Robot designed to clean off solar panels
This robot helps keep the solar panels working properly
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump granted clemency to dozens of people on Tuesday, including his former strategist Steve Bannon, the rapper Lil Wayne and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, in one of his final official acts as president.A list of pardons and commutations the White House released early Wednesday, Trump’s last day in office, does not include the president himself. Trump had discussed pre-emptively pardoning himself and associates, but some advisers had cautioned the president against what would have been an unprecedented action, according to people familiar with the matter.Trump granted a pardon to the rapper Dwayne Carter, known as Lil Wayne, who pleaded guilty to a federal gun charge last year, and commuted the sentence of the rapper Bill Kapri, known as Kodak Black, who is serving time for falsifying paperwork to obtain a firearm.He pardoned a former top fundraiser for the Republican Party, Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty in October to illegally lobbying on behalf of a Malaysian businessman seeking to end a federal investigation into the 1MDB scandal.Other clemency grants include:A commutation for Shalom Weiss, who is believed to be serving the longest white-collar sentence in U.S. history, 835 years, for money laundering and other charges stemming from the failure of the National Heritage Life Insurance Co. He fled while on bail and partied with prostitutes at a luxury hotel before the authorities tracked him down in Austria. “He regrets doing that,” Weiss’ nephew, Hershy Marton, said in an interview in December.A pardon for Broidy, a fundraiser for both Trump and the Republican National Committee in 2016. Fugitive businessman Jho Low initially paid $6 million to Broidy and promised $75 million more if he succeeded in persuading the Justice Department to walk away from its civil forfeiture case. The back-channel efforts failed and Low was indicted in 2018 on charges of conspiring to launder billions of dollars embezzled from 1MDB. He has denied wrongdoing.A commutation for Kilpatrick, who was convicted in 2013 on 24 counts of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, bribery and tax evasion and sentenced to 28 years in prison. He was mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008; prosecutors alleged his corruption contributed to the city’s bankruptcy five years after he left office.A commutation for Salmon Melgen, a Palm Beach retinologist who was serving a 17-year sentence for Medicare fraud after billing the government to treat people for eye disease they didn’t have. Melgen’s commutation was supported by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a Democrat whom prosecutors alleged pressured federal agencies to help Melgen after receiving gifts and campaign contributions. Charges against Menendez were eventually dropped after a New Jersey jury was unable to reach a verdict.(Updates with additional clemency grants beginning in fifth paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
President Donald Trump leaves the presidency on Wednesday under a dark cloud of his own making, ending his single four-year term stained by two impeachments, deep political divisions and his handling of a pandemic that has caused 400,000 U.S. deaths. Trump, 74, will bid farewell to the White House hours before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. Trump and his wife, Melania, will depart the South Lawn on the Marine One helicopter for Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland, where he will preside over a military-style sendoff before boarding Air Force One one last time to fly to Florida.
Another massive jackpot awaits on Wednesday night. The Powerball drawing is worth a projected $730 million, the sixth largest in U.S. lottery history.
His ex-adviser faces fraud charges over a fundraising campaign to build a wall on the Mexican border.
Asian shares climbed to a record high on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen advocated for a hefty fiscal relief package to help the world's largest economy ride out a pandemic-driven slump. At her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she said the benefits of a big stimulus package are greater than the expenses of a higher debt burden. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office on Wednesday, last week laid out a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal to boost the economy and speed up the distribution of vaccines.
This spring, Blue Bird will begin production of its propane and gasoline Vision school buses integrating Ford's all-new 7.3L V8 engine and a purpose-built fuel system designed specifically for school-bus application. The advanced fuel system technology was developed by ROUSH CleanTech, the same company that has manufactured over 30,000 propane and gasoline fuel systems for Blue Bird buses equipped with Ford's 6.8L engine. The 2022 Blue Bird Vision with the propane and gasoline 7.3L engine features best-in-class combination of horsepower and torque. In addition, the compact and lighter-weight 7.3L engine should achieve improved fuel economy over the 6.8L engine.
Marge Hobley has waited four years for the day she could finally celebrate the end of Donald Trump's chaotic presidency. But after the events of recent months – the coronavirus pandemic, Trump's false attacks on the election results, and the shocking assault on the U.S. Capitol – the 77-year-old Indianapolis Democrat said any jubilation has yielded to a more muted mix of relief, sadness and cautious optimism. "The idea of, let's have a champagne toast – we'll have a Maalox or Pepto Bismol toast, maybe," she said when asked how she would mark Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.
U.S. corporate results and profit outlooks are becoming increasingly important in sustaining investor optimism in a stock market rally that has driven valuations close to a 20-year high. With fourth-quarter reports starting to pour in, the benchmark S&P 500 is trading at 22.6 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, according to Refinitiv Datastream. Investors’ rationale for the historically high valuations has rested on expectations of a growth bounce as the economy emerges from COVID-19 shutdowns, massive fiscal and monetary support, and equities' relative attractiveness to bonds.
The US crossed the tragic milestone of 400,000 Covid deaths on president Trump’s final day in office
Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, assuming the helm of a country beset by deep political divides and battered by a raging coronavirus pandemic. Biden, 78, will become the oldest U.S. president in history at a scaled-back ceremony in Washington that has been largely stripped of its usual pomp and circumstance, due both to the coronavirus as well as security concerns following the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump. With only a small number of attendees present, the Democrat will take the oath of office before U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts just after noon (1700 GMT), placing his hand on an heirloom Bible that has been in the Biden family for more than a century.
Trump and Bannon have had an up-and-down relationship since the flamboyant adviser left the White House in 2017.
During Irving’s absence, there’s been plenty of speculation about why he left the team and whether the team finds the reasons for his departure adequate.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has spent much of his long career casting Israel's Arab minority as a potential fifth column led by terrorist sympathizers, is now openly courting their support as he seeks reelection in the country's fourth vote in less than two years. The Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties that secured a record 15 seats in the 120-member Knesset last March, is riven by a dispute over whether it should work with Netanyahu's right-wing Likud at a time when less objectionable center-left parties are in disarray.
As Democrat Joe Biden is sworn in Wednesday as the nation’s 46th president, Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters still believe Biden was not legitimately elected after Trump continues to argue the election was stolen. There is no evidence of the widespread fraud that Trump and his allies have claimed. Courts have rejected lawsuit after lawsuit, and a clear majority of Congress has confirmed the final result despite a riotous mob earlier this month that sought to disrupt the process.
Everyone's connection with beauty and makeup is subjective. For Hunter Schafer, that connection has evolved over the years - no doubt from playing Jules in the hit HBO series Euphoria but also from her journey of discovering her true self.
President Donald Trump continues his spate of pardons mere hours before his tenure in the White House ends.
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn into office at noon ET Jan. 20, in the midst of the pandemic and new national security concerns, and CBS News will have all the coverage you need, for free. CBS News’ special coverage of the election begins at 9 a.m. ET on Jan. 20 on CBS News channel or streaming on the CBS News app or CBSNews.com. Later that evening, CBS’ Entertainment division will host a primetime inauguration special called “Celebrating America,” which will have Tom Hanks as the emcee, along with introductions from actresses Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington. Also Read: How To Stream PBS NewsHour's Coverage of Biden's Inauguration Live “Celebrating America” — which is the name for Biden’s inauguration party — kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET. The special will feature musical performances from the Foo Fighters, John Legend and Bruce Springsteen. Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi and Ant Clemons are also scheduled to appear. Harris and Biden are expected to briefly join the program to give remarks following the inauguration. After the swearing-in but prior to “Celebrating America,” CBS News will air a half-hour multi-network special called “One Nation: Indivisible.” In addition to the traditional television broadcast, CBS News will livestream inauguration news coverage and the events for free on all i, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch, and Amazon Prime Video. Also Read: How to Stream CNN's Coverage of Joe Biden's Inauguration Live Harris and Biden will take their oaths of office on the West Front of the Capitol Building at noon Wednesday, in front of attendees from Congress who each got a ticket to bring one guest. Despite the expected legislative crowd, this year’s inauguration will be limited in scope — voters and ordinary citizens can’t access the grounds of the National Mall, Capitol or White House unless they can provide “proof of essential purpose.” After a violent mob of pro-Trump supporters broke into the Capitol building two weeks ago, National Guard troops were stationed there and all of D.C. has been on high alert. CBS News subscribers can tune into the proceedings on cable or watch live in the CBS News app, which requires a valid TV provider login. Read original story How to Stream CBS News’ Coverage of the Biden-Harris Inauguration Live At TheWrap
As Joe Biden takes over the presidency, investors are trying to determine how much fuel is left in trades betting on his policies, which have sparked outsized rallies in everything from cyclical stocks to shares of solar-powered companies. Overall, the broad S&P 500 has rallied nearly 13% since the Nov. 3 presidential election, with gains concentrated in sectors expected to benefit the most from policy shifts expected under a Biden administration. Democrats’ slender majority in Congress mean the final shape and timing of many Biden policies - including a proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package - remain uncertain.
China's capital Beijing said on Wednesday it will investigate everyone who entered the city from abroad from Dec. 10 and shut down a subway station after reporting the biggest daily jump in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks. India will start exporting COVID-19 vaccines from Wednesday, paving the way for many mid- and lower-income countries to get supplies of the easy-to-store Oxford/AstraZeneca drug, of which it said it plans to ship millions of doses within days. Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and the Seychelles will also get supplies in this week's first phase, India's foreign ministry said.
Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, was charged in 2020 with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors who gave money to help build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.