Month: May 2018

Tesla’s Musk Calls Wall Street Snub ‘Foolish’ but Defends His Behavior

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Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk acknowledged on Friday that it was “foolish” of him to snub analysts on a conference call earlier in the week, but further needled Wall Street with a series of accusatory tweets.

In a post-earnings call on Wednesday, Musk refused to answer questions from analysts on the electric vehicle maker’s capital requirements, saying “boring, bonehead questions are not cool,” before turning questions over to a little known investor who runs HyperChange, a YouTube investment channel.

The outspoken performance shocked many analysts, sparked a fall in Tesla’s share price and led some to question whether Musk’s behavior could risk the company’s ability to raise capital.

In early-morning tweets on Friday, Musk said the two analysts he cut off — RBC Capital Markets’ Joseph Spak and Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi — “were trying to justify their Tesla short thesis.”

‘Shorting’ means they were betting the stock would fall, but the two have ‘hold’ or ‘neutral’ ratings on the stock, according to Thomson Reuters data. “I should have answered their questions live. It was foolish of me to ignore them,” Musk tweeted.

The two analysts were not immediately available for a comment.

The spat comes at a crunch time for Tesla, when it is struggling to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedan, on which its profitability depends. It is trying to build 5,000 of the vehicles per week by the end of June and overcome manufacturing hurdles that have delayed its rollout.

Although Musk has insisted the company neither needs nor wants new funding, many believe the company will seek to raise more capital by the end of 2018.

Tesla’s stock recovered a little on Friday, up 2.4 percent at $291 in early afternoon trade. But short sellers, who shorted nearly 400,000 shares on Thursday, doubled that amount on Friday, according to financial analytics firm S3 Partners.

“Musk’s meltdown will change Tesla’s ability to raise capital when he needs it with a sector of investors,” said Eric Schiffer, chief executive of the Patriarch Organization, a Los Angeles-based private-equity firm.

“At this critical point, he needs to reinforce confidence, not raise a narrative of him as unstable and whose rational side is lost in space,” said Schiffer, who does not hold Tesla shares.

Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois said the underlying business fundamentals were more important in any capital raise, although “management credibility” was also a factor.

“That has an impact but it’s not something that will prevent them from raising capital,” Houchois said.

Nord LB analyst Frank Schwope said that Musk’s refusal to answer questions or receive criticism was “not very clever” but added that his ability to find new money was still intact.

‘Dry’ questions

The questions Musk cut short on Wednesday related to Model 3 reservations and capital requirements.

“The ‘dry’ questions were not asked by investors, but rather by two sell-side analysts who were trying to justify their Tesla short thesis. They are actually on the opposite side of investors,” Musk tweeted on Friday.

“HyperChange represented actual investors, so I switched to them,” he wrote. On the call, he devoted 23 minutes to 25-year-old Tesla investor, Galileo Russell, who runs HyperChange TV.

At least three brokerages cut price targets on the stock following the call.

Sacconaghi, one of the rebuffed analysts, wrote: “We do worry that such theatrics will unnecessarily undermine investor confidence in Tesla’s outlook.”

Sacconaghi has a price target of $265 on Tesla’s stock and Spak lowered his target to $280 from $305 on Thursday. Tesla’s median Wall Street price target is $317.
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Top 5 Songs for Week Ending May 5

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We’re unwrapping the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending May 5, 2018.

Last week, we had a Hot Shot Debut in the Top Five … that doesn’t happen this time, but we do get a new entry.

Number 5: Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey “The Middle”

It happens in fifth place, where Zedd, Maren Morris and the U.S. duo Grey jump a slot with “The Middle.” 

Current pop songs often travel a winding road to the countdown and this is no exception. Variety magazine reports that many singers auditioned for this song before Maren got the nod … among them Charli XCX, Camila Cabello, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, Bebe Rexha, Demi Lovato, Elle King and others.

Number 4: Post Malone & Ty Dolla $ign “Psycho”

Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign chill in fourth place with “Psycho.” Post dropped his second album “Beerbongs & Bentleys” on April 27, and it shattered some first-day streaming records. Spotify tweeted that the album posted record numbers both domestically, with 47 million streams, and globally, with 78 million. And that was only on the first day!

 

Number 3: Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line “Meant To Be”

Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line continue to dominate the Billboard Hot Country Songs list with “Meant To Be,” while holding in third place on the Hot 100. On April 25, James Cordon’s Carpool Karaoke Twitter page posted a selfie from Bebe and Wiz Khalifa … meaning we should probably look for them both in the popular show’s upcoming season. No release date has yet been announced.

 

Number 2: Drake “God’s Plan”

It’s no longer your Hot 100 champ, but “God’s Plan” hasn’t fallen far, spending another week in the runner-up slot. Drake’s next album “Scorpion” won’t appear for another month, but the roll-out points to an even bigger opening than “Views” in 2016. Forbes magazine writer Bryan Rolli credits Drake with using his stature to build up others through his music on this album cycle … which benefits everyone.

Number 1: Drake “Nice For What”

We’re not done with Drake yet: “Nice For What” spends a second week atop the Hot 100. Along with debuting atop the Hot 100, it also opened at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs Chart. It’s Drake’s fourth Streaming champ – tying him with Justin Bieber for the most victories on this list.

Will Drake keep his streak alive next week? We’ll find out in seven days.
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WHO: Eat Less Saturated, Trans Fats to Curb Heart Disease

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Adults and children should consume a maximum of 10 percent of their daily calories in the form of saturated fat such as meat and butter and one percent from trans fats to reduce the risk of heart disease, the World Health Organization said Friday.

The draft recommendations, the first since 2002, are aimed at reducing non-communicable diseases, led by cardiovascular diseases, blamed for 72 percent of the 54.7 million estimated deaths worldwide every year, many before the age of 70.

“Dietary saturated fatty acids and trans-fatty acids are of particular concern because high levels of intake are correlated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, told reporters.

The dietary recommendations are based on scientific evidence developed in the last 15 years, he added.

The United Nations agency has invited public comments until June 1 on the recommendations, which it expects to finalize by year-end.

Saturated fat is found in foods from animal sources such as butter, cow’s milk, meat, salmon and egg yolks, and in some plant-derived products such as chocolate, cocoa butter, coconut, palm and palm kernel oils.

An active adult needs about 2,500 calories per day, Branca said.

“So we are talking about 250 calories coming from saturated fat and that is approximately a bit less than 30 grams of saturated fat,” he said.

That amount of fat could be found in 50 grams (1.76 oz) of butter, 130-150 grams of cheese with 30 percent fat, a liter of full fat milk, or 50 grams of palm oil, he said.

Trans fats

Trans fats occur naturally in meat and dairy products. But the predominant source is industrially-produced and contained in baked and fried foods such as fries and doughnuts, snacks, and partially hydrogenated cooking oils and fats often used by restaurants and street vendors.

In explicit new advice, WHO said that excessive amounts of saturated fat and trans fat should be replaced by polyunsaturated fats, such as fish, canola and olive oils.

“Reduced intake of saturated fatty acids have been associated with a significant reduction in risk of coronary heart disease when replaced with polyunsaturated fatty acids or carbohydrates from whole grains,” it said.

Total fat consumption should not exceed 30 percent of total energy intake to avoid unhealthy weight gain, it added.

The recommendations complement other WHO guidelines including limiting intake of free sugars and sodium.
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More Arrests Expected in Case Against ‘Smallville’ Actress

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A prosecutor says more people will be charged in the criminal investigation of a cult-like group that included former “Smallville” actress Allison Mack.

At a court hearing on Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza told a judge the government plans to file a new indictment naming more defendants, but he didn’t go into specifics.

Mack appeared at the hearing along with Keith Raniere, the leader of the group NXIVM. Both are charged with coercing women who joined the organization into becoming sex slaves.

Some of the women were branded with a symbol that prosecutors said contained Raniere’s initials.

Mack and Raniere have pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking. They have denied wrongdoing.

Raniere has been held without bail. Mack was freed with restrictions after a court appearance last month.
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Meghan Markle’s Parents to Visit Queen, Have Wedding Roles

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Meghan Markle’s divorced parents will meet with Queen Elizabeth II and other royals before her May 19 wedding to Prince Harry and will have special roles in their daughter’s wedding, a palace spokesman said Friday.

At the wedding, the royal couple also plan to honor the memory of the late Princess Diana, Harry’s mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Officials didn’t predict the weather — springtime in England can be glorious or horrid, sometimes on the same day — but they outlined plans for a celebration designed to spread from the privileged environs of Windsor Castle throughout Britain and the world, via television and the internet.

Here are some of the plans disclosed by Harry’s press secretary, Jason Knauf, during a briefing at Buckingham Palace:

Meghan’s parents to meet the queen, take part in wedding

Markle’s parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, will arrive during the week before the May 19 wedding so they have time to meet Harry’s family.

Knauf says they will visit with the queen, her husband Prince Philip, Harry’s father Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and with Harry’s brother Prince William and his sister-in-law Kate.

Ragland will travel with her daughter by car to Windsor Castle on May 19 and Thomas Markle will walk his daughter down the aisle of St. George’s Chapel for the ceremony.

Knauf says Markle is “delighted” that her parents will be by her side. He did not say whether Markle’s half brother and half sister will attend the wedding.

Princess Diana’s family will have a role as well

The press secretary says Harry is “keen to involve his mother’s family in the wedding” and that all three of Diana’s siblings will be present. One of Diana’s two older sisters, Jane Fellowes, will give a reading during the ceremony to represent Diana’s family.

No Maid of Honor

Markle, an American actress who came to prominence in the TV series “Suits,” will not have a maid of honor during the ceremony.

Harry has chosen William as his best man.

Young bridesmaids and page boys

Knauf says all the bridesmaids and page boys will be children. That may mean a role for Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 3, the children of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. But don’t bother looking for Prince Louis — born in late April — as the youngest prince will not attend the wedding.

Don’t ask about the dress

Palace officials are determined that the style and designer of Markle’s wedding gown will be kept secret until the moment she gets out of the car to walk into the chapel. They say this tradition is very important — but that won’t keep speculators from trying to guess who has received the most important dressmaking assignment of the year.

Separated the night before

The press secretary says Harry and Markle will spend the night before the wedding apart. They have been living together in recent months since announcing their engagement. They will spend their first night as a married couple in Windsor Castle.

Good wishes for Prince Philip’s health

Palace officials say they’re hopeful that 96-year-old Prince Philip, Harry’s grandfather, will be well enough to attend the wedding festivities . The queen’s husband has been recovering from hip replacement surgery and has not participated in any public events since being discharged from the hospital in mid-April.

Follow the wedding at home

The palace plans to publish the Order of Service on its website the morning of the wedding so people watching it on television will be better able to follow what’s taking place inside the church.

Delayed honeymoon

Knauf would not reveal where the newest royal couple will spend their honeymoon, but he said they won’t be leaving right after the wedding. Instead they plan to make their first public appearance as a married couple during the week following the ceremony. In the past, they have traveled in Africa together.

 
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US Adds Modest 164,000 Jobs; Unemployment Down

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U.S. employers stepped up hiring modestly in April, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent, evidence of the economy’s resilience amid the recent stock market chaos and anxieties about a possible trade war.

Job growth amounted to a decent 164,000 last month, up from an upwardly revised 135,000 in March. The unemployment rate fell after having held at 4.1 percent for the prior six months largely because fewer people were searching for jobs.

The overall unemployment rate is now the lowest since December 2000. The rate for African-Americans — 6.6 percent — is the lowest on record since 1972.

Many employers say it’s difficult to find qualified workers. But they have yet to significantly bump up pay in most industries. Average hourly earnings rose 2.6 percent from a year ago.

The pace of hiring has yet to be disrupted by dramatic global market swings, a recent pickup in inflation and the risk that the tariffs being pushed by President Donald Trump could provoke a trade war.

Much of the economy’s strength, for the moment, comes from the healthy job market. The increase in people earning paychecks has bolstered demand for housing, even though fewer properties are being listed for sale. Consumer confidence has improved over the past year. And more people are shopping, with retail sales having picked up in March after three monthly declines.

Workers in the private sector during the first three months of 2018 enjoyed their sharpest average income growth in 11 years, the Labor Department said last week in a separate report on compensation. That pay growth suggests that some of the momentum from the slow but steady recovery from the 2008 financial crisis is spreading to more people after it had disproportionately benefited the nation’s wealthiest areas and highest earners.

The monthly jobs reports have shown pay raises inching up. At the same time, employers have become less and less likely to shed workers. The four-week moving average for people applying for first-time unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since 1973.

The trend reflects a decline in mass layoffs. Many companies expect the economy to keep expanding, especially after a dose of stimulus from tax cuts signed into law by Trump that have also increased the federal budget deficit.

Inflation has shown signs of accelerating slightly, eroding some of the potential wage growth. Consumer prices rose at a year-over-year pace of 2.4 percent in March, the sharpest annual increase in 12 months. The Federal Reserve has an annual inflation target of 2 percent, and investors expect the Fed to raise rates at least twice more this year, after an earlier rate hike in March, to keep inflation from climbing too far above that target.

The home market, a critical component of the U.S. economy, has been a beneficiary of the steady job growth. The National Association of Realtors said that homes sold at a solid annual pace of 5.6 million in March, even though the number of houses for sale has plunged. As a result, average home prices are rising at more than twice the pace of wages.
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Some Parents More Wary of Vaccines Than Diseases They Prevent

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Dr. Paul Offit is an infectious disease specialist and an expert in vaccines. He’s been at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia since 1992. Since then he says not a year has gone by when he has not seen a child die from a vaccine-preventable disease. It’s largely, he says, because the parents chose not to vaccinate their child.

Far from Philadelphia, along the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, health workers are desperately trying to vaccinate every child against polio so no child will ever again suffer the crippling effects of this disease. If they can complete this task, polio will be a disease of the past.

Offit says the difference between parents in this mountainous border region of southcentral Asia and those in the U.S. is that in Pakistan and Afghanistan, people know the devastating consequences of polio. He says previous generations in the U.S. did, too.

WAYCH: Some Parents More Wary of Vaccines Than the Diseases Vaccines Prevent

“For my parents, who were children of the 1920s and 1930s, they saw diphtheria as a routine killer of teenagers. They saw polio as a common crippler of children and young adults, so you didn’t have to convince them to vaccinate me, my brother and sister.”

Offit says parents in his generation were also quick to vaccinate their children.

“I had measles. I had mumps. I had German measles (rubella). I had the chickenpox so I know what those diseases felt like, and it was miserable,” he said.

23 viruses, two cancers

Vaccines can prevent 23 viruses and two types of cancer, and more vaccines are in the works, including one for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Offit is the co-inventor of a life-saving rotavirus vaccine.

But some parents are not getting their children vaccinated. Last year there were more than 14,000 cases of measles in Europe, mostly in Romania. Nearly 40 children died. It exasperates health officials like Miljana Grbic, head of the World Health Assembly in Romania. 

“We cannot fight this disease if we do not increase vaccination coverage,” she said. “… But we also have to understand why vaccination coverage is going down.”

For some parents, it’s the inconvenience of the trip to the doctor’s office. Others think good hygiene and nutrition are all children need to stay healthy. Still others believe vaccines can give their children autism, diabetes and other diseases.

Offit says persuading these parents to vaccinate their children is hard. 

“It’s hard to compel people to vaccinate against something that they don’t fear,” he said. “And when they don’t fear that, what they’ll do is, they’ll fear the vaccines, and I think that’s where we’re at.”

Vaccine refusal spreads

A study published in BMJ suggests that in the U.S., vaccine refusal is contagious. It spreads from communities with a high number of parents who oppose vaccines to other communities nearby when parents who oppose vaccines talk to their friends and parents of their children’s schoolmates.

“Collectively, this factor is driving vaccine refusal and delay,” said Professor Tony Yang, one of the principal authors of the study.

Yang, from George Mason University, and his co-authors looked at the number of non-medical exemptions for vaccines from 2000 to 2013. They found these exemptions increased in geographical clusters.

Some governments are now making it harder for parents not to immunize their children. After a measles outbreak, California passed more restrictive laws. Yang says parents trust their pediatricians, so health care providers need to be more pro-active in getting children vaccinated.

Australia HPV work

Despite hesitancy in some parts of the world, some countries are leading the way in promoting vaccines. Australia has provided the HPV vaccine to school-aged girls since 2007.

The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) causes cervical cancer, the second most common type of cancer in women worldwide. It also causes head and neck cancers and genital warts.

By 2013, a study showed a significant reduction in the number of young women with abnormal cells of the cervix and a 90 percent decline in genital warts in young women.

Cervical cancer takes 20 to 30 years to develop. By 2035, Australia expects to see up to a 45 percent decline in deaths from cervical cancer all because of a vaccine and the government’s policy.
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Some Parents More Wary of Vaccines Than the Diseases Vaccines Prevent

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Vaccines can prevent 23 viruses and two types of cancer, and more vaccines are in the works, including one for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Yet, despite these advances, many people choose to avoid getting these vaccinations for themselves and for their children. VOA’s Carol Pearson has more.
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At Tribeca Film Festival, Digital, Physical Worlds Mix

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Bombs. Destruction. Chaos. This is what it’s like to be in Syria.

It’s a part of the world many will never visit, but a virtual reality experience called “Hero,” puts viewers on the ground there. 

“Hero” was part of the Immersive program at the recent Tribeca Film Festival in New York, where it won an award for its innovative approach to storytelling. More than 30 virtual reality and augmented reality projects were on display at the event.

Not a ‘lean back’ experience

Virtual reality fans say they love the technology for its ability to transport and immerse them in new worlds. More and more, these experiences are becoming physical and interactive, not just a “lean back” experience where the viewer watches passively.

For “Hero,” viewers don a high resolution headset by StarVR and an HP Z VR backpack, a wearable computer that allows for an untethered, free-roaming VR experience.

In real life, users are instructed to close their eyes as a guide leads them by the hand into a room constructed with surfaces and objects that correspond to what they’ll see as the film starts.

When a bomb drops out of the sky, it’s not only the noise that’s unsettling, but the grit and gravel that they suddenly feel against their skin. As the dust settles, a young child’s voice faintly calls out for help. Participants can find and rescue her.

“That moment when a person realizes they can actually step around, they can actually lean on a thing, they can reach out and touch a wall, they can grab a piece of rebar, it’s a powerful moment,” said Brooks Brown, global director of Starbreeze Studios, one of the key collaborators behind “Hero.”

For a few unnerving minutes during the search for the child, disbelief is suspended. The combination of realistic graphics and participants’ ability to physically navigate the terrain makes it feel as if real lives might be in danger.

Different impact

When it comes to war-torn Syria, “We’ve seen movies about it and documentaries, and yet none of them have this same kind of impact” as a VR experience, said Navid Khonsari, founder of iNK Stories, which created “Hero.”

“When you’re fully encompassed in it, when everything is stripped away and you’re actually in that experience, then only can you acknowledge what’s actually taking place for others,” Khonsari said.

For Mathias Chelebourg, a virtual reality director, live VR experiences represent “the birth of a new format.” Chelebourg is the director of the VR experience “Jack: Part One,” which was also part of the virtual reality lineup at Tribeca.

Viewers are in the movie

In the retelling of the children’s fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk, viewers can pick up and move physical props and interact with live actors who are outfitted with motion capture markers. Cameras track the markers and movements are rendered simultaneously in virtual reality.

With a format that mixes reality and fantasy, it can take some getting used to, even for the actors.

“Some people don’t dare to move, to touch or just, respond,” said Maria McClurg, one of the actresses in Jack. “Some people give me a really hard time,” she added. “As a performer, it’s always interesting. And at the same time you’re like, ‘How am I going to get through this?’”
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Venezuela to Take Over Major Bank; 11 Execs Arrested

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Venezuela said on Thursday it would take over the country’s leading private bank, Banesco, for 90 days and announced the arrest of 11 top executives for “attacks” against the country’s rapidly depreciating bolivar currency.

The detentions came on the heels of last month’s shock arrests of two Venezuelan executives working in the country for U.S. oil company Chevron Corp.

Oil-rich Venezuela is suffering from hyperinflation and a steady collapse of the bolivar currency, which President Nicolas Maduro has attributed to an “economic war,” but critics blame on incompetence and failed socialist policies.

Maduro’s foes say he is cracking down on the business sector to try to shore up support and halt price increases ahead of a controversial May 20 presidential election, which key opposition parties have boycotted as a sham.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab announced the arrests in a televised press conference, but did not provide evidence of wrongdoing or take any questions.

“We have determined the [executives’] presumed responsibility for a series of irregularities, for aiding and concealing attacks against the Venezuelan currency with the aim of demolishing the Venezuelan currency,” said Saab, a former ruling party governor.

State television late on Thursday broadcast a statement announcing the temporary takeover of Banesco, which the government said was designed to ensure the bank continues operating.

The government also said it would be appointing a board of directors led by the country’s vice finance minister, Yomana Koteich.

Banesco’s president, Juan Carlos Escotet, who lives in Spain, earlier blasted the arrests as “disproportionate” and said he was flying to Venezuela to try to free the 11 executives, who include Chief Executive Oscar Doval.

“In the next few hours, I’m taking a plane for Venezuela. We’re going to knock on every door so that this problem is cleared up and they are freed as they deserve to be,” Escotet, who was born in Venezuela to Spanish parents and holds both nationalities, said in a video posted on Twitter.

Escotet has been a frequent target of criticism by ruling party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello, who recently announced that the government was buying Banesco. Escotet denied any sale.

Escotet temporarily excused himself from his role as chairman of Galicia-based bank ABANCA, the bank said in a statement to Spain’s stock market regulator on Thursday.

‘More crisis and misery’

Venezuela’s opposition said the arrests were another sign of Maduro’s turn to authoritarianism.

“The irresponsible government … continues to deny its responsibility in the destruction of our bolivar. Now they’re attacking Banesco. [This] … will only spawn more crisis and misery,” tweeted opposition lawmaker Carlos Valero.

Venezuela maintains exchange controls under which the government is meant to provide hard currency at a steadily weakening official rate, currently 69,000 bolivars per dollar.

But the dollar is fetching around 800,000 bolivars in unofficial trade, which government officials have for years harshly criticized but broadly tolerated.

Hyperinflation has turned once-powerful banks into warehouses of unwanted and mostly useless cash worth a total of only $40 million, according to a recent Reuters analysis of regulatory data.
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Ex-Volkswagen Boss Indicted in Emissions Scandal

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A federal grand jury in Detroit has indicted former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn with conspiracy and wire fraud in the car builder’s scheme to rig diesel emissions tests.

“If you try to deceive the United States, then you will pay a heavy price,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday. “The indictment unsealed today alleges that Volkswagen’s scheme to cheat its legal requirements went all the way to the top of the company.”

Winterkorn is alleged to have conspired with other top Volkswagen bosses to defraud the U.S. government and consumers with false claims that the company was complying with the Clean Air Act.

Volkswagen already admitted it installed devices on diesel models designed to turn on pollution control devices during emissions tests and turn them off when the car is driven on actual highways.

Volkswagen was fined $2.5 billion and ordered to recall the affected cars.

Winkerton is the ninth Volkswagen executive or employee to be charged. However, he currently lives in Germany, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, and is unlikely ever to see the inside of the U.S. courtroom.
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Drug Charge Against Rose McGowan Sent to Virginia Grand Jury

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Actress Rose McGowan will face indictment in Virginia on a felony drug-possession charge after a judge found probable cause Thursday to send the case to a grand jury.

McGowan unsuccessfully sought to have the charges dismissed at a preliminary hearing in Leesburg. A grand jury will hear the case June 11. While it is possible the grand jury could choose not to indict, in all likelihood she will face an arraignment in circuit court June 12.

She has suggested in court papers that the drugs may have been planted by agents hired by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. McGowan was among the first actresses to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault. Weinstein has denied rape allegations. McGowan and others say Weinstein aggressively sought to discredit his accusers.

Authorities say cocaine was found in a wallet McGowan accidentally left behind on a flight to Dulles International Airport in January 2017.

At Thursday’s hearing, McGowan’s lawyers presented no evidence that the drugs may have been planted. Instead, they simply argued that at least several hours elapsed between the time McGowan left the plane and it was found by a cleaning crew in the first-class section of a United Airlines cabin. They said it was impossible to account for who may have handled the wallet during that time.

“There is no evidence Ms. McGowan was aware of the presence of cocaine” in her wallet, defense lawyer Jessica Carmichael argued.

Carmichael also suggested McGowan was facing increased legal scrutiny because she’s famous.

“She may be a public figure but she’s a person just like the rest of us,” Carmichael said.

General District Judge Dean Worcester said the legal standard for establishing probable cause to send the case to a grand jury is low, and that arguments about planted evidence are better suited for trial. He noted that the drugs weren’t just found on the floor of the cabin but in a wallet with McGowan’s driver’s license.

Detective Jarrod Hughes testified at the hearing that he called McGowan to inform her that her wallet had been found. He said McGowan asked if she could pick it up at the airport’s baggage claim. He said when he informed McGowan she would have to pick it up at the police station, she said she would come by to get it but never did.

“When she was told it was at the police station, all of the sudden she did not want to pick it up,” prosecutor Rebecca Thacher said.

McGowan attended the hearing, holding hands with her lawyers as she entered the courthouse. She did not testify. Asked for comment after the hearing, she said only that it was good to be back in Virginia.

Jennifer Robinson, another of McGowan’s lawyers, said after the hearing that “Rose is a brave whistleblower who has been the subject of a vicious vilification campaign by one of the most powerful men, in the most powerful industries in this country.” Robinson said Weinstein hired ex-intelligence agents to investigate McGowan and undermine her credibility.

“The sooner this case is resolved, the sooner she can focus her efforts on seeking accountability for Mr. Weinstein,” she said.
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Oscars Kick Out Cosby, Polanski

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The group that hands out Oscars for excellence in the movies expelled actor-comedian Bill Cosby and director Roman Polanski on Thursday because of cases of sexual assault.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences issued a statement saying its board of governors “continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity.”

The academy adopted a new code of standards in December following accusations of sexual harassment and physical abuse by producer Harvey Weinstein — booted from the academy in October.

The code says the academy is no place for “people who abuse their status, power, or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency.”  

Cosby, who is known more for television than films, was convicted last week for drugging and sexually abusing former Temple University women’s basketball team manager Andrea Constand in 2004.

Polanski won a Best Director Oscar for 2002’s The Pianist. He is accused of statutory rape for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977.

Polanski fled the United States the following year to avoid possible prosecution. 
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Bill Cosby’s Wife Slams Prosecutor, Accusers for Husband’s Guilty Verdict

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Bill Cosby’s wife of more than 50 years jumped to his defense Thursday, blaming his sexual-assault conviction last week on a corrupt prosecutor, a pliant press and a lying accuser that she said led to a false verdict and stirred a lynch mob against him.

Camille Cosby said her husband, once a beloved actor and comedian thought of as “America’s Dad” for his role in a popular 1980s TV show, was railroaded by a self-serving system that she said demanded a criminal investigation of his prosecutors.

“This is mob justice, not real justice,” she said in a statement issued by her publicist. “This tragedy must be undone not just for Bill Cosby, but for the country.”

A jury of seven men and five women convicted Cosby, 80, on April 26 of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, 45, in 2004. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each of three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

Cosby’s lawyers said they would appeal the verdict. He remains free on $1 million bail.

Also Thursday, Cosby was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, along with film director Roman Polanski, who has been living in France after admitting that he had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in the 1970s. The Academy Awards presenters announced the actions against both men in a statement.

Camille Cosby, 74, who attended her husband’s three-week trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, only during closing arguments, claimed that Constand had concocted the sexual assault claim in the hope of winning a civil judgment against the actor.

“I firmly believe her recent testimony during trial was perjured; as was shown at trial, it was unsupported by any evidence and riddled with innumerable, dishonest contradictions,” she said, echoing an argument that defense lawyers had made during the trial.

Constand was one of more than 50 women who have accused Cosby of sexually assaulting them. The rest of them had passed the legal time limit for prosecution when they stepped forward with their claims.

Unlike Cosby’s first trial last June in which jurors were unable to reach a verdict, the judge at the second trial allowed the testimonies of five of the other accusers, who said Cosby had assaulted them in a similar way to how Constand said he had assaulted her.

Without mentioning him by name, Camille Cosby accused Montgomery County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Kevin Steele “and his cohorts” of advancing themselves professionally and economically at her husband’s expense.

The press, she claimed, had demonized her husband and unquestioningly accepted his accusers’ allegations “without any attendant proof.”

She invoked the names of two other African-American men — Emmett Till and Darryl Hunt — who famously were falsely accused of sexually assaulting white women.
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US Trade Deficit Narrows Sharply; Labor Market Tightening

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The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in March as exports increased to a record high amid a surge in deliveries of commercial aircraft and soybeans, bolstering the economy’s outlook heading into the second quarter.

While other data on Thursday showed a modest increase in new applications for jobless benefits last week, the number of Americans receiving unemployment aid fell to its lowest level since 1973, pointing to tightening labor market conditions.

Wage growth is also rising, with hourly compensation accelerating in the first quarter, more evidence that inflation pressures are building.

“The good news is that we are exporting more, but with the labor markets incredibly tight, labor costs are accelerating as well,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania. “The rise in labor costs will undoubtedly factor into policymakers’ thinking when they meet again in June.”

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged. The Fed said policymakers expected “economic activity will expand at a moderate pace in the medium term and labor market conditions will remain strong.”

The Commerce Department said the trade deficit tumbled 15.2 percent to $49.0 billion in March, the lowest level since September. The trade gap widened to $57.7 billion in February, which was the highest level since October 2008.

March’s decline ended six straight monthly increases in the trade deficit. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap narrowing to $50.0 billion in March.

The politically sensitive goods trade deficit with China dropped 11.6 percent to $25.9 billion, which will probably do little to ease tensions between the United States and China.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on up to $150 billion worth of Chinese goods to punish Beijing over its joint-venture requirements and other policies Washington says force American companies to surrender their intellectual property to state-backed Chinese competitors.

China, which denies it coerces such technology transfers, has threatened retaliation in equal measure, including tariffs on U.S. soybeans and aircraft. A U.S. trade delegation arrived in China on Thursday for trade talks.

Trump, who claims the United States is being taken advantage of by its trading partners, has already imposed broad tariffs on imported solar panels and large washing machines. He recently slapped 25 percent import duties on steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

The Trump administration argues that the perennial trade deficit is holding back economic growth. The government reported last week that trade contributed 0.20 percentage point to the first quarter’s 2.3 percent annualized growth pace. The economy grew at a 2.9 percent rate in the fourth quarter.

Brightening prospects

Prospects for the economy are brightening. In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ended April 28.

Claims remained near a more than 48-year low of 209,000 touched during the week ended April 21. The labor market is considered to be near or at full employment. The unemployment rate is at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, close to the Fed’s forecast of 3.8 percent by the end of this year.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid dropped 77,000 to 1.76 million in the week ended April 21, the lowest level since December 1973. With labor conditions tightening, wage growth is picking up.

A second report from the Labor Department showed hourly worker compensation accelerated at a 3.4 percent rate in the first quarter after rising at a 2.4 percent pace in the October-December period. It increased at a 2.5 percent rate compared to the first quarter of 2017.

Prices for U.S. Treasuries were trading higher, while the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies. U.S. stocks were lower.

In March, exports of goods and services increased 2.0 percent to an all-time high of $208.5 billion, lifted by a $1.9 billion increase in shipments of commercial aircraft. There were also increases in exports of soybeans, corn and crude oil. Real goods exports were the highest on record.

Exports to China jumped 26.3 percent in March.

Imports of goods and services fell 1.8 percent to $257.5 billion, in part as the boost from royalties and broadcast license fees related to the Winter Olympics faded. Imports of capital goods fell by $1.5 billion, weighed down by declines in imports of computer accessories, telecommunications equipment and semiconductors.

Imports of consumer goods decreased by $0.9 billion. Crude oil imports dropped by $0.5 billion in March. Imports from China fell 2.1 percent.

Another report from the Commerce Department showed factory goods orders rose 1.6 percent in March after a similar increase in February. The department, however, revised March orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, which are seen as a measure of business spending plans, to show them falling 0.4 percent instead of dipping 0.1 percent as reported last month.

Orders for these so-called core capital goods rose 1.0 percent in February. Shipments of core capital goods, which are used to calculate business equipment spending in the gross domestic product report, declined 0.8 percent in March instead of the 0.7 percent drop reported last month.

March’s drop in core capital goods orders and shipments suggest business spending on equipment is slowing.
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Chad Gets 6 Rhinos Nearly 50 Years After Losing the Species

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Six critically endangered black rhinos are being transported from South Africa to Chad, restoring the species to the country in north-central Africa nearly half a century after it was wiped out there.

African Parks, a Johannesburg-based conservation group, said Thursday that the rhinos will travel by air to Zakouma National Park, a reserve in Chad that it manages with the government.

The group says the goal is to help the long-term survival of black rhinos and to restore biodiversity in Chad. It says there are fewer than 25,000 rhinos in the African wild, of which about 20 percent are black rhinos and the rest white rhinos.

Most of the rhinos are in South Africa, though the population has been hit hard by poachers supplying horns to an illegal Asian market.
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At Film Festival, Virtual Reality Films Merge the Digital and Physical

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Virtual reality experiences are becoming more physical and more interactive. No longer just a “lean back” experience, the immersive technology is taking viewers out of the living room and into entirely new worlds. At the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, VOA’s Tina Trinh met with creators who are pushing the boundaries of the digital and physical divide.
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Astronomers Given Detailed Map of 1.7 Billion Stars

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The European Space Agency has released an updated catalogue of more than 1.7 billion stars in our galaxy, as well as other celestial bodies, such as exoplanets, asteroids and quasars. The new data gives astronomers an unprecedented three-dimensional map for studying the origin of the universe and searching for habitable planets. VOA’s George Putic has more.
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Trump to Meet with Carmakers on Trade, Pollution

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President Trump plans to meet next week with leaders from U.S. and foreign carmakers on trade and changes to emission standards.

“When the White House wants to meet with us about our sector and policy, we welcome the opportunity,” Alliance of American Automobile Manufacturers spokeswoman Gloria Bergquist said Wednesday.

The time and agenda of the talks are still to be announced. But the car builders want to make their concerns about possible changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement known to the president.

They are also expected to talk about Trump administration plans to revise strict Obama-era emission standards for U.S. cars and light trucks.

Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., are suing the administration over the plans, accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of breaking the law.

“This is about health. This is about life and death,” California Governor Jerry Brown said Tuesday. “Pollutants coming out of tailpipes does permanent damage to children. The only way we’re going to overcome this is by reducing emissions.”

Brown accused Trump of wanting people to buy more gasoline and create more pollution.

The lawsuit argues the EPA acted arbitrarily and violated the Clean Air Act when it decided emission standards were too high.

In 2012, former president Barack Obama ordered emission standards to be raised to about 21 kilometers per liter of gasoline by 2025. The goal was to cut pollution and make cars and small trucks more energy efficient.

The EPA is seeking to freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels until 2026.

EPA chief Scott Pruitt said last month that Obama’s decision was politically based and the emission standards Obama set were too high and did not “comport with reality.”

Pruitt said his EPA will set fresh standards so new cars that use less gas and are safer than older models will be affordable.

But environmental groups said the American public overwhelmingly supports the stricter standards.
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IMF Censures Venezuela    

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The International Monetary Fund censured Venezuela on Wednesday for failing to hand over essential economic data to the fund.

“The [Executive] Board noted that adequate data provision was an essential first step to understanding Venezuela’s economic crisis and identifying possible solutions,” an IMF statement said.

The board is giving Venezuela another six months to comply or face possible expulsion from the IMF.

“The Fund stands ready to work constructively with Venezuela toward resolving its economic crisis when it is prepared to re-engage with the Fund,” the IMF said.

Venezuela has not responded to the IMF’s action. But President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government has long declined to provide data to the IMF. It regards the IMF as a U.S. tool and part of a Washington-inspired economic war against Venezuela.

Corruption and the collapse of world energy prices has led to an economic calamity in oil-rich Venezuela, including hyperinflation and severe shortages of many basic goods.
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