There are many predictive models… sometimes, they work. Sometimes, they’re just plain wrong.

Neglecting to protect your kid’s privacy can have serious consequences

In a surprise move, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he would issue an executive order to restore the voting rights of most of New York’s 35,000 citizens who are currently disenfranchised because they are on parole for a felony conviction. This is a welcome development that will help curtail a policy that is rooted in white supremacy. However, it will still leave tens of thousands of incarcerated citizens without voting rights. Furthermore, by excluding parolees who have committed certain crimes, this solution gives the governor undeserved discretion over who gets to the right to vote. And given that Cuomo’s been in office for over seven years, it’s only natural to wonder why he waited so long to use his executive powers. It’s hard to see this decision as anything other than a transparent reaction to the fact that Cuomo now faces a serious primary challenge from the left from actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, who has harshly criticized the governor’s record on voting rights. Indeed, for years, Cuomo has been a master of cynically doing the bare minimum to placate the left while forever thwarting more substantive reforms. In a true display of chutzpah, Cuomo tried to blame Republicans in the state for blocking a bill to reform the state’s felony disenfranchisement laws. But Cuomo almost single-handedly ensured that those very same Republicans would remain in power by signing off on their extreme gerrymander at the start of the decade and by propping up a faction of renegade Democrats known as the IDC who for years have allowed the GOP to retain control of the Senate. Cuomo has tried his best to appear as if he's a champion of voting rights, but his actions have repeatedly stymied efforts to improve democracy by passing early voting, automatic and same-day voter registration, and an end to gerrymandering. But only now that he and his IDC allies face a threat to their political careers has Cuomo finally begun to take steps toward expanding voting rights. Restoring voting rights to citizens who have served their time is the right thing to do, but if Cuomo wins a third term this fall, expect him to suddenly forget how to do the right thing anymore.

The Indianapolis Star reported on Thursday that in 2003, when Luke Messer was persuading local Indiana GOP leaders to appoint him to replace a state representative who had been killed by a drunk driver, Messer kept his own two DUIs a secret. Messer got the job, which he used to launch a political career that would lead to his election to the House in 2012. Messer is now running in the three-way May 8 primary to take on Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly. Both DUIs, which happened when Messer was in his 20s, eventually became public, though he wasn't the one who revealed either of them. In 2009, around the time that Messer was unsuccessfully challenging then-Rep. Dan Burton in the primary, an anonymous person mailed court documents to the media about his 1995 conviction. Three years later, Messer's Democratic foe brought a previously-unknown 1990 charge to light. However, several of the local party leaders who picked Messer for the state House seat in 2003 told the Star that they didn't know about either DUI until the paper contacted them for the story. Several of them said they were not happy he hadn't told them 15 years ago, and that he probably wouldn’t have been selected had they known.

Campaign Action Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Juan Gaspar-García, a 22-year-old diabetic man with Down syndrome, during a workplace raid and kept him detained for three weeks before releasing him to his outraged Florida community.  According to the Miami Herald, “federal authorities insist that it was not an immigration raid but a ‘criminal search’ conducted at the business.” Yet both Gaspar-García and his brother, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, were swept up. Under DACA requirements, applicants must pass a background check. Gaspar-García is DACA-eligible, but had not applied for protections. “My brother does not have the ability to understand certain situations without a proper explanation because he has Down syndrome, and probably does not understand why he is there or what is happening,” his sister Dolores Gaspar-García said during his detention. “He also has diabetes, he takes medication and it is very important that he is with us so we can take care of his special needs.” ICE initially released the DACA-protected sibling—his name is not yet available—but kept Gaspar-García detained, with threats to deport him to Guatemala. Gaspar-García came to the U.S. at just 14 following his mom’s death. His siblings and dad all live in Florida, meaning he would be deported to a country where he’d have no one to help care for him.

Republicans are already finding it a challenge to run on their single new legislative accomplishment in the Trump era—the tax scam. Voters are underwhelmed by it, if not downright hostile to it, and most people just aren't going to see much relief from it at all. Meanwhile, they're seeing headlines like this: «Big banks saved $3.6B in taxes last quarter under new law.» That's probably not going to be helping the Republicans' PR job here. Big publicly traded banks—such JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America—typically kick off the earnings season. Their reports for the January-March quarter are giving investors and the public their first glimpse into how the new tax law is impacting Corporate America. […] JPMorgan Chase said it had a first-quarter tax rate of 18.3 percent, Goldman Sachs paid just 17.2 percent in taxes, and the highest-taxed bank of the six majors, Citigroup, had a tax rate of 23.7 percent. This is just one quarter’s results, however, and bank executives at the big six firms have estimated that their full-year tax rates will be something closer to 20 percent to 22 percent. Remember the old corporate federal rate was 35 percent, and because these banks tend to have more U.S.-based holdings than other corporations, being U.S. banks, they've paid among the highest rates. With all the previous existing loopholes, they tended to pay between 28-31 percent of their income under the previous rates. So, yes, the new law is a windfall for them, putting them on track to save an estimated $19 billion this year. That $19 billion could sure feed and house a lot of poor people, were it going into the treasury instead of to stockholders.

China, the world’s largest importer of waste, has extended the ban on imports of unsorted paper, some plastics, and dozens of other types of recyclable materials. Read Full Article at RT.com

According to the Treasury Secretary, the rise of official bilateral, «plurilateral» and private creditor lending, especially to countries at high risk of debt distress, is complicating debt resolution processes necessary to re-establish debt sustainability.

As of March 31, there were 587 individual products and 189 group products available in the Indian market.

The revelation comes in the backdrop of a cash crunch being witnessed across various regions in the country as a number of ATMs had gone dry

The move comes against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of girls in Jammu and Kashmir#39;s Kathua and Gujarat#39;s Surat district recently.

WikiLeaks is calling for a global blockade of one of the world’s largest exchanges for crypto-trading, Coinbase, after the company banned the WikiLeaks Shop from its platform “without explanation.” Read Full Article at RT.com

Orchid Labs, a San Francisco-based startup that’s developing a a surveillance-free layer on top of the internet, has raised a bunch of funding, according to a newly processed SEC filing that shows the year-old startup has closed on $36.1 million. The money comes just five months after Orchid closed on a separate, $4.5 million in funding from […]

Consumers are being warned to avoid even more romaine lettuce products.

Consumers are being warned to avoid even more romaine lettuce products.

I’m here to tell you first-hand: Nintendo Labo is no joke. I’m a grown-up human person, who has spent many hours of his life building things: office furniture, websites, a model of the Batmobile from the 1989 Tim Burton movie. In the fourth grade, I attempted to build Mission Santa Barbara out of sugar cubes. […]

Two photo-sharing services are teaming up, as SmugMug buys Flickr from Verizon’s digital media subsidiary Oath. USA Today broke the news and interviewed SmugMug CEO Don MacAskill, who said he hopes to revitalize Flickr . At the same time, he said he’s still figuring out his actual plans: “It sounds silly for the CEO to […]

Friday Night Lights, the football show that was never just about football (and one of the best shows on television), is now streaming on Hulu. Say goodbye to the weekend is all I’m saying. Hailed as one of the most honest depictions of a functioning adult relationship in its portrayal of the husband and wife […]

BERLIN (AP) - The European Aviation Safety Agency has tightened a nearly month-old directive ordering inspections of some fan blades in engines like those used on a Southwest Airlines jet involved in a fatal accident. A directive published by EASA late Friday called for inspections within 20 days of blades ...

DIRIYAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Just outside Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, a group of elementary school children are on a field trip at Diriyah, where engineers and construction workers are busy restoring a 17th-century fortress, mosques and clay-colored structures that were once the ruling family's seat of power. The UNESCO ...

What: Fine JewelryWhere: Freeman’s Auction House, 1808 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USAWhen: May 9, 2018, 12.00 PMPublic Viewing: Thursday, May 3 10:00-5:00pm; Friday, May 4 10:00-5:00pm; Saturday, May 5 12:00-5:00pm; Sunday, May 6 12:00-5:00pm; Monday, May 7 10:00-5:00pm; Tuesday, May 8 10:00-5:00pmTop lots of the sale:- An impressive diamond solitaire ring, centering an emerald-cut diamond weighing 16.56 carats, flanked by tapering baguette-cut diamonds, mounted in platinum. Estimate: $ 600,000 - $ 800,000- A diamond and eighteen karat gold pendant centered by a modern round brilliant-cut diamond weighing 4.16 carats, surrounded by circular-cut diamond frame within an eighteen karat white gold mount, suspending from a white gold fine link chain. Length: 18 in. Estimate: $ 80,000 - $ 100,000- A diamond and platinum solitaire, set with a pear-shaped diamond, weighing approximately 5.30 carats, flanked by tapered baguettes, mounted in platinum. Ring size: 3 1/2 (adjustable). Estimate: $ 70,000 - $ 90,000- A fancy intense yellow diamond pendant. The cushion-cut diamond weighing 4.09 carats surrounded by pink full-cut diamonds weighing approximately 0.55 carats, set within an eighteen karat rose gold mount, suspended from a fine link chain. Length: 15 in. Estimate: $ 65,000 - $ 85,000- A fancy intense yellow diamond, diamond and platinum ring, centering a cut-cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut diamond weighing 5.12 carats set in eighteen karat yellow gold and flanked by two cut cornered rectangular modified brilliant-cut diamonds weighing 0.91 and 0.90 carat respectively. Size: 3 3/4. Estimate: $ 60,000 - $ 80,000- A black opal and diamond ring, centered by an oval black opal weighing 7.04 carats, flanked by pear-shaped diamond, one weighing 1.01 carats, and one weighing 1.02 carats, set in an eighteen karat white gold mount, gallery accented by diamonds. Size: 4 (with sizing beads). Estimate: $ 50,000 - $ 70,000- An Art Deco diamond covered bracelet-watch. Cartier, France, set with baguette and circular-cut diamonds mounted in platinum, with a diamond-set cover; Estimated total diamond weight: 17.00 carats, dial signed Cartier, France, bracelet signed Cartier London, Number 17400, watch signed Cartier France, Number 19314, 28429, 2980. Length: 7 in.  Estimate: $ 30,000 - $ 50,000- An Art Deco diamond and rock crystal choker/bracelet, designed as a wide openwork strap set with round and circular-cut diamonds; Estimated total diamond weight: 35.00 carats, accented by a central rock crystal and cylindrical link, together with additional diamond link. 50.8 dwt.; Length: 7 1/4 in.; Width 1 in. Estimate: $ 30,000 - $ 50,000- A diamond solitaire, centering a cushion-cut diamond, weighing approximately 7.11 carats, mounted within a heavy eighteen karat gold bezel setting. Size: 6. Estimate: $ 30,000 - $ 50,000- An eighteen karat white gold and diamond necklace set with pavé-set round brilliant-cut diamond links alternating with straight baguette-cut diamonds; Estimated total diamond weight: 45.00 carats. 111.4 dwt.; Length: 15 1/2 in. Estimate: $ 25,000 - $ 35,000For details, visit: https://www.freemansauction.com/Click on the slideshow for the highlights of the sale.http://www.blouinartinfo.com/Founder: Louise Blouin

What: Modern DesignWhere: Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, 1338 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60607, USAWhen: 7 May 2018, 10:00 am CTPublic Viewing: Thursday, May 3 | 10am – 5pm; Friday, May 4 | 10am – 5pm; Saturday, May 5 | 10am – 3pm; Sunday, May 6 | 12pm – 4pm; Monday, May 7 | 10am – 5pmLeslie Hindman Auctioneers will be featuring an exquisite collection of modernized art of worksTop lots of the sale:- Tiffany Studios. Early 20th Century. Nautilus lamp. Bronze with a shell shade. Signed Gudebrud and Stamped Tiffany Studios/New York. Height 15 1/2 inches. Estimate: $ 20,000 - $ 30,000- Francois Pompon (French, 1855-1933): Grand Duc. Designed in 1928 cast between 1934 - 1939. Bronze with black patina with Fonderie C. Valsuani stamp, and signed Pompon. Height 20 3/4 x width 8 1/2 x depth 7 1/4 inches. Estimate: $ 15,000 - $ 25,000- Katarzyna Kobro (Polish/Russian, 1898-1951): Standing Female Nude, c.1948. Edition 2 of 8 bronze. Signed on back of base K. Kobro, 2/8, with Fonderie C. Valsuani stamp. Height 18 3/4 inches. Estimate: $ 15,000 - $ 25,000- Rene Lalique (French, 1860-1945): A Perruches pattern vase, c.1919. M p. 410, no. 876. Clear and frosted blue glass. Signed R Lalique France to underneath. Height 10 1/4 inches. Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000- Demétre Chiparus (Romanian/French 1886-1947): Egyptian Dancer, 1920s. Bronze, on marble base. Etched signature to base, with Edmond Etling and Cie Foundry mark. Height overall 28 1/2 inches. Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 20,000- Dale Chihuly (American, b. 1941): Opaline Spined and White Sea Form Set, 1987. Hand-blown glass. Signed Chihuly 87 to larger. 28 x 26 1/4 x 10 inches. Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 10,000- Rene Lalique (French, 1860-1945): A Penthievre pattern, c.1926. M p. 412, no. 1101 clear and frosted amber glass. Signed R Lalique France to underneath. Height 10 1/4 inches. Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000- Tiffany Studios. Early 20th Century. An Abalone pattern desk set and table lamp, comprising a pair of blotter ends (1152), pen tray (1169), a pair of bookends (1173), picture frame (1166), a covered box (1149), inkwell (1157), letter rack (1151) and table lamp (604) gilt bronze and glass. Lamp: Height 15 3/4 x diameter 10 inches. Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000- Tiffany Studios. Early 20th Century. An Acorn pattern leaded glass lamp shade stamped Tiffany Studios/New York/1435, base stamped Tiffany Studios/New York/29939. Diameter of shade 16 inches, height overall 22 1/2 inches. Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000- Italian, Second Half 20th Century. A pair of garden chairs, in the form of a face carved marble. Height 27 x width 27 1/4 x depth 28 x seat height 15 1/2 inches. Estimate: $ 6,000 - $ 8,000For details, visit: https://www.lesliehindman.comClick on the slideshow for the highlights of the sale.http://www.blouinartinfo.com/Founder: Louise Blouin

What: Design, Modern & Contemporary ArtsWhere: Guillaume Le Floc'h, 1 ter, boulevard de la République 92210 Saint-CloudWhen: May 6, 2:30 PMTop Lots of the Sale:- «Aldrine on the moon» – Guomunddur Guomundsson says Erro (born in Olafsuk, Iceland in 1932); acrylic on canvas, signed and dated 1975 on the back (small gaps). Measured at High.: 98 cm - Width: 58.5 centimeters. Estimated Price: 8,000 - 10,000 € (US$ 9,850 - 12,280)- «Elysée floor lamp called »Lollipop« in brown lacquered metal, the circular base and reflector, the cylindrical barrel» (1971 - 1972) - Pierre Paulin (1927 - 2009). Edition Glass and Light. Estimated Price: 8,000 - 10,000 € (US$ 9,850 - 12,280)- «I doubt» - Benjamin Vautier says Ben (born in 1935); acrylic on canvas, signed lower right and countersigned and dated 1971 on the back (very slight gaps, small depressions). Measured at High.: 114 cm - Width: 146 cm. Estimated Price: 3,000 - 5,000 € (US$ 3,700 - 6,150)- «Model sofa »Koala«, the front legs in natural bronze slightly tapered, the structure, the backrest and the seat fully covered with yellow velvet» - Elisabeth Garouste (born in 1946) & Mattia Bonetti (born in 1952). Editions BGH. Marked BG. Measured at High.: 87 cm - Width: 156 cm - Prof. : 81 cm. Estimated Price: 3,000 - 5,000 € (US$ 3,700 - 6,150)- «Model »Koala« daybed» - Elisabeth Garouste (born in 1946) & Mattia Bonetti (born in 1952). Editions BGH; armrest on the right, the front feet in natural bronze slightly tapered, the structure. Measured at High.: 110 cm - Width: 160 cm - Prof.: 90 cm. Estimated Price: 3,000 - 5,000 € (US$ 3,700 - 6,150)- «Three lamps »Baghdad« model in white, red and black» - Mathieu Mategot (1910 - 2001); perforated sheet metal and folded geometric shape and brass ball (small chips). 1954. Measured at High.: 38 cm. Estimated Price: 2,500 - 3,500 € (US$ 3,070 - 4,300)- «Two-seater sofa model »2557«« - Florence Knoll (born in 1917); chromed metal base, cream leather seat. Knoll International Edition, 2014. Measured at Haut.: 79 cm - Width: 160 cm - Prof.: 80 cm. Estimated Price: 2,500 - 3,500 € (US$ 3,070 - 4,300)- »Pair of sofas model «Madison», armrests in varnished cherry, cream leather upholstery» - House Hugues Chevalier. Measured at High.: 78 cm - Width: 170 cm - Prof.: 95 cm. Estimated Price: 2,000 - 4,000 € (US$ 2,460 - 4,920)For details, visit:http://www.lefloch-drouot.fr/Click on the slideshow for the highlights of the sale.https://www.blouinartinfo.comFounder: Louise Blouin

Swarovski and Design Miami have declared Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome as the winners for the 2018 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award.Established in 2006, the Designers of the Future Award acknowledges technologically and conceptually advanced designs across multiple disciplines, honoring promising young designers and studios behind these cutting-edge works. Swarovski and Design Miami have collaborated for this award for the fourth year in 2018 to provide the winners an opportunity to present their newly commissioned works to an influential audience of collectors, dealers, and journalists at Design Miami/Basel. Selected from designers across the globe, the 2018 winners —  Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome — will respond to the brief of ‘smart living,’ applying pioneering crystal technologies including psycho activation techniques, touch crystal, and energy crystal, which will be unveiled at this year’s Design Miami/ Basel, to be held from June 12 to 17. These artists will be commissioned to utilize the wide range of resources from Swarovski to develop prototypes or statements, such as wearables, inclusive design solutions, lighting and/or functional home objects, which will illustrate new ways of connectivity and co-existence within our environment, through the integration of new crystal technologies. Experimental Dutch designer Frank Kolkman will present “Dream Machine,” where he will combine the interface of Swarovski crystal with neurobiology, neuropsychology, and psycho-activation techniques to allow individuals to enter a state of deep relaxation or “artificial dreaming,” providing a smart solution to the cognitive demands of modern life. Study O Portable — a research based Dutch-Japanese practice — will explore the blurring of light and color created from the crystals utilizing Swarovski’s avant-garde technologies, and will create a series of surfaces that will be translated into objects, including screens, a table, and lights, evoking the blurry and fading colors associated with the sunset or changing colors of leaves on a tree. Yosuke Ushigome works at the Japanese design studio Takram’s London office as a creative technologist. His exhibition “Can Crystals Interface Us to AI?” will explore the potential of crystal as an alternative interaction between human and machine intelligence that occurs within the Smart Home environment.Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, said: “We are delighted to announce Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome as this year’s Swarovski Designers of the Future. We look forward to seeing these exciting innovators use Swarovski crystal as a creative medium to explore the relationship between human behaviour and new smart living technologies.”All the designs by Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome will be integrated into a single installation at Design Miami/ Basel. Alongside this artificial environment, Swarovski will present Atelier Swarovski’s new home décor collections as a ‘Curio’ exhibition within the core galleries at the fair, which will include functional and decorative table top objects, home accessories, and gifts. www.blouinartinfo.comFounder: Louise Blouin

Tougher measures were agreed to in Friday's Safety Commission meeting at Austin, which was attended by most riders following the controversy surrounding Marc Marquez's aggressive riding at Termas de Rio Hondo.The world champion, recovering from an earlier ride-through penalty, was ordered to drop a place after making contact with Aleix Espargaro and was then given a 30-second time ... Keep reading

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) Defending champion Crusaders scored two early tries and then lost their way in a hailstorm before running away to a 33-11 win over Japan's winless Sunwolves in Super Rugby on Saturday.

Boom and bust: that was Ferrari's way. From the peaks, the view was breathtaking. Ascari, Fangio, Hawthorn, Hill, Surtees, Lauda, Scheckter... these were the blessed members of Formula 1's most exclusive club, all having filled their lungs with the heady, rarefied air as Ferrari world champions.Yet, almost to a man, the oxygen turned sour on the inevitable plummeting descent ... Keep reading

TOKYO (AP) Brazilian striker Patric scored his sixth goal of the season on Saturday as Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Sagan Tosu 1-0 to increase its lead in the J-League.

Rea was confidently leading as SP2 started, his 1m34.761s lap giving him a three-tenth lead over Barni Ducati's Xavi Fores during the mid-session pitstops.However Lowes moved from third to first with a 1m34.066s during the final minute of qualifying, and Rea's subsequent improvement fell narrowly short.Fores was the fastest Ducati rider in third, as the rest of the field was over six ... Keep reading

Following complaints of severe bumps by riders last year, the Austin venue used diamond-grinder trucks to try and smooth out the track ahead of this year's MotoGP round.However, the consensus among riders has been that these efforts have failed, with the surface still riddled with bumps and also covered in a fine layer of cement dust that has affected visibility.Yamaha rider Ross ... Keep reading