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After the martyrdom of St. Boniface, Vergilius was made Bishop of Salzburg (766 or 767) and laboured successfully for the upbuilding of his diocese as well as for the spread of the Faith in neighbouring heathen countries, especially in Carinthia. He died at Salzburg, 27 November, 789. In 1233 he was canonized by Gregory IX. His doctrine that the earth is a sphere was derived from the teaching of ancient geographers, and his belief in the existence of the antipodes was probably influenced by the accounts which the ancient Irish voyagers gave of their journeys. This, at least, is the opinion of Rettberg ("Kirchengesch. Deutschlands", II, 236).

"Whoever gets him, they'll be getting a good one," David Montgomery said. INDIANAPOLIS — Hakeem Butler has been surrounded by some of the best wide receivers on the planet this week at the NFL Scouting Combine. It’s an experience that might humble some. But for Butler, it has only enhanced his confidence. As it stands, 22-year-old Butler is not regarded as the best wide receiver in this year’s NFL Draft. He’s projected by some experts to go as late as the third round. But when wide receivers were measured Thursday, Butler gained some attention: He led all receivers in height (6-foot-5 3/8), arm length (35 1/4 inches) and wingspan (83 7/8 inches). On Thursday, running back David Montgomery, who played with Butler at Iowa State, captured the general vibe surrounding Butler here. Butler says he’s met with every NFL team on an informal basis. He had “nine or 10” formal meetings set up for Friday night, but didn’t divulge which teams he’d be sitting down with. There is clear interest in Butler, who declared for the draft after his junior season in which he had 60 receptions for 1,318 yards and nine touchdowns. But in his mind, the hype machine hasn’t been turned up high enough — yet. Butler, of course, is talking about Saturday’s wide receiver workouts. If he crushes the drills, he could vault up the draft board — perhaps into the first round. And he feels well-prepared because he’s spent the past few months working out with some legendary NFL receivers in Calvin Johnson and Anquan Boldin. Butler met Boldin at the South Florida gym where he trains. He was connected to Johnson through his agent. Johnson and Boldin are known for being precise, tactical receivers. But Butler says the most valuable lesson of working with them has been learning about how they think. Butler admitted the first time he worked with Johnson, who went to six Pro Bowls with the Detroit Lions from 2010-15, that he was a little starstruck. Butler is hoping that one day he can leave a legacy like Boldin or Johnson. But for now, his goal is to prove what he already believes is true: that he is the top receiver in this draft.

8i announced today it has launched a web player, the 8i Portal, for its volumetric 3D video of people in virtual reality. Using 8i’s technology and VR goggles, you’ll be able to walk around a person inside a virtual environment to see their entire being. The Wellington, New Zealand-based startup said its VR platform will allow you to view fully volumetric 3D video. Previously, VR cameras could record a partial torso of a person, but the 8i Portal goes beyond that. It enables “complete freedom of movement,” and it gives you a sense of “presence,” or the feeling that you are there in the virtual space with the person. It creates a more “emotional connection with the person you are watching,” the company said in the video below. 8i’s platform will let you create, experience, and share immersive 3D video of real people — for virtual reality, augmented reality, and the web. I’m not sure how it can be used for games, but you can see how it could give you a unique perspective at a music concert or theatrical performance. Linc Gasking, who previously ran countingdown.com (which DreamWorks acquired), and Eugene d’Eon, formerly of Weta Digital and Nvidia, founded the startup in 2014. To date, 8i has raised $14.8 million in funding from investors including RRE Ventures, Founders Fund Science, Horizons Ventures, Samsung Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, Signia Venture Partners, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Sound Ventures, Inevitable Ventures, Freelands, and Advancit Capital. The new 8i Portal is a volumetric VR player for Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive VR platforms. If you use the Oculus Rift or Vive headsets, you can view cool VR videos of people who look real, not computer-generated, and move around them, make eye contact, and feel “true presence,” the company said.

The Arlington County Board plans to vote Saturday afternoon on giving Amazon $23 million and other incentives to build a headquarters campus in Crystal City, but only after hearing scores of northern Virginia residents and advocates testify for or against the project. The five-member board is expected to support the plan, which was announced amid much hoopla on Nov. 13. The proposed county incentives are part of an agreement in which Amazon would occupy significant office space and bring at least 25,000 high-paying jobs to Arlington in coming years. Opponents hope to postpone the vote until after additional public hearings, where they want representatives of the online retail giant to answer questions directly from anyone in the community. The Saturday hearing was scheduled to begin no earlier than 1 p.m. and last several hours before the vote. Ninety-one people signed up in advance to speak on the topic. In the four months since Arlington won a much-publicized, nationwide contest to attract the facility known as HQ2, Arlington residents have been asking questions about its impact on their community. People have looked at the county’s five online Q&A sessions 14,000 times, and about 400 attended community events to discuss the provisions in the Amazon agreement. Board members and county staff also met with scores of civic organizations, served on multiple panels and appeared on television, online and in news articles to discuss the deal. Most Arlingtonians, northern Virginians and residents of the Washington region support Amazon’s arrival, several surveys have found. Business organizations, universities and nonprofit groups came out strongly for the deal. But a small, vocal group of activists has sought to block the project, saying that the county and commonwealth should not give any incentives to one of the world’s most valuable companies. They also have demanded housing and job protections for existing residents. These opponents — including left-wing organizations and immigrants groups — felt empowered after Amazon canceled plans last month to build a headquarters facility in New York City, also with 25,000 jobs. The company withdrew after criticism of the plan from some elected leaders, unions and community activists. In Virginia, however, such opposition did not appear to catch fire among the broader public. Officials estimate that the Amazon project’s net fiscal impact on Arlington could be worth additional revenue of $162 million over 12 years and $392.5 million over 16 years. The incentives agreement promises the world’s largest online retailer cash grants estimated at about $23 million if it occupies 6.05 million square feet of office space in Crystal City and Pentagon City through 2035. The money would come from an expected increase in the hotel, motel and lodging tax paid by visitors; Amazon would get up to 15 percent of that increase, pegged to how much floor space is in active use by the company each year from 2020 to 2035. Amazon’s offices will be located within an already-established special tax district where a portion of the property tax revenue goes toward infrastructure improvements such as parks and wider sidewalks. The incentive agreement says that half of any new revenue from that district starting in 2021 will go specifically toward improvements around the Amazon buildings for the following 10 years. That grant is worth an estimated $28 million but the county says it’s not a grant just for Amazon, because the improvements will benefit other companies in the immediate area. Amazon will have a chance to express its opinion on how the county uses the money, although the board will make the decision. The county also offered Amazon the possibility of using its fast, fiber-optic network connection, which would be the subject of a separate agreement if the company chooses to use it. It’s not yet clear whether Amazon will pay the local business license tax because that tax is levied only on certain types of business, and Amazon has not yet announced which of its business units will be based in Arlington. If the company does pay the license tax, then some of its operations could be eligible for a discount of up to 72 percent under an existing program designed to attract technology companies. While Arlington pored over the details, the Virginia General Assembly passed, and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam signed, an incentives package worth up to $750 million for Amazon.

Karl Kispert, principal of cyber and information security, has more than 28 years of experience in selling, managing and delivering information risk management, internal audit, regulatory and compliance programs, and information security and technology risk management. A former chief information security officer, Kispert has helped design and implement cybersecurity programs for many firms, according to the firm. “By adding this new service line, and bringing someone with Karl’s expertise to the firm, we can service yet another important aspect of our clients’ and prospects’ businesses, ensuring their continued success,” CEO Louis Grassi said in a written statement. Services will include full security programs, compliance, third party vendor risk assessment, threat management, and managed security services.

The Hawaii man who was fired after issuing the false ballistic missile alert in mid-January told reporters Friday that he was very upset over the incident but remained adamant that it appeared, at the time, to be a real-life attack. The former state employee – a man in his 50s who asked to remain anonymous for his safety – said that he was “100 percent sure” that the drill on Jan. 13 was real, even though several other employees heard the word “exercise” repeated throughout the message, according to officials. Once the man realized what had happened, he said he felt like he’d sustained a “body blow.” Since then, he’s reportedly been distressed to the point that he has had trouble eating and sleeping. During a news conference on Tuesday, investigating officer Brig. Gen. Bruce Oliveira shared details of the state’s probe and said when the mistake was realized, the employee “froze” and “seemed confused.” Another employee had to resume his duties and send a correction message, Oliveira said. The employee also reportedly had at least two previous incidents in which he mistook drills for real-world events, including for tsunami and fire warnings. But Oliveira said the employee was previously counseled and allowed to resume his duties. Following the event, the employee was fired and Vern Miyagi, who oversaw the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, took responsibility and resigned. Toby Clairmont, the agency’s executive officer, also resigned before disciplinary action could be taken, and authorities are in the process of suspending another worker without pay. By 8:20 a.m., Hawaii EMA tweeted there was “NO missile threat” to the state, but failed to send a phone alert for another 38 minutes, causing mass panic among people who weren’t able to check social media. Fox News’ Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Shania Twain expected to break the charts with new album NOW! Even after a 15-year hiatus, she’s still the one! Shania Twain is on pace to top the charts with her new album NOW. The 16-song LP was released on Sept. 29 and is set to shoot past Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus to claim the number one spot on Billboard’s Top 200. The Timmins native hopped on Twitter on Wednesday to announce that her album is already platinum in Canada! Shortly after the release of the lead single “Life’s About to Get Good,” it hit number one on the Billboard 200. Of course, fans were simply dying to see how their favourite country icon was doing, so the new single rocked its way to the top of Billboard + Twitter Trending 140, too! So far, the song’s video has over four million views on YouTube and the number continues to ride the wave of Now’s release. The 52-year-old country star, still clad in her iconic leopard print, insists that Now is not a break up album but another coming-of-age collection of tunes bound to make listeners laugh, cry and rock out. This is one country powerhouse that just doesn’t quit. Despite originally declaring her 2015 Rock This Country tour as her final encore, Shania is ready to hit the road again. “I look forward to everyone getting familiar with the album – and then getting out there and performing live!” she exclaimed to Hello!. The Shania Now tour kicks off on May 3 in Tacoma, Washington, and will see the singer make stops in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Hamilton, Ottawa, London and Quebec City. Tickets to see the Canadian musician are on sale now.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on July 12, 2018, on page 16. Assembled by Palestinian artist Said Baalbaki, the exhibition presents 50 of Abbo's sketches, etchings and object, as well as texts – all taken from Baalbaki's personal collection of work from, and publications on, the elusive sculptor. Baalbaki has no work of his own in this show. Born in Safad, northern Palestine, around 1888-1890, Abbo was a farmer and fisherman who later took up carpentry and stone masonry. It was not until he moved to Berlin in 1911 to study sculpture that his artistic career took shape. Baalbaki has spent the last four years finding, and determining attribution for, 70 artworks and 100 texts mentioning the artist. Baalbaki says many of Abbo's sculptures didn't survive World War I. He believes those that were originally exhibited in museums in Germany were taken during the war and melted down to make weapons. Alongside Abbo's artworks are vintage photos of places he'd been or postcards from that time period, which Baalbaki says is to give an overall look at the life he led, in today's age of media and imagery. Baalbaki intends to continue his research and tracking down Abbo's works.

A blind man in his 60s is searching for the young man who pulled him back from an approaching train and saved his life last Thursday, Nov. 9. Mike Wyatt stood at the stairs to the Peoria train station in Aurora, Colorado, on Monday, looking for the young man who saved his life days earlier. Wyatt was heading back home after visiting friends in Longmont, and was about to cross the tracks to transfer to another train, unaware that a train was approaching. Seconds before the train pulled up, a man can be seen on security camera footage pulling him back with both arms. “I am so stoked right now thinking that guy is going to come down that ramp [from the platform],” Wyatt told 9 News. In the video by 9 News, he can be seen talking to passersby in hopes that they have some info about the man. Although he hasn’t yet found him, 9 News did find a woman who saw the incident. She said she felt inspired by it. “People are good,” said Miranda, one of the witnesses. 9News writes that Wyatt is thankful because the man has made it possible for Wyatt to be part of his grandchildren’s lives as they grow up. Wyatt told 9 News he will come to the station one more day to look for the man. “I will be always remembering this man and his kindness,” he said.

After Kevin’s horrific leg injury, everyone is asking: will he ever play basketball again? Dr. Glashow, co-chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively if Kevin will ever be back on the court. Read on for details! After Louisville sophomore Kevin Ware broke his right leg during a game against Duke University, the basketball player was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery. After a successful surgery, Kevin is now focused on healing, but what does the future for his career hold? Kevin Ware’s Basketball Career: Will He Ever Play Again? Dr. Glashow, the co-chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively that not only will Kevin play basketball again, but he could be healed in time for next season! Although Kevin will be able to play basketball again, he has a long road to recovery ahead of him before he’ll be back on the court. After he’s recovered from surgery, Kevin’s next step will be physical therapy, according to Dr. Glashow. HollywoodLifers, do YOU think Kevin will play basketball again? Vote below!

This month some important Walmart news did not get the attention it deserved. The news wasn't some flashy announcement about virtual reality or about some new service for busy Manhattanites. It was something much more subtle and much more substantive. It was the hire of Valerie Casey. Google "Valerie Casey" even today and only two listings make mention of her newfound connection with Walmart on the first page of the returned search results. This amount of attention is unjustifiably slight. Let this piece then serve as the hire's coming out party. Shrewdly, Walmart has made Valerie Casey, formerly of Frog, Ideo, and Pentagram, its new head of design. She will be charged with leading Walmart into the future and ensuring that all its products and services, from websites to employee and consumer apps, will work in cohesion and from a singular experience design point of view. "What's the big whup?" you might ask. The big whup is that this announcement clearly shows that Walmart has jumped feet first into the waters of next generation retailing. Under Doug McMillon's bold leadership, Walmart here again is taking one of the most essential steps to long-term success for any legacy bricks-and-mortar retailer—specifically, redefining how it thinks of the word "product." Instead of doing what many retailers do, like staffing de facto "product" heads within owned brand development, store operations, e-commerce, etc. and then leaving them to collaborate inside complex organizations with competing priorities, Walmart rightly understands that retailing has become so complex that all these aforementioned roles now need their own steward to ensure alignment. Walmart having a mission to help its customers save money and live better is one thing, but putting that promise into coherent action is another thing entirely. Many retailers take such coordinated action for granted, which is why so many legacy retail experiences feel disjointed across the digital and physical divide. Success rarely is found in the compromise and turf wars of internal politics. The buck needs to stop somewhere. Prior to e-commerce, before customers had the myriad of options they have today to consume products (via web portals, apps, social media, etc.), retailers were able to differentiate themselves by the products inside their four walls. The strategic practice of product differentiation became so prevalent and such a point of emphasis that it even gave way to the commonly heard parlance of retail being a "merchant-led business." The growth of e-commerce in the 1990s and 2000s rewrote the playbook though. During this period, Jeff Bezos built Amazon into the "Everything Store." His idea was that as long as he could offer a great selection, convenience and great prices, consumers would gravitate towards Amazon over time. Boy, was he right, and, boy, did they ever gravitate towards Amazon. Whether customers try to order direct from Amazon or from one of Amazon's many third-party suppliers on its marketplace, it is becoming more and more difficult for a consumer not to find what he or she desires on Amazon. At this point, nearly 50% of all first product searches start on Amazon, indicating that Amazon is settling into the digital and product acquisition-equivalent of the 1980s shopping mall. The products inside a retailers four walls or within a retailers assortment are now, in a way, almost non-differentiating. Bezos saw that the opportunity in retail was to put the customer first and to think not about the product he or she buys but about the Product he or she really buys—for him, the Product (big "P) of the Amazon brand. The white space in retail was no longer leading with product (small "p"), but leading with the discipline of Product Management, where his Product, or in this case, the Amazon brand, was the magic created at the intersection of great experience design, technology and business. Product was not a pair of khaki pants, a new set of bed sheets or a bar of soap. It was the culmination of a friction-free user experience that delivered on the universal truths of selection, convenience, and low prices and that exceeded consumers' expectations consistently, again and again. Sadly, many retailers have not grasped this "Product Problem." The greatest Product Manager in history, Jeff Bezos, saw the problem early on, while many merchant princes missed the signals and have even now admitted that they underestimated the impact technology would have on retail. Fortunately, Walmart's recent hire of Casey indicates that there could be light at the end of what has, until now, been a dark tunnel. Walmart is big. The acquisitions of Jet.com, Bonobos, ModCloth, etc. have only made it bigger and more complex, saying nothing too of the ever-changing demands of consumers and Walmart's ever-expanding interests abroad (see Flipkart). Therefore, it is only right that someone, like Casey, take up the mantle to oversee and to fight for the consumer and to ensure that all Walmart's activities look, feel, and convey the Walmart brand in the simplest, most straightforward way as possible. The products inside Walmart's stores are immaterial to its future success. What matters is the Product of its brand—its website, its store, its app-based services, etc. Those are the Products that matter. In a future world where the only thing that differentiates a physical from a digital experience is the memory and delight of being somewhere, a Walmart store is the Product or collective set of experiences that will get someone off his or her couch. A tube of toothpaste just won't cut it anymore. While the products within Walmart's store or on its website will come and go and ebb and flow, the shroud of the Walmart brand will be what matters. Walmart's store and its digital properties will be the envelopes that carry its brand promise. The experiment that bears this out has already been run. We need look no further than the history of Amazon and also to the young upstart CEOs like Emily Weiss, Katrina Lake and Adam Goldenberg who are already thriving in this new world. Their collective early success indicates that they get the punchline to the joke of 21st century retail—that the retail of the future won't be merchant led, it will be Product led. Best of luck, Valerie Casey. A bricks-and-mortar nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

University of Utah track and field athlete Lauren McCluskey was found shot dead Monday night in the backseat of a vehicle outside a campus dormitory, according to university police. The suspected shooter was 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, a man McCluskey’s family said she had recently stopped dating. Rowland’s body was found a few hours later at a church; police said he died by suicide. At a press conference, university police chief Dale Brophy said that McCluskey had filed a police report with them “on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13” about threats from Rowland. There was “some follow-up” and it was assigned to a detective who was “working to build a case against our suspect at that time,” Brophy said. The police chief would not go into further details about what happened with that investigation. On Monday night, Brophy said that police got a call from a frantic mother saying “something happened to her daughter.” In a statement released by the McCluskey family, McCluskey’s mother said that she was on the phone with her daughter that night when she suddenly heard Lauren McCluskey yell “no no no!” Afraid her daughter was in a car accident, she stayed on the line while her husband called 911. A few minutes later, the family statement said, “a young woman picked up the phone and said all of Lauren’s things were on the ground.” It was the last time she spoke with her daughter. Police officers went to the parking lot and found McCluskey’s body, Brophy said. The university issued an alert and an order for students to “secure-in-place.” It was lifted at 11:46 p.m., according to the university’s website, after police determined that Rowland was no longer on campus. Brophy said that Rowland was picked up by a vehicle and, about 1:15 a.m. he was spotted by Salt Lake City police who ran after him. Rowland got inside the Trinity AME Church, where he killed himself. A retired pastor told the Salt Lake Tribune that, to the best of his knowledge, Rowland didn’t attend the church and he had no idea why he chose that building. The family of McCluskey, 21, said that their daughter had dated Rowland for about a month. She ended the relationship after she learned about his criminal history. Lauren was a senior student athlete on the University of Utah track team. She was an outstanding student with a 3.75 GPA majoring in Communication and was excited to graduate in May 2019. She was a 2015 honors graduate of Pullman High School where she was Washington state champion in the high jump and the school record holder in the 100 meter hurdles. She attended Capital Church in Salt Lake City. She loved to sing and had strength and determination. She was dearly loved and will be greatly missed. Police said the two had been in a “prior relationship,” but wouldn’t comment further. According to Utah Department of Corrections, Rowland was convicted in 2004 of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony, and attempted forcible sexual abuse, a third-degree felony. His last known home, Brophy said, was a halfway house.

The Linux kernel now includes everything that is needed to use 3D acceleration with all GeForce graphics chips. Drivers have also been added for a Wireless Gigabit chip and a PCIe WLAN chip from Realtek. In his email announcing the release of Linux 3.8-rc6, Linus Torvalds emphasised that he wanted the seventh release candidate to be the last one. When he released RC7 on Friday, however, he made no mention of whether there would be an eighth RC before the final version of Linux 3.8. As long as no more major problems arise, though, the Linux kernel 3.8 should still be released this month. This article on driver updates will therefore bring the "Coming in 3.8" Kernel Log mini-series to a close. The first two parts of the series focused on the changes that kernel developers made to filesystems and storage and the platform and infrastructure code for Linux 3.8. In Linux 3.8, the Nouveau kernel driver will include everything that the OpenGL driver – which is part of current versions of Mesa 3D and is also called Nouveau – needs to use the 3D acceleration of all GeForce graphics chips available so far without further configuration. This is the first time that the Nouveau developers, who use reverse engineering to get the information they need to program their drivers, have managed this feat; before this, they were still lacking standard 3D support for some newer Fermi GPUs and the Kepler graphics chips, which have been on the market since March 2012 (1, 2, 3). For many computers, however, NVIDIA's proprietary graphics driver will still be a better choice, since Nouveau can't activate the faster operation modes for many of the newer GeForce chips, resulting in 3D performance that leaves something to be desired. There are also other issues, particularly when it comes to video acceleration and fan management support. Version 3.8 of Linux is the first to include a simple kernel graphics driver for the graphics cores in NVIDIA's Tegra 2 and 3 SoCs (system on a chip) (1, 2, 3 and others). The driver is not from NVIDIA; it was developed mostly by a developer from the German company Avionic Design. The company works on embedded solutions in close cooperation with NVIDIA and programmed the driver independently, but with input from NVIDIA. Surprisingly, NVIDIA jumped into the development process, publishing extensions a few weeks ago that let the driver make the graphics cores' acceleration features available, but these improvements did not make it into 3.8. Userland drivers are still needed to use the acceleration functions, and NVIDIA has yet to give any indication that it is interested in releasing those drivers under an open source licence. Nouveau developer Lucas Stach shared background information on the Linux drivers for NVIDIA's Tegra in a presentation at FOSDEM 2013, a recording of which is available on YouTube. The Radeon driver now allows more of the graphics cores' DMA engines, which have previously been largely ignored, to be used from userspace (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). The i915 graphics driver now supports by default the graphics cores of the Haswell processors that Intel will introduce under the name Core i4000 in a few months. The developers have also included a workaround for a bug in the Intel 830 and 845 chipsets so the graphics drivers are supposed to be stable on these chipsets. The virtio_net network driver, which uses paravirtualisation and is especially used with KVM and Xen, should provide better performance now that it can use multiple queues for each network device. The same goes for the Tun/Tap driver, which is also used for system virtualisation as well as other purposes like emulating network hardware. The batman-adv (Better Approach To Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking Advanced) mesh implementation developed as part of open-mesh.org to spontaneously create WLAN networks can now build a distributed ARP table, which allows non-mesh clients on a network to receive quick, reliable answers to their ARP queries. The rtl8723ae driver for the Realtek RTL8723AE PCIe WLAN chip is new (1, 2 and others), as is the wil6210 driver for a Wilocity WLAN chip that operates at 60GHz and uses the IEEE 802.11ad standard promoted by the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig). Another addition to the kernel is the ar5523 driver, which was started over five years ago for the Atheros USB chipset of the same name. Extensions for supporting more chips and WLAN adapters were added to a number of other drivers; the brcmsmac WLAN driver, for example, now supports the BCM43224 Broadcom chip, while the rt2800usb RaLink driver supports the Sweex LW323 USB WLAN adapter. The cdc-mbim driver, which supports broadband modems that implement Mobile Broadband Interface Model (MBIM ) 1.0, specified by the USB Implementers Forum, is also new (1, 2). MBIM is a USB protocol for connecting modems for laptops, tablets and desktop computers that provide an internet connection using GSM and CDMA-based 3G and 4G (including LTE). Aleksander Morgado provides more details on the protocol and its advantages compared to other technologies in a blog post. The kernel's audio drivers now support the Philips PSC724 Ultimate Edge sound card. The kernel can also handle VIA's VT1705CF HD audio codec now. The merge listing the most important changes to Linux 3.8's sound subsystem includes some other changes to audio drivers. The kernel now includes a driver for human interface devices (HIDs) that use I2C (1, 2 and others), using the "HID over I2C" protocol designed by Microsoft and implemented in Windows 8. Extensions were added to the HID multitouch driver to support some of the features for better finger and movement recognition found in Windows 8. The drivers for Video4Linux 2 (V4L2) located in the media subsystem can now use the "DMA Buffer Sharing Mechanism" (dma_buf) integrated in Linux 3.3 to share buffer space with graphics cards, which makes it possible that data from video hardware will no longer need to be duplicated in the buffer in order for a graphics chip to display it. The kernel developers have marked the uas driver, which handles the USB Attached SCSI protocol, as broken because it causes problems and is not yet ready for the major distributions. Alan Cox has given up kernel development for family reasons, leaving his position as maintainer of the serial driver subsystem. Cox is a Linux veteran who maintained the Linux kernel 2.2, during which time he was considered the second most important kernel developer after Linus Torvalds. Although he hasn't been that far up in the ranks these last few months, Cox has still contributed quite a lot to the development of Linux.

The location of the July 15, 2002 flare is shown at left. The other panels compare the scale of Earth to the eruptions. Red shows superheated gas held together by magnetic fields. The time sequence lasts only 80 seconds and yet reveals tremendous amounts of gas leaving the Sun. A detailed study of a huge solar eruption reveals that a series of smaller explosions combined in a domino effect to fuel the blast. The findings improve understanding of the Sun's most powerful events and could lead to better forecasting of the tempests, researchers said. Scientists studied data collected from a radiation flare on the Sun on July 15, 2002. The eruption, ranked as an X-7, was one of the most powerful in recent times. The flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection, which is a colossal discharge of electrified gas called plasma. The event was 5,000 million times more powerful than an atomic bomb. Scientists don't know exactly what triggers such eruptions. They are associated with strong magnetic fields, however, and emanate from sunspots, which are cooler regions of the Sun that correspond to bottled-up magnetic energy. "Sunspots are at the surface of the Sun, and are essentially the footprints of the magnetic field," explained Louise Harra of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London. "The magnetic field reaches into the outer atmosphere in the same way as for example a bar magnet has a magnetic field around it." Researchers had thought the big eruptions are created when magnetic field lines from the core of a sunspot become tangled and reconnect high in solar atmosphere, or corona. The new study contradicts that assumption. X-7 flare started when plasma from below the Sun's surface broke suddenly through. "Below the surface of the Sun a dynamo process is working creating magnetic field," Harra explained in an email interview. "When this becomes buoyant it can rise to the surface of the Sun, and into the atmosphere." The plasma collided with a strong magnetic field at the surface, and the interaction triggered release of "phenomenal amounts of energy," the researchers concluded. There were three eruptions, each triggering the next. The gas was heated to 36 million degrees Fahrenheit (20 million Celsius) before being flung up into the solar atmosphere at 90,000 mph (40 kilometers per second). "We have observed the flows of hot gas for the first time, enabling us to see that several small flares combine to create a major explosion," Harra said. "This may eventually enable us to predict large flares before they erupt." Not all solar flares are accompanied by coronal mass ejections, and nobody knows for sure why. "It must be a combination of the magnetic field strength and the magnetic configuration that will allow field lines to be opened and hence the release of gas," Harra said. The observations were made with SOHO spacecraft, a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency. The results were presented last week at a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Last summer I took a cross-country road trip with a group of people driving different types of electric vehicles. It was an amazing experience, and our trip, our adventures, and our misadventures were portrayed in the documentary Kick Gas. That experience gave me the idea to take my own road trip to experience the freedom of traveling alone on an electric motorcycle. My goals were simple: ride the great motorcycle roads of America, meet other electric motorcycle riders, and visit friends. The cross-country trip last summer taught me that charging stations are plentiful near cities, but sparse near the good roads. By "good roads" I mean the mountainous, twisty, curvy, windy, fun roads you dream about when buying a motorcycle! To take road trips in an electric vehicle as easily as in a gas-powered vehicle, two things are necessary: a car with a highway range of 150-plus miles, plus DC fast charging available every 50 miles. That would be a good beginning as we await an affordable 1,000-mile battery. Currently drivers must rely on the availability of public and private charging stations to venture further than half the range of their electric vehicle. This creates a bit of an adventure if you want to take a journey of, say, 4,000 miles. Public charging stations are easiest to access. On the East Coast, you can show up at a charging station and pretty much expect that nobody else will be plugged in. That's not the case in California, which has a much higher density of electric vehicles--at least some of them already using the charging station you've just arrived at. My favorite public charging stations are at restaurants, so I have a place to eat and relax while my vehicle is charging. On this trip, I stopped at several Cracker Barrel restaurants in Tennessee and a Makuto's Japanese restaurant in Boone, North Carolina. Car dealerships will let motorcycles charge, although not always electric cars of another make. Nissan in particular has outfitted their dealerships with 240-Volt Lvel 2 chargers, and more recently, some of them now have high-powered CHAdeMO DC fast chargers. Even dealerships that normally only allow charging by cars sold by that dealer will allow me to plug in my electric motorcycle, since it's unique. Some dealers happily let me charge, others let me charge after a little conversation. Still, recharging my electric bike at a car dealer proved less than ideal, since they're often far from food or anywhere interesting to hang out. Personal homes are fun if you plan ahead. I've met some interesting folks who make their home Level 2 charging stations available to travelers by listing them on the PlugShare app. They are lovely people, and meeting them is a fun part of being an early adopter. Clearly, though, using someone's home charging station is not a sustainable way to propel electric vehicles forward. The fun riding part of my journey began in Front Royal, Virginia, on Skyline Drive going through the Shenandoah Mountains. The road winds its way around the mountaintops and was designed as a sightseeing project by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression of the 1930s. After a great day on Skyline Drive, I got to ride through the back woods around Blacksburg, Virginia, until I reached the glorious Blue Ridge Parkway. The road is absolutely incredible, flowing through farmland and mountains on either side for miles and miles. I made a brief stop in Asheville to swing -dance to bluegrass music with friends from Italy; I rode to the top of Mt. Mitchell, and then I headed to the best motorcycle road in America, known as the Dragon. After riding the Dragon, I headed to Nashville to visit some electric-motorcycle friends, and we headed down the famous Natchez Trace Parkway. This is another phenomenally beautiful road with scenic stops and meandering curves that caress the local terrain. The first half of my journey ended in St. Louis, where I attended my cousin's wedding and visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. My trip was broken up because I had to fly back to New York City for a week, but I'll resume today--traveling to Chicago, Cleveland, and Rochester, New York, on my way to ride up New Hampshire's Mount Washington. 1) It's still an adventure to take an electric-vehicle road trip (unless you're driving a Tesla using the company's Supercharger network). 2) While it's easy to find charging stations, they're not always guaranteed to be available. They could be in use already, not working at all, or--worst of all--they might be "ICEd," or blocked by a thoughtless driver of an internal-combustion engine (ICE) car. 3) Most people at RV campgrounds are super-nice! I've shown up to many campgrounds unannounced, and most were incredibly welcoming and let me recharge my motorcycle for free (even though I always offer to pay the dollar or so for the electricity). 4) To take a road trip in any electric vehicle, you need to plan ahead. At the start of each day, I decided where my stops for charging would be--including alternate locations if available. 6) A couple of RV parks have claimed that they needed to replace receptacles to their 50-Amp hookup after a Tesla used it. This should be further investigated, as electric-vehicle owners very much don't want to burn those bridges or create any distrust of our community on the part of park owners. 7) When I learn a Tesla has stopped at an RV park, the park operators will often ask me for $10 or more to recharge (my bike uses maybe $0.60 of electricity). This highlights the fact that most people have no idea how much electricity costs--and no one understands how much electricity different electric vehicles use. My motorcycle battery holds one-tenth the energy of a Tesla battery, so the cost for electricity is a factor of 10 less--but I often have to explain that slowly and carefully.

Larry checks in with KPCC reporter Sharon McNary, who’s been hitting up several polling stations in Orange County and Los Angeles County, as well as Registrar of Voters for O.C. and L.A. After being a finalist for LAPD chief in 2009 only to see the job go to Charlie Beck, Michel Moore has been selected to succeed Beck by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. President Donald Trump signed the “right-to-try” bill into law on Wednesday, a measure that gives terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Humans have a habit of measuring things. Our shoe size. The ingredients in our food. How long it takes to get to work, with or without traffic.

According to Variety, one of the movies about the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs is recasting one of its leads. No, not the serious one that HBO is doing with Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti, and not the overtly comedic one that Will Ferrell is set to star in. It’s Battle Of The Sexes, the middle one that’s supposed to be a comedy with “dramatic and political overtones”—as we said in an earlier report. Battle Of The Sexes comes from Little Miss Sunshine’s Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and it was set to star Emma Stone and Steve Carell as the eponymous sexes. Now, Stone has backed out due to “a scheduling conflict,” and the studio is reportedly in talks with Brie Larson to replace her. Larson recently appeared in Room, a film that is not only making some waves in the film festival circuit but also has a name that’s very similar to a certain other movie, which could end up causing a reverse-Asylum by tricking people who want to see a bad movie into seeing a good movie. She’s also set to be in Kong: Skull Island and possibly the eventual Godzilla fight movie that it’s going to set up.

Health authorities in New Zealand said that about 200 passengers on the Dawn Princess ship became infected with the norovirus. The ship was scheduled to leave for Australia on Monday. The last time there was a norovirus outbreak on the ship was back in 2012. According to Yahoo, health officials conducted a series of tests, and they confirmed that the illness was norovirus, but the outbreak does seem to be going away. The norovirus usually lasts for one to three days, and those infected may experience stomach pains, vomiting, diarrhea and nausea. Princess Cruises released a statement saying that those who were infected were isolated in their cabins. They remained there until they were considered not contagious. The statement continued to say that crew members disinfected door handles, railings, elevator buttons and so forth. The cruise operator also said that passengers were encouraged to wash their hands properly and that they should use sanitizing gels. About a month ago, another cruise ship, the Crown Princess, had an outbreak of the norovirus. In that incident more than 150 crew members and passengers came down with the norovirus. That ship was also operated by Princess Cruises.

Politico, which broke the PR story, reports, “The group circulated a memo to reporters and producers late Monday that discouraged them from airing the undercover videos, arguing that they were obtained under false identification and violated patient privacy. ‘Those patients’ privacy should not be further violated by having this footage shared by the media,‘ the memo reads.” Patients’ privacy? What about the victims whose body parts are sold? Planned Parenthood technicians may find that kind of depravity chuckle worthy, but congressional Republicans don’t, which is why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will hold a vote before August recess to end the more than $500 million Planned Parenthood extracts annually from taxpayers. Amazingly, Minority Leader Harry Reid responded, “Good luck with that. We’re dealing with the health of American women, and they’re dealing with some right-wing crazy.” With even more videos set to be released, it’s only a matter of time before the story goes mainstream. Let’s see who the public will think is crazy — those who want to protect the sanctity of life, or those who try to justify the trafficking of human organs.

NEW YORK (AP) — Could the U.S. lose its top credit rating even if a deal is reached to raise the debt limit? Market analysts and investors increasingly say yes. The outcome won't be quite as scary as a default, but financial markets would still take a blow. Mortgage rates could rise. States and cities, already strapped, could find it more difficult to borrow. Stocks could lose their gains for the year. "At this point, we're more concerned about the risk of a downgrade than a default," said Terry Belton, global head of fixed income strategy at JPMorgan Chase. In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Belton said the loss of the country's AAA rating may rattle markets, but it's "better than missing an interest payment." Even with a deadline to raise the U.S. debt limit less than a week away, many investors still believe Washington will pull off a last-minute deal to avoid a catastrophic default. Washington has until Aug. 2 to raise the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit or risk missing a payment on its debt. President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans have failed to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and pass a larger budget-cutting package. Politicians have tied raising the debt limit and spending cuts together. But at least one credit rating agency has already made it clear that unless that agreement includes at least $4 trillion in budget cuts over the next decade, the country's AAA rating could be lost. Right now, the proposals under discussion cut around $2 trillion or less. Standard & Poor's warned earlier this month that there was a 50-50 chance of a downgrade, if Congress and President Obama failed to find a "credible solution to the rising U.S. government debt burden." S&P said it may cut the U.S. rating to AA within 90 days. Passing a $4 trillion agreement could prevent a downgrade, S&P said. The other chief rating agency, Moody's Investors Service, said the U.S. government would likely keep its top rating if it avoids a default. Spokesmen from both Moody's and S&P said they wouldn't comment beyond their recent reports. JPMorgan's Belton said clients have started asking how markets will respond if the U.S. loses its AAA rating. A drop to AA will mean permanently higher borrowing costs for the U.S. government, he said. And because government lending rates act as a floor for other lending rates, mortgages, student loans, corporate debt and other types of loans will become more expensive. Belton estimates that borrowing costs would rise between 0.60 to 0.70 points. That may not sound like much. But mortgage interest rates, which have hovered around 4.5 percent for the last several weeks, could rise by at least that amount, to more than 5.1 percent. And for the federal government, it eventually means an extra $100 billion in interest payments to Treasury holders like China each year. "That's a huge number," Belton said. That $100 billion a year that could be spent elsewhere on everything from education to infrastructure. An increase in interest rates could soon become a drag on other parts of the economy, experts say. State governments and insurance agencies would also be downgraded — and states are already having financial troubles. Business confidence could sink again, leading to prolonged high unemployment. But some investors aren't unhappy about the thought of a U.S. debt downgrade. Don Quigley, manager of the $1.5 billion Artio Total Return Bond fund reasons that such a move could provide a buying opportunity. He believes that a downgrade would immediately send the yield of the 10-year bond up to 3.15 percent from its current level of about 3 percent. If the economy sinks further in part because of higher interest rates, investors would very likely return to buying bonds, Quigley said. That's what they've done during the last several years both during the financial crisis and recession, and again the last several months as the economic recovery has slowed. Treasurys would keep their allure, in part, because there are few alternatives for large foreign buyers looking for a market big enough to handle massive investments. "The German market is not big enough and Japan has its own problems," Quigley said. A cut to the U.S. credit rating could hit stocks harder than bonds. A study by Janney Montgomery Scott looked at rating changes to countries over the past decade. After Spain was downgraded in 2009, Spain's stock market fell 8 percent in three months. A cut to Japan's credit rating in 2011 knocked the country's stock market down 3.4 percent in three months. The study, released in April, suggested the S&P 500 would fall 6% after a U.S. downgrade, erasing all its gains for the year.

MAMADOU SAKHO remains unavailable for selection for Liverpool's Europa League semi-final first leg clash with Villarreal in Spain on Thursday (8.05pm). The defender will not be considered for selection while he is being investigated after admitting to failing a drugs test. Kolo Toure is set to keep his place in the side in place of the Frenchman. Striker Christian Benteke, who has not played since the defeat to Southampton on March 20, has travelled with the squad. With Jordan Henderson and Emre Can injured, Lucas Leiva and James Milner are set to play in central midfield. Divock Origi, Danny Ings and Joe Gomez remain on the sidelines. Provisional squad: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Moreno, Milner, Lucas, Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho, Sturridge, Ward, Skrtel, Smith, Allen, Brannagan, Chirivella, Ojo, Ibe, Benteke.

IHS Markit INFO, -0.02% a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, expanded its alternative data offering for asset managers with the launch of new stock selection and strategy signals covering the automotive sector. Covering more than 30 auto manufacturers worldwide and providing more than 10 years of historical data, the 32 new factors are designed to assist in the prediction of stock returns using analytics derived from company-specific datapoints on sales, production and market share. They include multiple financial factors for revenue and sales as well as novel factors covering production of electric vehicles and plant utilization. Analysis by the Research Signals service at IHS Markit finds positive alpha in several of the factors, including, at times, a return spread of up to 1.41% for the Monthly Trend in Production Growth factor and up to 2.64% return spread for the Monthly Trend in Sales Growth factor. Data inputs for the signals are mined from robust statistical automotive datasets from IHS Markit that include vehicle sales and production history, aggregated registration information, manufacturing volumes and vehicle pricing insight for multiple geographies. According to Greenwich Associates, 50 per cent of institutional investors are planning to increase their usage of alternative datasets. Research Signals delivers valuable investment insights through a comprehensive library of more than 600 global stock selection and strategy signals. The service covers more than 30,000 securities across 80 countries. It extracts valuable investment insights from a broad range of raw financial and industry-specific data sources to enable customers to assess intended and unintended exposures across investment themes. IHS Markit INFO, -0.02% is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 business and government customers, including 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth.

MK Moshe Feiglin in a Knesset committee meeting, next to MK Ahmad Tibi, in 2014. It appears Feiglin is on his way back to the Knesset, while Tibi just sank below the threshold minimum vote. An Israel Hayom poll published Friday morning shows former IDF chief of staff with 19 seats, the Likud down from 30 to 28, the Labor Party falling to its lowest point so far –5 seats, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid stuck in the mud with 9 seats (down from its current 11, which is down from its previous Knesset list of 19), and, for the first time in this campaign, the Zehut (Identity) party, headed by former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin who is a regular pundit at Jewish Press Online, crossing the electoral threshold with 4 seats. The numerous splits of the past few months, on the left and on the right—some of which may end up merging by the official deadline set by the Central Elections Committee, have led to many parties that are swinging just above or just below the: Gesher, headed by Orly Levy-Abekasis, receives 4 seats, while Shas, Meretz, Habayit Hayehudi receive only 3. Here’s another doozie: Both Avigdor Liberman and his nemesis Ahmad Tibi get only 3 seats and walk into the setting sun, probably not hand in hand. And like we said, Zehut, headed by Cool Hand Feiglin, which just held the first open primaries in Israel ever on Tuesday, and did it online (you gave them your ID number and cell number, they SMSed you a code, you clicked in and got to spread 6 points among the candidate/s of your choice) is also on the verge of the electoral threshold – but for the first time looking at the abyss from above, with 4 seats. Parties that are so far from the threshold they’re already in Party Heaven (doesn’t that sound like the place you’d want to go when the time comes) are Tzipi Livni and Eli Yishai, each of whom receives but one mandate. The survey examined a scenario according to which Gantz and Lapid unite and bring in former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. The result: they all get 32 ​​mandates, with the Likud pushed to second place with 30, while Labor falls into the 3.25% abyss and goes to pole paradise with a measly 3 seats (down from 24). Immediately after Ganz’s speech, the Likud and New Right tried to associate Ganz with the left, while Resilient to Israel, Gantz’s party, what a name) insisted that theirs is a centrist party. Well, the poll showed that 25% of respondents still do not know how to define him. After the pollsters removed the “I don’t know” results, 52% of the rest located Gantz at the center, 19% see him as a right-winger, and 29% as left-winger. Final surprise: on the issue of who is more suitable to be the next prime minister, Netanyahu leads safely with 38%, while Gantz gets only 22%.

SOUND FORGE Audio Cleaning Lab can be used to record any sound you can hear on your computer - from internet radio to LPs and tapes which have been connected to the sound card. When recording older material, particularly when it has been stored on vinyl or cassette, it is likely that the sound quality has deteriorated over time. Using this program you can remove any unwanted extraneous noise such as clicks, pops and hisses and generally improve the overall audio experience working with an easy to use interface. Of course, you don't need to record audio either. You can simply import an existing track of segment of music for processing, before exporting the final track. Audio Cleaning Lab will remove unwanted sections from a recording, increase the volume of quiet tracks and split longer recording up into multiple sections - in fact, Audio Cleaning Lab can take care of much of this for you automatically. A great level of control is available through the use of a graphic equaliser that can be used to balance out tone, while additional options are available to improve the quality of video sound, reduce the volume of background music on vocal tracks and much more besides. Don't worry, most of the options are presets which you can select to improve or clean your audio. There are options to reduce tape noise from old cassettes, reduce crackling from your LPs, remove wind noise from recorded voice, and even create your own presets to use later. You can increase the loudness of the track, increase the stereo width, add various special effects and much more. If you've been looking for a way to digitise your music collection, Audio Cleaning Labs Deluxe may just be the tool you have been looking for. In a few simple steps you can record music to your computer, enhance its sound and then export the results as high-quality MP3s/OGG/FLAC/AAC and other formats that can be played back on a variety of devices. Professional quality audio clean-up tool which will produce superb results from an instantly accessible program.

What’s the news? A couple of weeks ago, Instagram promised you’d be able to download your data from its servers. It’s now rolled out that feature, as first reported by TechCrunch. It includes photos, videos, comments, profile information and more. It does not, however, appear to include all the analytics data the company has on you outside of what you’ve shared. For context: While we’d like to think Instagram will let you download your data simply out of the goodness of its heart, there are two major factors contributing to the decision. First there’s the Cambridge Analytica scandal (I’m sure you’ve heard of it by now, but if you need a recap, our explainer post is here). Even if Cambridge Analytica had never happened though, allowing users to download data is an important step for complying with Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR goes into effect on May 25, so don’t be surprised to see plenty of other apps implementing a similar feature. In fact, you can already do so with Facebook. Download it: The feature is available to everyone via the Web now, and is in the process of rolling out to the Android and iOS apps. Still, whether you’re on a desktop of smartphone, you can go ahead download your data by inputting your account information here. Keep in mind it takes some time for Instagram to amass all your data; the company says the process may take ‘up to 48 hours.’ After that’s complete, you’ll receive a link at the provided email address.

President Donald Trump returned to Washington, DC on Monday for a very important event. It was not for a meeting with an international leader. And it was not for a joint session of Congress. No, on this day, Trump greeted thousands of children. They had come to the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. The event has been a U.S. tradition for more than a century. In the late 1800s, local children gathered on the hill beside the president’s house to play a game with their colored eggs following the Easter holiday. The White House Easter Egg Roll was of special interest this year. The Trump administration was very late to organize it. Some people who hoped to attend the event were even worried that it would be canceled. Political observers said the Easter Egg Roll would show how well Trump’s administration could plan and operate a complex public relations event. Talk about the event also brought attention to the first lady, whose office usually plans the White House Easter Egg Roll. First Lady Melania Trump has not yet moved to Washington, DC. She says she will remain in New York City until her son finishes the school year. So, how did the White House Easter Egg Roll go this year? Just fine, early reports say. About 21,000 children and their families received tickets to this year’s event. They came in small groups to the lawn near the president’s house. They played soccer, tossed bean bags and, of course, pushed hard-boiled eggs down the hill. The event was smaller than in previous years. Last year, for example, about 36,000 people attended. This year’s Easter Egg Roll also did not include performances by top celebrities or professional athletes. Instead, children were invited to draw pictures for U.S. soldiers. The Easter Bunny made an appearance, though, as did both Trump and the first lady. They were there with their 11-year-old son, Barron. The president welcomed his young guests and promised them that the nation was getting stronger, bigger, and better. Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

So you might ask yourself, “What is going on?” How can things be so bad that educators feel the need to petition? Superintendent Michael Hanson’s administration issued a mandate to all school principals, vice principals and counselors to lower the number of suspensions and expulsions districtwide using a repackaged, rhetoric-filled behavioral modification program called Restorative Justice. This Restorative Justice concept is not new. These interventions usually fail under the weight of their overexaggerated promises. This leads to an odd belief that if you decrease the number of official suspensions on paper, you can claim success regarding improved behavior. Fresno Unified board member Christopher De La Cerda, McLane’s representative, highlighted this delusion when he stated, “The data confirms that restorative practices at McLane are working as we intended it to work.” Sort of like bragging that no one drowned in the pool after the water was removed. If the intention was for more than 80 percent of the teaching staff to be so fed up they needed to file a petition – congratulations! Mission accomplished. The saddest part of this debacle is that it has ironically resulted in increased insecurity and systemic violence for our teachers and students who truly want to be educated. But here is the most disappointing fact: This situation did not need to happen; it was self-inflicted. Three years ago, there was a wonderful, accredited, academic program in Fresno Unified that took in up to 1,600 secondary students a year, who either could not – or should not – attend a traditional high school. This program was a last-chance beacon of hope for thousands of students who, by their own fault or the fault of others, would have had no real chance of graduating from high school. It was called the J.E.Young Academic Center (JEY). It provided an educational sanctuary for the very students FUSD is trying to corral with this Restorative Justice debacle. Every student was treated – educationally and emotionally – as a unique individual. JEY accepted the entire spectrum of students; from those whose special needs could not be adequately met, to those whose behaviors could not be adequately accommodated on a traditional high school campus. This program was an oasis for students on the precipice of failure. It was a wonderful independent study program that served the needs of those most in need. Everybody won. But that didn’t matter. For spurious and ego-driven reasons, this program was dismantled and diminished to a mere shell of its former self. It was replaced by a program that failed after two years. Like prisons, it involves removing those in society with unacceptable behaviors and placing them into a concentrated environment of only themselves. If shooting oneself in the foot was considered a good thing, then FUSD could qualify as a world-class marksman regarding this issue. If FUSD really wanted to practice restorative justice, it would bring JEY back to its previous stature. Maybe Larry Powell could help. William (Bill) Larkin monitors online credit-recovery classes in the Apex program. He taught in the JEY program for eight years. Connect with him at [email protected].

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. - Commissioners in St. Johns County voted unanimously to postpone any legislative action against a localized ban of a substance that the DEA has classified as a "drug of concern." According to a report by the St. Augustine Record, 19 speakers during a Tuesday night commission meeting defended their right to use kratom, speaking about the health benefits they'd recieved while battling fibromyalgia and anxiety. Commissioners agreed to table any action until at least May, after the Legislative session. ORIGINAL STORY: Could drug with opioid-like properties be banned in St. Johns County? The FDA has warned people against using kratom, saying it has properties similar to those of opioids. It's legal in the U.S. aside from Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. There are no restrictions on kratom in Florida, expect in Sarasota County, where it's banned.

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This was Reinsdorf's reply on Friday when asked whether the preseason announcement that Phil Jackson will not return as coach of the Bulls next season is, as the French saying goes, a fact accomplished. And the notation on the desk of Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls, also indicates his position regarding Michael Jordan's often-stated contention that he will play for no other coach than Jackson, and he will play for no other team than the Bulls, which would mean no Jordan filling up the nets next season. The Bulls make their final regular-season appearance at Madison Square Garden this afternoon against the Knicks, and it seems inconceivable that Jordan will not return for yet another year, and that neither Jackson nor Scottie Pippen will be with the Bulls, either. Jordan, still the world's greatest hoopster, is leading the National Basketball Association in scoring for the 10th time in his 14 seasons. Even at age 35, he is playing as good an all-round game as ever. Fans, players and team executives know this, so it can hardly be lost on Jordan himself. It is also obvious that His Airness -- a little less airy these days and a little more earthy but ever sovereign -- is having a grand time at his occupation, and satisfying that remarkable lust for competition and success that has made him an indomitable basketball player. Jordan has changed his mind before, remember. He quit basketball to play baseball and quit baseball to play basketball. But hadn't decisions already been made? As recently as early February, Jerry Krause, the Bulls' general manager, reiterated that Jackson would not return next season, after having led the Bulls to five championships and, if the best-laid plans of Krause and his men do not go awry, to a sixth come June. The personality, or perhaps ego, clash between Jackson and Krause is no secret. While he hired Jackson, Krause also believes that after a certain time, a general manager and a coach may tire of each other, as, has been said, Jerry West and Pat Riley did with the Lakers, thereby compelling a change. In fact, personality clashes between Krause and some of his players, including Pippen and Jordan, and assistant coaches over the years have been no secret. It seems, however, that Krause has had no such conflict with the owner of the team. But it also seems clear that Reinsdorf has sought for Krause and staff to zipper their lips in regard to what may transpire at season's end. Still, Reinsdorf's respect for Krause as a basketball operative is lofty, and for good reason. Krause became general manager in 1985, the year after Jordan was drafted. Six seasons later, the Bulls won the first of their championships. ''Everyone on the first championship team except Jordan was acquired by Krause,'' Reinsdorf said. That included Pippen, astutely attained in a trade for his draft rights and now seemingly headed elsewhere next season as a free agent, although who knows for sure. Pippen, who will be 33 in September, doesn't talk to Krause, but he does talk to Reinsdorf. And while Pippen is said to be seeking a huge five-year contract, Reinsdorf said he had yet to hear anything like that from Pippen, who has been bitter about what the Bulls have been paying him but has also been making plenty of money with endorsements. Krause took a chance on Dennis Rodman. He found a place for Steve Kerr. He traded a nonentity, Stacey King, for center Luc Longley. He traveled for years to Europe to court Toni Kukoc, and finally snared him. He saw the possibilities in Ron Harper's career being revived. Yes, Krause has had Jordan all this time, but Jordan found that he couldn't do it alone. He didn't win his first championship until his seventh season in the league -- with a requisite ''supporting cast,'' as Jordan termed it. Krause has surely made mistakes, too, such as some draft picks. Krause, meanwhile, sometimes says things without a veneer of suavity. He can rankle in his bluntness, or, sometimes, in his evasiveness. And possibly he is frustrated in not receiving much of the due he believes he deserves. When he received his championship ring for last season along with the rest of the team at the season opener at the United Center, the boos for him were evident. It was odd, since if he had been the general manager of five championships in, say, New York, he could be Mayor of this town -- and on a write-in ballot. So at what point do you make a decision to break up the team? Looking at their history, it is manifest that as a twosome neither Krause nor Reinsdorf is so stupid or driven by ego that he will perpetrate the sublimely imbecilic. The view here is that Jordan will definitely be playing next season with the Bulls, with or without Jackson. But the odds of Jackson returning appear healthy, as well, especially if the Bulls win another title. If there is one exception to ''Nothing is written in stone,'' it is this: It's a bottom-line game.

(HOST) As the season for summer blockbuster movies about super heroes and rings of power approaches, commentator Willem Lange is feeling nostalgic for other mighty champions of yesteryear. early western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoof beats of the great horse Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again!" How many times I must have heard those lines, and how impressive they must have been, to be remembered 70 years later? means stupid in Spanish? What did kemo sabe mean? – boss, or pal, or champion of justice, or paleface idiot? When I was little, there was no radio in our house; our parents were deaf. Our grandparents had a big table-model Philco in their parlor. Just as kids nowadays tease for an iPhone, I kept asking for a radio until I got it. A tiny, dark-brown Bakelite-cased Arvin, it sat on the sideboard in our dining room. Every weekday, from 4:45 till 6:00 in the afternoon, I pulled my long-legged chair up to the sideboard, turned on the radio, and gazed at the dial. Many of you must remember "watching the radio" and memorizing the numbers of the AM dial, from 520 to 1610 kilohertz. I could tell from the glances I got from my parents as I sat there – sitting still for longer than at any other time in my life – that they suspected I was listening to something inappropriate and possibly sinful. At 4:45 a voice crackled over a simulated radio transmission: "CX4 to control tower. CX4 to control tower. Standing by…" The answer was immediate: "Control tower to CX4. Wind southeast, ceiling 1200. All clear." "This is Hop Harrigan, coming in!" So it went: five 15-minute episodes, featuring Jack Armstrong, Captain Midnight; Terry and the Pirates, and finally Tom Mix. Evenings, there were half-hour shows – The Green Hornet; The Shadow, in real life Lamont Cranston, "wealthy young man-about-town" who once in the Orient had learned to "cloud men’s minds so they cannot see him." Everything we imagined was the product of our separate minds’ eyes. When the Lone Ranger walked across the board platform of a railroad station, each of us constructed a different scene. It was like the famous "driveway moments" on Public Radio; you could do nothing else demanding thought while you were into an on-air drama. Listening to archived recordings now reveals it to have been pretty simplistic drivel. Still, wasn’t it glorious! (TAG) You can find more commentaries by Willem Lange at VPR-dot-net.

This is the news you’re looking for. Carrie Fisher has seemingly confirmed to Palm Beach Illustrated magazine that she will be returning to that Galaxy Far, Far Away for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII. Taken with Mark Hamill’s recent comments to Entertainment Tonight that Lucasfilm wants him, Fisher, and Ford back for a new trilogy of movies, this news makes it seem more and more likely that we might be able to see a Wishful Drinking Leia yet. So take this news with a grain of (bagel bun) salt. Fisher made headlines recently because of her ongoing struggle with bipolar disorder, so there is still a very great possibility she will not be back for Episode VII. But we can dream.

numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. She attended Shanksville Stonycreek High School and was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Buckstown. Family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. until time of service at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Deaner Funeral Home, Stoystown. Rev. Robert Way officiating. Interment Lambertsville Cemetery. Contributions may be given to assist the family c/o Kay Grasser 158 Juniata St., Berlin, PA 15530, or to St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 6872 Lincoln Hwy., Stoystown, PA 15563. DeanerFuneralsAndCremations.com.

In the market for a low-cost networked storage solution? You may want to take a look at the Netgear ReadyNAS 104. Typically, home users have been subjected to very few, true performance NAS products. If you wanted true performance, you had to reach a little deeper into your pocket, and pull out a bit more of that hard earned money. With Netgear being an industry leader in network storage solutions, it seems only fitting that they would offer top to bottom storage solutions for every sector of the market. Today, on this crisp winter morning, we will be looking over the Netgear ReadyNAS 104. The RN104 is a four bay NAS appliance that caters to the needs of consumers that want personal cloud storage. It offers standard features like a home media and file server, coupled together with low entry cost. The RN104 is built upon the Marvell ARMADA 370 platform, clocked at 1.2 GHz, with 512MB of memory to accompany it. Across the front of the unit, we have four 3.5" drive trays that support tool-less installation. Total storage capacity is listed at 16TB, with dual gigabit LAN ports at the rear of the unit. For quick management of the NAS, we have a two line LCD screen on the front of the unit, with dual USB 3.0 ports, and eSATA for additional storage options. Power consumption is listed at 45 watts for operation, and 1.4 watts with WOL enabled. Pricing of the four bay Netgear ReadyNAS 104 is listed at $319.99, without drives. The unit carries a three-year warranty from Netgear.

No, Trump can’t pardon himself. The Constitution tells us so. Correction: An earlier version of this op-ed misspelled the name of former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger. This version has been updated. Laurence H. Tribe is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School. Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, was chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007 and is vice-chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, was chief White House ethics lawyer for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011 and is chair of CREW. Can a president pardon himself? Four days before Richard Nixon resigned, his own Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel opined no, citing “the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case.” We agree. The Justice Department was right that guidance could be found in the enduring principles that no one can be both the judge and the defendant in the same matter, and that no one is above the law. The Constitution specifically bars the president from using the pardon power to prevent his own impeachment and removal. It adds that any official removed through impeachment remains fully subject to criminal prosecution. That provision would make no sense if the president could pardon himself. The pardon provision of the Constitution is there to enable the president to act essentially in the role of a judge of another person’s criminal case, and to intervene on behalf of the defendant when the president determines that would be equitable. For example, the president might believe the courts made the wrong decision about someone’s guilt or about sentencing; President Barack Obama felt this way about excessive sentences for low-level drug offenses. Or the president might be impressed by the defendant’s subsequent conduct and, using powers far exceeding those of a parole board, might issue a pardon or commutation of sentence. Other equitable considerations could also weigh in favor of leniency. A president might choose to grant a pardon before prosecution of a person when the president believes that the prosecution is not in the national interest; President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon in part for this reason. Or a president may conclude that even if a person may have committed a crime, he was acting in good faith to protect the national interest; President George H.W. Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger in the Iran-contra affair in part for this reason. In all such instances, however, the president is acting as a kind of super-judge and making a decision about someone else’s conduct, the justice of someone else’s sentence or whether it is in the national interest to prosecute someone else. He is not making a decision about himself. The Constitution embodies this broad precept against self-dealing in its rule that congressional pay increases cannot take effect during the Congress that enacted them, in its prohibition against using official power to gain favors from foreign states and even in its provision that the chief justice, not the vice president, is to preside when the Senate conducts an impeachment trial of the president. The Constitution’s pardon clause has its origins in the royal pardon granted by a sovereign to one of his or her subjects. We are aware of no precedent for a sovereign pardoning himself, then abdicating or being deposed but being immune from criminal process. If that were the rule, many a deposed king would have been spared instead of going to the chopping block. We know of not a single instance of a self-pardon having been recognized as legitimate. Even the pope does not pardon himself. On March 28, 2014, in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis publicly kneeled before a priest and confessed his sins for about three minutes. President Trump thinks he can do a lot of things just because he is president. He says that the president can act as if he has no conflicts of interest. He says that he can fire the FBI director for any reason he wants (and he admitted to the most outrageous of reasons in interviews and in discussion with the Russian ambassador). In one sense, Trump is right — he can do all of these things, although there will be legal repercussions if he does. Using official powers for corrupt purposes — such as impeding or obstructing an investigation — can constitute a crime. But there is one thing we know that Trump cannot do — without being a first in all of human history. He cannot pardon himself. Elizabeth Holtzman: In the Russia probe, could Trump pardon himself? Dana Milbank: Trump can do whatever he wants. God help us.

MANILA, Philippines — The state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) has extended by one more month or until Jan. 31 next year its revised offer to buy out existing Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) shareholders and gain control of the bond exchange. In a text message Friday, Landbank president Alex V. Buenaventura said the offer period was moved from the earlier deadline of end-December 2018 as there was “no response so far” from PDS shareholders. Last October, Landbank issued a new offer to buy shares at P215 per share, lower than P360 a share previously. The downgraded offer took into account the P600 million in dividends that PDS issued to shareholders in June, even as the share price remained a multiplier of 1.5 times adjusted net asset value or the same as the previous offer. The dividend payouts reduced PDS’s asset value, Buenaventura had noted. Buenaventura earlier expressed optimism that a majority or at least 66.67 percent of shareholders would give their acceptance letters to Landbank before yearend to seal the deal and sign share purchase agreements with them. During the previous offer, 43 percent of shareholders already submitted acceptance letters, such that they expect the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), banks and investment houses to accept the new offer as well, Buenaventura had said. Buenaventura’s plan to acquire a majority stake in PDS runs counter to the planned merger of the latter with the PSE. But Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who chairs Landbank, had lamented that the PSE was not being compliant with the conditions set for its merger with PDS.

Jerry Springer says he is still deciding whether he will run for Ohio governor in 2018. Speculation around Springer’s potential gubernatorial bid has been growing for several months. The Enquirer also reported Wednesday that Springer is soliciting feedback from Ohio State Sen. Sandra Williams, Democratic Reps. Janine Boyd and Stephanie Howse, and political consultants. “Glad to be in attendance @ rep’s Stephanie Howse and Janine Boyd fundraiser w/Jerry Springer, possible candidate for Gov. of Ohio,” Williams tweeted Tuesday. “He’s very serious,” Williams said of Springer’s interest in running, in an interview with Cleveland.com. The fundraiser was held at Nighttown, a Cleveland Heights jazz club and restaurant. Ring said Springer gave a brief speech at the fundraiser. Springer, 73, previously considered running for US Senate in 2000 and 2004, but decided against it. He has previously attributed the rumors around his potential bid for governor to former reality TV star Donald Trump’s successful White House bid. But people continued to discuss Springer’s potential return to politics. In late May, Business Insider, citing more than half a dozen Democrats familiar with the race, reported influential Ohio Democrats — including former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke — pushed for Springer to run. In an interview with CNN’s Brooke Baldwin in May of 2016, Springer — who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 — was seemingly unsurprised by Trump’s popularity. He said that since President Ronald Reagan, a generation of Americans has grown up believing government is the problem in America. “The celebrity in politics was inevitable,” Springer said. Since Trump’s win, a growing number of celebrities have expressed interest in running for office, or have not ruled out pursuing politics in the future. “I think it’s a real possibility,” Johnson told the publication when asked if he would ever run. In July, a West Virginia resident created a campaign committee called “Run The Rock 2020” to draft Johnson as a presidential candidate in 2020. Musician Kid Rock teased a potential bid for US Senate, but ultimately used the social media hype around the buzz to announce his non-profit designed to promote voter registration.

It’s a continuation of a trend they have seen over the last several years. “It’s been almost three years of nothing but above normal temperatures for the most part,” Zierden told the Bradenton Herald in a phone inteview Monday. He noted that the last 21 consecutive months have all been warmer than what is considered normal. Tampa is one of the weather stations showing a record warm ranking, according to a second tweet from Zierden. According to the Florida Climate Center, the average temperature in Tampa during November was 72.1 degrees, three degrees warmer than normal. Most of the state exhibited a similar, warmer-than-normal trend. “All of that is consistent with what other parts of the world have seen and what we expect with climate change, and so I would certainly think climate change has its fingerprints on the recent trend of above-normal temperatures,” Zierden said. In Manatee County, there were nine record-setting high temperatures through November, according to NCEI daily weather records. Six days through November tied for record- high temperatures. However, Zierden cautioned, just because the average temperatures have been warmer doesn’t mean Florida won’t see cold snaps this winter. Across the country, it’s been an above-average year for temperatures, the report from the National Centers for Environmental Information shows. The year-to-date U.S. average temperature, 56.4 degrees, was the third warmest on record. That’s 2.61 degrees above the 20th century average, according to the NCEI. The warmest year on record for the U.S. was 2012, when the average temperature through November was 57.04 degrees, NCEI archives show. Spectrum Bay News 9 Meteorologist Josh Linker said average temperatures will likely remain above average at least through Christmas, but just by a couple of degrees each day. Temperatures, however, return to average for the last few days of the year. Linker said December is currently averaging less than 1 degree above normal, due in part to a recent week of cooler weather.

This mildly racy spot introduces us to the character of the brown M&M, who only looks like she’s not wearing her shell. And it does so by showing us more than we ever cared to see of one of her bagmates. “That is not something I want to be thinking about when I’m eating M&M’s,” my 10-year-old son says. He’s got a point, but be thankful: if someone bared his peanut, we’d have an FCC issue right now.

Originally Published: September 24, 2018 8 p.m. Soledad O’Brien, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E Sheldon St, Prescott. Hear her take on the roles we play in our communities to create meaningful change. Can you tell a book by its cover? 6 p.m., Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin Street, Founders Suite (1st floor). The Professional Writers of Prescott (PWP) will host Mariah Sinclair, an award-winning book cover designer. ESL, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Prescott Valley Public Library, Genealogy Room, 7401 E. Civic Circle. The Rockin’ Ukes, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Prescott Valley Public Library-Crystal Room, 7401 E. Civic Circle Dr. The Rockin’ Ukes is a ukulele-centric band that plays an eclectic mix of classic rock, folk, country and whatever they feel like playing. Seating is limited so come early to get a seat. 928-759-3040. Join Scouting Night, 6:30 to 8 p.m., St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 2000 Shepherds Lane, Prescott. Hosted by Boy Scout Troop and Pack 10. Girl Scout Troop 79 is also open for girls who want to join. 928-772-1312 or email at [email protected]. Sedona International Film Festival Presents “Quiz Show,” Mary D. Fisher Theater, 2030 W. Highway 89A. Tickets are $4.25 and can be purchased by calling 928-282-1177 or online at www.sedonafilmfestival.org. 928-282-1177.

Located near all that the Catskills has to offer! Close to Hunter Mountain, Wyndham, state land, antiquing and many other recreational opportunities in the area. Also very close to the Hudson River. Come see this charming home with a rocking chair front porch. Great for a hunting or skiing base camp or full time residential living. Additional adjoining land available for sale separately. This listing now includes a large pole barn and sheds. Lot line adjustment has increased the property size to 4.91 acres. Come see it today!

Attendees visit the Vodafone Group pavilion at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, March 4, 2015. Vodafone, one of the world's biggest telecoms companies, announced better-than-expected sales Friday as its 4G plans grow. The U.K.-based company reported an acceleration in its main quarterly sales growth on Friday as a cable TV acquisition in its biggest market, Germany, where it faces strong competition from Deutsche Telecom, lifted sales and consolidated the overall return to growth for the British firm. It also returned to growth in the U.K. However, there was no mention in its statement of the one thing many investors want to hear about - a potential deal in Western Europe with John Malone's Liberty Global. The U.K., Germany and Netherlands were the markets identified by Malone as most fertile ground for a tie-up in May, but little has been heard on the deal in recent weeks. The world's second-largest mobile operator said first-quarter organic service revenue grew 0.8 percent, ahead of the 0.1 percent it recorded in the fourth quarter and better than most analysts had expected. Vittorio Colao, chief executive of the company, said in a statement: "Our emerging markets have maintained their strong momentum and more of our European businesses are returning to growth, as customer demand for 4G and data takes off," said. The group reiterated its outlook for the full year.

NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Body cameras captured the moment a North Brunswick police officer climbed up a burning building to rescue a family. The fire started Saturday around 10:20 P.M. at the Governor's Pointe Condominiums. When Officer Grasso arrived, two grandparents and their grandchildren were trapped on the balcony of their apartment. Grasso climbed up to the family and handed the family members down to other officers who were on the ground below. In all, 28 people were left homeless after the fire destroyed 12 apartments. No one was injured.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted the latest cabinet reshuffle by President Jacob Zuma. We can confirm that the federation did receive a courtesy call from President Jacob Zuma regarding his decision to reshuffle his cabinet this morning. While, we acknowledge that the president of the republic has a prerogative to reshuffle his National Executive as per the Constitution of the republic, we find the frequency of these cabinet reshuffles unsettling because they do not help to create the much needed stability at a government level. What compounds the situation is that some of these government departments are also witnessing an exodus of senior technocrats. All of this is happening while workers and the poor are continuing to be victims of a system that has condemned millions of our fellow citizens to lives of brute survival. Our economy is currently haemorrhaging jobs at an alarming rate and it does not help that we are also experiencing this kind of political uncertainty and policy incoherence from government. COSATU expects cabinet reshuffles to be about strengthening the capacity of government in order to help government to better implement its developmental agenda and deliver on its promises. We are not convinced that this reshuffle is informed by that ,considering that some of the most ineffectual ministers like Minister Bathabile Dlamini, Minister Nomvula Mokonyane, and Minister Mosebenzi Zwane are still part of the National Executive. These recent cabinet reshuffles have done very little to help take the National Democratic Revolution forward. We call on the African National Congress to reflect deeply about the state of the economy and the overall performance of its government. The majority of workers are facing a bleak future and the people South Africa need a clear sign that the government has a plan to rescue them from poverty and kick-start this economy. As COSATU , we will continue to work with and support the newly elected ministers and deputy ministers with the hope that they will prioritise a people driven and people centred development. We wish them well in their new positions.

The NHS is still running Windows XP en masse, two and a half years after Microsoft stopped delivering bug fixes and security updates. Nearly all of England NHS trusts – 90 per cent – continue to rely on PCs installed with Microsoft’s 15-year-old desktop operating system. Just over half are still unsure as to when they will move to a replacement operating system. Fourteen per cent reckoned they’d move to a new operating system by the end of this year, and 29 per cent reckoned the move would happen “some time” in 2017. Windows XP is not receiving any security updates from Microsoft, meaning health service PCs are wide open to hackers and malware. The data on the NHS' use of Windows XP comes courtesy of a Freedom of Information request from Citrix, which approached 63 NHS trusts and received responses from 42. An FoI request from Citrix made in July 2014, three months after Microsoft’s deadline to move off Windows XP, had found 100 per cent of NHS trusts were dependent on the operating system. The Reg first reported in early 2014 how vast sections of the UK public sector was set to miss Microsoft’s April 2014 kill date for XP. The government had agreed a temporary framework support agreement with Microsoft which guaranteed delivery of special security patches for a year. That agreement ended on April 14 2015 after it was decided not to go for a second year.

After much anticipation, Melania Trump has finally given the world a glimpse of her platform. Like those before her, Trump is keen to make a difference in her own unique way. Speaking in the Rose Garden, she officially launched "Be Best," which tackles three key pillars: well-being, social media and opioid abuse. But what does it take to be effective as first lady, especially amid an ever moving spectrum of expectations, responsibility and public opinion? The first lady's communications director, Stephanie Grisham, recently stated that most first ladies have focused on a single issue. In fact, several presidential spouses in the last century have taken on multiple causes, and Trump can look to them for guidance. To be successful, here are three recommendations from the Bush Institute's report "A Role Without a Rulebook" that Trump should consider implementing. 1. Develop a strategic vision. As first lady, Trump is uniquely positioned to be a compassionate listener and supportive facilitator. As she develops this platform, she should clearly define actionable goals that engage citizens at local and national levels. She can look to her peer, Laura Bush, who launched "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn" with two clear objectives in mind: to ensure young children are prepared when they enter their first classroom, and once there have well-trained, qualified teachers. She also addressed how these goals would be achieved. By outlining a clear mission alongside defined actions, Bush was able to make progress on these goals during her time as first lady. 2. Engage with citizens and peers. In a polarized political climate, Trump must embrace the opportunity to transcend boundaries. Unelected but official, she is able to build bridges between government and civil society. For example, one of our most prominent first ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt, championed causes including racial equality, labor rights and women's rights, and she was the first presidential spouse to testify before a congressional committee. Central to her efforts: community and stakeholder outreach. Engagement with predecessors and peers can also aid Trump's efforts. For example, longstanding advocates for mental health and those battling addictive diseases, Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford joined forces to advance policy and increase support for services. Reflecting on their collaboration, Carter said: "(Betty and I) could be a stronger force if we worked as partners, and we did for many years." Trump has the opportunity to use the power of partnership. As political influences, first ladies can reach across industries and ideologies to unite diverse viewpoints and mobilize action. For example, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden launched "Joining Forces," working with the public and private sectors to improve outcomes for service members, veterans and their families by providing the tools needed to succeed throughout their lives. While the role of first lady is one without a rulebook, these are proven actions that can aid Trump's efforts on a variety of platforms. When used effectively, a first lady's podium serves as a force for change. Natalie Gonnella-Platts is the deputy director of the Women's Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute and co-author of "A Role Without a Rulebook: The Influence and Leadership of Global First Ladies." She wrote this for InsideSources.com.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Kevin Durant scored 25 points, James Harden added a spark with 23 points off the bench while returning from an injury and the Oklahoma City Thunder ended a string of futility against the Houston Rockets with a 122-104 victory. The Thunder got out to a sizzling start and opened a 23-point lead within the first 14 minutes. Their lead was never in jeopardy against a Houston team desperately needing a late charge to make the playoffs. Instead, Oklahoma City used its second-best shooting performance of the season to take a big step toward solidifying its spot in the postseason. Luis Scola scored 25 and Trevor Ariza added 20 points for Houston, which fell seven games behind Oklahoma City and 51/2 behind eighth-place Portland in the Western Conference. BOSTON - Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Kevin Garnett had 20 and the Boston Celtics clinched a playoff berth with a win over the Denver Nuggets. The Celtics dominated inside and the Nuggets, one day after losing to the Knicks in New York, slipped a half-game behind the Dallas Mavericks and into a third-place tie with Utah in the Western Conference with their third consecutive loss. Boston led by 21 points twice in the third quarter before Denver cut the lead to 87-80 going into the fourth. But the Celtics stayed ahead by seven to 16 the rest of the way for their fifth win in six games. Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 11 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 32 points and J.R. Smith added 21. TORONTO - Deron Williams had 18 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds, leading the Utah Jazz to victory over the Toronto Raptors. Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Mehmet Okur and rookie Wesley Matthews had 16 points apiece for the Jazz, who won their third straight. Seven Jazz players finished with at least 12 points. Chris Bosh celebrated his 26th birthday with a 20-point performance for the Raptors (35-35), who fell 11/2 games behind Charlotte and Miami in the race for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Antoine Wright had 10 of his 15 points in the second quarter for the Raptors, while Andrea Bargnani added 12 and Jose Calderon 10. ATLANTA - Josh Smith swooped in to slam through Joe Johnson's missed shot just ahead of the buzzer and the Atlanta Hawks finally beat the Orlando Magic, clinching a third straight trip to the playoffs. The Hawks bounced back from an early 15-2 deficit and overcame going 8:45 in the fourth quarter without a field goal against a division rival that had routed them three times this season. For Atlanta, it came down to the final shot of regulation for the fifth straight game. INDIANAPOLIS - Danny Granger scored 31 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Wizards and extend Washington's losing streak to a franchise record-tying 13 games. Andray Blatche started for the Wizards a night after he was benched for most of the game following a spat with coach Flip Saunders. The Wizards last lost 13 straight in 1995. They can set a record for futility Friday at Charlotte. It was Granger's third straight game with at least 30 points. Josh McRoberts had 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won four in a row overall and six straight at home. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Stephen Jackson shook off a sore hand and busted out of his shooting slump with 37 points, leading the Charlotte Bobcats past Minnesota to send the reeling Timberwolves to their 14th straight loss. Jackson, who a night earlier revealed he had been plagued by a bruised ligament near his left index finger, hit 15-of-24 shots after shooting 37 percent in the previous 10 games. Gerald Wallace added 23 points as the Bobcats shot 54 percent from the field and moved into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with their sixth straight home win. Al Jefferson scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who came apart in a 20-0 Charlotte run in the second quarter to drop to 5-32 on the road. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Brook Lopez had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and New Jersey Nets moved a step closer to avoiding a dubious date with NBA history by beating the Sacramento Kings to snap an eight-game losing streak and a franchise-record, 14-game skid at home. Devin Harris added 24 points and nine assists for the Nets (8-63), who need to win once in their last 11 games to avoid breaking the league mark for fewest wins in a season (9-73), set by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73. Nets interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe guided the team despite learning of the death of his mother, former Miss America Colleen Kay Hutchins, earlier in the day. Beno Udrih had 19 points for the Kings, who lost the eighth time in 11 games. MILWAUKEE - Rookie Jrue Holiday had 15 points and seven assists, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a victory over the Bucks that snapped Milwaukee's longest home winning streak in six years at eight games. It was a dismal display for Milwaukee, which had won 15 of the last 17 to virtually assure a postseason berth for the first time since 2006. Instead, Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Willie Green scored 16 points and Andre Iguodala 14 as the Sixers poured it on for their third win in the last 16 games. Jerry Stackhouse scored 15 points and rookie Brandon Jennings added 12 for Milwaukee, but the Bucks shot 5 of 28 from 3-point range and led only once in the game, 3-0. NEW ORLEANS - LeBron James scored an efficient 38 points on 15 of 22 shooting to go with nine assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their eighth straight game, over the New Orleans Hornets. J.J. Hickson scored 20 for the Cavs, who led by as many as 17 and never trailed after James' floater tied it at 10 in the first quarter. Delonte West added 15 points and Antawn Jamison had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Cleveland won its 27th straight over a team with a losing record. Marcus Thornton scored 20 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Hornets, who will be eliminated from the playoffs if Portland wins today. David West added 16 points.

We build our students up only to encourage them to flee. Why? Combining advertising campaigns handled by pros along with play on the editorial side of reputable media outlets gets a business noticed by potential customers who won’t be concerned about the veracity of claims. A sad week in the world of journalism.

1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem. 2 Joahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and fined the land a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Neco took Joahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God. 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of Jehovah to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. 9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah. 10 And at the return of the year king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of Jehovah, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. 12 and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God; he humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet [speaking] from the mouth of Jehovah. 13 And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart against turning unto Jehovah, the God of Israel. 14 Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the people, trespassed very greatly after all the abominations of the nations; and they polluted the house of Jehovah which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. 16 but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no remedy. 17 Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or virgin, old man or hoary-headed: he gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. 21 to fulfil the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths: [for] as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. 23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Narayana Kocherlakota will step down when his current term ends in February 2016. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis president said the U.S. central bank risked damaging its credibility. The MInneapolis Fed reports the pace of consolitation is unchanged since reforms were put in place; critics say otherwise. Minnesota farmers and the state’s economy could be impacted by a decline in formerly booming farmland prices. Minnesota business service firms are slightly more optimistic about the next 12 months than they were last year, according to a report released Monday. The metro’s net loan growth was 1.34 percent over the past year.

This bicycle sprocket hub and sprockets from the Wright Bicycle Co. are on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The Wrights later used a bicycle-type chain drive in their early airplanes. Also on display are a composting stick and metal type from the Wright printing business.

Roger Federer of Switzerland and Bill Gates shake hands at the Match For Africa 4 exhibition match at KeyArena on April 29, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. When I was in my 20s and early 30s, my whole life was focused on work. I didn’t take vacations or weekends off. I was always the first in the office and the last to leave. These days, I’m better at balancing the work that I love to do with my foundation and taking time off to spend with family and friends. My parents first taught me bridge, but I really started to enjoy it after playing with Warren Buffett. It takes a mix of strategy and teamwork to do well. We always find time to play a few games when we’re together. This civilization-building board game is a favorite in my family. Melinda, our kids, and I have spent many hours sitting around the table trading resources, building roads, and strategizing to be the first to reach 10 victory points. I have played tennis my whole life. This year, I got to play a match with Roger Federer to help raise money for his foundation. I wouldn’t say it was the most relaxing tennis game I’ve ever played, but it was a whole lot of fun. It may not be too surprising that one of my favorite ways to relax is to keep learning. On average, I try to read a book a week, and I always bring a whole tote bag of them on vacation. In 1993, Melinda and I visited Tanzania, Kenya, and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). That trip changed our lives and inspired us to start our foundation and get involved in philanthropy sooner than we planned. I know it’s not possible for everyone to travel halfway around the world, so I’ve started sharing VR videos on my Gates Notes blog of what I’m seeing and learning.

Elvis Costello played a two-hour, 25-song show that touched on phases throughout his career, both deep cuts and hits, as well as nine of the new disc’s 12 songs. And to the delight of the nearly sold-out crowd, Costello did them all them well. Over a career of more than 40 years, singer Elvis Costello has been a punk provocateur, a seminal new wave voice, a contemporary pop singer and even a classic crooner. And there have been fans of each of Costello’s career ventures. So how to satisfy everyone coming to see Costello kick off the North American leg of his latest tour at Sands Bethlehem Event Center to support yet another venture – his very strong new disc “Look Now”? On Friday, Costello did his best to do just that, playing a two-hour, 25-song show that touched on phases throughout his career, both deep cuts and hits, as well as nine of the new disc’s 12 songs. And to the delight of the nearly sold-out crowd, Costello did them all well – not afraid to revisit not only the songs of his earlier career, but also carrying the spirit of them into the newer songs. Perhaps after surviving cancer surgery that canceled the end of his European leg, the 64-year-old Costello was emboldened, or re-invigorated. Either way, his performance, and voice, was stronger than when he played the Sands in 2016. Backed by a crack three-man band and two female singers, Costello opened the show with “This Year’s Girl” from his 1978 sophomore disc, “This Year’s Model,” with its swirling synth reviving that new wave sound. He followed that with two 1980s deeper cuts: a forceful “Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind,” and “Clubland,” with Costello’s ‘70s rocking edge. On the latter, Costello even held a finger to his nose to hush the crowd as he played a scrubbing lead and sang with a “Watching the Detectives” affect. Later offerings from the new disc were even better. The disc’s new single “Under Lime” had very much that 1977 vibe that ushered in new wave. “Why Won’t Heaven Help Me” was pretty rocking. The slow guitar-and-piano “Stripping Paper” was a clear reminder or the Elvis of old, and the slow, sensitive “Suspect My Tears” had some of his best vocals of the night, as he reached for a falsetto. Early in the show, the older songs Costello played were nearly all deeper cuts: “New Lace Sleeves” from 1981’s “Trust”; a rocking, new-wavey “(I Don’t Want to Go To) Chelsea,” with good lead guitar. So that when he did play a hit – his 1977 U.S. breakthrough “Watching the Detectives,” (in the same darkened-stage presentation as the last time he was at the Sands) it got a huge crowd reaction – and deservedly so. Costello later did the same with later songs: A largely voice-and-acoustic guitar version of 1986’s “Indoor Fireworks” to a big cheer from the crowd, and closed the main set with a faster, more rocking “Can You Hear Me” from his last disc, 2013’s “Wise Up Ghost” that segued right into the hit “Pump It Up,” thumping, urgent and rocking. Costello’s encore stretched eight songs and 40 minutes. It opened with one of the night’s best: a barely instrumented, mostly a cappella “Allison,” with his two female backup singers. It got a huge cheer. Then a stark and spare, piano-and-voice “Accidents Will Happen,” on which he reached for a high and powerful end note. He used that same vocal approach on “I Still Have That Other Girl,” which he also wrote with Bacharach, – really singing it --and paired that with a new Bacharach co-write, “He’s Given Me Things,” from the new disc. Costello flubbed the start of that song slightly, and after saying “this is the first night,” re-started it dramatically better. He followed that with another early deeper cut, “Green Shirt,” which started stripped, then built as the crowd clapped along. And then a six-minute version of his 1979 hit “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding,” with a wonderful chorus coda. That completed Costello’s journey of giving everyone what they wanted. The fact that he could do that, and do it as well as he did, shows how important Costello’s music has been, and how much he still has left.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Fighting in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City killed 23 Iraqis yesterday, hospital officials said, and the U.S. military reported five troop deaths, as April showed signs of becoming the worst month for U.S. forces in Iraq since September. At least 11 of the Iraqi deaths occurred when mortar shells landed in residential neighborhoods. Men rushed wounded children to overcrowded emergency rooms in Sadr City hospitals, on foot because of a ban on all vehicular traffic. In some parts of Sadr City, masked militiamen bearing machine guns and grenade launchers remained on the streets. Officials at local hospitals have put the death toll in the neighborhood at more than 70 since Sunday, but it was not clear if those figures included militia fighters. Thousands of Sadr City residents have fled for other neighborhoods. Prices in local markets were soaring as supplies dwindled, a result of suppliers' inability to bring in goods. Iraqi and U.S. forces appeared to be penetrating deeper into the neighborhood, one local journalist said. There were no signs that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was pulling back on his offensive against Shiite militias, which has sparked fighting between Iraqi and U.S. forces and militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Maliki's deadline for fighters to hand in heavy weapons expired Tuesday, but the latest clashes showed that rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and rockets remained in militia hands. Baghdad had spent part of yesterday quieter than in recent days, because of a curfew imposed to prevent clashes and protests marking the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003. Al-Sadr had called for a huge march in Baghdad to mark the anniversary of Hussein's ouster and to protest the U.S. presence and al-Maliki's offensive. The cleric says the offensive, which began March 25 in the southern city of Basra, is targeting his Mahdi Army and is a ploy to cripple his political movement in advance of provincial elections planned for October. His fighters have risen up against Iraqi and U.S. forces, virtually collapsing a cease-fire that al-Sadr announced last August and that was credited with bringing a sharp drop in violence nationwide. Although U.S. and Iraqi officials maintain that they are targeting criminal elements or "special groups" that did not abide by al-Sadr's truce, U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker acknowledged yesterday that the Basra offensive had drawn in others. "A dangerous development in the immediate wake of the Basra operation was what appeared to be a reunification between special groups and JAM," he told lawmakers in Washington, using the acronym for al-Sadr's militia. Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, gave lawmakers their assessments of the war during two days of hearings in Washington that ended yesterday. The surge in troop deaths since the Basra offensive has underscored their contention that security gains witnessed in recent months easily could be reversed. At least 30 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the Basra operation began, most in Baghdad; at least 19 have died in Iraq so far this month, representing the highest daily average since last September. The deaths announced yesterday brought to at least 4,031 the number of U.S. troops to die in Iraq since the war began in March 2003. Brief military statements said three of the soldiers died in roadside bomb blasts: two in northeastern Baghdad and one east of the city. Two others died of "non-combat" injuries, statements said, giving no other details.

With its eye on Western next-gen gamers, the Japanese publisher pays $15 million for Secret Level. Sega Holdings of USA announced on Monday that it has purchased independent game studio Secret Level for $15 million. Last July, Sega announced a next-generation development deal with Secret Level, an arrangement that asked the San Francisco-based shop to "re-create a classic Sega franchise" on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Though the unnamed game in question isn't "Sonic the Hedgehog"--which is being shepherded into the next generation internally--the prospect of a next-gen "Altered Beast" or "Golden Axe" has many players excited. Prior to its next-gen project, Secret Level was best-known for developing "Karaoke Revolution," "Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds" and console versions of the military title "America's Army: Rise of a Soldier." Sega Holdings, the U.S.-based arm of Japan's Sega Sammy Holdings, said the acquisition of Secret Level was part of its push to concentrate on the U.S. and European video game markets. "We looked long and hard at building an internal studio from scratch but were so impressed with the team at Secret Level and their next-gen technology that we decided to create our internal development infrastructure through a direct acquisition," said Simon Jeffery, Sega of America's president and COO. The deal comes just more than a year after Sega acquired The Creative Assembly, makers of the highly acclaimed "Total War PC" strategy series and the not-so-highly acclaimed "Spartan: Total Warrior" for consoles. It also comes two weeks after Sega said it will "collaboratively develop" an all-new role-playing game with "NeverWinter Nights 2" developer Obsidian Entertainment for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Tor Thorsen reported for GameSpot.

Tulsa race riot survivor: "Learn how to forgive, but never forget" SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A 100-inch, high definition screen projects an intense college basketball game. Massage therapists rub the nervous tensions of men and women away. Scissors skillfully cut men's hair. Two chandeliers adorn the main room, complimented by brick walls and a glass bar that doubles as a retail counter. Sean Heywood, right, and Kumi Walker own MR., a barbershop and wine bar in San Francisco, California. This is not your typical barbershop. And that has always been the vision of owners Kumi Walker and Sean Heywood. "We are literally trying to create a new version of the country club golf experience. But we're replacing golf with haircuts, and we're putting it in urban environments," says Heywood. MR. (for mister) is their first business venture. It's an upscale barbershop, wine bar and lounge in the financial district of San Francisco where memberships cost $65 to $250 a month. In addition to the basic services, those who become members benefit from exclusive services like golf putting clinics and human resource workshops. "We're trying to thrive, not just survive," Heywood said. MR. takes the cultural aspect of the black barbershop experience and modernizes it, making it a place where businesspeople of all races can network. The two entrepreneurs are bridging a cultural divide, and also giving back to the community. They offer free lifetime memberships to MR. to those in good standing with a re-entry program called Back on Track. Among other things, Back on Track offers first-time, low-level criminal offenders GED preparation, tutoring, money-management instruction and job training and placement. And that's where MR. steps in. The membership provides them with one free haircut, trim, and shoeshine monthly. "We'll take care of their grooming so that they don't have to. And they're ready for all the different jobs that they pursue going forward," Walker says. Giving back is paramount for the entrepreneurs. And the story of one black business district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, inspires them. It was known as Black Wall Street, and it was destroyed in a race riot and fire 88 years ago. "All of the businesses that we wanted to create, we wanted to encompass the culture of, if that community still existed today, what it would look like," says Walker, who says he read about the riot six years ago. Imagine a credit union, a barbershop, a library, and men in freshly pressed suits with top hats sauntering on sidewalks. The melodic sounds of jazz flow into the streets from several nightclubs. A thriving community of black-owned businesses serve their clientele across a 42-block area. That was the community that existed in the segregated neighborhood of Greenwood from 1830 to 1921. But on the evening of May 31, 1921, white mobs entered Greenwood with torches and guns. Black residents gathered to protect a young man accused of assaulting a white woman. When the smoke from fires cleared on June 1, more than 1,000 homes, businesses and other institutions were burned or destroyed, according to the report of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. Sound off: What challenges do black entrepreneurs face? iReport.com: How would you make black America better? "People came and said, 'Run, they are shooting people,' " says Wess Young, who was 4 then. "We evacuated. They were destroying everything." The death toll has been debated for years, because many victims were dumped in mass graves. An American Red Cross estimate puts the total at 300, much higher than the 36 reported by local officials. The riot devastated the social underpinnings of the Greenwood community and leveled a black economic force. Greenwood was rebuilt, but it never recovered. "It was a really tragic end to thriving businesses. I think we'd be a lot further ahead had that area been able to continue to thrive," says Walker. Wess Young and his family rebuilt their lives in Tulsa. When asked what he thought America would be like if the Tulsa race riot had not happened, he answers without hesitation, "We would have had a black president before now. ... He has done a good job, but we [blacks are] still in a box." His advice to people is to let go of the past once they've learned from it. "Hate will destroy your whole universe -- got to learn how to forgive, but never forget," Young says. Walker says these stories of black struggle and survival motivate him. "I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors," he says. "I just want to be as successful as possible so I can turn around and be mentors and sponsors to other people who come after me."

Two recently published reports shed damning light on the high cost of low wages in the fast food industry – an industry dominated by the restaurant giant McDonald’s, which raked-in over $5.4 billion in profits last year. The reports – Super Sizing Public Costs: How Low Wages at Top Fast-Food Chains Leave Taxpayers Footing the Bill and Fast Food, Poverty Wages: The Public Cost of Low-Wage Jobs in the Fast-Food Industry – argue that low-wages in the fast-food industry cost taxpayers nearly $7 billion annually. Medicaid and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) account for more than half of the $7 billion, at an average of $3.9 billion annually. Additionally, due to low earnings, fast food workers’ families also receive an annual average of $1.04 billion in food stamp benefits and $1.91 billion in Earned Income Tax Credit payments. The ten largest fast-food companies alone made more than $7.4 billion in profits in 2012 and paid their top executives more than $53 million in compensation. Low-wage fast-food jobs cost tax-payers the most in California ($717 million), New York ($708 million), Texas ($556 million), Illinois ($368 million), and Florida ($348 million). According to Super Sizing Public Costs, “McDonald’s represents the most costly fast-food company for tax-payers.” Low wages and lack of benefits at McDonald’s cost tax-payers “$1.2 billion every year in public assistance programs,” according to the report. YUM! Brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC), Subway, Burger King and Wendy’s round-out the top five fast-food companies with workers who rely on public assistance. The median average wage for fast-food workers is $8.69; an estimated 87 percent of fast-food workers do not receive health benefits. Furthermore, 67 percent of front-line fast-food workers are adults 20 and older; 68 percent are the main earners in their families and more than one-quarter are raising children. “This business model puts tax-payers on the hook, while rewarding corporate CEO’s,” Jack Temple, a policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project and co-author of Super Sizing Public Costs, said during a conference call with the press on October 15. The reports come on the heels of a nation-wide wave of fast-food worker strikes; most recently strikes took place in over 60 cities across the nation with thousands of fast-food workers walking off their jobs. “The CEO of McDonald’s makes more in a day than I make in a year,” Yates added. Fast-food workers nationally are calling for $15 an-hour in pay and the right to form or join a union without retaliation. Jacobs also addressed the wave of non-traditional worker organizing taking place in fast-food, retail and other low-wage service sector jobs. Super Sizing Public Costs: How Low Wages at Top Fast-Food Chains Leave Taxpayers Footing the Bill was published by the National Employment Law Project and Fast Food, Poverty Wages: The Public Cost of Low-Wage Jobs in the Fast-Food Industry was published by the University of California Labor Center.

When Cait and I found out how easy it is to make ravioli–and with such completely impressive and delicious results!–we just had to share this fabulous harvest recipe with you. This dish is a poem to autumn, filled with sweet, tender butternut squash combined with a touch of honey, fresh thyme, rosemary, sage, and Parmesan, and topped with chopped hazelnuts (or you could substitute walnuts) and brown butter. This would work beautifully for any family feast or romantic, intimate dinner. 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut the squash in half through the stem and lay the halves cut side down on the oiled baking sheet. Bake 50-60 minutes, until easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Scoop out seeds and fibers and discard, then spoon the flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash squash with a potato-masher until smooth, then add breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, honey, thyme, rosemary, chopped sage, and orange zest. Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper. 2. Warm the olive oil and nut oil over medium heat in a small frying pan and add hazelnuts or walnuts. Cook, stirring often, about 3 minutes, or until nuts are golden. Transfer nuts to a plate and set aside. 3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan until it turns brown and begins to smoke, 3-4 minutes. Remove immediately from heat, add nutmeg, and set aside. 4. Place a pasta sheet on a lightly floured work surface. Spoon mounds of filling on the sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart (the number of mounds you make will depend on the size of the pasta sheets you use). Lightly mist the mounds with a spray mister filled with water, then place a second pasta sheet over the first, covering the filling mounds, and pressing firmly around the edges and between the mounds to seal. Using a fluted cutting wheel or knife, cut between the rows of ravioli. Repeat with remaining sheets of pasta and filling. 5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli and cook until tender, 2-3 minutes. To serve, reheat the browned butter. Drain ravioli and place in warmed serving bowl. Toss with butter, sprinkle with hazelnuts and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Garnish with sage leaves and serve immediately. Inspired by Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration: Autumn, by Joanne Weir (Time-Life Books, 1997).

Every morning on The Style Blog, we celebrate the best footwear weve come across. Now, for your benefit, its all in one place. Every morning on The Style Blog, we celebrate the best footwear we've come across. Now, for your benefit, it's all in one place. Walk in these down the boardwalk. Walk in these when you're feeling sick of summer. Walk in these to your crucial mid-week meeting. Walk in these... no, actually, bike in these to work. Walk in these no matter what you're wearing. Walk in these before summer's over. Walk in these to... your car? Walk in these to get noticed. Walk in these to the grocery store. Walk in these to work this morning. Walk in these the next time you take her out — tonight? Walk in these wherever you go, because espadrilles are this summer's solution to another scorcher. Walk in these to your computer, then explore sidmashburn.com, the just-launched online home of the storied Atlanta store. Walk in these the next time you ditch the office for the mountains.

It may not have been enough to bring out the skis, but Wood River Valley residents woke up with a shock Wednesday to see a snowstorm three days before the start of summer. Elizabeth Padian, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pocatello, said observers reported snow from Timmerman Hill north through the Wood River and Sawtooth valleys. Padian said late-June snowstorms are a rarity in the area, but historical records show that a trace of snow is possible on any given day year-round. She said that since the start of record-keeping in 1937, there has been snowfall in the Wood River Valley on several days in late June, as well as in July and August. Jan Turzian, owner of Sun Valley Garden Center in Bellevue, said a few of her customers told her they lost tomatoes due to the unexpected cold weather. She said plants that were covered were probably all right. She said it’s the cold temperatures more than snow that damages delicate flowers and vegetables. The Herr brothers, Ed and Nevin, who grow strawberries in Picabo for sale around the Wood River Valley, said their crop was undamaged by the late snow. “It’s supposed to be 80 degrees from here on out, so I think we’re OK,” Ed Herr said. The storm was widespread, and was more pronounced farther south in Utah. According to the National Weather Service office in Salt Lake City, snow fell throughout the Wasatch Mountains, including 9 inches at Alta, which is at 8,800 feet elevation.

LOS ANGELES – A lawsuit filed Wednesday against ABC (search) and "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell (search) alleges they conspired to steal the brand and concept of "Million Dollar Idea," a series airing in syndication. The suit, filed in federal court by Jean Golden and Todd Walker, the creators and hosts of "Million Dollar Idea," (search) follows ABC's announcement in July of a new show of the same name that the network said was created by Cowell. "From stem to stern, each and every detail of Simon Cowell and ABC's mock 'Million Dollar Idea' is a patent rip-off of Todd and Jean's four-year labor of love," attorney Pierce O'Donnell alleged in a statement Wednesday. The lawsuit sees to stop ABC from using the name and idea and calls for unspecified damages. O'Donnell predicted they would reach into "the tens of millions of dollars." A call seeking comment from Cowell was not immediately returned Wednesday. "We have not even been served with the complaint in this matter, and so have no comment," said ABC spokeswoman Annie Fort. The suit also names FremantleMedia North America, producer of FOX's "American Idol" and proposed producer of ABC's "The Million Dollar Idea." (Note the slightly different title.) FremantleMedia does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Brian Reinert said. "Million Dollar Idea" first aired on KSTC-TV in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market in 2003. The series was recently syndicated to more than 125 stations nationwide and its creators registered for both copyright and trademark for the show's name and premise, according to their statement. The show is taped before an audience and judges at the Mall of America. New product inventors and marketers from across the country compete for a prize package to help launch their product and place it for sale with a Mall of America retailer. The syndicated series has received newspaper, magazine and TV coverage, including on NBC's "Today" show, the suit says. "It is incredibly ironic that our show, the premise of which is to promote, protect and reward small-town American ingenuity, was itself the victim of corporate theft and greed," Golden said. Her partner, Walker, pitched a deal for the show to ABC in early 2004 and provided copies of their presentation to CAA, according to the suit. That's the same agency identified in a recent ABC press release as having "packaged" "The Million Dollar Idea" with Cowell. Besides the alleged theft of the title, every major concept connected to the show also was copied, the suit claims. In the July 13 news release announcing "The Million Dollar Idea," ABC described the series as "a nationwide search for America's greatest entrepreneur with the best business idea or new product," with the prize to be $1 million "worth of business support," including cash and other resources. The idea was conceived by Cowell and British entrepreneur Peter Jones, according to the ABC release.

Are stoners now a target advertising demographic for fast food companies? Ever since Harold and Kumar went to White Castle, fast-food companies have become increasingly blatant about targeting to stoners in their advertisements. July 31, 2012, 1:48 a.m. Between Taco Bell's "Fourthmeal" advertisements and Jack in the Box commercials featuring slow-talking stoners, it's hardly a secret anymore that fast-food companies are shamelessly targeting potheads with their ads. But have they crossed a line? Once considered a taboo marketing approach, the fast-food industry today appears to have brazenly embraced the late-night munchies, according to The Fix. Although advertisements never blatantly refer to pot smoking, subliminal messaging has become more obvious. Take, for instance, this recent Jack in the Box advertisement. And Taco Bell has created a jingle to go with its latest string of advertisements, which sings of the "late-night munchies." Of course, drive-thru windows open well into the morning hours also cater to the average midnight snacker, but there's little denying who the real target is given the choice of terminology. "If you're targeting that heavy fast-food user, you need to speak their language," said Denise Yohn, a brand consultant who's worked with restaurants for 25 years, to The Fix. "One way to do that is to talk about partying and munchies. To the mainstream audience it may just sound like late nights and drinking, but to a certain audience they're talking about getting stoned." It's not the same thing as flagrantly endorsing the use of marijuana, of course. But the fast-food industry no longer appears to think the pothead subculture is off limits either. Perhaps they're just embracing a market force, but the strategy also runs perilously close to catering directly to a drug-induced appetite that drives people to consume their product. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time that the fast-food industry was accused of catering to addiction. Not only has fast food been proven to be highly addictive, but the industry actually hires scientists to design its food for exactly that purpose. Whether marketing to stoners crosses an ethical line or not, it certainly seems to be working. Taco Bell has seen its sales spike by 6 percent since launching its "late-night munchies" advertisements. The marketing has been so successful that at least one new upstart fast-food enterprise has decided to sell its line of frozen burritos directly to potheads. Drive-thrus of nearly every major fast-food chain now typically stay open past midnight, undoubtedly due to a steady profit margin. So long as it works, it's not likely to change. In fact, without any backlash, it may not be long before advertisers compete explicitly for the stoner demographic. "A lot of companies are skipping the innuendo," said Yohn. "They think it's more effective to be overt. It creates more buzz. I think that's why you see a lot of advertising that seems unapologetically targeted to pot smokers." Ever since Harold and Kumar went to White Castle, fast food companies seem increasingly blatant about targeting to stoners in their advertisements.

Seren Rayne Frank Sutherland, a six lb., eight oz., girl, was born Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Donell Sutherland and Adam Frank of Prescott. Alexander Velasco, a six lb., 12 oz., boy, was born Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Erika Avitia Villalobos and Eduardo Velasco of Prescott Valley. Teagan Mikelynn Scotia Walls, a seven lb., 11 oz., boy, was born Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Jamie Ashlyn and Michael Scott Walls of Prescott Valley. Owen Matthew Wederski, an eight lb., two oz., boy, was born Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Kayla Greseth and Joshua Wederski of Prescott Valley. Rorik Isaiah Wilson, a eight lb., three oz., boy, was born Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Marina Wilson and Colton McKeever of Prescott Valley. Sayge Elijah Anthony Zamora Gheiler, a seven lb.,two oz., boy, was born Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Nicollette Gheiler of Prescott.

Due to Hurricane Irene, parts of New Jersey were declared a federal disaster area this week. Federal funding is available to people in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Somerset Counties. More than 150,000 homes and businesses in the state remained without electricity Wednesday afternoon, with utilities predicting restoration by the weekend or early next week. The old Reading Viaduct, becoming a city park? Talks have been going on for eight years to get city officials on board with the idea. Now, the city is in talks with Reading International Co. to take control of the larger section of the viaduct to transform it into an elevated public park. Meanwhile, the Center City District is working with SEPTA on a legal agreement to create a park on the shorter section of the viaduct owned by the transit agency.

Adventist HealthCare seeks to hire a Med Surg Registered Nurse who will embrace our mission to extend God's care through the ministry of physical, mental and spiritual healing. If you want to make a difference in someone's life every day, consider a position with a team of professionals who are doing just that, making a difference. • One year of current nursing experience within in a hospital environment, prior Med Surg or Oncology experience preferred. Chemo certification required and provided by the organization at no cost.

As many British visitors to France have learnt to their dismay, if you ask a local, “Parlez-vous anglais?”, the answer is often “Non”. Such a response, perhaps accompanied by a dismissive Gallic shrug, may prompt the appearance on the traveller’s face of what the author PG Wodehouse described as “the shifty hangdog look that announces that an Englishman is about to speak French”. Britons have never been renowned for their mastery of French — or indeed any other foreign language — but a new ranking shows that our historical rivals and closest neighbours have little to crow about when it comes to their command of English. The English Proficiency Index, a survey of countries without English as a national language, puts France in 35th place – behind the Philippines, South Korea and Lebanon. The index, compiled by Education First, a language training company, ranks the French as the worst English speakers in western Europe while Sweden comes out top. Christian Monlord, a Frenchman and conference interpreter, said the results did not surprise him. “French used to be the language of diplomacy, and it is still a big international language, so many French people still take the attitude that others should speak their language,” said Mr Monlord, 75. Another reason why the French are lagging behind in learning English may be a feeling that the world’s lingua franca is creeping into daily life in France, threatening the very survival of the language of Voltaire. English expressions are increasingly used by French speakers, even if their overall level of spoken English may not be good. Parisians speak the best English in France, according to the survey, but it places the capital 25th among international cities behind Shanghai, Buenos Aires and Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Many French people also blame foreign language teaching in schools. Teachers say they are trying to place more emphasis on conversational English, but they are often limited by a lack of resources, especially in small towns and rural areas. Damien Gabriel, 29, said children and their parents were also to blame. “I think there are many kids in school who don’t understand how important it is to speak English,” he said. According to a Eurobarometer report in 2012, 39 per cent of France’s population speak English. Another survey published by the European Commission indicated that 38 per cent of Britons speak a foreign language.

Check out the Charleston Parks Conservancy's newest glow-up project at their inaugural Hampton Park culinary event, Shucked + Sauced, Sat. Jan. 26 from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will take place at the newly renovated Rose Pavilion, a previously unused concession stand that has been "re-envisioned and refurbished through the collaborative efforts of the Charleston Parks Conservancy and the City of Charleston." This space will serve as a gathering spot for community events and park programs. Conventional wisdom says that oysters are best enjoyed during those months containing the letter "r," making September through April prime oyster season. Shucked + Sauced was curated by chef Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary and will feature bites from The Ordinary, Nico, 167 Raw, Chubby Fish, Rodney Scott's BBQ, Lewis Barbecue, and The Obstinate Daughter in addition to local oysters from Lowcountry Oyster Co., Clammer Dave, Barrier Island Oyster Co., and Lady's Island Oysters. There will be wine, and beer from Holy City Brewing Co., plus beachy Lowcountry tunes from Dallas Baker and Friends. Lata said in a press release, "This event connects two of my favorite things: oysters and Charleston. Having been here for 20 years, I've seen many changes in Charleston. As the city has grown, development has put a lot of stress on the fishing community. Our local oyster farmers are helping to revitalize our working waterfront, just as the Parks Conservancy works to rejuvenate and preserve our city's public green spaces." Tickets are $85 and include all food and beverages. All proceeds from this event support the Conservancy and their work renovating and beautifying public parks and green spaces. More photos from our visit to Lowcountry Oyster Co.

For professors, publishing in elite journals is an unavoidable part of university life. The grueling process of subjecting work to the up-or-down judgment of credentialed scholarly peers has been a cornerstone of academic culture since at least the mid-20th century. Now some humanities scholars have begun to challenge the monopoly that peer review has on admission to career-making journals and, as a consequence, to the charmed circle of tenured academe. They argue that in an era of digital media there is a better way to assess the quality of work. Instead of relying on a few experts selected by leading publications, they advocate using the Internet to expose scholarly thinking to the swift collective judgment of a much broader interested audience. That transformation was behind the recent decision by the prestigious 60-year-old Shakespeare Quarterly to embark on an uncharacteristic experiment in the forthcoming fall issue — one that will make it, Ms. Rowe says, the first traditional humanities journal to open its reviewing to the World Wide Web. Mixing traditional and new methods, the journal posted online four essays not yet accepted for publication, and a core group of experts — what Ms. Rowe called “our crowd sourcing” — were invited to post their signed comments on the Web site MediaCommons, a scholarly digital network. Others could add their thoughts as well, after registering with their own names. In the end 41 people made more than 350 comments, many of which elicited responses from the authors. The revised essays were then reviewed by the quarterly’s editors, who made the final decision to include them in the printed journal, due out Sept. 17. The Shakespeare Quarterly trial, along with a handful of other trailblazing digital experiments, goes to the very nature of the scholarly enterprise. Traditional peer review has shaped the way new research has been screened for quality and then how it is communicated; it has defined the border between the public and an exclusive group of specialized experts. Today a small vanguard of digitally adept scholars is rethinking how knowledge is understood and judged by inviting online readers to comment on books in progress, compiling journals from blog posts and sometimes successfully petitioning their universities to grant promotions and tenure on the basis of non-peer-reviewed projects. The quarterly’s experiment has so far inspired at least one other journal — Postmedieval — to plan a similar trial for next year. Just a few years ago these sorts of developments would have been unthinkable, said Dan Cohen, director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. “Serious scholars are asking whether the institutions of the academy — as they have existed for decades, even centuries — aren’t becoming obsolete,” he said. Each type of review has benefits and drawbacks. The traditional method, in which independent experts evaluate a submission, often under a veil of anonymity, can take months, even years. Clubby exclusiveness, sloppy editing and fraud have all marred peer review on occasion. Anonymity can help prevent personal bias, but it can also make reviewers less accountable; exclusiveness can help ensure quality control but can also narrow the range of feedback and participants. Open review more closely resembles Wikipedia behind the scenes, where anyone with an interest can post a comment. This open-door policy has made Wikipedia, on balance, a crucial reference resource. Ms. Rowe said the goal is not necessarily to replace peer review but to use other, more open methods as well. In some respects scientists and economists who have created online repositories for unpublished working papers, like repec.org, have more quickly adapted to digital life. Just this month, mathematicians used blogs and wikis to evaluate a supposed mathematical proof in the space of a week — the scholarly equivalent of warp speed. In the humanities, in which the monograph has been king, there is more inertia. “We have never done it that way before,” should be academia’s motto, said Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a professor of media studies at Pomona College. Ms. Fitzpatrick was a founder of the MediaCommons network in 2007. She posted chapters of her own book “Planned Obsolescence” on the site, and she used the comments readers provided to revise the manuscript for NYU Press. She also included the project in the package she presented to the committee that promoted her to full professor this year. Many professors, of course, are wary of turning peer review into an “American Idol”-like competition. They question whether people would be as frank in public, and they worry that comments would be short and episodic, rather than comprehensive and conceptual, and that know-nothings would predominate. After all, the development of peer review was an outgrowth of the professionalization of disciplines from mathematics to history — a way of keeping eager but uninformed amateurs out. “Knowledge is not democratic,” said Michèle Lamont, a Harvard sociologist who analyzes peer review in her 2009 book, “How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment.” Evaluating originality and intellectual significance, she said, can be done only by those who are expert in a field. The most daunting obstacle to opening up the process is that peer-review publishing is the path to a job and tenure, and no would-be professor wants to be the academic canary in the coal mine. Although initially cautious, Mr. Galey said he is now “entirely won over by the open peer review model.” The comments were more extensive and more insightful, he said, than he otherwise would have received on his essay, which discusses Shakespeare in the context of information theory. Advocates of more open reviewing, like Mr. Cohen at George Mason argue that other important scholarly values besides quality control — for example, generating discussion, improving works in progress and sharing information rapidly — are given short shrift under the current system. “There is an ethical imperative to share information,” said Mr. Cohen, who regularly posts his work online, where he said thousands read it. Engaging people in different disciplines and from outside academia has made his scholarship better, he said.

Adweek: So what’s a digital-media tyro like you doing at a fusty old-media company like CBS? Jim Lanzone: I don’t really think of it that way at all. People think the Internet will supercede TV, but it’s really been more additive than anything else, largely because it’s so portable. It’s not taking anything away from linear television; if anything, it’s encouraged people to spend even more time watching video. AW: The fact that we can watch TV on a telephone: is this doing something insidious to the parts of our brain that process narrative? JL: Think about the very early days of TV—the first shows were structured just like radio broadcasts or Broadway shows. You start with the familiar and you expand from there. Creative people haven’t taken advantage of the new media platforms; we’re still in this brackish time between two eras. AW: You still watch TV? JL: I’m a binge watcher. I have DirecTV, so I have a ton of shows on the DVR: The Daily Show, [Real Time With] Bill Maher, SNL. I’ve been watching How I Met Your Mother for six years. There are definitely more shows out there that I want to watch that I don’t have time to watch, which I suppose is a great sign of where programming is headed. AW: Why did CBS issue a fatwa against Hulu? AW: Can you write code? JL: I never got into programming when I was a kid. I was too busy playing Pitfall and Kaboom! on Atari to write code. But then again, I don’t think Les Moonves knows how to make a television set either. AW: So there’s no disconnect between the old media centers—New York, L.A.—and Silicon Valley? JL: Well, you’re looking at it from a geographic standpoint and that really isn’t relevant any longer. I think Silicon Valley is the third leg of the media stool; I mean, there’s a reason why all the animated features are made in Silicon Valley now. Engineers are the new artists of this generation of media. AW: Are you from Silicon Valley? JL: I grew up in San Carlos, where Oracle now stands. In fact, they built Oracle on the old Marine World site. George Lucas used some of the elephants from Marine World in Star Wars, and after it came out—I must have seen it 25 times that summer—they started offering Bantha rides at Marine World. AW: Speaking of which, what the hell happened to George Lucas? Those three Star Wars prequels were just god-awful. JL: I know what happened to George Lucas: the ‘80s. If movies peaked in the ‘70s, then it’s fair to say that the 2000s is the Renaissance period for TV. The new Battlestar [Galactica] was at least a thousand times better than the old one. And I almost didn’t watch it at first because I was afraid it was going to ruin my childhood memories of the original.

After rebranding from beverages to a blockchain company, Long Blockchain says it is refocusing yet again and launching operations related to gift cards, as well as naming a new CEO. The Farmingdale-based firm said it has formed a new subsidiary, Stran Loyalty Group, focused on providing loyalty, incentive, reward and gift card programs to corporate and consumer brands. The firm also appointed Andy Shape as chairman and CEO, focusing on the loyalty business. He succeeds Shamyl Malik who will step down. The company said that Shape, the founder and president of Stran Promotional Solutions, has more than 25 years of merchandising, marketing, branding, licensing and management experience. Prior to forming Stran Promotional Solutions, he worked at Copithorne & Bellows Public Relations, a Porter Novelli company, as an account executive covering the technology industry. The company said its goal is to “implement disruptive technology solutions, including distributed ledger technology,” in the loyalty industry. “At this time, however, the company has not taken any steps toward developing any such technology and does not employ personnel with the relevant technology expertise,” the firm said. Long Island Iced Tea, a beverage company, rebranded as a firm with blockchain in its name, announcing various plans that did not develop as initially described. The firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary Long Island Brand Beverages operates in the non-alcohol ready-to-drink segment of the beverage industry, including the Long Island Iced Tea brand.

A live events and bespoke creative technical solutions company based in Loughborough is seeking a technical project manager to join their growing production team. You may currently be working be working as an audio-visual/AV project manager or technical production manager in live events or you may be a senior AV technician looking to make the next move in your career. This position will encompass all elements of technical pre-production from developing and designing technical solutions in order to achieve their clients' briefs, through to managing and where appropriate supervising their execution. The projects they undertake include experiential marketing events, conferences, exhibitions and other live corporate events. The successful candidate will be passionate about driving forward improvements in technical production and working with the team to implement innovative technical solutions. The role will include both UK and international travel and will require the successful candidate to work non-standard working hours including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

Noel Gallo, an organ builder who designed a new organ at Xewkija parish church and Paolo Oreni, an international organist from Italy, gave a two-hour masterclass to organists and other musicians at the church. They also briefed pianists on the basics of organ performance and gave demonstrations on how organs are made and how they work. At the end of the session Oreni and Sara Musumeci also performed music by Bach, Liszt and Reubke on the same organ. This was part of a series of concerts and masterclasses given by Gallo, Oreni and Musumeci in Malta and Gozo to encourage people explore the beauty of this instrument. Picture shows Gallo playing the organ watched by Musumeci and Oreni.

The latest report from Violence Policy Center. I find it ironic and sad that the very day an annual report on violence against women was released, a famed pro athlete was kicked off his team for slugging his wife in the face. By now you’ve probably heard that Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens star running back, was caught on camera hitting his then-fiance and knocking her out with the single blow in an elevator . The March incident cost him a two-game suspension, but when TMZ released the video showing the act, the Ravens terminated his contract and the NFL suspended him indefinitely. Today I captured the seriousness of domestic violence. The report from the Violence Policy Center shows that South Carolina is ranked the second worst state in the nation for violence against women. The report notes that 50 women were killed in 2012. Spartanburg County had four in 2012. The county has seen two husband-on-wife homicides so far this year and DV cases are some of the most common ones among daily incident reports here. Local leaders tell me it is a significant combination of problems that all need to be dealt with in order to change the status quo surrounding violence against women. Much of it starts with a serious culture change, they tell me. I was baffled when a colleague of mine pointed out the Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends.” The anchors on the program somehow find a way to joke about Ray Rice knocking out his now-wife and dragging her limp body out of the elevator. “I think the message is take the stairs,” one anchor quips. We got right to the point during an interview today with the victim services director at SAFE Homes, a domestic violence shelter and coalition in Spartanburg County. The gist of the interview was to hold people accountable for their actions and for society to never turn a blind eye. My full story on the violence against women ranking in South Carolina is at goupstate.com and in Tuesday’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

Meet Google's Robot Army. It's Growing. Google can't stop buying robotics companies. In the past two months, eight of the 12 companies the search giant has acquired have "robotics" in their name or descriptions. Here's your complete breakdown of the robot army presently at Google's command. As stated in the midst of its buying spree, the company's largely letting its new robotics divisions continue to work on their preexisting projects, and why wouldn't they? The newly acquired companies are doing a damn good job. They're even winning competitions. Robot technology would help with self-driving cars, certainly, but the range of these acquisitions hints at even broader ambitions. Again, we don't know much. They're all a part of the Google X division, which is top secret by definition. We do know what the new companies in the Google family are up to, though, and that might offer us some clues. These guys are rockstars. The Japanese team that got its start at Tokyo University just took the top prize at DARPA's Robotics Challenge Trial thanks to the cunning and agility of its 5-foot, 5-inch, 209-pound bipedal robot. After being purchased by Google in early December 2013, Schaft's blue machine proved to be the best at walking on uneven terrain, climbing ladders, clearing debris, and connecting hoses, ultimately scoring an impressive 27 out of 32 possible points. The company was originally founded to build disaster response robots after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 but has since broadened its scope, thanks in part to funding from the U.S. government. Who knows how far they'll go floating on Google's coffers? Industrial Perceptions, Inc., is an imaging company that spun off of the Menlo Park robotics company Willow Garage. Before being acquired by Google in December—the day after the Schaft acquisition, in fact—IPI was focusing on building advanced technology for 3D vision-guided robots to be used in manufacturing and logistics. This includes the ability to see and sort different objects, say, in a factory. You could imagine a company like Amazon being very interested in this kind of technology, but it's so far unclear exactly what Google wants to do with it. Redwood Robotics started as a joint venture between Meka Robotics, SRI International, and Willow Garage, IPI's parent. And like IPI, it's always had a very focused mission. Redwood wants to build the "next generation arm" for robots. Meka Robotics founder Aaron Edsinger once said that he wants to do for robotic arms what the Apple II did for computers. Specifically, Redwood wants to build robotic arms that can work alongside people even in the comfort of their own home. That also means being the common arm manufacturer of service robots, so in the future, everybody's personal robot could have Redwood arms. Well, make that Google arms. Like its cousin, Redwood Robotics, Meka is dedicated to building robots that can live and work with human beings. The company describes its flagship model, the M1 Mobile Manipulator, as having "human-safe, human-soft, and human scale robot technologies that will enable the robots of tomorrow to work alongside people in the home and the workplace." The human-like faces on the robot can even emote, a feature that's as creepy as you let it be. Even before joining Google, Holomini was a pretty secretive outfit. All we really know from its now shuttered website is the company describes itself as "Creators of high-tech wheels for omnidirectional motion." The image above is just a stock photo guesstimate of what a "high-tech wheel for omnidirectional motion" might look like. If Redwood and IPI are the engineers in the family, Bot & Dolly are the artists. The company describes itself as "a design and engineering studio that specializes in automation, robotics, and filmmaking" with a mission "to advance motion control and automation as a creative medium." In reality, this means that Bot and & Dolly use robots to help film commercials and movies like Gravity. This doesn't mean that Google wants to get into the movie business, but hey, if a robot's good enough to make a movie, what else can it do? Boston Dynamics is the real celebrity of the bunch. After acquiring six robotics companies in six days, Google took a couple of days off before announcing this major acquisition. The company is known for building all kinds of futuristic bots from the bipedal, humanoid robot Atlas (above) to the impossibly fast, four-legged Cheetah. Actually, Boston Dynamics brings a whole robot army to Google, one that the military is very eager to recruit. Google's latest purchase is less interested in building an actual robot than in designing an intelligent robot brain. The self-described "cutting edge artificial intelligence company" that uses "the best techniques from machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose learning algorithms: comes with a team of 75 researchers and software engineers whose talents could be put to use on anything from the hypothetical Googlebot to the company's flagship search engine and anything in between. Because after all, robots are just another step in Google becoming the company that is everywhere, and does everything.

Thorpe of the New York Trucking and Delivery Association says the decision to raise penalties won’t solve the parking crisis. For more than a decade, Ken Thorpe has been a soldier in the fight against parking tickets, which has become part of the escalating war for access to the curb. It's a conflict that has intensified in recent years as ride-hail services have clogged roads, New Yorkers have had more of their purchases delivered, and the streetscape has been remade with bicycle lanes, pedestrian malls and restrictions on parking and unloading. The city "has whittled away at the commercial parking infrastructure," said Thorpe, the chief executive of the New York Trucking and Delivery Association, which he founded in 2004 to deal with parking issues for small and midsize businesses. At the same time, trucks are making more deliveries than ever, and they must do that regardless of whether there's unloading space available. "Trucking is not a 'choice' situation," Thorpe said. "It's a necessity." But now the 600 members of his group, as well as large fleet operators such as UPS and FedEx, are facing higher fines—and possibly more paperwork and time in traffic court—as a little-known yet controversial city policy comes under fire. The stipulated-fine program was established in 2004 by the Department of Finance to let businesses pay slightly reduced fines—and no fines at all for some infractions—in exchange for not contesting their tickets. It was mainly a way to reduce everyone's administrative costs while having delivery companies pay roughly what they would have otherwise. (The reductions were calculated with an eye on the percentage of tickets that were successfully challenged.) But the program was a sore point with advocacy groups such as Transportation Alternatives, which considered it a corporate giveaway that neutered traffic enforcement. Last month, in a bid at leveling the playing field for businesses not in the program—and furthering the city's congestion-reduction goals—the Finance Department announced that next month it would raise the program's fines, including those now set at zero. As if that were not bad enough for Thorpe's membership, in the same week five City Council members introduced a bill to abolish the program. They denounced it as a free pass to large corporations and a contributor to reckless parking and congestion. Thorpe says it's the council bill that's a giveaway—to parking-ticket brokers, who stand to gain business adjudicating tickets. He sees no way that the Finance Department's plan will change driver behavior or have any impact on congestion. "The theory of the program was there are bad things, good things and some things in between, and it taught the driver you're going to pay a lot to do bad things and little or none to do the others," Thorpe said. "Now they've put the bad and good closer together, removing the driver's incentive for doing the good, because it's going to cost just a little more to do the bad." In fact, good and bad parking behavior will not be punished that similarly. The most serious violations that get discounts, such as obstructing traffic ($10 off the $115 total), will now get no break at all, while many of the zero-fine infractions will cost $25. But Thorpe says those increases could cost some of his members hundreds of dollars a week—enough that he would consider taking them out of the program. The $35 fine for double parking outside Midtown is still better than the official $115, but he notes that double parking is legal for the first 30 minutes, and enforcement is not always scrupulous. In 2011 he sued the city, which for some years had been slapping double-parked delivery trucks with the more expensive violation of blocking a travel lane, which carried a $40 fine. In 2016 the city settled and paid those covered by the lawsuit $14 million. Even so, the Finance Department, which worked with the Department of Transportation on the new fine schedule, says more needs to be done to ease congestion. The agency says the stipulated-fine program has been sending the wrong signal to the wider parking universe by not reflecting the fact that not all double-parking tickets are dismissed. "We need the program to have incentives that are aligned with the city's goals to reduce congestion, and we need the program to be fair," said Finance Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Shear. "We agree that the conversation about congestion is a larger conversation, and there are many other factors, and this program is one small piece. But we don't want to send the wrong message by saying double parking outside of Midtown will cost businesses nothing." The Transportation Department maintains that it is doing all it can. The agency is "committed to improving commercial accessibility throughout the five boroughs, especially in the context of our street-improvement projects," a spokeswoman said. As part of those projects, "new curb regulations are installed that are complementary to the larger curb-management goals of the corridor, such as faster bus mobility, reduction of double parking, and better commercial access." But the Transportation Department is aware that it's a long way from curing congestion when demand for deliveries from myriad e-commerce businesses, including Amazon and Fresh Direct, is bigger than ever. "Consumer demands and the amount of available space we have at the curb, they're at odds right now," Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said at a Crain's breakfast forum last month. She added that parking enforcement can only do so much, and larger fixes, including congestion pricing and technology such as license-plate readers, might be part of the answer. "Right now the demand for the curb exceeds the supply," she said. Some members of the City Council are not convinced that higher fines will make the program more effective. They say any solution will include abolishing stipulated fines. "This program doesn't work," said Costa Constantinides, a City Council member from Queens, who introduced the bill to end the program as one of several parking and transportation proposals. "Trucks are still parking in bike lanes. It's been around for years, and I really feel it's prohibiting us from having a real conversation around parking that we desperately need to have." As part of that conversation, the councilman introduced a bill that would require the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which oversees city agencies, to have buildings under its jurisdiction receive deliveries between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. "The city should lead by example," Constantinides said. That's not so simple, it turns out. A Transportation Department off-hours delivery program proved unworkable for many businesses, some of which had to add employees to accept the shipments. The councilman said his program would be "one part of the puzzle." As it happens, parking-ticket broker Glen Bolofsky has contributed more than $4,000 to Constantinides' campaign treasury in the past five years. A spokesman for the councilman dismissed the idea that the bill was intended to help brokers. "The majority of those that benefit from this [stipulated-fine] program are big-box delivery corporations who flout traffic laws at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers," the spokesman said. Bolofsky agreed that ending the program would help brokers, but he insisted the biggest beneficiary would be the public. "Congestion will be reduced," he said. "More money will be raised." Assuming 70% of double-parking tickets are dismissed, he estimated the city has forfeited $147.5 million over the life of the program by not fining participants for double parking beyond Midtown. The new schedule will collect about 30% of double-parking fines, but Bolofsky insists the program still benefits the biggest operators the most. He maintains that neither the city nor companies such as UPS will lose money adjudicating tickets, arguing that many companies still have in-house teams for the job, and automation can reduce the expense further. He noted that the city handled 12 million tickets a year in 1990, when they were handwritten, and had to deal with only 10 million last year. Enforcement agents now use handheld devices that reduce the errors and bad handwriting that led to dismissals. The Finance Department disagrees with his conclusions, saying both the city and the 1,751 companies in the program—encompassing 48,880 vehicles—would spend more without the program. "We would need more hearing officers," Shear said. "The companies would have to retain brokers or hire staff to defend against these parking tickets. In terms of revenue, there would be no increase to the city." Apart from whether the program is good for the city, a walk through Midtown with several UPS executives revealed how difficult following parking rules can be. Another option would be to park at a metered spot a couple of blocks away and cart diamonds by hand truck to recipients, which UPS rules out for security reasons. "It would put our driver and other people in the area at risk," said Axel Carrion, director of state public affairs. A few blocks away, on West 50th Street, where commercial parking was allowed at that hour, every space between Sixth and Seventh avenues was taken, mostly by delivery and commercial vehicles. There were two idling for-hire vehicles and three cars with "parking authorization" placards—the bane of parking-reform advocates—on their dashboard. Even when a UPS driver finds a legal spot, regulations can conflict with the company's efforts to operate efficiently. Using new dispatch-planning technology, the company has increased the number of packages a truck will carry to nearly 400 so that one truck does the work of two. But that truck needs to stay in one place much of the workday, doing pickups when it's done with deliveries. Parking rules—which aim to promote the flow of traffic and keep operators from hogging spots—require it to move after three hours. But circling the block will delay deliveries and the truck could lose the spot, so the driver will stay put. This reduces congestion and pollution. But the ticket, which costs program participants nothing, will set them back $25 under the new schedule. Overall UPS expects its payments under the fine program to jump 32% next year, to $21.8 million, with a $3.4 million increase from double parking and more than $1 million from unloading in the wrong spot or at the wrong time. The company says it would like to try other solutions, such as paying for spots where a truck could sit all day. Long term, it would like to see new building construction include space for unloading. Right now the firm is weighing the benefits of staying in the program. "My drivers can be trained to avoid the ticket, and we have drastically reduced the amount of tickets over the past couple of years," said Dan Byrnes, director of finance at UPS, adding that the city's ticket data aided his efforts. "Now with these changes, [the city] is not really helping. Just raising prices is not going to change behavior."

Michael Schumacher - a seven-time Formula One world champion is "not bedridden or living on tubes", it has been reported as new details about his recovery emerge. It's nearly five years (December 29, 2013) since the 50 year old hit his head on a rock while skiing with his then 14-year-old son Mick in Meribel in the French Alps. The multiple head injuries caused blood clots which were not entirely removed by doctors because of the extent of the injury. He was placed into a medically induced coma to aid recovery from the accident, and he was gradually brought out of the coma in April of 2014. Schumacher is believed to be receiving nursing and physiotherapy care at an estimated cost of more than £50,000 (Sh6.4m) a week. According to The Daily Mail via German magazine Bravo, Schumacher is to be moved to a clinic in Dallas, Texas because he is claimed to be either intubated or bedridden. Mark Weeks, the director, told the magazine: "We have a lot of experience with patients who are suffering this kind of trauma. Schumacher‘s family have always remained tight-lipped about the German’s condition leaving his fans in the dark about his health. Currently Schumacher is being cared for by a team of medical experts at his luxury home in Gland near Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

A District Court decision overturning major provisions of three Executive Orders has been appealed. Here is a summary of the arguments made by Justice Department. Wednesday, December 5th, has been declared a day of mourning by President Trump. Most federal employees will be excused from work, including the Postal Service. On Wednesday, December 5th, the Federal Government will close in honor of America’s 41st president who died on Friday.

On April 4, 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft. The small firm used to develop and sell BASIC interpreters. Little did they know that in the next 40 years, their company will become the biggest software firm in the world, and also bag the title for one of the most valuable companies. Today, there is a little bit of Microsoft in everybody’s life. Whether it is the desktop computer where Microsoft’s Windows has about 90 percent market share or the company’s Office which is unarguably the best productivity suite available. Maybe you are into gaming and own an Xbox One, or your company relies on Azure cloud services. In the last 40 years, Microsoft -- which once used to sell program language interpreters -- has expanded into several categories, and now makes full-fledged operating systems for not just desktop computers, but smartphones, gaming consoles, servers, as well as Internet of Things devices. Surface tablets and Xbox consoles show the company’s side interest in developing its own hardware modules. "Early on, Paul Allen and I set the goal of a computer on every desk and in every home. It was a bold idea and a lot of people thought we were out of our minds to imagine it was possible. It is amazing to think about how far computing has come since then, and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution", Gates wrote in an email sent to all Microsoft employees yesterday. "In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizations around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices", Gates noted. "Under Satya's leadership, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances. We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry. In my role as technical advisor to Satya, I get to join product reviews and am impressed by the vision and talent I see. The result is evident in products like Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens -- and those are just a few of the many innovations that are on the way". And this attitude was the reason Windows Phone 7 -- arguably Microsoft's first real take on a mobile operating system-- wasn’t released until 2010. By this time, iPhone had showed its dominance in the world, and Google was upping the ante with Android. Windows Phone is still struggling to gain any substantial market share. The mobile platform still has a wide "app-gap" problem, though the company seems to have found a couple of ways to fix it. But one of the most exciting things that happened in the company was its decision to open up. Under Nadella, Microsoft finally accepted that it doesn’t have a significant user base in smartphones. The company realized that if it didn't open up to rival platforms, it would miss out on a lot of users. And that’s one of the first things Nadella did after taking the charge of the company. Microsoft launched Office on iOS. Until then Office was only available on Windows, Windows RT, and Windows Phone, and a half-baked mobile version on Android. The move received an overwhelming response from users, resulting in Office apps -- Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- top the app chart in within 24 hours of their release on the platform. Late last year, the company made premium access to the Office suite free on iOS and Android. Office for iOS was in the works at Microsoft for a long time, but Ballmer used to prioritize its products on Windows devices first. Nadella evidently changed that. "We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next", Gates writes in his email. Microsoft does have a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months and years. Later this year, Microsoft will release Windows 10 for desktop computers, as well as smartphones, IoT devices and Xbox One. In the coming months, Microsoft will also release the next iteration of its productivity suite, Office 2016. For the first time, the company is simultaneously releasing Office on OS X and Windows. Additionally, Microsoft has showcased a number of products that could change the way we compute and interact with technology. Its augmented reality headset HoloLens is just one example. It will be interesting to see what the company does next and how things work out for it in the coming years.

The democratization of data is a real phenomenon, but building a sustainable data democracy means truly giving power to the people. The alternative is just a shift of power from traditional data analysts within IT departments to a new generation of data scientists and app developers. And this seems a lot more like a dictatorship than a democracy — a benevolent dictatorship, but a dictatorship nonetheless. These individuals and companies aren’t entirely bad, of course, and they’re actually necessary. Apps that help predict what we want to read, where we’ll want to go next or what songs we’ll like are certainly cool and even beneficial in their ability to automate and optimize certain aspects of our lives and jobs. In the corporate world, there will always be data experts who are smarter and trained in advanced techniques and who should be called upon to answer the toughest questions or tackle the thorniest problems. Last week, for example, Salesforce.com introduced a new feature of its Chatter intra-company social network that categorizes a variety of data sources so employees can easily find the people, documents and other information relevant to topics they’re interested in. As with similarly devised services — LinkedIn’s People You May Know, the gravitational search movement, or any type of service using an interest graph — the new feature’s beauty and utility lie in its abstraction of the underlying semantic algorithms and data processing. The problem, however, comes when we’re forced to rely on these people, features and applications to decide how data can affect our lives or jobs, or what questions we can answer using the troves of data now available to us. In a true data democracy, citizens must be empowered to make use of their own data as they see fit and they must only have to rely apps and experts by choice or when the task really requires an expert hand. At any rate, citizens must be informed enough to have a meaningful voice in bigger decisions about data. The good news is that there’s a whole new breed of startups trying to empower the data citizenry, whatever their role. Companies such as 0xdata, Precog and BigML are trying to make data science more accessible to everyday business users. There are next-generation business intelligence startups such as SiSense, Platfora and ClearStory rethinking how business analytics are done in an area of HTML5 and big data. And then there are companies such as Statwing, Infogram and Datahero (which will be in beta mode soon, by the way) trying to bring data analysis to the unwashed non-data-savvy masses. Combined with a growing number of publicly available data sets and data marketplaces, and more ways of collecting every possible kind of data — personal fitness, web analytics, energy consumption, you name it — these self-service tools can provide an invaluable service. In January, I highlighted how a number of them can work by using my own dietary and activity data, as well as publicly available gun-ownership data and even web-page text. But as I explained then, they’re still not always easy for laypeople to use, much less perfect. Statwing spells out statistics for laypeople. Can Tableau be data’s George Washington? This is why I’m so excited about Tableau’s forthcoming IPO. There are few companies that helped spur the democratization of data over the past few years more than Tableau. It has become the face of the next-generation business intelligence software thanks to its ease of use and focus on appealing visualization, and its free public software has found avid users even among relative data novices like myself. Tableau’s success and vision no doubt inspired a number of the companies I’ve already referenced. Assuming it begins its publicly traded life flush with capital, Tableau will not just be financially sound — it will also be in a position to help the burgeoning data democracy evolve into something that can last. More money means being able to develop more features that Tableau can use to bolster sales (and further empower business users with data analysis), which should mean the company can afford to also continually improve its free service and perhaps put premium versions in the hands of more types of more non-corporate professionals for free. Tableau is already easy (I made this) — but not easy enough. The bottom-up approach has already proven very effective in the worlds of cloud computing, software as a service and open-source software, and I have to assume it’s a win-win situation in analytics, too. Today’s free users will be tomorrow’s paying users once they get skilled enough to want to move onto bigger data sets and better features. But the base products have to be easy enough and useful enough to get started with, or companies will only have a lot of registrations and downloads but very few avid users. And if Tableau steps ups its game around data democratization, I have to assume it will up the ante for the company’s fellow large analytics vendors and even startups. A race to empower the lower classes on the data ladder would certainly be in stark contrast to the historical strategy of building ever-bigger, ever-more-advanced products targeting only the already-powerful data elite. That’s the kind of revolution I think we all can get behind. Feature image courtesy of Shutterstock user Tiago Jorge da Silva Estima. Great article Derrick – appreciating your work on the topic here on GigaOm. We’re seeing wider availability of reasonably priced BI and visualization software tools to help us understand that harnessing all this data is possible – and I think even consumers are beginning to understand the value of all the data, and the ability to make meaning from it. One part of the puzzle that’s missing from what I can see is the education – knowledge transfer of how individuals can use the tools, what good data science methods are, and how data citizens can actively contribute to the larger data analysis community. I see movements like the Open Data/Open Gov folks, and events like the NYC Big Apps hackathon as part of the solution – but as individuals, where do we go to take part? What is the role of an informed, curious citizen in this? More venues exist for learning some of the ‘how’ to make sense of big data as an individual taking a course online, but I’m not seeing a vision from anyone talking about how to connect all of the dots. To make sense of data, we need the tools, the practitioners, the analysis of the problems, but we also need a vision of how all of these will work. If anyone has ideas of who’s got that vision, I’d love to hear it. I feel one of the biggest impediments to the democratization of data is access. Most people know what they would like to answer, and how the data needs to be shaped to achieve that, but getting the data to do the actual analysis with can be one of the most difficult aspects. This is a bit of a plug, but we’re working on enabling data access that is easily attainable by everyone. Our platform http://www.quandl.com is a “search engine for data” that is able to fetch time series data from a disparate sets of sources, and provide it in a simple searchable form that allows users to extract, validate, format, merge, graph, and share it however they want. By providing the underlying data for analysis tools like Tableau, Statwing, and many others, we feel we can help to create the tool stack that empowers people to create a sustainable DIY data culture. In every company I’ve worked at, I’ve seen this major divide between IT analysts and Business users. Part of it was cultural, but a major reason was as you point out: “a historical strategy of building ever-bigger, ever-more-advanced products targeting only the already-powerful data elite”. The business user typically was left to use Excel to prepare and analyze data. It took 15+ years, but thanks to new players like Tableau, Spotfire and Qlikview which were sold primarily to the business user and focused on ease of use, the data democratization process has resulted in a power shift to the business user. Some IT departments have now come around and are trying to accommodate these “shadow IT” projects by providing IT support and giving Tableau users limited access to enterprise data stores. As for upping the ante for the traditional players, it has happened already. Over the last two years, the larger vendors have responded with products like Visual Insight (MicroStrategy), Visual Intelligence (SAP), PowerPivot (MicroSoft), JMP (SAS) etc. taking aim at this segment of the market. The Big Data market is still new, but the trend to build user-friendly (or at the very least, SQL-aware) tools on top of Hadoop is also hitting its stride. One good thing coming out of this data democratization is the realization that it has to be supported by a Data Governance effort. Otherwise we’ll see the unfortunate return of a major problem with data democracy: data chaos. Previously it would have meant comparing and reconciling two Excel spreadsheets, now we may end up reconciling the findings from two Tableau workbooks. Thanks for the comment, and for making a really good point about data governance. Obviously, that’s not too big a concern for personal data use, but competing findings from lots of disparate data sets would be problematic.

John Beilein and the Michigan Wolverines are one win away from a national title. On Saturday the Wolverines knocked off Loyola-Chicago 69-57, outscoring the Ramblers 47-28 in the second half. Beilein, 65, was born and raised in Burt, NY, a small hamlet in Newfane. Beilein began his coaching career at Newfane High School, where he spent three years. He then took over the basketball program at Erie Community College. After a short stint with Nazareth College and nine years at Le Moyne, Beilein returned to Western New York, where he coached Canisius for five seasons. Beilein then spent time at both Richmond and West Virginia before accepting the Michigan job in 2007. Michigan hasn't won a national title since 1989. This will be Beilein's second championship appearance with the Wolverines, falling to Louisville in 2012-2013.