2020 Volvo V60 Cross Country first drive

“This is where you’ll start your drive,” said the shuttle driver who picked me up from the airport. He pointed to a frozen bay across from the town of Luleå in northern Sweden, a stone’s throw from the Arctic Circle. “This can’t be it,” I thought as I looked at people casually pushing their kids on ice sleds. I’m here to drive a new car, not to go ice-skating or live a day in the life of a snow plow driver. Less than five minutes later I stood on about a yard of rock-solid ice in front of a row of neatly-parked Volvo V60 Cross Country station wagons. It was -16 Fahrenheit before wind chill brutally entered the equation, which was cold enough to make holding a bottle of water without gloves on an onerous task, but the V60 Cross Country was designed to effortlessly tackle these conditions. As its name implies, the Cross Country is based on the V60 station wagon, but it traded its Stan Smiths for a pair of REI hiking boots. The badge also brings standard all-wheel drive and more ground clearance, among other winter-taming goodies. Volvo hasn’t released pricing information for the 2020 V60 Cross Country yet. We expect it will cost about $1,000 more than the standard V60, which carries a base price of $38,900. When it arrives in American showrooms, it will be offered in a single trim level, and with a single engine. The Cross Country’s full list of standard and optional equipment won’t be published until closer to its on-sale date, which will be during the first quarter of 2019, and deliveries will begin the following July. THE SWEDISH ARMY KNIFE Volvo showed a surprising amount of foresight when it unveiled the V70 Cross Country at the 1997 Frankfurt auto show. It was based on the standard V70, but it gained additional ground clearance, all-wheel drive, plus an array of Cross Country-specific trim pieces. The Swedish firm swung a hammer in the dark and hit the nail right on the head; buyers in cold climates couldn’t get enough of the V70 XC. The V60 Cross Country, like all of its predecessors and its modern-day siblings, follows the same recipe. Starting with a regular, second-generation V60, which Volvo released in 2018, designers added model-specific bumpers on both ends, and protective plastic cladding over the rocker panels and the wheel arches. Engineers then raised the ground clearance by 2.9 inches. While the Cross Country isn’t a bona fide off-roader, it allows motorists who regularly travel on dirt roads to spend less time worrying about rocks punching the underbody and more time driving. I think the outdoorsy look suits the V60 well, too. ...

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First images of Vivo’s rumored foldable phone leaked

Images claiming to show the first folding handset from Chinese phone-maker Vivo have appeared online. It appears the device won’t carry Vivo’s branding, however, with the company set to market the device under a new sub-brand called iQOO. The images, posted on Chinese social media sites Weibo and MyDrivers, show the foldable device from a few angles, as well as promotional material created to accompany it. The images are only renders, though, and since the phone is likely a long way out, they may bear only a passing resemblance to the finished product. The Samsung Galaxy X is one upcoming foldable phone. Loads of interesting devices will launch at MWC 2019. Another big breakthrough in phones is 5G devices. From the images we can see the iQOO foldable phone looks to be a rather tall smartphone that would fold out vertically into a larger tablet configuration. When in smartphone orientation the device would have a slightly different interface to the tablet, with weather info only shown on the phone, for example, and the notification bar stretched across both screens in tablet mode. Two bars in the top-left corner of the screen suggest the phone will support dual-SIM; however since both bars only show 4G it remains to be seen if the device will support 5G.

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Nokia True Wireless Earbuds are coming to UK, France, Italy & Germany too

The award-winning Nokia True Wireless Earbuds are all set to enter new markets. The earbuds are almost ready to rock in the UK, France, Italy, and Germany in the coming days. If you are a resident of any one of the above countries and want to purchase the product you can pre-order the product right now from Amazon. The Nokia True Wireless Earbuds, however, will be up for shipping from February 22. In the UK the earbuds cost £96.30 while in Germany, Italy, and France the price is as much as EUR 96,70, EUR 112,20, EUR 104.89 respectively.

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Ten things you probably don't know about the Nintendo Switch video game console

If you’re reading, chances are you already own the Nintendo Switch ($299) or are thinking of picking one up. As you likely know, Nintendo Switch is a unique hybrid console that’s both a portable gaming system, like a Nintendo 3DS, as well as a home console, which snaps into a docking station (included) to connect to your television. There are several exclusive games for the platform -- including best-sellers like "Super Mario Odyssey," "Diablo 3: Eternal Collection," "Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle," and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" – which you can buy in cartridge form or download digitally from the Nintendo eShop online store. Underneath the console's kickstand on the back, you can snap in a microSD memory card to store more downloaded content, should the 32GB of internal storage not be enough for you. But you already knew all this, you say? No worries. There’s a lot more to Nintendo Switch you likely weren’t aware of. Watch all your movies There’s now a YouTube app for Nintendo Switch, but that’s just the beginning. With a free service called MoviesAnywhere, you can link up all your accounts – including Amazon Prime, iTunes, Microsoft Movies & TV, FandangoNow, Xfinity, and Vudu – and then by linking your MoviesAnywhere account to Google Play, all your flicks will show up under “Purchases” on YouTube. And since you have access to YouTube on your Nintendo Switch, you’re good to watch all your purchased movies on your console! Download video games from any eShop Nintendo Switch is “region-free,” meaning you can play games from other countries. For example, you can download some cool Japanese games you won’t find at retail in the U.S., nor will you see it appear at the Nintendo eShop. With Japan as an example, simply go to my.nintendo.com/getting_started in a web browser to create a new account and be sure to select Japan as your country. To register, use a different email address than the one tied to your U.S. account. Once this is done, create a new profile on your Nintendo Switch and call it something like Japan, and tie this profile to that new account you created online. Once you open the Nintendo eShop tied to that profile – voila! -- you can download Japanese titles (some available with English subtitles). Have your Switch charge your phone Here’s something you may not know: If your smartphone’s battery is waning and you have your Nintendo Switch with you, you can give your smartphone a battery boost! Simply connect your smartphone to the Nintendo Switch’s USB-C port underneath the unit, using a compatible cable, and it works right away. As an Android user, I had a USB-C to USB-C cable already, or you can use a full-size USB adaptor (usually found in the box with many of today’s Android phones) or for iPhone users, pick up a Lightning-to-USB-C cable at your local dollar store. ...

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Samsung just leaked the AirPods rival it made for the Galaxy S10

Samsung on Wednesday will unveil the Galaxy S10 in San Francisco, but the company will hardly have any secrets left for fans. This week alone we saw a bunch of press renders showing all three Galaxy S10 versions, we learned their commercial names, and we saw the full specs leak for each Galaxy S10 phone. To make matters worse, Samsung has now leaked a bunch of new devices that will likely launch alongside the Galaxy S10 series, including its latest answer to Apple’s AirPods. We’ve known for quite a while now that Samsung planned to unveil new wearable devices soon, including the Galaxy Buds wireless earphones that the Galaxy S10 will be able to recharge wirelessly. But thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app, which was just updated, we now know the Galaxy Buds are real. First discovered by SamCentral, the app mentions three new products, including the Galaxy Watch Active smartwatch, the Galaxy Fit/Fit e smart band, and the Galaxy Buds earphones.

New Samsung wearables. Samsung fucked up and uploaded the updated Galaxy Wearables APK. pic.twitter.com/RfUjRXk2Xu

— SamCentral (@SamCentralTech) February 15, 2019

The Galaxy Buds are the most interesting of the three new gadgets, not just because wireless earphones are extremely popular right now, but also because rumor has it that Samsung will bundle the Galaxy Buds with the Galaxy S10 during preorders. A leak a few days ago said that Galaxy Buds would be offered free of charge with Galaxy S10 preorders in Russia. That’s the kind of promotion that Samsung could run in every market that’s getting the new phones next week, assuming the leak is accurate. The Galaxy Wearable app did not reveal prices and availability details for the new products, but Samsung will probably announce them next week. The Galaxy S10 preorders should kick off after the Unpacked press conference with in-store sales to start on March 8th.

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Apple's Beats by Dre Brand Unveils New NBA Collection

Apple's Beats by Dre brand today unveiled a new NBA collection, with Beats Studio 3 Wireless Headphones available in six colorways representing the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, and Boston Celtics. Each pair of headphones is a different color with subtle same-color logo branding for each NBA team. Get closer to your music and show love for the team you rep with the Beats NBA Collection. These Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones, worn by some of your favorite players, feature your team's authentic colors and iconic logos. The final result is a collection designed just for the fans, honoring the spirit and emotion that makes up each of the six available team options. The NBA Collection Studio 3 Wireless Headphones are priced at $349 and offer the same features as all other Beats Studio 3 Wireless headphones such as a W1 chip for pairing, 22 hours of battery life, Pure Adaptive Noise Canceling, and more. Apple announced a Beats by Dre partnership with the NBA back in September, which makes Beats by Dre the official headphone, wireless speaker, and audio partner of the NBA and sister associations WNBA, NBA G League, and USA Basketball. In addition to offering NBA-themed headphones for fans, Beats will also provide headphones for players and advertise during major events like the NBA All-Star, NBA Draft, international games, WNBA games, and more.

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Google plans to let preloaded apps update via Google Play even if you don't log in

The odds are good that you sign into a Google account as soon as you turn on a new phone. What if you don't, though? Well, none of the Google apps on your phone will work, and that includes the Play Store. Thus, pre-installed apps are cut off from updates. Google is looking to change that soon. Google is contacting developers who have apps preloaded on phones to give them a friendly heads up on an upcoming change. In the coming months, Google plans to begin testing a feature that allows preloaded apps to update via the Play Store even if you don't log in. As Google says, this will provide a more consistent app experience for users. Users who don't want Google installing anything will be free to disable the auto-update feature, which is only coming to phones with Android Lollipop (API21) or higher. Google is advising developers to make sure that any updates to their app work properly in the absence of a Google account. You can see the full text of the email below. Hello Google Play Developer, In the coming months, Google Play will begin testing a new feature that will automatically allow Google Play to update pre-loaded apps for users who didn't sign in to a Google account. Users have the ability to turn off this feature at any time if they wish. This new feature will provide users with a more consistent app experience across many devices and will allow them to access the best and newest features provided by developers. This should also help developers reduce overhead costs required to support obsolete app versions. Action required We have identified that one or more of your apps may be pre-loaded on various devices and OS versions. We recommend that you verify that new releases of your app will work as desired with or without a Google account. Note that this change will only apply to devices shipped with Android Lollipop (API 21) or newer OS versions. We appreciate your support as we continually work to improve our platform to ensure the best experience for users and developers.

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The BBC is giving 'Doctor Who' the VR treatment

There may be no new series of Doctor Who for 2019, but the BBC is preparing a little something to keep fans entertained in the meantime. The corporation has announced that it will release a short episode of the show, available exclusively in VR. at some point in the near future. Doctor Who: The Runaway will be a 12-ish minute episode that places the viewer inside an animated version of the TARDIS console room. Current star Jodie Whittaker lends her voice to the animated Thirteenth Doctor, who will guide you through the interactive story. According to the release, viewers will become the Doctor's "champion" that'll "help her on this exciting adventure, as they find themselves at the centre of the action facing a deadly threat." Runaway was created by the BBC in partnership with Passion Animation Studios, a very successful studio in its own right. You may not know the name, but its staffers have worked on projects including Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs, Greenpeace's Rang-Tan Commercial and music videos for Gorillaz. This is hardly the first time that the BBC has used Doctor Who as a trojan horse for new ways of telling a story. Over its 55-year history, the show has been used to try out innovations in special effects, music creation and broadcasting. Doctor Who: The Runaway is written by Victoria Asare-Archer, directed by Mathias Chelebourg and features music by regular series composer Segun Akinola. There's no details yet on when the short will be available, how long it'll run or what platforms it'll be available on, but information is expected to filter through in the coming months.

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Canon EOS RP is a full-frame mirrorless camera for $1,300

Canon's new aggressively priced EOS RP is a full-frame mirrorless shooter using what appears to be a sensor from its older 6D Mark II. But that shouldn't matter, because at $1,300 (£1,000 or AU$1,800 converted) for the body only, the RP makes a lot of sense for those looking to get the full-frame experience in a small-and-light body. The camera has a 26.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, which uses the same Digic 8 image processor found on the earlier EOS R, but shoots at 5fps continuously, instead of the 8fps of the R. ISO ranges from 100-40,000, and is capable of taking 4K video as well. What I do like about the camera so far is just how light it is -- at 485g (17.1 oz), you'll hardly feel it in your hands, but expect this to balloon once you add on your lenses. It's smaller than the EOS R, which is pretty small itself. The camera will start shipping on Feb. 27. If you want a lens to boot, a bundle set with a 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens will cost $1,699, while a 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens will set you back a bit more at $2,199. You can preorder the EOS RP now.

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Phone makers aren’t even trying to keep their secrets secret anymore

The Samsung Galaxy S10 will launch at Samsung’s February 20th event this year, and the first preorders will be delivered by March 8th. I can tell you these dates straight up, without any hedging or caveating, because they’re official, courtesy of Samsung’s newly published reservation page for the new phone. On that page, the company throws up a white flag of resignation, admitting, “We know you know what is coming.” Who is Samsung capitulating to? Industrious leakers like evleaks and Roland Quandt, who, year after year, preempt flagship phone announcements with detailed images and specs of the devices to come. A few days after Samsung’s launch, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, LG will reveal the G8 ThinQ. Yes, its name is also already official, along with a few specs: a Crystal Sound OLED display (that means the phone vibrates the screen to use it as a speaker), a quad-DAC audio system (which necessarily means a headphone jack — yay!), and a 3D front camera for face unlock. LG might, in fact, have been one of the first companies to give up trying to be secretive, having made a habit of trickling out select specs and features ahead of its upcoming launches in order to stir up excitement. It’s just that this year, even the product name isn’t sacred, with the G8 ThinQ branding proudly marking all materials. Other companies like Vivo are posting really clear and unmysterious images of their phones before they’re announced. Their reason is the same as everyone else’s: they’re trying to claw phone buyers’ attention and affection away from the next company with a half-dozen cameras, a glamorous design, and promises of an “all-screen” experience. As Vivo works to expand beyond its native China and into India and European markets, its hype competition becomes a deluge of neat and crisp Galaxy S10 leaked photos, and so Vivo’s countering those with equally snazzy press shots of its own. Chinese phone makers can be especially nebulous with their phone announcements, as they sometimes release devices in China with nary a peep about them in the rest of the world, followed by a major international launch event a month later. That’s exactly what Honor did with the View 20. The common thread linking all of these examples is the massive difficulty of coordinating a simultaneous global launch of a device that must remain secret until it finally isn’t. The obstacles to pulling that off are legion. There are the leakers who will forensically examine your website for any prematurely uploaded marketing assets; there are the carrier partners that will want test units for weeks or months in advance; there are the reviewers and influencers you’ll want to give an early look at the product; and there are the retailers that will sometimes put phones on shelves before they are official (as happened with the Huawei P20 Lite). ...

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El Chapo's conviction is 'great moral victory,' but has 'done nothing' against Sinaloa cartel, exper

The Sinaloa cartel "remains the most powerful" drug trafficking organization in Mexico despite the conviction of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, experts said. "The conviction of Chapo Guzmán was a great moral victory because it subjected him to the rule of law," Mike Vigil, the former chief of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration, told NBC News on Wednesday. "The conviction though has done nothing to impact the Sinaloa cartel because it remains the most powerful cartel in Mexico," he said. Guzmán, 61, was found guilty Tuesday on all 10 charges he faced for crimes spanning more than a quarter of a century. Those charges included engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and multiple counts of distributing large amounts of narcotics internationally. Guzmán, famous for his two prior prison escapes in Mexico, now faces life in prison in the United States and will likely be sent to a federal Supermax facility. Despite the spectacle of Guzmán's trial in the U.S., the Mexican strategy of going after notorious "kingpins" has only increased the violence by splintering cartels that then fight over territory, according to Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor of policy and government at the George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia. "We have had so many narcos dead or arrested and extradited to the United States, and what are the implications of that? None," she said. "It’s irrelevant because we have seen this so many times repeating itself." In the wake of Guzmán’s arrest and extradition to the U.S., the cartel has been headed by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, "one of the oldest remaining drug capos," or drug lords, and a longtime associate of Guzmán, according to Vigil. Sinaloa's main rival, the Jalisco New Generation cartel, has grown in Guzmán's absence, but still faces internal power struggles and a crackdown from law enforcement after several high-profile episodes of violence, he said. Vigil said the Sinaloa cartel has maintained a strong leadership that has prospered under a more "horizontal structure," in which "decision-making authority flows all along the chain." Adding to the cartel's ongoing success was a "diversified portfolio" of criminal activity, Vigil said, which includes a lucrative drug trade which has expanded to include synthetic opioids, as well as other crimes such as extortion, kidnapping and theft of petroleum from Mexico’s pipelines. Last month, U.S. authorities announced what they said was the largest seizure in U.S. history of fentanyl, the deadly synthetic opioid, at a border checkpoint. Vigil said he predicted fentanyl could be "the way for the future" for the cartel. The cartel can purchase a kilo of the drug from China for less than $10,000, and fentanyl is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, he said. ...

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Microsoft Posts Teaser Video Ahead Of MWC, Likely Hints At The Next HoloLens

This year's Mobile World Congress is just weeks away, and teasers and leaks have been popping out here and there. One of the newest teasers comes from Microsoft, and it could be hinting at a long-awaited next-generation HoloLens, at least based on what the video shows. HoloLens 2 At The MWC? Alex Kipman, Microsoft's Technical Fellow for AI Perception and Mixed Reality in the Cloud, posted a tweet Monday, Feb. 11. In the tweet was a teaser video for MWC 2019 showing clues at what the company could be unveiling at the event. While the 42-second clip doesn't really give any assurance, many speculate that this could be about the HoloLens 2, and that's a possibility considering everything that's included in the teaser video. For starters, Kipman is one of the people behind HoloLens, and the device's next iteration has long been rumored to arrive this year.

2.24.19 #MWC19 - are you excited? I know I am...https://t.co/nO8apOLrGB pic.twitter.com/JXENF2nzEq

— Alex Kipman (@akipman) 11 de febrero de 2019

There are also a number of other clues in the teaser that could be referring to the second-gen HoloLens. The latter part of the video shows what appears to be a rock that forms into a material connecting to what looks like a chip. The rock could suggest carbon fiber, a material that could be used to build the HoloLens 2 to reduce weight. The chip could also refer to the device's rumored processor, possibly the Snapdragon 850 ARM, according to reports. Of course, these are all mere interpretations from what little clues the teaser video offered. As always, nothing's final until Microsoft unveils the next HoloLens — or if it even will — at this year's MWC, happening on Feb. 24 at Barcelona, Spain. So it's better to take everything with a grain of salt. AI Capabilities In 2017, Microsoft said that the next HoloLens will have an AI chip that's focused on machine learning. Called the Holographic Processing Unit (HPU), it'll support Deep Neural Network processing and will be completely programmable. Recently, reports also mentioned about a Kinect sensor that'll be included in HoloLens 2. The Kinect sensor will enhance HoloLens' latency and visuals for a better mixed-reality experience.

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Google Assistant’s interpreter mode is now available

Back at CES, Google demonstrated a new interpreter function of the Google Assistant that lets you speak one language to the device and have it translate what you said into another. Now the company has revealed via a support page that the interpreter function is rolling out to Google Home and smart display devices, as reported by Android Police (and confirmed via testing by The Verge). The interpreter mode supports 26 different languages and can be invoked by asking the Google Assistant to help you speak a particular language or to “turn on interpreter mode.” On smart displays, the feature will display the translation, as well as speak it aloud. But like we saw at CES, it’s a kludgy process that involves speaking, waiting, and then listening to the device respond. It can help in certain scenarios, but it’s not something I’d want to rely on for any lengthy or complicated conversations. If you have a Google Home speaker, another speaker with Google Assistant, or a smart display, you should be able to access the interpreter mode starting today.

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Apple just endorsed AT&T’s fake 5G E network

There are no 5G iPhones, and there probably won’t be 5G iPhones for a while. But that isn’t stopping Apple and AT&T: they are reportedly rolling out AT&T’s fake “5G E” branding with its upcoming iOS 12.2 update, according to a report from MacRumors. Much like when the two companies pulled this scam with 4G and LTE back in 2012, if you can’t beat them, you roll out a software update to make it look like you did even though the phones and network are still exactly the same. Multiple users on Twitter are now reporting that they’re seeing the new 5G E icon on devices running the latest iOS 12.2 beta 2, which was released earlier today. The new icon isn’t there for everyone, presumably because it will only appear in cities where AT&T’s 5G Evolution network — the company’s intentionally misleading name for its LTE network that it seems to hope customers will confuse for actual, next-generation 5G networks — is active. Additionally, 9to5Mac reports that the new logo seems to be limited to Apple’s newest XR, XS, and XS Max iPhones for now. Just like in 2012, Apple has not magically inserted new, next-gen radio chipsets into its phones via software updates, nor has it unlocked some latent capability in its phones to make them faster than they were before. They’re the same iPhones that are running the same hardware and software and connecting to the same LTE network at the same speeds they did before — just with a new logo. In short, it’s the exact same marketing scam that AT&T pulled when it began rolling out its 5G E logo on Android phones last month, with an extra dose of Apple’s complicity in pulling this scam on its own customers. It appears that Apple even helped AT&T design a new version of its 5G E logo to match the iPhone’s menubar, down to the smaller “E” that AT&T seems to hope you’ll confuse with real 5G.

¿@MacRumors¿, just updated to beta 2 of iOS 12.2, and noticed “5GE” for my data connection on the status bar. Is this new??? pic.twitter.com/eaHypVNVYo

— Kyle McCown (@kylemccown) 4 de febrero de 2019

...

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Other racist photos found in Northam's medical school yearbook

(CNN)During a free-wheeling press conference to address a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said he wouldn't be surprised if other photos like that were found in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. On Sunday, CNN found more racist and objectionable images in the book. None of them appear to show Northam. Democrats from across the nation demanded Northam resign after a yearbook photo surfaced showing one person wearing blackface and another dressed in the Ku Klux Klan's signature white hood and robes. The photo appears on Northam's personal yearbook page among other photos of him from school. After first apologizing for appearing in the racist photo, Northam now says he wasn't in it and won't resign. In that same yearbook, CNN found the following images: -- On page 10 of the yearbook, a photo shows a man dressed up like a woman in a lowcut white dress, pearls, a black wig and blackface. Next to the photo is the caption, "'Baby Love', who ever thought Diana Ross would make it to medical school" -- an apparent reference to the lead singer of the Supremes, a Motown singing group made up of three black women. A woman behind him is wearing a hat as if she is dressed like a witch. The photo is on a page full of photos of other student outings and parties. -- Later in the yearbook, in a section devoted to student personal pages, a photo of three men with their faces blackened wearing white dresses, white gloves, pearls and wigs appears. That photo appears on the page before Northam's personal page. It is surrounded by other photos of this student at school and has no captions. -- On page 34, the pharmacology page, a photo of a white man, not in blackface, shows him holding a coffee mug bearing the words, "We can't get fired! Slaves have to be sold." -- On page 10, there's also a photo of a man groping a mannequin with the words "I try never to divulge my true feelings while examining my patients." CNN is not publishing the images, pending comment or confirmation from the individuals pictured. ...

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Pressure builds for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign amid blackface photo controversy

The drumbeat grew louder Sunday for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam to resign his post as controversy roiled over a racially insensitive photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook. Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, like Northam a Democrat, and Rep. Donald McEachin, a Virginia Democrat and member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Northam must go. "It doesn't matter whether he was in the photo or not in the photo at this point," McAuliffe said on CNN's "State of the Union." "We have to close that chapter. It is heartbreaking, but Virginia has to move forward." On Friday the governor apologized for being in the photo, which depicted one person in blackface and another wearing a Ku Klux Klan robe. But on Saturday he reversed direction, saying he doesn't believe he is in the photo and calling it "disgusting, offensive, racist." Northam did admit to blackening his face with shoe polish for a Michael Jackson costume at a dance contest in the 1980s. But the governor, elected in 2017, said he is determined to complete his term. Virginia governors are banned from serving consecutive terms. McAuliffe said Northam never displayed any racist sentiment while serving as his lieutenant governor. McEachin said he considered Northam a friend but added that the governor has lost the "authority" to lead. "You know, we're certainly grateful for the contributions he's made to the betterment of Virginia," McEachin said on ABC's "Meet the Press." "But the question now is, is can you lead? Can you help us heal? And given the actions that he's demonstrated over the past 48 hours, the answer is clearly no." Virginia's Democratic senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, have called for Northam to resign. Virginia's Legislative Black Caucus issued a statement expressing "deep sense of betrayal, pain and disappointment." The Legislature could try to remove Northam from office, although the rules don't address past behavior. Virginia’s Constitution says elected officials who commit “malfeasance in office, corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crime or misdemeanor” may be removed. Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, told USA TODAY "nothing that has happened so far is grounds for removal" under the state's under the state's provisions for impeachment. "I know Ralph very well," McAuliffe said. "It will not come to that." The Northam controversy comes a week after the Republican-led Virginia Senate insisted on continuing a decades-long tradition of honoring slave owner Robert E. Lee “as a great Virginian and a great American.” If Northam exits, Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, would become the state's second African-American governor. Doug Wilder was the first – elected six years after the photo was published. ...

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