NTIMES: October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

UK Sport looks at creating full-time investigations unit - The Guardian

UK Sport is considering implementing a full-time investigations unit after a string of controversial governance issues including the recent look into the culture at British Cycling.

Announcing a governance code for all sports governing bodies that will require at least 30% of board members to be women if they want to continue to receive public money from Sport England and UK Sport, the latter said it was also examining whether to introduce a full-time investigations unit.

“What UK Sport will be doing is looking in the next year at whether we have the right structures in place in British sport in terms of an investigatory function,” said the UK Sport chief operating officer, Simon Morton. “We have been involved in quite a few independent reviews in the last 12 months and it’s making us think about whether we have the right functions in British sport to handle those.”

Morton added: “It’s very early days but we understand there is an increasing need for British sport to have an investigatory function around independent reviews. Rather than having to reinvent the wheel every time an independent review comes around, having clarity on the process would be beneficial.”

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is chairing a review on the wide-ranging issue of the duty of care sports have for athletes, while the British Rowing chair, Annamarie Phelps, is leading a specific inquiry into the culture of British Cycling amid allegations of bullying and sexism.

Last week an internal British Cycling review found the former head coach Shane Sutton had been guilty of using inappropriate and discriminatory language. The Phelps review is expected to be published next month.

It was also confirmed the government may withhold support for any bid by the Football Association to host the World Cup or European Championship if it fails to adhere to the code, which will come into force on 1 April next year.

Repeated efforts to force the FA to reform have failed since Lord Burns recommended changes to the board and council 11 years ago. The sports minister, Tracey Crouch, has already said the FA faces losing £30m in government funding over four years if it fails to comply.

As well as making all reasonable efforts to meet the 30% target on gender diversity, the FA and other governing bodies must also ensure the main board has primacy on decision-making. That would effectively mean the FA councillors voting to relinquish their own power. The most recent attempt at reform, by the former chairman Greg Dyke, was unceremoniously rejected by the council but his successor, Greg Clarke, and the chief executive, Martin Glenn, have said they are committed to making changes.

The Sport England director of sport, Phil Smith, said the FA and other governing bodies would not be expected to comply on 1 April next year but would have to keep to a timetable to be agreed over the coming months.

Morton said few governing bodies complied with the code. “The mandate from government was that they wanted something tough and was the gold standard for sport,” he said.

Donna Brazile (AP) - Los Angeles Times

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Grandparents' health being put at risk as almost half get ill from babysitting

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Dr Dawn Harper, spokeswoman for ColdZyme Mouth Spray, said: "More grandparents are providing regular child care for their grandchildren as both parents have work commitments.

"Many of my patients who provide such care tell me it's a job they love, but one that often leaves them feeling exhausted. Fatigue can suppress the immune system, so it's important grandparents get a good night's sleep.

"My parents tell me 'grandparenting' is their favourite hobby.

"They are lucky they are both in good health with robust immune systems, but some grandparents are missing out on such magical moments."

To help grandparents avoid falling ill, Dr Harper recommends regularly washing hands, along with surfaces and door handles, eating a well-balanced diet and making sure you have a good sleep routine.

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Americans have been 'blogging' about politics for 250 years - Washington Post (blog)

(Damian Dovarganes/AP)

In May 1693, ex-poet laureate John Dryden wrote to his friend and fellow poet William Walsh to gossip about life in London. While assuring Walsh “there passes nothing in the Town worth your knowing,” he noted that writer Thomas d’Urfey’s newest play “was woefull stuff, & concluded with Catcalls,” adding with a touch of glee that it had been “kick[e]d off” the stage.

But then Dryden turned to weightier matters regarding the ongoing Nine Years’ War, which pitted England and its allies against France. “For other newes ’tis all uncertain,” he wrote, “But we all believe that the King of France, who was to set out from Versailles on Saturday last, is gone for Flanders; & intends to offer Battle.” Later in the letter he added an update: “I spoke with a young Gentleman, who is just arrived from Flanders & came from Bruxelle. He assures me that not above a fortnight ago, the French burnt a village, within a mile of the Town.” Dryden advised Walsh, who would be elected a member of parliament a few years later, not to embark on “publique business” at such an uncertain time. Indeed, Walsh did not enter politics until 1698.

Why would two literary writers exchange military news they had heard secondhand, trusting each other’s reporting as authoritative enough to influence career decisions? Why would they take the time to send this information by letter rather than simply picking up a newspaper?

The answers lie in the origins of the news industry in the 17th century, when the periodical newspaper had just been invented and there were not yet any professional reporters. In many ways, our current media moment harks back to this era, during which readers faced a proliferation of unfamiliar news sources. As we are doing now, they had to devise ad hoc methods for assessing journalistic authority and objectivity as they adapted to a large-scale media shift.

[Elections can be stolen in the United States. It happened to my grandfather.]

While newsmongers at the time did not have “objectivity” as a goal, newspapers did not have the aggressively partisan character that they would develop in the later 18th and 19th centuries. The earliest papers launched in the mid- to late 1600s, predating the birth of formal political parties themselves. In this environment, the news was less politicized than personalized, as writers and readers used social networks to judge stories’ trustworthiness.

The first printed newspapers, which were simply short summations of letters sent by the editor’s “correspondents,” took over from professional newsletter services. News writers, some of whom had hundreds of subscribers for their handwritten letters, produced reports remarkably similar to Dryden’s in tone and content as they sent updates on politics, war and trade to their readers.

For example, in July 1693, just a few months after Dryden’s and Walsh’s exchange, a Derbyshire resident named Anne Pole received a professionally produced newsletter informing her, “there is a report come over land that the Elizabeth & Modena, 2 outward bound E. India Shipps[,] are taken.” The following February, her thrice-weekly letter included the news, “A Gentleman who came Wed. last from Newport sayes that severall officers of that Garrison are in Custody being questioned for designing to betray that place into the hands of the French.”

Like Dryden and Walsh, this now-anonymous professional journalist did little in-person investigation into the stories he was retailing — in fact, newsletters often featured more reports on foreign affairs than details of London events. Instead, the author relied on information he received in the mail and other secondhand accounts that had been verified by a network of informants.

And when printed papers started up, beginning in England in 1665, they largely republished items from newsletters as well as from their own “foreign correspondents,” acquaintances who exchanged news with the editors. It was in fact by importing the newsletters’ style of source verification that the newspaper was able to take off and ultimately outstrip its predecessor. Readers who were used to finding news in letters and trusting personal connections saw these same methods replicated in public, printed newspapers.

[Let children vote. Even 13-year-olds.]

It may be this mode of journalism — rather than the aggressively partisan news of the yellow journalism era — to which we are now returning. While we often hear that the digital revolution has produced a bifurcated media system with each side speaking to an “echo chamber,” this may have more to do with how we encounter and authenticate news now than with a decline in objective journalism.

A 2015 Pew Research Center study showed that Facebook was the most common source of news for millennials, with 61 percent receiving their news from the site in the previous week. Meanwhile, 37 percent of them had watched the local TV news. These numbers were an almost exact inverse of those for baby boomers, 60 percent of whom got news from a local broadcast and 39 percent from Facebook.

It’s not just that, as we know, Facebook’s algorithms identify users’ beliefs and preferences for targeted advertising, but also that we rely on friends’ recommendations to come across articles and comment on the news. I know who posts interesting political, academic and cultural items and where to go when I want alternative points of view. That is, I know whose news judgment I trust, and this knowledge is often based on personal relationships. With consumers on both the right and left increasingly skeptical of traditional journalistic sources, these practices become more prominent.

Dryden and Walsh were corresponding at a time when print was still a suspect medium and there was only one legal newspaper, the government-controlled London Gazette. By using their letters for news reporting, they could verify stories printed in the Gazette and add details or contextual information. They combined personal vouching with the public news.

Look again at how Dryden introduces his items: “We all believe …,” “I spoke with …,” “He assures me …” When these kinds of phrases come from a trusted friend, or even from a more distant member of one’s social network, they imply an individualized level of knowledge. If you trust the person, you’re likelier to trust the information.

These strategies have come to the fore during an election season when many cannot understand how a person could vote for the other side’s candidate. Immediately following the first presidential debate in late September, the TV pundits I was watching declined to anoint a winner, saying that the outcome would be “decided on points” and that there had been “no knockout blow.” So I took to Facebook and Twitter to confirm what seemed obvious, that Hillary Clinton had dominated the exchange. There, people whose opinions I trust — from friends to professional reporters — were already sharing GIFs of her celebratory shimmy. Like the rest of the Internet, I counted Clinton the winner, an assessment based on a confidence in the personal reportorial methods that social media are once again bringing to the fore.

Essential Politics: Election despair at Disneyland - Los Angeles Times

It may be the happiest place on Earth, but Disneyland visitors seem to be just as sick and tired of this election as everyone else in America.

I’m Christina Bellantoni. Welcome to Essential Politics, with just over one week to go until the big day.

As we check in with voters in the final stretch, Team Politics wanted to try something different. So we journeyed to Disneyland to find out how a wide sampling of people are viewing the contest. What we found was a dark picture: Voters are eager to see the contest conclude and feel the political conversation has hurt society over the last year. Most expressed dissatisfaction with both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump as presidential candidates.

We asked them to describe the election in one word. "Interesting" and "game changer" were the nicest words anyone could come up with. The rest, well, you can probably guess. Check out the entire project.

THE EMAIL SCANDAL THAT WON’T DIE

Perhaps it’s fitting that like a zombie rising again and again, the email server that continues to threaten Clinton’s chances of winning the presidency resurfaced ahead of Halloween weekend.

On Sunday, the FBI obtained a new warrant to examine the emails in question, and the issue of course dominated conversation on political shows and on the campaign trail.

So far, polls show voters haven’t shifted their positions since the Friday news.

Cathleen Decker writes for Monday’s front page that one reason the latest dustup might not matter is that voters have hardened, with mostly negative views of both nominees, and have stuck with their choice regardless of any new revelations. Bad news has eventually paled against the level of distaste for the opponent.

Kurtis Lee has a quick look at everything you need to know about Clinton’s emails.

Chris Megerian writes from the trail that while she was facing the new wave of questions, Clinton returned to a familiar theme for her campaign -- refusing to give up despite any obstacles in her path.

Get the latest about the race on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics. And check our daily USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times tracking poll at the top of the politics page.

CLINTON SETS HER SIGHTS ON THE SENATE

President Obama has been repeatedly frustrated by Republicans' control of the U.S. Senate, something Clinton is working to avoid if she wins the White House. So she is increasingly stumping for Democratic Senate candidates to help clear a path for her agenda in Washington. At the same time, Trump is nowhere to be seen on behalf of Republican senators, who have struggled to distance themselves from his sagging candidacy.

Here is the Senate balance of power scenario.

The fight for the House is much more of a longshot for Democrats, but any plausible scenario for the party includes winning the congressional district in San Antonio held by Rep. Will Hurd, who, after some equivocation, has strongly denounced his party’s nominee. Mark Z. Barabak examines the race between the freshman Republican and Democrat Pete Gallego, who lost the seat two years ago.

Here in California, we’re watching another bellwether district in the Central Valley. At issue is if conservative voters turned off by Trump and dismayed by the choice of two Democrats in the U.S. Senate race won’t turn out to support House candidates. Sarah Wire looked at how this could play out in the 10th Congressional District, where Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) was initially expected to win handily, but faces a tougher contest in the final days of the election.

INDEPENDENT WORRIES

Why was Trump taking aim at a little-known independent presidential candidate during a Fox News interview this weekend?

It could be because that candidate, Evan McMullin, has a credible shot at winning in Utah, a coup that would mark the first time a Republican presidential nominee lost the state in more than 50 years. Melanie Mason reports from Draper, Utah, on the upstart campaign that has transformed this deep-red state into a battleground and how McMullin’s post-election plans include shaking up conservative politics.

Meantime, McMullin joins Bernie Sanders as one of California’s officially certified write-in candidates for president.

SPEAKING OF THE GOLDEN STATE

It hasn’t always been a lock for the Democrats. Our graphics team runs through California’s electoral history. Take a trip down memory lane and see how things have trended from red to blue since George H.W. Bush was the last Republican to win here.

And keep track of California political news on our Essential Politics news feed.

EARLY VOTING UPDATE

At a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, Trump touted higher-than-usual voting rates as proof that his campaign has energized a base of previously inactive voters who will power the GOP presidential nominee to victory on Nov. 8. But Mason reports that the political data wonks who are obsessively parsing incoming data paint a more nuanced picture of the early vote so far. With millions of votes already cast in the general election, experts see positive signs for the Clinton campaign.

CATCHING THE STORY IN MID-AIR

What is it like to be traveling with a presidential campaign when a major story breaks? Very confusing and frustrating, especially when the in-flight Wi-Fi isn't working. Here's a look at 24 hours inside the Clinton campaign bubble after Megerian first spotted the news about the FBI's email investigation while flying toward Iowa on the candidate's plane.

ALL ABOUT POT

Proposition 64 is complicated. Patrick McGreevy delivers a Q&A to answer all your questions about the ballot measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

He also reports that, given only 47% of Latino voters support the idea, the campaigns for and against the measure are launching dueling ads targeting that demographic.

We also examined the pot measures under consideration in other states. After Nov. 8, marijuana could be legal for medical or recreational use in 29 states.

CRIME VICTIMS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE DEATH PENALTY

California has the largest death row population in the country, with more than 740 inmates awaiting punishment after executions were suspended in 2006. As voters this November consider doing away with the death penalty system, victims’ families have become prominent speakers behind two dueling ballot measure campaigns: one to end executions (Proposition 62) and another to speed them up (Proposition 66). Their voices are a reminder that justice, closure and vengeance are still a painful part of the debate for many, Jazmine Ulloa reports.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi endorsed Proposition 62 to repeal the death penalty, calling the punishment "cruel and unusual" under the Constitution.

PROPOSITION ROUNDUP

-- Comedian Kathy Griffin has released a spoof a No on Proposition 56 television ad, highlighting that tobacco companies are behind the campaign against raising the cigarette tax.

-- Eva Longoria voiced support for a ballot measure that would repeal English-only education in California.

-- Sanders and Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) were featured in a 30-minute documentary-style advertisement for the Yes on Proposition 61 campaign that ran over the weekend statewide. Christine Mai-Duc reports the infomercial continued the "Yes" campaign’s tactic of stoking public anger over rising drug prices and made use of airtime the campaign had bought previously when it challenged pharmaceutical industry executives to a televised debate.

To keep track of California’s 17 propositions as you make your decisions, don’t miss The Times’ ballot box guide on each of them.

SKELTON PRAISES PAROLE REFORM

Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 57 would offer early release for more inmates who were convicted of nonviolent crimes. But opponents, primarily prosecutors, have criticized the ballot measure, saying the governor moved ahead without inviting them to help plan the proposition. Complaints aside, motivating bad guys to become good guys is worth a "yes" vote, George Skelton writes in his Monday column.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN BUS ON CRUISE CONTROL?

U.S. Senate candidate Kamala Harris launched a 10-day campaign bus tour in Santa Clarita on Sunday, holding a rally with down-ballot Democrats who hope she’ll bring out party loyalists in the November election. Phil Willon reports that the rally was jam-packed and will be the first of many Harris will hold this week in congressional districts where Democrats threaten to nab seats from Republican incumbents.

Meantime, Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez took her campaign to the Inland Empire on Saturday, touting her record on water issues and taking a few swipes at Harris. Sanchez said she’s the only candidate in the race talking about the issues, and that all she’s seen from Harris are "commercials on TV."

The Sanchez campaign also launched a website critical of Harris’ record as California attorney general and her tenure as San Francisco district attorney.

POLITICAL ROAD MAP: CALIFORNIA’S GOP BRAND TAKES A BEATING

There are few states where the Republican image came into the 2016 election at a point as low as it did here in California. And where GOP leaders hoped the worst was behind them, some new data shows that was wishful thinking.

In his Political Road Map column on Sunday, John Myers took a closer look at the dismal low opinion many California voters have of the Republican Party -- even the party’s own voters. It could be a huge problem after next week’s election as the GOP sets its sights on 2018.

PODCAST: THE DOWN-TICKET LOWDOWN

While campaigns have become ever more nationalized in presidential election years, this one has reached all the way to individual state legislative races across the Golden State.

Myers leads a discussion on this week’s California Politics Podcast of the Clinton-Trump effect across the board, from congressional contests to battles for the state Assembly and Senate.

TODAY’S ESSENTIALS

-- A Times investigative team found a curious pattern with local donations tied to a major real estate development in Los Angeles.

-- The campaign of Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach) was supposed to appear in a Sacramento court Friday over documents that the FPPC says he still hadn’t turned over in an ongoing investigation of possible coordination between Hadley’s campaign and an independent expenditure committee funded by Charles Munger Jr. The court date was canceled after Hadley turned over the documents Wednesday, according to a letter from the state ethics watchdog.

-- Obama endorsed three Assembly candidates in a rare move Thursday. Just hours later, Spirit of Democracy, an independent expenditure committee funded largely by Munger, reported spending $965,455 in TV ads against Cheryl Cook-Kallio, one of the candidates Obama is supporting.

-- Michelle Obama has become Clinton's most effective supporter this year, providing a moral underpinning to a candidacy that has sometimes struggled to frame an inspiring rationale for itself. Megerian and Christi Parsons chart her transformation from someone who avoided the political spotlight to the campaigner that Clinton's team calls a "rock star."

-- Mickey Kantor disagrees with Clinton on trade, he said at a Friday roundtable with former Rep. David Dreier.

-- Who will win the November election? Give our Electoral College map a spin.

LOGISTICS

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Where Are the Tech IPOs?

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Oct. 30, 2016 10:10 p.m. ET

As managing director and head of global technology investment banking at Morgan Stanley, Michael Grimes is one of the tech industry’s most prominent bankers.

He sat down with Wall Street Journal Financial Editor Dennis Berman to discuss the dearth of tech initial public offerings and why he thinks that’s about to change.

Here are edited excerpts:

Pent-up demand

MR. BERMAN: You’re arguably the most important banker in Silicon Valley. So where are the IPOs?

MR. GRIMES: They’re coming. There have been 14 so far this year in tech, which is down from an average of 35 to 40—and probably over 40 for multiple years since 2004. I’d say next year you’re going to be back probably to triple the current volume, about 30 or 40. There’s really robust, pent-up demand right now.

MR. BERMAN: Why haven’t companies in 2016 been willing to sell their shares?

MR. GRIMES: I think there’s a lag effect. If we look back to January-February, if we look back at the prior 12-month class of tech IPOs, 80% of them were trading below issue price. There was a paucity of demand, and that kind of slows the pipeline.

Probably around the April-May time frame, that changed. And it’s taken a while to percolate through. Add in the fact that anybody who wanted to raise money privately in the 2013 to 2015 time frame could, so [many startups] have capital and some have said they can benefit by staying private.

But the market now is really healthy. Demand is probably as high as I’ve seen it. Supply will catch up.

MR. BERMAN: Is there a mismatch between what the price expectations are between the sale side and the buyers?

MR. GRIMES: There has been over the past 12 months, but the mismatch is shrinking.

MR. BERMAN: And where are they meeting? More on the buyer’s side or more on the seller’s side?

MR. GRIMES: They’re starting to meet closer on the seller’s side. It has been on the buyer’s side, for sure. But it has been moving up and it will continue to move up because of the capital being returned to investors from all the M&A activity.

MR. BERMAN: You have some pretty shocking numbers about the amount of money that’s come in, and the amount of money that needs to go out. Can you share?

MR. GRIMES: It’s as wide of a disparity as we’ve seen in 20 years. There has been $125 billion returned through tech M&A, just the cash portion, into the hands of investors last year. Another $75 billion this year so far, so $200 billion or $205 billion cumulative over that year and a half.

If you add up new issuance of all IPOs in tech and all secondary offerings, it’s about $25 billion to $26 billion. So an eight-to-one ratio, double or triple what it has been in a year in the last 15 years.

New buyers emerge

MR. BERMAN: So a big part of this whole equation is M&A. And something fascinating is happening there. Can you explain?

MR. GRIMES: It’s really that the buyers for U.S. tech assets have changed quite a bit, maybe permanently, and this is really new news.

Five to 10 years ago, the tech giants or tech midcaps won most tech assets. What has happened quietly is that they’ve gone from winning 58% to 60% to half that as three new groups of buyers have [emerged].

Private-equity firms are buying public tech companies. They are outbidding strategic buyers, and that’s new. It has upped their win rate.

Then there are foreign buyers. China has gone from $300 million to $40 billion in a $250 billion tech M&A market. That’s a pretty big portion up from a very small portion, so they’re winning, too.

And the most interesting [group is the nontech firms.] General Electric’s Jeff Immelt said at the end of 2013 that if you went to sleep an industrial company, you woke up the next morning a software, data and analytics company. So they’ve always been kind of kicking the tires on tech assets when we have them for sale, but they hadn’t been paying up. Look what has happened in the past year.

MR. BERMAN: They have no other choice, right?

MR. GRIMES: Now they have no choice. They see the imperative. So Verizon Communications wins Fleetmatics Group, and Wal-Mart wins web retailer Jet.com. And they paid up. So they’re up 250% in terms of volume.

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Democrat Doug Schoen Reconsiders Backing Clinton: I Am No Longer Supporting Hillary For President - RealClearPolitics

Hillary Clinton supporter, Fox News contributor, and former pollster Doug Schoen told FNC's Harris Faulkner Sunday night that the newly renewed FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton is forcing him to "reassess" his support for the Democratic candidate.

He explained his reasoning in an article in The Hill on Monday:

Please read my article @thehill to understand my tough decision @FNInsiders #ImWithHer #MAGA https://t.co/QEKPmlt6CJ
— Doug Schoen (@DouglasESchoen) October 31, 2016

DOUG SCHOEN: As you know, I have been a supporter of Secretary Clinton... But given that this investigation is going to go on for many months after the election... But if the Secretary of State wins, we will have a president under criminal investigation, with Huma Abedin under criminal investigation, with the Secretary of State, the president-elect, should she win under investigation.
Harris, under these circumstances, I am actively reassessing my support. I'm not a Trump --
HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS: Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You are not going to vote for Hillary Clinton?
SCHOEN: Harris, I'm deeply concerned that we'll have a constitutional crisis if she's elected.
FAULKNER: Wow!
SCHOEN: I want to learn more this week. See what we see. But as of today, I am not a supporter of the Secretary of State for the nation's highest office.
FAULKNER: How long have you known the clintons.
SCHOEN: I've known the clintons since '94.
FAULKNER: Wow! But their friend here has said he's reconsidering.
SCHOEN: I have to, because of the impact on the governance of the country and our international situation.
FAULKNER: So the news in that is are there other people, I would imagine, like Doug Schoen.

Schoen's website lists his bio:

Douglas E. Schoen has been one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for over thirty years. A founding partner and principle strategist for Penn, Schoen & Berland, he is widely recognized as one of the co-inventors of overnight polling.
Schoen was named Pollster of the Year in 1996 by the American Association of Political Consultants for his contributions to the President Bill Clinton reelection campaign.
His political clients include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, and his corporate clients include AOL Time Warner, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. Internationally, he has worked for the heads of states of over 15 countries, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and three Israeli Prime Ministers…”

Climate Change Will Have The Mediterranean Producing Unprecedented Ecosystems For The Last 10,000 Years

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Global warming raises more and more concerns by the day, and the future of our climate is subjected to scientific theories and models to help us better prevent the effects of pollution and greenhouse gases on our day-to-day lives.

Temperatures increase all around the world, and in some particular regions heat is felt more than in others. The current temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are approximately 1.3 degress Celsius higher than the records suggest they were between the end of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th.During that period, the increase recorded was 0.85 degree Celsius around the globe.

The ecosystem triggers a biodiversity that's quite impressive for the scientific world, supplying various benefits to the region's inhabitants, from clean water to carbon storage, which makes this temperature increase all the more important.

Considering the effects of distinct thresholds established for the Mediterranean basin at the Paris Agreement, researchers used pollen from sediments, giving extensive details about the climate and ecosystem change in the area during the last 10,000 years. The scientists reconstructed past climates by studying pollen in different layers of mud lake. The degree of pollen gave them an understanding of the weather conditions.

Joel Guiot and Wolfgang Cramer, who applied the data models in a baseline estimate of the future climate change as we know it today, taking the agreements on global warming into consideration, came up with a series of scenarios for the climate and vegetation, given different possible temperature increases.

Two sets of simulations were carried out. The first one was "business as usual," and the second one was meant to double-check the data in the first one. Both of these suggested the goals of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, describing that the ecological change will tremendously exceed the Holocene episode.

The "business as usual" case suggested that the entire southern Spain will turn into a desert, with forests invading the mountain areas and wild vegetation replacing the better part of the transient forests in most of the Mediterranean basin.

During last year's conference, roughly 200 governments gathered in Paris with the sole purpose of coming up with a plan to limit the temperature rises to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial time. The ideal limit set on the conference was 1.5 degrees Celsius. In November, the same annual meeting will take place in Morocco in order to review the accord and its related policies.

The countries most affected by this climate change are southern Spain, Portugal, the northern side of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as a number of other regions such as Sicily, the southern part of Turkey and some parts of Syria, according to the same study.

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Jalen Johnson of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets arrested on battery ... - ESPN

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Georgia Tech defensive back Jalen Johnson was arrested on campus Sunday on a charge of simple battery.

The sophomore was released from the Fulton County jail later Sunday on a $5,000 bond.

"Jalen Johnson is a member of the Georgia Tech football team," the school said in a statement. "The Georgia Institute of Technology does not discuss ongoing investigations."

Johnson has played in all eight of the Yellow Jackets' games this season, mostly on special teams, and has been credited with five tackles.

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Cardinal Health Cuts Profit Guidance - Wall Street Journal

Updated Oct. 31, 2016 1:45 p.m. ET

Cardinal Health Inc. became the latest drug distributor to warn that the slowing pace of branded drug-price increases, and lower generic-drug pricing, was hurting results.

During a conference call, Chief Executive George Barrett said the company faces a “very challenging” environment, as drug manufacturers react to criticism of high drug prices and pharmacies shop among distributors for the best generic prices.

“The election cycle is creating an enormous amount of discussion and noise, which I do think has an effect on the way people behave,” Mr. Barrett said.

Cardinal and other distributors act as middlemen between drugmakers and pharmacies. Their contracts with branded pharmaceutical companies often allow them to benefit from rising drug prices. As some branded drugmakers rein in price increases, that benefit to distributors gets squeezed.

Cardinal lowered its profit guidance for the year, citing generic pharmaceutical pricing and reduced levels of branded drug price increases. The earnings retreat by Cardinal is the latest sign that drug price inflation may be moderating under intense public pressure.

The company’s profit from its pharmaceutical division dropped 19% in the quarter from the prior year, in part as a result of pressure on generic prices from the wholesaler’s customers, Mike Kaufmann, the company’s chief financial officer told analysts.

Rival distributor McKesson on Thursday said it also faced pricing pressure last quarter as competition intensified.

Cardinal now expects generic drug prices to fall in the mid-to-high single digits in the current fiscal year, compared with its earlier expectation a mid-single digit decrease. It also expects branded drug manufacturer prices to increase 7% to 9% in the year, down from 10% previously.

Cardinal Health now forecasts annual adjusted earnings per share of between $5.40 and $5.60, down from $5.48 to $5.73 previously.

Shares of many drugmakers, wholesale distributors and pharmacy-benefit managers were battered Friday as evidence emerged that drug companies aren’t increasing prices as sharply as in previous years. Cardinal shares rose 2.4% Monday afternoon after falling sharply on Friday along with the rest of the sector.

For the period ended Sept. 30, Cardinal Health reported a profit of $309 million, or 96 cents a share, down from $383 million, or $1.15 a share, a year prior. Excluding certain items, per-share earnings fell to $1.24 from $1.38.

Revenue increased 14% to $32.04 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of $1.21 and revenue of $31.04 billion.

Pharmaceutical segment revenue climbed 15% to $28.80 billion, while medical segment revenue grew 14% to $3.3 billion.

Write to Melanie Evans at Melanie.Evans@wsj.com and Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com

As Health Premiums Jump, Obama Wields an Imperfect Shield - New York Times

A health insurance fair in San Francisco on the first day of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act last year. This year’s open enrollment period begins on Tuesday.

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Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Looking back at a crazy Tech win, ahead to a formidable challenge

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Georgia Tech’s win over Duke Saturday resists categorization. The Yellow Jackets collapsed in giving up a 28-7 halftime lead but also showed mettle in rallying for the game-winning drive and following it with their only three-and-out of the game.

Tech’s defense had moments where blitzes were impactful and the tackling was sound, but also plenty of others where the Jackets were chewed up by an offense that is among the weakest in the ACC.

Tech moved the ball as well as it ever has in coach Paul Johnson’s tenure, particularly considering the opponent’s familiarity and past success against his offense. However, two turnovers (one on special teams) and a failure to make a 4th-and-1 pushed the Jackets to the brink of what would have been a most crushing defeat.

But for one or two superior plays, Tech might have experienced defeat after taking a three-touchdown lead for the second time in the past 16 games. A year ago, the Jackets lost to North Carolina after gaining a 21-0 advantage. It set the school record for the largest lead surrendered in a defeat.

Instead, the Jackets and their faithful can celebrate one of the greatest games that a Tech quarterback has played, a truth confirmed by statistics but also by the impression made on those witnessing Justin Thomas at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Consider this jarring turn. According to ESPN’s calculations, Tech held a 97.8 percent probability of winning at halftime before surrendering the lead. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jackets’ win probability shrank to 17 percent when Thomas was sacked for a nine-yard loss on 1st-and-10 at the Tech 14-yard line with the Jackets down 35-31. But Thomas flipped the odds with his 46-yard scramble out of the end zone on the next play, lifting the Jacket toward victory.

Johnson’s opening statement following the game summarized the day well: “I was disappointed with the way we played in the second half. I think that we found a way to make enough plays to win.”

Atlanta, Ga. — Georgia Tech senior QB Justin Thomas (5) congratulates sophomore QB TaQuon Marshall (16) after their 38-35 win over Duke Saturday, October 29, 2016. SPECIAL/Daniel Varnado

Going into preparations for its game at No. 18 North Carolina, which had the fortune of having the week off to ready itself for the Jackets, Tech can take confidence in the rising efficiency of its offense.

The Jackets averaged 9.9 yards per play against Duke, a number that even the mighty 2014 Tech offense could not achieve in a game.

Defensively, the Jackets can build on their three takeaways, a deluge after procuring only six in the first seven games. But the shortcomings on third downs continue. Duke converted eight of 13 third downs, increasing Tech’s defensive third-down conversion rate to 50.9 percent, last in FBS. The Blue Devils averaged 7.7 yards per play, their highest rate against an FBS team in the past three years.

The Tar Heels, piloted by hyper-efficient quarterback Mitch Trubisky (No. 3 in FBS in completion percentage), would appear even more capable of exploiting the Jackets defensively. North Carolina may be a tick below Duke defensively. The forecast calls for a lot of points.

Tech would be aided by the return of B-back Dedrick Mills and linebacker P.J. Davis, whom Johnson said Saturday that he expected to return from injury.

Tech may have to ratchet up its willingness to take even more risks defensively. It didn’t work, for instance, when defensive coordinator Ted Roof called for a six-man pressure on quarterback Daniel Jones and placed all 11 defenders within seven yards of the line of scrimmage on a 2nd-and-8 in the second quarter. The blitz was picked up and the problem was compounded when safety Corey Griffin went for the pass breakup and came up short. With no one to offer deep help, tight end Daniel Helm scored an uncontested 23-yard touchdown.

It did work when the Jackets also rushed six defenders at Jones in a zone blitz on 3rd-and-10 in the third quarter. It freed linebacker Brant Mitchell to put a hit on Jones and affect his pass, which defensive back Lawrence Austin made a superlative play on to catch for an interception.

It would be Tech’s biggest win of the season. But finding a way to win will be even more difficult than this past week.

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Inilah 4 Legenda Cinta yang Berakhir Tragis di Indonesia

Cinta seharusnya menjadi anugerah terindah yang bisa menyatukan sepasang manusia, antara seorang lelaki dengan perempuan. Karena memang seperti itulah fitrahnya, setiap makhluk punya pasangan-pasangan sendiri. oleh sebab itu, bisa dikatakan setiap orang pasti mendambakan akhir cerita yang indah dari tiap-tiap cerita cinta yang mereka alami.

Namun sayangnya tidak setiap kisah cinta berakhir indah. Layaknya kisah Romeo dan Juliet, cerita cinta mereka memang sehidup-semati namun berakhir tragis. Sama tragisnya dengan empat legenda cinta yang terjadi di Indonesia berikut. Penasaran seperti apa kisahnya? Berikut kami ulas empat legenda cinta yang berakhir tragis di Indonesia.

1.	Legenda Cinta Jayaprana dan Layonsari yang Dipisahkan Bapak Angkat

Legenda cinta Jayaprana dan Layonsari menyisakan kisah tragis di antara keduanya. Jayaprana adalah seorang yatim piatu yang dirawat oleh seorang penguasa Desa Kalianget. Setelah dewasa, ia menikahi seorang gadis cantik jelita bernama Layonsari. Namun, rupanya bapak angkat Jayaprana kemudian jatuh hati kepada Layonsari. Cinta sang bapak ini benar-benar telah membutakan matanya untuk membunuh Jayaprana, anak angkat yang dibesarkannya sendiri.

Makam Jayaprana [image source]

Meski Layonsari telah menjanda, ternyata cintanya kepada Jayaprana tidak habis. Layonsari menolak pinangan ayah angkat Jayaprana. Kemudian Layonsari diceritakan lebih memilih untuk bunuh diri ketimbang memberikan cintanya kepada selain Jayaprana. Cerita tragis ini kini dapat ditemui di situs makam Jayaprana dan Loyansari yang terletak di daerah Bali Barat, tepatnya di Teluk Terima, Desa Sumber Klampok, Kecamatan Gerokgak.

2.	Legenda Cinta Tan Bun An dan Siti Fatimah yang Berakhir di Sungai Musi

Sekitar 10 km dari Palembang, terdapat Pulau Kemaro yang memiliki sebuah legenda cinta. Kisah cinta ini adalah antara Tan Bun An, seorang saudagar kaya dari negeri Cina, dengan Siti Fatimah yang merupakan anak seorang raja. Diceritakan, Tan Bun An mengajak Siti Fatimah ke Cina untuk meminta restu orang tua Tan Bun An. Setelah beberapa waktu waktu, mereka kembali ke Palembang. Bersama dengan itu, orang tua Tan Bun An menyertakan tujuh guci yang berisi emas.

Pulau Kemaro [image source]

Sesampai di Sungai Musi, Tan Bun An ingin melihat hadiah emas tersebut. Terkagetnya dia ternyata guci tersebut berisi sayuran yang membusuk. Tanpa pikir panjang, ia membuang guci itu di Sungai Musi, tetapi guci terakhir jatuh dan pecah di atas dek kapal dan terlihatlah kepingan emas. Lalu ia terjun ke sungai itu untuk mengambil emas-emas yang dibuangnya. Naas Tan Bun An tak pernah muncul kembali. Melihat suaminya tak kembali, Siti Fatimah pun akhirnya menyusul terjun ke Sungai Musi.

3.	Legenda Terbentuknya Setu Patengan Karena Kisah Cinta Ki Santang dan Dewi Rengganis

Situ Patengan, yang terletak di Rancabali, Ciwidey, Kabupaten Bandung, konon memiliki legenda cinta yang abadi antara dua sejoli. Disebut-sebut, Situ Patengan adalah tempat bertemu Ki Santang dengan kekasih hatinya, Dewi Rengganis. Kisah cinta ini disebut bermula saat kedua kekasih itu berjauhan dan saling cari sampai akhirnya dipertemukan di suatu tempat yang kini diyakini sebagai lokasi Situ Patengan.

Situ Patengan [image source]

Di lokasi tersebut Dewi Rengganis meminta Ki Santang untuk membuat danau dan perahu. Maka terbentuklah Situ Patengan. Sementara, perahu tersebut kini dipercaya menjadi Pulau Asmara yang berbentuk hati di tengah danau. Selain itu, di lokasi ini juga terdapat Batu Cinta yang dipercaya pula menjadi titik pertemuan dua kekasih ini.

4.	Legenda Cinta Roro Jonggrang yang Dibuatkan 1000 Candi Oleh Bandung Bondowoso

Legenda cinta antara Bandung Bondowoso dengan Roro Jonggrang dapat diketahui melalui situs Candi Prambanan. Roro Jonggrang adalah seorang putri jelita yang mampu menaklukkan hati Bandung Bondowoso. Legenda ini bermula saat Bandung Bondowoso ingin memperistri Roro Jonggrang, namun Roro Jonggrang menolaknya. Untuk menggagalkan maksud ini, Roro Jonggrang meminta Bandung Bondowoso membuatkan 1000 candi dalam waktu semalam.

Arca Roro Jonggrang [image source]

Bandung Bondowoso mengumpulkan para jin untuk pembuatan 1000 candi ini. Pembangunan ini hampir berhasil karena sudah mencapai 999 candi. Mengetahui ini, Roro Jonggrang mengumpulkan para dayang dan perempuan desa untuk memukul-mukul lesung dan membakar jerami. Para jin mengira hari sudah pagi sehingga mereka segera kabur. Bandung Bondowoso yang tahu kecurangan ini marah dan akhirnya mengutuk Roro Jonggrang menjadi arca untuk melengkapi 1000 candi yang dibuatnya.

Nah, itulah empat legenda cinta yang berakhir tragis di Indonesia. Bagi kamu yang sedang menjalin kisah asmara, jangan sampai meniru legenda di atas. Pastinya cerita cinta yang diawali dengan indah akan berakhir dengan indah. Next

Halloween health, safety tips on pumpkin, face paint and — of course — candy - Tampabay.com

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Autumn weather has finally arrived in the bay area, bringing crisp mornings and cool(ish) evenings. Temperatures should be in the 70s Monday evening when the little ghosts and goblins head out for Halloween. In keeping with the holiday spirit, here are some treats and tricks to keep in mind for well-being and safety.

Times staff writer

Pumpkin

In its purest form — no, we're not talking about that canned pumpkin pie mix — this symbol of Halloween is good for you. How good? Let registered dietitian Sharon Cox of Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas count the ways:

1. It's beneficial for your heart. People with high-fiber diets have lower risk of heart disease than those with low-fiber diets. One cup has 3 grams of fiber.

2. It helps you see better. A cup of pumpkin contains almost twice the recommended daily intake of vision-promoting vitamin A.

3. It boosts weight loss. The fiber helps keep you feeling full longer. That goes for the seeds, too.

4. It can help you sleep better. Pumpkin seeds are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that may aid relaxation and sleep. Added bonus: Tryptophan may help your body make serontin, a mood-improving neurotransmitter.

5. It can help fight off certain cancers. That's because of those pumpkin seeds again — specifically the plant sterols they contain.

6. It helps promote longer life. Thank you, alpha- and beta-carotene, nutrients associated with longevity and cancer prevention.

Pumpkin is good for you, but eating 100 pumpkin pancakes is not.

Parkland registered dietitian diabetes education coordinator Katherine Nashatker offers this advice: "I would encourage pumpkin eaters to enjoy pumpkin in low-fat, low-sugar ways like roasting or steaming the vegetable, boiling and mashing it, as opposed to choosing high-calorie, high-sugar processed pumpkin products such as lattes, pies and casseroles."

Also worth noting: The pumpkin you carved with the kids is likely edible, but you're better off with a sugar pie pumpkin specifically grown for consumption.

Face paint and makeup

Whether you're trick-or-treating or attending a party, you want to look your best — without aftereffects from face paint or makeup (a rash, swollen eyelids). Consider these U.S. Food and Drug Administration safety tips:

• Follow all product directions.

• Only use products intended for skin.

• Smell the product first. If it stinks, toss it.

• Read the labels. Some face paint and makeup may not be safe for use near the eyes, despite the photo on the package.

• Don't wait until after you blanket your face with a product to learn that you're allergic to it. Apply a dab on your arm for a couple of days to check for any reaction.

• When it comes to color additives, make sure they have the FDA's okay. To determine which ones are approved for use, and on which body parts, do your homework:

Step 1: Check the list of ingredients on the label. Look for the names of the colors.

Step 2: Check the Summary of Color Additives on the FDA's website, which includes a section on cosmetics. If there's a color in your makeup that is not on the list, don't use it. And remember this: Just because it's on the list doesn't make it safe for use near the eyes. See the list at tbtim.es/colors.

• Know your glow: fluorescent and luminescent.

Fluorescent colors are sometimes called "neon" or "day-glow." There are eight fluorescent colors approved for cosmetics — D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10 and No. 11, D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27 and No. 28 and D&C Yellow No. 7.

Luminescent colors glow in the dark. Luminescent zinc sulfide, which gives off a whitish-yellowish-greenish glow, is approved by the FDA for limited cosmetic use.

Before you turn in: Remove your face paint or makeup by following the product's label to a tee.

If you've had a reaction, consider calling a doctor if warranted — or the FDA, which tracks bad reactions to face paint and novelty makeup (toll-free 1-866-337-6272).

Decorative contact lenses

If you plan to accessorize your Halloween costume with crazy eyes (zombie, werewolf, vampire, some other creature), think twice. Decorative contact lenses, sometimes called fashion or costume lenses, may be just that — decorative (they don't correct your vision) — but in the eyes of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they are considered medical devices and, therefore, regulated by the FDA. Lenses are not one size fits all. To avoid eye injury, you will need a prescription for your lenses, according to the FDA, which notes that it is illegal to sell them over the counter without a prescription. A poor fit can cause damage ranging from corneal scratches and infection to decreased vision and, in severe cases, blindness, which is why it is imperative that you have a prescription from an eye doctor.

"The problem isn't with the decorative contacts themselves," says Bernard P. Lepri, an FDA optometrist in the agency's Contact Lens and Retinal Devices Branch. "It's the way people use them improperly — without a valid prescription, without the involvement of a qualified eye care professional or without appropriate followup care."

The FDA cautions against buying lenses from street vendors, salons or beauty supply stores, boutiques, flea markets, novelty stores, Halloween stores, record or video stores, convenience stores, beach shops or Internet sites.

Once you have your FDA-cleared or approved lenses, it's important that you follow all instructions, from how to wear them to how to clean and disinfect them. If you experience signs of a possible infection — eye pain, redness, decreased vision — see your eye doctor immediately.

Candy

According to personal finance website WalletHub, we spent $547.9 million on Halloween candy in 2015, making it the fourth biggest candy-selling holiday. That's a lot of Snickers, Skittles and Starburst Fruit Chews ... and sugar. A couple of treats won't take too big a toll, but a few handfuls from the candy bowl or your daughter's plastic pumpkin will add up quickly. The key to not succumbing to an overload of sweets is, as with many things in life, moderation. If you need a little incentive to reinforce the merits of portion control and bolster your willpower, take a look at how some Halloween favorites stack up — and, for perspective, roughly how much work and exercise it would take to offset your candy intake, courtesy of the Calorie Control Council website (caloriecontrol.org/healthy-weight-tool-kit/get-moving-calculator).

Brach's Classic Candy Corn (19 pieces): 140 calories, 0g fat, 28g sugar, 35g carbohydrates

21 minutes of gardening for a 175-pound person

Dum Dum Lollipops (3 lollipops): 60 calories, 0g fat, 11g sugar, 15g carbohydrates

15 minutes of line dancing for a 135-pound person

Starburst Original Fruit Chews (8 pieces): 160 calories, 3g fat, 22g sugar, 34g carbohydrates

15 minutes of singles tennis for a 175-pound person

Skittles Original Bite Size Candies (3 packs): 190 calories, 2g fat, 34g sugar, 42g carbohydrates

26 minutes of soccer for a 135-pound person

M&M's Brand Fun Size Milk Chocolate Candies (3 packs): 190 calories, 7g fat, 26g sugar, 29g carbohydrates

24 minutes of swimming for a 175-person person

Snickers Fun Size (2 bars): 160 calories, 8g fat, 18g sugar, 21g carbohydrates

22 minutes of jogging for a 135-pound person

Tootsie Roll Pops (1 Tootsie pop): 60 calories, 0g fat, 10g sugar, 15g carbohydrates

6 minutes of rope jumping for a 175-pound person

Tootsie Roll Midgees (6 pieces): 140 calories, 3g fat, 20g sugar, 28g carbohydrates

23 minutes of Pilates for a 135-pound person

Kit Kat Wafer Bar Snack Size (3 two-piece bars): 210 calories, 11g fat, 21g sugar, 27g carbohydrates

23 minutes of inline skating for a 175-pound person

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar Snack Size (3 bars): 190 calories, 12g fat, 21g sugar, 22g carbohydrates

37 minutes on the elliptical for a 135-pound person

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (3 single cups): 240 calories, 14g fat, 24g sugar, 27g carbohydrates

47 minutes of kayaking for a 135-pound person

Twix Minis (3 pieces): 150 calories, 7g fat, 15g sugar, 20g carbohydrates

16 minutes of racquetball for a 175-pound person

Milky Way Minis (5 pieces): 190 calories, 7g fat, 26g sugar, 30g carbohydrates

19 minutes of kickboxing for a 135-pound person

3 Musketeers Minis (7 pieces): 180 calories, 5g fat, 27g sugar, 32g carbohydrates

17 minutes of beach volleyball for a 175-pound person

Almond Joy Snack Size (2 pieces): 160 calories, 9g fat, 16g sugar, 20g carbohydrates

22 minutes of rowing for a 135-pound person

Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Times wires

Halloween health, safety tips on pumpkin, face paint and — of course — candy 10/28/16

[Last modified: Friday, October 28, 2016 10:43am]

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