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12/27/2019
TechNews for the week: December 27; December 23;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
A U.N. deadline is forcing North Korea's global workers to go home. Some never will; In breakaway Abkhazia, a loophole for North Korean workers amid beaches and Soviet relics;
U.S. Braces for Major North Korean Weapons Test as Trump's Diplomacy Fizzles; Experts say North Korea never halted efforts to build powerful new weapons;
At the Edge of the World, a New Battleground for the U.S. and China; China attacks US Space Force as threat to outer space peace;
Peter Navarro, Trump's Trade Warrior, Has Not Made His Peace With China;
Russia, China and Iran launch war games in Indian Ocean;
Netanyahu: ICC makes Jewish rights to Biblical Israel a war crime; Netanyahu Rebuffs a Challenge From Within, Despite Graft Charges;
Syrian air defense intercepts missiles from Israel; Israeli PM evacuated from rally after rocket fired from Gaza;
ISIS at a crossroads: Coming months could determine whether Islamic State is fatally crippled or poised for a comeback; Thousands flee renewed offensive by Syrian regime;
With U.S. Help No Longer Assured, Saudis Try a New Strategy: Talks;
Turkey is expanding its footprint in Libya;
Pentagon Eyes Africa Drawdown as First Step in Global Troop Shift;
New battle over Scottish independence has begun;
Philippines bans two U.S. senators, mulls new visa rules for Americans;
Putin's Russia, Punching Above Its Weight, Keeps Adversaries Off Balance;
Trump touts Putin speaking out against his impeachment; How Trump's conversations with Putin overlapped with his emerging Ukraine conspiracy theories;
Mitch McConnell, Master of the Blockade, Plots Impeachment Strategy; GOP senator 'disturbed' by McConnell impeachment remark;
McConnell doesn't rule out witnesses in standoff over Trump impeachment trial;
Trump impeachment: Lindsey Graham will 'not pretend to be a fair juror';
Poll: Majority approve of Trump's impeachment and removal from office;
Officials Discussed Hold on Ukraine Aid After Trump Spoke With Country's Leader; Scaramucci reveals four witnesses whose testimony could force Trump to resign;
New emails help peel back layers of pressure around Trump-Zelensky call ; Fresh Evidence in Hand, Schumer Demands More Emails and Documents;
Trump Accepts Pelosi's State of Union Invite Despite Impeachment;
Polarizing issues could lead to partisan gridlock in state legislatures in 2020;
Virginia is for lawsuits: Devin Nunes, Johnny Depp lawsuits seen as threats to free speech and press;
Durham Surprises Even Allies With Statement on F.B.I.'s Trump Case;
Rudy Giuliani says he is 'more of a Jew' than George Soros, who survived the Holocaust;
Jewish groups condemn Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani after he said Holocaust survivor George Soros is 'hardly a Jew';
Bannon's Work With Wanted Chinese Billionaire Began Shortly After He Left White House;
Klobuchar Is Banking on Iowa Moderates. Her Problem: So Is Buttigieg; Democrats look past Hispanic voters even as they gain power;
Kentucky's outgoing governor granted clemency to more than 600 people. Then came a firestorm;
Wisconsin justice drops out of voter purge case; Georgia restores 22,000 purged voter registrations;
In leaked audio, a top Trump adviser said the Republican party has 'traditionally' relied on voter suppression;
Big moment for Little Shell tribe as it finally gets federal recognition;
Judge revokes grazing permit for ranchers pardoned by Trump;
On Border, Trump Moves to Build His Wall One Landowner at a Time;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Total Surveillance Is Not What America Signed Up For;
Georgia rolls out new voting machines, but fears about election security persist ;
U.S. CyberCom contemplates information warfare to counter Russian interference in the 2020 election;
Chinese Hackers Bypassing Two-Factor Authentication;
Math and science
Boeing spacecraft fails to achieve correct orbit, a major setback for company still reeling over 737 Max ;
Hubble Space Telescope Captures New Image Of Spiral Galaxy; US Soon To Lose Primacy In Terrestrial Telescopes;
Pentagon Warns Military Personnel Against At-Home DNA Tests;
Using Math This Gift-Wrapping Trick;
Web, computing and technology issues
Facebook Discovers Fakes That Show Evolution of Disinformation; Facebook, Twitter Disable Fake Accounts Using AI to Push Trump Messages;
Twitter Takes Down 88,000 Saudi Arabia-Linked Accounts for Misinformation; 'Secure' Chat App ToTok Called Spy Tool Used by United Arab Emirates;
Pentagon wants open-source 5G plan in campaign against Huawei;
Newly-Published Paper Demonstrates Perfect Secrecy Cryptography In Classical Optical Channels;
Russia successfully Russia successfully disconnected from the internet;
This free Windows 10 upgrade offer still works. Here's why -- and how to get it;
SC News and Politics
In North Charleston, a struggling family pulls together for the bitter experience of moving out;

Business and Economics
Americans' near-record levels of credit card debt is helping bolster banking industry;
American family farmers are struggling amid bad markets and Trump's trade war; Congress Saves Coal Miner Pensions, but What About Others?
Dunkin' chair: Trump's tax plan will hurt restaurants again in 2020;
Federal workers poised to get largest pay raise in a decade;
Trump Backs Down From Threat to Place Tariffs on Brazilian Steel;
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Settle Dispute Over Oil Fields;
Crisis Looms in Antibiotics as Drug Makers Go Bankrupt;
Study: Fracking Ban Will Eliminate 700K Ohio Jobs By 2025; Hydraulic Fracturing Can Cause Earthquakes In Texas, But How Varies By Region;
France's Competition Watchdog Fines Google $166M Over Ad Abuses;
Idaho PUC Rejects Proposal To Reduce Net Metering For Solar Power; Native American Tribes Developing Renewable Energy Projects;
Drone manufacture Disputes Claims Of Chinese Spying;
Finance
Setting Financial Goals for Your Future ;
Other news
Fear and Loyalty: How Donald Trump Took Over the Republican Party; What Unites Republicans May Be Changing. Same With Democrats;
George Will: Democrats' denial on health care may produce Trump's reelection;
About Pete Buttigieg's wine cave dinner? I was there;
'Robo umps' will help bring baseball into the 21st century — in more ways than one;

Education:
Students From Rural Regions Underrepresented At California's Public Universities;
Corinthian Students Call On Judge To Increase ED's Fines;
Accrediting Body Withdraws Its Warning Against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University;
Immigrant Students Without Legal Status Being Left Out Of Connecticut's Free Community College Program Plans;


12/20/18
TechNews for the week: December 20; December 18; December 16;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
North Korea Links 2nd 'Crucial' Test to Nuclear Weapons Program;
U.S. Secretly Expelled Chinese Officials Suspected of Spying After Breach of Military Base;
Inside the Taliban's Afghanistan, violence remains the path to power;
Fighting rages near Libya's capital amid push by rebel army;
Netanyahu's Likud challenger surging ahead of primary launch;
Israel allows shipment of rescue vehicles into Gaza; Israel strikes Gaza after a rocket fired; ICC to probe alleged war crimes in Palestinian areas, pending jurisdiction;
Qatar says its Gaza aid to continue through March 2020 at least;
U.N. climate talks end with hard feelings, few results and new doubts about global unity;
The U.K. Election Explained, in One Number; A January Brexit wins endorsement from a new U.K. Parliament dominated by Boris Johnson's Conservative Party;
Putin says allegations against Trump are 'completely fabricated'; Vladimir Putin hints at constitution change for presidential terms;
Giuliani reportedly needed a translation app on his phone for Russian documents. He was without his associates who were arrested in October;
Giuliani Provides Details of What Trump Knew About Ambassador's Removal; How 2 Soviet Emigres Fueled the Trump Impeachment Flames;
Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced President Trump's views on Ukraine and the 2016 campaign;
Judge's decision may shine light on secret Trump-Putin meeting notes;
Trump excoriates Pelosi and Democrats in letter to House speaker, says impeachment is 'declaring open war on American Democracy'; Trump's written tirade, annotated;
Trump, allies target vulnerable Democrats ahead of House impeachment vote; Democrats accuse Trump of criminal bribery in report on impeachment articles;
Trump becomes third U.S. president to be impeached; abuse of power article and Second article of impeachment — obstruction of Congress;
However historic, impeachment is but a way station in the struggle over Trump's presidency;
Pelosi Digs In Against McConnell Over Impeachment Trial Standoff; Schumer calls for testimony from Mulvaney, Bolton in impeachment trial ;
Senate GOP accused of violating oath to be impartial jurors ;
To avoid removal, Trump only needs senators representing 7 percent of the country to support him;
Christianity Today, an influential evangelical magazine, says Trump 'should be removed from office';
Trump lashes out at Democrats, evangelical magazine as timing of Senate impeachment trial remains in limbo;
Pelosi invites Trump to deliver State of the Union potentially during a Senate trial ;
House passes $1.4 trillion spending bill, avoiding shutdown and removing parts of Affordable Care Act;
White House threatened to veto spending bill — and potentially cause shutdown — as Congress tried to force future Ukraine payments;
Appeals court rules ACA's individual mandate unconstitutional, asks lower court to decide whether rest of law can stand without it;
The ACA court ruling is a political gift to Democrats. But 2020 hopefuls skirted it;
Trump's border wall wouldn't stop most illegal immigration or drugs. So what is it for?
Under secret Stephen Miller plan, ICE to use child migrant data to expand deportation efforts, raising fears parents face arrest;
Michael Flynn's sentencing set for Jan. 28 after judge rejects his attacks on FBI, Justice Department;
Rick Gates sentenced to 45 days in jail, 3 years' probation for conspiracy and lying to FBI in Mueller probe;
Judge tosses Paul Manafort's fraud case in New York; Manafort hospitalized for cardiac event;
Supreme Court Won't Revive Law Barring Homeless People From Sleeping Outdoors;
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) grilled over decision to vote 'present';
The sixth Democratic debate: Here's an analysis of the winners and losers;
Chris Wallace wants journalists to push for the truth. But Fox News often traffics in propaganda.;
Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew, critic of Trump impeachment, to switch to GOP;
Meadows, close ally of Trump, to retire from Congress; North Carolina Republican Mark Walker Won't Seek Reelection; Ex-Trump Aide Expected to Return to White House;
Report: Republican Matt Shea 'participated in act of domestic terrorism'; Shea aided group training young men for 'biblical warfare';
Georgia purged 309,000 voters from its rolls. It's the second state to make cuts in less than a week.; Georgia restores 22,000 purged voter registrations;
Judge: 234K Wisconsin voter registrations should be tossed; Wisconsin appeals court delays ruling on voter purge case;
In 2020 Census, Big Efforts in Some States. In Others, Not So Much;
Whistleblower to IRS: Mormon Church has amassed $100 billion in tax-exempt fund rather than supporting charitable works;
A police officer sued a Black Lives Matter protester for violence he didn't commit. What's next has free-speech advocates worried;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
December Crypto-Gram Newsletter, Vulnerabilities, hacking and more; Lousy IoT Security;
Iranian Attacks on Industrial Control Systems; Chinese Authorities Combining Tools to Create Widespread Surveillance;
Surveillance court demands answers from FBI for errors, omissions in Trump campaign investigation;
Huge federal study casts doubt on expansive use of facial recognition in criminal investigations, cellphone security; Study: Many Facial-Recognition Systems Are Biased;
VISA warns of POS malware incidents at gas pumps across North America; Wawa hit with massive data breach, potentially affecting more than 850 locations;
New Orleans Officials Shut Down Gov't Computers to Thwart Cyber Attack; Attacker Causes Epileptic Seizure over the Internet;
How fake accounts pushing inflammatory content went viral - with the help of YouTube's algorithms; Data on 267 Million Facebook Users Exposed Online;
NYTimes Reports On Personal Details Mobile Phones Generate For Location Data Companies; How to Track President Trump;
Math and science
NASA's Juno Probe Discovers New Jupiter Cyclone The Size Of Texas;
SpaceX Successfully Launches JCSAT-18/Kacific 1 Satellite Via Falcon 9 Rocket; Software issue forces NASA to cancel Boeing Starliner attempt to dock with space station;
Stanford Researchers Propose Using Plastic-Eating Mealworms To Address Pollution;
The Tiny, Simple Nuclear Reactor That Could Change Energy; IBM announces battery technology breakthrough;
How we know global warming is real; This village fought sea-level rise 7,000 years ago. The sea won;
History's Largest Mining Operation Is About to Begin;
What a Brief Jog Can Do for Your Brain;
Web, computing and technology issues
Reuters Releases Online Course for Journalists to Identify Deepfakes; 2020 Campaigns Throw Their Hands Up on Disinformation;
Facebook Discloses More Information to Senators About Location Tracking; Facebook Bans Ads That 'Advise People Not to Participate in Census';
Instagram to Notify Users of Offensive Captions Before Posting;
ICANN Reviewing Sale of .org Domain Registry to Private Equity Firm;
Mozilla Joins Other Tech Firms Asking Judges to Rehear Net Neutrality Case;
India Adopts the Tactic of Authoritarians: Shutting Down the Internet;
6 Google Maps tips to help you travel over the holidays;
SC News and Politics
Navy Establishes Charleston Tech Bridge;

Business and Economics
A Recession Hasn't Arrived (Yet). Here's Where You’ll See It First; Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index slumps in December to lowest reading in six months ;
Fed's half a trillion repo intervention; Investors pull record amounts out of US stock funds;
Illinois pension consolidation law will help cities, but nagging liabilities remain;
Trump administration unveils plan to allow states to buy cheaper drugs from Canada;
Congress showers health care industry with multibillion-dollar victory after wagging finger at it for much of 2019;
Congressional Negotiators Agree to Extend Some Tax Credits and Add to Debt;
China announces fresh tariff exemptions; Trump's Trade Deals Raise, Rather Than Remove, Economic Barriers;
From Lincoln Logs to luggage, U.S.-China trade deal still leaves huge cloud over American business;
Irish Whiskey, Olive Oil and Waffles Could Face Tariffs Up to 100 Percent; Liquor Taxes Could Go Up 400%, Thanks to Congressional Dysfunction;
House passes bill that would revamp North American Free Trade Agreement, setting up big wins for Trump, Democrats;
Mexico trade negotiator: We'll never accept US 'inspectors';
The employment green card backlog tops 800,000, most of them Indian. A solution is elusive.;
Ford Adding 3,000 Detroit-Area Jobs, Investing $1.45B In Plants; Vermont, Oklahoma and Now Topeka, Kan., Want You;
Generation Z Should Focus On Human Touch To Compete With Automation;
California governor rejects $13.5 billion PG&E settlement;
Water Demand For Oil, Gas Drilling Operations Raising Concerns, Prompting Legal Battles In New Mexico;
California Solar Demand Driven By Mandate, Power Shutoffs; Clash Between Utilities And Rooftop Solar Industry Could Affect Electric Bills;
Congress Boosts Funding For Clean Energy Despite Trump Budget Proposals; Lawmakers Squander Opportunity To Advance Clean Energy Legislation;
NH Pulls Out Of Transportation And Climate Initiative;
Boeing to suspend production of 737 Max in January;
GOP Senators Call For Restrictions On Chinese Drones; Chinese More Trusting Of Autonomous Vehicles Than Americans;
How a Top Antitrust Official Helped T-Mobile and Sprint Merge;
IFF to merge with DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences unit;
Finance
The Tax Break for Children, Except the Ones Who Need It Most;
Senate OKs big changes to how Americans save for retirement;
Other news
Former Headed of the F.B.I. and C.I.A.: There's a Dire Threat to the Country I Love; The Threat of Tribalism;
How to Start a Fire, Plus 15 Other Outdoor Skills That Aren't Complicated;

Education:
More Colleges Move To Make Admissions Tests Optional; ED Ends Competency-Based Education Experiment; College Enrollment Continues To Decline;
What the $1.4 trillion budget deal has in store for education;
Georgia Overhauling Public School Math Curriculum;
The potential disaster of free community college;
Chinese University Deletes Academic Freedom From Its Charter;
Army, Navy officials investigate possible 'white power' gestures by students;


12/13/18
TechNews for the week: December 13; December 11; December 9;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
North Korea claims to have carried out a 'very important' test at rocket launch site; Desperate to Save Diplomacy Trump Blocks U.N. Meeting on North Korean Atrocities;
Massive, peaceful protest shows Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement still strong; Senior China diplomat says U.S. seriously damaged hard-won mutual trust;
The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war; U.S. officials systematically misled the public about the war in Afghanistan;
A Bitter Election Dispute Sends Afghanistan Back to the Brink;
The Secret History of Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program; Netanyahu's social media campaign has revived Israel's image in Iran;
Likud, Blue and White agree on March 2 election date; Israeli lawmakers submit bill to dissolve parliament;
Israel High Court: Netanyahu can stay prime minister for now;
Israel bars Gaza's Christians from visiting Bethlehem and Jerusalem at Christmas;
Donald Trump to IAC: Some American Jews 'don't love Israel enough'; President Trump blasted by Jewish group for his 'vile and bigoted remarks';
Trump signs executive order on anti-Semitism that critics say attacks free speech; Trump stirs controversy with new Judaism definition;
For Trump, Instinct After Florida Killings Is Simple: Protect Saudis;
The Chinese Roots of Italy's Far-Right Rage;
Turkey Begins Resettling Refugees in Northeastern Syria; Turkey says will retaliate against any sanctions ahead of U.S. vote;
NATO conference scrapped after Trump critic barred; Trump's NATO parade of falsehoods and misstatements;
In face of U.S. opposition, U.N. renews agency helping Palestinian refugees;
Boris Johnson leads Tories to historic general election win; Boris Johnson's big election victory: what it means for the UK and Brexit;
Giuliani's dual roles — power-broker-for-hire and shadow foreign policy adviser — alarm Trump's advisers; Giuliani returns to Ukraine, signals apparent disregard for inquiry;
Prosecutors Say Lev Parnas Concealed A $1 Million Payment From Russia; Giuliani says Trump has asked him to brief Justice Dept., GOP senators on Ukraine trip;
Top Russian diplomat to visit Washington in first such appearance since 2017 Oval Office controversy;
Pompeo, Lavrov clash over Russian election interference at State Dept. news conference;
Inspector general report says FBI had 'authorized purpose' to investigate Trump campaign's Russia ties but finds some wrongdoing;
4 takeaways from the Horowitz report on the Russia investigation; Michael Horowitz just shot down a bunch of Trump conspiracy theories;
Barr sharpens attacks on FBI’s Russia probe, dismaying some in his department;
Trump lashes out at FBI director in wake of Justice Department inspector general's report rebutting conservatives' claims of bias;
4 takeaways from the House Judiciary impeachment hearing; AP FACT CHECK: Impeachment hearing draws too-simple answers;
House Democrats unveil two articles of impeachment against Trump; White House predicts 'full exoneration' in GOP-led Senate;
House Judiciary panel passes two articles of impeachment. The full House is to vote next week.; The articles of impeachment against President Trump, explained ;
House Judiciary Committee Debate: Rep. Johnson, D-Ga. says For Gaetz to raise Hunter Biden's substance abuse is 'the pot calling the kettle black';
House Democrats brace for some defections among moderates on impeachment;
McConnell indicates he'll let Trump's lawyers dictate Trump's impeachment trial; Senate Republicans want short impeachment trial despite Trump's desire for an aggressive defense;
White House budget office claims holding up Ukraine funding was normal procedure, new legal memo says;
Heavily redacted communications on withholding of Ukraine aid released by Trump administration;
President Trump's hotel in D.C. is at the center of anti-corruption, emoluments lawsuit; Attorney general reschedules Trump hotel holiday party. DOJ won't disclose the date;
Trump business dealings argued at federal appeals court in emoluments case;
Supreme Court will hear case over Trump's finances and his broad claims of protection from investigation;
House Democrats announce support for Trump's revised trade deal with Mexico and Canada, citing recent changes;
Top congressional negotiators announce tentative deal on $1.3 trillion in federal spending, likely averting government shutdown;
Trump Moves to Expand Migrant Family Detention; After bipartisan pushback, Trump ditches effort to kill major federal agency;
Judge blocks Trump's favorite construction company from building private border wall;
Pentagon inspector general to review $400 million border wall contract given to firm Trump favored;
Federal judge blocks Trump's plan to build border wall using military funds;
Texans on southern border vow to fight Trump's efforts to take their homes for border wall;
Trump pays $2 million in damages ordered by judge over misuse of charity funds;
A top Trump health appointee reportedly tried to get taxpayers to reimburse her for $47,000 in jewelry that got stolen from a rented SUV;
'Dark money' ties raise questions for GOP Sen. Ernst of Iowa;
Duncan Hunter To Collect Over $10,000 In Taxpayer-Funded Income After Guilty Plea;
Donald Trump Jr. got approval to hunt an endangered sheep days after he killed it;
Trump campaign runs misleading anti-impeachment Facebook ads; Thanos Creator Calls Donald Trump's 'Avengers'-Themed Campaign Video Sick";
Trump Brings 2 Officers He Cleared of War Crimes Onstage at Fund-Raiser;
Barr Dives Into the Culture Wars, and Social Conservatives Rejoice;
Bloomberg Says Next US President Must Stop Subsidizing The Fossil Fuel Industry;
Several Democratic candidates threaten to skip next week's presidential debate in Los Angeles;
Wisconsin judge hears challenge to 234K voter registrations;
Senior Republican says Trump has begun 2024 campaign and is eligible to serve third term; Why Donald Trump Could Still Resign;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
Scaring People into Supporting Backdoors; EFF on the Mechanics of Corporate Surveillance;
New Atlantic Council Report Highlights Increasing Complexity Of Cybersecurity In Aviation Industry;
Extracting Data from Smartphones; Failure Modes in Machine Learning;
Reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act;
Organizations Need to be Prepared for Quantum Computing Threats;
Man Gets 14-Year Prison Sentence for Trying to Steal Domain at Gunpoint;
Math and science
Greenland ice losses are rapidly accelerating and are now in line with the ice sheet's highest sea-level scenario;
Study Links Shrinking Great Salt Lake, Other Vanishing Water Bodies To 90% Of Northern Utah's Dust;
Majority Of US States Cut Environmental Budgets Over Past Decade;
Archaeologists report The oldest story ever told is painted on this cave wall;
NASA Selects Landing Site For OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft On Asteroid;
Caltech Researchers Develop Electron Interaction Prediction Model;
Quantum computers got a lot more real in 2019;
The Case of a Man With Two Sets of DNA Raises More Questions;
Why 'Early to Bed, Early to Rise' Is a Myth;
Web, computing and technology issues
FTC Opinion Says Cambridge Analytica Deceived 250,000+ Facebook Users; Facebook Executives Say They Won't Provide Access to Encrypted Messages;
YouTube Expands Definition of Banned Speech to Include More Threats; Twitter to Start Verifying Accounts for Top Congressional Candidates;
Google Assistant's language interpreter tool comes to phones;
5G Networks Don't Currently Meet Expectations; AT&T pressured FTC to omit internet data;
Netflix alternatives: The 10 best free movie streaming services;
SC News and Politics
Challenger takes on S.C. Senate race with rags-to-prominence story, record fundraising;
Charleston legislators ask school board to delay controversial changes;
Nancy Mace part of Republican women 'squad';

Business and Economics
Federal Reserve keeps interest rates steady as officials remain patient during economic expansion;
U.S. Supreme Court justices lean toward insurers on $12 billion Obamacare claims; House Votes to Give the Government the Power to Negotiate Drug Prices;
Winners and losers in the final USMCA deal;
Trump Cripples W.T.O. as Trade War Rages; Trump's Dud of a Deal Shows the Futility of Trade War;
White House, Chinese negotiators reach trade deal in principle that would dramatically scale back import tariffs;
China confirms trade deal with the U.S., averting new tariffs ahead of Sunday deadline; 5 big takeaways from Trump's 'phase one' China trade deal;
Chinese government to replace foreign hardware and software within three years;
US hits Iran's biggest airline and shipping group with sanctions;
Germany hits back at US pipeline sanction threat;
US Modifies H-1B Visa Application Process;
U.S. Army will fund rare earths plant for weapons development;
Fully Electric Commercial Seaplane Completes Test Flight;
Startup Completes First Commercial Freight Cross-Country Trip By Autonomous Truck;
PG&E reaches $13.5 billion settlement with victims of devastating California wildfires;
Florida Senators Seek Assurances Trump Administration Won't Open FL Coastline To Offshore Drilling;
Natural Gas Boom Fizzles as a U.S. Glut Sinks Profits; Bankrupt Philadelphia refinery expects second insurance payment;
New England States Express Support For Offshore Wind Projects In The Gulf Of Maine; Utility Company Wants Turbines Bigger Than Jumbo Jets for U.S. Wind Farm;
Appeals Court Rules FirstEnergy Solutions Can’t Cancel Coal Contracts Until FERC Weighs In;
CMU Publishes Study Examining Cost & Benefits Of Appalachia Shale Development;
This Is What Racism Sounds Like in the Banking Industry;
Finance
The best gift you can give family and friends in debt;
New W-4: Adjusting your tax withholdings just changed;
Other news
The Scientific Way To Win Any Argument (And Not Make Enemies);
There's A New Kind Of Inequality. And It's Not About Income;

Education:
After 10 Years of Hopes and Setbacks, What Happened to the Common Core;
Why That Student Keeps Missing Class; Why We Don't Report All of the Cheating We Detect; Making the Most of Multiple-Choice Exams;
Confusion Still Reigns Over Student Aid; Veterans Say For-profit Colleges That Get GI Bill Money Should Have More Oversight;
DeVos Tries Again to Cut Debt Relief for Students Who Were Misled; ED Will Require Some Student Fraud Victims To Repay Portion Of Debts;
Lawsuits Seek An End To UC System's Use Of SAT, ACT;
Union, UF battle over $2M competition prize; Many Public Universities Refuse to Reveal Professors' Conflicts of Interest;
Tech Recruiters, Once Welcomed On UC Berkeley's Campus, Now Face Protests; Trump expected to sign order to foster probes of anti-Semitism on campus;
Democrats Divided Over Free College For All Or For Some;


12/6/18
TechNews for the week: December 6; December 4; December 2;

War, Politics and Reports (Also, see Finance and Economics)
Trump's talk of cease-fire appears to surprise Taliban, Afghan government; U.S. military acknowledges allegations of civilian deaths in Afghanistan airstrike;
US forces kill jihadist leader in Syria with precision 'ninja' missile that chops up targets with blades;
North Korea warns United States of an unwelcome 'Christmas gift'; Kim Jong Un is back on his white horse, as North Korea flags a big decision;
North Korea Threatens New 'Dotard' Insults if Trump Revives Name-Calling;
Hong Kong Police End 2-Week Campus Siege; China to sanction U.S. nonprofits in response to Hong Kong legislation;
U.S. Objects to World Bank's Lending Plans for China; Putin and Xi oversee launch of landmark Russian gas pipeline to China;
With Brutal Crackdown, Iran Is Convulsed by Worst Unrest in 40 Years; Trump's position on supporting Iran protests: No, yes and no comment;
Taken to Brink by Trump, Gulf States Are Backpedaling on Iran; U.S. Officials Say Iran Is Secretly Moving Missiles Into Iraq;
Israel Plans New Jewish Enclave in Hebron; Netanyahu: Israel has 'full right' to annex strategic Jordan Valley;
Netanyahu to Trump: We must seize 'historic opportunity' to annex Jordan Valley;
Prosecution in Israel lines up over 300 witnesses in Netanyahu case; How i24News Turned pro-Netanyahu to Secure Broadcast License;
Netanyahu Indictment Served to Knesset, Setting Off 30 Days to Ask Lawmakers for Immunity; Lawyer to be charged with graft in new woes for Netanyahu;
Netanyahu's London trip to meet Pompeo said nixed after veto from UK officials; Israeli PM, meeting Pompeo, calls for more pressure on Iran;
Rebuking Trump, House backs measure endorsing two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution;
Trump heads to NATO summit, and Britain braces for impact; Trump isn't running in Britain's election. That hasn't stopped him from getting in the middle;
Trump was embarrassed on the first day of the NATO summit, and it shows no one is bothering to take him seriously anymore;
Trump calls Canada's Trudeau 'two-faced' after hot-mic video emerges of world leaders apparently mocking the president;
FACT CHECK: Trump's misstatements at NATO summit;
Struggling to negotiate, Trump often claims countries are eager to talk; Trump's Trade Deal Steals a Page From Democrats' Playbook;
U.S. House Speaker Pelosi says at climate summit: 'We are still in';
Ukraine leader makes headway against corruption, but fight risks angering Trump;
Justice Department praises watchdog's upcoming report on Russia inquiry amid reported criticism by Attorney General Barr;
Barr disputes key inspector general finding about FBI's Russia investigation;
Barr's hand-picked prosecutor tells inspector general he can't back right-wing theory that Russia case was U.S. intelligence setup;
Indictment Details How Emirates Sought Influence in 2016 Campaign;
Appeals court refuses to block House subpoena for Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank, Capital One;
U.S. Justice Ginsburg puts temporary hold on Trump financial records dispute;
Trump's counsel says president won't take part in impeachment hearing Wednesday ; GOP mounts campaign to delegitimize inquiry;
House Republicans Put Together an Impeachment Rebuttal Report; Republicans just confirmed The latest defense of Trump is a total scam;
In 300 pages, House lays out evidence for Trump impeachment; Not enough Pinocchios for Trump's CrowdStrike obsession;
House Intelligence Committee sends report on Trump and Ukraine to judiciary panel, paving way for possible articles of impeachment;
Professors testify that Trump's conduct is grounds for removal at impeachment hearing ;
A curious argument against impeachment, Rep. Jerrold Nadler comes under fire, and other analysis and takeaways from today's hearing;
Trump focuses on defense in Senate as House moves toward impeachment vote ;
House GOP Snubs Pelosi, Won't Call Witnesses; Trump Blocked Key Impeachment Witnesses. Should Congress Wait?
White House tells House Democrats to end impeachment inquiry, less than an hour before deadline for Trump to agree to participate;
Impeachment Investigators Got Rudy Giuliani's Phone Records—And They're Quite Revealing;
Rudy Giuliani received multiple calls from Trump's OMB this year — some just minutes after he'd talked with Lev Parnas;
A Mysterious '-1' and Other Call Records Show How Giuliani Pressured Ukraine; Giuliani, Facing Scrutiny, Travels to Europe to Interview Ukrainians;
Records show Trump routinely on phones vulnerable to foreign surveillance;
Former DNI official: Trump had 'no foundation or framework to understand limits of intelligence' matters;
Timeline: Rep. Devin Nunes and Ukraine Disinformation Efforts; Devin Nunes sues CNN for $435 million, alleging 'false hit piece';
Senate confirms another unqualified Trump nominee as judge;
William Barr Is Making It Harder to Protect the 2020 Election; House Passes Bill to Curb Voter Suppression Ahead of 2020;
Who Are America's Undocumented Immigrants? You Might Not Recognize Them; Trump gave states the power to ban refugees. Conservative Utah wants more of them;
Mexicans fleeing violence form new encampment on border;
Key Mueller witness, major Clinton and Trump donor charged with funneling millions in illegal contributions in 2016 elections;
North Dakota company that Trump touted gets $400 million border wall contract;
House committee chair calls for investigation into $400 million border wall contract awarded to company recommended by Trump;
Fox News personalities continue to stump for GOP candidates;
Trump campaign denies press credentials to Bloomberg News, claiming 'bias' against the president;
Rosenstein said he was 'horrified' at how Comey was fired;
Supreme Court won't let Justice Dept. resume executions for now. Death row inmates are challenging a new lethal-injection protocol;
Georgia governor picks political newcomer for U.S. Senate;
State lawmakers acknowledge lobbyists helped craft their op-eds attacking Medicare-for-all;
Rep. Duncan D. Hunter says he will plead guilty Tuesday to misusing campaign funds; will resign 'after the Holidays' in wake of guilty plea;
Judges: New North Carolina Congress map will be used in 2020; North Carolina GOP Rep Says He Won't Seek Reelection After District Redrawing;

Math, science and technology:
Security issues
A Pennsylvania County's Election Day Nightmare Underscores Voting Machine Concerns;
New "hybrid" voting system can change paper ballot after it's been cast; Security Vulnerability in ESS ExpressVote Touchscreen Voting Computer;
Census Bureau's Digital System Plagued by Security Problems;
Most Presidential Candidates Not Using Email Security Feature;
Ransomware froze more cities in 2019. Next year is a tossup; Iranian hackers deploy new ZeroCleare data-wiping malware;
U.S., British Officials Charge Two Russians in Large Malware Schemes; FBI Treats Mobile Apps from Russia as 'Potential Counterintelligence Threat';
Cameras that Automatically Detect Mobile Phone Use;
RSA-240 Factored;
Andy Ellis on Risk Assessment;
Math and science
Scientists find 'monster' black hole so big they didn't think it was possible; NASA's Parker Solar Probe Sends Back Initial Insights On Solar Wind;
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches For ISS Mission; NASA Funding Research On Improving Crop Growth For Space Missions;
Ice preserved a tiny puppy in near-perfect condition for 18,000 years;
Archaeologists use radar to find a massive Viking ship buried on an island for a millennium;
Cracks in the Greenland ice sheet are producing massive waterfalls, raising scientists' concerns for sea level rise;
New Science Shows Managing Blood Sugar Isn't About Counting Calories or Carbs;
What Science Tells Us About Preventing Dementia;
A roadblock for genealogy buffs: The Trump administration plans huge fee increases for immigration records;
Web, computing and technology issues
Twitter Permanently Suspends Accounts of Ilhan Omar's Potential Challenger; Twitter Revamping Privacy Policies to Comply with California, EU Laws;
Fake Credentials Allow Applicants to Register .gov Domain Names; Web Founder 'Very Concerned' About Sale of .org Domain Operator;
Fake News Sites Use Misleading Domain Names, Profit from Ads; Facebook Considers Options for Labeling Political Ads;
China Bans 'Fake News' Using Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality;
How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results;
Filmmakers Sue U.S. for Requiring Social Media Details in Visa Applications;
AWS Joins Quantum Computing Race;

Business and Economics
Labor market remained strong in November as U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs and jobless rate moved to 3.5 percent; US manufacturing contraction worsens in November;
Illinois' unfunded pension liability rises to $137.3 billion; Pension funds warn over QE damage ;
Trump administration tightens work requirements for SNAP, which could cut hundreds of thousands from food stamps;
White House and Congress near agreement on paid parental leave for federal workers;
Trump Tariffs Would Result In 62,000 Fewer US Solar Jobs; US Solar Industry Lobbying For Tariff Reductions On Chinese Solar Panels;
Trump's $28 Billion Trade War Bailout Is Overpaying Farmers;
China repeats demand for rollback of US tariffs in exchange for a deal; Trump says he is prepared to wait to strike US-China trade deal;
Trump says he will reimpose steel and aluminum tariffs on Brazil and Argentina, opening new trade war fronts;
White House says it is considering tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in French imports; France vows EU retaliation after U.S. tariff threats;
India's Central Bank left interest rates unchanged; Japanese leaders have approved a $120 billion stimulus program, the country's largest in more than three years;
Oil prices jump above $61 a barrel on talks of further OPEC supply cuts; Saudi Arabia to urge Opec to make deeper cuts in production;
Saudi Aramco raises $25.6bn in world’s biggest IPO;
FAA Tells Boeing It Will Review Individual 737 MAX Planes; Fuselage Of Boeing 777X Split In Stress Test; Boeing To Delay Test Flight Of Starliner To ISS;
Judge Rejects PG&E's Challenge To California Law Holding It Liable For Fire Damages; California Bans Insurers From Dropping Policies Made Riskier by Climate Change;
Trump says the EPA is looking 'very strongly' at 'sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms' because people are flushing their toilets 10 to 15 times;
EPA proposes rule to speed up disputed industry pollution permits; Critics Say New EPA Guidance Weakens Air Protections;
State Spending On Environment Falls Even As Trump Administration Pushes "Cooperative Federalism" On Environmental Protection;
Weather is turning into big business. And that could be trouble for the public;
Energy Companies Under Financial Pressure To Go Green As Climate Changes; Electric Utilities Support Intervention In California Emissions Lawsuits;
Chinese Consumers More Open To Electric, Autonomous Vehicles Than Western Counterparts;
Amazon unveils quantum computing service;
Finance
You Can Get Free Trading. But There's Often a Catch; 5 Tips for When to Buy a Stock and When to Sell a Stock;
Zombie debt: Sometimes it's best to let dead debt be;
Other news
Believing Without Evidence Is Always Morally Wrong;
George Will: Like it or not, faithless electors have a right to be unfaithful;
With podcasts, specials and a Netflix show, it's Dolly Parton's world and we’re all just living in it;
Watch 4 Decades of Inequality Drive American Cities Apart;

Education:
'It Just Isn't Working': Test Scores Cast Doubt on U.S. Education Reform; US Students' Scores Remain Stagnant On PISA;
Fewer Than 1% Of Applicants Qualify For Loan-Forgiveness Program; DeVos Proposes New Agency, Run by Someone Else, for Student Loans;
Senate Passes Bipartisan Deal To Permanently Restore HBCU, MSI Funding, Simplify FAFSA; FAFSA Legislation To Cut "$6 Billion In Mistakes";
Colleges Struggle To Make Digital Courseware Accessible To Students With Disabilities;
Why Isn't It a No-Brainer to Embed 'Certifications' Into Bachelor's Degrees;
How a Deal to Increase International Enrollments Fell Short;