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['American Horror Story: Cult' trailer teases consequences of 2016 election]

'American Horror Story: Cult' trailer teases consequences of 2016 election

The first official trailer for "American Horror Story: Cult" is here, giving us our initial looks at Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters' characters, as well as the first real glimpse at how the horror anthology is taking on President Trump.

It may start off with the recognizable scene for many: a screaming Paulson in Michigan as newscasters announce that Donald Trump has won the 2016 election. But from Twisty the Clown to a child in danger, there's a lot to dissect from there.

While Paulson's character, Ally, is devastated by the election news, Peters' character has a very different reaction, to say the least. With wild eyes and dyed blue hair, he screams as she rushes the TV.

Later, we find that Ally is going through some personal issues, probably in part due to the election results. "Since election night, it has all been getting so much worse," she tells her therapist, played by "AHS" familiar face Cheyenne Jackson. He clarifies that it's her fear of clowns that's gotten worse, cutting to a scene with a book about Twisty the Clown — the antagonist of Season 4, "Freak Show," played by John Carroll Lynch.

Twisty shows up later in the teaser as well, as "AHS" newcomer Billie Lourd presents a doll of the clown to a young boy. Lourd, in talking with Peters, tells him she hates children... but later, proclaims that she loves them. The trailer also gives the first look at Alison Pill's character, who is married to Ally.

Peters caps off the trailer with an ominous message: "If you get people scared enough, they will set the world on fire."

The trailer was released via FX's "Cult" website on Tuesday, where the network has been unveiling mysterious hints over the past few weeks. On Monday, show creator Ryan Murphy unleashed the opening credits for the new installment, which showed figures in Trump and Hillary Clinton masks.

Watch the trailer below.

From Variety
variety.com

[Teens favoring Snapchat and Instagram over Facebook, says eMarketer]

Teens favoring Snapchat and Instagram over Facebook, says eMarketer

Facebook is losing appeal among teens and young adults which is contributing to generally slowing growth for the platform, according to the latest projections from research firm eMarketer.

At the same time alternative social apps Snapchat and (Facebook-owned) Instagram are seeing rising and double-digit growth in the same youth demographic — suggesting younger users are favoring newer and more visual communications platforms.

"Both platforms have found success with this demographic since they are more aligned with how they communicate — using visual content," noted eMarketer forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco in a statement.

It's the second consecutive year of expected usage declines for Facebook among this advertiser-coveted group, according to the researcher.

eMarketer suggests some tweens are even skipping adopting Facebook entirely (it calls them "Facebook nevers") and going straight to the rival platforms, even as remaining tweens and teens appear less engaged on Facebook — logging in less frequently and spending less time on the platform.

While having slipping relevance among a coveted ad demographic is obviously not good news for a social behemoth whose business is dependent on ad revenue, Facebook does have the consolation of also owning one of the two main youth-friendly alternative platforms: Instagram. (Aka, 'if you can't be it, buy it'.)

Still, eMarketer is also projecting that the acquisition that got away from Zuck, Snapchat, will overtake Instagram and Facebook in the total teen (12 to 17) & young adult (18 to 24) ages for the first time in 2017 — boosting its share of US social network users to 40.8 per cent, and projected to push close to a majority by 2021. (Though Instagram is also forecast to maintain its greater reach through this timeframe.)

Back in 2013, when reports of Facebook's spurned acquisition attempts of Snapchat surfaced, it followed fast on the heels of the company reporting a first-time decline in young teens using its service daily.

Nearly four years later Facebook's problem with keeping teens happy has only got bigger — but the company's success at using Instagram to successfully clone Snapchat's features has helped mitigate the issue. (Even if it means Facebook's corporate motto should really now read: 'Move fast and clone things'.)



eMarketer couched U.S. Facebook usage in the 12 and 17 age-group as dropping the most "precipitously" — noting that while 81.9% of social network users in that age range are projected to use Facebook this year, the figure will slide to 76.2% by 2021.

Other highlights from eMarketer's forecast:

- Facebook usage in the US in the 12 to 17 age group will fall 3.4% vs 2016, to 14.5M, accelerating from the 1.2% slip seen last year
- Facebook's US monthly users overall are expected to grow 2.4% this year to 172.9M — up slightly on the prior forecast due to increased adoption by older Internet users
- Snapchat's US monthly users are expected to grow 25.8% in 2017 to 79.2M monthly, with growth figures adjusted higher for all but the oldest age group, and the biggest upward revision for the 18-to-24 group which is forecast to see usage escalate 19.2% this year
- Instagram's US monthly users are expected to grow 23.8% in 2017, up from prior forecasts, to 85.5M, expanding its user base among under 12s by 19%, and 12 to 17s by 8.8%



- In the UK, Facebook is estimated to have 32.5M monthly active users this year, remaining the most popular social network, even as it also loses share to Snapchat and Instagram among younger age groups there
- In the UK, Instagram is projected to have 16.7M monthly users in 2017, an increase of 34.8% over 2016 — and a total reach amounting to more than a quarter of the UK population (the same as its reach in the US)
- In the UK, Snapchat is projected to have 14M monthly users, with growth of 20.2% expected this year (meaning it will reach around a fifth of the population)
- While Twitter's total UK user base is expected to be 12.6M this year



eMarketer's methodology counts a monthly user as someone who is accessing their account at least once per month, consistently, each month throughout the calendar year. It says it bases its forecasts on analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from research firms, government agencies, media firms and public companies, along with interviews with senior execs at publishers, ad buyers and agencies.

At the time of writing Facebook had not responded to a request for comment.

From TechCrunch
techcrunch.com

[The Pixel 2 is probably getting smart Google headphones]

The Pixel 2 is probably getting smart Google headphones

Discoveries in the Google app for Android reveal that Google is working on smart headphones that will let users activate the Google Assistant and interact with it. As always with such revelations, I'd tell you there are no guarantees that Google is actually making its own AirPods alternatives for its new Pixel phone lineup. But looking at the bigger picture is enough to convince me that Google-made headphones are indeed coming this year.

Digging through the code of the Google 7.10 app, 9to5Google discovered clear references to Google headphones. The product is codenamed Bisto, and while it's not clear whether it's a wired or wireless product, it is supposed to be smart. "Your headphones have the Google Assistant. Ask it questions. Tell it to do things. It's your own personal Google, always ready to help," the code reads.

Bisto will let you read your notifications aloud as they come in, and even reply to them without touching your phone.

The device features at least a couple of buttons, including one that activates Google Assistant: "To talk to me or ask me a question, press and hold the Google Assistant button on the left earcup while talking," the code says. Bisto can also receive firmware updates, and it comes with an Assistant pairing and setup process.

Now, there's nothing in the code to confirm that Bisto is launching alongside the Pixel 2 phones this fall. But let's remember two things about Google's Android devices. First, Google was not able to keep any of the Nexus or Pixel devices it launched so far a secret, and a large number of the leaks detailing Google products turned out to be right on the money.

Which brings me to this year's Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL that were heavily featured in all sorts of leaks. Reports say both phones will ship without headphone jacks. What better way for Google to fix this problem than by launching its own wireless headphones? Apple did it for the iPhone 7, though it was just one of the three solutions the iPhone maker proposed to make the 3.5mm headphone jack problem go away.

Plus, it makes sense for Google to launch its own smart headphones considering its ambitions in the voice computing business. Bisto could help place Google in a better position to fight Amazon, Samsung, and others for voice control on Android. Let's not forget that Google Assistant rivals including Alexa and Bixby are already available on plenty of devices.

From BGR
bgr.com

Tempted to buy it just for the animals... I'd finally be able to be a veterinarian!

Honey, let's be veterinarians together.

I read that as vegetarians at first lol

Hah! I got it! Thanks again @smallfry5545

@smallfry5545 ty oh masterful one!! will have to add it to the post when I get home.

Someone pls tell me how to get that gif on here so you don't have to click the link. It's my favorite gif in the entire world and I cry laughing every time I see it.

[Why do we like robots more when they mess up?]

Why do we like robots more when they mess up?



You might have seen the GIF above floating round the 'net recently. It comes from a recent TED talk given by Boston Dynamics, and shows the company's latest bipedal Atlas robots failing — delightfully — to perform some light office admin. Now Boston Dynamics' bots are no strangers to going viral, but usually they're framed as harbingers of the robo-apocalypse. This time round the reaction has been much more sympathetic. Even a little affectionate.

"I legitimately feel sorry for a robot. The future is going to be weird," said one commenter on Reddit, where the GIF was submitted to the r/aww sub-reddit alongside adorable kittens and puppies. "That was the cutest thing I've ever seen a robot do. Poor guy tried so hard," said another in the same thread.

But why exactly are we more accepting of Boston Dynamics' bots when they're falling over? Well, according to group of scientists from the Center for Human-Computer Interaction in Salzburg, Austria, it might be for the same reasons we like people that make errors: because it makes them more relatable and more approachable. In other words — it makes them seem human.

The scientists in Salzburg, led by research fellow Nicole Mirnig, tested this hypothesis recently by setting up a task in which 45 human volunteers had to build LEGO creations with help from a small, humanoid robot. In some of the tests, Mirnig and her colleagues programmed the bot to make simple mistakes like repeating words or failing to grasp objects. Each time round they asked the volunteers to rate the robot on a number of criteria including likability, anthropomorphism, and perceived intelligence. The results showed that when the robot made mistakes, people liked it more.

Now, it's tricky to say definitively why mistakes make robots more likable, but Mirnig's theory is that it has something to do with the 'Pratfall Effect' — a phenomenon in social psychology where we like individuals more when they mess up. Crucially, though, this effect is very context-dependent. We don't like people who make mistakes all the time; but we do like when individuals who are genuinely reliable make small errors. And, according to Mirnig, robots fit into this latter category pretty well.

"Research has shown that people form their opinions and expectations about robots to a substantial proportion on what they learn from the media," Mirnig told Digital Trends. "Those media entail movies in which robots are often portrayed as perfectly functioning entities, good or evil. Upon interacting with a social robot themselves, people adjust their opinions and expectations based on their interaction experience. I assume that interacting with a robot that makes mistakes, makes us feel closer and less inferior to technology."

If these findings hold true, then companies in the future might pre-program robots to make slight errors when they interact with us. These would be carefully calculated — enough to register, but not so serious that they impinge on the interaction. In a way, nothing could be more human.

From The Verge
theverge.com

[Cats and Dogs are coming to The Sims 4 in November]

Cats and Dogs are coming to The Sims 4 in November

Back in January, vampires joined the world of The Sims 4. Come November, some very different kinds of fanged beasts will be added to the game: Cats and Dogs.

The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs will add a new "Create a Pet" tool to the game that will give players the ability to create their own special felines and canines with distinct personalities and unique physical features, and then dress them up with expressive outfits and accessories. Just as it is in the real world, however, you won't have total, unquestioning control over them.

"Cats and dogs have minds of their own and form special relationships with Sims based on their daily interactions," EA said. "Your Sims care for, train and play games with their pets who all exhibit distinct and sometimes bizarre animal behaviors."

The expansion will add a new locale called Brindleton Bay, with harbor docks, a lighthouse, play parks, and stray pets for your Sims to take in. And players who'd like to invest even more of themselves in these new four-legged companions will also be able to build and run their very own veterinary clinic.   

I was initially put off by the price of The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs, which is available for preorder from Origin for $40. Dogs and cats are awesome, but that struck me as pretty steep for a single expansion, especially since The Sims 4 Digital Deluxe Edition is just $25. But then it was pointed out to me that the Get to Work expansion normally goes for $40 too, as do the Get Together and City Living expansions, so in that context it's really not out of line at all.

Then again, there are hot dog dogs.

The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs is set for release on November 10.

From PC Gamer
pcgamer.com

[The HTC Vive just got a $200 price cut]

The HTC Vive just got a $200 price cut

HTC has cut the price of its Vive virtual reality headset by $200, bringing the system's cost down to $599. The discount is meant to stimulate consumer interest in the system, and make it easier to afford accessories, including the Vive Tracker that went on sale earlier this year. It also comes with a one-month free trial of HTC's Viveport subscription service, which offers access to a selection of VR games. "We want to really significantly boost VR adoption now across the globe," says Vive US general manager Dan O'Brien, as the Vive's second holiday season approaches. "We think now is the right time to reset the price."

This price drop mirrors the Oculus Rift's $200 price cut in March, and it brings the Vive closer to the Rift's current $499 list price. (It's temporarily $399 as part of a summer sale.) O'Brien says that just like Oculus has promised with the Rift, the current-generation Vive isn't going away any time soon. "This is not about clearing the channel to make room for another product. We do expect this version of Vive to stay in market well into 2018," he says. Users can upgrade it with wireless adapters, a new head strap, and other other add-ons. "We don't want users to feel like they're always having to be [up-sold] into new hardware. We do want to make sure that things that we make around the Vive today continue to work with it."

O'Brien notes that HTC has upgraded elements like the Vive's cable system without declaring a new generation of hardware, and says that kind of iterative design will probably continue for some time. However, Vive co-creator Valve has been showing off one upgrade that might not come out for a while: a set of majorly redesigned motion controllers. O'Brien says the new controllers are still in their prototype stage, though developers have started getting versions of them for testing. "We're still working on consumer versions of those."

The new price cut doesn't affect the Vive's $1,200 Business Edition package, which is aimed at arcades and other commercial enterprises. O'Brien says that these commercial editions make up a minority of Vive sales, but they're still a substantial part of the business — especially in China, where HTC estimates that they're in 60 to 70 percent of an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 total arcades in the country.

The Vive's intense setup process and general clunkiness still makes it more of a choice for hardcore enthusiasts than casual VR buyers. But today's discount is good news for anyone who's been interested in the system but balked at its previous $799 price tag, especially since VR-ready computers have gotten significantly cheaper since its launch in the spring of 2016.

From The Verge
theverge.com

[Suspected driver in deadly Barcelona attack is fatally shot, police say]

Suspected driver in deadly Barcelona attack is fatally shot, police say

The driver of a van who careened through throngs of revelers in a tourist zone here last week was shot dead by police on a quiet country road Monday afternoon, capping a four-day manhunt for the last member of a 12-person terrorist cell likely led by a mysterious imam.

After receiving a tip from locals who spotted a suspicious character hiding in the vineyards around the village of Subirats, an hour's drive west of Barcelona, rural law enforcement officers, accompanied by Catalan police, confronted Younes Abouyaaqoub.

Josep Lluís Trapero, chief of the Catalan National Police, said Abouyaaqoub threw open his shirt to reveal what officers believed was a suicide bomb belt around his waist.

The chief said Moroccan-born Abouyaaqoub then shouted "Allahu akbar," or God is great in Arabic, and police shot him dead.

Authorities said Monday that forensic evidence, security camera images and a witness led them to conclude that Abouyaaqoub was the driver of the van that plowed through hundreds of pedestrians in a crowded Las Ramblas street on Thursday afternoon.

Spanish authorities said Monday that the death toll had risen to 15. Scores were wounded, some seriously.

Thirteen people were killed by Abouyaaqoub in his vehicular assault on La Rambla, a world-famous avenue of cafes, shops, and stately old hotels in the heart of Barcelona.

An hour after the van attack, police say Abouyaaqoub killed another man to steal a getaway car. His accomplices, fleeing a police roadblock, ran over a woman.

Of the 15 people killed, two were children. Six were Spaniards, three Italians, two Portuguese. There was also a Belgian, a Canadian and dual citizen of Australia and Britain. One was an American, Jared Tucker, on his honeymoon.

After Abouyaaqoub was shot dead by police, a bomb squad deployed a robot to get near the prone body and discovered that the suicide vest was a fake, officials said.

The terrorist attack was the worst in Spain since the Madrid train bombings of 2004, when 191 people were killed and 1,700 were injured.

The Islamic State asserted responsibility for the Barcelona attacks. Catalan police said it is possible the terrorist cell, composed of Moroccan-born youths and young men, was inspired or steered by Islamic State actors, but that the investigation was ongoing and definitive links have not been established.

Security camera images released Monday by police showed Abouyaaqoub making his escape on foot through Barcelona's La Boqueria market after the attack.

Those images were given to the public on Monday and probably led to the assailant being identified up in the mountain vineyards.

Catalan Justice Minister Carles Mundo identified Abouyaaqoub's latest victim as Pau Perez, who was found dead in his Ford Focus several miles from the scene of the van attack. Police said that Abouyaaqoub knifed Perez to death when he stole his car to escape after the van attack. He dumped Perez into the back seat and drove away.

Abouyaaqoub then rammed through the barricades at a police checkpoint as officers fired on the car, authorities said. That vehicle was found abandoned a few miles away with Perez's body still in the back seat.

Where Abouyaaqoub spent the last four days is unknown.

Trapero, the Catalan National Police chief, told reporters that authorities found DNA remains of at least two people killed in an explosion the day before the attacks.

Trapero said it was likely that one of the bodies found at the explosion site was Abdelbaki Essati, a Muslim cleric who is suspected of radicalizing young men in the mountain town of Ripoll and organizing the terrorist cell.

Essati, a Moroccan national who lived in Ripoll for the last two years, served as imam in a mosque, where he taught the Koran and the Arabic language. Police revealed Monday that he was a convicted drug trafficker who had served time in the Castellon prison outside Valencia in 2010 to 2014.

Carles Puigdemont, president of the Catalon region, told The Washington Post that police here were not given timely information by the Spanish federal government and were in the dark — until now — about the imam's time in prison.

While serving his sentence in prison, Spanish media reported that Essati may have met Rachid Aglif, known as "the Rabbit," one of the main plotters of the 2004 Madrid bomb attacks.

Ali Yassine, the director of the mosque in Ripoll, said that Essati was paid about $1,000 a month to serve as imam. Local benefactors paid his rent and helped with groceries.


Yassine told The Washington Post that he had given Essati's name to local police more than a year ago as part of standard security protocol to keep a closer eye on Muslim preachers. But authorities did not flag Essati on a watch list even though he had a conviction for trafficking drugs.

If only authorities had alerted the Muslim elders in Ripoll that Essati was a convicted drug smuggler, the Moroccan families say, he would have been fired as imam and never have had the chance to radicalize their sons.

"We have trusted the mosque and the authorities and send our children to learn about Islam and Arabic. How could they allow such a criminal and monster to get involved with our children?" said the aunt of Moussa Oukabir, one of the cell members. The aunt spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared a backlash for what her relatives did.

"We must find out what has happened to them, so we can make sure not to loose the next generation of our children as well," she said.

Police had another chance to stop the terrorist cell before they struck after a large explosion occurred Wednesday.

For almost 24 hours, until the van attack, police assumed the explosion was caused by criminals manufacturing methamphetamine.

Authorities said they investigated the blast site as quickly as possible. On Monday, police said they found 120 propane canisters at the blast site in Alcanar, about a two-hour drive south of Barcelona, alongside explosive material that has been employed in bombs.

Police concluded that the material and propane tanks were to be used in the attacks on Barcelona's crowded La Rambla promenade or another site in the city.

At the bomb house, police said they also found remote-controlled detonators.

From The Washington Post
washingtonpost.com

[At least 1 dead after earthquake rattles Italian resort island of Ischia]

At least 1 dead after earthquake rattles Italian resort island of Ischia

A deadly 3.6-magnitude earthquake rattled the Italian resort island of Ischia at the peak of tourist season Monday, collapsing some buildings, cutting electricity and sending panicked residents and tourists into the streets.

Italian officials say a woman has died and seven are unaccounted for at the moment.

Doctors reported that about 20 people suffered slight injuries, but officials feared others may be trapped in the rubble.

Italy's national volcanology institute said the temblor struck just before 9 p.m. local time as many people were having dinner.

Television images showed that about six buildings in the town of Casamicciola as well as a church had collapsed, the Reuters news agency reports. 

At least one hotel and parts of the Rizzoli hospital were evacuated (except for patients on respirators). A doctor at the Rizzoli hospital, Roberto Calloca, told Sky TG24 that some 20 people were being treated for minor injuries at a makeshift emergency room set up on the hospital grounds. Calloca said the situation was calm and under control.

Civil protection crews, already on the island in force to fight the forest fires that have been ravaging southern Italy, were checking the status of the buildings that suffered damage.

Together with the nearby island of Capri, Ischia is a favorite island getaway for the European jet-set, famed in particular for its thermal waters. Casamicciola was the epicenter of an 1883 earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people.

From CBS News
cbsnews.com

[After Big Ben rings out, the sound of silence in London]

After Big Ben rings out, the sound of silence in London

Ask not for whom the bell tolls — at least not for the next four years at Parliament.

Big Ben's distinctive and reassuring chimes, which have marked the passage of time since the Victorian era, fell silent after ringing out at noon on Monday as a $37 million restoration project got underway for the tower that houses the bell.

Crowds gathered around Parliament to hear the final set of bongs that have been an almost constant presence, heard not just in London but around the world: Two BBC News bulletins each day, at 6 p.m. and midnight, begin with the famous sound, which the broadcaster first used in 1924.

During World War II, when the bells carried on tolling after a brief interlude, the sound of Big Ben gave troops a lift in morale and provided hope to those in occupied countries like France.

"It was our lifeblood, and it was our comfort, and it kept us sane," Ginette Spanier, a former director of the Paris fashion house Pierre Balmain, once told the BBC.

The length of disruption to the chimings of the country's most famous clock has brought a variety of complaints, including one from Prime Minister Theresa May, who has said that it "cannot be right" for the stoppage to last four years.

The work comes at a time of national upheaval, with Britain preparing its withdrawal from the European Union, known as "Brexit." Many supporters of that move attach huge symbolic importance to institutions like Parliament, with some calling for the restoration of such emblems of past imperial greatness as the royal yacht.

The idea that parts of Big Ben would be draped in white cladding and muted while the country completes its divorce from the European Union has been too much for some of the politicians driving Brexit. Several of its supporters, including the Conservative lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, have called for the bells to ring at midnight on March 29, 2019, when the country is scheduled to leave the European Union.

Perhaps worried about accusations of nostalgia, hard-line supporters of Brexit seemed to stay away from Parliament on Monday. A handful of lawmakers spotted in the crowd outside Parliament said they were there on other business.

But Stephen Pound, a lawmaker from the opposition Labor Party, not only showed up but posed for pictures — perhaps not entirely seriously — with a handkerchief to dab his watering eyes.

He insisted, however, that this was a genuine time of national introspection. "It's a desperately sad moment — you don't know what you've got till it's gone," Mr. Pound said. "And I think in some ways it is the passing of something that means a great deal to a great many people."

During the restoration work, Big Ben's Great Clock will be dismantled piece by piece with each cog examined and restored — a process that, alone, is expected to take about two years. During that time, a temporary solution will be found to allow Big Ben to ring in the new year and to chime each November to remember Britain's war dead.

The tower needs further work, and the parliamentary authorities say that it would be impractical to have the bells toll daily or even weekly, as stopping and starting the mechanism is a complex process that takes about half a day to complete.

Worker safety also enters into the considerations. At 118 decibels, Big Ben is so loud (over the human pain threshold and louder than a jet taking off) that it might at the least startle people working at heights and could possibly damage their hearing permanently.

Though they have concluded it would be impractical to start and stop the bells each day, the parliamentary authorities "will consider the length of time that the bells will fall silent," they said in a statement last week after the complaints from lawmakers.

For all of the hand-wringing, this is not the first time Big Ben has been silenced, which perhaps explained the less sentimental approach taken by Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labor Party. "It's not a national disaster or catastrophe," he said.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with the main bell. (It has several cracks, but those are what give it its distinctive sound, and officials have issued assurances that it will be left alone.)

It is the tower, officially known as the Elizabeth Tower and commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the clock mechanism and faces that are showing signs of aging, like the rest of the crumbling Palace of Westminster. Paint is flaking, the masonry is cracking, the roof is leaking and the metalwork is rusting. All need to be addressed to keep the tower from disintegrating.

Those who gathered outside Parliament for the final bell — admittedly, a self-selecting audience — said the bongs would be sorely missed. David Dummigan, from Cumbria, in the north of England, said he had experienced "a lump" in his throat when he heard the last chime for four years.

"It's our heritage," he said. "People come from all over the world to look at it and listen to it. It's part of British history."

"It's a shame it is going to be silenced for four years," added Sue-Ann Samuel, who lives in London. "It is very dear to a lot of our hearts."

From The New York TImes
nytimes.com

[Trump celebrates solar eclipse by looking up without special viewing glasses]

Trump celebrates solar eclipse by looking up without special viewing glasses



Like many Americans across the country Monday, President Trump gazed at the first solar eclipse in a century to cross the continental United States, coast to coast.

Emerging with first lady Melania and son Barron on the Truman Balcony of the White House shortly before the eclipse reached its apex, Trump waved at the crowd and responded to a reporter's question — "How's the view?" — with a thumbs up, according to the White House press pool.

Then he tilted his head upward and pointed toward the sky, prompting a White House aide standing beneath the balcony to shout, "Don't look," according to the press pool. It is unclear if Trump looked directly at the sun.

As Blaine Friedlander wrote in The Washington Post, the first rule of enjoying a solar eclipse is to never look directly at the sun without eclipse glasses, because it could damage the eyes, advice that Trump's daughter Ivanka also gave her Twitter followers.

According to NASA, "Looking directly at the sun is unsafe except during the brief total phase of a solar eclipse ('totality'), when the moon entirely blocks the sun's bright face, which will happen only within the narrow path of totality.

"The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as 'eclipse glasses' ... or hand-held solar viewers."

Trump eventually put on special viewing glasses and watched for about 90 seconds.

The eclipse was the first since the founding of the republic that passed directly over only this country, and it traversed a 3,000-mile path, from Oregon through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, before finally disappearing off the coast of Charleston, S.C., at 2:49 p.m. Eastern time.

The solar eclipse was over from coast to coast in 90 minutes.

From The Washington Post
washingtonpost.com

[Apple plans to kill Touch ID with facial recognition, report claims]

Apple plans to kill Touch ID with facial recognition, report claims

A new iPhone 8 report from Korea provides some of the same details mentioned in previous leaks, but also an interesting tidbit about one of the iPhone's newest rumored tricks, the facial recognition system.

Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, The Korea Herald says the iPhone 8 will not have a curved display like the Galaxy S8, even though the phone will use a flexible OLED screen made by Samsung.

The Herald added that iPhone 8 supply will be significantly constrained at launch, citing Ming-Chi Kuo's prediction that Apple will be able to ship only 2 million to 4 million iPhone 8 units during the September quarter.

The report notes that Apple has been struggling to integrate a fingerprint sensor into the phone's display, but failed, just like Samsung. That's why the iPhone 8 and the Galaxy Note 8 will not have fingerprint sensors under the screen.

The iPhone 8's facial recognition system is also mentioned in the report, with The Herald offering an exciting new detail. Apparently, the 3D sensors can detect a user's face incredibly fast, "in the millionths of a second." That shouldn't be surprising considering that the iPhone 8 is also rumored to ditch the extremely fast Touch ID sensor. Unlike Samsung, which is placing the sensor on the back of its phones, Apple will either find a way to integrate it into the display or remove it completely.

Finally, the report says that both the front and rear cameras have 3D sensors that will be used in augmented reality apps.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 8 during its annual mid-September press event, alongside the iPhone 7s. The new iPhones should go on sale in the weeks following the keynote.

From BGR
bgr.com

[Overwatch's Junkrat and Roadhog introduce new map, Junkertown]

Overwatch's Junkrat and Roadhog introduce new map, Junkertown

As part of its Gamescom preview stream today, Blizzard revealed a number of new details about its games. That included the unveiling of Overwatch's next map, Junkertown.

This Escort map is set in the outback of Australia. It was highlighted in a new trailer (above) which was less a showcase of the map and more of a comedy starring Junkrat and Roadhog. It had a much different feeling from a typical Overwatch video and more closely resembled something you'd expect to see from Team Fortress 2.

Blizzard hasn't yet said when exactly the map will be released, but it's presumably coming in the near future. Gamescom attendees will be able to try it out this week, suggesting a public release is not far off. An overview video touring the map can be seen along with an image gallery above.

Also new this week is the latest Overwatch animated short. This will debut during a Gamescom stream this Wednesday, August 23. We'll bring that video to you once it's available.

From GameSpot
gamespot.com

[Google announces the name of its latest version of Android with the unveiling of a statue in Manhattan that took place while the moon was eclipsing the sun.]

Android Oreo is here and you can get it soon
from CNET

Google announces the name of its latest version of Android with the unveiling of a statue in Manhattan that took place while the moon was eclipsing the sun.

It's O-fficial.

Oreo is the newest version of Android, Google's mobile operating system. The updated software, which has been available for the last few months in developer beta, will arrive on devices by the end of the year.

It's been a long guessing game about what the "O" in Android O stands for. For the uninitiated, Google names each new version of Android alphabetically and after a candy or sweet. For example, the most recent version was dubbed Nougat. Before that was Marshmallow, and before that Lollipop. Oreo will be Android 8.0, following Nougat.

Theories making the rounds predicted either that "O" stood for Oreo or that Google was trolling everyone by timing the announcement during Monday's solar eclipse. Google unveiled a statue of the newest dessert-themed update at 14th Street Park in Manhattan on Monday, just as the eclipse's high point started trailing off.

The unveiling was across the street from the Chelsea Market, where the original Nabisco factory was located. That's where the first Oreo was invented.

This is the first time that Google has revealed the next Android statue somewhere other than on its Mountain View, California, headquarters, where a giant lollipop, ice cream sandwich and jelly beans grace the grounds.

Google decided to name this update after the Oreo cookie after several late nights at its headquarters where engineers just kept grabbing the snacks, Sagar Kamdar, Android's director of product management said.

"At our microkitchens at Google, we have Oreos all around. Our engineers just kept eating Oreos with their glasses of milk," Kamdar said.

One of Android Oreo's biggest focuses is better battery life for the hardware running it. For example, Google will limit what apps can do after they're launched on your phone but not actively in use. For example, now apps won't be able to do as much with location updates while they're running in the background -- which can normally be a big battery suck.

There are other noteworthy features, too, like a new copy-and-paste tool. When you highlight text in an article or text message, Android will automatically detect if it's an address or a proper noun. If it's an address, the software will highlight the entire address, so you don't have to. And instead of merely suggesting actions such as "copy" or "select all," it may suggest a map.

The continued success of Android is critical for Google. It's the gateway drug for the search giant's world of apps, including Gmail, YouTube and Google Maps. Android has become the most dominant mobile software on the planet, powering nearly nine out of every 10 smartphones globally.

But when it comes to world domination, Google is interested in more than just phones. Android now runs on everything from smartwatches to cars to TVs. In May, Google said the software is used by more than 2 billion devices.

Still, as Google promotes the new version of Android, it's got a big challenge ahead: actually getting it onto people's phones.

Android suffers from a problem the industry calls "fragmentation." The operating system has a number of hardware and carrier partners that like to add their own flourishes to the software, so getting them all to update to the current version is a constant headache for Google.

If you have an Android phone, you're probably using a much older version of the software. Only 13.5 percent of all Android users currently have Nougat installed on their devices. A whopping 77.5 percent of Android owners are on three older versions: Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat. The oldest of those, KitKat, was released in 2013. By comparison, Apple's most recent version of its mobile software, iOS 10, has found its way onto 87 percent of all iPhones and iPads.

The update will be available by the end of the year on devices from handset makers including Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Essential, General Mobile, Huawei, HTC, Kyocera, LG, and Motorola. For Google devices like the Pixel phone, Nexus 5X and 6P, the update will start rolling out in phases "soon."

Pixel and Nexus owners should be the first to expect Oreo to roll out on their devices, Kamdar said. He added that Android was working with major partners to have their devices launch with Oreo or be upgraded with it before the end of 2017.

Texas man charged with trying to blow up Confederate statue
from Reuters

Authorities in Houston charged a 25-year-old man on Monday with trying to blow up a Confederate statue, federal prosecutors said, in the latest development amid demonstrations and fierce debate about race and the legacy of America's Civil War.

Word of the arrest of Andrew Schneck came just hours after the University of Texas at Austin said it removed four statues tied to the Confederacy from its campus because they had become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism."

White nationalists rallied earlier this month against proposals to take down a similar statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, and one woman was killed when a man crashed his car into a crowd of anti-racism counterprotesters.

The violence triggered the biggest domestic crisis yet for President Donald Trump, who provoked anger across the political spectrum for not immediately condemning white nationalists and for praising "very fine people" on both sides of the fight.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement that on Saturday night a park ranger spotted Schneck kneeling in bushes in front of the General Dowling Monument in Houston's Hermann Park.

In Schneck's possession were a timer, wires, duct tape and two types of explosive including nitroglycerin, according to the prosecutors who described it as one of the world's most powerful explosives. The items could have been used to make a viable explosive device, the prosecutors' statement said.

If convicted of trying to maliciously damage or destroy property receiving federal financial assistance, Schneck faces up to 40 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

A growing number of U.S. political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the Confederacy. Civil rights activists charge that they promote racism while advocates of the statues contend they are a reminder of their heritage.

In Baltimore on Monday, authorities were investigating reports of vandalism at a 225-year-old monument to explorer Christopher Columbus, police said. A video posted online appeared to show two hooded figures striking the obelisk's base with a sledgehammer after taping to it a sign that read: "The future is racial and economic justice."

Baltimore took down four Confederate monuments last week.

Among the four statues removed overnight at the University at Austin was one of General Robert E. Lee, who led the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the Civil War.

The school's president, Greg Fenves, said in a statement that the monuments had to go following the "horrific displays of hatred" in Virginia that shocked and saddened the nation.

There are about 700 monuments to the Confederacy in public spaces across the United States, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, with the majority of them erected early in the 20th century amid a backlash among segregationists against the civil rights movement.

Fenves said the statue of Lee will be placed in the school's Briscoe Center for American History and made available for scholarly study.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler said on Twitter on Monday: "Putting these statues in a history museum appropriately puts this past where it belongs."

Mewtwo is Pokemon Go's next legendary, and it'll be tough to catch
from GameSpot

Another Legendary is on the way to Pokemon Go. Players will soon have the opportunity to catch Mewtwo, but doing so won't be quite as simple as with previous Legendaries.

Mewtwo was unlocked following its successful capture at a Pokemon Go Stadium event in Japan. It's now coming to the game around the world as part of a new feature called Exclusive Raid Battles. These will "periodically appear" at Gyms and play out like the Raids that are already available, except you'll now need an invitation in order to take part.



To get your hands on an invite, you'll need to have completed a Raid "recently" at the same location where the Exclusive Raid Battle is being held. It's unclear exactly how much time will elapse between the end of a standard Raid and the launch of an Exclusive, but developer Niantic says the victors will have "advance warning." This is meant to provide "ample time to coordinate with other trainers."

Mewtwo will launch through Exclusive Raids in the "coming weeks," but "other powerful Pokemon" may hatch from Raid Eggs in the near future, too, Niantic teased. There's no word yet on which ones they might be; the game has recently seen the debut of several Legendary birds, including Zapdos most recently. Players in Japan are also able to find the game's first Shiny Pokemon.

If you've yet to catch one or simply missed out on what you were looking for, all four Legendaries released so far--Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Lugia--will be available again. They'll be catchable through Raid Battles from today through August 31.

[Detroit Red Wings]

From tiki torches to hockey, Charlottesville compels brands to denounce their white supremacist patrons
from The Washington Post

Last weekend in Charlottesville, hundreds of people espousing white nationalist, neo-Nazi and Klux Klux Klan ideology marched in the dark through the University of Virginia campus spewing racist taunts while illuminating the night with tiki torches in hand.

Until then, the fire-tipped poles were mostly associated with backyard barbecue ambiance, kitschy Polynesian luaus and mosquito-repellent. Now, tiki torches are among the growing list of products and logos being used by white nationalists.

Corporations, in a bid to protect their brands and images, have been quick to denounce the  groups.

"TIKI Brand is not associated in any way with the events that took place in Charlottesville and are deeply saddened and disappointed," the company wrote Saturday on its Facebook page. "We do not support their message or the use of our products in this way."

In just the last year, half a dozen name brands or companies have had to publicly distance their products — including New Balance tennis shoes and Fred Perry polo shirts — from white nationalist groups after official, or unofficial, endorsements from its followers.

Detroit Red Wings

Along with their tiki torches, some "Unite the Right" marchers in Charlottesville also carried signs that replicated the logo of the Detroit Red Wings, one of the most popular teams in the National Hockey League. The team's logo, altered slightly to incorporate Nazi imagery, is the apparent symbol representing a group from Michigan called the Detroit Right Wings, reported CNN.

In a sharp statement posted to social media and its website, the team said that the Detroit Red Wings "vehemently disagree with and are not associated in any way" with the Charlottesville rally, which was organized to oppose the removal of a statue depicting Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

"The Red Wings believe that hockey is for Everyone and we celebrate the diversity of our fan base and our nation," the team statement said. "We are exploring every possible legal action as it pertains to the misuse of our logo in this disturbing demonstration."

The NHL also weighed in, writing in a statement that the organization is "obviously outraged by the irresponsible and improper use of our intellectual property" at the rally.

"This specific use is directly contrary to the value of inclusiveness that our League prioritizes and champions," the league said, adding that it would take "immediate" steps to reclaim the logo and "vigorously pursue other remedies."

GoDaddy

Late Sunday night, the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer was put on notice by GoDaddy, the Web hosting company that houses its domain. In a statement to The Washington Post, GoDaddy said that a post on the website disparaging Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman killed Saturday during the Charlottesville rally, could "incite more violence," which violated its terms of service.

Heyer was among the hundreds who converged on Charlottesville to counterprotest the white supremacist rally. She died, according to police, after James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, drove his vehicle into a crowd of people. He has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and another count related to the hit-and-run, authorities said.

GoDaddy, after months of criticism for giving the anti-Semitic website a platform for hate speech, said it had given the Daily Stormer 24 hours to move the domain to another provider before it canceled service.

New Balance

And just last month, the chairman of the Fred Perry fashion label, a British company founded by the champion tennis player in 1952, watched helplessly as the self-described "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys appeared in Canada wearing black Fred Perry polo shirts trimmed in yellow stripes.

The Proud Boys espouse "anti-political correctness, anti-racial guilt" agenda in "an age of globalism and multiculturalism," as The Post's Kyle Swenson previously reported.

When the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. asked Fred Perry Chairman John Flynn about the far-right group's obsession with the brand, he offered a history lesson in the company's diverse roots.

"It is a shame that we have to even answer the question," he added.

In November of last year, just days after President Trump won the White House, the Daily Stormer's founder, Andrew Anglin, declared New Balance tennis shoes the "Official Shoes of White People." Anglin said New Balance was the "uniform" of the alt-right, an umbrella term for those holding white supremacist and white nationalist ideals, because the company had praised Trump's support for a trade policy stance.

"It's time to get on-board with New Balance now," Anglin wrote. "Their brave act has just made them the official brand of the Trump Revolution."

The company quickly released a statement rejecting the assertion: "New Balance does not tolerate bigotry or hatred in any form...New Balance is a values-driven organization and culture that believes in humanity, integrity, community and mutual respect for people around the world."

Fleas in Arizona test positive for the plague
from Newsweek

Fleas in two Arizona counties are carrying bubonic plague, an infectious disease that took the lives of millions of people in the Middle Ages, according to news reports. So far there have been no reported illness and deaths.

Health officials in Navajo and Coconino counties in Arizona recently issued a warning to the general public after fleas in the northern part of the state tested positive for Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes the bubonic plague. Humans can contract the plague in a number of ways. In addition to flea bites, people can pick up the bacteria by handling the fluids or tissue of a rodent or another animal that has the illness. The plague can also be transmitted through bodily fluids such as respiratory droplets.

"Navajo County Health Department is urging the public to take precautions to reduce their risk of exposure to this serious disease, which can be present in fleas, rodents, rabbits and predators that feed upon these animals," the public health warning states, ABC news reported. "The disease can be transmitted to humans and other animals by the bite of an infected flea or by direct contact with an infected animal."

The plague is primarily found on the West Coast of the U.S., especially the southwestern U.S. when cool summers follow wet winters. At the end of June, three people in New Mexico tested positive for the plague as well, according to NPR.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a public health committee member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and senior associate at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security says the area of the country is vulnerable to the transmission of the plague bacterium.

"Western parts of the United States have had ongoing plague transmission in rodents for over a century," he says.

Although incidents of plague are minimal these days the risk still exists so people should be vigilant "when dealing with rodents and clear areas of their property that may be attractive to rodents," says Adalja. He adds that it's also important for health care providers to be aware of cases and learn to spot symptoms of illness, and to be aware of diagnostic testing and treatment protocols for the illness.

The infectious bacteria that causes plague is rare in the U.S. today. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention, an average of seven human cases are diagnosed each year. In 2015, four people in the U.S died from the illness. Worldwide there are roughly 300 cases of the plague each year, according to the World Health Organization.

Symptoms of the plague include sudden onset of fever, headache, chills, and weakness and one or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes (called buboes). This form is usually the result of an infected flea bite. The bacteria multiply in the lymph node closest to where the bacteria entered the human body. The disease can be treated effectively with a course of antibiotics, but left untreated the plague can spread to other parts of the body. Without appropriate medical care the illness can be deadly; up to 60 percent of people infected with the pathogen die from it. 

Trump campaign emails show aide's repeated efforts to set up Russia meetings
from The Washington Post

Three days after Donald Trump named his campaign foreign policy team in March 2016, the youngest of the new advisers sent an email to seven campaign officials with the subject line: "Meeting with Russian Leadership - Including Putin."

The adviser, George Papadopoulos, offered to set up "a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss US-Russia ties under President Trump," telling them his Russian contacts welcomed the opportunity, according to internal campaign emails read to The Washington Post.

The proposal sent a ripple of concern through campaign headquarters in Trump Tower. Campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis wrote that he thought NATO allies should be consulted before any plans were made. Another Trump adviser, retired Navy Rear Adm. Charles Kubic, cited legal concerns, including a possible violation of U.S. sanctions against Russia and of the Logan Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens from unauthorized negotiation with foreign governments.

But Papadopoulos, a campaign volunteer with scant foreign policy experience, persisted. Between March and September, the self-described energy consultant sent at least a half-dozen requests for Trump, as he turned from primary candidate to party nominee, or for members of his team to meet with Russian officials. Among those to express concern about the effort was then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who rejected in May 2016 a proposal from Papadopoulos for Trump to do so.


The exchanges are among more than 20,000 pages of documents the Trump campaign turned over to congressional committees this month after review by White House and defense lawyers. The selection of Papadopoulos's emails were read to The Post by a person with access to them. Two other people with access to the emails confirmed the general tone of the exchanges and some specific passages within them.

Papadopoulos emerges from the sample of emails as a new and puzzling figure in the examination of the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian officials and their proxies during the 2016 election, now the subject of a special-counsel investigation.

Less than a decade out of college, Papadopoulos appeared to hold little sway within the campaign, and it is unclear whether he was acting as an intermediary for the Russian government, although he told campaign officials he was.

While the emails illustrate his eagerness to strengthen the campaign's connections to the Russian government, Papadopoulos does not spell out in them why it would be in Trump's interest to do so. His entreaties appear to have generated more concern than excitement within the campaign, which at the time was looking to seal the Republican nomination and take on a heavily favored Hillary Clinton in the general election.

But the internal resistance to Papadopoulos's requests is at odds with other overtures Trump allies were making toward Russia at the time, mostly at a more senior level of the campaign.

Three months after Papadopoulos raised the possibility of a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, the president's son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a delegation led by a Russian lawyer offering to provide damaging information on Clinton.

Manafort attended that Trump Tower session in June 2016, a meeting now under scrutiny in the special counsel's collusion inquiry. But the new emails reveal that Manafort had rejected a request from Papadopoulos just the previous month to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian officials.

In July 2016 and again two months later, Jeff Sessions, then a senator and senior foreign policy adviser to Trump, met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

And also in July, a few weeks after Papadopoulos asked his superiors whether other campaign advisers or aides could accept some of the Russians' invitations, Carter Page, another foreign policy adviser, spoke at a Russian university in Moscow. Page said he made the trip independently of the campaign.

To experts in Russian intelligence gathering, the Papadopoulos chain offers further evidence that Russians were looking for entry points and playing upon connections with lower-level aides to penetrate the 2016 campaign.

Former CIA director John Brennan in May told the House Intelligence Committee that he had seen worrisome evidence of "contacts and interactions" between Russian officials and the Trump campaign, although he offered no specifics.

Steven L. Hall, who retired from the CIA in 2015 after 30 years of managing the agency's Russia operations, said when told by The Post about the emails: "The bottom line is that there's no doubt in my mind that the Russian government was casting a wide net when they were looking at the American election. I think they were doing very basic intelligence work: Who's out there? Who's willing to play ball? And how can we use them?"

Papadopoulos, a former intern and researcher at the conservative Hudson Institute, was on a list of campaign volunteers that Trump announced as his foreign policy advisory team during a meeting with The Post's editorial board in March 2016. Trump called Papadopoulos an "excellent guy."

Almost immediately, Papadopoulos came under scrutiny for his lack of experience. He graduated from college in 2009, and his LinkedIn profile cited his participation in a Model U.N. program for students among his qualifications. Papadopoulos did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Page, who has been the subject of a foreign surveillance warrant over his connections to Russia, said the Papadopoulos email exchange was another sign that the Russia communications were inconsequential.

"The entirely benign offer from a volunteer member of the Trump movement is infinitely less relevant than the real collusion in the 2016 election," said Page, who was copied on the first Papadopoulos email communication in March. Page said in an email exchange Saturday that "the real scandal lies among Clinton and Obama associates who fed false evidence" to investigators that he said formed the basis of the federal warrant concerning him.

Papadopoulos made more than a half-dozen overtures on behalf of Russians or people with Russia contacts whom he claimed to know.

On March 24, Clovis, the campaign co-chairman who also served on the foreign policy team, reacted to one proposed Russia meeting by writing, "We thought we probably should not go forward with any meeting with the Russians until we have had occasion to sit with our NATO allies."

In the same email chain, Kubic, the retired admiral, reminded others about legal restrictions on meetings with certain Russian officials, adding, "Just want to make sure that no one on the team outruns their headlights and embarrasses the campaign."

Undeterred, Papadopoulos alerted then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski in an April email that he was receiving "a lot of calls over the past month" about arranging a Russia meeting.

"Putin wants to host the Trump team when the time is right," he wrote on April 27.

On May 4, Papadopoulos forwarded Lewandowski and others a note he received from the program head for the government-funded Russian International Affairs Council. In it, Ivan Timofeev, a senior official in the organization, reached out to report that Russian foreign ministry officials were open to a Trump visit to Moscow and requested that the campaign and Russians write a formal letter outlining the meeting.

Clovis responded to the Timofeev invitation by noting: "There are legal issues we need to mitigate, meeting with foreign officials as a private citizen."

The email chain does not show a response from Lewandowski, who did not return calls seeking comment.

Several weeks later, Papadopoulos forwarded the same message from Timofeev to Manafort, the newly named campaign chairman.

"Russia has been eager to meet with Mr. Trump for some time and have been reaching out to me to discuss," the adviser told Manafort.

Manafort reacted coolly, forwarding the email to his associate Rick Gates, with a note: "We need someone to communicate that DT is not doing these trips."

Gates agreed and told Manafort he would ask the campaign's correspondence coordinator to handle it — "the person responding to all mail of non-importance" — to signify this did not need a senior official to respond.

A spokesman for Manafort, whose Virginia home was raided by FBI agents three weeks ago as part of an investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, said the email chain provides "concrete evidence that the Russia collusion narrative is fake news."

"Mr. Manafort's swift action reflects the attitude of the campaign — any invitation by Russia, directly or indirectly, would be rejected outright," Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said in a statement.

In an email to The Post, Timofeev confirmed that his organization had discussed a meeting with the Trump campaign in the spring of 2016.

The Russian International Affairs Council was created in 2010 by a decree of then-President Dmitry Medvedev as a project of various Russian government agencies. It is led by former foreign minister Igor Ivanov. Its board includes Russia's current foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, as well as top Russian scholars and business leaders, among them the chairman of Alfa-Bank and Sberbank, two of Russia's largest banks.

"We discussed the idea informally as one of the opportunities for . . . dialogue between Russia and the U.S.," Timofeev said in the email. "RIAC often hosts meetings with prominent political figures and experts from the US and many other countries."

He said the group would have been open to meeting with other campaigns.

Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said officials with the Democrat's campaign have "no recollections or record" of having been contacted by the group. Similarly an adviser to the Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, former Russian ambassador Michael McFaul, said he could not recall any similar invitation.

Girl killed after driver deliberately plows into French pizzeria
from CBS News

An 8-year-old girl was killed and at least eight people were injured when a driver slammed his car into the sidewalk cafe of a pizza restaurant in a small town east of Paris, authorities said Monday.

France's Interior Ministry says the man who drove his car into a pizzeria was apparently suicidal. The driver was immediately arrested. Police said the man's actions in the town of Sept-Sorts were deliberate, but not thought to be terrorism-related.

The 13-year-old girl and her brother were among the restaurant patrons eating on the outdoor terrace of Pizzeria Cesena when a man in a BMW accelerated toward them, an official with the national gendarme service told The Associated Press.

The girl died immediately, while the boy's injuries are considered life-threatening, the official said. At least three others were hospitalized in serious condition, and eight more sustained light injuries, said the official, who was not authorized to be publicly named.

The incident reignited fears in France after a string of attacks in which a vehicle was the weapon of choice.

An Algerian man drove his car into a group of French soldiers last week, leaving six wounded. A truck attack in the French city of Nice left 86 people dead a little more than a year ago.

The man arrested in Monday's attack is thought to have tried to kill himself last week, French Interior Ministry Pierre-Henry Brandet said on BFM television. Brandet said the man, born in 1985, was not known to intelligence or police. He did not identify him.

Two police officials said the incident is considered over and authorities are not searching for accomplices, but to find out what motivated the driver.

A judicial official said Monday night that the Paris prosecutor's office, which oversees French terrorism investigations, was not involved in the case because there was no proof of terrorism at this stage. A security official echoed that there was no evidence of a political or Islamic extremist motive.

The targeted pizzeria is in a shopping zone in the town of Sept-Sorts about 65 kilometers, nearly 40 miles, east of Paris near Champagne country. Police cordoned off a large perimeter of the area.

LeBron James Is as Unstoppable as Ever, and the Boston Celtics Know It
from BleacherReport



Finishing a day's work after nine days off can leave even the most chiseled of bodies feeling sore. Even a superhuman like LeBron James can't stave off such pain.

"I feel like s--t right now," James said to a team staffer late Wednesday night, about an hour after the Cleveland Cavaliers had run the Boston Celtics off their home floor in the Eastern Conference Finals' opening game. "But as soon as I get back to this room, get some vino in me, I'll be all right."

He was sitting in front of his locker in the bowels of Boston's TD Garden, reveling in yet another miraculous playoff performance: 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in an easy 117-104 win that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicates. Also, he sat for just six minutes all night, which no doubt was why he was more than happy to spend a few extra postgame minutes in the locker room giving his limbs a rest and hearing from a reporter about the rare company he and teammate Kevin Love, who added 32 points, had just joined.

The two, according to ESPN Stats and Info, had become the first pair of teammates to each score more than 30 points in a playoff game in Boston since Jerry West and Elgin Baylor did so in 1966.

"Hey, Kev, you've got to see this," James called out across the locker room to Love, who was sitting with his knees immersed in ice.

Perhaps most incredible, though, is that accolades like these have become routine for LeBron. He's averaging 34.8 points—on 56 percent shooting—nine rebounds and 7.1 assists this postseason, making him the rare 32-year-old, 14-year veteran to seemingly improve with age, and to leave venerable Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens feeling lost.

"It's hard to believe, but he's better than when I got into the league [four years ago]," Stevens told reporters after Game 1. "A lot better. Just as you get older, you gain more experience, see more things. I didn't think he could get any better after that, but he is."

Stevens and the Celtics tried everything they could in Game 1. Big defenders and small, switches and traps. Nothing worked. LeBron set up residence in the paint and got to the rim at will. He drove around bigger defenders and through smaller ones. He shredded double-teams by firing lasers to teammates spread across the floor.

"The way that he reads defense and offense and everything else, he's always picking the matchup that he wants," Stevens said.

Against James, the Celtics looked like a middle school team trying to slow down a varsity high school one. They looked like bowling pins trying to stop the inertia of a ball. Pick any metaphor involving something small and weak attempting to thwart a great force, and that's what Boston looked like while going up against LeBron.

"It was very clear that he was trying to get to the rim on us no matter who was on him," Stevens added.

None of this, of course, should come as a surprise, even if the Celtics technically are the higher seed. Remember back in early April, when Boston and Cleveland were gearing up for a showdown and the winner it seemed would earn the East's No. 1 seed? Well, in the lead-up to that game James was asked about the importance of locking up the conference's top spot.

"I've played in a lot of big games, man. I'm the last person to ask about a big game in the regular season," he told reporters at the time. "I've been to six straight Finals. I'm the last person to ask about a regular-season game."

Now here we are, over a month later, and once again we're reminded that, per usual, James was proved prophetic. This year's regular season was just a giant tuneup for the Cavaliers.

Defense—eh, not that important anyway.

Home-court advantage—who needs it? Especially when playing in the East, where the Cavaliers have gone 33-4 in postseason games against conference foes since LeBron returned to Cleveland three years ago.

All Cleveland needs is LeBron on the floor, which he always is. This might actually be his most underrated attribute—the fact that he's always there, even after all these years and miles. There's only one team that can slow him, and it plays in the Western Conference. In the meantime, the rest of us will have to get used to watching LeBron carve up otherwise strong squads.

"I'll be much better in Game 2," James told the Cavaliers staffer in the locker room.

That, if you're the Celtics, is a terrifying thought.

Texas girl chokes on fidget spinner part
from CNN

Fidget spinners are driving many adults crazy, but one Texas woman is warning about her daughter's dangerous experience.

The mother is sharing her experience in hopes it will serve as a warning to other parents about the choking hazards of the latest toy craze. A fidget spinner has a stable middle and a disc with two or three paddles that can be spun, much like a ceiling fan, to relax the user.

Kelly Rose Joniec of Houston wrote in a Facebook post that she was on her way home Saturday afternoon when she heard Britton, her 10-year-old daughter, choking in the back seat. She pulled over and discovered that her daughter had swallowed one of the bearings from her fidget spinner. After trying to dislodge the small piece of metal with the Heimlich maneuver, Joniec took Britton to the nearest urgent care center.

Doctors were unable to tell where the object had gotten stuck. It wasn't until after an ambulance ride to Texas Children's Hospital that an X-ray revealed the round metal bearing in the girl's esophagus.

In the post, Joniec wrote, "Britton was taken to surgery to endoscopically locate and remove the object. Fortunately we had a positive outcome, but it was pretty scary there for a while...not only because of the initial ingestion, but then the concern about the composition and structure of the object, and finally, the risk with general anesthesia."

The Joniec family said in a statement to CNN, "our full attention and focus is on caring for our daughter and ensuring she continues to lead a healthy life." No other updates about Britton's condition were available.

Efforts to contact several fidget spinner makers for comment were not successful. Learning Express Toys, which carries the gadgets online and in over 125 stores across the country, has a warning for consumers on its website. "CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts. Not for children under 3 years."

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission agrees: "Anything with small parts, keep it away from young children. If it can fit through a toilet paper roll, don't give it to a young child, and make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions," spokeswoman Patty Davis advised.

Many toys come with choking hazard warnings. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, choking is a leading cause of injury and death among children, especially those 3 or younger. In a statement from the Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention, the academy warns that "Food, coins, and toys are the primary causes of choking-related injury and death. Certain characteristics, including shape, size, and consistency, of certain toys and foods increase their potential to cause choking among children."

Several schools have banned fidget spinners because they've become a distraction. The devices have long been a tool for teachers, guidance counselors and therapists.

"Promoting fidgeting is a common method for managing attention regulation," said Elaine Taylor-Klaus, co-founder of ImpactADHD, a coaching service for children with attention disorders and their parents.

"For some people (with ADHD), there's a need for constant stimulation," she said. "What a fidget allows some people -- not all people -- with ADHD to do is to focus their attention on what they want to focus on, because there's sort of a background motion that's occupying that need."