- Time
'My Kind of Guy.' President Trump Praises Montana Congressman Who Assaulted a Reporter
President Donald Trump defended Republican Greg Gianforte at a rally in Montana on Thursday, after the congressman pleaded guilty to assaulting a reporter last year. “Any guy that can do a body slam — he’s my kind of guy,” Trump said at the campaign rally, according to the Associated Press. Gianforte pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after an altercation with Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.
ReutersIn toothy prequel, piranha-like fish menaced Jurassic seas
Scientists said on Thursday they have unearthed in southern Germany the fossil of a fish that, with its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, strongly resembled today's piranhas, the stars of more than their fair share of Hollywood horror films. Named Piranhamesodon pinnatomus, it is the earliest known example of a bony fish - as opposed to cartilaginous fish like sharks - able to slice flesh rather than simply swallowing prey, enabling it to attack victims larger than itself as piranhas can. Piranhas are freshwater fish that inhabit rivers and lakes in South America.
BGR NewsThe T Rex’s tiny baby arms might have been way more useful than they seem
Running into a Tyrannosaurus rex in the wild would have been a truly frightening thing for just about any animal that roamed the earth between 65 million and 80 million years ago, and for an obvious reason. Just how T. rex used its arms and for what purpose has been hotly debated for years and years. Some believe the arms didn’t do much of anything, while others have suggested that the tiny limbs flailed wildly with sharp claws that could have seriously injured prey or foes.
- Time
Turkish Official Says Jamal Khashoggi's Remains May Have Been Taken Outside Istanbul
The official told The Associated Press that police have established that two vehicles belonging to the consulate, left the building on Oct. 2 — the day Khashoggi had walked into the consulate and vanished. One of the vehicles traveled to the nearby Belgrade Forest while the other traveled to the city of Yalova, across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the secrecy of the ongoing investigation. Turkish reports say Khashoggi was brutally murdered and dismembered inside the consulate by members of an assassination squad with ties to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
- GeekWire
NASA puts out the call for science and technology payloads made for the moon
NASA is following up on its plan to purchase rides on commercial lunar landers by soliciting ideas for the scientific and technological payloads to put on them. “We are looking for ways to not only conduct lunar science but to also use the moon as a science platform to look back at the Earth, observe the sun, or view the vast universe,” said Steve Clarke, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Early science objectives could include monitoring heat flow within the moon’s interior, characterizing the solar wind and the vanishingly thin lunar atmosphere, and detecting and analyzing dust.
AFPS. Korea's last polar bear dies ahead of British retirement
The last polar bear kept in South Korea has died of old age only weeks before his planned departure to better living conditions in Britain, zoo officials said Thursday. The zoo had planned to move him to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park next month to allow him to enjoy his final days in more appropriate surroundings -- the facility in northern England has a 40,000 square metre polar reserve -- and had thrown him a farewell party in June. The average life span of polar bears is around 25 years and Tongki was the equivalent of around 80 in human terms.
- Time
93 More Women Accuse Former USC Gynecologist George Tyndall of Sexual Misconduct
Ninety-three more women have accused former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall of sexual misconduct in two new lawsuits filed against the doctor and the school, according to their lawyer. The former students have came forward with allegations against Tyndall including sexual assault and harassment, CNN reports. “I am part of an accidental sisterhood of hundreds of women because the university we love betrayed our trust,” said Dana Loewy, who alleges that Tyndall assaulted her in 1983.
AFPHong Kong mega bridge launch announcement sparks backlash
China has finally announced the opening ceremony for the world's longest sea bridge, which will connect Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland, but critics hit back Thursday over the secrecy surrounding the project. Construction started in 2009 on the 55-kilometre (34-mile) crossing, which includes a snaking road bridge and underwater tunnel, linking Hong Kong's Lantau island to the southern mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai and the gambling enclave of Macau, across the waters of the Pearl River Estuary. While supporters promote it as an engineering marvel, others see the multi-billion dollar project as a costly white elephant designed to further integrate Hong Kong into the mainland at a time when Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
ReutersSkull of ancient human found in burned Brazilian museum
The skull, though damaged, was protected by a cabinet that fell over the glass box it was encased in, the museum's deputy director Cristiana Serejo said. Luzia was the star of a collection of 20 million items in the 200-year-old building that also contained Egyptian artifacts, archeological finds and historical memorabilia. A fire last month destroyed the vast majority of the collection and triggered an outcry about how Brazil's cultural institutions have deteriorated during an era of a weak economy and deep austerity measures.
- Time
Donald Trump Didn't Really Win 52% of White Women in 2016
A majority of white women voted for Donald Trump: It’s the statistic that launched a thousand narratives. “You know, I got 52% with women,” President Donald Trump said at a press conference in late September, falsely conflating the figure for white women with the figure for women overall, whom he did not win. Trump is hardly the only one invoking the stat.
AFPPostman, shopper, builder: In Japan, there's a robot for that
Forget the flashy humanoids with their gymnastics skills: at the World Robot Summit in Tokyo, the focus was on down-to-earth robots that can deliver post, do the shopping and build a house. Introducing CarriRo, a delivery robot shaped a bit like a toy London bus with bright, friendly "eyes" on its front that can zip around the streets delivering packages at 6km/h (4 miles per hour). CarriRo "is designed to roll along the pavements and direct itself via GPS to an address within a two-kilometre radius," explained Chio Ishikawa, from Sumitomo Corp, which is promoting the robot.
- LiveScience.com
How Close Are We to Kubrick's AI-Controlled Vision of the Future?
Movie audiences first heard these calmly intoned and ominous words in 1968, spoken by a spaceship's intelligent computer in the science-fiction masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey." With that one phrase, the computer named HAL 9000 confirmed that it could think for itself, and that it was prepared to terminate the astronauts who were planning to deactivate it. Fifty years after director Stanley Kubrick released his visionary masterpiece of space colonization, how close are humans to the future that he imagined, in which we partner with artificial intelligence (A.I.) that we ultimately may not be able to control?
- Time
MBS Says the Saudi Consulate in Turkey Is 'Sovereign Territory.' He's Wrong.
As speculation grew about the fate of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished after entering his nation’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was quick to dispel rumors he had been murdered. “We have nothing to hide,” the de-facto Saudi leader, known by his initials MBS, said three days later. On one thing at least, the Crown Prince was mistaken — consulates and embassies are not, in fact, sovereign territory under international law.
- ABC News Videos
How life changes when you're 11 years old and arrested for murder
Jordan Brown, now 21, shares the conditions he faced after his arrest at age 11 for murder and his life today after his conviction was overturned.
- Associated Press
Europe, Japan ready spacecraft for 7-year journey to Mercury
Final preparations were underway Friday for the launch of a joint mission by European and Japanese space agencies to send twin probes to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. An Ariane 5 rocket is scheduled to lift the uncrewed spacecraft into orbit from French Guiana shortly before midnight, the start of a seven-year journey to the solar system's innermost planet. The European Space Agency says the 1.3 billion-euro ($1.5 billion) mission is one of the most challenging in its history.
- Time
South Africans Rally for Rape Accuser After She Endured a Grueling Cross-Examination During Televised Trial
A number of South Africans have banded together in support of a rape accuser who endured a grueling cross-examination during a nationally televised trial this week. Cheryl Zondi, 22, has faced a slew of questions over the last three days regarding her alleged rape by Timothy Omotoso, 60, a pastor currently on trial in Port Elizabeth on rape and human trafficking charges. Zondi has accused Omotoso of raping and sexually assaulting her starting from the age of 14, South African outlet News24 reports.
ReutersCarrots could be key to making greener buildings, say researchers
A group of researchers at Britain's Lancaster University has been using a household food blender to mix particles from the root vegetable with concrete to see if they can produce a stronger and more environmentally sound product. "We found out you could increase the strength of concrete by 80 percent by using a small amount of this new material," lead researcher Mohamed Saafi told Reuters. The addition of carrots prevent any cracks in the concrete, the team said. It also means less cement is required, therefore lowering the global carbon dioxide (CO2) output.
AFPWHO says Zika risk low in Pacific ahead of Meghan visit
As Prince Harry and his expectant wife Meghan prepare to tour Fiji and Tonga next week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the risk of contracting Zika virus in the Pacific nations is low. The British royals, currently in Australia, arranged their trip before Meghan's pregnancy was known, sparking fears she and her unborn baby could be vulnerable in the island nations, where Zika is officially listed as a risk.
- Time
Joe Biden, 75, Says His Age Would Be a 'Legitimate Issue' If He Runs for President
Joe Biden, who this week led a poll as the top Democratic choice to challenge President Trump in 2020, said it’s too early to think presidential polls – but said his age will be a factor in deciding whether to run for president. Biden, 75, added that his age would be a “legitimate issue” were he to run in 2020. Trump, 72, will turn 74 before the 2020 election.
AFPSummer drought may shrink supplies of French spuds
It's harvest time and the chips are down for potato producers in northern France where a long summer drought could see French spuds shrink in size and volume. The potatoes "first lacked water and then when rain fell in July started growing anew" which means the original plants lost starch and gained too much water, spoiling them, said Regis Dumont, a potato farmer from Warhem near the Belgian border. Then they got a roasting, with temperatures soaring to 37 degrees centigrade (98 Fahrenheit) in August, unusually hot for the northern French plains which account for two-thirds of the national potato crop.
- The Conversation
How forensic science has helped rediscover forgotten apples
Many people will have heard the story of Granny Smith apples, every one of which can reportedly be traced back to a single seedling plant found growing in Australia in 1868. The UK has more than 3,600 registered apple varieties recorded in the National Fruit Collection (NFC). All Afal Enlli trees now sold come from one tree that may have been cultivated by generations of monks who lived on Bardsey Island at the tip of the Llyn Peninsula around 1,000 years ago.
- Time
What Happened to My Friend Jamal Khashoggi Shows How Saudi Arabia Spreads Fear and Buys the West's Silence
Karman was a friend of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was allegedly killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The last time I saw Jamal Khashoggi was two months ago, when we were both living in Istanbul. Jamal always believed in reform, not revolution.
- Bicycling
Nobel Prize Winner Gets Dedicated Bike Rack Spot Since He’s Not Such a Great Driver
University of Missouri chemistry professor George Smith, Ph.D., was one of three researchers honored with this year’s Nobel Prize. According to The Kansas City Star, University of Missouri officials were struggling to come up with the right way to honor Smith, the university’s first faculty member to win a Nobel Prize. Turning to other schools for ideas, they noticed a reserved parking spot was a common reward.
AFP Relax NewsNew moon: China to launch lunar lighting in outer space
China is planning to launch its own 'artificial moon' by 2020 to replace streetlamps and lower electricity costs in urban areas, state media reported Friday. Chengdu, a city in southwestern Sichuan province, is developing "illumination satellites" which will shine in tandem with the real moon, but are eight times brighter, according to China Daily. The first man-made moon will launch from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, with three more to follow in 2022 if the first test goes well, said Wu Chunfeng, head of Tian Fu New Area Science Society, the organization responsible for the project.
- Time
Chinese Woman Kills Herself and Her Children After Her Husband Fakes His Death
A woman in rural China killed herself and her children in Hunan province after her husband allegedly faked his own death, according to Chinese police. Unknown to his wife, 34-year-old He hoped to use the insurance payout to support his family, which was going through financial difficulties. Believing he was dead, the man’s wife posted a suicide note on the social media app WeChat, before drowning herself and her two children three weeks after her partner’s supposed death.
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