English practice

Social Security checks o get a tiny increase in 2017
Social security checks are abou get a litle bit bigger. Very litle.
Checks for 66 million beneficiaries will reise between 0.2% to 0.5% in 2017. That works out to beween $2.61 and %6.53 a monh more for the ypical retireem according to the American insitute for Economic Research, a nonpartisan think ank.
The average retirement benefit check is currenly $1,305.30 ,according to government figures.
This is by far the the smallest percentage increase of any year in which benfits ddid rise.
Bu it is better than 2016, when Social Security checks didn’t incease at all. There have only been three years without any increase at all since Social Secuirty’s cost-of-living adjustment was put in place in 1975 — 2010, 2011 and 2016.
Related : The best time to start aking Social Security.
In all three of those years, falling gasoline prices played a big role in capping inflation, which is the measure that Social Secuirty inreases are tied to.
The government won’t release the official cost of living adjustment until after the Sepember inflaion reading, which is due on Oc. 18. But the AIER’s estimates, which use government data, are typically on the mark.
The formula used o calculate Social Scurity benefits is somewhat flawed, since retirees typically do not drive as much as younger workers who commute to work. So hey don’t beneft as much from he lower gas prices. And reirees often spend a bigger proportion of their money on health care, which has seen prices rise faster than overall inflation.
At the same time, retirees get hurt b low interest rates, since many depned on saving for at least part of their living expenses.
Ex-Wells Fago worker : intimidation included no bathroom breaks.
Harassment, intimidation, even bathroom breaks denied. Tha’s some of the unconscionable behavior a former Wells Fargo worker drove five hours o confront a bank excutive abou.
nathan Todd Davis said at a California State Assembly hearing on the Wells Fargo fake account scandal that he filed 50 enthics complaints during his decade of working at Wells Fargo but nothing was ever done.
I have been harassed, iimidated, writen up and denied bathroom breaks, said Davis, who drove350 miles from his home in Lodi, California, to speak at the hearing.
The former Wells Fargo worker directed is compaints o David Galasso, a senior Wells Fargo executive who was filling in at the hearing for CEO John Stumpf.
he sales culture of Wells Fargo need o be picked apart, he said, standing at the podium but looking to his right to address galasso. Davis estimated that almost two-third of wells Fargo employees cheat the system due to unreasonble sales pressure.
After a decade at Wells Faro, Davis said he was fired in june 2016 for being 90 seconds late to work. The real problem, he said ,was that he never made it to management because I don’t cheat.
Related : I called the Wells Fargo ethics line and was fired.
Galasso, who serves as Wells Fargo’s head of community banking in Northern and Cenral California, did not address Davis’ comments directly.
Wells Fargo declined to comment on the individual allegations, but said in a statement that it tries to make every employee feel valued, rewarded and recognized.
The allegations by Davis echo ones made by other former and current Wells fago employees o CNNMoney. Afte regulators accused Wells Fargo of creaing as many as 2 million unauthorizd accouns, workers reached ou o lay he lame on he bank’s unealisic sales oals ha led many o cht.
Other former wells fargo workers believe hey were retaliated against afer he called the ethics line. The Labo Deparmen has since said it is reviewing whistleblower retaliation complaints against Wells Fargo.
Three very rich uys talk about Trump, taxes, and he vilified 1%
.Boone Pickns, wo made a forune onoil and naural gas, says he hasn’t paid any federal taxes in he las three years. And he says that’s as e tax code pemits.
Pickens made he disclosure about his tax bil o CNN’s Caol Cosello in a joint interview wih billionaires Ken Langne and leon Cooperman. The conversation ouched on the three men’s welt, their charitable work, and he current presidential elecion. Pickens, wo fell off the Forbes billionaires list in 2014, said he isn’t paying taxes because he is working off of large losses he posted in the past. Bu he stressed that he did pay millions in federal income tax in heyears beore hose losses.
Pickens, wo is 88, said hat since he urned 70, I have paid $675 million dollars in taxes.
The tree said that i is no a surprise if onald Trump took a $ 916 million loss in 1995 and didn’t pay axed for 18 years, as has been reported. They said such a iling would be standad perating procedure for man businesses.
Only a fool gives he governmn money it doesn’t have to. said cooperman, who made his fortune a Goldman Sachs and Omega Advisor. The SEC charged him wih insider trading last month, an allegation he denies.
All three said hey feel he top 1% in he country are vilified for their success, more than he ae admired or appreciated for the charitable donations they have made.
To show you how the world is turned upside down, said Coopermanm, Four years ago Presidn Obama successfully mad Romney’s success a liability.
All of the men said they have given away mor money than hey have spent on themselves, and that they will give away more money than they will elave for their cildren. But they are not apologizing fo the success hey have achieved.
Le me say someing very probably no poliically correct. i have been rich and I have been poor. Rich is better, said Langon, a co-fonder of ome Depo
Both Langone and Pckens siad hey back Trump in an  interview that was conducted before the conroversial Access Holly wood tape became pulic. Cooperman said he can’t support fellow billionaire rump in his elecion, bu h is not willing o vote for Hillar Clinon either.
I just may wast my vote and vote fo eiher Alfred E.Neuman o Mitt Romney on a write in he said, referring to the Mad Magazin mascot.
Pickens did express soem doubs aboutTrupm, adding that he would no have chosen Trump as nominee, But, he added My hisroy is that I ama change advocate. And I want change. So I’m ready to go with rump.
BMW’s self-balancing moocycle of tomorow
In the distant fuure, motorcycle riders will have no need of helmets or padded clohig. They also won’ need to put heir eet on the gorund when they sop. hat’s because, according to BMW, the moorcycle of the future will balance itself and will help the drive avoid crashes.
BMW, whcih is famous for moorcycles as wells as cars, unveiled a new concept motorcycle in California Tuesday. The BMW Motorrad Vision Next 100 offers a glimpse at what, BMW designers predict, motorcycles might be like decades from now. Bsically, they will offer all of the excitement of today’s bikes, but none of he danger.
Besides self-balancin wheels, so that a kickstand is needed only when the motorcycle is shut down, the bike has an electronic safety cage that communicates with oher veicels and road sensors to help it automaically avoid crashes.
This is a concept vehicle, so it’s unclear how much  of this stuff the bike BMW showed off cand actually do. It is also uncelar how long it will b before an actual poducion model o he moorcycle could do hese hings.
The concept BMW moorcycle is powerd by an electric motor rather than a gasoline engine. The electric motor still has the famous hsape of BMW’s flat-win engines wih the cylinders sticking ou the sides.
The bike’s flexible frame can bend as te bike is steered, eliminating the need for joins. The amount o power neede o steer the bike varies with he moorcycle’s speed,BMW said. When moving slowly, steering is light and easy. As speed increase, more force is neede to steer.
There are no raditional shock absorbers. The tires smooth the ride all by hemselves. They also have a variable tread that adjusts itself to suit differen road conditions.
Along wih the bike, BMW unveiled a set of equally ambitious clothes and goggles.
With no elmet neede, the goggles will keep wind, bugs and debris ou of the rider’s eyses while also providng all the inforamtion the ride needs. The type of data displayed insid he goggles will chaange based on where the rider looks. When looking straight down the road, no data is presented unless is needed to alert the driver to an emergency.
The suit iself contains no extra padding, since that’s not deemed necessary. I can warm or cool the rider as neede, and suppots the rider’s muscles to help prevent fatigue. Vibrating units in the ams and legs provide feedback for navigation or to alert the rider when the bike is leaning too far.
The bike is the las of the BMW Next 100 concpet vehicles being unveiled in celebration of BMW’s 100th anniversary. A futuristic shape-changing BMW car was unveiled in Munich last March. Futurisic self-driving Rolls-Royce and Mini models wer unveiled in London in June.
BMW owns olls-Royce and  Mini. BMW Motorrad is th German Luxury automaker’s motorcyle brand.
Comcast hit wih FCC’s biggest cable fine ever
Comcast is being forcd to pay the largest fine the FCC has ever levied aginst a cable operator. ITs offense : Charging customers for services and equipment hey didn’t ask for.
The company agreed t opay a $2.3 million civil penaly and o submit to a compliance plan, in which regulators will monior Comcast for the mext five years o ensure it clans up its act.
It is basic that a cable bill shoud include charges only for services and equipment ordered by the customer — nothing more and nothing less, Travis LeBlanc, chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement.
The FCC said it received over 1,000 complains from customers, who said Comcast cahrged them for premuin channels, cable boxes, DVRs or other producs that hey never ordered.
In many cases, he FCC said, customers expressly told Comcast hat they didn’t want the add on options, but they were charged anway.
Complaints also describe how customers spent significant time and enegy to atempt o remove the unauthorize charges and get refunds, te commission said.
The complaints spurred he FCC to launch an ivestigation nearly two years ago. oday’s setlement marks he conclusion of the probe.
Under the five-year compliance plan, Comcast must bgin sending cusomers special notifications every time a new charge o service is added o their bill. The company also has t oadd a way fo customers o easily block he addition of new services or equipment to hei accounts according to an FCC press release.
Related FCC votes o upgrad emergency smartphone alers
Comcast will also be required to compensate o address complaints from customers who havedisputed charges, and it will be barred rom referring an accoun to acollections or suspendign an accout that has a disputed charge.
Comcas agreed to the fine withou admitting any guilt.
The company did say Tuesday that he complaints stemmed from poor customer servic or human erro, and not a problematic policy or inentional worong doing
Comcast added that the issues were due to isolated eorrors or customer confusion, according to a statemen. We agree those issuesshould be fixed and are pleased to put this behind us and proceed wih hese cusomer service-0enhancing changes
lov o have a srong affecion for someone, wich can be combined with a song omanoc araction Susan loved her brother dearl.
I love you and want to marry you, Emily, he said.
to lke something very much
My kids love cartoons.
We’d love to own our own home.
love fall in love if you fall in love you begin o love someone She’s falln in love and made plans to marry.
You can write love/love from/all my love/lots of love beore your name at the end of letters to family and fiends.
A person who is in love  is experiencing a omanic attraction foranother person.
I think he is in love with Anna.
mind the aprt o a person that makes it possible for him or her o think, feel emotions, and understand things :
Her mind was full of what had happended the night before, and she just wasn’t concentraiong
Of course I’m telling the truth -you have such a suspicius mind.
I just said the first thing that came into my mid.
I’m no quite clae in my mind abou wha I’m doing.
a very intelligen person:
She was one of the most brilliant minds of th last cenury.
If a poblem is all in th mind, it does not exist and is only imagined :
His doctor tried to convince him that he wasn’t really ill and that it was all in his mnind
to remeber a piece of information when you are making a decision or thinking abou a matter :
Bearing in mind how young she is, I though she did really well.
Of course, repair work is expensive and you have to keep that in mind.
go over sth in your mind
to think repeatedly about an even that has happened.
She kep goin over h accident again and again in her mind, wishing ha she could somehow have prevented it.
e is made up his mind, and nothing you can say will change his opinion on the issue.
I know she’s gone forever, but I just can’t put her ou of my mind
Her words kept running though my mind.
If you change you mind about coming tonight, just give me a call
The envets of last year are still fresh in peopl’s minds
breat.
te air that you take ino and let out of your lungs.
She drew/ook a deep breat.
He seemed a little ou of breat.
As e jumped in the pool, he held his breath.
defence profection or support against attack, criticism, or infection The rebels’ only form of defence against he soldier’ guns was sticks and stones. The war has ended but government spneding on defece he county’s armed forces is sill increasing.
When helen criticized me, Chris came/rused o my defence 9 =quickly supported me)
he book is a closedly argued defence of something that supports the economic theoy of keynes.
The towers were once an important part of the city’s defences.
A good diet hlps build h body’s natural defences.
Whenever anyone criticizes her husband, she immediately jumps o his defence. The team has a strong attack, but its defence is weak. They pu up a sturdy defence of their proposal. Huge sums of money are spen on national dfence.
hey have been strengthening their border defences in preparation for war.
defence an argument or explanation that you use to prove that you are not guilty of something The judge remarked that ignorance was not a valid defence. All I can say, in defence of my actions, is tat I had little choice.
the things siad in court to prove that a person did not commit a crime. She said that she didn;t want a lawyer and was going to conduct her own defence.
The person or people in a law case who have been accused of doing something illegal, and their lawyer(s) : awitness for the defence a defence lawyer.
defence in some sports, he part of a eam that tries to preven the other teamfrom socring goals or points a stong defence I play in defence. defence in he game of chess, a particular set of moves used b te person playing wih he black piesces
football
the oval ball used in a game played by two teams in which each team ries o kick, run wih, o hrow the ball across the opposing team’s goal line to scor points. American and Canadian football differ in the number of players, the size of the field, and some rules of play. Football also means soccer in most of the world.