Cuba's tobacco growers confront climate change
San Luís, Cuba (CNN) Looking at the plain, one-story wooden shacks that dot the countryside in Cuba's vuelta abajo region, one would never guess that the farmers here grow one of the island's most valuable natural resources: cigar tobacco. Though Cuban cigars are famous worldwide, the majority of the tobacco that goes into premium cigars is grown in this relatively small valley in Western Cuba that possesses a unique micro-climate and rich volcanic soil. The fields behind Hirochi Robaina's house are full of mature tobacco plants, and the drying houses where the tobacco hangs and ages for at least 30 days are stacked to the rafters. But the fifth-generation tobacco grower is still not happy with this year's harvest. Usually, the winter months are the dry season, perfect for growing and harvesting tobacco for top brands like Cohiba, Montecristo and Partagas.
Source:CNN
February 23, 2019 15:45 UTC
Albanian military finds hand grenade cache in northern town
Albania's Defense Ministry says it has found scores of hand grenades in a northern city that are believed to have been looted from army depots in 1997 during civil unrest sparked by a failed Ponzi scheme. A statement Saturday said a town hall cleaning staff in Puke, 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Tirana, on Friday found a 120 mm shell in a garden. The military's explosive ordnance disposal unit then found 47 hand grenades nearby that it said were "a serious threat to peoples' lives." Albania, a NATO member since 2009, has demolished some 26,000 tons of ammunition and more than 100,000 small weapons. Some 656,000 light weapons, 1.5 billion rounds of ammunition, 3.5 million hand grenades and 1 million land mines were stolen from Albanian army depots in 1997.
Source:Fox News
February 23, 2019 15:45 UTC
Canadian Sex Abuse Survivors Shed Their Shame At Historic Vatican Summit
The then-21-year-old university graduate went there in 1984, spurred by a love of art and the Catholic Church, but also carrying a secret. More than three decades later, she's back in Rome for a historic summit on clergy abuse. Then the sexual abuse began. Pope Francis himself admitted to making mistakes last year when handling a sex abuse crisis in Chile. Opening the summit earlier this week, the Pope said the Catholic church needs "concreteness" when addressing sexual abuse within its ranks.
Source:Huffington Post
February 23, 2019 15:45 UTC
Wall Street billionaire, ex-Citigroup president caught up in prostitution sting that ensnared Robert Kraft
NFL owner Robert Kraft isn’t the only prominent name—or billionaire-- snagged in a Florida prostitution bust. Childs Associates, was charged with soliciting a prostitute by the Vero Beach Police Department, Bloomberg News reported Friday. He was one of 165 charged in Vero Beach as part of the multijurisdiction criminal investigation into Florida massage parlors. Childs, who has a home in Vero Beach, hasn’t been arrested. Wessel, of Vero Beach, was arrested Wednesday on a soliciting prostitution charge and released on $1,000 bond.
Source:Fox News
February 23, 2019 15:44 UTC
Lebanon’s Hezbollah suspends official over Parliament spat
BEIRUT — Hezbollah’s top commanding body suspended the political activities of a leading legislator because of his spat with rival politicians in Parliament last week, a Lebanese politician said Saturday. Legislator Sami Gemayel, who heads the Christian Phalange party, said last week that Hezbollah’s wide influence was seen when it got its ally elected president in 2016. The daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, said Musawi will be suspended from taking part in parliamentarian and the group’s internal meetings for one year. The paper added that Musawi’s comments violated a Hezbollah policy to avoid internal arguments with other groups. Earlier this week, Musawi did not attend the weekly meeting of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc.
Source:Washington Post
February 23, 2019 15:38 UTC
Health Care and Insurance Industries Mobilize to Kill ‘Medicare for All’
Forbes Tate, a public affairs company that lobbies for many health care and drug companies, coordinates the work of the partnership, but is not registered to lobby on its behalf. It wants to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act in Texas, Florida and other states that have yet to do so. It wants to expand federal subsidies under the health law so insurance will be affordable to more people. Beyond their desire to preserve the status quo, coalition members have done well by the Affordable Care Act. E. Neil Trautwein, the vice president for health care policy at the retail federation, which represents companies like Walmart, McDonald’s and Amazon, said his top priority was to protect the stability of the coverage that employers provide to employees.
Source:New York Times
February 23, 2019 15:35 UTC
What Happens When You Default On Student Loans?
And when that happens, student loans are often the first to become past due. For private student loans in particular, just missing a handful of payments can result in the account being placed in default status. Credit DamageA negative mark on your credit report is one of the major, immediate consequences of student loan default. Financial PenaltiesAnother major consequence of student loan default is a financial penalty – called “collections charges” – that can assessed on the underlying loan balance as a result of default. Wage GarnishmentIf the student loan default isn’t ultimately resolved, the borrower may eventually be subject to wage garnishment for federal student loans.
Source:Forbes
February 23, 2019 15:33 UTC
Microsoft Employees Upset About HoloLens As U.S. Military Weapon
Microsoft employees today published an open letter to CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith entitled "HoloLens For Good, Not War." Magic Leap, Lockheed Martin and 25 other companies pursued the contract, but Microsoft ultimately secured it. Microsoft employees, however, have balked at the military's plans to gamify war through the product they engineered. The letter, which is making the rounds on Twitter and internally at Microsoft, states that "the application of HoloLens within the IVAS system is designed to kill people. In addition to explaining why they're against their work being utilized for active combat, employees who published the letter demand that Microsoft:Cancel the contract.
Source:Forbes
February 23, 2019 15:33 UTC
Are Stocks Worth Their Price?
In his annual letter to shareholders, published on Saturday, the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway said his quest for a large acquisition has continued to come up short. “Prices are sky-high for businesses possessing decent long-term prospects,” he complained. Mr. Buffett is hamstrung in part because he has more than $100 billion in cash to put to work. Unable to find what he called an elephant-sized acquisition, he said Berkshire would likely be expanding its portfolio of stocks instead. Considering where valuations are,...
Source:Wall Street Journal
February 23, 2019 15:32 UTC
'The Fast and the Furious' director Rob Cohen denies daughter's accusation he sexually assaulted her
Director and creator of "The Fast and the Furious" franchise Rob Cohen has denied allegations of sexual assault levied against him by his transgender daughter. Cohen created and directed the first "The Fast and the Furious" movie in 2001, one of the most successful Universal Pictures' franchise of all time. Since Weather's accusations against Cohen were made public on Thursday, she claims to have been contacted anonymously by another of his alleged victims. Weather, who works in a vintage clothing store in Savannah, Georgia, claims that her mother witnessed her father assaulting her when she was between 2 and 2-and-a-half years old. My greatest hope is that others who have been hurt by Rob Cohen feel that they are able to come forward as well."
Source:Fox News
February 23, 2019 15:22 UTC
South Carolina man surprised to find woman and her children moved into his home, report says
A South Carolina man was surprised to find some unwanted house guests when he returned home last week -- a woman and her children had made themselves at home. Kent Foster told FOX Carolina he went to his home in Union, South Carolina, after work to find that the furniture had been moved and someone had smoked inside. Police went to the residence where Savannah Rhinehart, 25, allegedly told officers she lived there. Yeah, the first thing you can do is leave my house," Foster told FOX Carolina. It was not immediately clear how Rhinehart allegedly entered the home.
Source:Fox News
February 23, 2019 15:22 UTC
Trump's Climate Denial Is A National Security Threat
President Donald Trump is reportedly forming a panel to determine whether climate change is a national security threat — the same man who once said global warming is a Chinese hoax. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012The same man who doesn't know the difference between climate change and the weather. It's now CLIMATE CHANGE — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2014And the same man who has failed to learn that difference despite his new role as president. Last month, Apple detailed how severe weather brought on by climate change can disrupt the production or availability of components. Last month, one of the largest lobbying groups argued in a regulatory filing that the basic science behind climate change is not to be trusted.
Source:Forbes
February 23, 2019 15:22 UTC
Behind The Scenes Of Oscar-Nominated Visual Effects
Avengers: Infinity WarDan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick“From a visual effects perspective, there are certain types of films that just cannot be told without visual effects. This is one of them,” says Digital Domain's Kelly Port, the film's Visual Effects Supervisor on Avengers: Infinity War. In a movie where 97% of the shots have some form of visual effects, it should be no surprise that the production was accomplished in part thanks to novel technology. "The whole movie was about grown ups being enlightened," says Christopher Lawrence, Visual Effects Supervisor on Christopher Robin. "With this scenario [on Ready Player One], we can separate camera performance and actor performance.
Source:Forbes
February 23, 2019 15:09 UTC
Makers: How candlemaker Evolyn Brooks encourages women to shine
Brooks hopes her programming will encourage women to pursue their best lives. “I think the most important thing is to not be afraid to put your energy into your own dream,” said Brooks. “Stick with yourself, hang in there through the peaks and the valleys, and have a large vision beyond what you know you can accomplish at this moment.
Source:Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2019 15:00 UTC
‘Apex Legends’ Is EA’s Move to Out-Fortnite ‘Fortnite’
Three days after Electronic Arts Inc. thanked 25 million people for playing its new, surprise hit videogame “Apex Legends,” the company behind cultural juggernaut “Fortnite,” revealed its own surprise: It offered players a bundle of free virtual goodies in what is widely seen as a counterstrike. The rapid ascent of “Apex Legends,” a free shooter game EA launched with no fanfare early this month, marks the first serious challenge to Epic Games Inc.’s “Fortnite,” which has amassed more than 200 million fervent players, drawn...
Source:Wall Street Journal
February 23, 2019 15:00 UTC