PATRICK BLOG NEWS

We’re just under two months away from Samsung’s likely announcement of the Galaxy S10, and the phone’s first big leak has just arrived. Serial gadget leaker Evan Blass posted a photo on Twitter of what he says is one model of the upcoming phone. The photo shows a phone with a nearly full-screen design, disrupted only by a camera cutout in the top-right corner and thin bezels around each edge. There’s just the slightest additional thickness for a chin on the bottom. Blass indicates that this will be the standard version of the Galaxy S10. There’s also expected to be a cheaper model, a larger Plus model, and a 5G model. Samsung typically announces its Galaxy S phones at the end of February. Samsung has avoided the notch trend that’s spread to basically every other smartphone in the past year. But the company recently unveiled  a series of next-generation screen designs  that start to include some small interruptions. The one we’re seeing here, on the leaked S10, is ...

Previous research suggested a class of drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors -- which includes Invokana, Farxiga and Jardiance -- could harm bones, but new research shows the risk is not there. Jan. 3 --  If you have type 2 diabetes and you're taking canagliflozin to help control your blood sugar, a new study has some good news for you: The drug doesn't appear to raise the risk of bone fractures. Previously, research had suggested this might be the case. "We were interested in doing this study because there was one randomized trial that said there was an increased risk of bone fractures and another that said there wasn't. So, we conducted a real-world study with almost 200,000 people with type 2 diabetes," said study author Dr. Michael Fralick. "I hope these findings are reassuring to patients and physicians because these are blockbuster medications for type 2 diabetes. This class of medicines can improve blood sugar levels and help reduce heart dise...

New year, same old internet. An inflammatory  post  claims former first lady Michelle Obama once said, "White folks are what’s wrong with America." The post displays an image of the former first lady, with words at the bottom saying, "Now imagine Bush saying ‘Black folks are what’s wrong with America.’ Still think there is no media bias?" There are other versions of the meme that replace Bush with  Trump . The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our  partnership with Facebook .) We could find no instance of Michelle Obama saying those words, or any variation of that quote. The rumor can be traced back to a 2015 commencement speech Obama gave at Tuskegee University, a private, historically black university in Alabama. Following the speech, JewsNews.com, a right-wing website that often pushes conspiracy theories, published an  article  with the headline: "Whit...

The fed funds effective rate, currently set at 2.4 percent, is the Federal Reserve’s key policy rate. The market move suggests investors believe the U.S. central bank will not be able to continue to tighten monetary policy as its forecast suggests, after having lifted benchmark interest rates four times in 2018. “This is a big deal,” said Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets. SPONSORED “The market is effectively saying that at some point in the next 24 months, the Fed is going to have to not only stop hiking, but actively start easing.” Treasury yields fell on Thursday after data showed a significant drop in U.S. manufacturing activity, extending overnight losses prompted by a revenue warning issued by Apple ( AAPL.O ) that sent investors fleeing to safe-haven instruments. A report from the Institute of Supply Management showed that U.S. factory activity slowed more than expected in December. The ISM index fell to 54.1 from 59.3 in Novembe...

From Popular Mechanics Taiwan thinks it needs new long-range weapons to keep China at bay, and now it has an innovative (if weird) solution. The nation is reportedly pulling engines out of old fighter jets to figure out how to make one for a cruise missile. The J85 turbojet engines in question come from Northrop F-5E/F jets, called the "Tiger II." Produced in the 1970s, the Tiger II was a low-cost multi-role jet in the same vein as today’s F-16. The F-5E/F had one engine, a  General Electric J85-GE-21 ,  a design that is still around: A variant of the J-85 powers the U.S. Air Force’s T-38 trainer, and another version will  power  Boom’s upcoming 50-passenger supersonic jet. Photo credit: MANDY CHENG - Getty Images More Over the years, Taiwan bought or produced 308 Tiger IIs, including 242 single seat -E versions and 66 two seat -F versions. Now a  report in the Taiwanese press states that Taiwan’s Chinese Academy of Sciences, in conjunction with th...

Lifetime is going ahead with plans for "Surviving R. Kelly" amidst the threat of legal action. As reported,  R. Kelly  threatened to sue Lifetime if they went ahead with the airing of a docuseries that paints him in a sadistic light. It turns out, Lifetime is not intimated by R. Kelly's legal jaunt and is prepared to go ahead with the series premiere tonight at 9 pm, just as planned. Reps for the television network relayed their fortuitous message to TMZ,  in the hopes  their memo would reach the widest possible audience. Admittedly, Lifetime is siding with the women who have mounted accusations against R. Kelly over the years -  the docuseries should reflect that. "Lifetime has always been a brand that champions women’s stories," they reiterated as their grandstanding mission. The new series titled "Surviving R. Kelly" will feature testimonies from members of R. Kelly's inner circle, past and present. Besides posting a certifiable cease ...

AARP will present its 18th annual Movies for Grownups Awards on Feb. 4 in Beverly Hills with M AARP The Magazine   announced the nominees for its 18th annual Movies for Grownups Awards today and among the standouts are three nominations for Jon Chu's   Crazy Rich Asians , a pair of nods for Ryan Coogler's   Black Panther  and a surprise four nominations for Kenneth Branagh's   All is True,  a film that had not yet gained much traction during awards season.  The latter pic — Branagh's take on the final days of William Shakespeare — scored mentions for best director, best supporting actress (Judi Dench), best supporting actor (Ian McKellen), and best grownup love story. Speaking of surprises, Sandra Bullock, who toplines Netflix's  buzzworthy   Bird Box , will compete in the lead actress category against Glenn Close ( The Wife ), Viola Davis ( Widows ), Nicole Kidman ( Destroyer ) and Julia Roberts ( Ben Is Back ).  In the best ac...