Weekend Digest: The self-driving Uber’s, Clinton crystal ball and editing genes at home edition

TV PREVIEW
On this week’s TV edition of Talk Business & Politics, which airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on KATV Channel 7 in Central Arkansas and in Northeast Arkansas on KAIT-NBC, Sundays at 10 a.m.:

• Talk Politics
Dramatic moves in the Presidential race this week. Campaign shake-ups, new revelations about both campaigns, and a narrowing path and timeline for the race’s trajectory to change. Politico’s Katie Glueck joins us to talk politics.

• Congressional Effort
Second District Democratic Congressional candidate Dianne Curry explains why she’s jumped in the race and what she’ll fight for.

• Major Growth
And Mike Malone. The longtime leader of the Northwest Arkansas Council is moving on to a new endeavor with the Walton family. Malone discusses the growth and opportunities for the fastest growing region of the state.

Plus, we’ll recap our daily show interviews of the last week and go inside the numbers for a different look at the week in politics.

TRAVIS KALANICK’S BET ON UBER’S SELF-DRIVING CARS
“I can’t be wrong.”

“Travis Kalanick has to get Uber’s bet on self-driving cars right,” says Business Insider.

“It starts with understanding that the world is going to go self-driving and autonomous,” he told Business Insider in an interview. ” So if that’s happening, what would happen if we weren’t a part of that future?  If we weren’t part of that autonomy thing?  Then the future passes us by basically, in a very expeditious and efficient way,” he said.

“On Thursday, Uber took a step into that future when it announced that Pittsburgh riders will be able to take free rides later this month in their self-driving cars that it’s been developing.”

“It’s not just a bet on passenger cars, but a belief that self-driving technology will change everything.  This summer, Uber bought Otto, a self-driving truck startup, so it can get into the trucking business as well.”

For the full read, follow this link.

ARTISANAL SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM FINDS ITS SWEET SPOT
“Rose and Warren Schwartz both have chef backgrounds but they attribute the idea to opening an artisanal soft serve ice cream shop in Los Angeles to a stop at a Dairy Queen during a family vacation,” says Marketplace.

“Originally we wanted to open up just hard ice cream, just by scoop,” said Rose Schwartz. “But then we realized in L.A., there’s awesome ice cream everywhere you look. It’s saturated. So we were out on vacation, and we decided to walk into a Dairy Queen just to get some soft serve, and we’re like, no one does chef-flavors, chef-driven soft serve.”

From that initial idea, it took the couple two years to open the doors to Magpies Softserve. Rose spearheaded research and development. Instead of using the traditional pre-made soft serve powdered mixes, Rose and Warren developed their own recipe for the soft serve mixture and flavors like malted milk chocolate, corn almond, peanut butter pretzel and Thai tea.

But it wasn’t easy getting there, and the family became the taste-testers.

Go inside for the full read on this “sweet” success story.

LESSONS FROM THE GUY WHO RECRUITED 9,000 STAFFERS FOR THE OLYMPICS
“Paul Modley was given the challenge of a lifetime when the talent recruiter was asked to help hire 9,000 paid staff on behalf of the London Organizing Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” posts Fast Company.

“If the sheer volume and time constraint weren’t enough of a challenge, finding staff for the Olympics included some additional requirements, such as local hiring quotas and diversity goals, during a run-up to the games that saw widespread rioting and negative press.”

Now a global client partner with talent recruiting firm Alexander Mann Solutions, Modley often draws on the lessons he learned in the lead-up to 2012 when advising companies on how to ramp up their recruiting efforts in a short period of time.

Find out about those “lessons learned” by clicking this link.

A GOOD QUESTION PRESENTED BY HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
It asks, “Why are we still classifying companies by industry?”

“For more than 60 years, investors, analysts, business leaders, and even governments, have classified companies based on industries. First there were Standard Industry Classification codes, which were introduced in 1937, then the North American Industry Classification System, and now we have Standard and Poor’s Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).”

Even though these systems are updated regularly, we can no longer rely on standards and measures that were developed in a different age to reflect today’s realities — especially when we’re evaluating tech firms.

“Times have changed. Industry walls are disintegrating at a rapid pace. Over the past five years, Apple and Google have made significant moves in the automotive, healthcare, media, and smart home markets, among many others. They have expanded far beyond the “Information Technology” tag attached to them by GICS. Today, technology is just a standard part of corporate infrastructure, like operations or marketing. It’s not an industry in itself.”

So instead of focusing on vertical industries, it’s time to look at business models instead. To help begin this transformation, our research discovered four simple ways that companies create growth and value.

Find out more here.

CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTS ‘CLINTON CLEARS 270’
According to The Hill, “Hillary Clinton gets 348 electoral votes to Donald Trump’s 190 in the latest edition of the University of Virginia’s Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics.”

The projection site also counts Clinton as having 273 electoral votes from safe states and likely Democratic states, which puts her over the 270-vote threshold needed to win the presidency for the first time.

“The Crystal Ball moved New Hampshire from leans Democrat to likely Democrat in the edition published on Thursday because the Democratic nominee has a 7- to 8-point lead according to polls in the state.”

The GOP nominee has the potential to make plays in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa, they said.

For more on this story, click on this link.

HOW THE TRUMP-BANNON ALLIANCE TOOK SHAPE
“When Steve Bannon first met Donald Trump, the idea of a presidential campaign was only beginning to take shape,” says Real Clear Politics.

“Trump and Bannon crossed paths occasionally at conservative events as each laid the groundwork for his own ambitious project. Trump hoped to sell himself to conservative activists as a credible candidate for president down the line; Bannon, meanwhile, signed on in 2012 as chief executive of Breitbart News.”

“Bannon would also launch a radio show, on which Trump appeared as a regular guest; when the program moved under the Breitbart banner in 2014, Trump was Bannon’s first interview. In this election, the site has helpfully amplified Trump’s message and defended him against attacks.”

That strategic alliance bore fruit in spectacular fashion Wednesday, when Trump named Bannon as his campaign’s chief executive officer, supplanting campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Trump also announced that Kellyanne Conway, a pollster who had already been advising him, would be promoted to campaign manager.

The news sent shockwaves through Republican circles, suggesting Trump has decided against moderating his tone for the general election, instead favoring the sort of brash – some would call it reckless – populism that Bannon has championed from the outside.

In addition the Trump camapaign had another shake up as Kellyanne Conway, a pollster who had already been advising him, would be promoted to campaign manager.

Follow this link for the complete story and analysis.

CLINTON CAMPAIGN GOES NUCLEAR ON HEALTH RUMORS
“Hillary Clinton’s campaign is pushing back even harder Thursday on multiple ‘deranged conspiracy theories’ about her health, as one top aide put it earlier in the week, as Donald Trump continues to stoke doubts about the Democratic nominee’s ‘mental and physical stamina’,” reports POLITICO.

As news broke Wednesday about the shakeup in Trump’s campaign, including the hiring of Stephen Bannon from Breitbart as its chief executive and the promotion of pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager, the Drudge Report blared a report about — pillows. Not just any pillows, but cushions that, as a link to the Tuesday article from the right-leaning Heat Street stated, “propped up” the former secretary of state while she recorded a podcast for her campaign. The same piece went on to show Clinton seated on various other pillows in public appearances. “The pillows provide much needed support,” the article concluded, without making any explicit inferences about Clinton’s health or recently circulated documents purporting to be from the Democratic nominee’s doctor showing her in dire condition. (Factheck.org has debunked the documents as fake.)

“The issue of Clinton’s health has percolated in certain circles, including on Hannity’s shows since her concussion in late 2012 after her doctor said she fainted as a result of dehydration caused by a stomach virus. (On his Aug. 9 broadcast of his radio show, he speculated that Clinton may have had a “stroke.”) The Clinton campaign has girded itself for battle against such theories, particularly after the hiring of Bannon from Breitbart, which has run multiple articles speculating about her health.”

And on Thursday, chief Clinton strategist Joel Benenson mocked Trump’s obsession with his opponent’s energy and health, telling MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that it “must be driving his ego crazy that she’s outworking him, out-thinking him, connecting better with the American voters about the issues that matter in their life.”

Read POLITICO’s story on how the Clinton camp will be focusing on these “ludicrous” allegations by clicking here.

THE KNIGHT OF HIS POLITICAL ROUNDTABLE: JOHN McLAUGHLIN
Daily News posts, “John  McLaughlin, who died Tuesday, was a broadcasting legend. For 34 years he hosted the syndicated public affairs program ‘The McLaughlin Group’ — a show that basically reinvented the panel-discussion format on television.”

Mort Zuckerman of the New York Daily News writes, “The program always had the same format — four panelists and John serving as ringmaster, introducing each topic with a provocative commentary and then inviting, and indeed provoking, spirited discussion.

The show had two conservative commentators, with Pat Buchanan being the most long-lasting, and two others, a centrist such as I was, and others who were on the left of American politics, personified by Eleanor Clift, who had the longest tenure on the show.

John’s signature trademarks included the use of nicknames for his guests, theatrical openings and closings of discussions, and a final “predictions” segment that often proved prescient in anticipating public events and politics both national and international.”

The show was hugely popular from the beginning, and at one point aired on more than 300 network affiliates and PBS stations, as well as in the United Kingdom and other European countries. John’s forceful personality and the lively discussion became part of popular culture. The show was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live,” and John appeared as himself in several films, including “Dave,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Independence Day,” and “War, Inc.” to mention a few.

Follow this link for a beautiful story on the late “Knight of His Political Roundtable.”

RIO 2016: 30 0F THE MOST INCREDIBLE OLYMPIC PHOTOS SO FAR
As the 2016 Rio Olympics begin to wind down, The Washington Post has published “The most stunning images from a wide variety of events since the beginning of the Olympics.”

Go to this link to be amazed.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ANYONE CAN EDIT GENES AT HOME?
“Right now, for just $140, you can get your hands on one of the most powerful gene-editing tools known to science. You don’t even have to go out of your way, either. The ODIN do-it-yourself CRISPR kit, as it’s called, will ship it to your front door,” posts DigitalTrends.

The project is the brainchild of ex-NASA scientist Josiah Zayner, who left the agency earlier this year to sell CRISPR kits from his Castro Valley, California apartment. After raising nearly $71,500 on Indiegogo, he turned to the ODIN full time.

Zayner is one of an international community of biohackers who want to democratize science. Biology and the body are their playgrounds. They ask why experiments should be restricted to academic institutions and why sluggish processes of federal approval should stall scientific discoveries. Thanks to many biohackers, technologies that were once locked in the ivory tower are now available to practically anyone.

For more on this most intriguing story, connect here.

YOUTUBE STARS ARE NOW BEING USED FOR NORTH KOREAN PROPAGANDA
“Lots of strange things happen on YouTube. Rashomon-like retellings of the same birthday party, over and over again. People eating candy and calling it entertainment. Casey Couture. But right now, something especially strange is happening on Google’s great video platform, something I never thought I’d see, and yet probably should have seen coming: a popular YouTuber is gallivanting around North Korea. And he’s loving it!” reports Vanity Fair.

But as its pointed out, the YouTuber, 33-year-old Louis Cole’s work “all seems highly suspicious.”

Find out why at this link.