| US plans to withdraw 7,000 troops from Afghanistan Posted: 20 Dec 2018 06:50 PM PST  The US plans to dramatically cut troop levels in Afghanistan as President Donald Trump reshapes America's foreign commitments and fulfills long-standing promises to bring military forces home. The Pentagon will withdraw 7,000 of about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan, according to a US defence official. The decision emerged a day after Trump said he would pull US forces from Syria, a move most of his national security team had opposed for months. And it comes as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced plans to resign, citing differences with Trump over the value of America's alliances and leadership in the world. Trump has long criticised the 17-year-old war in Afghanistan, the longest military conflict in US history and one that has cost about 2,300 American lives. He only reluctantly agreed to his military advisers' request to allow about 4,000 more troops to be sent to the country last year. Since American troops first arrived in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, the US has appropriated about $126 billion for relief and reconstruction, including $78 billion for security, according to a July report from a Pentagon watchdog. Yet the US presence and funding couldn't prevent conditions on the ground from deteriorating. US Defense Secretary James Mattis and senior advisor Sally Donnelly arrive via helicopter at Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan April 24, 2017 Credit: JONATHAN ERNST/Reuters According to the Pentagon watchdog's reports, the Kabul government's grip on the country has been consistently shrinking, civilian deaths have been rising and the production of poppy used to make heroin was surging. Publicly, Trump's national security team has said its approach was effective. During a trip to Afghanistan in July, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo insisted that Trump's strategy to fight the Taliban was working. Those thoughts were similar to those shared by Mattis, who earlier this year called Afghanistan a "tough fight" but said the American effort "is working from our perspective." There was an acknowledgement, however, that American firepower could only go so far. The newest commander on the ground, General Scott Miller, said in an October interview with NBC News that the conflict "is not going to be won militarily." "My assessment is the Taliban also realises they cannot win militarily," Miller told NBC. "So if you realise you can't win militarily at some point, fighting is just – people start asking why." Trump's decision came hours after the Pentagon published a new quarterly report on Afghanistan that described the military situation as of Nov 30 as being at "an impasse." The arrival of additional US advisers this year helped slow "the momentum of a Taliban march that had capitalised on US draw-downs between 2011 and 2016," it said. Afghan forces "remain in control of most of Afghanistan's population centers and all of the provincial capitals, while the Taliban control large portions of Afghanistan's rural areas, and continue to attack poorly defended government checkpoints and rural district centers," it said. The decision to withdraw forces comes as the US tries to broker talks aimed at bringing a more lasting peace to Afghanistan. American officials held talks with Taliban representatives in the United Arab Emirates this week, joined by officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the UAE. One sticking point has been the Taliban's refusal to talk directly with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government, saying doing so would be a "waste of time" because they see his government as illegitimate.
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| House panel to give Trump ally Stone's transcript to Russia probe Posted: 20 Dec 2018 12:34 PM PST  Democrats who take control of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee next month have signaled they plan to send Special Counsel Robert Mueller the transcripts of testimony given under oath by some of Trump's closest associates so they can be reviewed for evidence and possible falsehoods. During the 2016 campaign, longtime Republican political operative Stone posted messages on Twitter implying that he had inside knowledge of data in the possession of hackers and WikiLeaks that would embarrass the Democrats. Stone's lawyer Grant Smith said on Thursday that he sent a letter to the committee's outgoing Republican chairman requesting that the full transcript of the private Sept. 26, 2017 interview be publicly released.
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| Rep. Kevin McCarthy: The government shutdown comes down to Sen. Schumer Posted: 21 Dec 2018 07:32 PM PST  House majority leader speaks out on 'The Ingraham Angle' after Congress adjourns without reaching a spending deal before the midnight deadline.
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| Eat avocados without washing them? That's an avoca-don't, FDA says Posted: 21 Dec 2018 11:24 AM PST  The concern is that when you cut into an avocado, the knife could bring pathogens on the peel to the edible fleshy part.
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| Florida to be battered by strong winds in the wake of Thursday's violent storms Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:40 AM PST  In the wake of severe thunderstorms that damaged dozens of homes in Florida on Thursday, gusty winds on Friday will threaten to cause even more damage across the state.
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| Attorney general nominee William Barr shouldn't face opposition for honest legal memo Posted: 20 Dec 2018 04:42 PM PST  A legal memo by William Barr raising questions about whether Trump should be charged with obstruction of justice shouldn't stand in way of nomination.
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| Kurds warn British jihadists and other Isil suspects could escape after US withdrawal from Syria Posted: 21 Dec 2018 08:42 AM PST  America's Kurdish allies have warned that thousands of Islamic State group jihadist prisoners - including the surviving Britons known as "The Beatles" - may escape custody once US forces leave Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said they could be unable to secure 2,000 suspects they are holding if they have to divert forces to fight a Turkish offensive, after Donald Trump's decision to pull US forces from Syria. The suspected jihadist prisoners include six British men, four British women and several of their children. Among them are Alexanda Kotey and Shafee El-Sheikh, who allegedly behead Western hostages. The warning came as America's allies reeled from Mr Trump's twin unexpected decisions to pull out from Syria and significantly scale back the US military campaign in Afghanistan. Taliban officials said they welcomed Mr Trump's orders to begin withdrawing up to 7,000 of America's 14,000 troops based in Afghanistan fighting the insurgent movement. The SDF have spearheaded the fight against Isil Credit: REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo The decision to dramatically scale back the war effort in Afghanistan blind-sided Nato-allies including Britain. It also caused dismay among diplomats in Kabul and Afghan officials who fear abandonment by the West will cause a repeat of the 1990s civil war. Only last year, Mr Trump's new strategy for Afghanistan had pledged troop increases and promised not to pull back until security conditions had improved. Ashraf Ghani's government put a brave face on the announcement saying "If the few thousand foreign troops that advise, train and assist leave, it will not affect our security." American envoys earlier this week spent three days in discussion with Taliban negotiators trying to forge a tentative peace process. The Taliban have long demanded a US withdrawal as a precondition for talks with Kabul. Graeme Smith, a consultant for International Crisis Group, said: "It's clear that a rapid pullout of all international forces could spark the collapse of the Afghan government and start a new civil war. Still, this partial withdrawal could send a useful message to all sides. This signals to the Taliban that the US is serious about negotiating an exit. Taliban have been asking each other in recent weeks whether American diplomats were honest when they claimed to be ready for a responsible withdrawal." Mr Trump's decision to overrule military advice and embark on a pullout is understood to have contributed to the decision by his defence secretary, Gen Jim Mattis to resign. Gen Mattis had long been seen in Kabul as an advocate of supporting the Afghan government and a guarantor of American support. Diplomats said other members of the Nato coalition would now have to decide if they were able to stay with a greatly reduced US force. America's allies are largely reliant on US military might for logistics such as air transport and medical treatment. The White House has reportedly decided to pull the more than 2,000 US troops out of Syria Credit: DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images European allies also disputed Mr Trump's claim that a withdrawal for Syria was justified because America had defeated Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isil). "We do not share the analyses that the territorial caliphate has been annihilated," said French defence minister Florence Parly. "It's an extremely grave decision and we think ... the job must be finished." Yet Mr Trump insisted he had "done more damage to ISIS than all recent presidents....not even close!" The SDF warned the West that it could "lose control" of the jihadists if American troops left Syria. " We will continue our mission but confronting this terrorism will be difficult because our forces will be forced to withdraw from the frontlines in Deir Ezzor to take up positions on the border with Turkey to counter any attack we may face," said Ilham Ahmed, a senior official from the SDF's political council. The warning appeared intended to galvanise Western countries, who are deeply concerned about the return of foreign fighters from Syria, into maintaining support for the Kurds even after US forces withdraw.
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| Women charged in ill-timed theft at Target store filled with cops Posted: 21 Dec 2018 04:28 PM PST  About 15 police officers were at the Target on Wednesday night, helping disadvantaged children pick out Christmas presents for their families
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| Israeli forces kill Palestinian at West Bank roadblock, Palestinian health ministry Posted: 20 Dec 2018 01:07 PM PST ![Israeli forces kill Palestinian at West Bank roadblock, Palestinian health ministry]( "Israeli forces kill Palestinian at West Bank roadblock, Palestinian health ministry") Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian at a roadblock in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Israeli military, in a statement that made no mention of any casualties, said a vehicle broke through the roadblock and soldiers opened fire. It said it was investigating the incident, which occurred at night near the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
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| Van Jackson: My North Korea Prediction for 2019 Posted: 22 Dec 2018 07:11 AM PST  The appearance of progress belies the reality of an unchanging—or even worsening—situation below the surface.
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| Altria takes stake in Juul e-cigarettes for $12.8 bn Posted: 20 Dec 2018 10:00 PM PST  US tobacco giant Altria, maker of major brands such as Marlboro and Chesterfield, announced Thursday that it will buy a 35 percent stake in popular e-cigarette maker Juul for $12.8 billion. The deal comes as US regulators increase scrutiny of usage among young consumers of the fast-growing vaping products that tobacco companies hope will compensate for declines in conventional cigarette sales. The investment more than doubles the value of Juul to $38 billion.
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| Goldman Sachs CEO defends bank in 1MDB scandal Posted: 22 Dec 2018 12:31 AM PST  The head of Goldman Sachs defended the investment bank's handling of the scandal-plagued Malaysian fund 1MDB on Friday, saying much criticism of the financial giant was unfair. "I cannot stress enough how integrity is a cornerstone of our culture," newly-installed Chief Executive David Solomon said in a year-end message to employees. Goldman helped 1MDB to issue $6.5 billion of bonds but Kuala Lumpur accuses the bank and its former employees of misappropriating $2.7 billion during the process.
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| Photos: 70 homes damaged after tornadoes, straight line winds blow across Florida Posted: 20 Dec 2018 03:51 PM PST  Severe storms swept across Florida on Thursday, damaging dozens of homes ahead of the holiday weekend.
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| London's Gatwick airport reopens after drone saboteur creates chaos Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:43 AM PST  The British army and police are continuing to hunt for a rogue drone operator as the nation's second largest airport reopens after a 36-hour shutdown.
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| 'The toughest year': US immigration changes dominated 2018 Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:04 AM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — Children torn from parents, refugees turned away and a relentless stream of changes to immigration regulation and enforcement.
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| Pope Francis calls predator priests 'vicious wolves' and urges them to turn themselves in Posted: 21 Dec 2018 04:31 AM PST  Catholic priests who sexually abuse children are "vicious wolves" who should turn themselves into the authorities, Pope Francis said on Friday. His remarks came at the end of a year in which he was accused of mishandling an abuse scandal in Chile and in which the Vatican's third most senior figure, economy minister Cardinal George Pell of Australia, was put on trial in Melbourne for sexually abusing boys. Any priest who abused a child was "a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls", the Pope said in his annual address to the Curia, the Vatican's governing body. Survivors of clerical abuse have long accused the Pope of coming out with strong rhetoric to condemn the rape of children but of failing to take concrete steps to address the scandal. In his address, the Pope acknowledged that the Catholic Church had hugely underestimated the phenomenon and failed to punish predatory priests and the bishops who cover up for them, often by moving them from parish to parish rather than reporting them to the police. Pope Francis made the remarks in an address to the Curia at the Vatican Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AP "It is undeniable that some in the past, out of irresponsibility, disbelief, lack of training, inexperience, or spiritual and human short-sightedness, treated many cases without the seriousness and promptness that was due," he said. All that would change, he pledged, speaking two months before a landmark Vatican summit which will be convened in February to address the issue. He promised to make "past mistakes opportunities for eliminating this scourge". "To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice," the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics said. "Let it be clear that, faced with these abominations, the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whoever has committed such crimes. "The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case," he said. "This must never happen again." Victims' groups are deeply sceptical that the conference in February, which will see bishops from around the world gather in Rome, will produce tangible results. But the Pope appears to recognise the enormous damage that has been done to the Catholic Church's moral authority by years of abuse revelations from around the world, from Ireland to the US, Australia, Germany and Latin America. Just this week, the attorney general of the state of Illinois accused Catholic dioceses of failing to release the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children. And the Pope accepted the resignation of an auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles, Monsignor Alexander Salazar, following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a child in the 1990s. A protest placard in Dublin ahead of the Pope's visit to Ireland in August Credit: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters Francis went out of his way to thank journalists for uncovering abuse scandals. "I would like to give heartfelt thanks to those media professionals who were honest and objective and sought to unmask these predators and to make their victims' voices heard," he told the Curia. He also launched an attack on his enemies within the Church who have attacked his papacy, either openly or anonymously through leaks. He likened them to Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus for "thirty pieces of silver". The Pope has come under sustained attack from conservatives within the Church who are bitterly opposed to the openness he has shown to formerly shunned groups, including homosexuals and remarried divorcees wanting to take communion. He said there are, within the Church hierarchy, "those who hide behind good intentions in order to stab their brothers and sisters in the back and to sow weeds, division and bewilderment."
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| Hawaiian Airlines to add no-frills basic economy tickets in 2019 Posted: 20 Dec 2018 02:27 PM PST ![Hawaiian Airlines to add no-frills basic economy tickets in 2019]( "Hawaiian Airlines to add no-frills basic economy tickets in 2019") The airline said the no frills fares will debut in the second half of 2019. JetBlue has already announced plans for a basic economy fare in 2019.
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| The 5 Best Robotic Vacuums of 2018 Posted: 20 Dec 2018 10:47 AM PST |
| Wallace C. Gregson: My North Korea Prediction for 2019 Posted: 21 Dec 2018 05:36 AM PST  We must reconsider our policy and strategy.
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| Three Palestinians killed by Israeli fire: Gaza medics Posted: 21 Dec 2018 11:54 AM PST  Three Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed on Friday by Israeli fire during protests and clashes along the Gaza border, health officials in the Hamas-run enclave said. Teenager Mohammed al-Jahjuh was "hit in the neck by a bullet (fired) by Israeli soldiers", ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP. Abdelaziz Abu Sharia, 28, and Naher Yasin, 40, died from their wounds after being shot in separate incidents along the heavily fortified frontier with Israel, Qudra and a hospital official said.
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| Mom Arrested For Leaving Her Kids Found Home Alone Watching the Movie Home Alone Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:09 AM PST  When life imitates art a little too much
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| New Zealand intelligence agency joins allies in blaming Chinese government for hacking Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:47 AM PST ![New Zealand intelligence agency joins allies in blaming Chinese government for hacking]( "New Zealand intelligence agency joins allies in blaming Chinese government for hacking") WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's intelligence agency on Friday joined allies in holding China responsible for a global hacking campaign targeting commercial secrets. "New Zealand is committed to upholding the rules-based international order, and today joins likeminded partners in expressing that such cyber campaigns are unacceptable," said Andrew Hampton, director general of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in a statement. ...
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| Barn find 1955 Chevy Corvette hasn't seen daylight in 40 years Posted: 21 Dec 2018 07:09 AM PST  Tucked away for 40 years, this 1955 Chevrolet Corvette looks worse-for-wear in its hiding place – but now it's out, don't even think about trying to buy it.
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| The Latest: Drastic changes mulled over PG&E safety concerns Posted: 21 Dec 2018 08:12 PM PST ![The Latest: Drastic changes mulled over PG&E safety concerns]( "The Latest: Drastic changes mulled over PG&E safety concerns") SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on California regulators considering splitting up Pacific Gas & Electric (all times local):
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| Ford Recalls Full-Sized Pickup Trucks Due to Engine Fire Risk Posted: 21 Dec 2018 11:57 AM PST  Ford is recalling 410,289 full-sized pickup trucks due to a risk of fire from an engine block heater. Water and contaminants may get into the block heater cable's connector and cause corrosion, a...
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| A total shut show in Washington Posted: 20 Dec 2018 02:39 PM PST  Also on Thursday: Putin is pumped about Trump's Syria decision. Plus, a new asylum ban.
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| Subaru to brings S model STI to the US for the first time Posted: 21 Dec 2018 07:58 AM PST  The camouflaged star of Subaru's new teaser doesn't leave much to the imagination apart from the exterior paint color. Whereas most special-edition STIs don't make it to the US, this one definitely will -- and it's likely the S209, for which Subaru just filed a trademark for in the US. The clip features the disguised car speeding around some foggy, vacant country roads.
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| North Korea warns it will not give up nuclear weapons until US removes 'threat' Posted: 20 Dec 2018 08:13 PM PST  North Korea has vowed not to unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons unless the US reciprocates by removing its own nuclear threat to Pyongyang, in a blunt statement that casts fresh doubt on whether the current impasse in disarmament talks can be resolved. The lengthy rebuke of Washington's "hostile" policy towards the reclusive regime was delivered by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday. It accused the US of "high-handed practices and pressure" and offered one of the clearest explanations to date of how North Korea views the denuclearisation process. At an unprecedented summit in Singapore in June, Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, the US president, reached an agreement in vague terms to "work towards the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula." Talks have since stalled as the two sides have failed to agree on the definition of denuclearisation or on how to move forward. "When we refer to the Korean Peninsula, they include both the area of the DPRK [North Korea] and the area of South Korea where aggression troops, including the nuclear weapons of the US, are deployed," the KCNA commentary clarified. Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump met in Singapore in June Credit: Evan Vucci/AP "When we refer to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, it, therefore, means removing all elements of nuclear threats from the areas of both the north and the south of Korea and also from surrounding areas from where the Korean Peninsula is targeted," it said. American nuclear weapons were deployed in South Korea from 1958 to 1991 but now Washington supports Japan and South Korea using bombers and submarines based elsewhere. It also maintains 28,500 American troops in South, which could be a potential sticking point in disarmament negotiations. The regime's statement denounced Washington's policy since the Singapore summit as "misguided", saying that it was "aghast" at Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state's assertion that Pyongyang had "committed itself to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of North Korea." It added: "The US must have a clear understanding of the phrase, denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, and study geology in particular, before it is too late." The latest missive from Pyongyang jars with the more optimistic soundings from Seoul in recent months about Kim's willingness to cooperate. The North Koreans have criticised US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his statements Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP However, it also validates warnings from North Korea analysts and experts, who have consistently argued that Kim Jong-un will not voluntarily relinquish his nuclear arsenal, which he views as both a security guarantee and as giving him a stronger hand in diplomatic negotiations. "It has always said this. Some people wanted to delude themselves into believing otherwise. But North Korea is nothing if not consistent," tweeted Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at MIT. Writing in NK News, Andrei Lankov, a professor at Kookmin university in Seoul, described the KCNA dispatch as simply "an honest admission of Pyongyang's real intentions." "This statement might have come as a shock to the few remaining nuclear optimists…However, a more unbiased observer should not be surprised at all," he wrote. "North Korea has never had the slightest intention to surrender their nuclear weapons. They saw what happened in Iraq and, more importantly, in Libya, and have long believed that without nuclear weapons they will become vulnerable to both a foreign invasion and a local revolution."
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| Groups of illegal immigrants apprehended in Arizona where no border fence is present as lawmakers debate funding on Hill Posted: 21 Dec 2018 06:45 AM PST  Border Patrol apprehends two large groups of illegal immigrants in a remote area of desert between Yuma and Tucson, Arizona; William La Jeunesse reports.
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| Pope vows Church will 'never again' ignore abuse accusations Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:38 AM PST  Pope Francis vowed Friday that the Catholic Church will never again treat abuse allegations without "seriousness and promptness", calling on abusers to hand themselves in to police. "The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case," the pope said in his annual address to the Church's governing Curia at the Vatican. "Let it be clear that before these abominations the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes".
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| Ice skating, live reindeer to soothe record U.S. holiday travel rush Posted: 21 Dec 2018 03:04 AM PST  A record one-third of the U.S. population is expected to take to the nation's roads, rails and skies for Christmas and New Year's travel, prompting airports to trot out unusual perks like free ice skating and live reindeer to soothe the stressed crowds. In the heavily populated Northeast, travelers will face heavy rains and high winds on Friday and Saturday, potentially causing further highway congestion and flight delays and cancellations. The American Automobile Association expects 112.5 million Americans, around a third of the U.S. population and about 4 percent more than last year, to travel by car, train and plane from Dec. 22 to Jan. 1.
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| Congress Holds Key to Rusal’s Fate as U.S. Moves to Lift Sanctions Posted: 20 Dec 2018 12:30 PM PST  Congress has a month to decide whether to intervene to block the agreement announced Wednesday by the Treasury Department. Under the deal, Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska will remain under U.S. sanctions and his property will remain blocked, but the Treasury department will remove financial restrictions on Rusal, En+ Group Plc and EuroSibEnergo JSC.
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| Markets Right Now: Stocks plunge again, Dow sinks 464 points Posted: 20 Dec 2018 01:11 PM PST  NEW YORK (AP) — The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):
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| Trump tweets spiky, 'beautiful' barrier rendering as border wall funding debate rages Posted: 21 Dec 2018 05:25 PM PST  The rendering highlights spikes on top of the proposed barrier, which President Donald Trump described as "beautiful" and "totally effective."
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| Schumer, McConnell joust over border wall, shutdown Posted: 21 Dec 2018 11:17 AM PST  Schumer, McConnell joust over border wall, shutdown
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| NATO aware of reports about US troop cuts in Afghanistan Posted: 21 Dec 2018 03:59 AM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — The NATO military alliance said Friday that it has seen media reports that the United States could be readying to pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan, and it paid tribute to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis after he resigned.
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| Futures dragged lower as government shutdown nears Posted: 21 Dec 2018 05:26 AM PST  Yahoo Finance's LIVE market coverage and analysis of what you need to watch in the stock market begins each day at 9:00 a.m. ET.
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| Obama delights sick children as Santa in Washington Posted: 20 Dec 2018 12:57 PM PST  Former US president Barack Obama took on a new high-profile role as Father Christmas on Wednesday for a surprise visit to sick children in Washington. Sporting a festive Santa hat and armed with a sack of gifts, he delighted young patients at Children's National hospital with gifts and hugs. "I just want to say thank you to all of you guys," Obama told staff, who greeted him with rapturous cheers, in a video he shared on his Twitter account.
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| Russian warship en route to Azov Sea from Crimea: Reuters witness Posted: 21 Dec 2018 02:23 AM PST  A Russian missile frigate is moving in the direction of the Azov Sea from Crimea, a Reuters witness said on Friday. The frigate was spotted 1.5 nautical miles off the Crimean coast in the area of the town of Feodosia. Tensions are high in the area after Russia seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and their crews in the Black Sea on Nov. 25.
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| Amazon’s huge lead in the smart speaker race is starting to shrink Posted: 20 Dec 2018 08:07 PM PST ![Amazon's huge lead in the smart speaker race is starting to shrink]( "Amazon's huge lead in the smart speaker race is starting to shrink") Smart speakers represent one of the next great battlefronts as the biggest tech giants race to capture new territory in the war for user attention -- and, of course, advertising real estate. And while Amazon has been the far and away market leader in the category for some time, new research shows its dominance appears to be eroding. The latest forecast from eMarketer predicts that next year, the user base for Amazon's line of Echo speakers will for the first time slip to less than two-thirds of all US smart speaker users. Obviously, two thirds of the category is still a strong leadership position, but the trend line here for Amazon is nevertheless going in the wrong direction. Looking at the category as a whole, it seems that a growing number of people are embracing the use of smart speaker technology. In the US next year, eMarketer is predicting that 74.2 million people will use one -- a 15 percent increase over 2018. Additionally, more than 25 percent of the US adult population will be using one by the end of 2019. Among other takeaways from eMarketer's forecast: Amazon is also starting to face tougher competition in this space from an ascendant Google, which will capture 31 percent of all smart speaker users next year. Sonos One and Apple, with its HomePod, are likewise making inroads. So much so that Amazon's market share is predicted to keep shrinking next year as well as the year after that, while everyone else sees gains. Axios has more: "Amazon's voice technology is getting clobbered outside the US, as Google and Chinese companies look to expand their voice footprints internationally. eMarketer notes that Amazon has managed to maintain its lead up to this point by brokering partnerships in which its voice assistant could be used on other premium speakers, like Sonos. But now other companies, like Google, are doing the same." As we noted earlier today, Amazon has also made some privacy-related missteps with Alexa, which also could play into the rise of its competitors. Among other data points that eMarketer highlights, meanwhile: Smart speaker hardware sales in the US are predicted to hit $3.2 billion this year, which would be a 64 percent jump over the $2 billion seen in 2017. Also, e-commerce revenue generated via smart speakers is expected to jump to a whopping $40 billion by 2022.
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| Illinois AG finds 500 more Catholic clergy accused of abuse Posted: 20 Dec 2018 11:24 AM PST  CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Wednesday issued a blistering report about clergy sexual abuse, saying that Catholic dioceses in Illinois has not released the names of at least 500 clergy accused of sexually abusing children.
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| The Government Partially Shut Down at Midnight. Here's What That Means Posted: 21 Dec 2018 08:48 AM PST  The shutdown likely leaves hundreds of thousands of federal workers on furlough and hundreds of thousands more working without pay.
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