The HPV virus is so common that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives, unless they are protected by vaccination. The HPV virus can lead to cancer in both men and women. That’s why it’s so important for parents to get their children vaccinated against this virus. More from VOA’s Carol Pearson.
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From: MeNeedIt
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the healthy U.S. economy and low inflation are allowing the central bank to take a “patient, wait-and-see approach” on interest rates.
Speaking at Stanford University, Powell said the Fed is well along in its effort to normalize Fed operations by scaling back the extraordinary efforts it employed to support the economy’s recovery from the Great Recession.
The Fed is trimming its sizable holdings of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Officials are discussing a plan for wrapping up the efforts to reduce the central bank’s balance sheet later this year, Powell said, adding that the plan’s details should be announced soon.
The Fed’s moves to reduce its balance sheet, which hit a peak of $4.5 trillion, are being watched closely by investors.
Slimming its balance sheet
The Fed started in October 2017 reducing the balance sheet by allowing some bonds to run off as they matured. The balance sheet is now around $4 trillion but some investors have worried that the Fed could end up driving long-term interest rates higher and harming the economy by going too far in reducing its holdings.
Some analysts have projected the Fed’s balance sheet will end up being around $3.5 trillion, which would be significantly higher than the less than $1 trillion it held before the financial crisis hit in 2008.
Powell said the size of the holdings will “prove ample” to meet the Fed’s needs of supplying reserves to the banking system and he said “we could be near that level later this year.”
“As we feel our way cautiously to this goal, we will move transparently and predictably in order to minimize needless market disruption,” Powell said.
Updating procedures
The Fed is conducting a yearlong review of its procedures as part of its effort to update its operations in areas such as the way it communicates with the public, Powell said.
One area being examined is whether the Fed should consider altering its inflation target, which is currently a goal of annual price increases of 2 percent, to allow inflation to go above that goal for a time.
Powell did not specifically discuss the course of rate hikes other than to repeat the “patient” pledge the Fed began using in January to signal that it was planning a prolonged pause in hiking rates this year after boosting them four times in 2018.
Some analysts believe the Fed could leave its policy rate unchanged for the entire year and could possibly start cutting rates in 2020 if the economy slows significantly as the effects of the Trump administration tax cuts and a boost in government spending fade.
The rate hikes last year prompted strong criticism from President Donald Trump who charged that the rate increases were driving down the stock market.
In his remarks, Powell said, “We live in a time of intense scrutiny and declining trust in public institutions around the world. At the Fed, we are committed to working hard to build and sustain the public’s trust.”
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From: MeNeedIt
The HPV virus is so common that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives, unless they are protected by vaccination.
The HPV virus can lead to cancer in both men and women. That’s why those who have gotten cancer caused by HPV are trying to get the word out to parents to get their children vaccinated.
“Anytime you can fish is a good time,” Ward said.
Fishing is Scott Ward’s way of relaxing. He didn’t have any risk factors that he knew of for cancer so he ignored the lump on his neck until he couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Dr. Donald Doll, an oncologist at the University of Missouri Cancer Center, treated Ward for his cancer.
“We’re seeing more and more younger and healthier patients,” Doll said. “They’re not smokers or drinkers. It’s HPV-related.”
Smoking and drinking can cause oral cancers. But Ward’s cancer was caused by HPV, the human papilloma virus.
“Normally, you think HPV, you think of women — cervical cancer,” Doll said.
HPV does cause cervical cancer, but Doll says it’s a misconception that only women have to be concerned with cancers caused by this virus.
“The big ones are cervical cancer and the oropharyngeal cancer,” Doll said.
Oropharyngeal (auro-fah-RINGE-ee-ul) cancers affect the head and neck, including tonsils. Ward’s cancer started in a tonsil. HPV can also lead to anal cancer in both sexes and penile cancer in men.
But there’s a vaccine that’s been around for more than a decade that can protect against the HPV virus. If all boys and girls received it, no one would get HPV-related cancers.
The HPV vaccine is best when given to children between 9 and 12 years old, before they are sexually active. But teenagers and young adults can still benefit from the vaccine.
Not everyone who gets the HPV virus develops cancer. But it is a risk factor. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 70 percent of cases of head and neck cancers are caused by HPV. The agency says about 14 million people in the U.S. alone become infected with HPV each year. Yet, about half of all U.S. adolescents have not been vaccinated, which requires a series of three shots.
The CDC says the side effects are generally short term and not serious. They can include dizziness, headache, nausea, fever, and pain and swelling in the arm where the shot was given.
Ward’s recovery was difficult. He had surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But he’s now cancer-free.
“It’s a journey. I made it through,” Ward said.
Ward wishes the HPV vaccine existed when he was a teen. He says if he had kids, he would get them vaccinated.
“I tell people that do have kids … it’s a prevention. Get it.”
Head and neck cancers are the sixth most common cancers worldwide. The HPV virus also causes half a million cases of cervical cancer each year.
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From: MeNeedIt
Hiring tumbled in February, with U.S. employers adding just 20,000 jobs, the smallest monthly gain in nearly a year and a half. The slowdown in hiring, though, might have been depressed by harsh winter weather and the partial shutdown of the government.
Last month’s weak gain came after employers had added a blockbuster 311,000 jobs in January, the most in nearly a year. Over the past three months, job growth has averaged a solid 186,000, enough to lower the unemployment rate over time.
And despite the tepid pace of hiring in February, the government’s monthly jobs report Friday included some positive signs: Average hourly pay last month rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier _ the sharpest year-over-year increase in a decade. The unemployment rate also fell to 3.8 percent, near the lowest level in five decades, from 4 percent in January.
Unseasonably cold weather, which affects such industries as construction and restaurants, afflicted some areas of the country in February. And the 35-day government shutdown that ended in late January likely affected the calculation of job growth.
Still, the hiring pullback comes amid signs that growth is slowing because of a weaker global economy, a trade war between the United States and China and signs of caution among consumers. Those factors have led many economists to forecast weaker growth in the first three months of this year.
Sluggish hiring and job cuts in February were widespread across industries. Construction cut 31,000 jobs, the most in more than five years. Manufacturing added just 4,000 jobs. Retailers cut 6,100. Job growth in a category that includes mostly restaurants and hotels were unchanged last month after adding a huge 89,000 gain in January.
Most analysts expect businesses to keep hiring and growth to rebound in the April-June quarter. It will be harder than usual, though, to get a precise read on the economy because many data reports are still delayed by the partial shutdown of the government.
In the meantime, there are cautionary signs. Consumer confidence fell sharply in January, held back by the shutdown and by a steep fall in stock prices in December. And Americans spent less over the winter holidays, with consumer spending falling in December by the most in five years.
Home sales fell last year and price gains are slowing after the average rate on a 30-year mortgage reached nearly 5 percent last year. Sales of new homes also cratered late last year before picking up in December. And U.S. businesses have cut their orders for equipment and machinery for the past two months, a sign that they are uncertain about their customer demand.
The economy is forecast to be slowing to an annual growth rate of just 1 percent in the first three months of this year, down from 2.6 percent in the October-December quarter. Growth reached nearly 3 percent for all of last year, the strongest pace since 2015.
Still, economists expect a rebound in the April-June quarter, and there are already signs of one: Consumer confidence rose in February along with the stock market.
And more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in January, propelled by lower mortgage rates. Analysts have forecast that annual growth will top 2 percent next quarter.
From: MeNeedIt
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will not sign a trade deal with China unless it is a “very good deal.”
Trump made the comments Friday as he left the White House to tour tornado damage in the southern U.S. state of Alabama. The United States and China have been battling over trade tariffs since last year.
The White House is planning a summit between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Florida later this year.
“If this isn’t a great deal, I won’t make a deal,” Trump said. Then he added: “We will do very well either way, with or without a deal.”
The trade dispute between the United States and China has begun to affect China’s economic growth.
China’s exports and imports fell significantly more than expected in the month of February, data published Friday by the country’s customs administration showed.
China’s trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed to $14.7 billion for the month, from $27.3 billion in January.
China’s February exports plummeted 20.7 percent from the same period a year prior, and imports dropped 5.2 percent from a year earlier, considerably more than expected. According to a Bloomberg News poll, the forecast was 5.0 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.
Recent economic data reveal the difficulties China faced in the fourth quarter of 2018 as its growth rate slowed to 6.4 percent.
In January, an import barometer of prices in the industrial sector neared contraction, while manufacturing activity in February marked the worst performance in three years.
China’s government announced major tax cuts, fee reductions and a looser monetary policy to combat the economic growth slowdown.
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From: MeNeedIt
Engine LITERS/TYPE
3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder
DISPLACEMENT (cc)
2998
HORSEPOWER (hp @ rpm)
335 @ 5500–6500
TORQUE (lb-ft @ rpm)
330 @ 1500–5200
COMPRESSION RATIO (:1)
11.0
Transmission TYPE
8-speed STEPTRONIC Automatic transmission with Sport and Manual shift modes
AUTOMATIC GEAR RATIOS – I / II / III
5.25 / 3.36 / 2.17
AUTOMATIC GEAR RATIOS – IV / V / VI
1.72 / 1.32 / 1.00
AUTOMATIC GEAR RATIOS – VII / VIII / R
0.82 / 0.64 / 3.71
AUTOMATIC GEAR RATIOS – FINAL DRIVE RATIO
3.64
Performance ACCELERATION 0–60 mph AUTOMATIC (sec)
5.8
TOP SPEED (mph)
130 [152]
TOWING CAPACITY (lbs)
7500
Fuel Consumption
FUEL TANK CAPACITY (gallons) 21.9
Wheels & Tires TIRE TYPE
Run-flat all-season
WHEEL DIMENSIONS (in)
21 x 9.5 front and rear
TIRE DIMENSIONS (mm)
285/45 front and rear
Exterior Dimensions LENGTH / WIDTH / HEIGHT (in)
203.3 / 78.7 / 71.1
CURB WEIGHT – AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION (lbs)
5370
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION, FRONT/REAR – AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION (%)
46.6 / 53.4
PAYLOAD (lbs)
1202
Interior Dimensions HEADROOM (in)
41.9
LEGROOM, FRONT/REAR (in)
39.8 / 37.6
SHOULDER ROOM, FRONT/REAR (in)
60.0 / 58.1
CARGO CAPACITY (cu ft)
48.6 – 90.4
Dimensions
Vehicle length 5341 mm / 210 in
Vehicle width 2000 mm / 79 in
Vehicle height (unladen) 1835 mm / 72 in
Wheelbase 3295 mm / 130 in
Weight
Unladen weight (DIN) 2660 kg / 5864 lb
Curb weight (USA) 2753 kg / 6069 lb
Engine
Engine / cylinders / valves 6.75 / 12 / 48
Fuel management Direct injection
Maximum torque @ engine speed 850 Nm @ 1600 rpm
Power output @ engine speed 563 bhp / 571 PS (DIN) / 420 kW @ 5000 rpm
Performance*
Top speed 155 mph / 250 km/h (governed)
Acceleration 0-60 mph (USA) 5.0 sec (5.0 sec)
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (USA) 5.2 sec (5.2 sec)
Fuel Consumption
Urban 22.4-21.9 ltr/100 km / 12.6-12.9 mpg (Imp.)
Extra urban 11.0-10.9 ltr/100 km / 25.7-25.9 mpg (Imp.)
Combined consumption 15.0 ltr/100 km / 18.8 mpg (Imp.)
CO2 emissions (combined) 341 g/km
Fuel Consumption (USA & Canada)‡
City 22.4-21.9 ltr/100 km / 10.5-10.7 mpg
Highway 11.0-10.9 ltr/100 km / 21.4-21.6 mpg
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule has undocked from the International Space Station.
The Dragon pulled away from the station early Friday, and an Atlantic Ocean splashdown is expected Friday morning.
The Dragon brought supplies and equipment to the space station where it stayed five days as astronauts conducted tests and inspected the Dragon’s cabin.
The crew capsule did not have any humans aboard, just a test dummy named Ripley, a reference to the lead character in the “Alien” movies. Ripley was riddled with sensors to monitor how flight in the capsule would feel for humans.
The Dragon is the first American commercially built-and-operated crew spacecraft in eight years, since the end of the space shuttle program.
The U.S. relies on Russia to launch astronauts to the space station, at a cost of about $80 million per ticket.
NASA has awarded millions of dollars to SpaceX and Boeing to design and operate a capsule to launch astronauts into orbit from American soil beginning some time this year.
It is not immediately clear if that goal will be reached.
SpaceX is entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company. Musk is also the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla.
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From: MeNeedIt
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday called Venezuela one of the most “complex situations” it had ever seen.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice described Venezuela and its economy as a combination of “food and nutrition crises, hyperinflation, a destabilized exchange rate, debilitating human capital and physical productive capacity, and a very complicated debt situation.”
Rice said tackling this challenge would take “strong resolve” and “broad international support” from all 189 IMF members.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told The Economist Radio, a podcast, that the fund would help “as soon as we are asked by the legitimate authorities of that country.”
“We will open our wallet, we will put our brain to it, and we will make sure our heart is in the right place to help the poorest and most exposed people,” she added, calling the task it faced in Venezuela “monumental.”
Rice said Thursday that the IMF had yet to determine whom to recognize as the leader of Venezuela — President Nicolas Maduro or opposition leader Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president.
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From: MeNeedIt
Microsoft has detected cyberattacks linked to Iranian hackers that targeted thousands of people at more than 200 companies over the past two years.
That’s according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday that the hacking campaign stole corporate secrets and wiped data from computers.
Microsoft told the Journal the cyberattacks affected oil-and-gas companies and makers of heavy machinery in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and the U.S., and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Microsoft attributed the attacks to a group it calls Holmium, and which other security researchers call APT33. Microsoft says it detected Holmium targeting more than 2,200 people with phishing emails that can install malicious code.
Iran is denying involvement. Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations, says the allegations are coming from a private company and such reports “are essentially ads, not independent or academic studies, and should be taken at face value.”
From: MeNeedIt
Embattled R&B star R. Kelly angrily blamed his ex-wife for “destroying” his name and claimed other people stole from his bank accounts during new portions of an interview that aired Thursday, a day after he was sent to jail for not paying child support.
Kelly, who is also facing felony charges that allege he sexually abused three girls and a woman in Chicago years ago, shouted and cried as he spoke with Gayle King of “CBS This Morning.” He said his ex-wife was lying when she accused him of domestic abuse and his voice broke as he asked: “How can I pay child support if my ex-wife is destroying my name and I can’t work?”
The 52-year old singer was jailed Wednesday after he said he couldn’t afford to pay $161,000 in back child support. He said he had “zero” relationship with his three children but knows they love him.
The interview, which was recorded earlier this week, marked the first time Kelly has spoken publicly since his arrest last month in the sexual abuse case. In segments that aired Wednesday, Kelly whispered, cried and ranted while pleading with viewers to believe that he never had sex with anyone under age 17 and never held anyone against their will — likely hoping the raw interview would help sway public opinion.
The interview also marked the first time he addressed allegations in the Lifetime documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly,” which aired in January and alleged he held women captive and ran a “sex cult.”
Experts said Kelly’s appearance was also risky and could backfire if it gives prosecutors more information to use against him at trial. That’s why most defense attorneys urge clients to keep quiet.
“In my history as a prosecutor, I loved it when a defendant would say things or make comments about his or her defense,” said Illinois Appellate Judge Joseph Birkett, who said he did not watch the Kelly interview and was speaking only as a former prosecutor. “I would document every word they said … (and) I could give you example after example where their statements backfired.”
There have been cases in which people who spoke up pointed to evidence that ultimately helped win their freedom, but “historically it’s a bad idea,” Birkett said.
A recent example of where such an interview might have done more harm than good was in the case against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, who was charged with falsely reporting a racist, anti-gay attack against him in Chicago. In charging documents, prosecutors cited statements he made during an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” identifying two people in a photo of the surveillance video as his attackers. The two brothers pictured in the photo later told police that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack because he wanted a raise and to further his career, prosecutors say.
In Kelly’s case, he and his attorney might have decided they had nothing to lose after the Lifetime series, said Fred Thiagarajah, a prominent Newport Beach, California, attorney and former prosecutor.
“A lot of the public already thinks he’s guilty, and there is a very negative image of him, so the only thing he might think he can do is try to change their minds,” Thiagarajah said. If the evidence against him is overwhelming, “this kind of interview might be kind of a Hail Mary” to influence a potential jury pool.
But the dangers of such an interview might outweigh any benefits if Kelly locked himself into a particular defense, Thiagarajah said, adding: “He may not know all the evidence against him.”
In the CBS interview, for example, he denied ever having sex with anyone under 17, even though he married the late singer Aaliyah when she was 15. A videotape given to prosecutors in his current case purports to show Kelly having sex with a girl who repeatedly says she’s 14. And police in Detroit are looking into a woman’s claims that Kelly had sex with her in that city in 2001 when she was 13.
Kelly’s attorney, Steve Greenberg, has said his client did not “knowingly” have sex with underage girls. He wasn’t immediately available Thursday to comment on the Detroit allegations.
Thiagarajah said he might allow a client to do such an interview — but only if he were confident the client could keep his emotions in check and “stick to a script.”
“If you get someone who is ranting and raving, I would never let that kind of person ever do an interview,” he said.
On Wednesday’s broadcast, Kelly’s emotions swung wildly as he explained he was simply someone with a “big heart” who was betrayed by liars who hoped to cash in.
In a particularly dramatic moment, he angrily stood up and started pacing, his voice breaking as he yelled, “I didn’t do this stuff! This is not me!” He cried as he hit his hands together, saying, “I’m fighting for my (expletive) life.”
He insisted people were trying to ruin his 30-year career, but then said his fight was “not about music.”
“I’m trying to have a relationship with my kids and I can’t do it” because of the sexual abuse allegations, he shouted. “You all just don’t want to believe it.”
Hours later, Kelly went to the child-support hearing “expecting to leave. He didn’t come here to go to jail,” said his publicist, Darryll Johnson. Johnson said Kelly was prepared to pay as much as $60,000. He said Kelly did not have the whole amount because he has not been able to work.
A spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said Kelly would not be released from jail until he pays the full child support debt. His next hearing was scheduled for next Wednesday.
Kelly spent a weekend in jail after his Feb. 22 arrest in Chicago before someone posted his $100,000 bail. His defense attorney said at the time that Kelly’s finances were “a mess.”
After Wednesday’s hearing, the publicist said that the singer “feels good” about the TV interview.
Interviews with two women who live with Kelly — Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary — also are set to air. Savage’s parents insist she is being held against her will. Kelly suggested during the interview that her parents were in it for the money and blamed them for his relationship with their daughter, saying they brought her to watch him perform when she was a teenager.
A lawyer representing the couple bristled at the allegation, saying Timothy and Jonjelyn Savage never asked for or received money from Kelly. The couple said they have not spoken to their 23-year-old daughter for two years. They spoke later that day.
“At no point did this family sell their daughter to anyone or provide their daughter for anything for money,” attorney Gerald Griggs said Wednesday during a news conference.
Kelly acknowledged in the interview that he had done “lots of things wrong” when it comes to women, but he said he had apologized. The singer blamed social media for fueling the allegations against him. He also said that all of his accusers are lying.
The 52-year-old recording artist has been trailed for decades by allegations that he violated underage girls and women and held some as virtual slaves. Kelly has consistently denied any sexual misconduct and was acquitted of child pornography charges in 2008. Those charges centered on a graphic video that prosecutors said showed him having sex with a girl as young as 13.
He has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse.
Rising from poverty on Chicago’s South Side, Kelly broke into the R&B scene in 1993 with his first solo album, “12 Play,” which produced such popular sex-themed songs as “Your Body’s Callin’” and “Bump N’ Grind.” He has written numerous hits for himself and other artists, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. One of his best-known hits is “I Believe I Can Fly.”
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From: MeNeedIt
Microsoft has detected cyberattacks linked to Iranian hackers that targeted thousands of people at more than 200 companies over the past two years.
That’s according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday that the hacking campaign stole corporate secrets and wiped data from computers.
Microsoft told the Journal the cyberattacks affected oil-and-gas companies and makers of heavy machinery in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and the U.S., and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Microsoft attributed the attacks to a group it calls Holmium, and which other security researchers call APT33. Microsoft says it detected Holmium targeting more than 2,200 people with phishing emails that can install malicious code.
A call seeking comment from Iran’s mission to the United Nations wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.
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From: MeNeedIt