LeBron James’ two-year contract extension is a step toward Lakers history
The Lakers value winning, they value entertainment, and they know how to make the most of a big moment. With news of LeBron James signing a contract extension keeping him with the organization through the 2022-23 season, the Lakers are in a prime spot to host another one — James becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Wednesday morning, James agreed to a two-year extension worth $85 million, tearing up the player option he had after this season, according to his agent Rich Paul from Klutch Sports. He trails the Lakers’ “Cap” by 4,146 points — and if he’s relatively healthy like he’s been for most of his career, James should become the league’s most prolific scorer while wearing a Lakers uniform. But it also means making history in a Lakers uniform, about passing Karl Malone and catching Abdul-Jabbar.
Source:Los Angeles Times
December 02, 2020 18:15 UTC
New rule cracks down on emotional support animals on planes
(CNN) — Airlines don't have to treat emotional support animals as service animals, a new rule says. The US Department of Transportation rule announced Wednesday states that "carriers are not required to recognize emotional support animals as service animals and may treat them as pets." Emotional support animals are prescribed by mental health professionals to provide their owners with comfort and support, but unlike service animals, they are not required to have training in specific tasks. What we know and how to make it saferPigs, peacocks and other unexpected animals have previously flown as emotional support animals. 'We think emotional support peacocks are ridiculous too'Previously, a passenger traveling with an emotional support animal was required to present a letter to their airline from a licensed health professional.
Source:CNN
December 02, 2020 18:14 UTC
Dodgers agree to one-year, $1-million deal with pitcher Scott Alexander
The Dodgers had seven arbitration-eligible players ahead of Wednesday’s non-tender deadline. The club agreed to a one-year, $1-million deal with left-hander Scott Alexander, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The Dodgers have until 5 p.m. Wednesday to offer contracts to their remaining six arbitration-eligible players: Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Walker Buehler, Julio Urías, Austin Barnes and Dylan Floro. He didn’t return to the majors in 2020, missing out on the postseason roster as the Dodgers won the World Series. AdvertisementLeft-hander Caleb Ferguson recently underwent Tommy John surgery, leaving a hole on the 2021 roster that Alexander figures to help fill.
Source:Los Angeles Times
December 02, 2020 18:12 UTC
Salesforce BrandVoice: How USAA Drives The Highest Customer Loyalty In The Insurance Industry
The highest Net Promoter Scores in home insurance, auto insurance and banking for 11 consecutive years. As recent research released by Forbes Insights and Salesforce shows, positive employee experience drives great customer experience, and they work together to drive company success and growth. The result has been happy customers, happy employees and an impressive $35.6 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending in December 2019. The result is a rich panorama of customer interactions that helps USAA provide a frictionless customer experience. The executives surveyed in our research agree: 89% of revenue-growth leaders say that improving employee experience leads directly to enhanced customer experience.
Source:Forbes
December 02, 2020 18:11 UTC
Saskatchewan Gov't Apologizes For World AIDS Day Post Featuring Same-Sex Couple
Twitter/@SKGov A social media image tweeted out by the Government of Saskatchewan. REGINA — The Saskatchewan government is apologizing for using a photo of two men to promote World AIDS Day. The government posted the picture Tuesday on social media, which showed the two men standing side by side with their heads touching. An accompanying message said HIV infections were on the rise in Saskatchewan and encouraged people to get tested. Social media users condemned the government’s use of a same-sex couple to talk about HIV as perpetuating the myth of AIDS being a “gay disease.”
Source:Huffington Post
December 02, 2020 18:11 UTC
How much protection can Trump offer his family with his pardon power? A lot.
The most famous example of such a pardon, he noted, was Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon. ADADContained in that description of a possible pardon for Kushner above are the two boundaries Kalt says a blanket pardon must meet. It must be retrospective — no pardoning for future crimes, in other words — and it must be for federal crimes or crimes committed on federal soil, like in D.C. If Trump were to pardon his son Donald Trump Jr., it raises another question. In that article, he pointed to Trump’s pardon of Jack Johnson, convicted under a racist law on manufactured charges.
Source:Washington Post
December 02, 2020 18:10 UTC
1 Percent of P.P.P. Borrowers Got Over One-Quarter of the Loan Money
The Paycheck Protection Program was the centerpiece of the federal government’s relief efforts to keep millions of small businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. But new data shows what many had suspected all along: The money was shared unevenly, with the biggest sums going to a sliver of the companies in need. Detailed loan information released by the Small Business Administration late on Tuesday showed that a mere 1 percent of the program’s 5.2 million borrowers — those seeking $1.4 million and above — received more than a quarter of the $523 billion disbursed. It was the first full accounting of how federal money was spent through the program. Aimed at small companies — generally those with 500 or fewer workers — the program provided forgivable loans to desperate business owners who were faced with widespread shutdowns.
Source:New York Times
December 02, 2020 18:01 UTC
Taylor Swift Let Ryan Reynolds Use Her New Re-Recordings In A Commercial
Taylor Swift fans got an early holiday present Wednesday morning, courtesy of Ryan Reynolds. A section of the re-recorded version of Swift’s hit “Love Story” played over a new commercial for Match.com written by Reynolds. Apparently that process is far enough along for Reynolds and all of us to get a sneak peak at “Love Story” in the Match.com ad. https://t.co/0vBFXxaRXR — Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) December 2, 2020“My friend @VancityReynolds asked me if he could use a snippet of one for a LOLsome commercial he wrote so...here’s a sneak peak of Love Story! !” Swift wrote on Twitter.
Source:Huffington Post
December 02, 2020 18:00 UTC
The seven most important relationships Biden will have on Capitol Hill
With 36 years in the US Senate, Biden will have more experience on Capitol Hill than any other US President. Here are the most important relationships to watch between Biden and the Hill early in his administration. Joe ManchinSen. Joe Manchin is seen during a news conference on Capitol Hill in June 2017. "Manchin didn't have a great relationship with anybody in the Obama administration except for Joe Biden," said the Democratic Hill aide. James ClyburnRep James Clyburn (at center) endorses Joe Biden for President before the 2020 South Carolina primary earlier this year.
Source:CNN
December 02, 2020 18:00 UTC
Trump using military funding as leverage in fight with tech giants
Not the place for a rush job last minute whack at social media." "You're willing to veto the defense bill over something that has everything to do with your ego, and nothing to do with defense," he added. Many of the proposed changes seek to expose social media companies to greater litigation over allegations of censorship. It's certainly odd that big social media companies seem to be censoring certain points of view. But the bipartisan opposition to Trump's proposal casts doubt on whether he will be able to use the defense bill to rein in social media firms.
Source:CNN
December 02, 2020 17:35 UTC
Georgia's GOP secretary of state says recount results will show 'no substantial changes'
(CNN) Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Wednesday they have seen "no substantial changes" in the state's election recount and expects to re-certify President-elect Joe Biden as the winner. News of the looming recount results is yet another blow to President Donald Trump, who continues to baselessly claim widespread voter fraud in the state and has pursued legal challenges in the state. "We have seen no substantial changes to the results from any county so far. Recount results will begin to be posted online starting Wednesday afternoon. For weeks, the President has made a series of unfounded claims of fraud in Georgia that state officials have disputed .
Source:CNN
December 02, 2020 17:18 UTC
Politicians urge people to buy Australian wine in defiance of China
(CNN) — Politicians from various Western countries have asked consumers to buy Australian wine in order to fight back against China's punitive tariffs on the beverage. "By drinking a bottle or two of Australian wine and letting the Chinese Communist Party know that we will not be bullied," added Elisabet Lann, a municipal councilor from Sweden's Christian Democrats. Tony Battaglene, CEO of Australian Grape and Wine, a national association, said Beijing's tariffs have endangered business with mainland China. "Having the extent of these interim tariffs, I mean essentially they will close the market to Australian bottled wine, to premium wine, in China. Related content China targets Australian wine again as trade tensions escalateChina's Commerce Ministry announced Friday that its decision was made after finding preliminary evidence of dumping.
Source:CNN
December 02, 2020 17:15 UTC
Belgians can invite guests for Christmas dinner, but only one can use the bathroom
The four-person rule will apply for Christmas, and authorities are trying to make sure that people who show up for backyard celebrations do not end up spending time indoors. “You are not allowed to go through an interior space first, because then there is a risk that many people will be together in a small space,” Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told Het Laatste Nieuws on Monday. A spokesperson for Verlinden added another major caveat: Only one guest who is chosen as a “close contact” can be allowed inside the house to use the bathroom. ADAD“So if you really have to go to the toilet, there will be nothing else to do but return home,” the spokesperson told local media, according to the Brussels Times. The rules are part of the broader shutdown regulations imposed at the beginning of November, which are expected to extend through February.
Source:Washington Post
December 02, 2020 17:11 UTC
Salesforce’s Mega Bid For Slack Comes As CIOs Rethink Tech Needs For The Future Of Work
Slack signage is displayed outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during the company's iPO in 2019. This shift is going to have a significant impact on the tech stacks CIOs are building to support workers. He’s referring to the stress and frustration employees experience when they are forced to launch many different software applications to get their jobs done and then to toggle frequently between them. Hence growing demand amongst tech leaders for everything from collaboration tools to data analytics capabilities and project management software to work seamlessly together. Edward Wagoner still sees a role for best-of-breed applications in workforce tech stacks, as do many other tech leaders.
Source:Forbes
December 02, 2020 17:03 UTC
‘Baby God’ Review: Sins of the Father
What it might say, when you gather the fragments of this studiously unsalacious film, is that the surest test of human connection is empathy. Many of Dr. Fortier’s offspring, particularly those who seem to have inherited strands of his personality, like Brad Gulko, a geneticist, and Wendi Babst, a methodical retired detective, want to find good intentions behind his lies. One son finds that his mother, one of Dr. Fortier’s first patients in the 1940s, never meant to have children, but accepted that her boy was a gift from god. Another son discovers that his mother was the doctor’s 17-year-old stepdaughter who had been gaslit into believing her boy was a virgin birth. Two of Dr. Fortier’s legally adopted daughters briefly mention he was also a self-circumcised hypnotist.
Source:New York Times
December 02, 2020 16:52 UTC