The Kepler space telescope is operated by Nasa to discover other earths, some of which could support life. And its latest discovery is significant enough to bring with it a huge press conference.

Very little further information was given about the announcement, which will take place on Thursday. But it will almost certainly relate to exoplanets – Earth-sized worlds that orbit around their own stars, and are our best hope of finding alien life.



The space agency said that the discovery was made with the help of Google artificial intelligence, which is being used to analyse the data sent down by the telescope. By using machine learning provided by the tech giant, Nasa hopes that it can pick through the possible planets more quickly and hopefully find life-supporting planets sooner.

Nasa said that four engineers and scientists would take part in the session. They include Paul Hertz, who leads Nasa’s astrophysics division, a senior Google software engineer, and two scientists.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-announcement-today-latest-kepler-breakthrough-google-ai-artificial-intelligence-a8102966.html

(CNN)Cara Pressman sobbed in the big red chair in her living room. The 15-year-old tried to absorb the devastating news relayed by her parents: that their insurance company, Aetna, denied her for a minimally invasive brain surgery that could end the seizures that have haunted her since she was 9 years old.

"When my parents told me, I went kind of blank and started crying," she said. "I cried for like an hour."

Her friends had been lined up to visit her in the hospital for the surgery three days away, on Monday, October 23. Between tears, she texted them that the whole thing was off.

It was supposed to be a joyous weekend. Cara's grandparents had come to town to celebrate their 90th birthdays, a jubilant party with more than 100 family and friends crowding her home. The party did go on -- just with a lot more stress.

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http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/11/health/aetna-surgery-denied-for-girl/index.html?sr=twCNN121117aetna-surgery-denied-for-girl0954AMStory

Wall Street economists are telling investors to brace for the biggest tightening of monetary policy in more than a decade.

With the world economy heading into its strongest period since 2011, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. predict average interest rates across advanced economies will climb to at least 1 percent next year in what would be the largest increase since 2006.

As for the quantitative easing that marks its 10th anniversary in the U.S. next year, Bloomberg Economics predicts net asset purchases by the main central banks will fall to a monthly $18 billion at the end of 2018, from $126 billion in September, and turn negative during the first half of 2019.

That reflects an increasingly synchronized global expansion finally strong enough to spur inflation, albeit modestly. The test for policy makers, including incoming Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, will be whether they can continue pulling back without derailing demand or rocking asset markets.



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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-11/investors-told-to-brace-for-steepest-rate-hikes-since-2006

Mueller






Harassment




Climate


Monuments



Trade



War




Gawd






Happiness and Internet
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Source: The Hill

A U.S. Foreign Service officer slammed the Trump administration and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a letter announcing her departure from the State Department.

In the letter, which was first reported by Foreign Policy, Elizabeth Shackelford criticized the administration for the “stinging disrespect” she argues it shows the diplomatic corps.

“I have deep respect for the career Foreign and Civil Service staff who, despite the stinging disrespect this Administration has shown our profession, continue the struggle to keep our foreign policy on the positive trajectory necessary to avert global disaster in increasingly dangerous times,” Shackelford writes.

“With each passing day, however, this task grows more futile, driving the Department’s experienced and talented staff away in ever greater numbers,” Shackelford added.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/364180-diplomat-rips-tillerson-trump-administration-in-resignation-letter

Unpleasant facts are spilling out. Republicans don't want to know them.
By Albert R. Hunt

Here are two certainties about the Trump-Russia investigation. It won't end soon. It will get uglier.

A new shoe drops almost daily in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe. First, Former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying and agreed to cooperate. Then the White House changed its story (again) on what President Donald Trump knew after he was first advised in January that Flynn posed security problems.

Last week came news that Mueller had subpoenaed financial records from Deutsche Bank pertaining to people affiliated with Trump. Then Donald Trump Jr. said he wouldn't tell Congress about his dad's 2016 conversations with a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer, invoking a dubious claim of attorney-client privilege.

This is not a saga in its closing chapter.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-10/the-trump-russia-probe-is-about-to-get-uglier

He's expressing the same fears as a lot of other politically-connected people.