Putin says he has noted Joe Biden's harsh anti-Russian rhetoric

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he had noted what he called harsh anti-Russian rhetoric from U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, but said he had been encouraged by Biden’s comments on arms control.

Putin, who said Russia would work with any U.S. president, made the comments during an appearance on state TV.

Oil Tumbles As Trump Ends Stimulus Talks

Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday as U.S. stimulus hopes faded and data showed a larger-than-expected build in crude oil supplies.

Benchmark Brent crude fell 70 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $41.95 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were down 80 cents, or 2 percent, at $39.86.

Coronavirus relief talks came to an abrupt halt Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to stop negotiating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, saying talks won’t resume until after the election.

Trump’s tweets came after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of ongoing risks to the economy if authorities did too little to support the economic rebound.

As growth worries resurface, markets are taking some comfort from new poll numbers showing Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s widening lead over President Trump as well as Trump’s tweets seeming to promise backing for individual pieces of fiscal stimulus.

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute reported a build in U.S. oil inventories of 951,000 barrels for the week ending October 2, compared with the 831,000-barrel draw expected.

Investors now await data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration later in the day for further direction.

Kremlin says no cause for optimism in nuclear arms talks with U.S.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it saw no cause for optimism in Russia’s talks with the United States over extending a major nuclear arms control pact and wanted the negotiations to be more successful.

New START, the last major nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States, is due to expire in February.

Nobel Prize for chemistry awarded to Charpentier and Doudna

French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A. Doudna have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing a method of genome editing known as CRISPR.

The recipients were announced Wednesday in Stockholm by Goran Hansson, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million krona (more than $1.1 million), courtesy of a bequest left more than a century ago by the prize's creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The amount was increased recently to adjust for inflation.

On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine to Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and British-born scientist Michael Houghton for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday's prize for physics went to Roger Penrose of Britain, Reinhard Genzel of Germany and Andrea Ghez of the United States for their breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes.

The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of literature, peace and economics.

Eskimo Pie Ice Cream Renamed As Edy’s Pie

Eskimo Pie ice cream bar has changed its name after more than three months since its parent Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream acknowledged that the name is derogatory. The popular ice cream will now be known as Edy’s Pie as a tribute to one of the company’s founders, Joseph Edy.

Dreyer’s, whose parent Froneri is partly owned by Swiss food major Nestlé, announced that the chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar with new name and image will come in early 2021. The company has paused the production of the Eskimo Pie until the introduction of the new brand.

In June, the company had announced its plan to rename Eskimo Pie brand, which has been in use for nearly a century, stating that it was offensive toward native arctic communities.

The name Eskimo, which is referred to Inuit and Yupik people, is considered derogatory in many places as it was given by non-Inuit people and it meant eater of raw meat.

Dreyer’s’ decision was in line with various other brands who decided to change their ages old brand names and logos that had racist connections, including Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, and Mrs. Butterworth’s.

The companies then took the decision to remove racial imagery from their brands as a solution on racial equality in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests following the merciless police killing of African American George Floyd.

Uncle Ben’s, owned by Mars Inc., recently said it was changing its name to Ben’s Original. Cream of Wheat’s parent company, B&G Foods, said the Black chef would be taken out of boxes of the cereal.

Vietnam Detains Activist Trang for Anti-Government Materials

Vietnamese blogger and democracy activist Pham Thi Doan Trang, 42, was detained on charges of creating, storing and spreading anti-government documents, the Ministry of Public Security said on its website.

The arrest came a few hours after the annual human rights dialog between the United States and Vietnam, Phil Robertson, deputy Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, said in an email statement. The charge against Trang falls under article 117 of the penal code, which provides penalties of up to 20 years in prison, he said.

Her blog, Doan Trang, touches on politically sensitive topics, including the relationship between Vietnam and China and tensions over territorial maritime claims, Robertson said. Police detained Trang in May 2016 as she was traveling to meet with President Barack Obama, who had invited her to a gathering of activists with him during his visit to Hanoi, according to Robertson.