Melissa Madara was not surprised to receive death threats Friday as her Brooklyn witchcraft store prepared to host a public hexing of newly confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh this weekend. The planned casting of an anti-Kavanaugh spell, one of the more striking instances of politically disgruntled Americans turning …
your ad hereUsing Tech to Save World’s Most Endangered Species in Tanzania
In Tanzania, protecting endangered animals has become easier thanks to Earth Ranger. Earth Ranger is not a superhero, it’s a technology platform, developed by Vulcan Inc., a company co-founded by U.S. philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The system helps rangers remotely monitor elephants and other animals to stay ahead …
your ad hereBali Beauty Pageant Signals Renewed Anti-LGBT Crackdown
Majority-Hindu Bali has long been considered more tolerant of different sexual identities compared with other parts of Indonesia, especially amid recent anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) crackdowns in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. But a beauty pageant promoting HIV education and equality was this month shutdown by Islamic hardliners, …
your ad hereIMF Reaches Deal with Ukraine on New $4 Billion, 14-Month Loan
The International Monetary Fund announced Friday it had reached an agreement with Ukraine on economic policies that would unlock a new loan deal that will provide nearly $4 billion. The new 14-month standby loan deal replaces an existing four-year financial aid package agreed in March 2015 and due to expire …
your ad hereRapper Cardi B Hands Out Free Coats in New York
Hundreds of people have lined up in New York City as rapper Cardi B handed out free winter coats. The Bronx-born rapper met with residents and fans on Thursday evening at the Marlboro Houses in Brooklyn during brisk fall weather. The 26-year-old also was given balloons and a cake …
your ad hereSupermodel Karlie Kloss Marries Jared Kushner’s Brother
Supermodel Karlie Kloss has married businessman Joshua Kushner. Kloss posted a photo of her in a wedding dress and Kushner in a tuxedo – both of them beaming – on Instagram and Twitter Thursday night. People magazine reports the couple married at a small ceremony in upstate New York …
your ad hereFinancial Watchdog: Regulate Cryptocurrencies Now, Or Else
A global financial body says governments worldwide must establish rules for virtual currencies like bitcoin to stop criminals from using them to launder money or finance terrorism. The Financial Action Task Force said Friday that from next year it will start assessing whether countries are doing enough to fight criminal …
your ad hereFormer Deputy UK Leader Nick Clegg Takes Post with Facebook
Facebook has hired former U.K. deputy prime minister Nick Clegg to head its global policy and communications teams, enlisting a veteran of European Union politics to help it with increased regulatory scrutiny in the region. Clegg, 51, will become a vice president of the social media giant, and report to …
your ad hereBangladesh Music Fans Mourn Rock Megastar
Thousands of Bangladeshi music fans gathered in the capital on Friday to mourn the sudden death of one of the country’s most famous rock stars. Ayub Bachchu, widely known as AB among his fans, started his music career in 1978 and was one of the pioneers of the celebrated underground …
your ad hereFrench Startup Offers Visions of Damaged Middle Eastern Cities
The Syrian government says the ancient city of Palmyra, gravely damaged by IS militants, could reopen to the public next spring. But, while restoration continues on the ground, one French startup is showing people how Palmyra and other cities affected by war once looked, how they look now, and how …
your ad hereLife in America’s Northernmost Observatory: Tracking Climate Change
An observatory in Barrow, Alaska, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has become a key scientific instrument in studying climate change. Established in 1973, the Barrow Observatory is staffed year-round by two researchers who measure and track changes in air quality and weather. Natasha Mozgovaya traveled to Barrow, …
your ad hereWomen-to-Women Business Fund Comes to Britain
A women-to-women investment fund is coming to Britain next month to boost financing for female-owned businesses, its founder said Thursday, as efforts grow to close the gender investing gap. SheEO has lent more than $2 million to 32 female social entrepreneurs in the United States, Canada and New Zealand to …
your ad hereWet and Mild: Warm Winter Predicted for Much of US
Winter looks wet and especially mild for much of the country, thanks to a weak El Nino brewing, U.S. meteorologists said. The National Weather Service on Thursday predicted a warmer than normal winter for the northern and western three-quarters of the nation. The greatest chance for warmer than normal winter …
your ad hereSurvey: US Sports Leagues Could Reap $4.2 Billion a Year from Legal Betting
The four major U.S. professional sports leagues could reap a combined $4.2 billion annually as a result of legal sports betting, most of it indirectly from increased fan engagement, according to a casino industry survey released on Thursday. The findings could fuel a long-simmering feud between the gaming industry and …
your ad hereData Project Aims to Stop Human Trafficking Before It Occurs
Computer giant IBM Corp., financial services company Western Union Co. and European police launched a project Thursday to share financial data that they said may one day be able to predict human trafficking before it occurs. The shared data hub will collect information on money moving around the world and compare it with known …
your ad hereUS Stocks Slide on Saudi Arabia, Italy Concerns
U.S. stocks fell more than 1 percent on Thursday as the European Commission issued a warning regarding Italy’s budget and concerns mounted about the possibility of strained relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia. S&P 500 technology stocks fell more than 2 percent, as did the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Wall Street’s major indexes pared …
your ad hereIn Toothy Prequel, Piranha-Like Fish Menaced Jurassic Seas
You can call it a prehistoric prequel. Scientists said on Thursday they have unearthed in southern Germany the fossil of a fish that, with its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, strongly resembled today’s piranhas, the stars of more than their fair share of Hollywood horror films. But this one lived …
your ad hereRussian Firms Test Non-Dollar Deals to Sidestep US Sanctions
Several major Russian companies are exploring ways to do deals abroad without using dollars, spurred on by a U.S. threat to broaden sanctions that have impeded access of some Russian firms to the international banking system. The Kremlin has been pushing companies to conduct more deals using other currencies to …
your ad hereWarsaw Taxis Hold Anti-Uber Go Slow
Hundreds of taxis on Thursday drove at a snail’s pace across the Polish capital Warsaw in protest at the ride-sharing app Uber and other unlicenced competitors. Other cab drivers gathered in front of the justice ministry to call for legislation to regulate the industry. Traditional cab operators argue that the …
your ad hereMnuchin Pulls US Out of Saudi Investment Conference
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has pulled out of an investment conference next week in Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh continues to face questions about its involvement in the disappearance and alleged killing of a U.S.-based Saudi journalist in Turkey. Mnuchin made the announcement Thursday on Twitter, following numerous Western corporate …
your ad hereRural Americans Struggle with Poor Broadband Access
Even in the country that invented the internet, access has remained painfully slow for many rural residents in places like the central state of Arkansas, far from the big cities of the East and West coasts. That may be about to change. The Federal Communications Commission — a government agency …
your ad hereFacebook’s Election ‘War Room’ Takes Aim at Fake Information
In an otherwise innocuous part of Facebook’s expansive Silicon Valley campus, a locked door bears a taped-on sign that reads “War Room.” Behind the door lies a nerve center the social network has set up to combat fake accounts and bogus news stories ahead of upcoming elections. Inside the room …
your ad hereUganda, at ‘Big Risk’ for Ebola, Says Congo Is Managing Well
A senior health official in Uganda says “the situation is being handled well” in neighboring Congo after the World Health Organization said the latest Ebola outbreak there is not yet a global emergency. But Uganda’s director of health services, Henry Mwebesa, tells The Associated Press that twice-weekly market days during …
your ad hereWhy America Stopped Shopping at Sears
In the late 1960s, while fledgling new retailers Walmart, Kohl’s, Kmart and Target were hard at work establishing a foothold in the hearts, minds and wallets of the American consumer, the nation’s dominant retailer was busy building the world’s tallest building. In pouring its funds and focus into Chicago’s Sears …
your ad hereUS Again Declines to Label China a Currency Manipulator
The Trump administration has again declined to label China a currency manipulator, but says it is keeping China and five other nations on a watch list. “Of particular concern are China’s lack of currency transparency and the recent weakness in its currency,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in his …
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