Twitter introduced new safety measures this week meant to crack down on online harassment and protect people from viewing offensive material, but some free-speech advocates are concerned the changes could lead to censorship of unpopular ideas.

The social media company announced Wednesday that it would start hiding potentially menacing tweets, even if the tweets or accounts in question hadn’t been reported as abusive.

“We’re working to identify accounts as they’re engaging in abusive behavior, even if this behavior hasn’t been reported to us,” the company said in a statement announcing the changes. “Then, we’re taking action by limiting certain account functionality for a set amount of time, such as allowing only their followers to see their Tweets.”

The so-called stealth bans could be placed on accounts, the company’s statement said, if a Twitter user sent unsolicited messages to another user who was not following the sender.

Twitter said it would “act on accounts” only when it was confident abuse had taken place, based on the algorithms it uses to identify illicit posts.

This new automated stealth ban capability became a cause of consternation for Suzanne Nossel, executive director of the free-speech advocacy group PEN America, because she said it could easily become a solution “where there is really no problem that needs to be solved.”

‘Mistaken’ moves?

“To take action when there hasn’t been a complaint raises the concern of whether there will be mistaken blocking of accounts or suspending of accounts,” she said. “That raises a risk.”

Twitter has been under pressure to address abusive speech and trolling on its platform in recent months after celebrities and others complained of sustained, coordinated abuse campaigns.

Actress Leslie Jones notably swore off the social media service for a brief time last year after she was targeted by online trolls and harassed with racism and death threats. The incident led to a personal meeting between Jones and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and several months later the company began introducing new tools to address online abuse.

Twitter expanded its “mute” feature to allow users to block specific words or phrases from showing up in their notifications. It expanded users’ ability to report hateful conduct. And it retrained its support teams on dealing with online abuse.

These types of changes that allow users to have more control over what content they see and whom they interact with are positive steps, Esha Bhandari, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told VOA.

Control for users

The ACLU encourages companies to focus less on a top-down approach to censorship and more “on tools that allow users to control their experience on the platform,” she said.

“Attempts to put the thumb on the scale on the censorship side are prone to error and prone to human biases,” Bhandari said.

Newer tools introduced by Twitter, though, give the company a far greater role in controlling what content gets seen.

In February, Twitter began pre-emptively hiding what it called “potentially abusive or low-quality tweets” from conversations on the website. The tweets will still be visible to users, but only to “those who seek them out.”

“Our team has also been working on identifying and collapsing potentially abusive and low-quality replies so the most relevant conversations are brought forward,” Twitter said in a February statement.

VOA contacted Twitter multiple times for clarification on guidelines used to identify “low-quality” tweets but received no response.

Twitter also introduced a “safe search” feature in February that automatically removes tweets that contain “potentially sensitive content” from search results. A request for clarification on how this content is identified was not returned.

Being a private company, Twitter has no real obligation to preserve free speech on its website. But Twitter has billed itself as a platform for free expression, and on the Twitter rules page, it says it believes in “speaking truth to power.”

Global town square

This is a role both PEN America and the ACLU take seriously. Both Nossel and Bhandari referred to the website as a sort of global town square, where everyone’s voice has equal weight.

“As a practical matter, decisions made by Twitter have a huge impact on the messages that we receive, and I hope that Twitter and other companies take those responsibilities seriously,” Bhandari said.

Nossel noted that Twitter has a financial incentive to be cautious on issues involving the balance between allowing free expression and stopping abuse.

“The power and influence of their platform depends on the free flow of ideas, so I think there are commercial reasons why they would not want to limit [free speech],” she said. “And I think for their users, they do have a kind of softer, implicit contract that they are going to be a platform in which you can express things freely.”

Bhandari said it’s important to find that balance, because if Twitter “allows a heckler’s veto to take over,” it will have a chilling effect on speech that’s similar to pre-emptively hiding content.

“One of the really important parts of that has to be transparency,” she said.
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From: MeNeedIt

Unless new antibiotics are developed quickly, people will once again die from common infections. The World Health Organization has issued an urgent call for scientists to develop these new drugs, and for governments to fund the research.

Dr. Trish Perl, chief of infectious diseases at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said if there are no effective antibiotics, it will affect the entire practice of medicine.

“You all of a sudden understand what it was like to practice medicine maybe 50, 70, 80 years ago, when there weren’t antibiotics,” Perl said.

Without antibiotics, surgery will become much more dangerous. Doctors will be unable to treat diseases caused by E. coli, a bacterium that causes urinary tract infections and diarrhea. Even a virus such as the flu, which can lead to bacterial pneumonia, will mean these viruses will ultimately claim even more lives.

WATCH: Doctors Alarmed by Post-Antibiotic Future

New antibiotics needed

New antibiotics are urgently needed against bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health. Those most at risk: residents of nursing homes, hospital patients, and children. Children may have weaker immune systems than adults, and they receive smaller doses of antibiotics than adults do.

“For the longest time we’ve had a number of different antibiotics in the pipeline at any given time, so whenever we ran out of the ability to use one, we would move to the next one,” Dr. Michael Bell, an expert in drug-resistant pathogens at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told VOA.

But that’s no longer possible. Joe Larsen, the director of biological, chemical and radiological and nuclear countermeasures at the Department of Health and Human Services, said his department drew up a list of pathogens several years ago that were becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Funding needs to change

“There are antibiotics in the pipeline, but the numbers are insufficient … to deal with the increasing rates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” he said.

Larsen’s department invests in pharmaceutical and bio-tech firms to make drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for public health emergency preparedness. Larsen is hopeful that a new antibiotic will be approved by the Food and Drug Administration later this year. He also said two to three more antibiotics are being developed that should be available in a year or two.

The WHO said it’s too expensive for pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics on their own because they wouldn’t recoup their investment. Larsen agrees that the way antibiotics are commercialized needs to change.

Bacteria are constantly changing

One reason is that the more an antibiotic is used, the less effective it becomes. That’s because bacteria are constantly changing and finding new ways to resist the drugs that kill them. Once they find a way, they can pass on the gene so other bacteria can become drug-resistant as well.

To preserve the effectiveness of an antibiotic, Larsen said the profits from selling these drugs can’t be linked to the volume of sales the way the market normally works. He said the solution lies in public-private partnerships between governments and pharmaceutical or biotech firms.  

In the meantime, antibiotic resistance is very real.

Lauri Hicks, who leads research on antibiotic use and resistance trends at the CDC, said, “We are seeing greater than 2 million episodes of antibiotic resistant infections each year in the U.S. alone. Twenty-three thousand of these episodes result in death.”

Don’t overuse antibiotics

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked hospitals and doctors to be careful not to overuse antibiotics. But beyond overuse, Bell, of the CDC, said there are other reasons these drugs are being rendered powerless.

“Antibiotic resistance is being generated by not only using too many antibiotics, but also by spread of infection by lack of hygiene, from unintended contact with soiled surfaces, so the infection-control side is equally important,” he said.

Patients can also help. On its website, the CDC says to take antibiotics as prescribed and finish the prescription, even if you feel better. Still, urgent action on a global level is needed to prevent the catastrophe that a post-antibiotic era would cause.
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From: MeNeedIt

A group of Aboriginal transgender women have traveled more than 3,000 kilometers to take part in Sydney’s world-famous Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. They have spent decades fighting for recognition within the indigenous community on the remote Tiwi Islands.

About 30 transgender women from the islands off the coast of Australia’s Northern Territory will march Saturday for the first time with thousands of other participants in outfits colored with glow-in-the-dark paint emblazoned with traditional patterns and totems.

Known as “sistagirls,” the group’s trip has been financed through various fundraising campaigns. They bring to Sydney a story of struggle and defiance. It has taken the women many years to gain acceptance in their remote Indigenous communities, where attitudes have shifted slowly. Several of the women have committed suicide in the past.

Born a male, Simon Miller now identifies as a woman.

“[I] did not know about sistagirls until I was, like, 22. When I am [a] sistagirl, I feel like 100 percent true to me and I feel happy, you know, and when I am, like, dressing like a boy and that I feel, like, depressed and feels really awkward and uncomfortable,” Simon said.

Sydney’s gay and lesbian Mardi Gras began as a civil rights rally in the late 1970s. It was born out of solidarity for New York’s Stonewall movement, and called for an end to discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The group has a loud political voice, as campaigners continue their efforts to persuade Australia’s leaders to legalize same-sex marriage.

Opponents of the march, including some Christian groups, have in the past described it as a “public parade of immorality and blasphemy.”
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From: MeNeedIt

Paula Fox, a prize-winning author who created high art out of imagined chaos in such novels as Poor George and Desperate Characters and out of the real-life upheavals in her memoir Borrowed Finery, has died at age 93.

Her daughter, Linda Carroll, told The Associated Press that Fox died Wednesday at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. She had been in failing health. 

Abandoned as a girl by her parents, a single mother before age 20, Fox used finely crafted prose to write again and again about breakdown and disruption, what happens under the “surface of things.” In Poor George, her debut novel, Fox told of a bored schoolteacher and the teen vagrant who upends his life. Desperate Characters, her most highly regarded work of fiction, is a portrait of New York City’s civic and domestic decline in the 1960s, a plague symbolized by the bite of a stray cat.

“It seems to me that in life, behind all these names and things and people and forces, there’s a dark energy,” Fox told The Associated Press in 2011.

Late-life revival

Her work was out of print for years, but she enjoyed a late-life revival thanks to the admiration of such younger authors as Jonathan Franzen, David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Lethem. She lived for decades in Brooklyn and was a revered figure in the New York City borough’s thriving literary community.

Her other books included the novels A Servant’s Tale, The Western Coast and a memoir about living in Europe after World War II, The Coldest Winter. Fox also wrote more than a dozen children’s books, including The Slave Dancer, winner of the Newbery medal in 1974. Borrowed Finery, published in 2001, was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle award.

She might have written more novels, but a head injury sustained from a mugging in Jerusalem in the 1990s left her unable to write long fiction. She instead began working on memoirs and shorter pieces.

Difficult childhood

Born in New York City in 1923, Fox was the daughter of novelist-screenwriter Paul Fox and fellow screenwriter Elsie Fox. Paula Fox remembered her father as a drunk given to “interminable, stumbling descriptions of the ways in which he and fellow writers tried to elude domesticity.” Her mother was a “sociopath” who kicked her out of the house as a young girl. Fox lived everywhere from a plantation in Cuba to a boarding school in Montreal.

Living in Hollywood in the 1930s and ’40s, she danced with John Wayne and encountered John Barrymore, “yellowing with age like the ivory keys of a very old piano.” Marlon Brando was a friend, and Courtney Love is her granddaughter, born to Carroll, whom a 19-year-old Fox gave up for adoption. Her brother-in-law, Clement Greenberg, was among the 20th century’s most influential art critics.

Although a devoted reader since childhood, she didn’t publish until past 40. She worked for years as a teacher and as a tutor for troubled children and was married briefly for a second time, to Richard Sigerson, with whom she had two sons. She finally settled down with her third husband, translator and Commentary editor Martin Greenberg, whom she met after he had rejected a story she submitted for the magazine. 
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From: MeNeedIt

National parks traveler Mikah Meyer says visiting Everglades National Park in southern Florida was like stepping back in time.

Time standing still

“It’s this huge section of [protected] land … it takes up the entire southwestern corner of Florida and essentially before human interaction, everything south of Orlando looked like the Everglades.”

Join Mikah in the Everglades

That huge expanse of land includes more than half a million hectares of wetland, the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. It’s known throughout the world for its unparalleled land and waterscapes, which support a wide variety of plant and animal life.

Mikah immersed himself in the wetlands adventure with treks through mud-filled swamps and close encounters with some of the parks’ avian and reptilian residents.

Teeming with wildlife

On the raised boardwalk of the Anhinga Trail on the east side of the park, Mikah had unparalleled views of some of the area’s lush landscape and unique wildlife.

“It’s a marshland with a bunch of trees, and so there’s all these birds everywhere that make it their home. We saw Terrapin turtles; there’s gators sunning themselves on the banks … we saw one alligator here, and one alligator there, and at one point we walked up and there were like 25 alligators all lying together, on top of each other, next to each other sunning, and it was just like more gators than I’d ever seen in my life,” he said.

In fact, in that one area of the park alone, he said he easily saw “the most amount of wildlife I’ve seen in one place at one time.”

Slough slog

Another highlight for Mikah and his travel companion Andy Waldron was wading through knee-deep water and mud, on a hike called a slough slog.

“So you start out and you slog through the mud and then eventually you get to the water and in that water there’re a bunch of fish, alligators, snakes, all sorts of things that you would not want to come at you,” he recounted.

“Fortunately the park service gives you a giant stick … whose primary function is to step it in front of you to see how deep the water is,” the idea being not to fall into the “fish, possibly gator, possibly snake-infested water.”

“It sounds gross, it sounds horrible but it was one of the most fun things I’ve done at a national park yet,” Mikah admitted. Being in the muddy waters surrounded by exotic trees and plant life “feels like you’re on another planet, like you’re in an episode of Star Trek,” he said.

He credits much of that surreal but awesome experience to their National Park ranger guide, Lori Mobbs.

“Lori was probably one of the most fun people I’ve met this entire trip,” Mikah said. He says she told him how she was from “the hillbilly mountains of Alabama,” and after finishing her service with the U.S. Army, decided to join the National Park Service.

“I spent time protecting America, wearing a green uniform, and now I’m going to get another green uniform and go protect America’s wildlife,” he quoted her saying.

Everglades on steroids

In another part of the park, near the Shark Valley Visitor Center, Mikah and his travel companion were fortunate to find another wonderful guide … Ozzie Gonzalez, from Everglades Nature Tours.

He took the young men on an exclusive and exhilarating ride through the famous southern Florida wetlands on an airboat.

“I think what made this so special is that our guide has grown up in this area and he knew it like the back of his hands,” Mikah said. “So he took us out on this airboat into the middle of the River of Grass and right away he takes us to the spot where there’s always a mama gator.”

Close encounters of the reptilian kind

The female alligator made puffy, hissing noises as the boat drew near.

“She was warning us that my babies are here,” Mikah said, interpreting her warnings as, “’Don’t mess with me or I’m going to be really angry!’ And then sure enough, we look around and we saw like eight different baby alligators.”

And that wasn’t the only close encounter with gators. … Ozzie then took Mikah and Andy to meet another reptilian resident he had come to recognize.

“He parks the air boat and he calls the gator over like a dog and the thing comes swimming right up to the side of the boat,” Mikah marveled. “And it was just so incredible.”

Ozzie also took the time to show off some of the area’s plant life. Parking the airboat near some tall, reed-like plants, he took one in his hands to give them a closer look.

“They call it sawgrass because if you pull your arm against it one way it won’t hurt you at all, but if you go the other way it’ll cut your skin because it’s got these saw ridges on it,” Mikah explained.

Ozzie went on to describe how the plant has all the nutrients one would need to survive for a while out in the wild, and how Native American tribes in the area used to use sawgrass to cut the umbilical cords from babies.

Mikah, who’s on a mission to visit all of the more than 400 sites within the National Park Service, says his final adventure, on a sunset boat tour at the western edge of the Everglades, captured the wonder of his wetlands experience.

“We had heard that oftentimes you can see dolphins on this tour and it delivered!  It was so cool. … It’s such a rare treat to see something in the wild and not in a zoo or not on TV or not in a National Geographic magazine. This was real. It was real life.”

Mikah invites you to learn more about his travels in Florida and all across America by visiting his website, Facebook and Instagram.
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From: MeNeedIt

Unless new antibiotics are developed quickly, people will once again die from common infections. The World Health Organization on Feb. 27 issued an urgent call for scientists to develop these new drugs, and for governments to fund the research. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

Art lovers from around the world descend on New York City every March for several art fairs. One of the longest running and most popular fairs is the Armory Show, which hosts more than 200 galleries from 30 countries. For visitors, who are expected to reach 65,000 this year, the Armory Show cements New York City’s status as an international art destination. Tina Trinh reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

When Johnnie Yellock enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, he knew his job as a combat controller would frequently put him in harm’s way.

“We volunteered in a time of war, we knew exactly what we were up against,” he told VOA. “A lot of our job titles were putting us right on the battlefield. We were ready for that. I was prepared to die for my country.”

Although he was prepared, war has a way of changing the best-laid plans. Even Johnnie Yellock’s.  

During a deployment to eastern Afghanistan, on July 6, 2011, the vehicle he was traveling in struck an improvised explosive device, or IED.

The force of the blast tore through his body. Although he had to apply a tourniquet to both of his own legs to stop the bleeding, he continued to help his team by calling in the evacuation flight that would lift them to safety and desperately needed medical assistance.  

Helpless, but not hopeless

But instead of being relieved, Yellock was frustrated he couldn’t stay in the fight.

“I went from being the tip of the spear on the battlefield to being loaded on a stretcher and carted off the battlefield, completely helpless.”

“The whole family was blown up with Johnnie,” explains his mother, Reagan Yellock, also a U.S. Air Force veteran, “because it is such a traumatic experience for the whole family. I knew it was a process. My first priority was: My son was alive. What do we do? What do we do to get him help? To get him back to us and what the process is going to be.”

Yellock’s encounter with the IED that July day in Afghanistan ultimately ended his military career, and began a rehabilitation effort that continues today.

“My recovery was extensive for sure,” he admits. “I’ve had about 30 surgeries on my legs, in a process called limb salvage, so it’s a huge effort to maintain and keep my legs from amputation. I now have adaptive braces, but aside from all the physical trials of recovery and changing your lifestyle, your life took a detour. The transition of being an active-duty service member to then retiring from the military, it’s a pretty humbling journey.”

While that journey might have taken him off the battlefield, it has put him in an art gallery at the George W. Bush Presidential Museum in Dallas, Texas, where Yellock isn’t just visiting the exhibits. He’s a featured subject.

A salute from Team 43

“That is a very unique email to receive to find out that your prior commander-in-chief has taken and dedicated a lot of his time painting several of us wounded warriors.”

Yellock is a member of Team 43, as in the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, who has focused much of his post-presidential work to helping wounded “warriors” like Johnnie Yellock adjust to civilian life.

In an exclusive interview with VOA, the former president spoke about Yellock and other veterans who are the inspiration behind his yearlong effort to paint their portraits for an exhibit and book, titled Portraits of Courage: A Commander-in-Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors.  

“I know them all,” Bush told VOA. “I’ve ridden bikes with them. I’ve played golf with them. I knew their stories.”

But engaging in sports is one thing.  Painting their portraits is quite another.

“How is a person who is agnostic on art for most of his life become a painter?” the former president asked himself.

The answer? The pastime of war-time British prime minister Winston Churchill.

“I happened to read Churchill’s essay, ‘Painting as a Pastime.’ I’m a big admirer of Winston Churchill, and in essence, I said if this guy can paint, I can paint,” Bush said.

Personal tribute

At first, Bush painted simple objects. Then he transitioned to pets, and moved on to world leaders, until his idea for Portraits of Courage began to take shape more than a year ago.

It’s a tribute to those who Bush, as commander-in-chief of the United States military, was ultimately responsible for sending into harm’s way.

“Rarely do I run into a vet who says, ‘You caused this to happen to me,’” Bush told VOA. “These are all volunteers, and I made it perfectly clear we were going to defend the country. And they knew exactly what the stakes were. They go out of their way to make sure that their ole commander-in-chief understands that they understand the sacrifices they made.”

“The trials [Bush] was thrust into … the decisions he had to make, were difficult ones,” Yellock says. “The humility he shows in recognizing the impact that his decisions made on the lives of so many of us soldiers and our family members – those of my friends that didn’t come home from war, and me coming home wounded. I can speak for all those wounded that we don’t regret going and doing what we did. We would do it again if we had the opportunity.”

It’s that kind of sentiment that kept Bush motivated to take a brush to canvas, day after day.

“So when I’m painting these portraits,” Bush explained, “I’m thinking, what kind of character is it that rather than complain or be full of self-pity, they say, ‘Sir, I’d do it again.’”

Of the 98 veterans portrayed in Bush’s artwork for the project, Yellock is featured on a four-panel mural, next to several of his friends.

“About 10 minutes ago was the first time I saw my portrait,” he told VOA. “I was just blown away.”

Raising funds to help vets

Bush says he hopes the art speaks for itself, but Portraits of Courage is more than just an exhibit. It’s a fundraiser to help other veterans.

All proceeds from the sale of the Portraits of Courage book, including a more expensive, limited edition signed by the former president, will help fund programs of the George W. Bush Institute’s Military Service Initiative, which aims to help military members transition to civilian life, help veterans find employment if needed, and address ways to treat both the visible and invisible injuries of war.

Johnnie Yellock has both.

He is the recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, among other military decorations.  While he is honored to be a part of the exhibit, just don’t call him a hero.

“Those that don’t come home … those are the heroes of our time,” he told VOA.

Four of Yellock’s personal heroes have their names engraved on a bracelet he seldom takes off.  They were with him when he stood by Bush to announce the opening of the exhibit, and serve as a lasting reminder to Yellock of the ultimate sacrifice from a war that still continues today.

“We knew the risks. We knew that being wounded or dying was a possibility. But we get to come home, we get to catch up with our families, and we’ll forever regard those who have paid this nation’s ultimate sacrifice, as this nation’s true heroes.”

The original paintings of Portraits of Courage: A commander-in-chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors are on display at the Bush Presidential Museum through October.
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From: MeNeedIt

One by one, several Federal Reserve officials have signaled in recent days that the Fed is ready to resume raising interest rates as soon as this month. The question is whether the official who matters most — Chair Janet Yellen — will add her own voice to that impression.

When Yellen speaks Friday in Chicago on the topic of the Fed’s economic outlook, investors will parse her words for any hint of how likely the central bank is to raise its key short-term rate after it next meets March 14-15. Already, though, traders in futures markets have put the probability of a rate hike at 75 percent, according to data tracked by the CME Group. Just last week, that probability had been pegged at well below 50 percent.

But that was before some Fed officials began suggesting that the strengthening U.S. economy, signs of higher inflation and a surging stock market had bolstered the case for a rate hike.

On Tuesday, William Dudley, president of the Fed’s New York regional bank and a close Yellen ally, said the case for raising rates had “become a lot more compelling.

On Wednesday, Lael Brainard, a Fed board member and previously a leading advocate of delaying rate increases, said she thought the case for another hike was strengthening.

“Assuming continued progress, it will likely be appropriate soon to remove additional accommodation” by raising rates, Brainard said in a speech at Harvard University.

And Jerome Powell, another board member, was even more specific, saying in a CNBC interview Thursday, “I think the case for a rate increase in March has come together, and I do think it is on the table for discussion.”

Earlier in the week, Robert Kaplan, head of the Dallas Fed, said he thought the Fed would likely raise rates “in the near future.”

None of which means a rate increase this month is a certainty. Any unexpected wave of poor economic news or worrisome global developments could give the Fed pause. The government’s jobs report for February, to be issued March 10, will be of particular interest. But the most recent data —  notably on job growth, manufacturing and consumer confidence — along with surging stock prices have been broadly encouraging.

In testimony to Congress last month, Yellen had pointed to the solid job market and overall improving economy to suggest that the Fed would likely resume raising rates within the next few months. Yellen noted that Fed officials themselves in December had predicted three rate increases in 2017. But she offered no specifics on when the next one might occur.

In December, the Fed raised its benchmark rate by a quarter-point to a range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent. It was its first increase since December 2015, when the Fed raised its key rate from a record low. In estimating three rate hikes for 2017, the Fed was indicating a quickened pace of increases.

On Thursday, Powell was asked whether the Fed might be inclined to accelerate the pace of increases to perhaps four this year. He replied that he thought three rate hikes in 2017 “still feels about right to me” but added that the direction of the economy would determine the proper number of increases.

Before Fed officials began speaking out this week, many Fed watchers and investors had been doubtful of a rate increase this month. The assumption was that Fed officials would want to assess President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts and increased spending for the military and infrastructure projects, after the details of those projects and the likelihood of their congressional passage became clear. Many thought the Fed would likely want to wait until June to resume raising rates.

A major reason for the recent signals from Fed officials for a rate increase is the robust job market. On Thursday, for example, the government reported that first-time applications for unemployment benefits — a proxy for the pace of layoffs — fell last week to their lowest level in nearly 44 years.

The stock market, in the meantime, has been setting a string of record highs, fueled by confidence that Trump’s plans for cutting taxes and boosting spending will win congressional approval.

And inflation, which had been lagging at chronically low levels, has been edging steadily up, reflecting in part a rebound in gasoline prices and higher wages. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge showed that prices rose 1.9 percent over the 12 months that ended in January. That was the largest 12-month gain in nearly five years and just below the Fed’s 2 percent target for inflation.

Various Fed officials suggested that the rise in inflation and the low 4.8 unemployment rate were evidence that the central bank is now close to achieving its dual mandates of maximum employment and stable prices.
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From: MeNeedIt

This is the Top Five Countdown! We’re raising the curtain on the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending March 4, 2017.

Break out the popcorn, movie fans, because we have a blockbuster debut for you.

Number 5: The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey “Closer”

The action starts in fifth place, where the Chainsmokers and Halsey rebound two slots with “Closer.” This song is now a record-setter – it has spent 26 total weeks – six months – in the Top Five. That’s the longest Top Five run in the Hot 100’s 58-year history. The previous record was 25 weeks, jointly held by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars with “Uptown Funk,” and LeAnn Rimes with “How Do I Live.”

That’s pretty spectacular, but the real fireworks arrive in fourth place.

Number 4: Katy Perry Featuring Skip Marley “Chained To The Rhythm”

One of our most dependable hit makers returns this week, as Katy Perry opens in fourth place with “Chained To The Rhythm.”

This is not only Katy’s 14th Top 10 single, it’s also her third-highest Hot 100 debut. “Part Of Me” opened at number one in 2012, while “California Gurls” hit second place in 2010. The featured artist on this song is Skip Marley, the grandson of reggae great Bob Marley.

Number 3: Migos & Lil Uzi Vert “Bad And Boujee”

Migos and Lil Uzi Vert slip a slot to third place with “Bad And Boujee,” and Migos are already planning new chart conquests.

On February 24, Calvin Harris dropped his latest single “Slide,” featuring Frank Ocean, along with Migos members Quavo and Offset. Three days later on February 27, DJ Khaled sent out a series of Instagram photos featuring Migos, Justin Bieber, and Chance The Rapper…and it just so happens DJ Khaled is dropping a new album, Grateful, on March 22.

Number 2: Zayn & Taylor Swift “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”

Zayn and Taylor Swift jump a notch to second place with “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”

On February 22, Zayn faced off against his former One Direction groupmates in the BRIT Awards…and lost. 1D took the Video Of The Year crown for “History,” while Zayn was an also-ran with his “Pillowtalk” clip.

Number 1: Ed Sheeran “Shape of You”

Ed Sheeran extends his run at the top to four weeks with “Shape Of You,” and it sounds like Ed has a new friend. 

Last week, Katy Perry stopped by the BBC for a pre-BRIT Awards interview…and Ed crashed the conversation. He recalled their first meeting after a gig in Toronto in which Ed was covered in sweat…things didn’t go so smoothly then but they’re good pals now.

Will Ed Sheeran’s run at the top continue? Join us next week for the answers!
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From: MeNeedIt

Nearly four decades after Elvis sang his last tune, his legacy got a $45 million boost with the Thursday opening of a major new attraction at his Graceland estate — an entertainment complex that Priscilla Presley says gives “the full gamut” of the King of rock ‘n’ roll.

About 200 people streamed into “Elvis Presley’s Memphis” after the late singer’s wife cut a ribbon and allowed fans to see the $45 million complex for the first time.

Resembling an outdoor mall, the 200,000-square-foot campus sits across the street from Graceland, Presley’s longtime home-turned-museum. The complex features a comprehensive Presley exhibit with clothing he wore on stage and guitars he played; a showcase of the cars he owned and used; a soundstage; a theater; two restaurants and retail stores.

“You’re getting the full gamut of who Elvis Presley was,” Priscilla Presley said during an interview after the grand opening. “You’re getting to see and participate a bit in his life and what he enjoyed and what he loved to collect.” 

It’s part of a $140 million expansion, which also includes a $90 million, 450-room hotel that opened last year. The complex replaces the aging buildings that have housed Presley-related exhibits for years. An old, gray, strip-mall style visitor center will be torn down to make room for a greenspace along Elvis Presley Boulevard, the street that runs in front of the house.

Graceland has been updating its tourist experience. Visitors now use iPads for self-guided tours of the house. The new Guest House at Graceland, with modern amenities like glass-encased showers with wall-mounted body sprays and in-room Keurig coffeemakers, has replaced the crumbling Heartbreak Hotel, which is scheduled for demolition.

“We want to keep updating. … If you don’t keep up with what’s going on in the times, you get left out,” Priscilla Presley said. She was joined at the ribbon-cutting by Elvis Presley Enterprises CEO Jack Soden and Joel Weinshanker, managing partner of Graceland Holdings.

The opening comes just before the 40th anniversary of Presley’s death on Aug. 16, 1977, at age 42.

Adults pay $57.50 for a standard tour of the house and access to the complex. Visitors can also choose to tour just the house for a lower price. Discounts are offered for seniors and children. A self-guided tour of two airplanes owned by Presley is $5 more. 

From the ticketing area, people line up to wait for buses that take visitors to the museum, or they can move through the entertainment complex’s large, high-ceilinged buildings.

Gladys’ Diner — named after the singer’s mother — has the feel of a 1950’s eatery, complete with pictures of Presley, aqua-colored chairs and stations where patrons can order hot dogs, burgers and ice cream.

There’s also Presley’s favorite: Gladys’ World Famous Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich, fried in bacon grease. Another PB&B sandwich is cooked in butter.

Across a wide walkway lies the automobile museum, filled with some of Presley’s favorite toys. Among them is a pink 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood — a custom painted model that he gave to his mother — and a sleek, black 1973 Stutz Blackhawk that he drove the day he died.

The walkway leads to the 20,000-square foot museum called “Elvis: The Entertainer,” which features white and purple jumpsuits he wore during concerts and gold-colored guitars he played on stage.

 Several retail stores line the complex. A second restaurant, a barbecue joint called Vernon’s Smokehouse — named after Presley’s father — will also open. So will an exhibition focused on Sam Phillips, the Sun Records producer and rock ‘n’ roll pioneer who recorded Presley for the first time.

The complex is still being finished. Priscilla Presley said there’s a warehouse full of artifacts, ready for display.

During the interview with The Associated Press, Priscilla Presley declined to comment about a court battle in Los Angeles between Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter she had with Elvis, and Lisa Marie’s estranged husband.

Among the fans eager to get a glimpse at the new exhibits Thursday was Carol Carey, a retiree who made the short trip across the state line from Southaven, Mississippi, with her son.

Wearing a pink shirt with the words “Wild About Graceland” on it, Carey beamed a wide smile as she talked about the complex.

“We couldn’t wait to see it,” she said. “We’ve been here every other day, checking it out. Getting used to saying goodbye to the old, and seeing friends who are all taking pictures of everything.”
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From: MeNeedIt

U.S. first lady Melania Trump read to a group of children at a New York hospital Thursday to celebrate National Read Across America Day.

In one of her first outings in a traditional first lady role, Trump read to children at the pediatrics ward from the Dr. Seuss favorite, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

She told the children, “I came here to encourage everyone to read and to just think about the books and what you want to achieve in life.”

Trump also brought a box full of children’s books by American author Theodor Geisel, who is better known as Dr. Seuss, to leave for the children.

“Dr. Seuss has brought so much joy, laughter and enchantment into children’s lives all around the globe for generations,” she said. “Through his captivating rhymes, Dr. Seuss has delighted and inspired children while teaching them to read, to dream and to care.”

Melania Trump is living in New York while her son finishes school, rather than joining her husband at the White House in Washington, D.C.
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From: MeNeedIt