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Truck takes flight in dramatic end to police pursuit

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Vehicle goes airborne nearly landing on woman in Louisiana

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Billionaire gave $246 million dollars to 'Day Without A Woman' group.

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‘Day Without a Woman’ supporters got $246M from Soros

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Billionaire George Soros gave $246 million to groups behind Wednesday’s “Day Without a Woman” protest, according to a report by a conservative think tank.

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today is national banana cream pie day

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2 transgender women were killed in New Orleans in 48 hours

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported.

No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

"It's scary because like a lot of the girls in New Orleans, they're walking around like zombies, you know they have this little hidden fear that's inside them to even go anywhere and I hear a lot of them talking about like 'oh, I'm going to carry a gun," Dupree told the station.

"It's very heartbreaking and it's scary because it's too close to home, I mean it could happen to any of us but I'm like -- we hang in the same circles, we hang in the same area just like it happened to them it could happen to me."

'One is too many'

In a media conference broadcast by WDSU, police Cmdr. Doug Eckert said the two crimes in as many days showed an increase in violence against transgender people in the Louisiana city.

"I mean one is too many, and that's how we feel," Eckert said.

Eckert told WDSU that there was nothing to indicate the stabbing was a hate crime. "If we learn that it's a hate crime, of course, we'll pursue the charges of that," he said.

At Wednesday's briefing Eckert referred to the stabbing victim as a transgender woman but declined to name her.

Seven killings this year

The New Orleans deaths mean three transgender women were killed within a week in Louisiana. The third one was fatally shot in Monroe on February 19.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs said it had responded to seven reported killings of transgender women of color in the United States in the first two months of the year.

"As a society we can stop this epidemic by hiring trans women of color, making sure they have safe places to live and standing up when we see or hear them being demeaned and attacked and simply by valuing their lives," it said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center cited the Anti-Violence Project as saying the other four killings had been in Chicago; Canton, Mississippi; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Toledo, Ohio.

Last year, the deaths of 27 transgender people were reported, more than any other year, according to GLAAD and other advocacy groups.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programsresponded to the homicides of 23 transgender and gender nonconforming people in 2016, the most it's ever recorded, said Sue Yacka with the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

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two transgender women were killed in new orleans in 48 hours - cnn

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Susannah Cullinane and Jeremy Grisham, CNN

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2 transgender women were killed in New Orleans in 48 hours

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported. No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

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DHS finds only 20 m to redirect to multi-billion dollar border wall.

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President Trump's border wall project has reportedly hit a road block.

Trump issued an executive order in January calling to start the U.S.-Mexico border project with "existing funds" of the Department of Homeland Security.

But Reuters reported Wednesday that the department only came up with $20 million that can be redirected to the multibillion-dollar project. That sum would be able to finance contracts for prototypes, but would not cover breaking ground on the project.

The agency reportedly said it would reallocate about $5 million from a fence project in Arizona that came in under budget and $15 million from a project to install cameras on top of Border Patrol trucks.
TRUMP DEFENDS BORDER-WALL PLAN, SAYS HE WON'T ALLOW 'LAWLESS CHAOS'
Reuters viewed the document prepared by the agency and distributed last week to congressional budget staff.

The Government Accountability Office estimated a wall would cost on average $6.5 million a mile for a fence to keep out people who try to enter on foot and $1.8 million a mile for vehicle barriers. There are currently 354 miles of pedestrian fencing and 300 miles of vehicle barriers.

The wall is reportedly expected to cost $21.6 billion - blowing far past earlier estimates. Trump initially said the wall could cost $12 billion.

The lack of funds in the agency would mean that the White House would have to convince Congress to grant the funds needed to start construction.

The border wall was Trump's key campaign promise and his insistence that Mexico would pay for it was extremely popular among his supporters, sparking enthusiastic cheers at his raucous rallies.Though Trump has insisted Mexico will eventually pay the U.S. back, American taxpayers are expected to foot the bill.
Click for more from Reuters.

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DHS reportedly finds only $20M to redirect to multibillion-dollar border wall

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President Trump's border wall project has reportedly hit a road block. Trump issued an executive order in January calling to start the U.S.-Mexico border project with "existing funds" of the Department of Homeland Security. But Reuters reported Wednesday that the department only came up with $20 million that can be redirected to the multibillion-dollar project.

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2 transgenders were killed in New Orleans under 48 hours

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Truck takes flight in dramatic end to police pursuit

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Truck takes flight in dramatic end to police pursuit

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Vehicle goes airborne nearly landing on woman in Louisiana

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Snap (SNAP), the parent company of Snapchat, began trading at $24 a share on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, a 40% increase over its IPO price. Snap's stock topped $25 in early trading.

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Snap crackled and popped at its Wall Street debut.

Snap , the parent company of Snapchat, began trading at $24 a share on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, a 40% increase over its IPO price. Snap's stock went as high as $26.05 before ending the day at $24.48, a gain of of 44%.

At the closing price, Snap now has a market valuation of nearly $35 billion.

The company priced its initial public offering at $17 a share Wednesday, above its previously proposed range of $14 to $16 a share. Snap is the biggest U.S. tech company to go public since Facebook in 2012 and the largest tech IPO period since Alibaba in 2014.

In fact, Snap is now worth about three times as much as Twitter 's current market cap.

Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap's 20-something cofounders and newly minted billionaires, rang the opening bell. The floor of the exchange featured Snap's ghost logo and its quirky smiling yellow vending machines that dispense sunglasses.

"The demand for the Snap IPO has been very, very strong," says Jeff Zell, an analyst with IPO Boutique, a research firm. There was enough investor interest for Snap to raise its IPO price more, according to Zell, but it likely wanted to see the stock pop on the first day.

Yet, some analysts were quick to rain on Snap's parade.

"It is significantly overvalued," Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group, wrote in an investor note Thursday. "We value Snap at $10 per share."

Related: Snapchat's $4 billion man

The young company saw user growth slow to a halt in the final months of last year, according to its original IPO filing last month. The slowdown coincided with Facebook's Instagram launching a Snapchat copycat feature.

In the filing, Snap repeatedly said its user numbers and engagement "can be lumpy and unpredictable" -- or the opposite of what Wall Street typically prefers.

Snap only began making money two years ago and is still struggling to turn a profit. The company suffered losses of $515 million in 2016, up from a loss of $373 million the year before.

And Snap's two young founders will maintain voting control over the company, meaning those buying its stock now will have no say in how the company operates.

"This is setting a new precedent," says Lise Buyer, an IPO expert with Class V Group, who helped take Google public. "It certainly pushes the limits on governance."

Yet, Snap is also one of the few billion-dollar tech startups choosing to go public and by far the largest. Square , Twilio , Line and other high-profile tech IPOs from the last 18 months are each just a fraction of Snap's market value.

"[Investors] saw Facebook, they saw Twitter back in the day. They don't want to be the one that misses this one," Zell says.

Related: How going public may change Snapchat

Snapchat launched its app for disappearing messages in 2011 and gradually expanded it to include high-tech photo effects and curated stories from users and media companies.

Snap now defines itself as a "camera company" and recently launched its first hardware product: smart sunglasses.

But Snap's core business is still its messaging app, which has a much smaller audience than rival Facebook. Snapchat had 158 million daily users in the most recent quarter, compared to Facebook's 1.23 billion daily users.

"One of the challenges that we've encountered over time is to explain to people why bigger isn't better," Evan Spiegel, Snap's CEO and cofounder, said in a presentation to investors ahead of the IPO.

Snap's secret weapon, according to the company and some analysts, is that its users are younger and incredibly engaged.

"I don't know how to use it," says James Cakmak, an analyst with Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. All that matters, he says, is "Generation Z uses it, and uses it aggressively, because advertisers are clamoring for their dollars."

CNNMoney (New York) First published March 2, 2017: 10:00 AM ET

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Snapchat stock soars in Wall Street debut

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Snap , the parent company of Snapchat, began trading at $24 a share on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, a 40% increase over its IPO price. Snap's stock went as high as $26.05 before ending the day at $24.48, a gain of of 44%.

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2 transgender women were killed in New Orleans in 48 hours

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported.

No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

"It's scary because like a lot of the girls in New Orleans, they're walking around like zombies, you know they have this little hidden fear that's inside them to even go anywhere and I hear a lot of them talking about like 'oh, I'm going to carry a gun," Dupree told the station.

"It's very heartbreaking and it's scary because it's too close to home, I mean it could happen to any of us but I'm like -- we hang in the same circles, we hang in the same area just like it happened to them it could happen to me."

'One is too many'

In a media conference broadcast by WDSU, police Cmdr. Doug Eckert said the two crimes in as many days showed an increase in violence against transgender people in the Louisiana city.

"I mean one is too many, and that's how we feel," Eckert said.

Eckert told WDSU that there was nothing to indicate the stabbing was a hate crime. "If we learn that it's a hate crime, of course, we'll pursue the charges of that," he said.

At Wednesday's briefing Eckert referred to the stabbing victim as a transgender woman but declined to name her.

Seven killings this year

The New Orleans deaths mean three transgender women were killed within a week in Louisiana. The third one was fatally shot in Monroe on February 19.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs said it had responded to seven reported killings of transgender women of color in the United States in the first two months of the year.

"As a society we can stop this epidemic by hiring trans women of color, making sure they have safe places to live and standing up when we see or hear them being demeaned and attacked and simply by valuing their lives," it said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center cited the Anti-Violence Project as saying the other four killings had been in Chicago; Canton, Mississippi; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Toledo, Ohio.

Last year, the deaths of 27 transgender people were reported, more than any other year, according to GLAAD and other advocacy groups.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programsresponded to the homicides of 23 transgender and gender nonconforming people in 2016, the most it's ever recorded, said Sue Yacka with the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

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two transgender women were killed in new orleans in 48 hours - cnn

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Susannah Cullinane and Jeremy Grisham, CNN

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2 transgender women were killed in New Orleans in 48 hours

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported. No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

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There could easily be a new number one overall player in the mlb of 2017 season.

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To paraphrase Derek Zoolander, Mike Trout is really, really, really ridiculously good at his job.

No one would dare dispute this claim. It's etched into a mountain somewhere.

At a certain point, however, someone is going to come along and be even more ridiculously good than Trout.

Here's the question: Could that year be this year, and could that someone be the Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts?

Trout isn't going to slow down. The Los Angeles Angels center fielder won his second American League MVP Award last season. He's 25 years old. He's defined durable, playing at least 157 games every year since 2013.

To catch or surpass Trout, Betts-or anyone else-will have to outplay him at the height of his powers. Counting on injury or regression is a fool's errand.

Trout was so good last season, he won the MVP even as the Angels finished 21 games out of first place. It wasn't a landslide, but Trout garnered 19 first-place votes compared to Betts' nine.

That reflects the changing attitude of voters over the definition of "most valuable," but it's also a testament to Trout's position as the game's undisputed alpha dog.

Betts, however, did impressive things in 2016. Let's compare the stats:

Those are strikingly similar lines. The biggest disparity is in OPS, where Trout led by 94 points.

OPS, of course, is a combination of on-base and slugging percentage. While Trout won the slugging percentage battle, .550 to .534, his OPS soars because of his MLB-leading .441 OBP. That, in turn, was boosted by his MLB-leading 116 walks.

Trout got on base a ton more, which matters. It's also worth noting the Angels finished in the bottom third in average and OPS, while Boston ranked first in both categories. Trout only drew 12 intentional walks, but plenty of pitchers pitched around him.

Again, that's not to impugn Trout's greatness. It must be said, though: The biggest difference offensively between him and Betts was as much a function of the teams they played for as their respective skill sets.

What about defense? That's where Betts pulls away, if you believe in the metrics.

In 2016, Trout posted six defensive runs saved in center field. His career-high DRS was 21 in 2012. Betts, meanwhile, posted an eye-popping 32 DRS in right field in 2016.

Defensive stats can fluctuate widely year to year, and center field is a more difficult position than right. FanGraphs' Dave Cameron made both points in September:

We've probably done more to advocate for the acceptance of stats like UZR and DRS as anyone, but even I wouldn't look at Betts' 2016 defensive numbers and argue that we should accept that he was the best defender in baseball this year, and far more valuable defensively than Trout, who still plays the more demanding defensive position.

Betts wasn't better than Trout last season. Stat-savvy voters who cast their lot with the Angels stud should feel zero buyer's remorse.

Betts is creeping closely, though. He's in the conversation. Just ask Trout.

"He's special. He's great for the game," Trout said of Betts in November after the MVP results were announced, per Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.

"A lot of people ask me about the young guys coming up in baseball, and for him to have a year like that, it was just unbelievable. I talked to a bunch of guys on the Red Sox who played with him, and they say he's one of the best they've been around. He's a special talent, and hopefully it's going to be a battle the next 10-15 years."

Remarkably, Betts, who turned 24 in October, isn't much younger than Trout. He has a shorter track record, though, which means he has more to prove.

Can he repeat his 2016 success, on offense and defense? He teased the potential in 2015, his first full season, when he slashed .291/.341/.479 with 18 home runs. His 2016 leap was massive. A return to earth is in play.

Heck, remember after 2015, when the world was ready to declare newly minted National League MVP Bryce Harper as Trout's successor? Harper didn't fall on his eye-black-smeared face in 2016, but his average tumbled from .330 to .243 and his OPS from 1.109 to .814.

Boston skipper John Farrell isn't worried about Betts.

"That's always going to be case by case, but in Mookie's situation, he's such an attentive person," Farrell said, per the Associated Press (h/t the ). "His aptitude is some of the best I've been around in the game. He's that bright, he's that advanced as far as him processing information and applying it in a moment."

If you're laying the safe money, put it on Trout retaining his throne as the best all-around player in baseball.

There are other horses in the race, including Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, who finished with 8.4 WAR in 2016, per FanGraphs, sandwiched between Trout's best-in-the-game 9.4 and Betts' 7.8. Add Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (7.5 WAR) and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (6.5 WAR) to the conversation.

Bold gamblers, however, will bet on Betts.

Like Trout, he's really, really good at his job. That, in turn, should make the 2017 season ridiculously compelling.
All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Mike Trout vs. Mookie Betts: MLB May Have a New No. 1 Overall Player in 2017

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To paraphrase Derek Zoolander, Mike Trout is really, really, really ridiculously good at his job. No one would dare dispute this claim. It's etched into a mountain somewhere. At a certain point, however, someone is going to come along and be even more ridiculously good than Trout.

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MLB might have a new overall No.1 player in 2017 (Mike Trout vs. Mookie Betts)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
To paraphrase Derek Zoolander, Mike Trout is really, really, really ridiculously good at his job.

No one would dare dispute this claim. It's etched into a mountain somewhere.

At a certain point, however, someone is going to come along and be even more ridiculously good than Trout.

Here's the question: Could that year be this year, and could that someone be the Boston Red Sox's Mookie Betts?

Trout isn't going to slow down. The Los Angeles Angels center fielder won his second American League MVP Award last season. He's 25 years old. He's defined durable, playing at least 157 games every year since 2013.

To catch or surpass Trout, Betts-or anyone else-will have to outplay him at the height of his powers. Counting on injury or regression is a fool's errand.

Trout was so good last season, he won the MVP even as the Angels finished 21 games out of first place. It wasn't a landslide, but Trout garnered 19 first-place votes compared to Betts' nine.

That reflects the changing attitude of voters over the definition of "most valuable," but it's also a testament to Trout's position as the game's undisputed alpha dog.

Betts, however, did impressive things in 2016. Let's compare the stats:

Those are strikingly similar lines. The biggest disparity is in OPS, where Trout led by 94 points.

OPS, of course, is a combination of on-base and slugging percentage. While Trout won the slugging percentage battle, .550 to .534, his OPS soars because of his MLB-leading .441 OBP. That, in turn, was boosted by his MLB-leading 116 walks.

Trout got on base a ton more, which matters. It's also worth noting the Angels finished in the bottom third in average and OPS, while Boston ranked first in both categories. Trout only drew 12 intentional walks, but plenty of pitchers pitched around him.

Again, that's not to impugn Trout's greatness. It must be said, though: The biggest difference offensively between him and Betts was as much a function of the teams they played for as their respective skill sets.

What about defense? That's where Betts pulls away, if you believe in the metrics.

In 2016, Trout posted six defensive runs saved in center field. His career-high DRS was 21 in 2012. Betts, meanwhile, posted an eye-popping 32 DRS in right field in 2016.

Defensive stats can fluctuate widely year to year, and center field is a more difficult position than right. FanGraphs' Dave Cameron made both points in September:

We've probably done more to advocate for the acceptance of stats like UZR and DRS as anyone, but even I wouldn't look at Betts' 2016 defensive numbers and argue that we should accept that he was the best defender in baseball this year, and far more valuable defensively than Trout, who still plays the more demanding defensive position.

Betts wasn't better than Trout last season. Stat-savvy voters who cast their lot with the Angels stud should feel zero buyer's remorse.

Betts is creeping closely, though. He's in the conversation. Just ask Trout.

"He's special. He's great for the game," Trout said of Betts in November after the MVP results were announced, per Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.

"A lot of people ask me about the young guys coming up in baseball, and for him to have a year like that, it was just unbelievable. I talked to a bunch of guys on the Red Sox who played with him, and they say he's one of the best they've been around. He's a special talent, and hopefully it's going to be a battle the next 10-15 years."

Remarkably, Betts, who turned 24 in October, isn't much younger than Trout. He has a shorter track record, though, which means he has more to prove.

Can he repeat his 2016 success, on offense and defense? He teased the potential in 2015, his first full season, when he slashed .291/.341/.479 with 18 home runs. His 2016 leap was massive. A return to earth is in play.

Heck, remember after 2015, when the world was ready to declare newly minted National League MVP Bryce Harper as Trout's successor? Harper didn't fall on his eye-black-smeared face in 2016, but his average tumbled from .330 to .243 and his OPS from 1.109 to .814.

Boston skipper John Farrell isn't worried about Betts.

"That's always going to be case by case, but in Mookie's situation, he's such an attentive person," Farrell said, per the Associated Press (h/t the ). "His aptitude is some of the best I've been around in the game. He's that bright, he's that advanced as far as him processing information and applying it in a moment."

If you're laying the safe money, put it on Trout retaining his throne as the best all-around player in baseball.

There are other horses in the race, including Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, who finished with 8.4 WAR in 2016, per FanGraphs, sandwiched between Trout's best-in-the-game 9.4 and Betts' 7.8. Add Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager (7.5 WAR) and Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (6.5 WAR) to the conversation.

Bold gamblers, however, will bet on Betts.

Like Trout, he's really, really good at his job. That, in turn, should make the 2017 season ridiculously compelling.
All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and MLB.com unless otherwise noted.

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Mike Trout vs. Mookie Betts: MLB May Have a New No. 1 Overall Player in 2017

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
To paraphrase Derek Zoolander, Mike Trout is really, really, really ridiculously good at his job. No one would dare dispute this claim. It's etched into a mountain somewhere. At a certain point, however, someone is going to come along and be even more ridiculously good than Trout.

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Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines and turned the country into a battlefield in his war on drugs. Since then, the murder rate has dramatically risen.

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‘I buried my son in the grave that was meant for me’

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These are the innocent victims who are increasingly caught in the crossfire of Philippines President Duterte’s drug crackdown

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Climate change threatens to wash away couple's history

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Climate change threatens to wash away couple’s history | CNN

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Wenceslaus and Denicia Billiot are the oldest residents of Isle de Jean Charles. They were born and raised there, and plan to live out the rest of their lives on the island. The problem? The island is sinking.

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Dog found with nose and ears cut off in Detroit gets forever home

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The story of the Rottweiler named Baron found mutilated earlier this year has been given a happy ending.

Baron now has his forever home with his new family, according to the Michigan Humane Society. A little more than a month ago, someone maimed the 8-year-old dog cutting off his nose, ears and slashing his tail and back legs.
DOG FOUND WITH NOSE AND EARS CUT OFF IN DETROIT
The MHS also thanked the public for their support.

"We would like to thank everyone involved in his recovery for their time and dedication," The humane society wrote on its Facebook page. "To everyone that called, emailed, donated or shared his story, you have our gratitude. It's because of your support that rescues like Baron's are possible. Please join us in wishing Baron and his new family all the best."

Three weeks ago surgeons with the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine donated their time and expertise and was able to reconstruct Baron's nose. His nasal passage is now covered and protected and they were also able to fix his tail.

Despite numerous tips, cruelty investigators have not yet tracked down the person responsible. Baron's case has drawn national attention.

"Baron is doing fantastic," Ann Chrisman of the Michigan Humane Society told Taryn Asher last week. "He came through surgery with flying colors. We were able to do reconstruction on his nose so he is sniffing and smelling just fine now. We were also able to do some work on his tail, which is all healed up."
Story first appeared on Fox 2 Detroit.

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Dog found with nose and ears cut off in Detroit gets forever home

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The story of the Rottweiler named Baron found mutilated earlier this year has been given a happy ending. Baron now has his forever home with his new family, according to the Michigan Humane Society. A little more than a month ago, someone maimed the 8-year-old dog cutting off his nose, ears and slashing his tail and back legs.

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Officials are investigating after a bear fell to its death from a helicopter high over the jungles of Thailand last month, the Independent reports. While there's some agreement on the circumstances of the Asian black bear's untimely death, it's unclear exactly how the bear came to find itself on the helicopter in the first place. According to the Bangkok Post, the bear was found hanging around a village near Khao Yai National Park last month. But the Phuket Gazette reports the bear was injured when officials found it last November.

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Officials are investigating after a bear fell to its death from a helicopter high over the jungles of Thailand last month, the Independent reports. While there's some agreement on the circumstances of the Asian black bear's untimely death, it's unclear exactly how the bear came to find itself on the helicopter in the first place.

According to the Bangkok Post, the bear was found hanging around a village near Khao Yai National Park last month. But the Phuket Gazette reports the bear was injured when officials found it last November.

And Khaosod reports the bear had spent the last decade being rehabilitated after it was found being kept as an illegal pet. Regardless, the bear found itself being transported by wildlife officials deep into Khao Yai.

There are reports of the bear, which had been sedated, waking up in the middle of the trip and-finding itself dangling in a net attached to the helicopter-starting to panic.

But an official denies the bear ever woke up. The helicopter encountered bad weather and quickly lost altitude; that's when the bear fell from the net.

It appears there may have been a problem with the net itself. The secretary of the Khao Yai Foundation wants officials to face legal action, arguing the bear should have been driven closer to where it was found and not flown deep into the jungle away from its pack.

Officials say they wanted to get the bear farther away from nearby villagers and haven't had a problem with helicopters in the past. (This country is horrified by the beating death of a beloved hippo.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Bear Falls to Death From Helicopter

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Bear dies after plummeting from helicopter

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Officials are investigating after a bear fell to its death from a helicopter high over the jungles of Thailand last month, the Independent reports. While there's some agreement on the circumstances of the Asian black bear's untimely death, it's unclear exactly how the bear came to find itself on the helicopter in the first place.

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Former president, George W. Bush comes out and says despite the political views he had a "thing" for Michelle Obama. "When I saw her, it was a genuine expression of affection

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george w. bush explains his fondness for michelle obama - cnnpolitics

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George W. Bush explains his fondness for Michelle Obama

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Justin Beibers birthday was yesterday.

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The City of Death.

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‘I buried my son in the grave that was meant for me’

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These are the innocent victims who are increasingly caught in the crossfire of Philippines President Duterte’s drug crackdown

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Two transgender women were killed in New Orleans within 48 hours:New Orleans transgender community is on edge after two transgender women were killed within 48 hours of each other. Chyna Gibson was gunned down on Saturday night,while the second women was found with multiple stab wounds on Monday morning.

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported.

No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

"It's scary because like a lot of the girls in New Orleans, they're walking around like zombies, you know they have this little hidden fear that's inside them to even go anywhere and I hear a lot of them talking about like 'oh, I'm going to carry a gun," Dupree told the station.

"It's very heartbreaking and it's scary because it's too close to home, I mean it could happen to any of us but I'm like -- we hang in the same circles, we hang in the same area just like it happened to them it could happen to me."

'One is too many'

In a media conference broadcast by WDSU, police Cmdr. Doug Eckert said the two crimes in as many days showed an increase in violence against transgender people in the Louisiana city.

"I mean one is too many, and that's how we feel," Eckert said.

Eckert told WDSU that there was nothing to indicate the stabbing was a hate crime. "If we learn that it's a hate crime, of course, we'll pursue the charges of that," he said.

At Wednesday's briefing Eckert referred to the stabbing victim as a transgender woman but declined to name her.

Seven killings this year

The New Orleans deaths mean three transgender women were killed within a week in Louisiana. The third one was fatally shot in Monroe on February 19.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs said it had responded to seven reported killings of transgender women of color in the United States in the first two months of the year.

"As a society we can stop this epidemic by hiring trans women of color, making sure they have safe places to live and standing up when we see or hear them being demeaned and attacked and simply by valuing their lives," it said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center cited the Anti-Violence Project as saying the other four killings had been in Chicago; Canton, Mississippi; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Toledo, Ohio.

Last year, the deaths of 27 transgender people were reported, more than any other year, according to GLAAD and other advocacy groups.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programsresponded to the homicides of 23 transgender and gender nonconforming people in 2016, the most it's ever recorded, said Sue Yacka with the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

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two transgender women were killed in new orleans in 48 hours - cnn

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Susannah Cullinane and Jeremy Grisham, CNN

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2 transgender women were killed in New Orleans in 48 hours

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported. No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

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Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday warned against an "isolationist tendency" in the U.S. that he called dangerous to national security

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Midterm Elections 2018 | Political News | ABC News

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The 2018 Midterm Elections are fast approaching. ABC News brings you in-depth coverage and breaking political news, as voters determine the Senate and House of Representatives.

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The Syrian military, backed by the Russian Air Force, has completed its operation to liberate the key city of Palmyra from militants, Kremlin has announced. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported to the commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, that the historic city in Syria’s Homs province has been liberated, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

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The Syrian military, backed by the Russian Air Force, has completed its operation to liberate the key city of Palmyra from militants, Kremlin has announced.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported to the commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, that the historic city in Syria's Homs province has been liberated, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

Syrian Army specialists have begun examining the historic part of Palmyra with the aim of demining the city, a RIA-Novosti correspondent reports.

Fortifications on the outskirts of Palmyra are being erected to prevent any counter-offensive by Islamic State, he added.

"The flag of the Islamic State terrorist group has been removed from the city of Palmyra. It should be viewed as a joint success of the Russian Air Force and the Syrian military. Shortly, the whole territory of Syria will be liberated from the terrorists," Andrey Krasov, deputy head of the Russian parliament's Committee for Defense, said.

The head of Russia's upper house Committee for International Relations, Konstantin Kosachev, has called Palmyra the symbol of the Syrian people's tragedy and their liberation from the terrorists.

"The retaking of Palmyra is a powerful symbol of liberation of Syria from the terrorist disease, the return of the country to normal life," Kosachev is cited as saying by TASS.

He expressed hope that the majority of the city's treasures remained intact, adding that "the joint efforts of the international community will allow restoration of cultural heritage where the destruction caused by terrorists wasn't irreversible."

Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was one of the most important centers of the Roman Empire.

It fell under IS control back in 2015, with the terrorists blowing up several historic monuments, including the 1,800-year-old Monumental Arch of Palmyra, most of the Temple of Bel, and the Temple of Baalshamin.

The city was liberated in last March after a two-week operation by the Syrian Army, with the backing of Russian aviation.

However, the city was retaken by IS in a counteroffensive in December 2016, which forced the Syrian Army to retreat, evacuating 80 percent of the population.

The jihadists resumed their assault on historic heritage, destroying Palmyra's Roman theater and the legendary Tetrapylon

The new operation to liberate the city was launched shortly afterwards, with the government forces advancing towards the city on a daily basis.

Earlier on Thursday, the Syrian military took the strategic al-Tar heights near the city of Palmyra.

When Palmyra again fell to Islamic State in December, there was a tactical retreat by the Syrian Army to concentrate forces to the battle in Aleppo, Middle East expert Abdel Barry Atwan told RT.

"When the Syrian forces managed to capture Palmyra in May 2015, they realized that it really has no strategic value. They wanted to concentrate on Aleppo, the economic capital of Syria," Atwan said.

But now Palmyra is again free from militants thanks to the Syrian military on the ground and Russian air cover, which has been "the best formula" for counter-terrorism efforts in the country, the expert added.

The strategic victory in Aleppo has proven that the "Syrian Army can, actually, take or liberate Raqqa, Islamic State capital, and there's no need for Turkish forces, American forces, Kurdish forces," Atwan said.

A former UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Ford, has told RT that the victory of the government forces in Palmyra shouldn't be underestimated.

"It's very important for three reasons. Palmyra is an iconic location. It was a great loss of prestige when it fell back in December. But now when it's recovered the status of the Syrian government has risen accordingly. Secondly, it's a tremendous boost for the morale of the Syrian army and its allies and the Syrian government," he said.

"Thirdly, the political importance in the present international context - the recovery of Palmyra demonstrates that anybody, who is serious about wanting to defeat ISIS - and, apparently, that includes US President Trump, who has made it his top priority - would have to work with the Syrian government forces," Ford stressed.

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Syrian Army recaptures Palmyra, aided by Russian Air Force - Kremlin

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The Syrian military, backed by the Russian Air Force, has completed its operation to liberate the key city of Palmyra from militants, Kremlin has announced. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported to the commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, that the historic city in Syria's Homs province has been liberated, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

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In 48 hours two transgender women were killed in New Orleans

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported.

No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

"It's scary because like a lot of the girls in New Orleans, they're walking around like zombies, you know they have this little hidden fear that's inside them to even go anywhere and I hear a lot of them talking about like 'oh, I'm going to carry a gun," Dupree told the station.

"It's very heartbreaking and it's scary because it's too close to home, I mean it could happen to any of us but I'm like -- we hang in the same circles, we hang in the same area just like it happened to them it could happen to me."

'One is too many'

In a media conference broadcast by WDSU, police Cmdr. Doug Eckert said the two crimes in as many days showed an increase in violence against transgender people in the Louisiana city.

"I mean one is too many, and that's how we feel," Eckert said.

Eckert told WDSU that there was nothing to indicate the stabbing was a hate crime. "If we learn that it's a hate crime, of course, we'll pursue the charges of that," he said.

At Wednesday's briefing Eckert referred to the stabbing victim as a transgender woman but declined to name her.

Seven killings this year

The New Orleans deaths mean three transgender women were killed within a week in Louisiana. The third one was fatally shot in Monroe on February 19.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs said it had responded to seven reported killings of transgender women of color in the United States in the first two months of the year.

"As a society we can stop this epidemic by hiring trans women of color, making sure they have safe places to live and standing up when we see or hear them being demeaned and attacked and simply by valuing their lives," it said in a statement.

The Southern Poverty Law Center cited the Anti-Violence Project as saying the other four killings had been in Chicago; Canton, Mississippi; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Toledo, Ohio.

Last year, the deaths of 27 transgender people were reported, more than any other year, according to GLAAD and other advocacy groups.

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programsresponded to the homicides of 23 transgender and gender nonconforming people in 2016, the most it's ever recorded, said Sue Yacka with the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

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two transgender women were killed in new orleans in 48 hours - cnn

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Susannah Cullinane and Jeremy Grisham, CNN

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2 transgender women were killed in New Orleans in 48 hours

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Chyna Gibson was gunned down Saturday night, while the second woman was found with multiple stab wounds Monday morning, CNN affiliate WDSU-TV reported. No arrests have been made in the cases, which police said appear to be unrelated, but transgender activist Daphanie Dupree told WDSU the situation was scary.

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Mr. Kohl- Today, Snap Inc aka Snapchat  is coming out on the NYSE in the biggest US tech IPO in years. Shares are going for $17 a pop. Meaning the company’s valued at about $24 billion. Snap’s big moment comes a day after the Dow crossed the 21000 mark for the first time ever.

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Mr. Kohl- Today, Snap Inc aka Snapchat  is coming out on the NYSE in the biggest US tech IPO in years. Shares are going for $17 a pop. Meaning the company’s valued at about $24 billion. Snap’s big moment comes a day after the Dow crossed the 21000 mark for the first time ever.

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Snapchat parent Snap, Inc. ( SNAP) has priced its initial public offering of 200 million shares at $17 per share, which means the company is raising $3.4 billion. This gives the social media giant a value of $23.6 billion.

The pricing is slightly above the $14-$16 range the company had been targeting, which would have given it a valuation of $19.5-$22.3 billion.

As Bloomberg notes, the $23.6 billion valuation for the company is based on 1.39 billion fully diluted shares outstanding, more than the 1.16 billion shares the company's filing indicates will be outstanding after the offering. This implies there are securities out there that can be converted into about 230 million new shares.

The debut of Snap, which in its prospectus called itself a camera company, not a social network, will be first tech IPO of 2017 and is the most highly-anticipated market debut since Alibaba. The last social media company to go public was Twitter back in 2013.

As Snap makes its debut in public markets, two issues are likely to be of concern for investors in the coming months and years: profits and voting rights.

Cost and user growth

In a post earlier this month, tech analyst Ben Thompson at Stratechery indicated that Snapchat has a burgeoning issue with its total costs per user rising and losses per user are also increasing.

"The biggest problem here is Snap's cost of revenue per user: it's going up, and it has been for a while," Thompson writes.

"This isn't quite as bad as it seems, because Snap's cost of revenue includes revenue sharing payments to publishers; once you back that out, though, the company has gone from paying ~$0.47/user in 2015 to ~$0.66/user in 2016, a 40% increase, and an amount (per user) that well exceeds that of Facebook or Twitter at the time of their IPOs. That means that to become profitable Snap has to not only grow users, it has to grow them faster than its costs are increasing, or grow revenue per users by that much more." (Emphasis added.)

The bull case for Snapchat, however, has been in the strength of its product team and the vision of its CEO Evan Spiegel. Innovation, then, is what's really being pitched.

In its prospectus, Snap disclosed that user growth slowed towards the end of the third quarter of 2016 as the result, the company said, of issues related to new products and app updates.

This, then, would seem to indicate that the required product innovation Thompson sees as necessary for the company to overcome its current cost issues are also at risk of costing the company the users it needs to be profitable.

That's why it's called a risk factor.

No vote for you

As for the voting issue, Snap's IPO will offer investors shares that have no voting rights.

In its filing, Snap said that Spiegel and co-founder Bobby Murphy will have control of 89% of the voting power at the company. "This concentrated control eliminates other stockholders' ability to influence corporate matters and, as a result, we may take actions that our stockholders do not view as beneficial," the company said in its filing.

"As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected."

In a post on Wednesday, Yahoo Finance's Ash Bennington outlined why some analysts see this as making Snap's shareholder structure "banana republic governance."

In short, academic research says companies with a single-share class structure outperform those that feature the multi-class structure Snap will offer (and is currently offered by Google and Facebook).

Additionally, dual-class structures are not seen as being friendly for shareholder rights because, well, shareholders don't get a vote. Sure, shareholders get a cut of future profits, but are also most junior in the capital structure and have no say in management. Then again, you don't have to buy these companies.

The headline excitement around Snap's debut is and will likely remain focused on the product itself and its wunderkind CEO. But one of the most interesting, if in-the-weeds, investment stories is also playing out.

More on Snap:

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Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland

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Snap prices IPO at $17 per share, valuing company at $24 billion

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Snapchat parent Snap, Inc. (SNAP) has priced its initial public offering of 200 million shares at $17 per share, which means the company is raising $3.4 billion. The pricing is slightly above the $14-$16 range the company had been targeting, which would have given it a valuation of $19.5-$22.3 billion