House lawmakers emerged from a briefing on the administrations anti-Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) strategy generally confident in the military aspect of the plan, but some worried the plan still lacks an endgame for the Syrian civil war.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, meanwhile, expressed confidence in ISIS's defeat and in Congresss support for the strategy.

Were winning; theyre losing, Mattis told reporters after the briefing. I have no doubt we have the support of Congress. That was loud and clear.

Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson briefed House lawmakers hours after President Trump visited the Pentagon and a day after the trio briefed the Senate on the same topic.

Mattis declined to discuss his meeting with Trump or get into specifics of the House briefing, saying he owes a degree of confidentiality to the closed discussions.

Lawmakers who spoke with reporters likewise declined to discuss specifics, citing its classified nature.

Rep. Trent FranksTrent FranksHouse briefed on anti-ISIS campaign progress Republicans rally around Sessions after Trump criticism Rep: Charlie Gard granted permanent residence status MORE (R-Ariz.), who sits on the House Armed Service Committee, called the briefing substantive and very comprehensive.

This was one of the best briefings that Ive seen, and I see a lot of them, he told reporters upon leaving. "From my perspective, weve had more progress in the battle against ISIS in the last eight months than weve had in the last eight years. Its just been stark, the difference."

Democrats, though, emerged from the briefing saying they did not hear much difference in strategy from the Obama administration.

What I was struck by more than anything else was how very similar all this strategy is to prior administration, said Rep. Adam SchiffAdam SchiffHouse briefed on anti-ISIS campaign progress The Hill's 12:30 Report Schiff: Trump's undisclosed talk with Putin 'deeply troubling' MORE (D-Calif.), ranking memberof the House Intelligence Committee. There are certainly differences in how much delegation of authority has gone to the military, and the military battle has progressed as it would have under the leadership of the prior administration, but there are far more similarities than dissimilarities.

While progress has been made on the battlefield against ISIS, Schiff said, political progress in Iraq has been slow, and Syria is horribly complicated.

I think its still very difficult to see the endgame in Syria, he said. I dont think its for lack of effort on the part of the administration. I think its a difficult problem to solve. But I do think there are still pieces of the puzzle that need to be filled in terms of overall strategy politically more than militarily.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, though, said he thinks the administration has abandoned the goal of removing Syrian President Bashar Assad from power.

He cited reports that Trump has ended a CIA program to train and equip rebels fighting Assad. Sherman said he asked about the issue during the briefing, and while he would not confirm the reports, he said he was not disputing them.

ISIS will be driven out of its stronghold of Raqqa asit was fromits Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, he said, but the issue is governance afterward.

It seems pretty clear that Syria will be run by Assad, his allies in Iran and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, Sherman said, and we have accepted this.

- Ellen Mitchell contributed.

See the rest here:

House briefed on anti-ISIS campaign progress - The Hill

Hateful behavior has been a black mark on social media for years. Twitter says it's making progress pushing back.

Better late than never.

After years of struggling to manage abusive tweets, Twitter says it's made some short-term progress tackling the problem.

The social network said Thursday it's been clamping down on 10 times as many abusive tweeters as it did a year ago, though it declined to say how many accounts it's disciplined. The efforts do appear to be making the community more hospitable: Twitter said it's seeing fewer repeat offenders and fewer users tapping features to shut off abusive tweeters, such as blocking their accounts.

These updates are part of Twitter's ongoing attempts to curb abusive behavior and convince people it's succeeding in that task. Since January, it's given its 328 million monthly active usersmore optionsto combat harassment, either bymutingabusive tweeters orreporting them to Twitter.

This push began latelast yearafter Jack Dorsey, Twitter's CEO, solicitedsuggestions from its usersfor improving the site. Some people asked for relatively benign features, like the ability to edit a tweet. But Dorsey was also barraged with requests to cut down on harassment, after years of the problem running rampant on the service. Last year was when some particularly ugly episodes happened,including a hate mob attacking Leslie Jones, a star of last summer's "Ghostbusters" movie.

Click to see CNET's series about abuse on the web.

Twitter's renewed focus on harassment is a "completely different mindset" from several years ago, saidDanielle Citron, a University of Maryland law professor who studies hate on the internet. Back then, unchecked mobs led to hate campaigns, such as in the 2014attacks against video game critics that came to be known as #GamerGate. Now Citron is part of Twitter'sTrust and Safety Council, a group of more than 60 organizations and experts working to prevent abuse andhateful rhetoric.

Last month, the group convened for a two-day summit at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, where it went through examples of what tweets are considered intimidating, abusive and just flat-out hate speech. The participants discussed what to do about them while also protecting users' freedom of expression, said Citron, who has worked with Twitter in various capacities over the years.

"We are having some tough and meaningful discussions, but it's also showing that Twitter is making some progress and responding much faster to abuse," she said. "I find it hopeful."

Part of Twitter's seeming improvements come from how it's approaching troublesome users. For example, the company has begun using a feature that limits an account, meaning those users can send tweets only to their followers and not anyone else on Twitter, typically for 12 hours. Twitter said the limits on those accounts led to 25 percent fewer reports of abuse. Additionally, it said, about 65 percent of those limited accounts do not become repeat offenders.

Here's a tweet of what getting a limited-account warning looks like:

Another problem Twitter struggles with: Hate mobs attacking other users they otherwise aren't connected with. Initially, the only way to stop this behavior was to report these users to Twitter or blocking their accounts. Twitter has since begun offering new features to mute people with new accounts or those who follow behaviors of accounts designed to torment others.

These efforts appear to be working. Twitter said the number of strangers who block other people's accounts has dropped 40 percent in the last four months.

"While there is still much work to be done, people are experiencing significantly less abuse on Twitter today than they were six months ago," Ed Ho, Twitter's vice president of engineering, wrote in a blog post.

Intolerance on the Internet: Online abuse is as old as the internet and it's only getting worse. It exacts a very real toll.

CNET Magazine: Check out a sample of the stories in CNET's newsstand edition.

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Twitter says it's making progress battling abusive behavior - CNET

Last weekend, fans learned that Jodie Whittaker will be the new Doctor in the long-running series Doctor Who, the first woman to play the protagonist who has regenerated a dozen times before, always as a white man.

While many people celebrated this historic casting choice, others responded in outrage with assertions that nobody wants a TARDIS full of bras and vows to stop watching the show. Is the BBC trying to brainwash us with its dangerous PC agenda? Dont they know women cant be Ghostbusters or superheroes or Time Lords? Surely the fabric of society will rip in half if a female plays a beloved science fiction character!

Such arguments not only rely on tired gender stereotypes, but they also ignore what science fiction is all about and what it stands for.

Science fiction explores what it means to be human. By contrasting humans with aliens, robots and other creatures, the genre gives us insights good, bad and frighteningly ugly into ourselves. The human population is nearly 50 percent female, which means to understand people as individuals, societies and civilizations, particularly across different time periods, we have to think and write about the female experience. Not as victims, bystanders or even as companions, but as protagonists. Will having a female Doctor affect the stories? Of course it will. How, exactly, remains to be seen, but each Doctors character shapes the narrative, because thats how storytelling works.

Science fiction has always been about progress. Such a broad concept might involve traveling to other solar systems, colonizing space, merging into the Brahman, conquering or coexisting with other civilizations, uploading our brains into computers, living forever, becoming genderless or hermaphroditic, teleporting and/or making robots that look, act and feel like humans. Even when science and technology drastically alter or destroy the human race in sci-fi, characters and readers learn what it means to be alive, which transcends humanity itself.

Science fiction thinks big, in eons and galaxies, beyond the next election cycle, beyond the star of a TV show. In doing something it hasnt done in its 53 years, Doctor Who demonstrates its understanding of the genre by acknowledging that times have changed and will keep changing, and that we have, in fact, learned something.

Upon learning that the role of Starbuck, which he played in the original 1978 series Battlestar Galactica, was to be played by a woman in the 2003 show remake, actor Dirk Benedict penned a tirade called Starbuck: Lost in Castration. Some of his complaints echo those lodged over the past couple of days: Starbuck was meant to be a loveable rogue, Benedict says, adding loveable rogue to the list of things a woman cannot be.

Starbuck also was supposed to appeal to the female audience, which female actors and characters also cant do because females dont enjoy watching other females do awesome stuff?

Benedicts railing against the bleakness of the remade BSG series ultimately justifies the showrunners decision to cast a female Starbuck: The show reflects, in microcosm, the complete change in the politics and mores of todays world as opposed to the world of yesterday. Exactly. Thats what art does. Thats part of why Doctor Who is the longest-running show of all time. If it looked like it did in the 1950s, few would watch it now.

Sci-fi has always reflected its times. It has explored the implications of atomic weapons, reflected on the Red Scare and McCarthyism, pondered the consequences of colonizing other worlds, and imagined scenarios brought on by climate change and earthbound asteroids. Why would science fiction storytellers stop reflecting humanitys hopes and fears now?

Science fiction pushes boundaries, from Star Trek broadcasting a historic interracial kiss to the alien-human love story on Babylon 5. Doctor Who has embraced galactic weirdness and diversity. Considering that theres an entire religion based on the idea that vestiges of evil aliens dwell in all of us, if the least believable aspect about the show is a woman as its lead, Im not sure why people watch in the first place.

Despite being a genre that revels in possibilities and imagination, science fiction has historically fallen short when it comes to representing the female population. The vast majority of sci-fi writers are male, and of the 33 Grand Masters of science fiction, only five are women. That imbalance is slowly changing three of the past six inductees are women with more female writers and increased awareness of the need for more compelling female protagonists in science fiction. The selection of the new Doctor demonstrates the shows ability to reflect changing times, embodying human progress while satisfying one thing that hasnt changed: viewers desire for a compelling story. A genre predicated on pushing boundaries is doing just that. Its about time.

Joelle Renstrom teaches at Boston University and writes about robots, space and sci-fi for theDaily Beast, Slate, and her blog, Could This Happen.

Originally posted here:

Sci-Fi Is The Genre Of Progress - Valley News

Senators should make progress on health-care legislation before leaving Washington for their August recess, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.

"We have to stay here. We shouldn't leave town, and we should hammer this out and get it done," Trump said.

GOP senators planned to work late into the night to try to find a way to revive the effort to repeal and/or replace Obamacare, according to an Axios report.

The president's comments come after a Republican proposal to simply repeal Obamacare quickly lost support among GOP senators. That proposal came after the most recent draft of a replacement bill collapsed on Monday after four Republicans said they opposed it.

On Tuesday, the president said he was "disappointed" with the failure. At the time, Trump repeated his belief that it would be easier to simply let President Barack Obama's signature health-care law fail on its own.

But the president on Wednesday called for renewed efforts to draft health-care legislation, instead of letting Obamacare implode. While a repeal would be "fine," the president said, Republicans should try to "get more."

"I think the people of this country need more than a repeal. They need a repeal and a replace, and we were very, very close," Trump said.

"We have no choice. We have to repeal and replace Obamacare. We can repeal it, but the best is repeal and replace. And let's get going. I intend to keep my promise, and I know you will, too."

Following the president's comments, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters after the lunch that the Senate would proceed next week with a vote on a motion to move ahead with a repeal bill. The proposal does not include a replacement plan, though it could be amended, he said.

"I think we have two options here. I think we all agree it's better to both repeal and replace, but we could have a vote on either, and if we end up voting on repeal only, it will be fully amendable on the Senate floor," McConnell said. "And if it were to pass without any amendment at all there's a two-year delay before it kicks in ... so the takeaway from what I'm telling you is no harm is done from getting on the bill."

Republicans have campaigned on repealing Obamacare since it was enacted. But the GOP effort to strike down the law has been stymied by divisions within the party. Delays in health-care reform push back the rest of the Republican agenda, which includes tax reform.

The president said that senators who vote against starting debate on a health-care bill would be telling Americans they're fine with Obamacare.

"But being fine with Obamacare isn't an option for another reason because it's gone. It's failed. It's not going to be around," he said.

More:

Not dead, yet: Trump pushes GOP senators to repeal Obamacare - CNBC

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Brexit: British and EU negotiators to outline progress BBC News Brexit negotiators are to outline what progress has been made so far as the latest round of talks come to an end. The UK's Brexit Secretary David Davis and the EU's Michel Barnier will meet to assess the past four days of talks. Groups of British and ... Brexit talks: progress on rights but divorce bill still a sticking pointTelegraph.co.uk all 202 news articles »

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Brexit: British and EU negotiators to outline progress - BBC News

White House Budget chief Mick Mulvaney will releaseon Thursdaya report claiming progress on regulatory rollback, a major priority of the Trump administration.

In the first five months of this administration alone the net cost of our regulatory agenda has been less than zero dollars, Mulvaney said in a prepared statement, in which he trumpeted the economic agenda he has dubbed MAGAnomics. MAGA is an acronym for President Trump's campaign slogan Make America Great Again.

Mulvaney's report will tout the administrations withdrawal or deactivation of 860 regulatory actions, and that the administration has issued only half as many economically significant regulations when compared to the same period last year.

It also notes that the Congressional Review Act allowed Congress to undo a series of Obama-era regulations, and says the administration has achieved an annualized cost savings of $22 million from agencies.

This Agenda represents the beginning of fundamental regulatory reform and a reorientation toward reducing the overall regulatory burden on the American people, said Neomi Rao, the budget offices administrator for regulatory affairs.

Critics have charged that some of the regulatory rollbacks have come at a cost to the environment, consumer protections, and health.

For example, the Bureau of Land Management is proposing a repeal of a regulation for hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, which the administration says is duplicative, and the Environmental Protection Agency is giving up regulations on oil and gas development in the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservations in Utah.

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Trump budget chief touts progress in rolling back regulations - The Hill

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Lack of Progress at US-China Talks Raises Stakes for Trump Wall Street Journal (subscription) WASHINGTONHigh-level economic talks between the U.S. and China ended Wednesday without any concrete agreement or future agenda, leaving the Trump administration's efforts to recast trade ties with Beijing in limbo. After a full day of bilateral ...

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Lack of Progress at US-China Talks Raises Stakes for Trump - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

OMAHA, Neb. | CSXs new chief executive is defending the restructuring progress made in his first four months, but warned that the Jacksonville-based railroad could lay off another 700 employees this year.

In a conference call on Wednesday, CEO Hunter Harrison said hes pleased with the improvements so far.

I thought we had a hell of a quarter, said Harrison, who has previously led turnarounds at three other railroads.

The railroad has taken nearly 900 locomotives and 60,000 freight cars out of service and laid off 2,300 people this year. And Harrison said those changes havent all paid off yet.

But I wouldnt be surprised by the end of the year, if some of these things come together, that number could be 3,000, Harrison said.

He gave no indication of when, where or even if the layoffs would occur, nor did CSX spokesman Rob Doolittle.

The company announced the planned layoff of 1,000 management positions, most of them in Jacksonville, in February. The other 1,300 layoffs came throughout the railroads 23-state network as it continued to streamline, Doolittle said.

CSX is not just reducing headcount as a way of improving efficiency we are changing the way the railroad operates, Doolittle said, which is resulting in greater operational efficiencies [fewer trains moving more freight faster], which sometimes also results in a reduction in the number of employees required to operate the railroad.

Changing the operating the model a railroad uses is difficult because everyone who works there is used to operating a certain way. Harrison said the level of resistance is about what he expected.

CSX is working to eliminate infrastructure it doesnt need and consolidate operations. That includes shutting down most of the railroads 12 railyards to eliminate redundancy.

The railroad will also consolidate all of its dispatching into one central location instead of the current nine early next year.

But Wall Street appeared disappointed with CSXs guidance for the rest of the year and the railroads shares fell 5.2 percent, or $2.86, to sell for $51.78 in afternoon trading.

CSX reiterated its on track to achieve a forecast 25 percent improvement in earnings per share this year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been predicting adjusted annual earnings per share this year of $2.29.

The 72-year-old Harrison was hired by CSX in March after pressure from the Mantle Ridge hedge fund that owns 5 percent of the railroad. Harrison previously led turnarounds of Canadian Pacific, Canadian National and the Illinois Central railroads.

Im a short-timer here, said Harrison, who has a four-year contract with CSX. Im the interim person thats going to try to get this company to the next step.

CSX said that its second-quarter net income improved 15 percent to $510 million, or 55 cents per share, as it hauled 2 percent more freight. Thats up from $445 million, or 47 cents per, share a year ago.

The railroads quarterly results were weighed down by $122 million in restructuring charges. Without those charges, the railroad said it would have reported earnings per share of 64 cents.

Most of the $122 million restructuring charge in the second quarter was related to Harrisons hiring. CSX agreed to cover $84 million in compensation that Harrison forfeited at Canadian Pacific when he retired early. Shareholders approved those payments last month.

CSX operates more than 21,000 miles of track in 23 Eastern states and two Canadian provinces.

Staff writer Roger Bull contributed to this report.

Read the original:

Despite warning of additional layoffs, CSX CEO defends restructuring progress - Florida Times-Union

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) CSXs new chief executive is defending the restructuring progress made in the first four months since he was hired to lead a turnaround of the railroad.

CEO Hunter Harrison, whos previously led turnarounds at three other railroads, says hes pleased with the improvement so far.

I thought we had a hell of a quarter, Harrison said Wednesday.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad has taken nearly 900 locomotives and 60,000 freight cars out of service and laid off 2,300 people this year. Harrison said those changes havent all paid off yet.

Changing the operating the model a railroad uses is difficult because everyone who works there is used to operating a certain way. Harrison said the level of resistance is about what he expected.

CSX is working to eliminate infrastructure it doesnt need and consolidate operations. That includes shutting down most of the railroads 12 railyards to eliminate redundancy.

The railroad will also consolidate all of its dispatching into one central location instead of the current nine early next year.

But Wall Street appeared disappointed with CSXs guidance for the rest of the year, and the railroads shares fell 5.1 percent, or $2.77, to close at $51.87 Wednesday.

CSX reiterated that its on track to achieve a forecast 25 percent improvement in earnings per share this year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been predicting adjusted annual earnings per share this year of $2.29.

The 72-year-old Harrison was hired by CSX in March after pressure from the Mantle Ridge hedge fund that owns 5 percent of the railroad. Harrison previously led turnarounds of Canadian Pacific, Canadian National and the Illinois Central railroads.

CSX Corp. said Tuesday that its second-quarter net income improved 15 percent to $510 million, or 55 cents per share, as it hauled 2 percent more freight. Thats up from $445 million, or 47 cents per, share a year ago.

Coal was somewhat of a bright spot in the quarter with a 7 percent increase the volume CSX hauled. But demand for coal has crumbled over the past several years because natural gas has been so cheap and environmental concerns have been growing

Harrison offered a bleak long-term outlook for the fuel Wednesday and said he wouldnt make any major investments to haul coal.

Fossil fuels are dead. Thats a long-term view, Harrison said. Its not going to happen overnight. Its not going to be two or three years, but its going away in my view.

The railroads quarterly results were weighed down by $122 million in restructuring charges. Without those charges, the railroad said it would have reported earnings per share of 64 cents.

Most of the $122 million restructuring charge in the second quarter was related to Harrisons hiring. CSX agreed to cover $84 million in compensation that Harrison forfeited at Canadian Pacific when he retired early. Shareholders approved those payments last month.

CSX operates more than 21,000 miles of track in 23 Eastern states and two Canadian provinces.

Read more:

CSX execs defend early progress in restructuring railroad - Seattle Times

The Durban FilmMart, the industry development program of the Durban Intl. Film Festival and Durban Film Office, has wrapped its latest edition with an awards ceremony showcasing a range of works-in-progress from across the African continent, includinga documentary that follows the life of one of Kenyas leading political activists, a portrait of three women fighting for the rights of sex workers in South Africa, and an absurdist comedy set in an old-age home on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Since its 2010 inception, the Durban FilmMart has become an important forum for helping to facilitate or launch film projects in Africa. So far, it has helped facilitate close to 100 African co-productions.

The journey of growing the Durban FilmMart over the past eight years has been remarkable, said Toni Monty, head of the Durban Film Office. What started as an idea to create a business networking hub all those years ago hasbecome an important platform for African filmmakers to connect to the global marketplace.

Recent success stories include The Wound, a South African-German-Dutch-French co-production, which opened the Berlinales Panorama section this year; The Dream of Shahrazad, a South African-French-Egyptian co-production that premiered in the Masters Section of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2014; and The Boda Boda Thieves, a South African-Kenyan-Ugandan-German co-production, which had its world premiere in the Berlinales Forum in 2015.

This year the Durban FilmMart (DFM) hosted 600 delegates from more than 30 countries. Twenty-two official projects in development were presented at the finance forum through the DFMs partnership with CineMart and the Intl. Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam.Four projects were hosted at the DFM by the Realness scriptwriting residency, while Frances Produire au Sud supported the Jumpstart Project, a mentoring program to introduce six emerging filmmakers to the art of the pitch. Two documentary projects were supported by Hot Docs, andsix CineFAM projects were rigorously mentored by Torontos CaribbeanTales.

Along with its finance and co-production forum, the DFM and its partners handed out a number of awardsMondaynight.

The Intl. Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) chose Lobola: A Brides True Price, produced by Sarah Basyouny and directed by Sihle Hlophe, as the most promising documentary project. The duo will have the opportunity to attend Novembers IDFA Forum, one of Europes top gatherings for documentary filmmakers, producers, commissioning editors, funds and private financiers.

AfriDocs, the broadcast stream that screens African and other international documentaries across sub-Saharan Africa, awarded a 3,000 ($3,460) grant to the Kenyan doc Uasi, produced by Matrid Nyagah and Linda Ogeda, and directed by Sam Soko. The projects creators will also have an opportunity to pitch the film at the Srfond Pitching Forum in Oslo later this year.

The CineMart Award, sponsored by the co-production market of the Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam, went to the South African feature Miles from Nowhere, produced by Bongiwe Selane and directed by Samantha Nell. The pair are invited to attend the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training and networking event for producers from around the world.

Miles from Nowhere was also recognized by Produire au Sud, of the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, which has invited Selane and Nell to take part in its developmental workshop program.

Videovision Entertainment named The Dabulaphu (The Short Cut) the Best South African Film Project. Producers Zikethiwe Ngcobo and David Max Brown and director Norman Maake received a prize of R75,000 ($5,805), which guarantees the films release once its completed. The prize also includes marketing and distribution support from Videovision.

Publicity consultants Versfeld & Associates announced that they will develop publicity material and advise on publicity profiling through the development of two South African projects, Womxn: Working, produced by Tiny Mungwe and directed by Shanelle Jewnarain, and Richard Was Here, produced by Akona Matyila and directed by Jack Chiang.

The CineFAM-Africa Incubator Accelerator Programme award to pitch at the CaribbeanTales Film Festival in Toronto went to Mary Ann Mandishona for Mamba Kazi African Warrior Queens.

See the article here:

Durban FilmMart Recognizes Works in Progress From Across Africa ... - Variety

Coach Brian Agler and the Sparks won eight consecutive games from June 10 through July 2.

Alana Beard had never experienced the elation and satisfaction of winning a championship until last October, but after more than a dozen years in professional basketball, she understood the reality.

At some point, after the celebration dies down, you have to get your team together and try to do it again.

The Los Angeles Sparks, who improved to 14-5 with Monday's home victory over the Indiana Fever, host the Chicago Sky on Thursday in their final contest before Saturday's All-Star Game in Seattle (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET). As the midseason break approaches, Los Angeles has a solid grip on the No. 2 spot in the standings behind the league-leading Minnesota Lynx (15-2). The Sparks have hit a couple of rough patches -- a pair of two-game losing streaks, one early in the season and another earlier this month -- but are largely playing good, steady basketball on a path toward the playoffs.

The core of last year's championship team returned with Candace Parker, 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike, Beard and Jantel Lavender primed again for significant roles. But there was also substantial change: Point guard Kristi Toliver left for Washington and was replaced in the starting lineup by Chelsea Gray, a starter for the first time in her career; Riquna Williams, who missed 2016 with an injury, and talented, young guard Odyssey Sims were brought in.

No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft, 2012 WNBA rookie of the year, three-time WNBA All-Star, 2016 MVP and president of the WNBA Players' Association. This summer, Nneka Ogwumike adds another line to her resume: 2017 Body Issue athlete.

Brittney Griner is expected to miss a month. Tayler Hill is out for the season. And Elena Delle Donne missed Sunday's game and will be reevaluated this week. How will Phoenix and Washington cope while their stars recuperate?

Sue Bird of the Storm and five former MVPs headline the WNBA All-Star Game starters who will play in Seattle on July 22.

2 Related

Sparks coach Brian Agler admits he knew more about his team last year at this point than he does this season. But that is not a bad thing.

"We are moving in the right direction," he said. "It's a puzzle. Even though we had a lot of people back, we had several new people, and it's been an ongoing process to put it all together. But I didn't expect any different."

Neither did Beard.

"If you didn't understand that we were going to be a different team this season, you were not living in reality," Beard said. "But I don't mind not knowing, I'm confident about where we are."

Ogwumike said the Sparks have been going through a "spring cleaning" during the first half of the WNBA season.

"We are working on ourselves, focusing on what we can do better as a team and what individual people can do to contribute," Ogwumike said. "There are definitely some things that are a work in progress for us, but we are building off last year in our own way. In some cases, that requires starting from scratch."

Beard, who led Duke to consecutive Final Fours in 2002 and 2003, said she came into the season with an open mind and a big smile after winning the first title of her career. And with the awareness that it guarantees nothing going forward. If the Sparks want to become the first team in the WNBA to win back-to-back titles since Los Angeles did it in 2000 and 2001, they are going to need some of the same things that got them there last time -- and quite a few different ones. It is a message Agler has been preaching since training camp and continues to emphasize.

"Coach Agler talked to us just today again about the things that we can pull from last season," Beard said. "That knowing that we know how to win a title, there's no excuse for not getting things done. If they don't get done, it's because we choose not to do it. I feel like this team is 10 times better than last year, but there is so much more room for improvement."

Ogwumike said she had no expectations at the start of the season.

"It's been hard work to re-identify ourselves," she said. "I think we are playing well, we just need to be consistent. We really need that."

"If you didn't understand that we were going to be a different team this season, you were not living in reality. But I don't mind not knowing, I'm confident about where we are."

The Sparks are averaging 84.2 points a game, fourth in the league behind Minnesota, the Connecticut Sun and the Dallas Wings, and better than last season's 83.0 scoring average. L.A. ranks second in opponents' scoring average (77.8 PPG) behind the Lynx, a little behind last season's 75.9 points a game.

Gray has emerged as one of the league's most improved players and a very capable floor leader and scorer. Williams, who averaged more than 15.0 points a game for the Tulsa Shock in 2015, has scored in double figures in five of the past eight games. Sims, after opening the season with 20 points against Seattle, has struggled to find her role in the offense, averaging 5.5 points per game off the bench.

Beard, meanwhile, is having perhaps the best all-around season of her career, putting up her highest scoring average since 2009 at 12.6 points per game. And Parker and Ogwumike are still the most athletic, dynamic frontcourt tandem in the league. Ogwumike is tied for second in the WNBA in scoring (20.1 PPG), and Parker ranks among the top 15 scorers at 15.8 PPG.

Through the first half of the season, Minnesota might have taken back the mantle as title favorite, with MVP frontrunner Sylvia Fowles and the best start in franchise history. But Agler's arrival in 2015 -- he coached the Seattle Storm from 2008 to 2014 -- established a culture in Los Angeles, Beard said. The 2016 championship didn't define it as much as it cemented that the Sparks are doing the right thing.

"Championship teams are not about talent or players, they are about the leaders you have in your system and they are about culture," Beard said. "He built the foundation, and the rest is up to us."

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Defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks remain a work in ... - ESPN

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Lula and Brazil's Progress Wall Street Journal (subscription) The forever-developing nation of Brazil has been putting its legal system to an extreme stress test, impeaching one former president, indicting the current one, and late last week convicting former President Lula da Silva of corruption even as he plans ...

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Lula and Brazil's Progress - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

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[Editors Note: Because Splatoon 2 depends on servers for matchmaking, and because Nintendos Switch mobile app will launch alongside it on July 21, this review is in progress until shortly after its released to the public. Read on for our full impressions of Splatoon 2 as it exists in its pre-release state.]

It feels as if the paint had just begun to dry on Splatoon after its release on the Wii U in 2015 when Nintendo applied a fresh coat and relaunched it with Splatoon 2 on the Switch. That may be why this sequel feels less like a whole new game than a new version of the first one that rolls up the best post-launch updates to the colorful and adorably non-violent team-based shooter and adds some new toys. Of course, considering the first game is a lot of fun, thats not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you missed it for lack of a Wii U. And despite some questionable choices that can leave you trapped in matchmaking purgatory, the addition of a standout and clever take on a co-op horde mode provides some seriously addicting fun that has me coming back for more.

Like its predecessor, Splatoon 2s emphasis on using vibrant, ink-based weapons to splatter both enemies and the ground alike in your team color to control territory makes it a distinctive kind of visually rewarding fun. Controlling the ground is more than just a way of keeping score, though youre far more mobile in your own territory, creating lots of opportunity for strategies around creating a highway to an objective and cutting off your opponents, and also setting up areas to submerge into the ink and replenish your ammo. The key to victory on the eight distinct and symmetrical maps currently in rotation often lies in being aware of terrain, ink management, and the oppositions plans.

Between the original arsenal, the guns added in post-launch updates, and the new ones introduced in Splatoon 2, theres plenty of ink-based weaponry to choose from, and yet each type has distinct uses. Theres the fast and furious Inkbrush that covers ground quickly, contrasted with the Slosher that manages to turn a literal bucket of ink into a deadly close-range weapon. One of my favorites of the new batch is the Dualies, dual-pistol style weapons that have a great rate of fire and also let you quickly dodge-roll when firing to strafe enemies and release a concentrated burst of ink. Theres also a brand-new array of special weapon powerups, many of which work well with proper coordination to break stalemates. The protective Ink Armor shields your entire team from harm, while the Tenta Missiles can lock onto and fire a salvo of ink strikes on multiple enemies.

Obtaining new gear is a smoother process than in the first game.

Going hand in hand with Splatoon 2s wealth of weapons is a set of gear that provides both style and bonuses in combat, with the added twist of over 20 random secondary abilities that unlock after youve battled with them equipped enough times. These range from practical effects, like increasing ink recovery rates, to highly specialized abilities that can track the enemy who last splatted you or players youve recently hit. Obtaining new gear is a smoother process than in the first game, too you can now order any gear youve seen on other people in-game using currency earned from battle, though the abilities attached to yours might not be the same due to random generation. Paying to scrub unwanted extra traits to make room for new ones leaves chunks of those abilities behind to apply to other gear, letting you mix and match from your inventory, or you can try your luck at unlocking different bonuses to replace the old ones that better align with your playstyle. This is a good way get value out of gear you earned but dont plan to wear: by scrubbing enough ammo-conserving bonuses from gear I wasnt using, I was then able to apply that trait to my favorite jersey (for a hefty price). Offering the chance to craft the perfect gear for your playstyle to give you a better edge in the more competitive Ranked Battles has kept me more invested than I was in the first Splatoon.

Aquatic Ambience

With a world this colorful and fun, its great to see how much better people and places look on the Switch. Characters like the weapons dealer Sheldon and clothing merchant Jelfonzo look better than ever with more detailed models and textures, and the various forms of street art and graffiti scattered around the maps pop. The ink itself shimmers and glints with shiny flecks. Despite it all, Splatoon 2 never failed to maintain a smooth 60 frames per second in battle even with ink flying in all directions in a fully populated eight-player match. In handheld mode, things look great, and the option to set sensitivity for both modes of play helped immensely when switching between handheld and docked mode. I actually ended up swapping between motion and non-motion controls with surprising ease (though not being able to use the control stick to look up and down with motion and controls does take getting used to every time).

Solo Artist

Splatoon 2 brings back a very familiar and simple 32-mission single-player campaign that, with some exceptions, follows the style of its predecessor almost to the letter. Theres a fair amount of hand-holding and will only take six or so hours to run through and find most collectibles, but missions provide some pretty fun ideas to play around with. There are places to stylishly grind on ink-rails like a squid version of Tony Hawk, and elsewhere you can lure giant, ink-vacuuming Squee-G robots into your enemies path. Spraying ink to activate expanding sponges or moving platforms gives it a light Super Mario Sunshine feel, but it rarely challenges you the way co-op and multiplayer do. The most significant improvement over Splatoon is that the sequels campaign lets you try out each of the weapon types, which is a great way to learn about their potential and how they can be used in multiplayer before jumping online. This focus on weapon research greatly extends replay value, as you can head back into levels youve already conquered to discover new challenges based on the weapons strengths and limitations.

Heading into Splatoon 2s main lobby lets you queue up for an engaging variety of online modes. Each mode automatically drops you in one of two maps that change up every two hours, which keeps things feeling fresh and doesnt let a map wear out its welcome as quickly as in other games, where the community often picks a favorite and plays it to death. The standard Turf War mode, which carries over from the original, is welcoming for beginners and veterans alike with the simple yet entertaining concept of competing to ink the most territory in three minutes. No two matches ever feel the same because the battlefield hotspots dictated by the competing colors of ink are constantly changing, and several times being at the right place at the right time was what narrowly pushed our team to victory. This is one case where I actually miss the Wii U gamepad without the second-screen map or an always-on-screen minimap, you have to hold a button to overlay a map to see how things are going or jump to a teammates location. This means youll need to be that much more alert to the status of your team and the terrain, and finding a safe spot to check the map overlay took some getting used to.

Being at the right place at the right time was what narrowly pushed our team to victory.

Besides Turf Wars, Ranked and League Battles are where more precise and objective-based modes await. The king-of-the-hill-inspired Splat Zone, a tug-of-war style payload mode called Tower Control, and a spin on capture-the-flag where you carry a powerful but movement-impeding weapon to the enemy base called Rainmaker. Unfortunately, these modes arent well populated yet, so Ill have to wait until Splatoon 2 goes live before I can effectively test them out.

The only real problems Ive encountered so far are the lobbys matchmaking system and the lack of a between-match loadout screen. Like in most games, once youve picked your mode of choice youll be sent to a room awaiting seven more players to begin. The catch is that nobody can cancel out or do anything else (such as the minigame the first Splatoon gave us to kill the time here) until either the match fills up or the timer runs out a couple of minutes later. Even if your group does fill up fast (which we can assume will be more likely after launch) and you get to play a round, you're still left with the problem of being unable to swap out weapons and gear between matches. I dont mind not being able to switch during a match because that makes you carefully consider your choices and commit to the role your weapon fills, and the matches arent that long to begin with. But after playing with a great group and leveling up, the last thing I want to do is ditch them just so I can put on a new pair of shoes.

Cooperative Calamari

Where Splatoon 2s single-player campaign gently guides you through Octoling enemies, the new Salmon Run mode is an excellent cooperative foil. As hilarious as it is addicting, this mode puts you and up to three other players up against three timed waves of relentless enemies while collecting a quota of golden eggs from boss creatures and depositing them in a basket. Unlike other horde modes, Salmon Run deftly uses Splatoons ink and territory mechanics to ensure youre not only splatting fish but also struggling to maintain control of the ground as enemies try to stifle your movement. The Boss Salmonids you face are some of the most memorable enemies Ive seen in a horde mode since Left 4 Dead, wielding trash as makeshift weapons and armor and shooting beams of ink from atop a tower of pots and pans. Their distinct looks help you assess threats quickly, which is essential because your team must neutralize them before being overwhelmed.

When playing online, youll be given one of four random weapons to use for every wave, and I love how it challenged me to adapt and fill new roles on my team: In one wave I was sniping bosses with the Splat Charger, but in the next wave I had to clear a path to the egg basket with the Roller instead. Difficulty can be set when playing locally, and steadily grows when online thanks to the randomized nature of enemy waves and weapon loadouts, boss configurations, and special events like rising water levels or egg-stealing mothership invasions. Those shifting conditions kept me coming back to see what would happen next.

The Boss Salmonids you face are some of the most memorable enemies Ive seen in a horde mode since Left 4 Dead.

Playing locally with friends is a blast my teammates and I frantically screamed out boss names and locations of golden eggs to direct each other to counter problems and capitalize on opportunities. But this also highlights how key communication is to survival, something that doesnt currently translate well in random online matchups, where you can only give basic callouts. Thats something that will hopefully improve with the launch of Nintendos mobile app, which will allow voice communication (one of the things we found lacking with the original Splatoon on the Wii U). Co-op is also the only mode that can only be played online on certain days for specific amounts of time, which is truly frustrating considering just how fun it is. I get that Nintendo wants to ensure full rooms on the days Salmon Run is active, but Id rather have the option to queue up with friends online or have a way to easily back out if nobody is around to play with (going it alone is pretty much a death sentence). Luckily, you earn rewards much faster online; if you choose to play locally you can play as much as you want, but it takes much longer to earn bonuses.

Thats it for now, but check back after Splatoon 2 and the Nintendo mobile app launch on July 21 for the final review. But if I had to score Splatoon now, Id give it an 8.3.

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Review in Progress - IGN

Commuters walk across London Bridge against a backdrop of Tower Bridge during sunrise in London.

Brexit negotiators acknowledged frustration on both sidesover the U.Ks divorce from the European Union, due to entrenched early positions. But signs of progress are also emerging.

The second day of the monthly negotiations in Brussels saw officials delve into the details of the main issues they want to make headway on before an October summit of leaders. Several hours devoted to how to keep a soft Irish border after Brexit, as well as the rights of European nationals in the U.K.

The past two days show that Britains divorce payment to the EU remains one of the biggest sticking points, people familiar with the talks said. Both sides are barely going further than trying to understand each others positions, quizzing each other as they seek to tease out common ground, according to people familiar with the discussions speaking on condition of anonymity.

With Theresa Mays government embroiled in infighting in London, nearly 100 civil servants are in the Belgian capital working to reach a deal by the end of next year with time on the side of the bloc. The risk for the U.K. is crashing out of the union in 2019 with tariffs awaiting and businesses fleeing.

Accused by EU negotiator Michel Barnier of wasting time, the U.K. has sought to regain some of the initiative this week by spelling out its stance on key issues.

British officials believe the government took a significant step last week when it acknowledged in writing for the first time that it owed the EU money. Analysts have said the amount, based on past commitments, could stretch to 100 billion euros ($115 billion). Yet the U.K. is unlikely to agree to a figure until the last minute, according to the people familiar with the discussions.

The EU has said it must be persuaded of sufficient progress in the negotiations on the U.K. payment, citizens rights and the Irish border before it will allow talks to move toward the crucial issue of future trade -- something both sides want to do in October.

If all goes well, the U.K. and EU will sign an agreement by the end of 2018 to allow ratification by the European Parliament, before Britain leaves the bloc the following March.

The U.K. governments latest position is that if it can convince EU negotiators that it has signed up to the principles of a financial settlement and that Britain wont go back on its word, that will be enough, according to the people familiar with the discussions.

But as the U.K. seeks to maintain leverage as long as possible, it wont make any legally binding commitment until an overarching Brexit agreement is signed, the people said.

Talks in Brussels are scheduled to last until Thursday, when U.K. negotiators will return to London, leaving the European Commission to brief officials from the 27 countries on progress. A third round of negotiations is planned for the final week of August.

Earlier in the day, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas denied that it was a problem that Brexit Secretary David Davis only stayed a few hours on Monday before leaving the talks. We are not concerned about it, chief negotiators do not have to be present all the time, he told reporters in Brussels.

And on the U.K. having a team twice as large as that of the EU? His response: We dont feel that we have been invaded.

Although the negotiators are focused on the task at hand, both sides are making efforts to get along. On Tuesday, many of them spent their lunch hour together eating salad served in the European Commission. An issue over a lack of coffee for the two teams on Monday was rectified 24 hours later -- with the help of some chocolate biscuits.

See original here:

Brexit Talks Reveal Dashes of Frustration and a Hint of Progress - Bloomberg

One year ago this month, members of Congress put aside party politics and took action to support millions living in extreme poverty.

The Global Food Security Act, a bill sponsored by Sens. Johnny IsaksonJohnny IsaksonLets not roll back bipartisan progress on global food security Senate Dems to Trump official: Don't give compounds to Russia in meeting next week Tillerson: Trump and Putin had 'positive chemistry' MORE (R-Ga.) and Bob CaseyBob CaseyDem leaders amp up calls for bipartisan ObamaCare fixes Lets not roll back bipartisan progress on global food security Vulnerable senators raise big money ahead of 2018 MORE (D-Pa.) and Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), passed on July 6, 2016 and was sent to the presidents desk for signature. The legislation authorized an agriculture development initiative to help alleviate global poverty and hunger in developing countries. The Act called for a comprehensive whole-of-government approach to global food and nutrition security, prioritized transparency and accountability in all programs, and recognized the critical role that women play in agriculture, nutrition and household food security.

Significantly, resilience was elevated to a full objective of the program to help ensure that unforeseen events do not derail progress toward reaching a world without hunger. With the new strategy in place, USAID has welcomed civil society to input into the selection of performance monitoring indicators. The country selection process is expected to be finalized soon.

Laws like the Global Food Security Act are strong examples of bipartisan efforts to help modernize Americas foreign assistance programs. But, these efforts to make government more efficient could be nullified should the draconian cuts to foreign assistance proposed by the White House this May be enacted.

In budget recommendations submitted to Congress, the White House called for 32 percent cuts to foreign assistance. Cuts of this nature would have a devastating impact on programs like Feed the Future that help to address global agricultural development. The initiative has helped nearly 7 million smallholder farmers and producers to improve their crop yields since being launched in 2009. The program has reached 12.5 million children with nutrition programs. The initiative has seen particularly strong results in Rwanda, Senegal and Malawi.

The White House has frequently made the case that other countries should take on the burden of global development and humanitarian response. Earlier this month, leaders from the twenty most powerful countries in the world attended the 2017 G20 meetings in Hamburg, Germany. Though 20 million people in Yemen, north-east Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan are facing starvation due to conflict and drought, food and nutrition security was not on the G20 agenda in any meaningful way. The imminent need for famine response and increased investment in food security initiatives that can promote resilience and prevent future disasters is profoundly clear. Yet the G20 hasnt had the political will to tackle this issue.

As one of the largest national donors to global food security initiatives, the United States must continue to lead. Rejecting President Trumps cuts to foreign aid is a critical first step. From Des Moines to Dallas, advocates in all parts of the country have taken 283,054 actions to demonstrate to policymakers that foreign assistance saves lives, builds economies, and keeps us safe here at home. Now, it is time for Congress to heed their call.

Judith Rowland is U.S. Policy and Advocacy Manager atGlobal Citizen

The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Let's not roll back bipartisan progress on global food security - The Hill (blog)

After the failure of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has reverted to the previously-rejected strategy of repealing major parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with no replacement.

McConnells revived strategy of repeal and delay would cause immediate chaos in the individual insurance market despite putting off the implementation of certain provisions for two years. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that this approach would increase premiums in the individual market to levels 20 percent to 25 percent higher relative to those under the ACA in the first year after enactment. By 2026, premiums would be about 100 percent higher than under current law.

Table 1 displays the effect that these increases would have on projected premiums. Under repeal, a 40-year-old would pay $1,100 more for coverage next year. By 2026, a 40-year-old would pay $6,500 more annually for coverage.

Notably, the actual financial impact on many enrollees would be even more extreme than these numbers indicate. Currently, the vast majority of marketplace enrollees receive tax credits that reduce the share of the premium they pay and more than half receive cost-sharing subsidies. Under the Senates plan for repeal and delay, these tax credits would be repealed after two years with no replacement.

To estimate what premiums would be next year, we used information on the 2017 average benchmark silver premium and inflated it to 2018 rates. Under implementation of the ACA, including continued payment of cost-sharing reductions and enforcement of the individual mandate, premium increases next year would reflect mostly increases in medical trend. The consultancy Oliver Wyman predicts that premiums should rise about 8 to 11 percent in 2018. We used the midpoint of this prediction, 9.5 percent, to estimate the 2018 premium for a 40-year-old under current law.

To apply CBOs estimate that premiums would increase by 20 percent to 25 percent in the first plan year after a repeal bills enactment, we also used the midpoint, or 22.5 percent, for the 2018 premium difference. The CBO projected that the annual silver plan premium would be $6,500 for a 40-year-old in 2026 under the ACA. We applied the CBOs projection that premiums would about double to estimate the premium for a 40-year-old in 2026 under repeal and delay.

Emily R. Gee is the health economist for the Health Policy team at the Center for American Progress. Thomas Huelskoetter is the policy analystfor the Health Policy team at American Progress.

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Estimated Premium Increases from Repeal and Delay - Center For American Progress

EPAs approval of a special local need label for the Reckon herbicide will allow Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. to continue to make significant progress in controlling a genetically engineered creeping bentgrass in Malheur and Jefferson counties in Oregon, company officials say.

Sean Ellis/Capital Press

Danielle Posch, a senior research specialist with Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., points out the difference between genetically engineered creeping bentgrass (pictured on the left) and conventional creeping bentgrass (two plants on the right), July 12 during a field day at Oregon State Universitys agricultural experiment station in Ontario, Ore. Posch said Scotts is making significant progress in controlling GE bentgrass in Malheur County.

ONTARIO, Ore. Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. is reporting significant progress in eliminating genetically engineered creeping bentgrass plants from Malheur and Jefferson counties in Oregon.

Were making a tremendous dent in the population of bentgrass right now, said Danielle Posch, a senior research specialist with Scotts.

She was hired by Scotts in March to coordinate efforts to control the plant with local farmers, ranchers and irrigation districts.

The creeping bentgrass was genetically engineered by Scotts and Monsanto Corp. to withstand applications of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsantos Roundup weed killer, which makes it hard to kill.

It took root in Malheur and Jefferson counties after escaping field trials in 2003 and some farmers worry the plants could clog irrigation ditches and affect shipments of crops to nations that dont accept traces of genetically modified organisms.

Malheur County farmer Dan Andersen said Scotts is making real progress in controlling the plant.

Theyre doing a good job of staying right on top of it, said Andersen, co-chairman of a working group of farmers, irrigation district representatives and others that was created in Malheur County to coordinate with Scotts in its continuing efforts to try to control the plant.

East Oregon farmer Bruce Corn, a member of the Owyhee Irrigation Districts board of directors, agrees.

He said he used to have several of the plants on his property but its really hard to find one on my place now. Theres definite progress. I think so far Scotts is doing a pretty good job on it.

Andersen is not overly hopeful the plant will ever be eradicated from the area, but I think well be able to get to a point where its minor and very manageable, he said. But were still going to have to be vigilant keeping an eye out for it and not letting our guard down.

Posch said efforts to fight the plant were provided a significant boost earlier this year when EPA approved a special local need label for Reckon, an herbicide that is effective in controlling the bentgrass.

The special label will allow growers and irrigation districts to spray glufosinate, the active ingredient in Reckon and the most effective herbicide for killing the bentgrass, over water during the growing season.

That chemical previously could only be used over waterways, such as canals, during a short period before the beginning of the growing season or after canals were dry.

The plants werent growing during those times which made it harder to kill them because they didnt take up the chemical, Posch said.

Being able to use Reckon over waterways during the entire year is a game-changer in efforts to combat the GE creeping bentgrass, Posch said.

In my opinion, its a godsend, Andersen said.

Scotts has also started a voucher program that provides growers with the plant on their property with free, 2.5-gallon containers of Reckon.

For more information about that program, contact Posch by email at danielle.posch@scotts.com.

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Scotts claims significant progress in killing GE bentgrass in Oregon - Capital Press

(CBS) Among the many happy people these days at the intersection of 35th and Shields is Nick Hostetler, the amateur scouting director of the rebuilding White Sox who has seen his organization reshape its future the last eight months with blockbuster deals.

The latest came Thursday, with the White Sox sending left-hander Jose Quintana to the Cubs for a haul of four prospects that included outfielder Eloy Jimenez, viewed as a top-10 prospect in the game, along with right-hander Dylan Cease, another major prospect.

Hostetler has a great feel for both of these new prized pieces to the White Sox farm system, which may now be the best in baseball. Jimenez joins a mix of position players that includes Yoan Moncada, ranked as the top prospect by MLB.com, and fellow outfielder Luis Robert, who signed out of Cuba in May.

Last week, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said that Jimenez compares to White Sox great Jermaine Dye. Hostetler joined Hit and Run on 670 The Score on Sunday and declined to give a comparison for the 20-year-old Jimenez, but his belief in him is strong.

Eloys just a tremendous talent, Hostetler said. When you have a chance to see him in person and to see how big and strong he is and to think that hes still only 20 years old with that type of power I can see why a Jermaine Dye comp has been put on him. Jeds an extremely smart man, and I wouldnt argue with him on a comp he gives.

Cease joins the White Sox as the latest talented pitcher to join their organization. Theyd previously added Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning in trades last December. Now, Cease enters the fold as a 21-year-old with an electric arm.

Hostetler scouted Cease out of high school in Georgia, before Tommy John surgery dropped his draft value in 2014.

He was a three-pitch mix with front-line starter ceiling, Hostetler said of Cease. It was about 97, 98 miles per hour on the fastball with a breaking ball that falls off the table. Hes got a solid feel for a changeup. Obviously, the numbers show theres going to be some refinements that need to be done with the mechanics to help him throw some more strikes.

Look, with our track record with pitching, Ill put that up against anybody in the league. I feel very confident turning a pitcher with his abilities over to our pitching guys.

The White Sox have made tremendous progress in their rebuilding efforts in short time. Their first major move toward a rebuild came with the deal of Chris Sale to the Red Sox in December, which acquired Moncada, Kopech and two others. Days later, the White Sox dealt Adam Eaton to the Nationals for Giolito, Lopez and Dunning.

With the move of Quintana to the Cubs, the White Sox have further stocked a farm system with major prospects. MLB.com ranks the team with nine of the top 68 prospects in baseball. Hostetler knows well that there are more names in the pipeline, too.

Rebuilding became the best route after the White Sox were mired in mediocrity, as general manager Rick Hahn declared almost a year ago. Theyve become better for the future by trading Sale, Eaton and Quintana.

Obviously, this is not something you want to have to do when youre working for a club and youre a scout or scouting director or GM, Hostetler said. You dont want to have to do these things. But at times, you have to. We know that the effort thats been put in now and 2016, 17 and 18 to hopefully, whenever that time comes that all these guys come up and start playing well for us and were winning championships, its all going to be worth it.

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Nick Hostetler Excited By Progress Of White Sox Rebuild - CBS Chicago

Australian officials should press the government of Laos to respect human rights at the Australian-Laos human rights dialogue, scheduled for July 18-19, 2017, in Vientiane, Human Rights Watch said today in a submission to the Australian government. Key areas of concern in Laos are freedom of speech, association, and assembly; enforced disappearances; abusive drug detention centers; and repression of minority religious groups.

The Lao governments suppression of political dissent and lack of accountability for abuses stand out in a human rights record that is dire in just about every respect, said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch. As a major development partner of Laos, Australia can and should press for greater respect for basic rights.

Restrictions on civil and political rights in Laos include draconian controls over freedom of speech, association, and peaceful assembly. The lack of fair trials of criminal suspects, widespread judicial corruption,and entrenched impunity for human rights violations are continuing problems, Human Rights Watch said.

All TV, radio, and printed publications are strictly monitored and controlled by the Lao government. The constitution prohibits all mass media activities that run contrary to national interests or traditional culture and dignity.

The government has arbitrarily arrested and detained civil society activists and those deemed critical of the government. The penal code contains broad limitations that prohibit slandering the state, distorting party or state policies, inciting disorder, or propagating information or opinions that weaken the state.

In July 2015, the government enacted a cybercrime law that provides vague definitions of web content criminalized under the law, giving authorities maximum discretion in determining what can trigger a prosecution. Citizens who share information, images, or animations that the government deems to distort truth are subject to re-education and disciplinary measures.

The government not only monitors and suppresses free speech inside the country, but also that of citizens living abroad. In May, three Lao workers were fined and sentenced to prison terms of between 12 and 20 years in a secret trial after criticizing the Lao government while working in neighboring Thailand.

The government has also failed to make progress on at least 10 cases of enforced disappearance. The December 2012 enforced disappearance of prominent activist Sombath Somphone is emblematic of the governments failure to meet its international human rights obligations. Despite CCTV camera footage showing Sombath being taken away from a police checkpoint in downtown Vientiane, Lao authorities have repeatedly denied that the government took Sombath into custody or provided any information on his fate or whereabouts.

Sombath Somphone, a prominent Lao activist, has been forcibly disappeared in Vientiane since December 2012.

The Lao government remains suspicious of the countrys religious minorities, particularly Protestant Christians, whom the government has long accused of having allegiances to the United States and the West. In some areas, authorities harass and repress Protestant groups. In December 2016, seven Christian families in Luang Prabang province had their identification cards, family books, and land titles confiscated by police, who forced them to leave their village after the families refused to renounce their faith. Other reports include arson attacks on Christian churches and homes, government authorities seizing harvested crops from Christians, and beatings for celebrating Christmas and refusing to renounce the Christian faith.

Laos continues to arbitrarily detain people suspected of using drugs in compulsory drug detention centers without judicial oversight or due process. Human Rights Watch found that detainees at Somsanga, the largest of eight such centers in the country, are locked in cells inside barbed wire compounds. Those who try to escape have been brutally beaten.

Human Rights Watch urged the Australian government to issue a public statement outlining serious issues of concern, as Australia did last year following the dialogue with Vietnam. The annual human rights dialogues should not be the only forum where human rights are discussed, Human Rights Watch said. Concerns about human rights should also be aired privately and publicly at the highest level, so that Australian officials can convey the serious role human rights and the rule of law play in its partnership with Laos.

Australia should issue a public statement after the dialogue to show the people of Laos that the countrys human rights situation is a global concern. Pearson said. These dialogues are an opportunity to raise human rights issues frankly and forcefully but should not be the only forum to discuss abuses.

Originally posted here:

Laos: No Progress on Rights - Human Rights Watch

How is the United States faring in terms of phasing out fee-for-service health care and replacing it with a value-based system? New research shows some momentum, but much work remains.

For the second year in a row,(ddx.questdiagnostics.com) Quest Diagnostics and Inovalon, a leading technology company, commissioned a study to find evidence that the needle is moving in this direction. The 2017 study, titled "Progress on the Path to Value-Based Care,"(ddx.questdiagnostics.com) was released last month.

Results of the latest study were based on the responses of 452 individuals who participated in an online survey undertaken April 7-17. Of those respondents, 302 were primary care physicians -- all employed in private practices but also affiliated with hospitals -- and 150 were health plan executives.

"Overall, the study shows progress toward valued-based care, but that progress has been slow because physicians lack the appropriate tools to close gaps in health care," said Patrick James, M.D., chief clinical officer of health plans, policy and medical affairs at Quest Diagnostics, in an interview with AAFP News.

Authors found that the percentage of surveyed physicians and health plan executives who think the U.S. health care system already has achieved value-based status increased to 29 percent in 2017 from 25 percent in 2016.

Additionally, the percentage of physicians who said they lack needed information about patients dropped from 65 percent in 2016 to 62 percent in 2017.

The survey revealed some areas of disconnect between health plan executives and physicians. For instance, 70 percent of health plan executives said progress has been made in aligning health plans and physicians in the quest for value-based care; just 47 percent of physicians agreed.

This indicates "an opportunity for greater alignment" in this area, said James.

On the other hand, a whopping 83 percent of physicians and health plan executives agreed that alignment between the two groups was crucial to providing value-based care.

When asked about the availability of tools needed to achieve valued-based care, 53 percent of health executives said physicians already had those tools, but just 43 percent of physicians agreed.

Study authors speculated that a possible reason for the "striking gap in perception" on this topic centered on "differing views about the value of EHRs" (electronic health records).

They noted that 75 percent of executives -- and just 54 percent of physicians -- said EHRs had everything physicians need.

In addition,

What's the significance of this information moving forward?

"In our study, 71 percent of physicians said they'd be willing to spend more time using technology if EHRs could yield insights unique to patients," said James. "And 87 percent of physicians and health plan executives agreed that access to quality and performance measures specific to patients would be key to achieving value-based care.

"This reveals that both physicians and payers want more from EHRs, so there is a path forward, particularly if extending the value of EHRs can lead to improved patient care and lower costs," he added.

Authors suggested that co-investment in health IT (HIT) could be the key to progress.

"Perhaps health plan executives are mindful of the significant investment required of physician practices to implement HIT solutions and the potential for co-investment to help surmount this challenge," they wrote.

James agreed and added that 85 percent of health plan executives polled in the study said that co-investment in HIT by health plans and physicians would accelerate value-based care. As an example, he said health plans are sometimes willing to shoulder the costs of technology that gives physicians actionable, patient-specific data that includes quality metrics.

"They believe that over time, it will pay off in the form of better financial performance," James said.

James described the level of progress toward value-based care this way: "The study shows that progress has been made over the past year, but obstacles still persist. Chief among them are differing perceptions of health plan executives and physicians about the tools and data needed to deliver on value-based care."

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Researchers Assess Progress on Nation's Move to Value-Based Care - AAFP News