The humble PDF file has been around for 25 years, and in that time, not much has changed. Making edits on a PDF can still be a pain, and most popular apps offer few solutions. But that could soon change for the better.

Today, Adobe is unveiling an all-new version of Acrobat DC that makes it easier for people to create, share, and interact with PDFs across devices. The update is built around a central document hub that includes files saved to the Adobe Cloud across several different apps.

As part of the big update, Acrobat Pro is also coming to Android and iOS for the first time. The experience is nearly identical to the desktop version of the app, with support for swapping images, updating text, and formatting the document.

Adobe Scan is also getting a small update for scanning and analyzing business cards. Now, users can translate the cards into new languages and export the translation to their contacts (as a virtual contact file, or vCard). They’ll still have to scan in one card at a time, but batch exporting should come as a welcome relief to anyone dealing with digitizing business cards in large swaths.

The new document hub in Acrobat DC will make it easy to create a PDF, then send it out for review or signatures via email. Because the shared file uses HTML5, it means all major platforms and devices will be able to review the document. Say bye-bye to compatibility issues!

In our short time testing the new software, it reminded us of Google Drive in the way it allows for suggestions, comments, and reviewing among various users. But the real breakthrough here is how the update enables digital signing using Adobe Sign. Now, finalizing contracts and other important documents can be done from any phone or tablet. 

And last but not least, Adobe Sensei is now available in Adobe Reader. This AI technology is capable of scanning a document to see what needs to be filled in, and then it will prompt the user will suggestions to fill in content. Adobe Sensei makes filling in an address as simple as tapping the screen. That’s it.

Subscribers to Acrobat DC or Creative Cloud All Apps will get it today. There is no price increase for the services either. Acrobat DC starts at $12.99 a month and Creative Cloud All Apps starts at $52.99 a month. Not a bad price to pay, considering it will probably be a long time before free apps offer this kind of functionality.

Bogota is the worst city to live in for girls and young women when it comes to sexual harassment, a report by a humanitarian group says.

The report by Plan International, titled “Girls’ Safety in Cities across the World”, surveyed almost 400 experts in 22 cities across six continents, in order to examine the safety risks that girls and young women face on a large scale.

It found that Lima is the world‘s most dangerous city for girls to go out alone, either during the day or the night, while Johannesburg the most hazardous for theft, robbery and sexual assault or rape.

Stockholm is the safest city for sexual harassment and for girls to leave the house alone or use public transport, the survey found.

The poll is the first of its kind to highlight the universality of the dangers girls and young women face in cities and public spaces across different societies and cultures, which it says affects the lives of millions and yet remains ignored.

According to the report, sexual harassment, which is described as hassling, eve teasing, stalking, touching, flashing and staring, was found to be the number-one safety risk facing girls and young women.

At least 78 percent of experts described sexual harassment as a high to extremely high risk for girls, and 77 percent said that it occurs either very or fairly often within public spaces in their city.

Furthermore, 60 percent of experts said sexual harassment in their city is never or hardly ever reported to the authorities.

In Johannesburg and Bogota, all experts taking part in the survey agreed that the risk of sexual harassment is high to extremely high.

When asked how Bogota could be made a safer place for girls and young women, one respondent said: “It is very important to change gender norms, especially those that make men believe that they own public spaces and women’s bodies. This would help women feel women more secure.”

Other respondents expressed a number of other solutions, such as tackling harmful gender norms by giving gender training and awareness-raising among boys and men.

Some pointed to the necessity of improving city infrastructure, such as “appropriate lighting at night” and a ban on drinking in public, while others referred to the need for more political will to change the status quo and for improved law enforcement.

According to an expert in Toronto, more young girls and women are needed on government committees entrusted with safety planning.

“Of course there should be a behaviour change of the society in looking at women’s and girls’ rights in general,” an expert in Jakarta said.

“The government and law enforcement should have the laws that protect and guarantee the safety of women and girls.”

President Donald Trump insulted a female reporter in the Rose Garden on Monday, telling her she “never” thinks before asking a question, one of several slights to female journalists during a sprawling press conference.

Trump called on Cecilia Vega, a White House reporter for ABC News, before musing about her aloud.

“She’s shocked that I picked her,” said Trump as a flock of staffers behind him — mostly men — smiled or laughed. “She’s, like, in a state of shock.”

“I’m not,” Vega said, rising from her seat. “Thank you, Mr. President.”

Trump, apparently mishearing “thank you” as “thinking,” responded with a seemingly unprovoked jab: “I know you’re not thinking. You never do.”

(A White House transcript alleges Trump said “not thanking,” a non-sequitur given Vega had said “thank you” immediately prior.)

Vega answered, “I’m sorry?” 

“No, go ahead.” Trump said, before a pause ensued. “Go ahead.”

Vega asked a question on the on the scope of the FBI investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, which Trump dismissed as irrelevant to the new trade deal that prompted the presser.

“What does that have to do with trade?” Trump said. “I don’t mind answering the question. But, you know, I’d like to do the trade questions, too.”

He later circled back to Vega in a press conference that also found Trump deriding other female reporters. He wagged his finger at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, shouting “Don’t do that!” as she questioned him about Kavanaugh. He later cut off another journalist as she asked about mass shootings, as Aaron Ruper of ThinkProgress noted.

Trump shouts down @kaitlancollins as she tries to ask him a question about Kavanaugh!!! She asks it anyway. He won’t answer. pic.twitter.com/05AIvBa38c

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2018

Vega later alluded to the exchange with Trump in a tweet: “A news conference means you get to ask whatever question you want to ask. #FirstAmendment.”

Trump eventually weighed in on his Supreme Court pick’s alleged drunkenness in college and high school, with the president exclaiming that he himself would have been a “mess” had he ever developed a drinking habit.

“Can you imagine if I had, what a mess I’d be?” Trump said. “I’d be the world’s worst.”

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

More: Trump swipes at Cory Booker over Kavanaugh. Is it 2020 already?

More: Trump vows bump stocks will be ‘gone’ in weeks

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Louis C.K.’s surprise show at New York City’s Comedy Cellar Sunday night got mixed reviews from the audience.

The controversial comedian, 51, dropped by for another unannounced set just after midnight, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Gothamist, weeks after making his stand-up return at the same comedy club in late August.

Page Six first reported C.K.’s impromptu performance didn’t sit well with some patrons, adding at least two people walked out after his reveal.

Twitter user @AlliBreen expressed some disdain: “Louis CK did another surprise drop-in set last night in NYC. Guess he hasn’t been watching the Kavanaugh hearings during his ‘time out.’”

User @mrjriggs, who was in the audience, pointed out accusations against C.K.: “Just saw a middle aged man with red hair who enjoys pleasuring himself at the comedy cellar.”

Despite some backlash, audio from the beginning of C.K.’s set obtained by THR revealed any animosity was drowned out by cheers and applause.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Comedy Cellar and representatives for C.K. 

His comeback was met with controversy from many who questioned whether C.K. should be allowed back less than a year after being accused of sexual misconduct during the start of the #MeToo movement. Comedy Cellar also faced backlash for ambushing guests with the disgraced comedian.

In response, the comedy club implemented a new “Swim at Your Own Risk” policy, which allows patrons to leave during an unannounced appearance without paying their check, reports the THR. 

Last November, five women accused the comic of masturbating (or making an attempt to) in front of them without consent, according to The New York Times. The accusations dated back more than a decade.

One day later, C.K. admitted the women’s allegations against him were “true.”

“The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly,” he wrote in a statement, adding, “there is nothing about this that I forgive myself for. And I have to reconcile it with who I am.”

Related: Louis C.K.’s comeback performance sparks criticism from fellow comics

 

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The Supreme Court refused to hear a case involving a California billionaire who had been ordered to restore public access to a beach he owns in Northern California.

The decision puts to rest a nearly decade-long court battle centered around whether the public should be able to access a small strip of land known as Martins Beach, about an hour south of San Francisco.

Martins Beach used to be a popular fishing and surfing spot until Vinod Khosla, cofounder of Sun Microsystems, bought the property for $37 million in 2008 and blocked the public from accessing it.

That prompted the Surfrider Foundation to sue, saying it was unfair to shut down an area the public had access to for years.

Khosla, who has a net worth of $1.55 billion and does not live on the property, was met with intense public scrutiny in 2010 for hiring guards to patrol the only road leading to the beach. In 2012, five surfers who bypassed the gate were arrested for criminal trespassing, sparking further civil litigation and legislative action.

An appeals court in San Francisco ruled last year that Khosla violated state law by denying access to the beach.

Khosla responded by filing an appeal with the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling on the grounds that he didn’t need a permit to put a gate on his own property.

Activists hailed the Supreme Court’s decision.

“The most conservative and divided Supreme Court in my lifetime confirmed that even a billionaire, who refuses to acknowledge that the law applies to him, and retains the most expensive attorneys he can find, cannot create a private beach,” said Joseph Cotchett, lead attorney for the Surfrider Foundation, told The Los Angeles Times.

“Beaches are public in California, and the immensely wealthy must comply with the Coastal Act just like everyone else.”

Assassin’s Creed took a year-long break in 2016, then came out swinging last year with a quite literally game-changing new vision for the series in Assassin’s Creed: Origins.

It’s a year later now and there’s no break this time. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey picks up many of the newer ideas laid out in Origins, then expands on them and frames them all against the backdrop of an ancient Greece setting. But is that a good thing?

Critics seem to think so. Mashable’s review is coming soon, but here’s a rundown of the critical pulse surrounding Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, which is out for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on Oct. 5.

The world is highly detailed and smartly laid out

Heather Alexandra, Kotaku

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is huge. Each new boundary is broken down the moment you reach it, the game world spilling out and expanding further and further than you can possibly imagine. It is big in the same way the Great Pyramids or Empire State Building are big, the result of untold amounts of labor and artistry distilled into something remarkable yet intimidating. It’s not a sandbox. It is a world, with all of the beauty, anxiety, and inconsistency that entails. 

Jeff Grubb, GamesBeat

The Greek world in Odyssey seems to have more missions, quests, characters, and side diversions than any Assassin’s Creed ever. At the same time, the world has enough space to let each of those activities breathe.

Some past open-world Ubisoft games seem like Yves Guillemot threw mission icons onto every possible square inch. Odyssey is the opposite of that. All of its map icons exist as distinct little islands. As a result, the entire adventure is much more manageable. Your brain actually has a chance to meaningfully process the information. It’s as if Ubisoft is treating you like a human and not some kind of box-checking automaton.

The story’s newfound focus on choice works well

Brandin Tyrrel, IGN

For the first time in an Assassin’s Creed game we get a choice of whether to play exclusively as a man or a woman: siblings Alexios and Kassandra. … These protagonists are easily the most flexible characters in any Assassin’s Creed game to date when it comes to their personalities. As a mercenary, my Alexios was free to be whoever I decided he should be. A merc with a conscious, a one-track-mind horn dog, or a ruthless murdering psychopath – there are no wrong answers, but there were definitely consequences to the decisions I chose.

Andrew Webster, The Verge

The story is fairly standard stuff, but what makes it interesting is how you actually have some control over the lead character. She still has a distinct personality, but you’re able to make decisions at various points in the game, that somewhat shape her beliefs. This was true in Origins as well, but it feels deeper and more meaningful here. You can choose whether Kassandra accept money as a reward from a poor slave, or spare the life of a criminal. In one particularly harrowing mission, a murderer kidnapped a family, and forced me to choose whether the mother or father should survive. These moments can add emotional weight to otherwise boring missions, and they often forced me into difficult quandaries, as often the morally right decision would mean more work, typically in the form of an extended battle.

Naval combat is still great, recruiting a crew is not

Alessandro Fillari, GameSpot

Naval combat and sailing make a return in Odyssey, opening up exploration on the high seas. As you build up resources and find new members to join your crew, you can customize and upgrade your ship, The Adrestia, to take on more daring challenges. Much like in Black Flag and Rogue, seafaring offers up some of the more exciting and visually pleasing moments of the game, finding lost sunken ruins in the oceans depths or facing off against increasingly aggressive rival ships. Over the course of your travels, you’ll be able to recruit new lieutenants to add buffs to your ship, giving you more of a fighting chance against the sea’s greater threats.

Mike Williams, USgamer

Lieutenants can be recruited from nearly every enemy non-player character (NPC) in Odyssey. While you’re scanning forts and outposts for enemy positioning you can also see what ship bonuses your opponents bring to the table. If you find one that strikes your fancy, you can knock them out, either from stealth or with the new Spartan Kick ability. Once they’re down, you can loot them and then recruit them to your pool of lieutenants. Most of the worthwhile NPCs are named, with their own weapons and looks, so there’s a bit of individuality to them. You’ll find yourself wanting to collect more unique folks, just so you can see them on the deck of your ship.

The recruiting system is cool, when it works. The problem is all the good recruitables are likely strong enough that the stealth knockout option won’t work (more on this in a bit) and the Spartan Kick is touchy. A Spartan Kick only knocks enemies out at the last portion of their lifebar, but at that point they’re low enough that anything can kill them. I’ve kicked a potential recruit, only to have them roll down a hill and die instantly. There are some great candidates you can find on enemy ships, but boarding actions include the rest of your crew, who will likely kill any hopeful outright. Or you’ll accidentally kick them into the ocean, where they’ll drown. 

Combat is great, but making progress is a chore

Tom Phillips, Eurogamer

The [new signature weapon, Spear of Leonidas] symbolizes the shift away from Ubisoft’s habitual Assassin’s Creed gameplay to one that feels freer, more fantastical and more fun. Why wait to dual assassinate a pair of enemies who’ve finally rotated around their guard patterns to stand next to one another when you can blink around a map chaining assassinations over great distances, should you have invested in the skills and built-up the stamina to do so. Another combat move, where you rip the shield away from a powerful enemy and donk them on the head with it after, reminds me of the joy felt in Zelda when, after hours whittling away the health of armoured enemies, you finally get a hookshot and are able to de-shell them instantly. Fire arrows? Sure, but how about ghostly arrows which zip through walls, through enemies into other enemies, who you can then also set on fire? Level up far enough and you’ll get these too.

Arthur Gies, Escapist Magazine

Too much of Odyssey’s later game story content is locked behind a murderous progression wall. Every quest in the game has a level attached to it, and while there’s some wiggle room, anything more than a couple of levels above your character is intended to be beyond your capability — more simply, you just can’t do enough damage to fight effectively.

As the game goes on, more and more quests are required to be completed to move on and frankly, I’ve found it exhausting. It’s hard to shake the feeling that Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is a game obsessed with making the player eat their vegetables.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey comes to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on Oct. 5, 2018.

An anti-money laundering body in the Maldives has informed police that President Abdulla Yameen received $1.5m in hard currency days ahead of a contentious presidential election in the Indian Ocean island nation.

Yameen, long dogged by allegations of corruption and rights abuses, suffered a decisive defeat in the September 23 vote in an outcome hailed as a win for democracy in the upmarket tourist destination.

A confidential letter seen by Al Jazeera said the president received the money in two instalments to a private bank account at the Maldives Islamic Bank.

The document from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an agency under the Maldives’ central bank, was dated September 13 and was addressed to Acting Commissioner of Police Abdulla Nawaz.

In the letter, the FIU said a third party deposited $648,508 in hard currency into the president’s account on September 5. Another $810,635 was deposited to the same account on September 10. 

“The whole amount was later withdrawn in hard currency,” the letter said.

“When the bank asked about the source of the money and its use, the bank was told the money was donations from private companies and various others to be used in the 2018 presidential election,” it said, without specifying who spoke on behalf of the president.

Ahmed Shifan, spokesman for police, declined to comment on the case.

However, two police sources confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Al Jazeera. 

Source of funds? 

The letter suggested the transactions were in breach of the Maldives’ election laws, which oblige candidates to set up separate accounts for campaign activities as well as declare the identities of donors.

Fuwad Thowfeek, former head of the elections commission, said the president appeared to have violated the provision on establishing a separate account for election-related expenses, but he still has time to declare the source of the money.

“Candidates must declare each and every donation, who it came from and how much, within 30 days of the election. If he fails to do that, then it’s an issue,” Fuwad said. 

A legal expert, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, agreed with Fuwad.

“The biggest concern here is the source of the funds. When such a large amount of money enters the private account of a head of state, the police must check what the purpose of that money is and ask for credible evidence to back that.”

Ibrahim Muaz Ali, spokesman for the president, dismissed allegations of wrongdoing. 

“The president will never act against the law,” he said.

Yameen, who said he will stay in office until the end of his term on November 17, was ready to answer any questions from law enforcement agencies, said Muaz.

The FIU – tasked with receiving and analysing information concerning money-laundering activities from commercial banks – is obliged to flag suspicious transactions to the police.

Al Jazeera has learned that Abdulla Ashraf, head of the FIU, was removed from his position soon after the letter was sent to police. However, he continues to work at the central bank. 

Past corruption allegations

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the opposition candidate who won the vote by 58 percent, has pledged to investigate past corruption allegations against Yameen.

A spokeswoman for the president-elect earlier this week warned against attempts by government employees to destroy key documents, a claim Yameen’s office has denounced as baseless.

Ahmed Nihan, a ruling party official, has previously blamed the president’s defeat in the election on “relentless accusations of theft”.

The most serious of the allegations against Yameen include claims he oversaw the country’s biggest-ever corruption scandal, in which at least $79m from tourism revenues was diverted to private accounts and cashed out.

The scam, which involved the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), was the subject of the 2016 Al Jazeera investigation Stealing Paradise. Associates of the president, in secretly filmed interviews, said they delivered some of the stolen cash to his residence in black bags.

Yameen is also accused of receiving at least $1m of the embezzled money at his private account at the Maldives Islamic Bank.

The Anti Corruption Commission has confirmed that, but said it shelved the investigation into the case because it could not reach the person who deposited the cash to the president’s account.

Yameen, who rejects all allegations of corruption, blamed his former deputy, Ahmed Adeeb, for the theft.

In an interview on national television earlier this month, Yameen also blamed the central bank and commercial banks for the MMPRC scam, saying staff there did not raise red flags when tens of millions of dollars in public money was diverted to private accounts. 

The teenage boy who was attacked by a shark off a California beach on Saturday is in serious condition but recovering from traumatic bite injuries, a hospital official said at a Monday press conference.

Keane Webre-Hayes,13, talked and was alert Monday morning in a pediatric intensive care unit at Rady Children’s Hospital about 48 hours after a harrowing attack left his clavicle “ripped open,” according to a kayaker who rendered aid off Beacon’s Beach in Encinitas, 25 miles north of San Diego.

“He’s improving, but we still have care to do to get him out of the hospital,” said Dr. Tim Fairbanks, Rady’s chief of pediatric surgery. “While he’s doing well, we still have significant recovery.”  

More: Shark attack injures boy, 13, at Southern California beach

More: Shark stalked bloody victim as rescuers rushed him to California beach

The staff is monitoring the boy’s blood count and risk for infection. Rehabilitation work will need to be done, Fairbanks said, adding that Webre-Hayes still has all of his limbs. 

His mother, Ellie Hayes, thanked first responders, the hospital and the local community for their support, describing her son as brave and compassionate and calling his survival “a miracle.”

“I think it is a miracle and I think Keane is a miracle,” Hayes said, adding that her son, an eighth-grader, enjoyed a cup of noddles and a donut to eat on Monday morning. “I think he’s very, very, very strong and he’s a survivor now.” 

On Saturday morning, the opening day of lobster season, Hayes said her son was “emphatic” about lobster diving with a friend. She watched them from a cliff. 

“He said, ‘Mom, I’m going to make you a lobster dinner tonight,’” Hayes recalled. “So, he owes me one.” 

Her son has already expressed a desire to go back in the water, the mother said, telling her that the chances of another shark attack would be especially low. He has also been asking for the three men and kayak owner who saved him.

There have not been additional shark sightings in the area since Saturday, according to the city of Encinitas. Beacon’s Beach and the surrounding area, La Costa Avenue to Swami’s Beach, reopened at 7 a.m. Monday.

A GoFundMe page to help the family cover the boy’s medical bills had raised more than $27,000 as of Monday afternoon.

 

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