Tortuga-aak @tortuga-aak - Tumblr Blog

Oracle is trying to get Google to pay it a lot of money for Android, again

Kimberly White/Getty Images

Oracle on Thursday will try, once again, to get the courts to tell Google to hand over a lot of money.

In May 2016, a jury ruled in favor of Google, saying Google's use of bits of Oracle code in Android constituted "fair use."

Oracle appealed the verdict, however, and the first appeal hearing is scheduled to kick off Thursday.

The two have been duking it out in court for years, but so far, Oracle has not been awarded the multi-billion dollar judgment it's seeking.

Last May, Oracle suffered a well-publicized loss in its years-long lawsuit against Google over Android. Oracle appealed the verdict and the first hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The trial was watched closely by the computer industry and included testimony from a who's who in Silicon Valley, including Alphabet CEO Larry Page, Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. At once point Oracle's Larry Ellison even called Page "evil" over the situation.

While each side has won various stages of the legal fight, the upshot is: Google has yet to be told it is on the hook to pay Oracle for Java, much less the massive, multi-billion dollar fine Oracle has been hoping for.

If the appeals court upholds the last jury verdict, which found in favor of Google, that would likely severely hamper Oracle's attempts to keep going on this case. Google had attempted to get the Supreme Court to jump into the case in 2015 and issue a definitive ruling, but the Supreme Court declined to do so at that time, leaving it to wind its way through the lower courts first.

The trial was so technical that the judge overseeing the trial, Judge William Alsup of the northern district of California, taught himself to code just to understand the case better, The Verge reported at the time.

Oracle and Google have been battling it out for years in two separate court cases over whether Google must pay Oracle billions of dollars for bits of code copied from Java (a programming language Oracle owns) and used in Android (the language Google controls).

At issue were parts of the code called application programming interfaces (APIs), the technology that allows different computer programs to talk to each other. In May 2016, a jury ruled that Google's use of the disputed code was "fair use."

These lawsuits caused a lot of hand-wringing in the software industry, with pro-Google sides worrying that if Oracle won the suit, it would be awful for the software industry. Those folks worried that an Oracle win would make APIs the subject of more lawsuits and make APIs more difficult to create and share.

For those in search of more details on Oracle's potential next moves, a policy blog from the Computer & Communications Industry Association called The Project-Disco blog has posted an interesting analysis of the case.

Both Oracle and Google declined comment.

NOW WATCH: This animation shows how terrifyingly powerful nuclear weapons have become

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2AySh5W

#Feedburner

Republicans are lost on whether Al Franken should resign

Thomson Reuters

Republicans were hesitant to join Democrats in demanding Sen. Al Franken resign over sexual misconduct allegations.

Should embattled Senate candidate Roy Moore win Alabama's special election next week, he would face the same scrutiny by the Ethics Committee, a process that many Republicans defended.

WASHINGTON — After Senate Democrats calling for Sen. Al Franken to resign over sexual misconduct allegations snowballed on Wednesday, Republicans across the aisle gave mixed responses on what to do, as an incoming colleague is facing a massive scandal of surrounding similar accusations himself.

When yet another woman came forward accusing Franken of misconduct on Wednesday, several Democratic women in the Senate demanded he resign. The move prompted more senators to call for the Minnesota Democrat's resignation, leading Franken to announce a press conference for Thursday morning, during which he is expected to address his political future.

Senate Republicans have been hesitant to join Democrats in demands that Franken step down

"The women in the Senate have sent a pretty clear message," Sen. Steve Daines of Montana told Business Insider, who when pressed further said, "I respect their position and it seems to be a pretty strong message and pretty unified."

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley dodged questions on Franken.

"I think I ought to give [Franken] the courtesy of listening to what he has to say tomorrow," he said. "I think I'll do that."

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman suggested the process should play itself out regarding Franken, noting the investigation underway by the Senate Ethics Committee.

"My understanding is they've started an ethics investigation and I strongly support that," Portman said. "And we should see what the ethics investigation finds out but if it finds out that he's engaged in this behavior, then yes [Franken should resign]."

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina echoed Portman's take on Franken in wanting a complete and thorough ethics investigation before any decision is made.

"I think we need to be consistent and I think that the allegations against Mr. Franken are pretty significant," Tillis said. "The fact that we had 10 Democrat members call for his resignation today suggests that they even have information that we’ve not yet seen. That needs to be a subject of the Senate investigation and if the allegations are true, he should go."

However, some Republicans agreed with the avalanche of Democrats that Franken should resign outright.

John Thune, one of the top Republicans in the Senate, said, "That's a decision obviously that Senator Franken has to make between him and his constituents" adding, "I think that's the right call given kind of what we know."

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott echoed what he said about Roy Moore, the GOP's embattled Senate candidate in Alabama who is facing accusations of sexual misconduct himself.

"I would say the same thing about Senator Franken that I said about Roy Moore, which is both need to find something else to do," he said.

Republicans are still struggling with what to do about Roy Moore

Several women have accused Moore of sexual misconduct and pursuing relationships with them when they were as young as 14 years old.

While President Donald Trump endorsed Moore this week and the Republican National Committee reinstated financial support for him, he will immediately hit a wall in the Senate, as many Republicans noted.

"I've said before that I thought Roy Moore ought to step aside," Thune said. "I think he's gonna face a lot of the same issues when he gets here."

Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby said that while Republicans would have no choice but to seat Moore if he wins, "it probably doesn't bode well" for his future to be faced with so many allegations of sexual misconduct.

Tillis said "if the election in Alabama produces a win for Mr. Moore it too needs to be subject to an ethics investigation and we go from there," echoing the same hesitancy he has with the case with Franken.

"I think each case should be determined on its own facts," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said.

Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said commenting on Moore "would be speculation."

"I don't want to speculate until the voters get done," he said. "When it comes to Roy Moore and me, I didn't endorse him so I didn't have to withdraw my endorsement."

"I don't support his candidacy," Sen. Lindsey Graham said. "I don't like the RNC doing it, but that's their decision to make."

Graham noted that Moore will not just face his own problems in the Senate, but will be a stain on Republicans up and down the ballot in the coming election cycle next year.

"If you think Roy Moore wins and is a plus for Republicans, you're naive because he’ll be on the ballot in every race in 2018, whether you want him to be or not," he added. "There's no winning in my view with Roy Moore."

NOW WATCH: 'It was bulls---': Megyn Kelly responds to being called Trump's 'chew toy'

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2BQ6RV1

#Feedburner

The fitness fad everyone was trying the year you were born

Miramax

Exercise fads, from products to classes, have been on the market for decades.

Some of these are still used and practiced today.

A few have made comebacks while others, thankfully, died out.

Fitness fads aren't anything new. In fact, they've been around as early as the '50s. Some of these products and exercises are still popular today, while others have been shunned or forgotten.

INSIDER created a fitness fad timeline documenting the most popular trends over the years, from exercise classes to workout gear. Here's what fitness fad was popular the year and decade you were born.

1958 — Hula-hooping

Kerek Wongsa/Reuters

Before it was a toy, hula-hoops were a workout tool. Wham-O founders heard about twirling hoops that were gaining popularity in Australia, according to Hulahooping.com. They started making their own version of the product in 1958, and even held demonstrations on how to use it. History.com reports that an estimated 25 million hula-hoops were sold in the first four months of production.

Today, weighted hoops are used by people who want to take their skills (and workout) to the next level. The Mayo Clinic reports that 30 minutes of hula-hooping can even burn between 165 to 200 calories.

1960 — Vibrating belts

JCPenny

A hot commodity in the '50s and '60s, the vibrating belt was used to shake your waist, legs, arms, and butt into shape. According to The Washington Post, the machine was marketed as a way to vibrate fat and make it easier for the body to "flush it away."

Scientists eventually discovered that you can't vibrate fat off of your body, causing this trend to die down. If this product was still in stores, we would add it to our list of health products to never buy.

1977 — Bodybuilding

Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Lifting weights gained popularity in the '70s thanks to "Pumping Iron," a semi-biographical movie that glorified the sport of bodybuilding. The film's star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, became the first real celebrity and champion of the routine.

Although bodybuilding can be traced back to as early as 1890, Schwarzenegger's physique and the film inspired people to hit the gym during this decade.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2kt1x5J

#Feedburner

Horrifying images of the raging wildfires in Southern California show how rapidly destruction has spread

REUTERS/Gene Blevins

A series of wildfires have broken out in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and continue to rage as of late in the day on Wednesday.

The three largest blazes — the Thomas Fire, the Creek Fire, and the Rye Fire — are burning around Ventura, Sylmar, and Santa Clarita, with no signs of stopping. The fires have already destroyed hundreds of homes, and prompted the evacuation of 200,000 people across region.

Because the flames have been fed by strong, dry Santa Ana winds of up to 80 mph, authorities have not been able to contain the fires.

The blazes have caused highways to shut down, schools to close, and halted activity in the region as firefighters work to contain the destruction. California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency, freeing up state funds to help tackle the wildfires.

Below are some of the most horrifying images from the ground.

The fires forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes around Los Angeles and in suburbs throughout the region.

AP/Noah Berger

Downtown Santa Paula was darkened by a power outage as strong winds pushed the Thomas Fire across thousands of acres.

David McNew/Reuters

The fire continues to threaten homes as it burns along the 101 freeway.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong See the rest of the story at Business Insider from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2ivEvGY

#Feedburner

THE OMNICHANNEL FULFILLMENT REPORT: How retailers can overcome challenges to fend off Amazon's threat

BI Intelligence

This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence, click here.

Brick-and-mortar retailers are caught on the wrong side of the digital shift in retail, with many stuck in a dangerous cycle of falling foot traffic, declining comparable-store sales, and increasing store closures.

More than 8,600 retail stores could close this year in the US — more than the previous two years combined, brokerage firm Credit Suisse said in a recent report. Meanwhile, e-commerce pureplays are riding the rise of digital commerce to success — none more so than Amazon, which accounted for 53% of online sales growth in the US last year, according to Slice Intelligence.

In response, many brick-and-mortar retailers have started to use omnichannel fulfillment methods that leverage their store locations and in-store inventory in order to better compete in e-commerce. These omnichannel services, including ship-from-store and click-and-collect, can help retailers manage the transition to digital by:

Increasing online sales by offering cheaper, more convenient delivery options for online shoppers.

Limiting the growth of shipping costs as online sales volumes increase by leveraging store networks for delivery.

Keeping stores relevant by turning them into fulfillment centers that pull customers in to pick up online orders.

However, few retailers have mastered these new fulfillment services. While these companies have spent years optimizing their supply chain and logistics networks for delivering goods to their stores or directly to customers’ doorsteps, most have yet to figure out how to profitably bring their store locations into the e-commerce delivery process.

In a new report, BI Intelligence lays out the case for why retailers must transition to an omnichannel fulfillment model, and the challenges complicating that transition for most companies. We also detail the benefits and difficulties involved with specific omnichannel fulfillment services like click-and-collect, ship-to-store, and ship-from-store, providing examples of retailers that have experienced success and struggles with these methods. Lastly, we walk through the steps retailers need to take to optimize omnichannel fulfillment for lower costs and faster delivery times.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

Brick-and-mortar retailers must cut delivery times and costs to meet online shoppers’ expectations of free and fast shipping.

Omnichannel fulfillment services can help retailers achieve that goal while also keeping their stores relevant.

However, few retailers have mastered these services, which has led to increasing shipping costs eating into their profit margins.

In order to optimize costs and realize the full benefits of these omnichannel services, retailers must undertake costly and time-consuming transformations of their logistics, inventory, and store systems and operations.

In full, the report:

Details the benefits of omnichannel services like click-and-collect and ship-from-store, including lowering delivery times and costs, and driving in-store traffic and sales.

Provides examples of the successes and struggles various retailers have experienced with omnichannel delivery.

Explains why retailers are having trouble managing costs with their omnichannel fulfillment efforts, which are eating into their profits.

Lays out what steps retailers need to take to optimize costs for their omnichannel operations by placing inventory where it best meets customer demand.

To get the full report, subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND more than 250 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> Learn More Now

You can also purchase and download the report from our research store.

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2wmzkOt

#Feedburner

An unconscious man came to a hospital with a 'do not resuscitate' tattoo — and doctors didn't know what to do

NEJM/Twitter

An unconscious man came to a hospital with the words "do not resuscitate" tattooed on his chest.

The New England Journal of Medicine just published a new case report about the patient.

Doctors weren't sure whether or not to honor the tattoo.

Eventually, the hospital located the man's written "do not resuscitate" order, and he later died.

A 70-year-old man came to a Florida emergency room unconscious, with no identification, and an elevated blood alcohol level. Doctors tried to bring the man to consciousness but couldn't — and hospital staff weren't able to locate any next of kin.

It was a complicated situation made even more complicated by a tattoos across the man's chest. It read "DO NOT RESUSCITATE," complete with a signature.

That tattoo is the subject of a new case report published by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on Thursday. And it's not just a story about unusual body art — it also raises some fascinating ethical questions.

Here's what the tattoo looked like:

Tweet Embed: https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/936205728607596545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Correspondence: An Unconscious Patient with a DNR Tattoo https://t.co/6gBO0m154O #MedicalEthics http://pic.twitter.com/sQhITmM8J9

At first, the report says, doctors decided not to honor the tattoo, but they were conflicted. If the man went to all the effort of getting such a prominent, permanent statement, maybe it really was what he wanted. They requested an ethics consultation at the hospital.

"After reviewing the patient's case, the ethics consultants advised us to honor the patient’s do not resuscitate (DNR) tattoo," the authors wrote. "They suggested that it was most reasonable to infer that the tattoo expressed an authentic preference."

Later, the hospital's social workers found that the man had already filed an "out-of-hospital" DNR with the Florida Department of Health — further evidence for the authenticity of the tattoo. Throughout the night, his status worsened, and he eventually died with no attempts at resuscitation.

Believe it or not, this isn't the only time that doctors have reported a DNR tattoo. The NEJM cited a 2012 case report about a patient who got a similar chest tattoo because he lost a bet during a poker game — it didn't actually reflect his wishes.

But in the case of the Florida man, the inked DNR was at least consistent with a written one.

In an interview with Gizmodo, lead author Gregory Holt said that tattoo regret is "not rare," but also acknowledged that this particular tattoo offered a pretty clear expression.

"My position would be if someone went to the great length of having DNR tattooed with a signature," Holt told Gizmodo, "it indicates a strong and clear wish."

NOW WATCH: Smart tattoos may soon be able to track your health

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2AgsY9W

#Feedburner

Apple's growth days are over if it can't sell more iPhones (AAPL)

If Apple's iPhone business is flat -- that means no growth, but no decline, either -- then it can still enjoy growth.

But that growth will be much harder to come by, especially considering a large percentage of Apple's non-iPhone business is tied to the fundamentally declining tablet (iPad) and personal computer (Mac) markets.

Apple has been one of the most impressive growth stories in a generation. Over the past decade, the company fundamentally redefined the smartphone, reinvented the tablet PC, and built a sprawling hardware and software ecosystem that has allowed it to generate huge revenue and profit growth for its shareholders.

While that's great for investors who got in on the Apple story earlier on, the question that prospective investors are going to want to know the answer to is, are Apple's growth days over?

I think the answer is no. Here's why.

Understanding Apple's business today

The key to evaluating Apple's growth prospects is to understand where Apple's revenue currently comes from. During fiscal 2017, the company generated $229.23 billion in net revenue. Here's a look at each of Apple's reporting segments and the percentage of the company's revenue that each segment brought in:

Segment % of Apple Revenue iPhone 61.64% iPad 8.39% Mac 11.28% Services 13.08% Other products 5.61%

DATA SOURCE: APPLE 10-K FILING.

The largest contributor to Apple's revenue, by far, is the iPhone. The easiest way for Apple to enjoy significant revenue growth is to grow its iPhone business -- if iPhone grows, then chances are good the company's overall business will grow, too.

If Apple's iPhone business is flat -- that means no growth, but no decline, either -- then it can still enjoy growth. But that growth will be much harder to come by, especially considering a large percentage of Apple's non-iPhone business is tied to the fundamentally declining tablet (iPad) and personal computer (Mac) markets.

Apple's services and other-products businesses have enjoyed nice growth in recent years, growing 16% and 23% year over year during fiscal 2017, respectively. However, since they together form such a small part of Apple's overall business, they can't carry Apple to growth on their own if the iPhone declines by even a modest amount.

So the question we need to be asking is, will Apple's iPhone business continue to grow in the years ahead?

Apple's two paths to iPhone growth

There are two ways Apple can fundamentally grow its iPhone business. The first is through iPhone unit shipment growth, and the second is through iPhone average selling price growth. During fiscal 2017, Apple's iPhone business saw a modest degree of both: iPhone unit shipments were up 2% year over year and iPhone revenue was up 3%, implying a roughly 1% boost in iPhone average selling prices for the year.

It's widely expected that Apple's iPhone business will enjoy much faster unit and average selling price growth this year, thanks to the introduction of the radically redesigned and relatively pricey iPhone X.

I think Apple's iPhone business will see another leg of both average selling price and unit shipment growth as the company brings the core iPhone X design to a lower price point, as well as to a larger-screen and even higher-priced model. Where things could get a little murky is how iPhone revenue trends following this year's product cycle and the cycle after that.

Apple will, of course, be able to bring new features and capabilities to new iPhones, and there's even an opportunity for the company to deliver some form factor changes, which consumers seem to respond well to. However, while the growth that Apple is likely to see in the current iPhone cycle and what I expect it to see in the coming cycle seem virtually guaranteed, the years beyond -- at least for iPhone -- seem less clear.

That being said, Apple is run by sharp people who understand what smartphone customers want more than possibly any other organization on the planet. The safer bet, then, is that Apple's iPhone business and, by extension, Apple's overall business isn't done growing yet.

Ashraf Eassa has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NOW WATCH: The disturbing reason some people turn red when they drink alcohol

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2B6RAlo

#Feedburner

Impressive photos of the US and South Korea's massive air drills that should have North Korea on edge

Associated Press

The US and South Korea's annual air drills — known as Vigilant Ace — are underway in the Korean Peninsula.

This week will see 230 warplanes, from both the US and South Korean Air Forces, fly over eight US and South Korean military bases.

The drill will also involve two dozen stealth jets — a sign that the US and South Korea are forces to be reckoned with.

The show of force involves 12,000 personnel and some of the most advanced aerial weaponry in service. The drill comes as North Korea has recently become increasingly aggressive with its most recent ICBM test and rhetoric.

See the best shots from the drill so far:

F-15s, the king of the skies for 3 decades, are participating in the drill in large numbers

U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airmnan Jessica H. Smith

F-35s and F-16s line up together to get into the air.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Colby L. Hardin

Six F-22s, rarely seen outside the US or Japan, add more stealth power to the exercise.

U.S Air Force photo by Senior Airmnan Jessica H. Smith See the rest of the story at Business Insider from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2zUyNFz

#Feedburner

5 gifts I’m asking for this holiday season to help me organize my life next year

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Just because the Insider Picks team is hard at work coming up with gift guides to help you pick out the perfect present for the people in your life doesn’t mean we forgot to make lists for ourselves.

I might not give my mom a handwritten list for Santa anymore (I type and mail one directly), but there are a few items I have on my "want" list, just in case a relative asks.

These days I’m into more practical gifts, and use the holiday season to ask for things to help me get started with a pre-planned New Year's resolution; but that doesn’t mean they’re not fun. Below, you’ll find ways to make your kitchen more efficient and take life a little slower.

Having trouble figuring out what to get people for the holidays? You can check out all of Insider Picks' 2017 gift guides here.

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor

Amazon

I’ve become a die-hard believer in meal prep and this food processor makes chopping, slicing, and dicing large volumes of vegetables, cheese, or anything else easy and quick.

Cuisinart 14-Cup Food Processor, $188.95, available at Amazon

Field Notes notebooks

Instagram / @fieldnotesbrand

For years, I refused to write anything down on actual paper, relying exclusively on my phone’s notes app and my computer. But in an attempt to take a little step back from technology, I’m interested in getting some notebooks, and I'm very interested in Field Notes. The notebooks I want come in packs of three, can fit in your pocket, and should be thick enough to hold weeks' worth of my stray thoughts.

Field Notes Kraft Ruled 3-Pack, $9.95, available at Amazon

Monument Fountain Pen

Amazon

Because I’m not one to jump into a new venture or hobby without heavy research and the right tools, I’d like to pair my new notebooks with a nice fountain pen. Pilot already makes my favorite roller ball pen, and its Metropolitan fountain pen is supposedly one of the best ones in its price range.

Pilot Metropolitan Collection Fountain Pen, $13.07, available at Amazon

See the rest of the story at Business Insider from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2krhUQj

#Feedburner

Al Franken disputes report that he will leave the Senate as Democrats call for his resignation

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

A Democratic official, who reportedly spoke with Sen. Al Franken and his aides, told Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday that the senator would resign on Thursday.

Franken's spokesperson responded to the report, calling it "not accurate," and said the Minnesota Democrat is "still talking with his family."

This follows an avalanche of Democratic lawmakers, led by female senators, calling on Franken to resign on Wednesday following new allegations of sexual misconduct.

A Democratic official, who reportedly spoke with Sen. Al Franken and his aides, told Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday that the Democratic lawmaker would resign on Thursday.

A member of Franken's staff reportedly told the official, who asked to remain anonymous, that Franken discussed his decision with family members at his Washington home on Wednesday.

But a spokesperson for Franken disputed the report, calling it "not accurate," and said that "no final decision has been made" as the Minnesota Democrat is "still talking with his family."

If Franken leaves office, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, also a Democrat, will be required to name his successor. A special election to replace the interim senator would be held in November 2018.

Speculation that Franken would resign grew widespread on Wednesday after a flood of Democratic senators publicly called on Franken to step down as he faced new allegations of sexual misconduct.

By Wednesday afternoon dozens of Senate Democrats had called on Franken to step down, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. A representative for Franken said the senator would make an announcement on Thursday, but did not provide further details.

Earlier Wednesday, a seventh woman accused Franken of sexual misconduct. The woman, a former Democratic congressional aide, says Franken attempted to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006, three years before he became a senator.

An eighth woman also came forward later in the day to accuse Franken of groping her as she posed with the newly-elected senator in 2009.

Franken insists he doesn't remember meeting several of the women who have accused him of groping them during photo ops, and he says he has a different recollection of a 2006 incident with Leeann Tweeden, a California TV and radio host who says Franken groped and forcibly kissed her.

Franken has said he is "ashamed" by the allegations and apologized to the women who have felt disrespected by his behavior.

"I know that I am going to have to be much more conscious in these circumstances — much more careful, much more sensitive," Franken said during a press conference last week, adding, "It's going to take a long time for me to regain people's trust, but I hope that starting work today that I can start to do that."

NOW WATCH: White House photographer Pete Souza on how Obama balanced being president with his family life

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2BEJnRE

#Feedburner

Farmers in Mexico's avocado heartland are relying on vigilantes to protect their 'green gold'

REUTERS/Alan Ortega

The Mexican state of Michoacan is a hub for avocado production, and its fortunes have risen as demand for the crop has increased.

But the state has long been a hotbed for organized-crime groups, who have preyed on legitimate businesses, like agriculture.

One municipality there has set up its own police force, which it says keeps the cartels at bay.

Global demand for avocados has grown considerably in recent years, and Mexican farmers have been a major beneficiary, declaring the crop "green gold."

Mexico produces about 45% of the world's avocados, and the western state of Michoacan is the country's top producer. But Michoacan has also been a locus for organized crime, and the state's residents have suffered as criminal groups overwhelmed and corrupted authorities.

Vigilantes, called self-defense groups or autodefensas, cropped up in the state to fight off criminal groups when local and federal authorities were unable or unwilling to do so.

Many of those autodefensas have been dismantled by the government or co-opted by criminal groups. But in the municipality of Tancitaro — home to 30,000 people in western Michoacan — residents set up their own specialized police force: the Tancitaro Public Security Corps.

Many Mexicans consider Tancitaro to be the "authentic" world capital of avocados.

(AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

A few months prior to the group's formation in mid-2014, the area was controlled by the Knights Templar cartel, who were drawn by the lucrative avocado trade and preyed heavily on legitimate industries — at one point drugs weren't even among its top sources of income.

Criminal groups remain involved in agriculture there. In mid-2017, the Michoacan state government said it had seized some 500 acres of avocado crops that were under the control of organized crime.

"The autodefensa groups freed the municipality of organized crime and then, together with the government, we worked with the avocado producers to recruit police," Jose Sanchez Mendoza, chief of the Tancitaro Public Security Corps, recently told the BBC. "The first requirement was that the force was composed of people from this municipality."

The force is not a wholly public force. It is financed in part by avocado producers, who pay a percentage of their income based on the amount of land they cultivate. The municipal government also provides funding, and the force's members receive training from federal forces.

AP Photo/Nick Wagner

Everyone on the force is in some way connected to the avocado trade, which the mayor of Tancitaro told the BBC has helped make it successful, as everyone involved are personally invested in protecting the crops.

The force — which is outfitted with weapons, bulletproof vests, and an armored vehicles — also works with 16 community groups who report suspicious activity. The police said the community groups were unarmed, but members of one of the groups told a BBC correspondent that they had weapons.

The criminal scene in Michoacan — where Mexico first deployed troops in early 2007 to crack down on organized crime and rampant drug-related violence — has grown increasingly fragmented in recent years.

The Knights Templar has declined, but other groups — among them the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel — have appeared in the state. Los Viagras was originally formed as an autodefensa, but has now emerged as a major criminal group. Smaller criminal elements have also risen out of the Knights Templar's remains.

The decline of the Knights Templar and arrival of other groups pushed up violence in the state.

Christopher Woody/Mexican federal government data

Since 2007, the number of homicide cases has increased steadily — spiking in 2016 to 1,287, after the deaths of Knights leader Nazario Moreno in 2014 and the arrest of his colleague Servando "La Tuta" Gomez in 2015.

In relative terms, Michoacan's 2007 homicide rate of 12.28 per 100,000 people was above the national average but below many other more violence-prone states. That rate has also increased steadily.

By 2011, former Mexican President Felipe Calderon's last full year in office, it was above 17 per 100,000 people, which was below the national average. The homicide rate surged close to 20 per 100,000 in 2013 and 2014 before dropping in 2015.

But 2016 saw 27.81 homicides per 100,000 people, and 2017 has had nearly 22 homicides per 100,000 people through October.

The Tancitaro Public Security Corps has helped carve out a redoubt from this violence, according to residents there.

Chema Flores, who has worked in the avocado industry since 1982, told the BBC that he never imagined seeing such demand for his crops.

Flores said he had been kidnapped twice and his son once. But he is now permitted to carry a firearm, and he and his son are accompanied by bodyguards during the day. That, plus the security force, has kept crime at bay.

"For the moment it is safe here. There is a lot of security," he told the BBC. "But in other area it is ugly. I don't want to lie."

NOW WATCH: These are the kind of profits Mexican drug cartels are making

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2k2QzA7

#Feedburner

Rep. John Conyers' son — who he endorsed to replace him — was reportedly arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Rep. John Conyers announced his retirement on Tuesday following a series of sexual harassment allegations, and endorsed his son to succeed him.

His son, John Conyers III, was reportedly arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse in February but was not charged.

John Conyers III, the son of embattled Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, was arrested under suspicion of domestic abuse in Los Angeles but was not charged, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

The younger Conyers was arrested in February after his girlfriend called the police and said he "body slammed her on the bed and then on the floor where he pinned her down and spit on her," NBC News reported, citing a police report. She said Conyers became aggressive after going through her computer and accusing her of cheating.

The girlfriend added that when she attempted to call the police, Conyers took her phone and "chased" her to the kitchen. After she grabbed a knife and told him to leave, she said he took the knife and swung it at her, cutting her arm in the process.

Conyers' account differed from his girlfriend's, according to NBC News. He alleged that his girlfriend tried to throw him out of their house after consuming alcohol and marijuana. He said they started becoming aggressive with each other, and that she threatened him with the knife.

Conyers, a Detroit hedge fund manager, was later arrested and released on a $50,000 bond that day, authorities told NBC News.

Rep. Conyers announced his retirement from Congress Tuesday after several women accused him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. After declaring that he would be leaving the House of Representatives, effective immediately, Conyers endorsed his son to succeed him.

Conyers, the longest serving member of Congress, has denied allegations that he settled a 2015 sexual-harassment complaint with a former staffer who claimed she was fired after rebuffing his advances. He also said he could not explain where the allegations against him came from.

On Tuesday, the elder Conyers dismissed such reports as politically motivated said they would not impact his reputation.

"My legacy can't be compromised or diminished in any way by what we're going through now. This too shall pass," he said. "I want you to know that my legacy will continue through my children."

NOW WATCH: White House photographer Pete Souza on how Obama balanced being president with his family life

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2BFUUAi

#Feedburner

Harvey Weinstein reportedly made his assistants buy erectile dysfunction drugs for him with his company credit card

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for Spike

Harvey Weinstein's years of alleged sexual harassment and assault were enabled by a "complicity machine" that included tabloid journalists and assistants, according to a New York Times report.

Weinstein reportedly made his "low-level assistants" help facilitate his alleged encounters with women and procure "penile injections" for his erectile dysfunction.

One of Weinstein's former assistants, who told the Times she was forced to provide him with erectile dysfunction drugs, also told Variety that she is planning to sue Weinstein for sexual harassment.

Harvey Weinstein had an extensive network of enablers who helped him cover up years of alleged sexual harassment and assault, according to a New York Times report published Tuesday.

Weinstein reportedly sought the help of agents and tabloid journalists in an effort to undermine his accusers. He also reportedly forced some of his "low-level assistants" to help facilitate his alleged encounters with women, and even made them procure "penile injections" for his erectile dysfunction.

Two of Weinstein's former assistants, Sandeep Rehal and Michelle Franklin, told the Times that they were forced to provide Weinstein with the injectable erectile dysfunction drugs Caverject and alprostadil, and that they helped arrange his repeated encounters with women.

Franklin told the Times that Weinstein fired her in 2012 after she told the movie mogul, "It's not my job, and I don’t want to do it," in response to arranging his encounter with a woman who later appeared "emotionally bruised."

Rehal told the Times that Weinstein paid for his erectile dysfunction drugs and other items for his encounters with his company credit card, and she said that Weinstein paid her a $500 bonus for supplying the drugs.

Rehal's attorney also told Variety on Wednesday that she plans to sue Weinstein for sexual harassment. Rehal worked for Weinstein for two years, before quitting in February 2015 due to an "intolerable work environment," her attorney told Variety.

In a statement responding to the Times story, Weinstein's attorneys, Blair Berk and Ben Brafman, said Weinstein did not bill personal expenses to the company.

"At no time during his tenure at either Miramax or TWC did Mr. Weinstein ever utilize company resources for personal expenditures, and in the few instances where there was any confusion, Mr. Weinstein immediately reimbursed the company out of his own pocket," the attorneys said in their full statement, as Variety reported.

Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company board on October 8, following bombshell reports from The New York Times and The New Yorker that detailed decades-spanning allegations of sexual harassment and assault against him.

The 8,000-word New York Times report published Tuesday details the full extent of Weinstein's history of efforts to cover up his alleged misconduct, and it's worth a read.

Business Insider has contacted Weinstein's lawyers for further comment.

NOW WATCH: This South Korean boy band is taking over the music world

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2ATWzpf

#Feedburner

These $150 wireless headphones are perfect if you own a PlayStation 4

Plantronics

When it comes to listening to the games I play on my Sony PlayStation 4, I haven't exactly been an audiophile.

Until lately, I simply used a pair of Apple earbuds that came with my iPhone, plugging them into the headphone jack on the PS4. They were available, easy to use, and good enough.

I probably would have kept on using them, except their microphone didn't work with the voice chat feature in some of the games I was playing. Wanting to chat with my fellow players, I decided to check out some other options. I used that search as an excuse to explore wireless headphones and to see what I was missing while wearing my earbuds.

Sony makes two excellent pairs of wireless headphones for the PlayStation 4 — the $99 Gold and $199 Platinum wireless headsets. I recently got review units of both and look forward to testing them. But for several months now, I've found my own personal sweet spot: Plantronics' RIG800HS headphones.

The RIG800HS are wireless, cost $150 — right between Sony's two offerings — and are made by the same 56-year-old audio communications company that became famous for providing headsets for NASA. Oh, and they're awesome.

Take a look:

Hands-down, Plantronics' RIG800HS headphones are the most comfortable wireless headphones I've ever used.

Dave Smith/Business Insider

Purely on a comfort level, the RIG800HS headphones are the best I've ever worn — not just while playing video games, but for everything else too. They're incredibly lightweight and feel just right when you wear them — not too snug and not too loose. You can shake your head around, and they'll stay put.

Most importantly, they're durable. Despite wearing them for hours on end while playing games, my ears didn't get sweaty, and I never felt the pressure you sometimes feel when you wear a pair of over-ear headphones for too long. The headphones' design is perfect.

They also deliver great sound.

Plantronics

If you want to be truly immersed in a video game or a movie, you need good sound. After more than four weeks of testing the RIG800HS headphones, I can say they offer one of the best audio experiences I've ever had.

When watching movies, the sound was excellent and well-balanced. But the headphones truly excelled when I was playing games, most notably "Destiny 2."

Thanks to the RIG800HS, I could really appreciate the audio design of the game, from the sound of snow crunching underneath my character's feet to the subtle glass-shattering sound when one of my bullets hit the perfect spot in an enemy robot.

And best of all, the headphones helped me perform better. In competitive multiplayer matches, I could hear action happening all around me or off in the distance. That helped me navigate the battlefield and make smarter moves.

The headphones' microphone is cleverly designed, but it didn't work well in one key way.

Dave Smith/Business Insider

The RIG800HS headphones include a microphone, which you can use in games to chat with other players. The microphone sounds great to those you're chatting with. And it's got a cool design. You turn it on by simply flipping it down; you mute it by flipping it back up.

Unfortunately, one of the key features related to the microphone didn't work in my tests. The headphones have a dial that is supposed to allow you to adjust the relative volume of the game you're playing and your voice chats with other players. As you decrease the game volume, chat volume is supposed to go up and vice versa.

But when I turned down the game volume, the chat volume went down also. It could be this problem had to do with the game I was playing; I only tested the feature with "Destiny 2."

I love the idea of the feature, but because it didn't work, I ended up having to turn off the game's audio completely so I could hear the chat room clearly.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2B8xMy4

#Feedburner

It's looking like Trump's Obamacare meddling could cause serious problems for the healthcare market

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Enrollment on the federally run Affordable Care Act exchanges is outpacing 2016.

But it's projected to fall short overall because of a shorter time window for people to enroll.

Other actions from the Trump administration will likely lead to fewer Americans signing up for coverage.

Experts say this will likely lead to higher insurance premiums.

Sign-ups for next year on the federally run Affordable Care Act insurance markets are crushing their pace from last year. But darker clouds loom on the horizon.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), about 3.6 million plans have been selected on the federally run Healthcare.gov exchanges through December 2 — about 2.6 million people renewing coverage and just under 1 million new customers.

The overall number is above last year's pace, with nearly 600,000 more plans selected than at this time last year.

That's the positive news for the healthcare law. The not-so-good news: The open enrollment period for 2017 is significantly shorter this year compared to last. The Trump administration shrunk the sign-up stretch to six weeks instead of three months.

With the December 15 deadline fast approaching, the number of plan selections is well short of the more than 9 million people who signed up on the federal exchange last year.

Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan healthcare policy organization, said there will likely be a significant kick of sign-ups near the finish — since auto-enrollments will be added onto the final numbers. But it will likely not make up for the shortfall.

"It seems pretty clear at this point that the combination of a shorter sign-up period and massive reductions in outreach will lead to lower enrollment and more people uninsured," Levitt told Business Insider.

Obamacare markets could see big problems

Levitt hinted at another reason experts say there has been a drop in enrollments. The Trump administration cut its advertising budget by around 90%. Money to in-person navigators, who help people find plans, dropped by just over 40%.

Matthew Fiedler, a fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Health Policy, said there are a lot of reasons for the enrollment drop-off — but not one that stands out above others.

"My view is that various administration actions — including the shorter enrollment period, the reduction in outreach funding, higher premiums for unsubsidized consumers due to policy uncertainty, and consumer confusion about the ACA’s future — have weighed on enrollment, but the size of each of those effects is uncertain," Fiedler told Business Insider.

Fiedler said that the decrease in enrollment will likely be detrimental to people enrolled on the exchanges.

"In terms of what the effects of lower enrollment will be, a lower uninsured population will be damaging. The additional uninsured will have worse access to care and be less financially secure," Fiedler told Business Insider. "Similarly, other individual market enrollees will face higher premiums since the lost enrollees are likely healthier than average, and health care providers will face higher uncompensated care costs."

Levitt, on the other hand, argued that there are "countervailing forces" in the market due to the shorter enrollment period.

"A shorter period means less chance that someone who wasn’t planning to sign up gets sick and then enrolls," Levitt said. "That may only be a handful of people, but they could have very expensive health conditions."

Given this factor, he said, the actual effect on premiums is "unclear."

Fiedler said that the Obamacare markets could still "muddle through" even with lower enrollment.

"While bad, enrollment declines are not an existential threat to the individual market," he said. "The impact of enrollment declines on the risk pool are smaller than sometimes thought. Furthermore, the rate increases insurers implemented for 2018 appear to be large enough to accommodate the deterioration in the risk pool we are likely to see."

NOW WATCH: 'You are the light': Watch controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte serenade Trump with a love song

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2Aeul8R

#Feedburner

Tesla can't catch up to Chevy's wildly successful Bolt (GM, TSLA)

Chevrolet

The Chevy Bolt continues to outsell Tesla, and it still growing.

But its lead could be short lived as Tesla, Nissan and others ramp up EV production.

General Motors said it delivered 2,987 Chevrolet Bolt EVs in the United States in November. It was the best monthly sales total yet for the Bolt -- and the eighth month in a row in which its sales were up from the month prior.

At least for now, the Bolt is America's best-selling electric vehicle, having outsold all other contenders last month, including all three Tesla models. Is GM's little electric crossover turning out to be a hit?

Yes, the Bolt is beating Tesla — for now

InsideEVs tracks the number of plug-in vehicles sold in the United States every month, including both battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Its figures for Tesla are estimates, as (unlike nearly all other automakers) Tesla reports its sales numbers quarterly, rather than monthly. But InsideEVs' estimates have been proven over time to be pretty accurate.

So here they are: InsideEVs estimates that Tesla delivered 1,335 Model S sedans, 1,875 Model X SUVs, and 345 examples of the new compact Model 3 in the United States in November -- a total of 3,555.

The Motley Fool

The Bolt didn't quite manage to repeat the feat it pulled off in October, when it outsold all three Teslas combined in the U.S. But it outsold each of them -- and all of the other battery-electric vehicles available in the United States -- by significant margins in November. That's something that still seems worthy of note.

Sales of the Bolt just keep rising

Here's a look at how the Bolt's U.S. sales have fared since December 2016, when the first Bolts arrived at dealers.

the motley fool

As you look that this chart, note that the Bolt wasn't really available nationwide until August. The month-over-month increases we see before then are mostly a function of increasing supply, as GM gradually made the Bolt available to more Chevrolet dealers across the country. But the gains have continued since then: Clearly, there's a fair amount of demand for the little electric Chevy.

The Bolt's lead probably won't last long

I suspect that the Bolt's days as the best-selling electric vehicle in the U.S. are numbered, and the number probably isn't all that high, for two reasons:

At least in the near term, GM is probably selling all the Bolts it can make. Reports have suggested that GM scaled the Bolt's first-year production to a pace of about 30,000 a year. That suggests an average of 2,500 a month, but the Bolt's U.S. sales have exceeded that number for three months and counting.

There's competition coming. Not only is Tesla working very hard to ramp up production of the Model 3, but Nissan is gearing up to launch an all-new and much-improved version of its own affordable electric vehicle, the Leaf. (Nissan is in the process of clearing out the last examples of the first-generation Leaf; sales totaled just 175 in November.)

It's likely that the Model 3 will take the U.S. electric-vehicle sales crown before long. (If not, then Tesla has a big problem.) The all-new Leaf may or may not outsell the Bolt, but it's likely to give it a fair fight for second place on our charts.

The Bolt is just the beginning of GM's electric-vehicle ambitions

GM's plans for electric vehicles go far beyond the Bolt, of course. CEO Mary Barra recently made clear that GM is planning at least 20 new all-electric vehicles by 2023. The first two, thought to be crossover SUVs for the Buick and Cadillac brands, will share technology with the Bolt; the vehicles that follow will use a new architecture that GM is developing now.

Those first two are expected within 18 months. That's when we'll start to see whether GM can build on the early success of its little electric Chevy.

John Rosevear owns shares of General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

NOW WATCH: The disturbing reason some people turn red when they drink alcohol

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2AWK38f

#Feedburner

First Lady Melania Trump visits a Texas burger chain with a cult following

Whataburger/Facebook

First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Karen Pence visited Whataburger.

Whataburger is a burger chain with a cult following in Texas.

Many fans of the chain were excited to see the first lady visit the iconic burger brand.

First Lady Melania Trump and Second Lady Karen Pence visited a regional chain with a cult following while traveling in Texas.

On Wednesday, Trump and Pence stopped by Whataburger after meeting with Hurricane Harvey victims in the state.

"On our way out of town, @FLOTUS & @SecondLady decided to stop in to @Whataburger for some lunch!" the first lady's director of communications Stephanie Grisham‏ tweeted.

Twitter StephGrisham45

Twitter MirandaMatocha

Whataburger is a 790-location Southern fast-food powerhouse with a cult following in Texas. The chain has been family-owned since opening its first humble burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950.

The decision to visit Whataburger quickly earned the praise of Texas institutions and the burger chain's fans.

Twitter CorpusChristiPD

Twitter cityofcc

Twitter

Others were less pleased to see the first lady at Whataburger.

Twitter sadieeehdz

Twitter odalysxxo

Twitter brecksunlin

The burger chain seemed happy to host the high-profile guests.

Whataburger tweeted: "Hope it was a great meal! Thanks for stopping by."

NOW WATCH: We compared Chipotle's new queso to Taco Bell's — and the winner was clear

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2B6b9u4

#Feedburner

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Tortuga-aak