Day: May 8, 2019

US Drug Firms Will Have to Show Prices in TV Ads

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

The United States will soon require pharmaceutical companies to disclose the price of their drugs during television commercials, a measure which President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed as “historic transparency.”

It is part of a US government policy to fight the high price of prescription drugs, which often exceeds those in neighboring Canada and Mexico. 

The price will have to be displayed at the end of the ads, in the same manner as side effects which already must be mentioned. 

United States television prominently features ads for medicines — and not just common cold and similar remedies but treatments for complex conditions.

The requirement will take effect in 60 days.

It covers drugs priced at least $35 for a normal treatment or a month’s supply.

“American patients deserve to know the prices of the healthcare they receive,” said Alex Azar, the Health and Human Services Secretary.

The 10 most viewed drugs on television cost between $488 and $16,938 a month, according to the government. 

About half of Americans have health insurance with a high deductible which can reach thousands of dollars a year, in many cases more than $5,000 or $6,000 anually.

This means they usually have to pay the full displayed drug price until they have spent the their annual deductible amount.

Those with better coverage pay a fraction of the list price, and the situation can vary enormously from one person to another. 

On Twitter, Trump hailed the “big announcement.”

“Drug companies have to come clean about their prices in TV ads,” he said. “If drug companies are ashamed of those prices-lower them!”

Trump has vowed that his Republicans will become “the party of great healthcare.” He is seeking to dismantle “Obamacare,” the Affordable Care Act which brought healthcare coverage for millions more Americans when it took effect under then president Barack Obama.
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Mozambique Scrambles to Contain Cholera Outbreak 

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. 

Officials in Mozambique are scrambling to contain a cholera outbreak in the north of the country after Cyclone Kenneth devastated the area last month.

Kenneth, the second cyclone to hit the country in five weeks, destroyed health clinics and contaminated the water supply. 

The World Health Organization estimates there are “nearly 190,000 people in need of health assistance or are at risk of diseases in Mozambique,” U.N. spokeswoman Stephane Dujarric said. 

Kenneth struck while Mozambique was still struggling to deal with the impact of Cyclone Idai, which hammered the country’s central region just weeks earlier, flattening the port city of Beira and killing more than 1,000 people across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, cholera cases in Cabo Delgado Province have risen almost five-fold to 64 since the outbreak was declared last week. 

Medical relief agencies such as Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, are supporting the Ministry of Health by providing materials such as tents, water and sanitation equipment for a cholera treatment center in Pemba. 

“We have two essential goals now: saving the lives of severely sick patients and containing the outbreak,” said Danielle Borges, MSF project coordinator in Pemba. “We need to isolate and treat sick people so they recover, and so that they do not contaminate others.”

About half a million cholera vaccines are expected to arrive in the region in the next few days. 
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US Indicts 2 Israeli Operators of Darkweb Gateway

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

U.S. law enforcement officials announced on Wednesday the indictment of two Israeli operators of a website that referred hundreds of thousands of users to underground internet marketplaces to purchase drugs, weapons and other illegal products.  

 

Tal Prihar, 37, an Israeli citizen living in Brazil, and Michael Phan, 34, who lives in Israel, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Western Pennsylvania with money laundering in connection with operating DeepDotWeb, a website that served as a gateway to the Darkweb, the internet’s dark underbelly where users can purchase and exchange illegal products.

 

Prihar was arrested by French authorities in Paris Monday and faces likely extradition to the U.S. Phan was arrested on Monday in Israel and faces charges there.  Prosecutors declined to say whether they’ll seek Phan’s extradition to the U.S.

 

The two Israeli nationals operated DeepDotWeb from 2013 to late last month when it was taken down by the FBI, collecting more than $15 million in commissions for directing users to various marketplaces such as the now defunct AlphaBay.

 

The users, in turn, purchases hundreds of millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs, firearms, malicious software, hacking tools, and stolen financial information and credit cards, according to prosecutors.

 

About 24 percent of all orders on AlphaBay, which was one of the largest Darkweb marketplaces before it was seized by the FBI in 2017, were associated with an account created through a referral link provided by DeepDotWeb.

 

Scott W. Brady, the U.S. attorney for Western Pennsylvania, said DeepDotWeb’s takedown represents a major blow to the Darknet economy.

 

“This is the single most significant law enforcement disruption of the Darknet to date,” Brady said at a press conference in Pittsburgh.  “While there have been successful prosecutions of various Darknet marketplaces, this prosecution is the first to attack the infrastructure supporting the Darknet itself.”

 

Darknet marketplaces operate on Tor, a computer network that facilitates anonymous communication and transactions over the internet.   Tor marketplaces can’t be found via a Google search. To access a marketplace, a user needs the site’s exact .onion url, a top level domain suffix designating an anonymous service reachable via the Tor network.

 

To address this problem, DeepDotWeb provided pages of hyperlinks to various marketplaces such as AlphaBay Market and Hansa Market, allowing users to navigate the marketplaces and collecting a commission each time a user made a purchase.

 
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UN Chief: ‘Total Disaster’ if Warming Not Stopped

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

The United Nations Secretary-General said the world must dramatically change the way it fuels factories, vehicles and homes to limit future warming to a level scientists call nearly impossible.

That’s because the alternative “would mean a catastrophic situation for the whole world,” Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

Guterres said he’s about to tour Pacific islands to see how climate change is devastating them as part of his renewed push to fight it. He is summoning world leaders to the U.N. in September to tell them “they need to do much more in order for us to be able to reverse the present trends and to defeat the climate change.”

That means, he said, the world has to change, not in small incremental ways but in big “transformative” ways, into a green economy with electric vehicles and “clean cities.”

Guterres said he will ask leaders to stop subsidizing fossil fuels. Burning coal, oil and gas triggers warming by releasing heat-trapping gases.

He said he wants countries to build no new coal power plants after 2020. He wants them to put a price on the use of carbon. And ultimately he wants to make sure that by 2050 the world is no longer putting more greenhouse gases into the air than nature sucks out.

Global temperatures have already risen about 1.8 degrees (1 degree Celsius) since the industrial age began. The issue is how much more the thermometers will rise.

In 2015, the world’s nations set a goal to limit global warming to no more than 0.9 degrees (0.5 degrees Celsius) from now. Most scientists say it is highly unlikely, if not outright undoable, to keep man-made climate change that low, especially since emissions of heat trapping gases are rising, renewable energy growth is plateauing, and some countries’ leaders and voters are balking.A panel of scientists the U.N. asked to look at the issue ran computer models for more than 500 future scenarios, and less than 2% achieved those warming limits.

Guterres said the wholesale economic changes needed to keep the temperature from rising another degree or more may be painful, but there will be more pain if the world fails.

“If you don’t hang on to that goal, what you’ll achieve is a total disaster,” the secretary-general said in his 38th floor conference room.

If countries only do what they promised in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, it would be catastrophic because the world would warm by another 4.5 degrees (2.5 degrees Celsius), Guterres said, adding “that is why we need to dramatically accelerate… what everybody knows needs to be done.”

Yet, globally the trends are going the other way. University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck said it looks unlikely that the world could prevent another 1.8 degrees (1 Celsius) of warming, let alone 0.9 degrees.

And in an odd way that gives the U.N. chief optimism.

Because as disasters mount and deaths increase, the public, especially youths, will realize that warming is “a dramatic threat to the whole of humankind,” Guterres said.

So the worse it gets, the more people will demand change, he said.

That’s why he’s about to visit the islands of Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean, which he said is hit hardest by climate change.

Guterres said he wants to use the determination and moral authority of the people who live on the threatened islands to convince world leaders to make necessary change.

Here are some excerpts from the 25-minute interview with Guterres, who said he used to love steak houses but now only goes once every three months because livestock contribute significantly to warming. The questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length:

Q: How can you be optimistic?

A: That is the paradox. Things are getting worse. Temperatures are rising faster than expected. We see the Arctic melting. We see glaciers disappearing. We see corals bleaching. We see biodiversity being dramatically threatened. So things are getting worse and worse.But the political will has been slow.We need to reverse this trend. We need to make people understand that this is not sustainable. And the reason why I’m optimistic is that I feel that more and more people are convinced of that. And as more and more people are convinced of that, I believe governments will feel the need to increase their political will which at this present moment is still lagging behind.

You have seen the fantastic attitude of young girls and boys making a strike in favor of climate action. You see more and more business and communities assuming responsibilities.

Q: Can you fight climate change and biodiversity loss at the same time?

A: Climate change is a major threat to biodiversity. It’s because of climate change that species are disappearing. So we need at the same time to be concerned with the climate action… with our oceans… to make sure that we keep the richness of a planet that was created by God. And I don’t believe God would be very happy to see many of his creatures disappearing.”

Q: How do you see the United States and the Trump administration on climate?

A: In the United States I disagree with the policies that the government has implemented. But I see fantastic attitudes and fantastic developments in what is done by large businesses, by cities, by the civil society. I can see the United States a country with an enormous potential to achieve what needs to be achieved for us to be able to defeat climate change.
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Worldwide, Obesity Rising Faster in Rural Areas

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

Obesity worldwide is increasing more quickly in rural areas than in cities, a study reported Wednesday, challenging a long-held assumption that the global epidemic of excess weight is mainly an urban problem.

Data covering 200 countries and territories compiled by more than 1,000 researchers showed an average gain of roughly five to six kilos per woman and man living in the countryside from 1985 to 2017.

City-dwelling women and men, however, put on 38 and 24 percent less, respectively, than their rural counterparts over the same period, according to the findings, published in Nature.

“The results of this massive global study overturn commonly held perceptions that more people living in cities is the main cause of the global rise in obesity,” said senior author Majid Ezzati, a professor at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health.

“This means that we need to rethink how we tackle this global health problem.”

The main exception to the trend was sub-Saharan Africa, where women gained weight more rapidly in cities.

Obesity has emerged as a global health epidemic, driving rising rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and a host of cancers.

The annual cost of treating related health impacts could top a trillion dollars by 2025, the World Obesity Federation estimated in 2017.

To date, most national and international policies to curb excess body weight have focused on cities, including public messaging, the redesign of urban spaces to encourage walking, and subsidized sports facilities.

Body-mass index

To factor health status into the comparison across nations, the researchers used a standard measure known as the “body-mass index”, or BMI, based on height and weight.

A person with a BMI of 25 or more is considered overweight, while 30 or higher is obese. A healthy BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9.

Approximately two billion adults in the world are overweight, nearly a third of them obese. The number of obese people has tripled since 1975.

The study revealed important differences between countries depending on income level.

In high-income nations, for example, the study found that rural BMI were generally already higher in 1985, especially for women.

Lower income and education levels, the high cost and limited availability of healthy foods, dependence on vehicles, the phasing out of manual labour — all of these factors likely contributed to progressive weight gain.

Conversely, urban areas “provide a wealth of opportunities for better nutrition, more physical exercise and recreation, and overall improved health,” Ezzati said.

Around 55 percent of the world’s population live in cities or satellite communities, with that figure set to rise to 68 percent by mid-century, according to the United Nations.

‘Ultra-processed foods’

The most urbanized regions in the world are North America (82 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (81 percent) and Europe (74 percent).

More recently, the proportion of overweight and obese adults in the rural parts of many low- and middle-income countries is also rising more quickly than in cites.

“Rural areas in these countries have begun to resemble urban areas,” Barry Popkin, an expert on global public health at the University of North Carolina, said in a comment, also in Nature.

“Modern food supply is now available in combination with cheap mechanized devices for farming and transport,” he added. “Ultra-processed foods are also becoming part of the diets of poor people.”

At a country level, several findings stand out.

Some of the largest BMI increases from 1985 to 2017 among men were in China, the United States, Bahrain, Peru and the Dominican Republic, adding an average of 8-9 kilos per adult.

Women in Egypt and Honduras added — on average, across urban and rural areas — even more.

Rural women in Bangladesh, and men living in rural Ethiopia, had the lowest average BMI in 1985, at 17.7 and 18.4 respectively, just under the threshold of healthy weight. Both cohorts were well above that threshold by 2017.

The populations — both men and women — in small South Pacific island nations have among the highest BMI levels in the world, often well above 30.

“The NDC Risk Factor Collaboration challenges us to create programmes and policies that are rurally focused to prevent weight gain”, Popkin said.
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Trump Hails GM Plan to Invest $700 mn in Ohio, Sell Shuttered Plant

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

President Donald Trump said Wednesday U.S. automaker General Motors will invest $700 million in Ohio and create 450 jobs, selling one of its shuttered plants to a company that will produce electric trucks.

“GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO!” Trump tweeted.

Trump said he had talked to GM chief Mary Barra who told him of plans to sell the Lordstown, Ohio plant to Workhorse, a company that focuses on producing electric delivery vehicles.

In November, GM shuttered five U.S. plants, including auto assembly plants in Michigan and Ohio, as part of a 15 percent cut in its workforce worldwide — cutting around 14,000 employees — a move which drew Trump’s wrath on Twitter.

But in March, GM announced plans to invest $1.8 billion in U.S. operations creating 700 new jobs. About $300 million will be geared towards production of electric vehicles at the auto giant’s Orion plant in Michigan, creating 400 jobs, the company said in a statement.

“I have been working nicely with GM to get this done. Thank you to Mary B, your GREAT Governor, and Senator Rob Portman. With all the car companies coming back, and much more, THE USA IS BOOMING!” Trump said.

The U.S. president has repeatedly berated companies by name to pressure them into investing more or reversing decisions on job cuts.

 

 

 
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In the US, Death Is More Certain Than Taxes

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

In the U.S., there’s an old saying that there are only two things that are certain in life: death and taxes.

But as it turns out, death is way more certain than taxes in the United States.

Corporations and some wealthy individuals, including President Donald Trump, are able to legally avoid any federal taxation in some years by deducting business expenses such as capital investments, charitable donations, interest on their home loans, health care costs and numerous other write-offs from their corporate or personal income.

In a report late Tuesday, The New York Times said from 1985 to 1994, Trump lost more than $1 billion in his real estate business operations and paid no federal income taxes in eight of those 10 years.

Trump called the report inaccurate but did not dispute any specific facts. He said it was “sport” for developers to game the U.S. tax code so they did not have to pay taxes.

Unlike U.S. presidents for the past four decades, Trump has balked at releasing his tax returns, although opposition Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives are seeking, so far unsuccessfully, to get him to divulge his returns for the last six years. A court fight over the dispute is possible.

The independent Tax Policy Center estimates that in 2018, 44% of Americans paid no federal income tax under the country’s progressive sliding scale of taxation, where those making the most money, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, pay a higher percentage tax than those with way less annual income.

Various provisions of the U.S. tax code, such as the standard deduction to reduce taxable income or such allowable itemized deductions as for making donations to charities or for expenses to operate a business from home, can sharply reduce income subject to federal taxation.

But even those individuals not subject to any federal taxation, however, likely have paid payroll taxes, payments to cover mandatory withholding from their paychecks to fund the government’s pension plan for older and retired workers, and health insurance for Americans over 65. About three-quarters of American households pay federal income taxes, the payroll taxes or both.

The median annual U.S. household income is $56,516, meaning half earn more, half less.

According to one recent survey of nearly 130,000 American consumers, the average American spends $10,489 each year in federal, state, and local income taxes, about 14% of the average survey respondent’s gross income.

In the corporate world, however, with the tax overhaul pushed to passage by Trump and Republican lawmakers in 2017 that cut the basic federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, 60 of the biggest U.S. corporations avoided paying any taxes last year, according to the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The research group said these companies should have paid a collective $16.4 billion in federal income taxes, but instead, with various legal deductions from their income, received a net tax rebate of $4.3 billion.

It reported that among the 60 profitable U.S. corporations paying no federal income taxes last year were some of the country’s best known businesses, including General Motors, Amazon, Chevron, Netflix, Delta Air Lines, IBM, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, and Eli Lilly.

 
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Britain’s Prince Harry, Meghan Reveal Baby’s Name

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced the name of their newborn baby in an Instagram post.

” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor,” @sussex royal posted, along with a photo of Prince Harry, Meghan, the baby and his grandparents.

“This afternoon Their Royal Highnesses introduced Her Majesty The Queen to her eighth great-grandchild at Windsor Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess’ mother were also present for this special occasion,” the couple said.

The baby was born early Monday morning, weighing 7 lb 3oz (3.26 kg). The location of the birth was not disclosed. 

During their first public appearance at St. George’s Hall in Windsor castle Wednesday, Prince Harry and Meghan described having a baby as “magic”.

As the prince held his son, wrapped in a white blanket and matching hat, new mom Meghan said

“It’s magic – it’s pretty amazing and I have the two best guys in the world so I am really happy.”

The baby is seventh in line to the British Throne. 
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Vietnam Braces for Hard Landing Amid World Trade Tensions

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

If a rising tide lifts all boats, then Vietnam may find that there is a related saying in economics: when the tide goes out, you will see who was swimming naked.

The Southeast Asian country has fared fairly well amid the trade frictions around the world, with its foreign investment and gross domestic product continuing to grow. But even Vietnam is not immune if a recession hits the global economy, as some are expecting, which is why they are bracing for a hard landing. News this week that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to increase tariffs on Chinese goods has just added to the frictions, sending Asian stock markets plummeting.

An economic downturn — in other words, the tide going out — could expose vulnerabilities for Vietnam, the equivalent of those swimming naked. Most analysts are forecasting slower GDP growth for Vietnam in the year ahead.

Economic slowdown ahead

It “is important to recognize that the region continues to face heightened pressures that began in 2018 and that could still have an adverse impact,” said Andrew Mason, who is acting as the chief economist for the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific region. “Continued uncertainty stems from several factors, including further deceleration in advanced economies, the possibility of a faster-than-expected slowdown in China, and unresolved trade tensions.”

His office projects the Vietnamese economy will expand 6.6 percent in 2019, while researchers at Capital Economics peg growth at an even lower rate of 6 percent year-on-year. That compares with the annualized rate of 7.1 percent in 2018.

The pending slowdown, if it comes, would be due to a variety of reasons, not least among them global demand. If more and more countries see their economies decelerate — because of the trade wars or otherwise — they will buy fewer goods from Vietnam. As an export-led economy based on factory products, Vietnam is extremely sensitive to the knock-on effects of foreign trade and consumption.

Another key risk factor for the economy is the portfolio of state-owned enterprises. The government has not divested its shares in the enterprises as quickly as planned. At the same time it faces a growing burden from tax and spending needs.

Public debt and a budget deficit

“Fiscal policy is also likely to become less supportive. Vietnam has one of the highest levels of public debt and the largest budget deficit in the region,” Capital Economics, an economic research company, said in a note to investors. “Tighter policy, in the form of slower spending growth and higher taxes, is needed to bring debt levels down to more sustainable levels.”

Both the company and the World Bank agree that, besides public debt, private debt poses a notable challenge in the country as well, especially at banks. Lenders have not completely offloaded their non-performing loan problem, which refers to loans that are unlikely to be repaid. That contributes to tightening credit, which can be a blessing and a curse.

“On the plus side, weaker credit demand is needed to reduce risks in the financial sector and put the economy on a more sustainable footing,” Capital Economics wrote. “But in the near term a slowdown in credit growth will drag on consumption and investment growth.”

Large trade deals

All of this comes during a transition period for Vietnam, which is preparing for new trade deals like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. Academic researchers Tran Thi Bich Nhan and Do Thi Minh Huong say the transition period will create plenty of opportunities, but not everyone will come out ahead.

“In terms of society, the increased competition from participating in FTAs can push some companies in developing countries, primarily state-owned enterprises and companies with outdated production technology, into difficulties, bringing along the possibility of unemployment for a portion of the workforce,” Nhan and Huong wrote in the finance ministry’s official newspaper.

If Vietnam adds to that a slowdown in the global economy, workers and other vulnerable groups are most likely to be hardest hit. While the overall impact of a recession is generally negative, some say there is a silver lining. When the tide goes out, it can help distinguish between the efficient and inefficient companies, distinguish between an economy’s strengths and the weaknesses to be addressed. But no one expects it to be a pleasant process.
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US to Raise Tariffs on Chinese Imports as Vice Premier Visits Washington

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He arrives in Washington this week for trade talks as the United States prepares to raise tariffs on Chinese goods in the middle of his visit.

The U.S. will boost tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports on Friday, according to a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.

The increase takes effect on the second day of Liu’s visit, but it will not dampen hopes for an agreement, at least in the mind of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“China has just informed us that they (Vice-Premier) are now coming to the U.S. to make a deal,” Trump said Wednesday in a post on Twitter.

Trump said he would be “happy” to maintain tariffs on Chinese imports, and added that Beijing would be mistaken if it hopes to negotiate trade later with a Democratic presidential administration.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry reacted to the announced tariff increase, vowing to take “necessary” countermeasures if the tax is implemented. The ministry said escalating trade tensions are not beneficial to either country or to the world.

Trump set the new Friday deadline to raise tariffs after the U.S. accused China of reneging earlier this week on commitments made during months of talks to end their trade war. The administration hopes the new tariffs will force changes in China’s trade, subsidy and intellectual property practices.

The two sides have been unable to reach a deal due, in part, to differences over the enforcement of an agreement and a timeline for removing the tariffs.

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George Clooney Hopes Media ‘Kinder’ to Meghan Markle

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

George Clooney says the media should “be a little kinder” to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, after she gave birth to a baby boy.

Clooney told The Associated Press Tuesday at the Hollywood premiere of his miniseries “Catch 22” that the media scrutiny will intensify now that she and Prince Harry are parents. The actor says the media coverage is part of being members of the royal family.

However, Clooney says the coverage steps “into a really dark place” when the media interviews people’s parents. He says “the press turned on them” and he thinks people should be kinder because “she’s a young woman who just had a baby.”

Clooney’s wife, Amal, attended the duchess’ baby shower and the Clooneys have vacationed with the royal couple.
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Uber, Lyft Drivers Strike to Press Demands on Rideshare Firms

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers turned off their apps Wednesday in a series of job actions across US cities protesting pay and working conditions at the big ride-hailing services.

An estimated 10,000 New York drivers heeded a strike call, according to the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, an organizer of the action.

Around 100 people joined a protest outside a Queens building with New York offices of both Uber and Lyft, some carrying signs reading “Hard work = Fair pay” or “Solidarity.”

A separate group protested outside the New York Stock Exchange, where Uber is set to list shares, some signs reading “Invest in our lives — Not their stocks” while some drove in a procession across the Brooklyn Bridge with protest signs on their vehicles.

Similar actions were being held in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington.

The demonstrations come weeks after Lyft made its Wall Street debut and days ahead of a massive share offering from Uber that will give the global leader an estimated valuation of $90 billion.

The drivers are protesting arbitrary “deactivations” or firing and a shifting revenue-sharing model that critics say leaves drivers behind.

Cesar Guerrero, a 57-year-old Uber driver who attended the Queens rally, said the platform is taking advantage of its drivers.

“I don’t think the drivers are taking a fair share of the profits that are big in corporations like Uber and other apps,” Guerrero said.

Some drivers said much of the money they take in is eaten up by expenses.

“If it was not for the drivers all around the country, they would not be going public,” said Uber driver Kevin Killilea.

The alliance said it called the actions “to shine light on how Uber and Lyft’s flawed business model pushes hard-working drivers across the US and the globe into poverty and desperation.”

Business model questioned

With the big ride-hailing businesses outlining their path to profitability, protesters claim the ride-hailing business model, which is based on the use of independent contractors, forces drivers to absorb costs to the benefit of the platforms.

“Uber unabashedly states that denying workers of basic employment protections like minimum wage, Social Security contributions and other benefits is essential to their business model,” the New York alliance said in a statement.

The companies maintain that drivers are able to thrive and maintain work flexibility, and that their business model would not work if drivers were treated as wage-based employees.

Protests were being held in Britain as well with drivers in London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Glasgow called on to log off apps and protest outside Uber offices in each city, according to the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain.

Uber and Lyft did not immediately comment on the job actions, and it was unclear if the stoppages had a significant impact on their networks.

Uber said that drivers have earned over $78 billion on the platform since 2015, as well as $1.2 billion in tips since the feature was introduced in 2017.

Lyft said it has paid some $10 billion to drivers in the past two years, and that the average earnings amount to more than $20 per hour.

A number of studies contend drivers take home far less than the platforms claim after accounting for fuel, insurance and other expenses.

The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, concluded that Uber drivers earned the equivalent of $9.21 in hourly wages, after accounting for commissions and fees and vehicle expenses, and taking into account the health insurance and other benefits earned by employees.

Syracuse University professor Austin Zwick, who has researched ridesharing platforms, said the job actions are an attempt to shift the balance of power between drivers and platforms, which now have the power to arbitrarily determine compensation and benefits.

“The joint strike plus boycott strategy appear unlikely to succeed nationally as it does not appear that all drivers and passengers are unified behind the cause,” Zwick said.

“However, this strategy does raise public awareness and begins to build political support to pass local and state regulations. Additionally, ridesharing companies may make changes in certain markets to continue to retain drivers to work on the platform.”

As a result, Zwick said, “ultimately, your Uber ride will probably be a little bit pricier in the future.”

 

 

 
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‘It’s Magic’: Prince Harry, Meghan Show Off Baby Son

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan showed off their newborn son on Wednesday, describing having a baby as “magic”.

Cradling his son, wrapped in a white blanket and wearing a hat, Harry and Meghan appeared before a small group of media at St George’s Hall in Windsor castle where they held their wedding reception just under a year ago.

“It’s magic – it’s pretty amazing and I have the two best guys in the world so I am really happy,” Meghan said when asked how she was finding being a new mother.

She said the boy, the seventh-in-line to the British throne who has not yet been publicly named, had the sweetest temperament and was sleeping well.

“He’s just been a dream so it’s been a special couple of days.”

The baby was born in the early hours of Monday morning, weighing 7 lb 3oz (3.26 kg), but few other details have been given about the birth.

“It’s great, parenting is amazing,” Harry said. “It’s only been two-and-a-half days, three days, but we’re just so thrilled to have our own little bundle of joy, to be able to spend some precious time with him as he slowly starts to grow up.”

The couple said they were about to visit 93-year-old Elizabeth, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, at the castle to allow her to meet her eighth great-grandchild.

Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland is staying with the couple at their home Frogmore Cottage, on the castle’s estate.

“It will a nice moment to introduce the baby to more family and my mom’s with us as well,” Meghan said.
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Waymo, Lyft Take on Uber with Rides in Self-Driving Car

By Uponsil | | No Comments | Silicon Valley

Google’s self-driving car spinoff, Waymo, is teaming up with Lyft in Arizona to attempt to lure passengers away from ride-hailing market leader Uber.

The alliance announced Tuesday will allow anyone with the Lyft app in the Phoenix area to summon one of the 10 self-driving Waymo cars that will join the ride-hailing service by end of September.

Waymo’s robotic vehicles will still have a human behind the wheel to take control in case something goes awry with the technology. But their use in Lyft’s service could make more people feel comfortable about riding in self-driving cars.

Self-driving to a profit

Both Lyft and Uber consider self-driving cars to be one of the keys to turning a profit, something neither company has done so far. Meanwhile, Waymo has been slowly expanding its own ride-hailing service in the Phoenix area that so far has been confined to passengers who previously participated in free tests of its self-driving technology.

“We’re committed to continuously improving our customer experience, and our partnership with Lyft will also give our teams the opportunity to collect valuable feedback,” Waymo CEO John Krafcik wrote in a blog post.

Lyft President John Zimmer described the Waymo partnership as “phenomenal” in a Tuesday conference call. Uber didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The new threat to Uber is emerging as the San Francisco company pursues an initial public offering of stock that could raise $9 billion when the deal is completed later this week. Lyft raked in more than $2 billion in its own IPO in March, only to see its stock fall nearly 20% below its offering price amid concerns about its ability to make money, a challenge magnified by another loss of $1.1 billion during the first three months of the year.

Waymo invests in both

Waymo’s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., is in line to be among the biggest winners in Uber’s IPO just as it was in the Lyft IPO. Alphabet owns a 5% stake in Uber that will be worth as much as $3.6 billion if Uber realizes its goal of selling its stock for as much as $50 per share. It also holds a 5% stake in Lyft that is currently worth $761 million.

Despite their financial ties, Waymo and Uber have had an acrimonious relationship since becoming entangled in a thorny case of alleged high-tech theft.

Waymo accused Uber of orchestrating a scheme to steal some of its autonomous driving technology. That came after Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick began to suspect Waymo was planning to use its self-driving cars in a rival ride-hailing service.

The two sides settled that dispute last year in a deal that required Uber to give Alphabet another bundle of stock that was worth $245 million at the time the truce was reached.

The agreement also requires Uber to submit to reviews by a software expert to ensure it isn’t misusing any of Waymo’s technology in its effort to build its own self-driving cars, a process that recently uncovered some potentially “problematic” issues, according to discloses made as part of Uber’s IPO. Uber warned the problems could require it to pay a licensing fee to Waymo or delay its efforts to introduce self-driving cars in its service.
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