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17/07/2017

Bold, New 2018 Honda Accord Adds Tech and Turbos, Subtracts V6 and Coupe

It aims to standout with its styling, powertrain, and interior space

With the 2018 Honda Accord, the automaker is betting that midsized-sedan buyers care more about gaining a couple of extra inches of rear legroom than losing a pair cylinders with the departure of the V6-powered model.

The Accord joins other midsized sedans that have relinquished their V6s. That’s not a surprise, because few customers chose the V6 versions. The sculpted exterior gives the popular family sedan a more dramatic, upscale look in a competitive field that includes rivals such as the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Optima, and Hyundai Sonata. There is no coupe for this generation.

The Accord wasn’t updated just to make a styling statement. It’s the car’s 2.1-inch stretch in wheelbase that frees up 2.5 inches of legroom for rear-seat occupants. Honda has also positioned the Accord seats lower and slightly more inward to improve shoulder, hip, and headroom. We’ll weigh in on that once we evaluate the car.

But this increase in cabin stretch-out space doesn’t mean the Accord is stepping up in size. The 2018 Accord is 0.3 inches shorter, 0.3 inches wider, and 0.5 inches lower than the model it replaces. And it’s more than 100 pounds lighter thanks to weight-saving measures in the powertrain and chassis.

Two turbocharged, four-cylinder engines are available. The entry-level version is a 1.5-liter that’s shared with the Honda CR-V SUV and Civic compact car. Delivering 192-horsepower—7 hp more than the previous Accord’s 2.4-liter, four-cylinder—this base engine employs a continuously variable transmission. A six-speed manual transmission is also available on the Sport trim, a rarity in this category.

Stepping up to the turbocharged 2.0-liter brings 252 hp and an all-new, 10-speed automatic transmission. This version offers a six-speed manual on the Sport trim as well. According to Honda, this is the first time a 10-speed gearbox has been applied to a front-wheel-drive car, although it’s also available on the Odyssey minivan. But the push-button gear selector with the automatic transmission can be a nuisance, as we have experienced in the Acura TLX and other Honda models.

It’s also worth noting that the Accord’s most powerful four-cylinder creates only 26 fewer hp than the 278 hp provided by the discontinued 3.5-liter V6.

A hybrid version, powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and two electric motors, will also be included in the Accord lineup. Honda will release the hybrid’s power output and economy ratings closer to its fall launch.

One key detail about the hybrid we do know is that Honda engineers have managed to fit its battery pack beneath the rear seat. This means that unlike the previous Accord hybrid, the 16.7- cu.-ft. trunk and split-folding rear seats remain unaffected by bulky, space-stealing batteries.

Eagle-eyed Accord fans will notice that the total cargo volume is up about 1 cu. ft. over the previous model. But it doesn’t take a diehard Honda fan to spot the major changes made to the dashboard and infotainment system of this Accord.

Honda boasts about the presence of physical volume and tuning knobs for the infotainment system. It may seem like an anachronistic design detail, but it’s one that’s clearly a response to criticism that Honda’s current system is too fussy to use, with unintuitive touch-screen controls for simple tasks.

This new system was introduced with the 2018 Odyssey. It’s compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Available telematics include geofencing, remote diagnostics, and stolen-vehicle tracking, similar to GM’s OnStar.

Above average safety ratings have been a hallmark of the Accord—and they remain a vital consideration for consumers cross-shopping midsized sedans. The new Accord comes with standard safety equipment such as a collision-mitigation braking system, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control with low-speed follow (the car will follow the path of the car in front of it at low speed), traffic-sign recognition, rearview camera, and lane-keep assist.

Optional features include blind-spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, a rear cross-traffic monitor, and a driver-awareness monitor.

The new Accord goes on sale in the fall and is available in LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Touring trim levels, depending on which engine is chosen.

The Accord is one of the better midsized sedans. It is well-equipped and competitively priced, and it performs well. It handles responsively, though the ride can be a bit choppy. It has a roomy and well-finished interior. The four-cylinder gets 30 mpg overall with its unobtrusive CVT. The 3.5-liter V6 is lively and refined, and gets a decent 26 mpg overall. But the infotainment system on EX and above versions is unintuitive. Standard automatic climate control is a nice feature, but the LX lacks a power seat. The Accord Hybrid has an EPA rating of 48 mpg combined. The previous-generation Hybrid operated smoothly, but sacrificed a lot of trunk space.

David Davis returns from Brexit talks after lightning Brussels trip

David Davis, second from right, and Michel Barnier, second from left, at the meeting on Monday morning

David Davis, the UK’s Brexit minister, took a break from cabinet infighting on Monday to make a lightning trip to Brussels, albeit one mainly notable for an awkward photo opportunity.

After his arrival at the EU’s headquarters on Monday morning, the European Commission released pictures

of Mr Davis sitting opposite his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, with their respective teams. The meeting marked the start of the second round of talks over the UK’s departure from the EU.

While the EU Commission negotiators each sat with a stack of briefing papers in front of them, the UK delegation had none, leading to speculation on Twitter as to whether they had actually brought any. British diplomats said the documents were still in Mr Davis’s bag at the time the photo was taken

At a brief press conference with Mr Barnier earlier in the morning, the Brexit secretary said that this week’s talks would delve “into the substance of the matter,” and include discussions on Britain’s EU exit bill and citizens rights.

The two sides are planning for four days of negotiations, with Mr Davis returning to Brussels on Thursday to take stock of progress and make preparations for the next round of talks.

The UK minister left Brussels at around midday Brussels time, three hours after he arrived at the commission, with technical work to continue this afternoon in his absence.
The upheaval has even sparked concerns in Brussels. “It’s a mess. Nobody would want to see them like this,” said one European diplomat handling Brexit.
While Mr Barnier will hold a press conference at the close of talks on Thursday, Mr Davis’s team has yet to confirm whether the minister will join him.

31/10/2016

The McLaren 570S is an outrageously fun all-out supercar, complete with beetle-wing doors and 562 horsepower turbocharged engine.

But what if you want to carry some luggage? Tying it to the roof just would not do. It would look dumb and the aerodynamics would be awful.

That's why McLaren came out with the 570GT. It has a small luggage compartment behind the seats and more storage between the front wheels. McLaren engineers re-tuned the suspension a touch for a comfier ride, too, which will come in handy if you're going on a long trip.
McLaren cars offer a mix of immediate responsiveness and feel like fast, expensive go-karts. But they're refined enough so that you're not punished for your fun. But I always thought a little more practicality and comfort might be good. So it seemed like the McLaren 570GT was the car I'd been waiting for, if I could overlook its $200,000 price tag.

The 570GT's "more comfortable" seats are still pretty slim if you're used to a family car. There's not much padding and the driver sits at roughly sidewalk level. The dashboard is, likewise, minimal. A lot of things are handled using an iPad-like touch screen. Our test car's gigantic sunroof kept that screen bathed in glare about half the time. I'm told that cars built later have a shade that can solve that irritating problem.

The steering wheel provides ample feel of the road and the car responds immediately, and precisely, to each movement. With a relatively small 3.8-liter V8 engine tucked in right behind the seats, the 570GT makes you feel like a part of the machine. You twitch, it twitches. You swing your arms, the car swings. And visibility is amazing over that sharply-sloped nose.

The one part of the McLaren that let me down in this intimate relationship was the brakes. Yes, the car did stop, and quickly enough, but there was more work involved than I was expecting.

Three driving modes for the car's power and suspension -- Normal, Sport and Track -- tweak things like the firmness of the suspension and the touchiness of the gas pedal. In the 570GT, McLaren set the Normal mode to be a bit extra-cushy. But on the highway and open roads, I never left the 570GT in Normal mode for long. When going fast, which is what you're supposed to do in this car, Normal mode just didn't feel right. Properly set, the McLaren 570GT was thrilling.

While the 570GT is comfortable for a McLaren, I had the opportunity to drive the ultimate comfy sports car right afterwards -- the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet, which goes for a mere $155,000. It also has storage space behind its seats and in its nose. And its tiny backseats can carry suitcases instead of children. Compared to the McLaren, it was almost a crossover SUV.

Was it as visceral and exciting as the McLaren? Not quite. It had much less power -- 420 horsepower from a turbocharged 6-cylinder engine -- and almost 300 pounds more weight. It also had all-wheel-drive which, while great for traction, tends to numb driving feel a bit.
Like the McLaren, the 911 had adjustable drive settings, but they worked better. I could drive it comfortably at any speed in any setting from Normal through Sport Plus without feeling out of sorts. The notable turbo "whoosh" from the 911's new engine will be a controversial addition for Porsche fans, but I enjoyed it. It's the sound of the future rushing toward you.

I still love a McLaren. But for the really long haul, I'm afraid the venerable and comfortable Porsche remains the car to beat says
Peter Valdes-Dapena

Meet the man who spent $9 million on a license plate

For high-rolling drivers in the United Arab Emirates, no car is complete without a single-digit license plate.

The oil-rich country's wealthy elite are willing to drop millions of dollars to get their hands on one.

Dubai property developer Balwinder Sahni wanted a highly coveted plate bearing the number 5. He wanted it so much, he bid 33 million dirhams ($9 million) for it at a government auction earlier this month.
It was one of the largest sums ever spent on a license plate, although still lower than the $14 million record set in 2008 by an Abu Dhabi businessman.

Sahni found that his big purchase also brought him a lot of attention. He says he can't go out in public without people stopping him and asking to take a photo -- and some aren't impressed, accusing him of wasting his money.
"It's hard, people giving comments without knowing the type of person I am," Sahni told CNNMoney. He described himself as "a simple man."

The single-digit plates now adorn two of his six Rolls Royce cars. (He also has two more of the luxury vehicles on order.)

It's also not the first time Sahni has spent serious money on a license plate. He secured a No. 9 plate with a winning bid of 24.5 million dirhams ($6.7 million) at a government auction last year.
Since Dubai has no income tax, Sahni says he sees the hefty license plate purchases as his contribution to the public coffers. He says he believes the money will go to charity and toward improving the city's infrastructure.
"I believe in giving back," he said. "This city has given me a lot."

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority declined to comment on how the proceeds from the license plate auctions are spent. The authority holds several a year. Bids can start in the millions of dirhams.
Private companies in the UAE are also trying to cash in on the license plate business. A secondary market where the more sought-after plates are traded has sprung up. "I always like to give myself a gift every year," he said. "When you work very hard, you need to present yourself something."

How to get a Toyota Prius without paying for it

Toyota wants to make it easy for car owners to turn their vehicles into profit-making machines.

The automaker is launching a 500-car pilot test in San Francisco this January that will let select Toyota (TM) owners seamlessly rent their vehicles through Getaround.

Getaround is a startup that helps drivers rent their cars to strangers for a few hours or even days. Currently 20% of cars on Getaround are Toyotas.

Toyota owners won't have to hide a key in their car for a prospective renter. Toyota has developed a "smart key box," a new device that allows a renter to unlock and start the vehicle from their smartphone. Anyone who owns a Toyota Prius or Lexus C200h is eligible.

Toyota owners will also be able to make lease payments directly from their Getaround earnings. And the automaker will consider a buyer's potential earnings on Getaround when determining whether they qualify to buy the vehicle. This benefit will only apply to Toyota owners who buy vehicles after January.
"It really empowers people who may not be able to afford transit, or want to access transit by leveraging the power of the sharing economy," Getaround CEO Sam Zaid said.
If the test program goes well, Toyota will sell the smart key box to existing Toyota owners. It hasn't announced pricing yet.
According to Zaid, the average San Francisco Prius owner renting their car on Getaround makes $500 a month. These Prius owners make their car available for renting 75% of the time, although is able to choose what hours of the day it's available.

"You're essentially getting a car for free," Zaid said. "The average person in San Francisco can get a new Prius as along they're willing to share it." Of course, a car owner using Getaround will still have to pay for gas, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. (When someone is renting the car, Getaround's insurance kicks in.)

Toyota's partnership with Getaround is the latest example of automakers exploring new forms of mobility. Earlier this year, GM (GM) invested $500 million in Lyft. Last month Ford (F) bought Chariot, a shuttle service, and it is sponsoring San Francisco's bikeshare system.

Brexit, be damned. Nissan commits to 7,000 U.K. jobs

Nissan was a vocal opponent of Brexit and warned that the U.K.'s split from Europe could hurt the economy. That was then. Now Nissan is recommitting itself to Britain.
The Japanese automaker, which operates the largest auto factory in the U.K., said it will bring production of its X-Trail vehicle to the U.K. and will continue producing Qashqai models in the country. The X-Trail is currently produced in Russia and Japan.The company's massive facility in Sunderland employs 7,000 people and produces over 470,000 vehicles per year. Nissan's commitment to new production at Sunderland, while still making the Qashqai there, means these 7,000 jobs are safe.
Nissan (NSANY) said it was convinced to keep production in the country after getting reassurances from the British government, though it wouldn't provide details.

Prime Minister Theresa May, in a statement Thursday, said only that "the government is committed to creating and supporting the right conditions for the automotive industry so it continues to grow."

Nissan committed on Thursday to produce the next version of its Qashqai vehicle in its U.K. plant in Sunderland.

Despite the rosy statements from Nissan and May, concerns persist that the U.K. could lose auto jobs as the government begins the long process of leaving the European Union.

Car makers, which often source parts from other areas of the EU for vehicles assembled in the U.K., fear Brexit could add costs and delays to their European operations through customs duties at the border. Nissan exports 80% of its U.K. production.

Meanwhile, the lower pound may make Britain more attractive for global manufacturers by lowering costs. The pound has crashed 19% versus the U.S. dollar since the Brexit referendum in June.

The automotive industry in the U.K. is worth about £72 billion ($88 billion) in annual sales, and about 814,000 British jobs depend on automakers.

Why a luxury watch is like a fine automobile -- and vice versa

Mechanical watches and automobiles have a lot in common.

A contemporary twin clutch paddle-shift transmission might be faster than a conventional manual gearbox, but I don't think it's more satisfying to drive.

An electronic watch might keep time to the hundredth of a second, but that's nowhere near as rewarding as that quiet moment when you wind the crown on a mechanical watch each evening before you go to bed.

You either get it or you don't.

It's very satisfying to double-clutch a non-synchronized manual gearbox on a Mercer, a Bugatti, or a Bentley, or quickly operate a gated shifter on a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, or Porsche. I enjoy the mechanicalness. It's that simple.

Here's why: When a battery goes dead on a digital watch, I think, "Oh, now I have to go somewhere and find a place that has this particular battery for my watch."

What if I'm on the road and I can't get to the store? Whereas, with my mechanical watches, all I do is turn the little thumbwheel, and it's back up. (If it's a Rolex, simple motion is all it takes.)

Jay Leno is a comedian and TV host, as well as an avid car and watch collector

Here, he explains his ongoing fascination with the mechanical -- both on the road and on his wrist

I've never tried to take apart and reassemble a watch the way I might work on a car engine or a carburettor, but I admire one guy who could: Rollie Free. On a Vincent Black Lightning in 1948 at Bonneville, he reached 147 miles per hour. Then he had an idea: To go even faster, he took off his leathers and rode in a prone position with his weight over the back wheel -- wearing just a bathing suit and sneakers.
He hit 150.313 mph, setting an American motorcycle land-speed record.But Free was not only a great motorcycle mechanic and rider; he was also a watchmaker and repairer. I have all his tools, and it's really impressive to open the toolbox and see all those intricate little pieces.

Rollie was the epitome of the connection between going fast and telling time: He could expertly tune his Vincent Black Lightning, a 1,000cc motorcycle with relatively large pistons -- yet he could also work on the gnat-sized pieces of a fine watch.

That's what made his motorcycles go so fast. He could tune them perfectly because he understood precision parts and knew how to work with tiny pieces.

A patient art form

Mechanical devices are just inherently fascinating. People who know nothing about fine mechanical watches can still see their quality. An electronic watch with a flashing digital light? Please.

Anyone who turns over a mechanical watch, especially one with a visible movement, will gaze at it for 10, 15, even 30 seconds because it resonates quality and reflects the effort that went into making it.
My first fine watch was a Jaeger-LeCoultre; I still have it. And my first real watch was a Seiko sports watch with three dials: one with the time, one with seconds, and the other with minutes. I'd use it to time my act when I was starting out. I still wear that watch. If you watch "Jay Leno's Garage," you'll see it on my wrist. It's got to be 30 years old, and I've had to service it only once.

Overall, I've got probably 100 watches. Like automobiles, paintings, even buildings, the first thing you notice with a watch is how it looks. Are the numbers cool? Is the typeface interesting?

Another good sign is a second hand that moves chronometrically -- click, click, click -- like the five-inch Smith's speedometer on a Vincent Black Shadow. That says quality, and it's why so many watches now copy the dashboards of famous automobiles.

Watchmaking seems to be a lost art, perhaps because it's a very patient art.

It goes back centuries, after all. I have a chain-drive pocket watch from the 1700s. One day I dropped it, and the tiny chain broke. To find someone nowadays who can fix that chain and make a new link . . . it's crazy how hard that is. To think that the watch was made without computers or any of the sophisticated instruments we have now, it's incredible.
I could (like a mechanical watch) go on and on. I love them, the same way I love any fine mechanical device.

This is an edited excerpt from a new book called "Drive Time: Watches Inspired by Automobiles, Motorcycles and Racing".

Time for FBI director Comey to go

Donald Trump's oft-repeated claim that the FBI's investigation of "Crooked Hillary" and the presidential election itself were and are "rigged," seems to have thrown FBI Director James Comey into a state of panic. In foolishly making a public announcement that the bureau is reviewing newly discovered emails related to Hillary Clinton's personal server, he has inserted himself yet again into the presidential campaign.

The FBI virtually never announces the commencement or termination of ongoing criminal investigations or the discovery of new evidence. Such inquiries are often conducted in relative secrecy, enabling a more efficient investigation.

It is not unusual for investigations in so-called "white collar" cases to go on for years, luring the target into an unfounded belief that he or she is in the clear. Then the hammer falls. A grand jury indictment is announced by the Department of Justice and the handcuffs are swiftly employed.

The old, sensible FBI rule book apparently has been thrown on the trash heap this year. While undoubtedly attempting to be open and "transparent," to protect the reputation of the FBI, the FBI director has tossed a Molotov cocktail into the presidential race.

The FBI was now taking "appropriate investigative steps. ... to assess their importance to our investigation." What in the world does this mean? One thing it means is that this issue will move to front and center during the final days of the presidential campaign.

Voters must now be subjected to endless speculation in the press and explicit accusations from the Trump campaign and other Republican candidates that Hillary Clinton is a "criminal" aided and abetted by a rigged FBI and Justice Department. Comey's "openness and transparency" will blow up in his face and further tarnish the FBI's reputation. He has reinserted the Bureau into the political process.

The director probably feared that leaks would lead to speculation that a renewed Hillary investigation was underway. In trying to get ahead of criticism of the FBI for jumping to a conclusion too quickly and closing the original Hillary Clinton email investigation, he has only made matters worse and dropped a huge new issue into the presidential campaign, 11 days before the election.

In truth, investigations open and close routinely and secretly when new evidence comes to light. Each new scrap in a pile of useful or useless evidence is not announced in real time, like a scandal in a scripted reality TV Show. Perhaps it's time for the embattled FBI director who seems to have forgotten how to conduct a proper investigation to resign.

Comey's public announcement in July that the FBI had concluded its investigation regarding Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server in the conduct of official State Department business and would not recommend the lodging of criminal charges was historically unprecedented in a high-profile political case.

The decision to commence or terminate a criminal investigation by the FBI is rarely disclosed. In the case of high-profile political figures such as presidential candidates, the process normally requires that an FBI "recommendation" based on the evidence it has gathered must be forwarded to the Justice Department, where a career, nonpolitical unit reviews the matter, making a recommendation to the attorney general, who makes the final decision.

This sensible process was thrown into disarray when former President Bill Clinton made a surprise airport tarmac visit to none other than the sitting attorney general, Loretta Lynch. Both parties claimed that they engaged in harmless small talk involving their families and, of course, nothing about the FBI's investigation of Hillary's classified document and email server practices.

The meeting was utterly improper and the attorney general recognized this, promptly asserting that she would not personally make the decision about the Hillary Clinton email investigation, though strangely she would review the work of her subordinates before any public announcement of prosecution or non-prosecution was made.

This was then followed by the highly unusual announcement of "no criminal charges" and the end of the investigation by the FBI director. In the very rare case where an announcement of "no criminal charges" occurs, the prosecutors in the Justice Department would make such an announcement because Justice, not the FBI, makes prosecutorial decisions. The FBI makes a recommendation; Justice makes the decision.

Comey, while presumably attempting to insulate the Justice Department and the attorney general from claims that the Bill Clinton tarmac meeting had corrupted the investigative process, took the Justice Department and Loretta Lynch off the hook and made the announcement himself.

In defending the statement he made today, Comey might assert that he was attempting to clarify his prior Congressional testimony. But that elaboration on his testimony could legitimately have waited until the FBI completed its analysis of the new emails. He has been around long enough to understand that any new FBI statements regarding the email scandal during the final 11 days of the campaign had a high probability of improperly placing the Bureau into the political process.

Trashing the Justice and FBI rule books in the interest of "openness" is likely to put the FBI front and center in one of the most contentious presidential races in recent US history. J. Edgar Hoover loved to influence elections, but he had the good sense to keep quiet about it.

'Brexit anxiety' hits advertising

The world's biggest advertising firm is reporting signs of "Brexit anxiety."

WPP said almost all its British businesses reported slower growth in the third quarter, with sales up 2.7%, compared with 3.4% in the previous quarter.

"Perhaps, the first signs of Brexit anxiety," the company said in a statement.
WPP's CEO, Martin Sorrell, had campaigned against Britain's decision to leave the European Union. He said the uncertainty could be a "growth killer."
WPP said global revenue was up 23.4% at £3.6 billion ($4.4 billion) in the third quarter compared with the same period last year. WPP (WPPGF) stock jumped 3.5% in early trading in London.
The company said sales growth is down partly because of the collapsing value of the pound since the Brexit referendum in June.
Related: U.K. economy shrugs off Brexit fears

The currency has lost nearly 19% since Britain voted to leave the EU. Most of WPP's sales are outside the U.K., and the company benefits from the cheaper pound because its services are cheaper for customers abroad.

But in the long term, "it's going to make Britain a tougher place to trade," Sorrell said.
"I tend to look at the currency as being the country's stock price," he said. "And effectively, the U.K.'s stock price is down by 15% to 20%, and we are going to have to pay for that in terms of increased cost of imports."
The government has started to unveil its Brexit plans in the last few weeks. Talks with the EU will begin before March, and the exit itself will happen two years later.
There are still no details about how the government plans to approach the negotiation and what kind of trade deals will it seek.

Bracing for the final stretch

The most unpredictable, dumbfounding and just plain nasty presidential campaign in modern times is heading into its final full week.

Hillary Clinton, who just three days ago seemed on a glide path to a date with history, is suddenly on the defensive. The former secretary of state is again tripped up by her ill-fated decision to use a private email server during her time in office.

The FBI review of new emails from longtime Clinton aide Huma Abedin found on the computer of her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, ensures that an issue that has dogged the Democratic nominee from the beginning of her campaign will be front-and-center through the end.

Democrats are furious at FBI Director James Comey for reviving the issue. Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump is seizing on a late and surprising chance to unite a GOP splintered by his controversial candidacy.

Some surveys suggest a tightening race, though CNN's Poll of Polls has Clinton ahead by five points.

The question now is whether this hurricane of a campaign will have a final, stunning twist -- a November surprise -- before it finally blows itself out.

What Clinton must do

Clinton thought she was in the clear when FBI Director James Comey stood before the cameras in July to announce he wasn't recommending criminal charges stemming from her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.

But now the emails are back, letting Trump gin up crowds already screaming "lock her up" with a fresh spin on long ingrained perceptions that she is dishonest, secretive and steeped in scandal.

So Clinton's campaign is aiming to turn the spotlight back on Trump, in line with her campaign-long effort to brand him as morally and intellectual unfit for the presidency.

"They're going to have to get tougher on Trump in the final week than they planned to do," CNN political analyst David Axelrod said on "State of the Union" Sunday. "They were coming in for a gentle landing and now I think you're going to see them challenging Trump both in their media and in her comments from now until the end."

On Sunday, Clinton lambasted her rival over claims he's a phony philanthropist as a preview of new character attacks to come.

Clinton will also rely on her superior ground game and polling that suggests she still has several routes to surpass the 270 electoral votes she needs.

She'll travel in the coming days to Florida and Ohio, where she's in a tight race with Trump, and North Carolina where she is leading. By winning any one of that trio, Clinton can block Trump's path to the presidency.

She'll also make a raid into Arizona, a traditionally red state that appears competitive a week, Clinton will dispatch former President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to battleground states -- leveraging her advantage over Trump, who lacks such high profile surrogates.

But there are nervous days ahead. She will be now live in fear of another damaging twist to the email saga, more campaign inside gossip from the WikiLeaks hack of John Podesta's email account. There's also a release of more Clinton emails from the State Department scheduled for Friday.

Coping with the Comey letter

Many Democrats believe the character issue is already baked into polls that show she is the favorite to win the election. But her plans for a smooth run in to Election Day are in tatters and her campaign has been forced into a tactical shift, unleashing its full fury on the FBI chief.

"This is something that has been tossed into the middle of the campaign. We would have preferred that that not happen, but now that it has happened," Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta said on "State of the Union." "Mr. Comey really needs to come forward and explain why he took this unprecedented step."

But spending time attacking the FBI director is time that could be used making a closing argument for Clinton -- or attacking Trump.

For the moment, she is using a move many supporters see as yet another unfair assault on her character as a rallying cry to drive up Democratic turnout.

"There have been ups and downs in all that we have gone through over the years and even in this campaign, but I want you to know I am focused on one thing: you," Clinton told supporters in Florida on Sunday. "There's a lot of noise and distraction but really comes down to what kind of future we want."

What Trump must do to come back

In the hours after Comey's Friday bombshell, Trump and top aides could barely contain their glee. A campaign that had seemed headed for certain defeat grabbed gratefully onto the late October gift, immediately using the revelations to bolster the Republican nominee's theme that Clinton is a crook, broke the law with her email server and is symptomatic of a corrupt political status quo.

He was still laying it on thick by Sunday, reveling in the new energy the late twist lent his campaign amid signs GOP voters are uniting.

"Her criminal action was willful, deliberate, intentional and purposeful. Hillary set up an illegal server for the obvious purpose of shielding her criminal conduct from public disclosure and exposure," Trump said in Las Vegas.

But it is one thing for Trump to welcome a political gift. It's another thing for him to use it effectively. His presidential bid has been plagued by his failure to turn a trove of material detrimental to Clinton into sustained attacks.

He's been repeatedly undermined by his own indiscipline and tendency to detonate controversies that harm him more than his opponent.

"The problem with the Trump campaign all along is that they've had lots of potential material, a lot of grist for the mill that he has failed to prosecute," said Mark McKinnon, former strategist for President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain on "State of the Union."

"Trump needs to just for once maintain a clear and constant focus for the next 10 days on the issues that can move the dial."

To mount a stunning comeback on November 8, Trump must also improve his position on the political map.

He must forge ahead in Florida and Ohio, cut his deficit to Clinton in North Carolina, capitalize on an advantage in Iowa, then find a way to put states like New Hampshire and Nevada, that went for Obama in play. He could carve out a decisive edge by making a big blue state like Pennsylvania or Michigan competitive — though polls suggest that is a long shot.

But Trump's team must also be wondering, even as they salivate over Clinton's woes, if there is one last big shock awaiting Trump, following October Surprise controversies over claims he sexually assaulted women and an "Access Hollywood" tape exposing his lewd language that left him so far behind his rival that he starts the campaign's last week possibly too far behind to catch up.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte: God told me to stop swearing

Photos :Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

After US president Barack Obama said he would raise extrajudicial killings in a meeting with Duterte, the Philippines President responded angrily on September 5, first in English then in Tagalog. As a result, Obama canceled the meeting

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, known for his -- ahem -- colorful language, swears he's going to stop swearing.

The inspiration for cleaning up his vocabulary came from God himself, Duterte said, as he was flying back to the Philippines from a state visit to Japan.

"Everybody was asleep, snoring, but a voice said... 'If you don't stop (cursing), I will bring this plane down now.' And I said, 'Who is this?' So, of course, it's God," the President recounted after he landed Thursday at Davao International Airport.

"So I promised God not to express slang, cuss words and everything," said Duterte -- who recently questioned the existence of God -- adding that a "promise to God is a promise to the Filipino people."

When those in attendance for his arrival speech began to applaud his declaration, he stopped them.

"Don't applaud too much, I might fail," he said.

Philippines' Duterte on foreign troops: 'I want them out'

Duterte's vernacular has grabbed global headlines for its lack of, well, decorum.

He infamously called both President Barack Obama and Pope Francis a "son of a bitch," declared that the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines was a "gay son of a bitch" -- adding that the ambassador had "pissed him off" -- and told the European Union to "f*ck off," accompanied by the universally understood hand gesture.

After cursing Obama, Duterte expresses regret

Now the question is... how long can he keep his promise, dammit?

Italy earthquake: 6.6-magnitude tremor rocks nation's center

A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked central Italy on Sunday morning, injuring at least 20 people, in the strongest tremor to hit the country in more than three decades.

The earthquake follows tremors last week and comes on the heels of a devastating quake in August, which killed nearly 300 people and flattened entire villages.

Many others, however, are refusing to leave, some sleeping in their cars that they believe offer better protection than the roofs over their heads.

"These people don't want to leave their area because they are really linked in. There's a long tradition there, and they have some jobs, farmers and so on, so they decide to stay there," Tommaso Della Longa of the Italian Red Cross says.

"People need to understand they need to move from there, because the situation in this area is between mountains and valleys -- it's cold even now, and snow is coming in a few weeks," he said, adding it was difficult to set up support structures there.

Landslides caused the partial disruption of the course of the Nera River, and the river flooded a road to the village of Visso, already full of debris. Visso was one of the towns affected by a large earthquake Wednesday.

Technical teams inspected dams, officials said, but have not found any damage so far.

Morgan Kasmarik, an Australian journalist on vacation in the Italian capital with a friend, said "the whole city shook" when the quake struck.

"I was in bed, enjoying a Sunday lie-in, when I felt the room start to shake. Within seconds, the ground started to roll, like I was on a boat in choppy water," she said.

"We were both quite shaken as it was the first time either of us had ever experienced an earthquake. I'm pretty keen not to repeat the experience. (But) it didn't stop us, or the many other tourists from spilling into the streets to enjoy the beautiful day."

In central Italy, the people are accustomed to seismic events in their region, but not so many in such a short space of time.

CNN International meteorologist Derek Van Dam that Sunday's quake was Italy's strongest in 36 years and that Wednesday's temblors were "considered foreshocks" ahead of Sunday's "main earthquake."

Some 13 million people would have felt weak movement in the earth, Van Dam said, while those nearer the epicenter would have experienced strong jolts.

Sunday's earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to the US Geological Survey, making the epicenter relatively shallow. Generally, the more shallow the epicenter, the more a quake is felt at the earth's surface, and the more damage it is likely to cause.
Rescuers have expressed fear about possible mudslides and remained wary about the risk of bringing heavy equipment up narrow roads linking the towns, villages and hamlets in this hilly region of the country.

The two earthquakes on Wednesday -- which had magnitudes of 5.5 and 6.1 -- did not result in any reported deaths. But the destruction of nearby historic structures was widely seen as a loss to cultural heritage.

Powerful tremors on Wednesday and Thursday happened about 50 miles north of where a devastating quake killed nearly 300 people in August.

'American Horror Story' to do 'crossover' season

'American Horror Story' – Each season of "American Horror Story" has a different storyline, so binging this show is a bit like choosing your own adventure (or nightmare). Here are some more suggestions for binge-worthy shows and series.

If you think "American Horror Story" has done it all, think again.

Creator Ryan Murphy has announced he plans to combine two of the FX anthology series' previous themes for an upcoming "crossover" season.

"It's not going to be next season, but we're going to do a season that's a crossover between 'Murder House' and 'Coven,' which is very bizarre," Murphy told the crowd at Entertainment Weekly's PopFest Sunday.

The season will feature characters from both installments, he said.

Murphy said he's started approaching actors to see if they're available.

"American Horror Story: Murder House" was the first season of the franchise and starred Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, and Taissa Farmiga as a family who moved into a home with a dark past.

The New Orleans-set "Coven" was the third season and centered on a coven of Salem witches. It starred Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Frances Conroy and Jessica Lange.

Farmiga, Lange, Paulson and Evan Peters were among the actors who appeared in both seasons, but Murphy did not clarify how such a conflict would be handled in the crossover season.

The tricky planning involved in the crossover season will prevent it from being the next installment of the "American Horror Story" franchise, Murphy said.

He has not announced the theme for Season 7 of "American Horror Story."

The series is currently airing Season 6, the theme for which remained a secret until the first episode debuted in September.

Murphy is currently working on casting two upcoming seasons of Emmy-winning "American Crime Story" — one about Hurricane Katrina and another about the murder of Gianni Versace.

The latter was announced earlier this month.

Murphy said he was motivated to take on the death of the famed designer because he was always "very moved and freaked out" by his killing.

Versace was shot to death on the steps of his Miami home in 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

Murphy said the "manhunt season" will focus on how Versace's killer got away with being undetected long enough to kill Versace.

"The tragedy of the Versace murder was that it should not have happened," Murphy said. "[Cunanan] should have been caught by then, but he was not caught because he was targeting gay people and people didn't care."

The Versace season will film in April, while the Katrina installment will begin production in June.

"[It's a] really tragic story and I've always said the thing that makes me cry the most is lost potential or lost possibility," Murphy added. "And I think he was such an amazing force that was taken too soon, for reasons he shouldn't have been. That is a true crime story in America, so we're tackling it."