U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday said he would extend for two more months one of the extraordinary cash management measures that the Treasury is using to stave off a debt-limit default. Mnuchin said in a letter to House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan that he would continue to …
your ad hereUS Government Proposes Cutting Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes
The U.S. government is proposing cutting the nicotine level in cigarettes for the first time in its history. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it has directed the agency’s staff to develop new regulations to make cigarettes less addictive. Tobacco stocks fell Friday following the news. …
your ad hereIMF Says Dollar Overvalued, but Euro, Yen in Line With Fundamentals
The International Monetary Fund on Friday said that the U.S. dollar was overvalued by 10 percent to 20 percent, based on U.S. near-term economic fundamentals, while it viewed valuations of the euro, Japan’s yen and China’s yuan as broadly in line with fundamentals. The IMF’s External Sector Report, an annual …
your ad hereTesla Stock Climbs as Musk Prepares to Hand Over First Model 3 Cars
Shares of Tesla rose nearly 1 percent on Friday ahead of a handover to customers of its first Model 3 sedans, the electric cars that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is betting will propel his company into the mass market. Tesla is counting on the Model 3 to help turn …
your ad hereRoomba Vacuum Maker iRobot Betting Big on ‘Smart’ Home
The Roomba robotic vacuum has been whizzing across floors for years, but its future may lie more in collecting data than dirt. That data is of the spatial variety: the dimensions of a room as well as distances between sofas, tables, lamps and other home furnishings. To a tech industry …
your ad hereSpace Capsule With 3 Astronauts Blasts Off to Orbiting Lab
A Soyuz space capsule successfully blasted off for the International Space Station on Friday, carrying an American astronaut, a Russian cosmonaut and an Italian astronaut. NASA’s Randy Bresnik, Russia’s Sergei Ryazansky and Italy’s Paolo Nespoli lifted off from the Russia-leased launch pad in Kazakhstan shortly after sunset at 21:41 p.m. …
your ad hereNepal Woodcarvers Inspired to Restore Quake-toppled Temples
In the rubble of Nepal’s 2015 earthquake, a team of dedicated woodworkers is finding inspiration to re-create what was lost. The centuries-old Char Narayan and Hari Shankara temples were destroyed by the massive April 2015 earthquake that shook the Himalayan nation, killing nearly 9,000 people. The temples were the jewel …
your ad hereMoldova President Sees Move Towards Russia-led Trade Union in 2017
Moldova’s Moscow-backed President Igor Dodon said on Friday he hoped the ex-Soviet nation would be granted observer status to a Russia-led customs union before the end of 2017, despite a government push for closer integration with the European Union. Since his inauguration in 2016, Dodon has been at loggerheads with …
your ad hereCampaign Underway to Stem Polio Outbreak in Syria’s Deir Ezzor
A United Nations-led polio immunization campaign to stem an outbreak of this crippling disease is under way in Syria’s Deir Ezzor Governorate. The campaign, headed by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund, started on July 22. The campaign got off to a good start. The World Health …
your ad hereNational Parks Traveler Celebrates One Year Milestone
In June of 2016, Mikah Meyer set out on an ambitious journey — to visit all 417 national park sites in America. He estimates it will take him three years to complete his non-stop journey. One-third of the way through his adventure, he shared highlights – and lowlights – with …
your ad hereResearchers: Artificial Intelligence Can Help Fight Deforestation in Congo
A new technique using artificial intelligence to predict where deforestation is most likely to occur could help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) preserve its shrinking rainforest and cut carbon emissions, researchers have said. Congo’s rainforest, the world’s second-largest after the Amazon, is under pressure from farms, mines, logging and …
your ad hereGarth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood Buy Wedding Gifts for Fans
Married country stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are sharing the love by handing out wedding gifts to fans. Jude and Jamie Blanchard attended Brooks’ show in Lafayette, Louisiana, last month with a sign that read: “Best Week Ever. Garth this Friday, our wedding next Friday.” Brooks took notice and …
your ad hereYouTube-inspired New Toys Aim to Wow Today’s Digitally Savvy Kids
For some youngsters, “unboxing” YouTube videos are all the rage. They involve a pair of hands – some small, some big with lacquered nails or others with hairy knuckles — unwrapping and playing with new toys. The concept looks and feels mundane, but some of these videos have clocked hundreds …
your ad hereNew Toys Aim to Wow Today’s Digitally Savvy Kids
Kids today are practically born knowing how to use smartphones and tablets, so it makes sense that their toys contain a tech twist. In New York, reporter Tina Trinh checked out the latest toy trends for the digital generation. …
your ad hereBritain Lifts Laptop Ban on Some Flights From Turkey
Britain has eased a ban on laptops and tablets in airline cabins, lifting the prohibition on some flights from Turkey. In March, Britain banned electronic devices larger than smartphones on direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The Department for Transport said Friday that the rule …
your ad hereUS Economic Growth Accelerates, Hits 2.6 Percent
U.S. economic growth accelerated in April, May, and June, expanding at a 2.6 percent annual rate, says a new report by the Commerce Department. The gross domestic product data, published Friday, says consumer and business spending helped boost growth. IHS Markit economist Sara Johnson says U.S. growth was also helped …
your ad hereJapan Imposes Stiff Tariffs on Imported US Frozen Beef
Japan says tariffs on U.S. imports of frozen beef will rise to 50 percent next month, from the current 38.5 percent. “The tariff will take effect automatically as the volume of the imported U.S. frozen beef exceeded the quota set by law,” Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday. Under World …
your ad hereSpeech Patterns Could Be a Sign of Dementia
An estimated 47 million people around the world have dementia, a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to interfere with daily life. The most common form of the condition is Alzheimer’s disease. Now, research shows the way you speak may indicate whether you are at risk of …
your ad hereOptimizing Efficiency of Hybrid Cars
Trying to curb increasingly serious air pollution in their cities, authorities in France, followed this week by those in Britain, announced they will ban the sale of new gas and diesel-powered cars by 2040. This may speed up sales of hybrid electric vehicles. In the meantime, engineers are working hard …
your ad hereLOL to Heart Eyes: New Emojis Must Pass Muster
Cheery Hi-5, a snobbish Poop and a conflicted Meh have starring roles in the animated The Emoji Movie, which imagines a world inside cellphones where emojis rebel against portraying just one emotion all their lives. Yet the dozen or so people who select and release the tiny, ubiquitous characters globally …
your ad hereAIDS Burdens Zimbabwe’s Elderly With Orphans, Illness
Jabulani Zilawe lost all 11 of his children to AIDS. Now he is the only one left to care for their orphans. “This has become my life — with my grandchildren. All their parents died. AIDS killed them. I had 11 children, six of them were girls who had moved …
your ad hereMore Cyber Attacks, More Job Security for Hackers
The surge in far-flung and destructive cyber attacks is not good for national security, but for an increasing number of hackers and researchers, it is great for job security. The new reality is on display in Las Vegas this week at the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences, …
your ad hereNew Surgical Glue Inspired by Slug Slime
Scientists have developed an experimental surgical glue inspired by the mucus secreted by slugs that could offer an alternative to sutures and staples for closing wounds. While some medical glues already exist, they often adhere weakly, are not particularly flexible and frequently cannot be used in very wet conditions. To …
your ad hereWarming to Worsen Dead Zones, Algae Blooms Choking US Waterways
Projected increases in rain from global warming could further choke U.S. waterways with fertilizer runoff that trigger dead zones and massive algae blooms, a new study said. If greenhouse gas emissions keep rising, more and heavier rain will increase nitrogen flowing into lakes, rivers and bays by about 19 …
your ad hereGoogle Hopes to Train 10M Africans in Online Skills, CEO Says
Alphabet’s Google aims to train 10 million people in Africa in online skills over the next five years in an effort to make them more employable, its chief executive said Thursday. The U.S. technology giant also hopes to train 100,000 software developers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, a company …
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