The Dark Business of Coronavirus
The link between viruses, viral news stories and business is inevitably an uncomfortable one. It gets darker still when the business is a game in which players spread a virtual disease. As a newly identified virus originating in central China spread on Tuesday, a mobile game called Plague Inc. became the top paid app in the country’s version of Apple’s App Store. The game, made by British studio Ndemic Creations in 2012, also experienced an increase in downloads and player numbers during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
Source:Wall Street Journal
January 22, 2020 10:52 UTC
Washington Post Predicts ‘Most Damaging Legacy’ Of Donald Trump’s Impeachment Trial
The Washington Post editorial board on Tuesday predicted what could be “the most damaging legacy” if the GOP-controlled Senate votes to acquit President Donald Trump for his Ukraine misconduct. “By asking senators to ratify those positions, Mr. Trump and his lawyers are, in effect, seeking consent for an extraordinary expansion of his powers,” the editorial argued. “An acquittal vote would confirm to Mr. Trump that he is free to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election and to withhold congressionally appropriated aid to induce such interference.”“It would suggest that he can press foreign leaders to launch a criminal investigation of any American citizen he designates, even in the absence of a preexisting U.S. probe, or any evidence,” it added. “If Republican senators go along with it, they will not only be excusing behavior that many of them believe to be improper. They will be enabling further assaults by Mr. Trump on the foundations of American democracy,” the editorial concluded.
Source:Huffington Post
January 22, 2020 08:48 UTC
India Dropped 10 Spots In Annual Democracy Index. Here's Why
India dropped ten places to the 51st spot in the The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Democracy Index released on Wednesday, mainly because of “an erosion of civil liberties in the country”. In the 2019 index the average global score for democracy fell from 5.48 in 2018 to 5.44, the research group said, “this is the worst average global score since the index was first produced in 2006”. The average global score fell to 5.46 in 2010. While Thailand’s score improved in 2019, India dropped ten places in the Democracy Index’s global ranking to the 51st place. India’s score in 2019 was its worst ranking since the inception of the Democracy Index in 2006, as Bloomberg noted.
Source:Huffington Post
January 22, 2020 08:37 UTC
Magnitude 3.6 earthquake in Granada Hills shakes up L.A. region
A magnitude 3.6 earthquake centered in Granada Hills struck at 11:41 p.m. Tuesday, causing light shaking throughout the San Fernando Valley and weaker shaking elsewhere in the L.A. area. Besides the Valley, shaking could be felt in Santa Monica, Marina del Rey, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, the Hollywood Hills, downtown L.A., the San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clarita and Ventura County. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the area of the Van Norman Lakes Reservoir, near the intersection of the 405, 5 and 118 freeways. AdvertisementMany earthquake faults lie underneath this part of the L.A. region, such as strands of the Sierra Madre fault zone. Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the “big one” is going to strike.
Source:Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2020 08:09 UTC
Word + Quiz: haggard
_________The word haggard has appeared in 40 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on July 30 in “They Survived Colonization and War. Electricity never came to many of these villages, nor did running water. A five-year drought has meant long-running bouts of hunger. The leader of Parenstu, Celinda Vangrieken, whose family has lived in Colombia for a century, looked at the refugees from Venezuela — dozens of newcomers among the hundreds of people living here. She said she had watched with sympathy as they arrived, haggard and desperate.
Source:New York Times
January 22, 2020 06:56 UTC
Studio 10 Host Narelda Jacobs Asked To Change The Date, But There’s More To Her January 26 Story
Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs hopes her family is “proud” of her Indigenous activism after she spoke about changing the date of Australia Day during a TV segment last week. For a long time Narelda celebrated January 26 and decided “to turn my back” on Invasion Day or Survival Day events that acknowledged Indigenous people’s trauma from colonisation. “One of my biggest regrets was not going to a Survival Day concert with my dad,” she told HuffPost Australia. Wendell Teodoro via Getty Images Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs attends opening night of Bran Nue Dae on January 17, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. All I ask is for an open mind @Studio10au@10Daily#changethedate#3rdMondayhttps://t.co/G2iaZGq4D8 — Narelda Jacobs (@NareldaJacobs10) January 17, 2020Taking that stand was difficult for the past 12 years Narelda spent reading the news for Channel Ten in Perth.
Source:Huffington Post
January 22, 2020 06:53 UTC
Saudi Embassy Denies Alarming Reports That Crown Prince Hacked Jeff Bezos
“Recent media reports that suggest the Kingdom is behind a hacking of Mr. Jeff Bezos’ phone are absurd,” the embassy tweeted. “We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out.”Recent media reports that suggest the Kingdom is behind a hacking of Mr. Jeff Bezos' phone are absurd. Crown Prince Mohammed met several top U.S. executives during his trip, reportedly in hopes of drawing economic investors to Saudi Arabia. Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 by Saudi agents who worked directly for the crown prince, drawing international condemnation. U.S. intelligence officials have said they believe the crown prince personally ordered or at least approved of Khashoggi’s killing.
Source:Huffington Post
January 22, 2020 05:58 UTC
China Coronavirus Death Toll Rises to Nine, Confirmed Cases Pass 400
BEIJING—A newly identified virus originating in central China is spreading between people primarily via the respiratory tract, according to Chinese authorities, and the number of confirmed cases now exceeds 400. Nine people have died in China from the coronavirus, which causes pneumonia, Li Bin, vice minister of the National Health Commission, said Wednesday, with 440 confirmed cases as of the end of Tuesday. Authorities...
Source:Wall Street Journal
January 22, 2020 05:26 UTC
G.M.’s Cruise Unveils a Self-Driving Car. Don’t Look for It on Roads.
Cruise would not name a time frame for its availability. It provided no details on how many vehicles it planned to produce, or whether it has begun test drives on closed tracks. It has not obtained state or federal regulatory approval to drive on roads. “Our work is far from done,” Dan Ammann, chief executive of Cruise, said in a presentation. Cruise emphasized that the Origin is more than just an idea, however.
Source:New York Times
January 22, 2020 05:03 UTC
Delhi LG Anil Baijal Wants Shaheen Bagh Protests Called Off Because Of 'Inconveniences' To Public
NurPhoto via Getty Images A woman at the protest in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC. After meeting a delegation of protesters, Baijal tweeted, “Met the delegation of protestors from Shaheen Bagh. Appealed to call off their agitation in view of continued inconvenience to school children, patients, daily commuters, local residents, etc. due to blockade of road.”Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Tuesday requested protesters at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi to call off their protests citing “inconveniences” to school children and daily commuters. The Shaheen Bagh protests is one of the most resilient to have come out of all the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests with women on the forefront.
Source:Huffington Post
January 22, 2020 04:41 UTC
Bezos’ Phone Was Likely Hacked by Chat Account Linked to Saudi Prince, Audit Finds
WASHINGTON—Cybersecurity experts hired by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos have alleged that his phone was probably hacked in 2018 by a WhatsApp account associated with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a person familiar with the matter. A forensic audit of Mr. Bezos’ phone by FTI Consulting, a business advisory group based in Washington, found with “medium to high confidence” that the device began leaking data shortly after being sent a video file from the WhatsApp account linked to Prince Mohammed, the...
Source:Wall Street Journal
January 22, 2020 04:24 UTC
A 6-year-old heard a smoke alarm in the middle of the night and woke her firefighter father, saving the family
(CNN) A New Jersey firefighter and his family lost their home in a fire Sunday, but his daughter made sure the family remained safe. Six-year-old Madalyn Karlbon heard a smoke alarm go off in her home in the middle of the night, according to the Avenel Fire Department's Facebook page . After seeing smoke, she woke up her dad, Avenel Fire Department Ex-Chief Jimmy Karlbon, and they helped get the family to safety. Avenel Fire Department President Frank Strain told CNN Tuesday that the family's house has been deemed uninhabitable after a fire accidentally started in the Karlbons' kitchen. In the meantime, toys, clothing and other donations have flooded in.
Source:CNN
January 22, 2020 04:18 UTC
Night of the Falling Iguanas: An Odd Forecast for South Florida
If you’re in South Florida, you might want to keep an eye on the sky as you walk around outside: It could start raining iguanas. The National Weather Service in Miami issued a warning for the region on Twitter on Tuesday, as well as a wind chill advisory for all of South Florida from Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. “Don’t be surprised if you see iguanas falling from the trees tonight as lows drop into the 30s and 40s,” it cautioned. “Brrrr!”But watching lizards seemingly fall out of the sky is nothing new for Floridians, many of whom are used to seeing the reptiles drop from trees when the temperature dips.
Source:New York Times
January 22, 2020 04:18 UTC
Kawhi Leonard scores 36 as Clippers survive wild finish to beat Mavericks
He also was dunked on by Leonard in the second quarter during a 16-0 Clippers run and, like his team during the quarter, appeared dazed. About Leonard’s clutch run of baskets midway through the fourth quarter, Rivers said, “that’s the point I mean. He also fouled Doncic with 7.4 seconds left and the Clippers leading by three. Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley left the game in the third quarter because of a sore right groin. “He wanted to play,” Rivers said.
Source:Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2020 04:15 UTC
Galaxy hope ‘Chicharito’ Hernández forges a new championship identity for team
One of the smartest players I know,” said Galaxy captain Jonathan dos Santos, who counseled Hernández on the signing. “For him, this is an important moment.”An important moment because, at 31, Hernández’s career has either reached a crossroads or a dead end. That’s why Te Kloese, who has known Hernández and his family since the player’s days in Guadalajara’s youth program, began targeting him late last fall. And he’s a guy that, if you want to play offensive football, he is a dangerous guy,” Te Kloese said. I don’t have to tell you who Javier is and what he can bring,” Te Kloese said.
Source:Los Angeles Times
January 22, 2020 04:10 UTC