Evidence found of a previously unknown human species in the Philippines, first ever image of a black hole shared, continued spread of measles, White House to help private sector in 5G development, public retirement facing problems, and Disney+ to launch in November.
These are just a few of the newsworthy stories from this past week.
- Scientists say they’ve found evidence in a Philippine cave of a previously unknown human species that lived about 50,000 years ago. The discovery deepens the mystery of an era when many specialists believe that a half dozen or so closely related human species co-existed around the world, some intermingling with our direct ancestors and leaving a legacy of hereditary traits.
From The Wall Street Journal
- Scientists released an image of a black hole, the first direct evidence of an object once thought to be unseeable. The image shows a fuzzy ring of oranges and yellows surrounding a dark center where light is trapped by the black hole’s massive gravitational pull, in the center of a galaxy 55 million light years away.
From The Wall Street Journal
- The spread of measles is accelerating in the U.S., with the number of cases this year jumping to 465, spanning 19 states. Most involve children, and many are tied to an outbreak among Orthodox Jews in New York City. It appears the virus, declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, has surged as a result of exposures overseas and transmission among populations that have shunned vaccinations.
From The Wall Street Journal
- A new plan for regulations released by the U.K.. government puts legal responsibility on tech companies for any harmful or unlawful content that appears on their properties.
From Axios
- The U.S. moved toward imposing tariffs on about $11 billion European Union imports in response to EU subsidies for Airbus—a subject of litigation at the World Trade Organization since 2004.
From The Wall Street Journal
- President Trump and his top telecom regulator will announce plans today to unleash the largest-ever swath of radio frequencies in the U.S. — plus a $20 billion fund to help wireless companies to keep pace with China in the 5G race.
From Axios
- The Education Department is requiring Texas Tech’s medical school to stop factoring race into admissions decisions, the first time the Trump administration has asked a school to drop affirmative action.
From The Wall Street Journal
- Public retirement systems face problems that gains from the long bull market haven’t solved. The financial crisis, underfunding by governments, longer lifespans and failed efforts to cut pensions have created some ugly math for major U.S. public plans: Since 2007 their assets have grown 30%—but liabilities have grown 64%. And many funds are lowering predictions of future earnings.
From The Wall Street Journal
- Amazon employs thousands of people around the world to help improve the Alexa digital assistant powering its line of Echo speakers, by listening to voice recordings captured in Echo owners’ homes and offices.
The recordings are transcribed, annotated and then fed back into the software as part of an effort to eliminate gaps in Alexa’s understanding of human speech and help it better respond to commands.
From Bloomberg
- Disney is preparing to launch Disney+, ending its lucrative relationship with Netflix to become a rival with a fee-based service that will stream new and old shows built around franchises from “Star Wars” to “High School Musical.” Making a go of what CEO Robert Iger has called his No. 1 priority will require a major cultural shake-up, and employees from the Burbank backlots to Nebraska tech centers say the pressure is on to make it work.
The Disney+ streaming will launch in November at a price of $6.99 a month.
The Wall Street Journal
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