Monthly Archives: August 2017

85% of broker workload ‘immune’ to automation – The Adviser

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Just 15 per cent of broker tasks are susceptible to automation, placing brokers on the lower end of the risk spectrum, AlphaBeta has said.

Andrew Charlton, director atthe management consulting firm, told The Adviser that 15 per cent of the work brokers currently do is susceptible to automation and that, while automation implies change, it doesnt necessarily imply job loss.

The AlphaBeta report titled The Automation Advantage, released in August, found that machines will "unburden" the average Australian worker of two hours of the most tedious and manual tasks a week over the next 15 years.

The report, led by Mr Charlton, also found that as automation becomes more prevalent, jobs will become more valuable, pointing to the fact that wages for non-automatable work are 20 per cent higher on average than for work that a machine could do.

He explained: In principle, when machines take over some of the lower skill tasks from brokers, that enhances their ability to do their job and their productivity should go up and their wages should go up as well.

Fifteen per cent is on the lower end of the spectrum, which means that when you take that job and divide it into all of the constituent tasks . . . most of the tasks are relatively immune to automation in the short term, and the typical reason for that is that those tasks are hard for machines to do the interpersonal interactions or creativity tasks or problem solving tasks.

Automation is already in brokers lives, he added, pointing to automatic emails, the use of internet and researching tools. The economist predicted that over time more programs will creep into other aspects of brokers jobs.

That percentage is very likely to shift in the future as automation grows more sophisticated, he noted.

Tasks in jobs change and it [the percentage] is also based on the quality of the technology that we're aware of today.The quality of that technology can change, so that could accelerate a lot or it could decelerate if the tasks change and the job becomes one that requires more involvement from humans rather than a machine.

He pointed to the introduction of automatic tellers on the banking sector in the 1980s; despite fears that it would destroy the jobs of many bank tellers, the automatic tellers instead reduced the cost of running a branch and encouraged the proliferation of branches.

Mr Charlton commented: We still need people who are working in retail banking, but they're just doing different jobs; they're not dispensing cash and receiving cash and processing transactions; they're giving people advice; they're helping them think through their home loan; they're giving them financial advice and loan advice.

The impact on the industry in terms of jobs and employment isn't necessarily a negative. It [automation] does imply change. It doesn't necessarily imply job loss.

Chatbots

Epictenet CEO Ritesh Srivastava in August predicted that artificial intelligence-based chatbots will soon play a key role in reducing business costs and improving customer service.

Mr Srivastava said that chatbots can be used to answer customer queries in product sale or support.

Chatbots are taking self-servicing in the financial services industry to the very next level after we have seen the success of ATM machines, internet banking, mobile banking and online applications.

We have seen how old static websites have been taken over by new responsive websites, mobile banking gaining popularity over internet banking, etc. These are examples of how the new wave of digital disruption has started disrupting the early generation of digital technologies and it will not be long before live chats will lose the relevance.

[Related: One in five brokers still don't have a website]

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85% of broker workload 'immune' to automation - The Adviser

Dani Garavelli: Fight on our hands to root out slavery – The Scotsman – The Scotsman

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Beauty salons and nail bars have become notorious for using forced labour. Picture: Getty/iStockphoto

Public vigilance is as important as legislation in tackling the vicious exploitation of migrants and the homeless, writes Dani Garavelli.

A week or so ago, I got my nails done for only the second time in my life. Because I have an aversion to upmarket salons frequented by perfectly coiffured ladies who know the difference between True Cobalt and Crystal Curacao, I picked a small, insalubrious shop staffed, as it turned out, mainly by immigrants.

It was only as I was being dropped off outside that it occurred to me maybe this wasnt somewhere I ought to be patronising. Nail bars are, after all, among the businesses listed as centres for trafficking. And so as the young woman buffed and polished I subjected her to an interrogation on her life, her work and her long-term aspirations.

She quite readily told me she was from Iran, was studying English at a Glasgow college and hoped to become a beautician. It all seemed above board, but without more understanding of how these things work, how could I be sure?

Modern slavery is a growing social evil that is only now beginning to get the public attention it deserves. Last week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said there are currently more than 300 live police operations, with trafficking in every town in the UK. Earlier estimates of 10,000-13,000 victims are thought to be the tip of the iceberg and the problem is so widespread ordinary people will be coming into contact with those affected on a regular basis.

Hours later, it emerged members of a traveller family had been convicted of running a modern slavery ring in Lincolnshire. There were 18 victims, aged between 18 and 64. One, who had worked for the family for 26 years, was forced to dig his own grave and told thats where youre going if he did not sign a false work contract.

The gang targeted homeless drifters, often with complex drug and alcohol issues, offering food and accommodation at construction sites around the county. The men were forced to work for little or no wages on the sites or for businesses repairing properties and tarmacking drives, while family members enjoyed holidays in Barbados.

Across Lincolnshire, there will be householders whose leaks were mended and gutters cleared by men who were held against their will. But we dont expect this sort of thing to happen in a First World country in the 21st century, so we remain oblivious to it.

The homeless are not the only people preyed on; undocumented migrants are particularly vulnerable to gangs who promise them a better life in a foreign country, only to force them to work in brothels, building sites, fishing boats and farms.

Last week, the Modern Slavery Index 2017 pinpointed five countries Romania, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Bulgaria all key entry points for refugees, as posing the highest risk in the EU.

Nor is there any reason to suppose Scotland has escaped unscathed; in May, a BBC investigation, Humans For Sale, found Glasgow was being targeted by gangs from Eastern Europe, with Govanhill a particular hotspot.

The scale of the problem is not new to those who work in the human rights field. Long before Fiona Hill, the much maligned aide to Theresa May, helped coordinate the Tories disastrous general election campaign, she spearheaded the Modern Slavery Act 2015 one of the few positive dividends of her bosss time at the Home Office.

Last week, human rights barrister Cherie Blair said the Act had been instrumental in shining a light on a problem which like child sexual abuse has always existed. Some critics believe the NCA has been sluggish in its response, but now the issue is high on the political agenda, it seems to be upping its game. Earlier this year, the Joint Slavery and Trafficking Analysis Centre was set up to provide high quality intelligence to support its efforts.

But what should other parties be doing to help tackle the problem? Well, large companies have a duty to ensure no link in their supply chain is engaged in forced labour.

Under the Modern Slavery Act, organisations with worldwide revenues of at least 36 million who conduct business in the UK are required to publish a transparency statement describing the steps they have taken to ensure their business is free from modern slavery and human trafficking.

Yet last year it emerged that KozeeSleep, which supplied mattresses to several respected retailers, relied on scores of trafficked and enslaved Hungarian workers paid less than 2 a day.

Recent research suggested two-thirds of companies with turnovers above the threshold did not yet have full supply chain visibility (the ability to track parts, components or products in transit from the manufacturer to their final destination). And of those which did, only 41 per cent were sure that their UK workers were earning the minimum wage.

Unless businesses are prepared to carry out stringent checks, encourage whistle-blowing and devise a strategy for phased withdrawal if exploitation is discovered, it is unlikely the law will have the desired impact.

Ordinary members of the public have a responsibility too: to educate themselves on forced labour and report any suspicions to the authorities. In the past few years, we have become more aware of child sexual exploitation. As the scandals in Rochdale, Rotherham and Oxford unfolded, we learned hundreds of young girls had been groomed by men working in the night-time economy. The abuse happened in plain sight, but no-one acted because no-one understood what was going on.

Now, thanks to public information campaigns, we know what to look out for: underage girls hanging around kebab shops and taxi ranks, missing school and/or displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour, for example.

We need similar campaigns to highlight the issue of modern slavery. Already the charity Unchosen has created postcards with a list of warning signs, such as people being moved around en masse at odd hours of the day, people who appear isolated from their community, people who live with their employer and people who are overly wary of the police.

We should also become more informed consumers; we should put pressure on companies to take human trafficking seriously and to publish information on their supply chains on their websites.

The idea that 184 years after the Slavery Abolition Act, people are still being held against their will and forced to work for no or little pay, is abhorrent. It is up to us all to put an end to it.

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Dani Garavelli: Fight on our hands to root out slavery - The Scotsman - The Scotsman

The Hungry Empire: How Britain’s Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World by Lizzie Collingham – review – The Guardian

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Britains search for tea, sugar, rice and cod, Collingham argues, had far-reaching consequences. Photograph: http://www.bridgemanart.com

Food history narratives sell only in the tiniest quantities in the UK, so any publisher contemplating such a proposal needs to find a marketing angle, one that resonates with contemporary issues perhaps, or addresses our national psyche.

In the cinema world, films such as Viceroys House, and Victoria & Abdul are testament to our enduring fascination with the British empire, the gift that keeps on giving. In the book world, empire nonfiction is another demonstrably commercial genre, and the latest title from distinguished historian Lizzie Collingham, The Hungry Empire: How Britains Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World with its striking similarity to Niall Fergusons Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World clearly aims for this market.

The prevailing tone is one of awe at the achievements of the great imperial project

Happy empire themes do appeal. In 2014, a YouGov survey found that most of the British public thought that the British empire is more something to be proud of (59%) rather than ashamed of (19%). Nevertheless, most museum curators these days put slavery, the ugly conjoined twin in many imperial tales, into the difficult histories category, subjects that require careful perspective and interpretation if they are not to strike an offensive, ugly note. Unfortunately, Collinghams matter-of-fact writing, while undeniably predicated on immaculate research, doesnt demonstrate this awareness.

Her theme is how Britains search for ingredients (sugar, pepper, tea, rice, cod and more) drove the rise of its empire. Each chapter opens with a particular meal and then explores its history. One chapter, for instance, is entitled, In which la Belinguere entertains Sieur Michel Jajolet de la Courbe [both slave traders] to an African-American meal on the west coast of Africa (June 1686). It is subtitled, How West Africa exchanged men for maize and manioc. But exchange is a consensual act; enslavement (kidnapping, deportation, rape, murder, theft, cruelty, torture) most definitely isnt. Collinghams book is studded with euphemisms. Adventurers [slave owners] established plantation agriculture [the now infamous chattel slavery system], appropriated [stole land from its indigenous inhabitants], and imported slaves [enslaved people, ripped from their homelands].

As the historian David Olusoga has pointed out: Few acts of collective forgetting have been as thorough and as successful as the erasing of slavery from Britains island story. Collinghams language continues that tradition. She does include some references to colonial brutality that should make the reader flinch, but the prevailing tone is one of awe at the achievements of the great imperial project, the web of trade that held them [trading posts] all together.

What a shame, because otherwise Collinghams book offers a colourful history that illuminates the roots of contemporary diets, exploding any notion that global fusion food is something new. She traces how a dish of iguana curry, savoured by Guyanese diamond miners in 1993, blended Amerindian hunter-gatherer wisdom, the cuisine of enslaved Africans and the spicy culinary traditions of Indian labourers who were shipped to the colonys sugar plantations once slavery was abolished. We learn how white settlers wiped out the cured buffalo of the Plains Indians, the fern, root, taro and kumasi preparations of the Maori, and grilled frog of Australian aborigines, to make way for bland frontier dishes, such as salt beef stew, and damper, the first truly global meals.

As Collingham dots around the globe Newfoundland, India, New England, Barbados, South Carolina, the Cape, Guyana, Kenya, the south Pacific and more weaving in and out of diverse histories from 1545 to 1996, she serves up an eclectic diet of historical fact. Much of it is interesting, although less dedicated readers might have welcomed stricter editing. Having uncovered some nugget of information, however supplementary or tangential to the central theme, Collingham seems loth not to use it. For a non-academic audience, The Hungry Nation is bloated with fact and frustratingly light on analysis.

Collingham doesnt use the opportunities she creates to examine the imperial legacy on contemporary diets. She quotes the anthropologist Audrey Richards, who observed in 1939 that the diet of many primitive (sic) peoples has deteriorated in contact with white civilisation (sic) rather than the reverse.

Given that sugar is public health enemy number one, Collingham might have commented on how colonial crops now also undermine the health of Britons today.

Her observation that Britains reliance on food from faraway places was a hallmark of empire invites a postscript. A less palatable result of The Hungry Empire is our current food security predicament. The UK cant fully feed itself today; our self-sufficiency in food has dropped to 61%.

While Collingham ably catalogues the quest for ingredients that began in the 16th century with West Country fishermen setting sail to search for cod, some remark on the culmination of this imperial adventure would not go amiss. An acknowledgement, even, that the UK is now a neo-imperialist food economy, still using other peoples land and low wage foreign labour to feed its appetite. But perhaps such analysis is beyond the historians remit.

The Hungry Empire by Lizzie Collingham is published by Bodley Head (25). To order a copy for 21.25 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99

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Trump Administration to Launch Probe of Alleged Chinese Technology Theft — Update – Fox Business

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WASHINGTON The Trump administration announced plans Saturday to pressure China over alleged intellectual property theft, adding the threat of trade retaliation to an ongoing campaign seeking greater cooperation from Beijing in the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Aides said President Donald Trump will sign a directive Monday ordering his trade representative to start a formal probe into whether Chinese government agencies and companies were unfairly acquiring valuable patents and licenses from U.S. firms, either through outright theft, or by pressuring Americans to turn over their inventions as the price of entry into China's market.

"Such theft not only damages American companies, but can threaten our national security," a senior administration official said in a Saturday morning briefing for reporters.

Officials at the briefing stressed that while they were casting a spotlight on what they consider a major irritant in bilateral commercial relations, they weren't rushing into action. They said Monday's directive would launch a study into whether a formal trade investigation was warranted, and that probe would take a year or more. They declined to discuss what sorts of penalties the U.S. might impose against China, saying that question was "premature."

The administration made the announcement a day after Mr. Trump held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss escalating tensions over North Korea's rapidly advancing nuclear weapons program. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said he would cut Beijing slack over trade issues if he felt the Chinese were being helpful in reining in Pyongyang.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the month that a new trade investigation over China's alleged forced technology transfers was in the works and had been planned for an early August announcement. But that was delayed until after an Aug. 5 U.N. Security Council vote imposing new financial penalties on North Korea, which China supported.

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Asked if Mr. Trump discussed the pending trade investigation with Mr. Xi on Friday, an official pointed to the official White House summary of the call, which didn't mention trade issues.

The White House aides said the new trade probe wasn't tied to the administration's North Korea strategy, despite the president's earlier linkage of the subjects. "These are totally unrelated events," one official said. "Trade is trade. National security is national security."

The new probe does signal a bit of a hardening shift in Trump administration's China trade policy, as it is the first White House trade directive aimed directly at Beijing. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Trump regularly blasted the U.S.'s $347 billion trade deficit with China, and vowed to take swift, drastic retaliation if he were elected, from across-the-board tariffs to branding Beijing a "currency manipulator."

But the early months of Mr. Trump's presidency have seen a considerably softer tone toward China over trade. He quickly dropped the campaign-trail threats, and during a genial April summit with Mr. Xi at his Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, the two countries launched a new "comprehensive economic dialogue" aimed at resolving bilateral commercial disputes amicably. A month later, China announced some modest market-opening moves, like ending a 14-year ban on U.S. beef imports, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross declared economic ties between the world's two largest economies were "hitting a new high."

But the first round of economic dialogue talks in mid-July were tense and ended up with no agreements. Officials said Saturday that impasse was one factor behind the decision to launch the new trade review.

In focusing on China's voracious appetite for American intellectual property, the Trump administration responding to a longstanding complaint by Western trade groups, who say the country's industrial policies effectively force foreign companies in sectors such as autos to transfer technology to stay in the market.

Beijing has been emboldened by the growing strength of its own companies to make more demands of foreign firms, industry executives say, and the government is careful to keep regulations vague. U.S. high-tech companies have struck a string of investments and technology-sharing agreements in software, semiconductors and other areas in the past couple of years, often under pressure from officials in closed-door meetings.

China's government rejects assertions that it forces foreign companies to transfer technology or permits infringement of intellectual property. Premier Li Keqiang denied it was using industrial policies to strong-arm foreign companies into turning over technology, telling a World Economic Forum meeting in Dalian in June that "such cooperation is voluntary and helps companies expand in the Chinese market and even in third countries."

While many U.S. companies and policy makers agree Chinese forced technology transfer is a problem, they also say it is difficult to figure out a solution.

One challenge is that many U.S. firms are reluctant to lodge formal complaints, making it difficult for trade officials to make their case.

"An important question going forward will be whether U.S. companies and trade associations who have highlighted the problem will actually come forward and assist our government in the investigation," said Michael Wessel, a member of the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Or, he added, "whether they will hide the facts fearful that our government won't follow through, that the Chinese will retaliate against their interests or that they'll have to admit what's happened to their critical assets."

Another question is just what remedy the U.S. government might pursue if it felt it had a case. Options might include imposing new limits on technologies that U.S. firms could license to China, or imposing new limits on Chinese investment in the U.S. But those would likely draw complaints from U.S. firms, and may contradict other policy goals. Mr. Trump personally touted China's Foxconn Technology Group's announcement in July to build a new display panel factory in Wisconsin.

The new China probe also marks a noticeable change in the process for how the Trump administration is processing trade policies, and suggests that a newly more organized and measured way to proceed with those complaints may be emerging.

Earlier Trump trade threats were made seeking swift action, and were done without broad consultation from stakeholders, drew widespread concern from business groups and lawmakers. Among them, an April promise to impose new steel and aluminum tariffs by June -- a plan that remains stalled amid resistance. Mr. Trump also in April threatened to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but backed down after intense lobbying from allies, business groups, lawmakers and his own aides. He instead agreed to renegotiate the pact with Canada and Mexico, a process that begins Wednesday.

In choosing the China trade probe, Mr. Trump is targeting an area that business groups and Republican and Democratic lawmakers have identified as a concern. His aides Saturday also stressed that in contrast with the rushed earlier attempts at handling trade matters, they were setting no deadline and that any investigation would closely follow intricate procedures, including discussions with Beijing.

Before making any decisions on an investigation, the trade representative "would consult with the appropriate advisory committees," one official said, and "if the investigation is instituted, we would consult with China. We would give interested parties the opportunity to comment. There would likely be a hearing. And these investigations can take as much as a year before we reach a conclusion."

Eva Dou in Beijing contributed to this article.

Write to Jacob Schlesinger at jacob.schlesinger@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2017 14:48 ET (18:48 GMT)

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Trump Administration to Launch Probe of Alleged Chinese Technology Theft -- Update - Fox Business

This Technology Could Make You Rich — and Change the World As We Know It – Motley Fool

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Revolutionary, game-changing, groundbreaking.

These words are probably used too often in describing new innovations. The reality is that most new products and technologies don't live up to the hype. But some do. And in a few rare cases, those descriptions could possibly even be understatements. Gene editing is one of those cases.

It's probable that gene-editing technology will generate a tremendous amount of wealth over the next few decades for investors. Gene editing also holds the real potential to change the world as we know it. Seriously.

Image source: Getty Images.

Gene editing is the insertion, deletion, or replacement of DNA in a cell or organism. As you probably remember from your long-ago biology classes, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) carries the genetic blueprint used in the development and functioning of every living thing on earth. DNA consists of two strands wrapped around each other to form a double helix. Each strand is made up of a combination of four base molecules: cytosine, guanine, adenine, or thymine. These bases are abbreviated by their first letter -- C, G, A, and T.

Genes are sections of DNA that specify how proteins are built based on the unique sequence of the four DNA bases. How those proteins are built defines every physical characteristic of a living thing.

The first method of gene editing was published in a scientific journal in 1991. This method, known as zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology, created genomic "scissors" made up of engineered proteins that scientists used to cut DNA at specific locations. ZFN had some problems, though. Some sequences of bases in DNA couldn't be targeted for editing. ZFN was also difficult to engineer and expensive to use.

In 2009, another method of gene editing called TALEN came along. TALEN stands for "transcription activator-like effector nuclease." This method was similar to ZFN but allowed more specific targeting of sections of genes.

The biggest breakthrough in gene editing, though, was introduced in 2012. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) was discovered through research into how certain bacteria defended themselves against viruses. The bacteria used an enzyme known as Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein-9) to alter the DNA of attacking viruses. Researchers found a way to use CAS9 to target specific sections of DNA in any living organism.

CRISPR-Cas9 proved to be a better and faster technique than its predecessors. It's also a lot cheaper. As a result, gene editing became accessible to a large number of researchers around the world.

Image source: Getty Images.

Gene editing, particularly with the advent of CRISPR-Cas9, has caused an upheaval in the biological world. Scientists are using editing the DNA of crops like wheat and rice to make them more resistant to disease and increase yields. They're modifying the genetic code of oranges to make them sweeter and vitamin-enriched.

Researchers are using CRISPR-Cas9 to improve microbial production strains. This in turn could possibly lead to new biologically produced materials for fragrances and industrial cleaning.

Some are looking at possibilities such as engineering cattle without horns and disease-resistant goats. Others are researching how to edit the genes of mosquitoes so they can't carry diseases. One start-up company recently used gene editing to eliminate viruses in pigs that are harmful to humans. This could lead eventually to pig organs that are safer for use in transplanting to humans.

Then there's the potential for gene editing in humans. Many diseases are caused by genetic mutations. Researchers hope to use gene editing to correct those gene mutations and cure these diseases. That's easier said than done, though. Still, the possibility that some genetic diseases could be wiped out over the next few decades is exciting.

With all of the hopes generated by gene editing, however, there are also fears. Genetically modified organisms already generate a lot of controversy. With CRISPR-Cas9, the potential for genetically engineering human babies has entered the realm of possibility. For the first time ever, the capability exists to even change what it means to be human.

Image source: Getty Images.

Of course, every technology -- from automobiles to nuclear power to artificial intelligence -- has the potential for achieving both positive and negative outcomes. Gene editing is no exception. The great news is that there are also tremendous opportunities for investors.

Three publicly traded biotechs have licenses to far-reaching CRISPR-Cas9 patents: CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP), Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT), and Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA). Editas licenses patents claimed by the Broad Institute for use of CRISPR-Cas9 in humans. CRISPR Therapeutics and Intellia license patents claimed by the University of California (UC) for use of CRISPR-CAS9 in all cells.

The Broad Institute scored a big win earlier this year with a decision bythe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to allow it to allow both sides to lay claim to their respective patents. UC has appealed the decision in hopes that its wider-scope patent will invalidate the Broad Institute's patent. Even if UC loses its appeal, though, it's entirely possible that a company using CRISPR to edit human genes would have to license both the Broad patent and UC's patent.

There's also French biotech Cellectis (NASDAQ:CLLS), which focuses on the TALEN gene editing approach. Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO) uses the old ZFN technique. However, Sangamo has the most advanced pipeline of any of the biotechs focused on gene editing.

Which of these biotechs will be the biggest winner? It's impossible to know at this point.One way for investors to hedge their bets is by buying shares of each one of these stocks.All of them could achieve significant success. And all of them are potential acquisition candidates for larger biopharmaceutical companies as well. There could also be other companies that benefit from even more effective methods of editing genes.

While there are uncertainties remaining, you can count on two things. Gene editing will make some investors rich. And it will make the world of tomorrow a much different place from that of today.

Keith Speights has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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The robot that staves off loneliness for chronically ill children – The Guardian

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All present and correct: the AV1 (on the table) can provide an interactive link for a child who cant be at school. Photograph: noisolation.com

As a rule of thumb, the best ideas are the simplest. Thats easy to forget in an age of rapid technological innovation, when the tendency is to be led by capability rather than need.

For as Karen Dolva, co-founder of the Norwegian startup No Isolation, says: There are a lot of engineers who dont want to make something useful they want to make something cool.

Dolva, a 26-year-old who studied computer science and interaction design at Oslo University, is not one of them. She and her two co-founders Marius Aabel and Matias Doyle are all about utility. As their company name suggests, they are looking to end human isolation. Its a massive undertaking, but theyve started with a distinct and overlooked group: sick children.

I have security now because of AV1. She gave me hope in a very dark time

When a child suffers a long-term or chronic illness, one of the greatest psychological problems they confront is isolation from their peers and schoolmates. Its possible to keep up with schoolwork, but not the social interplay and group dynamics that are a critical part of school life.

Dolva realised just how important and neglected this issue of social solitude was when she met a woman who lost her teenage daughter to cancer. She and her partners researched the problem, speaking to children with a multitude of different health conditions and came up with an answer: a telepresence robot called AV1.

A plain white bust, with a vaguely sci-fi robot visage, it was designed to sit on a vacated classroom desk and be the eyes and ears of the sick child at home in bed. The child can see and hear the teacher and the rotating head of the robot also offers a 360-degree view of the class.

The AV1s head flashes blue when the child wants to ask a question and there is even a whispering mode that enables the child to speak, way out of the teachers earshot, to a neighbouring classmate.

When I met Dolva in a north London cafe, I tried out the system by speaking, via an AV1, to her colleague in Oslo. By the use of elementary controls on a laptop, I was able to look around the Oslo office and chat to the company secretary.

Its hardly a breakthrough in technology, but the early signs are that it could have profound effect with its target consumers. Just over 200 of the AV1s are being used in Scandinavia, a few in Holland and there is already one user in Britain. In 12 months time, Dolva expects that figure to be between 2,000 and 4,000.

Seventeen-year-old Jade Gadd from Durham suffers from hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a particularly debilitating condition that means any system in her body can fail at any time. Her parents heard about AV1 and got in touch with No Isolation. The robot costs around 2,200, with a small subscription for unlimited data and insurance.

I have security now because of AV1, says Jade in an email. She gave me hope in a very dark time. She has allowed me to make commitments that previously I would have been too worried about not being able to meet. As a teenager, it is incredibly reassuring to know this assistive technology is available and can help me forge my future.

Jade, who plans to go to university, something she feared she wouldnt be able to do, speaks of AV1 as female, because users tend to award a gender to their robot, as well as customise it. Shes even given hers a name Bee and its own Facebook page. For someone as housebound as Jade, Bee offers more than a presence in a classroom she also provides a window on the world at large. Her mother takes Bee for journeys in the car, where she can chat to her daughter, who can see the passing streets, and to coffee shops, where strangers often stop and ask questions.

The best times Ive ever had with Bee have been when I didnt even feel like I was using her, says Jade. I just felt like I was really there.

For her, the AV1 is useful and cool.

Something like one in a 100 children are away from school for at least two months a year, so the market for AV1 is potentially very large, with around 35,000 pupils fitting the criterion in the UK alone. Dolva envisages a situation in which schools buy or hire several robots that are transferred between pupils as and when the need arises.

But shes not stopping with sick schoolchildren. The next group she wants to bring out of social isolation is senior citizens. The solution No Isolation is working on, says Dolva, is going to be very different to AV1.

Kids have a base, she says. With school, theres a network. You dont necessarily see that with seniors. Of course there are also mobility issues, memory loss and technology fear. Seniors are a much more diverse group. A 12-year-old is very much a 12-year-old. Two 85-year-olds can be extremely different in their motivation and what family they have around them.

Again, the secret to success, Dolva believes, is in consulting users about their real needs. Her dream is to end social isolation completely and it doesnt matter how long it takes. This is one startup that is not looking for a quick buy-out.

Its a problem weve dedicated our lives to, she says, with a tear in her eye. Its what were going to be doing for the next 50 years.

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The robot that staves off loneliness for chronically ill children - The Guardian

Experimental defense unit funds new technology but faces skeptics – Seattle Times

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The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, a 2-year-old effort thats investing in private companies, face questions from Republican leaders in Congress and others who view it as a still-unproven and possibly unnecessary venture.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. President Donald Trumps administration is throwing its support to a Barack Obama-era effort enlisting startup companies to come up with solutions to the militarys toughest technological challenges.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis made his first visit Thursday to the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, a 2-year-old effort thats investing in private companies building experimental drones, new cybersecurity technology and advanced communications systems for soldiers.

Mattis said he expects the initiative, known as DIUx, will grow in its influence and its impact under the Republican administration. In recent weeks, his office has taken steps to secure DIUxs place in the agency, including granting it greater authority to hire staff, negotiate contracts and promote its efforts.

Big admirer of what they do out there, about the way they germinate ideas, the way they harvest ideas, from one breakthrough, rapidly, to another, Mattis said before meeting with staff and local industry leaders at DIUxs office in Mountain View, California, the hometown of Google.

The program also has offices in Cambridge; Austin, Texas; and at the Pentagon.

But DIUx continues to face questions from Republican leaders in Congress and others who view it as a still-unproven and possibly unnecessary venture.

U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees military spending, agrees the military needs to better keep abreast of the innovation happening in the commercial sector. But hes unconvinced DIUx is the long-term solution and wont overlap with other advanced technology offices, like the Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which dates to the 1950s and the space race.

This question is: What is this office doing thats different from what others are doing? Thornberry said this month.

The proof that DIUx is working is the significant number of projects it has undertaken in a relatively short amount of time and with minimal taxpayer investment, said Col. Michael McGinley, who heads DIUxs office in Cambridge, near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Since opening its first office in Californias Silicon Valley, DIUx has awarded $100 million in government contracts to 45 pilot projects.

The investments are modest since much of the heavy lifting has come from private investors, who have collectively pumped roughly $2 billion into the companies DIUx is working with, according to McGinley.

Most of the contracts have gone to startups and smaller firms that arent among the big, traditional military suppliers, such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing or Raytheon. Thats a major objective of the initiative, which McGinley described as complementary to other military-research organizations but with a distinctly different mission.

And, under the militarys traditional purchasing process, the contracts likely would have taken years longer to reach this point, by which time the technology would have become obsolete, he added. DIUx, by simplifying the bidding process, is awarding contracts within four months.

This is changing the game in the way (the Department of Defense) operates and acquires new technology to support the warfighter, McGinley said. Were not vaporware. Were producing tangible results.

While DIUx may not be going away anytime soon, Congress has been reluctant to go all-in on the effort. After receiving $20 million to launch in 2016, DIUx was given just $10 million for the current budget year, which ends Sept.30, according to a DIUx spokeswoman.

The Trump administration has sought roughly $30 million for it next year, but a key House committee has proposed slashing that request in half.

DIUx deserves more time and resources, considering its made substantial progress after initial confusion over its mission and pushback from traditional defense contractors prompted an overhaul less than a year in, said Andrew Hunter, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research organization.

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Experimental defense unit funds new technology but faces skeptics - Seattle Times

Applied technology, health, ag degrees boom at Northeast – Norfolk Daily News

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The job market can be a tough place, particularly for recent graduates.

But according to faculty at Northeast Community College, there are certain booming industries that provide great career opportunities for students.

Specifically, John Blaylock, vice president of educational services, said he saw immense interest and opportunity in the fields of health and wellness, applied technology and agriculture.

People equipped to work in these fields are in high demand, he said.

For example, in the area of nursing, theres a projected growth of about 11 percent by 2020, said Karen Weidner, director of Northeasts nursing program. Other health care careers are equally desirable.

Its nursing, but its any health care field demanding people, said Michele Gill, dean of health and wellness. She and Weidner attributed this demand to multiple factors, including that people are living longer, advances in technology, changes in the political arena and health care, and aging baby boomers who will increasingly need medical attention.

The baby boomer generation is ready to hit the health care system, and its going to hit in a big way, Gill said. You know, were seeing demand in nursing, physical therapist assistants, in respiratory care, in (surgical) tech, radiology. I mean any of those medical fields are kind of growing. I dont think anyone really knows what the explosions going to be. So if youre looking for a career in health care, youre positioning yourself to have a job thats well-paying in a pretty good work environment.

Blaylock said the college sees about 60 new nursing students every year. But Gill said areas such as health information management systems (HIMS) and physical therapist assistants also have been popular.

So, students with any kind of interest in health care should be able to find their niche.

If you like direct patient contact, I think nursings a great profession to get into, Gill said. If youre not so good with direct patient contact, thats why we have a HIMS program, so you can work in the office in the medical records area.

Several degrees in the applied technology department provide excellent opportunities upon graduation, too, Lyle Kathol said.

As the dean of applied technology, Kathol said he saw growth and demand in the areas of electromechanical technology, diversified manufacturing technology, welding, plumbing and wind energy.

I guess the bottom line in all these careers is that theres a lot of gray hair out there, Kathol said. It slowed down in 2009 and 10, but now the retirements are starting to kick in and the job turnover is quickly accelerating, and that creates more pressure, more demand on these careers, especially in the careers I mentioned here because those are young people jobs physical, exciting. The skys the limit, let me tell you.

He said that if students work hard during college in one of these degrees, theyll be on track to secure a job they enjoy where they can make a great salary and have opportunity for advancement.

These are careers that if they live in California, there are plenty of job opportunities. If they live in Northeast Nebraska, there are plenty of job opportunities, he said. The job market is wide open.

Kathol said the college has a 99 percent success rate with students securing employment or continuing education after graduation.

This shows, he said, that a two-year degree or even a one-year degree like plumbing can launch a student into a good career. The college also has invested in credentialing, so that students can receive credentials in areas like precision measurement or heating and air conditioning in addition to their degree.

It guarantees that students can operate the high-tech equipment, he said, which increases their appeal to employers.

The beauty of the nursing program, Weidner said, is that at the end of the first year, students have a degree in practical nursing, which allows them to sit for their licensed practical nursing exam. Then by the end of the second year, theyre able to sit for the registered nursing exam. Students also may become nurses aides.

So they can become an LPN and then an RN one year later, she said. That is a perfect system, I think, for students because if life throws them a curveball, they can stop at the LPN. Some want to be an LPN. Thats their terminal degree.

For others who want to continue, its a very seamless pathway, and then if they want to continue on and get a bachelors degree, we have agreements with multiple schools for that.

And pass rates are high, she said. The colleges LPN pass rate has been between 96 percent and 100 percent for more than 10 years, and the RN pass rate last year was 96.4 percent for 2016 graduates. Thats all above the national average, Weidner said.

The physical therapist assistant program also has pass rates in the 90s, where its remained for the 20 years the program has existed, Gill said.

Agriculture is another popular program, one that Blaylock said he thinks gets overlooked. In fact, its the largest program on campus with about 350 students.

Our economy in Northeast Nebraska is agriculture, and these students go to work in ag-related businesses, whether it be in sales or banking in cooperative areas. But there are also a large number of them who go back to the family farm and ranch and begin to work with family to eventually become the lead operator on those operations, Kathol said. So agriculture continues to grow.

The area is expected to see even more growth as technology advances.

With the precision agriculture needed in farming, were trying to help students of the next generation of farm and ranch be able to produce more with less inputs also, Kathol said. We believe theres a huge need there. Plus, our students are seeing the interest there in doing that type of work.

But there are plenty of other areas of studies that can lead to good careers, too, Kathol said, if students dont find one in these areas of interest.

We always try to serve the student at their interest, he said. Not every student wants to go into those areas. So we have over 80 programs and concentrations for students to gain a skill set.

And with about 60 percent of students returning to their hometown area, students are bound to make a positive impact on Northeast Nebraska.

These students come to Northeast, they gain a skill and they take that skill and knowledge to be the leaders of those communities, to be the businesses, the small businesses, to be the support employees for the larger businesses, to maintain our rural communities in Northeast Nebraska, Kathol said. Its very rewarding to see that happen on a daily basis with our students.

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Applied technology, health, ag degrees boom at Northeast - Norfolk Daily News

USU’s Assistive Technology Lab has created Demonstration Libraries – Cache Valley Daily

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Utah Assistive Technology Program

Clay Christensen displays modular hose and an electronic, voice-activated personal assistant. Both are examples of high- and low-tech assistive technology available in the Utah Assistive Technology Program's demonstration libraries.

Posted: Sunday, August 13, 2017 10:03 am

USU's Assistive Technology Lab has created Demonstration Libraries Craig Hislop cachevalleydaily.com |

Two demonstration libraries created by Utah State UniversitysAssistive Technology program allowpeople with disabilities to travel to either Logan or Roosevelt to try out devices before they buy them.

Those at the AT lab within the Center for Persons With Disabilities understand how much money already goes to medical care and services, and its an added expense when they order a device off the internet, hoping it will solve a problem, only to discover its not quite right for their needs.

We have some really great devices we have added to our demonstration libraries, said Clay Christensen, coordinator at the Logan AT Lab. Liftware eating utensils are products that can help those with tremors. If you have someone you are caring for these devices are very helpful in feeding. Its a cool option we have and it is available for demonstration.

Liftware products cost just under $200 for a starter kit. Its no wonder that some families might want to try a few different adapted spoons before making a decision.

Christensen said they have apps that can help with dementia and alzheimers plus communication augmentative and learning applications for autism and other learning disabilities.

Also, the Assistive Technology Lab is known for its ability to custom build assistive technology per person.

In this work there is not a one-size-fits-all because each disability is different and in different ranges and levels. Recently we modified some bicycles for people who otherwise could not ride a bike; this was for children and teens.

Christensen encourages those who might be helped at the the AT Lab to call him at 797-0699.

Posted in Local News, News on Sunday, August 13, 2017 10:03 am. | Tags: Web Accessibility, Educational Technology, Assistive Technology, At Lab, Health, Rehabilitation Medicine, Clay Christensen, Learning Applications, Usu's Assistive Technology Lab, Build Assistive Technology, Logan At Lab., Utah State University, Coordinator, Roosevelt, Assistive Technology Lab, 797-0699

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USU's Assistive Technology Lab has created Demonstration Libraries - Cache Valley Daily

Trump campaign ad says his ‘enemies’ are trying to undermine his progress – Washington Post

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A new television ad unveiled Sunday by President Trumps reelection campaign committee accuses the presidents enemies of trying to undermine his success in office.

The 30-second spot, produced six months into Trumps term, targets Democrats and the news media, and touts what the campaign says are successes that the president has managed to achieve, including a low unemployment rate and record stock-market closes.

It comes as Trump faces a widespread backlash for not denouncing white supremacists by name for their role in Saturdays violence in Charlottesville.

[White House: Trumps condemnation includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups]

Democrats obstructing. The media attacking our president. Career politicians standing in the way of success. But President Trumps plan is working, the narrator says.

Photos of several Democratic politicians are featured in the spot, including Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Senate Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (Md.).

The ad includes a montage of television hosts, including Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow and Brian Williams of MSNBC, and Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon of CNN, among others.

The presidents enemies dont want him to succeed, the ad says, but Americans are saying, Let president Trump do his job.

In a statement, Trumps campaign said the ad will air on cable news shows and the Internet.

Continue reading here:

Trump campaign ad says his 'enemies' are trying to undermine his progress - Washington Post

Ohio man charged with second-degree murder after car plows into … – The Daily Progress

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Updated, 11:10 p.m.

It started with singing, praying, slogan chanting and flag waving and turned into violence and the death of one protester and two members of a Virginia State Police helicopter crew.

Alt-right marchers and counter-protesters beat each other with fists and sticks and sprayed each other with pepper spray as Saturdays Unite the Right rally ended in violence before it could begin.

A 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 people were injured after a driver sped into a crowd of counter-protesters at Fourth Street Northeast and Water Street mid-afternoon.

The crash occurred after the rally had broken up and a large number of protesters were marching down Water Street. A Dodge Challenger sped into the crowd at Fourth Street Northeast, slamming into pedestrians and into the rear end of another car. The Dodge backed up the street quickly and sped away despite heavy front-end damage.

The driver, James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Maumee, Ohio, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit and run with injury.

About two hours after the car crash, two state troopers were killed when their police helicopter crashed and burned near Old Farm Road. The helicopter was involved in providing surveillance and information during the day.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday, a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed into a wooded area near a residence on Old Farm Road, said Corinne Geller, state police spokeswoman. The pilot, Lt. H. Jay Cullen, 48, of Midlothian, and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates of Quinton, died at the scene.

Geller said the crash is being investigated but no foul play is suspected.

All in all, police said at least 35 people downtown were treated for medical issues, including 14 treated for injuries from altercations, police said.

Several dozen people attended a small vigil at McGuffey Park on Saturday evening in memory of the woman who died in the car wreck. Flowers were brought in from nearby churches and handed out to those in the park, who, one by one, placed them at the center of a circle of attendees. Candles were later placed around the flowers.

The Unite the Right rally was scheduled to start at noon but it never happened. By 11:30 a.m., with demonstrators and counter-protesters fighting in the streets, Charlottesville and Albemarle County officials declared a state of emergency and later declared the rally an illegal assembly, slowly clearing the park.

It could have been a lot worse today, said Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas. The premeditated violence is deplorable.

Both sides came prepared for violence, wearing protective helmets, masks and carrying flags. When violence broke out, many of the flags were stripped from the wood handles and the handles were used as clubs.

Both sides brought street medics equipped with bandages and fluids for flushing eyes and skin afflicted with pepper spray.

Alt-right demonstrators arrived at Emancipation Park around 9 a.m. with several counter-protesters already present. While the demonstrators milled about the park waving flags, several protesters prayed nearby and others sang while state police ringed the marchers to keep the sides separate inside the park.

One right-wing group in military garb, carrying rifles and wearing pistols, stood between the pro-white demonstrators and counter-protesters.

As more marchers arrived, flying a variety of flags, including the Confederate flag and battle flag, more counter-protesters also arrived. Taunts and jeers broke out on both sides and scuffles began.

The armed demonstrators moved away from the park when both sides began attacking each other and it appeared no firearms were involved.

During the melee, one protester purposefully attacked news reporters with pepper spray despite efforts from other protesters to prevent it. Alt-right demonstrators splashed nearby reporters with ash mixed with liquid while other reporters were pelted with eggs by protesters.

One African-American reporter was punched by an alt-right demonstrator wearing a T-shirt with a portrait of Adolf Hitler.

Protesters pelted the alt-right marchers trying to enter the park with balloons filled with paint and both sides hurled water bottles, some with urine inside, and other makeshift missiles at each other. As more scuffles broke out, the two sides began clubbing each other with the flag poles, sticks and makeshift clubs. Others threw road flares and other items across Market Street at each other.

After declaring the assembly illegal, the Virginia National Guard took over perimeter locations to allow local police to join with state police in clearing the park. Clashes between the groups continued as they walked away from the park and sporadic violence in the form of fisticuffs and stick fights broke out on the Downtown Mall.

Thomas said the violence came quickly.

The situation escalated rapidly into violence and we had no choice but to deploy additional personnel from the Virginia State Police and the Virginia National Guard to help disperse the crowd and move people safely through the streets, he said.

Despite the violence, Unite the Right organizers vowed to return.

This was a monumental event for our movement, rally organizer Jason Kessler said as he joined other demonstrators in leaving downtown. They had to do whatever they had to do, legal or illegal, to shut us down. This is not over.

But Kessler disavowed the violence that followed. He said in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday evening that driving a car into a group of counter-protesters was the wrong thing. He said he was saddened that people were hurt.

Alt-right torchbearer Richard Spencer said he was outraged by what he said was a lack of police protection.

I have never been so outraged at my government, he said, addressing a crowd of approximately 100 supporters who had relocated to McIntire Park after Emancipation Park was cleared. We are never backing down. We are going to be back here.

The brief gathering, which featured an appearance by former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke, was the only opportunity the alt-right activists and white nationalists had to assemble Saturday without being confronted by a large number of protesters.

Speaking after the McGuffey Park vigil, Montae Taylor, vice president for youth and college divisions of the NAACP for Virginia who came to Charlottesville from Richmond, said the thwarted rally mirrors stories his great-grandfather told him.

And the fact that I can look at whats going on and see what my grandfather was talking about is not scary, but its appalling, he said.

Bob McAdams, president of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, said the services offered by local churches on Saturday and the sanctuaries they provided at Justice and McGuffey parks during rally were blessings.

But human minds, our minds, will take a long time to process the events weve experienced, he said.

The rally and the subsequent sporadic violent outbreaks caused many downtown merchants to close their doors early.

Vincent Derquenne, co-owner of Bizou on the Downtown Mall, said he closed 45 minutes after opening.

The patio was close to full and we had to bring everybody inside, he said. And everybody came, with their dogs and everything.

He said it was OK that they had to close the restaurant for most of the day.

Its a small price, Derquenne said. This is freedom.

Wilson Richey, who is involved in several restaurants downtown, said the July 8 Ku Klux Klan rally and Saturdays have hurt downtown businesses.

I want to encourage everyone to come in droves on Sunday, if you avoided the mall on Saturday and then, perhaps, maybe lean in heavy on your downtown visits next week, he said.

On Saturday evening, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Charlottesville city officials held a news conference and denounced the violence.

McAuliffe thanked local and state law enforcement and the National Guard and said white supremacists are not welcome in Virginia.

Our message is plain and simple: Go home, he said. You are not wanted in this great town.

Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer spoke about Charlottesvilles resilience and the citys ability to write its own story.

This tide of hatred and intolerance and bigotry that has come to us this march with torches at the Lawn is brought here by outsiders and by people who belong in the trash heap of history with these ideas, Signer said. The work of rebuilding and healing is just beginning today. Tomorrow will come and we will emerge I can promise you stronger than ever.

Thomas said police will take the next few weeks and months to investigate and review the events.

What the world saw today is not the place Charlottesville is, he said. We love our city. Let us heal. This is not our story. Outsiders do not tell our story.

Daily Progress staff writers Lauren Berg, Dean Seal, Chris Suarez, Michael Bragg and Allison Wrabel contributed to this story.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Updated, 8:45 p.m.

James Alex Fields Jr., of Maumee, Ohio, has been charged with second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and failing to stop at the scene of an accident that resulted in a death after a car plowed into a crowd on the Downtown Mall.

The crash killed a 32-year-old woman and injured 19 others following an alt-right demonstration downtown.

Fields is in custody at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

Updated, 8:14 p.m.

Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas has been empowered to "regulate, restrict or prohibit any assembly of persons, or the movement of persons or vehicles" on any public property including parks, streets and sidewalks, according to a release from city officials.

The emergency ordinance passed City Council unanimously during an emergency meeting at the Albemarle County Office Building, according to the release.

Mayor Mike Signer was quoted in the release, "The Council's decision to give Chief Thomas the authority to enact a curfew as appropriate was made out of an abundance of caution.We did so, having full confidence in Chief Thomas and regional law enforcement's ability to make the final call.

Chief Thomas has yet to take any action, according to the release.

Updated, 7:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump has offered his condolences to the family of the woman killed when a car slammed into a crowd of pedestrians on the Downtown Mall.

"Condolences to the family of the young woman killed today, and best regards to all of those injured, in Charlottesville, Virginia," he tweeted. "So sad!"

BEDMINSTER, N.J. President Donald Trump on Saturday blamed "many sides" for the violent clashes between protesters and white supremacists in Virginia and contended that the "hatred and bigotry" broadcast across the country had taken root long before his political ascendancy.

Updated, 6:33 p.m.

Charlottesville police Chief Al Thomas says a 32-year-old woman was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters on the Downtown Mall. The death is being investigated as a homicide, and the suspect is in custody, Thomas said.

The identity of the woman is being withheld until family can be notified.

Thomas said 35 people were injured during the Unite the Right rally and protests, adding that none was caused by the police.

It is unclear if two deaths caused by a helicopter crash near Birdwood Golf Course are connected to the Unite the Right rally, authorities said, but The Associated Press cited officials in establishing a connection.

President Donald Trump in a tweet said two Virginia State Police troopers died. "Deepest condolences to the families & fellow officers of the VA State Police who died today," he wrote. "You're all among the best this nation produces."

Updated, 5:40 p.m.

The organizer of a rally that drew hundreds of white nationalists and other extremists to Charlottesville says he disavows the violence that eroded it.

Jason Kessler said in an interview Saturday evening that whoever drove a car into a group of counter-protesters did the wrong thing. He said he was saddened that people were hurt.

Kessler is a local blogger and activist who described the event as a pro-white rally. He planned it to protest the citys decision to remove a Confederate monument.

He also criticized law enforcements response to the event, which was dispersed before speakers could take the stage.

He said they did a poor job controlling the chaos to allow free speech.

- The Associated Press

A vehicle plows into a group of protesters marching along 4th Street NE at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville on the day of the Unite the Right rally on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Photo/Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress

A vehicle plows into a group of protesters marching along 4th Street NE at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville on the day of the Unite the Right rally on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Photo/Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress

A vehicle plows into a group of protesters marching along 4th Street NE at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville on the day of the Unite the Right rally on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Photo/Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress

A vehicle plows into a group of protesters marching along 4th Street NE at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville on the day of the Unite the Right rally on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Photo/Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress

A vehicle reverses after plowing into a group of protesters marching along 4th Street NE at the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville on the day of the Unite the Right rally on Saturday, August 12, 2017. Photo/Ryan M. Kelly/The Daily Progress

This car, stopped on Monticello Avenue, was seen plowing into people on the Downtown Mall.

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

Protestors and counter protestors take to the streets after the Unite the Right rally was declared unlawful by Virginia State Police Saturday, August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Va. Photo/Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

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Ohio man charged with second-degree murder after car plows into ... - The Daily Progress

St. Louis Cardinals: Great progress, but uphill battle with Cubs – Redbird Rants

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CHICAGO, IL - JULY 22: Adam Wainwright

St. Louis Cardinals: At a complete loss for words both good and bad by Dr. Michael D. Miles

We should all be thrilled hope remains for the St. Louis Cardinals playoff performance this year, as the team climbed into a virtual tie with Chicago on Sunday. Its important, however, to examine the landscape of the remainder of the schedule to better judgethe prospects of the competing teams.

In this space, well look at the top two contenders as of today, the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. Thats not to, in any way, dismiss the potential of either the Milwaukee Brewers or the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the longtime rivalry between Chicago and St. Louis deserves its own focal point, and no doubt it will form much of the press hype as August and September drone on.

So with all that in mind,there are several distinct advantages that lie with the Wrigleyites, and other factors that remain a bit more ambiguous:

Home versus road: From Aug. 14 on, the Cubs have twenty-six games at home versus only twenty on the road. The Cards are flip-flopped, having only nineteen at Busch where they have played vastly better than they did in the home-win-starved 2016 campaign.They must go on the road for twenty-five of their finalforty-four games.

The Cubs arent quite as strong at home as the Cards.

Each team has 26 losses at home, but by virtue of the Cubs more road-based schedule to date, they have three less wins at home than do the Cards.

On the road, though, the Cubs are a couple of games over .500, while the Cards, with more road than home games remaining, sit four under away from Busch.

Home versus road, Part Two: The other aspect of travel that could have an impact on the race is the length and distance of the remaining road trips for each team. The Cards have both a ten-game and a nine-game trip remaining, with one of them primarily on the West Coast. The Cubs have one trip of ten games, but nothing else longer than six games, and theyre done in the West.

Series versus competitors:Here, too, the Cubs have an edge. Of the series each team has left, the Cards have nine against teams still in serious competition for the postseason, with a total of twenty-seven games. The Cubs? Only seven series, and aslight advantage with only twenty-six against contenders.

Head to head:The Cubs and Cards have seven games left, and on the surface it might look like the St. Louisans have the advantage, with four of those games home at Busch. But the issue is the Cards are an anemic 4-8 against the North Siders to date this season. So achieving even parity will prove a major challenge.

The Big Unknown:What no one knows is which Cards team and which Cubs team will show up for the remainder of the year. While the Chicagoans have never looked like their 2016 championship edition starting pitching deficits and a hugely disappointing Kyle Schwarber have been among the deficits most of the parts remain intact (though the loss of Willson Contreras hurts hugely).

The Cardinals have been a mediocre commodity most of the season, but theyve been All-World in August, riding an eight-game win streak heading into Sunday. So will the remainder of the season emulate the vast majority of the year, with its win one, lose one modality, or the amped up, more recent vintage?

Want your voice heard? Join the Redbird Rants team!

We have absolutely no clue, of course. But well hope that the August edition can carry through the remainder of the 2017 season. If it does, its possible well see the vaunted Cubs recede into the rear-view mirror.

The rest is here:

St. Louis Cardinals: Great progress, but uphill battle with Cubs - Redbird Rants

Christian Hackenberg shows definite signs of progress in Jets’ preseason opener – NorthJersey.com

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Jets QB Christian Hackenberg speaks after the Jets' 7-3 win in the preseason opener on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2017, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Andy Vasquez/NorthJersey.com

Christian Hackenberg (5) in the second quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Saturday, August 12, 2017.(Photo: Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com)

EAST RUTHERFORD The Jets are supposed to be a bad football team this season. Many believe theyll be the very worst in the NFL.

But Saturday night, as the preseason got under way, the Jets looked like something else. A football team that maybe, just maybe, wont be that bad.

The first teamers looked downright good, and quarterback Christian Hackenberg showed definite signs of progress in extensive action as the Jets beatthe Titans 7-3 in thepreseason opener at MetLife Stadium.

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Its silly to read too much into a preseason game, especially the first preseason game. The results dont matter and winning is not the priority. But after a training camp fraught with doom and gloom, this was a night of mostly positives.

Quarterback Josh McCown marched the first team offense down the field for an opening drive touchdown. Defensive end Leonard Williams got a sack as the Jets first-team defense allowed only one first down in two drives.

And then there was Hackenberg, who had a good night by any measure. He completed 18-of-25 passes for 127 yards and looked confident and comfortable as he played the majority of the game.

This was far different than the version of Hackenberg we last saw in game action. This was Hackenbergs first game since Sept. 1, 2016, when he played the preseason finale at Philadelphia. Hackenberg struggled that night, completing only 11-of-31 passes and throwing a mind-numbingly bad interception that he should never have tried to throw in the first place.

Christian Hackenberg (5) throws in the first quarter at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Saturday, August 12, 2017.(Photo: Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com)

But in new offensive coordinator John Mortons system, Hackenberg looked comfortable and poised despite playing only one drive with the first teamers. Playing mostly with the backup offensive line and the backup receivers, Hackenberg proved that hes made considerable progress in the last 12 months.

His two best throws of the night were on his final drive of the night: a 12-yard pass to tight end Jason Vander Laan and a 14-yard pass to Marquess Wilson in the third quarter. Both passes were strong throws to the sideline, leading the receiver perfectly.

But there were also mistakes. Hackenbergs final play of the night was a turnover on a botched snap it was difficult to tell if it was Hackenbergs fault or the centers. He also nearly had a pass intercepted in the first half after it was tipped at the line. But overall, it was a good night.

McCown, who got the start, also had a strong night.

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The 38-year-old marched the Jets offense down the field on the opening drive, going 78 yards in eight plays. The highlight of the night was a perfectly-placed, 53-yard pass to Robby Anderson down the right sideline. Anderson, the Jets presumed No. 1 receiver after the loss of Quincy Enunwa, hauled in the pass at the Titans 2-yard line. Charone Peake caught a four-yard touchdown pass three plays later to get the Jets on the board.

McCown finished 3-of-4 for 72 yards and the touchdown. Anderson had three catches for 71 yards, and Chris Harper, continuing his solid play from training camp, caught two balls for 21 yards.

Jets #15 Josh McCown (15) throws in the first quarter against the Titans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Saturday, August 12, 2017.(Photo: Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com)

It wasnt all good. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who has struggled in camp, missed wide left on a 55-yard field goal attempt. Punter Lachlan Edwards, the only punter on the roster, struggled. One of his punts went only 14 yards, and he failed to pin the Titans offense deep in Jets territory.

Corner Darryl Roberts was burned for a 42-yard gain, and Bryce Petty didnt do much as he played the final quarter and change behind Hackenberg and McCown. Petty finished 2-of-6 for 16 yards and took a hard hit on a sack.

Email: vasqueza@northjersey.com

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TK Cooper Injured During PROGRESS NYC Show (VIDEO) – Pro Wrestling Sheet (registration) (blog)

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Posted By: Ashley Leckwold August 13, 2017

The tag team title match during PROGRESS Wrestlings New York debut came to an abrupt stop on Saturday night because TK Cooper suffered an ankle injury.

The South Pacific Power Team member was taking a dive to the outside last night when a bad landing caused his ankle to dislocate. The match was immediately stopped and Cooper was carried out by the locker room before EMTs arrived.

PROGRESS co-owner Glen Joseph accompanied Cooper to the hospital where he updated on his condition, tweeting, Hour number 3 in an ER room somewhere in Queens. @PureTKCs foot is on straight again. This is, indeed, progress. Aint out the woods yet as to surgery etc but @PureTKC definitely appreciates the outpouring of support. Tough kid. An idiot, but tough.

Coopers injury was just one of the many speed bumps PROGRESS hit in their US debut. Pete Dunne was injured on Friday before the show, there were reports of the venue being overheated and the entire crew got stranded trying to make it to Boston after the show.

As for TK he tweeted this morning saying, Yo New York, Im hella sorry! I owe you guys big time. Lemme just sort this ankle and Ill be back in a bit.

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BlueIndy makes progress in Indianapolis – Fox 59

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BlueIndy car

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. An electric car-sharing service in Indianapolis is winning over customers after initially angering some business owners.

BlueIndy is increasing membership in Indianapolis,The Indianapolis Starreported.

The company has 280 cars in the city. Its sold almost 5,000 memberships and almost 65,000 rides have been taken. Almost 8 percent of those rides have been to or from Indianapolis International Airport.

The company made a deal with former Mayor Greg Ballard that allowed the company to install its charging stations in public parking spots in 2015.

Some business owners said the loss of nearby parking spots cost them customers.

If theyre like a business, they should buy up empty lots and set their thing up in there, said SoBro Cafe owner Helger Oomkes. Its really damaged my business.

Mayor Joe Hogsetts administration has been negotiating changes to the companys contract. The new 15-year deal gives the city more say over where the charging stations can go.

Residents and businesses now have a 16-day period to object to new stations being built.

The company has agreed to move up to seven stations that were installed during the initial building phase.

There are a very small number of stations where there remains concern and we are actively working with the city to come up with resolution that makes sense for the city, makes sense for BlueIndy and makes sense for those businesses, said James Delgado, the companys general manager.

The company aims to have 100 stations open by the end of the year.

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BlueIndy makes progress in Indianapolis - Fox 59

Mack Town urges progress on Town Center – Mad River Union

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TOWN CENTER This aerial photo shows the boundaries of the town center. Graphic from McKinleyville Community Plan

Jack DurhamMad River Union

McKINLEYVILLE McKinleyvilles advisory committee is asking the county to move forward with the creation of a McKinleyville Town Center.

The McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee voted unanimously July 26 to send a letter to the Humboldt County Planning Department asking that it start drafting a McKinleyville Town Center ordinance.

The creation of a McKinleyville Town Center was called for in the McKinleyville Community Plan, approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2002.

However, an ordinance with specific rules for development in the Town Center was never created.

The zone extends from Pierson Park to McKinleyville Avenue, and from Railroad Drive to an area just south of Hiller Road. It also includes the commercial area north of Heartwood Drive where the Burger King and other businesses are located.

Anne Pierson, the owner of the largest undeveloped property in the Town Center, has endorsed the idea.

I celebrate that the community cares because it needs that kind of energy behind it to have the county pay attention, said Pierson, who owns the McKinleyville Shopping Center and the land behind it. The only thing I request in the process is flexibility for creativity.

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Mack Town urges progress on Town Center - Mad River Union

49ers’ Kyle Shanahan a ‘work in progress’ as first-time head coach – ESPN (blog)

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Kyle Shanahan has coached in the league in some capacity since 2004, but it wasn't until Friday night in Kansas City, Missouri, that he got his first opportunity to be the man in charge on an NFL sideline.

As the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan has gone through the usual laundry list of firsts. Along with that comes a natural process of learning the ins and outs of managing a game and taking care of an entire team. In Shanahan's case, it also means balancing those things while serving as the offensive playcaller.

Put simply, there's a lot on Shanahan's plate, and this preseason will be just as important for him as it will be for his players as he gets acclimated to his new job.

"It is a work in progress," the 37-year-old Shanahan said. "I enjoyed it. It was the same as usual -- calling plays, doing everything I have done down there -- but it was definitely different trying to carry the offense and then having to peek up at the score and having to watch the time and having to watch the defense. I think some series I did it better than others. Also, with so many guys subbing in and out and having to pay attention to how long we are keeping them in and things like that. It was definitely a challenge, but I enjoyed it. I am glad we have three more of them, and hopefully I will get better at it each week."

Throughout the offseason, Shanahan has been refreshingly candid and honest in acknowledging that he knows what he doesn't know. In the spring, he talked about how there were moments he wasn't exactly sure where to be throughout the course of a practice and admitted to having some nerves going into his first time addressing the whole team.

As the days went by, Shanahan clearly got more comfortable and drew positive reviews from players for his attention to detail and ability to answer any sort of football question.

Now, as the regular season approaches, business is picking up and there is a limited amount of time for Shanahan, his staff and his players to make sure everything hums on game day.

In Friday's preseason victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, Shanahan was able to go through a lot of scenarios, such as mass substitutions and clock management, and he even attempted his first replay challenge. To be sure, there were some bumps in the road, including a whopping 17 penalties against his team.

Before that, Shanahan was able to oversee the first road trip of the season for the Niners, their first with him in charge.

Shanahan made it clear Saturday evening that even the tiniest of those details will remain under review moving forward.

We look at everything, from just how we travel from the airplane to the food on the planes to what time we got to the stadium," Shanahan said. "So, theres lots of little tweaks that you look at that I think well be looking at throughout this preseason. Hopefully we get it to exactly where we want by the first game."

For starters, Shanahan was pleased with the game-day process, though it also wasn't lost on him that this was his first time going through it. The biggest difference on his first attempt?

"I cant lie, theres a lot more to think about," Shanahan said. "The defense is up and Im trying to study pictures and get my calls right for the next series, but Im also glancing at them and having to pay attention to the clock when the offense isnt up and thinking about replays and all the situations that are going on."

Making things even more complex is the constant rotation and keeping tabs on a 90-man roster. While that might be difficult now, it's something that should make his life easier when he gets to the regular season and there are only 53 players on the roster and 47 on game day. That got complicated further by some injuries to the likes of defensive linemen DeForest Buckner and Ronald Blair. Going into Friday's game, the plan wasn't to play rookie Solomon Thomas for as many snaps as he did, but that became necessary after those injuries.

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"Youre trying to balance it out, when to get guys in and out of the game," Shanahan said. "Then you have a few injuries happen and youve got to get guys back in the game."

This week, there will be a few more firsts for Shanahan as a head coach. The 49ers will host the Denver Broncos for a pair of joint practices and then have their first preseason home game Saturday, giving Shanahan a chance to fine-tune some things in front of a friendly crowd.

"Its pretty hectic during all NFL games, but especially in the preseason," Shanahan said. "Im glad weve got three more of them. I thought our staff did a pretty good job communicating our first time together. I know we had 12 people on the field that first play in the third quarter for the defense, which is on coaches. That is always a challenge here in the preseason especially. I was pretty pleased with how we did in the first game.

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49ers' Kyle Shanahan a 'work in progress' as first-time head coach - ESPN (blog)

North Korean Tensions Are Spurring Doomsday Survival-Goods Sales – Fortune

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Emergency preparedness and survival products are seeing a rise in sales and interest as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea mount. Though information is still anecdotal, several retailers speaking to the New York Times say theyve seen customers stocking up on emergency food supplies and other survival gear. Sales at the Emergency Essentials retail chain in Utah, for instance, were more than double their usual amount in the days after President Trumps fire and fury comments last Tuesday.

Google searches for terms including prepper and survivalism have also risen significantly over the last week. But theyre still well below all-time highs that came after the 2012 Presidential election win by Barack Obama, and not all preparedness retailers speaking to the Times have seen sales rise.

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Obamas election and re-election also triggered a sharp rise in gun sales. Thats partly because of fears that Obama would push through tougher gun control laws. But the rise in survivalism was also fueled by right-wing conspiracy theories , which sellers said had receded somewhat by 2013.

But the usual buyers of dehydrated food and camp stoves have much more faith in the Commander in Chief than they did his predecessora recent poll puts the Presidents approval rating among Republicans as high as 82%. With conservative politics such a major driver of the preparedness market, and despite fears over North Korea, the Trump presidency could wind up offering modest growth for the industry.

Responses to both North Koreas tests and Trumps bellicose language have been tepid more broadly. U.S. stock markets, usually hypersensitive to rumors of global war, dropped only 0.2% on the day of Trumps statements.

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Outside Lands and the Nihilism of the Fake Counterculture – SF Weekly

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Outside Lands and the Nihilism of the Fake Counterculture
SF Weekly
Across the continent, Nazis bearing semiautomatic weapons and garden-supply-store tiki torches made a show of force at the University of Virginia. After protests and counter-protests, someone was killed. It feels redundant to condemn it, but in short ...

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Naked News presenters go fully nude for X-RATED starkers dance session – Daily Star

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PRESENTERS from the steamy Naked News network have stripped off for their raunchiest task yet.

A trio of scantly clad babes took on Ukrainian dancing in their own unique way for the feature.

Led by busty brunette Hanna Orio, co-hosts Carli Bei and Isabella Rossini stripped down to their birthday suits for the challenge.

In the clip, the girls can be seen leaping around completely nude while traditional Ukrainian music plays in the background.

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But this isnt the first time the networks hosts have put on such a racy display.

Earlier this year Carli Bei got naked to meet with members of a swinging community in Jamaica.

As part of the feature, couples at the Hedonism II nudist resort in Negril spoke on camera about how they got into swinging and embarrassing moments theyve had.

Naked News bills itself as the programme with nothing to hide and regularly shows hosts stripping off on camera.

The Canadian TV station started in 1999 as an English speaking show and now has one based in Japan too.

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Joanna Krupa shows everything in naked snaps

It was reported to be attracting more than six million viewers at its height.

The channels Twitter page has more than 60,000 followers with current anchors including Whitney St-John, Isabella Rossini and Elise Laurenne.

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Naked News presenters go fully nude for X-RATED starkers dance session - Daily Star