‘It’s a sea change’: How climate went from the back burner to a central issue in this year’s debates
“It’s a sea change to have this kind of attention on climate change,” Symons said. Whatever unfolds Thursday evening, it is difficult to imagine that climate change will fade again anytime soon as an issue in presidential contests. ADAD“There’s no turning back,” Symons said, “because climate change isn’t going away.”Here are several key facts to know about climate change ahead of Thursday’s debate:Human activity and global warmingThere is a broad scientific consensus that human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, are a major driver of climate change. How much are global sea levels rising because of climate change? I mean, it’s a moneymaking industry, okay?”One of Trump’s clearest statements on climate change came in a November 2018 interview with The Washington Post, in which he dismissed the federal government’s own National Climate Assessment that called climate change a severe threat to the nation’s health, financial security, infrastructure and natural resources.
Source:Washington Post
October 22, 2020 13:29 UTC
Portrait of a loyal Jeffrey Epstein defender emerges from unsealed Ghislaine Maxwell deposition
In the deposition, the British socialite denies over and over knowing if Epstein had a scheme to recruit underage girls for sex. Maxwell, in the more than 400 unsealed pages, claimed she never observed Epstein having sex with a minor nor did she recall any sex toys in Epstein's Palm Beach home. "This is a long time coming and a welcome step towards revealing the evidence of the scope and scale of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking ring," attorney David Boies said. As the evidence comes out, it will be clear why Ms. Maxwell and others who enabled Jeffrey Epstein are fighting so hard to keep it concealed. Asked whether Epstein had a "scheme to recruit underage girls for sexual massages," she replied: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Source:CNN
October 22, 2020 13:26 UTC
Airlines’ Losses Mount Amid Pandemic, but Air Travel Demand Shows Some Improvement
Now they are anxiously watching a fragile uptick in demand to see if it will hold as the number of new coronavirus cases increases. Airlines’ losses are mounting as revenue plunged during what is typically their most lucrative season. Southwest Airlines Co. lost nearly $1.2 billion during the third quarter—its biggest quarterly loss ever. American Airlines Group Inc. lost $2.4 billion. Rivals United Airlines Holdings Inc. and...
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 22, 2020 13:26 UTC
Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court Nomination Advanced by Senate Committee
WASHINGTON—The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court as Republicans unanimously voted to recommend that the full Senate approve her, paving the way for her confirmation next week. The tally was 12-0. All 10 Democrats on the panel declined to appear at the proceedings to protest the Republican plan to fill the position just ahead of a presidential election.
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 22, 2020 13:22 UTC
Baby gorilla hand-reared by zookeepers in Bristol
London (CNN) Zookeepers in the British city of Bristol are giving a baby gorilla round-the-clock care, including bottle feeding through the night, as his mother has been struggling to look after him. The team of keepers at Bristol Zoo Gardens said that the baby, now two months old but still unnamed, was not getting enough milk from his mother, Kala, to survive and would now be hand-reared for the next four months. The baby gorilla is now being bottled-fed by zookeepers after his mother, Kala, struggled to feed him naturally. "Sadly, this doesn't always happen and in this instance we decided that it was in the baby gorilla's best interests for us to hand rear him to ensure he had the best chance of survival." Kala, the baby's mother, is said to be adjusting well and is in good health.
Source:CNN
October 22, 2020 13:18 UTC
Remote Work Isn’t Just for White-Collar Jobs Anymore
On the ground floor of a towering office building overlooking Tokyo Bay, in a space intended to resemble the interior of a moon base, a convenience store is tended by a humanoid robot. This robot isn’t out front, wowing customers. No, it is in the back, doing the unglamorous job of keeping shelves stocked. It has broad shoulders, wide eyes, a boomerang-shaped head and strange hands, capable of grabbing objects with both suction and a trio of opposable thumbs.
Source:Wall Street Journal
October 22, 2020 13:07 UTC
Want to stop climate change? Look to farms and forests
Newsletter Toward a more sustainable California Get Boiling Point, our newsletter exploring climate change, energy and the environment, and become part of the conversation — and the solution. Activists across the country have been campaigning for the “30 by 30" target, which is meant to slow both climate change and biodiversity loss. But it’s important to recognize that energy isn’t the whole climate change story. No matter how much time I spend reading and reporting on climate change, sometimes I still find a story that stuns me. AdvertisementRemember back in 2015, when The Times and InsideClimate News both reported groundbreaking stories showing the oil giant Exxon knew about climate change for decades and nonetheless tried to spread doubt?
Source:Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2020 13:02 UTC
Schools in L.A. County can reopen for up to 25% of their students who need special services
In a significant move to bring more students back to campus, Los Angeles County schools will be permitted to bring 25% of their students back to campus at a time, provided that they need special services best offered in person. Union leaders have said it’s not yet safe to bring back significant numbers of staff and students because L.A. County falls in the state’s purple tier, signifying widespread virus transmission, the worst category. Schools cannot generally reopen until a county has been in the next or red tier for at least two weeks. Elementary schools also can open under a waiver up through Grade 2, and L.A. County posted its first four approvals Wednesday, all for private schools. L.A. schools Supt.
Source:Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2020 13:02 UTC
Column: This suburban ‘mask cop’ in the San Fernando Valley is 81 and loud
You need to wear a mask!” The retired political science professor considers it his civic duty in the era of COVID-19. We were a month into the coronavirus siege, and wearing masks in Los Angeles had just become a thing. Advertisement“We’re more than six feet away,” she reminded Dirks this week, as he yelled from across the street that she needed a mask. I don’t know if his crusade has saved any lives. But I do know that getting to know Dirks has punched a hole in the stereotype I’d reflexively ascribed to him.
Source:Los Angeles Times
October 22, 2020 13:02 UTC
Amazon packs bold sound and smart home brains into the spherical Echo
Whatever you want to deem it, the fourth-generation Echo is packed with new features, and for the same $99.99 price tag. And taking from the Echo Plus (which this Echo is replacing), there’s a Zigbee smart hub inside that allows the Echo to be a true smart home hub. PHOTO: Jacob Krol/CNNThe underside of the fourth-generation Echo contains a mounting port and a rubberized grip for proper positioning. If you have other Echo smart speakers, you can use them to announce messages to other speakers in your home. Bottom linePHOTO: Jacob Krol/CNNAfter nearly a week with the fourth-generation Echo, we can safely say that the move to a spherical design was twofold.
Source:CNN
October 22, 2020 13:01 UTC
Ghislaine Maxwell deposition transcripts for 2016 case released
More than 400 pages of deposition transcripts that had been sealed in a defamation case involving Jeffrey Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, were released on Thursday morning following a Tuesday court order. In the transcripts, Maxwell repeatedly derided Giuffre, saying: “She has lied repeatedly.”Included among the documents released Thursday morning was Giuffre’s attorneys’ May 2016 motion to the court to compel Maxwell to answer certain questions that she avoided during the deposition. “During her recent deposition, Defendant refused to answer numerous questions about allegedly 'adult' sexual activity related to Jeffrey Epstein. She said Maxwell recruited her at age 17 to be sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell from 1999 to 2002. “The Government has not charged Maxwell with being Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘madam’ and ‘principal facilitator of his abuse,'” they wrote.
Source:Fox News
October 22, 2020 13:00 UTC
Hollywood's Diversity Problem: Few Changes Made Behind The Camera Despite Nation’s Racial Reckoning, Study Finds
In a “Dear Hollywood” letter, the Committee of Black Writers of the Writers Guild of America West called the industry’s bluff:Hollywood, what you do next is paramount. But you won’t be able to survive without the radical inclusion of Black writers and artists on your sets and in your studios.1The Committee of Black Writers’ claim about the necessary connection between the “radical inclusion” of diverse talent and Hollywood’s survival isn’t hyperbole. For example:Each of the top 10 broadcast scripted shows for Black households in 2018-19 featured casts that were at least 21 percent minority. Meanwhile, Black, Latino, and Asian adults all increased their total media consumption across all platforms in 2019 compared to the year before. The new UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report 2020: A Tale of Two Hollywoods, Part 2: Television is available for download HERE.
Source:Forbes
October 22, 2020 12:56 UTC
U.S. Jobless Claims Drop To 787,000, But Layoffs Remain High
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 787,000, a sign that job losses may have eased slightly but are still running at historically high levels. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department said the number of people who are continuing to receive unemployment benefits tumbled by 1 million to 8.4 million. Email: emily.peck@huffpost.comThe still-elevated number of jobless claims underscores that a full recovery from the pandemic recession remains far off. Job growth has slowed for three straight months, leaving the economy still 10.7 million jobs short of its pre-pandemic level. The still-high number of people seeking jobless benefits reflects an economy that has recovered only slightly more than half the 22 million jobs that were lost to the pandemic.
Source:Huffington Post
October 22, 2020 12:50 UTC
Trump, Stahl spar over 'best economy ever' claim, with '60 Minutes' host saying 'that's not true'
Stahl in the clip asks Trump what his biggest domestic priority is, and Trump responds that it is the economy, tipping off an exchange between the two. TRUMP THREATENS TO RELEASE LESLEY STAHL INTERVIEW AHEAD OF SUNDAY'S '60 MINUTES'"It was happening. LESLEY STAHL IN TRUMP INTERVIEW 'CAME ACROSS MORE LIKE AN OPINION JOURNALIST THAN A REAL REPORTER': MEADOWSStahl further pressed Trump on what exactly his biggest domestic priority was and Trump said that is "to get back to normal. The clip continues with Stahl asking Trump what the largest adversary for the United States is, and Trump responded that it is China, citing the coronavirus pandemic. During a clip released Thursday by "60 Minutes," Biden does not specifically take a position on whether he would pack the Supreme Court, but called the issue a "live ball."
Source:Fox News
October 22, 2020 12:45 UTC
Facebook Dating is finally coming to Europe after privacy concerns delayed launch
(CNN Business) Facebook (FB) has launched its dating service across 32 European countries after it was delayed for several months because of data privacy concerns. Facebook FB Facebook Dating was due to launch February 13 but the rollout was postponed after concerns were raised by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), which supervisesbecause the company's European headquarters are in Dublin. The regulator said that the US social media company has since provided "detailed clarifications" on how personal data will be processed on the dating feature. Announcing the launch on Wednesday, Kate Orseth, product manager for the dating service, said the feature will "help more people find meaningful relationships through things they have in common, like interests, events and groups." It was revealed in February that the DPC was only made aware of the planned launch a few days before Facebook was intending to introduce the service in the European Union.
Source:CNN
October 22, 2020 12:45 UTC