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Ford today announced it will phase out most cars it sells in North America. According to its latest financial release, the auto giant will "will transition to two vehicles" being the Mustang and an unannounced vehicle, the Focus Active, as the only traditional cars it sells in the region. Ford sees 90 percent of its North America portfolio in trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles. Citing a reduction in consumer demand and product profitability, Ford is in turn not investing into the next generation sedans. The Taurus is no more.

At an event at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., that was closed to the press, agency head Scott Pruitt touted the new policy as a way to increase transparency and enable the public to double-check research underpinning environmental regulations. The rule would require the agency to use only studies in which the underlying data are available for public scrutiny when formulating new “significant” regulations, which typically are regulations estimated to impose costs of $100 million or more. Specifically, the proposed rule says that EPA is seeking transparency for “the dose response data and models that underlie what we are calling...

In an ominous sign for patient safety, 71% of reusable medical scopes deemed ready for use on patients tested positive for bacteria at three major U.S. hospitals, according to a new study. The paper, published recently in the American Journal of Infection Control, underscores the infection risk posed by a commonly used endoscopes. It signals a lack of progress by manufacturers, hospitals and regulators in reducing contamination despite numerous reports of superbug outbreaks and patient deaths, experts say. "These results are pretty scary," said Janet Haas, president of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. "These are very...

NFL owners, players and league executives, about 30 in all, convened urgently at the league’s headquarters in New York City in October, nearly a month after President Donald Trump began deriding the league and its players over protests during the national anthem. “Let’s make sure that we keep this confidential,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said to begin the session. The New York Times has obtained an audio recording of the roughly three-hour meeting, and several people in the room corroborated details of the gathering. New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft pointed to another “elephant in the room.” “This kneeling,” he...

In Iowa, criminals who use imitation guns are not treated as harshly under the law as are criminals who use real guns. It seems an obvious policy decision. When criminals use imitation guns, the vast majority of the risk is on the criminal. They are more likely to be shot. They are not able to shoot back. They are relying on the power of bluff and image to coerce people who they are attempting to victimize. It seems like a win-win for law and order.In a recent AP article, a county attorney and a police chief want to change...

A columnist for the Hill published a piece today outlining what she calls the “great exodus� out of America’s bluest cities. This is a well-established trend, one which our own Jazz Shaw has written about as recently as January. The author of the Hill piece argues that the GOP tax cut is about to put this trend into overdrive: The recently passed tax bill, which repeals the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, will only speed up the exodus. Thanks to the bill’s passage, many New York taxpayers will save little or nothing despite a cut in the federal...

A British family of five has been forced into poverty after their bank froze all their accounts when an error left them $2.1 million overdrawn. The Livermore family have been forced to go to food banks and live off handouts from friends and relatives for nearly a month after a blunder by Barclays left them $700,000 overdrawn on each of their three accounts. Paul and his wife, Kayleigh, both 31, have struggled to provide for their three children, ages 11, 8 and 7, for almost a month after the mistake on Easter Monday, which is a national holiday in the...

U.S. oil major Chevron Corp has evacuated executives from Venezuela after two of its workers were imprisoned over a contract dispute with state-owned oil company PDVSA, according to four sources familiar with the matter. Chevron asked other employees to avoid the facilities of its joint venture with the OPEC nation’s oil firm, the sources said. The arrests, in a raid by national intelligence officers, were the first at a foreign oil firm since Venezuela’s government launched a purge last fall that has resulted in detentions of more than 80 executives at PDVSA and business partners. The Chevron workers may face...

Imagine traveling the world, surfing the waves of unspoilt beaches, meeting new people – and still being able to work remotely with unwavering Wi-Fi, in a community of like-minded wanderers and digital nomads. All of this, at a price you can afford. That is what Selina, a Panamanian hospitality network, has set out to offer. Bridging the gap between hostels and boutique hotels, Selina adds extra features like unique co-working spaces, yoga and meditation classes, as well as local travel experiences at stunning locations in Central America. Co-working spaces bring together people from different companies, industries and countries in a...

Tax Fairness: The most frequently repeated complaint about the Republican tax cuts is that they are a massive "giveaway" to the rich. New evidence shows that this claim, like almost every other attack on the tax bill, is false. In the run-up to the passage of the tax reform plan, which President Trump signed into law on Dec. 22, critics attacked it on several fronts. They said there was no way the tax cuts would spur extra economic or job growth. But after the tax cuts went into effect, several economists sharply increased their growth forecasts for 2018. They said...

If its balance sheet is any indication, Donald Trump’s presidency has been very good for the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC's already impressive endowment grew a staggering 35 percent in fiscal year 2017 to more than $432 million. Including operating funds, total assets topped $477 million as of October 31, 2017. Total revenues and gains in fiscal 2017 exceeded $180 million, more than triple the organization's expenses for the year, of just under $60 million. The SPLC has long been considered a fundraising powerhouse, but 2017's take was mind boggling by any standard. Donations were up 164 percent over...

The National Rifle Association’s political action committee broke a 15-year fundraising record in March, two months after the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. The NRA Political Victory Fund raised $2.4 million throughout the month of March, the largest in one month since June 2003, according to Federal Election Commission filings, National Review reported. Of the $2.4 million raised, $1.9 million came from donations of $200 or less. The NRA faces constant scrutiny from gun control advocates for its stance on the Second Amendment after 17 people were killed by Nikolas Cruz at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14.

I thought about it, and I realized that it wasn't so long ago that such minor travesties and often much, much worse were things black people lived through every day. I thought about it, and I realized that it wasn't so long ago that such minor travesties and often much, much worse were things black people lived through every day. While it was never something I ever had to worry about in my life, millions of minorities did have to worry about things like that. That being said, I think what happened at the Starbucks in Philly doesn't pass the...

The number of full-time officials dedicated to climate change in the Foreign Office has dropped by almost 25% in the two years since Boris Johnson became foreign secretary, according to data released under freedom of information (FoI) rules. Johnson has also failed to mention climate change in any official speech since he took the office, in marked contrast to his two predecessors. The cutback in climate change diplomacy has come despite the prime minister, Theresa May, asserting that the UK leads the world on climate action. The UK has been praised for its past climate diplomacy, which helped pave the...

By inserting negative search suggestions under the name of a candidate, search engines like Google can shift the opinions of undecided voters by up to 43.4 percent, according to new research by a team at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology and reported exclusively by Breitbart News. The lead author of the study, Dr. Robert Epstein, has previously conducted research into what he calls the Search Engine Manipulation Effect (SEME). This research showed that the manipulation of results pages in search engines can shift the voting preferences of undecideds by anywhere between 20 and 80 percent, depending on...

....the Disney parks’ latest design has fans going wild. As part of an exclusive in-park release out in time for Pride month, the “Mickey Mouse Rainbow Love” ears includes rainbow-striped ears and red cap, with a pair of interlocking Mickey hands embroidered in the shape of a heart ....

The story of five black women who were asked to leave a York County golf course for reportedly playing too slowly is making headlines and causing outrage across the country. The group of regular golfers said they were confronted at the second hole by Steve Chronister, one of the owners of the Grandview Golf Course and a former county commissioner, who accused them of lagging and offered to refund their money if they would leave. They were the only African Americans or all-female groups on the course in Dover Township, according to Sandra Thompson, who posted a detailed account of...

James Comey's "A Higher Loyalty" had a very big opening week. Flatiron Books announced Tuesday that sales topped 600,000 copies, a number that includes print, audio and e-books.

Florida and Texas are the two states expected to suffer the greatest economic damage from climate change, according to a new study from Science magazine. The study used a model that aimed to calculate the future impact on each state’s gross domestic product (GDP) from events including hurricanes, storm surges, changes in agricultural yields, changing electricity demands, changes in mortality rates, changes to the labor supply, rising sea levels and rising crime rates. The study comes amid a concerted effort by climate activists to help the U.S. meet the goals of the Paris Accord of limiting temperature change to below...

The early box office estimates for Avengers: Infinity War are in — and they’re massive. Tracking puts the latest Marvel title at potentially opening to half a billion globally.