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A Kansas City native, Earnest, 43, was the White House press secretary from 2014 until 2017. In May, he was named chief communications officer for Chicago-based United Airlines.
Electric-vehicle production just got another boost from Uncle Sam. The Senate Finance Committee has approved a $2,500 tax credit for electric bicycles and electric motorcycles. The goal of the bill, backers say, is to create and keep U.S. jobs by encouraging growth of American manufacturers like BRD and Zero through consumer incentives.
Under the bill, electric bicycles and motorcycles will be eligible for a 10 percent federal tax credit of up to $2,500. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon (home of Brammo, an electric motorcycle manufacturer) introduced the amendment to reinstate the 2009 tax break that was part of the $800 billion federal stimulus package. The original amendment expired January 1, 2012 and cost roughly $15 million over two years.
As of last month, Brammo said it has closed the first $13 million of a $45 million funding round.
The new bill would end an existing EV tax credit for golf carts. "There's no reason to have a credit for a golf cart,” Wyden said after the passage.
In opposition of the bill, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said that if the committee continues with tax breaks, "how can we deal with the bigger issues? Do we really want to portray ourselves as members of the Finance Committee to drive over the fiscal cliff riding on the back of an electric motorcycle?"
The goal is to inspire sales of electric bikes. Comparatively, China sold about 25 million e-bikes last year, while 100,000 were sold in the US. Currently, plug-in passenger vehicles have up to a $7,500 tax credit, depending on the size of the battery, with Chevy Volt owners getting up to $7,500 in federal rebates, while a plug-in Prius owner caps out at $2,500.
I have been left astonished by the protests that rocked Hong Kong last week, especially the organization, kindness and ambition of the youthful protesters asking Beijing for the right to choose who runs their city.
What was so impressive? Maybe it started with the trash.
After days of protest, the students were still cleaning up after themselves. I saw them sort trash in the wee hours -- paper here, plastic there.
"I can't believe they were tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed, and then they pick up the garbage the next day," a woman at the scene whispered to me.
Young supporters handed out yellow ribbons, a symbol of solidarity. Students could be seen doing their homework in the middle of the night. Others offered biscuits to members of the same police force that days earlier deployed tear gas against the crowds.
Some found a creative use for umbrellas, which became a symbol of the protests after they were used to defend against pepper spray. Protesters used them as decoration or makeshift tents. They came in handy when it rained, too.
A few protesters zipped around on motorbikes making sure all protest areas were well-stocked with donated supplies. Nurses organized on Facebook, and staffed first aid tents at the three main protest sites.
The students were quick to lend a hand, holding my camera and steadying me as I clambered over road barricades. One pressed a water bottle and cooling patch into my hands. "Take it, it's too hot out here," she said. "I have more."
Signs were everywhere: First in Chinese, then English: "I love my home, I protect my city," "The next generation thanks you" and "Keep calm and open your umbrella." As the days went by, I lost count of the languages: Korean, Dutch, Greek, even Latin -- "Hong Kong firmamentum in democratia."
Protesters chanted slogans: "Hong Kong, add oil!" and "689, step down!"
As I wandered through the crowd, a pair of brothers, three and four years old, asked me why the police would hurt people. I wasn't sure what to say, so instead, I snapped a picture of them. They tried to pin a yellow ribbon on me, unable to understand why, as a journalist, I had to remain impartial and refuse their gift.
Others told me their dreams of universal suffrage, a stronger social safety net, the chance to own a home, land an overseas job or start a business of their own.
"This is a dark time for Hong Kong," a high school student said sadly. What do you want to do someday, I asked? His face split into a wide grin: "Open a cafe!"
Protesters asked me to tell their stories. I spoke to as many as possible, from three years old to 63, scribbling their words down.
But as I wrote story after story, I couldn't help but wonder: What will Hong Kong be like in a few decades? What will life be like for these protesters?
The symbols of China's power loom large. The People's Liberation Army building towers over the main protest site. Night after night, the building's shiny red star casts an eerie glow over the city's harbor.
The protests have divided friends and families. Even my own Facebook wall has become a battleground of political discussion.
As scuffles broke out and pressure on the protesters increased, my thoughts returned to their dreams. Will they succeed, or will Hong Kong bow to China's might?
What time LJN BCY EXP depart from लखनऊजं. Railway Station?
LJN BCY EXP (15008) departs from लखनऊजं. Railway Station at 23:10.
How much time LJN BCY EXP take to reach वाराणसी सिटी Railway Station?
LJN BCY EXP reach on day 3 to वाराणसी सिटी Railway Station. The arrival time of LJN BCY EXP at वाराणसी सिटी Railway Station is 12:35.
LJN BCY EXP covers 506 km to reach वाराणसी सिटी Railway Station at average speed of 38 km/hr. LJN BCY EXP passes through 36 stations.
A Jersey City man is facing various charges after he knocked over a female employee while shoplifting $500 worth of oral hygiene products from a Bayonne pharmacy, authorities said.
Darnell M. Alston, 45, of Claremont Avenue, was charged with robbery, two counts of resisting arrest, and possession a hypodermic syringe following Thursday's incident at the Walgreens near the Jersey City border.
Police said a store manager confronted Alston when he spotted the man loading merchandise into a blue IKEA bag. That's when Alston turned up an aisle inside the store and shoved a 49-year-old employee to the ground with such force that she hit her head and started bleeding, authorities said.
The victim was taken to Bayonne Medical Center, where she was treated for her injuries, police said.
Officers eventually caught up with Alston at Kennedy Boulevard and 55th Street -- about a half mile from the Broadway Walgreens -- but he fled on foot, police said.
Alston tried hiding behind a school bus parked in the Marist High School parking lot, but when officers spotted him again, he ran for a second time and jumped over a chain-link fence. That's when the pursuit ended, as officers on the other side of the fence apprehended Alston and took him into custody, authorities said.
Police recovered $535 worth of oral hygiene products from the bag he was carrying inside the store, as well as a hypodermic needle that had on him at the time, cops said.
Alston was taken to Hudson County jail in Kearny.
Jay Leno Vs. Conan O'Brien: The Battle Of Comic Book Cameos!
The "Tonight Show" feud between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno playing out on NBC over the last month has led to so much drama, comedy and bad feeling that it almost feels like the plot of a movie or television series... or even, dare we say, a comic book?
Yes, with both Leno and O'Brien each with a comics cameo on their resume, it seems logical to compare the two entertainers' brief stints in the Marvel and DC worlds, respectively.
With O'Brien's last "Tonight Show" airing, well... tonight... here's a look back at the interesting adventures these late-night hosts have had in the comic book world.
CONAN O'BRIEN IN "ANIMA: THE MOTION PICTURE"
In 1993, DC Comics kicked off a "New Blood" event involving the creation of several new superheroes due to alien interference in the DC Universe. Courtney Mason became one of those new heroes after she was linked to the "Animus," an abstract creature that embodied humanity's rage and gave Courtney great power. Calling herself Anima, Courtney embarked on a new strange life, fighting menaces that threatened mankind.
Anima later got her own comic book series that focused on her fighting other abstract entities that symbolized different aspects of humanity, such as the evil "father" of the animus spirit, an entity known as "The Nameless One." Since the book explored Jungian archetypes and ideas, such as the collective unconscious, the series was filled with pop culture references. And in "Anima" #11, our girl wound up encountering Conan O'Brien and his good buddy, Andy Richter.
During a night at the Oscars, the Nameless One attacked and Conan (being the cool guy that he is) took up arms and joined Anima in her fight against the cosmic evil being. To promote this cool team-up, the cover of the comic was done as a movie poster for "Anima: The Motion Picture" and featured Conan with a top billing starring credit and a pretty cool gun. How cool is that?
JAY LENO IN "ONE NIGHT ONLY"
To help promote the new Spider-Man film in 2002, Marvel had the strange idea to team the famous webslinger with Jay Leno. In a series of back-up stories entitled "One Night Only," Jay Leno comes to New York in order to shoot a General Motors commercial with Spider-Man. Spidey and Leno trade a few quips and then get ready to shoot the commercial, when suddenly... ninjas attack!
Weirdly, Spider-Man seemed rather ineffective in this tale as Leno did most of the fighting. After a chase scene on Jay's motorcycle in which Spidey repeatedly asked to appear as a guest on "The Tonight Show," it's revealed that the ninjas were just actors (hence, Leno's ability to beat them) and that their attack was part of a ploy for a new reality show that would operate on the premise of celebrities teaming up with superheroes to fight evil.
Yeah, I know — it's weird. And frankly, I'm surprised Conan and Spider-Man haven't met up yet, considering they have so much in common as hilarious geeks who never seem to get the respect they deserve.
An honorable mention should go to David Letterman, who had Earth's mightiest heroes, the Avengers, as guests on his show in "Avengers" #239.
Philly Viscardo was presented as the new president as the Pike County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday installed the new directors and installed officers at its annual Installation Breakfast and General Membership Meeting at Mount Haven Restaurant in Milford.
Attorney John Stieh installed the Chamber's Executive Committee of Viscardo of Dingman Delaware Insurance; Aileen Kolvenbach, Pike County Light & Power, as first vice president; Simone Palmer, The Dime Bank, as second vice president; Lee Oakes as secretary and Paul Brislin as treasurer.
Geraldine Dziak, Milford Health & Wellness Center, Erwin Guberman, CellularOne of NEPA, John Hollister of Rodgers, Olver, Polley, Inc., and Barbara Wortmann of Sussex County Community College were installed as new directors.
Davis R. Chant of Chant Realty, Beth Nikles of Nikles Realty and Ken Winters of Eastern Propane were named honorary directors and Adriane Wendell of Harrington House as the Milford Business Council representative.
Those new directors join the existing board of directors who represent other area businesses and community representatives: Amy Bridg, of The Milford Journal, Mary Ann Butler of the Times-Herald Record, James Campistrous, J-Angelo Event Planning, Coulby Dunn, Mountain View Homes, Eric L. Hamill, Esq., David Hoff, Wayne Memorial Hospital, Kathy Hummel and Tish Leizens of Our House Publications, Ed Nikles Sr. of Ed Nikles Custom Builder and MaryAlice Petzinger of Wayne Bank.
The mission of the Pike County Chamber is to accelerate business growth in Pike County and the Chamber continues to search for ways to provide more, complete and up-to-date information, services, and benefits to Chamber members and the community. Becoming a Chamber member will provide an individual or business with benefits and advantages only offered to members. The annual investment fees of members provide the funding necessary to continue and expand the many programs and activities that are designed to benefit the community.
For more information about joining the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, call 570-296-8700 or visit www.pikechamber.com.
The country’s top Olympic official has been making worldwide news.
WE’RE NOW ON day 13 of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and Ireland is again making world headlines for the wrong reasons.
Almost two weeks since Irish boxer Michael O’Reilly’s failed doping test was revealed, the country’s top Olympic official has been arrested by fraud police for separate reasons.
This time, it’s because of an alleged ticketing scandal. The arrest sees Pat Hickey facing charges of facilitating ticket touting, forming a cartel and illicit marketing.
As well as being president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, Hickey is also a member of the International Olympic Committee and head of European Olympic Committees.
Yesterday evening, he stepped aside temporarily from all of the above positions.
Hickey’s international profile meant his arrest made headlines far beyond Ireland, with his name also trending worldwide on Twitter.
Here’s a taster of what the world has been saying about his arrest.
Email “Making headlines: How the world reacted to the arrest of Ireland's Pat Hickey”.
Feedback on “Making headlines: How the world reacted to the arrest of Ireland's Pat Hickey”.
Our Ghost in the Shell dystopian future will be here sooner than you think. A new study published in Nature today demonstrates for the first time that robotic limbs can successfully be controlled with just the power of the user's mind.
The study, performed by a team at Brown University and other research institutions, implanted a computer-mind interface about the size of a pea into a patch of neurons in the motor cortexes of two volunteers — a 58-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man, both quadriplegics. This area of the brain is known to activate when moving the extremities, and with a bit of training was able to translate the thoughts and neural activity of the volunteers into physical movement by a remote robotic arm.
Cathy Hutchinson, the female volunteer lost the ability to move her arms and legs after a stroke 15 years ago. However, in this study, she successfully deployed the remote arm to pick up and drink a bottle of coffee without any human intervention — the first time she's been able to do so in nearly two decades.
Here we demonstrate the ability of two people with long-standing tetraplegia to use neural interface system-based control of a robotic arm to perform three-dimensional reach and grasp movements. Participants controlled the arm and hand over a broad space without explicit training, using signals decoded from a small, local population of motor cortex (MI) neurons recorded from a 96-channel microelectrode array. One of the study participants, implanted with the sensor 5 years earlier, also used a robotic arm to drink coffee from a bottle. Although robotic reach and grasp actions were not as fast or accurate as those of an able-bodied person, our results demonstrate the feasibility for people with tetraplegia, years after injury to the central nervous system, to recreate useful multidimensional control of complex devices directly from a small sample of neural signals.
Some local residents accuse Hamas of diverting scarce energy to tunnel-building.
Three Palestinian children died in a Gaza house fire started by a candle Friday night, sparking internal finger-pointing over the coastal territory’s lingering power crisis.
Leaders in the Gaza Strip’s Hamas-controlled government accused the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority of imposing taxes on fuel for Gaza’s lone power plant, worsening the crisis and raising the daily blackout to 18 hours.
The PA rejects Hamas’ accusations and says the militant Islamic organization has prevented it from working in the Gaza Strip.
The incident also sparked rare local criticism of Hamas policies, with some Gaza residents accusing it of diverting its scarce electricity to its attack tunnel network against Israel instead.
Hamas organized Saturday’s funerals for the children and its security services deployed police along the funeral procession’s route to quell any disorder and outward protests.
The blaze that killed two girls, aged 5 and 3, and their 1-year-old brother, apparently started when candles that the family was using for illumination in the absence of electricity ignited a gas leak in the home.
Four other members of the Hindi family were treated for smoke inhalation and for mild to moderate burn injuries.
Hamas forcibly took control of the strip from the Palestinian Authority in 2007 and has since periodically launched attacks on Israel from there.
There have been major shortages of electricity in the Gaza Strip for roughly the past 10 years, with power available for about 10 hours a day at the most. The territory’s power is supplied by Israel, Egypt and a single generating plant in the Strip that is insufficient to meet the population’s needs.
Hamas has accused the PA of intentionally preventing supplies of diesel fuel from reaching the Strip, but the incident also sparked rare local criticism of Hamas policies, with some Gaza residents accusing it of diverting its scarce electricity instead to the network of attack tunnels it has built directed at Israel.
As Israel and Turkey attempt to reach a reconciliation agreement over their own differences, which came to a head with a confrontation between the Israel Navy and a Turkish flotilla seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade of the strip, the supply of electricity and water to the strip have been raised as an issue in the course of the talks.
Hamas issued a harsh statement of condemnation on Saturday, attributing the deaths of the children to the Israeli blockade and also pointed the finger of blame at the PA.
“Life in the shadow of the siege and the strangulation are already unbearable,” the statement said.
At the funeral for the three children, the deputy chief of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, called their deaths an “unforgivable crime,” which he said was caused by Israel cutting off power supplies, saying that it was no less serious a crime that Israeli attacks on the strip.
Islamic Jihad and other organizations also condemned Israel and the PA over the fatal fire.
The PA government in Ramallah roundly rejected the allegations saying that it is making efforts to resolve the power shortage.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting concerning 'Great Return' protest clashes along the Israeli-Palestine border. The UN chief has called for an investigation into the violence that reportedly killed 16 Palestinians.
In a statement issued in the wake of the UN Security Council emergency meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that “his thoughts are with the families of the victims” that were killed or injured during the violent clashes at the Gaza border.
“The Secretary-General calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these incidents,” the statement, issued by his office, reads.
The meeting was called by Kuwait, which, along with Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and other countries with predominantly Muslim population, voiced their anger over the way the Israeli army retaliated against mass unrest that erupted along the border with Gaza Strip on Friday.
The meeting was set to kick off at 6:30 pm local time [10:30 pm GMT]. It was initially reported that the meeting would proceed behind closed doors, meaning that neither Israeli nor Palestinian representatives would be able to partake in the discussion. However, the session was ultimately held in the open.
Israeli troops used live fire, rubber-coated bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesting Palestinian crowds that flocked to the border fence in their hundreds. At least two men, who Israel claims were "terrorist infiltrators," were killed by tank fire.
The UN has urged Tel Aviv to promptly conduct investigations into the killings of protesters, calling on it to abide by international human rights norms and humanitarian law when dealing with dissent.
"Lethal force should only be used as a last resort with any resulting fatalities properly investigated by the authorities," UN deputy political affairs chief Taye-Brook Zerihoun said, as cited by Reuters.
Speaking at the meeting, Russia’s deputy envoy to the UN offered Moscow’s help in arranging talks between Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"We confirm our readiness to offer a Russian platform for a meeting of Israeli and Palestinians leaders," Vladimir Safronkov said, noting the need to hold direct negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis on all pressing issues, including the status of Jerusalem.
The Israeli representatives, meanwhile, chose not to attend the meeting because it coincided with the start of the Passover holiday. Riyad Mansour, the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, was present at the meeting and took to the floor after all the UNSC permanent and non-permanent members made their statements.

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