consolidation
The FCC has "serious concerns" about the proposed 3.9 Billion dollar merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media. The problem is that the FCC wanted Sinclair to sell off some TV stations in certain markets so that the company created by the merger would not exert too much influence in a given region, but Sinclair, although they technically sold the stations, was still in control of them, dictating their programming. This violates FCC guidelines about monopoly and could sink the entire merger.
It's well past time for Sinclair to realize that its effort to engage in massive media consolidation has failed and that it should withdraw the transaction without delay so the FCC no longer needs to devote any of its limited resources to a doomed endeavor," Matthew Polka, CEO of the American Cable Association, said in a statement Monday.
-thehill.com ( July 16, 2018)
disperse
France emerged victorious in the Soccer World Cup this week, defeating Croatia in the final by a score of 4-2. The victory took place in Russia, but the celebrations occurred throughout France, where some minor celebratory rioting took place in Paris. It was the first time in 2 decades that France has won a World Cup.
In the capital, fireworks, flares and smoke bombs were thrown indiscriminately along the Champs Elysees, as fans refused to
disperse and clashed with the advancing police.
- cnn.com ( July 17, 2018)
insurgency
President Trump has ordered his negotiators to get the Taliban to the conference table in hopes of ending our 17-year war against them. This is significant because until now it was assumed that the government of Afghanistan would have to take part, but now it looks as if this is no longer a prerequisite to start negotiations. This shift in strategy is also a recognition that the Taliban continues to make military gains in the region and must be dealt with if they cannot be defeated outright.
Those efforts include a rare cease-fire last month, increased American pressure on Pakistan to stop providing sanctuary to Taliban leaders and a rallying of Islamic nations against the
insurgency.
-The New York Times ( July 15, 2018)
intervene
The feel-good story of the 2018 World Cup has to be the fact that 19-year-old French player Kylian Mbappe donated his total winnings from the Tournament, which total $500,000, to a children's charity. In addition to the money, Mbappe also gives his time to the charity, which helps disabled and hospitalized children get into sports. Mbappe plays for Paris Saint-Germain, where he makes a little over $17 million a year.
“When his schedule allows it, he
intervenes for us with pleasure,” he added. “He has a very good [relationship] with children, he always finds the right [words] to encourage them. I sometimes even feel that [he] takes more pleasure to play with the kids than the kids themselves.”
-goodnewsnetwork.org ( July 16, 2018)
magistrate
Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian woman, has been charged with conspiracy and illegally acting as an agent of the Russian government. Ms. Butina is accused of infiltrating conservative political and social circles to steer them towards Russia’s agenda — in other words, a Russian spy. Butina faces up to 15 years in prison if she is convicted on the charges.
As President Trump faced more furor Wednesday for Russia-related comments, a federal
magistrate put an accused Russian agent in jail.
- USA Today ( July 18, 2018)
myriad
It was revealed that Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has a personal fortune topping 150 billion dollars. This is more than $50 billion more than his nearest competitor, Microsoft's Bill Gates. Myriad refers to a large quantity. Myriad is also often used to suggest a wide variety of things contained within the large quantity.
rebuke
Donald Trump appeared on a stage with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland and appeared to question American intelligence community's findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections. This rebuke, coupled with an embrace of a foreign leader often regarded as an enemy, caused a firestorm in the media.
reverential
Tennis player Novak Djokovic won the Men's Final at Wimbledon this week. It is the 13th Grand Slam victory of his career. At 31 years of age, tennis fans are wondering if this win by Djokovic heralds his emergence from a slump, or if it will be a last hurrah for his career before he fades from the tennis scene.
Still, Djokovic isn't really spoken of in the same
reverential tones as Federer or Nadal.
- ESPN.com ( July 16)
serendipitous
Twelve new moons have just been discovered orbiting around Jupiter, This brings the grand total of Jupiter's moons to 79. One of these moons travels the opposite way from all the rest and will more than likely collide with another moon.
Jupiter just happened to be in the sky near the search fields where we were looking for extremely distant solar system objects, so we were
serendipitously able to look for new moons around Jupiter while at the same time looking for planets at the fringes of our solar system,” Sheppard said.
- USA Today ( July 17, 2018)
tumultuous
Angelique Kerber beat Serena Williams in the Ladies Final at Wimbledon. Williams gave birth to a baby girl just last September and had a difficult delivery, so it was truly amazing that Williams could compete at this level so soon after such a medical ordeal. Kerber has been going through a career crisis of her own, having dropped to 21st in the world before changing coaches and emerging victorious at this year's Wimbledon.
As Kerber held the Venus Rosewater Dish after her dominating 6-3, 6-3 victory over Serena Williams, no doubt her mind will have floated back to their previous meeting on the very same court and the
tumultuous journey her career has been on since.
- ESPN.com ( July 14, 2018)
