Expert pitch on smoke dangers from wildfires

1. iPhone SE 4 Camera Production to Begin Soon Ahead of Anticipated Debut in March 2025: Report  Gadgets 360
2. iPhone SE 4 likely to be the cheapest iPhone offering Apple Intelligence  India Today
3. iPhone SE 4 expected to launch in March 2025, supply chain data suggests  Business Standard
4. iPhone SE 4: All the Rumours  Gadgets 360
5. iPhone SE 4 may spell trouble for iPhone 16 and premium Android phones, here’s why  Hindustan Times

1. ‘That’s a bad move, Ricky’: Ponting move Aussie icon couldn’t believe as Kohli fear laid bare  Fox Sports
2. 'I'm not surprised it was him': Ricky Ponting hits back at 'prickly' Indian coach after bizarre sledge  Nine
3. Indian coach under siege after Ponting slur  Code
4. India coach Gautam Gambhir defends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, hits out at criticism from Ricky Ponting  ABC News
5. Ponting ‘slur’ sparks fury in Indian camp  news.com.au

1. Mam breaks silence: Bronco’s emotional response to police charge  Courier Mail
2. Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam charged over head-on collision, allegedly failing second drug test  ABC News
3. Ezra Mam issued court notice after allegedly failing secondary drug test  Fox Sports
4. Broncos’ Ezra Mam charged over drug test result after Uber crash  Brisbane Times
5. Broncos star charged after car crash  news.com.au

Police investigating former Neighbours star Damien Richardson over Nazi salute performed at event  ABC News

Inner West Council pushes ahead with cafe in park in face of strong community opposition  ABC News

1. Donald Trump and Joe Biden meet at White House to discuss transition of presidential power  ABC News
2. ‘WELCOME BACK’: White House history as Biden congratulates Trump  news.com.au
3. Donald Trump makes a victor's return to Washington and pledges a smooth transition of power  9News
4. Joe Biden welcomes back Donald Trump to the White House: 9News Latest Stories Season 2024, Short Video  9Now

1. Bridget Grocke, Perth 110-year-old, reveals her secret to a long life is a can of Emu Export everyday  PerthNow
2. WA centenarian's surprising secret to a long and happy life  9News

1. Police warns: Wedding invites on WhatsApp are taking control of smartphones; stealing money, photos and m  The Times of India
2. All about the 'wedding invitation' scam on WhatsApp that can get your phone hacked  Moneycontrol
3. WhatsApp wedding invitations are the new cyber trap — here's how scammers are stealing your data  CNBCTV18
4. What is wedding invitation scam, how to protect yourself from it?  DNA India
5. All about the new wedding invite scam on WhatsApp. Here's how to avoid being hacked  Hindustan Times

1. Rs 6.8 lakh crore wiped out: Sensex tanks 984 points. 6 key factors behind Wednesday's panic sell-off  The Economic Times
2. Bloodbath on D-street: Investors lose Rs 13 lakh crore in last 2 days- Top reasons why market is falling  The Times of India
3. Trading Plan: Can Nifty 50 decisively break 200 DEMA, Bank Nifty hit August low?  Moneycontrol
4. Ahead of Market: 10 things that will decide stock action on Thursday  The Economic Times
5. 'Everything is being cut,' says Basant Maheshwari as market goes into correction phase; key reasons behind today's fall  Business Today

1. Swiggy IPO makes 500 employees 'crorepatis'; unlocks ₹9,000 cr worth of ESOPs  The Hindu
2. Swiggy Share Price & IPO Listing Highlights: Swiggy shares surge 10% after listing at premium on NSE, BSE  BusinessLine
3. Maruti drives in ‘next generation’ Dzire at Rs 6.8 lakh  The Times of India
4. Swiggy's dollar millionaires: 70 employees to pocket over $1 million each as company delivers IPO  Moneycontrol
5. Swiggy delivers best major listing in 10 years  The Economic Times

1. No deal, says EP Jayarajan; DC Books postpones release of autobiography | Kerala News  Onmanorama
2. Autobiography row: EP Jayarajan files complaint with DGP over 'fake media reports’  Onmanorama
3. Autobiography still in works, says CPI(M) leader Jayarajan after book’s ‘fake’ excerpts go viral  Hindustan Times
4. ‘Won’t allow EP to be sent away like TP’  The Times of India
5. CPI(M) Kerala secretary M.V. Govindan backs E.P. Jayarajan amid autobiography controversy  The Hindu

1. UAntwerpen: "Mpox-virus in Afrika nog steeds niet onder controle"  De Specialist
2. Antwerpse wetenschappers strijden mee tegen mpox in Afrika | Antwerpen  Het Laatste Nieuws

1. Toptalent van Real zet op amper 19-jarige leeftijd punt achter carrière: "6 september 2022 veranderde mijn leven"  sporza.be
2. Real Madrid-talent (19) moet nu al stoppen met voetballen: ‘Ik ben bevoorrecht geweest’  AD
3. Zeer treurig nieuws uit Spanje: Real-talent (19) moet noodgedwongen stoppen  VoetbalPrimeur.be
4. Real Madrid-talent (19) gedwongen te stoppen: 'Ik heb alles gegeven'  Voetbal International

1. "Belangrijk om hém af te stoppen": Roeselare houdt in CL-opener vooral een Belg in de gaten  sporza.be
2. LIVESTREAM: Tiebreak! Milaan zit helemaal in de wedstrijd en sleept vijfsetter uit de brand tegen Roeselare  sporza.be
3. Stijn D’Hulst kijkt enorm uit naar Europese opener van Knack Roeselare in Milaan: “Met één punt zullen we het goed gedaan hebben”  Het Nieuwsblad
4. LIVESTREAM: Milaan knokt zich in de wedstrijd, Roeselare incasseert ace op setbal voor 1-2  sporza.be

1. “Al meer dan 20 jaar betaalt ons gezin de prijs voor z'n carrière”: de vrouw van ‘BDW Politiek Beest’ zegt weinig, maar het is er wel boenk op  Het Laatste Nieuws
2. Documentaire over Bart De Wever in première: "Jezelf op groot scherm zien is confronterend, in mijn hoofd ben ik een vrolijke Frans"  VRT.be
3. Weinig elegant camerawerk en slordige overgangen, maar het heeft wel één troef: dit vonden wij van docufilm over De Wever  Het Nieuwsblad
4. ‘De film van Paul Jambers over Bart De Wever of Gladiator 2? De keuze lijkt snel gemaakt’  Knack.be
5. Paul Jambers in het zog van de N-VA-chef: “Bart De Wever weet pas over dertig jaar of alles de moeite waard is geweest”  De Standaard

1. Aantal abonnees Spotify groeit met 12 procent in een jaar - Beeld en geluid - Nieuws  Tweakers
2. Spotify klimt naar record  De Tijd
3. Spotify niet langer verliesgevend, maakt voor het derde kwartaal op rij winst  NU.nl
4. Muziekstreamer Spotify wipt over kwart miljard betalende gebruikers  De Tijd
5. Spotify winst derde kwartaal 2024 overtreft verwachtingen  Business AM

1. Veel Europese leiders slaan de klimaattop dit jaar over: zijn de hoogdagen van Europa’s groene politiek voorbij?  De Morgen
2. "Olie en gas zijn godsgeschenk”: ambities klimaattop krijgen nieuwe klap na uitspraken president van gastland Azerbeidzjan  Het Laatste Nieuws
3. Hoe pakken we de klimaatcrisis aan? 200 landen zitten er nu over samen  VRT.be
4. Klimaattop COP29 in Bakoe | Het wrange theater in Azerbeidzjan  De Tijd
5. ‘Hoe een mondiale koolstofprijs kan helpen om de klimaatcrisis te bedwingen’  Knack.be

Fox News hosts, like the MAGA cult, apparently do not care who Trump puts in his cabinet. Cartoon characters are just as acceptable as real people, don't you know?

To hell with Congressional approval.

Trump only hires great people, right?

Pete Hegseth is one rung higher than Daffy Duck, but well below Bugs Bunny.

Jessica Tarlov had a few words for Trump's choices so far and Watters couldn't handle it.

TARLOV: And you have Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz out there who are completely pro-Ukraine, which I think is fantastic.

Completely pro-Israel.

WATTERS: When you say pro-Ukraine, what do you mean by that?

TARLOV: I mean they think that Ukraine should be supported and that Putin is the authoritarian.

WATTERS: Rubio voted against the funding for Ukraine the last time.

TARLOV: Talk to him about peace settlement. If you think that it's a good thing for that kind of position-taking within the Republican Party, you're just wrong.

WATTERS: Trump's the commander-in-chief.

You could put Daffy Duck in there, who cares?

Secretary of State, Defense, Treasury, and other cabinet posts are important to the function of our country.

When Jesse Watters and other right wing jerk-offs are losing a discussion they unravel and babble nonsense. Secretary of State, Defense and other cabinet posts are important to the function of our country.

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Between threats from Anonymous and a new crackdown from Twitter, ISIS is having a tough time reaching out and recruiting new psychopaths online.

To circumvent the censorship, the Islamic militant group has reportedly created its own social network called “Khelafabook.”

The Facebook clone claims it is independent and not actually sponsored by ISIS (even though it has ISIS logos all over its homepage). It says its goal is to show the world that they don’t only “live in caves” and “carry guns,” and they vow to “will rule the world by Allah’s permission.”

Khelafabook was set up by a man in Mosul, Iraq, according to The Independent, and is hosted in Egypt. There’s also an associated Twitter account which is linked to from the site.

The site first popped up last week, but has already been taken offline “to protect the info and details of its members,” according to a message on the page.

After it was taken down, Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous appeared to claim responsibility, as Vocativ points out.

For the the time being they’ll have to look elsewhere to share their terrorist pancake recipes.

Power Rangers villain, Rita Repulsa made Cyber Monday a little more interesting by apparently "hacking" the official Power Rangers movie Twitter account. Go, go Rita Repulsa.

<span class="bold">Sponsored</span>: In the inaugural women’s competition, riders pioneered new lines with innovative tech from Samsung Galaxy.
( Photos: 1 )

The city has repeatedly pressed for a special regulation from the national government

Apple executives have defended the relocation of the power button to the bottom of its new M4 Mac mini, citing the computer's significantly reduced size as the driving factor behind the design change. In a Bilibili video interview, Apple's Greg Joswiak and John Ternus explained that the Mac mini's form factor, now half the size of its predecessor, necessitated finding a new position for the power button. The executives said that the bottom placement allows for convenient access despite initial user criticism.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AmiMoJo writes: The climate-damaging vapors left behind by jet planes could be easily tackled, aviation experts say, with a new study suggesting they could be eliminated for a few pounds per flight. Jet condensation trails, or contrails, have spawned wild conspiracy theories alleging mind control and the spreading of disease, but scientists say the real problem is their warming effect. "They create an artificial layer of clouds, which traps the heat from the Earth that's trying to escape to outer space," said Carlos Lopez de la Osa, from the Transport & Environment campaign group, which has carried out a new study on the solutions to contrails. "The scale of the warming that's associated with them is roughly having a similar impact to that of aviation carbon emissions." Tweaking the flight paths of a handful of aircraft could reduce contrail warming by more than half by 2040, at a cost of less than $5.1 per flight. Geography and a flight's latitude have a strong influence on whether a contrail is warming. Time of day also influences the climate effects of contrails. Those formed by evening and night flights have the largest warming contribution. Seasonality is also important -- the most warming contrails tend to occur in winter. "Planes are already flying around thunderstorms and turbulence areas," Mr Lopez de la Osa said. "We will need to add one more constraint to flight planning, which is avoiding areas of contrail formation."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

President and chief executive officer of Formula 1 owner Liberty Media, Greg Maffei, is to step down from his role at the end of the year.

The IOC needs to improve rules on transgender athletes to protect "female sport", says World Athletics president Lord Coe.

The news comes a day after confirmation that he will leave the BBC's Match of the Day.

Encouraging pre-kindergarten children to write affords teachers the opportunity to provide scaffolds to improve spelling development. Teachers, however, tend to provide more support than necessary to guide children's early spelling, which may stifle children's opportunities to engage in important thinking that helps them to grow in their literacy knowledge.

Filed under: North America, United States

Two weeks ago, the Transportation Security Administration announced that it would began allowing travelers to apply for its PreCheck program, "an expedited screening process" through airport security.

Curiously though, the only airport in the country where travelers could complete the program's required background interview was Indianapolis International Airport. That changed today when TSA opened three enrollment centers in the Washington, DC area. Interestingly, none of them are at DC-area airports. Nor are any of them in DC itself.

Continue reading Sorry Indianapolis, You're No Longer the Sole Location Offering TSA PreCheck Enrollment Background Checks

Sorry Indianapolis, You're No Longer the Sole Location Offering TSA PreCheck Enrollment Background Checks originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 16 Dec 2013 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Arts and Culture, North America, United States

Joanne and Gary, rival travel agents compete for their industry's top honor, the Globel Prize, while trying to address their clients' impossible demands in an Off-Broadway comedy that debuts this week, "Craving for Travel."

The 85-minute, two-actor, 30-character comedy was commissioned and produced by Jim Strong, president of the Dallas-based Strong Travel Services travel agency.

"Travel agents are always asked to do the impossible, and this play shows how that is done, from finding the impossible rooms to making dreams come true," Strong told the "Dallas Morning News." "I decided to bring it to life on stage as a comedy in New York."

From "Craving for Travel's" press release:

With their reputations on the line, travel agents Joanne and Gary will tackle any request, no matter how impossible, and any client, no matter how unreasonable. Full of overzealous travelers, overbooked flights, and hoteliers who are just over it, Craving for Travel reminds us why we travel-and everything that can happen when we do.

"Craving for Travel" opens Thursday at the Peter J. Sharp Theater, where it'll run through Feb. 9. Tickets are $32.50 and $49. They can be purchased at CravingForTravel.com, 212-279-4200 or the Ticket Central Box Office (416 W. 42nd St., 12-8 p.m. daily). More than half of the shows are already sold out.

Continue reading Off-Broadway Comedy 'Craving for Travel' Showcases Travel Agents Trying to do the Impossible

Off-Broadway Comedy 'Craving for Travel' Showcases Travel Agents Trying to do the Impossible originally appeared on Gadling on Tue, 07 Jan 2014 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Business, Europe, North America, Denmark, Iceland, Belize, United States

Winter break just wrapped up--so it's time to think about what to do when the kids are out of school this summer. Here, the "Wall Street Journal" and Lonely Planet share their top five family travel destinations for 2014. Can't get to these places this year? Don't worry, most of them are likely to still be around in 2015.

Continue reading Top 5 Family Travel Destinations for 2014 (and Possibly Beyond)

Top 5 Family Travel Destinations for 2014 (and Possibly Beyond) originally appeared on Gadling on Thu, 09 Jan 2014 13:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Panama, Airports, News, Central America

Travel tip: If you're trying to smuggle cash into Panama, start using the train.

Three Honduran men were arrested at Panama City's international airport after police found $7.2 million, mostly in $100 bills, in secret compartments in eight pieces of luggage. According to this video from Newsy (Newsy? Really? Really.), officials in Panama believe the money was connected to a drug cartel. Thirty-two officers and airport security staffers have been suspended as a result of the find.

Continue reading $7.2 Million Cash Found in Suitcases at Panama City Airport

$7.2 Million Cash Found in Suitcases at Panama City Airport originally appeared on Gadling on Fri, 17 Jan 2014 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Donald Trump’s policies risk making the US dollar a source of global instability Expert comment LToremark 13 November 2024

Although Trump favours a weaker exchange rate, his policies are likely to have the opposite effect. The risk is that the US dollar could become too strong, which is bad news for the global economy.

President-elect Donald Trump has a dollar problem. In recent months he has shown a clear preference for a weaker exchange rate to support the competitiveness of US exports and help reduce the US trade deficit. And yet, as the market has sensed since the US election, the much more likely outcome is that his policies end up strengthening the greenback. The risk is that the US dollar – which is expensive already – becomes more obviously overvalued, and this could increase the risk of global financial instability. 

The dollar has been on a rollercoaster ride in the past few decades. From 2002 until 2011, for example, the dollar weakened by around 30 per cent in inflation-adjusted, trade-weighted terms, according to BIS data. Yet in the years since 2011, the dollar has strengthened and is now at a more appreciated level than at any time since 1985.

What shapes this rollercoaster, broadly speaking, is the global balance of economic vitality: when the US economy gains momentum relative to the rest of the world, the dollar tends to strengthen; and vice versa. 

After China joined the WTO in 2001, the balance of economic vitality shifted decisively away from the US, in favour of China and other emerging economies. This was the decade of the commodity boom: the longest, biggest peacetime increase in commodity prices in nearly 200 years during which a sustained surge in China’s economy supported GDP growth across the developing world. The dollar weakened as a result.

But after 2011, a combination of factors – including the eurozone crisis and its aftermath, together with the sagging of the Chinese economy – tipped the balance of economic vitality back in favour of the US. The dollar strengthened once again.

And since both the European and Chinese economies remain very fragile, the balance of economic vitality seems likely to keep favouring the US dollar.

Two more considerations also point to a stronger US dollar under a second Trump administration.

The first is the exchange rate implications of Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on imports. When the US imposes tariffs on a trading partner, the foreign exchange market tends to sell that trading partner’s currency, forcing it to weaken to offset the dollar-price increase induced by the tariff. This helps explain why the Chinese renminbi depreciated by some 10 per cent in 2018 after Trump began imposing trade restrictions on China in January of that year. 

More widespread tariffs on a whole range of US trading partners should therefore strengthen the dollar more broadly.

A stronger dollar should also result from the macroeconomic framework Trump seems likely to deliver. He will certainly want to extend his 2017 tax cuts beyond 2025 when they are currently due to expire, so a more sustained loosening of US fiscal policy seems likely. Since boosting the US economy will create inflationary pressure, the market will expect interest rates to end up higher than they might otherwise be. The resulting combination of looser fiscal and tighter monetary policy tends to be a stronger currency.

The dollar probably has a fair amount of room to keep going up, since it is not obviously overvalued just yet. The US current account deficit – the broadest measure of a country’s trade deficit, and a rough but useful measure of financial vulnerability – was a little over 3 per cent of GDP last year. 

This is around half the level it reached in 2006, just before the 2008 global financial crisis, meaning the risks arising from an overvalued dollar may be for the latter part of Trump’s second presidency.

A strengthening dollar is also not great news for the rest of the world economy. A strong dollar tends to depress global trade growth, restrict developing countries’ access to international capital markets, and make it more difficult for countries whose currencies will be weakening to keep inflation under control.

If and when the dollar becomes unsustainably expensive, a further problem will present itself: how to deal with an overvalued currency without risking a lot of financial dislocation.

This problem last occurred in early 1985, when the dollar was universally reckoned to be dangerously dear. At that time the US was able to call on trading partners who depended on the US security umbrella – the UK, Germany, France and Japan – to negotiate the ‘Plaza Accord’, which coordinated a series of interventions in the foreign exchange market that allowed the dollar to decline in a measured way.  

It is virtually unimaginable that something similar could be negotiated today, not least because Chinese policymakers believe that the post-Plaza strengthening of the yen in the late 1980s led to an economic disaster for Japan. Beijing will not play ball.

Without much scope for a negotiated decline in the dollar, more chaotic alternatives seem likely. 

One is that the market decides suddenly that it no longer has an appetite for expensive dollar-denominated assets, and this might lead to a messy adjustment in the foreign exchange market. 

The 30 prospects below all are getting very long looks this spring with an eye toward breaking camp with the parent club. Even if they start the year in the Minors, they all should get the chance to contribute at some point in the very near future.

Having two pitchers of notable accomplishment and one of immense promise is a luxury for the Rockies. But it creates a decision nonetheless for manager Bud Black.

The 30 prospects below all are getting very long looks this spring with an eye toward breaking camp with the parent club. Even if they start the year in the Minors, they all should get the chance to contribute at some point in the very near future.

The Blue Jays were barely one hour into the official start of Spring Training when general manager Ross Atkins threw the first curveball of the year. The news wasn't so much who made the list, but rather who did not. Despite an impressive 2018 rookie season, lefty Ryan Borucki apparently hasn't been guaranteed anything quite yet.

The Blue Jays' biggest star arrived Saturday morning when top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. officially reported to Spring Training. Guerrero took part in a few rounds of batting practice and hit at least one ball out of the park. The Dominican native is expected to speak to the media Monday for the first time this spring as he sets out to begin his first full Major League Spring Training.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins declined to get into a back-and-forth with Marcus Stroman on Sunday afternoon, sidestepping criticism of the organization from his right-handed starter.