Facebook shields VIPs from some of its rules: repor

Facebook exempts certain celebrities, politicians and other high-profile users from some its own rules for posts as part of a program launched as a quality-control mechanism, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

The program, referred to as "cross check" or "XCheck," shields millions of elite users from rules that Facebook claims to apply equally at the social network, according to a report citing internal documents.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone in a series of tweets defended the program, but noted the social media giant is aware its enforcement of rules is "not perfect".

"There aren't two systems of justice; it's an attempted safeguard against mistakes," Stone tweeted in response to the Journal report.

"We know our enforcement is not perfect and there are tradeoffs between speed and accuracy."

The article cites examples of posts from high-profile people, including one from soccer star Neymar showing nude images of a woman who accused him of rape and that Facebook subsequently removed. 

A double-standard regarding content moderation would defy assurances Facebook gave to an independent board set up as a final arbiter of disputes regarding what is allowed to be posted at the leading social network.

"The Oversight Board has expressed on multiple occasions its concern about the lack of transparency in Facebook's content moderation processes, especially relating to the company’s inconsistent management of high-profile accounts," board spokesman John Taylor said in response to an AFP inquiry.

The Journal article reports that some users are "white-listed," given protection from enforcement actions, while in other cases reviews of potentially problematic content simply fail to take place.

"White-listed" accounts have shared claims that Hillary Clinton had covered up "pedophile rings," and that then-President Donald Trump had called all refugees seeking asylum "animals," according to the Journal.

XCheck grew to include at least 5.8 million users in 2020, the report indicated. 

Facebook said in a post about cross-checking three years ago that it does not protect the profile, page or content from being removed but "is simply done to make sure our decision is correct." 

Agence France-Presse 

Twitter, TikTok discuss potential combination: WSJ

NEW YORK, United States - Twitter is in preliminary discussions for a possible combination with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, after US President Donald Trump said he would ban the app, calling it a threat to national security.

Trump declared Thursday that the popular Chinese video app TikTok and social network WeChat "threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."

In an executive order, Trump gave Americans 45 days to stop doing business with the platforms, effectively setting a deadline for a sale of TikTok by its Chinese parent firm ByteDance.

He has also demanded that a significant portion of the sale go to the US Treasury.

Microsoft has been the primary suitor for TikTok, saying it was in talks to buy the company's US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand operations.

The Financial Times reported Thursday that Microsoft has expanded negotiations and was now after the app's entire global operations.

As a smaller company, Twitter would have a long-shot bid for TikTok, but the social media platform believes it would come under less antitrust scrutiny than larger corporations such as Microsoft, the WSJ said, citing people familiar with the talks.

Twitter, however, would likely need the support of other investors to complete the combination.

While Twitter does allow for the sharing of videos, most posts contain short text messages and photos or GIFs. 

In 2012, Twitter acquired the platform Vine, which allowed users to share short videos, but shut down the service in 2016.

Agence France-Presse

Amazon websites risk inclusion in US counterfeit blacklist: WSJ

The Trump administration is considering putting some of Amazon.com Inc's overseas websites on a list of global marketplaces known for counterfeit goods, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The action would be taken by the US Trade Representative's Office through its annual "Notorious Markets" list, the report said, adding that no decisions have been made and that similar proposals last year were eventually discarded.

Amazon said it "strictly prohibits" counterfeit products on its platforms and invests heavily to protect customers from such items.

"Combating counterfeit requires collaboration across the industry - from retailers, brands, law enforcement, and government and we continue to be actively engaged with these stakeholders as we hold bad actors accountable and drive counterfeit to zero in our store," the company said in a statement.

The US Trade Representative's Office (USTR) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Over the years, the list has included China's largest e-commerce platform, Taobao.com, which is owned and operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

In October, the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), for the second year in a row, urged the USTR to include foreign domains owned and operated by Amazon on the list.

The trade body counts some of the largest retailers and brands such as Macy's Inc and Adidas AG among its members.

"Despite its role as a leader in the worldwide retail landscape, and as an important selling partner for many of our member brands, Amazon continues to present significant counterfeit challenges," AAFA said in its submission to the USTR in October.

In response to AAFA, Amazon said it invested more than $400 million in personnel and employed over 5,000 people in 2018 to fight fraud and counterfeiting in its stores.

The White House declined to comment.

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US Olympic organizations probed on sex abuse claims - report

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said on Friday it was cooperating with government inquires after it was reported US agencies were conducting a widespread investigation into US Olympic sport organizations.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the investigations, reported the US Justice Department is pursuing multiple wide criminal investigations into sexual abuse in US Olympic sports organizations and into potential financial and business misconduct throughout the US Olympic system.

The inquiries come in the wake of the sexual abuse case against former national gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar and include not only the USOPC but USA Gymnastics, USA Taekwondo and other organizations, the Journal said.

Nassar, 55, was given an effective life sentence by a Michigan court for sexually abusing young female gymnasts entrusted to his care. He is also serving a 60-year sentence for a federal child pornography conviction.

The USOPC declined, in a late afternoon teleconference, to comment on the report beyond reading a prepared statement.

"Every instance related to potential or actual abuse of athletes warrants thorough investigation," spokesperson Mark Jones said. "We have cooperated with all government inquiries and will continue to do so."

Jones added if there were inquiries on the call, "you will receive the same answer."

The Journal reported that federal prosecutors have spoken with potential witnesses about alleged abuse and misconduct in Olympic sports organizations, including USA Gymnastics and USA Taekwondo.

One focus of the investigation appeared to be on failures in the Olympic system to respond to signs of widespread child abuse, the newspaper said.

It said prosecutors have already spoken with some witnesses and received documents from SafeSport in response to a grand jury subpoena.

The US Center for SafeSport is the organization formed in 2017 to handle sex-abuse cases in the Olympic world.

The newspaper also reported that USA Gymnastics said in bankruptcy filings that it has been responding to Justice Department subpoenas as recently as April.

In response to the report, US Senators Jerry Moran and Richard Blumenthal issued a joint statement.

"The US Olympic Committee and its affiliated national governing bodies enabled Larry Nassar by turning a blind eye to criminal conduct and then trying to sweep it under the rug.

"Everyone who allowed abuse to continue must be held responsible for any and all violations of the law."

USA Gymnastics said it "is striving to become an athlete-centric organization that keeps athlete safety and well-being at the forefront of everything it does."

It added USA Gymnastics has cooperated fully with any governmental investigation and will continue to do so in the future."

In a separate statement, USA Taekwondo said: "While we are limited in what we can say while legal proceedings move forward, we want to state clearly that above all else, our top priority at USA Taekwondo is the safety of our athletes."

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Google set to launch privacy tools to limit online tracking: report

Alphabet Inc's Google is set to roll out a dashboard-like function in its Chrome browser to offer users more control in fending off tracking cookies, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Cookies are small text files that follow internet users and are used by advertisers to target consumers on the specific interests they have displayed while browsing.

While Google's new tools are not expected to significantly curtail its ability to collect data, it would help the company press its sizable advantage over online-advertising rivals, the newspaper said.

Google's 3 billion users help make it the world's largest seller of internet ads, capturing nearly a third of all revenue, ahead of rival Facebook Inc's 20 percent, according to research firm eMarketer.

Total digital ad spending in the United States will grow 19 percent to nearly $130 billion in 2019, according to eMarketer.

Google has been working on the cookies plan for at least 6 years, in stops and starts, but accelerated the work after news broke last year that personal data of Facebook users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

The company is mostly targeting cookies installed by profit-seeking third parties, separate from the owner of the website a user is actively visiting, the Journal said.

Apple Inc in 2017 stopped majority of tracking cookies on its Safari browser by default and Mozilla Corp's Firefox did the same a year later.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

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Asian shares turn south after Trump vows tariff hike

SHANGHAI -- Asian equities tumbled, oil prices plunged and the safe-haven yen strengthened early on Monday as trade negotiations between China and the United States deteriorated suddenly, reversing apparent progress made in recent months.

US President Donald Trump sharply escalated trade tensions between the world's two largest economies with tweeted comments on Sunday that talks toward a trade deal with China were proceeding "too slowly", and that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion of goods to 25 percent on Friday from 10 percent.

He also said he would target a further $325 billion of Chinese goods with 25 percent tariffs "shortly".

The tweets upended the previously calm market mood that had benefited from signs of robust growth in China and the United States, and from comments from Trump and other senior US officials that trade talks were going well.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that China was considering cancelling trade talks scheduled for this week following Trump's threats.

"President Trump just killed the trade deal for a while and that has implications for Chinese and global growth, it also has implications for a number of assets," Greg McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro said in a morning note to clients.

In early Asian trade, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent.

Australian shares were 0.6 percent lower in early trade.

Japanese financial markets remain closed until Tuesday for a national holiday, but Nikkei 225 futures dropped 1.8 percent to 22,085.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 slid 1.7 percent after the US payroll data had helped to lift Wall Street stocks on Friday.

Investors around Asia will be keeping an eye on Chinese markets, which will reopen following a three-day national holiday last week.

With an imminent trade deal on hold, Treasury futures jumped 14 ticks. Data from CME Group showed the market sees a nearly 58 percent chance of a Fed rate cut by the end of the year.

As investors flocked to the safe-haven yen, the dollar dropped 0.4 percent against the Japanese currency to 110.67 .

But China's offshore yuan plunged, weakening to 6.8108 per dollar, its weakest level since January 23.

The single currency was down 0.18 percent on the day at $1.1180. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was up at 97.574.

In commodity markets, US crude plunged 2.15 percent at $60.61 a barrel and Brent crude fell 1.78 percent to $69.59 per barrel.

Spot gold jumped 0.4 percent to trade at $1,283.65 per ounce.

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NY Times, Wall Street Journal win Pulitzers for Trump probes

NEW YORK - The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal were awarded Pulitzer Prizes on Monday for their separate investigations of President Donald Trump and his family.

The Times won the prestigious journalism award for explanatory reporting for its probe of the Trump family's finances that "debunked his claims of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges," the Pulitzer Prize Board announced during a ceremony at New York's Columbia University.

Coverage of Trump's secret hush money payments to two women during his 2016 presidential campaign who claimed to have had affairs with him earned the Journal a national reporting nod.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel won the Pulitzer for public service for its coverage of failings by school and law enforcement officials before and after the February 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

In the breaking news category, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was honored for its coverage of the October 2018 shooting at a synagogue in the city that left 11 people dead.

Hannah Dreier of ProPublica won the prize for feature writing for a series of stories about immigrants from El Salvador living on New York's Long Island caught up in a crackdown on MS-13 gang members.

The Associated Press won a Pulitzer for international reporting for its coverage of the war in Yemen.

Reuters was honored for international reporting for its coverage of atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Reuters also won in the breaking news photography category for pictures of migrants travelling to the United States from Central America.

In other categories, "The Overstory" by Richard Powers won the Pulitzer for fiction and "Fairview" by Jackie Sibblies Drury won the prize for drama.

The Pulitzer for history was awarded to David Blight for "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom" while the biography prize went to Jeffrey Stewart for "The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke."

The poetry prize was won by Forrest Gander for "Be With."

In general non-fiction, the prize went to Eliza Griswold for "Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America."

The music award went to Ellen Reid for her operatic work "p r i s m."

Special citations were awarded to soul legend Aretha Franklin for her contributions to music and to the staff of the Capital Gazette newspaper of Annapolis, Maryland, which lost five employees in a June 2018 shooting.

cl/oh

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Murdoch's News Corp posts profit as newspapers struggle

NEW YORK -- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said Thursday it swung to profit in the most recent quarter even as revenues dipped for its newspaper operations.

Profit in the three months through December amounted to $119 million, compared with a loss of $66 million a year earlier, for the conglomerate that publishes the Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and titles in Australia.

Revenues rose 21 percent year-over-year as gains from new video subscription services, Australian pay TV and other operations offset weakness in the news and information unit.

The New York-based group also saw gains from its digital real estate and book publishing operations.

Chief executive Robert Thomson said the results showed "the power of premium content and authenticated audiences in a fact-challenged world that craves credibility."

He noted digital subscription gains at the Wall Street Journal, and stronger digital advertising revenues in both the US and Australia.

Wall Street Journal digital subscriptions rose to 1.7 million at the end of December from 1.39 million a year earlier.

The digital subscriber base also rose at Australia's mastheads as well as The Times and The Sunday Times.

But overall revenues dropped 3 percent for the news division in a quarter marked by gains in digital advertising and declines in print revenue.

The company said one-third of revenues in news come from digital, compared with 29 percent a year earlier, following an industry trend.

The update for the fiscal second quarter also showed rising revenues at its HarperCollins book division lifted by the release of "Homebody" by Joanna Gaines and "The Next Person You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom.

News Corp retained the publishing operations of Murdoch's media-entertainment empire after a 2013 split that created 21st Century Fox.

Murdoch, 87, began a gradual withdrawal from both companies in 2013, and now shares the title of chairman with his eldest son Lachlan at both firms.

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Trump lawyer arranged pre-election hush money for porn star: report

WASHINGTON, United States - President Donald Trump's personal attorney arranged a $130,000 payment to a former porn star before the 2016 election to keep her from going public about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

A White House official categorically denied the report in which the woman, Stephanie Clifford, says she met Trump at a celebrity golf event in 2006 -- a year after he married his current wife, Melania.

Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, says the encounter happened sometime after that, the Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Trump's longtime attorney Michael Cohen brokered the payment to the woman in October 2016 -- one month before the election -- under a deal that included a nondisclosure agreement, the sources told the newspaper.

"These are old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election," a White House official said.

During the presidential campaign, a videotape emerged of Trump boasting that he could grope women with impunity. Several women have accused the 71-year-old of sexual misconduct.

Trump has denied all of the claims as lies, and even suggested the taped comments were falsified. But former "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush said he and seven others witnessed Trump making the lewd remarks.

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Saudi crown prince bought $450 mn Da Vinci: report

NEW YORK, United States - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the actual buyer of a painting by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a record-breaking $450 million at auction last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The young and dynamic crown prince, known by his initials MBS, used an intermediary to buy the much-sought-after painting of Christ, "Salvator Mundi," the newspaper reported, citing US intelligence and other unnamed sources.

The son of Saudi King Salman is seen to be progressively consolidating his power, and is the architect of a wide-ranging plan dubbed Vision 2030 to bring social and economic change to his country's oil-dependent economy.

He is also seen as the mastermind of last month's rounding-up of more than 200 princes, ministers and businessmen in a sweeping anti-corruption purge.

The painting -- one of fewer than 20 works generally accepted as being by the Renaissance master, according to Christie's -- was bought by little-known Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, reports say.

The Journal reported that Bader was the nominal buyer, but said MBS was identified in US intelligence reports as the true owner.

"He is a proxy for MBS," an unnamed figure in the Gulf art world told the Journal.

American officials are keeping close tabs on the crown prince, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

On Wednesday, the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced that the record-breaking Da Vinci painting would be displayed there.

The reports come shortly after the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a new military and economic committee, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In recent years, Qatar has been the biggest player in the Gulf art world, but in June, Saudi Arabia and some of its allies broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Doha, which they accuse of supporting extremist movements.

"Salvator Mundi" -- dated to around 1500 -- is the last known Da Vinci in the hands of a private collector. It was long believed to be a copy but was finally authenticated about a dozen years ago.

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Elon Musk's new co could allow uploading, downloading thoughts: Wall Street Journal

Tesla Inc founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk has launched a company called Neuralink Corp through which computers could merge with human brains, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Neuralink is pursuing what Musk calls the "neural lace" technology, implanting tiny brain electrodes that may one day upload and download thoughts, the Journal reported.

Musk has not made an official announcement, but Neuralink was registered in California as a "medical research" company last July, and he plans on funding the company mostly by himself, a person briefed on the plans told the Journal.

It is unclear what sorts of products Neuralink might create, but people who have had discussions with the company describe a strategy similar to space launch company SpaceX and Tesla, the Journal report said.

In recent weeks, Neuralink has also hired leading academics in the field, the Journal reported.

(Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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New York Times surpasses 100 million views on Facebook Live

NEW YORK - Presidential politics and celebrity interviews helped The New York Times Co surpass 100 million views for its Facebook Live videos, the company said on Wednesday.

Facebook launched its live-streaming platform in August of 2015 and it is in its infancy. The New York Times has used Facebook Live to showcase its journalism, hoping to reach potential subscribers as the newspaper publisher relies more heavily on digital to grow its revenue.

It was not clear how much revenue The New York Times has derived from producing these videos.

Multiple media outlets reported that Facebook was paying certain media companies to produce Live videos through a one-year period from March 2016 to March 2017. The Wall Street Journal also reported that The New York Times was being paid around $3 million for the one-year period.

A New York Times spokeswoman declined to comment on any financials or the Wall Street Journal report. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the company has been offering "temporary financial support" to a "relatively small number of companies" to produce videos.

The Times said it reached the 100 million views benchmark earlier this month. Comparative figures were not available for how the New York Times ranks against similar publishers, including The Washington Post.

The Times got more 5 million views on its live-stream of the first presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. There were 3.9 million views for a concert by Erykah Badu and another popular Times live-stream featured singer-actress Kristin Chenoweth.

Digital is becoming more important for many major U.S. media companies, particularly the New York Times, where print advertising revenue has been in freefall. During its most recent quarter, ad revenue from print slid 18.5 percent from the previous year, accounting for just 22 percent of its total revenue, said chief executive Mark Thompson during the Nov. 2 earnings call.

Digital ad revenue, which saw a 21.4 percent rise, now accounts for 35.5 percent of revenue at the New York Times. During that same earnings call, chief revenue officer Meredith Kopit Levien said video was becoming more of a factor in growing digital ad revenue.

(Reporting by Tim Baysinger; Editing by David Gregorio)

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Amazon testing cashier-free retail store

Introducing #AmazonGo, a new kind of store with no lines and no checkout. https://t.co/WMii0bWevi pic.twitter.com/OmZdzobA5F

— Amazon (@amazon) December 5, 2016

 SAN FRANCISCO - Customers at the concept store in Amazon's hometown of Seattle, Washington, can fill their shopping carts and walk out -- with the costs automatically tallied up and billed to their accounts with the US online giant.

Amazon Go, which is being tested with Amazon employees and will open to the public next year, is a "checkout-free shopping experience made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning," its webpage said.

"Our Just Walk Out technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When you're done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we'll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt."

The 1,800-square-foot (170-square-meter) store is selling a variety of food products, including bread, cheeses and ready-to-eat meals, as well as Amazon Meal Kits, which contain ingredients for home-cooked dishes.

It was not immediately clear whether Amazon will expand this model with more physical stores or offer the technology to other retailers.

The online giant has been rumored to be looking at creating brick-and-mortar stores but so far has only announced a handful of outlets selling books.

The Wall Street Journal cited people close to the matter as saying that Amazon Go was one of several store formats the retail giant is considering.

Two prototype drive-through locations in Seattle without in-store shopping options are set to open in the coming weeks, the Journal reported.

Depending on the success of the test locations, Amazon could reportedly open more than 2,000 brick-and-mortar grocery stores under its brand.

If it does push forward with selling fresh food in stores, Amazon could put a lot of pressure on traditional grocers and superstores like Wal-Mart.

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Trump vows to remain in race after calls for him to withdraw

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to remain in the race after prominent members of his party withdrew their support and called for him to drop out following news of a recording of him making lewd comments about women.

Trump sought to do damage control early on Saturday morning in a hastily recorded apology, declaring himself a changed man and attempting to shift the focus to his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump threatened, again, to focus his attacks on the infidelities of former President Bill Clinton, saying he would talk more about the pasts of both Clintons in coming day. Trump has dismissed questions about his own martial infidelities as irrelevant.

Trump told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday morning "zero chance I'll quit."

Three Republican members of the Senate publicly announced they will not vote for Trump and former rival Carly Fiorina called on him to withdraw.

There is no precedent for a major party to replace their nominee this late in the campaign and it remains unclear if there is an avenue to force him from the race. Voting has already begun in several states, including the important swing states of Virginia and North Carolina.

Disclosure of a 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking openly about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning, seeming to make light of the controversy by posting on the online social media website "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

Trump has struggled to win over women voters, lagging Clinton in the polls. Democrats have sought to highlight past Trump behavior toward women in an effort to erode his support with less than a month to go until the Nov. 8 election.

"Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize," Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page.

The video overshadowed the publication of excerpts of Clinton's closed-door paid speeches that were made public on Friday by a hacker who claimed to have obtained them from the email account of John Podesta, the chairman of the Democrat's campaign. In the speeches, Clinton advocates for more open borders and trade, a position she abandoned during the primary because it was politically untenable to Democratic progressives. Likewise, Trump has repeatedly criticized her for past support of free trade.

The video landed just ahead of the second presidential debate on Sunday night, which had been seen as critical for Trump to try to rebound from a dip in some opinion polls after a rocky performance in the first debate.

COMMENTS CONDEMNED

Trump's comments aired in a near-constant loop on US news programs on Friday.

"I did try and fuck her. She was married," Trump said about one woman, before discussing his attraction to others.

"I just start kissing them," he said. "And when you're a star they let you do it."

"Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything," Trump said.

The video opened deep divisions within the Republican Party about how to respond, with a stream of Republican leaders condemning the remarks and some withdrawing their support for Trump.

US Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who has been one of Clinton's fiercest critics, said he had retracted his endorsement of Trump, telling CNN he would not be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he voted for Trump.

Martha Roby, a Republican member of Congress from the conservative state of Alabama, announced she would not be voting for Trump.

"Donald Trump's behavior makes him unacceptable as a candidate for president, and I won't vote for him," she said in a statement. "Hillary Clinton must not be president, but, with Trump leading the ticket, she will be."

Utah's Republican Governor Gary Herbert said on Twitter he would also no longer vote for Trump. "Tonight, millions of Republicans are facing a moment of truth," Herbert said.

Republican lawmaker Mike Coffman from Colorado told CBS that Trump should "step aside" and said "his defeat at this point seems almost certain."

Other prominent Republicans indicated they would stick with their support of Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, both told news outlets they would continue to support Trump.

Conservatives point to the fact that the winner of the November election will get to appoint a Supreme Court justice as reason to stick with Trump despite the controversial video. Greg Mueller, a conservative Republican strategist, pointed to Clinton's views on abortion as a reason religious voters will stick with Trump.

"Nothing indefensible that Donald Trump said 20 years ago is going to change that," he said. "Plus, to many religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is the epitome of a corrupt politician."

Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia, argued that Trump has changed in the decade since the video was filmed.

"I think 10 years ago he was a different man than he is today, I am very glad that he quickly apologized," Kingston said.

Trump, known for his unconventional and controversial speaking style, has made a series of gaffes in his campaign but the graphic nature of the clip would hurt his standing among women, independents, and wavering Republicans, said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

"We've never seen something like this Trump clip in a modern presidential campaign," Yepsen said, calling the incident "sad for the American political system" and for Trump's supporters.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said "this feels like it is quickly becoming a political 'game over'" for Trump.

"Unless voters don't care about these issues or believe that this is simply political dirty tricks by releasing the videos now, Trump is going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat in order to turn things around," Bonjean said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Standard Chartered probed in U.S. for Indonesia 'bribes'

Standard Chartered acknowledged Tuesday it was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over claims that an Indonesian subsidiary had paid bribes to secure contracts.

The London-based, Asia-focused bank said in a statement that it had referred the matter to the "appropriate authorities" and launched its own review.

The Wall Street Journal newspaper said that an internal audit at Indonesian energy company Maxpower Group found evidence of possible bribery and US prosecutors were examining whether Standard Chartered was culpable for not stopping it.

"Standard Chartered takes very seriously allegations of impropriety in any of our private equity investments," the bank told AFP in a statement when asked about the report.

"We proactively referred this matter to the appropriate authorities and have conducted our own review.

"When we receive allegations of improper behaviour in an investee company, we pursue those allegations vigorously and act appropriately, including sharing information and cooperating fully with government authorities and addressing any issues of internal conduct and accountability."

The Department of Justice did not comment when contacted by AFP.

The Wall Street Journal said the Maxpower internal audit found that more than $750,000 in cash advances needed to be examined as possible bribes, while lawyers who reviewed the audit found indications that employees made inappropriate payments to Indonesian government officials between 2012 and 2015.

Standard Chartered began investing in Maxpower in 2012 and is the majority shareholder.

There was no immediate comment from Maxpower.

But a source close to the case told AFP the US authorities were indeed examining whether Standard Chartered, via its representatives on the Maxpower board, was aware of alleged bribes to win government contracts.

The investigation would also look at why the bank's alert procedures for spotting such matters had not been triggered.

But the probe will focus on whether Standard Chartered has violated the terms of its 2012 deferred prosecution agreements with the Department of Justice.

Standard Chartered paid $667 million in 2012 to settle charges it violated US sanctions by handling thousands of money transactions involving Iran, Myanmar, Libya and Sudan.

In August 2014, the bank was hit by US regulators with a $300 million fine and restrictions on its dollar-clearing business for failing to detect possible money-laundering.

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Snapchat to offer camera-equipped sunglasses in first hardware push

Snap Inc, the newly renamed parent company of messaging app Snapchat, plans to start selling camera-equipped sunglasses starting this fall, Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

The sunglasses, dubbed Spectacles, will be sold via limited distribution for about $130, said Spiegel, who described the device as a toy.

The first hardware to be sold by Snap, the sunglasses will record video from the user's perspective in 10-second increments that can be synched with his or her smart-phone.

(Reporting By Christian Plumb, Editing by Franklin Paul)

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Facebook signs celebrities to boost live video

NEW YORK - Facebook said Tuesday it has signed a series of deals to pay celebrities and media companies to produce content for its new live video streaming service.

The test program calls for "a relatively small number partners that includes a broad range of content types from regions around the world" receiving "temporary financial support to encourage experimentation with this new format," Facebook said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that the social network had signed at least 140 contracts worth a total of more than $50 million as part of the effort.

The report said Facebook was partnering with media firms including the New York Times, CNN, BuzzFeed and Huffington Post and with personalities including actor Kevin Hart, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and NFL quarterback Russell Wilson.

Facebook did not offer specifics, but a statement from Justin Osofsky, vice president of global operations and media partnerships, said the partners "were chosen based on a variety of different factors," including their ability to produce live content.

This includes "public figure partners who had already demonstrated an early interest in going live" and others "who would have relevant use-cases for live, such as breaking news," Osofsky said.

The Journal said 17 of the contracts were worth at least $1 million and were part of an effort to promote Facebook Live, the new service that allows anyone to stream live content.

It said Facebook has not yet determined how to monetize the new video service but wants to develop a steady stream of content to draw in more viewers.

BuzzFeed, which drew millions to live video of an experiment to explode a watermelon earlier this year, is slated to receive $3.05 million and the New York Times $3.05 million, according to contracts seen by the Wall Street Journal.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

More than $1-B transferred into Malaysia PM's accounts: WSJ

KUALA LUMPUR - Deposits into Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's bank accounts ran to hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously identified by probes into state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Citing two unnamed people familiar with flows into Najib's accounts and a person familiar with one overseas investigation, the report said that more than $1 billion was deposited from 2011 to 2013, far more than the $681 million earlier identified.

The paper said global investigators believe much of the $1 billion originated with the state fund, known as 1MDB, but did not specify where the extra money came from or what happened to it.

The report contradicts a conclusion reached recently by Malaysia's chief law officer.

Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib in January of any corruption or criminal offences, saying the $681 million transferred into Najib's account was a gift from a member of Saudi Arabia's royal family and that most of it was returned.

A government spokesman said Malaysian authorities had gone to Saudi Arabia to "examine documentation" and interviewed members of the royal family and officials who handled the donations.

"As stated by the attorney-general of Malaysia, the funds received were a donation from Saudi Arabia," the spokesman said in a statement in response to the latest report.

Najib has been buffeted for months by allegations of graft and financial mismanagement at debt-burdened 1MDB and in particular by revelations of the transfer of around $681 million into his account in 2013.

He has denied wrongdoing, saying the funds were a legal political donation and he did not take any money for personal gain.

The Wall Street Journal report said money beyond the $681 million arrived in Najib's account in 2011 and 2012.

It said investigators in two countries believed funds originated from 1MDB and moved through a complex web of transactions. Najib is chairman of the board of advisors to IMDB, a fund set up in 2009, when he came to office, to invest in projects of national importance.

In response to the WSJ report, 1MDB said it has consistently maintained that it has not paid any funds to the personal accounts of the Prime Minister.

"This has been reiterated by multiple lawful authorities including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Malaysian Attorney General, and various reputable international publications, who have confirmed that these funds came from Saudi Arabia," it said in an email response.

Probes into the fund's finances have been opened in Malaysia, the United States, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, the Wall Street Journal said. (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by John Chalmers and Alex Richardson)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Google developing new messaging app: WSJ

Google, part of Alphabet Inc., is building a new mobile messaging application to better compete with rival services such as those offered by Facebook Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported.

The new service would tap into Google's artificial intelligence know-how, integrating chatbots, or software programs that answer questions, inside a messaging app, the Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The new app will enable users to text friends or a chatbot, which will search the web and other sources for information to answer a question.

It is unclear when the service will be launched, or what it will be named, the report said.

Google declined to comment.

Popular messaging apps include Facebook's WhatsApp and Messenger services, and Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat, while Google has a service called Hangouts.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apple Music boasts 6.5 mil subscribers

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said Monday the technology giant's new music service has some 6.5 million subscribers.

"It is going really well," Cook during an on-stage chat on the opening evening of a Wall Street Journal technology forum on the Southern California coast.

"Lots of people are liking it."

People have begun ending free trials of the music service, which launched at the end of June in more than 100 countries.

More than eight million people are still in the free trial of Apple Music, pushing the total number of users above 15 million, according to Cook.

He credited a human curation element -- actual people who fashion playlists -- for creating listening experiences superior to that delivered by "zeroes and ones" of computer algorithms.

"We have music experts just like the DJs when we were growing up," Cook said, setting the service apart from entrenched rivals such as Spotify and Pandora which use software to tailor tunes to people's tastes.

Apple Music, the tech giant's new streaming service, went live at the end of June as the company behind iTunes looks to dominate the fast-growing sector.

Apple Service began with the launch of Beats 1, an international radio station that will feature shows by high-profile artists, and offered streaming -- for the first time -- of Taylor Swift's blockbuster "1989" album.

To edge its way into the streaming music market, Apple has offered a three-month trial period to new subscribers, after which subscriptions cost $9.99 per month.

- Apple TV turned on -

On another entertainment front, Apple will begin taking orders for new Apple TV hardware beginning on October 26 and shipments will start by the end of that week, according to Cook.

"I think it will be disruptive of the TV watching experience," Cook said.

"This is the foundation of the future of TV."

The new Apple TV unveiled last month has the potential to do for television what iPhone did to mobile phones, while claiming a starring role in home entertainment.

Updated Apple TV hardware was not expected to revolutionize the television industry, but it could strike a blow to cable companies that have been in a power seat when it comes to delivering shows and other content.

The new Apple TV will have a version of the App Store that has been a hit on iPhones.

Siri virtual assistant software built in Apple TV allowed for natural language searches for shows, such as asking for something funny or a certain actor by name.

People should also be able to see what they want on-demand instead of being at the mercy of cable broadcast schedules.

These options can spur a trend of "cord cutting" or ending the subscription "bundles" offered by cable and satellite TV firms.

By letting media companies keep control of their content in apps, Apple could find new money-making models while sidestepping worries studios might have about distribution rights.

"What has to happen in the TV land is it has to be brought up and modernized," Cook said.

"It is almost as though you step into a time capsule when you step into your living room."

The new Apple TV will launch with a starting price of $149.

Apple TV has lagged behind rivals such as Roku and Google Chromecast.

Cook declined to provide figures regarding Apple Watch sales, but said the California company shipped "a lot" in the first quarter they were released and that number has ramped each subsequent quarter.

He dodged questions regarding what kind of plans, if any, Apple had for making a car.

Rumors have abounded in recent months of Apple working on a self-driving car, in its own spin on work being done by Google and Tesla.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com