The Equipment Reports

Samuel

PayPal Hikes Merchant Fees On Some Of Its Products And Services In America; New Policy To Be Implemented From August 2

by

Merchants will now have to pay more fees to PayPal. The financial service provider has announced to increase fees that it charged to merchants. The hike is, however, applicable to some of its products. It is limited to the United States only. The increased merchant fees will come into effect from August 2. According to PayPal, it is making changes to fees as per the company’s pricing policy. It said that the revised rates are aligned with the services and products it offers. The rates are as per the value of the offerings. PayPal is a global digital payments platform. It is based in San Jose in California. The company is among the largest online payment processors in the world.

PayPal in a statement said that the company is committed to transparency in its services. It will inform the customers about revised rates. It has so far maintained a flat rate for sellers processing payments. The firm charged 2.9 percent of the transaction price. This is in addition to a 30-cent fee. The company underlined that the new rates will only apply to a portion of merchant customers. PayPal will charge higher rates for the newer products which include Pay with Venmo and PayPal Checkout. The company believes that 60 percent of the consumers using PayPal as a payment method convert than consumers who do not choose the platform for payments.

According to PayPal’s market assessment, the chances of consumers using the platform increases when PayPal is available at the time of checkout. It said that consumers use the platform three times more to complete the purchase. The recently announced Buy Now, Pay Later solutions also pushed the payment volume for business by more than 15 percent. Meanwhile, a US consumer watchdog has launched a probe into Venmo’s alleged unauthorized funds’ transfer. Venmo is a money transfer app. It is owned by PayPal. PayPal claims that it has approximately 392 million accounts that are active.

United Airlines Launches ‘Your Shot to Fly’ Sweepstakes To Offer Free Flights To Vaccinated Loyalty Members

by

United Airlines has joined the list of companies that are encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In a bid to this, the airline has launched a “Your Shot to Fly” sweepstakes. Under this, the airline will award vaccinated loyalty program members free flights. The company said that selected people will get to travel free of cost for one year. The free flights will be available for the selected loyalty program member and a companion. However, the number of people who will be selected for this scheme has been fixed to five. So, five lucky people who have got inoculated against COVID-19 will get to travel for free for one year.

In order to be part of this scheme, passengers who are members of United Airlines’ MileagePlus program will have to vaccination certificate on the mobile app of the company. The proof of vaccination can also be uploaded on the website of the airline. The company has announced that passengers will have to do this before June 22. The company will randomly select five customers on July 1. The selected passengers will win the grand prize of free flights of United Airlines for a year. “Free flights will be in any class of service and selected passengers can choose to go anywhere in the world United flies,” the company said. Also, United Airlines said that it would roundtrip tickets to 20 passengers who will participate in the sweepstakes. The eligibility criteria set by the airline is that the passengers should be a resident of the United States and must be above the age of 18 years. A random selection for roundtrip tickets will be done in June, the company added.

United Airlines said that the sweepstakes have been launched with the aim of supporting the Biden administration’s push to a large number of Americans vaccinated at the earliest. United CEO Scott Kirby said that they are proud to be part of the initiative and doing their part to incentivize people to get vaccinated. “It is important for travel point of view. More and more destinations are opening because of the vaccine. Customers are eager to fly and getting vaccinated is the only way forward. Through the sweepstakes, we are giving people one more reason to get vaccinated. This will help them reunited with their family and friend. Moreover, they can take the much-awaited vacation.” Health officials have been urging people to get vaccinated in large numbers and the White House is joining hands with different companies to encourage people for vaccination.

Israel Health Authorities Investigate Heart Inflammation Cases Linked To Pfizer Vaccine

by

The officials from Health Ministry in Israel have said that they have been investigating a tiny number of cases of heart inflammation in people who have been given the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID19 vaccine. They have said that they have not been able to draw any conclusions yet. The officials from the company Pfizer have claimed that they have not seen a higher rate of such a side effect than what is expected in the general population. The pandemic response coordinator of the country, Nachman Ash has said that early findings of a report have shown that tens of cases of myocarditis have been taking place in more than five million people who have been given the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, especially after the second jab. Nachman Ash has noted that experts have not been able to identify whether the rate of heart inflammation has been unusually high or it is linked to the vaccine. As per the report, most of the cases of myocarditis have been found in those people who are in the age range of 30 years and above. Health experts are trying to find out if these cases are happening due to a higher number of morbidity or these cases can be linked to the Pfizer vaccine.

Health experts from Israel have said that identifying a cause behind these myocarditis cases would be hard as the disease often fades away without leading to any complications. The disease can be caused by a wide range of viruses. Similar numbers of cases of heart inflammation have been reported in the country in the past as well. The drugmakers are helping health officials in Israel to review data on their COVID19 vaccine. The officials of the company have admitted that they are aware of the analysis of myocarditis cases by the Israeli government where a number of young men have been diagnosed with the condition, who has been vaccinated with their COVID19 vaccine. The company has said that a causal link between these cases of myocarditis and their vaccine has not been determined yet. Scientists from the company have said that at this time, it cannot be concluded that myocarditis is a risk linked to the use of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine.

Israel has been leading in the vaccine rollout program across the world. As per the report, nearly 60 percent of its 9.3 million population has been vaccinated with the two full doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The nationwide database has revealed that the vaccine is extremely effective in preventing the symptoms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and severe infection linked to COVID19. Since the vaccine rollout program has started in the country, the rate of daily new infections has reduced from 10000 to 129 per day within a week. The director of the School of public health at Israel’s Ben Gurion University, Nadav Davidovitch has said that even if a link between myocarditis cases and the Pfizer vaccine is identified, health officials should not stop administering the vaccine, as the side effect does not seem to be severe enough. He has said that the situation needs to be investigated properly and the officials should wait for a final report. An interim analysis has shown that the risk of contracting the virus is much higher than the adverse reactions of the vaccine. Nadav Davidovitch has said that the risk of such heart inflammation after getting the vaccine is much lower as of now.

Alphabet Discloses YouTube Ad Revenue For The First Time Ever And It’s Mind-Boggling

by Leave a Comment

Google acquired an emerging video hosting site YouTube in 2006 for an estimated USD 1.7 billion. Everyone one knows that YouTube has grown many folds since then, probably more than what Google had anticipated while purchasing it. But the company never talked about YouTube revenue numbers for some unknown reasons. But Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has finally revealed how much YouTube is making from ads. According to Alphabet, YouTube earned USD 4.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. Keeping this figure in mind, it is expected that the video site made around more than USD 15 billion from ads in all of last year. This is around 10 per cent of total revenue earned by Alphabet throughout the entire year. This does not include revenue from other sources like subscriptions.

Google has also disclosed revenue generated from its cloud service, which is trying to challenge the likes of Microsoft and Amazon in the business. According to the search engine giant, it earned USD 10 billion in annual revenue from cloud business. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said he is pleased with the growth in newer areas like Cloud and YouTube. In the last quarter of 2019, the cloud-computing unit of Google reported revenue of USD 2.6 billion. This was up by 35 per cent when compared to the revenue generated in the same quarter a year ago. It was USD 1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2018. This is definitely a piece of good news for Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. He has completed his first year in this position.

However, the revenue shows that it is still far behind major players in the cloud market. Amazon Web Services earned USD 9.9 billion in the most recent quarter. Microsoft has not been disclosing specific revenue figures for its cloud platform Azure. Some reports claim that Google has disclosed these figures to deflate bad news in the revenue report. It is being said that the last quarter of 2019 was the worst since 2015.

Researchers Developed First Ever High-Resolution Map of Brain Connectivity

by Leave a Comment

Tracking brain activities is a challenging task. Researchers across the globe are attempting to develop various prototypes for the estimation. Now, a joint project between Google and the Janelia Research Campus has made a crucial discovery in brain mapping. They have released the biggest high-res map of brain connectivity until now. The researchers are providing a 3D model of around 25,000 fruit fly neurons through a wide variety of cell types. It also focuses on various regions of the brain. The team has achieved the feat by slicing sections of the fly’s brain into extremely thin slices. The researchers have used a scanning electron microscope to screen those sections with electron streams and stitch them again. The outcome is an advanced map with very little disturbances that it’s possible to map neurons via the brain.

The prototype is ground-breaking in the sector of connectomics. It utilizes comprehensive imaging techniques to plot the physical trails of the brain. As a result, the map, connectome, covers around a third of the brain of the fruit fly. So far, the roundworm C. elegans is the only organism that has had mapped its brain completely. On the other hand, connectomics has a composite image in the world of science. Experts say that it assists connect physical portions of the brain to particular activities, which is the main objective in neuroscience.

Notably, anyone can view and download the data. Even more, there exist papers both available and in transit explaining the work. Well, it could be a valuable resource of data for researchers seeking to comprehend fruit flies, particularly, or brain functionality broadly. During the trial, the team has focused on up to 25,000 neurons, including millions of chemical synapses. Thus, it needed composite imaging technology and in-depth machine learning algorithms. Researchers say also it is essential to tone down expectations. Even the map of such a colossal size depicts just a quarter of the 100,000 neurons in a particular fruit fly. Above all, the brains of most larger species are significantly more complex. Notably, around 86 million neurons would take considerably more work to track correctly.

FDA Implements Tobacco 21 Law, Makes It Illegal For Retailers To Sell These Products To Buyers Below This Age

by Leave a Comment

The United States Food and Drug Administration has announced that it would be now illegal for retailers to sell tobacco products to consumers younger than 21 years. The move comes even as the agency has six months to finalize the Tobacco 21 law. Retailers won’t be allowed to sell tobacco products to buyers under 21 years old. The age limit was earlier fixed as 18 years. The provision came after President Donald Trump signed legislation increasing the federal minimum age from 18 to 21. The legislation was signed on December 20 and also included USD 25 million for gun violence research and USD 1.4 billion for building a wall at the US-Mexico border.

Earlier, some news reports had claimed that the shift in the legal age was expected to be implemented in roughly nine months. But the agency has put a message on its website announcing the change. The legislation was signed on December 20, 2019. “With this, the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco or its products has been raised from 18 to 21 years,” the agency stated. The agency has said in the statement that it will provide additional details on the issue once they become available. Tobacco products include cigars, vaping cartridges, and e-cigarettes, etc.

It was introduced in May by Senate Majority Leader Senator Tim Kaine, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, and D-Va. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, nineteen states and the District of Columbia have already raised the minimum age limit. Also, more than 530 municipalities and counties of 31 states had given a green signal for similar measures. The National Association of Convenience Stores said that the law should contemplate providing clear direction to retailers. NACS said that retailers should be aware of what documents required to verify the age of any purchaser. South Dakota Retailers Association has also asked people to abide by FDA law, even though it has not been updated to align with federal law.

Trump’s tricky decision on Monday reveals new tariffs on China

by Leave a Comment

Due to the large part of the U.S.-China trade war, global markets have dealt with a roller-coaster 2019. There are the actual U.S. tariffs, and the retaliatory levies of China, that now collectively punish around $500 billion in goods. But markets are so sensitive that even Donald Trump’s tweets have resulted in high swings in both Asian NIK, -0.04% SHCOMP, -0.20% and American SPX, -0.32% legitimacy indexes. Markets are throbbing as yet another salvo in a dilemma between the two largest economies approaches of the world. On Sunday, the U.S. is slated to settle a 15% tariff on around 15% tariff on around $156 billion worth of Chinese imports. Still, this is no scant amount, and the more market-moving factor may be the milestone it will mark. If used, possibly all Chinese exports to the U.S. would confront some degree of taxation, which is a level of protectionism little observed in the modern area.

Few administrations have been as challenging to augur as Trump’s. Still, Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, stated that the deal is closed. It is possibly ever closer than in the middle of November when a so-called Phase 1 trade agreement was almost reached. Still, Kudlow and other high-level officials have given a signal about a reluctance to settle for a scrappy deal or one without inducement mechanism. The administration is demanding useful Chinese improvements in the purchase of U.S. goods, particularly agricultural products.

Meanwhile, China has made gestures, such as its declaration on Friday that it would manumit tariffs on some soybean and pork imports from the United States. Still, it has recurrently said it does not intend to make a full trade deal unless U.S. tariffs are first dispelled. Wang Yong, a professor at Peking University and director of the school’s Center for International Political Economy and its Center for American Studies, has told that the present political atmosphere in Sino-U.S. relations is not worthy of reaching an agreement.

White House Calls Trump’s Impeachment Proceeding Completely Baseless

by Leave a Comment

On Friday white House declined the Democratic invitation to participate in hearings in the House of Representatives. Democrats have accused President Trump of “abusing power” to get help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re-election in 2020. President Trump is accused of urging his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate his rival, Mr. Joe Biden; otherwise, he would block the military aid to Ukraine. A whistleblower had complained to the congress in September about a phone call by president trump to the president of Ukraine. The Republicans have accused Democrats of rushing the impeachment process and not giving enough time to President Trump to prove his innocence. Hinting at the adoption of impeachment article, the White House counsel said that the impeachment article would be a reckless abuse of power and will constitute the most unjust impeachment in the history of the USA.

In a letter to the House Judiciary commission chairman, the white house counsel Pat Cipollone did not point anything about Trump sending his Lawyer or the possibility of calling any witnesses. Mr. Pat Cipollone urged the Democrats to end the inquiry process and let the nation focus on more critical issues. The Judiciary Commission Chairman Jerry Nadler said that the Commission was “disappointed” because Commission gave enough opportunity to President Trump to question witnesses and prove his side. But Trump’s declining of this opportunity shows that the impeachment processes are always fair. (As President Trump often claims that the Impeachment process is unfair)

The House Judiciary Committee will meet on Monday to take the testimony of the evidence collected. The committee is also expected to draft and approve the articles of impeachment by the end of next week. If Impeached, President Trump will not be the first president to face the impeachment. Before this, former US president Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson have been impeached, but neither of them was convicted. The Judiciary Committee Meeting on Monday will provide more insights on President Trump’s impeachment process. To get regularly updated about the impeachment process, keep connected!

Rocket Lab and SpaceX launch rockets and X-Wings

by Leave a Comment

This week a ton of activity in the space has been going on, including multiple launches, essential preparations for missions, robots, and much more. Rocket Lab completes an essential step towards reusable rockets. Rocket Lab has successfully delivered a payload to an orbit. But at the starting of the year 2019, Rocket Lab announced they would be moving for launching system. During the Electron rocket at the 10th mission, Rocket Lab took the first step by testing the re-entry systems for bringing booster back to Earth’s atmosphere. As per Rocket Lab, the test was much better.

19th Space Station resupply mission launched by SpaceX is another big launch this week by SpaceX, which gave 5,200 lbs of experiments and supplies with the same to ISS. With the help of new Falcon 9 was launched, which SpaceX recovered by landing at sea, including employees of a Dragon cargo capsule company which had flown twice before to start. Other then that, ISS has new equipment in their station, like a robot hotel. The assistant robot powered by IBM is heading to space. After the first successful test of CIMON, it got back to ISS aboard above SpaceX launch with improvement. Its key developments are that it can respond to human emotions. SpaceX completes the seventh parachute test. It is one more step closer to launch astronauts on their crew spacecraft in the future. The company needs to do a minimum of ten parachute tests back to back to settle down for crew launch. Also, the company is almost there to get that done before the end year.

Boeing completes dress rehearsal for crew launch- Boeing is also much close to for launching an own commercial crew launch, and even they have planned- how the mission will take place when uncrewed start the launching. Real X-Wings fly for real- X-Wing starfighters started the night sky ride over Florida, Orlando, this week. The X-Wings are modified versions of a large cargo drone, on which Boeing is working, but both companies didn’t disclose further details about Real X-Wings fly for real- X-Wing starfighters.

The Parker Solar Probe Found Record-Breaking Facts & Data About The Sun

by Leave a Comment

The mission started in 2018 makes a significant victory in space research. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe arrives at a new data conclusion about the Sun. It launched in August 2018 and got closer to the Sun for the first time in history. The probe discovers some new facts about the Sun’s atmospheric layers, energy, and structure. NASA unveils information regarding Solar winds, Magnetic field, and Dust-free zones around the Sun.

At the edge of the Sun’s atmosphere, plasma and energy exist with a magnetic field. This phenomenon gets bursts in the flow of electronically charged particles. The winds heave from the atmospheric layers to space, and it washes over the Earth. The habits and data regarding the Solar winds is useful for finding new solutions about the protection of the Earth from astronauts. Corona is the Sun’s outer layer, and it is 500 times higher in temperature than inner. The information regarding bursts can explain facts about Corona. The Parker probe unveiled some characteristics of Solar winds such as it variates in the speed of 300,000 mph just in a second. The probe examination founds more than thousands of bubbles and bursts in 11 days. Scientists observed that tiny crumbs and asteroids fall to the star’s space because of the hot nature of the Sun. It vaporizes and explodes when it gets too closer. So there is a dust-free zone around the Sun. The winds are chaotic, turbulent, and unstructured in the flow and affect the atmospheric layers across space. It results in the transfer of energy to the earth and space.

NASA explains that the probe will get 21 times closer to the Sun around the next six years. It will travel four million miles towards the Sun’s surface. During each stage of travel, researchers get more and more data. The team leader and physicist, Mr. Stuart Bale, states that now the Parkers probe is halfway from the sun. So this research makes a record-breaking data collection for further study.

United Airlines Buys 50 Long Range Airbuses Worth USD 7 Billion To Replace Old Boeing 757

by Leave a Comment

United Airlines has decided to purchase 50 Airbus SE A321XLR jets to replace 53 Boeing 757-200 planes, which are due to be retired in another five years. New Airbus jets will fly between the United States East Coast and Europe. United Airlines is the latest airline, which has signed the deal with European plane maker’s new passenger jets. The deal has been signed in USD 7.1 billion. Long-range Airbus SE A321XLR jets will be commuting to cities like Porto, Portugal, and other potential new destinations. Boeing has stopped the manufacturing of large single-aisle models. It has been planning to introduce new twin-aisle planes, but it will not be launched until 2020. The twin-aisle plane is also known as NMA. Meanwhile, Boeing Co is putting all its efforts to shut down 737 Max jets globally. Global grounding of 737 Max jets is the result of two fatal crashes in the past.

Chief Operating Officer of United Airlines has said that they have worked diligently on Boeing’s new aircraft and they are ready to take orders if Boeing is determined to develop the NMA. New Airbus SE A321XLR is an opt choice for a one-for-one replacement for older and less efficient planes that have been running between some important destinations on the international network. Airbus SE A321XLR jets are quite fuel-efficient as compared to old aircraft. It has 30 percent less fuel burn per seat. Other Airlines like JetBlue and American Airlines have already signed the deal with Airbus for some of the long-range single-aisle planes. Smaller airplanes on a long route seek to control their operating expenses.

United Airlines has bought wide-body A350 jets as well, but the airline has deferred the delivery of these aircraft until 2027. Following the imposed tariffs on European made aircrafts, Airbus A321XLR is the second order for a US carrier. Chicago based airline also has another order for 100 Boeing 737 Max 10 planes in the pipeline. It is of the same size as Airbus A321XLR, but it does not deliver long-range. As per the reports, United Airlines is planning to configure 737 Max 10 planes into the premium design, so it can be used as a replacement of Boeing 757. It will operate from Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Why the IPO of Saudi Aramco be risky in the upcoming days

by Leave a Comment

Saudi Aramco, one of the leading oil-producing company in the world, which pump around 10% of global oil production. In 2018, it was the world’s most profitable company, as compared with the earnings of other companies such as JPMorgan Chase. The company pumped around 10.3 barrels’ crude oil in a day in 2018. Last year, the liquid petroleum reserves of Saudi Aramco were around five times larger than the joint reserve of Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP.

This year company planned to sell its 2 to 5 % stake on the Saudi Stock Exchange in Riyadh with a price range of around US$ 8.0 to US$ 8.5 per share. One of the risk factors is that after initial public offering (IPO) the company may face some difficulty to lift dividend payout to attract investor. Additionally, the company faces problems due to the fluctuation of oil prices and various other geopolitical risks. Furthermore, the company recently reported a drop in its net profit of around 18% to USD 68 billion, owing to a decline in oil prices for the nine months, which ended in September from the same period previously. Some of the other risks which can be associated with Saudi Aramco IPO are the amount of shareholder which are high as compared with the Saudi government, a dominant company shareholder. If the company sells its stake as per their decision, then the majority of the stake will be with the state. This implies that the state will remain as a main shareholder with a stake between 95% and 98%.

Due to this, the private shareholder would face difficulties if some risky decisions and operations are taken. These factors may create an adverse impact on the private shareholder. Additionally, until 2030, Asia is expected to account for around 41% of global refined petroleum demand which may drop as the demand for electric vehicles will upsurge. Apart from all these risky facts, Saudi Aramco is expected to become one of the largest company in terms of revenue if they export their final product to the west region of the world in the upcoming year. Though, its present, as well as future business, mostly depends on the market condition of Asia as the company export around 70% of its final product to different Asian countries.

Tesla’s Controversy About Its New Cybertruck And Breaking Of Unbreakable Windows

by Leave a Comment

The visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk-led electric car making company Tesla Inc. recently launched a cyber truck, which is one of the most ambitious projects of Musk. The electric-powered pickup truck has finally started by Tesla, and it has already made some controversy on its launch event. The design of Cybertruck gave a complete shock to those people who came to this event. The electric pickup truck went on the stage with its unique size and design, which not only shocked but confused many people. However, people did not expect something much controversial would happen during this event. When later, the presenter, while describing the unique features of this cyber truck, talked about the unbreakable metal glass which this truck has got with it. For testing the actual durability of durable metal glasses, a metal ball was thrown at the window, and to everyone’s surprise, it did not go well. The metal ball managed to break the “unbreakable glass,” and everyone, including Musk, witnessed the awkward situation.

However, when the presenter was finding himself in a not so good situation, Elon Musk himself took the stage and responded very funnily. He said that the metal ball did break the glasses, but it did not go through the window. Even though the whole event gathered attention on how come Tesla did not know whether the unbreakable glasses are severe enough or not, people missed the excellent features of Cybertruck. Cybertruck is more capable than any other renowned truck and sports car brands. The most expensive version of Cybertruck can efficiently manage to carry more than 14000 pounds of weight; it can also go from 0 to 60 in just 2.9 seconds. On a single time full charging, it can drive up to 500 miles, and other models have a range of 250 miles.

The Colorado School District closed 40 schools for the unprecedented Spread of infectious enteric worms

by Leave a Comment

A school district in Colorado recently said that a large-scale disease outbreak forced all of its schools to temporarily close. In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday morning, Mesa County Valley School District 51 – Colorado’s 14th District, with more than 22,000 students – announced that it will close more than 40 schools until after the Thanksgiving holiday, due to the high infectious gastrointestinal disease.

The statement said that the conclusion was activated after more than a dozen schools began reporting that the absence rate was above average, which is extraordinary because the region has never had to close all schools in the area because of the disease. D51 Care Coordinator Ms. Tayna Marvin said in a statement: “We are taking this particularly unusual action because the virus is extremely contagious and spreads rapidly in our schools.” “Also, it seems that there is a second type of related virus that is distressing students, some of whom have been sick in recent weeks. The mixture of these two viruses has caused an unprecedented spread of disease. The specific disease that makes students and faculty feel uncomfortable is not known. However, Mesa public health officials said in a statement issued to Twitter that it “acts much like a Norovirus. Norovirus is a gastrointestinal disease and is sometimes called “winter vomiting bed bug.” It usually causes nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, and is easy to spread. A common way to spread the virus is to get in close contact with the infected person. This is direct or indirect, such as shared bathrooms, dormitories or other public spaces.

More specifically, the virus is spread by feces and vomit. Mesa County public health officials said in a statement, there have been multiple vomiting incidents in public places in schools. Lee-Ann Jaykus, head of science at NoroCORE, a food safety program, told Fox News in the US: It takes only a few viral particles to make people sick.

Google will Limit Targeting of Political Advertisements

by Leave a Comment

Google Inc. is restricting how political candidates use its advertisement tools in a set of policy changes it published on 20th November 2019 that may change how elections unfold in the digital arena going forward. Google announced that if not the most radical, move taken by technology giants to reduce the false information shared by political campaigns on the platform. Google will no longer allow campaigns to be based on certain political attributes. This move may make a political advertisement on Google is less effective than the previous cycle.

Campaigns will target voters by gender, age, and location through Google products (from search to YouTube). However, valuable advertiser choices (such as “customer matching”) can be used by political candidates who can upload potential voter’s emails or phone numbers in campaigns and matched and link them to online profiles. Google notified the change directly to the 2020 campaign on Wednesday, i.e. 20th November 2019. After a few weeks, Twitter completely banned political advertising on its platform, Google made the decision and immediately put new pressure on Google’s main rival in digital advertising: Facebook. The social media giant also said it is also considering changing its targeted practices, although some executives are sometimes overwhelmed, most recently in an interview with Mr. Peter Kafka at the Code Media conference on Monday, i.e. 18th November.

Facebook stubbornly refused to conduct a fact-checking on political advertising, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the ability of candidates to express their ability to speak, even if it meant lying in an advertisement. YouTube and Google also responsible to let politicians lie in the ads, Google did not alter or resolve this policy in the announcement on Wednesday. Google does say it will take new steps to curb the wrong information because it has changed its policy to ban the display of “deep fakes” and apparent wrong advertising.

T-Mobile Inc. merged with Sprint Corporation under the Federal Communications Commission Clearance

by Leave a Comment

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which is an independent agency of the United States government. They issued an order for October 16 on Tuesday, permitting T-Mobile US, Inc. to merge with Sprint Corporation for US$ 26.5 billion in transactions. The committee approved the deal in a 3:2 closed-door party vote last month. The merger was admired by Republican committee members for bringing the gospel to the rural areas of the United States, and the Democratic Party members praised it as a mischance for consumers. The merger still appearances the legal challenge of the State Attorney General’s Alliance.

The FCC said in a statement: “The committee found that the deal will help bridge the digital divide and increase US leadership in the next generation of wireless connectivity 5G.” “In particular, T-Mobile and Sprint are committed to three years. 5G services deployed to cover 97% of Americans and 99% of Americans within six years. This guarantee includes installing 5G services to cover approximately 85% of countryside Americans within about 3 years, and within six years, ninety percent of rural Americans. Dissert Commissioners promised that neither T-Mobile nor Sprint can be enforced and that the merger will reduce the number of national providers from four to three. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks wrote: “The merger will affect the loss of thousands of jobs.” “In the long run, it will build a three-biggest wireless operation.” In the market of commerce, every incentive is to split the market, raise prices, and compete only for the most profitable customers.”

In-state lawsuits led by the State of New York and California, the State Attorney General argued that the merger would reduce competition and lead to increased consumer costs. Their suit will be tried in December. Since the Obama administration, the incorporation of T-Mobile and Sprint has been ongoing. However, the Ministry of Justice and the FCC opposed the transaction in 2014. Regulators under the leadership of the Trump administration are more sympathetic. Sprint Corporation is owned by the Japanese conglomerate Softbank and T-Mobile Inc. is owned by the German Deutsche Telekom.

McDonald’s Bring Back Iconic Toys To Celebrate 40th Anniversary Of Happy Meal

by Leave a Comment

To give you a hearty dose of nostalgia, McDonald’s is celebrating 40th anniversary of the first-ever Happy Meal by bringing back some of its most popular and iconic Happy Meal toys. So in a way, McDonald’s is giving people an opportunity to relive the era of the ‘80s and ‘90s. This will be a limited-edition offer and available in more than 90 countries around the world. Dubbed the Surprise Happy Meal, the offering with some fan-favorite throwback toys from the past 40 years will start from November 7 at participating locations and will be available until November 11 or until the supplies last. In other words, McDonald’s will have only five days to try to score as many nostalgic Happy Meal toys as your bank accounts will allow.

Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s CEO said that Happy Meal became synonymous with the brand immediately after being launched 40 years ago and today the iconic red box creates lasting memories for billions of people annually across the world. Happy Meal was first introduced as Circus Wagon Happy Meal in 1979 across the United States. It featured a decorative red box with Chicken McNuggets and including various today like McDonaldland character erasers. Over the years, the company expanded itself in more than 100 countries with over 38,000 restaurants. According to Easterbrook, unboxing of the Surprise Happy Meal will create some real bonding moments between parents and their kids.

Over the years, McDonald’s has added several things to its menu. For example, Yoplait Go-GURT Low Fat Strawberry Yogurt or apple slices was added ever Happy Meal. According to McDonald’s, since 2013, it served more than 6.4 billion vegetable, fruit, low-fat dairy and water options in Happy Meals worldwide. The company also said that by the end of the current year, it will have offered 540 Million Happy Meal Readers to develop a love for reading from an early age. The company is also planning to introduce a Reduced Sugar Low Fat Chocolate Milk in the United States at the beginning of 2020. This will have 25 per cent less sugar than the earlier available fat free chocolate milk. According to the leading global foodservice retailer, it serves a variety of menus to more than 25 million customers every day.

Patients Suffering from Sickle Cell Are Volunteering for Landmark Gene-Editing Study

by Leave a Comment

The doctors in the USA used CRISPR first time to treat the patient having a genetic disorder. CRISPR is a reliable gene-editing technique. For this first time study, Victoria Gray got ready as a volunteer. She went through sickle cell disease treatment by using the CRISPR technique in Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville. Through this way, Gray became the first patient as being involved in the study of this technique. It will take some months or a few years to confirm the positive test results, and for this period, Gray will be under observation. In her childhood only, she was diagnosed with sickle cell disease. The symptoms restricted her to play and enjoy like other children’s.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic defect, and around 100,000 individuals in the U.S. get affected by sickle cell disease. In sickle cell disease, the bone marrow produces defective protein. This protein makes sickle-shaped blood cells sticky and hard. This cell gets stuck in blood vessels, and they do not carry oxygen. This situation results in weakening and sometimes generates life-threatening complications. In this study, doctors used cells of the bone marrow of the patient. These cells are genetically modified with CRISPR to make them produce a necessary protein. This protein usually gets produced by babies and fetuses after their birth for a short period. The doctors have hope that this protein will cover up defective protein that results in sickle cell disease. Also, this will help the patient to live healthily and generally for the rest of life.

Some of the doctors and specialist says that this is a very new technology. Also, there are many unknown things about this test. When treated with a human being, there are some risks, and this test might make patient sicker. However, Gray said that she is aware of all these risk factors. She also added that she knew that this is the initial step, and other patients might see benefits after some months.

Smart ways to drink for maintaining health

by Leave a Comment

We all drink without keeping track of how many pegs or glasses we are down, a dietician is suggesting healthiest ways to drink alcohol. Alcoholic beverages have surprisingly very high calories. One gram of alcohol is about 7 calories. The amount of calories in a standard drink is about 70 calories. Besides alcohol is linked to cardiovascular as well as digestive issues. It also increases risk of cancer. As we know it dehydrates the body temporarily which leads to headaches, and mood swings. Many people believe that drinking red wine is good for health but if consumed in extreme moderation. It is beneficial for gut bacteria as well. Vodka is considered least in the number of calories and rose wine is highest.

Dietician suggests few tips to limit the calorie intake and keep oneself healthy even after attending regular parties. Eating a healthy meal before going to a party so that when one drink, it is not instantly absorbed in the bloodstream as the digestion process is ongoing. Also have a meal an hour or two before the party and have it in moderate quantities because if one drinks while stomach full, chances are you may vomit and spoil the party. Often times, cheesy party foods such as salami, crackers, and pretzels are high in sodium which increases the thirst. These foods are usually offered complementary by bars so that alcohol consumption of the visitors goes up without their knowledge. Drinking water after every drink is also advisable as it naturally limits alcohol consumption and keeps you away from consuming energy dense drinks.

Trying booze-free options or switching to mocktails is also an option very few people opt for. Also, Kombucha or wine spritzers are great alternatives. Planning how much alcohol you want to gulp down before going to the party is a good strategy. You can have appropriate gaps between your drinks at the party if you choose to limit alcohol consumption.

No Google Pixel 4 And Pixel 4 XL For Indian Consumers

by Leave a Comment

Google has decided not to launch its flagship smartphone Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL in India. The decision has been taken after considering the fact that the device uses a radar frequency feature, which is barred in South Asian countries. The new smartphones have a unique motion-sensing radar technology called project soli that works on 60GHz mm frequency, which is banned for civilian use in India. It has been impossible to launch Pixel 4, 4 XL in India as Google has removed the rear fingerprint scanner, and the new devices do not have any other alternative to the Soli chip-based face lock feature. There have been many countries where Google could not launch its Android flagship due to its radar feature.

Google unveiled its much-hyped smartphones in the United States with the newly designed camera setup, project soli motion-sensing face lock, and some high-end specifications. Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL have 5.7 and 6.3 inches OLED display respectively. The devices have a Qualcomm snapdragon 855 processor with 64 GB/128 GB internal memory. Pixel 4 has 2800 mAh battery and Pixel 4XL has 3700 mAh battery power. Both devices support 18W fast charging. Like most smartphones, Pixel 4 also trades in its one rear camera, which is not as impressive as iPhone 11 Pro with three rear cameras.

With blacklisting of Huawei, Google definitely has an upper hand in the market gain but due to lack of relationship with mobile carriers, it is miles away from becoming a mass-market player. The company has been working round the clock to create buzz for its new smartphones but still holds only 1 percent of the global market. With the Nexus line of cellphones, Google has made it clear that its strategy is not for mass-market scale rather they come up with the best of Android features to set a benchmark for other vendors. However, recently with Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL, the company has taken its first step to compete with already established market players.

Office Address
Survey No. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041