All publications of Leo Numver . New York City , United States of Ame

Mozilla has dramatically changed the look and feel of its browser since the introduction of Firefox Quantum two years ago now — a release that prefaced the arrival of other new features that promote privacy and speed, like an extension that makes it harder for Facebook to track you. And now today, Mozilla is touting a new Firefox browser update that comes with a big speed boost to try and give Google Chrome a run for its money. In the video above, Mozilla explains how Firefox is now better at “performing tasks at the optimal time by deprioritizing the least commonly used features, suspending idle tabs, and faster startup after customization.” In a blog post explaining the changes that come with the update, Mozilla describes how the browser now essentially applies many of the same time-management principles that an ordinary person does when they’re trying to prioritize their own most urgent needs. In order to give Firefox a speed boost — of as much as 80% in some cases — Firefox will now do things like suspending idle tabs. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about opening a zillion tabs, but keeping all those tabs open uses your computer’s memory and slows down its performance,” Mozilla’s post explains. “Firefox will now detect if your computer’s memory is running low, which we define as lower than 400MB, and suspend unused tabs that you haven’t used or looked at in a while.” Of course, you can easily click on the tab and reload a webpage where you left off whenever you want. Additionally, if you’re one of the Firefox users who’ve customized your browser with an add-on like a favorite theme or an ad-blocker, Firefox now skips some work it determines to be unnecessary during subsequent start-ups so the browser will load faster. This Firefox update also de-prioritizes some of the least-used features in order to prioritize scripts for things you need first. As an example, the company’s blog post explains this helps “make the main scripts for Instagram, Amazon and Google searches execute 40-80% faster; scanning for alternative style sheets after page load; and not loading the auto-fill module unless there is an actual form to complete.” Meanwhile, a number of other interesting features are part of today’s update. They include: Personalization of private browsing. More and more users are relying on this feature to hide from third-party trackers, but Firefox wants users to be able to access their favorite extensions, too. “In the Add-ons manager, you can choose which extensions are enabled and which ones aren’t,” the company explains today. Fingerprint blocking. Mozilla has promised that Firefox would tackle practices like so-called “fingerprinting,” which builds a kind of digital fingerprint that follows you around the web. Today’s browser update gives you the option to basically turn on a setting in the browser to protect yourself from that practice, as well as from “cryptomining” — using your computer’s CPU to generate cryptocurrency for someone else’s benefit. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/a-web-browser-you-forgot-existed-might-soon-be-faster-than-chrome/ar-AABKwkQ

You've probably heard "5G" a lot recently. It's been in a lot of stories. It's at the center of America's fight with China's Huawei, which provides cellular equipment for wireless carriers around the globe. 5G is also a big topic for Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T. Those carriers are working to build out the faster networks now, and Sprint and T-Mobile have even used 5G to discuss the competitive landscape in an effort to get merger approval from the Justice Department. Apple recently ended a bitter, years-long legal battle with Qualcomm mainly because the chipmaker makes some core 5G technology that Apple needs to make future iPhones competitive. But what the heck is 5G? Put simply, 5G is a next-generation wireless network that will give you much faster internet connections. But, because of the way it works, it's about to change the way lots of other things connect to the internet, too, like cars and TVs, and even things like connected lights on city streets. Here's what you need to know: Faster connections, and more of them 5G promises much faster network speeds, which means heavy-duty content like video should travel much more quickly to connected devices. Verizon's 5G network, which is live in Minneapolis and Chicago, is already providing speeds in excess of 1Gbps, or about 10x the speeds you might get on a good day with 4G LTE, the current standard offered by wireless carriers in most places. That means you should be able to download an hour-long high-definition video in seconds instead of minutes. The lower latency of 5G also means that it takes less time for one gadget to talk to another. This is important in places like smart cities that are connecting to smart cars, since information needs to be delivered instantly. One day, 5G might be able to tell your car that someone is about to run a red light and that your car needs to slam on the brakes. In that sort of situation, you can't have much delay in the network. The greater bandwidth of 5G means that more devices can use the network at the same time. This means it should alleviate problems at places like sports stadiums or concerts where thousands of people may be trying to place a phone call or upload a picture at the same time. In these instances, a network can get jammed up and stops working for everyone. 5G should prevent that from happening. 5G will change the way you get TV and internet at home Right now, you probably have a cable wire running from the telephone poles on your street to your house. It might come in the attic and then, thanks to some drilling done by the cable guy, snakes its way from room to room connecting to cable boxes. Those cables also need to connect to a modem and/or router to provide wireless internet to your house. That means even if you "cut the cord" and ditch cable, you still need the same coaxial cable line for internet at home. 4G LTE is fast but not quite fast enough for an entire house of people to play games and stream 4K movies at the same time. It makes a poor replacement for wired broadband. According to proponents, 5G will be fast enough for that, and you can forget the cords. It's supposed to be just as reliable as the wired broadband internet you're used to, and it could save you a lot of headaches. Verizon has already talked a bit about how this will work. Instead of giving you a bunch of cable boxes and other gadgets, it's going to simply give you an Apple TV 4K and a wireless modem. Since Verizon isn't going to run a standard cable line to your house, it's also going to include a subscription to YouTube TV, YouTube's streaming service that will provide access to TV channels. YouTube TV normally costs $40 per month, but Verizon's deal is likely only a limited-time offer. You'll still have a modem at home, but it'll connect to Verizon's wireless 5G signal and then serve as a home Wi-Fi router, complete with standard Ethernet ports. This is how devices like the Apple TV 4K, your smartphone, computer and other internet gadgets will connect to Verizon's 5G wireless network. What phones support it? It's still super early in 5G days for phones, but things are about to take off quickly. Verizon and AT&T already have some 5G markets active, and Sprint and T-Mobile will begin rolling them out this year. Verizon is now selling the first 5G phone in the U.S. -- the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G -- in just two markets. Meanwhile, Sprint's LG V50 ThinQ 5G launches on May 31 for its first markets. AT&T isn't selling a true 5G phone just yet, but it's signed up to sell the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G later this year, as are T-Mobile and Sprint. These are all Android phones, but Apple is expected to have its first 5G iPhone ready in 2020. How does 5G impact Sprint and T-Mobile's merger? 5G also plays a role in the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Earlier this week, FCC chairman Ajit Pai recommended that the FCC approve the $26.5 billion merger because he argues that it'll speed up how quickly the two carriers are able to activate 5G in the U.S. "Two of the FCC's top priorities are closing the digital divide in rural America and advancing United States leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity. The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives," Pai said. But the decision is up to the DOJ, which has anti-trust concerns if the two companies join. Trump says 5G is a race America must win Even President Trump is all in on 5G. In April, President Trump said that 5G is a race that America "will win." He said 92 5G markets will be up and running by the end of the year, which will be ahead of South Korea, which is said to have 48 live at the same time. "According to some estimates, the wireless industry plans to invest $275 billion in 5G networks, creating 3 million American jobs quickly, and adding $500 billion to our economy," President Trump said in April. At the same time, the FCC announced new rules that will make it easier to deploy next-generation networks, including hub and relay antennas, to spur the advancement of 5G. The FCC also announced a $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity fund to bring faster 5G networks to rural areas, and a new spectrum auction that opens up 3,400MHz of wireless spectrum for carriers to bid on. The spectrum can be thought of as a highway: the more lanes you have, the more customers you can support and the faster you can go. 5G, Huawei and the U.S. trade war 5G has also played a role in the U.S. trade war with China, because of concerns that Huawei's equipment and phones can be used to spy over wireless networks. Earlier this month, the Trump administration blacklisted Huawei's equipment for use in America's 5G rollout. Huawei wants U.S. business, however, and has argued that our 5G networks won't roll out quickly if we don't use its equipment. Following the blacklist, Google cut ties with Huawei, though it has since granted a 90-day reprieve after the U.S. Commerce Department announced on Monday that U.S. companies can work with Huawei for that window of time to make sure security risks are sealed up before August 19. This will allow Google to help make sure people who own Huawei Android phones have the latest privacy patches installed on them. The ban on working with Huawei also hit chip businesses that work with the company, including Broadcom, Intel, Xilinx and Qualcomm, some of which also have a hand in building out 5G networks and modems. Those firms will be missing out on new business as Huawei works to expand 5G networks outside of the U.S. If Google doesn't supply its version of Android to Huawei, it makes Huawei's phones a lot less appealing in the company's markets outside of China, like Europe, where it already sells highly competitive phones with full access to Google services like search and the Play Store. (Huawei can use a more basic version of Android, which is open-source and not controlled by Google and is already in use in China, but it won't have Google services included.) Some analysts, including Evercore's C.J. Muse, think that Trump's ban on Huawei may have been a tactic to bring China back to the trade negotiations table. "The clear risk here is that while President Trump believes he has achieved leverage in the negotiations, we may have pushed China past the precipice and that the current technology cold war gets engrained and accelerates," Muse warned. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/5g-explained-why-its-such-a-big-deal-for-america/ar-AABKyuX

Across Europe, voting begins Thursday in European Parliament elections, which will continue through Sunday. The elections are hotly anticipated across the continent, with many people wondering how the results will affect the future of the European Union and the bloc’s dealings with the rest of the world. With the help of our correspondents in Europe, we answer five key questions about the elections and the legislative body. What is the European Parliament? The 751-member legislature is most notable for being, as Deutsche Welle puts it, “the only democratically legitimized supranational institution in the world.” In other words: It is the only assembly made of various countries where the people of those countries can directly vote for their representatives. It is also notable for the large numbers of voters in its elections. More than 370 million people are eligible to vote, making these the second largest elections in the world, behind India’s. Members of European Parliament are sent as representatives of the 28 countries in the E.U. Each country decides how the elections are held. Anything goes as long as the ballots are secret and women and men can both vote. (The voting age is 18 everywhere but Austria, where it is 16.) Seats are apportioned to each country according to the size of its population. Germany, the E.U.’s most populous state, has 96 representatives, while small countries like Cyprus, Malta and Luxembourg have six each. That said, members of the European Parliament — or MEPs — do not always vote along nationality lines. Once elected to the European Parliament, they join larger parties and coalitions. MEPs are elected to five-year terms and have a say in the bloc’s finances, international presence and general direction. Since the Lisbon Treaty of 2009, which expanded the body’s powers, the European Parliament has appointed the head of the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive body, approved or rejected international agreements such as a recent trade pact with Singapore, and decided on the E.U.’s full budget. The body is involved in decisions on a vast array of topics, including agriculture and fisheries, environmental issues and migration policies. Who are the key players to watch for in these elections? There are eight political groups in the European Parliament. Forming a group requires at least 25 members from at least seven countries. The largest groups are the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Socialists and Democrats. Both are expected to lose seats as voters show an appetite for more-extreme views on the left and the right. The EPP is likely to lose seats to more-nationalist and Euroskeptic parties. This will be especially crucial in the case of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party. The EPP suspended Fidesz in March over its rejection of E.U. migration policies. Now Orban is calling for the group to join forces with far-right parties such as Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party, and French politician Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. The head of the EPP has already ruled out such an alliance, but, as Politico noted, Orban has said “he would find it hard to stick with the EPP if it forms an alliance with ‘pro-migration’ parties on the left.” It’s also worth keeping an eye on the fortunes of Britain’s Euroskeptic Brexit Party, which is led by Nigel Farage. A recent poll showed the Brexit Party has more support than Britain’s mainstream liberal and conservative parties combined — a little bit ironic considering that if the party had its way, Britain would already be out of the E.U. and not be represented in European Parliament at all. Meanwhile, on the left, other parties are expected to gain ground. According to the Associated Press, polling in April showed that the progressive Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, backed by French President Emmanuel Macron, is projected to gain eight seats, bringing its number to 76, and that the Green party could win 57 seats, five more than it now holds. Ultimately, the new Parliament could reflect what is occurring in governments all around Europe: a weakening of the center that is forcing political realignment on the major issues shaping the world. Wait, there’s a Brexit Party? What does that mean for Brexit? (From the London bureau’s William Booth and Karla Adam) Yep. This is an election few thought would occur in Britain, given that the country voted three years ago to leave the E.U. and was to have quit the bloc two months ago. The questions are understandable. Will Britain’s 73 new representatives to the E.U.’s legislative body serve for days, weeks or years? Who knows? The chaos is made more sensational by the forecast that this nascent, single-issue party is going to blow everyone else out of the water, with the potential to influence how Brexit turns out and how long Prime Minister Theresa May stays in office. The demands of the Brexit Party seem simple: Get us out of the E.U. Now. Honor the 2016 referendum result. A big win for the Brexit Party could push May and her Conservatives to hurriedly pass a deal before parliamentarians take up their seats in July, or, as Farage prefers, leave the E.U. with no deal. Writing in the Guardian, former Labour prime minister Tony Blair described the stakes: “This is not a vote to choose a prime minister or a government. It is a vote for the Farage Brexit — or against it.” Alternatively, a good showing from the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats or Change UK might embolden those in the British Parliament who want a second referendum on Brexit. What about the far right? What does it hope to gain? (From Brussels bureau chief Michael Birnbaum and Berlin bureau chief Griff Witte) Since the last election in 2014, the E.U. has been hammered by a refugee crisis, multiple mass-casualty terrorist attacks, a vote by the British people to exit the bloc, a security scare fueled by the Kremlin and a fitful economic recovery after the global financial crisis. Such issues are pulling voters to the fringes, and far-right and other parties that are hostile to the E.U. appear poised to control more seats than ever before. From grand palazzi in Rome to Art Nouveau villas in Budapest, Europe’s anti-migration right-wingers have been prepping their battering rams to knock down the doors of the European Parliament. No one expects them to win a majority, but their aim is less to legislate than to obstruct. A greater far-right presence could have a disproportionate effect on how the E.U. functions, putting the far right in a position to play spoiler. And a legislature with less ability to get things done would feed the narrative of the E.U.'s nationalist critics, who argue that the bloc is fundamentally broken. But for Europe’s critics to wield maximum influence, they will need to work together — something they have failed to do so far. With all these Euroskeptic players involved, is there a threat of Russian interference in these elections? (From Brussels bureau chief Michael Birnbaum) It doesn’t seem likely. At least yet. Parliament, politicians, security services and social media companies that were bracing for an onslaught from Russia have been surprised that, so far, they seem to have avoided one. Experts are cautious about saying Russian interference has been neutralized, but the anxiety has shifted somewhat inward, as many of the disinformation tactics pioneered by Russia have been domesticated and are being replicated on both extremes of the political debate in Europe. That said, Russia is still working openly to promote political division in Europe. The Sputnik news agency has offered wall-to-wall coverage of the “yellow vest” protests that have shaken France. The German-language homepage of RT, formerly Russia Today, recently featured a banner debunking “myths” that the former West Germany was superior to communist East Germany. But the scale of what has been identified is nothing compared with the past — or with what the Europeans had anticipated. In part, far-right parties in Europe have not needed Russia, because some of their domestic supporters have mimicked Russia’s strategy of promoting disinformation and amplifying it through the use of automated social media accounts. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/five-things-to-know-about-europes-surprisingly-dramatic-parliamentary-elections/ar-AABN6L6

A banner emblazoned with the words "Honor to Mussolini," unfurled just steps from the Milan piazza where the fascist dictator's body was hung upside down after his 1945 execution. One-armed salutes and fascist slogans shouted at protests. Italy's right-wing interior minister skipping commemorations for the 74th anniversary of the country's liberation from Nazi occupation. Fascist symbols, rhetoric and salutes — long a public taboo — have made their way out of the hooligan sections of soccer stadiums and into Italian streets in the run-up to this week's European Parliament elections. The leader of the right-wing party leading in the Italian polls, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, has faced criticism for perceived complacency toward neo-fascist extremists in his bid to see his once regionally based League party finish No. 1 in Italy, and perhaps Europe, when Italians vote Sunday. Salvini, who has attracted the admiration of European far-right leaders for his anti-immigrant, anti-Islam stances, makes a show of dismissing extremist labels and the existence of fascist ideology on the Italian political spectrum. "In this piazza, there are no extremists. There are no racists. There are no fascists," Salvini declared to a crowd of thousands gathered last weekend for a campaign rally of European populists, including far-right leaders from France and Germany. But his words belie the resurgence of neo-fascist groups emboldened on the sidelines of a European election campaign that is shaping up into a contest between Europe's traditional political powerhouses and euroskeptic right-wing populists campaigning to restore control over a range of issues to the EU's 28 member states. And many are putting at least part of the blame on Salvini for underplaying or even appearing to encourage Italy's fringe extremist parties and their antics. Salvini drew criticism last month when he skipped April 25 Liberation Day commemorations in Rome marking Italy's 1945 liberation from the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, who spent the last two years of World War II overseeing a puppet republic in Nazi-occupied northern Italy. Just a day earlier, Salvini had dismissed the unfurling of the "Honor Mussolini" banner in Milan by dozens of "ultra" fans from Rome's Lazio soccer team — known for their neo-fascist allegiances — as just the work of "idiots." And at protests last month, far-right activists were emboldened to shout fascist slogans and raise one-armed salutes over the placement of Roma families — a minority persecuted during World War II — in public housing in the Italian capital. Critics noted the extremists had received a permit from law enforcement, which falls under the direction of Salvini. Salvini himself has tweeted photographs of Roma dwellings being torn down. Guido Calderon, an expert on right-wing Italian groups, says that Salvini has been courting the far-right for years, melding their extremist rhetoric with his League party's xenophobic platform targeting immigrants. This allows Salvini to appeal to more extremist voters while maintaining the party's traditional base, he said. Polls show a growing concern among Italians that fascism, officially banned as a political movement in Italy but never expunged from popular culture or the political fringe, is rearing its head in alarming ways. The SWG polling agency says 71% of Italians believe it is important to combat the return of Nazi and fascist ideology, up from 65% just two years ago, while two-thirds believe it is important to repress those who incite fascism, up from 60 percent in 2017. But Calderon said "another part of the population is attracted" to fascism. And that, he said, is because Italians have never fully dealt with their fascist past. Still, neither of Italy's main right-wing extreme parties, Forza Nuova or CasaPound, are expected to get anywhere near the threshold to enter Europe's parliament in the Sunday vote. Mussolini was in power for nearly two decades before Italy entered WWII, a period of modernization during which the fascist regime built schools, railroad stations and administrative buildings that remain in public use today. Many monuments and symbols glorifying Mussolini's rule were removed following the war, but a surprising number remain in plain view , reflecting Italy's complicated relationship with its 20th-century history. Rome's Foro Italico sports complex on the western bank of the Tiber river is one of the most striking examples, with pavement mosaics paying homage to the fascist dictator and a marble obelisk that bears his name. In the nearby headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee, news conferences are still held in front of a mural showing Mussolini on a pedestal addressing a crowd. Calendars featuring the late dictator pop up in newsstands and his framed image can be spied behind bars in northern Italy. Salvini, recognizing the power of Mussolini's image, recently addressed a European election rally in the northern city of Forli from a balcony once used by the fascist dictator. And Mussolini's name remains part of the political discourse, first with lawmaker Alessandra Mussolini, Benito Mussolini's granddaughter who started out with a now defunct neo-fascist party, and now with his great-grandson, Caio Giulio Cesare Mussolini, who is running with the far-right Brothers of Italy party in the European elections. Many commentators dismiss his candidacy as a publicity stunt for the tiny Brothers of Italy. Still, he recognizes the strength of the family name, making #scrivimussolini, — or #writeinmussolini — a campaign motto, because, he said on Twitter, "Many want to write Mussolini on the ballot." "I continue to meet people from that period who have memories that are more than satisfying," Mussolini told The Associated Press. "I met a 95-year-old person who had a version of that period very different from the one you find in public opinion." Italy's fraught history came to the forefront again this week when a high school teacher was placed on two-week's unpaid leave after her 14-year-old students completed a project that likened Salvini's security decree cracking down on illegal immigration to Mussolini's 1938 racial laws targeting Jews. The disciplinary action by provincial school officials was widely criticized as anti-democratic and against freedom of instruction and speech in the classroom. "That someone can compare the interior minister, Matteo Salvini, like him or not, to Mussolini or even Italy and the security decree with extermination camps is crazy, truly crazy," Salvini said. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fascist-symbols-and-rhetoric-on-rise-in-italian-eu-vote/ar-AABMOdL

President Trump on Thursday blasted Rex Tillerson after The Washington Post reported that the former secretary of State told lawmakers that Russian President Vladimir Putin was better prepared than Trump for a meeting in 2017. "Rex Tillerson, a man who is 'dumb as a rock' and totally ill prepared and ill equipped to be Secretary of State, made up a story (he got fired) that I was out-prepared by Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Hamburg, Germany," Trump tweeted. "I don't think Putin would agree. Look how the U.S. is doing!" The president nominated Tillerson as secretary of State at the outset of his administration, and fired him in March 2018 amid numerous clashes over U.S. foreign policy. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-fires-back-at-dumb-as-a-rock-tillerson-on-putin/ar-AABNEuQ

Years before the Southern District of New York decided to send undercover agents into hotel rooms in Las Vegas to monitor meetings with college basketball assistants, any honest conversation about the sport devolved into two categories: Which coaches were dirty and which players were getting paid. Of course, you never really knew for sure most of the time. Even after wiretaps and text messages and courtroom testimonies, some will argue we still don’t. But beyond the allure of the NCAA’s made-for-tv tournament where college basketball is presented as a pure spectacle of sport, the reality has long been that its defining characteristic is its filth. That, perhaps more than anything else, is what made John Beilein stand out so much from his high school and small college roots to West Virginia to Michigan and two chances in national championship games. In a sport where everyone is cynical about everything and coaches who get fired are all too happy to down a beer and tell you the real story about why they didn’t get the McDonald’s All-American that would have turned everything around, Beilein was the one guy that pretty much everyone in the business agreed was doing it the quote-unquote “right way.” And now he’s gone. Ultimately, Beilein leaving Michigan after 12 seasons for the Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn’t be too big of a surprise. He’d flirted with NBA jobs before, his offensive system makes sense in a league now obsessed with spacing and shooting and at 66 years old, the window of opportunity to try his hand at the highest level (and make a ton of money, of course) wasn’t going to be open much longer. There will, of course, be skeptics about how an older, first-time NBA head coach will adapt in an NBA locker room. But there was also skepticism when Beilein went to Michigan in 2007 that someone who had made his name as a tactician and skill developer on a smaller stage would be able to go into places like Detroit and Chicago and navigate the world of middlemen who are often attached to top prospects. Instead, what Beilein did was recruit around them. He took players like Trey Burke, who was ranked outside the top 100, and got to the Final Four with them. He routinely recruited players like Nik Stauskas and Caris LeVert and more recently Mo Wagner and D.J. Wilson who were not necessarily supposed to be NBA prospects but had them in the first round of the draft before the end of their careers. In the end, Beilein won because he’s an exceptional basketball coach. And that won’t change regardless of whether he’s able to win with a Cavaliers roster that currently includes one nice prospect in Collin Sexton, a top draft pick coming this year and a bunch of bloated contracts they’ll try to get off the books if they can. Regardless of whether this actually works, this isn’t an NBA team hiring a slick, big-name college coach to juice ticket sales only to find out he has no feel for personnel or the dynamics of an NBA locker room. This is a gamble on Beilein’s ability to teach and put in a high-level offense and, ultimately, on the fact that he has won everywhere from Division II LeMoyne to Richmond to the Big Ten. And no matter who Michigan finds to replace him, it’s invariably a blow to college basketball. Maybe at this point, nobody really cares. Though a segment of the delusional true believers think that because the FBI investigation and subsequent trials failed to explicitly link a head coach to NCAA violations that the sport is actually clean, most fans have just either become numb to the idea that it’s a complete cesspool or just aren’t interested because they believe NCAA rules are dumb in the first place. And make no mistake, the rules are dumb. But as the trials of middleman Christian Dawkins and Adidas executives Merl Code and Jim Gatto revealed, violating them doesn’t generally enrich players. Rather, NCAA limits on player compensation have created an underground economy where access and influence is sold to adults, many of whom are total con men who will steer players toward any agent or college coach who can meet their asking price. So as is often the case, coaches who are otherwise good people will make a risk-reward analysis and do what they have to do — a cycle that makes them endlessly suspicious of each other. But it’s worth noting that in 2017, when CBS Sports did an anonymous survey of more than 100 college coaches to name the coach that they “genuinely believe does everything by the book," Beilein came in with 26.6% of the vote — more than double Mike Brey, who received the second-most votes at 10.5%. That’s worth something, particularly at a time when the credibility of college basketball is essentially gone and the desire to vouch for any coach operating within the rule book is a fool’s errand. It’s hard to watch the NCAA tournament anymore without wondering how certain high-level players landed on certain teams, but at least with Michigan and Beilein, that conversation pretty much never came up. To be able to make it as far as he did in college basketball without igniting those suspicions is a pretty remarkable legacy to leave in a scandal-ridden sport. Now he’s leaving it behind for a shot in a league where they pay the players up front and you’re not constantly fighting those who are willing to bend the rules. Can you really blame him? Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/columnist/dan-wolken/2019/05/13/john-beilein-move-cleveland-cavaliers-loss-college-basketball/1189645001/

Walmart is primed to roll out free next-day delivery – without a membership fee – in select markets. Weeks after Amazon officials said they planned to offer free one-day shipping to Prime members, Walmart announced Tuesday it is adding free "NextDay" delivery in Phoenix and Las Vegas before expanding to Southern California "in the coming days." “It will roll out gradually over the coming months, with a plan to reach approximately 75% of the U.S. population this year, which includes 40 of the top 50 major U.S. metro areas,” said Marc Lore, Walmart eCommerce U.S. president and CEO, in a blog post. The free NextDay delivery is available on eligible orders over $35 and up to 220,000 frequently-purchased items including diapers, laundry detergent, electronics and toys. Prime costs $119 a year. Walmart hinted that one-day shipping was coming on April 26, the day Amazon made its announcement. "One-day free shipping...without a membership fee. Now THAT would be groundbreaking. Stay tuned," Walmart tweeted. Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at Forrester, said Walmart's announcement is great for consumers and also shows Walmart “is playing hard and playing competitively.” “I think the timing of this definitely suggests that this is to prove to anyone who thinks that the Amazon announcement a few weeks ago was a gamechanger, that Walmart can go toe to toe with Amazon in something like next-day delivery,” Kodali said. But, she thinks in-store pickup and curbside pickup is a winning strategy and more efficient. By the end of the year, Walmart plans to offer Grocery Pickup from 3,100 stores and same-day Grocery Delivery from 1,600 stores, Lore said in Tuesday's announcement. Lore said the shift makes "good business sense" and will cost the company "less – not more – to deliver orders the next day" because the orders will come from a single fulfillment center located closest to the customer. "This means the order ships in one box, or as few as possible, and it travels a shorter distance via inexpensive ground shipping," Lore said. "That’s in contrast to online orders that come in multiple boxes from multiple locations, which can be quite costly." Amazon announced Monday plans to help existing employees start their own small delivery businesses and that it's expanding its Delivery Service Partner program to include an incentive of up to $10,000 in startup costs. The e-commerce giant also said this week that it is testing using machines to pack customer orders. How Walmart's new NextDay works To view items that are eligible for free NextDay delivery, go to Walmart.com or the Walmart app and select NextDay delivery at the top of the website or app where it is available. For your order to qualify, everything in the cart must be eligible for NextDay delivery. Cut-off times vary by location. Eligible items come from a single fulfillment center located closest to the customer. Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/14/walmart-free-nextday-delivery-without-membership-fee-takes-amazon/1194803001/

North Korea on Tuesday called the U.S. seizure of a North Korean cargo ship involved in banned coal exports a “robbery” and demanded that the vessel be returned immediately. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, carried a statement by an unnamed foreign ministry spokesman who accused the United States of betraying the spirit of a summit agreement last June between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. Kim and Trump agreed then to a vague statement calling for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and improved bilateral ties, but a second meeting between the leaders collapsed in February over mismatched demands in sanctions relief and disarmament. The seizure of the cargo ship, which was announced last week, came at a delicate moment in U.S.-North Korean ties, with North Korea resuming weapons tests that seem meant to force the United States to ease sanctions. “The U.N. Security Council resolutions the United States mentioned as one of the reasons for robbing our trade vessel equate to a violent infringement of the sovereignty of our country and we have been entirely rejecting them,” the KCNA statement said. “The United States should carefully consider what kind of consequences their daylight robbery could bring to the political situation and should send back our vessel without hesitation.” Before the United States seized the cargo ship, the 177-meter (581-foot) vessel, named the Wise Honest, had first been detained by Indonesia in April 2018 while transporting a large amount of coal. It was brought Saturday to American Samoa, where it will undergo inspections. North Korea is banned from exporting coal under U.N. sanctions toughened in 2017 to punish increasingly powerful weapons tests that year. Experts believe coal and other mineral exports help finance the North’s weapons industry. Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/05/13/north-korea-us-robbery-demands-return-seized-ship/1196252001/

The number of people sickened in the 10-state E. coli outbreak has grown to 196 cases, including 28 hospitalizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday. No one has died. That's up from the 177 people in 10 states the CDC reported on April 26. The CDC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and state officials continue to investigate E. coli O103 infections linked to ground beef. Grant Park Packing of Franklin Park, Illinois, recalled an estimated 52,300 pounds of raw ground beef on April 24 and K2D Foods, doing business as Colorado Premium Foods, in Carrollton, Georgia, recalled more than 113,400 pounds on April 23. According to the CDC's most recent data, Kentucky has 69 cases, followed by Tennessee with 55 and Georgia with 49. Ohio is home to 12 cases, Florida five cases and Virginia two cases. Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Mississippi have one case each. "Ill people bought or ate ground beef from several different grocery stores and restaurants," the CDC said. "Many ill people bought large trays or chubs of ground beef from grocery stores and used the meat to make dishes like spaghetti sauce and sloppy joe." The victims range from younger than a year old to 84 years old with a median age of 19 and 52% are female, the CDC said. Two people were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to life-threatening kidney failure. Illnesses after March 21 might not be reported yet due to delays between when a person gets sick and when it's reported — a lag of two to three weeks on average. People who've ingested Shiga toxin-producing E. coli usually get sick three to four days afterward. Symptoms, which tend to last five to seven days, include severe stomach cramps; diarrhea, often bloody, and vomiting. The CDC reminds consumers to cook ground beef thoroughly to an internal temperature of 160°F to kill germs and casseroles that include ground beef as an ingredient to 165°F. Also, anyone who handles raw ground beef should wash their hands with soap and clean kitchen implements with hot, soapy water or a bleach solution. Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/05/13/e-coli-outbreak-196-people-10-states-now-sick-cdc-says/1188768001/

A mother has been arrested after a young child called 911 to report he and six other kids had been left alone in a hot car, according to authorities. The call came in to dispatchers in Charles County, Maryland around 1 p.m. on Friday, the sheriff's office said in a press release. The child didn’t know where they were, but the operator was able to pinpoint the location of the vehicle to the St. Charles Towne Center, according to the statement. Officers found seven children between the ages of 2 and 4 in the vehicle with the windows rolled up and the car not running. Shortly after the children were removed from the car and treated at the scene, the driver arrived. According to the sheriff's office, the unnamed 37-year-old woman had been shopping inside the mall for at least 20 minutes. "It is against the law to leave a child under the age of 8 unattended inside a motor vehicle if the caregiver is out of sight of the child unless a reliable person at least 13-years-old remains with the child," the sheriff's office said. "It is also dangerous to leave anyone, including pets, inside a motor vehicle especially as outside temperatures become warmer. The temperature inside a parked car can quickly rise to extremely high and even fatal levels in a short period of time." The woman is the mother of two of the children and was babysitting the others, according to the sheriff’s office. She was arrested and charged with confinement of children inside a motor vehicle, but may face additional charges The penalty for leaving children unattended is as much as $500 in fines, 30 days in jail, or both, according to Maryland state law. For vehicles parked in the sun for an hour, the average cabin temperature hit 116 degrees in one hour. Dashboards averaged 157 degrees, steering wheels 127 degrees, and seats 123 degrees in one hour. Safwat Saleem, Arizona State University Cars transform into ovens when direct sunlight heats objects inside. Temperatures can soar to 120 or 130 degrees even when the outdoor temperature is only in the 80s. The body's natural cooling methods, such as sweating, begin to shut down once the core body temperature reaches 104 degrees. Death can occur at 107 degrees. On average, 38 children die while trapped in hot vehicles every year, according to Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State University. Last year, a record 52 children died. Source: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/13/child-calls-911-left-hot-car-6-other-kids/1195100001/