget shortfall of around 25 billion euros by 2023. The fallout from the trade disputes and concern about Brexit are weighing on business confidence, which fell for the fifth consecutive month in January. Morale is also being depressed by weaker demand for German goods and services in China, the euro zone and emerging markets. Furthermore, the government is concerned that technological innovation and the acquisition of German industrial know-how by foreign - particularly Chinese - companies could erode the manufacturing base on which much of Germany's wealth is built. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said last week the government might take stakes in key domestic companies to prevent foreign takeovers - a shift in policy he said was needed to safeguard Germany's prosperity. Presenting an unusually gloomy outlook for Europe's biggest economy, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said late last month the economic slump would last longer than earlier thought and more bad news was coming. With German growth stalling, the European Central Bank is likely put off plans to normalise policy any further, economists say, and it is more likely to provide further stimulus, rather than less. "The upside from today's data is that it can hardly get worse," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said. "Economic fundamentals remain solid, and from here on, chances of a rebound are still much higher than chances of yet another disappointment," he added. (Additional reporting by Rene Wagner, editing by Larry King)

Economics

Macroeconomics

China grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes Monday after an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed over the weekend killing all 157 people on board. Sunday‘s disaster was the second fatal accident involving the new Boeing model in the past five months. Flight ET302 crashed six minutes after taking off from Addis Adiba Sunday morning on its way to Nairobi. The cause has yet to be established, but several airlines have pulled the 737 Max 8 from service as a precaution. Ethiopian Airlines announced Monday it was also grounding its fleet of four 737 Max 8 aircraft. “At this stage, we cannot rule out anything,” Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters at Bole International Airport in the capital. China grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 planes Monday after an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed over the weekend killing all 157 people on board. Sunday‘s disaster was the second fatal accident involving the new Boeing model in the past five months. Flight ET302 crashed six minutes after taking off from Addis Adiba Sunday morning on its way to Nairobi. The cause has yet to be established, but several airlines have pulled the 737 Max 8 from service as a precaution. Ethiopian Airlines announced Monday it was also grounding its fleet of four 737 Max 8 aircraft. “At this stage, we cannot rule out anything,” Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters at Bole International Airport in the capital. The Civil Aviation Administration of China ordered all domestic carriers to ground Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets by 6 p.m. local time Monday, saying it had a “zero tolerance for safety hazards.” The similarities between Sunday’s incident and a Lion Air accident in October — when a 737 Max 8 crashed after takeoff killing 189 people — prompted experts to call the incidents “highly suspicious.” “Here we have a brand-new aircraft that's gone down twice in a year. That rings alarm bells in the aviation industry, because that just doesn't happen," Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department told CNN. Flight ET302 took off from Bole International airport, bound for the Kenyan capital at 8:38 a.m. local time (0.38 a.m. ET). Six minutes later the Boeing 737 Max 8 came down near the town of Bishoftu, just 37 miles southeast of Addis Adiba. All 149 passengers and 8 crew members were killed. The pilot, captain Yared Getachew, had signaled he was experiencing technical difficulties shortly after launch and requested to return to the airport. Flight-crash investigators are trying to piece together what happened, but so far no official explanation has been given. Weather conditions in the Ethiopian capital were perfect. Ethiopian state media reported Monday that investigators had recovered the black box flight recorder. Ethiopian airlines said Getachew had an “excellent flying record,” logging more than 8,000 hours. The plane was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in November and the airline said no technical issues had been flagged during routine checks. “As I said, it is a brand-new airplane with no technical remarks, flown by a senior pilot and there is no cause that we can attribute at this time,” Gebremariam told reporters Sunday. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 tweeted that its data showed that “vertical speed was unstable after takeoff.” An eyewitness told CNN they saw smoke coming from the plane before it crashed on Sunday. The Kenyan and Ethiopian governments announced a joint disaster response team Monday to investigate the crash. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is also sending a team of four to assist in the probe. The plane was carrying passengers from 33 nationalities. According to the airline, there were 32 Kenyans, 18 Canadians, nine Ethiopians, and eight people each from Italy, China and the U.S. At least 19 of those on board were affiliated with the United Nations, many of whom were delegates on their way to the U.N. environment assembly, which was scheduled to begin in Nairobi Monday. Italian archeologist Sebastiano Tusa, 66, was killed in the crash, and Slovakian lawmaker Anton Hrnko announced on Facebook that his wife, son and daughter had all died. Greek Antonis Mavropoulos revealed on Facebook that he was due to fly to Nairobi but missed the flight by two minutes after arriving late at the gate. "I was angry because nobody helped me to reach the gate on time," he wrote. "I'm grateful to be alive." The Max 8 is the newest version of Boeing's most popular plane, and there are more 300 in use around the world. Along with China and Ethiopian Airlines, Cayman Airlines announced it had grounded its fleet of two 737 Max 8 planes Monday “until more information is received.” While there is no indication of what caused the disaster, similarities to a crash last year have raised concerns about the model’s safety. In October, a 737 Max 8 operated by Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea soon after takeoff, killing all 189 people on board. An investigation into that crash is ongoing. Boeing insists its planes are safe, and in a Sunday statement said a technical team will be traveling to the crash site to provide assistance. Sales of the 737 Max 8 have not suffered since the Lion Air disaster, and the company’s share price has soared. Cover image: This picture taken on March 11, 2019, shows debris of the crashed airplane of Ethiopia Airlines, near Bishoftu, Ethiopia. (MICHAEL TEWELDE/AFP/Getty Images)

Technology

Aerospace

Sept 21 (Reuters) - S&P Global Ratings lowered the long-term sovereign credit ratings on China to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-‘. The outlook on China's long-term rating is stable, S&P said. bit.ly/2fdva4Y (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Finance

Banking

"What's up fools, my name is Emmanuel Macron and I have two smartphones on my desk because I am the president of France but also an Important Man of Business." Those were the literal and precisely translated words directly from Macron the man himself on Thursday after the release of his official portrait.  The picture features two smartphones stacked near his right hand, so he can quickly pick up both of them after the photo is over and begin calling World Leaders to discuss World Leader Business.  Portrait officiel. pic.twitter.com/fAhSZJvPa5 — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 29, 2017 Also, he reads, because there are books on the desk. And he likes to have a clock on his desk because he is too busy to look at the time on his two smartphones in between his World Leader calls.  You know this is how his desk always looks because of the video in which he sets up the desk for the official photo.  #AvecLePrésident pour son portrait officiel. @soazigdlm pic.twitter.com/TSFXhEWLEy — Sibeth Ndiaye (@SibNdiaye) June 29, 2017 Perhaps he has one phone for Official Business and the other is to read the tweets of his good friend and not enemy President of America Donald Trump.

Politics

French Politics

Two of the most persuasive saleswomen New York has ever seen are peddling their wares with high style and equal determination at the Nederlander Theater, where “War Paint” opened on Thursday night. And no, I don’t mean the subjects of this data-heavy musical, the beauty-industry magnates Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, though they were certainly no slouches in the art of the deal. I’m talking about the resourceful and resolute women portraying those resourceful and resolute women, Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone. These are actresses whose performing signatures are as well known to Broadway audiences as the stylized brand names of Arden and Rubinstein were to buyers of cosmetics. Ms. LuPone and Ms. Ebersole (notice how tactfully I’m shifting the order in which they’re mentioned) are not coasting on the market value of their star appeal. They’re strategically deploying the knowledge and craft of a combined eight decades in musicals to make us believe that the show in which they appear is moving forward, instead of running in place in high heels. If that sounds like heavy lifting, Ms. Ebersole and Ms. LuPone seldom betray the strain. Even more than when I saw them in an earlier version of “War Paint” in Chicago last summer, they look as if they were having a marvelous time, singing solo after solo about the specifics of the beauty business and the penalties of being a successful woman. After all, the creators of “War Paint” — Doug Wright (book), Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics) — have lovingly custom-tailored roles for Ms. LuPone and Ms. Ebersole in a show that assures them separate ovation-garnering entrances, down a staircase (for Ms. Ebersole) and a gangplank (for Ms. LuPone). Both in their 60s, these enduringly vital actresses have reached an age where the field of juicy starring parts in musicals often feels limited to those of Momma Rose in “Gypsy” (Ms. LuPone has already won a Tony for that) and the title character of “Hello, Dolly!” (co-opted this season by Bette Midler). In this sense, “War Paint,” directed by Michael Greif, might be seen as the musical equivalent of “Feud,” the mini-series in which Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon play the aging Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, when they made the shocker “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” together. (Ms. Ebersole’s Arden describes her and Rubinstein as “dueling actresses in our umpteenth sequel.”) Like “Feud,” “War Paint” depicts a bitter rivalry between glamorous women struggling to stay in control in a field that is notorious for seeing women as perishable commodities. And neither show shies entirely from the camp factor that is catnip to gay men and their female soul mates. But in telling its story, “Feud” has one whopping advantage, in that Davis and Crawford actually worked together, side by thorny side. There is no record of Rubinstein and Arden’s having met, though they ruled their fast-expanding beauty empires from the same Manhattan neighborhood in the same era. (The show is set between 1935 and 1964.) This lack of face-to-face time has forced the authors of “War Paint” to depict the women’s twinned biographies as a series of parallel lives, acted out in counterpoint on separate sides of the stage. Thus we learn that for all their differences, Rubinstein, a Polish Jew, and Arden, a Canadian Episcopalian, were ultimately twin sisters under their pancake-covered skin. The shows count the ways that this is true: They’re both self-inventions; they’re both excluded from snooty New York society; they both realize that they wouldn’t have half the problems they have if they had been men; and they know — oh boy, do they know — that it’s lonely at the top. It’s the loneliness part that creates the most conventionally dynamic scenes. Both Arden and Rubinstein quarrel with, and are betrayed by, men they love, who feel emasculated by their dominating women and wind up changing alliances even before the first-act curtain falls. For Arden, that’s her husband, Tommy Lewis (John Dossett); for Rubinstein, her gay right-hand man, Harry Fleming (Douglas Sills). Lewis and Fleming are thankless parts, which may be appropriate to a show about women who rule, but it doesn’t make their whiny company less tedious, despite the talented actors playing them. Their existence does lead to a rather amusing sequence in which, their traitorous men having spilled the beans on their beauty formulas, Rubinstein and Arden are forced to appear before a Senate investigation committee. Otherwise, “War Paint” is a double portrait of unchanging women during changing times. The passage of years is signaled by the deluxe period costumes, designed by Catherine Zuber, and by the foxtrot-to-frug dance steps of Christopher Gattelli’s choreography; the leading ladies’ eternal solitude is expressed by David Korins’s coffinlike walls-of-products set. The show has slightly shifted its focus since its Chicago incarnation. It now begins not with its stars at separate vanity tables, contemplating their visages, but with a chorus of smartly dressed women heeding the call of a bodiless voice to beautify themselves. That is of a piece with a work in which the dubious ethics of an industry that preys on female insecurity are considered at length, as are the minutiae of packaging and marketing. (What other musical features songs listing ingredients in face creams?) But the compression of extensive research can make “War Paint” sound like a singing Wikipedia entry. Ms. Ebersole and Ms. LuPone go a great distance in disguising the show’s essential sameness. Ms. LuPone, wearing heavy jewels and a Polish accent to match, is as imposing as Rubinstein must have been, and presumably a whole lot funnier. Ms. Ebersole, blithe and brittle, is equally formidable in a lighter vein. And Mr. Frankel and Mr. Korie, who gave Ms. Ebersole the part of a lifetime with their best-known collaboration (with Mr. Wright), “Grey Gardens,” have written numbers for their stars that cannily play to their separate but equal strengths — think trumpet (Ms. LuPone) and flute (Ms. Ebersole) — and even make an asset of Ms. LuPone’s notoriously garbled diction in song. So, though my eyes occasionally glazed seeing “War Paint” for the second time, I wouldn’t have missed it, if only to hear its leading ladies’ climactic ballads. Ms. LuPone has an ardently sung tribute to the preservative powers of narcissism, during which a gallery of Rubinstein’s portraits by famous artists materializes behind her. And in the show’s most exquisite number, Arden takes inventory of an existence lived in a pale shade of rose. The song is called “Pink,” and as Ms. Ebersole delivers that seemingly cheery word, it is weighted with triumph, regret, defiance and anger, all struggling for ascendancy. It’s a reminder of how a single ballad, and a lone interpreter, can capture the full, ambivalent spectrum of a lifetime. This information was last updated on Aug. 27, 2018

Entertainment

Television

When Apple unveiled the seventh iteration of the iPhone yesterday, it made sure to play up the camera. After all, the company has a small army working on the iPhone's ability to take photos. The device's camera is also often touted as one of its most cherished features, keeping Apple's smartphone ahead of the competition. Yet in recent years, competition from Samsung and others has caught up to Apple’s imaging lead. The newest Apple devices, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, are naturally more capable in the photo department than their predecessors. But the company is stepping up the game with what it's calling a machine learning-enhanced image signal processor (ISP). Marketing chief Phil Schiller says this AI-powered ISP performs as many as 100 billion operations in just 25 milliseconds. This takes some unpacking and demystifying, and we should start with the image Apple used to promote the iPhone event. The invite said "See you on 7th," accompanied by an artful arrangement of colorful dots that were blurred out using a popular camera technique. The effect there has a name: bokeh. The term comes from the Japanese word "boke," which means to blur or haze, or more specifically "boke-aji." As you might guess, that second phrase means the quality of said blur, and it was popularized by Photo Technique magazine editor Mike Johnston in 1997, who suggested English speakers use the short version and pronounce it, "Boh-kay." It's a fancy photographer term used to analyze and weigh the artistic properties of blurring out the background of images and, to a greater extent, sources of light behind the subject of a photo. It's how lights at night can turn into fuzzy, grainy orbs, as seen on Apple's event invite. Smartphones have been very bad at producing bokeh This effect is best achieved by using a shallow depth of field. A standard DSLR camera can do this easily by way of a wide aperture, which increases the amount of light the lens allows in when you're snapping a shot. (You also typically need a lens capable of producing a wide aperture, expressed in lower f-stops.) It's something that is very easy to achieve on a professional camera, as well with many mirrorless and lower-cost point-and-shoots these days. To achieve the effect with a smartphone is more difficult. In the past, you could do so with a ton of tinkering, some generous light, and very careful focusing with the tap of your finger. Still, because you don't have control over the size of the opening of the lens on your phone, it's hard to blur out the background on a mobile shot. This is where AI comes in. Now, we're not discussing your standard voice AI like Siri or Cortana, or the kind of natural language software employed by Google to autocomplete a search result or scan your email messages. This is a computer vision AI that aims to understand the contents of photos. This variety can be used for sophisticated tasks, like when Facebook auto-tags your friends' faces or when Google teaches an algorithm to identify cats on the internet. A more simple, but still challenging, problem is to determine what the subject of a photo is, and where that subject begins blending in with the background. This is very difficult for machines. Software only understands a photo as a series of numeric values pertaining to changes in color. Algorithms have no concept of the subject, foreground, or background of an image. They cannot delineate between a dog or a cat or a cloud in the sky. So AI researchers use machine learning to train these programs. By feeding it thousands upon thousands of examples, a software program can begin to understand and make sense of the contents of a photo. It can start to determine where the sky breaks with the treeline, and when two distinct objects happen to overlap, like an owner and their dog. These programs are often referred to as neural nets, because they process these examples in ways similar to the human brain, but with more emphasis on probability. So give software enough photos of cats, for instance, and the machine will begin determining with high accuracy whether a photo contains a cat-like image. Facebook is using this style of machine learning to help turn the contents of a photo into a spoken description for blind users. Google does it within its Google Photos app, where you can search for "mountains" or "beach" and find photos without ever having tagged it or ascribed it a location. Using machine learning, tech companies can "train" software by feeding it examples For Apple, it sounds a little more basic and a lot more practical. The new iPhone 7's camera and the dual-camera lenses on the iPhone 7 Plus are powered by software that aims to understand the contents of an image. Once it identifies people and objects and backgrounds, the phone can automatically perform a number of tasks. Those include automatically setting exposure, focus, and white balance. (Notably, Apple purchased a startup last year called Perceptio that focused on doing this kind of advanced image recognition at higher speeds, without relying on huge stores of data.) A more advanced feature, for the iPhone 7 Plus specifically, allows it to blur it out the background in real time with a new Portrait setting. This works because both lenses work together to capture nine layers of depth and create a so-called depth map, a process described by a number of patents Apple was granted in the last year. With Portrait mode, you can get crisp and tight DSLR-style images with the kind of bokeh once reserved for only pro-grade shots. This is all aided by the device's new f/1.8 aperture setting, which lets in way more light and helps amplify the shallow depth of field. It's a neat trick, for sure, but it also helps Apple bolster its argument that the iPhone 7 is the best smartphone camera on the market. Regardless of whether that claim holds up, Schiller made the point that the camera may "probably be the best camera they've [consumers] ever owned," simply because the ubiquity of smartphones trumps how many DSLR cameras are out there. So Schiller may be throwing out overly grand statements here, as per usual, but it is a distinct possibility the iPhone 7 could help a lot of smartphone owners take better pictures than ever. In true Apple fashion, you won’t need to do too much yourself. You'll select your mode, frame the shot, and let the phone do the heavy lifting. This time around, smarter software behind the scenes will pull more of the weight.

Technology

Cameras

It's been almost 28 years since Tim Burton's Beetlejuice hit cinemas and became an instant cult classic, a staple in the emo starter's handbook, reblogged on every pastelgoth's Tumblr page, and on the DVD shelf of every cinephile. It's easily in Burton's top three movies and many argue it's his best, the one that allowed him to reach those who felt an affinity with his bizarre brand of camp horror-humor and cement his status as a true auteur. After years of speculation, it's been confirmed that a sequel is in the works. What better way to commemorate a classic, so of its time and rich with heritage, than to continue its story years later, rather than leave it, a perfect piece of work of its time and place?The sequels and reboots in Hollywood right now feel endless. Indy is donning the infamous felt fedora once more as the archaeologist-adventurer-teacher-hearthrob. Despite Harrison Ford being 73, it's never too late for a male star to be reprising his action-packed leading role, and so in 2018, we can expect Indiana Jones 5. The rehashing of old stories goes on and on, the stronger the appeal to our late 80s-90s nostalgia the better: more Batman movies, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Full House, Star Wars, Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and of course, Twin Peaks. In fact, if anyone's having a good old lucrative time right now, it's Ford. In addition to his Star Wars and Indiana Jones stints, he is also working on another Blade Runner movie.Whenever a sequel is first mentioned by anyone involved in the original, little pieces of news are drip-fed out, such as Winona Ryder saying she'd like to do it, or Burton saying that he would do it. The will-they-or-won't-they game begins. For the next two to five years, pop culture fans and press engage in this inflammatory conversations, dancing around these snippets of quotes, until one or the other exhausts. The film finally reveals itself to a last hurrah of hype, to get locked away in a very separate cupboard; it's so separate from the original it barely even registers as a blip in cinematic history, not mentioned in the same breath. See: Mean Girls 2, Bring It On 2, Zoolander 2, Evan Almighty, Blues Brothers 2000, The Hangover Part II, Grease 2. Similarly, remaking a cult classic is a habit Hollywood cannot let go of—The Karate Kid, Arthur, Fame, Conan the Barbarian, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Burton), Planet of the Apes (also Burton), Pride and Prejudice, Footloose. The seeming logic here was that the original was so good—preserved, in fact, in our collective cultural history for the rest of time, on film studies syllabuses everywhere—the remake should be made of that very original in order to grasp a monetary slice of greatness, however minimal. Beetlejuice is one of the untouchables. Like Twin Peaks, the risk of bastardizing a legacy with a follow-up is great. The greater the film—the greater Hollywood's hubris—the more monumental the fall.We've been dangerously close to a Beetlejuice sequel before. In 1990, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian almost happened. The story, which was commissioned in 1990 following what appears to have been a non-serious pitch by Burton, went as follows: The Deetz family moves to Hawaii to develop a resort. Construction begins, and it's quickly discovered that the hotel will be sitting on top of an ancient burial ground. Chaos ensues. Beetlejuice comes in to save the day—but not before causing a bit of mischief! The fact that this film never came to fruition is nothing short of a blessing. Are we willing to go back to that uncertain place again? Or worse yet—could it actually be the script we're waiting for? Perhaps Burton, finally reunited with Ryder, will at last make a decent movie again. Perhaps. But Indiana Jones, the contemporary franchise, however, is too late for saving. It's beyond all resuscitation. We've lived through the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We saw the aliens, the CGI giant ants, Ford surviving a nuclear explosion inside a refrigerator. We saw it all. There is very little hope for what might come next. The same mistakes must be repeated ad infinitum until there are new ideas and new voices, but if these same mistakes are endlessly repeated, where will these new ideas and new voices come from? Let me leave you with the ultimate symbol of this destructive regurgitation, a man you might know named Johnny Depp, one of the most versatile, celebrated actors of his day and star of some of the greatest films of this past half-decade. In 2003, he stars in a hugely successful action adventure about pirates, fashioning his role of Jack Sparrow from Keith Richards and is nominated for an Actor Academy Award for best actor. Alas, Black Pearl rolls onto Dead Man's Chest and plunges into At World's End. It is another full decade until he is in another very good film (Black Mass). He is the Mad Hatter, he is an animated lizard, he is Jack Sparrow yet again in On Stranger Tides, he is in a 21 Jump Street(remake), he is a vampire, he is a questionable native American warrior-type-chief, he is a wolf. And then there is Mortdecai. At the end of it all, there is Mortdecai. Once you become complicit in this bastardization, there is no respect, and when there is no respect for the content, there is no respect for cinema, and when there is no respect for cinema, there is Mortdecai. There are three things we know about the movies. One: Hollywood will franchise anything if it made money. Two: Hollywood does not like new things. New is scary—new writers, female directors, black directors, scripts, ad infinitum. Three (and this is possibly the most important): Remakes and sequels are never very good. Think very hard of a sequel you enjoyed. Ruminate for a while on that. Was it as good—really as good—as its predecessor? It wasn't, was it. It really wasn't. I will not celebrate any of these sequels. I will not hope for this year's remakes being trotted out with their fancy CGI and haggard stars. We must say no more. No more Harrison Ford. No more hearts on eyelids. No more white pirates with dreads. No more. Follow Hannah on Twitter.

Entertainment

Film

President Donald Trump is once again urging Congress to debate comprehensive immigration reform, and Congress, once again, knows it is unrealistic. “We seem to never fail to miss an opportunity to fail,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told Vox of Congress’s appetite for yet another immigration fight. Trump announced the broad outlines of an immigration plan Thursday, one that revisits calls to overhaul the legal immigration system, cuts back family-based immigration for “merit-based” immigration, and changes the nation’s green card system to prioritize high levels of education, English-language fluency, and professional skill. It also touches on additional security on the border. Notably, as Vox’s Dara Lind explained, the outline does not address the undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States and pivots away from talking only on the urgent crisis of undocumented crossing the southern border, which have dominated Trump’s immigration tirades of late. Notably, when asked about Trump’s proposal, Republicans in Congress were more focused on the border and undocumented immigrants living in the country than on the legal immigration reforms Trump was bringing back into focus. “We are still working on all the specifics,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) said. “But we have to continue to work on it because I believe the crisis on the border is getting worse.” Underlying it all was an acknowledgment that this certainly is not the first time Trump has tried to push lawmakers into a debate on immigration, and it typically doesn’t go anywhere. “Life in the Capitol: like one of those DVDs with a scratch that automatically rewinds to the previous scene,” one Republican congressional aide described it. Republican lawmakers on Thursday expected Trump only to share broad “principles,” Cornyn said. And that’s mainly what Trump did. In addition to his typical talking points about securing the border, he has come back to comprehensive immigration reform — including legal immigration. The White House said explicitly that the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which currently protects roughly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, was off the table. But to be clear, the White House hasn’t given Congress an actual bill or even a path forward on one. When Trump’s advisers, son-in-law Jared Kushner and ultra-conservative adviser Stephen Miller, came to the Capitol to pitch Republican senators on this immigration outline, lawmakers reportedly left with more questions than answers. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, with purview over immigration policy, told reporters then: “We all know you’re not going to pass this without dealing with the other aspects of immigration.” Graham has been working on his own bill, which would extend how long families and minors can be detained at the border. Even more explicitly, Cornyn told Bloomberg that this was all about Trump’s reelection bid: “I think he needs to run on it, and those like me who think it’s a pretty good idea will run on it, and when we win the election, he can claim a mandate and hopefully get something done,” Cornyn, who himself is up in 2020, said. “I don’t think the Democrats are going to cooperate.” And despite the White House’s efforts to move away from DACA, Senate Republicans are still talking about the program as a central piece to any immigration bill. “I’d like to see solutions to immigration issues: border security and DACA,” Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said when asked if there was actually any momentum to get Trump’s plan underway. He added, “Fixes to immigration are always a challenge here and it takes threading a needle.” They’re even more of a challenge these days, as Democrats hold the majority in the House. Even if Republicans can find consensus around legal immigration reform (which they have failed to do in the past), Democrats have already shown they have little interest in adopting a Trump immigration agenda. After all, this legislative session started with a government shutdown over the president’s southern border wall — and Democrats didn’t back down. Trump came into office after winning an election stoking fear over immigration. But Republican lawmakers, knowing it was a contentious issue that would divide their party rather than unite it, said they would steer clear of immigration unless Trump forced their hand. It didn’t take long for Trump to do exactly that. Trump’s rhetoric and his administration’s policies have led to countless flare-ups over immigration on Capitol Hill. Trump has asked for border wall funding. Since then, every government spending bill negotiation has come with an element of will-they-or-won’t-they on the wall funding when it comes to Congress. (So far, they haven’t, even when Trump decided to shut down the government over it.) Trump’s administration has said it would sunset the DACA; Congress sputtered through every attempt. After nearly three years, the fate of DACA remains in legal limbo. The administration implemented a “zero tolerance” policy at the border for undocumented crossings, a policy that led to separating thousands of families and detaining children. Again, Congress failed to act. It’s not for a lack of debate. In early 2018, the Senate dedicated an entire week to voting on immigration reform bills; all four proposals — two bipartisan — failed. Then in the months leading to the midterm elections, House Republicans took up immigration again, this time on a partisan basis. But they couldn’t even reach a consensus within their party. And Trump has positioned himself on every side of this debate. There was the time he seemingly struck a deal with Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to exchange the border wall for DACA, only for Miller, the White House’s resident immigration hawk, to scrap the deal in favor of more comprehensive immigration reform. That comprehensive bill — which cut legal immigration levels, funded the border wall, and created a path to citizenship for the nearly 1.8 million undocumented immigrants currently eligible for DACA — failed. The point is, we’ve been here before. Except this time, the politics is even more complicated: Democrats control the House.

Politics

Immigration

ROME (Reuters) - Fatalities in Italy from coronavirus have surged in the last 24 hours, the Civil Protection Agency said on Tuesday, dashing hopes the epidemic in the world’s worst hit country was easing after more encouraging numbers in the previous two days. The death toll rose by 743 on Tuesday, the second highest daily tally since the outbreak emerged in northern regions on Feb. 21, and up steeply from the 602 recorded on Monday. Italy has seen more fatalities than any other country, with latest figures showing that 6,820 people have died from the infection in barely a month. The total number of confirmed cases hit 69,176 on Tuesday, but with Italy testing only people with severe symptoms, the head of the Civil Protection Agency said the true number of infected people was probably 10 times higher. “A ratio of one certified case out of every 10 is credible,” Angelo Borrelli told La Repubblica newspaper, indicating he believed some 700,000 people could have been infected. The latest data comes as a disappointment to a country that has been in lockdown for two weeks, with schools, bars and restaurants shut and Italians forbidden from leaving their homes for all but essential needs. On Monday the government closed all businesses not deemed to be essential to the nation’s supply chain of vital requirements, and after the latest figures Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte stiffened fines for people leaving their homes to up to 3,000 euros ($3,225) from a previous maximum of 206 euros. “Every one of us must play our part,” he told reporters at a news conference held by remote video link to avoid contagion. “If everyone obeys the rules they don’t only protect themselves and their loved ones, but they will enable the whole national community to come out of this emergency.” Current restrictions are due to remain in place until April 3, but there is speculation the date will have to be pushed back given the continual rise in cases across the country. A decree issued on Tuesday gave the government the power to extend the deadline to July 31. However, Conte denied planning to keep the lockdown in place until that date, saying he hoped to loosen curbs “well before then”. Investment bank Goldman Sachs forecast on Tuesday that the Italian economy, already teetering on recession before the outbreak hit, would shrink by more than 11% this year. Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri told parliament he expected a contraction of “a few percentage points”. The Civil Protection Agency said the biggest difficulty facing the health service was a shortage of masks and ventilators - a problem that has dogged hospitals since the start of the outbreak. Underscoring the problem, the regional governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia, ordered the confiscation of ventilators at veterinary surgeries, saying they could be converted to human use. With other countries looking to hoard their own medical supplies, a consortium of Italian textile and fashion companies have converted their production lines and will soon be able to produce half the required amount of masks. “(This) will give our system the ammunition that we need in order to fight this war and avoid our total dependence on imports,” Domenico Arcuri, the national commissioner for the emergency, told reporters. The government has said a number of industrial sectors, including medical suppliers, must keep operating during the crisis, but there is growing unhappiness amongst some unions who think the list of strategic concerns is too wide. Workers in the metal, chemical, textile, rubber-plastic and paper industries are expected to go on strike on Wednesday, alarming the government, which is holding talks with unions to try to stave off the stoppages. “The last thing that Italy can allow itself is industrial conflict in a situation of national emergency,” deputy Economy Minister Antonio Misiani told SkyTG24 television. Additional reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, Giulia Segreti and Gavin Jones in Rome, Valentina Za and Elvira Pollina in Milan and Riccardo Bastianello in Veneto; writing by Gavin Jones and Crispian Balmer, Editing by Alex Richardson and Philippa Fletcher

Covid-19

Healthcare

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell on Monday: Shares of Freeport-McMoRan rose more than 1 percent in after-hours trade after oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum announced it would buy Freeport's deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets for $2 billion. The deal is expected to close before year's end and add 80,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day to Anadarko's sales-volume outlook. Anadarko also said it will use the proceeds of a public offering of about 35.3 million shares of its common stock to pay Freeport. Anadarko's stock briefly fell more than 3.5 percent after the bell. Weight Watchers' stock dropped about 5 percent after hours as the firm announced CEO James Chambers would resign, effective Sept. 30. "I am confident that Weight Watchers has the right strategies to play a major role in helping to inspire and guide the healthier choices that transform people's lives," Chambers said in a statement. The company's stock has faced pressure recently, falling more than 54 percent this year. Shares of Blue Buffalo Pet Products slipped more than 2 percent after it announced a secondary offering of 14.3 million shares of common stock. The firm's stocks has risen nearly 40 percent this year. United Natural Foods saw its stock rise about 1 percent after it reported mixed fiscal fourth-quarter results. The Providence, Rhode Island-based firm posted adjusted earnings per share of 70 cents, beating a Reuters estimate of 63 cents. Revenues came in at $2.21 billion, just shy of estimates. — Reuters contributed to this report.

Energy

Oil

Professor Allan Lichtman, distinguished professor of history at American University, was one of the handful of analysts who correctly predicted Donald Trump would win the presidential election in 2016. Give Lichtman great credit for an inventing a system for predicting the outcome of presidential elections that has proven correct for 30 years. Now Professor Licthman is back in the limelight with a new book titled, "The Case for Impeachment," predicting a strong chance that before the Trump administration is finished, the president will be impeached. Lichtman offers a series of arguments that he says make a strong case for impeachment. In this piece, I will focus on one of them — the issue of financial corruption. Lichtman has written what may be the most important book of the year. American politics has become so corrupted by money that it is easy to forget where greed ends and impeachable offenses begin. American politicians are so consumed with hype, exaggeration, attacks, counter-attacks, self-promotion and bogus claims of greatness that it can become hard to separate the wheat from the chaff and realize which matters are truly impeachable.   Lichtman puts matters into historical perspective. While Trump is the gold standard for politicians bearing false witness, some things he has done are worse than others for purposes of seriously discussing impeachment. When the Founding Fathers gave the world the U.S. Constitution, it was clear they agreed that abusing the presidency for financial gain was one of the most egregious offenses that merited impeachment. Much discussion today centers around the Emoluments Clause, which there is a reasonable chance that Trump is violating. That clause prohibits foreign governments from enriching American presidents. The Constitution goes further. The wording of the main clause reads that impeachable offenses include, "treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors." In other words "bribery" is an impeachable offense, without regard to who is offering the bribe.  Take Turkey. Previously, when Trump was asked about Turkey in interviews, he admitted he had a "conflict of interest" because of his substantial interests there. He cited his wonderful and spectacular Trump Tower in Turkey — which is actually two towers, he proudly proclaimed. In the past, Ivanka Trump has tweeted high praise for the controversial president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who, like Vladimir Putin, has put many political opponents in jail. Last Sunday, Turkey passed a referendum that granted Erdogan powers that are virtually dictatorial despite widespread charges of election fraud. Who was the one leader of a major democracy who called Erdogan to congratulate him on his "victory"? It was President TrumpDonald John TrumpO'Rourke: Trump driving global, U.S. economy into recession Manchin: Trump has 'golden opportunity' on gun reforms Objections to Trump's new immigration rule wildly exaggerated MORE; he made the call while his State Department and leading election observers questioned the legitimacy and integrity of the vote. Does Trump still have huge business interests in Turkey that accounted for his praise of Erdogan? Almost certainly yes, but Trump has not disclosed the full range of his business interests. Candidate Trump said repeatedly that China is "raping" America economically — his words, not mine. He is currently executing one of the greatest flip flops and retreats in presidential history, backing off his charge and reversing his policy. Will he now accept what he once called China's economic rape of America?  Ivanka Trump played a prominent role in the recent visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to America, as she played a prominent role in the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to America. Was this because of her expertise on foreign affairs or national security?  Hardly. The Trump family has business interests in China and Japan, which were advanced in the moments she was in meetings with their leaders. The Trumps are running the White House like the epicenter of a family business, while the president keeps quiet on his tax returns after repeatedly promising during the campaign to release them and his White House visitor logs. All of this after criticizing President Obama for not releasing enough about his past! The Washington Post, New York Times and other news outlets have published long, detailed stories describing rampant conflicts of interest involving Trump and his administration.  Isn't it amazing how many close advisors to Trump have had meetings with Russians, including agents of influence and bankers associated with Vladimir Putin? Was there collusion or coordination between Russians and the Trump campaign? Does Trump have business interests or loans tied to Russia or other unfriendly nations that influence his decisions as president? Trump, who offered phony populism throughout his campaign, has created an administration that is the height of crony capitalism, insider transactions, conflicts of interests and "pay for play".  Compared to Trump, Bill and Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonLewandowski on potential NH Senate run: If I run, 'I'm going to win' Fighter pilot vs. astronaut match-up in Arizona could determine control of Senate Progressive Democrats' turnout plans simply don't add up MORE look like St. Francis of Assisi and Mother Theresa. The Senate Intelligence Committee should subpoena Trump's tax returns to determine whether Trump has business interests with Russia, China or other foreign nations that could influence his decisions as president. Senate Democrats should demand that, before any tax reform is enacted, there must be full disclosure of Trump's tax returns and business interests to determine whether the president is pushing tax laws that benefit him financially.  Our Founding Fathers believed in a presidency that should never be used for personal financial gain for the president or his family. I am not today calling for the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Trump, but I am suggesting that Professor Lichtman is right: America should now begin a serious debate about how far is too for the leader of the land of the free and the home of the brave.   Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), then-chief deputy majority whip of the House. He holds an LL.M. in international financial law from the London School of Economics. He can be read on The Hill’s Contributors blog and reached at brentbbi@webtv.net. The views expressed by contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill. View the discussion thread. Contributor's Signup The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

Government

Remote calls into a conference room at headquarters are the worst: too often, voices are muffled, mumbled, delayed and indistinct. When the conversation turns to the whiteboard—forget about it. The best thing to do is hang up and blame it on a bad line. Meeting Owl, though, seems a long step toward reducing the pain. I got a demo of this smart robot, which you place on your conference room table, where it listens and rotates between people as they speak. A fish-eye, 360-degree lens renders the entire whiteboard visible. If it detects three speakers, and they are in different parts of the room, it shifts to a tri-split screen. And eight microphones make them distinctly clear. "Lots of telepresence robots have been made. The first most important problem is moving around the conference room," Mark Schnittman, the CTO of Owl Labs, told me. This $799 device can put some people out of work. For example, it can replace the folks who run the camera system at public panel discussions, toggling automatically from person to person. "We put a camera person and a director in one box and made it automatic," said Owl's Rebecca Corliss. One downside: the Meeting Owl is not voice activated so you have to manually start it up each time. But Schnittman said, "It's 100% possible. It's a matter of figuring it out."

Technology

Innovation

House Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiKlobuchar shuts down idea a woman can't beat Trump: 'Pelosi does it every day' Budowsky: Trump destroying GOP in 2018, '19, '20 On The Money: Senate scraps plan to force second shutdown vote | Trump tax breaks for low-income neighborhoods draw scrutiny | McConnell rips House Dems for holding up trade deal MORE (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was “imminent.” “I do believe that if we can get this to the place it needs to be, which is imminent, that this can be a template for future trade agreements, a good template,” she said at her weekly press conference. House Democrats have been involved in intense negotiations with the Trump administration over provisions of the new trade deal, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Democrats have sought stronger enforcement provisions, particularly in regard to labor, environmental and pharmaceutical issues. Pelosi met Thursday afternoon with the top Democrats negotiating the deal, and is scheduled to speak with U.S. Trade Representative Robert LighthizerRobert (Bob) Emmet LighthizerPelosi sounds hopeful on new NAFTA deal despite tensions with White House On The Money: Economy adds 164K jobs in July | Trump signs two-year budget deal, but border showdown looms | US, EU strike deal on beef exports Chinese, US negotiators fine-tuning details of trade agreement: report MORE later. Rep. Richard NealRichard Edmund NealTrump tax breaks for low-income neighborhoods draw scrutiny On The Money: House passes monthlong stopgap | Broader spending talks stall | Judge orders Democrats to give notice if they request Trump's NY tax returns | Progressives ramp up attacks on private equity Overnight Energy: Mark Ruffalo pushes Congress on 'forever chemicals' | Lawmakers spar over actor's testimony | House Dems unveil renewable energy tax plan | Funding for conservation program passes Senate hurdle MORE (D-Mass.), the head of the Ways and Means Committee that oversees trade, said he did not expect an announcement Thursday, but indicated that talks were nearing completion. “There’s still a few issues that we’re trying to zero in on,” he said, adding that the support of the AFL-CIO and other labor groups would be necessary to clinch the deal. That support, he said, was in reach. A deal, which Neal said he hoped would pass before New Year's, would be a key victory for President TrumpDonald John TrumpFive takeaways from the Democratic debate As Buttigieg rises, Biden is still the target Leading Democrats largely pull punches at debate MORE, who made replacing NAFTA a central part of his 2016 campaign. It would also be a victory for Democrats, who could claim a new model of labor-friendly trade deals. Pelosi said she would like to see the deal pass by year's end. "I'd like to see us get it done this year. That would be my goal," she said. The deal would come as the House is expected to wrap up an impeachment inquiry into Trump and potentially vote on articles of impeachment. Passage could offer Democrats a rebuttal against Republicans, who have accused them of prioritizing impeachment above legislation. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Politics

International Relations

ENDEAVOUR MINING'S LARGEST SHAREHOLDER LA MANCHA HOLDINGS SAYS WELCOMES PROPOSAL TO COMBINE ENDEAVOUR WITH CENTAMIN

Other

Other

(This Aug. 1 story has been refiled to clarify that data reference in paragraph 19 is to real wages) By Esha Vaish, Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Uncertainty surrounds next month’s Swedish election but one thing about its outcome seems clear: immigrants will find it harder to get jobs and the consequences will rebound on local businesses too. A shortage of qualified graduates and an aging population are squeezing the supply of Swedish labor, leaving technology blue chips and blue-collar employers especially in need of more foreign workers. But the rise of the nationalist Sweden Democrats, who propose ending all job-creation subsidies for foreigners, has spooked other major parties into drafting immigrant labor clampdown measures of their own before the Sept. 9 ballot. After introducing curbs on asylum seekers, the governing center-left Social Democrats - polling just ahead of the nationalists on around 24 percent of votes - proposed barring firms in sectors not classified as short of staff from offering work to non-EU nationals. Unions welcomed the proposal but it stunned many businesses which, worried that shortages of engineers, truck drivers and mechanics will only increase as a jobless rate of 6.3 percent trends lower, say it would add more red tape to an already unwieldy system. “Short term, we are absolutely dependent on immigrants to be able to expand,” said Robert Sobocki, CEO of truckmaker Scania’s Swedish retail business which has had to turn down work due to a lack of mechanics. One of its recent hires is Muhsen Mousa, 42, a mechanic who fled Syria for Sweden in 2015 and typical of the kind of immigrant who politicians are increasingly looking to turn away. “Sometimes I get worried a little bit,” Mousa said through an translator. “But then I think to myself ... if I work and I support myself no one will do any harm to me.” Mousa, who repairs engines and gears at the company’s workshop outside Stockholm, is far from alone. About 35-40 percent of the Scania Bilar Sverige mechanics in Sweden’s three biggest cities are foreign. In sectors of shortage also including education and health care, foreigners accounted for about 90 percent of jobs growth last year, according to the Swedish Public Employment Service. IT and telecoms face a deficit of 70,000 staff by 2022 if measures including immigration are not promoted, the sector’s employer association estimates. That would impact the local arms of tech firms including Spotify and Tieto, but also heavily IT-dependent companies such as consultants PWC here and retailer H&M here Elsewhere in the engineering sector, consultancy group Sweco wants to hire 2,000-3,000 engineers and architects every year, which also requires access to workers from abroad. “We are depending on it,” CEO Asa Bergman told Reuters. While the pre-election proposals of the Social Democrats and Sweden Democrats are primarily intended to make it tougher for refugees and unskilled workers to settle in Sweden, businesses say the measures would also mean more hurdles for skilled immigrants. Employment Minister Ylva Johansson argues Sweden needs to tighten labor immigration laws that have so far been the most generous in OECD countries, as some firms have bent rules to hire cheaper labor rather than plug shortages. “(Immigration) is needed in many professions, and for those professions it should be easy, but ...we must put a stop to it in the professions where there is no labor shortage,” the Social Democrat told Reuters. Peter Karlsson, labor market expert at employers organization Swedish Enterprise, said companies were simply looking for the right staff who were not necessarily available in the local market. However, from January 2016 to June 2018, average annual real wage increases fell to 0.7 percent from 1.7 percent between 2000 and 2015, according to Nordea analyst Torbjorn Isaksson. Even where shortages are acknowledged, the rightward shift in political rhetoric - which has also seen a hardline anti-immigration faction emerge in the center-right Moderate party, polling third on around 20 percent - has already made life tougher for foreign employees, companies say. The time it takes non-Swedes to be hired has jumped as new job requirements - including degree checks, certifications and language courses - have been phased in. Minor paperwork errors have even led to foreign staff being deported, prompting calls for change from 32 large firms including telecoms group Ericsson and bank SEB in an open letter to the government in February. “We feel this is threatening Sweden’s competitiveness,” said engineering company ABB Sweden’s CEO Johan Soderstrom. Employment Minister Johansson acknowledges the problem, which procedural changes at the migration agency had so far failed to address. “When people are extradited for rather trivial mistakes the employer made, it gives a bad image of Sweden and the Swedish labor market,” she said. ABB Sweden’s latest deportee, 38-year-old Iranian sales engineer Ali Omumi, has a last-ditch appeal pending against that ruling. If that fails, “I will lose Sweden, and Sweden will lose, at least, a taxpayer,” he said. Reporting by Esha Vaish, Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, additional reporting by Olof Swahnberg

Labor

Unions

Volkswagen has reached an agreement to resolve litigation with its US dealers related to Dieselgate, including both the TDI vehicles and the value of Volkswagen franchises. The settlement includes cash payments and "additional benefits" to dealers, though final details of the settlement — including the total amount of compensation — have yet to be worked out. The final agreement is expected by the end of September and will need to be approved by a judge overseeing the proceedings. "Our dealers are our partners and we value their ongoing loyalty and passion for the Volkswagen brand," said Heinrich J. Woebcken, CEO of Volkswagen’s North American division, in a statement. "This agreement, when finalized, will strengthen the foundation for our future together and further emphasize our commitment both to our partners and the U.S. market." Nearly a year ago, Volkswagen admitted that it had intentionally been evading environmental regulations on diesel vehicle emissions. For dealers, the scandal resulted in significant amounts of tied up capital from unsellable diesel vehicles, as well as losses in business valuation and falling sales. Volkswagen has been working to settle numerous cases worth tens of billions of dollars with both government regulators and business partners.

Technology

Automotive

Think streaming music, and the first name that springs to mind is probably Spotify—but there are some great alternatives out there. Both Apple and Google have music services for streaming, downloads, and playing local files across phones, tablets, and desktop. There are lots of different ways to compare the two services, but we’re going to try and simplify it by starting with all the similarities. Here’s how Apple Music compares to Google Play Music.The head-to-head comparisonIn a lot of ways, Apple Music and Google Play Music cover a lot of the same ground. They both work on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, and both let you manage local or purchased music for free. They also have an option to pay $9.99 a month for access to a streaming catalog of about 35 million songs.All the major features are covered on both services: music recommendations, podcasts, radio mixes, and offline listening on mobile. Apple Music emphasizes human rather than algorithm-led curation for music recommendations, but the end result is practically the same. Both also let you build and share playlists, as well as love (or like) tracks.Apple Music runs through iTunes, of course, with a cloud element added on top via the iCloud Music Library; Google Play Music is completely web-based, with mobile apps and the option to monitor local folders for file uploads.There are difference in each feature set, but the competition is neck-and-neck when it comes to all the big features we use on a daily basis. That means look and feel is very important when it comes to deciding which suits you best. It’s also the hardest part to talk about objectively, because everyone’s tastes vary.The same rules that apply for iOS vs Android apply here: Apple Music is detailed and elegant (and perhaps too complicated), whereas Google Play Music is bright and bold (and perhaps too simple). Apple Music follows the iTunes aesthetic whereas Google Play Music follows the principles of material design, dominated by that big search box.Why you might prefer Apple MusicIf you have a lot of Apple hardware or if you’ve grown up with iTunes , Apple Music is probably your best option. One or two of the biggest names in music have also released exclusives on Apple Music in the past—albeit for brief periods. Still, it’s something that we haven’t really seen much of to date with Google Play Music.As clunky and complex as it is, iTunes does offer cool features like smart playlists, unlike the Google Play Music web app (at least not natively). If you want to queue up all the songs you haven’t heard in a month, or all the five-star tracks you’ve got from the 80s, then Apple Music is the service for you.Beats 1—the 24/7, celebrity-packed, hand-curated radio station broadcasting around the world—is something else Apple Music has and Google Play Music doesn’t. You might love it or loathe it, but unlike the streaming component of Apple Music, you can at least try it out for free.The “For You” recommendation pane is more comprehensive and seems to be more intelligent than Google’s comparable offering. Plus, you get the Connect social element (where artists share social updates with fans), though this seems to be going the same way as Ping.Why you might prefer Google Play MusicBeing able to upload 50,000 of your own MP3s to the cloud, free of charge, so you can access them from anywhere, is a huge plus—though note that Google does an iTunes Match-style trick, so it stores its own copies of the songs if it can find them. Be careful when uploading your rarities and b-sides to be sure Play Music stores the right versions.iCloud Music Library, by comparison, offers space for 100,000 songs—as long as you’re paying for iTunes Match or Apple Music. Google’s uploading is all done for free, whether or not you subscribe, and it’s also DRM-free.The web-only approach will be a benefit to some and a drawback for others. You can get at your library from any web browser, but you do need web access. You don’t need to worry about where your vast iTunes library is, just whether or not you can get online.Google Play Music doesn’t have Beats, but it does have playlists based around moods and times of day, if you’re stuck for inspiration. A monthly subscription also gets you YouTube Red—ad-free, offline-enabled YouTube, with all the extra bells and whistles that come along with it (exclusive PewDiePie videos!).The bottom lineWe’ve talked about the (many) similarities and (few) differences between Apple Music and Google Play Music, but head-to-head comparisons will only get you so far in a personal choice like this. If you’re a seasoned iTunes user, you’re going to be much more comfortable with Apple Music, whereas if you’re completely new to iTunes, you’re probably going to find Google Play Music much more enjoyable to use.Google Play Music lives on the web, for better or worse, whereas Apple Music links back to the old days (2003-2015) of digital downloads. That, maybe together with Beats 1 and YouTube Red, are these two services in a nutshell, so proceed accordingly.If you really want to work out which one suits you best, then maybe shell out the $19.98 for a month and try them both. You’ll probably come across a host of little annoyances or delights that will help sway you one way or the other.There’s no real comprehensive winner here. If you’re got a Chromebook, go for Google Play Music. If you already have a carefully cultivated iTunes library of 25,000 songs, go for Apple Music. If you use a Sonos setup at home, well, you can choose either.Open kinja-labs.com

Technology

Music

When they first met, Grace Kelly was an Oscar-winning actress and Prince Rainier was . . . a prince. And though their relationship may have been more high-profile than most, their courtship had some surprisingly “normal” elements. These everyday moments — as well as the extraordinary ones — are examined in the new book, Grace Kelly: Hollywood Dream Girl, by Jay Jorgensen and Manoah Bowman. In the book, Lizanne Kelly LeVine, Grace’s sister, says Rainier fell into their family almost immediately. She and her husband Don LeVine had Grace and Rainier over for dinner in the days that followed their 1955 engagement, and were pleased with how seamlessly the royal meshed with them, even taking on chores that he’d likely never done at the palace — including the doing the dishes! “Don and I were at our own little apartment, and we asked them over for dinner,” she said. “He fit in very well—even helped with the dishes. Rainier, when we first met him, I think might have been a little shocked with us when we’d say ‘Come on, Rennie,’ you know. But he fit into the family beautifully.” Just before their engagement, Rainier visited Grace at her childhood home just outside Philadelphia for her family’s annual holiday party, where he got to know the star and her family better. He stayed in the area for two more days, where they truly fell for one another — and Rainier proposed. “[They were] away from all public focus, walking in the woods, driving through the mountains and talking about life and values — and they fell in love,” said Judith Balaban Quine, an actress and one of Grace’s eventual bridesmaids during her 1956 wedding to Rainier. They didn’t make their engagement public until January 1956, and the month before, Grace hosted a party in New York to introduce her friends to her new fiancé. Balaban Quine says that the two were clearly “wildly in love” and “adorable together.” “They were both these wonderfully attractive people that had all this romantic charm, intelligence and wit, and coziness,” she said. The next month, they announced their engagement, and shortly after, Grace started filming what would be her final feature film, High Society. Production had been sped up to accommodate her April 1956 wedding, and it wrapped in time for her to sail to Monaco on April 4 and say “I do” just over two weeks later. “[It was] so hectic and quick and frantic,” Grace later recalled of her engagement. “There was no time to sit and think about anything.” Buy it! Grace Kelly: Hollywood Dream Girl by Jay Jorgensen and Manoah Bowman, $28; amazon.com  

Other

Other

Last year, Samsung got into a bit of trouble over the design of its Galaxy Note 5, with customers reporting that when they inserted the device's S Pen the wrong way round it permanently disabled certain functions. The company's response was not entirely sympathetic. Customers were essentially told to "read the manual, stupid" before Samsung added extra instructions to the device's packaging. Now, though, the company says it has physically changed the Note 5's internal mechanism in order to "avoid the issue" altogether. "As always, we recommend following proper instructions for storing the S Pen." The tinkering was first spotted by an anonymous Phandroid reader, who sent the site before and after shots of the Note 5's circuit board, showing a new ejection mechanism that reportedly allows the S Pen to be safely retrieved when inserted backwards. In an email to The Verge, Samsung confirmed it has indeed changed the design of the Note 5 to fix the flaw. "Samsung can confirm that the Note 5 internal S Pen mechanism has been changed to avoid the issue caused by inserting the S Pen incorrectly," said the company, adding: "As always, we recommend following proper instructions for storing the S Pen." Just like before, customers can argue over how big of a design flaw this problem is in the first place. (Some people love to take the "read the manual, stupid" line; others think that inserting a pen backwards is an easy mistake that anyone — or anyone's child — could make.) However, it's clear at least that Samsung thinks it was enough of a mistake that it deserved introducing a physical fix — even if ​it’s still not admitting to a design fault. Verge Video: Samsung Note 5 review

Technology

Smartphones

Apple created an entire market for mobile apps with its App Store, but it has also been derided by developers who lament that the economics and pricing models are geared toward free or 99-cent games rather than serious productivity software. In the past few years, several high-profile developers have spoken out, explaining how the App Store’s pricing pressure, expectations of eternal free upgrades and lack of trial software makes developing pro-quality apps economically unsustainable. Apple finally realized that the App Store’s rigid pricing was preventing developers from creating and maintaining serious apps. Premium content providers have also been frustrated by Apple’s ongoing 30 percent commission on digital content sales and subscriptions. Amazon notably avoided giving Apple a cut by steering customers to the web browser for purchases instead. Spotify chose to deal with the issue by passing along the extra cost to subscribers and then encouraging them to cancel and renew directly at the end of their billing period. Apparently Apple listened. Right before this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Phil Schiller announced that the App Store will soon support a much wider variety of monetization options, including trials and a reduced commission on in-app subscriptions after the first year. Apple finally realized that the App Store’s rigid pricing was preventing developers from creating and maintaining serious apps — the kind of apps that increase the "stickiness" of a platform and prevent users from leaving. In short, the kind the iOS ecosystem needs to attract and keep customers. When the iTunes Music Store launched in 2003, it defined how music would be consumed for the next decade. By offering every song for 99 cents, Steve Jobs brought order to the chaotic landscape of digital music and jump-started legal downloads, bolstering Tim O’Reilly’s argument that "‘Free’ is eventually replaced by a higher-quality paid service." In 2008, Apple repeated that successful formula with the App Store by again focusing on consumer trust, seamless purchasing and straightforward, albeit limited, pricing — starting at 99 cents. Creators might realize too late that the economic model a particular platform espouses doesn’t work for them. Fast-forward to 2016, and streaming services like Spotify have eaten away at music downloads while the App Store has stagnated. App offerings have largely coalesced around free add-ons to existing services and low-priced games, leaving developers who want to build high-end software left without a viable business model, and driving premium content publishers to process transactions outside of Apple’s platform. With its recent pricing announcements, Apple executives may have finally realized that what it takes to build an ecosystem (in this case, simplicity and uniformity) isn’t necessarily the same as what it takes to help one evolve and flourish long-term. But a more important realization might be that the creators who add value to the platform should own their relationships with their customers and have more freedom to decide how to best monetize their products. Building a business on someone else’s platform is a Faustian bargain. In some cases, like the iOS App Store, it’s the only choice (without resorting to a web app). In others, like YouTube, Spotify, iTunes or Amazon’s Kindle store, an aggregator is often the path of least resistance because that’s where the audiences are. But creators might realize too late that the economic model a particular platform espouses doesn’t work for them. In Apple’s case, many developers have already made the tough decision to leave the Mac App Store in favor of direct sales. We’ll see if the new monetization options get them to return. This isn’t to say monetization would be easy if creators just had more control. We can look to the newspaper industry as an example. There is no single dominant platform for news like there is for video and music — although Facebook is beginning to come close. Publishers have had almost two decades to experiment with new ways to make money, and despite the effort, many have gone out of business trying to figure out a sustainable solution. Staff numbers have been cut, and budgets for time-consuming investigative journalism have been slashed in favor of driving page views and ad impressions though clickbait headlines. But while some publishers have failed to adapt, others have begun to thrive with innovative business models. Subscriptions are working better than ever for many quality publications. Blendle is gaining support for its micropayments platform for journalism and short-form writing. Other sites like Vox and BuzzFeed have eschewed display ads entirely in favor of native advertising. To have any chance of success, we should encourage creators and developers to discover models that are effective for their brands. Far from being a warning, the trials of the publishing industry can serve as a lesson. To have any chance of success, we should encourage creators and developers to discover models that are effective for their brands. Apple’s new monetization options are more evidence that looking to marketplaces to impose a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Louis C.K. might be the poster child for this movement. In addition to offering tickets to his performances himself, he distributed "Horace and Pete" directly to fans — selling video downloads using a minimal homegrown payment system. Creators shouldn’t necessarily need to roll their own technology stack, but they do need to own their audience relationships. iOS developers have always been limited to distributing their apps through the App Store — but many have been forced to handle their monetization outside of it to make the economics work. At least now, creators may be able to combine the convenience of in-app payments with a sustainable model that allows them to continue producing great products. Regardless of whether it’s software, content or services, there’s no simple path to helping an ecosystem grow. But denying creators the ability to experiment is surely a path to stagnation and irrelevance. One size doesn’t fit all, so we should applaud Apple for giving creators and developers the opportunity to craft their own bespoke solutions around their audiences. Ed Laczynski is the co-founder and CEO of Zype, a direct-to-consumer video business platform that makes it easy for content owners and brands to own their audience and their revenue streams without any middlemen. Prior to Zype, he led cloud services at Datapipe, jockeyed digital technology at McCann-Ericksson and was a coder on Wall Street. Reach him @edla. This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Technology

Consumer Electronics

* Blue-chip CSI300 index posts worst one-day loss in 18 months * 10=year treasuries yield hits new three-year high * Government extending campaign to reduce financial system risks By Luoyan Liu and Andrew Galbraith SHANGHAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Worries over a sustained bond selloff in China bled into the country’s stock markets on Thursday, dealing blue chips their worst one-day loss in nearly 18 months, as investors reacted to the government’s latest measures to reduce risks in the financial system. The yield on Chinese 10-year treasury bonds touched a three-year high of 4.03 percent on Thursday, traders said. The unease comes as the government steps up its deleveraging campaign, most recently with measures aimed at curtailing micro-lending and imposing tighter regulation on asset management businesses. The blue-chip CSI300 index tumbled nearly 3 percent to 4,103.73 points, its biggest drop since June 13, 2016, while the Shanghai Composite Index slid 2.3 percent to 3,352.99 in its worst day since December. “For the short term, the biggest worry in the stock market is Beijing’s sweeping new rules to regulate the asset management business, which require financial institutions to set leverage limits on asset management products,” said Yang Weixiao, an analyst with Founder Securities. In some sectors such as healthcare and consumer products, analysts said the concerns provided a good opportunity for profit-taking after long run-ups. The CSI index is still up 24 percent so far this year, while the SSEC is up 8 percent. The selloff in mainland China snowballed into Hong Kong, where the benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1 percent after soaring above the 30,000 level on Wednesday for the first time in a decade. The China Enterprises Index lost 1.9 percent. The yield on 10-year government bonds has risen nearly 40 basis points since the end of September. A joint-venture fixed-income portfolio manager based in Shanghai said the bond selloff was the biggest adjustment for the market since 2010, though he suspected it won’t get too much worse. “But people are still afraid of the regulation factor. The market still wants to reduce leverage and keep cautious,” he said. “I don’t think the government will save the market at this stage. It’s just balancing between economic growth and financial market health... (and) I guess the government or the regulators are still focused on building a more healthy market.” The yield on 5-year AAA corporate debt rose to its highest level in more than three years amid the selloff. One of China’s three policy banks said that it would postpone a bond issue originally planned for Thursday, a sign of the pressure some borrowers face as yields soar. The Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) said without elaborating that it would postpone a planned issuance on Thursday of bonds worth no more than 10 billion yuan due to “some reasons”. The 10-year yield on EXIM bonds was 4.99 percent on Thursday, having risen more than 63 basis points since the end of September. EXIM, owned by the finance ministry and central bank, plays a critical role in providing export financing and government-directed lending to other countries. Higher rates are pushing up forward points on the yuan currency, even though spot yuan has been very stable. Writing by John Ruwitch; Editing by Kim Coghill

Finance

Investment

Democrats were never relying on putting the Russia investigation at the center of their presidential campaigns. But the freedom to rebrand President Donald Trump as a criminal had been widely viewed as a major potential asset — a crowd-pleaser, at minimum, and an undercurrent to Democrats’ broader effort to portray Trump as unfit for the presidency. The Mueller report’s findings cut deeply into that prospective line of attack. After a summary of Mueller's report concluded there wasn't enough evidence to find Trump conspired with Russia to win the 2016 election, Democrats seeking to unseat the president joined a chorus of partisans calling for the full report’s release. But they also emerged from the weekend confronting the near-certainty that Trump will not be felled by an outside investigation, and that the 2020 campaign — in a period of relative peace and economic prosperity — will be waged on familiar ground advantageous for an incumbent president. Dan Sena, a former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said if he was advising a presidential candidate he would say that as important as the Mueller investigation is, "what impacts people’s everyday lives are health care costs, anxiety over their next mortgage, anxiety over their next paycheck." What voters are looking for, Sena said, "is somebody who has a vision for the country.” A Democratic strategist who has spoken with multiple 2020 candidates added, “This is what happens when you spend two years obsessed with something that there’s no guarantees of panning out.” Most of the leading candidates for the Democratic nomination, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, for months have clung to a similar position: Mueller must be allowed to conclude his report without interference. Then, before and after the four-page summary was released, they demanded the full report, and for Attorney General Bill Barr to testify before Congress. But for all the attention it has received in Washington and on cable TV news, the Russia investigation has been far less visible in the opening months of the campaign. At events in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other early-voting states, attendees have asked far more questions about health care, climate change, education and taxes than they have about Russia or Mueller. “If you go talk to the 2018 House candidates who won all these districts, they will all tell you they weren’t talking about Russia and Robert Mueller. They were talking about health care and education and other issues,” said Steve Elmendorf, a Democratic strategist and veteran of presidential campaigns. The anti-Trump positions that continue to find favor with Democrats tend to be broader indictments of Washington under Republican control, along with Trump’s antithetical approaches and vulgar behavior. “People in the smart (presidential) campaigns will get their heads out of Twitter and cable news and focus on what people in early states really care about,” Elmendorf said. For months, Russia has barely registered with voters as a top issue, with both Gallup and the Pew Research Center finding economic issues, health care, immigration and other concerns at the top of Americans’ minds. And for the most part, candidates have hewed to a belief that voters are less animated by Democrats who are anti-Trump than by Democrats who stand for something themselves. Even as she railed against the president at a speech in front of Trump International Hotel in New York on Sunday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said she is “not running for president because of who I’m fighting against.” Even if they did care more about Russia, it's unclear that the Mueller report would change voters’ views about Trump. Opinions about the Russia investigation have long fallen along partisan lines, with large majorities of Democrats believing Trump worked with Russia to influence the election — and large majorities of Republicans believing he did not, according to the latest Ipsos/Reuters poll. “Folks in Washington, D.C. are in a bubble, so everybody is disconnected from the day-to-day realities of Americans and what they’re thinking about,” said Michael Ceraso, who worked on the presidential campaigns of Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. On a presidential campaign, he said, “When you’re talking about criminal justice or climate change or rural and small-town economies, folks are not thinking about" the Mueller probe. Still, the findings’ release left some Democrats in a lurch. Shortly before the president was cleared of conspiring with Russia, Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke said while campaigning that Trump had colluded with Russia “beyond the shadow of a doubt,” adding it was “beyond the shadow of a doubt that once in office, the president of the United States sought to obstruct justice.” After the summary was released, O'Rourke took to Twitter and called for the Mueller report to be released in full. Trump, for his part, was taking the first steps in what is likely to be a protracted victory lap, telling reporters on Sunday that “it’s a shame that our country had to go through this.” The Mueller report did not weigh in on whether Trump had obstructed justice, saying there was evidence on both sides but drawing no conclusion. And the report won’t be the last of Trump’s legal troubles or possible financial entanglements with Russia that his Democratic critics can seize on. There's still the question of whether the president will release his tax returns, which for years he has said have been under audit. Another matter is whether the Trump administration is doing enough to prevent Russia from interfering in the 2020 election. Carol Fowler, a prominent South Carolina Democrat who has been watching the candidates closely, sees a clear contrast between the president and his opponents on election integrity. “He can say he was exonerated from colluding with Russians in the last election, but he can’t say he has done anything to keep the Russians from interfering in 2020,” Fowler said. “I believe that’s what we need to focus on — and I think the candidates ought to be talking about everything they would do that the Trump administration wouldn’t do to keep that from happening again.” Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer and himself a former White House candidate, wouldn’t say whether he thought Democrats had just lost a salient talking point. “I obviously think [Trump is] going to win but I think it’s way premature to say that,” Giuliani told POLITICO when asked if the no-collusion finding would come back to bite Democrats. Giuliani said Trump’s base would rally around the decision. “I guess you’d almost say, if the election were held in a week or a month” it would be a boon for Trump. Darren Samuelsohn contributed to this report.

Politics

Law

A reported bomb threat on Monday briefly shut down the Farragut West Metro station in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C., just before rush hour. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced shortly before 5 p.m. that trains were bypassing the station due to a "police investigation." OR/BL/SV Lines: Trains are temporarily bypassing Farragut West station due to a police investigation. Shuttle buses have been requested. — Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) August 13, 2018 Multiple reports indicated that the station — which services the Orange, Silver and Blue lines — was closed off due to a bomb threat. The station is located at the corner of 18th and I streets. Police blocking exit to Farragut West Metro claiming bomb threat. Commuter alert: Try Farragut North. pic.twitter.com/GBJcJRaO3j Note to blue, silver and orange line @wmata commuters: Farragut West station was just completely evacuated because of bomb threat. Cop cars stationed outside. Vicinity being roped off by officers now. #wmata #metro pic.twitter.com/X0Px2tcJRX Scary scene just now at Farragut West @wmata station. Police started saying bomb threat then ppl started screaming and running. pic.twitter.com/sgAVORKJGW WMATA announced at 5:09 p.m. that the station had been reopened after the bomb threat was apparently unsubstantiated.  OR/SV Lines: Farragut West station has been reopened, shuttle bus service has been cancelled. Updated at 5:18 p.m. View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Other

Other

The severe national shortage of affordable homes and deepening homelessness crises across the U.S. have thrust housing policy into the center of the Democratic presidential primary. Affordable housing advocates estimate that the U.S. lacks roughly 7 million affordable homes or apartments needed to house low-income Americans.  Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, explained that for every 10 low-income renters in the U.S., there are fewer than four homes within their price range.  “There is no state or major metropolitan area or community that has a sufficient supply of homes for its lowest-income renters,” Yentel said.  “The fact that more and more people are either seeing the effects of the housing crisis in their communities or they’re feeling it themselves is increasing the pressure on policymakers to put forward solutions," she added. The Trump administration has turned to spurring housing construction through deregulation, cutting taxes and reducing federal subsidies for affordable homes. The administration has also sought to shift the responsibility of creating affordable housing to the private sector, arguing that federal policy alone can’t end the crisis. “The federal government cannot solve this problem alone,” said Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben CarsonBenjamin (Ben) Solomon CarsonAffordable housing crisis demands urgent, sustained action Democrats target housing shortage as advocates warn of crisis Harris, Waters release 0 billion affordable housing bill MORE at a May congressional hearing on affordable housing. “This is not a federal problem, it’s everyone’s problem. That is why we are exploring new ways to bring the power of the private, philanthropic and faith-based sectors together to tackle this challenge." Democrats are largely united against Trump administration efforts to loosen federal fair housing laws, reduce public housing funding and remove protections for certain immigrants and transgender homeless individuals.  President TrumpDonald John TrumpOvernight Defense: Ex-Navy secretary slams Trump in new op-ed | Impeachment tests Pompeo's ties with Trump | Mexican president rules out US 'intervention' against cartels EXCLUSIVE: 2020 Dem Andrew Yang releases tax returns Giuliani calls Trump to say he was joking about 'insurance policy' MORE’s threats to raid homeless camps in California and Texas have also ignited an acrimonious battle between the administration and Democrats, raising fears among housing advocates eager for solutions. There are more than 550,000 Americans without homes, according to federal data compiled in 2017. An increasing portion of the homeless population are men and women who’ve been priced out of homes and neighborhoods they were once able to afford, said David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference (NHC). “We've always struggled with dealing with the chronic homeless population, because their issues are severe addiction– and mental health–involved, and that makes it much more complicated,” Dworkin said. “But layered on top of that now is probably, in all likelihood, the worst case of economic homelessness since the Great Depression.” Democrats broadly agree that a massive federal intervention is crucial to reverse the crisis policies and fill a national shortfall. The party is also unified around challenging zoning laws used to limit the construction of affordable housing units through federal grants and incentives. “It's an absolute crisis in this country,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezDemocrats: The 'Do Quite a Lot' Party Democrats target housing shortage as advocates warn of crisis Ocasio-Cortez fires back after Trump brands her a 'Do Nothing Democrat' MORE (D-N.Y.) told The Hill on Thursday. “People are struggling to put food on their table and are struggling to keep their leases.” A slew of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenEXCLUSIVE: 2020 Dem Andrew Yang releases tax returns Saagar Enjeti: Why Warren's 'Medicare For All' rollout has contributed to polling drop Moderators named for December Democratic primary debate MORE (D-Mass.), Bernie SandersBernie SandersKrystal Ball rips report saying Obama would intervene to stop Sanders Conservatives must absolutely talk politics at the Thanksgiving table Moderators named for December Democratic primary debate MORE (I-Vt.), Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisOvernight Health Care: Massachusetts governor signs groundbreaking vaping flavor ban | Disability advocates questions 2020 Dems' mental health plans | US birth rate falls for fourth straight year Moderators named for December Democratic primary debate Bernie Sanders 'slow jams' the news with Jimmy Fallon MORE (D-Calif.) and Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerPro-Booker super PAC shuts down Moderators named for December Democratic primary debate Bloomberg bets 2020 campaign on unprecedented strategy MORE (D-N.J.), have also proposed filling that gap through a massive investment in the construction and maintenance of low-cost houses and apartments.  “We're not seeing developers return to the market for first-time homes [or] modest homes,” said Michael Wallace, a legislative director at the National League of Cities. “The challenge here is that for affordable housing to be affordable, it has to be subsidized.” Warren is among several candidates who have pitched the affordable housing problem as an unbalanced equation exacerbated by racially discriminatory lending policies and exclusionary zoning laws. While her housing reform plan includes measures to bridge the racial homeownership gap and fight lending discrimination, the proposal focuses on building 3.2 million affordable homes through federal grants and boosting rental assistance for low income families. “Our housing problem in America is a problem on the supply side, and that means that the federal government stopped building new housing a long time ago,” Warren said during the Democratic primary debate Wednesday night. “Housing is how we build wealth in America,” Warren continued.  Harris also released a bill with Rep. Maxine WatersMaxine Moore WatersDemocrats target housing shortage as advocates warn of crisis On The Money: Trump signs short-term spending bill to avoid shutdown | Pelosi casts doubt on USMCA deal in 2019 | California high court strikes down law targeting Trump tax returns Harris, Waters release 0 billion affordable housing bill MORE (D-Calif.) on Thursday that would spend $70 billion to repair and upgrade federally subsidized housing. The bill followed her previous proposals to offer a tax credit to families that spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing and financial assistance for first-time black homebuyers. And Booker has proposed limiting federal transportation infrastructure grants to cities and towns without zoning laws that discourage low-income development or foster gentrification.   The vast majority 2020 Democratic candidates have also pitched similar measures to drastically expand the supply of affordable housing. But the party faces internal debates over how far and in which direction the federal government should go to ensure low-income Americans can find — and stay in — affordable homes.  Sanders has proposed spending $2.5 trillion to build close to 10 million affordable homes, including $410 billion in housing assistance funding that Congress would not be permitted to limit. His plan, like several of his other policy proposals, is by far the costliest and most ambitious in the Democratic field. But the most controversial aspect of Sanders’s plan among housing advocates is a federal cap limiting annual rent increases to 3 percent or 1.5 percent of the consumer price index, a gauge of inflation. “Rent control may be the solution in some places. I really can't believe it is the solution everywhere,” Wallace said, adding that states and cities should be able to find flexible and targeted solutions for the unique needs of their citizens. “There's not really a one size fits all solution here,” Wallace continued. Dworkin, who served in the Treasury Department under Trump and former President Obama, added that “a federal rent control standard is a very blunt instrument and it's likely with innumerable unintended consequences.” “The intention of it is understandable,” Dworkin continued. “But in practice, it almost never had the intended impact and creates market aberrations that are counter-productive.” Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Sanders, said that while New York real estate developers have found workarounds the city’s rent caps, she rejects “the idea that it's either a supply problem or a tenant protection problem.” “There are areas where people say it's a supply problem and they use that as justification to build luxury housing,” she said. “We also need price protections and rent protections for tenants.” View the discussion thread. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax The contents of this site are ©2019 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Society

Inequality

American, United and Frontier airlines vowed Wednesday not to cooperate with President Donald Trump's policy of separating migrant children from their families — provoking an unusually sharp rebuke from the Department of Homeland Security. Southwest Airlines later said it too wants nothing to do with Trump's widely condemned handling of children seized at the U.S.-Mexico border. American and United both said they were asking the federal government not to use their planes to transport children who have been taken from their parents under the new policy. Frontier said it will not "knowingly" allow its aircraft to be used for that purpose. “We bring families together, not apart,” American said, adding: “We have no desire to be associated with separating families, or worse, to profit from it.” In a similar statement, United CEO Oscar Munoz said: "Our company’s shared purpose is to connect people and unite the world. This policy and its impact on thousands of children is in deep conflict with that mission and we want no part of it." DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton fired backed with a statement and tweet-storm accusing the airlines of "buckling to a false media narrative." "It’s unfortunate that @AmericanAir , @united, and @FlyFrontier no longer want to partner with the brave men and women of DHS to protect the traveling public, combat human trafficking, and to swiftly reunite unaccompanied illegal immigrant children with their families," Houlton wrote. "Despite being provided facts on this issue, these airlines clearly do not understand our immigration laws and the long-standing devastating loopholes that have caused the crisis at our southern border." The back-and-forth — playing out shortly before Trump announced he would end the separation policy — was yet another example of corporations distancing themselves from the administration's practice of seizing and caging children at the border. Two days earlier, Microsoft called itself "dismayed" by the policy after taking criticism for its business dealings with DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Two of the airlines balking at cooperating with Trump — American and Southwest — are based in Texas. The Association of Flight Attendants also distanced itself from Trump's handling of immigrant children, saying Wednesday that it "condemns any action to purposefully separate children from their parents." In its statement on the controversy, American Airlines said it has “no knowledge that the federal government has used American to transport children who have been separated from their parents due to the recent immigration policy, but we would be extremely disappointed to learn that is the case.” American said it has asked the federal government “to immediately refrain” from using American for such flights. “We have every expectation the government will comply with our request and we thank them for doing so,” American said. United also said it doesn't think children have been transported on its planes. Munoz said his airline has contacted federal officials "to inform them that they should not transport immigrant children on United aircraft who have been separated from their parents." Frontier chimed in on Twitter. "Frontier prides itself on being a family airline and we will not knowingly allow our flights to be used to transport migrant children away from their families," Frontier wrote. "At this time, we are not aware if Frontier has been used for this purpose." And in a statement to POLITICO, Southwest called itself "a company founded on love." "While we do not have evidence that tickets purchased for Southwest flights have been utilized to transport detained children, we do not wish to have involvement in the process of separating children from their parents," the airline said. "Therefore, we appeal to anyone making those types of travel decisions not to utilize Southwest Airlines." Rounding out major U.S. airlines, Delta Air Lines chimed in, saying “recent reports of families being separated are disheartening and do not align with Delta’s core values,” though the airline did not go so far as to say it had asked the administration not to use their planes to transport separated children.

Politics

Immigration

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh By Saikat Chatterjee LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - The Norwegian crown rallied to its highest level against the euro in five months on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected inflation data raised expectations of another rate hike from the central bank in the coming months. Core CPI for March came in at 2.7 percent compared to market expectations of 2.5 percent, supporting the view that near-term inflation is holding up in an economy that is also benefiting from higher commodity prices. The crown, which is already one of the best performers against the dollar and the euro so far this year, gained by nearly half a percent against the euro and the dollar. Versus the euro, the crown gained to 9.5850 crowns per euro, its highest level since mid-November 2018. Despite the gains, it broadly remains one of the most undervalued currencies in the G10 FX space. “The positive economic development as well as price pressure is making rate hikes necessary,” Commerzbank strategists said in a daily note. The optimism around the crown was in contrast to the general sense of caution surrounding the euro before the outcome of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. The ECB is all but certain to keep policy on hold, taking its time to evaluate whether its most recent stimulus is enough to arrest a rapid decline in sentiment. The single currency was also hemmed in a tight range thanks to a bunch of currency options struck between 1.12 to 1.15 levels by traders in the eventuality of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal. That hedging in the currency markets was also evident in the sterling derivative markets, with deep out of the money puts, a form of insurance protection to protect against the likelihood of sterling crashing sharply, seeing some demand. Elsewhere, broader sentiment in the market remained subdued as the flare-up between the United States and Europe added to other potential global flashpoints over trade, including Sino-U.S. negotiations. Against a basket of key rival currencies, the dollar was broadly flat at 96.943. Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Catherine Evans

Finance

Bonds

Google is now letting musicians post updates that will show up inside their “Knowledge Panel” — aka that card that pops up when you search for famous people. It’s another expansion of the Posts on Google feature that the company has been rolling out over the past few years that started with big companies and celebrities in 2016 and included local businesses last year. Along with the automatically generated content like YouTube videos and biographical information, musicians will now be able to post their own images, videos, GIFs, and text. If it sounds a lot like Twitter, that’s because it essentially is — right down to the verified blue checkmark that will let you know that posts are truly from the artist (or at least their permitted representatives). The feature is live today for any musicians whose search result includes a Knowledge Panel already. If you meet the criteria (it’s pretty easy to check; just Google yourself), you can sign up to be verified and start posting over at the Posts on Google website.

Other

Other

When Donald Trump was just starting out as a candidate for the presidency, he used to confuse ratings and polls. It was a meaningless eccentricity from a showbiz candidate going nowhere, a sign of the unreality of his campaign and of his own strange place in American culture. Now, it’s clear how badly a cosmopolitan media that may not have watched The Apprentice missed Trump’s continuous appeal. The sneers of New York tycoons who considered Trump a fraud, and of their media friends, couldn’t drown out the volume of the television, of The Apprentice and later The Celebrity Apprentice. This isn’t an accident. Trump’s late publicist Jim Dowd recalled that, as a television actor, Trump, paid particular attention to markets in the midwest and south. "The Donald Trump post-first season of The Apprentice all of a sudden became a very popular figure on Main Street, U.S.A.," Dowd told Frontline. "So it was Wall Street before, and then it became Main Street to the point where we showed up in Denver for an event, and we had to have a separate room just for The Apprentice fans." Jeff Zucker, Trump's erstwhile benefactor — then of NBC, now leading #FakeNews CNN — bet on The Apprentice in the waning days of the network's upscale, white Must-See-TV Thursday lineup, which included Friends and Will & Grace. But Trump, who Dowd said once served him and Apprentice creator Mark Burnett Oscar Mayer bologna so they could toast to a successful day of publicity with the sandwich meat, proved to have an unexpected appeal. Trump wasn’t quite as bad a businessman as his detractors like to think — their calculations of this return-on-investment typically leave out the staggering sums he dropped on his lifestyle. But he was a truly great publicist, and, it turned out, stellar television actor. Now Trump is failing as a president by every measure — popularity, global influence, a basic grasp on the levers of power. Perhaps most fatally, his incoherence has prevented him from projecting power through the federal government. He has been essentially irrelevant to the Republican health care agenda, except to draw out the process when Congress might have otherwise put the issue aside after the first disastrous attempt in the spring. But the same instincts that have scuppered his presidency made for unbelievable, tremendous television. "I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a frisson of anticipation when logging into Twitter early in the morning, knowing that the president of the United States could be tweeting about literally anything, no matter how strange or self-sabotaging,” the Trump critic and conservative writer who goes by the name Allahpundit wrote recently. "Is he going to start riffing on Obama’s birth certificate again? Might he be ready to flame Rosie O’Donnell?...Increasingly, The Trump Show isn’t a distraction from the Trump presidency. It is the Trump presidency.” The ratings for the Trump show bear this theory out. They are, in a word, terrific: Fox News is still No. 1, even in its post-Bill O'Reilly incarnation; CNN, Zucker's kingdom, and Trump's stated enemy, keeps hitting quarterly highs in ratings; and MSNBC has directly benefited from Fox News' implosion, coinciding with Rachel Maddow's rise as the #resist hero. (Here’s a litany of other beneficiaries.) The television executives who felt qualms about syndicating the unfiltered Trump show through the Republican primaries are now cleansing their consciences with episode after episode of The Americans, produced for free by the American government. This is classic reality television, down to its defining conventions. Perhaps the most memorable trope of reality TV — popularized in the United States by Trump’s old Pygmalion, Burnett — is the confessional interview. Those are the moments when a cast member directly addresses the camera, to tell us how they really feel. This is what happens on a Bachelorette date, when Rachel turns to the audience to say she needs Peter to assure her that he'll be ready for marriage at the end of this, or when one of the Real Housewives is filmed in formal dress in an ornate room and snipes about the lies of her castmates. That moment-by-moment insight into the inner lives of the cast of Survivor: White House doesn’t always include those on-camera revelations, though Trump’s public disappointment with Jeff Sessions — in interviews, on TV, at the White House and always with tension or even a tease about what could happen — fits the genre perfectly. More often, the confessionals come through leaks from the supporting characters: We know about Steve Bannon’s enmity for Jared Kushner, and his complex and shifting relationship with Reince Priebus. We know about Sean Spicer’s frustration, Rex Tillerson’s pique. Everyone is mad at Don Jr.! It’s an emotional mess. And that twisting, ever fluid dynamic extends to each breaking news development. The country has been rapidly conditioned to wait for the drama of the emotional reaction — the kind of torqued up authenticity on which reality TV thrives. The White House reality show goes off the rails when it shifts into more scripted moments. In June, cabinet members heaped stilted praise on Trump for the cameras, and the audience winced. "To me, that cabinet meeting, that was scripted,” one Emmy-nominated reality producer told BuzzFeed News. “It felt unreal, it felt fake, it felt inauthentic, it felt produced." The ratings though — the ratings are terrific. Better, in fact, than on The Apprentice as it aged. Jim Dowd, whose job as a publicist required he tell Trump about the show's diminished numbers, found himself unable to do it: "There’s about 10 people who cover ratings in terms of the publications that matter most," Dowd said. "And he would want to make sure I called all those 10 people and told them, 'No. 1 show on television, won its time slot,' and I’m looking at the numbers and at that point, say Season 5, for example, we were No. 72. I can’t tell that to him. I can’t say that. Maybe I should have, maybe I should have gotten Jeff Zucker involved, but he became kind of a monster when it came to these ratings." Here, however, it’s hard to turn away. And the recent rise of Anthony Scaramucci marks a kind of recognition that this is a show. Scaramucci is a television figure, a money manager known best for a conference he organized, and who played the role of hedge fund titan as Trump played real estate baron. A former talk show host who seemed to be working toward a CNBC show, he was hired for his cocksure grace in front of the camera. Scaramucci recently suggested he’ll be adding an over-the-top morning show (as we say in the biz! BuzzFeed News recently announced one!) to the lineup. There could be “a desk on the White House lawn.” But that’s a crowded space. And the biggest TV show in history is already happening. The rise of Trump has so many roots. Pundits routinely understate, though, the centrality of his television celebrity. And they miss its continuing power: Trump may not, yet, have figured out how to be president — but he has monopolized our attention, dominated the narrative and the story, and it would be mistake to dismiss that power. A president doesn’t have to accomplish traditional things (policy, programs, reforms) to change the culture. What if once we start viewing major American institutions as players in the Trump Show, we can’t stop? He’s failing at what used to be thought of as the presidency, but succeeding at reality television like no one ever has before. The question is whether there’s still a difference.

Politics

Government

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank can buy just over one year’s worth of German bonds under its new asset-purchase program and must bend its own rules to keep the scheme running longer, risking fresh internal and legal conflict, two sources familiar with the process said. Facing weak growth and low inflation, the ECB decided last month to start buying debt indefinitely. That opened a rift in a normally collegial Governing Council — conservative policymakers felt they had been strong-armed into a scheme that will be difficult to manage and exit. Opponents of the purchases — the central bank chiefs of the euro zone’s biggest countries, France and Germany, among others — argued that the purchases should have been an emergency tool. Indefinite buying could conflict with the safeguards the ECB set up to keep it legal, they said. Those safeguards include buying no more one third of each country’s debt and buying bonds according to each country’s shareholding in the ECB, commonly known as the capital key. But if both rules are strictly followed, just over one year’s worth of eligible German bonds are left on the market, the sources said. That will force the new ECB president, Christine Lagarde, to solve a difficult problem created by her predecessor. To delay hitting this wall, policymakers would prefer “bending” the capital key and buying fewer German bonds rather than changing the issuer limit, two other sources, with direct knowledge said. The ECB has already deviated from the capital key in the past. By sticking to this practice, the ECB could buy German bonds “beyond a year,” a fifth source, familiar the ECB’s decision-making, said. An ECB spokesman declined to comment. Deviating from the capital key does not have direct legal implications, so it would be easier to defend in a court of law, where the program has already been challenged by a group of German academics. But it could be politically risky, since it would put Germany, the biggest opponent of the program, at a disadvantage. Still, it would take time for any divergence to become significant, and the ECB can argue that past purchases also deviated as the bank sucked up extra debt in Italy, Spain and France to make up for countries where it could not buy. The ECB’s holdings of Italian, Spanish and French debt are currently 8.4%, 7.4% and 3.9% above their quotas, according to Reuters calculations, which exclude Greece because it is not eligible for purchases. The problem is that the share of German debt is already 1.3% percent behind the capital key, an argument for some that the ECB is bankrolling profligate countries at the expense of virtuous Germany. But the capital key is supposed to apply to the stock of government bonds, now totaling 2.1 trillion euros on the ECB’s balance sheet. So it will take time for the new government bond purchases, which are likely to be in the region of 15 billion euros a month if history is anything to go by, to affect the total in a material way. The European Court of Justice has already cleared the bond purchases, dismissing a challenge by the German academics. But it said that safeguards, such as the ECB’s self-imposed rules, are necessary to ensure the bank does not finance governments, a major taboo under European law. Changing the issuer limit could fuel a fresh legal challenge, and the ECB’s legal committee has already highlighted this risk, the Financial Times reported earlier. Indeed, the German complainants, headed by the Berlin professor Markus Kerber, also indicated that the new bond purchase change the nature of the program, so courts should have a fresh look. Another option the ECB could consider would be to buy more private-sector debt to rely less on government bonds, but three of the sources said there was little appetite for this. The ECB has already been burnt on the bonds of scandal-hit South African retailer Steinhoff in earlier purchases. Many in the Governing Council argue that a bigger presence in the private-sector market would unduly lower risk perception. Still, any method to prolong German purchases only buys the ECB a limited amount of time before the issuer limit is reached. Lagarde will have just months to solve this, the sources said. A solution is also pressing because the ECB pledged bond purchases until just before it starts raising interest rates. Markets don’t expect that until 2025, well after it will hit its limits in every country. Editing by Larry King

Finance

Banking