Ford Motor Co. is making Miami-Dade County its new test bed for self-driving vehicles. The automaker and its partners — Domino’s Pizza, ride-hailing company Lyft and delivery company Postmates — are starting pilot programs to see how consumers react to autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. Self-driving startup and Ford partner Argo …
your ad hereCuban Artist Switches Havana’s Neon Lights Back On
After dusk in Havana, an ice-blue neon sign illuminates the faded facade of the Cine El Megano, one of many abandoned movie houses in the Cuban capital, lighting up a once vibrant corner at the heart of the Caribbean city that had gone pitch black in recent decades. The glowing neon italic letters fill …
your ad hereNigeria Gripped by Massive Lassa Fever Outbreak
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports it is teaming up with national and international health agencies to tackle what appears to be the largest outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria. The Latest figures show 1,081 suspected cases of the disease, including 90 deaths. The WHO reports 317 of more than …
your ad hereWhite House Reaches Informal Deal with Boeing for Air Force One
U.S. President Donald Trump has reached an agreement with the Boeing Co to provide two Air Force One planes for $3.9 billion, the White House said on Tuesday. “President Trump has reached an informal deal with Boeing on a fixed-price contract for the new Air Force One Program,” Deputy Press …
your ad hereFed’s Powell Nods to ‘Gradual’ Rate Hikes, Close eye on Inflation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, pledging to “strike a balance” between the risk of an overheating economy and the need to keep growth on track, told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday that the central bank would stick with gradual interest rate increases despite the added stimulus of tax cuts and government …
your ad hereNew Study Finds Diverse Audiences Drive Blockbusters
Just as “Black Panther” is setting records at the box office, a new study finds that diverse audiences are driving most of the biggest blockbusters and many of the most-watched hits on television. UCLA’s Bunche Center released its fifth annual study on diversity in the entertainment industry Tuesday, unveiling an …
your ad hereNew Study Finds Diverse Audiences Drive Media Blockbusters
Just as “Black Panther” is setting records at the box office, a new study finds that diverse audiences are driving most of the biggest blockbusters and many of the most-watched hits on television. UCLA’s Bunche Center released its fifth annual study on diversity in the entertainment industry Tuesday, unveiling an …
your ad hereSources: Trump to Consider Biofuels Policy Tweaks at Tuesday Meeting
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with senators and Cabinet officials on Tuesday to discuss ways to lower the cost of the nation’s biofuels policy to oil refiners, according to sources familiar with the matter. The meeting reflects rising concern in the White House over the current state of the …
your ad here‘Disagree’ Banned on China Social Media
Authorities in China have launched an intense crackdown on online commentary in the wake of a proposal by the country’s communist party leaders to amend the constitution and scrap a two-term limit on the president’s time in office. A wide range of phrases in Chinese have been banned such as “constitutional …
your ad hereReport: Inequality Remains 50 Years After Kerner Report
Barriers to equality are posing threats to democracy in the U.S. as the country remains segregated along racial lines and child poverty worsens, says a study examining the nation 50 years after the release of the landmark 1968 Kerner Report. The new report released Tuesday blames U.S. policymakers and elected …
your ad hereMavericks Allegations Could Dog Mark Cuban Presidential Ambitions
Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and driving force behind TV’s “Shark Tank,” has for months teased the notion of running for president in 2020 in a campaign that could mirror President Donald Trump’s blend of reality television and politics in a ride to the White …
your ad hereDubai Closes Case on Indian Actress, Calls Death an Accident
Dubai investigators closed the case on Tuesday into the death last weekend of Indian movie icon Sridevi, calling it an accidental drowning. Her family has been given permission to take her body back to India, officials said. The 54-year-old Sridevi, who was known by only one name, drowned in …
your ad hereOfficials: US NAFTA Autos Negotiator Called From Mexico for Consultations
The U.S. negotiator for regional content requirements in autos flew back to Washington from a NAFTA round in Mexico on Monday to talk with car companies, officials said, in a development some hoped would lead to progress on the contentious issue. Three Mexican, Canadian and U.S. trade officials said the …
your ad hereComcast Makes $31 Billion Offer to Buy Sky
Comcast Corp, the biggest cable operator in the United States, offered on Tuesday to pay $31 billion to buy Sky, challenging Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and Bob Iger’s Walt Disney for the European pay-TV jewel. Comcast, a $184 billion media giant which owns NBC and Universal Pictures, said it was offering …
your ad hereNASA Building Atomic Clock for Deep-space Navigation
Only days after the spectacular liftoff of what is currently the heaviest space rocket, the privately-built Falcon Heavy, NASA announced the next launch will carry a specially built atomic clock. The new device, much smaller and sturdier than earth-bound atomic clocks, will help future astronauts navigate in deep space. VOA’s …
your ad hereArctic Seed Vault Turning 10 Faces ‘Unprecedented’ Agricultural Challenges
A cavernous bunker on a remote island above the Arctic Circle, where polar bears roam, holds the key to 12,000 years of agriculture but also to food supplies for future generations with countries urged to deposit seed samples there. Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which turned 10 on …
your ad hereGhanaian ‘Superhero’ Awarded for Work to End ‘Spirit Child’ Killings
When Angela was born without lower legs, her father believed she was an evil spirit and should be taken to a “concoction man” — a traditional herbalist who would kill the baby and bury her. But Angela survived after a midwife put her mother in touch with charity worker Joseph …
your ad hereMicrosoft, Justice Department in Showdown Over Foreign-stored Data
The U.S. Justice Department and Microsoft will face off against each other Tuesday when the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether tech companies’ desire to protect user data is at odds with the government’s interest in pursuing criminals who use the internet. The case, known as United States v. Microsoft …
your ad hereTrunk Show: Elephant Genome Study Offers Surprises
The most comprehensive elephant genome study ever conducted, covering seven living and extinct species, is offering some surprises about the family tree of the world’s largest land animal while also settling a debate about Africa’s elephants. Researchers said on Monday their research confirmed that the two types of African elephants, …
your ad hereCuban Cigar Sales Hit Record as China Demand Surges
A surge in sales of Cuba’s legendary cigars in China helped manufacturer Habanos S.A.’s global revenue rise 12 percent to hit a record of around $500 million last year, the company said on Monday at the start of Cuba’s annual cigar festival. Habanos S.A., a 50-50 joint venture between the …
your ad hereDenver Weighs Olympics Bid Years After Withdrawing as Host
It promised ample snow and sunny weather on a normally bare, rocky peak easily accessible by “super highway,” thousands more hotel rooms than existed, and a cross-country ski course that looked good on paper but would have cut through some people’s backyards. The airbrushed pitch worked, but after Denver won …
your ad hereWHO: Yemen’s Cholera Epidemic Likely to Intensify
The World Health Organization warned on Monday that a cholera epidemic in Yemen that killed more than 2,000 people could flare up again in the rainy season. WHO Deputy Director General for Emergency Preparedness and Response Peter Salama said the number of cholera infections had been in decline in Yemen …
your ad hereLikely Centrist Brazil Presidential Contender Says He Would Sell Petrobras
The governor of Sao Paulo and likely centrist presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin said on Monday that he would privatize Brazil’s state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA if he wins the elections in October. Alckmin, who has single digit support in opinion polls, said during a television interview with Band TV …
your ad hereEd Sheeran Named Best-selling Global Artist of 2017
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was named the world’s best-selling artist of 2017 on Monday, thanks to his album “Divide” and singles “Shape of You” and “Perfect.” The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said that “Divide,” which was released in March 2017, went multi-platinum in 36 nations. Sheeran’s pop …
your ad hereTrump Org. Donates Foreign Profits, But Won’t Say How Much
The Trump Organization said Monday it has made good on the president’s promise to donate profits from foreign government spending at its hotels to the U.S. Treasury, but neither the company nor the government disclosed the amount or how it was calculated. Watchdog groups seized on the lack of …
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