New Website Tracks Government Money at All Levels: USAFacts

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Info on money — revenues and expenses — at all levels of U.S. government is being made freely available in a new website by former Microsoft CEO and current L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.

The website is USAFacts.org.

Ballmer was not satisfied with the information available through web search. He said the project involved organization and accessible presentation of existing information more than anything else.

The website has interesting presentations of the data. Just for one example, it can be seen how mortgage interest deduction, which can be assessed in terms of how well it promotes home ownership, makes its way to the pockets of the various income brackets.

DJI Puts $145,000 Bounty on Drone Pilots Disrupting Flights

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The world’s leading drone manufacturer, DJI, is taking seriously drone pilots who are causing problems by flying near airports.

For example, in China’s Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, drones have caused over 100 planes to make unscheduled landings or returns, affecting over 10,000 passengers.

The bounty DJI is offering up to 1 million yuan for clues that help police crack down on those flying near airports.

Hiker Found Alive After 7 Weeks Lost in Himalayas

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Taiwanese hiker Liang Sheng-yue was found conscious and with the remains of his girlfriend, Liu Chen-chun, and was airlifted out of a ravine near the Narchet River in the Himalayas, according to rescuer Madhav Basnet.

The couple was hiking the remote Ganesh Himal route in Dhading district, west of the Nepali capital Kathmandu.

Shengu-yue’s girlfriend perished just three days before rescue.

Hawaii Threatened by North Korea Now, U.S. Commander Tells Congress

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North Korea, the only country to test nukes this century (60 tests so far), poses a growing threat to Hawaii, U.S. Pacific Forces Commander Admiral Harry Harris Jr. testified to Congress this week. He advised that the U.S. consider deploying new anti-ballistic missile defense systems to shield Hawaii from any possible attack. He said that current defenses are sufficient to protect today, but the defenses “could be overwhelmed.”

United Airlines Report on Dragging Reveals Which Passengers Are Bumped First

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How United Airlines passengers are picked to be removed from overbooked flights was detailed in a report by the company this week, following this months widely publicized forced removal of an unwilling passenger.

According to the company, the process is automatic, done by computers:

– First, anyone without a seat assignment

– Second, passengers who paid the least for their ticket

– Third, passengers who checked in last

– Fourth, those who aren’t in United’s MileagePlus frequent-flyer program, or those with the lowest status

– Fifth, everyone except unaccompanied minors and passengers with disabilities

Source: Company’s “United Express Flight 3411 Review and Action Report ”

North Korea Agrees to First Ever UN Rights Expert Visit

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According to the UN statement, the special rapporteur on disabled people’s rights will be the first ever visit to the country by an independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council.

The rights council has accused North Korea of committing crimes against humanity and detaining up to 120,000 people in brutal prison camps.

Trump Agrees Not to Terminate NAFTA

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After phone calls with Trudeau and Nieto, the White House said that Trump “Agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders agreed to proceed swiftly, according to their required internal procedures, to enable the renegotiation of the NAFTA deal to the benefit of all three countries.”

Trump also wrote in a statement, “It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation. It is an honor to deal with both President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better.”

During the campaign trail and until very recently, Trump made strong statements against NAFTA and in favor of possibly ending the treaty.

Coca-Cola to Cut 1,200 Jobs as People Drink Less Sugary Drinks

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Coca Cola said it would cut 20% of its corporate workforce to save $800m, and will increase cuts to save $3.8b by 2019.

The current corporate staff is 5,500, around 5% of the total workforce of over 100,000.

The company expects profits to be down 1 – 3% this year.

Sugary drink and snack companies are looking towards new technology to reduce sugar while keeping sweetness.

In India, Chocolate Consumption Is Growing Fast

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Due to low cost, a belief the treats are healthy, and Indians’ general liking for chocolate, sales of the food have grown rapidly in the past few years.

Sales grew by 13% last year, according to global market analysis agency Mintel, and the rapid growth is expected to continue to 2020. It’s one of the fastest-growing markets. Mintel thinks it will hit Rs32,000 crore by 2020, up 160% from 2015.

The price for a chocolate bar is around 8 to 16 cents, and 2 in 5 Indians think sugary chocolates and cakes are healthy, according to Mintel.

India’s 228,000 tonnes of consumed chocolate for the year is still well below the much less populated U.S. and U.K., which consumed around 1,300,000 and 600,000 respectively.

U.S. Sanctioning Syrians Tied to Government Chemical Weapons

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As part of the U.S. government’s response to alleged use of chemical weapons by Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, it is placing sanctions on 271 individuals linked to the Syrian agency that produces that country’s chemical weapons and ballistic missiles.

The sanctions include travel blacklisting and financial restrictions.

Assad has said that the accusation he used chemical weapons on his people was a “fabrication” and “a pretext for the attack” the U.S. launched on a Syrian military base after the chemical attack story broke.

95% of India’s Engineers Unfit for Software Development, Study Says

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Despite the large number of engineers in India, most are not fit for software development jobs, according to Aspiring Minds, a private company that does employability assessment, reported Business Line.

Aspiring Minds assessed test results when 36,000 engineering students from over 500 colleges wrote Automata (which tests software development ability). Over 2/3 could not even write code that compiles. Most of the other 1/3 wrote incorrect or inefficient code. 1.4% were found to write good code.
While the overall assessment of India’s engineer’s was this low, India’s tier I colleges fared much better than it’s tier IIIs. From India’s top 100 colleges, almost 70% of students could write compilable — even if incorrect or inefficient — code, compared with 31% for tier IIIs.
Another dimension to the assessment is the test itself, Automata, which has been criticised for poor or incorrect questions, as well as the company which is the source of the results.