The November hiring surge pushed incomes for Americans higher last month….
December 20, 2019
Incomes rose by half a percentage point in November, above economists’ forecasts and much better than the soft readings in September and October. This was the strongest gain since July, according to data from the Commerce Department on Friday... And despite the rise in consumer spending, Americans are saving more. The saving rate edged up to 7.9 percent of after-tax income in November.
US consumer turns blind eye to impeachment drama as confidence hits 7-month high…
December 20, 2019
Consumer sentiment hit 99.3 in December, according to updated figures from the University of Michigan, as major stock indexes continued to touch new highs. The latest reading compares with a preliminary estimate of 99.2 and a reading of 96.8 the prior month.
100 red objects in deep space vanished over the past 70 years. A group of scientists says giant alien-built structures could be to blame…
December 20, 2019
- One hundred red objects in deep space seem to have mysteriously vanished over the past 70 years.
- Researchers say the objects could be lasers that aliens use to communicate across interstellar space, or stars that aliens covered with megastructures.
- The objects could also be the first evidence of "failed supernovae": stars that collapsed directly into black holes, without any supernova explosion.
267 million Facebook users IDs and phone numbers exposed online…
December 20, 2019
Comparitech partnered with security researcher Bob Diachenko to uncover the Elasticsearch cluster. Diachenko believes the trove of data is most likely the result of an illegal scraping operation or Facebook API abuse by criminals in Vietnam, according to the evidence. The information contained in the database could be used to conduct large-scale SMS spam and phishing campaigns, among other threats to end users.
Google fined 150 million euros by France…
December 20, 2019
France’s competition authority fined Google (GOOGL.O) 150 million euros ($167 million) for anti-competitive behavior and for having unclear advertising on the Google Ads page.
Utah woman sought to buy ‘biological weapon of mass destruction,’ authorities say…
December 20, 2019
Janie Lynn Ridd, 50, was taken into custody Wednesday following an investigation by both federal and state authorities, as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Neither the FBI nor the State Bureau of Investigations would release details of her arrest as of Thursday, but they added there was no safety risk to the public.
The U.S. Could Send Mexican Asylum Seekers to Guatemala
December 20, 2019
It is the latest move in the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape migration policy and reduce the number of people crossing the southern U.S. border. Immigration shelters in Guadalajara were informed in advance of a likely increase in deportees, Reuters reports...
Vatican tribunal now overwhelmed by clergy abuse cases…
December 20, 2019
The Vatican office responsible for processing clergy sex abuse complaints saw a record 1,000 cases reported from around the world this year... "We're effectively seeing a tsunami of cases at the moment, particularly from countries where we never heard from (before)," said Monsignor John Kennedy, the head of the congregation’s discipline section, which processes the cases.
Avoid These 100 Android Apps Hiding ‘Malicious’ Malware: New ‘Fraud Arms Race’ Underway…
December 20, 2019
The “100+ malicious apps, with more than 4.6 million downloads” all threaten the same fraudulent outcome, each using a common code module that the research team has named “Soraka.” Worse, though, this strain of adware actively hides, making itself harder to detect and delete.
‘Bite your tongue’: Vladimir Putin snaps at reporter’s question about ‘upcoming nuclear war’…
December 20, 2019
"Bite your tongue,” Putin told a reporter who broached the topic during his annual press conference on Thursday. “An upcoming nuclear war — what are you talking about?”
Putin's rebuke suggests that atomic warfare exceeds the limits of Russia's willingness to raise the specter of conflict with the United States or its allies. Putin and other Russian officials routinely argue that U.S. forces are encircling Russia, an allegation that haunts numerous foreign policy disagreements between the former Cold War rivals...
Toyota unveils upgraded version of its humanoid robot…
December 20, 2019
Such a robot could, in the future, be used to perform surgery in a distant place where a doctor cannot travel. It also might allow people to feel like they’re participating in events they can’t actually attend.
Apple’s next big secret project could involve a fleet of satellites that may one day beam the internet straight to your iPhone without relying as heavily on carriers….
December 20, 2019
Apple is reportedly aiming to deploy the satellites within five years, and CEO Tim Cook is said to have taken a personal interest in the project. The report also says the project is still in its early stages, and may not come to fruition...
Democrat’s Impeachment Lawyer Says Trump Is Not Impeached If Pelosi Sits On Articles Of Impeachment…
December 20, 2019
The Harvard law professor who appeared as a Democratic witness before the judiciary committee impeachment hearing says impeachment hasn’t been concluded until the House delivers the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
In many states, the food stamp rule is already in place and working…
December 20, 2019
What defenders of the status quo mislabel as a “draconian” policy has worked across the country. It is helping help people move off government dependency and into better-paying jobs to provide for themselves and their families...
U.S. Senate confirmed three of President Donald Trump’s Pentagon picks Thursday, just as five senior officials at the Defense Department are departing…
December 20, 2019
On Thursday, chief management officer nominee Lisa Hershman was confirmed with chief information officer nominee Dana Deasy and Navy general counsel nominee Robert Sander. The names were part of a package of final business for the Senate, just before its holiday recess.
Trump administration may ban fish oil company from fishing in Chesapeake Bay…
December 20, 2019
Earlier this year, the company Omega Protein exceeded harvest limits in the bay by more than 30% on a bony and oily fish called Atlantic menhaden. The species is ground up and used in anything from health supplements rich with omega-3 fatty acids to high-end dog food. But the fish is also food for striped bass, humpback whales and other animals in the nation's largest estuary.
“John of God” Brazil spiritual healer sentenced to 19 years for four rapes…
December 20, 2019
A judge in Goias state issued a sentence of 19 years and four months for four rapes of different women, according to a statement from the court. Lawyers for the 77-year-old João de Deus said in a statement that they will appeal the decision. João de Deus is facing additional cases related to 10 sex crimes, according to the court's statement.
ACLU Demands ‘Menstrual Equity’ in Men’s Restrooms for Transgender People…
December 20, 2019
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is demanding feminine hygiene products be placed in men’s rest rooms in order to alleviate what it claims is “menstruation-related discrimination” against transgender and “non-binary” individuals.
Earth’s Magnetic Field is Doing Something Very Strange…
December 20, 2019
The Earth's magnetic North has moved 1,400 miles since it was discovered in 1831... What scientists didn’t expect, however, is that the magnetic North Pole has been wandering towards Siberia at an increasing pace, Science Alert reports. It even crossed the Greenwich meridian, the invisible line that determines time zones, for the first time in its recorded history.
5 New Jersey officials, political candidates accused of taking massive bribes indicted…
December 20, 2019
The five defendants are charged with taking thousands of dollars in bribes from one cooperating witness in the form of campaign contributions, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. In return, the officials promised the cooperating witness, who is a tax attorney, they would vote or use their office of influence to hire or continue to hire his law firm for lucrative government legal work.