| Trump lashes out after judge bats down another immigration order Posted: 26 Apr 2017 04:26 AM PDT  President Trump lashed out early Wednesday after a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against his "sanctuary cities" executive oder. Trump said he'd take it to the Supreme Court.
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| Sean Spicer says Obama administration was responsible for Michael Flynn’s vetting Posted: 27 Apr 2017 01:29 PM PDT  White House press secretary Sean Spicer attempted Thursday to shift blame to the Obama administration for its role in vetting retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the national security adviser dismissed by President Trump. Spicer argued that the Trump transition team didn't vet Flynn's appointment because he already held a security clearance at the time. "My only point is that when Gen. Flynn came into the White House, he had an active security clearance that was issued during the Obama administration with all the information that's being discussed that occurred in 2015," Spicer said at the daily press briefing.
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| Slain trooper's young sons in court as killer gets death Posted: 27 Apr 2017 02:05 PM PDT  MILFORD, Pa. (AP) — With his victim's two young sons in court for the first time, a gunman who shot and killed a Pennsylvania trooper was formally sentenced to death Thursday, one day after a jury determined he should receive a lethal injection for the ambush at a state police barracks.
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| United Airlines reaches settlement with David Dao after doctor was violently dragged off flight Posted: 27 Apr 2017 12:31 PM PDT  United Airlines has a reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum with the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month. Dr David Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor, was taken to hospital after Chicago aviation police dragged him from the plane to make space for four crew members on the flight from the city's O'Hare International Airport to Louisville, Kentucky. "I hope he becomes a poster child for all of us, someone's got to," Thomas Demetri, Dr Dao's attorney, said during a press conference on Thursday.
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| Please enjoy Obama photographer Pete Souza's latest flawless Trump troll Posted: 26 Apr 2017 07:54 AM PDT  Trump's first 100 days in office have come and gone, and they're not getting great reviews. So, naturally, Pete Souza has some throwback photos to post. President Obama's official White House photographer, well-known for his timely bouts of Instagram shade, has been sharing shots from Obama's first 100 days — which seem a little, uh, busier. And, less situated in Florida. And, are those a bunch of photos of him interacting civilly with Republican leaders? SEE ALSO: Pete Souza joins chorus gloating over Trumpcare failure with epic Instagram Please enjoy. First in a series from the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Inauguration night 2009, in a freight elevator heading to one of the Balls at the Convention Center. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 22, 2017 at 3:25pm PDT First 100 days. This was the first time sitting at the Resolute desk, just after 9am on 1/21/2009. Family pictures would soon fill the table behind the desk. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 23, 2017 at 7:42am PDT First 100 days. First meeting with Secretary of State. 1/21/2009. This picture also brings back the memory that because of the economic crisis, potus thought that it would be improper to redecorate the Oval Office even though Congress had appropriated the funds. Instead, he kept the Bush 43 carpeting, drapes and furniture until mid 2010. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 23, 2017 at 12:21pm PDT First 100 days. 1/21/2009. 7:30PM. Chief Justice John Roberts administers the oath of office. Wait, you say. Wasn't the inauguration the day before? It was but the Chief Justice had made a slight error in the wording of the oath. So the White House counsel decided, for an abundance of caution, to ask Roberts to do it again at the White House the next day. Although it has sometimes incorrectly been reported that there was no press present for this, a small press pool (including Time photographer Callie Shell) did witness the second swearing-in in the Map Room. POTUS even joked to the pool afterwards, "The bad news for the pool is there's 12 more balls." A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 23, 2017 at 4:41pm PDT First 100 days. With Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. 1/23/2009 A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 24, 2017 at 8:02am PDT Time out from the first 100 days series. From 2010. Stay tuned. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 24, 2017 at 11:05am PDT First 100 days. We made trips to several different countries. Here we are in France with then President Sarkozy. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 25, 2017 at 6:26am PDT First 100 days. With world leaders before his first NATO Summit. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 25, 2017 at 9:01am PDT First 100 days. Prague, Czech Republic. A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 25, 2017 at 10:52am PDT First 100 days. Meeting with Gen. Ray Odierno in Iraq. 4/7/2009 A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 25, 2017 at 1:20pm PDT First 100 days. With our troops in Iraq (at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces no less). A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Apr 25, 2017 at 3:19pm PDT Until next time, Souza. The way things are going, we assume it will be very soon. WATCH: Ivanka Trump gets booed at an international women's summit speaking about father's 'advocacy' for women
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| France says has proof Syria regime launched 'chemical attack' Posted: 26 Apr 2017 09:20 AM PDT  French intelligence services have scientific proof that the Syrian regime was responsible for a suspected chemical attack that killed 88 people, France's foreign minister said Wednesday. Jean-Marc Ayrault said analysis of samples taken at the scene of the April 4 attack in rebel-held Khan Sheikhun, in which 31 children were among the dead, showed "there is no doubt that sarin gas was used" and that it was produced by Syrian laboratories. "There is no doubt about the responsibility of the Syrian regime given the way that the sarin used was produced," Ayrault told journalists after the report was presented at a meeting of French defence chiefs.
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| Sheryl Sandberg's mother-in-law stuns her by encouraging her to remarry Posted: 27 Apr 2017 11:22 AM PDT  While Sheryl Sandberg and her mother-in-law, Paula Goldberg, were cleaning out Dave Goldberg's closet after he passed away, Goldberg said something that stunned Sandberg. "You are not only going to live, but you are going to get remarried one day — and I am going to be there to celebrate with you," she said.
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| The Latest: Arkansas inmate asks US judge to halt execution Posted: 27 Apr 2017 04:14 PM PDT  VARNER, Ark. (AP) — The Latest on Arkansas' effort to execute a fourth inmate before its supply of a lethal injection drug expires on Sunday (all times local):
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| China flags global naval role after new carrier launch Posted: 27 Apr 2017 02:04 AM PDT  By Adam Jourdan and Ben Blanchard SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China needs to raise its military capabilities to protect its growing overseas interests, its foreign minister said following the launch of China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, while vowing not to pursue expansionism. China launched the carrier on Wednesday amid rising tension over North Korea and regional worries about Beijing's assertiveness in the South China Sea and its broader military modernization program. "Under this new environment, China has ample reason to raise its own national defense capability to effectively protect its fair rights that are increasingly extending overseas," Wang said in response to a question on the new carrier, according to a statement on the ministry's website on Thursday.
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| Desperate Search Underway for Toddler Who Vanished While Playing in Yard Posted: 26 Apr 2017 10:29 AM PDT  Little Semaj Crosby was last seen Tuesday evening.
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| Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein on Trump-Russia investigation: 'Oh my god, there's a cover-up going on' Posted: 26 Apr 2017 01:21 PM PDT  Famed Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein says that the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn could end up revealing a "cover-up" of alleged connections between President Donald Trump's team and Russia. "There, he is central to what the FBI believes is a cover-up going on among people close to the president of the United States about what happened with the Trump campaign and Russia," Mr Bernstein, who is now a CNN commentator, said.
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| Syria to buy latest Russian anti-missile system: Assad Posted: 27 Apr 2017 11:12 AM PDT  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Damascus is negotiating with regime ally Moscow to buy the latest Russian anti-missile system to repel Israeli and American attacks. "It's natural that we should have such systems," he said, quoted by Syria's official SANA agency on Thursday, the same day as Damascus accused Israel of firing several missiles at a military position near its international airport. "Israel has been committing aggressions on the Arab states surrounding it since its creation in 1948," Assad said in the interview with Venezuelan channel Telesur.
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| Elizabeth Thomas Having Panic Attacks, Family Says Posted: 25 Apr 2017 09:15 PM PDT  The 15-year-old Tennesssee teen was rescued last week after being allegedly kidnapped by ex-teacher Tad Cummins on March 13.
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| Sobering visualizations reveal how sea level rise could transform cities in your lifetime Posted: 26 Apr 2017 12:46 PM PDT  Until recently, it seemed that we would be able to manage global warming-induced sea level rise through the end of the century. It would be problematic, of course, but manageable, particularly in industrialized nations like the U.S. However, troubling indications from the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets show that melting is taking place faster than previously thought and that entire glaciers — if not portions of the ice sheets themselves — are destabilizing. This has scientists increasingly worried that the consensus sea level rise estimates are too conservative. With sea level rise, as with other climate impacts, the uncertainties tend to skew toward the more severe end of the scale. So, it's time to consider some worst-case scenarios. SEE ALSO: Trump White House reveals it's 'not familiar' with well-studied costs of global warming Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published an extreme high-end sea level rise scenario, showing 10 to 12 feet of sea level rise by 2100 around the U.S., compared to the previously published global average — which is closer to 8 feet — in that time period. The research and journalism group Climate Central took this projection and plotted out the stark ramifications in painstaking, and terrifying, detail. The bottom line finding? "By the end of the century, oceans could submerge land [that's] home to more than 12 million Americans and $2 trillion in property," according to Ben Strauss, who leads the sea level rise program at Climate Central. Here's what major cities would look like with so much sea level rise: New York CityImage: CLIMATE CENTRAL New Orleans: Gone.Image: CLIMATE CENTRAL San Francisco International AirportImage: CLIMATE CENTRAL Bienvenido a Miami.Image: CLIMATE CENTRALIn an online report, Climate Central states that the impacts of such a high amount of sea level rise "would be devastating." For example, Cape Canaveral, which is a crown jewel for NASA and now the private sector space industry, would be swallowed up by the Atlantic. Major universities, including MIT, would be underwater, as would President Trump's "southern White House" of Mar-a-Lago. In the West, San Francisco would be hard-hit, with San Francisco International Airport completely submerged. "More than 99 percent of today's population in 252 coastal towns and cities would have their homes submerged, and property of more than half the population in 479 additional communities would also be underwater," the analysis, which has not been peer-reviewed, found. Image: climate centralIn New York City, the average high tide would be a staggering 2 feet higher than the flood level experienced during Hurricane Sandy. More than 800,000 people would be flooded out of New York City alone. Although the findings pertain to sea level rise through the end of the century, in reality sea levels would keep rising long after that, with a total increase of about 30 feet by 2200 for all coastal states, Climate Central found. As for how likely this extreme scenario really is, here's what the report says: "The extreme scenario is considered unlikely, but it is plausible. NOAA's report and Antarctic research suggest that deep and rapid cuts to heat-trapping pollution would greatly reduce its chances." More specifically, the NOAA projection says this high-end outlook has just a 0.1 percent chance of occurring under a scenario in which we keep emitting greenhouse gases at about the current rate. While a 1-in-1,000 chance outcome might seem nearly impossible to occur, recent events suggest otherwise. For example, Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Mid-Atlantic in 2012 while following a track that was virtually unprecedented in storm history. In addition, California is estimated to have had just a 1 percent chance of climbing out of its deep drought in a one to two-year period, and it did just that this winter. Also, Donald Trump is president, people. Robert Kopp, a sea level rise researcher at Rutgers University, whose projections formed the basis of the NOAA scenarios, said it's difficult to put exact odds on the extreme scenario. "I would say that our knowledge about marine ice-sheet instability is too deeply uncertain for us to answer that question right now," Kopp said in an email. "We can come up with a physically plausible pathway that gets us to 2.5 meters [or 8.2 feet], we know it is more likely under higher emissions, but we don't have a good way of putting a probability on it." A paper published in the journal Nature in March found that if emissions of global warming pollutants peak in the next few years and are then reduced quickly thereafter, then there is a good chance that the melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet would be drastically curtailed. However, with the U.S., which is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, backing away from making significant cuts under the Paris Climate Agreement, adhering to such an ambitious timetable is looking less realistic. Image: climate centralIn order for NOAA's extreme scenario, and therefore Climate Central's maps, to turn into reality, there would need to be decades more of sustained high emissions of greenhouse gases plus more melting from Antarctica than is currently anticipated. However, recent studies have raised questions about Antarctica's stability, as mild ocean waters eat away at floating ice shelves from below, freeing up glaciers well inland to flow faster into the sea. "What's new is that we used to think 6- to 7 feet was the max *plausible* or *possible* sea level rise this century, and now we've roughly doubled that," Strauss said in an email. "The new Antarctic science says it's plausible." "If you were to survey ice sheet experts today, instead of something like 5 to 10 years ago, I suspect you'd get a significantly higher probability than 0.1 percent," he said. A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change last week found that sea level rise could prompt a wave of internal migration within the U.S., especially as people move from the hardest-hit states such as Florida, Louisiana and New York. It's long been known that Florida is ground zero for sea level rise impacts, but the Climate Central projections are even more pessimistic. The report shows that a whopping 5.6 million Floridians would be at risk before the end of the century under an extreme sea level rise scenario, about double the amount simulated in the study last week. WATCH: Serene underwater footage shows whale's-eye view of Antarctica
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| Russian navy ship sinks in Black Sea, all 78 crew rescued Posted: 27 Apr 2017 06:07 AM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian naval reconnaissance ship sank Thursday after colliding with a freighter off Istanbul, but all crew members were rescued, the Defense Ministry said.
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| Trump administration to review dozens of U.S. national monuments Posted: 25 Apr 2017 06:22 PM PDT  By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday will order a review of national monuments created over the past 20 years with an aim toward rescinding or resizing some of them - part of a broader push to reopen areas to drilling, mining and other development. The move comes as Trump seeks to reverse a slew of environmental protections ushered in by former President Barack Obama that he said were hobbling economic growth - an agenda that is cheering industry but enraging conservationists. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told reporters on Tuesday Trump's executive order would require him to conduct the review of around 30 national monuments and recommend which designations should be lifted or resized over the coming months.
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| One of World's Largest Rabbits Dies Mysteriously After Flight on United Posted: 26 Apr 2017 02:13 PM PDT  It's yet another black eye for the airline.
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| Body of missing Joliet toddler found in mother's home Posted: 27 Apr 2017 01:36 PM PDT ![Body of missing Joliet toddler found in mother's home]( "Body of missing Joliet toddler found in mother's home") JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — The body of a 1½-year-old girl was found at a "deplorable" northern Illinois home that she and her mother shared with squatters after her mother reluctantly allowed detectives inside to search and a day after she reported her daughter missing, authorities said Thursday.
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| Ukraine feels the heat over Trump’s links to Russia Posted: 26 Apr 2017 08:00 AM PDT  The death of an American member of an international monitoring team in eastern Ukraine in a landmine blast, which also injured a Czech colleague, is the latest act of lethal violence putting enormous stress on the country's fragile ceasefire. The response of the US State Department has, so far, been restrained, praising the courage of the monitors, expressing "shock and sadness", and urging Russia to use its influence with the eastern separatists to allow a "full, transparent and timely investigation" to take place. Every move by the US in Ukraine is being watched anxiously by the country's president, Petro Poroshenko.
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| The BMW M550d xDrive Touring Is the Quad-Turbo Diesel Wagon of Your Dreams Posted: 27 Apr 2017 11:15 AM PDT  And no, it's probably not coming to America.
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| Apple is working on a service that could compete with Venmo Posted: 27 Apr 2017 07:52 AM PDT 
Apple's plan to build its own cash transfer service in the vein of Venmo appears to be back on track. According to a report from Recode, Apple has recently held discussions with partners in the payments industry about a service that would allow iPhone owners to send money to other iPhone owners.
One source tells Recode that the service could be introduced by the end of 2017, while another remains unconvinced that Apple has set the timing for either an announcement or an official release. In addition to the payment service, Recode has also learned that Apple talking to Visa about creating pre-paid cards that would run on Visa's debit network. These cards would be tied to the service, giving iPhone owners a physical product as well as a digital one. With the card, someone could spend money sent to them on the service without having to wait for the bank to clear it. Plus, this would give Apple the opportunity to tie its new service in with Apple Pay, as users would be able to add the pre-paid cards to their digital wallets and use them like they would a standard credit card. The cards would also have their own numbers so that they could be used for online purchases. Whether or not any of these plans come to fruition is still up in the air, but sources inside major US banks tell Recode that Apple has been underwhelmed by the usage of Apple Pay over the past two and a half years. Launching a peer-to-peer payment service and offering a debit card could turn Apple's luck around... providing the banks don't step in to stop Apple from competing with them. "Banks spent heavily in insuring their cards were top of wallet when they all built and rolled out Apple Pay," Cherian Abraham, a digital payments executive at Experian, told Recode. "So it's justifiable to be concerned that Apple will have its own card and could potentially be top of wallet. If you are top of wallet, you are top of mind."
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| 'The Bachelor' Star Chris Soules' Criminal History Posted: 26 Apr 2017 09:08 PM PDT  Soules, who was arrested following a hit and run case Monday night, has a record of traffic violations.
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| Mom lets daughter's school know her 10-year-old is 'done' with homework Posted: 27 Apr 2017 01:17 PM PDT  Making tough calls for your children is a vital aspect of parenting. One brave mother stepped up to the parenting plate for her child, sharing an email she sent to her daughter's school explaining that her 10 year old is "done with homework" because of the undue stress it causes. SEE ALSO: Instead of telling women who might get pregnant they can't drink, study suggests trusting them Bunmi Laditan, a mom blogger in Quebec, explained on Facebook that she told her daughter's school that her child would be "drastically reducing" the homework she'd be completing, but that she "was trying to be polite because [her daughter is] finished." "I just sent an email to her school letting her know she's all done," the mother wrote. "Over the past four years I've noticed her getting more and more stressed when it comes to school," the troubled mother wrote, "And by stressed I mean chest pains, waking up early, and dreading school in general." Laditan explained that her daughter often does homework until 6:30 p.m., with little to no time to relax after dinner. "Is family time not important?" she wrote, "Is time spent just being a child relaxing at home not important? Or should she become some kind of junior workaholic at 10 years old?" "Children need downtime after school the same way adults need downtime after work. They need to play with their siblings," she continued. Laditan later commented on her own post to further explain her point of view. Image: bunmi laditan/facebookThe mother clarified that she wasn't blaming her daughter's "incredible" teachers, and that she simply feels the system isn't working for her child. "I can't watch her unravel anymore and be filled with so much stress at age 10," she explained. Parents, teachers, and even therapists sounded off in the post's comment section in support of Laditan, relating similar experiences with children in their own lives. Image: kim tang/facebook Image: Katie chavarria/facebook Image: Erin avirett/facebook Image: jamie ellam davis/facebookSeems like this mom might be on to something. WATCH: This NYU student went undercover as a worker in a Chinese iPhone factory
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| Le Pen says voters must choose 'for or against' France Posted: 27 Apr 2017 02:55 PM PDT  Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen delivered a ferocious attack Thursday on her globalist rival Emmanuel Macron, saying voters faced a choice "for or against France". The candidates' starkly differing visions on France's future are at the heart of the May 7 election run-off -- with Macron, a 39-year-old former banker embracing free trade and the EU, while Le Pen wants to seal France's borders and quit the euro. "The country Mr Macron wants is no longer France, it's a space, a wasteland, a trading room where there are only consumers and producers," Le Pen told a cheering crowd of some 4,000 supporters in the Riviera city of Nice, a rightwing stronghold.
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| 35 Mother's Day Cards That Are So On Point Your Abs Will Hurt From Laughing Posted: 27 Apr 2017 11:07 AM PDT |
| Donald Trump administration loses trade battle over tuna as WTO lets Mexico hit US with sanctions Posted: 26 Apr 2017 02:17 AM PDT  The US has just lost a major trade battle with Mexico and it revolved around tuna. On Tuesday, the World Trade Organisation ruled that Mexico is allowed to impose $163m (£127m) a year in sanctions against the US on trade in tuna, ending a years-long dispute. The clash, which dates back to 2008, centred on the US insisting that any Mexican tuna sold in the US must have a 'dolphin safe' guarantee, meaning that no dolphins were killed by fishermen catching the tuna.
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| Boy, 17, Arrested In Shooting Death Of His 13-Year-Old Sister: Cops Posted: 27 Apr 2017 06:13 AM PDT  The Florida brother told authorities it was an accident.
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| Russia says U.S. missile strike on Syria was a threat to its forces Posted: 26 Apr 2017 06:33 AM PDT  Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu complained on Wednesday that a U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base earlier this month had posed a threat to Russian troops and was forcing Moscow to take extra measures to protect them. Speaking at a security conference in Moscow, Shoigu restated Russia's view that the strike -- which Washington conducted in response to what it said was a deadly chemical weapons attack by Syrian government forces -- was "a crude violation of international law." U.S. officials said at the time that they had informed Russian forces ahead of the strikes.
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| Campus free speech battle erupts in Berkeley Posted: 27 Apr 2017 01:54 AM PDT  ABC's Maggie Rulli reports on Ann Coulter and UC Berkeley engaging in the latest battle over free speech on U.S. college campuses.
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| The Latest: Police say woman in pit had reported harassment Posted: 26 Apr 2017 02:10 PM PDT  BLANCHESTER, Ohio (AP) — The Latest on a woman found in a pit in her neighbor's shed (all times local):
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| Samsung didn’t even need the Galaxy S8 to crush Q1 Posted: 27 Apr 2017 04:45 AM PDT 
According to several independent reports from insiders in South Korea, Samsung expects the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ to be its best-selling smartphones of all time. Sales of last year's Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have reportedly topped 52 million units so far, which makes that quite a tall order. Considering how much buzz Samsung managed to stir up despite its Note 7 debacle, and considering how incredibly impressive the new Galaxy S8 and S8+ are, the company's supposed 60 million unit target could be well within reach. And needless to say, these high-priced, high-margin phones will do wonders for Samsung's bottom line. But Samsung is much more than just a smartphone maker, and the company has one of its other key divisions to thank for the remarkable Q1 earnings it just reported. Samsung on Thursday announced its audited first-quarter earnings, and they were nothing short of explosive. On the back of a huge performance boost in the company's massive components division, Samsung posted a net profit of 7.68 trillion South Korean won (US$6.8 billion), a 46% increase from the year-ago quarter. In fact, Q1 2017 marked Samsung's most profitable quarter in three years. Revenue was up slightly to 50.55 trillion won in the March quarter, while operating profit ballooned to 9.90 trillion won, a 48% increase over the same quarter last year. The company's semiconductor division found the most success in Q1, raking in an operating profit of 6.31 trillion won on consolidated revenue totaling 15.66 trillion won. Samsung said improved sales of its NAND flash storage modules and DRAM memory chips had a big impact on Q1 performance, and it expects its semi business to continue to grow in the second quarter. Strong demand for Samsung's display panels also contributed 1.30 trillion won in Q1 operating profit on 7.29 trillion in sales. Samsung's Mobile Communications and Networks Businesses, which now comprise its IM Division, pulled in 2.07 trillion won in operating profit on the back of revenue totaling 23.50 trillion won. Considering the April launch of its new Galaxy S8 and S8+ flagships in addition to continued strength in the company's semi business, things may be looking even brighter for Samsung in Q2 2017.
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| For Sale: 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, Never Driven Posted: 27 Apr 2017 11:15 AM PDT  The race-ready 911 RSR is one of the rarest 964 variants in existence. This example has only driven six miles since new.
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| 21 Recipes for a Picture-Perfect Mother's Day Brunch Posted: 27 Apr 2017 02:00 PM PDT |
| Saudi shake-up strengthens king's powerful son Posted: 26 Apr 2017 03:46 AM PDT  A recent Saudi government and security shake-up aims to strengthen King Salman's increasingly powerful son against a royal rival and to bolster ties with Washington, analysts and diplomats say. Royal decrees at the weekend saw a number of allies of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved into key positions and another son of the king named as ambassador to Washington. The goal, a foreign diplomat told AFP, is "to strengthen MBS (Mohammed bin Salman) and the Salman branch" of the al-Saud family which has ruled Saudi Arabia since the country's founding.
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| Extravagant Travel Expenses Of 5 US Presidents Posted: 26 Apr 2017 04:29 AM PDT  President Donald trump and his predecessors have spent extravagant amounts of taxpayer's money to fund their travels. However, the exact amount of the travel expenditure of a president is not made public.
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| 2 US soldiers killed fighting Isis in Afghanistan region hit by 'mother of all bombs' Posted: 27 Apr 2017 07:32 AM PDT  Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said that the US personnel were killed overnight in the Nangarhar province, on the border with Pakistan. Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump confirmed to The Independent that the soldiers were killed while fighting Isis-Khorosan, the local affiliate of the terror group. This is the "same general area" - southern Nangarhar province - where the massive ordnance air blast, dubbed the "mother of all bombs" (MOAB) was dropped earlier this month, Mr Stump said.
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| Thailand to seek arrest warrant for Red Bull heir Posted: 27 Apr 2017 02:53 AM PDT  Thailand's attorney general said on Thursday it would seek the arrest of an heir to the Red Bull fortune after he failed to meet prosecutors over an alleged hit-and-run that killed a police officer five years ago. Vorayuth was charged with speeding, hit-and-run and reckless driving that caused the death of the policemen in 2012. "He sent a letter requesting to move the appointment but he can't do this again," said Suthi Kittisuppaporn, director general of the attorney general's Department of Southern Bangkok Criminal Litigation.
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| Prosecutor will not charge officers who shot man 19 times Posted: 26 Apr 2017 01:25 PM PDT  SUMTER, S.C. (AP) — Three police officers who shot a black man 19 times were cleared of charges Wednesday because the man had a gun when he was killed, a prosecutor said.
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| Please let this iPhone wireless charging feature actually exist Posted: 27 Apr 2017 12:16 PM PDT 
It may not happen with this year's iPhone 8, but Apple dreams of charging its future products with the help of conventional Wi-Fi routers or even other Apple products. The technology would not only offer a way for various devices to potentially be used as wireless chargers but would also fix the most annoying thing about wireless charging nowadays: You still have to place a device in the proximity of a charging mat or device.
Early iPhone 8 rumors suggested the iPhone will feature wireless charging powers unlike anything currently seen on mobile devices. That's long-range wireless charging support that would allow an iPhone owner to keep using a device while the battery would recharge wirelessly. Multiple reports have shot down that rumor, and more recent leaks do not mention anything about long-range support, although the iPhone 8 is still expected to feature wireless charging. 
The US Patent & Trademark Office, meanwhile, published on Thursday an Apple patent application titled Wireless Charging and Communications Systems With Dual-Frequency Patch Antennas that describes antenna technology that would support simultaneous wireless charging and Wi-Fi support on a device. First discovered by Apple Insider, the patent doesn't specifically mention the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook. And the drawings do not show anything resembling any of these devices. But the patent's wording indicates that the wireless charging technology described herein can apply to a variety of Apple gadgets, not just the iPhone. Apple's choice of words practically covers any device currently made by Apple, but also future gadgets that are yet to be unveiled: Device 10A and/or device 10B may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wrist-watch device, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user's head, or other wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer display that does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which electronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile, equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of these devices, or other electronic equipment.
What's interesting about this type of ambiguous language is that it also seem to indicate that Apple may be thinking about peer-to-peer wireless charging. For example, a MacBook connected to a power source might recharge an iPhone in the future. The technology might even allow iPhone owners to share battery power in the future. The patent explains that the devices may communicate wirelessly over Wi-Fi or cellular connection and that the same frequencies used for getting online or connecting to a carrier's network might also be used for wirelessly charging a battery or providing energy to a device. The patent describes dual-frequency dual-polarization patch antennas that "may be used in beam steering arrays" and which may be used for "wireless power transfer at microwave frequencies or other frequencies and may be used to support millimeter wave communications." 
What's interesting about these patch antennas is that they would be flat components placed over a flat metal surface inside a device. Earlier this week, a leaked iPhone 8 schematic showed what seemed to be the location of the phone's future wireless charging coil — see that big patch under the Apple logo in the image above? Again, there's nothing to suggest the iPhone 8 will sport such wireless charging tech. Even if the iPhone 8 would support it, you'd still need a second device to sport the same time of hardware so that long-range wireless charging would actually work.
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| The Accord V6 Coupe Is the Last Real American Muscle Car Posted: 27 Apr 2017 11:15 AM PDT  This is not a joke.
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| Pro-EU campaigner launches Brexit vote drive Posted: 26 Apr 2017 06:40 AM PDT  A businesswoman who took the British government to court to force a parliamentary vote on the UK's split from the EU launched a campaign Tuesday to oppose an "extreme Brexit". Gina Miller said her Best For Britain initiative would target marginal seats in the June 8 general election in a bid to return members of parliament who are committed to keeping the UK's Brexit options open. "Do what's best for Britain! Support the country's biggest tactical voting drive ever and stop extreme Brexit," Miller's fundraising page says.
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| Brother Dresses Up as Prince Charming in Adorable Photo Shoot With Little Sister, 5, as Snow White Posted: 26 Apr 2017 09:04 AM PDT  He wanted to surprise his little sister.
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| Bill Cosby's Daughter Defends Him As He Turns Blind Posted: 26 Apr 2017 10:42 PM PDT  Evin Cosby wrote an essay defending her father, saying that he was "not abusive, violent or a rapist."
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