Monthly Archives: June 2017

The Case for Economic Freedom – The Libertarian Republic

Posted: June 22, 2017 at 5:05 am

by Ian Tartt

So many modern problems, from excessively powerful corporationsto the high cost of living, are blamed on the free market. Using thatterm in a negative way in front of most audiences will generate applause and cheers. But is that consistent with reality? Are the problems we now face the result of too much economic freedom? Lets take a look at some ways in which government intervention in the economy hurts people.

Many people are concerned about big corporations and conglomerations. They think that government is necessary to prevent such accumulations of wealth and market power. However, the reality is far different. Regulations, which have steadily increased over time, make it more difficult for businesses to thrive. Small businesses in particular have trouble complying with all the regulations and paying the taxes and fees that are levied upon them. This makes it easier for older and larger businesses to keep a greater share of the market. Thats why businesses often lobby for additional regulations, protective tariffs, or other forms of government intervention in the economy. Rather than innovate and provide better products at lower prices than their competitors, theywould rather use the government to crush competition.

Another example of the harm of government intervention in the economy is inflation (the increase in the supply of money and credit). Inflation has numerous harmful effects. The most immediately apparent effect is the way it lowers the purchasing power of money. Like everything else, money is affected by the law of supply and demand. The more money in circulation, the less each dollar is worth; the less money in circulation, the more each dollar is worth. Thus, inflation devalues money, which means prices go up in response. However, prices dont go up immediately and uniformly across the economy. When new money is created, those with strong ties to politicians get it first, before prices increase. By the time people in the middle and lower classes get the new money, prices have risen. This increase the cost of living, which is especially troublesome for those who have very little already. Further, inflation devalues money stored in savings accounts and similartypes ofaccounts; anyone dependent on something like that is thus hit even harder by inflation.

Another negative consequence of inflation is the business cycle. This is the term for a great economic boom followed by a depression or recession. When the Federal Reserve engages in inflationary policies, it leads to a great misallocation of resources as a result of people taking on ventures they normally would avoid. New businesses open up, more jobs are created, and the economy takes off. But when the bubble pops, all of that comes crashing down, and the bad investments are liquidated during the recession. Since Herbert Hoover, its been standard procedure for presidents to intervene in recessions with the hopes of making them as short and painless as possible. However, intervening actually makes them longer and more severe; businesses take longer to recover and people cant return to work as soon as they could without the intervention. So in addition to causing bad investments during the artificial boom (which deprives people of opportunities and products they could have had without the artificial boom), government intervention also hurts people during the inevitable crash.

Government policies have facilitated inflation. For most of US history, money was either made of a valuable commodity or backed by one. Precious metals such as gold and silver tended to be used because, among other things, they are scarce, durable, and retain their value over time. This kept inflation in check, reduced the frequency and severity of business cycles, and restricted the governments ability to spend and expand its own power. Over time, however, money was gradually changed into the fiat currency we use today. Precious metals were phased out of coins, the amount of gold backing each individual dollar was reduced numerous times, and eventually the last remaining tie to the gold standard was severed. As a result of these changes, our money has already been significantly devalued and is being continuously devalued through inflation.

Now that weve looked at some problems, lets examine some solutions. Drastic reductions in regulations, taxes, and fees would lead to more competition among businesses by creating a level playing field. Businesses would have to earn the support of customers through providing quality products at reasonable prices and would no longer be able to lobby the government for special favors that give them unfair advantages over their competitors. Returning to commodity money or hard money would ensure that money retained its value over time rather than lose it. Additionally, this would keep the cost of living in check and reduce the risk of economic recessions. If recessions still occurred,they could be quickly sorted out by politicians and bureaucrats keeping their hands off the economy and allowing the necessary correction phase to occur in as short a time as possible.Think about the economic growth and stability that would occur if these measures were put in place.

Its easy to see that the cause of so many of todays problems is not the free market, but the lack of a free market. Some great resources for learning more about these issues include Economics in One Lesson, Meltdown, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, and End The Fed.Anyone whos concerned about the status quo and what the future will hold should do what they can to advocate for a return to a free market as quickly as possible.Some ways to do this include asking politicians to support steps towards more economic freedom, convincing other people of the benefits of a free market and encouraging them to get involved as well, volunteering with organizations that support economic freedom such as Americans for Prosperity, and refusing to vote for ant-free market measures at the voting booth. Those who take up such a challenge have a long road ahead of them, but with the proper dedication and strategies, its certainly possible to return to a free market and enjoy all the benefits that that entails.

Americans For ProsperityCapitalism: The Unknown Idealcorporate welfareeconomic freedomEconomics in One Lessonend the fedfeesfree marketgovernment interventionInflationmeltdownMoneyregulationstaxes

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How Facebook Uses Technology To Block Terrorist-Related Content – NPR

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Facebook has created new tools for trying to keep terrorist content off the site. Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

Facebook has created new tools for trying to keep terrorist content off the site.

Social media companies are under pressure to block terrorist activity on their sites, and Facebook recently detailed new measures, including using artificial intelligence, to tackle the problem.

The measures are designed to identify terrorist content like recruitment and propaganda as early as possible in an effort to keep people safe, says Monika Bickert, the company's director of global policy management.

"We want to make sure that's not on the site because we think that that could lead to real-world harm," she tells NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Bickert says Facebook is using technology to identify people who have been removed for violating its community standards for sharing terrorism propaganda, but then go on to open fake accounts. And she says the company is using image-matching software to tell if someone is trying to upload a known propaganda video and blocking it before it gets on the site.

"So let's say that somebody uploads an ISIS formal propaganda video: Somebody reports that or somebody tells us about that, we look at that video, then we can use this software to create ... a digital fingerprint of that video, so that if somebody else tries to upload that video in the future we would recognize it even before the video hits the site," she says.

If it's content that would violate Facebook's policies no matter what, like a beheading video, then it would get removed. But for a lot of content, context matters, and Facebook is hiring more people worldwide to review posts after the software has flagged them.

"If it's terrorism propaganda, we're going to remove it. If somebody is sharing it for news value or to condemn violence, we may leave it up," Bickert says.

The measures come in the wake of criticism of how Facebook handles content. Last year, for example, Facebook took down a post of the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a naked girl in Vietnam running after a napalm attack. The move upset users, and the post was eventually restored. Facebook has also been criticized for keeping a graphic video of a murder on the site for two hours.

Morning Edition editor Jessica Smith and producer Maddelena Richards contributed to this report.

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Alibaba’s Jack Ma warns evolving technology could cause World War III – The Independent

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Girls stand in monsoon rains beside an open laundry in New Delhi, India

Reuters

People take part in the 15th annual Times Square yoga event celebrating the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, during classes in the middle of Times Square in New York. The event marked the international day of yoga.

Reuters

Faroe Islanders turn the sea red after slaughtering hundreds of whales as part of annual tradition

Rex

A firefighting plane tackles a blaze in Cadafaz, near Goes, Portugal

Reuters

A person participates in a journalists' protest asking for justice in recent attacks on journalists in Mexico City, Mexico, 15 June 2017

EPA

Poland's Piotr Lobodzinski starts in front of the Messeturm, Fairground Tower, in Frankfurt Germany. More than 1,000 runners climbed the 1202 stairs, and 222 meters of height in the Frankfurt Messeturm skyscraper run

AP

A runner lies on the ground after arriving at the finish line in Frankfurt Germany. More than 1,000 runners climbed the 1202 stairs, and 222 meters of height in the Frankfurt Messeturm skyscraper run

AP

A troupe of Ukrainian dancers perform at Boryspil airport in Kiev, on the first day of visa-free travel for Ukrainian nationals to the European Union

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A troupe of Ukrainian dancers perform on the tarmac at Boryspil airport in Kiev, on the first day of visa-free travel for Ukrainian nationals to the European Union

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French President Emmanuel Macron with his wife Brigitte Trogneux cast their ballot at their polling station in the first round of the French legislatives elections in Le Touquet, northern France

EPA

A Thai worker paints on a large statue of the Goddess of Mercy, known as Guan Yin at a Chinese temple in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Guan Yin is one of the most popular and well known Chinese Goddess in Asia and in the world. Guan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism and also worshiped by Taoist

EPA

A Thai worker paints on a large statue of the Goddess of Mercy, known as Guan Yin at a Chinese temple in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Guan Yin is one of the most popular and well known Chinese Goddess in Asia and in the world. Guan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism and also worshiped by Taoists

EPA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. An Israeli court has ordered a journalist to pay more than $25,000 in damages to Netanyahu and his wife Sara for libeling them. The magistrate court in Tel Aviv ruled Sunday that Igal Sarna libeled the couple for writing a Facebook post that claimed the prime minister's wife kicked the Israeli leader out of their car during a fight

AP

Parkour enthusiasts train on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Originally developed in France, the training discipline is gaining popularity in Brazil

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Volunteers spread mozzarella cheese toppings on the Guinness World Record attempt for the Longest Pizza in Fontana, California, USA. The pizza was planned to be 7000 feet (2.13 km) to break the previous record of 6082 feet (1.8 km) set in Naples, Italy in 2016

EPA

Jamaica's Olympic champion Usain Bolt gestures after winning his final 100 metres sprint at the 2nd Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica

REUTERS/Gilbert Bellamy

Usain Bolt of Jamaica salutes the crowd after winning 100m 'Salute to a Legend' race during the Racers Grand Prix at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bolt partied with his devoted fans in an emotional farewell at the National Stadium on June 10 as he ran his final race on Jamaican soil. Bolt is retiring in August following the London World Championships

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Usain Bolt of Jamaica salutes the crowd after winning 100m 'Salute to a Legend' race during the Racers Grand Prix at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bolt partied with his devoted fans in an emotional farewell at the National Stadium on June 10 as he ran his final race on Jamaican soil. Bolt is retiring in August following the London World Championships

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Police officers investigate at the Amsterdam Centraal station in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A car ploughed into pedestrians and injured at least five people outside the station. The background of the incident was not immediately known, though police state they have 'no indication whatsoever' the incident was an attack

EPA

Police officers investigate at the Amsterdam Centraal station in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A car ploughed into pedestrians and injured at least five people outside the station. The background of the incident was not immediately known, though police state they have 'no indication whatsoever' the incident was an attack

EPA

Protesters stand off before police during a demonstration against corruption, repression and unemployment in Al Hoseima, Morocco. The neglected Rif region has been rocked by social unrest since the death in October of a fishmonger. Mouhcine Fikri, 31, was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season and his death has sparked fury and triggered nationwide protests

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A man looks on at a migrant and refugee makeshift camp set up under the highway near Porte de la Chapelle, northern Paris

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Damaged cars are seen stacked in the middle of a road in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood during ongoing battles to try to take the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

Getty

Smoke billows following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa

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Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures next to Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto during a welcome ceremony at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico

REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Soldiers and residents carry the body of a Muslim boy who was hit by a stray bullet while praying inside a mosque, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who has taken over large parts of the Marawi City, Philippines

REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Opposition demonstrators protest for the death on the eve of young activist Neomar Lander during clashes with riot police, in Caracas

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Neomar Lander, a 17-year-old boy was killed during a march in the Chacao district in eastern Caracas on Wednesday, taking the overall death toll since the beginning of April to 66, according to prosecutors

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Former FBI director James Comey is sworn in during a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

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Former FBI Director James Comey testifies during a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

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Usain Bolt of Jamaica trains at the University of West Indies in Kingston. Bolt says he is looking forward to having a party as he launches his final season on June 10 with what will be his last race on Jamaican soil. The 30-year-old world's fasted man plans to retire from track and field after the 2017 London World Championships in August

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Acquanetta Warren, Mayor of Fontana, California, reacts after US President Donald Trump introduced himself before the Infrastructure Summit with Governors and Mayors at the White House in Washington, US

REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Frenchman Alain Castany, sentenced to 20 years on charges of drug trafficking in the 'Air Cocaine' affair, leaves the prison in Santo Domingo, on his way to France, where he is being transferred for medical reason

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A woman reacts at the place where 17-year-old demonstrator Neomar Lander died during riots at a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela, June 8, 2017. The sign reads: 'Neomar, entertainer for ever'

REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Frenchman Alain Castany, sentenced to 20 years on charges of drug trafficking in the 'Air Cocaine' affair, leaves the prison in Santo Domingo, on his way to France, where he is being transferred for medical reasons

Getty Images

Queen Maxima of The Netherlands visits Tobroco Machines in Oisterwijk, Netherlands. The company is a manufacturer of machines for use in agriculture, road construction and field maintenance. Tobroco is winner of the 2016 Koning Willem 1 Award for entrepreneurship

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A family member of an inmate tries to stop a truck used to transfer prisoners, outside a prison where a riot took place on Tuesday, in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico

REUTERS/Josue Gonzalez

An unconscious person is taken away on a motorcycle by fellow demonstrators after they clashed with riot police during a protest in Caracas, Venezuela

Getty Images

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's elementary teacher Sheron Seivwright poses with her students during a break at the Waldensia elementary school in Sherwood Content. Usain Bolt, the greatest sprinter in history with eight Olympic golds, 11 world titles and three world records, will retire from international competition after the IAAF world championships in August

Getty Images

This 1916 photo provided by the Archdiocese of Denver shows Julia Greeley with Marjorie Ann Urquhart in McDonough Park in Denver. Greeley, a former slave, is being considered for possible sainthood. In a step toward possible sainthood, the remains of Greeley were moved to a Catholic cathedral in Denver

Archdiocese of Denver via AP

US President Donald Trump, flanked by the families of business people he says were harmed by Obamacare, high-fives a young boy as he arrives to deliver remarks on the US healthcare system at Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio

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Alibaba's Jack Ma warns evolving technology could cause World War III - The Independent

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The American Technology Council Summit to Modernize Government Services – The White House (blog)

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This week, the White House Office of American Innovation launched the American Technology Council and held a summit with tech industry leaders to discuss modernizing government services. President Donald J. Trump and many of his senior advisors hosted 18 chief executive officers from major tech companies, 3 university presidents, and a number of other notable technology executives.

Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the President, kicked off the event with remarks highlighting the private sector's role in solving some of the country's biggest challenges. By leveraging the latest technology, we have a tremendous opportunity to meaningfully improve the quality of citizen services delivered to the public. In additional remarks, the Office of American Innovations Chris Liddell emphasized the unique role technology plays in building a more efficient, effective and accountable government.

Attendees spent the afternoon in substantive breakout working sessions, focused on the overarching theme of modernizing the government. Topics ranged from building out cloud infrastructure, retiring out-of-date legacy systems, increasing the use of shared services, reforming the procurement process, and many more technical policy areas. One particular highlight was a discussion on ways to leverage big data to improve services, reduce fraud, and foster private-sector market activity.

In a second round of working sessions, attendees focused on ways to form better connections between private and public sectors in order to improve the objectives above. During a talent roundtable discussion, tech leaders and Administration officials discussed strategies to recruit, retrain, and retain the Federal workforce. In a meeting regarding partnerships, CEOs from top tech companies and leaders from top universities discussed ways to network between universities, the private sector, and the government in order to bring more innovative and modern systems to the American people.

After the breakout sessions concluded, President Donald J. Trump led a roundtable discussion on his priority to lead a sweeping transformation of the Federal governments technology. The President outlined the work the Administration is undertaking, including the modernization of Air Traffic Control and the standardization of electronic medical records between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. President Trump noted the gap in technological advancement between Americas public and private sectors, and reaffirmed his Administrations commitment to bridging that gap.

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Imagination Technologies put up for sale amid Apple dispute – BBC News

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BBC News
Imagination Technologies put up for sale amid Apple dispute
BBC News
UK chip designer Imagination Technologies - which is in dispute with Apple, its largest customer - has put itself up for sale. Shares in the company more than halved in April when Imagination said that Apple was to stop using its technology. The US ...
UK's Imagination Tech up for Sale After Battle With AppleU.S. News & World Report
Imagination Technology shares climb 20% after starting sale processFinancial Times
Imagination Technologies Shares Surge After Apple Supplier Puts Itself Up For SaleTheStreet.com

all 33 news articles »

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How Can Advances in Technology Contribute to Evolving Electrical Grid? – Government Technology

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. The grid is one of those catch-all terms that holds different connotations for different groups. Generally speaking, it refers to the power structure network of users and suppliers, and can be thought of in terms of the power infrastructure at the city, state and national level. To compensate for the ever-increasing demand on this steadily aging infrastructure, regulators and tech companies are coming together to see what can be done.

During a panel discussion on the ways technology can support an evolving grid at the Advanced Energy Economys Pathway to 2050 event on June 21, state Sen. Henry Stern called on the wisdom of the regulators and tech folks pushing the industry forward. Due to technological advances and the growth of Californias population, energy utilities are under increasing demand to make energy available at all times. This demand comes in waves throughout the day, often peaking for Californians in the afternoon and evening.

People have traditionally wanted two things when it comes to power, Stern said for it to be reliable and cheap.

It is hard to humanize what happens behind a light switch, he said. However, when the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility began to leak, and when kids start getting sick or pets die, you wake up," he added. "We start thinking about what happens behind that switch.

In the midst of an interesting moment in energy policy, it is hard to predict how the technology will grow and what market forces will look like. But decisions can be made about what we do know about the future and that's utilizing less fossil fuels and making distributed power grids more commonplace.

Part of the shift needs to be about how we think about energy, said Matt Duesterberg, co-founder and CEO of energy startup OhmConnect.

We traditionally think about energy in terms of a resource, he said. We probably need to start looking at this from a product-type perspective.

That includes looking at it in terms of data, of real-time capacity. We have no idea what the grid will look like in 2050, he added, noting that it is hard to guide how the grid will appropriate power.

Duesterberg gave an example of current efforts to build out electric vehicle charging stations in business parks and other public locations. This approach relies on the assumption that people will want to charge their vehicles away from home, he explained. But as electric vehicle batteries become more powerful and efficient, he cautioned that drivers may just charge them at home periodically. This model also does not take into account the possibility that autonomous ride-sharing fleets could threaten the model of personal vehicle ownership.

Expanding on this idea, Manal Yamout, vice president of policy for Advanced Microgrid Solutions, discussed harnessing power that grid utilities possess and how it can be transformed into value for consumers. Folks think that battery storage is the issue. It's not, she said, noting that batteries are just big dumb boxes. It's the software behind the batteries that can generate more value.

Some of the largest value lies in the possibility of aggregating battery storage units to store energy during off-peak hours energy that can then be redistributed to public utilities for use during times of high demand. This market is evolving very quickly, she said, adding that regulators need to work to help enable it, not restrict it.

She also shook off the notion that the state has to choose between clean energy and jobs. The idea that jobs and environment friendly energy are at odds with one another is disproven by the amount of capital and investment in broader market trends.

There is no silver bullet in terms of a future technology, at least I don't think there will be, said Duesterberg. But getting to energy efficiency is all about the small gains that contribute to larger, more challenging goals. While getting to 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 is an ambitious goal codified by California Gov. Jerry Brown, he said we all want that to increase to 100 percent and its going to take a lot of work.

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Trump celebrates ‘the amazing progress that we have already made’ at Iowa rally – Washington Examiner

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President Trump on Wednesday rallied supporters in Iowa by arguing his administration has already made "amazing progress" in the five months since the inauguration.

"While we are here tonight to celebrate the amazing progress that we have already made and we have made amazing progress we're also here to lay out the next steps in our incredible movement to make America great again," Trump said during a campaign-style rally at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The president celebrated Republican congressional wins in special elections on Tuesday. "I want to also extend our congratulations this evening to Karen Handel of Georgia," Trump said. "And we can't forget Ralph Norman in South Carolina."

He asked for prayers for House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is recovering after being shot on a baseball field last week.

"He was in my office the day before," Trump said of Scalise. "Incredible. We are praying for you. We are pulling for you. You have our absolute support and our deepest admiration."

Trump also referenced Otto Warmbier, the American student who died this week after being held in North Korea for more than a year.

"You look at North Korea, look at Otto," Trump said. "Beautiful Otto. Went over there as a healthy, wonderful boy. And you see how he came back. You see how he came back."

Talking up his administration, Trump said, "Jobs are just about the best they've ever been. We've created almost $4 trillion dollars in wealth. If you look at your stock values and you look at what's going on with our country, we've created tremendous wealth."

"The enthusiasm and spirit on every single index is higher than it's ever been before for our manufacturers and our companies," Trump argued. "After spending billions of dollars defending other people's borders, we are finally going to defend our borders. After decades of rebuilding foreign nations, all over the world, we are now rebuilding our nation."

Trump has not seen healthcare, tax reform or infrastructure legislation passed through both houses on Congress. But Trump talked of withdrawing from the "disastrous" Paris climate agreement and renegotiating trade deals.

Speaking of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Trump said he will either renegotiate or terminate it. He said he initially was going to "terminate" but the leaders of Mexico and Canada asked him to reconsider.

"And I am always willing to renegotiate," Trump said. "So we will see how it goes. But it's been very unfair to the United States.

Trump boasted of his energy policies. "We've approved the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access pipeline," he said. "38,000 jobs. And better for the environment, by the way. Better. Underground. Better for the environment and safer." Talking of the Second Amendment, Trump cited his Supreme Court pick and said "that looks like it's in good shape with judge Neil Gorsuch."

As he did during the campaign, Trump played media critic during the rally. He praised Fox News, saying they have "treated us well." The crowd booed when he brought up CNN. He also referred to the "phony, NBC television network."

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California Court Dismisses 14 Criminal Charges against Center for Medical Progress – National Review

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This afternoon, the San Francisco Superior Court tossed out 14 of the 15 criminal charges that had been brought by the state of Californiaagainst two journalists from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), after theyreleased a series of undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthoods possible involvement in illegal fetal-tissue trafficking.

In late March, California attorney general Xavier BecerrachargedDavid Daleiden and Sandra Merritt with 15felony charges for recording what hedeemed to be confidential communications. Today, a judge dismissed14 of thosecharges, but will still consider the remaining fifteenth charge, against Merritt alone, forconspiring to invade privacy.

In a statement today, an official withthe group representing Merritt said they are optimistic about having this charge dropped as well. He also pointed out that Becerra receivedthousands of dollarsin campaign donatins from both Planned Parenthood and NARAL during his time as a Democratic congressman.

More details from Life News:

The San Francisco Superior Court on Wednesday dismissed 14 of 15 criminal counts but the pair are still charged with one count of conspiracy to invade privacy. However the court dismissed the charges with leave to amend meaning Becerra could re-file the charges with additional supposed evidence against the pair.

The court ruled that counts 1-14 were legally insufficient. The state has the opportunity to amend if it can plead a more legally sufficient and specific complaint. The Californias Attorney General filed 15 criminal counts against Merritt, with counts 1-14 for each of the alleged interviews and count 15 for an alleged conspiracy. San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Christopher Hite gave the state attorney generals office until mid-July to file a revised complaint.

As from being a victory for the freedom of the press, this decision is another big win for the CMP journalists who were cleared of criminal charges last year in Texas, as well vindicating them against the frequent claim from pro-abortion activists that they engaged in illegal activity and duplicitous editing of footage to falsely incriminate Planned Parenthood.

There is still a civil lawsuit on this matter pending in California, brought against the CMP by Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation. Unlike these criminal charges, however, that suit does not carry the threat of jail time.

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Yorktown Heights, NY: Progress and Preservation – New York Times

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That is one reason Erin and Andres Alvarez chose to remain in the hamlet when they realized that the cottage they had moved to in 1999 was no longer big enough for them and their two sons. Last summer the Alvarezes bought a five-bedroom contemporary for $425,000. Besides the good schools, they appreciate the wealth of outdoor offerings, like swimming at two town pools and the sandy Sparkle Lake beach, and bicycling along the North County Trailway, a 22-mile-long paved pathway.

And they have developed strong friendships and a feeling for the community. Of the summer concert series held at Jack DeVito Memorial Park, Ms. Alvarez said, Even if we went on our own, we would absolutely run into, and catch up with, a lot of people weve gotten to know.

Much is happening in Yorktown Heights in terms of development and revitalization, according to Michael Grace, Yorktowns town supervisor. He cited the restoration of the former Yorktown Heights railroad depot, once a station on the New York Central Railroad and now a local, state and federal landmark. He mentioned the pending construction of a rental apartment complex aimed at both millennials and older adults, touting the value of an intergenerational community. He spoke of aesthetic improvements replacing burned-out streetlights, hanging dozens of flags with Yorktowns motto, Progress With Preservation to engender pride. You create the character of the town through its physical appearance, he said.

Yorktown Heightss socioeconomic diversity is reflected in its housing options. Most are single-family raised ranches, split-levels, Cape Cods and colonials, along with some pre-Revolutionary homes. There are a few condominium complexes and rental apartments.

FRANKLIN D.

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STATE PARK

Yorktown Heights

Railroad Depot

TURKEY MT.

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In the southern portion of the hamlet, the lots are larger and the homes are more expensive, said Wayne Kokinda, a broker with William Raveis Real Estate.

Yorktown Heightss commercial center bustles with small businesses and strip malls. The hamlet, bordered to the south by the expansive New Croton Reservoir, contains thousands of acres of parkland.

Data from the Hudson Gateway Multiple Listing Service indicate that as of Monday there were 92 single-family homes on the market. They ranged from a one-bedroom, 680-square-foot ranch built in 1929 on less than a fifth of an acre, listed for $157,500, to a 7,758-square-foot, four-bedroom estate built in 1800 on 20 acres with pool and pond, listed at $12 million.

The median sales price for single-family homes during the 12-month period that ended June 7 was $430,000, up from $411,000 the previous 12 months.

While Yorktown Heights does not have a quaint downtown, it does provide shopping convenience, with local stores like Turcos grocery and national chains. The surrounding areas are a quieter mix of residential neighborhoods and parks, including the Turkey Mountain Nature Preserve, which affords scenic vistas from its summit, and Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, where visitors can swim in a gigantic pool and fish in two bodies of water.

Farm produce and other treats are sold at the county-owned Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center and the family-owned Wilkens Fruit and Fir Farm and Meadows Farm. Alpacas roam the fields of Faraway Farm.

Among dining choices are Jewel of Himalaya for Tibetan fare, and Peter Pratts Inn, set in an 18th-century former barn.

As for culture, the Yorktown Community and Cultural Center houses Yorktown Stage, which presents musicals and childrens theater; the Westchester Ballet Center for the Performing Arts, offering dance classes; and the Yorktown Museum, featuring displays of Yorktowns history.

Most Yorktown Heights residents send their children to Yorktown Central School District schools: Brookside Elementary and Mohansic Elementary for kindergarten through third grade, Crompond Elementary for Grades 4 and 5, Mildred E. Strang Middle School for Grades 6 through 8, and Yorktown High School.

On 2016 third- and fourth-grade state assessment tests, 52 percent met English standards, compared with 38 percent statewide, and 59 percent met math standards, compared with 39 percent statewide.

About 1,200 students who live in the northern part of Yorktown Heights are served by the Lakeland Central School District. Its 5,800 or so students attend one of five elementary schools, Lakeland-Copper Beech Middle School and either Lakeland or Walter Panas High School.

In 2016, average SAT scores for Yorktown High School were 533 in critical reading, 558 in mathematics and 538 in writing; for Lakeland High School, 519 in critical reading, 517 in mathematics and 508 in writing; and for Walter Panas High School, 514 in critical reading, 513 in mathematics and 506 in writing. Statewide equivalents were 489, 501 and 477.

There is no train station in Yorktown Heights, which is about 40 miles from Manhattan. The Croton-Harmon and Cortlandt Metro-North Railroad stations, on the Hudson line, are 15 to 20 minutes away, as is the Mount Kisco station on the Harlem line. Rush-hour trains between Croton-Harmon and Grand Central Terminal take 45 to 71 minutes; to and from Cortlandt 52 to 58 minutes; and to and from Mount Kisco 51 to 68 minutes. The monthly fare is $311 from Croton-Harmon and $369 from Cortlandt and Mount Kisco.

Yorktown has three free Westchester County park-and-ride commuter lots, including one that connects with the Bee-Line bus to the Croton-Harmon station.

In April 1781, the Continental Armys First Rhode Island Regiment was stationed at the Davenport House in Yorktown Heights. The unit was made up of freed slaves and Native Americans led by colonial officers. The men were charged with defending Pines Bridge, a strategic crossing over the Croton River.

On May 14, the British waged a surprise raid, defeating the unit and killing many soldiers. A planned monument commemorating the event, called the Battle of Pines Bridge, will feature three eight-foot-tall bronze soldiers: one African-American, one Native American, one European-American. The Davenport House, built in 1750, still stands on Croton Heights Road.

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Yorktown Heights, NY: Progress and Preservation - New York Times

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With a rapper’s death, harsh spotlight falls on slow progress against sickle cell – STAT

Posted: at 5:04 am

T

he death of the rap artist Prodigy (Albert Johnson, half of the duo Mobb Deep) at only 42 this week, after a lifetime of suffering from sickle cell disease, was a reminder of the devastating cost of thesometimes fatal genetic disorder and of the failure to cure it.

It has been 61 years sincethe discovery of the mutation responsible for sickle cell, which affects about 100,000 people in the U.S., and 30 years since scientists found a compensatory mutation onethat keeps people from developing sickle cell despite inheriting the mutant genes. Last year, when STAT examined the lack of progress, scientists and hospital officials were frank about one reason for it: Other genetic disorders, notably cystic fibrosis, attracted piles of money that led to cures, but sickle cell strikes the wrong kind of people, including African-Americans, and so has historically been starved for funds.

The genetic mutation that causes sickle cell allowsred blood cells to cramp up in a way that impedestheir flow through blood vessels. Those who have the condition can suffer anemia, infections, fatal organ failure, tissue damage, strokes, and intense pain.

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In the last 12 months, there have been glimmers ofprogress against the disease. There are huge numbers of drug companies finally putting money into this, said Dr. Mitchell Weiss, chairman of hematology at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, who is developing a genome-editing approach, using CRISPR-Cas9, to cure sickle cell. As for the National Institutes of Health, the chief funder of basic biomedical research, I wouldnt say NIH is showering [sickle cell research] with money, but theyre trying to help.

Weve known for 50 years what causes sickle cell disease. Wheres the cure?

CRISPR, by making genome-editing easier than ever, is responsible for much of the hope surrounding sickle cell.

On Friday, at a meeting of the European Hematology Association in Madrid, scientists at CRISPR Therapeutics and their academic collaborators will present preliminary results of a study using it to create the compensatory mechanism that protects some sickle cell patients. Basically, that mechanism keeps the body producing fetal hemoglobin, which ordinarily vanishes soon after birth. But even in sickle cell patients, fetal hemoglobin is normal rather than deformed like adult hemoglobin. Scientists have identified several genetic routes to keeping fetal hemoglobin turned on, and even to turning it on again after the body has turned it off in infancy.

CRISPR Therapeutics does not reveal which gene it targeted, but the results were promising. Starting with blood-forming cells from both healthy volunteers and sickle cell patients, itcreated CRISPR-Cas9 molecules targeting regions of DNA involved in the fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switch. An impressive 85 percentof cellswere successfully edited, which kept fetal hemoglobin production humming. Result: Scientistsre-created genetic variants linked to high [fetal hemoglobin] levels in blood-forming cells from both healthy donors and those with sickle cell, the company said in a summary of the study. It compared how well different DNA edits increased production of fetal hemoglobin in red blood cells in lab dishes, getting 25 percent to 45 percent in the cells taken from six sickle cell patients.

The scientists then put the edited cells into lab mice, finding that they homed in on the bone marrow, as they would have to do in a patient to effect a cure. They also measured what are called off-target effects, or edits of genes that werent intended, and found none at the more than 5,000 sites deemed most likely to have them.

CRISPR Therapeutics said it had used several editing strategies to turn on production of fetal hemoglobin, underlining the accelerating progress in taking that approach to develop a cure. Weiss, for instance, is trying to turn on fetal hemoglobin by tapping into the very complicated genetics of fetal hemoglobin.

Cells have molecules that act like Victorian lamplighters: They roam the genome, turning genes on and off. One such lamplighter (in biology-speak, a transcription factor) is called BCL11A; it turns off production of fetal hemoglobin. Weiss is not targeting BCL11A itself (other scientists are considering that); rather, he is using CRISPR to disrupt where BCL11A lands. Just as a lamplighter cant turn off a light he cant reach, so BCL11A cant turn off a gene it cant reach. Expected result: Fetal hemoglobin stays on and patients have enough healthy hemoglobin to compensate for the sickled kind.

One boys cure raises hopes and questions about gene therapy for sickle cell disease

After making progress with this approach editing cells in lab dishes, Weiss said, he and his colleagueshope to launch a clinical trial in three to four years, using money raised by St. Jude but, so far, they have no commercial partner. At Boston Childrens Hospital, Dr. David Williams said he hopes to open his clinical trial, also using gene therapy to target sickle cell, this summer, and is just waiting on final safety testing of the virus that will be used to deliver the therapy.

An even more basic approach to curing sickle cell targets the causative mutation directly.The most encouraging human data so far have come from a genetic therapy being tested by Cambridge, Mass.-based Bluebird Bio. In March, the company reportedthat a boy who received the gene therapy in October 2014, when he was 13, had been able to stop taking medication that helps alleviate symptomsand has not needed to be hospitalized with a sickle cell crisis (as Prodigy was in the days before he died). Nor has hesuffered the crushing pain or bone and tissue damage that results from the inability of sickled blood cells to carry oxygen.

Bluebird uses viruses to carry the healthy hemoglobin gene into blood-making bone marrow cells taken from patients, which is the original form of gene therapy. If healthy genes insert into the DNA of enough cells, which are infused back intothe patient, the marrow makes enough healthy blood cells to cure sickle cell. With the sudden surge of activity, said Dr. Charles Abrams of the University of Pennsylvania and past president of the American Society of Hematology, people say were within 10 years of reaching the goal of a cure, and maybe less.

Sharon Begley can be reached at sharon.begley@statnews.com Follow Sharon on Twitter @sxbegle

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With a rapper's death, harsh spotlight falls on slow progress against sickle cell - STAT

Posted in Progress | Comments Off on With a rapper’s death, harsh spotlight falls on slow progress against sickle cell – STAT