Governor Charlie Baker will speak at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts High Technology Council on Wednesday. The group will also unveil their new economic measuring tool, MATTERS: Massachusetts Technology, Talent and Economic Reporting System. Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Newton Marriott, 2345 Commonwealth Ave., Newton. $75 to $125.

The Municipal Harbor Planning Committee is holding a public meeting to discuss development of a new harbor plan for the Downtown Waterfront District. Wednesday, 3 to 5 p.m., Atlantic Wharf, Fort Point Room, 290 Congress St., Boston. Free.

Academic Impressions is hosting a conference on how to build a leadership development program. The conference will cover areas such as financial and educational products. Monday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Hyatt Boston Harbor, 101 Harborside Drive, Boston. $1,995.

A Better City is presenting its report Enhancing Resilience in Boston: A Guide for Large Buildings and Institutions, which discusses the technological capability of Boston infrastructure in handling rising sea levels. Thursday, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress St., Fort Point Room, Boston. Free.

The ninth annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference will be held in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at 415 Summer St., starting on Friday at 7:30 a.m. and concluding Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The conference will cover the increasing role of analytics in the sports industry. $200 to $575.

Summary:
Event

Technology matters

Governor Charlie Baker will speak at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts High Technology Council on Wednesday. The group will also unveil their new economic measuring tool, MATTERS: Massachusetts Technology, Talent and Economic Reporting System.


The New York Giants head to Dallas to play the Cowboys on Sunday, where they may have more than just football on their minds.

The team said its athletic trainers and team physicians have been briefed on the scope of the Ebola virus and are doing "nothing out of the ordinary other than providing background and information on the disease" to the team.

"No, I don't worry about myself or the team," quarterback Eli Manning told reporters. "With what we're doing and where we're staying, I think we'll be fine."

In the NHL, the Dallas Stars, who host home games on Saturday and Tuesday, told CNBC that health officials are scheduled to meet with the organization to inform everyone on the risks and answer all questions they may have.

Read MoreCalifornia bans tax write-offs for pro sports fines

From an economic perspective, if the Ebola epidemic spreads domestically, it could affect fans' attendance at games and events.

A recent Deutsche Bank report pointed out that the virus would likely have a significant impact on the hospitality sector if it were to spread.

Data showed that when the SARS virus struck in 2003, people in the United States restricted their social activity, and lodging fell 40 percent in cities with direct cases of the virus.

"Historical reference points show that people are more likely to stay home than engage in social environments like sporting events depending on the degree of the virus," said Andrew Zarnett, research analyst for Deutsche Bank.

Summary: In the wake of recent U.S. Ebola cases, the sports world is taking precautions to protect players and fans.


08/07/2015 AT 11:35 AM EDT

Eleven bounty hunters searching for a fugitive mistakenly raided the home of Phoenix Police Chief Joseph Yahner thanks to a lead they got from a tip on Facebook.

Brent Farley, owner of NorthStar Fugitive Recovery in Mesa, and members of his team, as well as those from Colorado-based Delta One Tactical Recovery, surrounded the chief's home on Tuesday night,

reports. Part of the incident was captured on cell-phone video.

âThey were filming this like it was made for TV," said Sgt. Trent Crump, a Phoenix police spokesman, according to the

Yahner's girlfriend ended up calling police after the bounty hunters woke them up, shining lights into the home and banging on the front door.

A sleepy Yahner answered the door, clad only in his underwear. The bondsmen initially challenged him, but their mistake was quickly revealed. Yahner is a slim white man, and the suspect they were looking for is 310 lbs. and black.

"He was sleeping, so he was concerned at first," Crump told NBC News. "But a 30-year law enforcement veteran in the sixth-largest city in America can handle himself."

Farley, 43, was arrested and faces one count each of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing for the incident.

Now, police are investigating the tip that led to the raid to see whether the bounty hunters were victims of a prank. Crump said Thursday that the investigation could take weeks, the

Still, he said the whole thing could have been avoided if the bondsmen had done their due diligence.

"This particular instance was them failing to confirm or vet the information that could have been found by Googling the address," Crump said.

Summary: Brent Farley, 43, faces one count each of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing for the incident


The blasts that ripped through the Chinese city of Tianjin, killing scores, were so strong a man filming the carnage hundreds of metres from the epicentre was almost showered in exploding glass.

At least 44 people were killed and more than 500 injured after chemicals and other flammable material ignited early this morning.

A man who filmed the devastation from a high-rise building hundreds of metres narrowly avoided contributing to the casualty toll.

With his camera trained on the flames, a sudden, larger explosion occurs, with the aftermath shattering glass all around him.

"Oh my god," the man screams while a child cries in the background.

Newly published drone footage shows the extent of the destruction with much of the industrial heartland of the port city reduced to rubble.

The footage shows a landscape of incinerated cars, toppled shipping containers and burnt-out buildings.

Glass was shattered up to 3km from the blast site, after a shipment of explosives detonated in a warehouse, unleashing a fireball that lit up the night sky and rained debris on the city.

The force of the first explosion was the equivalent of three tonnes of TNT, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said on its verified Weibo account, followed by a second blast equal to 21 tonnes.

Tianjin, in China's northwest, is home to 7.5 million people and is known as a hub for the petrochemical and refining industries.

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Pelosi said Democrats were "deeply troubled" by Republican measures that would kill planned restrictions on derivatives trading by large, federally insured banks and expand tenfold the amounts that individuals can donate to national political parties.

"These provisions are destructive to middle-class families and to the practice of our democracy. We must get them out of the omnibus package," Pelosi said in a statement.

Read MoreCongress slipped this one into spending bill

Democratic support is seen as critical to passage of the spending bill in the House, as Republican aides and lawmakers say it is unlikely their party would be able to muster enough votes for passage on its own.

Many conservative House Republicans oppose the bill, claiming it fails to deny funding for President Barack Obama's controversial executive action on immigration. And Democrats still control the U.S. Senate.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a staunch advocate for tougher regulation of Wall Street, called for Democrats to withhold support from the bill due to the derivatives provision, which would effectively strike down a portion of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted in the wake of a financial crisis fueled partly by complex mortgage derivatives.

But House Republicans were not blinking. A party leadership aide said no changes would be made to the spending measure, which was negotiated by appropriators from both parties. A vote was planned for Thursday.

In 2013, a House vote to repeal the same rule, which requires that banks move derivatives trading to units that do not benefit from federal deposit insurance, attracted 70 Democratic votes.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration was still studying the bill and was not recommending how Democrats should vote.

Read MoreGuess who the wealthy want for president?

"As always, we believe that Democrats should vote their conscience. They should make those kinds of decisions for themselves," Earnest told a news briefing.

Unveiled late on Tuesday night, the 1,603-page spending bill got a warm welcome from many House Republicans in a closed-door session with Boehner on Wednesday morning.

While the legislation would fund most federal agencies through September, the end of the current fiscal year, it would only pay for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities through February in a move to gain leverage over Obama's immigration order.

DHS is the main agency that will implement Obama's order, which was announced in November. Supported strongly by immigration activists and staunchly opposed by many Republicans, the president's action eased deportation threats for around 4.7 million undocumented immigrants.

Summary: Congressional Democrats objected to some provisions tucked into a $1.1 trillion spending bill, keeping the risk of a shutdown alive.


“It’s hard to single out just one series,” Werner says.

The chairman of the Boston Red Sox is a longtime TV producer whose series have included “That ’70s Show,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “The Cosby Show,” and “Roseanne.” His latest, the comedy “Survivor’s Remorse,” returns to Starz on Saturday at 9:30 p.m.

Favorite show of all time, and why?

As a person who has watched thousands and thousands of episodes, first as a TV addict, then as an executive, and finally as a producer, it’s hard to single out just one series. One show I always loved and admired was “M*A*S*H,” because it mixed drama and comedy so seamlessly. In any given story, life-and-death moments existed with broad comedy. I identified with Hawkeye, who continually made wisecracks while tending to the wounded, and I roared at the antics of Corporal Klinger, who wore a dress in an attempt to secure a psychiatric discharge. My favorite show that I produced was “3rd Rock From the Sun,” which also mixed high and low comedy. Going to work with that ensemble cast (which starred John Lithgow, Jane Curtin, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was pure joy.

Favorite show right now, and why?

Ouch, that’s a touchy subject as I am still in mourning over the end of “The Daily Show.” John Stewart’s lens on current events was brilliant. I am also looking forward to watching “Survivor’s Remorse” on Starz when it comes back. Even though I am the producer, I am also completely hooked on it. The show is funny, raunchy, relevant, and authentic. LeBron James is my partner and a fellow co-producer. Sports fans should check it out; you won’t be disappointed.

Favorite bad TV, and why?

I don’t know if it’s a favorite, but my daughter got me hooked on “The Bachelorette” this season. I was so happy when Kaitlyn picked Shawn over Nick. OMG, I can’t even believe I just said that.

What’s at the top of your Have-to-Watch list?

One of the best shows I have seen in the last five years is the British series “Black Mirror.” The first episode was mind-blowing, and I am halfway through the others. It is so clever, innovative, and thought-provoking.

Which show’s world would you want to live inside?

I grew up in New York City, and watching “Mad Men” brought back lots of memories. Even though I wasn’t as old as Don Draper, I identified with and recognized all the characters. When I worked at ABC in New York in the 1970s, I had a few martinis myself at lunch.

Summary: Werner’s favorite TV.


The price is determined by the dogs' intelligence, beauty, training and bloodlines, which for top dogs often trace back as much as 100 years.

"There's a show in Europe, you can equate it to sort of the Miss Universe Pageant," said November Holley, who runs the training program at Harrison K-9. "Julia placed in the top 50 dogs in the world."

Read MoreA $500,000 gold mountain bike!?!

The dogs are trilingual, understanding a combination of English, German and hand signals.

Some clients buy several dogs to use as both companions and guard dogs. And just days after the "Secret Lives" shoot, Lilli, Yola and Juna were all sold for their asking prices.

Watch "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Summary: Harrison K-9, an Aiken, South Carolina-based importer and trainer of top German shepherds, is seeing growing demand for its highly skilled guard dogs.


CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines continues its investment in the education and development of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students by awarding more than $1 million in scholarships to its employees and their families through the United Scholarship Fund (USF).

A company-sponsored charity, the USF has awarded more than 750 scholarships for the 2015-2016 school year – more than 250 of them to new recipients – based on several factors, including financial need, academic standing, community involvement and leadership ability. This year's recipients live in four countries and seventeen states within the United States.

"Every year, the United Scholarship Fund enables us to invest in our employees' lives by giving them and their loved ones an opportunity to finish or further their educations," said Donna Towle, United's vice president of operations engagement and leadership. "We congratulate this year's scholarship winners and thank each of our employees and business partners who generously contribute to the USF year after year."

The USF is a private, nonprofit charity that supports the educational pursuits of employees and their dependents. Students have the opportunity to apply for a one-time scholarship of $1,000 or a $1,500 award renewable for up to five years, including one year of graduate school after completing a bachelor's degree.

Since its creation in 2002, the USF has contributed more than $9 million in scholarships to nearly 2,700 recipients. During the past three years, the charity has provided over $1 million annually in academic awards through employee contributions and fundraising efforts.

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of nearly 5,000 flights a day to 362 airports across six continents. In 2014, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 138 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 34 new Boeing aircraft, including the 787-9 and the 737-900ER. United is also welcoming 49 new Embraer E175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. More than 84,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-airlines-scholarship-fund-distributes-more-than-1-million-to-kick-start-the-school-year-300129263.html

Summary: CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2015/ PRNewswire/-- United Airlines continues its investment in the education and development of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students by awarding more than $1 million in scholarships to its employees and their families through the United Scholarship Fund.  "Every year, the United Scholarship Fund enables us to invest in our...


After years of being dogged by funding crises, building delays and technical failures, The Public, West Bromwich's much derided £63m arts centre, has finally opened in full and appears to have won over its main critics – the residents of the West Midlands town.

The opening on Saturday of the venue's state-of-the-art interactive electronic art gallery, which had remained closed after the building opened in June last year, drew large crowds.

In January, the Arts Council decided to withdraw its £500,000 annual grant to the gallery. Sandwell council agreed to provide emergency funding and secured another £3m from the Arts Council in July to finish the gallery.

After waiting years to see the results of the massive investment, local people seemed impressed by the exhibits.

Dave Hill, a lorry driver from Wednesbury, said: "From the outside, I thought it looked like a monstrosity, but coming in the doors the colours were really vibrant, the staff were friendly and helpful.

"There was a lot of bad press and they kept delaying the opening, but I hope it will be positive now for the area. Our kids and granddaughter loved it."

His wife Janet added: "There are a lot of young artists in the Midlands and I think it will be valuable for them."

Phil Spencer, from West Bromwich, said: "You can see where all the money has gone, I'm just glad it's finally opened. As a taxpayer, it's worrying that so much is being spent on this, especially in the recession, but I'm impressed. There's a real atmosphere as soon as you walk in the door; there are kids everywhere, playing with the interactive bits and laughing."

Photographer John Bulmer, who has old photographs of the Black Country on display in the gallery, said: "I think it's great what it's trying to do, it's getting all sorts of people interested in the arts."

Maggie Firman, the manager of the Frank Cohen exhibition of Indian art at the gallery, said: "I'm bowled over. It's something you just have to see to experience. You could spend a whole day here; it's all about getting involved."

The much-mocked centre – a vast black shed pierced by bubble-shaped shocking pink framed windows – was designed by the architect Will Alsop. It went into administration and lost its first chief executive two years before it opened last year, two years late and £15m over budget.

The planned £7 admission charge had to be scrapped and the centrepiece gallery remained closed until this weekend.

Richard McComb, a columnist on the Birmingham Post, had described The Public as "a part-time conceptual arts centre and full-time waste of space", while locals complained it was a waste of money. Its appearance has been compared to a gaudy fishtank or a swimming baths, but it has attracted more than 65,000 visitors.

The venue, which is run by a new not-for-profit company set up by the council called the Sandwell Arts Trust, will now be open from Wednesdays to Sundays.

Linda Saunders, the general manager of the site, said: "The interactive experience has been made simpler and more accessible. It is lower tech than the original vision but, as a council, we have had to make hard decisions about what we can realistically deliver."

Summary: After waiting years to see results of massive investment, local people seem impressed by exhibits


The Associated Press has confirmed that Wal-Mart is planning to rival Amazon Prime with its own subscription shipping service, initially reported by The Information. (Tweet this)

The service is code-named "Tahoe" and is designed to help the company boost its online business and take on other e-commerce giants like Amazon.com.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the shipping subscription service will cost customers $50 a year.

Read MoreUnion seeks labor board injunction over Wal-Mart store closings

Products will arrive in three days or less.

Ravi Jariwali, a Wal-Mart spokesman, says the service will be available by invitation only for now and it will offer more than one million top-selling items, from toys to electronic gadgets. Wal-Mart's online site sells more than seven million products.

The service is part of a software overhaul that will span several years. "Tahoe" was supposed to be launched last year before the holiday season, but the company now anticipates a launch in the early summer of this year, according to The Information's report.

—AP contributed to this report.

Summary: Wal-Mart is planning to rival Amazon Prime with its own subscription shipping service, the AP confirms.


You may not have heard of Imgur or even know how to say it. (For your information, it's pronounced image-er.) But, with more than 150 million monthly active users who view more than 60 billion images on its platform each month, the photo uploading service says its platform and Imgurian community is exactly the audience that brands want.

Imgur later this summer plans to roll out Promoted Posts, its take on native advertising or brand-created content. Working hand in hand with marketers, it will impart its knowledge on viral images and memes to help companies create customized items for its platform.

"I don't think display advertising is the future of advertising," Imgur CEO Alan Schaaf said.

Schaaf created Imgur in 2009 to solve a simple yet annoying problem for users of social news website Reddit who wanted to upload images quickly. Over the years, Imgur's users started turning it into an online community. People began writing comments below each photo and replying using each others' usernames, prompting the picture-based service to add direct messaging and other interactive features. Content began branching out from humorous images and online jokes to educational content showing how a child's voice could break a glass to a support group, including backing a fellow Imgurian whose daughter was undergoing surgery.

Read MoreReddit Raises $50 Million, Plans to Share Stock With Community Members

"That's when things started to change for us a lot," Schaaf said. "There's definitely a more to us than memes and cats. People are sharing their visual stories on the platform in a really authentic way."

In April 2014, Andreessen Horowitz gave Imgur $40 million during its first round of funding, which valued the company at about $200 million according to the Los Angeles Times.

However, the company has always been supported by advertising, with brands attracted to its dedicated 85 percent male millennial user base. While Facebook, Instagram or Twitter may have more users, 82 percent of Imgurians spend upward of three hours weekly on Imgur, and 17 percent spend more than 10 hours a week on the platform. In December 2014, it reported that users spend an average of 10 minutes per session on its website.

But, Schaff said that while it used to rely on digital display ads, it now is searching for a way to create native advertising opportunities. Not only does this help brand messages resonate more, he said it creates a better user experience. Instead of a user having to glance past a banner ad on a page, branded posts will be woven in throughout the site's content, with appearance frequency changing based on user activity and tastes. During its tests, its promoted posts were viewed an average of 25 seconds, just shy of the TV ad viewing standard of 30 seconds.

"This is definitely the future of monetization at Imgur," Schaaf said.

Summary: With more than 150 million monthly users, can Imgur be the social media platform that brands want?


Jeremiah Smith was 11 when Universal Pictures released "Jurassic Park" in 1993, and like many millennials, he was smitten with the franchise. At 32, he is not only eager to relive a part of his childhood, but to share it with his 13-year-old daughter.

"It seems as though all of my childhood favorites have come back into my life at the perfect time to share with my daughter, who is now around the same age that I was when I experienced these movies," he said.

Read MoreWhy remakes aren't flooding the big screen this year

Indeed, Universal Studios is hardly alone in its bid to capitalize on this kind of nostalgia.

Next year, Sony will introduce a new, all-female team of "Ghostbusters"—32 years after the Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd donned jumpsuits and proton packs. Last year, Paramount successfully reintroduced the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," which was 24 years after their first big-screen role.

Next month, Warner Bros. will introduce a new generation of bumbling Griswolds, 22 years after Chevy Chase starred in "National Lampoon's Vacation."

To be sure, some industry watchers argue the return to familiar film franchises is a sign that big studios are struggling to generate original stories, instead relying on past winners to generate new revenue.

The numbers don't lie. Seven of the top 10 movies in 2014 were sequels, data from box office research firm OpusData shows.

Read More For Hollywood bottom line, it's better second time around

Recent reboots of much-loved franchises suggest a return to theaters after a lengthy absence can be lucrative.

In 1990, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" drummed up $135 million, but returns fell off in sequels that followed soon afterward, Rentrak data shows. When Michael Bay rebooted the franchise last year, it earned $191 million domestically (nearly as much as the original in inflation-adjusted dollars, and significantly more than the second two installments).

The same holds true for "Star Trek." Returns tapered off in most of the sequels released in the 1980s and '90s. But 2009's reboot, and its 2013 sequel, earned $257 million and $228 million, respectively—roughly what the 1979 original earned, adjusted for inflation.

Summary: "Jurassic World" is one of a few movie touchstones returning to theaters, and could benefit at the box office because of nostalgia.


There is a certain irony in the Royal College of Art naming its 175th birthday exhibition after a Tracey Emin piece, given how utterly miserable she was during her two years there – but then The Perfect Place to Grow is a very good title.

The 2001 Emin work, which refers to her dad's capability with plants, is a wooden birdhouse together with eight plants and a trestle, and has been lent by Tate for a major show celebrating what opened as the Government School of Design and is now the world's oldest art and design university in continuous operation.

"There is a deliberate irony," said the RCA's rector and show co-curator Paul Thompson, who helped choose the title. "For Tracey, this was not the perfect place in which to grow," he added, perhaps referring to the time she smashed her paintings with a sledgehammer in the college's courtyard.

Having said that, Emin has subsequently acknowledged the importance of the RCA in making her who she became. As can an astonishing collection of alumni that includes artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and David Hockney; and designers and architects including Edwin Lutyens and James Dyson – all represented in a show that tries to cover the enormous breadth of RCA students' achievements since it first opened in 1837.

It is a huge history to distil. "We could have quite easily filled the galleries 10 times over," said Thompson, who revealed they decided early on to simply do the best of the RCA. "We knew that we couldn't do a roll of honour."

Instead, the show has been broken up into four themes: art for industry; art for art's sake; the public purpose of design; and the politics of artists and designers.

It also tells the fascinating history of an institution whose first students were a small band of teenage boys, as opposed to the 1,200 postgraduate students (average age 28) that it educates today. Despite its name, design has always been a big part of the RCA's reason for being and the show includes many examples of alumni's achievements – a Porsche 991; Britain's motorway signs; James Dyson's ballbarrow and vacuum cleaner; plus the toilet sink from the Shard.

The show includes both student work – there are very early artworks by David Hockney, Chris Ofili and George Shaw – and later professional works, not least a spectacular battle scene of rampaging soldiers on horseback by Elizabeth Butler, called Scotland Forever!

"To see this painting and to think she actually got cavalrymen to charge in Hyde Park to paint them is amazing," said Thompson. "If you look at the horses' eyes, they are absolutely terrifying. It is an extraordinarily good painting."

• The Perfect Place to Grow, 175 Years of the Royal College of Art is a free show at the RCA in London, 16 November-3 January.

Summary: The Perfect Place to Grow exhibition showcases achievements of students and staff including Moore, Hepworth, Dyson and Emin


A portrait of a teenage girl, her scratched hand and an innocent-looking "nothing to do with me" guinea pig called Gentleman Jack is among five shortlisted works for a major photography award.

More than 6,000 works were entered by 2,506 photographers for this year's Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize – an "outstanding international submission," according to Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, in London, which organises it.

The guinea pig is being held by 13-year-old Harriet Power in her role as a steward at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show. It was taken by London-born photographer Jooney Woodward who recalled: "I found her image immediately striking with her long red hair and white stewarding coat.

"Using natural light from a skylight above, I took just three frames and this image was the first. There is something unsettling about the austere background and the scratch on her hand." The animal that may or may not have been responsible is named after the Jack Daniel's whiskey box in which it was given to Harriet.

Advertising photographer David Knight is shortlisted for his portrait of 15-year-old Andie Poetschka, one of a series commissioned to help raise awareness of cerebral palsy in Australia. Knight said he wanted the portraits to be positive. "You don't immediately notice Andie is in a wheelchair, you just see a beautiful young woman. The image doesn't demand you look at it, but gently draws you in."

Dona Schwartz, an associate professor at the school of journalism at the University of Minnesota, is shortlisted for a photograph that will resonate with parents whose children have left home. The subjects are Christina and Mark Bigelow, standing in their son's recently vacated bedroom.

Another American, but one who lives in Peckham, south London, is Jill Wooster, shortlisted for a portrait she took of her friend Lili Ledbetter, one of a series portraying women in their 40s and 50s at pivotal stages of their lives.

Wooster said: "Lili is a complicated character. I like the way her androgyny makes her appearance seem both guarded and relaxed at the same time."

The fifth shortlisted person is Jasper Clarke who studied at Edinburgh's Napier university before moving to London and assisting photographers including Nadav Kander and Liz Collins. His portrait is of Wen Wu, a Chinese artist who lives in Hackney, part of a wider project depicting artists who live in their workspaces.

Clarke said: "The portraits are not intended to elicit sympathy for the cash-strapped artist; they are more a celebration of people's dedication in following a path no matter what the obstacles."

The works will be among the 60 portraits chosen for an exhibition which will run at the National Portrait Gallery between 10 November and 12 February, while the £12,000 winner will be announced on 8 November.

Summary: Portraits competing for Taylor Wessing prize will be among 60 chosen for exhibition by the National Portrait Gallery


* Shares close 0.8 pct up after falling to 5-yr-lows

* Indonesia says to "support and help" airlines in bid to bolster balance sheets

* Ministry officials had earlier threatened to shut down airlines

* Indonesia AirAsia concerns add worries about budget carrier

(adds details from AirAsia Indonesia statement, stock recovery)

JAKARTA/KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 (Reuters) - Shares in AirAsia Bhd recovered from five-year-lows after the Indonesian government on Thursday eased investors' fears that the Malaysian budget carrier's local affiliate could be grounded for a lack of funds.

Days after several Indonesian officials named the airline as one of 13 carriers that must repair stretched balance sheets by July 31 or face shutdown, the transport ministry softened its tone, saying it would "help and support" the companies instead.

The ministry's statement on Thursday did not mention anything about a shutdown, and a spokesman told Reuters this matter would be decided "in the future".

Shares in AirAsia, which took a beating in recent weeks after a Hong Kong-based research firm questioned its accounting, rose as much as 2.3 percent on Thursday after plunging more than 15 percent in the previous session on worries about the fate of its 49 percent-owned Indonesian affiliate.

The stock closed up 0.8 percent, outperforming the broader market, helped by Indonesia AirAsia's announcement that it was drafting a plan aimed at improving shareholder equity.

"There are tough economic times but we are not here (in Indonesia) for the short term," AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes told Reuters in Singapore when asked about the loss-making but key market for the carrier.

Investors often cite regulatory uncertainty as a key obstacle to doing business in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

The requirement for the airlines to boost their finances is part of a government drive to improve Indonesia's aviation safety credentials. Last week's crash of a military plane, which killed more than 140 people, came after an Indonesia AirAsia jet also crashed in December, killing all 162 people onboard.

Analysts, however, the measures had been imposed without warning on an industry already struggling with over-capacity and cut-throat competition.

"There are thousands of jobs on the line because of this directive," said Maybank Kim Eng analyst Mohshin Aziz, who described the ministry's Thursday statement as "more sensible".

For AirAsia, the uncertainty over its Indonesia affiliate comes amid concerns about its accounting practices. Its shares have fallen by nearly 40 percent since GMT Research last month said the airline uses transactions with loss-making carriers to boost its earnings. The company has denied any wrongdoing.

(Additional reporting by Siva Govindasamy in SINGAPORE; Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Summary: JAKARTA/ KUALA LUMPUR, July 9- Shares in AirAsia Bhd recovered from five-year-lows after the Indonesian government on Thursday eased investors' fears that the Malaysian budget carrier's local affiliate could be grounded for a lack of funds. Shares in AirAsia, which took a beating in recent weeks after a Hong Kong- based research firm questioned its accounting,...


JPMorgan's Stephen Parker said investors have been too concerned about the timing of the Fed rate hike and too worried about the impact.

Read MoreRising interest rates: What you need to know

"We think the growth dynamic, while muted, is on a positive track," said Parker, U.S. head of multi-asset strategies for global access portfolios at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. "It's like being in a doctor's office, waiting for a shot, and I think the anxiety you feel, the anticipation of getting a shot, is a little worse than the shot itself. I think once we can get through this first rate hike and realize it's not a major change to the fundamentals of the economy, we're talking about going from all time lows in rates to almost lows."

Parker said equities is his favorite asset class, and the recent selloff has created a buying opportunity, but the U.S. market is a bit pricy. Sectors he prefers in the U.S. market are consumer discretionary, banks, health care and technology. As the Fed rate hike cycle begins, he is looking more at developed markets overseas for opportunities, where central bankers are still moving toward easy policies.

"When we're thinking about how we build a portfolio, the thinking is evolving. There are two drivers we are looking for—that's markets that have policy tailwinds and for markets where we think earnings growth is going to deliver," he said. Europe and Japan fit that criteria. Emerging markets are still too iffy, but he is watching them for opportunities since they are reaching extremes.

Read MoreThis might be the worst Fed option

Grohowski said as the rate hiking cycle gets underway, the traditional rules of balancing stocks versus bonds may no longer work. In its fully diversified growth with income model portfolio, BNY currently has 27.8 percent fixed income, 47 percent equities and the rest in diversifiers, such as real estate and commodities. In its growth with income portfolio, it recommends about 64 percent stocks, 30 percent bonds and about 6 percent diversifiers.

Summary: Even if the Fed doesn't hike rates now, it will soon and portfolios should be adjusted, investment pros say.


The Beachcomber is going out with a bang.

The Dropkick Murphys will play the final show at the Quincy nightclub Saturday night. The band intends to sell 150 tickets online beginning at noon today through its website dropkickmurphys.com, and another 100 tickets Saturday at the club beginning at noon.

In announcing the show on its website the group said it was “honored” to be closing out the club and that the owners, the McGettrick family, are “lifelong friends” of singer-songwriter-bassist Ken Casey.

The seaside bar and music venue near Wollaston Beach — not to be confused with the Wellfleet club of the same name — hosted a string of legendary names in jazz, pop, country, and rock as well as scrappy locals — including the Dropkick Murphys — since opening in 1959.

It is the latest in a string of clubs to announce closings in the area in the last six months. Cambridge’s T.T. The Bear’s Place closed in July and Somerville’s Johnny D’s Uptown Restaurant and Music Club is slated to shutter in early 2016. In addition, the Fenway nightclub/restaurant Church of Boston recently ceased booking live musicin the club side of the venue.

Doors for the final show at the Beachcomber will open at 7 p.m. and the Dropkick Murphys take the stage at 9 p.m.

Summary: The show will be on Saturday. Tickets will be sold online at noon today, and Saturday at the club.


(Adds impaired energy-sector loans, segments results)

TORONTO, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a higher third-quarter profit that topped market estimates on Thursday, helped by growth in its retail and wealth management businesses, and raised its quarterly dividend.

Gross impaired loans in its oil-and-gas portfolio increased 36 percent to C$34 million, from C$25 million in the second quarter. There were none in the year-earlier period.

Net income in the quarter ended July 31 was C$978 million, or C$2.42 cents per share, compared with C$921 million, or C$2.26 per share, a year ago.

Excluding extraordinary items, its profit rose to C$2.45 per share.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of C$2.31 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Among segments, retail and business banking earnings climbed 8 percent, and wealth management profit jumped 16 percent.

The wealth management segment benefited from higher assets under management.

(Reporting by John Tilak Editing by W Simon)

Summary: TORONTO, Aug 27- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported a higher third-quarter profit that topped market estimates on Thursday, helped by growth in its retail and wealth management businesses, and raised its quarterly dividend. Gross impaired loans in its oil-and-gas portfolio increased 36 percent to C $34 million, from C $25 million in the second...


How can design impact the largest number of people in a positive way? It’s a question Tim Brown, CEO of global design firm IDEO asks regularly.

Businesses are not just machines and companies — from design to traditional industries — have to start thinking differently, Brown said.

IDEO takes that to heart. Innovative design, Brown believes, comes from a highly creative workplace and a human-centred approach to ideas. Whether designing a heart rate monitor, working on the Zen Hospice Project or creating Society of Grownups, a kind of online master’s programme for adulthood, IDEO employees work in groups, sharing ideas freely, drawing together and more. The idea is to inspire employees to “have an idea and the confidence to act on it,” Brown said.

Click on the arrow above to hear Brown talk about design impact and what he says is lacking in most conventional businesses.

Summary: IDEO’s chief executive Tim Brown on why even the best ideas are useless without this one thing.


12/09/2015 AT 07:20 PM EST

It's Christmas time at the Villanueva household, and the family is going all out for baby Mateo's first holiday season.

's holiday episode airs Monday, and PEOPLE has an exclusive First Look photo of Jane (

) and her family getting into the festive spirit.

As for Rodriguez herself, she's looking forward to spending the holidays with her real family, who she says have now all moved from the Chicago area to Los Angeles.

"I have always been really close with my family. They are the freaking best," Rodriguez, 31, tells PEOPLE of her parents and two older sisters. "Even though I didn't like my sisters too much growing up, my parents were like, 'You must love each other.' And that's very true."

"Our parents really hit home about how important it is to be good to your family. And they weren't wrong," continues Rodriguez, 31, who will serve as a judge for the upcoming

. "They're who are there for you through thick and thin. Having them here is remarkable. I have built-in friends!"

airs Mondays (9 p.m. ET) on The CW.

Summary: The Villanueva family is going all out for the tot's first holiday season


The 1990s hip hop mogul is spending his 50th birthday in jail as he faces a murder charge, but the latest legal drama is just part of a troubled past. Here’s what you need to know.

How to say his name: Suge is pronounced like sugar, which is where he gets the moniker from—Sugar Bear was a childhood nickname. He was born Marion Hugh Knight Jr. in Compton, Calif., to Maxine and Marion Knight Sr. on April 19, 1965.

Why he’s famous: He’s best known for co-founding Death Row Records, the gangsta rap hub that was home to artists such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur and many others in the 1990s. But he’s as famous, if not more so, for his repeated run-ins with the law (of which there are many timelines) that continued even after Death Row declined (thanks in part to a five-year prison stint related to an assault and the exodus of several artists from the roster in the wake of Tupac’s murder). Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006.

His current legal drama: Knight was charged with murder, attempted murder, and two hit-and-run counts this year after a January incident in which he allegedly put his car in reverse and ran over two men, killing one of them. The confrontation was reportedly a continuation of an argument that took place on the set of the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton (in which Knight is played by R. Marcus Taylor). Knight has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney says Knight was behind the wheel but that he was trying to flee out of fear for his life. Knight’s health in the months since has made headlines, too: He’s been hospitalized multiple times since being charged, as recently as this week.

His sports past: Knight played football throughout college and had a very brief NFL career. He was cut from the Los Angeles Rams during training, but he went on to play two games for the the team as a replacement in 1987 during the NFL’s players’ strike. It was after that that he got into music, working as a concert promoter and a bodyguard for Bobby Brown.

Famous feuds: Knight had a reputation for allegedly using brute force to conduct business in the 1990s. He was rumored to have dangled Vanilla Ice off a balcony in order to get him to sign over “Ice Ice Baby” royalties (one of Knight’s clients co-wrote the song but hadn’t been paid), though the rapper and others have denied the story.

A few years later, Knight ignited rap’s west coast-east coast rivalry when he took shots at Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs of Bad Boy Records in an acceptance speech at the 1995 Source Awards. “Any artist out there that want to be an artist and stay a star, and don’t have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos … come to Death Row,” he said.

In 1996, Knight was behind the wheel of the car Tupac was murdered in during a drive-by shooting, and rumors that Knight orchestrated both Tupac’s death and the later murder of Notorious B.I.G. rank among the greatest conspiracy theories in hip-hop. Knight has never been charged in either shooting and has denied any involvement. His relationship with Snoop Dogg declined after that, and the two exchanged harsh words in the media for several years before burying the hatchet in 2013.

Summary: What to know about the former Death Row Records head


A kind stranger has anonymously paid off $20,000 worth of Christmas shoppers’ laybys at a US Toys R Us store.

Staff at the Massachusetts store believe the “layaway angel” has struck before, after an anonymous woman did the same thing at the same store last year, according to WPXI.

Customers reacted emotionally when they learned their toy laybys had been paid off.

“As my eyes filled with tears, I vowed to pay it forward as often as I could,” one customer said.


Every year a new reality emerges at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and 2016 was no exception. It was a particularly banner year for the future of mobility. Electric vehicles went mass market. Rear-view mirrors became obsolete. And self-driving cars took another big step toward the here and now. In fact, there were more new transportation concepts and innovative automotive technologies on display than ever before. Here are but a few of the most notable.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EVCapable and affordable, the handsome Bolt is an electric car for the masses, says Chevrolet. Compared with the Nissan Leaf, the Bolt EV rolls twice as far (200 miles) on a charge, offers more interior space and packs more tech for approximately the same price (about $30,000 in the US, after a $7,500 Federal tax credit). We’ll see how it compares with Tesla’s Model 3, which is scheduled to be unveiled this spring. Until then, the Bolt sets a new benchmark for EVs.

Faraday Future FFZERO1While the Bolt is the practical man’s electric vehicle, the FFZERO1 is for the extremist. This slick-looking single-seat racer was put together in only three months by FF's Head of Design Richard Kim and his team to serve as an example of what can built atop the fledgling automaker’s all-new scalable vehicle architecture. Though Kim says the FFZERO1 will not be Faraday’s first production car, he does admit that its sci-fi features “hint at the look of coming production models."

Volkswagen BUDD-e ConceptHippies rejoice: VW has electrified your beloved Microbus and, in the process, provided the rest of us with a glimpse into the future of the manufacturer's electrification program. Though Volkswagen didn't say much about the BUDD-e’s propulsion system, it will be configured like the Tesla Model S, with electric motors at the front and rear axles and a battery pack in between. The range on a full charge is 233 miles and top speed is a swift 93mph. While the Microbus physique was meant to pull on the heartstrings of tech-impaired empty nesters, the BUDD-e boasts the latest bells and whistles. For example, all systems can be controlled through touchscreens, voice commands or gestures, from turning on the heat to opening the side doors.

Kia Drive Wise Autonomous CarsKia jumped into the driverless-car fray by unveiling its new line of Drive Wise autonomous driving technologies. The systems, which include urban and highway modes, use a combination of radar, camera, GPS and ultrasonic sensors to negotiate lane-changing and overtaking on highways or to navigate busy city environments without input from the driver. Also on display was the I-Cockpit concept, which previewed the automaker’s next-generation human-machine interface technologies, including gesture control and a touchpad that automatically recognizes driver preferences based on a fingerprint swipe. Kia hopes to bring partially autonomous vehicles to market by 2020 and completely driver-less cars by 2030.

EHang 184 Personal Driving VehicleThe real must-have gadget from CES, the EHang 184 is part drone, part personal helicopter. This car-sized electric quadcopter can carry a single occupant up to 10 miles with almost no guidance. The passenger inputs the destination via a mobile app, and the 184 autonomously handles the rest. According to the company, it can fly for about 23 minutes on a full charge, at speeds up to 62mph. Sadly, it's not legal in the US.

BMW AirTouch 3DThe human-machine interface was a hot topic in Sin City this year, as many automakers and automotive systems suppliers showed off gesture-control and eye-tracking technologies designed to reduce driver distraction. BMW's second-generation gesture control system, AirTouch 3D, in the iVision Future Interaction concept car, was one of the more impressive technologies being developed. With it, you can control the car's in-dash screen just like a touchscreen without ever actually touching it.

BMW Motorrad Vision Head-Up Display

Although BMW's four-wheeled innovations took centre stage at CES, the company's motorcycle division had some clever kit at the show, as well, including a helmet with a built-in heads-up display. Similar to the Skully AR-1, BMW's Vision helmet places a transparent display over the rider's right eye, onto which is projected a host of basic data, including speed, fuel level, navigation and road-hazard alerts. The display can also serve as a closed-circuit rear-view feed, eliminating the need to glance at the side mirror. The company says the helmet should be production ready within a few years.

With Amazon connection, Ford's Sync comes homeAnother emerging trend at this year’s CES involved enhancing the communication between your car and home. One of the more accessible solutions is the result of a collaboration between Ford and Amazon. It involves linking Ford’s Sync infotainment system with the online retail giant's Echo smart home hub. Using voice commands, Sync users can, say, open a garage door, access their home’s thermostat or turn on an outside light from miles away. Vice versa, through Amazon's Alexa digital assistant, users will be able to stop, start, lock, unlock and check their vehicle's fuel range from the comfort of home.

Gracenote Dynamic EQGood sound quality is sorely underrated. And Gracenote knows it. That’s why the company has created a new layer of technology, an algorithm, to analyze every song you play, and then automatically adjust your car stereo's equalizer settings to optimize the aural quality of the playback. By customizing EQ settings down to the track level every song sounds like the artist meant it to be heard.

Self-driving Mercedes E-ClassNo, Mercedes-Benz did not unveil an autonomous E-Class. But it did announce that the next-gen E, which is scheduled to be unveiled this week at the Detroit Auto Show, is now licensed to drive itself on roads in Nevada. Expected to go on sale later this year as a 2017 model, the all-new E is rumored to feature one of the most comprehensive autonomous feature sets of any production vehicle. it is the first production car to be granted one of these Nevada licenses.

If you would like to comment on this or anything else you have seen on BBC Autos, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

Summary: From an EV for the masses to a passenger-carrying quadcopter drone: the most important transportation-related announcements at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show.


By Mary Green and Maria Mercedes Lara

02/07/2016 AT 07:35 PM EST

has got some new ink.

The actress, 40, was spotted with three large new tattoos while working on

, in Cambodia on Sunday.

The designs appeared to be in the yantra (or sak yant) tattoo style, a traditional Buddhist form of body art that originated in Southeast Asia. A source confirmed to PEOPLE that Jolie did indeed get three new tattoos and that they are Buddhist blessings for peace, love and a prosperous life. However, it is unclear if they were technically yantra tattoos or simply in that style.

covering most of Jolie's upper back in intricate geometric designs. Yantra tattoos are typical hand-etched by Buddhist monks and special ruesi practitioners, requiring meticulous skill.

This is hardly the actress-turned-director's first ink. Jolie has numerous tattoos, including a large tiger on her lower back from famed Thai tattoo artist Sompong Kanphai. She recently

in December – a geometric design on the inside of her left arm.

Jolie has been spending time in Cambodia while she works on her new Netflix film, which is based on a memoir about life under Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime. Her eldest sons – Maddox, who was born in Cambodia, and Pax – are working with her on the project, with Maddox helping with research and Pax taking still photos for the production.

Summary: The actress-turned-director is no stranger to getting inked


03/02/2016 AT 09:35 PM EST

was taken to the hospital Wednesday evening after collapsing at her Georgia home, her rep confirms to PEOPLE.

Shannon, 36, passed out after walking down the stairs in her home. She came to, but fainted several more times and was then driven to the hospital by her daughter Lauryn "Pumpkin Shannon", 16, her rep says.

star had complained about feeling unwell and had thrown up during the day.

Doctors are still running tests to determine what caused Shannon to pass out. According to

, which was the first to report the news, Shannon said she had not eaten much Wednesday and has been dieting hard.

she had lost 45 lbs. on top of her 100 lbs.

for E!'s plastic surgery reality show

Summary: The star fainted in her Georgia home


This is serious business and requires a dedicated financial professional to help you manage and grow your business. As a business owner, you have most likely spent a majority of your adult life working and developing your business. The least you can do is spend a few hours working your way to find the right financial advisor to help guide you. I truly believe the same dedication you put into your work life should be used to make this big decision.

When looking to hire an advisor, make sure they have experience working with business owners. Ask them the tough questions to make sure they have the credentials to handle the decisions you will face as a business owner.

Read More'Broker' is not a dirty word

For example, the advisors you interview need to be able to help with a business succession plan that involves understanding where the business falls into the overall financial picture, tax strategy, legal planning and sometimes insurance planning.

The advisor should be able to work with you if you are contemplating retaining talent with a deferred compensation plan, phantom stock plan, restricted shares or options. All of these tools have financial, legal and tax implications.

Feel free to set the bar high. Someone qualified to handle complex business-ownership planning should also have an internal team or connections that includes, at a minimum, a certified financial planner, an attorney and a certified public accountant.

Summary: Choosing the right advisor is key for business owners. A misstep can mean the difference between reaching financial goals and falling short.


In February, Usana Health Sciences seemed untouchable. Shares in the vitamin maker were roaring towards an all-time-high above $60. The company was preparing to announce its 20th consecutive quarter of record sales. Its global empire was expanding, with the addition of Malaysia, its 14th country. That may well have been the zenith of Usana‘s 15-year existence.

On March 19, Usana revealed it was the subject of an informal Securities and Exchange Commission probe into its sales practices. Then, in July, its long-time auditor abruptly and mysteriously resigned.

Now things are getting worse.

Last week, sources told Forbes.com that the FBI had launched a criminal investigation into the company. Usana says it isn’t aware of any such probe. Meanwhile, Usana is suing Barry Minkow, a convicted felon-turned-fraud-buster, who penned a 500-page report alleging that the company’s fantastic performance in recent years came not from selling vitamins but via a pyramid scheme that roped suckers into a multilevel marketing scheme from which few would be able to glean profits.

Usana claims Minkow improperly shorted its shares in concert with unnamed codefendants. The company alleges they arranged so-called naked short sales, creating phantom shares that put enormous pressure on the real stock price. That would have been illegal, but also a pretty good strategy: The stock has plunged 41.2% since its March high. Minkow admits to having held put options on Usana, but says he didn’t profit from them and claims that he never naked shorted the stock.

“We believe everything he says to be false,” Usana spokesman Joseph Poulos told Forbes.com. “He’s a liar; he’s a criminal–he can’t be trusted.” Minkow, who has assisted federal and state authorities in 21 closed fraud cases, remains unfazed by the lawsuit, calling it a diversion to mask Usana’s real problems.

Usana, Minkow alleges, is a convoluted pyramid scheme that baits consumers with promises of personal wealth and leaves them empty-handed.

Instead of offering its products in stores, Usana is a multilevel marketer, with a network of 178,000 distributors selling its line of nutritional supplements and personal-care products to consumers. In theory, distributors can make money by selling products to anybody who wants them, but they can make much bigger profits by recruiting other salespeople and getting a share of their revenue. To get into the company’s commission program, a Usana associate must front an initial fee of $20 to $50 for a business starter kit, buy roughly $150 in products and then order about $120 of goods each month, either for sale or personal use.

Minkow and other critics say Usana distributors aren’t really paying for the products–they’re ponying up the cash to participate in the profit-sharing network, which each can do once they’ve roped in two new recruits. Usana’s promotional materials are emblazoned with phrases like “true wealth” and “financial freedom.”

Usana disagrees, saying its members are “end users” who get involved less to make money than to enjoy Usana’s vitamins at wholesale discounts. However, a customer does not have to sign up as a distributor to access the wholesale prices. One can also join as a “preferred” customer at no additional cost.

The company offers a diverse trove of nutrition and personal care products spanning from natural toothpaste to hair-care goods. Its best-selling product, however, is a 28-day pack of Essentials, a set of multivitamins and mineral supplements that wholesale for $39.95, or $1.43 a day. The product costs significantly more than standard retail varieties of vitamins, such as Centrum, whose multivitamins cost approximately $7.00 for a 50-pill bottle, or 14 cents a day. Usana says its premium is justified because its products offer “high-quality, certified nutritional supplements that are in a class by themselves.”

Not quite, according to Anthony Almada, the president and chief scientist of Imaginutrition, a consulting firm for the nutritional supplement industry. Alamada, who has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, said Usana’s vitamins are not that special. “The economic reality of Usana, and other [multilevel marketing] entities, mandates that their products invariably lack robust distinctiveness and convincing evidence of consumer relevance and superiorityachievable through rigorous clinical trials onlyto their retail counterparts,” Almada said.

The key question, according to James Kohm, associate director for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, is whether the company is really in the vitamin business. “Are they truly retail sales or simply incidental to participate in the scheme?” Robert Fitzpatrick, the president of Pyramid Scheme Alert, who was contracted by Minkow to review Usana’s structure, says there’s another big problem: The company’s sales model is untenable, at least from the point of view of recent recruits being able to find new distributors to work for them. “If this chain were continued just 26 levels, it would exceed the number of households in the U.S.A.,” Fitzpatrick said in a recent report. “Usana’s “success” depends on the “failures” of tens of thousands of recruits.” Usana wouldn’t tell Forbes.com what portion of its distributors actually do turn a profit, but in an April conference call, Chief Financial Officer Gil Fuller said, “You only have something on the order of about 12% of people who get into this business with the intent of making money.” “The people who work at it are the ones that in fact generate the income for themselves. Those that don’t, or do it for product reasons, obviously don’t.” While the average distributor doesn’t make enough to cover the cost of a one-month supply, the company and its senior executives have done somewhat better.

The Salt Lake City-based firm has experienced explosive growth since being founded in 1992 by Chief Executive Officer Myron Wentz. It operates in 14 countries and has 889 employees. In the last five years, the stock has skyrocketed from less than 70 cents a share on a split-adjusted basis to an all-time-high of $61.80 in February. It ended on Tuesday at $36.20.

In the second quarter, Usana blew past the Streets second expectations by posting profits of $18.2 million, or 66 cents a share–above analysts estimate of 62 cents.

From 2004 to 2006, Usana held a spot on Forbes‘ top 200 small companies list.

By the books, Usana seems to be in the prime of financial health, but Minkow doesn’t buy it. He says the company is dotted with red flags.

He claims that Wentz has renounced his American citizenship and stows his 50% shareholder stake in the tax haven of Lichtenstein. According to Minkow, company insiders wring cash out of Usana through a concert of buybacks and stock dumps. Since the summer of 2003, Usana’s board and executives have sold $100 million in shares. Meanwhile, the company has repurchased $211 million in stock since late 2000. This week, Usana announced an additional $50 million in repurchases.

In essence, according to Minkow, Usana is using shareholder funds to support its stock price while its insiders cash out. Not so, says Usana, which claims the aggressive buyback program reflects “management and the board’s decisions to use excess cash reserves to return value to shareholders and avoid share dilution.” Then, there’s the auditor situation.

Grant Thornton, Usana’s auditor for more than a decade, resigned in July. Thornton did not respond to requests for comment, but in an SEC filing released Aug. 1, Usana said the firm initially disagreed with its audit committee on when to “engage independent consultants” in the company’s investigation into Minkow’s accusations. Usana’s audit committee wanted to complete an internal investigation first before considering an independent consultant, but Grant Thornton wanted to employ an independent counsel immediately.

Fuller, Usana’s CFO, said the company has not secured a new auditor. He refused to speculate on why Grant Thornton quit, aside from saying “From every indication I’ve been told, they were satisfied with the work,” and the firm’s departure “did not relate to any of the financial statements.” “It was a little bit frustrating,” Fuller said. “Life is too short to dwell too much on it.” Usana has enough other problems it could dwell on.

In June, Fuller and Jerry McClain, a board member who is also a member of the audit committee, agreed to stop representing themselves as certified public accountants (they used to be). Also that month, a leading sales associate stepped down from the company’s medical advisory board after Minkow revealed he no longer had a medical license–he turned over his license in 2004 after allegations surfaced that he had inappropriately doled out prescriptions to a family member. In April, Dennis Waitley resigned from the board of directors but stayed on as company spokesman soon after Minkow uncovered that he lied about having received a master’s degree from the U.S. Navy (he didn’t).

In addition, the company may have breached a loan covenant regarding a $40 million line of credit from Bank of America , which could force it to pay back its borrowings. As of the end of June, the company had borrowed a little more than $34.5 million under that facility. According to the terms of the credit line, the company’s total debt cannot be more than 2.5 times its cash flow, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The company believes it is within those bounds because its debt load is relatively low. Even though the company lists $35.2 million in “other current liabilities” in its second-quarter press release, Usana said a large portion of that is revenue “that we cannot recognize until the product is shipped and not an actual payment we will make to a third party.” However, after evaluating the loan document and Usana’s recent filings, Don Coker, a banking specialist, said the company had less than $4 million in deferred revenue in the first quarter and even less than that in the fourth quarter of 2006. “In my opinion, to state that the $35 million plus in ‘other liabilities’ does not constitute ‘debt’ appears to be inconsistent with how a bank normally would make such a calculation,” Coker said. After adding the Bank of America loan and Usana’s current liabilities–and subtracting $4 million in deferred revenue–the company’s consolidated funded debt totaled $65.7 million, making its ratio 3.6-to-1. “They could be in violation of one of the covenants of their loan,” said Coker, who holds a certificate in business valuation from Harvard Business School and has testified as an expert witness in hundreds of cases. The company disagrees, insisting that it is in compliance with the loan’s covenants. If Usana does have too much debt, Bank of America can revoke the entire loan. Bank of America did not return multiple calls seeking comment. Faced with this tempest of controversy, Usana remains optimistic. “We have total confidence that we’ll come out with flying colors on this. We’re not wringing our hands over this matter,” Fuller said.

Usana disputes elements of this article. See the company’s statement here.

Comments are turned off for this post.

Summary: Former high-flyer Usana claims it offers great vitamins; critics say it's more of a Great Pyramid.


The United States jails more people per capita than any other nation. The Prison Policy Initiative recently released a new report, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2016, that takes a look into the exact number of people incarcerated in America. The authors of the report hope to spark a national conversation about criminal justice reform and ending mass incarceration.

SEE ALSO: N. Korea sentences US student to 15 years of hard labor

The report pieces together America's systems of confinement, detailing how many people are locked up, where they are locked up, and why they are locked up:

"The American criminal justice system holds more than 2.3 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 942 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,283 local jails, and 79 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, and prisons in the U.S. territories."

Click through for a comprehensive snapshot of our correctional system:

New report breaks down America's huge criminal justice system

The report notes that the chart doesn't completely capture the large amount of people affected by the criminal justice system. While 636,000 people walk out of prison each year, people go to jail over 11 million times each year. And the correctional system doesn't just end with confinement. The U.S. justice system controls over 8 million people, with 3.8 million people on probation.

The Prison Policy Initiative plans updated the report each year on Pi Day, March 14.

You can read the full report here.

RELATED: Reality of incarceration in the U.S.

New report breaks down America's huge criminal justice system

In this Aug. 31, 2015 photo, a room used for recreation by inmates in solitary confinement at the Washington Corrections Center, in Shelton, Wash. is shown. A new program that may soon be extended to dozens of maximum custody solitary confinement prisoners at the facility will give inmates the option of using their recreation hour outside of their cells to watch sunsets, mountains and underwater seascapes on video, with the hope that they will be calmer, and guards will have to deal with fewer outbursts or violent interactions. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

FILE -- In this July 24, 2014 file photo, an inmate is seen in one of the cells at the mental health unit at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Stockton Health Facility in Stockton, Calif. In an agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Friday, Aug. 29, state corrections official have agreed to shift mentally ill inmates into specialized housing units instead of placing them in the same isolation units as are used for other inmates, Friday, Aug. 29.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file)

Harris County inmate Kristi Leonard leans against a telephone in her cell block Tuesday, June 4, 2013, in Houston. Arrested numerous times for prostitution, Leonard is part of a rehabilitation program called We've Been There Done That. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

An inmate stares out a window at the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy, Calif., Friday, March 2, 2012. California prisons marked a milestone Friday when California prison officials announced they have removed the last of nearly 20,000 extra beds that had been jammed into gymnasium and other common areas to house inmates who overflowed traditional prison cells.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 11: Undocumented immigrant Jose Reyes Robledo, 42, Mexico poses for a portrait as he serves time in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Maricopa County Tent City jail on March 11, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. He said he has lived in Phoenix and previously San Diego as an undocumented immigrant for 20 years. He is married with three children and was born in the United States. He was arrested and charged in Maricopa County on July, 2012 for armed robbery with a deadly weapon. As an undocumented immigrant with a criminal record, he may likely be deported to Mexico after serving his jail sentence. President Barack Obama's administration deported a record 1.5 million people during his first term of office with 55 percent of deportees in 2012 having a criminal conviction for drug offenses or driving under the influence, according to U.S. immigration officials. The Maricopa County Tent City jail, run by county Sheriff Joe Arpaio, maintains a controversial policy of issuing striped uniforms and pink undergarments to inmates, despite an ongoing court challenge. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A cell in an enhanced supervision housing unit on Rikers Island in New York, Thursday, March 12, 2015. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has unveiled a comprehensive plan to curb jail violence after a visit to the problem-plagued Rikers Island jail complex. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, inmate Jesse Cole is shown on a television screen as his wife Edna wipes away a tear while sitting with their sons, William, 4, center, and 8-month-old Jesse James, during a video visitation with at the Fort Bend County Jail, in Richmond, Texas. Prisonersâ rights advocates are worried that the growing use in the U.S. of video technology to facilitate visits between inmates and their family and friends at county jails and prisons is part of a trend to eliminate the more traditional in-person visit. But officials who run these facilities say video visitation has been a boon to their efforts to improve security and increase visiting hours. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

An inmate uses the recreation room of one of the housing units at Sacramento County's Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove, Calif., Thursday, May 30, 2013. A report by the California Little Hoover Commission says Gov. Jerry Brown's prison realignment plan is forcing county sheriff's rather than judges, to decide which inmates get released early from jail and which serve their full sentences.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

An inmate does pushups on the floor of his cell at the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca says he plans to implement all the reforms suggested by a commission in the wake of allegations that a culture of violence flourished in his jails. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

AP10ThingsToSee - In this June 26, 2014 photo, a U.S. veteran with post-traumatic stress, sits in a segregated holding pen at Chicago's Cook County Jail after he was arrested on a narcotics charge. The complex, with more than 10,600 inmates, is one of the country's largest single-site jails. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Raymondville, UNITED STATES: A Homeland Security Officer(L) talks with detainees inside Homeland Security's Willacy Detention Center, a facility with 10 giant tents that can house up to 2000 detained illegal immigrants, 10 May 2007 in Raymondville, Texas. The 65 million USD facility was constructed as part of the Secure Border Initative last July and now where many of the former 'catch and release' illegals are detained for processing. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

In this photo taken Oct. 15, 2014, an inmate lies across a bunk in the psychiatric unit of the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, Wash. Some of Washingtonâs mentally ill are strapped to gurneys in emergency rooms awaiting beds in psychiatric hospitals, while others sit in jail for months waiting for competency evaluations and treatment, with some getting trapped in both broken systems And receiving no treatment. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

A prisoner behind bars and thick plastic looks over at a corrections officer in an enhanced supervision housing unit on Rikers Island in New York, Thursday, March 12, 2015. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has unveiled a comprehensive plan to curb jail violence after a visit to the problem-plagued Rikers Island jail complex. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Correctional officer Ken Kleinworth frisks an inmate leaving a dining hall at the Washington Corrections Center, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011, in Shelton, Wash. The population of Washington state prison inmates has become whiter, older and more violent in the past decade, an Associated Press review of Department of Corrections records has found. And while running the prison system eats up 5 percent of the state budget, there appear to be few places that can be cut without having to resort to releasing inmates early, as some states have done to balance the budget. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2012, file photo, a man waits to be processed at a Border Patrol detention center in Imperial Beach, Calif. The U.S. Border Patrol's parent agency on Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, issued nationwide custody standards, a little more than a year after its jails were overwhelmed with Central American children fleeing to the United States. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

FILE- In this 2010 file photo, an inmate reads a book in his bunk at the John Lilley Correctional Center in Boley, Okla. Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terri Watkins declined to speculate on why Oklahomaâs prison homicide rate is so high, but those who work inside Oklahomaâs prisons say the reason is simple: the facilities are overcrowded and understaffed. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

FILE - In this July 31, 2014 file photo, an inmate at Rikers Island juvenile detention facility carries a plastic fork behind his back as he walks with other inmates in single file to the jail's chapel for a visit from Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons and entertainer L.L. Cool J. The city's juvenile jails are extremely violent and unsafe, the result of a deeply ingrained culture of violence in which guards routinely violate constitutional rights of teenage inmates and subject them to "rampant use of unnecessary and excessive force," federal prosecutors said in a scathing report released Monday, Aug. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

FILE -- In this photo taken Oct. 15, 2014, an inmate huddles under a heavy blanket on a bunk in the psychiatric unit of the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, Wash. Washington On Thursday, March 12, 2015, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill to set a 14-day limit on the amount of time a mentally ill person can be held in jail awaiting competency evaluations or treatment. The new law comes ahead of a federal trial that aims to end the competency wait lists. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

An inmate sits on his bed in the geriatric unit during a media tour Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015, at the Utah State Correctional Facility in Draper, Utah. Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that he's opposed to the idea of allowing a state commission to pick a location to build a new prison instead of leaving the decision with the Legislature. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

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Summary: The Prison Policy Initiative recently released a released a report detailing mass incarceration in America.


Earlier this year, I wrote a piece for Fortune calling on more technology companies to focus on broad social impact and, in doing so, described my recent job search to find a company that was already delivering on that promise.

Well, it turns out, a lot of us are on that search.

Over the past few months, a few dozen people – from recent business school grads to mid-career professionals to family friends – reached out to say they felt a kinship to the cause. And all of them wanted to know the specific steps I took to find my current job.

Using my own experience as a guide, here’s a list that will hopefully help you in your job search.

Step 1: Ask yourself what exactly you want to impact. Impact is a fun word, but it’s also too mushy to inform a job search. If you want an “impact job,” you have to first figure out what exactly you want to impact. Is it the environment or health care or education or urban planning or voter engagement or something specific to your life or your community? For me, for all the reasons I laid out in the Fortune piece, it was unsticking economic mobility in America. Whatever it is for you, it has to be authentic and deep and abiding so you can stay motivated during the ups and downs of the search and eventually the job. Achieving broad social impact in the private sector is hard. The current system isn’t built for it.

Step 2: Talk to a lot of people. I spoke to well over a hundred people during my search, starting with family and friends. That turned out to be enormously helpful because with family and friends, I could think out loud and lay out a vague goal like, “I want to do something related to economic mobility in the tech sector.” Those conversations, and the hard follow-up questions I got as a result, pushed me to narrow my focus.

Step 3: Space, size and role matter. One of the best pieces of advice I got during my job search was to organize my thinking into three buckets – space, size and role – and then figure out what matters most. Space comes from the area you most want to impact, but size and role are more nuanced. For example, if you don’t want to work any nights or weekends, a larger organization with established processes may be a better fit. Conversely, if you’re trying to expand your resume with new skills and a new role, working for a small startup may best align with your goals.

Step 4: Online date. At this point, you’re ready to talk to specific companies about specific roles but you need to actually find those specific companies and specific roles. The best way to start is by going to the websites of all the major venture funds and accelerators. Look through all their portfolio companies. It’ll take you a while, but it’s worth it because, as you react to all those “big idea” mission statements, you’ll get a better sense of what kind of company excites you. By the end, you’ll find out which companies truly resonate with you. Make sure to run a background check on AngelList to see whether they’re at the right stage and have the right job openings given your earlier decisions on space, size and role.

Step 5: Perfect your pitch. At this point, you’ve got a list of companies you’re excited about, but they don’t know about you yet. That’s good because you want to make sure you’ve got your pitch down. Go back to your family and friends, and practice describing how your background fits with what you’re looking for in the next opportunity. Keep practicing until you’ve got a compelling and simple story.

Step 6: Ask about revenue. Once you start interviewing at companies, remember that it’s a two-way conversation. With “impact companies,” you can usually tell from meeting with the team whether the mission is genuine. What’s harder to tell is whether the business plan is solid. A simple way to check is to ask if they are making money. If so, how? If not, when and how? “Impact companies” don’t get extra credit from the market for being impact-focused. You need to make sure the company isn’t just doing great things but is building a great business, too.

Step 7: Go with your gut. If you’re looking to join an “impact company,” you are someone who is expecting more out of your job than the size of your paycheck. So at the end of your search, as long as you’ve done your due diligence, go with your gut. The right offer is the one that resonates with you personally and addresses the issue you most want to impact in the world.

– Aneesh Raman is a former presidential speechwriter for the Obama administration and the current VP of Growth at Raise.me.

Summary: Talk to a lot of people, but not all at once.


Before you go, we thought you'd like these...

Foodies of the world, there's a cuddly dog that speaks your language.

SEE ALSO: Smiley, the blind therapy dog, lights up community with joy

Meet Kotetsu, a 1-year-old Japanese Pomeranian that just can't stop dancing -- at least until he's fed.

Kotetsu bursts into an epic happy dance only a real food aficionado could understand every time his owners get ready to feed him, according to his Instagram.

Oh and he does a hilarious little jig after he eats too.

But don't let Kotetsu's cuteness fool you, he can get a bit hangry at times.

See adorable images of Kotetsu:

Dancing Pomeranian is the most hilarious little foodie

ママ〜❣あそぼ〜❣のお誘いです。 ここで、ちょっといま手が離せないから後でね〜🙅🏻とか断ると、馬乗り顔面ペロペロ攻撃👅💦が始まります🐶😛💦 . #pomeranian #pom #pome #pomestagram #instadog #instapom #dogstagram #pomeranianlove #ポメラニアン #犬バカ部 #lovedogs #dog #ilovemydogs #instaanimal #ふわもこ部 #doglife #dogsofinstagram #mydog #ワンコなしでは生きて行けません会

先日の一コマ📷 . 🐶「ママあの橋渡ろ〜❣」👩🏻「ダメだよ❣渡った二人はあの橋のように別れるって言われてるんだから🙅🏻」🐶「ちぇ〜😒😒」 . #pomeranian #pom #pome #pomestagram #instadog #instapom #dogstagram #pomeranianlove #ポメラニアン #犬バカ部 #lovedogs #dog #ilovemydogs #instaanimal #ふわもこ部 #doglife #dogsofinstagram #mydog #ワンコなしでは生きて行けません会 #포메라니안

歯磨きもブラッシングも終わって✨ ママ抱っこで爆睡🐶💤💕 明日はどこへ行こうかな💓 美味しい夢見てね💕 おやすみ🙈🐾❤❤ . #pomeranian #pom #pome #pomestagram #instadog #instapom #dogstagram #pomeranianlove #ポメラニアン #犬バカ部 #lovedogs #dog #ilovemydogs #instaanimal #ふわもこ部 #doglife #dogsofinstagram #mydog #ワンコなしでは生きて行けません会 #포메라니안 #zzz

海辺でペロんちょ🐶❤✨ #海ほとんど映ってない #水があまり得意でない #たぶん泳げない #あんだけ踊れるのに . #pomeranian #pom #pome #pomestagram #instadog #instapom #dogstagram #pomeranianlove #ポメラニアン #犬バカ部 #lovedogs #dog #ilovemydogs #instaanimal #ふわもこ部 #doglife #dogsofinstagram #mydog #ワンコなしでは生きて行けません会 #포메라니안

こてぴょん🐰🐶💕 こんなうさちゃん居たら飼っちゃう😂❤ #いや怖いか？#あそばれまくるコテツ #pomeranian #pom #pome #pomestagram #instadog #instapom #dogstagram #pomeranianlove #ポメラニアン #犬バカ部 #lovedogs #dog #ilovemydogs #instaanimal #ふわもこ部 #doglife #dogsofinstagram #mydog #ワンコなしでは生きて行けません会 #rabit

僕、花より団子なんですけど🐶🍡💕 いやあんた、花も食べるやん🙌😂😂🌸💦 . #pomeranian #pom #pome #pomestagram #instadog #instapom #dogstagram #pomeranianlove #ポメラニアン #犬バカ部 #lovedogs #dog #ilovemydogs #instaanimal #ふわもこ部 #doglife #dogsofinstagram #mydog #ワンコなしでは生きて行けません会

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Summary: Meet Kotetsu, a 1-year-old Japanese Pomeranian, who just can't stop dancing -- at least until he's fed.


Being single comes with a price tag for James Van Der Beek.The former "Dawson's Creek" star finalized the terms of his divorce from his wife Heather McComb on Monday, People.com reports.In the settlement, the 33-year-old actor will have to pay his soon-to-be ex-wife $7,750 per month in spousal support until December 2012. Records reportedly show that Van Der Beek's monthly income is $35,000, while McComb brings in only $1,750 a month.The actor, who currently stars on NBC's hospital drama "Mercy," will get to keep the couple's North Hollywood residence, as well as any bank accounts in his name. He also will hold on to all the residuals from his acting work and the rights to his screenplays and other projects that he's created.The couple, who got engaged in early 2003 and wed over the Fourth of July weekend that same year, have no children together. They announced their "amicable" separation in early 2009.

Summary: Being single comes with a price tag for James Van Der Beek. The former "Dawson's Creek" star finalized the terms of his divorce from his wife Heather McComb on Monday.


Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is plunging $3.5 billion into Uber, cementing a value for the ride-sharing company of $62.5 billion. But Uber isn’t the first American-owned private company to look East for investors to validate an astronomical valuation. And it’s not the first time investments from sovereign wealth funds signaled the top.

During the economic boom a decade ago when private equity firms were enjoying sky high valuations, they also took money from sovereign wealth funds in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore, and China. Like Uber, many of the private equity firms used the imported cash to push their businesses ahead in new regions.

But a look back at history shows that when nations plunged money into US-based companies with market momentum their timing wasn’t so great.

Back in September 2007, for instance, Blackstone took a $3 billion investment from the China Investment Corp. in exchange for a 10% stake, valuing the company at $30 billion shortly before Blackstone listed shares on the public market. Others soon followed. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co. invested $1.35 billion in Carlyle for a 7.5% stake in September 2007, giving it a valuation of roughly $18 billion. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought 9% of Apollo a couple of months later.

Shortly after these investments, shares of private equity companies plummeted. Blackstone’s stock fell more than 85% in total between late-2007 and early-2009. The current share price is still below Blackstone’s stock price its first day of trading, and it has only touched above that price briefly over the past nine years. Carlyle listed shares in May 2012 in an IPO that valued the company at $6.7 billion, valuing the company’s shares at less than half Abu Dhabi’s investment fund paid for it.

Some of this had to do more with the market than private equity firms. That year, 2007, was about the worst year to invest in any public U.S. company, especially big ones.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t just bad luck that lead to poor investment performance of the sovereign wealth funds. Towards the end of the mid-2000s buyout binge, Blackstone and others were making some bad deals that the sovereign wealth funds didn’t know about, or ignored.

That doesn’t have to be the case this time around with Uber. Saudi Arabia is an attractive market for the ride-sharing business because it gives women, who are not allowed to drive, a way around. According to the New York Times, about 80% of the people who use Uber in Saudi Arabia are women. Nevertheless, the population of Saudi Arabia is roughly 29 million, only slightly larger than the state of Texas. While the country offers some new possibilities, the overall new addressable market is relatively small.

Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud is on Uber’s public policy advisory board, and according to the New York Times worked with Uber to bring the service to Saudi Arabia. So the Saudi investment may be more of a deal about the future of Uber’s business, rather than whether it is a good or bad buy right now.

Still CIC might serve as a reminder that when sovereign wealth funds buy in, they do it at the worst time. In 2014, the fund’s manager was accused by China’s top auditor of mismanagement and poor due diligence in part because of the fund’s failed investments overseas. Despite that, Blackstone is humming along, not that CIC’s investment ever recovered.

That might serve as a warning to anyone buying into a tech unicorn right now, or when they finally go public. These days, the people paying up for unicorn rides have not proved all that smart in the past.

Summary: What do foreign sovereign wealth funds get out of investing in American private companies?


Firefighters are battling out of control fires near Los Angeles. (AAP)

Fires near Los Angeles pushed 5000 people out of their homes this weekend from the affluent Calabasas area, a suburb home to many celebrities including members of the Kardashian family.

The wildfire, which began Saturday afternoon, has already seared through nearly 200 hectares, and firefighters said today they still had only 30 percent of the fire under control.

Two homes have been damaged and one commercial building destroyed.

The fire is on a mountain, making it difficult for firefighters to reach. (AAP)

There were no immediate reports of civilian injuries. Two firefighters suffered from mild injuries and a third experienced heart problems.

Authorities have allowed many of the 5000 people displaced to return home, but temperatures pushing 30 degrees Celsius combined with wind is threatening to push the blaze toward Topanga Canyon, a community north of Los Angeles that overlooks the beaches in Malibu.

Residents living there remain under an evacuation order.

Firefighters said they only have 30% of the blaze under control. (AAP)

The fire is on the side of a mountain, making it difficult for firefighters to access, said John Tripp, a deputy chief of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, at a press conference.

"This is a moving fire front, hung up on a midslope of the canyon," Deputy Tripp said.

"That makes it extremely dangerous to do what is called a direct attack and try to get containment."

Deputy Tripp added that as the Sunday heat rises the fire could keep spreading, fuelled by a record four years of drought that's left vegetation in the area extremely dry.

Ellen DeGeneres thanked firefighters, including her brother-in-law Michael, for their efforts. (Twitter: @TheEllenShow)

Three fires ignited almost simultaneously in the area Saturday afternoon. The biggest one likely flared up when a vehicle struck a utility pole, officials said. Authorities are investigating what caused the second and third fires.

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres took to Twitter yesterday to thank firefighters for their hard work. One of the firefighters working to extinguish the fire is the brother of her wife, Australian actress Portia de Rossi.

“They’re unsung heroes,” DeGeneres wrote.

Many celebrities reside in Calabasas, including pop singer Jessica Simpson, and stars of the reality series "Keeping Up With the Kardashians".

Three of the sisters took to social media to document the inferno. Model Kendall Jenner posted a Snapchat photo, showing a large smoke cloud menacing the area.

Kylie Jenner took to snapchat to film the events. (Snapchat: Kylizzlemynizzl)

Sister Kylie Jenner, wrote "Am I going to have to evacuate?" on the social media platform.

Khloe Kardashian replied with her own Snap: "No Kylie, you won't have to evacuate, because it's closer to my house than yours, sadly, so let's pray nobody has to evacuate."

Summary: Fires near Los Angeles forced 5000 people out of their homes this weekend from the affluent Calabasas area, a suburb home to many celebrities.