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Showing posts from March, 2018

Boy In Viral Hug Photo And His Family Feared Dead After Their SUV Plunges Off A Cliff

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" There's a lot of unknowns. However, we do know several things. We know that an entire family vanished and perished during this tragedy," Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said during a news conference Wednesday. he photograph of Devonte hugging the officer Portland got more than 400,000 likes on Facebook. Five members of a Washington family were killed after their SUV went off a Pacific Coast Highway cliff and crashed into the rocky ocean, authorities said. The victims were identified as Jennifer Jean Hart and Sarah Margaret Hart, both 38, and their children Martin, 19, Abigail, 14, and Jeremiah, 14. Authorities fear that the couple's three other children, Devonte, 15, Hannah, 16, and Sierra, 12, are also dead, saying that they have "every indication to believe" that all six children were in the SUV that crashed off the coast of Northern California near Mendocino, about 150 miles north of San Francisco. Devonte became famous in 2014 when he was photograp

Feline Pampered: Basra Moggies Set Paw In Iraq's First Cat Hotel

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The hotel was the brainchild of Ahmad Taher, a 24-year-old veterinary student and feline fan. People began leaving their animals with in the hotel when they took off on holiday. (AFP) BASRA, IRAQ:  Cats in Iraq's southern city of Basra are purring with delight as the country's first feline hotel opens for guests. In a part of the country where many struggle to make ends meet, a prime venue for cat naps may seem like a luxury. But Mehdi Fadel, owner of Bella, a longhaired Angora, was enthusiastic when he heard about the "4Cats Pet Hotel" on social medi a. Ahmad Taher, a 24-year-old senior veterinary student, clips the claws of a cat staying for short periods. (AFP ) "I really liked the idea because my family and I travel a lot and it's always hard to find a place where we can leave our cat," he said as he came to take Bella home. The hotel was the brainchild of Ahmad Taher, a 24-year-old veterinary student and feline fan. Located above a vet's clinic,

Trump Proposal Would Penalize Immigrants Who Use Tax Credits And Other Benefits

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US authorities have long had the ability to deny residency and other benefits to non-citizens who are dependent on public assistance The Trump administration's Current rules penalise immigrants who get cash welfare payments Immigrants who accept almost any form of welfare or public benefit, even popular tax deductions, could be denied legal U.S. residency under a proposal awaiting approval by the Trump administration, which is seeking to reduce the number of foreigners living in the United States. According to a draft of the proposal obtained by The Washington Post, immigration caseworkers would be required to consider a much broader range of factors when determining whether immigrants or their U.S.-citizen children are using public benefits or may be likely to do so. Current rules penalize immigrants who receive cash welfare payments, considering them a "public charge." But the proposed changes from the Department of Homeland Security would widen the government's def

Walmart Has A Secret Weapon Against Amazon. Maybe Too Secret.

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Vudu gave Walmart digital cred, but the primary rationale for the 2010 deal was to provide insurance against declining in-store sales of DVDs. Vudu, the video-on-demand service it bought eight years ago. Walmart has a vast arsenal at its disposal in its battle with Amazon.com: stores, trucks, warehouses, even a blockchain-enabled supply chain of fruits and vegetables. But there's one weapon it's barely deployed: Vudu, the video-on-demand service it bought eight years ago. Back then, Netflix was available only in the U.S. and Canada, Amazon was still a year away from offering free videos for its Prime members and Apple had just released its first iPad. With a library of 5,000 films from all the big studios available at the press of a button, Vudu promised to "revolutionize" the home-movie experience when it debuted in 2007. It hasn't worked out that way. As its competitors flourished, Vudu languished. Even though it's pre-loaded in or can be downloaded to hundr

Facebook Makes Its Privacy Controls Simpler As Company Faces Data Reckoning

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Facebook also will create a page that makes it easier for people to clearly view what information the company collects about them. Facebook Makes Its Privacy Controls Simpler As Company Faces Data Reckoning Facebook also will create a page that makes it easier for people to clearly view what information the company collects about them. World | (c) 2018 The Washington Post | Elizabeth Dwoskin, Tony Romm, The Washington Post | Updated: March 29, 2018 09:17 IST   by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored 17 Warning Signs of Diabetes (HealtyLeo.com) Move ahead in Advertising with MICA - 1 Year Online Course (MICA) SHARE EMAIL PRINT Facebook Makes Its Privacy Controls Simpler As Company Faces Data Reckoning Facebook already gives consumers the ability to download their data and control many privacy settings. Facebook on Wednesday sought to make it simpler for people to control how their data is used as a massive privacy scandal continues to shake the company and has caused its stock price to dro

Saudi Arabia Must Face US Lawsuit Claiming It Helped Plan 9/11 Attacks

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Saudi government has long denied involvement in the attacks, in which hijacked planes crashed into New York's World Trade Center, among other places. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 attacks NEW YORK:  A U.S. judge on Wednesday rejected Saudi Arabia's bid to dismiss lawsuits claiming that it helped plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and should pay billions of dollars in damages to victims. U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said the plaintiffs' allegations "narrowly articulate a reasonable basis" for him to assert jurisdiction under a federal law, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Saudi Arabia had long had broad immunity from Sept. 11 lawsuits in the United States, before the U.S. Congress in September 2016 overrode a veto by President Barack Obama to allow such cases to proceed. Lawyers for Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Saudi government has long denied involvement in the attacks, i

Saudi Crown Prince To Meet Oprah Winfrey On US Tour: Report

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The 36-page document seen by the daily detailed that the prince will meet Winfrey in Los Angeles at the tail end of his tour. Several government officials, media figures and business leaders were scheduled to meet him. A leaked copy of his itinerary shed light on his US tour. (File) WASHINGTON :  Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud is likely to meet US media mogul Oprah Winfrey as part of his ongoing tour in the US, leaked documents have shown. A leaked copy of his itinerary, which was obtained by the Independent daily, shed light on the full extent of his American charm offensive.  The 36-page document seen by the daily detailed that the prince will meet Winfrey in Los Angeles at the tail end of his tour. Several government officials, media figures and business leaders were scheduled to meet him. After meeting US President Donald Trump and his administration on his arrival in Washington on March 19, the Crown Prince went to Boston. He is currently in N

Fossils Of 'Badass' Argentine Meat-Eating Dinosaur Unearthed

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Scientists on Wednesday described Tratayenia, a two-legged beast up to about 30 feet (9 meters) long, adding another impressive dinosaur to the list of those that inhabited Patagonia during the Cretaceous Period. Tratayenia was the largest-known predator about 85 million years ago in Patagonia. (Reuters) WASHINGTON:  On a semiarid Patagonian landscape 85 million years ago, a formidable meat-eater called Tratayenia rosalesi reigned as the apex predator, part of an enigmatic dinosaur group that menaced South America and Australia for tens of millions of years. Scientists on Wednesday described Tratayenia, a two-legged beast up to about 30 feet (9 meters) long, based on fossils unearthed in Argentina's Neuquen province, adding another impressive dinosaur to the list of those that inhabited Patagonia during the Cretaceous Period. It was a member of a group called megaraptorids that lived in the Southern Hemisphere from about 105 to 85 million years ago. The group was recognised by pala

New Owners Of Air India To Get Planes And $5 Billion Of Debt

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Selling a majority stake in the loss-making, 85-year-old company isn't going to be a cakewalk. At least one attempt almost two decades ago failed amid fierce political opposition. Air India started as Tata Airlines in 1932 and later became state-owned. India is selling a controlling stake in its flagship carrier along with two-thirds of the loss-making airline's about $7.8 billion debt, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi moves ahead with the nation's most high profile asset sale in decades. The government will sell 76 percent of Air India Ltd., according to a document uploaded on the civil aviation ministry's website on Wednesday. The airline's overseas budget carrier will be completely sold in the offer, while the state will sell a 50 percent stake in the ground handling unit separately. The administration may also ask the buyer to conduct an initial public offering. A successful sale of Air India, which is surviving on taxpayer-funded bailouts, is seen as test case f

Rich Saudis Take Over Another Hotel But No Prisoners This Time

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Plaza Hotel in Manhattan was closed to the public this week and a similar number of top Saudis are lodged under very different circumstances. The Plaza Hotel is partly owned by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The last time scores of ultra-rich Saudis took over a luxury hotel, it wasn't by choice. In November, some 200 ministers, princes and investors were herded into Riyadh's Ritz Carlton for several months and essentially shaken down for improperly attained lucre, part of an anti-corruption drive. The hotel was shut for other business. This week it's the Plaza Hotel in midtown Manhattan that's closed to the public and where a similar number of top Saudis are lodged under very different circumstances. Members of a huge delegation led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the Saudis are part of a three-week tour of the U.S. aimed at increasing ties and helping with Riyadh's ambitious plan to remake its economy into one based less on oil.   Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, left,

Cambridge Analytica Saga Ensnares A Tiny Canadian Data Shop

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AggregateIQ is said to be the technology behind Cambridge Analytica's work in using social media data to help win elections. AggregateIQ is under investigation in the U.K. for its involvement in the Brexit referendum. A tiny data analytics firm in a quiet provincial capital in Canada's far west has found itself at the center of the scandal surrounding Cambridge Analytica's role in British and U.S. elections. AggregateIQ, based in Victoria, British Columbia, is alleged by former Cambridge Analytica employee-turned-whistleblower Christopher Wylie to be the technology behind Cambridge Analytica's work in using social media data to help win elections. AggregateIQ firmly denies it's owned or directed by Cambridge Analytica. AggregateIQ is a small data analytics firm with about a dozen employees listed on LinkedIn. It was founded by two western Canadian political staffers, Jeff Silvester and Zackary Massingham. Silvester worked for a federal member of parliament from the

Greenland Is Melting Faster Than At Any Time In The Past 450 Years (At Least)

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Current melt rates may even be unprecedented over a time frame much greater than 450 years, Erich Osterberg said - although the study did not analyze how much further back one must go to see something similar to the present. Lead scientist Erich prepares to drill ice during Greenland Traverse for Accumulation & Climate Studies. Scientists who crossed western Greenland with a fleet of snowmobiles, pulling up long cylinders of ice at camps a little more than a mile above sea level, have found evidence that the vast sheet of ice is melting faster than at any time in the past 450 years at least - and possibly much longer than that. That's worrisome, because the snow that has fallen on the island over millennia - now compacted into ice - could raise sea levels by 20 feet if it completely melted. In recent years, as Arctic air and ocean temperatures have risen, Greenland has been losing more ice through melting on its surface and through iceberg breaks at its periphery. It's curr