‘Please repeat the question’: In Britain’s Parliament, two English speakers struggle to communicate
Britain’s Parliament was divided by a common language on Thursday, as one politician was forced to repeat a question twice when his colleague couldn’t understand him, before eventually submitting the question in writing after his attempts at verbal communication failed. “Could you please repeat the question, because I didn’t follow it?”The remark sparked nervous laughter from other politicians in Parliament. “It seems having a Scottish accent can be an occupational hazard in the House of Commons,” said Catriona Matheson, head of communications for the Scottish National Party. “The Scottish accent really isn’t even that strong,” wrote Henry Zeffman, a journalist with the Times of London. “I’ll try it on my first go,” said Labour member of Parliament Chris Elmore as he stepped in to ask the next question.
Source:Washington Post
October 18, 2018 13:30 UTC
'Largest living thing,' an 80,000-year-old Utah forest, is dying, scientists warn
An ancient forest in Utah considered to be the largest single living thing in the world is dying, according to scientists. The Pando aspen, a gigantic expanse of 40,000 trees that are are all clones with identical compositions, has long been known as the "trembling giant" and covers over 106 acres in Utah's Fishlake National Forest. The vast expanse is assumed to have one connected underground root system and is thought to be approximately 80,000 years old. The 13-million pound forest, like other such aspen forests, is known to support a range of biodiversity. "It would be a shame to witness the significant reduction of this iconic forest when reversing this decline is realizable, should we demonstrate the will to do so," Rogers told USA Today.
Source:Fox News
October 18, 2018 13:18 UTC
Academic Dodge Cahan found incumbent governors manipulated the job market in the run-up to elections
Governors typically don’t have direct power over local government hiring, but they influence it via spending and political channels. In a study published in the European Economic Review, Cahan analyzed county jobs numbers during 359 gubernatorial elections from 1990 to 2015. States elect governors in different years, so most elections come with a built-in control group: counties in states that aren’t holding elections in the same year. The two counties were presumably similar, allowing Cahan to rule out long-term trends and geographic factors. And because there are many more local government jobs than state government ones, the sector presents more opportunities for political interference.
Source:Washington Post
October 18, 2018 13:07 UTC
U.S. Startup Accuses China’s Huawei of Trying to Steal Semiconductor Technology
An escalating battle between the U.S. and China for supremacy in semiconductor technology is playing out in federal court between Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. and a Silicon Valley startup backed by Microsoft Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc.CNEX Labs Inc., based in San Jose, Calif., and its co-founder Yiren “Ronnie” Huang alleged in Texas federal court this week that Huawei and its Futurewei unit have engaged in a multiyear plan to steal CNEX’s technology.
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2018 12:58 UTC
The Secret to This Dish's Deep Flavor
THE BEST STEAK I’ve ever eaten was a chuletón—a rib steak from a 6-year-old ox. I had it this summer in the scrublands of León province, Spain, at Bodega El Capricho, considered by many the best steakhouse in the world. It tasted of iron and sweetgrass, and the fat smelled intoxicatingly like buttered popcorn. Many factors contributed to the intense flavor of the steak at El Capricho. The most important was time—not in the kitchen or the dry-aging room,...
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2018 12:54 UTC
The real lesson of Beto O'Rourke's run (opinion)
He has written four books on Texas politics and has written and reported on the state's government and history for four decades. (CNN) The most frequently contemplated question in Texas politics this campaign season is whether Democratic US Rep. Robert "Beto" O'Rourke can defeat Republican US Sen. Rafael "Ted" Cruz. The Irish descendant from the Hispanic borderlands of Texas has, however, given the state's Democrats a gift they have found too surprising to completely unwrap. Beto has delivered Democrats the first notion in a quarter of a century that their party may yet become ascendant. (The capacity at NRG, Mr. President, is 94,000 less than Kyle Field at Texas A&M University, the state's largest venue ).
Source:CNN
October 18, 2018 12:44 UTC
Trump Threatens to ‘Call Up the U.S. Military’ If Mexico Doesn’t Stop Migrants
WASHINGTON—President Trump on Thursday threatened to deploy the military and close the southern border if Mexico doesn’t stop an “onslaught” of Latin American migrants passing through its country from reaching the U.S.On Twitter, the president blamed Democrats for what he described as “weak” immigration laws that have allowed undocumented migrants to enter the U.S. The Republican-controlled Senate and House this year rejected multiple immigration bills, including one backed by the president that would have combined border-security...
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2018 12:37 UTC
450 Amazon employees protest facial recognition software being sold to police
A group of 450 Amazon employees has signed a letter protesting the company's decision to sell its facial recognition software to police with one choosing to publish an anonymous op-ed explaining their concerns. BEZOS SAYS AMAZON WILL WORK WITH DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEThe anonymous Amazon employee writes that "existing biases" will only be magnified and reproduced by the firm's facial recognition software. Thus far, the company's response has been "radio silence," the anonymous employee said in an interview on Medium. Amazon recently signed a $600 million contract with the CIA and is likely a finalist for a $10-billion cloud storage contract with the Pentagon. The efforts by Amazon employees come at a time when a range of Silicon Valley companies, including Google, Microsoft and Facebook, are facing internal dissent from employees who are unhappy about various policies or internal culture.
Source:Fox News
October 18, 2018 12:33 UTC
Pompeo and Trump push to buy time for Saudis on Khashoggi probe
The top US diplomat added a caveat that he and Trump have been underscoring frequently in the last few days. "We have a long strategic relationship with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," Pompeo said. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Thursday that after consulting with Trump and Pompeo, he would not attend a high-level investment conference in Saudi Arabia. He has also insisted he is not giving "cover" to Saudi Arabia to come up with an explanation. While Trump insisted this week he has no financial interests in Saudi Arabia, he has boasted publicly about money he's made from Saudi property investors and Saudis have poured money into Trump Hotels since the President's election.
Source:CNN
October 18, 2018 12:22 UTC
Blackstone Profit Jumps, Helped by Rising Markets
Blackstone Group LP reported an increase in third-quarter profit as continuing market strength buoyed the value of its investments. Net income climbed to $442.7 million, or 64 cents a share, from $377.9 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. The value of Blackstone’s private-equity portfolio rose 7.5%, a slowdown from the 9.5% growth...
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2018 12:15 UTC
U.S. Walks Fine Line With Saudi Arabia Over Fate of Journalist—Energy Journal
A daily digest of The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of energy companies, commodity markets and the forces that shape them. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints: EnergyJournal@wsj.com Sign up for this newsletter: http://on.wsj.com/EnergyJournalSignup TRUMP SAYS HE WANTS ANSWERS ON MISSING JOURNALIST President Trump is walking a fine line by saying he wants to get to answers on […]
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2018 12:11 UTC
Dems may need intervention to contain Hillary Clinton, NYT editorial board member says
In a recent interview, Clinton advocated throwing out civility when dealing with the Republican Party, which could turn off swing voters being courted by Democrats as the party seeks a congressional majority. During the interview, Clinton pointed out that Lewinsky was an adult at the time of the dalliance and that former President Bill Clinton was right to not resign. “Well, no because there was the most intense, comprehensive investigation,” which she believes “came out in the right place,” Clinton said in the interview. Ahead of the midterms, the plan for Republicans is to closely tie Clinton to the Democratic Party. “We’re going to make them own her,” a Republican National Committee spokesman said.
Source:Fox News
October 18, 2018 12:11 UTC
Bugatti: The rebirth of the world's fastest, most beautiful cars
Molsheim, France Inside the small glass building where some of the fastest cars in the world are made, there is never a sense of haste. Volkswagen has revived the Bugatti brand, known for making some of the fastest, most beautiful cars in the world. The son of a renowned Italian art nouveau furniture designer, Carlo Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti was a flamboyant engineering genius who became known for his fine tastes and his love of horses. For those who weren't racing, Bugatti made fast cars covered in beautiful bodies designed by Ettore Bugatti's son, Jean Bugatti. The Chiron, which starts at $3 million, is among the fastest production cars ever made.
Source:CNN
October 18, 2018 12:09 UTC
Secretive Data Company Palantir Weighs Giant Public Offering
Data-mining giant Palantir Technologies Inc., one of Silicon Valley’s most secretive companies, is weighing an initial public offering likely to be among the largest in recent years, people familiar with the matter said. Palantir is discussing with investment banks Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley plans to go public as soon as the second half of 2019, the people said. Some bankers have told the firm it could go public with a valuation of as much as $41 billion—depending in part on the timing—or twice what it was most recently...
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 18, 2018 12:04 UTC
Meghan and Harry talk baby names on Melbourne tram
(CNN) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex continued their Australian jaunt with a visit to Melbourne, a ride on one of the city's famous trams and a very brief chat about baby names. The royal couple announced Meghan's pregnancy Monday, just hours after she and Harry landed in Sydney as part of a 16-day tour which will also take in New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. Talk of the future baby has been fairly muted during the first few days of the trip, but the UK's Press Association revealed that children who accompanied them on their tram ride were able to ask the questions that journalists had not. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex talk to students from Albert Park Primary School, Port Melbourne Primary School and Elwood Secondary College while riding on a Melbourne Tram on Thursday, October 18. Meghan, 37, and Harry, 34, then took the tram to a beach to meet lifeguards and volunteers from Beachpatrol, an organization that keeps the beaches clean.
Source:CNN
October 18, 2018 12:00 UTC