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Feedback 0 / 5 | U.S. and Iraqi forces at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad fired tear gas to disperse Iraqi protesters who gathered at the walls of the compound for a second day to show support for a powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militia.
Dozens of protesters and supporters of the Hashd Shaabi militia set up camp outside the gates of the embassy on Wednesday, one day after thousands converged on Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone to decry U.S. strikes that killed at least 25 militiamen on the weekend.
Several protesters set fire to the outside wall of the embassy, where heavily armed U.S. forces were seen standing on the roof of the building, witnesses said.
Some protesters suffered breathing problems from the tear gas, the witnesses added.
The U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday targeted the Kataib Hezbollah militia group, which was blamed for an attack last week that killed a U.S. citizen.
Kataib Hezbollah, a part of the Hashd Saabi umbrella group, is independent from the Hezbollah group in Lebanon that is trained and financed by Iran.
Chanting “Death to America,” angry protesters on Tuesday broke into the U.S. embassy compound and set fire to one of its gates.
U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed the attack on Iran and said the country will “pay a very big price.”
Tehran has blasted Washington’s “irrational response” to the protests and denied any involvement.
Trump spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi by phone on Tuesday and “emphasised the need to protect U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper called on the government of Iraq to “fulfil its international responsibilities” to protect US citizens in the country.
Washington has announced that it will immediately deploy 750 soldiers to Iraq “as an appropriate and precautionary action.” | 4 |
We have sighted some stunning photos which suggest that popular Ghanaian female dancehall artiste, Kaakie is set to walk down the aisle in the coming weeks.
Photos from her bridal shower have hit the internet as many of her fans are anticipating her wedding date which might come out very soon.
Born Grace Kaki Awo Ocansey, Kaakie has given us some bangers and she was recently awarded a Master’s Degree from the Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, is about to get married although details of the ceremony are scanty.
Congratulations, Kaakie!!!
Source: www.ghgossip.com | Ghanaian hiplife grand papa Reggie Rockstone hops on a peewezel beat to bring a classic tune titled cocoa. The sensational goddess Sena Dagadu is on the tune.
The song talks about his natural love for his african woman, attributing her to the goodness in cocoa.
Cocoa has many wonderful healthy benefits. Just like love takes time to build, cocoa takes 5 years to produce it first seed pod. Cocoa is rich in polyphenols, which have significant health benefits, including reduced inflammation and improved cholesterol levels. However, processing cocoa into chocolate or other products can substantially decrease the polyphenol content.
For sure, love is beautiful thing like a Ghanaian cocoa. Rich in taste and flavour.
Get yourself a cocoa love …
Check out video here: | 1.666667 |
EDMONTON -- Warning: This story contains imagery which some readers may find disturbing.
Mark Holmgren was 17 years old when he borrowed his brother’s motorbike. It was a decision that would alter his life forever.
“I was just driving too fast, turned the corner and I wiped out. I tore the nerves in my shoulder. It was a brachial plexus injury and from that day I could never use it. Couldn’t move it, couldn’t feel it.”
Holmgren, now 37, carried his dysfunctional arm around for nearly two decades before deciding it was time to do something about it this year.
“At first it was: I’m going to wait, they’ll be able to fix it, they’re coming up with new stuff, give me a robotic arm, stuff like that and I’ve been waiting too long,” he recalled.
“I just decided to remove it. Move on, I guess.”
He contacted doctors at the University of Alberta hospital, who agreed to amputate his right arm in April.
However, Holmgren didn’t want to depart with his arm forever—he wanted to have it preserved.
“First they sent me a paper, I signed it, sent it back to (the doctor). He brought it into the surgery room with me and just showed me all the doctors in there and they were all like,‘Yup, we know.’”
About a month after the surgery, Holmgren got a call from the lab saying his arm was ready to be picked up.
“I carried it out of the hospital in a garbage bag,” said Holmgren. “I actually kept it in my freezer for about a month.”
He admits that shopping around and asking taxidermy businesses to clean a human arm was a bit of a challenge.
“A couple of them told me no, like right away. There was no way that they were going to touch human body parts.”
But after a few weeks of searching, Legends Taxidermy in Drayton Valley agreed to do the job.
“I went and dropped it off, and got it back just before Christmas.”
Holmgren even brought his skeletal arm to Christmas dinner with his family.
“Some of them wanted to touch it, some of them don’t want to touch it. It’s just mixed feelings when people see it.”
The Edmontonian plans to show more friends and family his limb before retiring it.
“I’m just going to keep it probably behind the sink in the kitchen. I’m happy I did it. It’s just not for everybody.” | THE QUEEN began her Christmas message by referring to the 50th anniversary of humanity’s memorable first steps on the moon. Of Neil Armstrong taking ‘a small step for man and a giant leap for mankind – and, indeed, for womankind.’ She observed that it is a reminder to us all that giant leaps often start with small steps, going on to speak of the continuing need for peace and reconciliation in our world and how this generally begins with small steps.
It was a very timely message. One of the things I have been reflecting upon since hearing it is how we can only take such steps ourselves. Watching my children take their first steps was a joyous experience precisely because I couldn’t do it for them. First steps towards peace and reconciliation can be equally exhilarating to observe, but we cannot take them on behalf of others. We can only take them ourselves.
The Queen spoke ‘of what positive things can be achieved when people set aside past differences and come together in the spirit of friendship and reconciliation. And, as we all look forward to the start of a new decade, it’s worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.’
There has been much talk of deep division in our country since the Referendum. It strikes me that we actually have much more in common than anything that might divide us and that if we can all take some small steps of reconciliation we shall come together in exciting and unforeseen ways.
May this New Year bring you many blessings and may you share them with others.
Bishop John. | 1.333333 |
Three-car accident in Norwalk leads to injuries
Firefighters work the scene of a serious accident on Martin Luther King Drive. Firefighters work the scene of a serious accident on Martin Luther King Drive. Photo: / Contributed Photo: / Contributed Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Three-car accident in Norwalk leads to injuries 1 / 1 Back to Gallery
NORWALK — A three-car collision on Martin Luther King Drive sent three people to the hospital Wednesday afternoon.
A firefighter heading to work came across the accident and went to the assistance of the motorists, while alerting other emergency responders.
The collision took place at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday near Knapp Street. A BMW sedan ran off the roadway, and two male occupants in that vehicle were transported to Norwalk Hospital, according to the fire department. A male occupant of a Toyota Sienna van was also transported for medical treatment. No one was injured in the third vehicle involved in the collision.
A firefighter drove one of the ambulance while the paramedics tended to the patient, according to the fire department.
Norwalk Police are investigating the cause of the accident. | The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Command in Ogun, on Wednesday confirmed the death of one person following an auto crash around J3, on Ijebu Ode-Ore Expressway.
Mr Clement Oladele, the state FRSC Sector Commander disclosed this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Ota.
Oladele said that the lone accident happened at about 11.25 pm on Tuesday.
He explained that a Toyota Sienna Bus, with registration number, FKJ 453XW, was on a high speed when it tyres burst and in the process lost control and somersaulted into the bush.
He said that nine persons- five male adults, three female adults and a female child, were involved in the accident.
“The corpse of the female victim has been deposited at the mortuary of General Hospital, Ijebu Ode, while two of the survivors are also receiving treatment at the same hospital.
“The third survivor who is a child was taken to Ise Oluwa Clinic J3 by a good samaritan before the arrival of FRSC rescue team,” he said.
The sector commander admonished motorists to desist from using imported used tyres and also ensure that they check the expiring date on the tyres before purchasing them to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and property on the highway. | 2.666667 |
Dry weather will continue through this evening with mostly cloudy skies and temps holding in the 40s.
Light rain will work its way into the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes heading into Friday morning. Lows tonight will otherwise range from the upper 30s to low 40s for most areas. Light rain will pass through on Friday with the steadiest staying south of the Thruway. Clouds will dominate with highs in the 40s.
The next slug of moisture will head in Saturday morning with what looks to be a mix of snow north of the Thruway with more in the way of light rain to the south initially. Colder air will moving in will gradually change this mix over to all snow before tapering Saturday evening. Some slippery pavement will be likely Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
More of a seasonable chill is then expected for Sunday and much of next week. While Sunday looks fairly uneventful, the pattern will stay active with occasional widespread light snow Monday through Wednesday.
Another warm up will be possible Friday and into next weekend with some rain looking likely for now.
Have a great evening! | ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's been a perfect weather start to 2020 for the Tampa Bay region.
Warmer Thursday/Friday
Rain early Saturday
SEE BELOW: See our 7-day forecast ▼
Skies will be mostly clear overnight into early Thursday. Temperatures will be seasonably cool, dropping to the 50s to mid 40s.
Thursday will be mostly sunny with warmer highs in the upper 70s due to a southeast breeze.
Friday will be partly cloudy and warm with highs in the low 80s.
The next cold front will push a line of showers through late Friday night into early Saturday morning.
That will set us up for a cooler weekend ahead.
7-day forecast
We want your pictures!
Show us what the weather looks like in your neighborhood. Your photo could end up on Spectrum Bay News 9. | 3.333333 |
Arizona led the drive to give women the right to vote. 100 years later, it's paying off Opinion: A century ago, Arizona led the nation in women's rights. As we begin 2020, the state's women are poised to lead great reforms once again.
Show Caption Hide Caption Arizona treated men and women as equals. Where will that take us? Arizona politician Eileen Klein discusses Frances Willard Munds, who fought for suffrage in Arizona, and what women face a century later. David Wallace, The Republic | azcentral.com
Editor's note: As 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment that opened the door for eventually all American women to vote, we invited Eileen Klein, a leading light for years in Arizona government, to write about the accomplishments of Arizona women and the challenges ahead. She does so in this open letter to Frances Willard Munds, who helped lead the crusade for Arizona women’s suffrage a century ago.
Dear Ms. Munds:
The dawn of this new and significant year seems a fitting time to recall Arizona’s role in women’s suffrage and share a bit of good news about the state of our state’s women today. We’ve come a long way over rocky ground, Ms. Munds; maybe farther than you ever dreamed?
One of the last states to join the union, Arizona was among the first 10 to recognize the women’s vote and has consistently supported women leaders since. Your quest for women’s suffrage, inseparable from the quest for statehood, speaks to the smarts, tenacity and can-do attitude of women in the American West and spotlights their courage.
Looking for the other side of the story? Subscribe today for access to even more opinions.
Today more than 3 million women who call Arizona home have the benefit to live in one of the freest states in America, forged from the strength of our shared native, pioneer and immigrant heritage.
Still young, Arizona finds herself entering her second century of statehood at the forefront of America’s population and economic growth, presenting new chances, if not obligations, to build on the competencies and character of Arizona women.
Suffrage was once considered a threat
Perhaps it is just coincidence that your own grandfather, Alexander Hamilton Willard, was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which recorded the first vote by a woman, Sacagawea. The lone woman and a kidnapped Native American, her very presence was instrumental to the expedition’s success, and her “equal fortitude and resolution” was praised by its leaders.
In any case, Ms. Munds, it was you who would reset the suffrage strategy, abandoning appeals to male legislative reason and instead go after the male popular vote following decades of legislative defeat — including a veto by a territorial governor who feared that granting women the right to vote might jeopardize the campaign for statehood.
After statehood was safely secured in 1912, you took advantage of our new state Constitution’s provision for citizen initiative, built a larger coalition of support, and with help from outside the state, won women’s suffrage immediately and impressively with nearly 70% of the vote.
We must pause and duly credit Arizona men with their important role in the victory. The use of citizen initiative, race and immigration would influence state debate and policy for years to come.
Arizona women vote and get involved
Elation quickly turned to election, and by 1914 women had secured seats in the Arizona Legislature, with you, Ms. Munds, as our first female state senator. Legislation to regulate the workday and increase wages were among the first to be considered.
It would take another two generations before statutes would be revised to remove the requirement that officeholders be men. Although you did not live to see the day, in 1988 Arizonans would use the title Madam Governor for the first time.
Today, women lead our electorate. Nearly 70% of eligible Arizona women are registered to vote and nearly 60% voted in the 2018 election cycle, with large increases in participation nationally coming from young women.
While not yet equal in number, Arizonans are known to elect larger percentages of women and more female governors than other states, once electing all women to statewide office and creating a national sensation.
Phoenix, now our nation’s fifth-largest city, is led by a woman mayor, Kate Gallego, and its public safety is led by a woman police chief, Jeri Williams, and fire chief, Kara Kalkbrenner.
Arizona elected her first United States senator, Kyrsten Sinema, in 2018. Her counterpart, Martha McSally, is the first female fighter pilot to command a fighter squadron in combat.
Women prosecutors bring wrongdoers to justice in our oldest (Sheila Polk in Yavapai) and largest counties (Allister Adel in Maricopa).
As a teacher, you will appreciate that several of our university and college presidents are women, including Rita Cheng, president of Northern Arizona University, and Maria Harper-Marinick, chancellor of the Maricopa County Community College District.
Many of them are America's leaders
Arizona women of color, who even after 1912 and 1920 would be excluded from voting in Arizona due to discrepancies in state and federal law and English literacy requirements, are making their mark.
Tucson has just elected its first Latina mayor, Regina Romero. Flagstaff’s mayor, Coral Evans, is African-American.
Beyond local communities, Hispanic, African American and Asian-American women hold statewide constitutional offices (Lea Márquez Peterson and Sandra Kennedy, Corporation Commission; Kimberly Yee, State Treasurer). Native American women lead several of Arizona’s 22 tribal nations.
Arizona has given America some of her most iconic women leaders. Shortly after statehood, an Arizona woman, Sarah Herring Sorin, was the first to try a case unaccompanied by a man before the United States Supreme Court.
Later, a woman who grew up on a ranch in southern Arizona would become the nation’s first majority leader in the state Senate and go on to become America’s first female U.S. Supreme Court justice – Sandra Day O'Connor.
Sandra Day O'Connor: Breaking glass ceilings on rise to the Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor was raised on an Arizona ranch and would become the first female Supreme Court justice. She'd break barriers all along the way. David Wallace, Arizona Republic
The federal bench includes an Arizonan who is America’s first female Native American judge, Diane J. Humetewa.
An Arizona woman, Barbara Barrett, serves as secretary of the United States Air Force.
Our nation celebrated a Navajo woman, Annie Dodge Wauneka, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in public health.
A Tucson troubadour, Linda Ronstadt, who fused her Hispanic heritage with a mix of musical styles has won the highest of praises with a National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center honors.
It is hard to imagine that the women’s vote once threatened Arizona statehood. Today, women define it.
Education is making womens' lives better
Thanks to further changes in federal law, coupled with improvements in health care, education and the economy, a baby girl born into Arizona in 2020 is more able to direct her own life and flourish here, certainly when compared to the baby girl of 1920.
She has independent access to the modern predicates of financial success, namely higher education and credit markets, giving her more opportunity to increase her earnings, build (and pass on) wealth and overcome hardship no matter her race or life circumstance at birth.
She has fewer children than generations before, but she – and they – are more likely to live longer. In Arizona, she can send them to the school of her choice, whether district, charter or private, or she can educate them at home.
Though her economic status is still likely improved by a spouse, it does not depend on one. In fact, with most jobs requiring learning beyond high school, a young woman’s future prospects depend more on her own level of education.
Young women seem to be getting this message. More of them attend and graduate college today, taking advantage of higher education institutions and subjects once closed to them, and opening doors to new career opportunities. (Even Barbie, the nation’s most popular fashion doll, has explored some 200 careers since arriving on the scene 50 years ago dressed in her swimsuit.)
But challenges still persist
Even so, a woman’s journey in the next 100 years is not guaranteed to be of ease. Wage and health disparities persist. More Arizona women and children live in poverty than the national average, a trend that has not improved even amid a growing economy. Women still marry but more also lead households with children, half of which receive federal assistance.
Arizona’s best opportunity and future success lies in addressing these challenges, which will be aided by improving educational opportunity and outcomes.
We hope women’s expanded freedoms and direct participation in self-government bring about a better life for them and their families, and that their increased presence in decision-making and empathic leadership traits bring about a better America, not just a different one.
After 100 years of tremendous change, we still are sorting out our relationships, family structures and lifestyles, working to reconcile that change with societal expectations and economic reality.
Few reforms in the name of women’s rights have enjoyed the same cohesion as suffrage. Some, like abortion, contribute to some of our largest partisan divides.
As women debate these and other issues and as they grow their influence, we hope they will value diversity of thought and demonstrate through civil discourse that a person does not find her voice by shouting over or shutting down the voice of others.
What's next for women in Arizona
Where last century’s reform efforts focused on statehouses and courtrooms, they are now being pursued in board rooms. More companies are recognizing the competitive advantage – and profitability – of fairness and opportunity.
Businesses across industries are working to increase leadership diversity, address pervasive sexual harassment, increase flexibility to accommodate family and move more capable women into management roles – the first step to increasing the pipeline of women executives.
Arizona is well positioned for this next round of reform. Women lead our state’s largest business and trade associations and hold top executive positions at privately held and publicly traded Arizona-based companies.
Arizona is recognized among the top states for growing clout among women-owned businesses. Arizona women lead the state’s largest philanthropic ventures and social service non-profits. Women as consumers drive 70% of the market.
If ever there is to be a perfect convergence of leadership, policy, business practices and social responsibility that benefits all people, it will happen here. As is Arizona tradition, we hope the next round of change will be made in in tandem with men – not as their subordinates, nor their superiors, neither in spite of them nor in lieu of them, but with them – in equal partnership and with equal responsibility.
And so, Ms. Munds, we gladly join America’s centennial celebration of women’s suffrage and pray for ongoing fortitude and resolution to continue the expansion of freedom for all people. For the Arizona we enjoy through your work and that of your contemporaries, and for lighting the path to a more just and equitable life, you have our enduring thanks and respect.
Yours truly,
An Arizona woman
Born in Alaska, raised in Florida, Eileen Klein has chosen to make her home and career in Arizona, where she has served as state treasurer, chief of staff to a governor and president of the Arizona Board of Regents. | While media outlets breathlessly demand gun control, they often ignore stories like the one that occurred in a Texas church Sunday, when an intruder opened fire before being quickly killed by armed churchgoers.
This was yet another case of a good guy with a gun saving potentially dozens of lives. The notion of a good guy with a gun has been repeatedly derided by media outlets as a right-wing, NRA-funded narrative. However, the White Settlement shooting was far from the first example of armed Americans defending themselves, while saving the lives of others. (RELATED: Israeli Veteran: ‘America Has The Best Gun Laws In The World, Appreciate It!’)
After a back to school event in Florida last year was interrupted by gun shots, a bystander with a gun took down the shooter and prevented any casualties. In 2012, an 18-year-old mother in Oklahoma shot dead a knife-wielding intruder, potentially saving the lives of herself and her son. The mother, Sarah McKinley would not have had the opportunity to be armed in several blue states, where the law requires you to be 21-years-old to purchase or own a firearm. Several members of Congress and 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have introduced laws that would bar adults under 21 from obtaining firearms.
A similar situation also unfolded in Oklahoma City in May 2018 at Louie’s Grill & Bar when a man opened fire on the restaurant and shot two people before being subdued by an armed patron. The only fatality in that shooting was the suspect. If all of the patrons had been unarmed, it’s possible that many innocent people could have been killed.
In August, an off-duty firefighter prevented a man carrying more than 100 rounds of ammunition from causing any damage at a Missouri Walmart. The firefighter held the man at gunpoint until police arrived, possibly preventing serious carnage in the process. Despite a good guy with a gun possibly saving lives at one of its stores, Walmart announced earlier this year that it would no longer sell handgun ammunition. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Says She Might Confiscate ‘As Many As 10 Million’ Guns)
In 2012, a 71-year-old Florida man saved several lives at an internet cafe after two teenagers walked in with a baseball bat and a gun. The man, Samuel Williams, was sitting at his computer when he witnessed the incident, and quickly pulled out his .380-caliber handgun to prevent carnage.
In 2010, a 69-year-old Alabama widow shot a burglar three times to protect her home. The robbery took place at 3 a.m., but the Alabama grandmother sprung into action with her .38 snubnosed revolver to keep herself and her home safe.
In 2016, a pregnant mother of two potentially saved her life and the lives of her three children with her firearm after intruders broke into her Ohio home. Her estranged boyfriend and the father of her unborn child attempted to break into her house, breaking down the door of her apartment. The pregnant women prevented a potentially tragic situation by being armed. (RELATED: Students Force University Of Virginia To End 21-Gun Salute On Veterans Day)
Despite the listed examples and many more, establishment media outlets have typically snarled at the notion of a good person with a gun acting to save lives. Susanna Lee of the international news outlet Quartz referred to a good guy with a gun as a “deadly American fantasy.” Alyssa Rosenberg of The Washington Post called the notion a “Hollywood’s most dangerous lie,” placing the blame for mass shootings at the foot of one of America’s most left-wing institutions.
“Elected officials should be ashamed of hiding their inaction behind this vapid slogan. The industry that’s profited off this image for decades should feel ashamed, too,” Rosenberg wrote. “The entertainment industry has played an enormous role in promoting the idea of the invulnerable action-hero cop, to the detriment of civilians and police officers.”
The ominous PBS documentary “Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA” decried the NRA’s influence in American politics, and ridiculed NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre for saying that good guys with a gun have the ability to prevent mass shootings.
“And he almost immediately goes right back to what they usually say, which is that the answer to this is more guns,” CBS News political correspondent and former Washington Post reporter Ed O’Keefe says in the documentary.
Despite this being the settled wisdom of the establishment media outlets, the examples listed above, and findings by the FBI that good guys with a gun can and often do prevent tragedies. The FBI published a study in 2017 of mass shootings that occurred in 2016 and 2017, and found 10 incidents where a good guy with a gun engaged the bad guy. Of the 10 incidents, eight were resolved successfully.
“Armed and unarmed citizens engaged the shooter in 10 incidents. They safely and successfully ended the shootings in eight of those incidents. Their selfless actions likely saved many lives. The enhanced threat posed by active shooters and the swiftness with which active shooter incidents unfold support the importance of preparation by law enforcement officers and citizens alike,” the report stated.
The media and the left may not believe that a good guy with a gun can prevent a tragedy, but there are countless examples and an FBI report that suggest otherwise. It will be fascinating to see if these inconvenient truths are given the time of day as states such as Virginia fervently debate gun control. | 1 |
At the Foreign Ministry, the Swiss envoy received the Islamic Republic’s strong protest over the hawkish comments made by American officials in violation of the United Nations charter.
In a meeting with the Swiss charge d’affaires on Wednesday, Mohsen Baharvand, an assistant to Iran’s foreign minister, urged Switzerland to convey Iran’s protest to the US, and also tell them that Iraq is an independent country with freedom-seeking, independence-seeking, and honourable people.
“The US army has martyred at least 25 young members of the Iraqi nation and wounded scores of others without providing any evidence for their culpability,” Baharvand said.
“The Iraqi people would naturally show reaction to a country that has occupied their territory and is killing their youths. Americans have even bombed two areas in Syria at the same time. That shows they are seeking to achieve other goals, and are just looking for pretexts,” he added.
Baharvand said the American officials had better stop pinning the blame on others and levelling groundless accusations against the Islamic Republic.
The Swiss envoy was also told that Iran is not a hawkish country, but its hands are not tied when it comes to countering any threat and unwise move.
In that case, it will defend itself with full force.
“Instead of raising baseless accusations against others, the US government must learn how to speak to other nations and stop occupation,” the Swiss charge d’affaires was told.
Angered by US air raids that killed over two dozen fighters from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) on Sunday, hundreds of protesters stormed its embassy compound in the high-security Green Zone on Tuesday, setting fires and chanting: “Death to America!” They also demanded the removal of American troops from Iraq.
Reacting to the attack, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday held Iran “fully responsible” for the incident on Twitter and added that the protesters “will be held fully responsible.”
In a separate statement, Trump later also warned that Tehran would “pay a very big price” after the attack. | The Swiss charge d’affaires was summoned on Wednesday over Washington’s accusations against Tehran and its stance on the latest developments in Iraq, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website.
During the meeting with the Swiss diplomat, an Iranian foreign minister’s assistant, Mohsen Baharvand, asked him to convey Iran’s strong protest to the US officials over their “warmongering statements” in violation of the United Nations Charter, the ministry said.
“He (the Swiss envoy) was reminded that Iran is not a country seeking war… but stands against any threat or any unreasonable act and defends itself with all its might,” according to the website.
US officials, including President Donald Trump, are trying to accuse Iran of encouraging the protests underway in Iraq against US airstrikes on bases of Popular Mobilization Units PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha'abi.
On Sunday, US forces conducted drone strikes on a number of Kata'ib Hezbollah bases in Iraq's western Anbar province, killing at least 28 individuals and leaving another 51 injured.
Kata'ib Hezbollah is part of Iraq's PMU.
Following the strikes, the Pentagon issued a statement saying that it had targeted three locations of the Iraqi fighters in Iraq and two in Syria in response to alleged attacks targeting American forces.
The incident led to a massive funeral ceremony for the Iraqi martyrs, followed by a huge rally by thousands of angry protesters who reached the US diplomatic mission in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, chanting ‘Death to America’ and burning US flags on Tuesday.
The protesters further held up signs calling for the US mission to be shut down and for the parliament to order US forces to leave Iraq.
Many protesters have set up tents, announcing plans for an indefinite sit-in until the embassy is closed and the ambassador expelled from the country.
A few hours into the protest, tear gas was fired in an attempt to disperse the crowd. | 4 |
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Stadia was criticized for missing and appending “coming 2020” to so many core features at launch. Precisely six weeks old at the end of 2019, Google’s game-streaming platform will truly grow up this year. Here’s a look at everything that’s yet to come.
Wireless Stadia Controller for mobile, desktop
Even if what appears on the screen is streaming from a faraway server, having a wire from your phone or PC attached to a game controller is not very futuristic. The first-party Made by Google’s signature direct Wi-Fi connectivity is only available on the Chromecast Ultra.
While the best and most familiar gaming experience for the majority is in front of a large television, mobile and web are what truly emphasize that no console is required. Those two form factors extend AAA gaming outside the home, and that’s a first for general gamers. The Google Store listing for Stadia Premiere Edition explicitly states that extended availability is “coming in 2020.”
Feature parity
Mobile
Closely related to expanded wireless Stadia Controller support is a grab bag of features only found when playing with Chromecast Ultra. For example, screen/clip capture is not available through the controller on mobile (or web), while Android devices can only hear voice chats. There is no way to respond or even start parties on smartphones. Similarly, Assistant is only available on the streaming dongle, with achievements not available on mobile yet.
Most of those limitations are presumably related to the Stadia Controller not being able to communicate those actions over a cable. Regardless, it’s confusing for people expecting the same experience on whatever device they want to play with.
Web
Gameplay on Mac, Windows, and Linux fares better than Google’s mobile operating system. The biggest feature limitation is 1080 p-only gameplay that does not allow users to experience Stadia’s 4K promise. Another gripe is the lack of “Data usage and quality” or “Display” settings online, while viewing Captures are mobile only — and all platforms could benefit from basic sharing.
Support for more Android devices and iOS
Stadia is currently limited to the Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, and Pixel 4 family of devices. Google’s mid-range phones make it evident that flagships are not required to run Stadia. Of course, what people are really asking for is iOS and — specifically — the iPad. Any tablet would be better suited for mobile gameplay than a phone.
Google noted during an AMA before launch that it wants “Stadia to run on every screen eventually.” It hopes to “start expanding to more devices next year.”
Android TV support
Thanks to a leaked conference presentation, we learned in September that “Stadia integration” is coming to Android TV with Android 11 in 2020. This would be in line with a push to bring the service to devices that people already own.
In-game Google Assistant
Speaking of Assistant, Google’s cross-device help tool currently has very limited capabilities on Stadia. The most useful game-related functionality is asking to launch a title. At GDC 2019, Google imagined Assistant being able to find video walkthroughs when you’re stuck.
This is likely a more gargantuan task than meets the eye. Fundamentally, Assistant has to be aware of what’s occurring in games. That presumably requires developers to create in-game markers, with YouTubers making similar markups.
YouTube
Streaming
Another ambitious integration is YouTube. But to start with, Google could allow for basic gameplay streaming. This is surprisingly missing for a service that the company touted as generating an extra feed that’s specifically for YouTube.
Interactive sharing
More broadly, there is an opportunity to leverage the large gaming community on Stadia by just having them join streaming creators with Crowd Connect. Also interesting would be State Play where people could share a specific scenario and let others replicate or beat a scenario.
LTE, cellular gameplay
Stadia requires an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection, with LTE not explicitly supported today. That said, the workaround is just making a hotspot with your phone and connecting your laptop. Microsoft’s xCloud beta currently supports LTE networks, and Google could be looking to optimize.
Stadia Store improvements
At 26 titles with various editions, the Stadia Store badly needs search and not just curated sections. Meanwhile, pre-ordering has been hinted at, while “Family” functionality should extend beyond just parental controls. There should be the ability to share games even if only one user is allowed to play at a time.
However, the most important addition to the Stadia Store would be demos. The first aim is to let people actually test how the platform runs on their network for free, and would go a long way to address skepticism. Down the road, streaming Stadia demos could expose gamers to new technologies or concepts. The other reason is of course trying a title before buying.
Stadia Base and monthly Pro subscription
Joining Stadia is not as simple as you’d expect for a web service. A $129 buy-in is currently required with Google clearly wanting the first users to have everything they need to experience on a TV.
Stadia Base is expected to come in 2020 to let players just buy games outright without needing Stadia Pro. The $9.99 subscription provides 4K quality, a free game every month, and discounts. It’s a pretty good value, but most will make do with 1080p, especially to just try out how Stadia works for them.
That said, even more vital is some sort of demo experience that would truly showcase how accessing Stadia is as simple as clicking a link.
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Ads in software are a great source of revenue for companies, but it’s usually something that users don’t appreciate. This week, Realme announced that it would be bringing ads to ColorOS following a year of massive growth in the Android market.
Nomad case for Pixel 3
Realme, for those unaware, is a popular Android smartphone maker, especially in India. We haven’t covered Realme much, but in 2019, the company managed 400% year over year growth which saw it take the #4 spot in India behind Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo. Part of that growth is thanks to Realme’s value on its smartphones which are usually priced lower than the comparable competition.
Going into 2020, Realme wants to “continue offering more surprises” by bringing “content recommendations” to its ColorOS skin over Android. Essentially, Realme is bringing ads to its software in order to help maintain a “healthy and sustainable business model” going forward.
This change will affect devices running ColorOS 6 and the ads on Realme devices will appear in two different places. The first is in the Phone Manager app while the second is on the Security Check page. The ads are enabled by default, but Realme users can disable them by going to Settings > Additional Settings > Content Recommendation and toggling the “feature” off.
Ironically, Realme made fun of Xiaomi earlier this year (via Android Authority) over ads that Xiaomi placed within MIUI, even showing it as a selling point of the Realme 3.
More on Android:
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Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: | 2 |
There's no doubt Grafton Thomas committed a hate crime when he allegedly stabbed five people at a Hanukkah party in New York. He is an African American. There was a time when the two, a hate crime, and African American, were not only mutually exclusive but almost unthinkable. There was good reason. In the long vile, hideous history of racially motivated hate violence in America, African Americans have been the prime targets.
The legions of statutes, photos, and various exhibits that depict gruesome lynching scenes and mob violence against African Americans at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama is gory testimony to that. But even before Thomas welded his machete at the Hanukkah party in New York that had changed.
While Thomas's attack is a grotesque and extreme example of hate violence, it is hardly an aberration. More whites are the targets of racially motivated attacks by Blacks. True, some of the attacks against whites by Blacks are for their money and valuables. Others are revenge assaults by Blacks for real or imagined racial insults. It is equally true that most violent crimes against whites are committed by other whites, while most violent crimes against blacks are committed by other Blacks.
Yet even after discounting crimes that are hastily and erroneously tagged as racially motivated, many blacks do attack whites because they are white. Justice Department studies have shown that a measurable number of the hate crimes examined were committed against whites by Black attackers. The Southern Poverty Law Center which for decades has tracked hate violence in America notes that cases of Black-on-white violence has been more than an aberration in the last two decades.
More than a few ultra-conservative websites, loggers, and the usual motley collection of white supremacists and rightist extremist groups have jumped all over this and screamed long and loud that racial hate now comes with a Black face. This does several things. It puts the finger-point on Blacks as America's major hate mongers. It feeds into America's gun mania by igniting loud calls for fearful whites to arm and protect themselves from lawless Blacks. But most of all, it presents the false narrative that racially motivated hate violence is a grim product of a long bygone past, and that whatever hate violence remains is perpetuated by Blacks.
This lie has worked. Who better than Trump to prove it? He took much heat in November 2015, for his false, gross factually challenged, and deliberately inflammatory retweet of a favorite white nationalist talking point about Black on white crime. Said Trump, whites were in grave peril from being murdered by Blacks, and the stats supposedly proved that. The figures were quickly debunked. It didn't matter. The lie was out there, and countless numbers believed it.
Trump's racist bombast could get zero media and public traction if there weren't just enough white victims and, now as the attack on the Hanukkah party showed, Jewish victims of Black hate violence to make these fallacious claims seem plausible. That's stirred a kind of reverse prickliness on the part of many Blacks. The reaction has been either disbelief that Blacks can commit a hate crime. Or, there's the complaint that when Blacks do commit a hate crime and whites are the victims, the media blows it to the sky and federal hate crime charges are quickly slapped on the Black offender. The charge is there's a double standard in how the media and public perceives and reacts to Black violence against whites as opposed to white violence against Blacks. Thus, there is little outcry or condemnation of it by Blacks. Civil rights leaders and organizations, yes, but Blacks in general, no.
Worse, some Blacks quietly shrug off the violence with the bitter remark that whites have been killing Blacks for years and getting away with it, and that there has been no massive explosion of white outrage at the lax treatment of white killers.
The deafening silence by Blacks on this apparent racial outrage against whites will draw shouts from some that Blacks are hypocrites and have a double standard when victims are whites. They're not totally wrong. The victims of Thomas's rampage were innocents who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and were shot because they were white.
Blacks must mourn these murders as passionately as they do those of Black victims of white attacks and just as passionately call for the harshest punishment of the killer(s). The great strength of the civil rights movement was that it seized and maintained the moral high ground by never stooping to ape the violence of white racists.
The Thomas onslaught caused monumental pain and suffering to the victims' families and friends. It again dangerously heightens racial distrust and poisons racial attitudes. There must be no hesitation, pause, or equally bad silence in condemning these attacks. When Blacks say or do nothing about these attacks, it is taken by some as a tacit signal that Blacks put less value on white lives than on Black lives. There's only message in the wake of the stabbings. A hate crime is a hate crime no matter who commits it.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is the author of The Impeachment of President Trump? (Amazon Kindle). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075XSXJM8 Free Amazon Reading Thursday, December 5
He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network. | Police have arrested a 38-year-old black man from Orange Country, NY, for stabbing five Jews in the home of a Hasidic rabbi in Monsey on the seventh night of Hanukkah. If you’re a New Yorker or a Jew or both, you’re asking why. Why has yet another African-American attacked Jews? Why has black-on-Jewish assault become a continuous feature of life in and around New York? Why now?
The answer: Because the country is seized by the politics of victimhood, and there’s nothing that self-pitying “victims” find easier than blaming Jews for their misery.
The names given to the bogeymen of today’s populism are all historical code words for Jews. On the populist right, this means the elite, the globalists and the media. On the populist left, it’s Wall Street, the wealthy and the 1 percent. If that isn’t enough, the left has also decided that Jews — a minority who make up 2.2 percent of the American population — are “hyper-white” and, in Marxist terms, actually part of the power structure that keeps minorities down.
It’s no secret that right-wing populism has facilitated a violent, sometimes deadly, rise in Jew-hatred, but it’s forbidden to draw similar conclusions about the populist left. At least in public. There are two reasons for this: First, pointing out the problem on the right is a means of attacking President Trump. Second, addressing the problem on the left would mean facing the outsize role that black Americans have played in recent attacks against Jews.
On the first point, it is not only wrong to blame Trump for right-wing anti-Semitism, it’s perverse. How anyone gets away with claiming that the president doesn’t condemn Jew-hatred is beyond me. He condemns it at every turn. He devoted an unprecedentedly large chunk of his last State of the Union address to denouncing anti-Semitism and vowing to fight it wherever it may arise.
Trump recently moved to crack down against anti-Semitism on college campuses (and was denounced for it as a racist by the left). For his commitment to fighting Jew-hatred and his unfaltering support of Israel, he has earned the enmity of far-right anti-Semites.
On the second point, the facts speak for themselves. Throughout 2019, African-Americans attacked Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn on a more-or-less weekly basis, and it barely ever made the mainstream news. It wasn’t until two members of the Black Hebrew Israelites shot up a kosher market in Jersey City in early December that the media was forced into acknowledging reality.
The left’s leading populists have fetishized the victim status of certain minorities, including African Americans. They have made slavery and its legacy the focal points of American life. They have determined, without evidence, that police are on a campaign to kill unarmed blacks. And they speak generally as if we have suddenly been transported to a pre-civil-rights-movement America.
What’s more, unlike Trump, some of the left’s leading populists have gone out of their way to steer their followers toward blaming the Jews. The stand-out figures here are Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Their public record of blaming Jewish money for corrupting American politics is so well-known that it needs no rehearsing here. And it has either been ignored or defended by the larger left. If you called either of them out on their anti-Semitism, you were charged with racism and misogyny. Omar so petrified Democratic leaders that they couldn’t even pass a House resolution condemning her blatant anti-Semitic remarks.
But the problem on the left goes beyond Omar and Tlaib. And it goes beyond the rest of the Squad, who engage in constant anti-Israel theatrics. It stretches to the identitarian populism of most of the 2020 Democratic candidates for president, to the liberal garment-rending over the defeat of the anti-Semitic Jeremy Corbyn, to the intersectional gobbledygook that divides college campuses by ethnicity, to the Women’s March activists who embrace Louis Farrakhan and down to the community level, where, for example, the NAACP’s Passaic branch posts Facebook rants blaming tainted water supplies on the Jews.
Historically, indulged victims have needed no encouragement in pointing their finger at Jews. Telling them that others are responsible for their woes has usually been enough to get them headed in that direction. But some on today’s left have given Jew-hatred an extra nudge. Their winks, dog-whistles and outright calumnies have served as a noxious propaganda campaign and led to a surge of minority anti-Semitism. With the attempted murders in Monsey, this can no longer be kept a secret, and maybe those who have facilitated it will begin to know a little shame.
Abe Greenwald is senior editor of Commentary, from which this column was adapted. | 3.666667 |
2020 New Year’s Message from the Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the Caribbean Community
People of the Caribbean Community, it is with a sense of immense pleasure, pride and humility that I greet you at the start of the new year, as the new Chairman of CARICOM.
Across our region, 2019 has brought more than its fair share of challenges, and indeed many of them, including the very daunting prospects of the climate crisis, are certain to follow us into this New Year.
But as we enter 2020, with no thought of defeat — we do so conscious that long before terms such as resilience and sustainable development were fashionable, we saw ourselves and we knew that we are a resilient people who for centuries have battled adversity of every kind, and we have always prevailed.
Our very history has been one of struggle but one of success!
It is against this backdrop that we can take a fresh look at the path we would wish to set for ourselves and our children, using a term that is no doubt familiar to us all.
It is my sincere wish that our approach to the advancement of our people in every country of Caribbean Community would be characterized by a level of clarity that is usually associated with 2020 vision.
For generations, the actions and the experiences of ordinary men and ordinary women of the Caribbean have left no doubt that they have always known what they have wanted for the inhabitants of these islands.
And we are no different today. In fact, many of us have demonstrated what true integration really means, in spite of the obstacles of bureaucracy that we sometimes confront in our leadership class as we go about our ordinary business.
But at the same time, we recognise that the regional integration movement is very much a relay race. Sometimes we are hard on ourselves, expecting to achieve overnight that which requires patience and careful nurturing over generations.
Our vision to better the lot of our people has remained constant — from the very early days of the Montego Bay Conference in 1947 on Closer Association of the British West Indian Colonies, to the West Indian Fédération of 1958 to 1962 most ably led by the founder of my own political party, the Right Excellent Sir Grantley Adams.
From the establishment of CARIFTA on December 15, 1965 – ten weeks after I was born – at Dickenson Bay in Antigua, to its transformation into the Caribbean Community, the institution we now know, the document signed on July 4, but coming into force on Emancipation Day, August 1, 1973 at Chaguaramas in Trinidad, or to the 1989 Grand Anse Declaration in Grenada that signaled our determination to remove the disadvantages of size and geography from our national development through the commitment to establish the Single Market and Single Economy.
Our process has therefore been one that has moved from generation to generation of committed Caribbean people, to the building of a regional integration movement that will allow us always to work to provide the best lives possible for our people.
Lest we be influenced by those who would only see a half empty glass, rather than one that is half full, may I remind us all that the European integration movement started on April 16, 1948 so as we enter the third decade of the 21st century they too are still working to perfect that union, despite having far more resources than we have ever had in the Caribbean.
I pray, therefore, that 2020 will strengthen us to run our leg of this regional integration relay race with confidence.
I pray that as leaders of the Caribbean Community we will work to give our people renewed confidence and inspiration to help us run this leg, while staying focused on achieving the next phase of critical progress.
And what is that next phase? We are duty bound to continue this journey across the Community whether as a collective of the whole or in twos and threes where we are gathered in a way that will:
Remove the obstacles to passport-free movement between our nations; Make it easier for Caribbean people to go and work where there are opportunities in the Community in a way that is hassle-free in the same way that we have done it for the movement of capital. In keeping with our own Errol Barrow’s vision, the reality of our people must not only be a lived reality but also a legal reality. The Caribbean Community must lead the world in shaping an environment within which migrants among us can live and work with dignity. After all, our modern settlement in the Caribbean has been nothing but that of a community of migrants; Truly advance the process of a single domestic space for transport and communications in the region by working to provide more affordable and reliable air and sea links between our countries and also to establish a single domestic rate for telecommunications and phone calls within CARICOM; Work with the private sector and the labour movement to provide further opportunities beyond transport and communications mentioned above, to food security, to opportunities in the blue economy or renewable energy and ICT for our people – opportunities for investment and for employment; Enable us as we face the climate crisis, to pool the funds of the region in order to be able to finance our own development trajectory for sustainable development so that we may adapt to the new realities of the climate crisis. This will require us coming up with innovative instruments that will better allow us to access the capital that we are not now accessing at a global level. Let us remember that those who help themselves will always be helped by others but we must help ourselves first by pooling our own resources.
My message, in essence, is that 2020 can and must provide the platform for a positive spirit of hope and optimism and a fierce determination to come together as Caribbean people to purposefully carry forward the transformation of our region into a space that truly values, nurtures, and provides concrete opportunities for every Caribbean man, woman and child to run our leg of this relay.
But our pathway toward a better life for our people will not open up the opportunities we seek if we focus only on ourselves and our region. While we look ahead, we must do so fully cognizant of the advances we are making in claiming our Atlantic destiny as a region as we reach out to our brothers and sisters on the African continent.
We have already started discussions at the highest levels on the African continent with people with whom many of us share a common ancestry and history and who, like us, recognize the imperative of mutual cooperation as we go into 2020.
CARICOM has accepted the offer of shared office space from the Government of Kenya in Nairobi. We need to open it urgently and advance our interests in the city that is indeed the home of the UN Environmental Programme and UN Habitat both of which deal with issues that are vital to our own development in the Caribbean Community.
Within the next six months, we will also work towards jointly hosting the first ever African Union-CARICOM Summit. We need to resolve as a region that we will not leave that gathering without laying the foundation for tangible progress in areas of direct air and sea access across the Atlantic, greater trade in goods and services, and more cultural exchanges between our regions.
In closing, I commend to people across our region the initiative we have embraced in Barbados. We have designated 2020 as the year in which we will work together to perfect our finer vision for all Barbadians, regardless of where in the world we live. We can only become better as Caribbean people if we hold to the maxim — Dare to dream; and always be determined to deliver.
But as we seek to use this year 2020 to perfect a finer vision for our island in Barbados, as we gather parish by parish, I want now to ask each of us as Caribbean people to do the same for where we want to go and who we want to be as Caribbean people for 2020 must be where we can perfect that fine vision.
All that is left for me to do is to wish you, each and every one, a blessed 2020 and to a greater and more powerful Caribbean Community! | America Ferrera has celebrated the new year by announcing she is expecting a second child with husband Ryan Piers Williams.
The Ugly Betty actress is already a mother to one-year-old son Sebastian.
She shared a photograph on Instagram showing the family of three in the snow as she and her little boy cradle her baby bump, while her husband has an arm around both of them.
She wrote on Instagram: “Welcoming Baby #2 in 2020! Happy New Year from our wild & growing bunch.”
Piers Williams shared the same photo and wrote: “So much to look forward to in 2020, but one thing in particular sticks out!
“Can’t wait to welcome another beautiful creature into this world. Happy New Years!!”
The couple have been married since June 2011 and Ferrera announced they were expecting their first child on January 1 2018, when she posted a picture of the couple holding up a baby onesie. | 1.333333 |
President Trump has signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020 that establishes a U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces -- despite the Outer Space Treaty designating space as a global commons to be used for peaceful purposes.
Reported Space News: "Trump signed the NDAA flanked by top defense and military officials at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland." https://spacenews.com/trump-signs-defense-bill-establishing-u-s-space-force-what-comes-next/ It quoted Trump saying: "Today marks a landmark achievement as we officially inaugurate the newest branch or our military, the U.S. Space Force. This is very big and important moment."
The Space News article quoted U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper saying at the signing December 20: "Our reliance on space-based capabilities has grown dramatically and today outer space has evolved into a warfighting domain of its own. Maintaining American dominance in that domain is now the mission of the United States Space Force."
Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, headquartered in Maine, said of what happened: "The words 'warfighting domain' and US 'dominance in space' indicate that the Pentagon is actively planning to fight a war in space. This misguided notion is probably the most dangerous and frightening development of my lifetime -- and I had thought the Cold War-era was bad. The idea that the U.S. thinks it can fight and 'win' a war in space is indeed the height of insanity."
The U.S. Congress joining with the Trump administration "to push forward with this 'US exceptionalism to the max' notion indicates just how much the aerospace industry has taken control of Washington," Gagnon, of Brunswick, Maine, continued.
"It is clear to me that what the Pentagon has long called 'the largest, and most expensive, industrial project in human history'Star Wars,' will drive our nation's economy over the cliff," said Gagnon. "There will be rockets and weapons in space and more homeless across the nation than anyone could ever imagine. Yes, we should call it Pyramids to the Heavens. The aerospace industry is the contemporary version of the Pharaohs of Egypt and the taxpayers will be the slaves. But everything has an Achilles Heel and the enormous cost of Star Wars could just be it."
He stated: "It's more than the right time for the public to declare a resounding NO."
The formation of a U.S. Space Force and the U.S. drive for "American dominance" of space will inevitably turn space into a war zone because other nations, China and Russia and then more, will respond in kind. There will be an arms race in space.
The landmark Outer Space Treaty of 1967 was put together by the U.S., the former Soviet Union, and the U.K., and since signed by most nations on Earth. It was spurred, as Craig Eisendrath, as a U.S. State Department officer involved in its creation, by the Soviet Union launching Sputnik, the first space satellite, as he noted in the 2001 TV documentary I wrote and narrate, "Star Wars Returns." It's online. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4w2h7 Eisendrath said "we sought to de-weaponize space before it got weaponized"to keep war out of space."
The Outer Space Treaty prohibits the placement of weapons of mass destruction in space, and although the Trump administration and U.S. military have been claiming a Space Force is necessary because of Russia and China moving into space militarily, in fact Russia and China -- and U.S. neighbor Canada -- have been leaders for decades in pushing for an expansion of the Outer Space Treaty. They have been advocating the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) treaty under which the placement of any weapons in space would be barred. The U.S.under both Republican and Democratic presidential administrationshas opposed the PAROS treaty and has effectively vetoed it at the United Nations. (I've been there to see this.)
"'Today is an historic moment for our nation as we launch the United States Space Force,'" Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett told reporters Dec. 20," said the Space News article. "The Space Force is the first new military service created since 1947, when the Air Force was born from the U.S. Army Air Corps," it continued .
"The Space Force authorization marks a huge political victory for Trump, who started championing the idea of a space service in early 2018 and directed the Pentagon in June 2018 to figure out a plan to make it happen," said Space News, quoting Barrett as saying: "The president's vision has become a reality with overwhelming bipartisan and bicameral support from Congress." Raymond: "We do have a plan to rename the principal Air Force bases that house space units to be space bases."
In a subsequent article, Space News reported that with the establishment of a U.S. Space Force, there is a plan to rename U.S. Air Force bases as U.S. Space Force bases. The piece said: "Air Force installations that primarily do space work would be renamed Space Force bases. Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, for example, could become Peterson Space Force Base. Other candidates for re-designation include Colorado-based Schriever Air Force Base and Buckley Air Force Base, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California."
The article quoted General John "Jay" Raymond, who has been commander of the U.S. Space Command and has become commander of the new U.S. Space Force, as saying: "We do have a plan to rename the principal Air Force bases that house space units to be space bases." https://spacenews.com/following-standup-of-u-s-space-force-air-force-bases-could-be-renamed-as-space-bases/?fbclid=IwAR06TsDxQAfTBHd8G2765Oiq_xQxL-3ofyWE8XzQ1tIPJfSr72UrSp9kMEo
Meanwhile, the U.S. military immediately unveiled an "official" U.S. Space Force website at https://www.spaceforce.mil/?fbclid=IwAR2QAl-nRdvG0QzdU9Laeiv8ESHUNmTHJClrnqhVFmaCVqBy26bBiEEXrBM
In the U.S. House of Representatives, the vote for NDAA on December 11 was 377 to 48. Some 189 Republicans and 188 Democrats voted for it. Six Republican House members voted no along with 41 Democrats and one independent. The vote was reported to be a result of a trade-off for 12 weeks of paid parental leave for civilian federal employees. The New York Times' article on the vote said Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and advisor, was pivotal. "It was Mr. Kushner who helped broker a deal to create the Space Force, a chief priority of the president's, in exchange for the paid parental leave, a measure championed by his wife, Ivanka Trump, also a senior advisor to the president," said The Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/us/politics/house-ndaa-space-force-leave.html
Next Page 1 | 2 | Cantwell Continues to Fight the Rising Tide of Privacy Threats Impacting Consumers
Cantwell: Cybersecurity adversaries become more sophisticated and more organized day by day
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the top Democrat on the committee, continued her fight for consumers as Congress considers federal data privacy legislation.
“When the dust settles after a data breach or a misuse of data, consumers are the ones who are left harmed or disillusioned,” said Cantwell.
Cantwell highlighted the onslaught of data breaches consumers have faced, including a recent data breach that left unprotected the addresses, full names, dates of birth, income, and marital status of more than 80 million US households.
“Consumers continue to be bombarded by threats to their privacy. Cybersecurity adversaries become more sophisticated and more organized day by day, and we really need to understand privacy on a continuum of data security. We need to take a more proactive approach to cybersecurity and make sure that we are continuing to protect consumers.”
Some reports have estimated that more than 1,200 data breaches exposed over 446.5 million records in the United States in 2018. Worldwide, data breaches compromised more than 4.5 billion data records in the first half of 2018 alone. And this year, the largest ever single public data breach by volume was discovered – it exposed more than 772 million unique emails and more than 21 million unique passwords.
In light of these ever-increasing cyber threats, transparency, consent and plain-language notices are simply not enough, Cantwell said in her remarks, while pushing for a greater focus on protection of people’s personal data.
“While the benefits of the online world are everywhere…so must be protections of personal information that is more than just a commodity. We need to make sure that the culture of monetizing our personal data at every twist and turn is countered with the protection of people’s personal data.”
At the first Commerce Committee hearing on privacy in the 116th Congress, Cantwell criticized efforts to pre-empt laws from states like California, which has adopted its own privacy protections, in any federal legislation that Congress may consider.
Senator Cantwell has long advocated for more stringent protections for the privacy of American consumers, including when she questioned the CEO of Equifax on data breaches, when she questioned Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and when she urged President Trump to veto a resolution passed by Congress to undo consumer privacy regulations adopted by the FCC.
Here is VIDEO and AUDIO from Senator Cantwell’s opening statement at today’s hearing.
Here is VIDEO and AUDIO from Senator Cantwell’s Q&A with the witnesses at the hearing.
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In 2018 County Executive Chris Abele bought a 1920s lakefront mansion in Shorewood. In May, 2019, he announced plans to demolish the mansion. The Plenty of Horne story on this became the most popular one of the year. The column included other suburban news among its favored posts, including a review of the transit-unfriendly remodeling of Bayshore, a Glendale mall, and of a riverfront battle in the Village of River Hills.
Closer to home, a land purchase by Saint John’s on the Lake, the conversion of a Third Ward firehouse and memories of a nonagenarian South Side bartender were also popular with readers. A 2018 post wondered if a painting commissioned for the State of Wisconsin Executive Residence, and then evicted to the Milwaukee Public Library, would be returned to the governor’s mantle, and was answered in the affirmative in a March, 2019 column. A visit to Chicago for the 70th birthday party for former mayor John Norquist brought memories to many, including this columnist. A story from 2018 about the licensure of Rudy Giuliani, Esq. (or lack thereof) remained in the Top 10, and from the looks of things, might be back again in 2020.
I am grateful for all of the readers who have shown their support for Plenty of Horne and Urban Milwaukee in the past year, and look forward to serving you — and seeing you — in 2020. | As families across Chicago look ahead to 2020, we want to take a moment to reflect on how far this city has come over the past year.
On New Year’s Eve, Chicago brought 2019 to a close with a third consecutive year of historic, record-level crime reductions across the city, with robberies, burglaries and vehicle thefts at their lowest levels in more than 20 years. And with the lowest number of shootings since 2014 and murders since 2015, overall violent crime in neighborhoods across the city dropped to a four-year low.
Opinion
These gains are the result of a data-informed, collaborative strategy with Chicago’s police officers, community-based organizations and street outreach groups who have dedicated their lives to keeping this city and its residents safe.
But make no mistake, we are not taking a victory lap. Our work will not end until Chicago is the safest big city in the country.
And while the numbers are improving, we know that statistics are cold comfort to the victims of the grinding violence that continues to traumatize communities across our city.
More than 260 teenagers and children were shot last year alone, 35 of whom saw their lives cut short by a bullet. While these numbers are down from 2018, this is still a grim reminder of the horrors of gun violence.
Whether it’s a 7-year-old girl shot early on Christmas morning, a child wounded by gunfire while trick-or-treating on Halloween, or 13 people struck by bullets after gunmen opened fire at a memorial; for all the gains we’ve made, it’s moments like these that show how far we still have to go.
These heinous, unconscionable acts have no place in our city, and we can never give safe harbor to perpetrators of violence.
Communities are shattered and families suffer from the on-going trauma of devastating and relentless violence. Such violence is not normal. We cannot allow ourselves to grow numb to it.
Now, more than ever, our faith must overcome our fears, and residents must continue to take back their communities block by block, together.
Ending the tragedy of gun violence demands that we continue our work to build trust between our police department and the communities they serve.
Trust is the best public safety tool we have. It’s earned through officers being invested in improving the neighborhoods they serve — one block party, one softball game, one community barbecue at a time.
2020 will mark Chicago’s first full year under the federally-mandated consent decree to reform our police department and lay the foundation for accountability and transparency. Its ultimate success depends on our officers viewing it as an opportunity not an obstacle.
As chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Charlie Beck led his city through its own consent decree, and worked to restore integrity to a department plagued by distrust and corruption. Now, as interim superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, he is laying the groundwork for our own road to reform and moving Chicago toward a policing model that relies on constitutional, compassionate and culturally fluent officers who carry a mindset of respect with them every day.
But our officers can’t do this alone. It takes an all-hands-on-deck effort. And they are being joined by violence interrupters, blocks clubs and faith groups that have immersed themselves into the fabric of neighborhoods under a singular mission to protect the city we all call home.
The violence we are facing is the result of years upon years of disinvestments in our South Side and West Side communities. It will take time to fix.
Whether it’s providing mentoring and group-based therapy to 400 teenagers at the highest risk of gun violence through our Summer for Change initiative; working with 30 neighborhood-based organizations to provide treatment services and job training to communities hit hardest by addiction and violence; or aligning an unprecedented $750 million in public, private and philanthropic investments into our South and West Side neighborhoods; the meaningful gains we make in public safety today started by investing in our people and neighborhoods and focusing on the root causes of gun violence.
In 2019, we drove down crime to a historic low and started to change the narrative in Chicago. And in 2020, we will change it even further together.
With a new police superintendent to lead CPD in its next chapter of reform, a first-of-its-kind Office of Public Safety Administration to modernize our public safety departments and a $11.5 million down payment in our violence reduction strategy — a 700% increase in funding compared to last year — we have already started building on this momentum.
There’s hard work ahead of us. But we are on a path to a safer tomorrow, and we will not turn back until all Chicagoans experience and feel the safety they deserve.
Send letters to: letters@suntimes.com. | 1.333333 |
Pomidor Quixote
Daily Stormer
January 1, 2020
People should look at this as a kind of homework for the schools’ sexual education curricula.
Breitbart:
The scourge of sexual exploitation of children has reached “epidemic” levels in the United Kingdom, as nearly 19,000 children were sexually groomed over the past year. Local authorities have reported over 18,700 suspected victims of child sexual exploitation at the hands of grooming gangs between 2018-19, more than five times higher than the 3,300 reported cases just five years ago. Sammy Woodhouse, a victim of the Rotherham rapist Arshid Hussain, said that the authorities have not implemented meaningful changes in combatting the crisis.
It’s almost as if the authorities wanted this to happen.
“You hear this bullshit line, ‘lessons have been learned’, but they haven’t learned anything”, she told The Independent. “I still hear a lot about the authorities aren’t doing things as they should. It’s not very often I hear something good and for all different reasons – if the police won’t act on reports, people feel they’re not being listened to or supported properly, or information not being shared”, she added. “I’ve said for years that this country’s in epidemic when it comes to abuse and exploitation. Authorities claim it’s under control but it’s not”, Woodhouse concluded.
Considering that the number of victims continues to increase and that the authorities themselves are reporting the increase… yeah, it’s obviously not under control.
Lancashire was the locality hit the hardest last year, with a total of 624 suspected victims, followed by Birmingham with 490, 447 in Surrey, 414 in Bradford and 409 in Gloucestershire. Thousands of more cases of abuse have been discovered across the country over the past decade, especially as the scandals of predominantly Pakistani male child rape gangs have been exposed. The Labour MP for Rotherham, Sarah Champion, said that the figures demonstrate that grooming “remains one of the largest forms of child abuse in the country”. “The government has singularly failed to tackle this issue head-on. Its approach has been piecemeal and underfunded”, she said.
In order to tackle this issue head-on, another issue has to be tackled head-on: immigration.
That would be racist though, so the government won’t do it.
In 2018, then Home Secretary, Sajid Javid launched an inquiry into the ethnic origins of members of grooming gangs in the UK. Speaking to the BBC in December, Javid determined that the majority of perpetrators were of Pakistani origin. “When it comes to gang-based child exploitation it is self-evident to anyone who cares to look that if you look at all the recent high-profile cases there is a high proportion of men that have Pakistani heritage”, Javid said. “There could be – I’m not saying that there are – there could be some cultural reasons from the communities that these men came from that could lead to this kind of behaviour”, he added.
What does he mean “self-evident”?
These men look like average Londoners with English heritage.
See?
Besides, we have to look at the bright side here and consider that if British teenagers weren’t being groomed, then the men there would leave the country and search for sex elsewhere, and there would be no one left to pay the pensions and stuff.
The Economy would suffer and it would be a total disaster.
Silent Guardian of The Economy
There’s just no other way.
If we want The Economy to prosper, we have to allow these hard-working men to groom our daughters. | LILLE, FRANCE - Over 2,300 migrants had to be rescued attempting to cross the English Channel in 2019, four times the number for 2018, local authorities in northern France said on Tuesday.
In total 261 cases of crossings or attempted crossings were recorded by the French and British authorities, mainly in small, often overloaded, inflatable boats, the Maritime Prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea told AFP.
Some 2,358 people had to be rescued compared to 586 in 2018.
Over the past year, growing numbers of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia have taken to the treacherous waters of the Channel in small fishing boats or inflatable dinghies.
Rights groups have linked the crossings to a police crackdown to prevent the establishment of migrant camps in Calais and other areas along the French coast.
At least four migrants died in 2019 attempting to make the dangerous crossing in the Channel, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, with strong currents and icy waters.
A spokesman for the UK's Home Office said a Border Force cutter and two coastal patrol vessels were patrolling the Channel.
"There has also been a doubling of patrols on French beaches and drones, specialist vehicles and detection equipment have been deployed to stop small boats leaving French shores and arriving in the UK illegally.
"Individuals who reach the UK illegally should be in no doubt about our determination to return them to Europe as it is an established principle that those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach." -AFP | 2.5 |
Editor:
While we continue to bleed tree-canopy loss in our communities, it is clear that councils who continue to give the green light to large infrastructure projects simply do not understand what they are creating in terms of future damage to our communities.
I would like to remind them of the value of maintaining tree life on our streets and avenues, and within parks and wooded sections of our cities:
• Trees absorb the CO2 in the atmosphere and store the carbon while releasing oxygen back into the air;
• Trees absorb pollutants and gases in the air, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxides, ammonia and ozone;
• In one year, an acre of trees provide enough oxygen for 18 people to breathe;
• Trees provide shade and keep us cool in hot weather. They can reduce temperatures on streets and in cities by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas concrete and asphalt are heat-trapping;
• Trees help us conserve energy by reducing the need for the use of air conditioning in houses where trees are present nearby;
• Trees conserve water by reducing evaporation of it by heat and by ensuring that water loss is minimized by absorbing rainfall through their root systems instead of losing it to runoff;
• Trees act like sponges and help remove pollutants from rainfall water before it reaches storm drains and bodies of water;
• Trees help reduce soil erosion and landslides with their root systems and reduce flood potential;
• Trees can reduce exposure to UVB rays from the sun by up to 50 per cent;
• Neighbourhoods and homes that are barren have been shown to have a greater incidence of violence in and out of the home than their greener counterparts. Trees and landscaping help to reduce the level of fear;
• Trees provide a home and a habitat for wildlife. Imagine how challenging it has become for bird life to find appropriate nesting sites to help raise the next generation of their species. Birds are being squeezed out of many communities due to a complete lack of nest-building sites;
• The beauty of a well-planted property and its surrounding street and neighbourhood can raise property values by as much as 15 per cent;
• Studies show that the more trees and landscaping a business district has, the more business will flow in.
• A tree-lined street will also slow traffic – enough to allow the drivers to look at the storefronts instead of whizzing by.
These are just some of the many reasons for us to preserve trees and make them a large part of our communities, instead of clear-cutting huge swaths of them for what is promoted as ‘affordable housing’ for our growing communities and instead becomes yet another money-maker for a developer who cares little about the frivolous topic of tree preservation in the community.
Trees have communities, too, and communicate with each other to help them preserve and care for themselves through transportation of enzymes through their root systems.
If trees could talk, they would tell us that by removing them in the vast numbers that we continue to do, they are no longer able to help protect us from the future that awaits us in a world bereft of trees.
Wake up, community councils, and smell the coffee before the only thing we will be smelling is the slow burn of our communities from the ravages of our rapidly overheated climate. Stop the carnage before Mother Nature turns her back on us completely.
Michael King, White Rock | Subject: Strategy
Image credit: Paramount Pictures
The Godfather trilogy is possibly the all-time best cinema for entrepreneurs, highlighting why relationships and building networks matter, why helping people lends itself to good business, and why understanding competition is non-negotiable. The movies are intensely entertaining, packed with thrilling and thought provoking scenes that will leave you better prepared to handle your next business challenge.
Topics covered include competitive strategies, key personnel retention, corporate take-overs (friendly and hostile), alliances, mergers and acquisitions, corporate succession and long-term corporate diversification. | 1 |
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The Roaring '20s are upon us again, but it's a different sort of sound as a fresh decade dawns in Michigan.
It's the roar of construction equipment in downtown Detroit. The rumble of Jeep Grand Cherokees at FCA's Mack Avenue engine plant. The howl of Detroit Lions fans as the beleaguered franchise tries to figure out what's been going wrong for the past few generations.
OK, there's nothing new about that last one. But the team fired four assistant coaches and the strength and conditioning staff Tuesday, so maybe there's progress even with the same old head coach and general manager.
Elsewhere, it's a new day.
The auto show will be pushed back into warmer days. A dramatic new tower on the old Hudson's site will continue going up, while a dreary Joe Louis Arena should finish coming down.
Two more priests could face charges in a continuing clergy abuse scandal, and the Novi man moldering in a Russian prison should soon come to trial.
Criminal justice reform is on the docket, and so is political redistricting. There will be a new garden on Belle Isle and a new movie about Aretha Franklin.
And, finally, the damned roads will be fixed. Or not.
We might need to check back on that one in 10 years when we welcome the Thundering '30s. But here's a look at what's almost surely coming in 2020:
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer presents her fiscal year 2020 budget proposal to lawmakers during a joint meeting of the House and Senate appropriations committees in the Senate Hearing Room at the state capitol in Lansing, March 5, 2019.
(Photo: Todd McInturf, The Detroit News,)
Road funding, criminal justice reform talks to resume
January is likely to kick off a Take 2 of the road funding debate in Lansing as Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer presents a new plan to fix and fund Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure. The GOP-led Legislature panned Whitmer’s plan for a 45-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase last year, setting off weeks of debate, stalemate and then massive vetoes in the state budget that were only restored in mid-December. It remains to be seen whether the governor and Legislature can reach consensus on a new plan.
Lawmakers are expected to continue efforts to reform Michigan’s criminal justice system, and a fight might be brewing over tax dollars diverted for the state’s contentious economic development programs. Several incentive programs are on the chopping block as is future funding for the popular Pure Michigan tourism campaign, as lawmakers debate whether the state should be funding the programs.
The 2020 election is expected to cast a long shadow over the work of government as presidential candidates vie for the support of Michigan voters and a large swath of state lawmakers and federal officials compete for re-election.
In the midst of election chaos, the Secretary of State’s office also will be moving forward with the selection of commissioners for the new Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission who will redraw voting boundaries for 2022.
Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee, shakes hands briefly with President Donald Trump after he invited her on stage during a political rally in Battle Creek.
(Photo: David Guralnick, The Detroit News)
Michigan a target in presidential politics
Many believe the road to the Oval Office will go through Michigan in 2020. The state, seen as a key battleground, will first weigh in on March 10, when the state holds its presidential primary.
But just nine days into the new year, President Donald Trump will have his first rally of 2020 down the road in Toledo, potentially coinciding with the beginnings of his Senate impeachment trial.
Political experts say the president is trying to capitalize on two swing states in one stop: Ohio and Michigan. Ohio, once an extremely competitive state, has trended more Republican in recent years, with Trump winning by an 8 percentage point margin there in 2016. But Trump won Michigan that year by just 10,704 votes, his closest margin of victory.
Trump, along with Vice President Mike Pence, recently visited Michigan for a rally in Battle Creek on Dec. 18 — the same day the U.S. House voted in favor of two articles of impeachment against the president.
The Mitten State will again be in the national spotlight on Oct. 15, when the University of Michigan will host the second round of presidential debates at Crisler Center, just weeks before the November election.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says Friday. May 24, 2019, during a news conference in Lansing discussing plans for investigations into sex abuse at Catholic churches in the state.
(Photo: Matthew Dae Smith, AP)
AG expected to weigh in on clergy abuse, Flint Water Crisis
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is expected to announce charges against two additional priests shortly after New Year’s in relation to a clergy abuse investigation that generated charges against seven priests in 2019. Nessel also is expected to announce a lawsuit related to chemical contamination in Michigan’s drinking water.
Whitmer also has said she expects Nessel to make announcements in early 2020 regarding the criminal investigation into the Flint Water Crisis. The attorney general is likely to run up against the statute of limitations for several potential charges in Flint in April, which will mark the six-year anniversary of the moment the city switched its water source from Detroit's water system to the Flint River.
Traditionally used for parking, the Cobo roof may become a venue for entertainment and other displays at the June, 2020 Detroit auto show.
(Photo: NAIAS)
Auto show to make summer debut
The Detroit auto show will see a big change in 2020. Show organizers officially announced in 2019 that the 2020 show would take place in June after decades as a winter staple in downtown Detroit. Show organizers plan to expand the show outside of TCF Center downtown to include outdoor events, and add to the annual Charity Preview event with an outpost in Hart Plaza. Showrunners and automakers expect the move to warmer months would add new experiences for consumers attending the annual event.
Expansion and new construction of the FCA Mack Avenue Engine Plant and paint shop are underway on Detroit's east side on November 6, 2019.
(Photo: John T. Greilick, Detroit News)
Chrysler plant to open, electrification ramps up
Detroit’s first new assembly plant in nearly 30 years is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2020. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s reconfigured and expanded Mack Avenue Engine Complex will produce the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and new full-size, three-row Jeep SUVs along with plug-in hybrids versions. Nearby, General Motors Co.’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant will idle starting in February as the plant is retooled to build electric pickup trucks and vans.
Ford Motor Co. also is upping its electrification efforts with the Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV, which is expected to become available in the fall, and the new F-150 pickup, which will offer a hybrid version in 2020 with a fully electric model to follow. Plymouth-based Rivian could begin delivering its electric pickup and SUV in late 2020.
Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler and French automaker Groupe PSA of the Peugeot brand will be working toward obtaining regulatory and shareholder approval to merge and create the world’s fourth-largest automaker. The combination, however, could take until early 2021 to close.
Third-grade students entering Michigan's K-12 public schools this fall will be subject to retention under the state's third-grade reading law if they are not reading at grade level on the state assessment in 2020.
(Photo: David Guralnick, file, The Detroit News)
Third-grade reading law takes effect
Michigan's controversial third-grade reading law allows educators to retain struggling third-graders beginning this spring.
The law, adopted in 2016, stops third-grade students from moving to the fourth grade —with some exemptions — if they read a grade level behind on the state's English Language Arts assessment, which measures reading, writing, listening and language.
However, Michigan will use a scoring system to make third-grade retention decisions that could promote thousands of students who still need additional reading help.
In 2019, the Michigan Department of Education approved a set of cut scores — selected points on a test's score scale — for third-graders taking the M-STEP in 2020 that will be used to make decisions for retentions.
Only 5% of third-grade students would have been held back under the new scoring system had it been applied to 2019 scores. That figure is in dramatic contrast to the 54.9% of third graders — or 55,336 students — scored less than proficient on the ELA test.
Jamarria Hall stands outside Osborn High School. Hall is a DPS graduate and plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State of Michigan alleging a lack of access to literacy in Detroit's schools.
(Photo: Max Ortiz, The Detroit News)
A decision in Detroit literacy battle
A ruling is expected early this year in a historic case over whether Detroit school children can access literacy amid deplorable conditions in their schools and whether the state of Michigan denied their rights when it ran the district.
A three-judge panel heard oral arguments in October in the 2016 case in which seven Detroit students allege a lack of books, classrooms without teachers, poor building conditions and extreme temperatures deprived them access to literacy in their public schools.
A lawyer for the state of Michigan, however, argued decreased student enrollment triggered a loss of financial resources to Detroit schools and that the state is not responsible for what happened in the district during its two decades of oversight.
Judges Eric L. Clay, Jane Branstetter Stranch and Eric E. Murphy spent more than an hour hearing from attorneys from both sides and asking questions about the case.
The class-action lawsuit, which is seen as an unprecedented attempt to establish that literacy is a U.S. constitutional right under the 14th Amendment, is being closely watched by education, legal and civil rights experts with some saying it could make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Paul Whelan, a former BorgWarner employee from Novi, was jailed for alleged spying in Russia a year ago. His family has worked to free him.
(Photo: Dmitry Serebryakov / AP)
Novi man accused of espionage awaits trial in Russia
A trial is expected in early 2020 for a Novi man who has spent more than a year in a Russian prison on spying charges. Paul Whelan, 49, was arrested Dec. 28, 2018, in a Moscow hotel room and charged with espionage. His family has said he was in Russia for a friend’s wedding.
During a Christmas Eve detention hearing, a Moscow court ordered Whelan to remain behind bars. Russian authorities won't consider releasing him until after his trial, which could be held in March, at the earliest, according to his lawyers. Whelan's defense team has argued he was framed and had no knowledge of the classified data on a flash drive he was handed as part of the alleged setup.
In October, the U.S. House unanimously approved a resolution urging Russia to produce “credible” evidence against Whelan or “immediately” release him. Whelan's employer, automotive parts supplier BorgWarner, recently confirmed that his job in Michigan has been eliminated. Whelan's family and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow have raised concerns about his declining health due to a hernia, as well as his treatment and isolation by authorities in Russia.
Casey Mize
(Photo: Robin Buckson, Detroit News)
Young Tigers try to earn stripes
The Detroit Tigers say they’ve torn it all down. Now, we might this season get a chance to see what they’re building. Trades over the last three years have gutted the major-league roster, and it’s shown, as the Tigers have averaged 103 losses during that span. Those trades — as well as high first-round draft picks, thanks to the Tigers’ tailspin — have helped reseed a farm system left relatively barren as Detroit pushed for championships earlier in the decade.
That system could bear plenty of fruit in 2020. Of the Tigers' top 10 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, seven are projected by the site to reach Comerica Park at some point next season, with an eighth (catcher Jake Rogers) having debuted last season. That includes top prospect and former No. 1 overall draft pick, right-hander Casey Mize. Tigers general manager Al Avila also brought in solid if not unspectacular free agents in second baseman Jonathan Schoop and first baseman C.J. Cron to add pop to a lineup that last season was sorely lacking.
The 2020 Tigers won’t be ready to contend in the American League Central, to be sure, and very likely won’t even be ready to flirt with .500, but they could be better than last season’s 114-loss edition, giving fans a little hope for the present, and the future.
Plans for the $830 million Monroe Blocks project in downtown Detroit, seen in a courtyard view in this rendering, include more than an acre of open space.
(Photo: Bedrock)
Developments to progress downtown
For downtown development, 2020 will be a year of waiting for key details on several of the most ambitious real estate plans in the central business district.
Another question is the status of real estate mogul Dan Gilbert, who has been recuperating since he suffered a stroke in May, and the future structure of his Bedrock development group.
Construction of the estimated $1 billion Hudson's project — a "city within a city" as once described by Bedrock officials — will keep going in 2020. Completion date is 2023. In 2020, it's possible the developer will decide whether the project will include the city's tallest building.
At another Bedrock development, construction work of the estimated $830 million Monroe Blocks project, was slowed in 2019. More updates are expected in 2020.
Joe Louis Arena will become history in 2020; its demolition will be completed. What happens to the riverfront property is unclear. In fall 2019, Detroit-based Sterling Group said it wanted to buy the former arena and adjacent parking garage for $14.1 million. Under the proposed deal, the group may take up to five years to figure out what to do with the property.
Sometime in the early to middle of 2020, more specifics should be unveiled on the estimated $750 million plan for the University of Michigan's "Detroit Center for Innovation." The development planned for at "failed jail" site on the edge of Greektown. The development would be anchored by the $300 million research and graduate education building for UM students.
Crowds pack a Detroit public hearing about whether the City Council should place a $250 million bond measure to continue to eliminate blight on the March ballot
(Photo: Christine Ferretti)
A revised blight bond plan
A new proposal to wipe out blight is anticipated from Detroit's administration in 2020 after City Council in November rejected Mayor Mike Duggan's plan to put a $250 million bond before voters to fund it.
The council's 6-3 vote against putting a 30-year bond before voters in March left the future path for tearing down tens of thousands of abandoned homes up in the air. The vote came as Detroit's auditor general released a critical report of city-funded demolition work, citing unreliable data and documentation.
Duggan has said he respected the council's decision and vowed to forge ahead on a plan that both sides can agree on.
Detroit has brought down nearly 20,000 houses since 2014, primarily with federally funds. But the program fell under scrutiny over bidding concerns and soaring costs and has since become the subject of local, state and federal reviews and investigations.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh watches the game in the third quarter.
(Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News)
Michigan, Michigan State try to shake funk
The Michigan and Michigan State football programs will enter the 2020 season coming off the same-old, same-old. The Wolverines still haven’t reached a Big Ten title game under Jim Harbaugh and still can’t beat archrival Ohio State. The Spartans, meanwhile, still appear mired in mediocrity, coming off another seven-win season.
The program’s relative shortcomings fall on the shoulders of their coaches. Harbaugh returned to his old stomping grounds five years ago, tasked with helping the Wolverines regain a foothold with their rivals and the national landscape. And, while Harbaugh appears to have the upper hand on Michigan State, the drought against Ohio State (dating to 2011) and in the Big Ten (dating to 2004) persist. MSU head coach Mark Dantonio, on the other hand, has won Big Ten titles (three) but is 27-24 in the last four seasons while wading through plenty of off-the-field controversy, fueling talk of his future in East Lansing. Will 2020 be the season Dantonio finally returns, and will it be the season Harbaugh finally arrives?
The Lions and quarterback Matthew Stafford are 3-5-1, and appear to be headed to another season without a playoff appearance.
(Photo: Daniel Mears, Detroit News)
Decision time for Lions?
It just might be now or never for Lions general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia. Detroit’s 3-12-1 season — capped by a nine-game losing streak — has the spotlight squarely on the duo. Owner Martha Ford already has said Quinn and Patricia will be back in 2020, but expectations are clear: “We expect to be a playoff contender, and those are our expectations, which we’ve expressed to both Bob and to Matt,” she said in December.
The Lions — 9-22-1 in two seasons under Patricia — will be armed with the No. 3 overall pick in next April’s NFL Draft. They were in just about every game this season, holding leads in 14 of 16 games, despite a roster ravaged by injuries. Still, a turnaround will be a tall task for a franchise that hasn’t won a division title since 1994, and hasn’t won a playoff game since 1991.
Founders' Detroit taproom will remain closed until early 2020.
(Photo: Max Ortiz / The Detroit News)
New downtown, suburban eateries
When it comes to new restaurants in 2020, Detroit will continue to open its arms to a range of styles and cuisines from some renowned chefs. Two of the most anticipated set to open their doors in the new year are Freya and Dragonfly in the city’s Milwaukee Junction neighborhood. Chartreuse Kitchen and Cocktails owner Sandy Levine and chef Doug Hewitt are planning a dual concept with a chef-driven tasting menu at Freya, while Dragonfly will be a more casual space with an interesting bar including low-alcohol and no-alcohol cocktails.
There will also be a few big expansions — the famed Bucharest Grill will opens its first suburban location in Royal Oak’s Woodward Corners development — and some notable re-openings. Founders Brewing Company, which shut down at the end of 2019 after weeks of controversy stemming from a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by an ex-employee, is expected to reopen its Detroit taproom in early 2020.
Tom Cruise in "Top Gun: Maverick," coming to movie theaters in June.
(Photo: Paramount Pictures)
On the big screen
On the movie front, look for some big follow-ups from some beloved franchises in the new year. “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Top Gun: Maverick” will both be released in June and are likely to sweep up at the box office. In May, Marvel’s “Black Widow” hits the big screen. “Respect,” the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, will hit theaters on Oct. 9.
Earlier this fall, Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf unveiled his master plan a garden on Belle Isle.
(Photo: Heather Saunders)
Dutch garden designer to transform Belle Isle
For those who love gardening, one big development will start to take root in Detroit in 2020: the first plantings for the highly anticipated Oudolf Garden Detroit on Belle Isle. Designed by world-renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, the garden in front of the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon Tower was supposed to have its first major planting in fall 2019, but it had to be pushed back because of high water levels. The first planting will now likely happen in 2020 and is expected to draw volunteers from all over the world. | BOSTON — There are 213 days between New Year's Day and July 31, the final day for formal legislating in 2020. In that time, Massachusetts lawmakers hope to tackle what's left on their 2019-2020 session to-do lists, in addition to whatever else crops up unexpectedly as the session wears on.
The House and Senate took care of some items on the agendas that Democratic leaders sketched out last winter (Gov. Charlie Baker, too), but a number of heady issues remain unaddressed with seven months until the real work ends and campaign season really picks up.
Seven months from the finish line, here's a look at seven major issues to watch during the second half of the 191st General Court, which officially kicks off with light sessions on New Year's Day morning. Whether or not the Legislature makes significant progress on these topics, they will be key factors in the final analysis of the two-year session's accomplishments:
1) Transportation Revenue
All eyes are on the House in the new year as members prepare to take up a transportation revenue debate they delayed from the fall.
Key lawmakers have hinted an increase in the state's 24-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax will likely be a part of the package, but other proposals from higher fees on ride-hailing services to expanded roadway tolling may also be included in the bill. Any increase to the gas tax would be the first in Massachusetts since 2013. That history will hang over the next round of action: lawmakers raised the tax 3 cents and indexed it to increase alongside inflation, but voters repealed the latter half through a ballot question one year later.
While the House prepares for the debate — no bill has been unveiled yet, but Speaker Robert DeLeo said he is aiming for a vote in January — Senate leaders have not shown their hand.
President Karen Spilka has not yet committed to taking up the topic of transportation revenues in 2020, and the upper chamber's Transportation Committee chair, Sen. Joseph Boncore, said he expects any consideration to come after an informal transportation working group finishes its work at an undetermined time.
Gov. Charlie Baker, meanwhile, has already outlined his opposition to any gas tax increase and to congestion pricing, a strategy of altering roadway tolls at different times of day that many transportation advocates back. Pressure has been growing on lawmakers to address the state's wide-ranging transportation needs, particularly after a string of developments in 2019. The Baker administration's study on roadway congestion concluded that already-bad traffic conditions are getting worse.
A June derailment on the Red Line damaged aging MBTA infrastructure and created months of commuter headaches. An outside panel tapped in the wake of that incident concluded that T leaders have not prioritized safety culture, partly because of an overemphasis on reducing a repeated operating budget deficit while also pursuing capital investment. With Baker asserting the state already has enough revenue to tackle transportation needs, Democrats face pressure to work across branches to make sure they have the votes to overcome any vetoes, as well as the challenge of coming up with a plan that the electorate supports and which won't come back to haunt lawmakers when their names are up for re-election in November.
2) Climate Change
Eighty-one state lawmakers rang in 2019 by resolving to pursue a suite of climate policies, including moving the state to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The year brought youth climate strikes and clean energy pushes from municipal and business leaders but not, ultimately, completed climate legislation. The Senate is eyeing action in early 2020 on a bill that its Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee chairman, Sen. Michael Barrett, has suggested will address clean energy along with emissions from vehicles and buildings.
Sen. Marc Pacheco, who chairs the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, has been beating the drum for action in that branch.
The House, which passed a $1.3 billion borrowing bill in July to support municipal resiliency and adaptation projects, hasn't indicated if its members and leadership plan to embark on other efforts to produce and pass major climate legislation. The House's so-called GreenWorks bill, a priority of Speaker DeLeo's, has been sitting since its unanimous passage before the Senate Bonding Committee, chaired by Sen. Michael Moore of Millbury.
If a climate debate occurs in 2020, it will take place as South Shore residents and many elected officials continue to oppose the construction of a natural gas compressor station in Weymouth and as Massachusetts works with other states to build a regional cap-and-invest program aimed at cutting transportation emissions. The debate at the State House over actions that can be taken mostly within the state's borders comes amidst reports of progress, and setbacks, in the global effort to reduce emissions that scientists say are fueling climate change and rising sea levels.
3) Housing
In November 2018, eight months after the Housing Committee first endorsed Gov. Baker's proposal to lower the local voting threshold for zoning changes, its co-chair Rep. Kevin Honan said the bill would come up "early in the next session."
A full year came and went with no action to advance Baker's bill — or any other major housing production legislation — until the committee again favorably recommended it as part of a mid-December 2019 package.
As 2020 arrives, the push for action on housing now shifts to the two Ways and Means Committees and the Democrats that control them. The housing market in Massachusetts remains strained even after a $1.8 billion housing bond bill enacted in 2018, with the median home sale price up to $400,000 through October and report after report identifying a need for tens of thousands more units than the state currently has to offer.
Baker's bill is not the only tool lawmakers can consider to address the challenge: the Housing Committee also advanced legislation to establish a statewide target of 427,000 new housing units by 2040, to require multi-family housing by right in MBTA communities, to increase residential density and more.
In late January, the committee also plans to hear testimony on a push to revive local options for rent control, which was in place in three communities until a landlord-backed statewide ballot question banned the practice in 1994.
"The housing crisis has moved into the middle class and is creeping up beyond the middle class," Rep. Nika Elugardo warned at an October rally in favor of her tenant protection legislation. "Now that so-called 'everyday people' are experiencing the pain of the housing crisis, people are beginning to question how we do business around here."
4) Health Care
After whiffing on a major health care reform last session, lawmakers have been slow to move on the renewed attempt they promised — and there are no indications that the House, Senate and governor are even on the same page when it comes to health care. Gov. Baker rolled out his plan to address costs and quality in October, but the Democrats who control the Legislature gave it a mostly cool reception.
Rep. Jennifer Benson, chair of the Health Care Financing Committee, had been leading the House's latest attempt to rein in health care costs and stabilize the marketplace, but she just announced she's got a new job and will be resigning in early January. Speaker DeLeo hasn't indicated who his new health care point person will be, or whether the House intends to make health care a central part of its work over the next few months. The Senate's plan, while not crystal clear, is a bit more evident.
Senate President Spilka said in October that senators had been working "for months now" to craft health care legislation, with Health Care Financing chair Sen. Cindy Friedman and Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery chair Sen. Julian Cyr leading the effort. The Senate already passed a bill dealing specifically with prescription drug prices, and Spilka has suggested that her branch will address the issue in pieces rather than with one comprehensive bill, a strategy that could complicate things with the House.
"I don't think any one bill can do it all," she said in October. Asked about the Senate's timeline for a health care bill, Spilka said, "when it's ready ... and we will see if we do it in parts or in whole."
5) Sports Betting/Gaming
At one point after the U.S. Supreme Court granted states the right to legalize sports betting, Massachusetts looked like it could be among the early adopters.
The state's casinos, which aren't quite living up to their revenue projections, are eager for a new way to attract gamblers and Bay State sharps are looking forward to placing a bet without having to drive across state lines. But as other states raced forward — New Hampshire this week joined Rhode Island in accepting wagers — the issue has moved to the back burner on Beacon Hill.
Led by Sen. Eric Lesser and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology has been weighing the myriad issues that could come with a further expansion of gambling in Massachusetts.
"It is an issue that has potentially broad social consequences, so it has to be done deliberately and properly," Lesser told the News Service in December.
On top of the sports betting-specific questions the committee must answer — how should wagers or winnings be taxed? Should college sports be open to betting? How accessible should betting platforms be? — lawmakers have previously suggested they might address a more comprehensive scope of the gaming universe, including sports betting, daily fantasy sports and other forms of gaming and wagering, with legislation in the spring of 2020.
Gov. Baker, who filed his own sports betting bill in January 2019 in hopes that people could bet by the start of the NFL season, has said he doesn't anticipate much from the Legislature until the session is nearly complete. "The session ends in July, but I would be very surprised if it got done before that," he said in October on WEEI.
6) Budgeting/Education Bill Implementation
Gov. Baker has until Jan. 22 to file his fiscal 2021 budget, a spending plan that will incorporate a newly lowered income tax rate of 5 percent.
Next year's budget will be the first to feature the substantial new spending called for under the new education funding law, and advocates' eyes will be on how well the governor and lawmakers, especially Ways and Means chairs Sen. Michael Rodrigues and Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, can live up to the $1.5 billion, seven-year commitment without carving up other budget priorities.
The law has no dedicated revenue source. Baker has characterized the investment as "a stretch on a $40 billion budget," but "not that big a stretch" on an incremental basis. "I certainly think what this means for us and for the Legislature on a go-forward basis, this is going to have to be sort of first-in when we make decisions about what the budget looks like," he said in November.
With revenue growth projected to be much slower than in recent years, pouring money into K-12 education could squeeze other priorities.
A tax revenue estimate developed by Michlewitz, Rodrigues and the administration is due by Jan. 15 and will shed light on how much the budget chiefs expect the fiscal picture to tighten in 2020. Flush with cash the past two years, the Massachusetts Legislature has still been the last in the country to finalize an annual budget, and a dispute this fall over a bill to allocate the fiscal 2019 surplus dragged for months.
It remains to be seen how Michlewitz and Rodrigues will lead in a slowdown, but Rodrigues said in December he's confident the state will have enough money to meet its needs. "It's still growth," he said. "I've been around long enough that I've been here when there's been shrinkage, and we're not moving in that direction."
7) Jobs Bill
It's an even-numbered year, so chances are good that legislators will tackle an economic development/job creation bill before turning their attention to their re-election campaigns.
In mid-December, Gov. Baker unveiled and signed his administration's updated economic development plan and laid the groundwork for an economic development borrowing bill worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
"We'll file it shortly after the beginning of the new year," Baker said Dec. 13. "Our hope is that we get an early hearing and ... they will pass something that looks like the legislation that will enable the implementation of this plan."
Once a bill is filed, the next steps will likely be up to the Economic Development Committee and co-chairs Ferrante and Lesser, each of whom has issued a statement reflecting their interest in passing a bill. With unemployment below 3 percent, the Massachusetts economy contracted in the third quarter largely due to constraints on the labor force that are holding back growth, economists said.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito put it this way: "We need to be a little selfish about the talent that we have here. We want to keep it here."
The Baker administration signals in its plan that it intends to focus on the cost of doing business over the next three years, a message that the business community will welcome but which could run into obstacles in the Legislature. The plan also calls for steps to build on the growth in life sciences, advanced manufacturing, defense, and health care sectors and "aims to leverage emerging sectors like artificial intelligence and robotics." | 1.666667 |
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FIFA 20 fanatics have been handed their first look at the latest Team of the Week release after EA Sports unveiled their 23-man squad this afternoon. The Premier League dominates this time around as the rest of Europe enjoys a winter break, so there is not much variation for gamers eyeing up their FUT Champions rewards.
FIFA 20 career mode: Best teams to use – Barcelona, Bolton and Lyon
Trent Alexander-Arnold headlines the selection after his stunning contribution to Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Leicester on Boxing Day.
The Reds full-back provided two assists and also scored in the rout, seeing his overall rating boosted to 86.
Manchester United have two representatives in the Team of the Week with Harry Maguire and Anthony Martial both included after their displays against Burnley and Newcastle.
And Tottenham also have a couple of players on the roster with Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane catching the eye over the festive period. | The Premier League kicks off in 2020 with games on January 1.
Chelsea travel to Brighton and Burnley host Aston Villa in the early kick-offs.
Leicester City are away to Newcastle, while Manchester City welcome Everton to the Etihad.
The late kick-off will see Arsenal take on Manchester United.
Wednesday, January 1
FT: Brighton & Hove Albion 1 vs Chelsea 1
FT: Burnley 1 vs Aston Villa 2
FT: Newcastle United 0 vs Leicester City 3
FT: Southampton 1 vs Tottenham Hotspur 0
FT: Watford 2 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
FT: Manchester City 2 vs Everton 1
FT: Norwich City 1 vs Crystal Palace 1
FT: West Ham United 4 vs AFC Bournemouth 0
FT: Arsenal 2 vs Manchester United 0 | 2.333333 |
George Mason National Memorial
(Image by Tim Evanson) Details DMCA
This government will set out a moderate Aristocracy: it is at present impossible to foresee whether it will in its operation produce a Monarchy, or a corrupt tyrannical --Aristocracy; it will most probably vibrate some years between the two, and then terminate in the one or the other ... George Mason's Objections to the Proposed Federal Constitution, June 18, 1788.
We the "people" now have the opportunity and the duty to prove Mr. Mason wrong. An impartial presidential impeachment trial now might well lead us toward a more honest, responsive body of civil officers and possibly even a less militaristic foreign policy. This is the first of a series of articles dealing with the flaws in our present impeachment trial system and the actions we might take to improve it before it is next called into use. In considering our present duty regarding impeachment, we can benefit from the words of James Madison, sometimes called the "Father" of our Constitution. He wrote on Oct. 15, 1788 (thirteen months into ratification) "The great desiderata on a Court of Impeachment are 1. Impartiality, 2. Respectability (credibility): the first in order to a right the second in order to a satisfactory decision... James Madison, Observations on Jefferson's Draft of a Constitution for Virginia
This article first looks at democracy through the words of a philosopher. Next it quotes three prominent framers on impeachment. Then it comments on the political nature of our two presidential impeachment trials. Finally, it suggests the use of The Senate Impeachment Rules as the means of securing an impartial trial in 2020. Subsequent articles will suggest specific changes in the Senate Rules'
A Philosopher's Comment on Democracy
The 17th C. French Philosopher (and mentor to James Madison) Baron Charles de Montesquieu believed that the democratic form of government has an "Inherent" weakness in that it gives to its people the final power over their government (on "parchment"), but fails to give them an effective way to control their civil officers. According to de Montesquieu, Kings control their civil officers by rewarding loyalty with titles. Dictators control theirs by punishing disloyalty with death. Perhaps the Framers of our democracy intended to put us, the people, in the places of kings and dictators. Instead, however, they gave us abstractions and "parchment." The people of democracies have their power in name only. The coming impeachment trial gives us another opportunity to devise a remedy to what de Montesquieu called democracy's "inherent weakness:" the great difficulty of creating a body of honest civil officers dedicated to our (the people's), even more than their own, best interests.
Hamilton on Impeachment
Hamilton submitted a statement of "principles" on Monday, June 18, 1787 (about three weeks after the Convention began). It read, in part, "The Governour, Senators and all officers of the United States to be liable to impeachment for mal and corrupt conduct and, upon conviction, to be removed from office and disqualified for holding any office of trust or profit - - - all impeachments to be tried by a court to consist of the Chief . . . or Judge of the superior Court of Law of each State. Between June and September, he changed his mind about the judiciary. During the last few days of the Convention, he proposed (and secured approval of) the Senate as the trier of impeachments. During the ratification period, Hamilton published Federalist 65 and 66 supporting the Senate as the trier of impeachments.
Madison on Impeachment
Madison quoted de Montesquieu in Federalist No. 47 and elsewhere. He evidently took de Montesquieu's warnings seriously when the Baron wrote about (1) the dangers of mixing the powers of government and (2) the "inherent" weakness of democracies. He must have regarded Hamilton's insistence on the Senate as the trier of impeachments as a double blunder. It both violated the separation of powers principle and missed an opportunity to strengthen the impeachment provisions in response to de Montesquieu's criticism of democracies. Madison opposed Senate impeachment trials from the first to the last days of the Convention. James Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention for Sept. 8 (The Convention ended on Sept.16th) read, in part. "Mr. Madison objected to a trial of the President by the Senate, especially as he was to be impeached by the other branch of the legislature . . . He would prefer the Supreme Court for the trial of impeachments, or rather a Tribunal of which that should form a part".
Monroe on Impeachment
Our 5th President, James Monroe, writing during the five years between the end of his second term and his death, was optimistic about the ability of our impeachment provisions to maintain an honest body of civil officers. He wrote, in The People The Sovereigns (p. 16): "The right of impeachment and of trial by the legislature is the mainspring of the great machine of government. . . If preserved in full vigor and exercised with perfect integrity, every branch will perform its duty and the people will perform theirs." The willingness of Monroe and Hamilton to entrust impeachment trials to the legislative branch may be explained, in part, by their taking a monarchy (England) as their model.
Our Constitution and Impeachment
The reports of our two presidential trials indicate that our Constitution's presidential impeachment system is malfunctioning in a serious way. That is, it is functioning politically spite the fact that our senators and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are sworn to make it function impartially. In large part because of this failure, it has also been a dismal failure at discouraging presidential violations of our Constitution. It is impossible to say how much of our present government's chaos is due to the failure of the impeachment provisions. We do know, however, that our framers relied on them to motivate the civil officers of the three branches to dedicate themselves to our interests above their own. We also know that the Americans of the 18th C. could not anticipate the two-party system or the 17th Amendment of 1913. If they had, it seems unlikely that they would have trusted the Senate to vote impartially..
The Senate Impeachment Rules
Next Page 1 | 2 | Karl R. H. Frick on The Philalèthes Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | Freemasonry, Philalèthes | No Comments The following sketch is translated from Karl R. H. Frick’s Die Erleuchteten: Gnostisch-theosophische und alchemistisch-rosenkreuzerische Geheimgesellschaften bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts, ein Beitrag zur Geistesgeschichte der Neuzeit (1973), p. 574 ff., originally included as an appendix at the end of McBean and Gabirro, A Complete History Of The Ancient And Primitive Rite (2002). There were a few mistakes with spelling and grammar, etc., so I’ve cleaned it up, while providing annotations, links and illustrations. In regard to the entire milieu of high-grade Freemasonry during the Enlightenment, the Philalèthes are as noteworthy as they come. The Rite itself - more of a regime - and the Lodge ‘Amis Réunis’ from which it was founded, constituted a clearing house for all things occult or esoteric on the continent and beyond; Savalette de Langes and the Marquis de Chefdebien may even be described as engaging in Masonic espionage. There isn’t a single volume on 18th Century Freemasonry that doesn’t give the major details of the Amis Réunis and the Philalèthes. Members of the rite came not only from France, but from Germany, England, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Russia (and as was shown with the publishing of J. J. C. Bode’s diary in 1994, the Bavarian Illuminati had managed to officially join forces with it just two years before the revolution). I’ve read more than a few accounts of the Philalèthes over the years, but this report by Frick - about as complete an introduction as as you’ll find - is by far the best. *** › Continue reading
Lodge of Les Amis Réunis [The United Friends] Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | Freemasonry, Philalèthes | 2 Comments We’ll be mentioning this famous Lodge in Paris in forthcoming posts. What follows is a concise explanation of its operation and makeup (translated from a French Masonic Encyclopedia entry by Pierre François Pinaud). *** Amis Réunis From 1771 to 1791, this lodge was one of the most prestigious in Paris and was consecrated by the Keeper of the Royal Treasury Savalette de Langes. Initially formed abroad in Rumigny, a small town of Thiérache, by a magistrate of the Parliament of Paris (banished by Chancellor Maupeou), in 1773 the lodge settled permanently in Paris. Savalette de Langes had made the inner circle of the Amis Réunis the social center of modern Freemasonry and cosmopolitanism of the late Enlightenment. Here the elite and and the talented joined together. The orchestra of the Amis Réunis was composed of six musicians of renown, like the composer [Isidore] Bertheaume, the brothers Blasius, the King’s violinists, Boutray of the l’Académie [Royale] de Musique, and either the brothers Breval or Louis Francoeur, the King’s Superintendent of Music. The Lodge utilized a large space in a house in the Rue Popincourt, built in 1708 by the architect Dulin for the supplier of arms [Nicholas?] Dunoyer. Upon his death in 1791, Les Amis Réunis counted some 300 members with a further 37 casual brothers and brother servants. It comprised about 12% foreigners, such as the Baron de Beutz, chancellor of Saxony; the Baron de Gleichen, Minister of Denmark in Madrid, Naples and Paris; and Count Stroganoff, a Russian subject. A hundred senior officers or generals decorate the pillars, and about fifteen of their regiment. Painters and sculptors are well represented with a dozen doctors, all members of the Academy of Medicine or professors at the University of Paris - Monge was an assiduous member of the lodge for some years. But the Amis Réunis’ uniqueness is the significant number of its members who belonged to the world of finance: 37% of the Lodge in total, 84 people, were indeed financiers. We count no fewer than 15 bankers or speculators, 13 receiver generals, 7 tax collectors [fermiers généraux], 7 general treasurers including those of the Navy and War, 4 general paymasters, 19 members of the Courts of Finances of Paris, 7 senior officials of the Royal treasury and finally, 11 brothers who were occupied with public finance. On the eve of the Revolution, the lodge of the Amis Réunis had the highest concentration of financiers; a number of them met in groups, or independently, to engage in speculative ventures. We also find Lodge members as shareholders of the arms factory in Charleville, the Water Company in Paris, and the mines at Baïgorry, Decize or Rueil. Another group actively participated in speculation about the dollars held by the bank St. Charles de Madrid. Others are shareholders of the Hudson Bay Company that traded with Canada. Many specialize in international commerce, and others with India or the islands trading sugar and rum, but also the slave trade. At the famous East India Company, one finds Lodge members as shareholders or as administrators. A last group is actively involved in real estate speculation in Paris. The success of the Amis Réunis in the financial world may be explained by the fact that, in the latter third of the 18th-century, in the absence of public credit, only powerful financiers could undertake large scale financial transactions. Everything is then prefaced upon trust. This leads to the membership of professional lobbyists, and familial networks which are found in the Lodge. The trustworthiness of Masonic affiliation may result in more business, which enables both administrators and profiteers. The Lodge therefore offered a discreet setting for financial conversations and the development of protective relationships; philosophical bonds are then the natural extension in the world of finance.
The So-Called Schwedenkiste (“Swedish Box”), the Most Significant Illuminati Archive Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 | Primary Documents | 7 Comments by Terry Melanson (17/6/2009) After Adam Weishaupt had fled in 1785, the center of activity for the Illuminati shifted from Bavaria to the Duchies of Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Weimar. And while the founder of the Illuminati was content to safely settle down for the long haul at the court of Duke Ernst II of Saxe Gotha, Johann Joachim Christoph Bode (1730-1793) took the reins and assumed the role previously held by Weishaupt. Through the efforts of Bode and an expanding network of recruits – and under the protection of the Illuminati Dukes Karl August of Saxe-Weimar and Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha – new colonies were established in places like France, Russia and Italy. Bode kept the Weimar and Gotha Lodges Amalia and Ernst Zum Kompass informed of his activities, but the bulk of the evidence of continued Illuminati activity remained in his possession. Ensuring that whatever they contained would remain secret, upon Bode’s death in December 1793 his literary executor, Illuminatus Christian Gottlieb von Voigt (1743–1819), transferred his deceased friend’s possessions to Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha who had already bought the voluminous papers before Bode died. › Continue reading
“Master Conspiracy” Redux Monday, June 15th, 2009 | Illuminati myths | 9 Comments by Terry Melanson (15/6/2009) The New American website has posted a slightly redacted version of William H. McIlhany’s 1996 article which appeared in the September 16, 1996 issue of The New American. (The original can be read here, which, in turn, appears to be based on one of McIlhany’s presentations). I first became aware of McIlhany’s writings on the Illuminati in 2000. At the time I was very impressed by what I read, and immediately realized that his information on the real Bavarian Illuminati was more thorough than most. However, my own knowledge on the subject is a bit more advanced than it was some nine years ago. So with that in mind, here are some exaggerations and/or misrepresentations which struck me as I reread the article at The New American for the first time in years. “Kölmer” and the Origin of the Lesser and Greater Mysteries of the Illuminati According to McIlhany, Weishaupt was “instructed by a mysterious occultist named Kölmer.” The only problem I have with this statement is that it is not qualified with “alleged” or “purported.” The Kölmer legend first appeared in Volume III of Abbé Augustin Barruel’s tome against Philosophes, Freemasons, the Illuminati and the Jacobins. He related it rather tentatively as a rumour going round, and as a possible way of explaining the ostensibly advanced nature of Weishaupt’s mysteries. › Continue reading
Was Carl Jung’s Ancestor an Illuminatus? Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | Illuminati Members | 22 Comments by Terry Melanson (17/2/2009) There’s two Illuminati with the last name Jung identified in Hermann Schüttler’s Die Mitglieder des Illuminatenordens 1776-1787/93 (Munich: Ars Una 1991): Franz Wilhelm Jung (1757-1833) and Johann Sigmund Jung (1745-1824). The latter, it turns out, was probably the uncle to the famed Swiss psychoanalyst’s grandfather, Carl Gustav Jung (1794-1864). › Continue reading
“Lang” or “Lanz”: Myths about the “Myths” Saturday, November 15th, 2008 | Illuminati myths | 4 Comments by Terry Melanson (15/11/2008) So, I’m browsing through the results of a keyword-search (targeting blogs) that I had previously saved as an RSS feed in Google Reader - “Illuminati.” Usually the results point to sites that abuse the term as a mere descriptor for an overarching, all-powerful monolithic conspiracy. However, once in a while, I occasionally come across at least an attempt not to knowingly butcher the historical record. The November 12th post at the English section of Illuminaten.org is one such example. But as I started reading “The Bavarian Illuminati: several myths revealed,” it became quite clear that the post is, in fact - word for word - an abridged re-posting of “A Bavarian Illuminati Primer.” Once I got to the part about Lanz and Lang, I knew for sure. Here’s what Mason Trevor W. McKeown thinks is the myth/truth: As an example of the mythology that surrounds the history of the Illuminati, note that Barruel claimed that Lanz, an Illuminati courier and apostate priest, was struck by lightning, thus revealing Weishaupt’s papers to the authorities, but this does not appear to be substantiated. This error was widely reprinted and enlarged on by subsequent anti-masons whose lack of research and disdain for historical accuracy has lead them to confuse Johann Jakob Lanz (d.1785), a non-Illuminati secular priest in Erding, and friend of Weishaupt, with Franz Georg Lang, a court advisor in Eichstätt who was active in the Illuminati under the name Tamerlan. Barruel mistakenly translated “weltpriester”, or secular priest, as apostate priest and subsequent writers such as Webster and Miller have repeated this error. Eckert renamed Weishaupt’s friend as Lanze and had him struck by lightning while carrying dispatches in Silesia. Miller cited Eckert but renamed Lanz as Jacob Lang and placed the lightning strike in Ratisbon. This is a minor detail in the history but it demonstrates the lack of accuracy often displayed by detractors of the Illuminati. As nobody has challenged him on these assertions - not even a German site who should know better - I’ll reiterate and add additional information to what I had written back in August 2005. Mr. McKeown is guilty of the same thing he accuses others of: “lack of research and disdain for historical accuracy.” › Continue reading
Illuminati Sightseeing: Karl and St. Germain at Louisenlund Monday, November 10th, 2008 | Illuminati Sightseeing | 2 Comments by Terry Melanson (10/11/2008) The estate of (Illuminatus) Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel (1744-1836) was an occult-masonic initiatory retreat. The world’s foremost expert on the 18th-Century Golden and Rosy Cross, Dr. Christopher McIntosh: The head of the Asiatic Brethren in the 1780s and 1790s was the Landgrave Carl von Hessen-Kassel, one of the most fascinating and influential figures at the time in the world of Masonry, Rosicrucianism and hermetic studies. He not only belonged to innumerable orders and rites, but he was a practicing alchemist and was a friend of the mysterious French alchemist, the Comte de St. Germain, whom he harbored during the last years of St. Germain’s life on his estate Louisenlund in what is now Schleswig-Holstein, which he turned into a great center of Masonic and esoteric activity. The park at Louisenlund (about an hour’s drive northwest of Kiel) was laid out in the form of an initiatic journey that involved the candidate passing through a dense wood finding his way through a labyrinth and encountering various alchemical and allegorical images along the way. In the park was an alchemist’s tower with a laboratory and a room where Masonic rituals were conducted. There was also a pond with a secret grotto concealed behind a waterfall, in which the most solemn rituals were held. Over the years, unfortunately, most of these symbolic features have disappeared. All that remains of the alchemist’s tower, for example, is this Egyptian stone doorway which was moved to a different position, and cemented into the wall of a stable building where it stands completely out of context. Today this property belongs to a private school. › Continue reading | 1 |
A memorial to all those who died in the Civil War is under consideration by the group set up to advise the Government on commemorations.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people - the exact figure has never been determined - died in the short, but vicious Civil War between June 1922 and May 1923 which followed the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Despite its seminal importance in the history of the State, there is no national memorial to commemorate the war.
Dr Maurice Manning, the chair of the Government’s expert advisory group on commemorations, said the group have discussed a permanent memorial.
Dr Manning said the most obvious option is to rededicate the cenotaph on the lawn of Leinster House to all the victims of the Civil War. It is currently dedicated to the memory of Arthur Griffth, Michael Collins and Kevin O’Higgins, three of the most prominent pro-Treaty politicians.
However, the memorial is within the grounds of Leinster House and is not open to the public.
Dr Manning said the group is open to consideration for a public memorial either there or in a different place.
“I’m keen that there be a public debate on this. What form should the memorial take? We should have a debate if the Leinster Lawn is suitable or some other place. I think it is much more practical to think anew,” he suggested.
“Is it a good idea to commission a permanent memorial to all those who died in the Civil War. The idea of a day of reconciliation is a good idea, but how do you structure it?”
Dr Manning said now is the right time to commemorate the Civil War as the bitterness had dissipated over the last almost 100 years.
In its guidance to the Government on the second half of the decade of centenarries, the advisory group recommended the State should take a “reflective and reconciliatory tone” in relation to the Civil War that recognises “neither side had the monopoly of either atrocity or virtue and this was true of words as well as actions.”
It said the silences that followed the Civil War could now be replaced by “meaningful engagements with a difficult and traumatic time”.
It went on to state the consequences of the actions on all sides, and the depth, sincerity, or sometimes anger and sense of retribution underpinning those actions, needs to be confronted as part of any meaningful commemoration.” | Mississippi is asking the entire Fifth Circuit to reconsider striking down a law that prohibits previability abortions after a fetus reaches 15 weeks’ gestation.
A three-judge panel upheld a ruling invalidating the state law in mid-December.
Bans on abortions that take place before a fetus is capable of living outside the womb “are unconstitutional regardless of the State’s interests,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said.
States may regulate abortion so long as the regulation doesn’t impose an undue burden on women’s rights, but they may not ban previability abortions, the court said. Mississippi’s law is a... | 1 |
Suspects arrested in last week’s spree of eight anti-Semitic attacks are being quickly released right back into the neighborhoods they terrorized thanks to “bail reform” legislation — which doesn’t even take effect until Jan. 1.
The most recent case of revolving-door justice came Saturday morning, with the release, with no bail, of a woman charged with punching and cursing at three Orthodox women, ages 22, 26 and 31, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn at dawn the day before.
The accused assailant, Tiffany Harris, was hauled in handcuffs before a Brooklyn judge on 21 menacing, harassment and attempted assault charges.
“F-U, Jews!” Harris, 30, of Flatbush, allegedly shouted during the attack.
“Yes, I was there,” Harris later admitted to cops, according to the criminal complaint against her.
“Yes, I slapped them. I cursed them out. I said ‘F-U, Jews.”
As she stood before a judge in Brooklyn Criminal Court with the hood to a navy blue jacket over her head, Harris was in familiar territory.
She still has an open harassment and assault case on the Brooklyn docket from November 2018.
And last month, she was sentenced to no jail time for felony criminal mischief in Manhattan, court records show — a case for which she had repeatedly failed to make court appearances.
Brooklyn prosecutors didn’t even bother requesting bail Saturday, as they could have, given that the reform law, approved in April, technically doesn’t take effect until Jan. 1.
“The de Blasio administration has made it clear that we all need to get into compliance with bail reform now,” said a law enforcement source.
“If prosecutors had asked for bail, corrections would release them immediately,” or they would be sprung on Jan. 1, the source said.
Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Laura Johnson even made mention of the coming bail reform legislation in ordering Harris freed.
“So I’m releasing her on consent and also because it will be required under the statute in just a few days,” the judge said.
“Ms. Harris you’re being released on your own recognizance.”
She was issued an order of protection barring contact with the three victims — and a court date of Jan. 10.
Harris broke into a grin when approached by a reporter. “Why do you want to know?” she said. ”Goodbye.”
The legislation requires arraignment judges to set free suspects in any non-sexual assault that doesn’t actually cause a physical injury, even in cases of hate crime attacks.
“If there is an injury, then bail could be requested, because then it would be considered a violent felony,” explained Insha Rahman, who, as director of strategy and new initiatives at the Vera Institute of Justice, worked closely with legislators and the governor’s office in drafting the controversial reforms.
The no-injury loophole will mean a quick get-out-of-jail free card for all but one of the accused attackers in the eight Hanukkah-timed, anti-Semitic bias crimes that have terrified the city’s Orthodox communities.
“You have to beat the hell out of somebody — or murder them — for there to be any consequences,” said former state lawmaker Dov Hikind, founder of Americans Against Anti-Semitism. “Otherwise, you are set free.”
He continued: “It’s open season in New York — open season on innocent people. On Jews, on Muslims, on gay people. It applies to anybody. But it’s the Jewish people in particular who have been targeted.”
Only one of last week’s eight attacks resulted in an actual physical injury — that of a 65-year-old Jewish man who was punched and kicked on Monday morning at East 41st Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan.
“F–k you, Jew bastard!” the petrified victim told cops his assailant shouted.
The suspect in that crime, Steven Jorge, 28, is indeed alleged to have injured his victim, and so was ordered locked up with no bail pending a psychological examination.
Jorge, though, is the exception.
On Friday night, a suspect in another of the hate attacks was similarly sprung with no bail, though in her case she was at least ordered to attend twice-monthly mental health appointments.
“You f—king Jew, the end is coming for you!” that suspect, Ayana Logan, 43, allegedly shouted as she swung a handbag at a 34-year-old Orthodox mom in Gravesend.
The mother had been holding the hand of her 3-year-old son when the unprovoked attack happened, according to the criminal court complaint against Logan.
By Saturday night, Logan, Harris, and Jorge remained the only suspects apprehended in the hate spree. The assailants in the remaining five attacks remain at large.
Rahman and other reformers argue that the vast majority of suspects in minor assaults are quickly released anyway — and that the new bail reform lets judges set conditions for release that can address the underlying mental-health issues.
“That can be mental health counseling, a stay-away order, which wasn’t readily available before, as conditions for release,” said Rahman.
Suspects are getting none of that during their pretrial stays in city jails, Rahman noted.
“Money bail, and keeping someone temporarily detained with no care, doesn’t address at all the long term concerns” of community safety and the well-being of suspects, she said.
But in the city’s Orthodox neighborhoods, there was outrage in learning that even when violent bigots are caught, they’ll be immediately released.
“They were released on bail?” a 32-year-old Orthodox man asked a Post reporter near where the three women were attacked. “Disgusting.”
Steve Benjamin, 30, of Borough Park, said, “We’re scared to walk at night in the street.
“There is a lot of hate here and I don’t know why. People in the community are scared. It’s very dangerous. It’s just like remembering the days before World War II. I don’t let my kids out alone.
“It should be more justice — they arrest them, but they let them out of jail a day later.” | The Guardian Angels, an unarmed crime-prevention group, said it would begin patrolling the New York City borough of Brooklyn on Sunday following a series of attacks against Jews.
Guardian Angels | 3.333333 |
DETROIT – Police said robbers have been targeting fast food restaurants across Metro Detroit.
At least five restaurants targeted have been in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. Police are starting to believe the same group is behind all of the robberies.
Police are taking the men very seriously, because they are threatening to have guns while committing the crimes. New footage has been revealed that could bring investigators one step closer to catching the culprits.
In just the last few weeks the robberies have become more common. In some cases it’s two men making violent demands, escaping in a burgundy SUV and in other cases it’s one man acting alone and then fleeing on foot.
Robbery locations potentially connected:
Taco Bell in Livonia on Dec. 15
Fast Food restaurant in Independence Township on Dec. 21
Taco Bell in Milford on Dec. 25
Burger King in Auburn Hills on Dec. 27
Tim Horton’s in Roseville | LIVONIA (WWJ) - The search is on for a group of robbers who have been targeting fast-food restaurants in Metro Detroit.
Over the past two weeks, at least four fast-food restaurants across the area have been robbed shortly after opening for business for the day and police believe the same suspects are behind the crimes.
Livonia police say a single masked suspect robbed the Taco Bell on Merriman Road near Plymouth Road on December 15, implying he had a gun. A similar crime was reported at an unidentified fast-food restaurant in Independence Township on Dec. 21. Two masked suspects also robbed a Taco Bell restaurant in Milford on Dec. 24, as well as a Burger King restaurant in Auburn Hills on Dec. 27. Suspects in Auburn Hills Burger King robbery (photo: Auburn Hills Police)
[VIDEO: Milford Taco Bell Robbed By Masked Men]
The suspects in the Livonia and Auburn Hills robberies were caught on surveillance videos fleeing in the same vehicle -- an older model maroon or red Ford Explorer with dark bottom trim and running boards. Witnesses also reported a vehicle matching the same description fleeing from the Milford robbery.
Security cameras captured images of the suspects, one of whom was carrying a blue backpack during the Milford and Auburn Hills robberies. The suspects are described as black males in their 20s, with hoods pulled up over their heads and their faces covered.
It's unclear how much cash the suspects took in the Livonia and Independence Township robberies, but they got about $200 from the Milford robbery. The employees in the Auburn Hills robbery refused to give the suspects money and said they were calling police, which sent the suspects running.
Anyone with information should call Livonia police at 734-466-2330, Milford police at 248-684-1815 or Auburn Hills police at 248-370-9460. | 4 |
Posted By TheNewsCommenter: From Techhive.com: “Kleverness Smart Lighting review: This hub-based lighting system is unfinished and expensive”. Below is an excerpt from the article.
Kleverness proudly bills its products as “the best, easiest and smartest solution for your home’s lighting.” I can categorically tell you that none of those claims are accurate, and that today Kleverness is not worth serious consideration if you want to outfit your home with smart lights.
The hockey puck-sized Klever Hub requires just the ethernet hookup and a power connection, and then you’re ready to connect via the Kleverness app to get things going. Or so I thought. After registering your name, email address, and a password with the app, you must wait for a confirmation code to be delivered via email before you can proceed. I registered and waited… and waited… and it wasn’t until nearly an hour later that my confirmation code finally arrived, after which time I had already created a new account with a different email address. This time the code landed in a spam folder, another aggravation.
The next step in setup is to scan a QR code on the underside of the Hub to register it to the app. I scanned, and the connection failed. I tried twice again, same result. After unplugging the Hub and plugging it back in, I tried a fourth time. The app crashed. The fifth try turned out to be the charm.
After a lengthy firmware update, I was finally ready to get started adding Kleverness components. Marketed as a smart lighting solution, Kleverness does not sell light bulbs. Instead, it sells an in-wall switch, an in-wall dimmer, and a plug-in outlet. The system’s goal is not to give you tunable lighting options but rather a way to control the lights you already have. Note that all this gear requires the Klever Hub to work.
It may come as no surprise to hear that the Kleverness app crashed over and over again when I was setting up these devices (more QR codes to be scanned), requiring multiple force-quits of the app and power cycling the Hub before I finally got anything to work. All told, I spent 2.5 hours working with the Kleverness system to get just one plug-in outlet working.
Read more... | Vanessa Hudgens shared a new swimsuit pic with her Instagram followers today. She was seen posing in front of a snowy landscape in a dark one-piece swimsuit.
The front of the ensemble featured a tiger graphic. Its tail wound up her right strap, and it looked like it was getting ready to pounce. The swimsuit had a classic cut, with thick straps and a basic scoop-neckline.
Vanessa stood with her hands in her hair and her elbows out to her sides. At the same time, she bent her right knee slightly and looked into the distance to her left.
The So You Think You Can Dance judge had a flirty smile on her lips. She wore her hair up in a casual bun. Her accessories included a choker-style necklace, which she paired with a longer one. She also sported circular earrings but no bracelet.
The stunner stood in front of a fence beside a light-tiled wall. Beyond that were other buildings closer in, along with a steep hill that filled the entire frame. There were small cabins that dotted the background, with at least five visible in the shot. Towards the top of the frame, the scenery gave way to a forested area.
This picture was taken on a sunny day, which made for a bright backdrop. Vanessa, on the other hand, stood in the shadows. This meant that her makeup was hard to discern, although her dark lipstick popped in the shot.
In addition, a towel or robe hung on a black railing, which was presumably hers. | 1 |
With a new year on the calendar, it's time to go trendspotting. Here's a quick look at all that should grab the eyeballs from the world of entertainment in 2020.
Akshay Kumar
As of now, he has his eyes on two major festival dates, having lined up a big film on Eid as well as Diwali 2020. While he starts off his year on a regular Friday in March with "Sooryavanshi", Akshay looks set to go on collision with Salman Khan on Eid. While Salman has mentioned "Radhe" for the festival, the trade says Akshay plans to release "Laxmmi Bomb" on the same date. And although Diwali 2019 wasn't that great for "Housefull 4", he will be back on India's biggest festival this year with the historical drama "Prithviraj".
Ayushmann Khurrana
Having scored clear box-office winners that have also impressed critics over seven consecutive films now, any film starring Ayushmann automatically becomes a newsmaker. In 2020, he will play a gay character in "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan" and also team up with Amitabh Bachchan in Shoojit Sircar's "Gulabo Sitabo". Looks like a surefire strategy to extend his strike rate to nine consecutive winners!
Social Media Superstars
These days, you don't necessarily need a film release to be popular. Ask Priyanka and Nick, Deepika and Ranveer, or Alia and Ranbir. In a nation obsessed with filmstars, the simple act of posting a picture on Instagram can guarantee much more mileage than the months of labour that shooting for a film entails. Sunny Leone, Shraddha Kapoor, and Sonam Kapoor continue to be darlings of the nation simply by intelligent utilisation of the power of social media, as do Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar.
The Heroine Oriented Films
Deepika Padukone in "Chhapak", Alia Bhatt in "Gangubai Kathiawadi", Kangana Ranaut in "Panga" and "Thalaivi", Kriti Sanon in "Mimi" and Kiara Advani in "Indoo Ki Jawaani" are but only a few heroine-centric films that will continue the wave of projects that present strong and authentic women to actresses and also celebrate the spirit of womanhood.
Ranveer Singh
With "83", Ranveer Singh aims at taking the biopic formula to the next level. He plays Kapil Dev, captain of the team that won the cricket World Cup for the first time in 1983. It was an epochal moment for Indian sports, and also a major boost to the spirit of nationalism. Director Kabir Khan should clinch a sureshot winner when the film releases on April 10.
Ranbir-Alia
Star couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt has always been in the news for some reason or the other. But 2020 will probably keep them in the news a little more than before. It is time, after all, for people to witness chemistry on screen, when "Brahmastra" releases.
Celebrity Weddings
Will Varun Dhawan tie the knot with girlfriend Natasha Dalal? Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt actually get married this year? And -- the question that never goes out of fashion -- will Salman Khan finally, finally tie the knot? If 2018 saw the weddings of Priyanka-Nick, Ranveer-Deepika and Sonam Kapoor-Anand Ahuja, then 2019 has been the year when rumours of romances sustained the gossip vine. Malaika Arora and Arjun Kapoor made their relationship public, while Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar's love grew stronger. Will 2020 see some power shaadis?
Bhatt's Union
Mahesh Bhatt will direct both daughters, Alia and Pooja, together in "Sadak 2" his return to direction for the first time two decades, since "Zakhm" in 1999. "Sadak 2" opens in July, 2020.
Comeback of Irrfan Khan
After fighting neuroendocrine tumour, Irrfan Khan is back in action. He will be on the big screen after almost three years in "Angrezi Medium", which is scheduled to release in March. Directed by Homi Adajania and co-starring Kareena Kapoor, the movie is a sequel to the multiplex hit, "Hindi Medium".
Small Films
Although most of Bollywood's biggest grossers at the box-office are still out-and-out commercial biggies (think "War", "Dabangg 3" or "Kabir Singh"), the volume of the small, content-driven film has increased gradually over the years. In a multiplex-centric market, content is king, and modestly-mounted films such as "Article 15", "Bala" and "Uri" prove that fact. Small, content-driven fare will continue to dominate most Fridays in 2020, too.
Newcomers
Ex-Miss World Manushi Chillar makes her debut opposite Akshay Kumar in the mega-budget period drama "Prithviraj", while Shalini Pandey is Ranveer Singh's heroine in "Jayeshbhai Jordaar". National Award-winner Keerthi Suresh will be seen opposite Ajay Devgn in the sports drama "Maidaan". Krystle D'souza, who has made her mark on TV, makes her debut in the Amitabh Bachchan-Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Chehre". There are Bollywood's industry kids, too, lined up for debut. Sunil Shetty's son Ahan Shetty ("Tadap"), Chunky Pandey' son Ahan Pandey (project yet to be declared), Pooja Bedi's daughter Alaia F. ("Jawaani Jaaneman"), and Katrina Kaif's sister Isabelle Kaif ("Kwatha") will be seen on the Hindi screen for the first time this year.
3D Back in Bollywood
This year, there are two films lined up, which will have 3D prints -- "Street Dancer 3D" and "Tanhaji". Although Bollywood has been trying time and again to come up with great 3D entertainment, budgetary constraints normally bar the creation of perfect entertainers in the expensive format. With evolving technology on their side, can 'Street Dancer" and "Tanhaji" break the jinx?
Remixes and Recreations
Sadly, these will dominate the music scene, no matter what. We all know how obsessed Bollywood is now with remixes these days. The year of 2020 also seems to give the audience the same dose of recreations. Actor Saif Ali Khan is all set to give his fans some '90s nostalgia as he will be recreating his hit song "Ole ole" from movie "Yeh Dillagi". The revamped version, which has been composed by Tanishk Bagchi and sung by Yash Narvekar, will feature in Saif and Tabu-starrer upcoming film "Jawaani Jaaneman".
Non-Film Indian Music
Spearhedead by Punjabi pop stars, non-film music has become more robust than ever. If B Praak, Dhwani Bhanushali, Darshan Rawal, and The Doorbeens went from strength to strength, they will be back next year with many more new songs in the non-film genre, which has opened up again with the advent of growing streaming facilities. Even top Bollywood playback stars such as Arijit Singh and Neha Kakkar cannot resist getting into non-film mood once in a while.
Gal Gadot Returns as Wonder Woman
Gal Gadot will be back as Wonder Woman with edgier action for a new battle with new villains. The much-awaited "Wonder Woman 1984", a sequel of the megahit 2017 DC film, is one of the most anticipated films of 2020. The film, directed by Patty Jenkins, comes with tag line "A new era of wonder begins", and it will be interesting to watch what era will usher in with the movie. It is scheduled to open on June 5, 2020.
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
After years of anticipation, Marvel Studios will finally release a solo "Black Widow" movie, redefining the superhero universe with women power in focus. The film will bring back Scarlett Johansson in the avatar of Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow as she traces her past to solve puzzle of her life. It marks the beginning of Marvel's Phase 4. The film is slated to release in India on April 30, 2020 -- a day before its release in the US.
Daniel Craig's Last Outing as James Bond
Will "No Time To Die" really be Daniel Craig's last outing as James Bond? Will the film introduce a new James Bond? Will there be a female James Bond? Will it present first black Bond? All these questions will be answered with the release of 25th Bond film. Directed by new-age maverick and Emmy-winner Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film will open in April.
Christopher Nolan Returns with Tenet
Visionary filmmaker Christopher Nolan will return with some mindbending drama in his much-hyped "Tenet". Described as an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage, the movie comes with a time travel twist as Robert Pattinson's character and John David Washington's character try to stop an event before the time runs out. Mumbai plays an important role in the spy drama. Also starring actress Dimple Kapadia, the film will release in July.
Disney Plus Comes to India
Disney Plus intensified streaming wars internationally with its launch in November last year. The war will heat up with the platform entering Indian market. The service is expected to arrive in India in the second half of 2020, post the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. There will be no separate app as the whole catalog will be available on Hotstar.
Netflix Pumps in Rs 3000 Cr in Indian Content
India will be on the radar of American streaming service Netflix, with plans to invest Rs 3,000 crore on producing exclusive content in India in the immediate future. Star power is going to be one of the most important driving forces for the platform. Bollywood biggies such as Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma are associated with the platform to create content.
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Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time. | ‘Saunkan Saunkne’ Box Office update: The film continues to do well in the second weekend despite the competition with Bollywood | 2.8 |
(CNN) Much has been made of President Donald Trump's strong standing with voters on the religious right, especially after a Christianity Today editorial called for Trump to be impeached and removed from office. The editorial generated a lot of press because Trump won white born-again evangelicals with more than 75% of the vote in 2016 and his approval rating with them remains at 75% in CNN/SSRS polling taken in the middle of last year.
Figures such as these, however, can often obscure as much as they reveal. Trump's standing with all religious voters -- and, in particular, nonwhite religious voters -- is considerably weaker than it is among white evangelicals.
Heading into the 2020 general election, Trump can certainly count on the strong backing of white born-again evangelicals. If he loses, however, it'll be in part because his approval rating is only in the low 40s among those who attend religious services at least once a week and are not white born-again evangelicals.
Even when we concentrate on born-again evangelicals, there are plenty of nonwhite Americans. In fact, nearly 40% of born-again evangelicals nationwide are not white. This includes nearly 20% who are African American. (In a Democratic primary, the majority of born-again evangelicals are nonwhite.)
Simply put, Trump's not popular with nonwhite born-again evangelical voters. His approval rating with them was a mere 29% in an average of April and May CNN polls. Among African American born-again evangelicals, Trump's average approval rating was just 7%. These figures are pretty much unchanged from the percentage of these groups who voted for Trump in 2016, according to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES).
Read More | Who Cares: OZY's 2020 election coverage focuses on who votes and why. Who Cares: OZY's 2020 election coverage focuses on who votes and why.
Daniel Malloy is OZY’s U.S. politics editor.
There are a lot of numbers to think about when it comes to this year’s presidential election. But here’s a big one to chew on: 59 percent. That’s the proportion of Americans who are eligible to vote who cast a ballot for president in 2016. The number was up slightly from 2012, and down a bit from a historic high in 2008. But going back decades, the story is roughly the same: 40 percent of the population doesn’t cast a ballot.
In an age where political engagement is through the roof thanks to President Donald Trump, who stokes the strongest of feelings among his supporters and detractors, America is largely dug in. The persuadable middle seems to shrink by the day. That’s why OZY is devoting a large part of our 2020 election coverage to answering the question: Who Cares?
To that end, we partnered with Washington-based data firm 0ptimus to take an unprecedented dive into the last four election cycles to show you — on a county-by-county basis — where voters are turning out and where they are not. We’ve already told you about trends like the Apathy Belt, where voter turnout has sagged, and the county where 100 percent of eligible voters came out to the polls.
In 2020, we will spend the election season telling you about the people and trends behind the mobilization efforts that will determine whether Trump gets a second term.
Campaigning “has been continually shifting away from persuasion and more toward turnout in the overall sense,” says Brian Reisinger, a Republican political strategist in Wisconsin who worked on Sen. Ron Johnson’s 2016 campaign there.
A couple of caveats are necessary. No. 1: Voter turnout does not simply rest on caring or commitment. There are ongoing legal battles across the country over barriers to voting — which can disproportionately affect the poor, students and people of color.
No. 2: Persuasion still matters, and not just for those Obama-Trump voters who have been endlessly dissected for the past three years. Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC, says the reason many Black voters did not show up for Hillary Clinton in 2016 is not because they weren’t mobilized, but because they weren’t persuaded. “The mistake people will make is they assume that this will be a mobilization base, and they will not have a persuasion plan for them,” Shropshire says. She points to how the Trump campaign is already mounting an effort online and in predominately African American neighborhoods to siphon away some of the Black vote, and she urges Democrats not to wait until after Labor Day to fire up this core constituency.
Part of motivating African Americans to come out and vote blue — as they have historically at around 90 percent — will require a focus on an affirmative vision, not merely an anti-Trump message, Shropshire says. She points to a recent BlackPAC-funded poll of registered African American voters that found big majorities in favor of free public college tuition (76 percent), a wealth tax (71 percent), reparations (71 percent), Medicare for All (65 percent) and the Green New Deal (57 percent) to argue that a Democratic candidate proposing big things will have a better time motivating these voters. In the presidential primary, these issues remain a point of contention. As Bernie Sanders put it in December’s Democratic debate: “You don’t have the largest voter turnout unless you create energy and excitement. And you don’t create energy and excitement unless you are prepared to take on the people who own America and are prepared to speak to the people who are working in America.” He then went on to reference Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and free college.
Of course, those policies can also serve to motivate Republicans, who will be throwing the word “socialism” around whether Sanders, a self-described Democratic Socialist, is the nominee or not.
But the biggest mobilizer for Republicans right now is impeachment. “Engagement is pretty off the charts,” Reisinger says, with the House voting to impeach Trump and the Senate trial likely to begin this month. Republicans have turned the proceedings into a fundraising bonanza, with Trump seeming to relish talking about it on the stump as he casts the inquiry as illegitimate.
Reisinger acknowledges that Democrats are fired up too, as evidenced by their wins in Wisconsin and nationally in 2018. “We’re used to knife’s-edge elections,” he says, “and we’re used to each side fighting to the end for every last inch.”
Analysts expect that 59 percent to rise this year. The party that best taps into America’s missing 40 percent is the one that will lay claim to the White House come November.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Brian Reisinger worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. He worked for Sen. Ron Johnson. | 2.666667 |
A 42-year-old man was arrested at Krakrayo Locality in Centane, Eastern Cape, after he allegedly murdered his elderly father.
Mampondo Zathu is alleged to have hit his father, Lulamile Zathu, with a hammer in the early hours of Monday morning, said Captain Jackson Manatha.
Lulamile died at the scene, and the suspect was promptly arrested.
The motive behind the murder is not yet known.
Mampondo appeared before the Centane Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and was not asked to plead to the charge of murder. The case has been postponed to next Thursday for legal aid representation.
He is currently in custody.
(Compiled by Nica Schreuder)
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android. | Two Guelph men who police say stole beer and meat from a Guelph grocery store are facing theft charges following a brief foot chase Tuesday morning.
Guelph police were called to a west end grocery store shortly before noon Dec. 31, for a report of a shoplifter.
Investigation revealed there were actually two shoplifters that appeared to be working together. When the two men were approached, one fled on foot. Police pursued on foot and were able to apprehend the individual.
As a result of the investigation, police arrested both suspects, a 55-year-old and a 42-year-old from Guelph, and charged them with theft and possession of stolen property. | 1.666667 |
Ex-Army intelligence analyst jailed over refusal to testify against WikiLeaks reportedly subjected to ‘severe measures of coercion’
A top United Nations official has accused the US government of using torture against Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst currently jailed in the US over her refusal to testify against WikiLeaks.
Nils Melzer, UN special rapporteur on torture, made the charge in a letter sent in November but only released on Tuesday.
In the missive, Melzer says Manning is being subjected to “an open-ended, progressively severe measure of coercion fulfilling all the constitutive elements of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.
Manning, who was detained on 16 May after refusing to testify before a grand jury, is currently being held at the Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia until she agrees to give evidence or until the grand jury’s term expires in November next year. She also faces fines currently running at $1,000 a day.
In the letter, Melzer writes: “The practise of coercive deprivation of liberty for civil contempt … involves the intentional infliction of progressively severe mental and emotional suffering for the purposes of coercion and intimidation at the order of judicial authorities.”
Warning that “victims of prolonged coercive confinement have demonstrated post-traumatic symptoms and other severe and persistent mental and physical health consequences”, the UN representative said Manning’s detention “is not a lawful sanction but an open-ended, progressively severe coercive measure amounting to torture & should be discontinued & abolished without delay”.
Mannings’ lawyers have argued that her detention is “for refusing to comply with a grand jury is pointless, punitive, and cruel” and warned that she is not likely to change her mind.
In a letter released in March when Manning was first sent back to jail, her lawyers warned: “Chelsea has clearly stated her moral objection to the secretive and oppressive grand jury process. We are Chelsea’s friends and fellow organizers, and we know her as a person who is fully committed to her principles.”
They warned US authorities that if they “believe that subjecting Chelsea to more punishment will change her mind, they are gravely mistaken”.
Virginia prosecutors are determined to force Manning to testify in what they hope will be an eventual trial of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.
Assange has been charged with conspiring with Manning to break into military computers to help her transmit a vast trove of US state secrets to the open information organization in 2010 which then published them, causing an international uproar.
Manning was subsequently sentenced to 35 years in military prison in 2011. Manning spent seven years behind bars before Barack Obama commuted her sentence in 2017. | Erwan Heussaff and Anne Curtis are both looking forward to parenthood as they share a stunning photoshoot that saw them go topless. Mark Nicdao
MANILA -- It's a popular template for those posting online on how they plan to approach 2020 -- comparing their pictures from the start of the decade to ones taken just before the end of it.
And Erwan Heussaff appeared to like the idea of looking back as he decided to use it to usher in the next chapter of his life as potential parents with wife, Kapamilya star Anne Curtis.
On New Year's Day, he shared a pair of photos -- one showing him carrying Curtis on his shoulders as they attended a music festival back in 2010, and another from a sexy pregnancy shoot.
"Started the decade partying it up at a music festival, ended it counting it down, just the two of us with virgin cocktails and starting the new one with another girl to carry on my shoulders," he wrote, referring to Curtis' pregnancy.
Curtis first announced that she was expecting back in November, and she's expected to give birth sometime in March.
She is also looking forward to life as a mother, flaunting her growing baby bump with her husband. The set also sees them both topless, with only Curtis' arms hiding her chest.
"2020 is going to be the best chapter of our love story Mon amour. I just know it. ...P.S - yes, this includes; Dirty diapers, late nights, loud crying, hiccups, little giggles and little kisses.. EVERYTHING. We got this," she wrote, unedited, as the caption.
The black-and-white photos were taken by celebrity photographer Mark Nicdao. | 1 |
2019: Oregon International Air Show decamps for McMinnville
The air show left Hillsboro due to airport construction. It's supposed to return in 2021, but the format will change.
Editor's note: This story is part of the News-Times' special series, "Decade in Review." This series features three stories that helped to define each year of the 2010s. These can retell single stories that mattered to readers of the time, a saga that played out across many articles, and even stories that were crowded to the margins by other news at the time but have made a lasting impact on our region.
Since 1988, the Oregon International Air Show has been a Hillsboro tradition.
It's grown to be the largest civilian air show on the West Coast, according to organizers, and it's become a symbol — beloved by some, despised by others — of summertime in Hillsboro.
Well, until 2019, anyway.
Runway construction at the Hillsboro Airport prompted organizers to take their show on the road in 2019. For the first time ever, in September, the three-day air show was staged at McMinnville International Airport instead.
"There are a lot of 'firsts' this year," enthused Bill Braack, the Oregon International Air Show's president, "unique things that we've never had."
Although it was ongoing work at the Hillsboro Airport that forced the air show to relocate for 2019, the McMinnville location has a lot going for it, Braack said. One of the biggest is that Hillsboro and McMinnville have simply been on divergent courses in recent decades.
Fifty years ago, Hillsboro and McMinnville were about the size that Cornelius is today. Hillsboro was larger, with 15,365 residents, but McMinnville wasn't that far behind at 10,125.
The high-tech boom and urban outgrowth from Portland transformed Hillsboro. Today, the Washington County seat has an estimated population well over 100,000. McMinnville, the Yamhill County seat, has grown as well, but with an estimated population of about 35,000, it's gone from close behind Hillsboro in size to not even in the same league.
Hillsboro is also part of a growing Portland metro area, whereas McMinnville lies beyond its outskirts. It's not just the largest population center in western Yamhill County, it's the only major city.
"The feds love the new location, because the aerobatic box is clean — free from obstruction, no development, just farmland," Braack said.
Meanwhile, Hillsboro's relationship with the air show, and general aviation writ large, has been complicated. In neighborhoods beneath the Hillsboro Airport's flight pattern, yard signs decrying the airport aren't an uncommon sight. Public meetings about the airport routinely draw at least a small crowd to complain about the noise and air pollution.
"We … recognize that it's really quite a benefit for the Hillsboro community, and we also recognize that there are some community members and neighbors who may not appreciate it as much as others," said Port of Portland spokesperson Kama Simonds, referring specifically to the air show — although she could have just as easily been talking about the airport, which the Port owns and operates.
In light of all that, it was no surprise that rumors were flying for much of the year that the Oregon International Air Show would stay in McMinnville. And so it will, Braack confirmed in December 2019 — but organizers still want to bring some version of the air show back to Hillsboro starting in 2021.
Air shows are expensive to put on, and headline acts like the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, or the Royal Air Force Red Arrows, which performed in McMinnville this past September, are in high demand and can be difficult to book.
But Braack said organizers are confident they can stage air shows in both Hillsboro and McMinnville, beginning in 2021.
"We want the two events to be different so that there's reason for folks to come to one versus the other, or both," Braack told the News-Times in December.
Exactly what form those two events will take has yet to be announced. For now, though, the Oregon International Air Show is staying in McMinnville — organizers have already confirmed it will be held there, and not in Hillsboro, for a second straight year in 2020. | 2019: Deputies wounded in shootout at Hagg Lake
A harrowing scene in the woods northeast of Gaston somehow didn't result in any deaths.
Editor's note: This story is part of the News-Times' special series, "Decade in Review." This series features three stories that helped to define each year of the 2010s. These can retell single stories that mattered to readers of the time, a saga that played out across many articles, and even stories that were crowded to the margins by other news at the time but have made a lasting impact on our region.
The official telling of what happened on Aug. 8, 2019, in the woods just north of Henry Hagg Lake reads like a white-knuckle scene in a war movie — or a horror movie.
The Washington County Tactical Negotiations Team was called out to Hagg Lake that afternoon after a resident called 9-1-1, saying a strange man stole two long guns from outside her house. TNT, as it's often called, is a multiagency tactical team that includes police officers from cities around Washington County. It's generally deployed in situations that are considered hazardous and high-risk — hostage situations, armed standoffs and the like.
As a TNT posse that included six Washington County sheriff's deputies, led by Sgt. John Crecelius, and police officers from Hillsboro and Tualatin searched the woods near the house for any sign of their armed suspect, shots rang out from the brush, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Deputy Chris Iverson was struck, but not seriously injured. Cpl. Jeremy Braun took the worst of the gunfire and went down.
Crecelius and the other law enforcement officers at the scene returned fire, the Sheriff's Office said, downing suspect Dante James Halling. As they contained the area and confirmed there was no active shooter, they radioed for medical attention.
Braun and Halling were rushed to local hospitals by LifeFlight helicopters with serious injuries. Iverson was taken by ground ambulance to the hospital.
More than a dozen agencies responded to the scene, including police and fire agencies from across Washington County and sheriff's deputies from nearby Yamhill County.
Iverson was treated and released from the hospital that evening, the Sheriff's Office said. Braun and Halling were hospitalized for several days before being discharged; Halling was immediately taken to the Washington County Jail, where he remains in custody on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder. A trial date has been set for April 21, 2020.
Unfortunately, the Hagg Lake shootout wasn't the only shooting involving law enforcement agents in western Washington County in 2019.
In September, a Hillsboro police officer fired a shot during a physical confrontation with a reportedly armed suspect at Extended Stay America; the bullet didn't strike the suspect, police said.
In October, under circumstances that remain somewhat fuzzy, a Hillsboro officer shot and killed a man in the west precinct parking lot. Police said the suspect brandished a handgun during an argument with another man in the parking lot and refused commands to put down his weapon.
All three incidents are being investigated by the Washington County District Attorney's Office, which is standard procedure whenever a law enforcement officer uses lethal force in the line of duty. | 1.333333 |
An impressive number of big-name actors were considered for the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series based on the novels by J.K. Rowling. The Hogwarts Headmaster was originally played by Irish actor Richard Harris. After his untimely death following the second film, the studio was tasked with recasting the role. Michael Gambon was chosen as the replacement, portraying the character for the remainder of the films; however, there were other names on the list throughout both stages of casting the prominent role.
Albus Dumbledore served as Harry Potter's primary mentor during the young wizard's time at Hogwarts. Over time, Harry and his friends started to understand just how much influence Dumbledore had on the wizarding world. He was a half-blood wizard with immense powers and strength for leading through the toughest of times. Dumbledore founded the Order of the Phoenix and stood as a symbol of resistance following Lord Voldemort's second uprising. Even after the wizard's tragic death, Dumbledore's legacy lived on.
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Related: Why The Harry Potter Movies Cut Professor Binns
Not only did Warner Bros. and the team behind the film adaptations have a difficult task in casting a major role, but they had to do it multiple times. Dumbledore was just one of a small handful of characters to appear in every Harry Potter movie. Whoever was chosen for the role had to be available and dedicated to the role for the long-term. A few actors were considered before Harris acquired the role ahead of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Actor Patrick McGoohan reportedly had an interest in the role but stepped away from acting due to health reasons in the early 2000s. Sean Connery was also targeted but the actor was against the idea of committing to a children's movie about wizards. The list of "could have been" Dumbledore actors would grow in just a few years.
The Actors Considered When Dumbledore Was Recast
Following the actor's tragic passing in 2002, an even larger list of actors was rumored to be in line for his replacement. Christopher Lee was the producers' top choice in replacing Harris but he was forced to decline the offer due to scheduling conflicts. Harris' fellow Lord of the Rings veteran Ian McKellen was also considered. McKellen, however, expressed discomfort at the prospect of taking over the role of Dumbledore because Harris had previously criticized McKellen's acting style.
In addition, Peter O'Toole was reportedly considered but the studio worried that his age would become troublesome down the line. Acclaimed Indian actor, Naseeruddin Shah, has shared that his agent urged him to audition but he declined the opportunity. In the end, Gambon took over as Dumbledore which ended up becoming one of his best-known roles. It's always a tough task to replace an actor due to illness or death, but the studio successfully honored the original actor while giving the next stage of the role to an appreciative person. There's no doubt that some of the names mentioned above would have knocked the role out of the park in Harry Potter, but Gambon never took the chance of playing Dumbledore for granted.
Next: Harry Potter’s Bizarre “Dumbledore Is Time-Traveling Ron” Theory Explained
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Star Trek Picard: How The New Series Can Avoid Voyager’s Mistakes | Disney+ is scheduled to release a slew of original programming in 2020 spanning movies and TV series. Disney dominated the 2019 box office while also debuting its own streaming service. The media juggernaut will continue to build on that success as it turns the page to a new year and decade. Disney+'s launch saw the availability of hundreds of movie and TV titles but there's plenty of fresh titles coming within the next twelve months.
When Disney+ launched on November 12, the service used the big day to debut shows like The Mandalorian, Marvel's Hero Project, The Imagineering Story, The World According to Jeff Goldblum, Forky Asks A Question, as well as the feature films, Lady and the Tramp and Noelle. The service hasn't added too much in terms of additional programming but that will look to change as Disney+ continues to ramp up its exclusive titles in order to compete with the top tier of streamers.
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Related: One Way Disney+ Shows Are Already Better Than Netflix
With dozens of projects still in development, Disney+ is scheduled to debut plenty of new films, TV shows, shorts, and documentaries this year. Many of the titles don't have a premiere date attached just yet but stayed tuned for any updates. There's also a chance that more movies and series could be added to this list as the year continues. That said, here's what's exclusively coming to Disney+ in 2020.
Diary Of A Future President - January 17
Diary of a Future President marks the first scripted series to debut on Disney+ in 2020. The comedy series follows a 12-year-old Cuban American girl named Elena (Tess Romero) as she navigates middle school while aspiring to be the future president of the United States. The series is told through voiceovers of Elena's diary and features flashforwards of an adult Elena (Gina Rodriguez) taking on a presidential campaign. Rodriguez also serves as an executive producer on the series.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 - February
After airing the first five seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, the series moved to Netflix for season 6. The animated series will now drop its seventh and final season on Disney+ sometime in February. The final season consists of 12 new episodes and will presumably follow the Siege of Mandalore in the final days of the Clone Wars. The series is set between the events of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Stargirl - March 13
Stargirl, directed by Julia Hart (Miss Stevens, Fast Color), is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Jerry Spinelli. The story follows a teenager, Leo Borlock (Graham Verchere), as he falls for the new girl at school, Susan "Stargirl" Caraway (Grace VanderWaal). Stargirl has a unique sense of self-expression and many of the other kids at school shun her, but Leo is instantly pulled in by her personality. The movie also features Giancarlo Esposito, Karan Brar, Darby Stanchfield, and Maximiliano Hernández.
Related: Disney+ Could Benefit A Lot From A Playlist Feature
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made - Early 2020
Based on the book series by Stephan Pastis, Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made centers on an 11-year-old boy (Winslow Fegley) who runs a detective agency alongside his partner who happens to be a 1,500-pound polar bear and a sidekick named Rollo Tookus. The fantasy film is directed by Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) and is set to make its premiere at Sundance on January 25 before hitting Disney+ in the early months of 2020. The cast also stars Craig Robinson, Chloe Coleman, Ophelia Lovibond, and Wallace Shawn.
Phineas And Ferb The Movie: Candace Against The Universe - Summer 2020
The upcoming Disney+ movie is based on the animated series which originally aired from 2007 to 2015. It serves as a sequel to the 2011 film, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension. After Candace (Ashley Tisdale) is abducted by aliens, Phineas (Vincent Martella) and Ferb (David Errigo Jr.) go on a quest across the galaxy to find her. Their sister, however, has found a planet free of little brothers. The impressive voice cast includes Sophia Bush, Zac Efron, Al Yankovic, Seth Green, Steve Zahn, Ming-Na Wen, Allison Janney, and Vanessa Hudgens.
The Mandalorian Season 2 - Fall 2020
After taking the world by storm with the introduction of Baby Yoda, The Mandalorian proved to be Disney+'s main selling point surrounding the service's November launch. Following the release of season 1's final episode, series creator Jon Favreau confirmed The Mandalorian's renewal along with an image stating a fall 2020 release date. The Mandalorian season 2 will follow the next leg of Din Djarin's journey as he vows to protect the Child while finding a way to return the infant to its own species. Season 2 will also feature the return of Cara Dune (Gina Carano), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), and Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito).
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier - Late 2020
Easily considered one of the most anticipated Disney+ releases of 2020, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will open up the TV medium as part of the MCU. The 6 episode series centers on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The series will heavily focus on Sam as he takes over the mantle of Captain America which was given to him by Steve Rogers. Aside from MCU vets Mackie and Stan, the show will see the return of Daniel Brühl as Baron Helmut Zemo and Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter. In addition, the cast includes Wyatt Russell, Adepero Oduye, Desmond Chiam, and Miki Ishikawa.
Related: MCU Theory: Falcon & Winter Soldier Will Introduce Wolverine's Lover
WandaVision - TBA
WandaVision will be the second MCU series to make its debut in 2020 after being previously expected to air in 2021. The series focuses on Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and the return of Vision (Paul Bettany following Avengers: Endgame. WandaVision is expected to set up Scarlet Witch's role in 2021's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Kat Dennings and Randall Park are set to reprise their MCU roles as Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo, respectively. Teyonah Parris will portray the adult version of Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn is playing a "nosy neighbor."
Love, Simon - TBA
Following the success of the hit romantic comedy of the same name, Love, Simon will expand the story by focusing on a new character set in the same universe. Victor (Michael Cimino) is a new student in school struggling to adjust to his new environment as well as his sexual orientation. He then reaches out to Simon (Nick Robinson) who serves as the narrator of the series. Love, Simon also stars Ana Ortiz, James Martinez, Rachel Naomi Hilson, Bebe Wood, George Sear, Anthony Turpel, Mason Gooding, and Sophia Bush.
Monsters At Work - TBA
Monsters at Work is another big original series set to premiere in 2020. The animated series is a spinoff of Pixar's Monsters, Inc. and features the return of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman). The series is set months after the film and primarily focuses on Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman), a mechanic on the Monsters, Inc. Facilities Team who has dreams of working alongside his heroes. Celia (Jennifer Tilly), Roz (Bob Peterson), Yeti (John Ratzenberger), Smitty and Needleman (Stephen Stanton) will also make their returns while the new characters include Millie (Aisha Tyler), Val (Kelly Marie Tran), Fritz (Henry Winkler), Duncan (Lucas Neff), and Cutter (Alanna Ubach).
Lizzie McGuire Season 3 - TBA
Those who were fans of Disney Channel original series in the early 2000s will be anticipating the release of Lizzie McGuire season 3. Over 16 years after the original series ended, Lizzie McGuire is being revived to focus on the titular character as she navigates living in New York City while turning 30-years-old. Hilary Duff is reprising her role as Lizzie and Terri Minsky is back as the showrunner. The series will also see the return of Lizzie's family, Sam (Robert Carradine), Jo (Hallie Todd), and Matt (Jake Thomas) as well as Adam Lamberg reprising his role as Gordo.
Related: How Lizzie McGuire's Ending Sets Up The New Disney+ Series
Secret Society Of Second-Born Royals - TBA
In what can be described as The Princess Diaries meets Kingsman: The Secret Service, Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is a sci-fi fantasy directed by Anna Mastro. The film follows a rebellious young woman named Sam (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) who is second-in-line to the throne of the kingdom of Illyria. Sam has no interest in the life of a royal until she learns that she has superpowers and is set to be a member of a secret society that protects the kingdom. Skyler Astin will notably star in the movie as Professor James Morrow.
Nonfiction Series
Various non-fiction original series will air on Disney+ in 2020. Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, a competition show hosted by Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best is planned for fall 2020. Other reality competition shows include Be Our Chef, Disney Fam Jam, and Shop Class. Several other nonfiction programs are set to debut such as Cinema Relics: Iconic Art of the Movies, Ink & Paint, Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, Magic of the Animal Kingdom, Marvel's 616, On Pointe, Re(Connect), Shop Class, and Earth to Ned. More details, including release dates, will be announced in the near future.
Disney Shorts
2020 will see the release of a handful of shorts on Disney+. First up is Lamp Life, a short film dropping on January 20 featuring Toy Story's Bo Peep revealing her whereabouts when she was separated from Woody. Next is Short Circuit, a series of animated short films that will debut on January 24. Other planned shorts include an untitled Chip 'n' Dale series and Muppets Now, an improvisational comedy series.
Documentaries
Disney+ will look to ramp up its documentary program by releasing three new specials in 2020. Dolphin Reef was initially set for a theatrical release but it was pulled to air exclusively on Disney+. The Disneynature documentary is narrated by Natalie Portman. Another nature documentary, Elephants, is set for 2020 as is Howard, a documentary focusing on the life and career of famed lyricist and composer, Howard Ashman.
Next: Every Disney Movie Coming In 2020
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Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker Continues The Mandalorian's Jakku Retcon | 1.666667 |
Popular rapper, Naira Marley who is also the CEO of Marlians has added more soldiers to his army as he just signed Zinoleesky, Mohbad, Cblack and Fabian.
Naira Marley brought the four artists on stage during Marlians in Lagos, and later in the day made it official on his social media page.
Also Read: Naira Marley Ordered To Appear Before Court Over Alleged Car Theft
According to reports, the signed artistes have been cohabitating with the popular rapper even before the official signing and they already recorded loads of songs with the Marlian Music Imprint.
See his tweet below: | By Taiwo Okanlawon
Controversial musician, Adeyemi Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley has officially signed upcoming singers Zinoleesky, Mohbad, Cblack and Fabian to his record label, Marlian Music Imprint.
The Marlian President had brought the four artists on stage during Marlians Fest on 30th December 2019 held at Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos.
Sharing the official news on his Instagram page, Naira Marley wrote, “Marlians can u welcome my talented brothers to MarlianMusic. 2 thousand and plenty. @zinoleesky @iam_cblack01 @fabian_blu @iammohbad talented motherfvckers👊🏾👊🏾🔥”
It was revealed that the new artistes have been cohabitating with Naira Marley even before the official signing and they already recorded loads of songs with the Marlian Music Imprint.
One of the artistes, C Blvck featured Naira Marley on “Ogologo” and “Tingasa,” off his latest EP titled LOL. | 4 |
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Dubai: Dozens of Iraqi militiamen and their supporters stormed the U.S. Embassy complex in Baghdad on Tuesday to protest deadly U.S. airstrikes against their Iranian-backed force, as President Donald Trump blamed Tehran.
The Pentagon dispatched two AH-64 Apache helicopters to fly over the embassy in a show of force, and about 100 Marines already in the region will be sent to the compound to reinforce its defenses, a U.S. official said.
“We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in-country, and to ensure our right of self-defense,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement.
The anti-American protesters remained outside the embassy compound into the night in Baghdad, as some set up tents suggesting they planned an extended sit-in, Al Jazeera reported.
Earlier, guards lobbed tear gas and opened fire to quell the unrest, which was quickly contained, though dozens of protesters remained outside the compound. The U.S. ambassador had departed two days earlier, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. The actual embassy building wasn’t attacked, he said.
Trump said in a tweet that Iran “will be held fully responsible” for the embassy assault as well the killing of an American contractor in Iraq that precipitated Sunday’s U.S. airstrikes against the Kataieb Hezbollah militia bases.
Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Trump followed up later with a tweet urging Iraqis to rise up against Iranian influence. “To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time!” he said.
The White House said Trump spoke with Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi about regional security, and the president “emphasized the need to protect United States personnel and facilities in Iraq.”
The rare direct U.S. assault on an Iranian proxy on Sunday claimed the lives of 25 fighters and came at an especially tense time and held the potential for escalation. The U.S. and Iran are locked in a standoff over the Trump administration’s crippling economic offensive against Tehran — meant to force it to renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal Washington abandoned — and the Islamic Republic’s suspected reprisals.
Abbas Mousavi, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, condemned in a statement “the shocking insolence” of U.S. officials who he said sought to blame his country for protests by Iraqis outraged over Americans “slaughtering at least 25 Iraqi people.”
The mob streamed into the embassy complex after climbing over blast walls and smashing down the outer gate and a guard post with hammers, according to televised footage. Black smoke billowed from tires the protesters set on fire. Dozens of protesters were hurt, some shot, others suffering from tear gas inhalation, according to a statement from the umbrella group to which Kataieb Hezbollah belongs.
Most of the protesters wore militia uniforms. Some hoisted militia flags as the crowd demanded that the embassy be shuttered and the ambassador expelled. “The embassy is closed by the order of the people,” someone scrawled on the blast walls. Other people spray-painted the word “resistance” on the barriers, and one protester was seen holding a headscarf with the image of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mahdi, the outgoing prime minister, reiterated his denunciation of the U.S. raid on Tuesday but called on protesters to leave the compound, threatening severe penalties for attacks on the mission. – Bloomberg
Also read: Islamic State is regrouping and getting stronger in Iraq again, claims report
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Show Full Article | Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said enemies were trying to drive a wedge between Tehran and Baghdad.
He said this in his condemnation of deadly U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, official IRNA news agency reported.
“I, together with the Iranian government and nation strongly condemn this evil act of America,” Khamenei was quoted as saying.
The U.S. strikes in Iraq and Syria on Sunday targeted the Kataib Hezbollah militia group, which was blamed for an attack last week that killed a U.S. citizen.
But the Iranian leader dismissed the U.S. officials’ claims that Iran was behind the anti-American moves in Iraq.
He said that the United States takes revenge on the Iraqi popular forces since they defeated the “Daesh,” also known as the Islamic State militants in Iraq.
Dozens of protesters set up camp outside the gates of the embassy on Wednesday, one day after thousands converged on Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone to decry U.S. strikes that killed at least 25 militiamen.
Chanting “Death to America,” angry protesters on Tuesday broke into the U.S. embassy compound and set fire to one of its gates.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has blamed the attack on Iran and said the country will “pay a very big price.”
Trump spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi by phone on Tuesday and “emphasised the need to protect U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper called on the government of Iraq to “fulfil its international responsibilities” to protect US citizens in the country.
However, the US it will immediately deploy 750 soldiers to Iraq “as an appropriate and precautionary action.” | 3.666667 |
“It is so sad & unbelievably surreal that I am making this post,” Bride and Prejudice star Milly Johnson wrote on Instagram on Thursday.
She was announcing the death of her ex-fiance and the father of her son, Micah Downey, who died suddenly on December 28, aged 26.
“On the 28 December 2019 Micah Patrick Downey passed away. I am struggling to put into words how sad & heartbreaking this is,” Milly, who is heavily pregnant with their second child, wrote on Instagram.
The trailer of Bride & Prejudice: The Forbidden Weddings. Post continues below video.
“I just hope he is at peace wherever he is & that he will always be watching over his babies. A bad, bad dream. I can’t believe you’re not here. Rest In Peace Micah.”
Micah and Milly appeared on the 2019 season of Channel Seven reality show Bride and Prejudice, which follows couples planning on tying the knot when their families disapprove.
No official cause of death has been released, but Micah struggled with addiction and his drug counsellor Jodi Barber shared on Facebook that has passing was drug related. | BREMERTON, Wash. — A man living at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor was sentenced to nine years in prison for stabbing his wife’s boyfriend.
The Kitsap Sun reports Masson Warwick Manson pleaded guilty in November to two counts of second-degree assault for the Aug. 11 attack.
Manson's wife was also injured as she struggled to take the knife away from Manson.
He was sentenced Dec. 9.
RELATED
The woman, who was a member of the Navy, wrote in court documents that she had suffered years of abuse from Manson and that the stabbing occurred in front of the couple’s daughter.
The woman wrote that she needed 38 stitches and sustained a concussion, characterizing the stabbing as an "act of violence and hate."
The target of Manson’s attack wrote that he required 53 stitches and that Manson had been harassing him in the lead-up to the attack. | 1 |
There’s what you’ll see — and what you hopefully won’t see — during Wednesday’s 2020 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.
Case in point: Drones.
The FBI on Tuesday issued a reminder to the public that the air space above Wednesday’s Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl is a “No Drone Zone,” calling for all drone enthusiasts to leave the mechanical flying camera critters at home for this event, citing the need for “safety of attendees.”
The Pasadena Police Department, which is leading security efforts on Wednesday, along with the FBI, will enforce federal laws covering unmanned aircraft, according to the FBI.
Anyone who does attempt to fly a drone stands a good chance of being arrested, prosecuted, fined and/or imprisoned, according to the FBI.
You also hopefully won’t have any surprises like last year, when the Chinese American Heritage Foundation’s “Harmony Through Union” stopped moving and smoke began erupting from it just before bend in the road where Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards meet.
Chinese American Heritage Foundation’s “Harmony Through Union” stopped moving and smoke began erupting from it just before bend in the road where Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards meet. It didn’t help that the first tow truck that attempted to move the float failed, and a second truck was needed to take the float to the end of the route. It wasn’t pretty.
But this year, parade officials put together new safety protocols and procedures float builders had to abide by to prevent another float fire. An investigation concluded the fire was most likely caused by an accidental discharge of transmission fluid onto the float’s exhaust pipe. The Tournament of Roses now requires float builders to install fire suppression measures similar to ones on buses, dispersing fire retardant powder in the event engines overheat, as well as fire barriers protecting driver compartments.
OK. Now, for the fun stuff that hopefully you will see.
Maybe you’re cozied up on the couch in your pjs with the TV on and a cup of joe or hot chocolate in reach. Maybe you’re bundled up on Colorado Boulevard, your face cool in the crisp morning Pasadena air.
Either way, we have a few suggestions on what to watch for in this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade. First off, note that this year’s parade theme is “The Power of Hope.”
So, fueled by that theme, organizers have created a parade event that really takes hold of the idea of rising up from adversity and tragedy but also mixed that with themes of healing and optimism as the decade kicks off. In that sense, all of the entries have a story to tell, and represent a part of the overall theme.
But, since there are 90 entries, and we’ve only got so many inches here — and a deadline — here are 20 or so moments to keep an eye on as you watch the 131st Rose Parade with that warm drink in your grasp. We tagged a number to the end, so you’ll see where it comes in the parade lineup. You can find all the acts listed in order here.
GET THIS PARTY STARTED
Rose Parade Opening Spectacular. Look for Ally Brooke, Emilio Estefan, Farruko and the Chino Hills High School Drumline (Parade Entry #1)
UP IN THE SKIES…
B-2 Spirit Flyover. The sight of that thing flying overhead as the event begins is just hard to ignore. Frankly, TV doesn’t do it justice. But you just gotta watch it. It sets quite the tone for the parade march — assuming you still have your hearing. (#2)
TERRIFIC TRIO
The grand marshals. It’s hard not to root for Rita Moreno and her co-grand marshals, Gina Torres and Laurie Hernandez. All represent generations of Latin American women who have climbed their own heights in stage and sport, and have inspired others in their journey. (#11)
ROYALS TIMES SEVEN
The Royal Court. How will Rose Queen Camille Kennedy and her court of Pasadena-area princesses stay warm for 5.5 miles? (#24)
MORNING OF HONOR
Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band. Four musicians from Saugus High, who endured the trauma of the Nov. 14 fatal shootings on campus, were chosen to appear with this band. They called the experience a great honor and a great boost to their ability to cope with the tragedy. (#25)
WORTH YOUR VOTE
“Years of Hope. Years of Courage.” This is a really unique chance to be up close with a landmark moment — and history. This float pays homage to the struggle for women’s suffrage, celebrating 100 years of women voting. Riding on it will be civil rights giants and descendants of giants such as Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas. (#26)
THE GRANDDADDY’S KIDS
Rose Bowl floats and bands. What would the parade be without a little pre-Rose Bowl fun — like a massive pep rally for Oregon and Wisconsin. Keep an eye out for Rose Bowl Game floats and bands. (#28, 29, 38 and 39)
LISTEN UP
Banda Municipal de Zarcero. Watching the marching bands live can be mesmerizing. They’re coming from all regions of the U.S. — from Pasadena to Mississippi. And from the world — from the Japan Honor Green Band to the Elsinore Girls Marching Band from Denmark. We recommend them all, but keep an eye — and an ear — out for this one, Banda, from Costa Rica. (#41)
THAT YOU, OLAF?
Halftime! LADIES and GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, HORSES AND SNOWMEN! A mid-parade performance of Disney’s “Frozen.” Let it gooooo! (#48)
YOU GO, GIRLS
Mid-America Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team. The Rose Parade equestrian units are always a treat. They’ll all rock this year. The Cowgirls did just that (rocked it, that is) at the nearby Equestfest at the LA Equestrian Center in Burbank. (#55)
TINY BUT MIGHTY
Mini-Therapy horses. All together now: Awwwwww. Make sure the kids see this group. (#59)
MIGHTY AND MAMMOTH
Budweiser Clydesdales. Make sure the kids see this one, too. And they’re harder to miss! (#63)
SALVADORAN STRUT
Banda El Salvador: Grando Como Su Gente. That name translates roughly as “band as big as its people.” Rose Princess Mia Thorsen, whose family has roots in El Salvador, got to spend the day with performers from this band at Bandfest on Monday. (#77)
ROCKIN’ THE AGES
The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses band. It’s marched in the event for 100 years. (#83)
STORIES OF HOPE & LIFE
City of Hope and Donate Life floats. Stories of survival and sacrifice on these. (#83 and #84)
HOWLIN’ FINALE
Closing show: “Where Flowers and Football meet!” When Los Lobos performs, good things happen (#90).
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The parade begins at 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. But you knew that. It’ll be televised live.
You’re invited to keep up with us on Twitter, from our reporters in the field Wednesday @PasStarNews. And for tons more Rose coverage, read here. | Bannered under the theme “The Power of Hope,” the 2020 Rose Parade took flight on Wednesday, Jan. 1, helmed by its first Latina president and three Latina grand marshals, honoring 100 years of the right to vote for women and christened by a flyover by a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber piloted for the first time by a woman.
The parade enjoyed a welcome return to its usual carefree tone after the chaos of last year’s float fire puzzled paradegoers, left a handful of entries off the live broadcast and inspired months of investigation.
On Wednesday, only the usual minor issues were reported. Two unexpected entrants were noted, one tow truck to pick up a Tournament of Roses Hall of Fame fire engine that overheated near Mar Vista Avenue, and another to mop up a small oily mess the engine left behind.
Members of the Pasadena Celebrates 2020 float during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
The B-2 Spirit passes under the Goodyear airship above Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, CA., on January 1, 2020. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Sound The gallery will resume in seconds
The Rose Parade president, Laura Farber, waves during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
Grand Marshal Gina Torres waves as she rides down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Grand Marshal, Laurie Hernandez, waves as she rides down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
The Salvation Army Tournament of Roses Band marches along the parade route during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
The Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band performs during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
The tournament of Roses Queen and Court ride down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
The UPS store float “Stories Change Our World” is towed down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
The Downey Rose Float Association’s “On The Wings of Hope” rolls down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
The opening act of the Rose Parade performed by Ally Brooke along with the Chino Hills High School Drumline during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
Ally Brooke, left, performs during the opening act of the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
Los Lobos performs “La Bamba” on the Closing Show float as they roll down Colorado Boulevard during the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA., on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Early predictions of rain and nasty wind never materialized. Instead, the parade welcomed the New Year on a postcard-perfect Pasadena day.
The verdict from the hundreds of thousands who lined the traditional route? “Better than last year,” agreed Pasadena residents Raquel Garcia and Alfonso Zavala, perched in prime viewing spots on Colorado Boulevard.
The Pasadena pair particularly enjoyed this year’s musical roster, which boasted more Latin-American bands than ever before. That wasn’t strategic, said Laura Farber, the Tournament of Roses’ first Latina president, with all the bands chosen solely on merit.
Among the brassy ensembles: Musicians from West Harrison High School, in Gulf Port, the first Mississippi band to perform in the parade in 30 years. Proud mom Mandy Geddings scurried about on the sidelines as the band trooped by, calling out to her daughter and snapping cell phone photos.
“That was amazing,” she said, gathering her breath. “It makes all those years and all that work of being a band parent all worth it.”
The Pasadena City College Honor Band marched through with four students from Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, who performed among 70-some other top Southern California student musicians. The four students were selected prior to the Nov. 14 shooting at the school but said marching in the parade helped them cope with the trauma spurred by the shocking campus attack.
“It was good to get back to being with people,” Saugus junior Jason Treanor said. “We could be social and not be stuck at home, dwelling on what happened.”
The band was bookended by the tournament’s beaming Royal Court and a float that proved to be 100 years in the making.
The seven-member court sat on a tiered float with Rose Queen Camille Kennedy sitting up high with the six princesses on the levels below. Kennedy, a self-described history buff and thespian, reveled in her role, taking a particular interest in the court’s volunteer work.
Following the Pasadena City College Honor Band came a float from Pasadena Celebrates 2020, adorned in such quotes as “Equal Rights for All” and “Lifting as We Climb” — all surrounding a mock Statue of Liberty and accompanied by a throng of suffragists. Titled “Years of Hope. Years of Courage,” the float celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
The parade’s top honor for floats, the 2020 Sweepstakes Trophy, went to the UPS Store entry, “Stories Change Our World,” featuring whimsical monkeys and parrots set against a patch of of tropical trees.
While that float, and most others, were crafted by professionals, the Downey Rose Float Association took home the top award among the floats built by volunteers. Featuring a floral garden, a small pagoda and a bridge running over a river of blue roses, the float’s defining elements were large origami cranes.
Downey volunteers spent weeks folding 10,000 small paper cranes ahead of the event. They were ultimately distributed to nonprofits, according to a news release from the float’s sponsor, PIH Health.
For the first time, the parade featured a mid-parade “halftime show” with a live-action production number from Disney’s “Frozen.” Portraying such characters as Anna, Elsa and Olaf, the performance featured players from the production currently on stage at the Hollywood Pantages, just a few months before the Los Angeles-based crew takes its show on the national road, a spokeswoman for the tournament said.
The elaborate performance was one of three major musical moments in the parade. Also included:
The Rose Parade Opening Spectacular, starring Ally Brooke, Emilio Estefan, Farruko, myriad dancers and the Chino Hills High School Drumline. They performed an original choreographed song, “Reach for the Stars.”
The parade’s closing show, “Where Flowers and Football Meet!” featured a song from Los Lobos and American Idol alum Alejandro Aranda, also known as Scarypoolparty.
Legendary 88-year-old actress Rita Moreno — one of three grand marshals, all Latinas chosen by Farber — proved a crowd favorite as she energetically danced her way down Colorado Boulevard in the back of a historic car. Some declared her a “a national treasure.”
Fans also sung the praises of her two co-marshals, actress Gina Torres and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez.
“We thought we had a fantastic parade today,” Tournament of Roses Chief Executive David Eads said. He lauded the floats and the musical performances, as well as the unbeatable weather.
There were no arrests during the parade itself, police said and only three people were cited for drunken behavior the night before. That’s down from last year’s seven citations.
“There were no issues at all,” Lt. Pete Hettema of the Pasadena Police Department said “As far as law enforcement, we had a good day.” | 4 |
Reported by: Akka Non
In Mon State, the sexual abuse of children often involves family members or those who are close to the child’s family, according to Daw Khaing Khaing Leh, Chair of the Mon State Parliament’s Women’s and Children’s Rights Committee.
“70 percent of a child rape cases [involve] those who are familiar to the children while a stranger is very rare. It is very difficult for a stranger to take a child out of school and put the child on a motorcycle or a car. The children will immediately react or shout if they are approached by strangers. Often [sexual abuse cases] happen when perpetrators are close to a child so that it is easy for the child to be convinced,” she said.
Prevention awareness program regarding the sexual abuse of children (photo: Khaing Khaing Leh)
According to the data, children between the ages of 7 to 13 are more vulnerable to abuse. Perpetrators are often an uncle or a father. Daw Khaing Khaing Leh pointed out that in the past, people had limited knowledge of where to make a report or where to ask for help. For this reason, the prevalence of child sexual abuse was not well known or documented.
Social stigmas regarding persons who have experiened sexual abuse, sexual violence and/or harassment discourages most children and women who are the victims, to disclose or report their experiences.
“When we talk about domestic violence, it includes physical and sexual violence as well as psychological violence. Violence against children is now increasing. Child sexual abuse is becoming more common in our society,” according to Mi Ah Mon Bloa, a participant of a 16-day eliminating gender-based violence awareness campaign.
According to the Chair of the Mon State Parliament Women and Children rights Committee, more than 30 educational sessions called “Body Prevention Awareness” have been conducted at different schools in Mon State.
From January to November 2019, 69 out of 90 rape cases involved children in Mon State. In 2018 the number of reported cases involving sexual abuse of children was 57, according to the Mon State Police office.
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Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Talk to your kids about capitalism versus socialism and Communism.
“The blame shouldn’t be on universities, although they’re certainly doing their part indoctrinating our kids,” Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy said on the Todd Starnes Show. “As parents, we are failing our children.”
Campos-Duffy said parents must fight back against left wing indoctrination by educating their children around the dinner table and in the car. Click here to listen to the entire interview.
“If you are not talking about Socialism and Communism versus Capitalism, if you’re not talking about opportunity, if you’re not talking about the kind of religious liberty and personal free speech liberty that you will lose under Socialism, the kind of political repression that you see under Socialism and Communism and the poverty that it has always ended up bringing to any country that allows itself to fall into it, you’re not doing your job as a parent.”
You’re also not doing your job as a Christian, she stressed.
“Communism and socialism are atheistic, anti-religion ideologies, and so we as parents have to do a better job.”
A disturbing survey released by the Victims of Communism Memorial Fund showed a dramatic increase in the number of millennials who favor Communism.
The survey found 36 percent of Millennials (people ages 23 to 38) approve of Communism. That’s up from 28 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, 70 percent of Millennials surveyed say they are likely to vote socialist.
“There is a huge, huge problem on our university and public school campuses,” said Starnes.
“If we cede these issues to the public schools and Marxist professors at our kids’ universities, we will lose this battle for the youth,” warned Campos-Duffy. | 1 |
Sun:
The Earth is at perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun for the year, on January 5. The distance to the Sun will be 147 million kilometres.
First Quarter is on the 3rd and Full Moon follows on January 11. Last Quarter occurs on January 18 with New Moon falling on January 25.
The Centaurids meteor shower peaks on the January 8 but moonlight will interfere with viewing.
Planets:
Mercury passes into the evening sky after the 11th but lies too close to the Sun to be seen.
Venus is a brilliant object in the western sky, setting around 11pm.
Mars rises around 2.30am, mid month. It will appear close to the red star Antares on the 19th and 20th. Antares will appear the brighter of the two. The crescent Moon is within three degrees of Mars on the 21st.
Jupiter should be visible against the glow of the dawn twilight sky from mid January. Look south of east, a short distance above the horizon, for a bright star. The Moon is close to Jupiter on the 23rd and 24th.
Saturn is at conjunction with the Sun on the 14th and will unobservable this month.
Stars and Constellations:
Orion continues to dominate the summer evening sky. Slightly to the east, the brightest star in the heavens, Sirius, is readily seen Crux, the Southern Cross, is very low in the southern sky.
Almost overhead is the star Achernar, main star in the long straggling constellation of Eridanus. Nearby, at a similar altitude, is Canopus, second only to Sirius in brilliance.
Towards the northern horizon is the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. Above it can be found Pleiades and Taurus, while further east is Gemini.
- Prepared for the Taranaki Daily News by Tom Whelan, Cape Egmont Observatory. | click to enlarge NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
Pluto
SATURN-PLUTO CONJUNCTION: GROW UP AND GET REAL
The long-awaited Saturn-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn arrives January 12. The astro-blogosphere's scare tactics trigger the fear factor, ominously hinting at international power clashes, constrictive structural and societal pressures around issues of borders and boundaries, and the powerful versus the powerless via this heavy, intense transit. Regardless of the global implications of the meeting of the cosmic timekeeper, Saturn, with raw, ruthless power-player Pluto, this transit need not inspire fear or dread if we accept that the purpose of change is to develop maturity. Growing up, getting real, and accepting personal responsibility is only scary if one has no role model for successful adulting. This month provides celestial parenting on a grand scale.
Maturity means accepting reality in all its messy ambiguity and imperfection. Good parents prepare their children to face reality. The "parents" here are the Full Moon/Lunar Eclipse in Moon-ruled Cancer, opposite the Sun, Saturn and Mercury in Capricorn January 10. Light, symbolic of consciousness, is darkened during an eclipse. When the Moon is re-revealed, she allows us to see our truth in a new, realistic, unromanticized light. With the Sun, Saturn, Pluto, Jupiter, and the South Lunar Node all in Capricorn now, that light reveals the shouldering of adult responsibility, the acceptance of hard work and personal sacrifice in order to nurture growth, nest a domestic environment, enhance emotional security and preserve ancestral heritage and family values.
The square of the Sun to Uranus January 22 portends shakeups in the hierarchal status quo. New Moon in Aquarius January 24 with Neptune's conjunction to Venus January 26 and square to Mars January 28 reveal the genuine. Authenticity's value skyrockets. It turns out our fears are only as scary as our refusal to grow up and get real. The more we accept the unvarnished truth, the wiser we grow. | 2 |
Eric Dahli and Don Gunn met at the Cadboro Bay Starbucks for coffee to discuss the upcoming year for the Saanich Community Association Network. (Sophie Heizer/News Staff)
Freshly elected first-time Saanich Community Association Network (SCAN) Chair Don Gunn said the hub for local community groups will tackle the issue of housing in the new year.
Gunn and Vice-Chair Eric Dahli were elected to chair the network of associations on Dec. 4. They will chair the network into the new year. They said Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes is scheduled to speak to the group about the direction they’re going in March 2020.
“Some of the things we’re going to be looking at include how we handle developments, affordable housing and how it impacts communities, infill housing, garden suites, and looking at using institutional land for housing,” Gunn said.
Gunn said densifying housing in the area is inevitable. “We’re going to densify, it’s just a matter of trying to maintain the character of the community at the same time,” Gunn said.
Dahli and Gunn said they’d like to see the associations attract more young people. They encourage people, especially young people, to get involved with their local community association.
“The majority of our members are retired, which is great because they bring a lot of experience, but we need more young people,” Gunn said.
“All the associations try to attract new and younger members. We aim for a balance, and a gender balance, because we want to reflect the community,” Dahli said.
“Each community association is a voice unto itself, we don’t speak for all the associations and we have no statutory power, we’re really about sharing information between the associations and we liaise with the Victoria Community Association Network too,” Dahli said. “The nice thing about us is we’re recognized by Saanich Council and they give us some funding, which is non-existent elsewhere.”
For more information on Saanich’s community associations, visit saanich.ca/EN/main/community/community-associations.html.
sophie.heizer@saanichnews.com | A 29-year-old man was found shot and killed in his apartment at a Bronx housing project Wednesday morning, and cops are investigating the death as the first possible homicide of the new year.
The unidentified victim was found by his girlfriend at 10:30 a.m. at Bronx River Houses on E. 174th Street lying face down on his bed with a gunshot wound to his neck and another to his head, police said.
No weapon was found in the apartment, but sources said a shell casing was recovered.
NYPD detectives are investigating and an autopsy by the medical examiner will determine if the case will officially be ruled a homicide.
Craig McCarthy contributed to this report. | 1 |
Aaron Rodgers Owned 'Shooter McGavin' on New Year's Eve With Awesome Tweet By Braulio Perez | Jan 01 2020 Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers revived his Twitter 'beef' with Shooter McGavin
If you're not following Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Twitter, what in the heck are you waiting for? When he's not firing off touchdowns to Davante Adams on Sundays, AR12 is beyond entertaining on social media.
Fans have grown used to seeing him have some awesome back and forth interactions with the account 'Shooter McGavin', which of course is from the Happy Gilmore movie. Well, on New Year's Eve, Shooter came after Rodgers again and the star QB put him in his place.
Take that, Shooter!
While Rodgers hasn't looked as sharp as usual in recent weeks, he still powered Green Bay to a 13-3 record, the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round BYE in the playoffs. Yup, he had another strong year, no doubt.
As this decade comes to a close... my favorite #Packers memory from 2010-2019, was winning Super Bowl XLV. ?
Super Bowl MVP, Aaron Rodgers went 24 of 39, for 304 yards & 3 TD’s; to lead Green Bay to a 31-25 victory. ?? #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/Akg6z91RxC — GBP Daily (@GBPdaily) January 1, 2020
For now, he'll be able to rest up until the conference semifinals, where the Pack will host a game at what's expected to be a fired up Lambeau Field. Until then, it'd be wise for McGavin to stay away from Rodgers. Unless he wants more fire sent his way, of course. | Marquis Johnson Jr. is believed to be the first baby born in Las Vegas not just in 2020, but also in the new decade.
Marquis Johnson Jr. was born 37 seconds after midnight to be the first baby of the year at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Latasha Atkinson with their newborn baby Marquis Johnson Jr. at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Marquis Jr. was born 37 seconds after midnight to be the first baby of the year at Sunrise Children's Hospital. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Marquis Johnson Sr. and Latasha Atkinson with their newborn baby Marquis Jr. at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Marquis Jr. was born 37 seconds after midnight to be the first baby of the year at Sunrise Children's Hospital. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Marquis Johnson Sr. and Latasha Atkinson with their newborn baby Marquis Jr. at Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. Marquis Jr. was born 37 seconds after midnight to be the first baby of the year at Sunrise Children's Hospital. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Roman Black was born about one minute after midnight on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2020, at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas. (MountainView Hospital)
Roman Black was born about one minute after midnight on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2020, at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas. His parents are Marie Buckley and Lorenzo Black. (MountainView Hospital)
Marie Buckley holds her newborn son, Roman Black, who was born about one minute after midnight on New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2020, at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas. (MountainView Hospital)
Little Marquis Johnson Jr.’s timing couldn’t have been better.
The 6-pound, 19-inch boy was brought into this world at 37 seconds after midnight Wednesday — New Year’s Day — at Sunrise Children’s Hospital. This means little Marquis is believed to be the first baby born in Las Vegas not just in 2020, but also in the new decade.
“They were like, ‘It’s 12!’ ” Marquis’ mother, Latasha Atkinson, said from her hospital room. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ We were thinking it already because were were like it would be so cool if we had a New Year’s baby. … We didn’t think it was really going to happen.’ ”
Marquis’ father, Marquis Johnson Sr., was, of course, thrilled to have a brand-new son — and to also know that the baby made history in Las Vegas.
“She was like, ‘Maybe, maybe,’ and so she probably spoke it into existence,” Marquis Johnson Sr. said of the timing of his son’s birth.
Atkinson said she can’t wait to tell her son about his arrival time into this world as he gets older.
“It is cool … really cool,” she said. “That’s something like, when he grows up, we are going to tell him.”
“‘You were the first decade baby!’ ” Johnson Sr. chimed in. “That’s going to be an amazing thing. He’s going to have all the bragging rights … ‘I’m a superstar!’ ”
Cyndi Lundeberg, spokeswoman for the hospital, said doctors and staffers were excited for the family as well.
“It is super exciting any time we have a new baby at the hospital. Everyone we have, our doctors, our staff are extremely excited,” she said. “But to have the first baby of the decade at Sunrise is truly amazing, and we could not be happier for our lovely parents.”
The Las Vegas couple said they can’t wait to get Marquis Jr. home to meet his two siblings.
“Nothing but happiness,” Atkinson said.
To celebrate the birth, the family received a baby stroller “full of goodies,” including baby supplies and onesies, Lundeberg said in a later email.
A second baby was born 21 seconds after Marquis Jr. at MountainView Hospital, according to Lundeberg, who is director of marketing and communications for Southern Hills Hospital and Medical Center.
That baby, Roman Black, was born 58 seconds after midnight. He weighs 5 pounds, 4 ounces and is 19 inches long. His parents are Marie Buckley and Lorenzo Black.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter. | 1.333333 |
Last year, Kate Dooley set off a 10-inch firework, perhaps her biggest yet, said Kim Smale, a close friend of Yellowknife's fireworks maestro.
"The anticipation for that one was just huge. You could just watch Kate vibrate as she was ready to flick the switch on that one," said Smale.
Dooley loved to watch things explode in the sky. If you've watched fireworks on New Year's Eve, the opening of the Deh Cho bridge, the Tłı̨chǫ self-government signing, or the Long John Jamboree, you've likely seen her work.
It's the first New Year's Eve in 15 years that she won't be behind the fuse. Dooley passed away from an illness in early December.
This year, the folks running the New Year's fireworks show will set off a few explosives just for her. And, she had favourites.
"The big shells and the big chrysanthemums that burst over the sky — I mean, they were always good. But you know the ones that just kinda keep firing from the bottom? She liked those too because they were a rapid fire kind of show," said Smale.
Dooley was a house painter and a dog lover. She worked at mining camps. She liked metal music and Etta James. She was a private person who spent time at her camper and in the outdoors with Smale's dogs.
When she passed sooner than expected this winter, one of her fireworks crew mates, Terrel Hobbs, stepped up to carry on the show as a fireworks supervisor.
Terrel Hobbs is the fireworks supervisor for the New Year's Eve show on Frame Lake. (Avery Zingel/CBC)
"Every New Year's show for the last 15 years we've done together," said Hobbs.
At the start of the show, Hobbs and his crew planned to set off some patriot missiles in her memory.
"We'll take a brief moment in memory and reflection of Kate and the amount of work she put into the shows," he said.
Hobbs would see her for just a few days out of the year, but when she would call him up to say the fireworks were on their way, her excitement was unmistakable, said Hobbes.
"Any time that someone's going to pay you to blow up stuff, it's always very exciting, and I think it was definitely a time of year that she really enjoyed," he said.
Dooley got endorsements to shoot up to a 10 or 12 inch firework. The team works in all conditions and lights the fireworks manually.
The crew on the ground is close enough to feel the boom, said Hobbs.
"I think for Katie it was probably the bigger the better," he said.
Dooley would start preparing around November, making sure people could see the show from wherever they were, said Smale.
"You know just listening to the people afterwards talking about whether they enjoyed it or what they saw out of it, that was that was really huge for Kate," she said.
This year, the New Year's Eve Fireworks are "bittersweet," said Smale.
"The end kind of happened quite quickly. You kind of wish she was here doing it, as she normally did every year. But I know that she's going to be watching." | 'Are you crazy?' Dorchester celebrates New Year's Day with annual polar bear dip
If you're feeling a little worse for wear after a rawkus New Year's Eve, you probably couldn't find a more thrilling way to wake up than a polar dip.
The Dorchester & District Lions Club held its 27th annual polar dip today in the small village about 40 kilometres southeast of Moncton.
Dan Matthews, one of the event's organizers, said the tradition was started by a few friends one New Year's Day close to three decades ago. He said it was probably imbued with a little liquid courage.
"There is a rumour that there might or might not have been some alcohol involved in the process," said Matthews.
"The boys got together on New Year's Day and thought it'd be neat to cut a hole in the ice at Palmer's Pond and jump in the water."
The founders of the dip have continued on since 1994, although one of them missed a year.
"He used the paltry excuse that he had pneumonia or something," said Matthews.
Dipping for a cause
The polar bear dip is an annual event held worldwide, generally to help raise money for different organizations.
In Dorchester, money is raised for the local Boys and Girls Club.
Of course, the task is a little more gruelling in colder climates.
This year people taking the plunge had it easy, with a balmy daytime high of 1 C.
But Matthews said there have been dips conducted at -20 C. When that happens, dippers don't stay in the water too long because of the risk of frost bite.
"People usually make a run for the vehicle and get in the shelter," said Matthews.
What to wear?
Swim trunks and bikinis are the most popular attire for the annual dip.
But Matthews said some people go a little extra step and show up dressed to impress.
"We have one lady ... the first time she showed up, she showed up in her wedding dress," said Matthews.
"She even brought along her maids of honour in full regalia and they jumped in."
But not everyone is keen on jumping into freezing waters, including Matthews himself.
"Are you crazy?" | 1 |
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CHICAGO — Chicago’s Jewish community came together Sunday evening in Old Orchard for a vigil in the wake of Saturday’s attacks in New York.
The recent violence has traumatized the Jewish community in New York and New Jersey and it’s hitting home here, too. there have been a string of incidents in recent weeks but the message tonight on the last evening of Hanukkah — be the light.
A 38-year-old man broke into the home of a rabbi Saturday evening night in New York and stabbed 5 Hasidic Jews. Everyone survived, mostly likely because they fought back.
A vigil was held Sunday to stand against anti-Semitism. It was also a chance to light the menorah on the eighth day of Hanukkah and take a stand.
Jewish communities around the country are banding together in peace and solidarity to raise a clear moral voice against what’s been happening in the country and to stand together against hatred and anti-Semitism by spreading light.
"Here we are again. Two weeks ago it was NJ and last night of course this additional tragedy. And then the Hanukkah lights remind us that our capacity to outshine darkness with light to increase acts of goodness and kindness...and that even a little light can dispel a lot of darkness," Rabbi Baruch Epstein said.
“It’s so important that we stand tall and proud and tell the world what goodness means," Rabbi Yochanan Posner said.
The lit menorah is a reminder of the crisis of silence, and why standing together is not a choice, but an imperative. | "The community is in shock. There's a lot of fear and anxiety, but that's why it's really important for organizations like ADL and broader community to step up and be allies."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday outside the rabbi's house that he considers the attack to be "domestic terrorism" and would introduce a law that would label anti-Semitic attacks as such.
"Let's call it what it is. These people are domestic terrorists. And the law should reflect that, and they should be punished as if it was an act of terrorism. And we're going to take the lead here in the state of New York and do just that, and I'm going to propose that in the beginning of January when I lay out my State of the State address."
The big picture: Segal noted that New York City saw a 17% increase in anti-Semitic incidents from January to November of this year compared to last year. He attributed the rise in part to the "mainstreaming" of anti-Semitism on social media.
Context: The stabbings followed a string of attacks targeting Jews in the region, including a massacre at a kosher grocery store in New Jersey on Dec. 10.
Over the weekend, the NYPD had beefed up patrols in Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Jewish populations after a string of anti-Semitic attacks during Hanukkah, per AP.
Besides making officers more visible in Borough Park, Crown Heights and Williamsburg, police will boost visits to houses of worship and other places.
The Guardian Angels, a private, unarmed crime-prevention group, said it would begin patrolling Jewish neighborhoods following the attacks, saying the police are not doing enough.
Go deeper: More details from Saturday night's attack | 2.333333 |
A bouncer was arrested early Sunday after police said he beat a man in the head with a flashlight after refusing him entry into a Ventura bar.
Authorities received several 911 calls reporting a fight in front of the Tavern in the 200 block of Santa Clara Street shortly before 11:30 p.m. Saturday, said Erin Burdine of the Ventura Police Department.
Responding officers found the fight had erupted after the bar’s bouncer denied entry to a 37-year-old man and his friends, she said.
During the altercation, the bouncer choked the man and hit him over the head with a flashlight several times, Burdine said. The 37-year-old was taken to a local hospital. Information on his condition was not immediately available Monday.
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Alex Stewart, 24, of Oxnard, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Ventura County jail. He was released Sunday afternoon after posting bond and is due in court Jan. 15 for a hearing, jail records show. | NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville police are investigating multiple cases of vandalism that were recently reported on the city's central and southeast sides. The incidents were reported Saturday and Sunday, according to a Tweet from the Naperville Police Department.
Police say the reports included slashed tires and property that had been spray painted with a red symbol. Naperville police did not immediately respond to a request for more details Monday afternoon.
Anyone with information about these incidents is urged to contact the Naperville Police Department at 630-420-6666. | 1.666667 |
NEW DELHI : In an attempt to broker a truce with Andhra Pradesh over its decision to relook at renewable energy contracts, state-run NTPC Ltd has offered to buy 300MW of green power from the cash-strapped state.
The sweetener was offered to prevent Andhra Pradesh from renegotiating power purchase agreements inked by the previous state government.
Scrapping or renegotiating contracts could potentially deter foreign investors and hurt India’s ability to attract overseas investments amid slowing economic growth.
The offer to buy electricity at “mutually agreed rates" was made by NTPC chairman Gurdeep Singh to the state government led by chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at a meeting in November.
“We are trying to ready a solution. The Andhra Pradesh government has been offered sweeteners," a senior Union government official said on condition of anonymity.
Queries emailed to the spokespeople of NTPC and the Union ministry of new and renewable energy on Tuesday evening remained unanswered.
Andhra has India’s second-largest installed capacity of clean energy, accounting for around 10% of the country’s renewable energy capacity, with investments of around ₹60,000 crore.
State energy secretary N. Srikanth confirmed the development. “We are yet to receive a formal proposal. Once we get it we will take a decision," he said.
The state has around 7,700MW of solar and wind power projects. It has 4,092MW of installed wind power projects awarded through feed-in tariffs, and 3,230MW of solar power projects awarded through competitive bidding. Andhra owes ₹20,000 crore to all power generators in unpaid bills.
NTPC plans to use the electricity bought from Andhra Pradesh to bundle it with power generated from its stations to bring tariffs down.
According to government documents reviewed by Mint, “NTPC may buy renewable power from Andhra Pradesh for bundling scheme of government of India at an appropriate price."
The Union government has been trying to seek a solution to the issue, given that marquee investors such as Goldman Sachs, Brookfield, SoftBank and World Bank’s International Finance Corp. have invested in the state’s clean energy projects. Mint reported on 29 November about a compromise formula struck during a meeting attended by Union and state government representatives on 7 November. However, the hard-fought compromise floundered. | Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister P. Pushpa Sreevani has posted her selfie video on TikTok for a song praising Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Sreevani herself posed for the video with the Telugu song ‘Rayalaseema muddubidda mana Jagan Anna’ in the background. The selfie video of 33-year-old woman leader has gone viral on the social media.
This Telugu song was made by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) after he became the chief minister in May, hailing him as the son of Rayalaseema, a region he hails from.
Though Sreevani belongs to north coastal Andhra, she posted her video with a song, praising him for development of Rayalaseema.
Sreevani, who is a minister for tribal welfare, posted the TikTok video amid ongoing row over Jagan’s three-capital proposal, which has angered farmers in the present capital Amaravati.
Jagan has mooted Visakhapatnam (in north coastal Andhra) as administrative capital and Kurnool (in Rayalaseema) as judicial capital.
Sreevani, who comes from Vizianagaram district, recently acted in a Telugu movie to highlight the importance of natural farming.
She played the role of a teacher in the movie titled ‘Amrutha Bhoomi’.
IANS | 1.666667 |
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More foldable smartphones and a new generation of games consoles are likely to be among the biggest new gadgets of 2020.
Here is a look at what to expect over the coming 12 months in the world of technology.
A 5G iPhone
While some manufacturers have been quick to introduce 5G smartphones even as the network coverage only begins to appear, Apple is yet to bring the connectivity to the iPhone.
Many believe this will change in 2020, with a 5G iPhone introduced alongside a number of other iPhone handsets.
It would be seen as a watershed moment for the technology by some - Apple's status as a brand means that innovation is not always considered mainstream until the Cupertino firm is involved.
By the time a 5G iPhone arrives - likely to be in September - 5G coverage should be far wider than it is currently - wide enough that Apple feels it is time to add the connectivity to its smartphone.
The new console wars
2020 looks likely to be one of the biggest and most important years in the video games industry for some time.
Not only is cloud streaming taking off, allowing console-standard gaming on mobile devices, but both Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation will launch their next-generation consoles in time for next Christmas.
The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have both been confirmed, complete with high-end specs which both say will make them the most powerful consoles either firm has ever made.
It will be a redrawing of the battle lines for the two biggest names in gaming, as they compete to set the standard for the next generation of video games.
More foldable phones
As 2019 draws to a close, only Samsung of the major smartphone makers has a foldable device on sale in the UK - expect that to drastically change in 2020.
Samsung itself has already hinted at new types of foldable phones which could be on the way, while Motorola's revamped, foldable Razr will also become available.
Huawei's Mate X has gone on sale in China, but could 2020 see it or another Huawei foldable make it to Europe?
A number of smaller firms are also likely to try and break the status quo too - some of which could choose to reveal themselves during the CES trade show in Las Vegas, early in the new year.
Microsoft's Surface Duo and Neo
Not quite fully-fledged foldables, but Microsoft's Surface Duo and Surface Neo will make their debut in 2020, attempting to be a new type of mobile device.
Both gadgets have two screens bound together by a hinge and can fold into a number of positions. Both are due to go on sale at the end of 2020.
The Duo is smartphone-sized, while the Neo is closer to that of a laptop or tablet - however, Microsoft is adamant neither should be considered as part of those categories.
In much the same way the tech giant's Surface helped create the "two-in-one" category of tablet combined with laptop, Microsoft hopes the Duo and Neo can change how people use their devices every day. | Every big company is going to release something noteworthy in 2020, but all we've are got is rumors and dreams to work with right now.
That's not going to stop us from speculating about the potential for revolutionary tech. Think beyond brighter screens, better cameras, and other incremental changes. These are things we expect to see in 2020 that could really shake things up.
Affordable 5G phones and more expansive networks
By now, you probably at least know what mobile 5G is. Carriers like Verizon are already advertising their 5G networks on TV, even though very few devices even support it in the cities where it's available. The worst part is you can't really get a 5G-compatible phone for less than $1,000 right now.
That isn't guaranteed to change next year, but it seems more likely than not. More companies (we're looking at you, Apple) will hop on the bandwagon, production will be streamlined, and fingers crossed, 5G phones will be slightly more affordable. With networks expanding, it might finally make sense to own a 5G phone by the end of 2020.
That blazing fast speed could enable some wild new habits. People could start downloading entire seasons of TV shows off Netflix in minutes on their phones, all while they're walking around outside. New types of online mobile gaming could be enabled, too, if developers can trust that more people are near super-fast mobile networks.
And now for the really fun part: The tech that powers 5G networks could interfere with weather satellites, making it harder to get accurate forecasts in an era of climate change and powerful natural disasters. Cool!
PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X
Xbox Series X isn't doing much in the looks department, but it could be extremely powerful under the hood. Credit: Microsoft
By the time we get to the next holiday season, it will have been seven years since the last new PlayStation and Xbox consoles launched. The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X were powerful revisions, sure, but they didn't enable any new experiences. They just made existing experiences a little better.
Details are still pretty scarce, but the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have both been officially announced for holiday 2020. Sony has been a little more forthright with specs, confirming the PS5 will come with a solid state drive, a first for game consoles. In layman's terms, that little hard drive means that games could significantly reduce, or even maybe eliminate, load times.
If you play console games, think about how much time you spend waiting for things to load. Imagine not having to do that anymore. Sounds nice, right? Aside from that nice quality-of-life boost, it could enable developers to design bigger, more immersive worlds that players can navigate in a flash.
Aside from that, the PS5 will let you choose to install just single player or multiplayer portions of games. Meanwhile, the new Xbox will let you suspend multiple games at once. Nifty.
Another little bonus: The PS5 will play 4K Blu-Ray discs, something the Xbox One X already does. Those of us who like physical media more than streaming can now bask in the knowledge that tens or hundreds of millions of people will have UHD Blu-Ray players in their homes.
VR hand tracking
If 2019 was the year real VR became financially accessible, 2020 could be the year that accessibility extends to pure usability thanks to two little words: Hand tracking.
Up until now, high-end VR contraptions have required the use of motion controllers to interact with objects in the digital realm. The Oculus controllers, for example, work well enough and are pretty comfortable, but they're not for everybody. It can be a little disorienting for newcomers to be immersed in a virtual world without the ability to use their actual hands for things.
Oculus Quest hand tracking is already available as an early-access software update, but it should expand in 2020 to support more apps and games. Take a look at one example of how it works:
Looks nice, right? Poking at things with your real digits is a lot more intuitive than relying on a proprietary controller. It's what VR always should have been, but understandably couldn't be until the technology was there.
If Oculus and other VR manufacturers are able to nail hand tracking in 2020, it could open up a whole new world of design possibilities for VR experiences.
Microsoft Surface Duo/Neo
Funky! Credit: Microsoft
We saw a decent amount of foldable tech in 2019, but none of it really made a splash aside from dominating Twitter for a day or two. Samsung's Galaxy Fold failed to justify itself even in the more functional second revision, while Motorola's new foldable Razr revival is still a wild card.
Microsoft, on other hand, caught our attention back in October with the announcement of two devices that might fulfill the foldable promise without actually using foldable screens. The Surface Neo tablet and Surface Duo phone use dual touch screens to potentially give users tons of real estate, without the fear of a foldable screen going haywire.
You might be able to watch Netflix on one screen while chatting with a friend or writing emails on the other. Dragging elements between screens looked pretty intuitive and seamless at Microsoft's reveal event, but since we didn't get our hands on either device at the time, we can't promise they work as intended.
If Microsoft is able to make them work and put together a solid sales pitch, it could start a new trend that other phone and tablet makers follow.
Or it could be a miserable, hilarious failure. That would be fun in its own way.
Cloud gaming
Google Stadia's early access launch wasn't ideal, but cloud gaming will only get bigger in 2020. Credit: google
Back on the gaming front, big name companies like Microsoft and Google figure internet infrastructure in the United States is good enough to launch game streaming services. Yes, with the recently sort-of-launched Google Stadia and the forthcoming Microsoft xCloud, you can stream video games over the internet without spending hundreds on powerful hardware.
It's ambitious because video games, unlike TV shows and movies, require constant user inputs to work. Those inputs need to be responsive, which is a problem when you factor in internet latency. Microsoft and Google are confident in their tech, but we'll need to wait and see what happens when it's in the hands of as many people as possible.
Cloud gaming feels like a boom-or-bust proposition. If it works, you might see some people decide not to buy those beefy new consoles we talked about earlier because they can play high-end games in a web browser or on a Chromecast for way less money. The downside of this is that you don't really own anything you buy in a streamed marketplace, and if these services ever shut down, the games could be gone forever.
It could also be a complete dumpster fire because the internet, frankly, sucks in large swaths of the U.S. If someone plugs in an Xbox and shoves a disc into the drive, it's guaranteed to be playable. That guarantee doesn't necessarily exist with cloud gaming, and some people might swear it off entirely because of that.
Again, it's possible none of these consumer tech gadgets and trends change a darn thing in the long run. But the fun lies in the possibility. New (or new-ish) ideas are always more interesting than another new phone with a better camera, even if they don't stick the landing. | 3.333333 |
If the startup sector cools off in 2020 it could be bad news for tech giants.
Bank of America analyzed six key startups that IPO'd in 2019 and found that the growth of their total ad spend is rapidly dropping.
If this is representative of the broader startup ecosystem, it could mean Facebook and Google will start to lose an easy source of revenue growth.
Click here for more BI Prime stories.
A slowdown in the startup sector in 2020 might not just be bad news for entrepreneurs and investors — it may also throw an unexpected wrench into Facebook and Google's businesses.
A report published by Bank of America analysts earlier this month makes the case that the markets' rough treatment of newly-public startups could — if it continues next year — translate into a broad slowdown in ad spending by startups. That, in turn, could crimp revenue for the advertising-based business which rely on those startups.
The report underscores the interconnectedness of the modern tech sector, and how events in one corner can ripple out and affect the broader market in unpredictable ways.
To make its case, BofA analysts took six major startups that IPO'd in 2019 — ride-hailing firms Uber and Lyft, social network Pinterest, fashion company RealReal, fitness company Peloton, and pet food retailer Chewy — and looked at their ad spend as a percentage of their total revenue.
On average, this dropped over the last 12 months — from 28% in 2018 to 24% expected for 2019. The financial services firm anticipates it'll drop again next year, down to 22% in 2020.
"If this deceleration in ad spend is reflective of start-up sector," the analysts wrote, "Facebook and Google could see an unanticipated slowdown in ad spend in 2020."
Of course, that's not guaranteed. The six startups identified may not be truly representative of the broader ecosystem, and the disappointing IPO results that the industry did see in 2019 may not be repeated in 2020.
BofA also doesn't attempt to precisely quantify the size of the hit Google and Facebook will take, but it will by no means be ruinous. All six companies are modeled to continue to grow their total sales and marketing spend year-on-year from now through the end of 2021, albeit at successively slower rates.
But what it does mean is that an easy growth engine for the advertising giants is at the risk of drying up — an unanticipated complication that may frustrate investors' insatiable hunger for growth, and force Facebook and Google to think harder about future sources of revenue.
It would not be the first time that trouble with startups affected more established tech companies that had become reliant on the free-spending startup customers. During the dotcom boom two decades ago, Oracle and SAP saw business boom as a wave of young startups snapped up their products in a frenzied race to build websites. When those startups' businesses proved unviable and the startups failed, the big tech companies lost an important source of revenue and were forced to readjust their own operations.
Got a tip? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at (+1) 650-636-6268 using a non-work device, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.)
Read more: | ST. LOUIS (AP) — The new year is off to a bloody start in St. Louis, with five people shot to death on New Year's Day.
Three of the victims were killed in one incident. Police were called shortly after midnight to an intersection in the Benton Park neighborhood, where the victims were found dead. A fourth person was shot in the leg but survived.
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Police have not released details about the victims or what led to the shooting.
Just before 3 a.m., police were called to another location and found a man dead from gunshots. Another person at that scene was hospitalized.
Another man was gunned down around 11 a.m. on the city's north side. Police found the man unconscious and not breathing. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
In 2019, St. Louis recorded 194 homicides, up from 186 in 2018. The 2019 victims included 11 children.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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On Wednesday, cries of “kagaz nahin dikhayenge” (we wont show papers), “Tanasahi nahin chalegi” (we won’t allow dictatorship) rang out at the iconic India Gate in Delhi as protesters took a pledge to defend the constitution and continue to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new citizenship law. Thousands of Indians brought in the New Year on Tuesday night with protests all over the country. Social media buzzed with protest notes and invitations to demonstrations at midnight. One note from the women of the Shaheen Bagh neighborhood in South Delhi — who have been holding a nonstop 17-day protest — invited people to join them for biryani, tea and protest songs and slogans to bring in the new year and “salute the fallen heroes in the struggle against this fascist regime, in Kashmir, in Assam, in Uttar Pradesh, in Karnataka, hit by police brutality in all corners of the country” and “to mark the first nationwide revolution for a new secular India.”
Anti-government protests had been brewing across India since almost 2 million people were stripped of their citizenship in the northeastern state of Assam earlier this year as part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise that makes it mandatory for all Indians to provide certain documents to prove citizenship.
That was followed by the Modi government’s move to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), passing a bill on Dec. 11 that offers a fast track to Indian citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh — specifically Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who arrived in India before 2014. Protesters say that by granting citizenship to these communities but discriminating against Muslims, Modi’s Hindu nationalist government is undermining India’s secular constitution.
In response, tens of thousands of Indians have taken to the streets of Indian cities, in what marks the first serious opposition to the Modi administration since he took office in 2014. The protests grew after Dec. 15, when Delhi Police stormed into one of India’s oldest Muslim-majority universities — Jamia Millia Islamia — to curb student protests. A few hours later, police in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, cracked down on the Aligarh Muslim University, another Muslim majority university. After images of the crackdown on students at Jamia and Aligarh University started surfacing, the protests exploded. More than 1,100 people have been arrested so far and over 5,558 kept in preventive detention.
Together with the NRC, critics say the citizenship law is part of a broader plan by Modi’s party to expel Muslims. “We had to be here,” a young female student told TIME at an emergency protest in central Delhi on Dec 15. As police officers pushed against them with their riot gear, she stood holding hands with her peers in a human chain. “We are here in solidarity with the students and with everyone else in this country. We cannot be silent anymore.”
While much of India has been roiled by protests in the last three weeks, the violence has been particularly bad in Uttar Pradesh, where an estimated 19 people have died. The northern state is home to more than 200 million people, 19% of whom are Muslims. In cities across the state — from Lucknow to Meerut to Kanpur to Bijnor to Varanasi — there has been a constant stream of videos and reports of illegal detention, arrests on false charges, open firing on peaceful protesters, arson and looting by the police.
The state is ruled by Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Appointed the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017, the 47-year-old — in his saffron robe, shaved head, and crimson mark on his forehead — unapologetically represents the interests of a Hindu state. In 2002, he founded a Hindu youth militia, headquartered in his constituency. The group, which describes itself as “a fierce cultural and social organization dedicated to Hindutva and nationalism,” was charged by the police for inciting riots, arson and murder in Mau in eastern Uttar Pradesh in 2005.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state Yogi Adityanath celebrates the party's victory in Lucknow, India, on May 23, 2019. | Rajesh Kumar Singh—AP More | Thousands of Indians ushered in the New Year by demonstrating against a citizenship law despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempts to dampen protests that have run for nearly three weeks.
The protests have rocked India since Dec 12, when the government passed legislation easing the way for non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring Muslim-majority nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to gain Indian citizenship.
Combined with opposition to a proposed national register of citizens, many Indians fear the law will discriminate against minority Muslims and chip away at India’s secular constitution.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Citizens’ Register (NRC), which were part of the election manifesto of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party.
Protesters had planned at least three demonstrations in New Delhi, the capital, including the area of Shaheen Bagh, where hundreds of residents have blocked a major highway for 18 days.
Irshad Alam, a 25-year-old resident of Shaheen Bagh, stood with his one-year-old in his arm and his wife by his side. He said he’d been participating in the protest every day.
“It’s freezing here,” he said, “But we are still here because we care about this movement.”
More than 200 people gathered in and around a makeshift stage in the Muslim neighbourhood chanting slogans and reciting poetry.
Resident Maqsood Alam said protesters were not afraid of a police crackdown.
“We’ve been expecting that every day. But I’ll tell you one thing,” he said. “This crowd here is not afraid of the government. They are ready to give their lives for this movement. We won’t leave here until the government takes back the law.”
Poetry recitals and speeches had been planned by organisers at a protest outside New Delhi’s Jamia Millia University, which was stormed by police this month.
“New Year’s resolution to defend the constitution,” read the schedule for another protest planned in New Delhi, now in the grip of its second coldest winter in more than a century.
Police said they had deployed additional forces in New Delhi on New Year’s Eve, with traffic curbs imposed in some parts of the capital.
“All precautionary measures are in place,” said police official Chinmoy Biswal, who oversees the southeastern part of the city that includes Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Millia University.
“Recently, there have been no incidents. So we hope things will remain fine,” he told Reuters.
In the southern city of Hyderabad, at least two small groups of demonstrators have been organizing flash protests, to skirt police restrictions on larger gatherings.
Typically, half a dozen demonstrators pop up in public places, such as malls and coffee shops, holding up placards and encouraging passersby to join in, a member of one of the groups, which has held 11 protests, told Reuters.
Street-side poetry recitals, stand-up comedy, and music performances are also planned in the financial capital of Mumbai and the eastern city of Kolkata.
But some protests have turned violent, particularly in the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and at least 25 people have been killed in clashes with police since early December.
Initially caught off guard by the scale of the protests, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has scrambled to douse public anger, with Modi declaring that there had been no discussions on the NRC, contradicting party colleagues.
The BJP is running a campaign to say that the CAA is not discriminatory and is needed to help non-Muslim minorities persecuted in the three neighbouring countries.
- Reuters | 3.333333 |
From Informed Comment
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In 2019, the Middle East was shaken by a new round of street revolts. As the year began, Abdelaziz Bouteflika had announced a fifth run for the presidency of Algeria. Then the peaceful "revolution of Smiles" broke out and by April he had resigned. A small elite has for decades monopolized Algeria's oil resources and has rewarded its supporters while marginalizing everyone else. On December 12, Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected president, amid continued massive demonstrations in major cities and a protester boycott of the election itself. The crowds are clearly unconvinced that switching out one president for another, when both are lackeys of the small Oil elite, will actually change things.
As 2019 began, Omar al-Bashir was president of the Sudan, as he had been for 30 years. A brutal dictator implicated in genocide in Darfur, he was widely considered a war criminal after an International Criminal Court ruling. By April 11, continued urban unrest and strategic rallies led by the leftist Sudanese Professionals Association and, behind the scenes, by mystical Sufi orders, had pressured the officer corps into making a coup against al-Bashir. Not satisfied with replacing one general with another, the crowds continued to pressure the military to step down in favor of a civilian government. Saudi Arabia and the UAE appear to have backed the military junta against the people, but could not forestall a compromise. In the end a form of cohabitation developed, with a new civilian government but continued military oversight and a promise of transition to pure civilian rule. Sudan lost the revenue for South Sudan's oil in 2013 when that region became an independent country, and its elite floundered in finding a new business model. Inflation was running at 75%, hurting people on fixed incomes or who depended on imports.
In ordinary times, the fall of al-Bashir should have been a huge story in the US, where at least lip service has been paid to caring about his Darfur genocide.
As 2019 began, Adel Abdulmahdi was prime minister of Iraq. Although voters had indicated in the 2018 election that they were fed up with the handful of parties that has dominated Iraq since the Bush era, Abdulmahdi was nevertheless chosen as PM. He came out of the pro-Iranian Islamic Supreme Council. Massive protests broke out at the beginning of October in Shiite cities like Nasiriya and in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. The Iraqi security forces and Shiite paramilitaries replied with deadly force, killing over 500 in October, November and December. Abdulmahdi was forced to resign. The crowds had demanded an end to corruption and to the party spoils system whereby the bigger parties in parliament were rewarded with government jobs for their supporters. They also wanted electoral reforms to block the dominance of the parties that keep winning the elections.
Just last week, the Iraqi parliament moved away from the list system, in which you vote for a party list, and toward a system were voters can vote for individual politicians. Although Iraq is pumping 3.5 million barrels a day of petroleum, the billions in receipts that go to the government have not been invested in Iraqi jobs or infrastructure.
Corruption runs so rife that the Iraqi treasury is said to be dry. All the $500 billion earned from oil sales since the Bush era seems to have just disappeared into the pockets of politicians. Crowds wanted more services and a share in the national oil wealth. Yesterday, Assad al-Eidani was nominated as prime minister. A member of the 2005-elite from the pro-Iran Islamic Supreme Council and the governor of Basra, his nomination holds out little hope of improvement of the sort the crowds demand.
As 2019 began, Saad Hariri was prime minister of Lebanon. On 17 October small street protests broke out against corruption, gridlock, lack of services, failure to collect garbage, lack of electricity, sectarianism and new taxes on the Whatsapp messaging program. By 18 December, Hariri had bowed out of consideration for another term as prime minister. The crowds are not mollified by simply switching out the prime minister for someone equally bad, and clearly intend to keep the government's feet to the fire. Trump all this fall withheld military aid from Lebanon.
All four of these popular revolts caused a sitting prime minister or president to step down. All four demanded an end to corruption and an end to government inaction on providing jobs and infrastructure.. Many wanted more and better jobs. All were nationalistic rather than fundamentalist in character. Sudan's Association of Sudanese Journalists is a leftist organization.
Algeria, Sudan, and Iraq are all oil states where the distribution of oil proceeds was closely held by the state.
All the air in American politics seems to have been sucked up by Trump and his Power Tweets, so that cable television seemed to have little energy to spare for the big developments in the world that had the potential to affect the United States.
In 2011 the American public was mesmerized by the youth street revolts that overturned governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and which plunged Bahrain into a further authoritarian miasma and kicked off an 8-year civil war in Syria. Yet they showed little interest in the similar movements this year.
Bonus video:
Al Jazeera English: "Asaad al-Eidani nominated as Iraq's next prime minister" | Iraqi protesters on 31 December stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad and torched its outer fence in protest against recent US airstrikes targeting Kata’ib Hezbollah Shiite militants in Iraq and Syria.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned US airstrikes on a militant group in Iraq.
"The Iranian govt & nation & I strongly condemn the US's malice", Khamenei said on his official Twitter account.
He continued on by saying that if anyone threatens Iran, "we will unhesitatingly confront & strike them".
The statement comes a day after Iraqi protesters stormed the US Embassy in the capital Baghdad in response to American airstrikes against Iraqi Shia Kata’ib Hezbollah militants.
US officials were quick to immediately claim that Iran had orchestrated the protest action, while President Trump has said that the US Embassy in Iraq was safe despite being attacked by pro-Iranian protesters and warned that Tehran would be held fully responsible for any damage caused to US facilities.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper, for his part, said that the United States would immediately deploy about 750 servicemen to the Middle East in the wake of the events in Baghdad. Media reports said, citing sources from the Pentagon, that Washington was preparing to urgently deploy up to 4,000 troops to the region.
Iran's Foreign Ministry on the same day dismissed the "empty" accusations coming out of Washington about Iran allegedly orchestrating attacks on the US Embassy in Iraq.
The Pentagon targeted facilities of Kataib Hezbollah, part of Hashd al-Shabi, in Iraq and Syria over the weekend for allegedly launching a rocket attack on a base in Kirkuk that killed a US contractor. Hashd al-Shabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, said dozens of its fighters had been killed in the US strikes. | 1.666667 |
Bank of Korea governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a press conference on its key interest rate in Seoul on October 16. AFP
Korea’s financial chiefs eye growth momentum in face of challenges
Gearing up for the new year, South Korea’s top financial officials steeled themselves to face persistent external challenges and to spark new momentum for growth.
As the trend toward low interest rates is expected to continue for a while, regulators vowed further efforts to curb the real estate bubble and promote market liquidity for innovative businesses.
“We need to maintain an easing monetary policy as the domestic economy faces a slow growth pace and weak inflationary pressure on the demand side,” said Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol in an address to employees. “Our midterm goal is to support the recovery of the economy and help market prices settle within the target range.”
The BOK forecast that the economy will expand 2.3 per cent in 2020, short of the theoretical growth potential of 2.5-2.6 per cent. The nation’s inflation rate for 2019 stood at a record low of 0.4 per cent, much lower than the BOK’s target 2 per cent.
The central bank leader also promised to pay further attention to communication so that the public can understand the delicate policy decisions needed to harmonize price stabilization and financial stabilisation.
Meanwhile, the financial authorities called on the financial sector to make strides forward and nudge the economy into a rebound.
“I am well aware that negative perspectives toward finance continue to exist (despite the policy achievements in 2019),” said Eun Sung-soo, chairman of the market regulator Financial Services Commission, in his New Year’s address. “It is therefore our key task to further develop our progress so that the people may actually feel the financial changes.”
The FSC chief called on the financial industry to play a more active role in the nation’s economy.
“The role of finance is not to sit behind and watch. It should move in step with the real economy, and each should seek to make up for the other’s blind spots,” he said.
Pointing out that market liquidity has focused excessively on real estate, instead of real industries, the chairman vowed to follow up the latest policy actions by adding momentum to regulations. On Dec. 16, the government unveiled a comprehensive set of rules to steady the housing market, including unprecedented bans on mortgage loans for expensive houses.
“This year, we shall see to it that liquidity flows from households to corporations, especially small and medium-sized ones with innovative technology and growth potential,” Eun said.
The market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service focused on consumer protection and potential risks arising from the overheated housing market and consequent household debts.
“As the nation’s risk manager, we should make all efforts to maintain the stability of the financial system in the face of various potential risks,” Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said in an address to employees.
While marginal companies and owner-operators have been weighed down by an increasing number of nonperforming loans, the real estate sector is absorbing most of the market liquidity, consequently expanding household debt risk, according to Yoon.
The FSS chief also vowed to reinforce the monitoring system for high-risk, high-income financial products for the sake of protecting consumers.
He was referring to the massive losses incurred last year due to the misselling of derivative-linked funds and securities. The FSS came up with an arbitration plan, advising sellers including Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank to provide individual compensation of up to 80 per cent of the damages.
“The advancement of fintech and (customers’) drive for high incomes amid a low interest rate trend have increased the imbalance of information between financial companies and consumers,” Yoon said, citing the upcoming enactment of a new bill on financial consumer protection.
The Korean Federation of Banks suggested specific midterm targets.
“(Financial companies) need to enhance their global competitiveness by expanding their overseas business,” said KFB Chairman Kim Tae-young.
Overseas business currently accounts for 5 per cent of Korean banks’ total assets and 7 per cent of their net profit, according to KFB data.
Citing the so-called 10-20-30 strategy, Kim urged local banks to improve those figures to 20 per cent or more within the next 10 years and recommended that top-tier financial groups aim for 30 trillion won ($25.9 billion) in market capitalisation.
The Korea Herald/Asia News Network | 02-Jan-2020 Intellasia | KoreaTimes | 6:02 AM
The Bank of Korea (BOK) will continue an accommodative monetary policy in 2020, as external trade uncertainties will keep holding back a short-term economic rebound here, BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol said in a New Year’s address, Tuesday.
“Our monetary policy should be carried out in a way to support the economic recovery and stabilise prices,” he said. “We need to keep relaxing currency policies, as economic growth here in 2020 will likely fall below our expectation.”
The outlook came in response to the prolonged economic slowdown. In October, Lee also expressed his pessimistic view for the economy to achieve its 2-percent growth target during a regular National Assembly audit.
To revitalise the sagging economy, the BOK cut its key interest rate to an all-time low of 1.25 percent, October 16. The central bank also kept the rate unchanged during the final rate-setting meeting in November 2019.
Lee said the central bank would decide on the level of monetary easing in accordance with how the external risk factors unfold.
“To be specific, the prolonged trade feud between the US and China, even if they have recently made some progress, comes as a geopolitical risk for the local economy,” he said. “On the domestic front, we have to raise concerns over weakening growth engines here due to such factors as the low birthrate, aging society and social polarisation.”
On top of that, the Korean economy cannot rely on export-driven growth amid the weakening of global value chain dynamics that resulted in the economic slowdown here and abroad, according to him.
To tackle the pessimistic outlook for an economic rebound in 2020, the BOK stressed the need to enhance its capability for precise diagnosis and prediction of the economic trend.
“The BOK should be capable of accurately analysing economic conditions by utilising latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data,” he said.
The governor went on to urge his staff to spare no efforts in embracing the era of digital currency.
“The BOK should not remain negligent in research and development for innovative payment technologies,” he said.
Toward the end, the chief of the central bank said it would continue to enhance research manpower on the central bank digital currency (CBDC).
With the rise of cryptocurrency, the CBDC is the talk of global financial authorities and central banks. Some countries, such as China, are in an advanced level of talks before issuing government-controlled digital currencies.
Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, also reaffirmed the willingness to push for policies to eliminate potential risk factors which will get in the way of the economy recovery.
“We need to strengthen our expertise in finding out financial risks beforehand and come up with countermeasures,” he said in a New Year’s address.
Financial Services Commission Chair Eun Sung-soo also shared its 2020 goal of promoting small and medium-sized companies for the longer-term economic growth here.
“A series of relaxing monetary policies here and abroad added more liquidity to the market, but the capital was used in an unproductive manner in areas, such as real estate, which did little good to economic efficiency here,” he said. “We are going to supply small venture firms, rather than households, with the capital.”
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2019/12/367_281170.html
Category: Korea | 4 |
Australians have been choking on smoke for weeks as enormous bushfires rage across the country. Now, that thick blanket of haze has descended upon their neighbours, with New Zealanders waking on New Year's Day to a very apocalyptic-looking 2020.
Smoke from Australia's fires blew 1,200 miles southeast across the Tasman Sea, smothering New Zealand's South Island and turning the sun an ominous red on Wednesday. People all across the island reported the strong smell of smoke, from Christchurch to Queenstown and beyond.
"It's been happening for quite some time since the Aussie bushfires have been going," meteorologist Aidan Pyselman told New Zealand news website Stuff in an article published Dec. 31. "At the moment it's definitely more noticeable, especially over the South Island."
The haze also travelled up to the North Island, covering New Zealand's capital Wellington with a gray veil. Fortunately it had thinned a bit by Thursday, and the skies are expected to clear up further as wind blows the smoke out over the Pacific Ocean.
However, New Zealanders won't be able to breathe easy just yet. Smaller plumes of smoke will continue to harass the country until Sunday, and it's likely that attacks on New Zealand's air quality will remain a threat until Australia's fires die down.
Australia's bushfires have killed 18 people, including seven in New South Wales over the past week. At least 1,400 homes have been destroyed and 11 million acres burned, with almost half a billion animals believed dead.
The unprecedented bushfires have been fuelled by hot, dry conditions across the country. Drought, strong winds, and record-breaking heat have baked Australia into perfect kindling — conditions many Australians blame on climate change.
“Just a 1C [1.8 degrees Fahrenheit] temperature rise has meant the extremes are far more extreme, and it is placing lives at risk, including firefighters,” former NSW Fire and Rescue chief Greg Mullins said in November. “Climate change has supercharged the bushfire problem.” | All the mountains in the Barrier Mountain range and through the Hollyford Valley, including the Pembroke Glacier in Milford, were stained muddy beige from the bushfires.
New Zealand's iconic white glaciers are turning shades of brown as a result of the smoke that has travelled to New Zealand from the bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria.
Social media posts from tourists and helicopter services in the last 48 hours have shown the wide impact on some of New Zealand's most popular tourist attractions.
"We had already been in tears over the situation in Mallacoota earlier in the day so we were already pretty wrecked emotionally," Rey, an Australian who lives in Wellington, told Stuff.
Rey (via Twitter) The "caramelised" snow at Franz Josef is caused by smoke from the Australian bushfires.
Rey, who did not want her last name published, was near Franz Josef Glacier on Wednesday and snapped photos of the "caramelised" snow, which went viral on social media.
Rey (via Twitter) Another shot taken on January 1 of the beige-coloured snow near Franz Josef glacier.
"In the face of the drastic evidence of the glacial retreat, the tainted snow felt like just one more horror perpetrated by human beings against the planet," she said.
An environmental consultant from Tonkin and Taylor noticed the snow on the Barrier Mountain range had turned brown while they were flying over it on Tuesday.
Satellite imagery courtesy of JM Satellite imagery showing smoke from Australia's bushfires over New Zealand at 2.30pm on Thursday.
"We flew over the Barrier Mountain range and down through the Hollyford Valley and all the mountains, including the Pembroke Glacier in Milford, [were] stained muddy beige from the bushfires," they said.
Mount Cook helicopters lead based pilot Andrew Gutsell said he had been flying around glaciers for the past 13 years and had never seen smoke as bad as it had been over the last couple days.
"It happens every couple of years with the westerly flow that comes over, but this is certainly the worst I've seen by far," he said.
AP An aerial scene shows fires burning and smoke rising close to properties in Bundoora, Victoria state, December 30, 2019.
In satellite notes issued on Thursday morning, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said "extensive smoke haze" had been seen across eastern New South wales and Victoria "and extends both northwards to Queensland and also extends from the north Central Coast of NSW across the Tasman Sea".
The haze is associated with a surface trough and cold front, the bureau said.
"We can actually smell the burning here in Christchurch," one Twitter user wrote on Wednesday.
She posted a video showing thick smoke over the Tasman Glacier in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
This the view from the top of the Tasman Glacier NZ today - whole South island experiencing bushfire clouds. We can actually smell the burning here in Christchurch. Thinking of you guys. 😢#nswbushfire #AustralianFires #AustraliaBurning pic.twitter.com/iCzOGkou4o — Miss Roho (@MissRoho) January 1, 2020
MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said a southwesterly flow, which was expected to last into the weekend, was clearing the smoke away from the South Island on Thursday, but there was a chance the winds could change bring more bands of bushfire smoke in the coming days.
Jessie Moffatt Akaroa on January 1 as the smoke haze from Australia covered the sky. | 3 |
Pairings: Pinot soars with simple noodles
Our Wine of the Week, Williams Selyem 2017 Russian River Valley Eastside Road Neighborhood Pinot Noir ($65), attained legendary status many years ago, as the winery became know as the center of gravity for this wily grape in what may be its best home, the cool valleys of western Sonoma County.
It is a fitting tribute, as well, to one of its founders, Burt Williams, who died early last month. As you enjoy this sultry beauty, take a moment to raise a glass to him.
The wine is light on its feet, with a silken texture, generous flavors of blackberry and Queen Anne cherry, and a brightness not unlike cool water splashing on river rocks. This wine does Burt Williams proud.
With an ultra-premium wine, it is easy to feel obligated to go fancy when pairing it at the table. And, of course, you can. Rare rack of lamb with potato puree, grilled Liberty duck breast with farro, braised mushrooms with polenta, and a luscious crab bisque all help this wine soar into its most gorgeous self.
But you needn’t go this route. The wine is just lovely with simpler, more humble fair. Enjoy it with roasted carrots and parsnips drizzled with the season’s newest olive oil, olio nuovo. Serve it alongside a great steak sandwich, with cioppino, or with a bowl of creamy polenta topped with olive oil and Gorgonzola cheese.
For today’s recipe, I’m reviving an old Christmas Eve favorite, a simple dish of broad noodles accented with more nutmeg that you might think would be good. But it resonates in such a gorgeous way with the threads of spice in the wine that both the pasta and the wine itself soar. Serve the dish as a first course, as a side dish, or as a bed for, say, seared duck breast.
Lasagna Noodles with Nutmeg & Cheese
Makes 3 to 4 servings as a first course
12-16 broad, flat noodles, see note below
— Kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, preferably olio nuovo, or
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
3 ounces (¾ cup) grated Vella Dry Jack, Estero Gold, Parmigiano-Reggiano or similar cheese
¼ cup chopped walnuts, preferably red, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Fill a large pot half full with water, add a generous tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook until just done, 2 to 3 minutes for fresh, 8 to 12 for dried.
Put the butter and oil into a wide sauce pan and set it over very low heat until it just melts. Add the pepper, nutmeg and a generous teaspoon of salt and remove from the heat. Warm four soup plates or pasta bowls.
Drain the pasta and quickly tip it into the saucepan with the butter. Turn the pasta gently a few times to coat it thoroughly and divide it between the plates or bowls. Top each portion with cheese, walnuts and parsley and enjoy right away.
Note: For best results, use broad thin lasagna noodles, preferably Italian, that do not have ruffled edges. Alternately, you can use pappardelle or tagliatelle, which is about twice as wide as fettuccine.
Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com | In the eye of storm season, now is a better time than any to talk about improving natural disaster preparedness and reducing climate impacts on your business.
While Australia has always been the land of extremes, climate change is now contributing to the severity of these extremes. That is bad news for horticulture as the intensive nature of our industry can lead to large losses.
To help manage risks and minimise the effects of unpredictable weather events, Growcom has developed the Horticultural Natural Disaster Toolkit. This is a great starting point for getting your business ready for storm season. It includes checklists for your emergency kit, pre and post-event activities along with tips for looking after yourself, your family and employees.
To help you prepare for an emergency the Toolkit recommends growers:
1. Assess your climate risks while considering updated climate projections and seasonal forecasts.
2. Register for weather alerts and warnings.
3. Compile a list of emergency contacts, including your local council's disaster or emergency centre.
4. Take down your neighbour's contact details and check in with them before and after a weather event.
5. Back up essential business information and records to a cloud, external hard drive or USB.
6. Discuss your emergency plan with your employees and designate someone to take the lead when you are absent. The plan should include allowances for all staff to secure their own homes.
7. Know your rights and obligations as an employer and prepare emergency kits for work and home.
8. Make sure you have access to an alternative power source (generator) and working chainsaw.
9. Have emergency fuel stocks and plenty of chainsaw oil.
10. Identify effective pruning and management strategies to protect your crops from high winds and flooding.
11. Clean up around your farm to minimise damage.
12. Ensure there is enough food stocks to last at least one week.
13. Have cash available in case of long, widespread power outages.
14. Manage inventory to ensure quick insurance claims.
15. Ensure your insurance has been recently reviewed and keep a copy of this information in your emergency kit.
To download a copy of the Toolkit, visit www.growcom.com.au/services/climate-adaptation-disaster-resilience
If you have any questions about getting your farm business prepared for storm season, contact your local Growcom officer or Growcom's climate and resilience coordinator, Lene Knudsen, at lknudsen@growcom.com.au
The story Be prepared for any weather conditions first appeared on Queensland Country Life. | 1 |
The only public execution of a British head of state occurred 371 years ago outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall on 30 January 1649. It was a radical, unintended act, born of failed negotiations and it entirely disregarded the people of Scotland and Ireland. The surviving details are piquant and shaming: Charles I in two shirts so as not to betray shivered fear on a cold day, a masked executioner in a wig and false beard, a collective groan from the crowd.
This used to be the moment when the curtain dropped. After an interval, or interregnum, in which Oliver Cromwell assumed power and killed all joy, the Stuarts returned for the second act, Charles II: the merry monarch. His reign was backdated to his father’s death and an Act of Oblivion drew a line under the horrid business of republic and civil war. As Paul Lay demonstrates in his immensely stimulating study of Cromwell’s Protectorate, this simply will not do. This was one of the most extraordinary, exhilarating, innovative and anxiety inducing periods in British history. There is no better time to be looking at it.
The providence of Lay’s title is the lodestone Protestant belief that God in his mystery had a hand in all things. Nothing could happen, not salvation, nor a sneeze, without divine direction. This made the hotter sort of Protestants, the Puritans, off-balance and twitchy for approval, like social media addicts, Lay observes. None was more hooked on providence than Cromwell, a yeoman farmer from Cambridgeshire (and kinsman of Henry VIII’s minister), who had risen through the ranks of the army to take effective charge of Whitehall and Westminster.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Portrait of Charles I by Anthony van Dyck. Photograph: De Agostini/Getty Images
Providence is also a volcanic island in the Caribbean and it is here that the book opens, on Christmas Eve 1629, with idealistic Puritans hoping to settle a godly colony. They failed, largely because they refused to trade with Spaniards, but the vision endured, as did its backers, including key players in the Long Parliament that went to war with the king. At the battles of Naseby, Marston Moor and the “crowing mercy” of Worcester, God blew and the royalists were scattered. Providence justified the abolition of the monarchy and the House of Lords, just as it explained Cromwell’s clean sheet of victories. After his seemingly miraculous defeat of the Scots at Dunbar in 1650, he was seen laughing excessively “as if he had been drunk; his eyes sparkled with spirits”.
Others thought he was high on hubris. In December 1653, having forcibly dissolved two parliaments, Cromwell accepted the title of Lord Protector, which was written into a constitution known as the Instrument of Government. It was resisted by the first protectorate parliament and so, in a constitutional contortion that might make even today’s politicians blush, Cromwell dissolved parliament by counting its minimum period in lunar months, rather than the conventional, longer, calendar months. “I speak for God and not for men,” he told MPs. He was beginning to sound a lot like Charles I.
Cromwell’s fundamental goal was liberty of conscience, but his challenge was to keep his army standing, deliver strong and stable government (“healing and settling”) and shape the people into a nation worthy of Christ’s imminent return. In that great gross line, he described the English as “under circumcision, but raw”. Above all, he strained to hear God’s voice once the guns had fallen silent.
The answer, he decided, was global. He would take God’s fight back to the Caribbean, seize the island of Hispaniola, avenge the loss of Providence and return with enough bullion to pay the army. The expedition commander was so buoyed by the venture that it doubled as his honeymoon. He returned to Portsmouth “almost a skeleton” and was dispatched to the Tower of London. The “Western Design” was an abject failure. The subsequent conquest of Jamaica was a face-saving afterthought and, it would turn out, the inversion of liberty.
In that crucial year, 1655, Cromwell also suppressed an ineffectual royalist rebellion. Spurred by John Lambert, the hero of Dunbar, he surmised that God would be placated by a clampdown on security and sin. England was divided into military districts. Former royalists had to register their movements and pay for the privilege in the form of a decimation tax. Vagrants were apprehended. Meetings at racecourses and bear-baiting rings, where conspiracies might fester, were dispersed. War was waged on fornication, drunkenness and gambling: “wars unwinnable”, Lay notes. In Altham, Lancashire, 200 unlicensed alehouses were closed within three months of the arrival of Major-General Worsley, a fundamentalist who drove himself to death in his maniacal pursuit of vice. The major generals lacked the resources to effect a moral reformation and were soon rejected by the electorate. It was, nevertheless, a dystopian time and not forgotten: “No man in uniform has ruled Britain since Cromwell,” Lay points out.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Charles II by John Michael Wright. Photograph: Dea Picture Library/De Agostini/Getty Images
Providence Lost is a learned, lucid, wry and compelling narrative of the 1650s as well as a sensitive portrayal of a man unravelled by providence. Lay’s Cromwell is dithering and ambiguous, too slippery to pin down, but almost likable, almost true. He welcomed Jews back to England, even if he aimed to convert them to Christianity (Sigmund Freud named his son Oliver). He regretted, on a personal and procedural level, the Commons’ retrospective judgment of James Nayler, a priapic, lank haired Quaker with messianic pretensions, who was branded for blasphemy and whipped until his back was a sheet of raw flesh. (One MP even mooted the obscure Roman punishment of stitching him into a sack with a dog, a cock, a viper and an ape, and tossing him into the river.)
As Cromwell settled into his reign – an accurate enough word – he displayed shades of hypocrisy. “Lascivious” songs and stage plays were forbidden, but the elite could enjoy dancing and the first English opera. Cromwell dipped into Charles I’s art collection and had a room at Hampton Court draped in sinful tapestries. And yet: when, in the wake of a royalist-leveller gunpowder plot in 1657, the issue of the succession led to parliament offering Cromwell the crown, he turned it down: “I would not seek to set up that which providence hath destroyed.”
On Cromwell’s death in 1658, the Protectorate passed to his son Richard, who had that rare gift in politics of realising when he was not up to the job. He did not resist when army radicals ousted him in May 1659. The following year, having lost any semblance of order or legitimacy, they too were gone. The Protectorate was too out of touch, too reliant on the sword and far too expensive to be missed. Its failure ensured that whichever randy prince might come along, monarchy would endure.
Two contemporary works capture the contrasting tempers of the time. The Anglican Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler is a fishing manual that rejoices in the beauty and bounty of the land. It reflects still waters and a contented patience beyond the ken of Puritanism. Lay doesn’t discuss John Milton’s Paradise Lost, but the title and its themes of tyranny and failed revolution shadow every page of his book. Milton gave his life to the Puritan cause and was crushed by its betrayal, but even when he went blind, he did not lose sight of liberty, or God. Paradise Lost closes with Adam and Eve wiping their tears and venturing out of Eden with “providence their guide”. It is an epic, eloquent scream into the cataclysm and a testament to the intellectual ferment of the republic, but it is the quiet little fishing book that has been reprinted more often.
• Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate is published by Head of Zeus (RRP £30). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p over £15. | WHEN I was a kid growing up in Birmingham we used to have three regular newspapers in the house.
The Daily Mirror, The Observer, and The Irish Post.
The Mirror in those days had the likes of Paul Foot and John Pilger writing for it.
This was the days before every tabloid became purely an extension of the entertainment industry. The Observer, which I still get to this day, brought in-depth international news coverage to our inner city streets.
And The Irish Post was our newspaper talking about us.
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I think The Irish Post must have been fundamental in many a second and third generation sense of identity because here was a newspaper talking about that very life.
Sitting in a house in England, belonging to an Irish family, reading The Irish Post, was as natural a part of our life as Coronation Street on the television and the Sacred Heart on the wall.
In those days the Post was campaigning on behalf of the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six.
In those days the Frank Dolan column was the page I first looked for and it was full of such depth and such insight into Irish life in Britain, and in Ireland, that it gave me the fundamental knowledge I’ve built my own flimsy understandings on.
In those days the pages of The Irish Post detailed in pictures and in words the vibrant social life of the Irish in Britain.
All over Britain the Irish living a life of such vitality and exuberance that, for those of us that experienced it, lives still in our memories.
There it all was in the pages of a newspaper. Proof of it.
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I grew up in it and I lived it. But when I first brought English people to it, people I’d met whilst away studying, I saw it through their eyes and saw in their eyes that this brilliant world was unknown to them.
This Irish life in Britain was invisible to the British. They’d never seen anything like it.
It was so full of life it was bursting at the seams. I’d almost think now, at this distance, that I’d imagined it. Those clubs and those pubs, those afternoons and those nights.
But it was all recorded there in the pages of a newspaper. In the pages of The Irish Post.
The Irish Post, so full of living that it actually died and came back to life.
My father bought The Irish Post religiously and not just because I was in it.
It was more that for him and my mother, back here in Ireland now, that the paper was an enduring connection with that intrinsic part of their life.
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That life where they were Irish in Britain. In the confident decades we’ve had recently, and watching my own children grow up now secure and unapologetic in their Irishness, it is difficult to explain how being Irish used to be.
Ireland was not in any way a ‘cool’ country and being Irish was not anything anyone aspired to.
The Irish Post flew the flag in days and in places where being Irish was difficult.
It came out of a community that wasn’t full of the hipster swagger that constitutes a lot of today’s Irishness.
It came from a people who had no choice but to be emigrants, who had, by and large, left school early because that was the only option, and who experienced the cold winds of hostility and prejudice.
The Irish Post helped people like my parents to keep their heads up when being Irish was something you might be wiser to be silent about.
I hope younger and future generations remember that. They should.
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A newspaper that comes out of a community and survives for fifty years is something to be celebrated.
In the New Year we can, at least, be proud and positive about that.
With English nationalists now in charge in Britain it might be a comfort greatly needed to have this paper around.
How newspapers themselves survive in the digital world we are busy building, with all of the recklessness of those who think the world has just been invented, I don’t know.
But here The Irish Post still is. I know it’s January but that’s worth raising a glass for, isn’t it?
So, for everyone Irish and everyone a friend of the Irish. And everyone else too. Happy New Year. | 1 |
I was recently trolled in an online debate. I was raving about President Trump’s booming economy and the fact that there’s record employment numbers, wage gains for woman, people of color and blue-collar workers. The troll invoked their disgusting identity politics and reminded me that this was the Democrats’ base. My response was: “Fantastic, perhaps they will finally realize that Republicans want them to succeed, Democrats only want their vote.” To prove this point, just 6 months ago Democrats and their allies in the fake news media were hoping for a pre-election recession, a clear indicator that they’re putting party before country.
Putting party over country is exactly what New Hampshire’s all-Democratic congressional delegation is doing. These partisans spent the whole year trying to reverse the will of the people with a Marxist-style un-American impeachment, totally absent of any sense of fairness. These partisans spent little to no time representing the people of New Hampshire. In November, we the people of New Hampshire have the chance to cast our own impeachment vote and remove Jeanne Shaheen, Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas from office and replace them with people who’ll actually represent the people of New Hampshire and respect the will of the people.
With the scary clown car show crossing New Hampshire, we are getting a good look at how extreme their party is. In fact, the frontrunner, who thinks he is above the law, is so error prone that his campaign restricts his campaign appearances. No-show Joe often doesn’t even know what state he’s campaigning in.
VAN MOSHER
Bow | It’ll begin very soon, with state caucuses and primaries starting in Iowa and New Hampshire, and impeachment roaring out of the nation’s capital, all in January.
The biggest monkey wrench to be thrown into the crossover between the 2019 posturing and the 2020 reality checking, in my opinion, wasn’t the articles of impeachment — we’ve known that was coming for months now, and still don’t know how it will affect the election. Instead, I think it came as a crack in President Trump’s armor, in the form of an editorial calling for Trump’s removal from office.
“If we don’t reverse course now,” the evangelical magazine Christianity Today opined, “will anyone take anything we say about justice and righteousness with any seriousness for decades to come? Can we say with a straight face that abortion is a great evil that cannot be tolerated and, with the same straight face, say that the bent and broken character of our nation’s leader doesn’t really matter in the end?”
In other words, if opponents of abortion rights want to have any “moral authority” whatsoever, they can’t be standing with an immoral president — a point that will haunt a lot of Trump-supporting Christians all year long.
And speaking of immoral behavior, here’s an incredible question a lot of people are asking these days: If Trump loses re-election in November, will he step down? And if he refused to give up the presidency, would the Senate oppose the coup attempt? I want so badly to say that’s an absurd question, but given Trump’s and the Republican Party’s behavior these days, you’ve got to wonder.
Then there’s the Democratic Party contest for who gets to take on Trump. I have no idea who’s going to win the nomination, but this much is pretty clear: Whoever gets the party nod will capture at least half the popular vote, because that’s roughly the number of “Never Trump” Americans (both Democrats and Republicans) who will — to corrupt an old Southern saying — vote for a yellow dog over Donald Trump.
Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:
[email protected] | 2 |
The games included in 'Jackbox Party Pack 6.' Jackbox Games
It’s New Year’s Eve, you’re sitting around with friends waiting for the ball to drop, and you’d rather not watch tired musical acts vamping on TV. Jackbox Games releases their party packs for just such an occasion, and Jackbox Party Pack 6 is the latest installment.
All Jackbox games operate the same way: You fire up the game on your console, smart TV or about a million other platforms, and all your guests pull out their phones, tablets, laptops, etc. The games’ prompts are on the TV; the guests’ answers and drawings and selections are on their devices.
It’s a great system, because half the fun of Jackbox games are seeing things that are kept hidden from you until they’re displayed. While Jackbox Party Pack 6 (ranging in price from $21-$30 depending on platform) isn’t the best Jackbox Games offering — it’s missing some notable, wonderful games from previous packages, including Drawful and Fibbage — it’s a solid outing in the series if you already own the previous titles.
If you haven’t ever played Jackbox games, try one of the earlier collections first (numbers one through three are particularly strong.)
Party Pack 6 includes:
Trivia Murder Party 2: One of the best in the bunch, this sequel turns you into woven dolls and asks you trivia questions, pitting you against your friends in a race to escape a haunted hotel in time.
Dictionarium: The favorite among my family this holiday, this game asks you to set meanings for fake words, words for meanings and antonyms, then vote on the frequently-hilarious results.
Push The Button: A twist on the “who’s the murderer” genre, this game makes some of the people in your party aliens, then presents slightly different questions to aliens and non-aliens. The whole group votes on who’s answering just a little oddly, and once people think they know the answer, they can “Push the Button” to put two people in an airlock and jettison them into space. Manipulating this game as an alien is pretty darned fun.
Joke Boat: One of the weaker entries, this game asks you to come up with snappy jokes about supplied topics, which is a core part of all Jackbox games. For some reason, the prompts here don’t work as well as they do in other titles from earlier collections, such as Quiplash.
Role Models: This game has the group pick out who amongst them is best suited for different characters/roles — the characters in Alice in Wonderland, say, or the seasons of the year — and then assigns them personality types as a result.
Our group of five didn’t get into this much, and while my downvote may be affected by my being declared a “domineering angry dreamer” at the end — you can guess who got to be the Red Queen! — we played it just once and moved on. | One dies in Jan 1 auto crash on, Ore Road
Just before noon on January one, one person had died following an auto crash on Ijebu Ode-Ore Expressway.
The lone accident happened about 11.25pm on Tuesday.
A Toyota Sienna Bus, with registration number, FKJ 453XW, was on a high speed when its tyres burst and in the process lost control and somersaulted into the bush.
Nine persons — five male adults, three female adults and a female child — were involved in the accident.
“The corpse of the female victim has been deposited at the mortuary of General Hospital, Ijebu Ode, while two of the survivors are also receiving treatment at the same hospital.
“The third survivor who is a child was taken to Ise Oluwa Clinic J3 by a good samaritan before the arrival of FRSC rescue team. | 1 |
A Maine man won $1 million on live television last night, becoming Powerball’s first millionaire of the decade.
Blaine Marston of Passadumkeag will take home $710,000 after taxes, according to the Maine Lottery. Marston was one of more than 300 Powerball winners who won a trip to New York City on New Year’s Eve.
“I can’t even believe it, this is unreal,” Marston said in a Maine Lottery press release. “Like I’m dreaming!”
Marston was announced as one of five finalists during the beginning of ABC’s New Year’s Eve special. Just after midnight, the final drawing was done live during “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and Marston came out as the winner.
There were 15 other Powerball winners from Maine who travelled to New York City on New Year’s Eve for a chance to win the special drawing.
To qualify for the trip, a player had to enter a Powerball ticket worth $6 or more that was purchased between Aug. 11 and Sept. 14.
This was the first New Year’s Eve that Powerball has held its “First Millionaire of the Year” drawing. | According to WMTW, Howland's Blaine Marston was the first $1 million Powerball winner.
Marston was one 300 Powerball players, fifteen of which were from Maine, won trips to NYC. On top of that, he was selected as one of five finalists given a chance to win $1 million.
Just after the ball dropped, he was selected as the winner.
See the video of how it played out HERE
He plans to invest much of the over $700,000 he'll walk away with. | 3.666667 |
Back in 2018, Cyclone Gaja which formed as a depression near Andaman, became a severe cyclone when it made landfall in Tamil Nadu between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam, and it left a trail of destruction,
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Houses damaged, crops destroyed, trees uprooted, schools razed - the devastation was unfathomable. Something that the locals are still trying to recuperate from. But thanks to a few kind-hearted people, the rebuilding process has been accelerated with ease.
One such helping hand comes from a volunteer organisation called Direction for Volunteers (D4V), a Chennai-based group founded by a Mayiladuthurai-based IT-engineer, Ashok Raj .
D4V has completed their target of rebuilding three schools which were damaged by Cyclone Gaja in 2018.
According to a Facebook Post, the volunteer organisation were able to construct the schools with the help of, 'Kind-hearted people from various districts/states/countries'.
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Shri Venkateshwara Temple in the USA, the employee community of CPCL and the employees and management of Balmer Lawrie, were the contributors.
According to reports, they constructed their first building for Selvam Government Aided Primary School in Thalaignayiru, at the cost of Rs 7.7 lakh and opened it on June 2.
Then, they constructed their second building for Saraswathi Vilas Government Aided Primary School in Kovilpathu, at the cost Rs 11.7 lakh and opened it on June 23. The third school was completed at a cost of Rs 8 lakh near Vedaranyam.
'Our volunteers were into the field for more than 15 days and came up with a reasonable suggestion to rebuild 3 of primary aided schools in #Nagapattinam Dist', reads the Facebook post.
“We collected donations from employees in PSU and private companies. Our volunteers also contributed to the cause. This was challenging because the village was remote and not easily accessible” said R Vinoth Kumar, an IT-engineer and the coordinator of Direction for Volunteers told The New Indian Express
The building for Government-aided primary school in Vandal is the final one of their series of the rebuilding of school buildings damaged by Gaja, which cost Rs 27.4 lakh .
Kudos to all the people who contributed time, money and effort to make this happen; it shows how resilient human beings can be. | Missing kayaker pulled from St. Joseph River in Niles has died
NILES, Mich. -- The man who was pulled from the St. Joseph River in Niles around noon on Wednesday has died, according to law enforcement.
Around 8:30 a.m., four men launched a kayak near the dam at a legal launch site, according to Niles Fire Chief Larry Lamb.
“We had four adult males enter that actually entered the water just up there on the other side of the dam. Two actually had a lot of kayaking experience and the other two didn’t have any," Lamb said.
At some point all four men entered the water.
One paddled to safety and called for help.
A second male was out of the water by the time first responders arrived.
The third was rescued from the water by first responders.
All three were in stable condition.
Emergency crews spent the morning searching for the fourth kayaker.
“The last known location for the fourth victim was up here near the dam area. So we investigated, there’s a cable system up there and a large log and we were able to shake the log free and recover the fourth victim,” Lamb said.
The fourth man was found and transported to the hospital. He was pronounced deceased a short time after being taken to the hospital, according to law enforcement.
“We would like to make sure that people know that they shouldn’t be going into the river unless they really know what they’re doing, especially above a dam,” Lamb said.
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Police at the scene of crime at Hotel Sky in Industrial Area Phase-I, Chandigarh, Wednesday. (Express photo: Jaipal Singh) Police at the scene of crime at Hotel Sky in Industrial Area Phase-I, Chandigarh, Wednesday. (Express photo: Jaipal Singh)
A 30-YEAR-OLD convict currently out on bail in a murder case allegedly killed his woman friend in a room at Hotel Sky situated in Phase-1, Industrial Area. He is on the run. The accused was identified as Maninder Singh, a resident of Sector 30, and the victim as Sarabjeet Kaur, 28, a resident of Kakra village in Sangrur.
Police said Sarabjeet was a qualified nurse. She had been selected for All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bathinda. She was expected to join a training course at PGIMER this week. Maninder and Sarabjeet had been in a relationship for around two years.
The accused was convicted in 2014 for killing his woman friend in Karnal in 2010. In 2016, he was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court as his appeal against the conviction was accepted. The CCTV camera recording of the hotel shows the accused left the hotel after committing the crime on December 30. The murder came to light on Wednesday afternoon. The hotel staff did not get any response when they knocked at the door. As one of the staff members opened the door with the master key, the woman was found dead on the bed. There was a sharp injury mark on her neck. The body was covered with a quilt.
Sources said Maninder and Sarabjeet had been in a relationship for the last two years and had visited the hotel together earlier as well. A police officer said, “Families of both accused and victim were aware of their relationship. Maninder wanted to marry Sarabjeet. But her elder brother declined, citing caste differences. It appears kin of the victim also came to know about criminal background of Maninder. Sarabjeet had once also rejected his proposal.”
Maninder had booked the hotel room online through Makemytrip website for December 30. Ankit Sharma, front office manager at the hotel, said, “The two entered the hotel late in evening on December 30. Maninder had booked the room for two days. They submitted their identity proofs. This afternoon they were supposed to check out. I knocked at the room but did not receive any response. The door was opened with a master key. Room boy Sumit noticed the body and raised the alarm. I informed the police about the body.”
Senior police officers, including SSP Nilambri Vijay Jagdale, ASP Neha Yadav and Sector 31 SHO Rajdeep Singh, rushed to the spot.
A police officer said, “CCTV recording of hotel shows Maninder had left the hotel around 11.56 pm on December 30. Nobody was sitting at the reception when he left the hotel. Till this afternoon, hotel staff members were under the impression that Maninder is also inside the room. Since December 30, hotel staff members had not received any order from the room.” A case of murder was registered at the Sector 31 police station.
‘Accused is shy and religious’
Neighbours of accused Maninder Singh, known as Raja, in Sector 30 were aware of his involvement in the earlier murder case in Karnal. They maintained he came out from a Haryana jail around four years ago. The neighbours said Maninder is a shy person. He is baptised and also does shabad-kirtan in local gurdwaras. His father is a carpenter. His mother is a housewife.
Sources said the woman murdered in 2010 by Maninder was also known to him and he murdered her because later she wanted to marry someone else. A woman neighbour said, “Raja committed the crime in 2010 and returned three years ago. He is the only son of his parents. His two sisters are married and settled in Mohali. He had been working with a private firm in Industrial Area and left the job three months back.
He is a religious person.” The house of the accused was locked. Sources said his parents were being questioned.
For all the latest Chandigarh News, download Indian Express App | Registration for the winter semester has been opened from January 1 to 5. Registration for the winter semester has been opened from January 1 to 5.
After boycotting day one of registration for the new semester, that began Wednesday, the JNU Students’ Union has decided to boycott the process on all five days.
Registration for the winter semester has been opened from January 1 to 5. Students have said they will “lock down” offices of the Mess Manager and Cashier.
The boycott has been called due to two circulars from the administration — one that said hiked room rent would be levied from students during registration, while remaining mum on service and utility charges, and the other that said students who haven’t completed their “academic requirements” would be given provisional registration if they give assignments by January 20.
Registrar Pramod Kumar could not be reached for a comment.
For all the latest Delhi News, download Indian Express App | 1.333333 |
During the 1960s, some members of the Baby Boomer Generation were fond of saying, “Never trust anyone over 30.” And now, ironically, Boomers — or at least some Boomers — have become targets of the dismissive expression, “OK, Boomer,” which is used primarily by Millennials and members of Generation Z. The expression certainly isn’t aimed at everyone over 60; Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is 78, and the 70-year-old Sen. Elizabeth Warren aren’t the typical targets of “OK, Boomer” — in fact, Sanders enjoys more support among Millennials and members of Gen-Z than he among people his own age. But it is typically used out of frustration when a far-right Boomer says something that is clueless, reactionary and painfully out-of-touch; for example, a Millennial or Gen-Z member might offer a mountain of evidence on medical bankruptcies to show how broken the United States’ health care system is — and when the Boomer, indoctrinated by Fox News and AM talk radio, still insists that the U.S. has the best health insurance system in the world, the Millennial or Gen-Z member might respond, “OK, Boomer.”
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Here are some far-right reactionaries who the expression “OK, Boomer” was tailor-made for.
1. Rush Limbaugh
Radio host Rush Limbaugh, now 68, has been wrong time and time again — and no amount of evidence will change his mind about the War on Drugs (which he has wholeheartedly supported), the Iraq War (a foreign policy disaster he championed) or the health care crisis in the U.S. Even when Limbaugh had an addiction to OxyContin in 2003, he wouldn’t acknowledge that the War on Drugs was a failure. And when he was admitted to the hospital in 2010 after suffering chest pains, Limbaugh asserted, “I don’t think there’s one thing wrong with the United States health system.” Sure, millionaires have easy access to top-notch health care; others suffer medical bankruptcy or avoid going to the doctor when they get sick because they can’t afford it.
2. Ted Nugent
During his youth, Ted Nugent went to great lengths to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. But these days, the hard rock singer/guitarist and far-right activist, now 71, views himself as hell-belt for the U.S. military and insists that liberals and progressives could never be as patriotic and pro-military as he is. Democrats have a long history of being hawkish militarily, from World War I and World War II to the Korean War; regardless, Nugent clings to the notion that only far-right Republicans love the military.
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3. President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump is full of contradictions. He has hardly lived the life of a Christian fundamentalist, yet he panders to the Christian Right. Trump claims to be a fiscal conservative, yet the U.S. has a huge federal deficit under his watch. Trump claims to sympathize with the millions of Americans who lack health insurance or are seriously underinsured, but he has tried to roll back the modest gains of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare. And when he is contradicting himself on Twitter or at a MAGA rally, there are no doubt plenty of Millennials and Gen-Z members thinking, “OK, Boomer.”
4. Bill O’Reilly
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Inundated with sexual harassment allegations, Bill O’Reilly left Fox News in 2017. But that hasn’t prevented O’Reilly, now 70, from ranting about the Culture War and insisting that he is a staunch social conservative. It was O’Reilly who, more than anyone, pushed the silly conspiracy theory that there is a “War on Christmas” being carried out by liberals and progressives. One can point out to O’Reilly that even in the most Democratic U.S. cities, one is surrounded by Christmas songs, Christmas lights and Christmas decorations — yet he still insists that the “War on Christmas” is alive and well, no doubt inspiring some of his younger critics to roll their eyes in frustration and say, “OK, Boomer.” | Rudy Giuliani wants to turn President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial into a prosecution case against Joe Biden.
The president’s personal attorney told reporters at a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-A-Lago that he would like to do far more than simply testify at the Senate impeachment trial.
“I would testify, I would do demonstrations,” Giuliani said. “I’d give lectures, I’d give summations. Or, I’d do what I do best, I’d try the case. I’d love to try the case.”
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“Well, I don’t know if anybody would have the courage to give me the case,” he added, “but if you give me the case, I will prosecute it as a racketeering case, which I kind of invented, anyway.” | 1.333333 |
In the final analysis, when all is said and done, merit alone triumphs. Ultimately it was PM Modi who was responsible for Balakot, so the people of India reposed their faith in him once again.
I am not going into the merits or the demerits of having a chief of defence staff (CDS) position. The PM in his eternal wisdom has decided that there will be a CDS. So be it.
Let’s return to the question of merit. Who in the defence forces has been responsible for Balakot, India’s greatest military triumph since 1971. I am ignoring Kargil here because I don’t really regard it as a victory, no matter the spin given to it. In Kargil, intruders entered our house, and we utilized military and diplomatic means to push them out. What kind of victory was that?
In Balakot, the air force coordinated with the navy to give the enemy a stunning riposte. The navy blockaded Karachi port making the enemy believe that an attack was imminent from there, while the air force utilized the feint to knock out Balakot. There was great coordination between the air force and the navy. The army seemed to have been an alert bystander.
Military credit for Balakot should, therefore, go to Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa as well as Admiral Sunil Lamba, who headed the air force and navy respectively at the time of Balakot. Both are recently retired officers now but that should not have stopped any of them from being made the CDS, because their ages are well below the retirement age of the CDS, which is 65.
In such a high-profile role as the CDS, the military will respect only someone with outstanding merit, someone who has shown exemplary success in his military career. The three five-star officers, Cariappa, Manekshaw, and Arjan Singh would have all made outstanding CDSs. Some might even consider Sundarji, dubbed the thinking general, as apt for the role, but Sundarji could have fallen into Bonapartism.
Certainly, he took the surprise to the Pakistanis (and some say even to his own PM Rajiv Gandhi) with his aggressive tactics in Operation Brasstacks, but it was his teaming up with the then-minister of state for defence, Arun Singh, to coerce Gandhi to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force to Sri Lanka that stained his legacy.
General Bipin Rawat has become the first CDS of the country. My heartiest congratulations to him. In his capacity of the army chief, General Rawat had spoken out against the recent countrywide protests, which statement drew sharp ripostes from politicians, especially P. Chidambaram.
When the government made General Rawat the army chief, it superseded two generals more senior than him. More recently, it made Admiral Karambir Singh the navy chief by superseding a naval officer six months senior than him. In both instances, the government stated that merit, and not just seniority, should decide who becomes a service chief, effectively bucking the trend of governments of the recent past who tended to stick to the seniority principle.
General Rawat has had a full three-year term as army chief. He has managed the counter-insurgency in Kashmir relatively well, but is there a signal military success that can be attributed to him? He has been voluble in the media, but is that necessarily a good thing?
He is perceived as close to the national security adviser (NSA), Ajit Doval. That actually is a good thing now that he has become CDS. But the post of NSA itself is new, starting only with the Vajpayee regime. The NSA heads the national security council, of whose part all three services chiefs are, so in effect, there is already an overall boss of the military, albeit a civilian. Now with the CDS, another layer is being added.
The CDS will have to earn the respect of the entire military. The military only respects those who have succeeded in battle, not those who interfere in civilian affairs, even if delicately. The recent military officers who have seen signal success are the aforementioned Dhanoa and Lamba. The government should have brought one of them from the cold and made him the CDS.
The army is by far the biggest defence service and has therefore dominated the overall military. Having a Dhanoa from the air force or a Lamba from the navy as CDS would have redressed the balance in favour of the smaller services. | Newly-appointed Chief of the Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, on Wednesday said the armed forces stay away from politics and work as per the directives of the government of the day, remarks that come amid allegations that the forces were being politicised.
The former Army Chief took charge as the first Chief of Defence Staff today and said his task is to create synergy between different wings of the armed forces.
"We keep ourselves away from politics. We act according to the directives of the government of the day," he said.
General Rawat said his focus will be to ensure the best and optimal use of resources allocated to the three services.
General Bipin Rawat was named as India's first Chief of Defence Staff a day before he was to retire from services after completing a full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff.
Days before the government announced its decision to appoint him as the CDS, General Rawat was surrounded in controversy, owing to his comment on the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. He had criticised the people leading violent protests against the new legislation.
The Cabinet Committee on Security had, in a landmark decision last week, approved the creation of the CDS who will act as the principal military adviser to the defence minister on all matters relating to tri-services.
The recommendation for the CDS had first been made after the Kargil War. It was argued that this post will create better coordination between the three services -- the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. | 1.666667 |
Justice Minister Amir Ohana’s choice of Orly Ginsberg Ben-Ari as acting state prosecutor, defying Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, is but the latest attempt by the caretaker government headed by the indicted Benjamin Netanyahu to undermine the rule of law. It also dovetails with Netanyahu’s battle cries against the State Prosecutor’s Office after the release of the attorney general’s decision to try him for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
According to Mendelblit, the choice of Ginsberg Ben-Ari “doesn’t meet the necessary requirements for the position of acting state prosecutor” and that it “exceeds, in an extreme way, the scope of what is reasonable.”
Thus, he said, “there is a legal impediment to its approval.” According to Civil Service Commissioner Daniel Hershkowitz, the choice “is liable to erode the proper functioning of the state prosecutor.”
Ohana is neither interested in these arguments of substance nor in the facts that he is justice minister in a caretaker government, and that the country is in the midst of a third election cycle due to the deadlock stemming from Netanyahu’s legal predicament. Ohana was well aware of Mendelblit’s warnings when he announced his candidates for the position. Mendelblit made it clear that the justice minister must consult with him before the appointment, and not to deviate from his recommendation unless he presents compelling arguments. He even named the deputy state prosecutor for criminal affairs, Shlomo Lemberger, as his preference.
To make matters worse, the appointment was made at a particularly sensitive moment. Now the cases against the prime minister will be laid on the table of the state prosecutor, which will require “dealing with various legal aspects connected to the decision to try the prime minister,” as Mendelblit stressed in his opinion on Tuesday. “These are sensitive issues that require an even greater obligation to ensure the independence of the person holding the position, and above all the public appearance of independence.”
None of this prevented Ohana from defying Mendelblit and the Israeli Judicial Authority. True to the spirit of his commander, who spreads tales of a legal putsch and seeks “to investigate the investigators,” Ohana is abusing his temporary political power in an attempt to weaken the institution of the state prosecutor. Instead of respecting the circumstances and reducing his presence in the appointment process, Ohana seeks to squeeze everything he can get out of his temporary position.
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Mendelblit pledged in closed-door meetings in the Justice Ministry that he would refuse to defend the appointment of a person unqualified for the job. “I won’t be a part of it,” he told his colleagues. The issue of the appointment will probably end up in the High Court of Justice, and the court is not expected to approve it. Thus, the public has received another reminder of the urgent need to replace Netanyahu’s corrupt and messianic regime.
The above article is Haaretz’s lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel. | The decision by the High Court of Justice to hear a petition to rule out the possibility of Benjamin Netanyahu competing for the post of prime minister in the upcoming elections, has exacerbated the already existing tension between the political and judicial systems, to the point of posing a real threat to the stability of Israel’s democracy.The High Court cannot refrain from dealing with any case that comes before it out of fear for its status. Should such a fear prevail and paralyze the rule of law, the judicial system will have lost its independence. If judges can be intimidated once, they can be intimidated in the future as well – thus destroying the most outstanding public service in Israel. If the High Court operates on the basis of profit-and-loss considerations, at the end of the day all of us will be the losers.But does it follow from this that the High Court should issue a ruling on whether Netanyahu, who is facing criminal charges, is a legitimate candidate to form the next government if he wins the election? I think not.Even those who believe, as a matter of principle, that any and all issues are subject to a judicial decision – “everything is justiciable” – understand that it is not a good idea to translate every issue into legal language and assign its resolution to judges. Indeed, jurists in Israel and abroad debate the appropriate policy for involving the courts and on delineating the boundaries of their engagement: what is justiciable and what is not.When the country is facing an election, and a sufficiently large number of its citizens are likely to vote for a man who is facing criminal charges, and will do so fully aware of the relevant details, the courts must take a step back and refrain from intervening in the public’s decision. The election of a prime minister is at the core of the political arena, and the courts must respect this.It is true that in principle there is nothing barring Israeli law from intervening in this matter (and it would even be desirable), and the Knesset could have legislated that a person facing criminal charges may not run for the office of prime minister or be called on to form a government. However, as we know, the law currently says nothing on this matter. It seems that the legislature has chosen to keep this issue outside the courtroom.THE JUDICIAL system sees itself, and rightly so, as one of the guardians of Israeli democracy. Together with law-enforcement agencies, it shares the responsibility, among other things, to stamp out corruption in general and governmental corruption in particular. The system has not been daunted that the police, the state prosecutor and the attorney-general in an orderly and well thought-out process, decided to file an indictment against the prime minister. But with that their role comes to an end, until the charges have been heard by the court.Alongside this clear statement, there is also a need for a clear statement regarding the responsibility of the prime minister and his supporters for the deterioration of the public’s attitude toward the rule of law. We are witnessing a prime minister who is deliberately stirring up public delegitimization of bringing his case to the courts. This maneuver, which initially targeted the police and subsequently the state prosecutor, and now has the attorney-general in its line of fire, will be directed in the future – let there be no doubt about this – at the courts as well.Time after time, the prime minister and his minions, of whom the most prominent – how ironic – is the minister of justice, confront the legal system and stir up emotions. Somewhat outrageous statements jabs (“a prosecution inside the prosecution,” “a governmental coup”) and vitriolic actions (the dismissal of the director general of the Justice Ministry; the attempt to appoint an acting state prosecutor in defiance of the desire of her superior, the attorney-general), driven by inappropriate motives, have become the norm in recent months.In the history of the State of Israel, this attack will be remembered as the low point of Netanyahu’s years in power. Historians will wonder how one of the country’s most important leaders, who did so much to protect it against external enemies, could possibly have acted at the very same time and with consistent determination, moved by his own private interests, to weaken it from within.Netanyahu and those who do his bidding are tainting themselves by shaking the very foundations of democracy, one of whose main elements is the rule of law.Israel needs a time out, a quiet time, a cease-fire – in the ongoing battle between the judicial system and the political system. Responsible adults in each of those branches must take a step back and consider the full picture. Allowing the current situation to continue, with its imminent exacerbation, will deal a strategic blow to Israeli society.The writer is a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a professor of law at Bar-Ilan University. | 2.666667 |
Filmmaker Todd Phillips says he is game to further explore the iconic DC villain Joker if an ideal opportunity comes his way.
Phillips recently directed "Joker", featuring Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime. The film received overwhelming reviews from the critics and was a box office success, grossed over USD 1 billion worldwide.
Ever since, the director has been facing questions regarding a potential sequel to the film.
Phillips said at Deadline's The Contenders New York award-season event he is "open" to reunite with Phoenix but nothing is final as of yet.
"When a movie does USD 1 billion and costs USD 60 million to make, of course, it comes up. But Joaquin and I haven't really decided on it. We're open.
"I mean, I'd love to work with him on anything, quite frankly," the filmmaker said.
Even if the project is a sequel to "Joker", Phillips said he will only direct if he believes the new film will be able to resonate with the audiences like the original.
"So who knows? But it would have to have a real thematic resonance the way this one did, ultimately being about childhood trauma and the lack of love, and the loss of empathy," the director said.
"All those things are really what made this movie work for us, so we'd have to have something that had an equal thematic resonance," he added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | Your browser does not support the audio element. Your browser does not support the audio element.
The blockbuster comic-book film "Joker" has a terrifying ending, but there was an even more shocking and horrifying alternative ending to Todd Phillips movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the starring role.
In a Fatman Beyond podcast recently, filmmaker Kevin Smith claimed that there was one alternative ending planned for the now blockbuster movie, reports independent.co.uk.
In the climax of the official version, Arthur Fleck aka Joker (Phoenix) follows Thomas and Martha Wayne and kills them, leaving young Bruce Wayne (who then goes to become Batman). In the alternate ending, Joker kills Bruce as well.
"Originally, the ending in the hospital was different. He's in the hospital and he laughs, chuckles, and he says, ‘I was just thinkin' of something funny'. What was supposed to happen was you flashed back to the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, and it was him (Joker) killing Thomas and Martha Wayne and the boy was screaming and crying and he turned to walk away and he turned back, shrugged, and shot the kid. Credits," he said.
Smith said he was told the ending by someone "who works in the business" and called it "reliable information". He said: "It was too f***ing good not to share and I f***ing hope it's true".
The Warner Bros. project has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, and has crossed the $ 1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. In fact, the impact is deep as it has sparked conversation around mental health. A follow-up to film is also in the works.
Phoenix is being considered as a contender of Best Actor Oscar this year.
Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates | 2.666667 |
After profiting from strong markets in 2019, investors are expecting 2020 to bring further rising asset prices and lively merger activity. But Brexit, the US presidential election and the US trade war with China could all spring nasty surprises over the next 12 months and give the long-running bull market a jolt.
The UK and Brexit
Relief that Brexit is resolved will be replaced by anxiety over the future relationship between Britain and the EU, with the transition period due to end in December 2020.
Dean Turner, a UK economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, predicts UK GDP will only rise by 0.9% in 2020, even weaker than the 1.2% in 2019.
“It’s possible that there will be some bounce in activity given the clarity on Brexit, but any improvement in sentiment is likely to fade as the next Brexit deadline draws closer,” Turner says.
Ruth Lea, an economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, believes the UK will get a “fiscal boost” from the forthcoming budget, due in February. This could include an increase in the threshold for paying national insurance – in effect a tax cut.
“The economy has been facing the twin headwinds of Brexit uncertainty, which has almost certainly depressed business investment and could also have undermined the consumer, and the weaker global economy, especially in the eurozone. Having said that, there still seems to be growth,” Lea says.
Boris Johnson faces further tough talks with Brussels that could hit sterling. Photograph: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images
The London stock market shrugged off Brexit anxiety during 2019 to post its best year since 2016. Several analysts predict it will rally in 2020 as relatively unloved UK shares are embraced by investors again.
Jeremy Podger, who manages Fidelity’s £2.7bn global special situations fund, says the City should benefit from the increased certainty created by the Conservative win in last month’s election.
“It appears to be the case that, in general, investors have been taking money out of the UK stock market since the referendum and that it is generally underrepresented in many international portfolios. This result could be a trigger for these investors to ‘neutralise’ their exposure while existing investors are unlikely to sell for now,” Podger explains.
But the prospect of fresh tough negotiations between London and Brussels over their future relationship will probably weigh heavily on sterling in 2020.
The UK could crash on to World Trade Organization trade rules in a year’s time if it cannot reach an agreement and refuses to extend the transition period. This would be “a significant step down from the current arrangement and an arrangement that investors fear will negatively impact the UK economy,” says Fiona Cincotta of City Index.
Takeovers in the UK
This year there could also be a rise in takeover activity. Jonathan Boyers, the head of mergers and acquisitions at KPMG, predicts a flurry of deals in the next six months now the UK has a stable government.
“Many of those who have been mulling over an exit have done their early prep work and are set to launch processes in the new year. Meanwhile, I expect there will be a significant amount of demand, keeping prices high, as the market makes up for some of the lost volume,” Boyers says.
Ben Higson, the head of the London corporate practice at law firm Hogan Lovells, also expects a “dynamic” mergers and acquisitions market in 2020.
“The removal of political uncertainty in the UK has resulted in early signs of confidence returning to deal-making activity, keeping boardrooms and other decision-makers busy in the final weeks of the year and, we expect, early in the new year,” says Higson.
Trump and US markets
Donald Trump’s attempt to win a second term is likely to dominate the headlines for much of the next 12 months.
Markets often do well in an election year – partly because the White House incumbent has every incentive to make people feel richer. Trump is rumoured to be considering a fiscal boost known as “tax cuts 2.0” which could lift his popularity, and stocks, before the November election.
Many investors have “priced in” a Trump re-election, says Edward Moya of the foreign exchange firm OANDA. A Republican win has been Wall Street’s “base case for a while”, so a Democratic win could startle the markets.
“Despite the strong economy, key battleground states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania all have Biden leading Trump in recent polls. A Biden presidency would still be positive for US stocks but perhaps a few percentage points lower than a Trump victory,” Moya points out.
But if Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders were to beat Trump, tech stocks, banks and pharmaceuticals firms could all face tougher regulation, triggering a sell-off.
John Moore, a senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, says political concerns are already being priced into some stocks.
“Elizabeth Warren, for example, has made no secret of her feelings about Facebook and a desire to break up some of the other tech giants. Other candidates have targeted healthcare,” he points out.
On average, Wall Street strategists predict the S&P 500 will gain 5% in 2020, compared with a 28% rally in 2019.
Trade disputes
Trade tensions could escalate in 2020, particularly if the US intensifies pressure on Europe. Last month the US trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, criticised the “very unbalanced relationship” in trade across the Atlantic, signalling it was a White House priority for 2020.
Donald Trump with Xi Jinping. The US and China are due to sign a trade deal but the dispute could flare up again, leading to the reimposition of tariffs. Photograph: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images
Lighthizer’s comment “imparts a high risk of an escalation of tensions”, says Marc Ostwald of ADM Investor Services. He fears that a US-EU trade war would “inevitably” tip the German economy into recession.
The US economy is enjoying its longest expansion ever, having been growing for more than 10 years. Fears of a recession in 2019 proved unfounded, but the trade tensions stirred up by Trump are bad for growth.
“Trade tensions will continue to foster unpredictability in economic policymaking and cause a drag on demand and capital investment,” predicts Los Angeles-based Hercules Investments.
China and the US are due to sign their phase one trade deal this month. But there is a risk of this dispute flaring up again, leading to tariffs being reimposed on imports. That would have a chilling impact on the global economy.
China’s economy is also likely to keep cooling in 2020, having slowed to its slowest annual growth rate in three decades in 2019, at 6%. Beijing will keep trying to jumpstart growth in 2020, but Nariman Behravesh, the chief economist of IHS Markit, says China is fighting structural factors including an ageing population and weaker productivity growth.
“We predict China’s growth rate will slide even further, to 5.7% in 2020 and 5.6% in 2021, unless the government puts in place a more aggressive stimulus programme,” Behravesh says.
Markit also predicts that the US economy will grow by about 2.1% during 2020 – below the 3% targeted by Trump. Its manufacturing sector has slowed in recent months, but December’s jobs report did beat forecasts – an encouraging sign for Trump.
Central banks
Central banks will, once again, have a major impact on the financial markets – beyond their traditional remit of price stability. The US Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates on hold but could cut borrowing costs if economic data turns sour.
In Europe, Christine Lagarde is overseeing a review of the European Central Bank’s operations, with a new focus on the climate emergency. But she’s not expected to change the ECB’s dovish approach, so interest rates could remain at record lows for some time.
In the UK, interest rates could be cut if the UK economy fares badly once Brexit takes place on 31 January.
Bitcoin
In the cryptocurrency world, the major event will probably be a technical change that halves the reward for digitally mining bitcoins. This halving, likely to take place in May, should reduce the supply of new bitcoins.
The two previous times when the block reward was halved, bitcoin rallied strongly afterwards.
“Bitcoin halvings are important events for traders because they reduce the number of new bitcoins being generated by the network. This limits the supply of new coins, so prices could rise if demand remains strong,” IG told clients. | The mood of the market turned quickly at the end of last year. Photo / Getty Images
The mood of the market turned quickly at the end of last year. Photo / Getty Images
The 2010s were a turbulent, transformative and testing time for the global economy but there was not a recession.
That is extremely rare. In fact, it is the first decade in the post-world war II era without a downturn in the UK and US.
A year ago many economists thought the global economy would be crawling over the line into the 2020s and would suffer a recession soon after.
READ MORE:
• 'Indicators are flashing red': Warning signs recession is looming
• A recession will come, but how bad will it be?
• Jared Bernstein: Just how likely is a recession?
• Experts warn the next recession will be 'worse than the Great Depression' and predict it will hit US within two years
The trade war had escalated at a frightening pace, Brexit was in deadlock, global factories were heading into a deep industrial recession and central banks appeared to be oblivious to the threat of a downturn. The market's most-trusted recession signal - the US Treasury yield curve - then flashed red, predicting one within 24 months.
But the mood on markets has turned on a pinhead.
An ageing, and in some parts of the world record-long, economic cycle appears to have been given a shot in the arm. City forecasters have pencilled a slight acceleration in global growth from 2019's post-financial crisis low of 3pc to 3.1pc this year and 3.2pc in 2021. What changed?
The headwinds that threatened to tip the world into the next economic crisis have waned substantially. The US and China have reached an agreement for a "phase one" trade deal, potentially putting a pause on the protectionist wave sweeping the globe.
Boris Johnson's decisive victory in the election will not only get his Brexit deal over the line but gives him more wriggle room in the next stage of negotiations.
And crucially central banks have moved from tightening financial conditions to cutting interest rates and ploughing more money into markets.
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, cut borrowing costs three times this year and moved from reversing quantitative easing - its bond-buying programme - to expanding its balance sheet again. The European Central Bank has also extended its experimental policies to revive growth, cutting rates deeper into negative territory and restarting its QE programme after an ill-conceived attempt to end it a year ago.
While many economists fret central banks will now not have the firepower to fight a recession if one does strike, the latest burst of stimulus has catapulted stock markets to new record highs. Global stocks have followed their worst year since the financial crisis in 2018 with their best, gaining 25 per cent last year.
But with growth still languishing at post-crisis lows, are investors sleepwalking into the next recession?
Most Wall Street analysts have predicted that the US-China breakthrough and the Fed's policy U-turn will be enough to stave off recession.
The US became the focus of recession jitters earlier this year given its importance to global growth. When America sneezes, the rest of the world still catches a cold - even as economic powers in the east rise.
However, Philip Marey, Rabobank's senior US strategist, warns the euphoria on markets over the trade deal has been "overdone", predicting the US will enter a recession in the second half of this year.
The deal struck by Beijing and the Trump administration picks the low-hanging fruit of agricultural products and rolling back tariffs but fails to tackle the key sticking points between the two countries, such as intellectual property.
Marey also argues that business investment remains low and the slack left in the US economy - the resources of an economy not being used - is very small, capping the room for growth. A key risk is that business worries feed through into the jobs market and hit the confidence of consumers, whose spending accounts for around 70 per cent of US GDP.
More rate cuts from the Fed would not be able to support growth further, he argues.
"It is really ineffective in supporting business investment and that is where the real bottleneck is at the moment," he says.
"For businesses, interest rates are low anyway so that is not their main concern."
The US election in November will start to come into focus for investors, generating another source of uncertainty for businesses.
Signs of a recession brewing in the US could severely dent Donald Trump's chances given the strong economy is seen as stopping his approval rating sliding any lower.
Four more years of Trump will increase the risk of another trade standoff but some of his Democratic challengers are equally problematic for businesses and investors.
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - who are currently polling in second and third place ahead of the Democratic primaries - are two leftist populists with plans to radically redistribute wealth and take on Wall Street.
Citi global chief economist Catherine Mann says uncertainty from trade and politics "matters for the global economy".
"The several risks that have been weighing on the global outlook have not dissipated, and there is a non-small probability that these intensify in 2020."
While most investment banks believe the threat of an immediate downturn has been pushed back, she warns that the "risk of recession still does loom over the economy".
The relief from a prolonged and economically damaging period of uncertainty in the UK could also be brief.
Even with the Brexit deadlock broken, economists expect growth in the UK to be tepid again this year, slowing further from around 1.3 to 1.1 per cent.
With the prime minister insisting on a final trade deal with the EU being agreed before the end of the year, more uncertainty could plague businesses and the UK economy. No-deal Brexit worries could return in the second half of the year.
Berenberg UK economist Kallum Pickering is more optimistic, predicting that growth will hit 1.8 per cent this year after being boosted by the fiscal stimulus promised by the Conservatives.
"An orderly Brexit can lift confidence and spending in the next two years after more than three years of heightened uncertainty and gradually softening momentum," he says.
Economists expect much of the business investment lost over the last three years to return but estimates of how much can be lured back vary from around a quarter to a half. Some of the investment will be lost forever, however.
Torsten Bell, chief executive of think tank the Resolution Foundation, warns that Britain's buoyant jobs market could turn in 2020. This could weaken the economic boost provided by record employment levels and shoppers enjoying their biggest pay rises since the last recession.
"Our best guess is that 2020 will be very different from the last few years," Bell says. "We may well see a welcome return to record pay levels, but a less welcome retreat from record employment, with worrying signs including falling vacancies and rising youth unemployment."
Meanwhile the eurozone economy is expected to be weighed down again by Germany in 2020, with the impotent ECB unable to provide much stimulus and Northern European governments refusing to boost spending.
China, which has been hit hardest in the industrial recession triggered by the trade war, is also expected to slow further. City forecasters are predicting its growth will sink below the symbolic 6 per cent mark despite Beijing's huge fiscal and monetary stimulus efforts to pep up the economy.
While most economists believe a recession will now be avoided in 2020, the ability of policymakers and central bankers to revive growth is severely limited, if one does strike.
The world economy is facing at the very least a prolonged period of stubbornly slow growth that will be difficult to escape.
- Telegraph | 3 |
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The last month of the year was a busy one for the courts in Wales.
Those locked up last month include a man who brutally murdered a charity worker and a rapist who attacked a woman as she walked home after a night out.
Here are the faces of the criminals who have been locked up in Wales during the past month.
Colin Payne
(Image: South Wales Police)
The martial arts expert who brutally murdered a charity worker following a pub row then tried to throw away the CCTV that showed the fatal attack was jailed for life at the start of December.
Payne was unanimously convicted by a jury of murdering Mark Bloomfield following a three-day trial at Swansea Crown Court. You can recap the entire trial as it happened here.
The 61-year-old had admitted the manslaughter of charity worker Mark Bloomfield, who died two days after the assault near the Full Moon pub in High Street on July 18.
Paul Amor
(Image: South Wales Police)
The rapist was high on drugs when he attacked a woman who was walking home after a night out with friends.
Amor, 46, was prowling the streets when he dragged his victim into an alleyway and raped her.
He was brought to justice thanks to forensic evidence from a discarded condom.
Keiron Wood
(Image: South Wales Police)
He was jailed for three-and-a-half years for attempted rape.
Wood, from Maesteg, was jailed for attempting to rape a woman in 2017.
Detective Constable Neville Evans praised the "incredible amount of bravery and patience" the woman showed in coming forward and supporting the prosecution.
Colin Cooper and Kerry Jones
(Image: South Wales Police)
An eagle-eyed policeman spotted a stash of drugs in a garden thanks to rain.
The officer found the recently-hidden bag of heroin because it was dry while everything else around it was wet.
These pair have received substantial prison sentences as a result of the find.
Soheil Bahmanifard
(Image: Gwent Police)
The teen has been locked up for 12 years and is likely to be deported after stabbing a man outside a centre for asylum seekers.
The 18-year-old denied wounding Amirreza Ramezani with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm but was found guilty by a jury following a seven-day trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
Judge Neil Bidder QC said: “The attack, in my judgement, was determined and persistent.”
Charles Miller
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
The paedophile began grooming what he thought were young girls online just weeks after getting out of prison for similar offending.
Miller sent pictures of his penis to someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl and even booked a hotel room for a rendezvous using a secret smartphone the authorities knew nothing about.
But the 53-year-old was in fact communicating with a paedophile hunter group who later confronted him in the street and detained him until police arrived.
Kieran Martin
(Image: South Wales Police)
The young member of a London criminal gang boasted to police about how much money he was making selling drugs in Swansea and how he would soon be out of prison and back in business.
Kieran Martin also taunted police about how long it had taken them to catch him.
He had 173 "ready-to-go" heroin and crack deals, a phone full of local postcodes, and had spent more than £100 on petrol for his drug delivery car in four days.
Damien Robson
(Image: South Wales Police)
The drug dealer was jailed for more than three years after he was caught in the act on his own dashcam.
Robson, of Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd , was facing charges for drug dealing after being caught twice by officers from South Wales Police.
But it was only after police watched dashcam footage from his Audi that showed him dealing drugs from his car that he was brought before the courts.
Christopher Rees
(Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
Police found found amphetamine, ecstasy, and cannabis worth £26,000 in a garden shed.
A judge said it was clear their owner, Christopher Rees, was involved in dealing to a significant degree.
The discovery by police came only a matter of months after Rees had completed a sentence for inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Andrew Tanetta
(Image: South Wales Police)
The violent offender dragged a widow along the road and left an 81-year-old woman covered in cuts and bruises in two “vicious” robberies in Cardiff.
Tanetta followed both lone victims into the bank before trailing them out on to the street and forcefully snatching their handbags, knocking them to the ground in broad daylight.
Yousef Woolcock
(Image: South Wales Police)
The boss of a drug gang that flooded the South Wales Valleys with “wholesale quantities” of heroin and crack cocaine was jailed for more than 17 years.
Woolcock, of White Farm, Barry, headed a sophisticated drug gang which supplied mass amounts of Class A drugs to street dealers and users in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil on an "almost daily basis", a court was told.
Tom Connors
(Image: South Wales Police)
He was part of a gang of burglars who claimed to be from social services in order to get access to the home of a disabled man.
While one of the gang distracted their victim the others searched the 85-year-old man's house, stealing hundreds of pounds.
As they fled the property they pulled weapons on the victim's nephew who happened to arrive for a visit.
Jeffrey Bevan
(Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
The burglar targeted a series of family-run farms stealing a haul of quad bikes, vehicles, and equipment in a spree of high-value break-ins.
Bevan went out at night with the tools of his trade and broke into barns, sheds, garages, and farmyards across Carmarthenshire.
He was caught by police following an investigation that saw officers using CCTV, automatic number plate recognition technology, forensic, mobile phone, and eyewitness evidence.
Michelle Matwychuk
(Image: South Wales Police)
When police swooped on a vehicle in a medical centre car park in the dead of night they found women involved in dealing drugs.
Matwychuk ran off from officers but was caught nearby and found in possession of a mobile phone containing texts about dealing.
Also in the car was a 23-year-old London woman who was working as a drug dealer for a county lines criminal gang based in the capital.
Michael O'Brien
(Image: South Wales Police)
A teenager escaped the clutches of rapist O'Brien and ran naked into the street seeking help.
Unsure of where she was, the terrified 18-year-old knocked on neighbours' doors after fleeing from him.
The 42-year-old has a long history of violent offending including domestic assaults and in 2008 was given a sentence of imprisonment for public protection for rape.
Graham Jones
(Image: South Wales Police)
The paedophile used his phone to film an eight-year-old girl taking a shower at Barry Island during a day out with her mum and dad.
Jones, 76, recorded the child naked in the shower and then followed her to the climbing wall, pretending not to look when her mum glanced over in his direction.
Bledar Mahmutaj
(Image: South Wales Police)
The drug dealer was caught by the police driving around Cardiff with 27 bags of cocaine worth more than £1,000 and a fake driving licence.
Mahmutaj had put the bags of white powder inside a sock in the steering column of the car and he gave officers a false name when they searched him.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the defendant was seen driving a Vauxhall Meriva in Richmond Road.
Elliott Richards-Good
(Image: South Wales Police)
The racist student deliberately targeted a Stand Up To Racism march in Cardiff and sprayed a swastika on the Senedd to commemorate Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
Richards-Good was sent to a young offender institution for 16 months after he admitted a string of offences which related to stirring up hatred.
Dylan Evans
(Image: South Wales Police)
Evans smashed a bottle at a railway station and then threatened staff and challenged them to fight after being told to clear it up.
The two Transport for Wales staff confronted Dylan Anthony Evans after he was spotted at Neath railway station.
Swansea Crown Court was told the 24-year-old was at the station at around 8am and appeared "irate and angry about something" when without warning he kicked a glass bottle causing it to smash across the entrance.
Jamie Brown
(Image: South Wales Police)
Heavy objects including a drill were hurled at a police car as the officer chased Brown who fled through Cardiff at speeds reaching 120mph.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the 21-year-old spun the wheels of the Ford Focus he was driving as he quickly accelerated away from the police vehicle’s siren and blue flashing lights.
Elwyn Carsley
(Image: South Wales Police)
The pensioner sexually abused a young child for eight years in the 1970s before finding a new victim to do the same to 23 years later.
Carsley appeared for sentencing at Swansea Crown Court having admitted causing a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, 14 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and 10 counts of indecency with a child.
Jimmy Connors
(Image: South Wales Police)
The disqualified driver got behind the wheel of a car with no MOT after drinking and failed to do a breath test at the police station.
Connors claimed he had bought the Volkswagen Passat that day, in anticipation of his driving ban ending, and felt pressure from a friend to drive it.
Michael Griffiths
(Image: South Wales Police)
The amphetamine user attacked a man with a machete on his own doorstep as he threatened to kill another man inside.
Griffiths, who had hidden the weapon in a black bin bag, struck Stewart Thomas on the arm as he shouted threats at Stephen Jones in the house.
Shahinoor Rahman and Faysyl Ahmed
(Image: South Wales Police)
The two dealers were jailed just before Christmas.
Rahman had been dealing in the centre of Cardiff but was trying to sell drugs in the Valleys when he was caught by police with fellow dealer Ahmed.
Sentencing the pair at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Richard Twomlow said they told the jury a “hopeless cock and bull story” which they did not accept.
Gang who targeted the elderly
(Image: South Wales Police)
These four are members of a gang which carried out scores of "professionally planned and organised" burglaries across south west Wales and have now been jailed for their crimes.
The group used a series of stolen cars running on cloned number plates, used weapons to threaten and intimidate witnesses or others who crossed their path, and used bleach to destroy forensic evidence. | Sign up to FREE daily email alerts from stokesentinel - Daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
The following criminals from across Stoke-on-Trent were jailed over the course of 2018.
Courts in the area locked up defendants for a range of offences.
The cases are listed in alphabetical order by the area the defendant was from (or, when this isn't available, the area the offence took place in).
This article includes cases from areas beginning with N to areas whose names start with R.
For criminals jailed in other areas of Stoke-on-Trent, or elsewhere in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire, use the grid/list below).
You can also click the link below each case to read the full report of that hearing.
(Note: Text for all cases appears as it did when these cases were initially reported)
Newstead:
Bricklayer Reuben Erhabor has been locked up - after being caught with cocaine in his pants.
Police discovered seven wraps of the drug hidden in his underwear during a police station search.
The 32-year-old had already been arrested after officers found two bags of cannabis in a rucksack in the boot of his white Mercedes.
Now Erhabor has been jailed for 32 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
More here
Normacot:
Mean Brett Salisbury has been jailed after putting naked pictures and films of his ex-girlfriend online in a revenge porn vendetta.
The 29-year-old had split up with the victim more than a year before he posted the private pictures and video clips on a Facebook chatgroup.
It left the victim feeling humiliated and distressed.
More here
Northwood:
Drunken Philip Lambert broke a man’s jaw and knocked him unconscious in an unprovoked pub attack.
The 33-year-old had drunk about 10 pints when he believed the victim and his friend were intending to beat him up in The Berwick Inn, Sneyd Green.
He punched his victim to the face to leave him with a broken jaw and a two-inch cut to his head which needed four stitches.
Now Lambert has been jailed for 32 weeks at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
More here
Northwood:
Sex offender Mark Ferneyhough has been jailed after being convicted of sexually abusing a 'scared' teenager.
The 44-year-old - who has a previous conviction for three offences of sexual assault in 2008 - was ‘all over his victim like a rash’ despite her rejecting his advances.
Ferneyhough, of Cardwell Street, Northwood, denied five offences of sexual assault.
But he was convicted of all the charges after a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court and has now been jailed for two years.
More here
Norton:
Pervert John Finney has apologised to his victim - more than 25 years after sexually abusing him.
The 66-year-old expressed 'real remorse' for the 'pain' he caused to the then schoolboy in a letter read out at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
He was arrested in December, 2017 after indecently assaulting his victim on three occasions in the 1990s.
The letter read: “I am truly sorry and feel real remorse for what I did and all the pain I caused his family. I want to undo what I did in the past but know it is not possible.
More here
Norton
Violent Stephen Machin inflicted ‘pure gratuitous violence’ on a man - after his victim tried to 'end the relationship' between them.
The 42-year-old left the man with extensive injuries to his face, swollen cheeks, a bruised left eye and cut lips following the savage beating.
The two men had earlier been drinking vodka together at the Stoke-on-Trent flat.
Now Machin has been jailed for 22 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court - and given a five-year restraining order to stay away from his victim.
More here
Norton:
Aggressive Lee Daniels brandished a knife as he quizzed his ex-partner about her seeing another man.
The 33-year-old was not allowed to see his former girlfriend as part of his bail conditions for another set of offences.
But he tracked her down in a Middleport churchyard and demanded to know who she had been seeing.
The victim walked off but he followed and pushed her head into metal railings before producing a Stanley knife.
More here
Norton:
Two brothers have been jailed after they violently attacked a man they believed had shouted abuse at their mum.
Thomas and Daniel Trueman chased after the man and punched and kicked him.
Thomas, aged 29, struck him with a baseball bat and 23-year-old Daniel plunged a kitchen knife into his abdomen on two occasions.
Now Daniel has been jailed for 33 months and Thomas was handed a two year sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court .
More here
Norton
(Image: Stoke Sentinel)
Mother-of-three Jane Clarke has been jailed after setting fire to her council home as a ‘cry for help’.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how the 43-year-old caused between £25,000 and £30,000 of damage to the terrace property.
But shortly after starting the blaze in Bradbury Close, Norton , she called 999 to report it. She told the call handler: “I set the house alight.”
More here
Norton:
Drug-dealer Tashun Griffiths is back behind bars after being caught with hundreds of pounds worth of cocaine.
Police carried out a raid at a flat where the 25-year-old was staying with his partner and officers uncovered cannabis, scales and 'deal bags'.
And text messages found on the defendant's phone also showed he was involved in the supply of illicit drugs.
Now Griffiths has been handed a 45-month jail term.
More here
Norton Heights:
Builder Michael Ratcliffe ripped off four customers and pocketed around £100,000 - after taking their money without carrying out any work.
The 50-year-old is now starting a three-year prison sentence after admitting four counts of fraud.
It follows a major investigation by Stoke-on-Trent Trading Standards after staff received complaints from victims.
More here
Packmoor:
Violent Daniel McClatchie broke a pub landlord’s ankle and attacked three customers in a ‘horrific display of violence’.
The 23-year-old was one of three men who attacked a drinker outside the Dog & Partridge pub in Packmoor.
He went on to assault another customer before being restrained by the landlord.
But he struggled and recklessly broke the landlord’s ankle before he knocked out the first victim's dad with a punch.
More here
Penkhull:
Pervert worker Steven Hawkes took personal photographs off customers’ computers at a Currys PC World store - for his own sexual gratification.
The 38-year-old secretly copied hard drives while transferring shoppers’ data from their old devices to new ones which they had bought from the retail giant.
He then viewed customers’ photographs – including a teenage girl’s school prom and pictures of women's breasts – at his home.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard his deception was uncovered when police raided his property and seized a number of his electronic devices.
More here
Penkhull
(Image: Staffordshire Police)
Rapist driving instructor Martyn Rees has been jailed for 13 years after being convicted of a string of horrific sex offences - including the rape of a 14-year-old girl.
The 'dangerous' 37-year-old committed sex offences against a number of young female pupils who were taking driving lessons with him.
The defendant - who used to live at Dimsdale Parade West, Wolstanton , and then moved to West Avenue, Penkhull , ahead of his trial - was convicted of one charge of rape; two charges of sexual activity with a child; one charge of sexual assault; two charges of attempted sexual assault; six charges of making indecent photographs of a child; and two of possessing extreme pornographic images.
More here
Penkhull
Dealer Paul Harris has been locked up after being caught with dozens of wraps of hard drugs hidden inside two Kinder egg cases.
The 31-year-old was arrested after police responded to reports of drug-dealing linked to a flat in Frank Street, Penkhull .
Officers raided the first-floor property to discover five men inside a 'drugs den'.
One of them - dad-of-three Harris - had 24 wraps of cocaine, 29 wraps of heroin and £50 cash.
More here
Pittshill:
Robber Martin Sayer has been jailed after he mugged a pensioner in an alleyway.
The 38-year-old followed the 72-year-old woman down a Burslem alley shortly after seeing her leave the town’s Post Office.
He approached her from behind and grabbed her bag strap with such force the pensioner fell to the ground.
The defendant ran off with the bag but was chased by the woman’s son and other witnesses who detained him until the police came to arrest him.
More here
Pittshill:
Racist Darren Forrester has been jailed after he was seen swinging a samurai sword in public shouting about Islam and ‘foreigners’.
The 48-year-old was watching television shortly after the London Bridge 2017 attack when he decided to make his feelings known.
He took the 3.5ft blade and walked into the street near his Pittshill home shouting: ‘I'll sort the foreigners out with my trusty sword’.
Forrester, of Francis Street, has now been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to possessing an offensive weapon at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court . | 3.333333 |
United Natural Foods Inc (NYSE:UNFI) – Equities research analysts at Oppenheimer raised their Q2 2020 earnings per share estimates for United Natural Foods in a report issued on Wednesday, December 11th, Zacks Investment Research reports. Oppenheimer analyst R. Parikh now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $0.47 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.28. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for United Natural Foods’ FY2020 earnings at $1.31 EPS.
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Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Pivotal Research decreased their target price on shares of United Natural Foods from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Co restated a “hold” rating on shares of United Natural Foods in a research note on Friday, December 6th. ValuEngine upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Buckingham Research reduced their price objective on shares of United Natural Foods from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BidaskClub upgraded shares of United Natural Foods from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.
NYSE UNFI traded up $0.43 on Monday, reaching $8.76. 1,043,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,965. United Natural Foods has a one year low of $6.56 and a one year high of $15.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.95 million, a PE ratio of 4.21, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 2.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.62.
United Natural Foods (NYSE:UNFI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.11). United Natural Foods had a positive return on equity of 5.89% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. United Natural Foods’s revenue was up 109.9% on a year-over-year basis.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 3.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,746,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,484,000 after buying an additional 240,001 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 10.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,548,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,774,000 after buying an additional 509,989 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 247.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,383,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,383,000 after buying an additional 1,697,419 shares during the period. Towle & Co. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 27.9% during the second quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 2,000,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,944,000 after buying an additional 436,960 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in United Natural Foods by 162.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,238,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,110,000 after buying an additional 766,843 shares during the period. 91.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
In other United Natural Foods news, Director James L. Muehlbauer bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $6.91 per share, with a total value of $207,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,300. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter Roy bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.50 per share, with a total value of $75,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 49,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,655. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes natural, organic, and specialty foods and non-food products in the United States and Canada. The company operates through three divisions: Wholesale, Retail, and Manufacturing and Branded Products. The Wholesale division offers grocery and general merchandise, produce, perishables and frozen foods, nutritional supplements and sports nutrition, bulk and foodservice products, and personal care products.
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Receive News & Ratings for United Natural Foods Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for United Natural Foods and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. | Hertz Global Holdings, Inc (NYSE:HTZ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 13,900 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 866% compared to the typical volume of 1,439 put options.
Shares of NYSE HTZ traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,000,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,008. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -92.65 and a beta of 2.28. Hertz Global has a 1 year low of $11.24 and a 1 year high of $21.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.91.
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Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The transportation company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. Hertz Global had a negative net margin of 0.42% and a positive return on equity of 12.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hertz Global will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.
Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HTZ shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Hertz Global in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. ValuEngine cut shares of Hertz Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Hertz Global in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.40.
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HTZ. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hertz Global by 12.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 155,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 17,779 shares during the last quarter. Price Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hertz Global during the second quarter worth $255,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hertz Global by 39.5% during the second quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 97,864 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 27,700 shares during the last quarter. 361 Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hertz Global during the second quarter worth $2,421,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hertz Global during the second quarter worth $72,000.
About Hertz Global
The Hertz Corporation, a subsidiary of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc, operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands in approximately 9,700 corporate and franchisee locations throughout North America, Europe, The Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
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NEW YORK, Jan. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
The report on the global companion diagnostics market provides qualitative and quantitative analysis for the period from 2017 to 2025.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05796465/?utm_source=PRN
The report predicts the global companion diagnostics market to grow with a CAGR of 19.30% over the forecast period from 2019-2025. The study on companion diagnostics market covers the analysis of the leading geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW for the period of 2017 to 2025.
The report on companion diagnostics market is a comprehensive study and presentation of drivers, restraints, opportunities, demand factors, market size, forecasts, and trends in the global companion diagnostics market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Moreover, the report is a collective presentation of primary and secondary research findings.
Porter's five forces model in the report provides insights into the competitive rivalry, supplier and buyer positions in the market and opportunities for the new entrants in the global companion diagnostics market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Further, IGR- Growth Matrix gave in the report brings an insight into the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider.
Report Findings
1) Drivers
• Increasing occurrences of cancer
• Increasing demand for personalized medicines
• Increasing number of diagnostics centers
2) Restraints
• Lack of professionals to conduct diagnostics tests
3) Opportunities
• Increasing number of clinical trials to increase the adoption of companion diagnostics
Research Methodology
A) Primary Research
Our primary research involves extensive interviews and analysis of the opinions provided by the primary respondents. The primary research starts with identifying and approaching the primary respondents, the primary respondents are approached include
1. Key Opinion Leaders associated with Infinium Global Research
2. Internal and External subject matter experts
3. Professionals and participants from the industry
Our primary research respondents typically include
1. Executives working with leading companies in the market under review
2. Product/brand/marketing managers
3. CXO level executives
4. Regional/zonal/ country managers
5. Vice President level executives.
B) Secondary Research
Secondary research involves extensive exploring through the secondary sources of information available in both the public domain and paid sources. At Infinium Global Research, each research study is based on over 500 hours of secondary research accompanied by primary research. The information obtained through the secondary sources is validated through the crosscheck on various data sources.
The secondary sources of the data typically include
1. Company reports and publications
2. Government/institutional publications
3. Trade and associations journals
4. Databases such as WTO, OECD, World Bank, and among others.
5. Websites and publications by research agencies
Segment Covered
The global companion diagnostics market is segmented on the basis of technology, indications, and end-users.
The Global Companion Diagnostics Market by Technology
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• In Situ Hybridization
• Immunohistochemistry
• Next-generation Sequencing
• Other Technologies
The Global Companion Diagnostics Market by Indications
• Lung Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Colorectal Cancer
• Leukemia
• Melanoma
• Other Indications
The Global Companion Diagnostics Market by End-users
• Pharmaceutical
• Biopharmaceutical companies
• Reference laboratories
• Other End-users
Company Profiles
• Abbott Laboratories Inc.
• Roche Holding AG
• Agilent Technologies Inc.
• Biomerieux SA
• QIAGEN N.V.
• Siemens Healthcare Private Limited
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
• Danaher Corporation
• Myriad Genetics Inc.
• Genomic Health, Inc.
What does this report deliver?
1. Comprehensive analysis of the global as well as regional markets of the companion diagnostics market.
2. Complete coverage of all the segments in the companion diagnostics market to analyze the trends, developments in the global market and forecast of market size up to 2025.
3. Comprehensive analysis of the companies operating in the global companion diagnostics market. The company profile includes analysis of product portfolio, revenue, SWOT analysis and latest developments of the company.
4. IGR- Growth Matrix presents an analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05796465/?utm_source=PRN
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
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Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com
US: (339)-368-6001
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http://www.reportlinker.com | NEW YORK, Jan. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Video Analytics Market to Reach $43B by 2025The Video Analytics Market in Law Enforcement, Defense & Public Safety– 2020-2025 report, consisting of 3 volumes, presents a thorough analysis of 5 vertical, 5 regional, 5 revenue sources and 43 national markets, detailing 234 submarkets from 2018-2025. According to the report, the market is expected to reach $43 billion in 2025.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05791861/?utm_source=PRN
The market growth of Video Analytics in Law Enforcement, Defense & Public Safety is driven by the following factors:
The fast proliferation of video surveillance
New and maturing technologies: video analytics algorithms, processors, applications and products underwent a decade of technological evolution to intelligent video processing, based on advancements in image processing, enabling automatic and semi-automatic detection and identification of signatures
Safe City projects
Artificial Intelligence
Proliferation of Standoff Face Recognition
Big Data Analysis
Smart Video Surveillance
Price reduction of Video Analytics systems,driven by the falling prices of image processing DSPs and communication systems
Improved cost-performance of new edge-based video analytics DSP technologies(e.g., Intel, Bosch & Texas Instruments VA DSPs)
The rapidly growing "Internet of Things" applications drive the "Video Imaging of Everything" proliferation
Ever improving HD video cameras cost-performance
High cost of human operators and high rate of overlooked events
This 1205-page market report is the most comprehensive review of the global market available today. The objective of this report is to provide today's strategic decision-makers with an expert 360-degree, time-sensitive, detailed view of this interconnected market.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05791861/?utm_source=PRN
About Reportlinker
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
__________________________
Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com
US: (339)-368-6001
Intl: +1 339-368-6001 | 2.25 |
(CNN) Is it really New Year's Day without the Rose Parade?
In its 131st year, the parade unleashed a vibrant spectacle of flower-studded floats through Pasadena, California. There were horses, marching bands, live music and dancing in the streets and, of course, ornate works of art.
Here are a few of the most colorful, festive floats of the 2020 Rose Parade. (The party's not over -- the Rose Bowl college football match-up starts at 5 p.m. on ESPN.)
Fantastic floats
Amazon, Chipotle and Trader Joe's were among the 2020 parade participants. The most fantastic floats earned awards based on their design, presentation and entertainment value. | PASADENA, Calif. (KTLA) — The iconic Southern California New Year’s tradition — the Rose Parade — runs along a 5 1/2-mile route in Pasadena and this year includes 39 floral-decorated floats, 20 marching bands, 17 equestrians units, and of course the Royal Court and Rose Queen.
Put on by the Tournament of Roses, the 131st Rose Parade begins at 8 a.m. PT Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020. This year marks the 73rd consecutive television broadcast of the Rose Parade on KTLA.
The theme for the 2020 parade is “The Power of Hope,” which the tournament says “celebrates the influence of optimism and hope.”
The three grand marshals are Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, actress Gina Torres and prolific performer Rita Moreno.
The 102nd Rose Queen is Camille Kennedy of Pasadena, a senior at La Salle College Preparatory.
KTLA’s hosts for the broadcast are Leeza Gibbons, Mark Steines and Micah Ohlman.
If you’re a particular fan of one of the marching bands in the parade, you can watch the “Band Cam” — a raw, unedited feed devoted to the bands — on KTLA’s Facebook page. The parade will be available to watch on demand on KTLA’s YouTube page. | 4 |
Many YouTube creators expanded their businesses in 2019, with some growing faster than others.
Jennelle Eliana Long, for one, gained 1.5 million subscribers within a month of posting her first video on living in a van.
Business Insider spoke to Long and the people behind the digital businesses of Ryan Kaji (Ryan's World), Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), David Dobrik, and Tana Mongeau, who built big businesses on YouTube and beyond this past year.
Sign up for Business Insider's influencer newsletter, Influencer Dashboard, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
YouTube creators expanded their businesses in 2019, taking over the trending page on YouTube, the shelves of Walmart, and traditional media networks.
Business Insider highlighted five who harnessed their initial success online and built businesses beyond YouTube.
Take solo van life traveler Jennelle Eliana Long, amassed 2.26 million subscribers and an average 2 million views a video after launching her channel this June.
She's since signed with the top talent agency WME. Agencies like WME help their digital-focused clients like Long diversify their businesses through long-term partnerships.
Business Insider also spoke to the people behind the digital businesses of Ryan Kaji (Ryan's World), Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), David Dobrik, and Tana Mongeau about their success online. These five creators grew rapidly in 2019 and built businesses around their YouTube channels this year.
Take a look inside the businesses of these five YouTube creators: | It appears that Caterpillar’s cost cutting will have some benefits in the new year, at least according to one report.
Zack’s Equity Research reports that although the company projects lower sales than last year, some of the more recent efforts to save will eventually pay off.
Caterpillar has taken steps to reduce production to match dealer demand and will proactively increase production once order levels improve, according to the report.
This report comes after a rough stretch for the company. Retail sales for the three months ending in November remained stagnant, the worst three month stretch in 2019. According to the report, Caterpillar’s 2019 sales growth was confined in the single-digit territory this year, numbers that haven’t been seen since 2017.
In addition to the retail sales numbers, Caterpillar’s order backlog came in at $14.6 billion, reflecting a sequential drop of $400 million, according to the report.
Fortunately for the company, according to the report, a 2015 focus on restructuring and cost cutting may begin to pay dividends soon. The initiative, which focuses on developing a more flexible and competitive cost structure and controlling discretionary spending, is expected to lower annual operating costs by about $1.5 billion, according to the report. | 1.666667 |
MILLERSBURG — Lucas Mast was looking for a good workout.
He found it in mixed martial arts.
Mast, a barber in Berlin, will make his professional MMA fighting debut Jan. 11 as part of an Honor Fighting Championship 11-bout card at the Harvest Ridge Event Center in Millersburg.
"I always wanted to wrestle but I never got the chance to," said Mast, a 2014 graduate of Hiland where he played basketball for the Hawks. "When I started this barber business in Berlin, my (eventual) coach stopped in looking for a job. I was looking to get into something that would give me a good workout, and once I got into MMA, I realized I really like it. And once I started fighting, I realized I was pretty good. I kept going and fell in love with the sport."
He is coached by Jose Burgos, who has been training fighters part time for nearly six years. He has a training facility (Common Grounds Grappling Club) in Nashville, Ohio. Triway graduate Eddie Flinner is another fighter with local roots, fighting out of club.
"Lucas is an all-around mixed martial artists," Burgos said. "He is good everywhere the fight goes. One area he is particularly slick is with his hands. He has good movement and footwork, and because of that he can really sit down on his punches."
Mast is 7-1 in his young career, but the event at Harvest Ridge marks his professional debut.
Burgos and Mast came together sort of by accident.
"I came into his barbershop in Berlin looking for a job as a barber," Burgos said. "He found out that I fight and was a teacher, and I found out he wanted to fight."
That’s how things started.
"He asked if I thought he’d be any good, and I told him if he trains hard and does what I tell him to do, I can get him to a certain point," Burgos said. "He’s done that."
The Honor Fighting Championship was founded in 2017. Event promoter Jeremy Caudill and Melanie Lockard, who lost a battle with cancer in October, were introduced to Michelle Kring and Scott Corbin, who have been in the MMA world for over 10 years. They came up with Honor Fighting Championship, a platform for fighters to showcase their skills.
"Lucas is a fighter I have personally watched closely because he has heart and what it takes to take him all the way," Caudill said. "He is a business man; very smart. He is young and he knows what he wants and goes and gets it."
Caudill said he wanted to have a military theme with Honor Fighting Championship to honor all military people past, present and future.
"We have signed with Vet Tix to give vets free tickets to our show," he said. "Honor Fighting Championship quickly became a big deal in the MMA world in Ohio."
Caudill brought showman skills to the show, adding lights, music and a certain element that made Honor the place to fight.
"Within our first year of business we were already planning on doing a big show at Cleveland Nautica's Jacobs Pavilion," he said. "That show was a big success. Honor did a show in Millersburg last May, and that show was a great turnout. The town welcomed us with open arms."
He is looking forward to a triumphant return.
The Honor Fighting Championship event at Harvest Ridge Event Center, 8880 state Route 39, gets under way at 5:30 p.m.
Ring of Honor seats are $80. Circle of Honor are $60. General admission tickets are $30. To order tickets, go to the website at https://honorfightingchampionship.com. | Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
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Three persons including two brothers were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly duping people on the pretext of providing work visas for abroad,
police said.
A spokesperson for the Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir police said the trio -- Kailash, his brother Vikas of Bishnah and Raj Kumar of Samba -- were on the run since a case was registered against them in August last year and were arrested from Bari Brahmana and Bishnah areas here, the spokesman said.
He said Sat Pal Sharma, a resident of R S Pura, had lodged a written complainant with the Crime Branch, Jammu, alleging that the accused had duped him of his money by promising work-permit visa in a foreign country for his son.
"After the allegations were prima facie established during the course of preliminary verification conducted by Crime Branch, Jammu, a case was registered against them under the relevant sections of law in August, 2019," the spokesman said.
However, he said the accused were not cooperating in the investigation and were evading arrest.
"After generation of intelligence input, crime branch sleuths laid successful traps and conducted raids with careful planning and arrested the accused for further investigation of the case," the spokesman said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | 2 Indian Army Soldiers Killed In Gunfight Along LoC
JAMMU – Two army soldiers were killed in a gunfight along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Wednesday, officials said.
“Heavily-armed Pakistani infiltrators were intercepted in the Khari Thrayat forest when they were trying to sneak into India from Pakistani side of Kashmir,” they said.
“Two army soldiers killed during cordon and search operation in Nowshera sector. The operation is still in progress and further details are awaited,” Jammu-based Indian Army Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lt Col Devender Anand said in a statement.
The search operation was launched following information about the movement of suspected militants, the officials said.
The infiltrators opened fire on the troops and during a fierce gunfight, the two soldiers were killed, they said.
The officials said a massive operation is on in the area. | 1.333333 |
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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) - It was a violent and deadly New Year in Cleveland.
Police responded to 11 shootings, one of them fatal, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Homicide detectives are investigating a call in the 5900 block of Merrill Ave.
Police responded around 12:15 a.m.
They found a woman who had been shot in the chest. She died at the hospital, according to police.
Police say witnesses told them the suspected gunman is the victim's boyfriend.
They say he was "popping off" rounds to celebrate the new year when the victim was shot.
He is in police custody. He has not been identified.
In another shooting, a 16-year-old girl was shot in the foot.
Police say the victim was brought to the hospital around 2 a.m. and refused to say what happened.
There was also a shooting at Club Medusa around 1 a.m.
Four people were shot there. EMS tells FOX 8 three people were hospitalized. | CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) – Cleveland police have released surveillance photos from a shooting that happened December 9.
Police say two armed suspects wearing masks walked into the Metro PCS in the 3700 block of MLK Dr.
According to police, the suspects didn’t demand cash or steal anything.
Police say one suspect said, “This is for you,” to the owner before shooting him.
There is no word on the victim’s condition.
Police ask if you have any information to call (216)623-5418. | 1 |
A limited number of people are allowed to take the annual tour sponsored by DTE and the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance.
People who want a chance to see eagles that make their homes near DTE Energy’s Monroe Power Plant have until Friday to sign up for the lottery for the guided tour.
The tour is planned for Jan. 25.
A limited number of people are allowed to take the annual tour sponsored by DTE and the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance. They can register online at www.fws.gov/refuge/detroit_river/.
Registration does not guarantee a spot on the tour.
Tour times are 9 to 11 a.m. or 1 to 3 p.m. People can make a choice when they register or note that they don’t have a preference.
Winners will be notified by Jan. 8.
Anyone with questions can email jennifer_braatz@fws.gov or call 734-288-6459.
Video clip of 2018 tour: | BEIJING - China's central bank said Wednesday it will cut the amount of money banks will be required to have on hand from Jan. 6 in an effort to boost the slowing economy.
The People's Bank of China announced that the reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions would be lowered by 50 basis points.
The official Xinhua News Agency said that step will release about 800 billion yuan ($114.6 billion) into the economy for lending purposes, delivering a shot in the arm to the economy ahead of the Lunar New Year that falls on Jan. 25. China's most important annual holiday is a time when companies and individuals typically need large amounts of cash on hand to pay bonuses, clear debts and cover other expenses.
However, Xinhua quoted an unidentified central bank official as saying that Wednesday's move does not presage a large-scale government stimulus program, ruling out the possibility of a "flood-like" flow of fresh money.
"The stance of prudent monetary policy has not changed," the official was quoted as saying.
Beijing has adopted a string of market-opening measures and tariff cuts meant to help revive economic growth that slowed to a three-decade low of 6% in the latest quarter.
While the trade war with the U.S. has been a factor, more worrisome is flagging demand for autos and apartments and the continuing dominance of state companies sustained by generous government subsidies and preferential policies. | 1 |
Rehman Malik, through a recent letter has invited Abubaccar Marie Tambadou to visit Pakistan.
He wrote,
I would like to place on record my highest appreciation for you on behalf my nation for taking up the pressing matter of genocide of Muslims and crime against humanity in Myanmar by filing a historic law suit before International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) by raising the voice of victims of Myanmar Muslim. I, as Chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Interior and on behalf of the members of Standing Committee, extend invitation to you to kindly visit Pakistan at your convenience enabling us to be benefitted from your wisdom that you displayed in helping the victims of Myanmar.
We would like to explore the possibilities to file a lawsuit in the ICJ against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and other gross violations of human rights in Indian Held Kashmir. Indian Army troops are continuously committing unprecedented atrocities against innocent and unarmed Kashmiris in terms of mass murdering, mass blinding through pelleting, rapes, tortures, enforced disappearances, political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. I would also like to draw your kind attention that so far more than 94,000 Kashmiris have been killed, 7,000 persons have been killed in the custody of Army troops, 22,000 women have been widowed, 105,000 children have been orphaned and 10,000 women have been raped and molested by Indian military troops and paramilitary troops in Indian Held Kashmir. This has been independently confirmed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Geneva which is a great and undeniable testimony against India. | Two braveheart soldiers of the Indian Army were martyred today (1 January) following a gunfight along the Line of Control (LoC) against heavily armed Pakistani terrorists, reports the Hindustan Times.
The gunfight took place in the Nowshera sector's Kalal area in the Rajouri district when the soldiers were carrying out a cordon and search operation which continues to be in progress.
The soldiers had intercepted the infiltrators in the forest of Khari Thrayat while they attempting to cross the LoC and enter India from the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The indian Army had launched a search operation in the area after it had received intelligence about the movement of suspected terrorists.
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Upon interception, infiltrators fired open on troops as a result of which the lives of two Indian soldiers were lost. Following the development a massive operation has been launched in the region. | 1.333333 |
Brandon Routh's character in Crisis on Infinite Earths gave the Arrowverse its best Superman line yet. Though Routh isn't the Arrowverse's main version of the Man of Steel, he's already become one of the most talked-about characters in the crossover.
Crisis on Infinite Earths features three different versions of the flagship DC hero: Tom Welling's Clark Kent from Smallville, Brandon Routh's Kingdom Come Superman, and of course, the Arrowverse's own Superman (Tyler Hoechlin). Routh's character comes from a timeline where key Superman characters such as Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White were murdered. Superman is identified as a "hopeless Kryptonian" and one of the seven paragons capable of stopping the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) from destroying the multiverse. Superman is one of the sole survivors of Earth-1's destruction, but a last-second twist sees him die at the hands of Earth-38's Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer).
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Related: Crisis on Infinite Earths Redeems Brandon Routh's Superman
During the third installment of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-38's Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) asks Superman why he wears a black House of El emblem, as opposed to the traditional yellow. Superman responds, "Even in the darkest times, hope cuts through. Hope is the light that lifts us out of darkness". It's a very Superman-esque line, and it perfectly represents an ideal that all interpretations of the Big Blue Boy Scout should uphold. After all, Superman is a character whose goal is to bring hope to the universe, so this is exactly the sort of quote one should expect from such a symbolic hero.
Every show and movie with the Man of Steel needs an inspirational Superman line, and it seems fitting that it would be Routh's Clark - not Hoechlin's - who delivers it, especially when considering the background of his character. The Kingdom Come Superman has a much more tragic backstory than other portrayals of the character, so the idea that Superman is still able to hold on to hope despite everything that he's lost makes the moment even more moving.
Also, it's revealed in the second chapter of Crisis on Infinite Earths that the Kingdom Come Superman is in fact the same Clark Kent played by Routh in Superman Returns, which means that he's also the same character played by Christopher Reeve in the original Superman movies. Reeve's portrayal of Superman is easily the most iconic and most beloved live-action version of Superman, so it certainly seemed necessary for Crisis on Infinite Earths to do him justice. Routh's Superman has been so well-received that fans are wondering if The CW made a mistake in not giving him his own show.
More: Crisis On Infinite Earths' Smallville Twist Has a Big Problem
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Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Had Darth Vader Bounty Hunter Cameo | In the 24 season 5 premiere, the FOX series made the shocking decision to kill David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), but why? President Palmer was easily one of the show's most beloved characters, and is still referred to by many as one of the best TV presidents.
Over the course of nine seasons, 24 went through quite a few presidents. Some, like Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), helped Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) thwart terrorist plots, while others, such as Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe) and Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin), were secretly the masterminds. One president in particular, David Palmer, stood out as a character who was a friend and ally to Jack and a president who knew how to handle a crisis. Haysbert was a series regular for three seasons, and was reduced to a recurring role for the show's fourth season, since at this point he was no longer President of the United States.
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Related: How 24 Has Aged Poorly In Some Ways
24 opened season 5 with a bang by killing off David Palmer. It happened when Palmer was visiting his brother, Wayne (D.B. Woodside). During a conversation with Wayne, Palmer stands in front of a window and is suddenly assassinated by a then-unknown assailant. Jack, who is framed for Palmer's assassination, sets out to find the killers and learns of their connection to a much bigger terrorist plot. It was later revealed that Palmer was killed because he was close to uncovering the truth about their plan and the people involved. According to Dennis Haysbert, killing off Palmer wasn't his decision, though some may have assumed that Haysbert wanted to leave because he had recently landed the lead role in CBS' The Unit. However, this was not the case.
Palmer was no longer a main character, so this wasn't an issue. In fact, Haysbert has been adamant about not wanting Palmer to die. Haysbert says that he refused to return to film Palmer's death scene for a "great many months", but was eventually convinced by the showrunner to come back (via New York Magazine). The writers and the showrunner deemed his death necessary for the benefit of the story. Palmer was told that his death was needed to kick off the story for 24 season 5.
Palmer's death did have the desired effect on the show, as it had a tremendous impact on the main characters and set the stage for the rest of the season. It also affected viewers, who were upset by the death of such a beloved character, and this is actually the reason why Haysbert was so hesitant to do the scene. He felt that there was no need to kill a character who was "so loved by everybody", and that he now regrets his decision to return. This sentiment is echoed by 24 fans. 24 had no shortage of major deaths, but there may not be any more memorable than David Palmer's shocking assassination in season 5.
More: 10 Storylines From 24 That Were Never Resolved
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Star Trek Picard: How The New Series Can Avoid Voyager’s Mistakes | 1.333333 |
The world saw a different side of Pope Francis on New Year’s Eve after the pontiff tore himself free from a woman who had grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.
A woman seeking the Pope’s blessing on New Year’s Eve instead ended up enraging the pontiff after grabbing his arm to get his attention. A video of the altercation shows Francis walking through Vatican City as he greeted pilgrims. After reaching out to touch a child, a nearby woman seized his hand, jerking the religious leader around – a yank that appeared to cause him pain.
Pope Francis repeatedly SLAPS woman’s hand after she YANKS him toward herDETAILS: https://t.co/V6taO9Jc9vpic.twitter.com/Iw7KrEdyuz — RT (@RT_com) 1 января 2020 г.
After slapping her hand several times, the Pope freed himself of her grip. The usually serene Francis scowled as he walked away.
According to reports, the Pope later acknowledged that he had “lost patience” with the admiring pilgrim.
Francis has a history of repelling unwanted contact. In March, he was criticized for refusing to allow members of the faithful to kiss his papal ring during a visit to an Italian shrine.
Like this story? Share it with a friend! | Pope Francis was walking through the square in Vatican City and greeting pilgrims on his way to see the large Nativity scene set up in the huge, cobbled esplanade.
After reaching out to touch a child, the pope turned away from the crowd only for a nearby woman to seize his hand and pull her towards him. The abrupt gesture appeared to cause him pain and Francis swiftly wrenched his hand free.
The woman had made the sign of the cross as the pope had approached. It was not clear what she was saying as she subsequently tugged him towards her. | 4 |
We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as as they happen!
Sign up! | The country's largest airline IndiGo now has more than 250 planes in its fleet after inducting at least four neo aircraft on December 31, according to an official.
IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of more than 47 per cent, is also the first Indian carrier to have over 250 planes.
Recently, the budget carrier also became the first airline to operate 1,500 flights per day.
The official said the airline inducted four planes -- three A321 neos and one A320 neo -- on December 31.
According to an aircraft deliveries tracking website, IndiGo has taken deliveries of 257 planes, including 222 Airbus 320 or A320 Neos, 10 A321 Neos and 25 regional jet ATRs.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) | 1 |
President Trump has signed a law increasing fines on spammy robocalls and requiring phone service providers to begin authenticating calls across networks.
The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act) was signed on Monday, after Congress approved the landmark bill earlier this month to give the federal government new abilities to go after illegal robocallers. Fines can now reach $10,000 per call. The law also requires major carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to use a new technology called STIR/SHAKEN to help customers know if they’re being targeted by a robocaller with a spoofed number.
“I applaud Congress for working in a bipartisan manner to combat illegal robocalls and malicious caller ID spoofing,” Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement. Pai added he’s glad the agency “has a longer statute of limitations” to pursue scammers.
Carriers have already begun to deploy the STIR/SHAKEN technology in anticipation of the new law, though support is still limited. Eventually, companies like AT&T and Verizon should be able to verify calls between their networks, ensuring a call is coming from a real, authentic number.
Trump’s signing of the TRACED Act into law is just another step in the ongoing battle the FCC has taken to fight robocalls under Pai. The commissioner announced over the summer that the FCC would move to make it illegal to send spoofed calls or texts from overseas. Congress passed new rules in 2018 allowing the commission to do so. | How to fight robocalls: The basics You can't block all the spam phone calls, but blocking some is better than blocking none. Read more: https://zd.net/2GGv83H
President Trump this week signed the TRACED Act, the first federal law designed to curb unwanted robocalls. With the problem of robocalls running rampant, the legislation passed with strong support in both the Democratic-led House and the Republican-led Senate.
The legislation takes on the problem from multiple fronts. First, it gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) more authority to go after the scammers responsible for unwanted robocalls. It allows the FCC to go after scammers the first time they break the law and extends the statute of limitations by up to four years in some cases. It also ups the financial penalties against robocallers.
Additionally, it encourages stronger Justice Department criminal prosecution of unlawful robocalls by requiring the FCC to provide the DOJ with evidence of criminal robocall violations.
Next, the law requires all carriers to eventually implement new technologies to authenticate caller-ID information, preventing call spoofing -- at no additional line-item cost to consumers. As Congress notes in its summary of the law, many illegal robocalls use call spoofing so the call appears to be coming from a trusted number.
The FCC is already planning to mandate that carriers implement its SHAKEN/STIR authentication system to help combat robocalls. In March, AT&T and Comcast announced that they successfully tested the first SHAKEN/STIR-authenticated call between two different telecom networks.
Meanwhile, the law additionally says consumers should also get access to robocall blocking at no additional line item charge on their bill.
The law also requires the FCC to put new limits on robocalls that are legal, even without consumer consent -- such as calls from financial institutions regarding potentially fraudulent transactions. Specifically, the law calls for new limits on the kinds of organizations that may make such calls, who can receive such calls and the number of calls allowed under the exemption.
The TRACE Act also clarifies that when a person gets a new phone number, robocallers cannot keep calling to look for the person previously had that number.
It also requires the FCC to work to stop one-ring scams and helps the FCC and carriers trace back the origin of unlawful robocalls.
The law passed in the House earlier this month by a vote of 417 to 3, and it passed in the Senate by voice vote.
During the legislative debate, Congress put out a white paper with data on the extent of the robocall problem: In 2018, there were an estimated 48 billion robocalls, up over 64 percent since 2016, according to YouMail. Meanwhile, First Orion predicts that this year 44.6 percent of all calls to mobile phones will be scam calls.
In a statement, the cloud communications company Twilio said the legislation should have a notable impact: "The law will aid efforts among law enforcement authorities, government agencies and the communications industry to stop the bad calls and restore consumers' faith that they will receive the calls they want. With its strong emphasis on the implementation of the SHAKEN/STIR protocol and consumer protection efforts, we expect to see a dramatic change in the robocall landscape in the next 12 to 18 months." | 3.666667 |
× A great decade for the Blackhawks ends with a win in Calgary
CALGARY – Over the past few days, many reflected back on what’s been the greatest decade in the history of Blackhawks’ hockey.
The team was in the playoffs every year except the last two and brought home three Stanley Cups, which were the first for the franchise since 1961.
While it hasn’t been the best of ends to this ten-year stretch, the team was able to string together a few victories to finish the decade strong.
That included a 5-3 win on Tuesday evening in Calgary just an hour-and-a-half before the 2020s began. It was a contest of momentum against the Flames, with the Blackhawks jumping out to an early four-goal lead before watching their hosts put up a big rally.
A goal in the closing moments of the second period and two more in the third got the lead down to one, but fittingly Patrick Kane was able to seal the Blackhawks’ victory.
Arguably the team’s player of the decade, the forward completed his four-point night with his second goal into the empty net to complete the victory. It was the team’s third-straight victory and puts the Blackhawks over the .500 mark at 18-17-6 as 2019 comes to an end.
With a couple of memorable saves along the way, Robin Lehner turned in another yeoman’s effort in net, stopping 41-of-44 shots to give the Blackhawks one more win in an incredible decade. | CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Patrick Kane had two goals and two assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks raced out to a four-goal lead and held on to beat the Calgary Flames 5-3 on Tuesday night.
Kane set up goals by Olli Maatta at 4:14 and Alex Debrincat at 5:35 and then made it 3-0 at 12:44 of the first period when he cut across the slot and beat David Rittich with a wrist shot from 30 feet out.
Kane’s 21st goal of the season was the 377th of his career, tying him with Denis Savard for fourth on the Blackhawks’ all-time list. The top three are Bobby Hull (604), Stan Makita (541) and Steve Larmer (406).
Kane’s second of the game was an empty-netter at 19:59 of the third.
Kane finishes the decade as the NHL’s top scorer with 802 points, just ahead of Sidney Crosby (788).
Dylan Strome also scored for Chicago (18-17-6), which has won three straight and five of six.
Sam Bennett, Michael Frolik and Sean Monahan scored for Calgary (20-17-5). The Flames are winless in their last five at home. (0-4-1).
Robin Lehner was excellent in net for the Blackhawks, winning his sixth straight start to improve to 12-6-4. He finished with 41 saves.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: At Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.
Flames: Host New York Rangers on Thursday.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2.666667 |
By BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — During her first year as Alaska Senate president, Cathy Giessel won over one-time political adversaries and angered some within her own party for her willingness to buck Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a fellow Republican, on key pieces of his agenda.
Giessel's ascension to the role just three other women have held coincided with Dunleavy's 2018 election. She was among those who argued cuts proposed by the governor were too much, too fast, and that the formula he wanted to follow for paying checks to residents from the state's oil-wealth fund, the Alaska Permanent Fund, was no longer workable.
Tuckerman Babcock, a former state GOP chair and former Dunleavy chief of staff, said Giessel's position on the dividend changed.
“That's one issue, and the other is, to be so publicly, adamantly at odds with the governor is just bizarre,” he said, noting he would not support her again.
Giessel said as Senate leader, she's an easy target.
Rather than dictating views to her 14-member caucus, which includes a Democrat, Giessel said she gives them room to wrestle with issues to reach agreement, or not. Her caucus was sharply divided on the dividend last year, which she said reflected the electorate and divisions within her party.
Giessel said the dividend has been one of the most divisive statewide issues she's seen. It's expected to be a major focus during the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 21.
“But I do believe ... we will, after all of this vigorous conversation, come to a good conclusion," she said.
In 2016, as she faced re-election, Giessel supported then-Sen. Dunleavy's call to restore the portion of the dividend cut by Gov. Bill Walker as the state struggled with a budget deficit. Giessel recently said she felt the issue should not be decided by one person.
Lawmakers had a chance to override Walker's actions but didn't. A legal challenge ultimately was decided in his favor.
In 2018, lawmakers began tapping permanent fund earnings, long used to pay dividends, to help cover government costs. They also passed a law seeking to limit withdrawals from earnings for government and dividends.
Dunleavy has supported using a decades-old dividend formula that many lawmakers see as unsustainable and haven't followed in recent years. Giessel has called for a formula change.
During her race, “I never said I supported these massive-sized PFDs," she said, referring to the checks. “I supported a full legislative discussion of the subject and not just keeping the money in the earnings reserve account but actually using it to balance our budgets.”
Lawmakers settled on a 2019 dividend that equaled $1,606. Under the formula, it would have been $2,910, according to the Department of Revenue.
House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said his relationship with Giessel mainly consisted of passing hellos before she became Senate president but has blossomed into a friendship and trusted working relationship. He said she has come into her own as a leader.
“She sticks to her values, her principles. In the face of flack by some in her own party, and maybe some Alaskans along the way, she didn't flinch, and I really respected her for that," said Edgmon, an independent.
Giessel and Edgmon joined in challenging the administration in a dispute over school funding and Dunleavy's pick of a special session location.
Giessel was born in territorial Alaska, in Fairbanks, where she was raised, the oldest of four children. Her father was a pilot who often took her on trips to rural Alaska. Her mother went to law school after raising the family.
Giessel wanted to study political science in college but said her mother urged her to study something “practical,” like nursing. Her mother also urged her to intern for then-U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, which she said she did.
Giessel met her husband Richard in Michigan, where she attended college. After nursing school, when he suggested they marry, she told him he'd find her in Alaska, where they eventually settled.
She put her nursing career on hold for 12 years to raise and homeschool their children, and later earned a master's degree.
Giessel has long been involved in Republican politics and served as a state GOP vice chair.
After working on campaigns and wanting to make a difference with policy, she was elected to the Senate in 2010. For two years, she was part of a conservative, four-member minority.
Oil and gas were hot topics, and she “made up her mind that she was going to know everything that there was to know about it,” said Republican Sen. John Coghill, who was in that caucus and is on the current GOP-led majority's leadership team.
“Man, oh man. She got hold of something and became a formidable force because of her tenaciousness,” he said.
During her legislative career, Giessel has often attended hearings of committees she doesn't serve on, taking notes, likening it to soaking up all she can in a classroom.
Giessel became Senate Resources Committee chair in 2013, after Republicans wrested control of the Senate from a bipartisan majority. She said she wanted the job after seeing how North Slope communities she visited as a nurse had benefited from oil development.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Begich said Giessel once was a political adversary but last year said they expressed a desire to work together, in their leadership roles. The Anchorage Democrat said he and Giessel have different ideas but share the goal of a “stable, sustainable Alaska" with opportunities.
“I have no doubt about that, and that makes it easy to work with her,” he said. | RALEIGH — The federal judge who blocked the newest version of North Carolina’s voter identification law cited the state’s “sordid history of racial discrimination and voter suppression” as she ordered officials not to enforce the law in 2020.
U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Biggs’ decision was released Tuesday and prevents North Carolina from requiring voters to provide identification starting in 2020. The Republican leaders of the state House and Senate, however, have asked North Carolina’s Department of Justice to appeal.
The federal court advised last week that Biggs would formally block the photo ID requirement until a lawsuit filed by state NAACP and others is resolved. Her decision provided insight into why she blocked the law, which she said was similar to a 2013 law that a federal appeals court struck down in 2016.
That court said the photo ID and other voter restrictions were approved with intentional racial discrimination in mind, and Biggs said the newest version of the law was no different in that respect.
“North Carolina has a sordid history of racial discrimination and voter suppression stretching back to the time of slavery, through the era of Jim Crow, and, crucially, continuing up to the present day,” Biggs wrote.
Legislators received a breakdown of voter behavior by race before passing the 2016 law and used that data to target African American voters, the court wrote in striking down that law. The defendants said there’s no evidence of similar behavior before the most recent voter ID law.
But the same key lawmakers championed both bills, Biggs wrote. “ … they need not had racial data in hand to still have it in mind,” the ruling says.
The approval of the new version, known as S.B. 824, was “procedurally unobjectional,” Biggs wrote. But its closeness in time to the previous version; the fact that many of the same legislators were involved in both bills; the use of “unconstitutionally gerrymandered maps” and other issues “indicate that something was amiss,” she wrote.
The legislative history of the bill, including statements from its supporters, show that “rather than trying to cleanse the discriminatory taint” imbued in the previous voter ID law, lawmakers tried to circumvent state and federal courts, she wrote.
The photo ID law would have been effective with the March 3 primary. But the requirement would have been put into motion sooner than that with mail-in absentee voters, who also would have had to provide an ID copy.
The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, president of the North Carolina conference of the NAACP, said he was “overjoyed” by Biggs’ decision.
“Quite frankly, tears are coming to my eyes as I read the decision,” he said. Biggs’ “strong language is so appropriate” as the nation approaches the 2020 elections, Spearman said.
“I hope it is something that will encourage people who have not exercised their right to vote to cast their votes,” he said.
After losing one court battle over voter ID, Republicans put a question on the November 2018 ballot enshrining voter ID in the state constitution. The amendment passed with 55% of the vote. The legislature approved a separate law in December 2018 detailing how to implement that amendment. Legal challenges were filed almost immediately.
GOP legislators said they had to enact an ID law because voters had approved one. But Biggs, who was appointed to the bench in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, said the constitutional amendment was a cover for legislators that allowed them to present themselves as “faithful servants whose hands were tied.”
The argument that lawmakers had to pass this particular bill falls short, she wrote. “While the legislature may had to pass some form of photo voter-ID law, it did not have to enact one which suffers from impermissible defects,” she wrote.
The law did allow for more types of IDs to be used and allowed voters to get a free ID card or fill out a form explaining their “reasonable impediment” to obtaining one.
But legislators rejected an amendment allowing the use of public assistance IDs, which Biggs described as “particularly suspect.”
Republican legislators have urged the state DOJ to seek a stay of the temporary injunction, saying Biggs’ ruling was “inappropriate.”
Their attorneys sent a letter Monday saying it’s “imperative that you seek a stay of Judge Biggs’ injunction immediately to avoid irreparable harm to the state.”
A state DOJ spokeswoman didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the lawmakers’ request. | 1 |
A DRIVER on drugs was caught speeding at over 100mph on the motorway.
Police chased down a driver weaving in and out of traffic at speeds of more than 100mph on the M61. | Next Post
Britain says will raise minimum wage by more than 6% in 2020 | 1.333333 |
Jewish people have lived in Mazovia, a region in east-central Poland, since medieval times. In the 18th century, the Jewish community in the province grew in size, and made up a significant portion of the city of Warsaw’s population. In 1806, a cemetery was established outside the city’s okopy, or trenches. As the city grew, the cemetery came to be inside the city limits and Okopowa Street now marks the original course of the trenches.
The cemetery covers 33.4 hectares, and an estimated 200,000 people have been buried on its grounds. People buried at the cemetery include spiritual and political leaders, artists, businesspeople, and thousands of nameless victims of the Warsaw ghetto.
In 1914, Warsaw’s Jewish population numbered more than 330,000. In 1946, after World War II ended, it numbered about 18,000. This cemetery is one of the few remaining pieces of material heritage of the Jewish people in Poland. Much like the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, one can find heaps and rows of headstones crowded together. Parts of the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery look abandoned, with thicket covering the land and vines growing up to the trees. The cemetery also includes a number of decorated tombs and mausoleums. You can still see many historical slabs and tombstones with ornaments and symbolic reliefs.
Until World War II, the cemetery included a funeral house and synagogue. The area was recognized as a historical monument in 1973 and was put under protection. Today, in addition to being in active use for burials, the cemetery is an important source of heritage for the local Jewish community. Many Jewish birth, marriage, and death certificates were destroyed during World War II, and information from the gravestones is often used in genealogical research. | Citizen Action of New York Celebrates Enactment of Pretrial Justice Reforms
Albany, NY — In response to the January 1, 2020 enactment of historic pretrial justice reforms, Amy Jones, Community Organizer, Citizen Action of New York, said:
“Today, New Yorkers across the state are celebrating enactment of our new bail, discovery and speedy trial laws. People power, years of fierce advocacy and the resolve of our partners and elected allies have delivered a powerful blow to an injustice system that has criminalized race and poverty, destroyed lives and caged legally innocent people for generations. These reforms are long overdue, and help move us towards a “justice” system that lives up to its name.
“This day is especially meaningful to me, because I personally fought on the frontlines to pass these laws. I have also suffered behind bars because I couldn’t afford the price tag on my freedom. I have been coerced into plea deals without knowing about the evidence against me. I know what the human costs of pretrial injustice are – and so I know it’s no exaggeration to say that countless lives will be saved as a result of these new laws.
“Mass incarceration has always been justified in the name of “public safety” – but we know from data and lived experience that bail and pretrial detention have never kept us safe. We also know that the old pretrial laws were weaponized against Black, Brown and poor people to maintain gross power imbalances and disparity in the system. The things that truly create safe and healthy communities are people being home with their children, keeping their homes, staying in school, earning money and remaining a part of community. The new pretrial laws help get us there.
“To be clear, there is much more work to be done. But today, we commend the thousands of directly impacted people, advocates and New York’s elected leaders for taking this historic step towards justice.” | 1 |
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Fans of Coleen Rooney believe her New Year's message may be hinting at her feud with Rebekah Vardy.
Last year, Coleen claimed that someone using Rebekah's Instagram account leaked false stories.
Coleen posted a statement on social media on how she set up an Instagram trap to catch a 'close friend' who was reportedly leaking information to The S*n newspaper.
And in a dramatic finale, she claimed it was from the Instagram account of Rebekah Vardy - wife of Leicester City and England striker, Jamie Vardy.
The mum-of-four said she had suspicions for years that someone was sharing stories with the newspaper and so devised a plan to catch the person out.
Coleen said she closed her Instagram Stories to every single one of her followers, except Rebekah Vardy's account.
She then released three false stories on her Instagram, all of which later appeared in the reviled newspaper.
This led the 33-year-old to conclude the source could only be from Rebekah Vardy's account.
Rebekah later released her own statement in retaliation denying the claims and calling them "disgusting", saying that several people had had access to her account over the years.
At the time, she also said she was seeking legal advice over Coleen's claims.
On New Year's Day, Coleen shared a message with her followers wishing them health and happiness.
But one part of her tweet saw fans speculate about last year's iconic Twitter spat.
Coleen wrote: "Wishing you all a very happy New year.... health and happiness. I hope 2020 is exactly what you all want it to be and more."
It was the '....' which led fans to believe she was referencing her earlier tweet 'It's...Rebekah Vardy's account.'
Joe Joinson joked: "It's....... The New Year!!", whilst another fan simply replied with the detective emoji in reference to #WAGathaChristie.
Another said: "Cheers Miss Marple!"
And Katie commented: "It’s............ Coleen Rooney x"
Its...Rebekah Vardy's account full statements -
Coleen's full statement said: "For a few years now someone who I trusted to follow me on my personal instagram account has been consistently informing The S*n newspaper of my private posts and stories.
"There has been so much information given to them about me, my friends and my family - all without my permission or knowledge.
"After a long time of trying to figure out who it could be, for various reasons, I had a suspicion.
"To try and prove this I came up with an idea. I blocked everyone from viewing my Instagram stories except One account (Those on my private account must have been wondering why I haven't had stories on there for a while.)
"Over the past five months I have posted a series of false stories to see if they made their way into the newspaper. And you know what they did! The story about gender selection in Mexico, the story about returning to TV and the latest story about the basement flooding in my new house.
"It's been tough keeping it to myself and not making any comment at all, especially when the stories have been leaked, however I had to. Now I know for certain which account it's come from.
(Image: PA)
"I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them.
"It's Rebekah Vardy's account."
And Rebekah replied with a statement directed at Coleen on Twitter and said: "As I have just said to you on the phone, I wish you had called me if you thought this.
"I never speak to anyone about you as various journalists who have asked me to over the years can vouch for.
"If you thought this was happening you could have told me and I could have changed passwords to see if it stopped.
"Over the years various people have had access to my insta and just this week I found out I was following people I didn't know and have never followed myself.
"I'm not being funny but I don't need the money, what would I gain from selling stories on you?
"I liked you a lot a Coleen and I'm so upset that you have chosen to do this, especially when I'm heavily pregnant.
"I'm disgusted that I'm even having to deny this.
"You should have called me the first time this happened (broken heart emoji" | A US Navy aircraft carrier dramatically collided with a huge wave that sent crew members running to the front of the carrier.
The footage, which was captured on camera, shows the carrier in the middle of the sea battling against the large waves.
At first, the vessel appears to be managing the increasing waves and the crew on board can be heard shouting ‘whoa’ as they take in the view.
However, moments later, a rogue wave crashes into the ship, flooding the deck leaving the crew to run for safety as the footage goes blank. | 1 |
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In 2019, our newsroom opted to really expand photo journalism on the site and offer readers a more visual way of connecting with civics and arts across the county.
Our editors here have picked out some of what they saw as the most compelling visual moments in Orange County during 2019 — from rallies to elections, from arts to civics.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section on the best shot of the year.
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JENNY LYNN, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC | Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now
Every coach who was asked about the top candidate for Orange County girls volleyball coach of the year had the same reply.
The No. 1 choice was Isaac Owens of Esperanza.
Owens coached the Aztecs to the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 championship and a 29-8 record.
ALL-COUNTY VOLLEYBALL | Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | All-County Teams
Those results and the support of his peers makes Owens the Orange County girls volleyball coach of the year.
Esperanza defeated Murrieta Valley in five sets in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship match at Cerritos College. The Aztecs lost the first two sets of the Division 2 final, and had lost the second set by a larger margin than the first. Owens managed to rally the team, and the team rallied to win three sets in a row to capture Esperanza’s third CIF-SS girls volleyball title.
Owens, 49, has coached at Esperanza since 2001. He has coached the boys and girls teams there during his tenure, and since 2014 has exclusively been the girls coach.
Owens played his high school volleyball at Huntington Beach.
Esperanza had excellent players this season.
“Elyse Stowell was amazing,” said Owens of the junior outside hitter who was the CIF-SS Division 2 player of the year. “(Senior setter) Maddy Harkey did a wonderful job for us, (outside hitter) Julia Waugh was outstanding as a freshman with her ability to pass and hit, and our junior middle Taylor Jones was great, too.”
Put those players together with a coach of the year and the result was a championship season for Esperanza. | 1.666667 |
Landry’s issues notice of a payment security incident
Tilman Fertitta, owner of Landry's, Inc., and the Houston Rockets, poses for a portrait at the Post Oak Hotel at Uptown. >>>See all of the outlets owned by the Landry's, Inc. empire. Tilman Fertitta, owner of Landry's, Inc., and the Houston Rockets, poses for a portrait at the Post Oak Hotel at Uptown. >>>See all of the outlets owned by the Landry's, Inc. empire. Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Landry’s issues notice of a payment security incident 1 / 30 Back to Gallery
Landry's, Inc. — the restaurant chain from local billionaire Tilman Fertitta — is alerting the public of a recent security incident involving payment processing that may have affected some customers.
According to a statement released on Dec. 31, customers’ payment cards could have been mistakenly swiped by waitstaff on the order-entry systems instead of the point-of-sale terminals used for payment processing.
INCREASING: As data flows more freely, incidence of breaches increases for businesses large and small
Landry's said an investigation identified “malware designed to access payment card data from cards used in person on systems at its restaurants,” but that the system’s encryption technology was effective in preventing access to payment-card data when cards were used on those encryption devices.
The company implemented payment processing with end-to-end encryption technology in 2016, a year after it faced a massive data breach.
In addition to the encrypted payment devices, Landry's also uses order-entry programs with card readers that allow waitstaff to enter kitchen orders. In "rare circumstances," according to Landry's, payment cards may have been swiped through those devices between March 13, 2019 to October 17, 2019. A "small number" of locations were reportedly affected as early as January 2019.
Customers with questions or concerns can call 833-991-1538 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m for more information.
TRY THE APP: Get alerts, breaking news and in-depth coverage on what's happening in Houston for your mobile phone and tablet devices through our mobile apps on Google Play and the App Store. | Feral hogs, a familiar Texas pest, are roaming north
>>> Learn the ins and outs of feral hog hunting in Texas. >>> Learn the ins and outs of feral hog hunting in Texas. Photo: Shannon Tompkins / Houston Chronicle Photo: Shannon Tompkins / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Feral hogs, a familiar Texas pest, are roaming north 1 / 28 Back to Gallery
Texas has long faced the destruction feral hogs can have on land and wildlife. Now feral hogs' rampant damage is stretching as far north as Canada, with particularly prominent populations in U.S. northern border states, including Montana and North Dakota, the New York Times reports.
"In the past 30 years, the hogs have expanded their range to 38 states from 17," according to the Times.
And this spread isn't natural, it's being caused by people, scientists explain. Dale Nolte, manager of the feral swine program at the Department of Agriculture, told the outlet that there's "every reason to believe they are being moved in the backs of pickup trucks and released to create hunting opportunities.”
NATURE ODDITIES: The weirdest Texas game warden stories of 2019
While Texas has developed creative hunting practices to stave off the swine epidemic, from air balloon strikes to the "HeliBacon," a helicopter that can be chartered for pricey hog-hunt excursions. However, for some states, hunting creates an incentive for hosting hog populations rather than a solution.
In those places, "people to distribute feral pigs for sport," the Times explains. "Hunting makes the animals warier and scatters sounders, or family groups, which go on to multiply in new family groups."
The swine have been capable of surviving the extreme winters in northern states and have been steadily multiplying. Their effects have not yet been as carefully documented as they are in the south. What experts do know is that state officials should plan to contain hog populations sooner rather than later.
This rings especially true and urgent in recent months.
These hogs are not typically known to be predatory, but a November encounter proved deadly for a woman in Anahuac, Texas. Christine Rollins was found dead with animal bites on her body. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office determined it was a feral hog assault that caused Rollin's death. However, that's an extreme and rare example of what these swine can do. If they cause human casualties it's usually by spreading disease through contaminated waters, including E. coli outbreaks in produce.
HUNTING: Culberson County mule deer buck could be record-breaker
It's more common that the invasive species attacks ecosystems rather than people. They destabilize habitats and ravage private properties, agricultural crops — to the tune of $52 million in one recent finding —and wetlands by trampling on them. Even worse, they breed quickly. Their gestation period is roughly 120 days and they can breed as young as six months old.
Because of their negative effects on the environment and on communities, officials in The Woodlands — where this issue is particularly pronounced — are hosting an educational seminar on Feb. 20 at Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), 8801 Gosling Road, in The Woodlands. The lecture will discuss how to tackle the growing problem and will feature guest speaker Chris Watts, a wildlife damage management biologist with the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension and the Texas Wildlife Services Program. | 1.333333 |
COSTA MESA (CBSLA) — A possibly suicidal 26-year-old man who allegedly fired shots at a Costa Mesa Police Department officer and a civilian was wounded after being shot by an officer.
Officers received a call at 3:43 p.m. about a possibly suicidal man armed with a handgun in the area of Orange Avenue and Palmer Street, according to police.
An officer in the area found a suspect matching the description. Police said the man, identified as Steven Fernandez of San Diego, fled on foot while firing several shots at the officer, taking cover in a garage in the 200 block of Knox Place where police said he then shot at a resident.
Fernandez was confined to the garage, and a SWAT team was called in an attempt to negotiate with Fernandez.
As negotiations took place, police said Fernandez displayed a gun and was subsequently shot and injured by an officer.
Fernandez was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and was taken to the hospital for treatment. He is expected to survive.
Police said two handguns were recovered at the scene.
No officers or civilians were injured in the shootings.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.) | New New American Spot Highlands Debuts In Downtown DetroitA new bar and New American spot have opened its doors in the neighborhood. Located at 400 Renaissance Center, Floors 71 and 72, in Downtown, the fresh addition is called Highlands.
Explore 5 Favorite Budget-Friendly Grocery Stores In DetroitLooking to try the best grocery stores in town?
4 Events To Check Out In Detroit This WeekLooking to mix things up this week? From a holiday party to a tech industry training, here's a roundup of options to help you get off the couch and out into the world.
The Top 4 Bars For A Special Occasion In DetroitWondering where to find the best bars near you? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end bars in Detroit.
The 3 Best Dive Bars In DetroitLooking to try the best dive bars in town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top dive bars in Detroit.
Here's What To Do In Detroit This WeekFrom webinar to dance part, there's plenty to enjoy in Detroit this week. Read on for a rundown of ideas for how to fill your calendar. | 2 |
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Shelly Ehbrecht spent the last day of 2019 reflecting on her more than four decades on the job.
“It feels surreal; it feels bittersweet. I’m going to cry,” she said as she wrapped up her last shift at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
“It’s time to go. I’ve had a great run for 44 years, great experiences.”
Ehbrecht began her career at the old Grace Hospital, now known as B.C. Women’s Hospital.
“The head nurse that I had initially was like an army head nurse,” she said.
“It was important to bounce dimes on the beds and the bed-making was really an important part of my job.”
Her expertise in bed-making is rivalled only by the depth of her knowledge of the maternity unit, having cared for thousands of families over the years as they welcomed the newest members of their families.
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2:20 GTA mother searches for Vancouver nurse who helped save her GTA mother searches for Vancouver nurse who helped save her
She says one of the biggest changes she has seen during his career is the switch to single-care rooms for new moms.
“I loved the single-room philosophy at Women’s,” she said.
“I worked in their unit when it started. There was a lot of controversy because it was a new thing. Women can come in, families can come in. They labour, deliver, they have their postpartum in the same room.
“This is such a much better model of care — yeah, happy little thing.”
Her final shift was filled with heartfelt goodbyes from colleagues who will miss her — and she says she will miss them, too.
“I work with some great people, great doctors, great nurses,” she said.
Nurses will continue to deliver up to 400 babies a month. It’s the part of the job that Ehbrecht says she’ll remember most.
“It’s such a privilege and an honour to be with a family when they’re experiencing that labour and delivery,” Ehbrecht said.
“I just feel so honoured that I could be a part of it.”
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It appears Boxing Week deals weren’t good enough for a pair of alleged thieves in Langford, B.C.
The pair were captured on camera hustling a flat screen television out of the Victoria suburb’s Superstore, and into a waiting SUV — before fleeing in a panic with the door still open and the TV hanging out.
READ MORE: More downtown Vancouver store owners say violent shoplifting is getting worse
Shannon Burnside told Global News the duo actually pushed her out of the way as they scrambled out the store’s “in” door, and partially loaded the television into the vehicle.
She said the SUV then almost drove off without one of the men “who was literally caught with his pants down.”
In the video, one of the alleged thieves can be seen appearing to break his stride to pull his pants up as the SUV jerks to a stop for him to jump in.
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READ MORE: Vancouver police change tone on rise in violent shoplifting incidents
Management at the Superstore declined to comment. Global News has requested comment from the West Shore RCMP.
Burnside said staff at the store thanked her for shooting the video, and wondered where the security guard had been. | 1 |
The Mayor of the city of London, Ont. is starting the new year by announcing and honouring distinguished Londoners.
The Mayor of the city of London, Ont. is starting the new year by announcing and honouring distinguished Londoners.
The Mayor’s New Year’s Honour List celebrates members of the London community in categories of achievement, to recognize the diversity of philanthropic work taking place in the city.
READ MORE: London Mayor Matt Brown recognizes diversity and philanthropy in New Year’s Honour List
Mayor Ed Holder’s 2020 honourees are:
Gary Doerr – Accessibility
Patrick Fleming – Age Friendly
Renée Silberman – Arts
Leroy Hibbert – Distinguished Londoner
Don Campbell – Distinguished Londoner
Brian Hill – Distinguished Londoner
Hayden Foulon (posthumously) – Distinguished Londoner
Rob McQueen – Environment
Arthur McClelland – Heritage
Carla Garagozzo – Housing
Alexander Kopacz – Sports
READ MORE: London mayor celebrates local philanthropy with announcement of New Year’s Honour List
“It is truly an honour to publicly recognize and celebrate these outstanding Londoners,” Mayor Holder said.
“Their work, their commitment to community-building, and their kindness inspire all of us.”
“London is a more dynamic, and a more caring city as a result of their efforts.”
The Mayor of London’s annual Honour List was introduced in 1976 with recognition of contributions to the Arts.
Since 1989, categories including Diversity and Race Relations, Heritage, Housing, and Persons with Disabilities have been added.
READ MORE: Jobs, transit, housing: Ed Holder looks back on his first year as mayor of London, Ont.
Recipients are named by City Council on the recommendation of Advisory Committees or community organizations through the City’s Standing Committees.
In 2019, City Council introduced a ‘Distinguished Londoner’ category.
It is meant to recognize no more than four individuals who have made an “outstanding contribution to community collaboration, or acts of good will by giving back to our City.” | He’s been teaching Londoners how to stamp out racism and build bridges for more than two decades, one year giving more than 300 presentations.
Leroy Hibbert was the one called in to train hundreds of London police officers after a blackface scandal opened the force up to criticism.
Now the 48-year-old is being honoured as a “Distinguished Londoner,” a new category on the annual mayor’s New Year’s honour list released Wednesday.
It recognizes 11 Londoners for their achievements and charitable work, including an Olympic bobsled champion and a seven-year-old girl who fought leukemia for much of her short life.
“I just say ‘wow,’ ” Hibbert said when asked about being part of the inaugural group of Distinguished Londoners on the annual roll call.
“I was humbled, I was thankful. Although you do the work because of the love I have for the people, it’s nice to be recognized.”
Hibbert, who was born in Toronto but moved to London as a youngster, does multicultural outreach for LUSO Community Services. He’s seen the city’s population grow and its “cultural and racial makeup” shift dramatically since the 1970s, describing it as “one of the greatest things I’ve seen.”
But that diversity has also sparked challenges, he said.
“There are actually still pockets within the community (where) racism exists, discrimination exists, ethnic misunderstandings also occur,” Hibbert said.
But he said he feels Londoners are increasingly having the tough conversations.
“The racism that has happened maybe 50 to 60 years ago was very blatant,” Hibbert said.
“Now it’s very different in that it’s very subtle. There are a lot of unconscious biases and a lot of micro-aggressions that take place. It’s still very hurtful. It can be exhausting for racialized community members to keep fighting these battles are that are not as ‘in your face,’” he added.
It’s a history London knows well, marked by episodes such as a racial slur hurled at two black actors – in town to appear in a play about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And as recently as this fall, a Western University student who called out a professor for using the n-word in a lecture faced an onslaught of racist attacks.
But there’s one lesson that keeps Hibbert plugging ahead.
“People can change. That is one thing that’s an encouraging factor for me,” he said.
“Where people are now, isn’t where they’ll end up.”
mstacey@postmedia.com
twitter.com/MeganatLFPress
OTHERS ON THE MAYOR’S NEW YEAR’S HONOUR LIST
Hayden Foulon (posthumously), Distinguished Londoner
Foulon died in November 2019 after a years-long battle with cancer, throughout which she advocated for childhood cancer awareness and research. Foulon, who loved school, Paw Patrol, and singing the Beatles, even struck up a friendship with Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner.
Brian Hill, Distinguished Londoner
President of the N’Amerind Friendship Centre board, Hill convened the organization’s first municipal all-candidates debate last year and has championed reconciliation and multicultural relationships.
Don Campbell, Distinguished Londoner
As head of the Summerside Community Association, Campbell is a champion for the southeast neighbourhood and has built a Canada Day event that now draws more than 6,000.
Gary Doerr, accessibility category
Doerr, who has rheumatoid arthritis, is an organ donation advocate after having his life saved by a liver transplant. The accessibility champion has served on the accessibility committee, the paratransit advisory committee, and the board of Independent Living Centre.
Patrick Fleming, age-friendly category
Fleming, a longtime social worker at London Health Sciences Centre, supports seniors with depression through a weekly session in the geriatric mental health program. He also works in the community helping older adults and sharing his knowledge with other professionals and organizations.
Renee Silberman, arts category
Serenata Music, a non-profit chamber music concert series, was developed by Silberman with the goal of featuring both established and rookie artists, and has since included more than 30 Juno Award nominees or winners.
Alexander Kopacz, sports category
The Olympic bobsled champion won gold for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, but it was Kopacz’s Western University coaches who helped push the athlete – then a varsity shot putter – toward the sport with a bobsleigh training camp.
Carla Garagozzo, housing category
Garagozzo has been a driving force in helping to house seniors – veterans, in particular – in London by creating the Italian Seniors Project. The organization has since developed two affordable housing projects, including the 52-unit Residenza Italia at 1109 Hamilton Rd.
Arthur McClelland, heritage category
McClelland holds a wealth of knowledge about London and Middlesex and its heritage properties and buildings. He’s a popular speaker among historical societies and leads tours through local villages and hamlets for other heritage advocates.
Rob McQueen, environment category
The creator of Forage City London, McQueen has brought together nearly 2,000 people to talk plants, host food workshops and take nature and weed identification walks. McQueen, a former tradesperson, also volunteers extensively and has most recently helped design a drop-in centre for teens. | 3.333333 |
Valentine Joseph says three of her four brothers died when she was growing up.
One of them passed away in her arms.
They all had sickle cell disease.
Joseph said, "He was never properly diagnosed. Even today it's still an issue in Haiti. They all died in Haiti."
Joseph who carries the trait for the disease, hopes she can save lives in Haiti through her JayJ Foundation, which she started in memory of her brothers.
She says some area doctors want to help. "We will be launching the sickle cell initiative where we will be testing newborns and kids up to age 5. And if they do have sickle cell disease, we will be providing them with the necessary medication and treatment."
Joseph already visits Haiti helping with food and other supplies. Now it will be about sickle cell anemia, a disease that goes beyond her home country.
Dr. Nayf Edress, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist, says, "Sickle cell anemia is an inherited genetic disorder that affects the red blood cells. It is disproportionately affecting the African American and the Hispanic population."
Strides made in the U.S. in medications to help those with sickle cell.
"We are really excited. for over four decades we only had the same medications for the last four decades. It's really until last year we had one additional medication and this year that we have two additional medications. Hopefully these will be history in the making that we are witnessing", said Dr. Edress.
Meanwhile, Joseph hopes to make history by helping kids in Haiti diagnosed with sickle cell have a fighting chance. "I want to make a difference in one or two however many I can whether it's here and also in Haiti," she says.
For more information visit https://jayjfoundation.org/ or call 561-714-9652. | One of the worst decisions an underage drinker can make is to get behind the wheel — or to get in the car with a driver that’s been drinking.
On average, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says, three in five people will be involved in a crash caused by impaired driving in their lifetime. Also remind children that drug use, vaping and other activities also can cause impairment.
Fast Facts
Consider these alarming facts about drunk driving, according to SAMHSA:
» One in every four teen car crashes involves an underage drinking driver.
» About 800 people are injured in a drunk driving crash every day.
» One person dies every 50 minutes as a result of an impaired crash.
» Thirteen percent of weekend nighttime drivers have marijuana in their system.
» Marijuana users are about 25% more likely to be involved in a crash than a driver with no evidence of marijuana use.
Keeping Kids Safe
Talk to your children, SAMHSA says, early and often. Lay down rules and expectations clearly. Discuss impaired driving whenever your child borrows the car, at dinner, when a child leaves with a friend, running errands, at the grocery store. Everywhere. All the time.
Most importantly, help them build an exit plan. Your child may not know what to do if an impaired person they would normally trust offers them a ride. Let them know it’s OK to say no, and help them think of ways they can find a safe ride home, including:
» Calling a taxi or a rideshare service;
» Calling a sober person; or
» Staying the night where they are.
Also talk to them about how to convince an impaired person not to drive. And remember to model good behavior. If you drink, never drink and drive.
It’s Preventable
Impaired driving is an entirely preventable crime. And it is a real crime with real consequences that won’t just go away when you turn 18. Every state in the U.S. has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to underage intoxicated driving. Penalties vary by state, but can include juvenile detention time, suspended licenses, impounded vehicles and big fines. | 1 |
TORONTO -- Hospitals across the Greater Toronto Area welcomed the first babies of 2020 early Wednesday morning.
A bouncing baby boy was born at exactly the stroke of midnight at Humber River Hospital in Toronto. Weighing a healthy 8.3 pounds, Amiir Deeq Mohammed could be seen Wednesday afternoon in his mother’s arms, swaddled in a knit blue blanket.
“I’m very happy,” the boy’s father said. “I am excited to have this wonderful, special baby boy.”
Deeq Mohammed Farah said that his son was due a couple of weeks ago, so the family was not expecting a new year’s baby.
“When the baby came, at the right time, the attendants, nurses and doctors, they explained it really well. They said you hit the new year,” Farah said. “It was a great surprise,”
“It’s a miracle boy.”
Trillium Health Partners, a hospital system that serves certain areas of the GTA, said that their first baby of the year was delivered just 50 seconds after midnight on New Year’s Day at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.
The little boy, named Aryan, weighed in at about eight pounds.
Speaking with CP24 on Wednesday morning, the baby’s mother said that, at the time, she had no idea Aryan was the first child born in Mississauga this year.
“When the baby was delivered, everyone was so excited,” Anu Walia said. “We couldn’t be happier.”
“Fifty seconds into the new year and we got this little precious gift,” Simran Walia said while holding his newborn son in his arms.
Anu Walia’s delivery date was scheduled for Jan. 13 and she said that her family was already preparing for a 2020 baby—but those plans were put on hold when she went into labour early.
“My maternity photoshoot, my baby shower, all the decorations, everything was planned around 2020, so when the labour hit yesterday, I was like, ‘oh my gosh all that is going to go to waste now,’” Anu Walia said. “But the baby actually helped us out and came after the new year.”
Other hospitals ring in New Year with newborns
Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto welcomed its first bundle of joy at 12:13 a.m. and Lakeridge Health in Oshawa announced their first baby was born at 12:34 a.m.
At North York General Hospital, Kert Lin was born at 5:51 a.m.
"Congrats to the family and happy birthday to all our New Years babies," the hospital said. | Toronto's first new baby of 2020 arrived just seconds after the stroke of midnight at Humber River Hospital.
The child, Amiir Deeq Mohammed, was successfully delivered at precisely 12:00 a.m. on New Year's Day. The hospital said he arrived almost instantly after the clock struck midnight.
"I'm very happy to have this miracle boy," said his father Deeq Mohameed Farah after welcoming the family's first-born child.
Amiir's time of birth was listed as "0000" on a whiteboard in the family's hospital room.
Little Amiir barely edged his fellow 2020 baby Aryan Walia, who was born 50 seconds after midnight at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga.
Anu Walia, left, and Simran Walia met little Aryan just 50 seconds after midnight. (Martin Trainor/CBC)
"We definitely weren't expecting the baby to come on New Year's Day," said mother Anu Walia. Her first child was due later in January, but made a surprise appearance a few weeks before schedule.
"Our whole world changed. Best New Year's ever," added Aryan's father Simran Walia.
According to Statistics Canada, the country's most recent population estimate is 37,874,794. | 4 |
Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Getty Images Plus.
How to Do It is Slate’s sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. It’s anonymous!
Dear How to Do It,
I am a straight woman in my late 20s dating a man of the same age. My boyfriend told me he was asexual when I met him. I am not, but that was never a problem; he is OK with hand stuff and receiving oral sex, and we have had a satisfying relationship for more than three years. Recently, we have begun having penetrative sex at his suggestion. Personally, I am thrilled. I had never hoped to change him or try to suggest penetrative sex, but I do really enjoy it and am happy that we can bring it into our relationship. I have been trying to have more conversations about it just to make sure he is comfortable with this shift, but he does not really want to have them after sex or in the daylight at all. He seems to be having an OK time with it (he enjoys himself during the act and continues to initiate it), but he does not want to talk with me explicitly about how he currently identifies. How can I best support him in what seems to be a transitional period regarding sex and sexual ID?
—Something-Sexual
Dear Something-Sexual,
This is not my wheelhouse, so I called in Cyndi Darnell, sex and relationship therapist and friend of the column, for some expert advice. Here’s what she had to say about what you can expect from your partner:
How your partner identifies is important and how he participates in sex may be influenced and determined by his identity too. Similarly, your sexual and emotional needs are important and require care and attention also. He may not want to discuss his identity with you which, while frustrating for you, is his private business. However, if he is having sexual interactions with you and you want to talk about that, he needs to recognize that having frank and honest discussions about sex and its effect on your relationship is an important part of any mature adult intimate relationship. Talking about sex—when you’re not in the middle of doing it—is crucial to keeping tabs on how it’s going. His identity is not a get-out-of-jail-free card to avoid having conversations he may find challenging. People of all orientations and identities are obliged to nourish their relationships by participating in communication and care. Discussing sex is a crucial part of having a rich erotic relationship whether you’re having intercourse or only giving each other oral and hand jobs. Whether he’s experiencing an erotic transition or morphing into demisexuality rather than strictly asexuality, it may be as bewildering to him as it is to you. To help you get a little clearer, I invite you to consider what exactly you’d like to know about his identity, especially given that he’s initiating sex, and, as you say, appears happy about it. Are you simply trying to connect with him, or is there more you would like to know to help you understand the relationship further? Perhaps if you guided him around your communication motivation, he may be a little more open to it. Or perhaps talking about sex squicks him out, in which case now is a great time for him to learn to practice stepping up and doing it differently.
To summarize, you’re going to have to talk about (some of) it.
Dear How to Do It,
Woman in her 40s here.
Do vibrators decrease sensitivity to pleasuring with fingering? I learned to masturbate in my mid-20s and initially just used my fingers and porn. I never had a vaginal orgasm, although I do very much enjoy vaginal intercourse. My first masturbation orgasm opened a whole new world for me. Then I discovered vibrators, and instead of 10 to 15 minutes for me to orgasm, it was two to five minutes for the most part—sometimes longer, but rarely more than 10 minutes.
I never orgasmed from fingering from a partner until my current spouse, and while it took a while, it still happened maybe every second or third time. I loved it. Then we had kids, and no one has the energy for loooong sex sessions anymore, so it was easier for me to just use the vibrator after (together) or on my own. Some years went by, and we now have a bit more time occasionally, and he’s put some real effort into masturbating me, but has not been able to get me to orgasm again. I’ve come close, but then I always get anxious about how long it’s taking, and whether he’s tired already, and I “lose” it.
One thing I’ve wondered about is whether my use of vibrators has “dulled” things, making me less sensitive? I can no longer finger myself to an orgasm anymore either, nor do I have the patience or energy, frankly, when a vibrator will do the job in two to three minutes. I do use a very strong vibrator and like it that way. My spouse is OK with me using it after to “finish up,” but I do miss orgasming from his fingering. Do I need to suck it up, stop using a vibrator, and learn how to masturbate with my own fingers again to regain it? Do vibrators make a difference to sensitivity and that is indeed the issue, or is that a myth?
Is it all in my head, and it’s my anxiety about me taking too long to orgasm with his fingering that is stopping me from reaching orgasm? Is it possible to orgasm from someone else’s fingering, when I can’t even do it for myself anymore? Your insights on this will be greatly appreciated.
—Can’t Put My Finger on It
Dear Can’t Put My Finger on It,
The body can absolutely become accustomed to a certain kind of stimulation. Yes, that includes vibrators. Take a break from the vibe for a few weeks and see what your sensory input is like after you’ve had some time off.
Another factor here is that sexuality shifts over the course of our lives. What you liked in your 30s and what you like in your 40s may be two different things. You might need different pressure or technique than you needed before you had kids.
You can experiment by yourself or with your husband. The goal here is to try all the things and find out what works now. Start with broad pressure (rest your palm on the pubic mound and apply gentle pressure to the vulva with your flat fingers). Move into strokes around the clitoris and clitoral hood. Work directly with the clitoral glans. Pay attention to the bottom of the labia and the crease between inner and outer labia. Follow what feels good. You’ve got this.
Dear How to Do It,
My husband and I are straight and have been poly for a couple years, and it’s working out really nicely for us. We’re fantastic, loving partners and parents together but aren’t sexually compatible, so I initiated the change to poly. We’re both stable, long-term-relationship kind of people. We both spend about the same amount of time with secondary partners, but he spreads his time among a few regular secondary partners and I prefer to have a single secondary partner. My secondary for the last year has been a man with a primary partner, and it’s been great. I don’t know his primary well, but my partner did a good job of balancing both. I felt cared for. We recently broke up, sadly but amicably, because he needed to focus more on his primary relationship.
While I’m not ready to date again just yet, it has me thinking about what’s next. If I could order up my perfect secondary, I’d like a single (divorced, widowed, whatever) man for whom I am the only one. I’m thinking someone who has a fulfilling independent life and/or busy enough schedule that a married woman he sees a couple nights a week fits. Someone with long-term potential who lived on his own but was maybe part of our family dynamic and who my kids saw as a family friend.
I’ve dated two single men before, and one wanted more of my time than I could give. The other one actually fit that ideal profile and it worked well for a while, but we broke up for unrelated reasons. I’m trying to decide if this is a realistic thing for me to seek. Are there men this might appeal to? I mean, I found one. Surely there are others? Or is it “un-poly” of me to want a secondary partner who sees only me, and I should be unpacking my reasons for wanting this? Am I really a monogamous person making do, and is that bad?
—Single Secondary
Dear Single Secondary,
I’d like us to take a minute to separate “poly” from individual needs and desires. Yes, there’s a poly community that does things in certain ways. Yes, there are a few books about poly relationships that seem to dictate how “poly” should be done. At the end of the day, though, different relationship structures should be about getting people’s needs met in ways that work for everyone involved.
So let go of any pressure you might be feeling to do poly “right.” As long as everyone involved is happy, I think everything is fine.
I do think you should unpack your reasons for wanting the arrangement you desire—for your own sake, and for that of your partners. The more you understand about what you want, the better you’ll be able to communicate that to your potential partners.
Remember this whole mono/poly thing is a spectrum. A forked spectrum. Complete monogamy is on one end, and the other end forks at ethical nonmonogamy into polyamory and relationship anarchy. The top fork is about structure and the bottom fork is about, well, not structure. You might be a 0.5 on the mono-poly scale. You might be a 1. Some people are in a relationship anarchy zone that requires the one word I promised my editor I wouldn’t use in this column: polyfuckery.
I do want to caution you that it’s unlikely you’ll find someone who wants to be a monogamous secondary for an extended period of time. Then again, the universe might surprise us both. Good luck out there.
Dear How to Do It,
My husband (of 13 years) says his preferred frequency is sex three times a week. I could go three months without thinking about sex. What do we do? If you’re going to say I should spend more time with my body by masturbating or using toys or porn or flirtatious texting—we have tried it all. Our sexual incompatibility remains the source of greatest tension in our relationship.
—Tale As Old As Time
Dear Tale As Old As Time,
Have you considered opening up the relationship? It isn’t necessarily going to be easy, but it would allow you to have sex on your own schedule while knowing your partner’s needs are getting met.
You might find Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are useful, too. It talks a lot about different arousal styles and how partners can use that knowledge to help their lover’s engine get started.
Either way, remember that you love each other and communicate to the best of your ability.
—Stoya
More How to Do It
I’m dating a new man. When we became intimate, I was pleasantly surprised that he was very well-endowed (about 8 inches). The sex is solid and getting better, but I’ve noticed his erections are not particularly, well, erect—he’s definitely hard and penetration isn’t a problem, but he’s not rock-hard like many men I’ve been with in the past. I raise this question because it reminded me that another very well-endowed man I was with in the past also had this issue; he’d be hard, but he was never going to cut a diamond. Is this common? Is there just not enough blood to power the biggest guys? | Please enable Javascript to watch this video
SEATTLE -- There will be gusty, mild and wet weather to ring in the New Year!
Seattle benefits from the Rain Shadow but the rest of Western Washington will be wet.
Wednesday will be breezy with passing showers with snow in the mountains. Thursday will be breezy and wet with more snow in the mountains.
Quite breezy on the last night of 2019. Stay safe but have a blast. #happynewyear #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/UxzioBOAzY — Walter Kelley (@Walter_Kelley) December 31, 2019
The weekend looks similar with passing showers, breezy conditions and a lot more mountain snow. Drive with care up there and Happy New Year. | 1 |
The relief, however, will be shortlived because western disturbance is expected to cause rains in Lucknow from Thursday till Saturday (File photo)
LUCKNOW: A western disturbance that originated from the Mediterranean Sea and hit the Himalayas after crosscrossing from over Iraq, Iran and Pakistan brought relief from severe cold conditions in the city on Wednesday. The relief, however, will be shortlived because western disturbance is expected to cause snow in the hills and rains in UP and Lucknow from Thursday till Saturday.
The minimum temperature on Wednesday was 4 degrees Celsius while the maximum was 20.1degrees Celsius, one unit below normal. “Western disturbance along with a cyclonic circulation over Haryana and easterlies is expected to cause a few spells of light to moderate rain in some parts of UP including Lucknow,” said State Met director JP Gupta. There is also possibility of hail on Friday in isolated places. | Today there will be isolated showers island-wide and snow or snowshowers in the mountains. Snow depth in Troodos today is 30 cm.
Temperatures will reach 18 C inland and on the coast and 6 C in the mountains and tonight they will drop to 7 C inland, 10 C on the coast and 0 C in the mountains.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday there will be local showers and isolated thunderstorms and snow will fall in the mountains.
There will be a slight drop in temperature on Thursday to reach normal levels for the time of year. No significant shifts in temperature are anticipated for Friday and Saturday. | 3 |
The new year starts things off right with a slew of great new comics. From DC, a Yuletide-themed serial killer is stalking the streets of Gotham City in an all-new Batman story arc, and Martian Manhunter faces off against formidable foe in order to save a town in the penultimate issue of an outstanding maxi-series.
Marvel Comics kicks off anew ongoing series taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. We also get a new series featuring the lamest Avenger (who is actually one of the coolest), and Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu’s flagship title in the “Dawn of X’ initiative focuses on diplomacy and all the rough business that comes with it.
5 Detective Comics #1018
By: Peter J. Tomasi, Scott Godlewski, David Baron, Rob Leigh, Rafael Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, and John Kalisz
COMIXOLOGY
There’s a killer on the loose in Gotham City, but what else is new? Bruce Wayne’s home town has no shortage of madmen and monsters terrorizing its streets, but after a string of “festive” murders, The Dark Knight finds himself on the trail of a criminal who bases his crimes on Christmas tradition.
Writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Scott Godlewski kick off a new story arc appropriately titled “Death of Winter,” in which the most wonderful time of the year turns deadly and the person behind the carnage has their eyes set Gotham’s favorite son.
4 Martian Manhunter #11
By: Steve Orlando, Riley Rossmo, Ivan Plascencia, and Deron Bennett
COMIXOLOGY
Despite their respective powers and fortitude, the duo of J’onn J’onzz and Diane Meade have the deck stacked against them in this penultimate issue of DC Comics’ wild, science fiction 12-issue maxi-series. The only thing standing between Char’rnn O’zzm, the charming red fellow with the winning smile, and the town of Midleton’s destruction is our titular green hero.
Martian Manhunter #11 is a reminder of why this series is so engaging. Its script is propulsive and sharp. And the artwork is kinetic and exaggerated to Tex Avery levels of insanity. This series has been so much fun for the past year, and we’re happy to see it moving toward the epic ending it deserves.
3 Hawkeye: Freefall #1
By: Matthew Rosenberg, Otto Schmidt, VC’s Joe Sabino, Kim Jacinto, and Tamra Bonvillain
COMIXOLOGY
There is a certain level of joy one gets from seeing the character of The Hood pop up in a comic book. That joy stems from the knowledge that you’re going to see a rather obnoxious villain, who everyone sells short too often, get pounded on by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Of course, when that doesn’t exactly happen, things get interesting.
Diving deep into the lore of Clint Barton, such as it is, Hawkeye: Freefall #1 is a fast funny story that echoes the iconic run by Matt Fraction and David Aja, but widens its net for weird and mystic elements. Writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Otto Schmidt are clearly having a blast here and it’s hard to imagine anyone who picks this book up wouldn’t as well.
2 Star Wars #1
By: Charles Soule, Jesus Saiz, Arif Prianto, VC’s Clayton Cowles, R.B. Silva, and GURU-eFX
COMIXOLOGY
Taking place immediately after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars #1 follows Luke, Leia, Lando, and Chewie after taking nearly escaping with their lives and losing Han Solo… of course, you already knew all of that. What you may not know is that once free from the Empire-controlled Cloud City, more dangers await.
With a strong script filled with wonderful characterizations of iconic Star Wars heroes, gorgeous art, and all new villain, this debut issue is a great way to kick the New Year for pop culture’s most celebrated and debated space opera.
1 X-Men #4
By: Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller
COMIXOLOGY
Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu’s flagship title in the “Dawn of X” fleet speeds ahead in X-Men #4. The leaders of Krakoa attend the World Economic Forum, which, on the surface, sounds like yawner of a plot. Thankfully, where the X-Men go, trouble tends to follow.
Brokering peace is no easy task, especially when one nation in that discussion is populated with characters who could potentially annihilate an entire country with their abilities. Hickman and Yu explore the idea of a country birthed in a contentious position, wherein their mere existence frightens other world leaders. Complex, well-written, and wonderfully illustrated X-Men #4 is another winner for the new state of Marvel’s mutant roster.
NEXT: X-Men: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Charles Xavier
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Share Tweet Email Copy Link Copied | How these brands think they look:
How they actually look:
This is why you don’t want a bunch of old men calling ALL the shots.
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The 3 Best Bakeries In Los Angeles Got a sweet tooth? We crunched the numbers to find the top bakeries in Los Angeles!
The 5 Best Day Spas In Long Beach Looking for a day of pampering? We found the top day spas in Long Beach!
Looking To Adopt A Pet? Here Are 6 Perfect Puppies To Adopt Now In Los AngelesInterested in adopting a pet — or just looking at some adorable pups near you up for adoption? There are dozens of great puppies up for adoption at animal shelters in and around Los Angeles. | New New American Spot Highlands Debuts In Downtown DetroitA new bar and New American spot have opened its doors in the neighborhood. Located at 400 Renaissance Center, Floors 71 and 72, in Downtown, the fresh addition is called Highlands.
Explore 5 Favorite Budget-Friendly Grocery Stores In DetroitLooking to try the best grocery stores in town?
4 Events To Check Out In Detroit This WeekLooking to mix things up this week? From a holiday party to a tech industry training, here's a roundup of options to help you get off the couch and out into the world.
The Top 4 Bars For A Special Occasion In DetroitWondering where to find the best bars near you? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best high-end bars in Detroit.
The 3 Best Dive Bars In DetroitLooking to try the best dive bars in town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top dive bars in Detroit.
Here's What To Do In Detroit This WeekFrom webinar to dance part, there's plenty to enjoy in Detroit this week. Read on for a rundown of ideas for how to fill your calendar. | 1.666667 |
LAKEMORE We all know Santa has a very kind and giving soul. Like the United States Postal Service, he never fails to deliver gifts whether it is through the bitter cold, extreme heat, snow, ice, rain, hail ... you get the point.
Even at his age, 1,749 years old, he never misses his big night of traveling around the world to deliver brightly wrapped packages and fill stockings with items that fulfill the wishes of little girls and boys and some of us older kids too.
Students and staff members of the Springfield Local School District have done Santa in reverse for many years by giving to others.
Students are taught from their youngest school years the “7 Healthy Habits” and “Leader in Me” programs which help to develop a kind, cooperate personality in the young students.
Beyond the lessons they learn through the programs, they see their parents and school staff members model the qualities of giving and kindness to others.
The children of the schools have that giving spirit from kindergarten through high school. During this holiday season, they participated in a variety of giving projects.
At Young Elementary School, it begins early with Socktober. For the month of October, students and staff bring in socks to donate to the homeless. This year, they collected 1,042 pairs of socks. Socks are something homeless shelters desperately need.
Recently, all Springfield Schools participated in a district wide food drive to help fill the need in the community. Canned goods and non-perishable food items were collected at each school and members of the National Honor Society from the high school traveled from school to school to collect the items and took them to the Springfield Cares organization where they helped to sort and box the items.
More than 7,000 food items were given by Springfield students and staff members and they helped feed Christmas dinners to those in need in the Springfield and Lakemore communities.
The schools are Young and Spring Hill Elementary Schools, Schrop Intermediate and the Springfield Junior/Senior High School.
Clothing items were also collected by some of the schools. Young Elementary School, through its parent teacher organization, held a clothing and toy drive for Springfield Cares to include in its Christmas giving program.
At Schrop Intermediate School, students did a variety of collections to help in a variety of ways. Students took time during their lunch to make stockings and gifts. Some were going to parents, some to other children or those who might need one to hang by the fireplace. The students were so happy to speak about their gifts – Isola Whitacre and Jessie Bakeer made pillows, Sunni Nangle made a cup koozie and loves to make scrunchies, Ty Smith made stockings and Daysjariah Williams had been sewing a stocking to surprise someone special.
Also at Schrop, the students in Holly Reed’s class brought in new toys and games for the Toys for Tots program. The sixth graders collected more than 50 items for donation. The students on the teaching team of Droppleman, Mick and Tolson collected pajamas for the Scholastic News pajama drive for children. Students on the team of Zehner, Denczak and Johnston collected hats, gloves and scarves for Springfield Cares.
Teacher Kristine DiLauro's class made blankets and donated them to Harvest Home (homeless shelter). The team of students for teachers Burns, Brasiel, Yacobucci, Ferguson and Chumita collected tie dye supplies for summer camp at Camp Quality, a camp for students with cancer. The students on the team of Justice, Villers and Bogunovich collected $5 gift cards to give to police and firefighters in Springfield to use for a snack/drink while they are protecting our community. The students on the team of Wagner, Rossiter and Wander collected deodorant, soap, shampoo, combs and brushes for Springfield Cares and the students on the team of Williams, Freeze and Francis shopped for gifts for Springfield Cares.
Giving and sharing is a big part of who the Springfield Local Schools and Springfield and Lakemore communities are. That caring and giving spirit is seen in many ways in the community from Shop With A Cop to Share A Christmas and other programs that the kind and selfless people of Springfield, Lakemore and the schools demonstrate throughout their daily lives. | To the Editor:
Re “My Jewish Sons Have a Christmas Tree, and I Need to Deal,” by Hanna Ingber (Op-Ed, nytimes.com, Dec. 24):
As a Jewish child growing up in a predominantly Christian community, I always felt a bit deprived at Christmastime. As I entered adulthood and had a home of my own, I opted to have a Christmas tree. After marrying a Jewish man and having children, I had to make a decision about the oft-predicted “confusion” they might experience.
We continued to have a Christmas tree (and the belief in Santa) and used it as the “teachable moment” I think it can and should be. I explained to my children the meaning of Christmas for our Christian friends and their need to be respectful of its holy significance. Then I explained that Christmas is also a season with a spirit of family, friends, giving and sharing. As long as we respected the difference between spiritual symbols and secular symbols, there was no reason we could not share in the joy of this season.
From my understanding, there is nothing religious about a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, family gatherings, supporting charities and exchanging gifts. I had this conversation regularly with my children throughout their childhood and teenage years.
Bringing our story up to the present, my children, both in their mid-20s, have strong, unconflicted Jewish identities. In fact, they are both young professionals working within the Jewish community, my son as a temple youth director and my daughter in Jewish philanthropy. I think this is the optimal win-win outcome. | 1.666667 |
NEW DELHI: The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) on Wednesday released the results of preliminary examination conducted for Clerk recruitment on its official website.The candidates who have appeared for the IBPS Clerk preliminary examination can visit the official website of IBPS — ibps.in - to obtain the results. Candidates should note that the results would be available online till January 7, 2020.IBPS conducted the Clerks preliminary examination on December 7, 8, 14 and 21, 2019, at various centres. The candidates who have been shortlisted in the preliminary examination are eligible to appear for the main examination. IBPS has scheduled to conduct main examination for Clerks post on January 19, 2020. The admit card for IBPS Clerks main examination will be released on the official portal in January 2020.Candidates are advised to visit the official portal of IBPS regularly to get the latest updates on IBPS Clerk main examination.The candidates who qualify the main examination will be provisionally allotted to one of the participating organisations — Allahabad Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Syndicate Bank, Andhra Bank, Central Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, UCO Bank, Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, United Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra — keeping in view the spirit of Govt. guidelines on reservation policy, administrative convenience.Candidates who have appeared for the Clerks preliminary examination can check their results either from the official website or from the direct link provided below. Candidates need to login with their IBPS registration number and password to obtain the results. | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has released the preliminary exam result for the IX Clerk recruitment today, January 1st, 2020. The candidates who had appeared for the Main exam can check the result at the official website, ibps.in.
The candidates who have cleared the exam are now eligible to appear for the Main examination portion of the recruitment, which is scheduled to be conducted on January 19th, 2020.
Here is the direct link to check the IBPS 2019 Clerk Preliminary exam result
The preliminary exam for the 2019 IBPS Clerk position was conducted on December 7th, December 8th, December 14th, and December 21st, 2019. The recruitment drive is being conducted for 12,075 vacancies and 17 banks are participating in the process.
IBPS had released the notification for the clerk recruitment on September 11th, 2019 and the last day to apply for the same was October 9th, 2019. The state-wise and category-wise break down of the vacancies can be accessed at the official notification.
How to check the result for IBPS IX Clerk Exam: | 4 |
ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions announced two tight ends and a center as additional reserve/future signings since the season ended.
Detroit added 11 players to futures deals to start the week, and then signed center Russell Bodine, and tight ends Paul Butler and Matt Sokol on Tuesday. If Sokol’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he played tight end at Michigan State University for four seasons.
The 6-foot-6 tight end went undrafted and has yet to make his NFL debut, but bounced around on the Chargers and Jaguars’ practice squads this season. He caught 31 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns while in East Lansing.
Bodine has some experience under his belt as a former fourth-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals back in 2014. The center started all 16 games for the first four seasons of his career for Cincinnati, but was limited to 10 in Buffalo in 2018 and did not appear in one this year. He was last seen with the New England Patriots after the team traded a sixth-round pick for his services, but he was cut shortly after in September.
Pro Football Focus graded Bodine at 61.6 overall, 74.6 in pass protection and 56.0 on the ground in 2018 while with the Bills. His 588 snaps played that year represented a career low.
Related: Lions sign 11 players to futures contract, including long snapper
As for Butler, the 6-foot-6 tight end has spent some time with Oakland’s practice squad but has not appeared in a regular-season game. He’s played in eight preseason contests for the Raiders over the past two seasons, catching eight passes for 83 yards.
These three join the list of 11 announced on Monday, which was mainly Detroit’s practice squad outside of quarterback Joe Callahan. The list included receivers Victor Bolden, Jonathan Duhart, Tom Kennedy, and safety A.J. Howard, defensive tackle Olive Sagapolu, linebacker Christian Sam and guard Casey Tucker.
The Lions signed punters Jack Fox and Matt Wile as Sam Martin is eligible to test free agency come March. Detroit also added former North Dakota State long snapper James Fisher to a futures deal.
Related: All 17 Lions players eligible to become unrestricted free agents, ranked
Don Muhlbach has started all 160 games at long snapper for the Lions in the last decade and has played 244 games for the franchise. He’s 56th all-time on the NFL’s games played list and remains a more than capable snapper at this stage of his career. | Rebuilding the Detroit Lions with a seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft.
Early in the season, the Detroit Lions looked like a legitimate playoff contender in the NFC. They started 2-0-1 and followed that with close losses to the Chiefs and Packers, both of which were games that could have gone either way. Despite the losses, there was hope that by showing they can play with two of NFL’s best teams that they could certainly compete for a playoff spot.
But with Matthew Stafford missing the whole second half of the season, they lost their last nine games finishing 3-12-1 and have the third overall selection in the draft. Looking at their roster it is pretty clear to me that the Detroit Lions must use the draft to rebuild their defense.
The offense has a pretty solid offensive line, a young, talented running back in Kerryon Johnson, last year’s first-round tight end T.J. Hockenson, and one of the best receivers in the league, Kenny Golladay.
In the seven games this season with Stafford under center, Detroit averaged 25.5 points per game, which would of finished top 10 in the NFL. If he can stay healthy, this can certainly be a good offense for the foreseeable future.
The defense meanwhile has holes all over the place. They have massive needs at cornerback, linebacker and on the interior of the defensive line. Finding players at these positions without reaching will be the key for the Detroit Lions in the draft.
The Lions do not have any extra picks, they just have their own picks for the first through sixth rounds. They did trade their seventh-round pick to the 49ers for Eli Harold.
So, without further ado, here is a projection of what the Detroit Lions will do with their six picks in April’s draft. | 1.666667 |
Happy New Year!
Celebrating New Years Eve on a cruise is exactly why we booked this cruise, and the day is finally here.
Before we get to the New Years celebrations, we did have a great sea day lined up to enjoy.
We kicked off our morning with a private ice skating session. As part of our group cruise activities, we rented out Studio B so that everyone in the group could enjoy a private free skate session.
I was happy to say I managed to not fall and/or embarrass myself during the skating session.
After ice skating, some of us headed to the Schooner Bar for morning trivia. I really enjoy trivia on a cruise ship, and it was a good set of questions. While my team did not win, another team made of up group cruisers did win.
Next up was the suite concierge invitation for a reception in celebration of all suite guests. It was held in Giovanni's Table, where light snacks and beverages were served and the ship's officers came by to say hello.
For lunch, we decided to eat in the main dining room. As per usual on a sea day, there is a fixed menu available, as well as a salad bar option.
In the afternoon, our next group cruise event was scheduled, which was the pub crawl. A pub crawl is basically where we enjoy a drink or two at a few bars on the ship in quick succession.
We managed to visit the Bull & Bear Pub, R-Bar, Boleros and the Windjammer Bar.
I feel that pub crawls are more about the social aspect of getting to know people who are cruising with us, and enjoying each other's company.
As afternoon turned to evening, it was time to get ready for the New Years Eve festivities.
We enjoyed dinner in the main dining room, which had plenty of New Years Eve hats, horns and noise makers.
Essentially, the ship is a giant party, and there are different venues around the ship offering various entertainment.
The Royal Promenade is at the heart of everything you can do, but it is also sure to be jam-packed with guests. Royal Caribbean sold private tables to enjoy along the Promenade, but you could stand around as well.
There was live music at various bars and lounges around the ship.
While the Promenade had a lot going on, it was bit too crowded (and hot) for my taste, so most of us decided to ring in the new year from the On Air Club, which had plenty of seating and a full bar as well.
It was a really cool feeling to countdown the final seconds of 2019 with friends, and we enjoyed some great after-party music around the ship following the new year.
Happy New Year everyone! | The New Testament Church of God in Old Harbour, St Catherine was packed to capacity Tuesday with worshippers who rang in the new year with the traditional watchnight service.
A major highlight of the night was the baptism of 10 persons - eight females and two males - who responded to a call by Bishop Hugh Dixon to start the new year right by giving their lives to Christ.
Loop News was there to capture that and more. Check out the photo gallery below.
New Year Baptism Old Harbour | 1 |
Some say the deer that seem to have settled into an Alberta town are aggressive and need action after two reports five years ago dropped the issue in town council's lap.
A task force is now looking at the problem with headcounts, public input and recommendations due later in the year.
But some residents are wondering if they are the same deer that also stop and look both ways before using a crosswalk to cross the street.
"I have never seen deer anywhere else who look both ways before they cross the street and use crosswalks. It's a little creepy but really cool," Whitney Pohl told CBC News.
Whitney Pohl said she's seen deer in Okotoks looking both ways before crossing the street while using a crosswalk. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
She's lived in Okotoks — about 20 kilometres from the southern outskirts of Calgary — for 18 years.
"I quite like them. It is great seeing them around town. They seem to have adapted really well to urbanization," she said.
"I know some people have had issues with their dog but they check my dog and as soon as they see it's on a leash, they don't care, they just keep doing their thing."
Courtney Stephenson says where she lives, the deer use crosswalks. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
Another Okotoks resident — who grew up in neighbouring Turner Valley — volunteered her observation of the safety-focused ungulate without being prompted.
"Where I live, they cross at the crosswalk, so at least they are being safe. They do cross at the crosswalk, it's really funny," Courtney Stephenson said with a laugh.
A task force is now looking at the problem with head counts, public input and recommendations due later in the year. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
In spring of 2015, the town received two complaints about aggressive deer, said parks manager Christa Michailuck, using the province's definition of aggression as chasing or kicking at people or pets.
"There have been no reports of anyone getting injured," Michailuck said, "But a couple of reports of pets getting injured."
That pair of complaints had 100 volunteers counting 66 doe in September of that year, the first of several headcounts.
In 2018 two separate surveys found 64 and 38, respectively, in the town of roughly 30,000 residents.
Christa Michailuck is parks manager at the southern Alberta town of Okotoks. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
That same year, those two complaints had tripled to about six, Michailuck said, with yard and garden damage a common theme.
The town posts signs in areas where complaints are received and pushes out messages on social media.
Michailuck says counts are about establishing baseline data.
"So, are we really seeing an increase in population or are we seeing the same cohort of individuals, or are their behaviours changing as they get more accustomed to an urban setting?"
Grant Pryznyk is chair of the town’s urban deer task force. The force will study the problem and offer ideas to council in November. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
Grant Pryznyk, the chair of the town's urban deer task force, says this could be the first of its kind in the province, although Pincher Creek is also looking at the problem.
"The deer were getting into their gardens, eating flowers and vegetables. There were instances of aggressive deer around people who were walking, especially with dogs," Pryznyk said.
There are things residents can do, he said, including adding deer-repelling plants to gardens, building higher fences and avoiding feeding them.
"The residents have a major role to play in this. The town can't do it all by themselves," Pryznyk said.
Jennifer Tomlin says she likes the deer. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
Jennifer Tomlin — who has lived in the area since 1984 — agrees with personal responsibility.
"I think it's pleasant because I like seeing wildlife. I don't want to see humans take over anymore, quite honestly. I would like to see us live compatibly with the wildlife," Tomlin said.
"I wouldn't like to see them killing them. I really wouldn't."
In 2015, volunteers counted 66 deer. Then two surveys in 2018 revealed 64 and 38 respectively. Okotoks has a population of roughly 30,000. (Dave Gilson/CBC)
The task force reports back to council in November with ideas.
But some say today, we already have the answers.
"I am not sure what the end result is supposed to be," Pohl said.
"They don't bother me," adds Stephenson, "There are quite a few. You see them probably every day almost. We live in an area that has lots of parks and rivers, so it is to be expected." | The man killed in a Monday shooting in the northeast Calgary neighbourhood of Rundle has been identified.
Keem Geng, 22, was killed, police said in a release on Tuesday. The second victim, also a 22-year-old man, suffered life-altering injuries and is still in hospital in stable condition.
Police responded to a number of calls reporting that shots had been fired around 3:45 a.m. in the 100-block of Rundlemere Road N.E.
By the time police arrived, everyone had fled the scene.
Shortly after, the two victims were dropped off at the Peter Lougheed hospital.
The victims were taken to hospital by a man driving a white 2018 Ford Fusion. Police have since been able to locate that vehicle but haven't found the driver.
The incident is believed to be targeted, police said.
Anyone with information about the shooting or the driver's whereabouts is being asked to contact police at 403-266-1234, or Crime Stoppers. | 1.25 |
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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. Pakistan was placed on FATF's grey list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in June 2018, alongside Syria and Yemen, one step away from getting blacklisted.
Pakistan is not out of the woods with FATF's threat of blacklisting. The Paris-based global watchdog has just shot out a list 150 questions to the Pakistan government on measures taken to curb the twin menaces of money-laundering and terrorist financing plaguing the land of the pure. It has sought details of legal measures, including copies of First Information Reports (FIRs) registered with police against individuals and action taken to regulate the functioning of religious seminaries.
The Imran Khan government cannot hope to muster parliamentary and political support from the opposition parties to address all these questions to FATF's satisfaction. The looming threat of blacklisting has implications for capital inflows to the country, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned after its team held discussions in Islamabad last week.
"A potential blacklisting by FATF could result in a freeze of capital flows and lower investment to Pakistan", stated the IMF staff-level report released two days before Christmas. The expected slow progress in refinancing, reprofiling of loans from major bilateral creditors, and increasing headwinds from a weaker global economic environment are bound to compound miseries for the Imran Khan government.
IMF bailed out the cash-strapped Pakistan economy a couple of months ago after Pakistan found no manna forthcoming from Saudi and Chinese largesse. It is a matter of concern and a reality check that the quality of fiscal adjustments was not high in the first quarter (July-September). The reintroduction of debt servicing surcharge in power bills on account of circular debt-related fresh borrowings, as also the proposed hike in power tariffs from January, are welcome but not sufficient to put the economy back on track. IMF also has reasons to be unhappy with the budgetary rejig that resulted in the blocking Rs40 billion worth of payments to the Benazir Income Support Fund beneficiaries, and the severe curtailment of health and education spending by Rs92 billion.
As The News International, a Karachi daily, reported on 24 December, Pakistan has to demonstrate a substantial level of financial effectiveness to the IMF by end-March 2020, consistent with the FATF action plan. Resistance to reform from vested interest groups will undermine IMF's fiscal consolidation strategy and place the country's debt sustainability at risk.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and his economic wizards have been selling dreams of a turnaround in the economy and robust growth rates. But the IMF has not bought into any of these plans. In fact, in its latest assessment, the lender of last resort has kept Pakistan's growth rate target unchanged at 2.4% for the current fiscal year. Anecdotal evidence suggests unemployment is rising and there is considerable underemployment in the informal sector as well. According to IMF, "Growth is therefore projected to strengthen to around 3% in the next fiscal year", subject to policies taking hold and business and investment confidence strengthening.
Undoubtedly, Pakistan's Achilles heel is its debt, which continues to rise. "The general government debt, including guarantees and IMF borrowing, rose to 88% of GDP by end of last fiscal year, which was higher by 8.7% of the GDP against the IMF's own estimates." For this fiscal year, too, the IMF has revised its public debt and liabilities projections higher to 84.7% of GDP or Rs37.6 trillion. The power sector's total debt alone as of end-September 2019 increased to Rs1.69 trillion.
IMF had earlier projected public debt and liabilities at Rs35.7 trillion or 80.5% of the GDP. It has now increased the estimates by 4.2% of the GDP or Rs1.9 trillion. The swelling debt is clearly due to fiscal slippages, exchange rate depreciation and the government's decision to increase cash deposits considerably to provide a financing cushion against potentially unfavourable market conditions.
There may be truth in this assessment but the significant increase in public debt raises a big question mark on the working of the IMF in making the initial estimates after the close of the last fiscal year. It also brings upfront what the IMF staff report grudgingly concedes as higher than usual risks in Pakistan's capacity to repay its obligations to the global lender in a timely manner.
On the positive side, debt remains sustainable over the medium-term, "given the broadly unchanged macro-economic framework, the policies to date, and the authorities' policy commitments ahead." However, on the flip side, debt sustainability faces higher risks arising from "fiscal under-performance in FY 2019, a higher debt out-turn, and higher financing needs". There are also what the IMF terms as "elevated risks" to Pakistan's repayment capacity on account of low reserves, higher gross financing needs and delayed adoption of adjustment policies.
Viewed against this backdrop, it is difficult to accept Pakistan's claims as articulated by Central Bank Governor, Reza Baqir. On 15 December, he stated that both FATF and IMF have expressed "satisfaction over the measures so far taken" for streamlining the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regimes. Pakistan's FATF mess is a self-inflicted wound.
As the Peshawar daily, The Frontier Post, editorial noted on 23 December 2019, both the PML-N and the PPP had shown no seriousness in coming to grips with the FATF issues when they were in the driver's seat. Had the two mainstream political parties passed and enforce the required legislations, Pakistan would not have been placed on the grey list in 2008 and from 2012-2015. Their failure, coupled with their tall claims that Pakistan has very strong anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes, resulted in Pakistan returning to the grey list in June 2018.
The global watchdog is now pressing the PTI government to get its act together in letter and spirit in its own near-term interests. What this means in essence is a reform of Pakistan's criminal justice system to choke the sources of finance for banned outfits which currently enjoy the status of non-state actors.
Next Page 1 | 2 | NEW DELHI: Continuing a 29-year unbroken practice, India and Pakistan on Wednesday exchanged a list of their nuclear installations under a bilateral arrangement that prohibits them from attacking each other's atomic facilities.The two countries exchanged the list of nuclear installations and facilities covered under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations between India and Pakistan, the External Affairs Ministry said.This was done simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad The exchange of the list came amid tense diplomatic ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue.The agreement was signed on December 31, 1988 and came into force on January 27, 1991.The pact mandates the two countries to inform each other of nuclear installations and facilities to be covered under the agreement on the first of January of every calendar year.This is the 29th consecutive exchange of the list with the first one taking place on January 1, 1992. | 1.5 |
This is the real developing terror threat.
(Big League Politics) – An African-American suspect from Jersey City has been arrested after allegedly making threats to bomb all of Jewish people in the area.
Darryl Jacobs, 47, is accused of making the threat on Dec. 13, shortly after a Kosher store was attacked by black supremacists. He allegedly made the threat while on the phone with a welfare worker in the county, and was arrested three days after reportedly making the comment.
Above: Darryl Jacobs
According to the criminal complaint filed against Jacobs, law enforcement did not seize any explosives but did take two cell phones. The court document claims that Jacobs said he “was going to come down and bomb all the Jews in Jersey City” to the welfare employee, who was not acquainted with the alleged terrorist.
Authorities claim Jacobs was likely intoxicated while he made the comment. He is facing a third-degree charge of making a terrorist threat.
Jacobs is apart of a wave of apparent black supremacist terrorism that is causing untold damage to the Jewish community. In addition to the Dec. 10 terrorist attack at the JC Kosher Supermarket that resulted in six deaths, there was another terrorist event that caused significant damage this past weekend.
Five Jewish individuals were stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration in a Rabbi’s home on Sunday, in what is being called an act of domestic terrorism with an African-American suspect allegedly committing the heinous act:
An attacker stabbed five people Saturday evening at the home of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi during a Hanukkah celebration in Monsey, New York, in what Governor Andrew Cuomo said would be prosecuted as a case of domestic terrorism. The suspect fled the scene, but New York City Police Department arrested him after locating his vehicle, confirmed Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel. He faces five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary, Weidel said. Police have identified him as Grafton E. Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake, New York. Thomas had blood all over his clothing and smelled of bleach, according to prosecutors. He was arraigned Sunday morning and pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $5 million. Weidel also said the five victims were taken to hospital for treatment. One victim is reportedly in critical condition, said Evan Bernstein, the Anti-Defamation’s New York/New Jersey regional director. The suspect’s criminal history includes an arrest for assaulting a police horse, according to an official briefed on the investigation. A lawyer representing Thomas at the arraignment said he had no convictions… On Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the stabbing an act of domestic terrorism fueled by intolerance. He said the attack was evidence of an “American cancer in the body politic.” One person was very seriously wounded, the governor told reporters, and remained in critical condition. The rabbi’s son was also injured, Cuomo said. His status and that of the other victims was not clear.
While liberals obsess on the largely non-existent threat of white supremacy, real terror and crime threats put the Jewish community and other vulnerable groups at serious risk.
bigleaguepolitics.com/terror-epidemic-african-american-suspect-threatens-to-bomb-all-the-jews-in-jersey-city/ | Five people were injured Saturday night when a man armed with appeared to be a machete burst into a rabbi’s home in a New York City suburb and began slashing at a group attending a Hanukkah celebration, CBS News reported.
The man, wearing a scarf over his face, reportedly chased victims as they ran from the scene in Monsey in Rockland County north of Manhattan, then fled in a car. He was captured by New York City police around midnight in the 32nd Precinct in Harlem, said Ramapo Police Chief Bill Weidel.
Five victims were rushed to local hospitals; two of them were in critical condition, according to the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council. One victim was reportedly stabbed at least six times.
At 9:50 this eve, a call came in about a mass stabbing at 47 Forshay Road in Monsey (Rockland County; 30 miles North of NYC). It's the house of a Hasidic Rabbi. 5 patients with stab wounds, all Hasidic, were transported to local hospitals. — OJPAC Hudson Valley (@OJPACHV) December 29, 2019
US: Clip, Several Orthodox Jews stabbed in Monsey, NY, injuries reported, emergency personnel responding, motive unknown at this time pic.twitter.com/dsO786jPlT — Yiddish News (@YiddishNews) December 29, 2019
The motive for the attack was still unknown late Saturday. But there were at least six suspected anti-Semitic attacks in New York City in the week prior. Police patrols were being boosted in three Brooklyn neighborhoods in response.
The Counterterrorism unit of the New York City Police Department was monitoring the situation in Monsey, a community with a large population of ultra-Orthodox Jews. Just last month a teacher and father of four in Monsey was critically injured when he was stabbed on his way to synagogue.
The attack Saturday occurred in the home of Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, who heads Congregation Netzach Yisroel next door to his house, according to the Rockland/Westchester Journal.
We are closely monitoring the reports of multiple people stabbed at a synagogue in Monsey, NY (Rockland County) pic.twitter.com/cHoQnbneKO — NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) December 29, 2019
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed in a statement: “We will NOT allow this to become the new normal. We’ll use every tool we have to stop these attacks once and for all.”
We will NOT allow this to become the new normal. We’ll use every tool we have to stop these attacks once and for all. The NYPD has deployed a visible and growing presence around Jewish houses of worship on the streets in communities like Williamsburg, Crown Heights and Boro Park. — Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 29, 2019
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that she was “deeply disturbed” by the attack. “There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind, and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation. I stand with the Jewish community tonight and every night.”
I am deeply disturbed by the situation unfolding in Monsey, New York tonight.
There is zero tolerance for acts of hate of any kind and we will continue to monitor this horrific situation.
I stand with the Jewish community tonight and every night. — NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 29, 2019
Other current and former area representatives tweeted their outrage over the violence. Manhattan City Council member Mark Levine called the attack amid a frightening increase in anti-Semitic violence a “full blown crisis.”
There have been NINE anti-Semitic attacks in NYC in the past week.
And now this horror tonight just outside the city, in Monsey.
This is a full blown crisis. None of what we are doing is good enough.https://t.co/VXFnUSW694 — Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) December 29, 2019
This is a developing story. Multiple stabbing victims in Monsey, Jews targeted AGAIN.
An attack on one Jew, is an attack on all Jews. We are in route to the scene to be there to stand with the community and to do whatever we can to be of assistance https://t.co/tGlQRTo8Oz — Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) December 29, 2019
Heartbreaking news out of Monsey, New York tonight.
My thoughts are with the Jewish community as they cope with what appears to be another hateful attack on their humanity during Hanukkah. We must combat the rise of anti-Semitism and hate. https://t.co/GhReByrk4w — Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) December 29, 2019
The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said early Sunday that people had continued their celebrations in the synagogue located next to Rabbi Rottenberg’s home following Saturday’s stabbing attack.
Footage of the gathering shared on Twitter shows congregants clapping and singing. ”‘The grace of God did not end and his mercy did not leave us,’ is a rough translation of the lyrics,” the council said of the clip.
VIDEO: Right after the #Monsey stabbing, the Rabbi and his followers gathered in the synagogue next door to his home (where the attack took place), and continued the celebrations. "The grace of God did not end and his mercy did not leave us," is a rough translation of the lyrics. pic.twitter.com/fRPP7kVypP — OJPAC Hudson Valley Region (@OJPACHV) December 29, 2019
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates. | 2.333333 |
With food politics, it is tempting to want to categorize dishes as your own, especially as a second- or third-generation Asian American. Growing up in southern California, 20 minutes from Orange county’s famous Little Saigon district, I was raised on phở restaurants with linoleum floors, Formica tables and servers who openly chided my weak accent. You can’t get more Vietnamese than that, and I took pride in it.
Later, as a college student in New York, I started work at a phở restaurant in Greenwich Village. I applied to the job, where I still work today, in part because I wanted to be a starving artist without actually starving, but also because I thought it would connect me to a Vietnamese community that was otherwise difficult to find in New York, where there is only a small Vietnamese population.
On my first day of work, I clocked in to discover that almost all the workers were Chinese or Latinx. There was not much of an ethnic connection, but I stayed anyway and was trained by the two owners, a pair of half-Vietnamese, half-Chinese men who had gentrified the menu for the Greenwich locals and college students. Fish sauce was generously renamed “Vietnamese chili,” and pig’s feet became “spicy pork knuckles”.
The owners were meticulous about decor, and invested in photogenic placemats, a stoop covered in florals and palm leaves, and a bar framed with painted army helmets and a neon “noodle” sign. “Introduce yourself to customers and check up on your tables,” they told me. “This isn’t Chinatown.”
I’ve served thousands of people since my first day, and have read every Yelp and Google review. Because of our English menu and appeal to customers who eat with their eyes, our lowest ratings often describe us as “trendy,” “white-washed” and “inauthentic”. Vietnamese customers, especially out-of-towners from areas with large populations of Vietnamese, such as San Jose or Houston, delight in asking if our owners are Chinese (we are trained to say no), ordering in Vietnamese to Cantonese servers, and remarking loudly, “Only two basil leaves?” “The beef is already cooked?” “We should open our own Vietnamese restaurant.”
Our head cook is half-Vietnamese, and we often tell customers about how he grew up in Saigon as the first line of defense when people say we aren’t Vietnamese enough. As the only full Vietnamese, I’ll be sent to Vietnamese customers to drop a few xin chàos and cám ơn anhs, even though we shouldn’t have anything to prove. French, Italian and other European restaurants are rarely held to the same standards of authenticity, so why do minority cultures, and particularly Asians, cling to traditional food so tightly?
The 20th century saw a wave of Asian immigrants who opened restaurants as a means of survival, a ready money source even if you couldn’t speak English. In recent years, Asian Americans have been entering the restaurant business or innovating their parents’ stores because of culinary ambitions, or to uphold a family history, rather than because it is their only option. Like their parents or grandparents, they are businesspeople; although passionate about their culture’s heritage, they are less interested in one singular way to cook. Yet their biggest critics are often other Asian Americans, who want food they can have authority over, claim as their own and use to bolster their identity credibility – even though authenticity is difficult to pin down and impossible to quantify.
It’s fine and admirable to open a restaurant with altruistic goals for its impact on community and culture. But many restaurants are still mainly a means to feed one’s family and the employees on payroll. Yes, our restaurant caters to American tastes and is designed around American ideas of Vietnam, but we’re also the most frequented phở joint in the area, and we’re helping introduce more people to Vietnamese food as well as pay our bills.
When 10lb-bowls of phở and phở burritos went viral, I was a bit pained to see a Vietnamese staple turned into what I deemed a business gimmick, and mixed with a different cuisine at that. But recipes aren’t stagnant, and neither is culture. Vestiges of French colonization are abundant in Vietnamese food, from Café du Monde coffee to bành mì baguettes, but these are now considered inherently Vietnamese, even as we distance ourselves from an imperialist past.
I’m no less Vietnamese because I’ll enjoy an “inauthentic” vegan phở, or a bành mì made by a Senegalese cook. There is no such thing as authentic food. Eat what you want, and enjoy it. There are more important hills to die on. | For this is a book that, for decades now, I always re-read every summer, as I did, once again this year, when I was in Greece. It's my personal literary obsession.
How much of an obsession? Well, I have 26 different editions of F Scott Fitzgerald's third novel residing side by side on my bookshelves. Among that number are two different Italian editions, plus one in French, one in Greek and another in Chinese, all of those 'foreign language' editions purchased when I found myself in the countries in question.
So yes, it's that much of an obsession.
But it was its relevance in this particular week of the year which prompted me to reach for the book again earlier this week.
For, as we head into 2020 with a whole new twenties decade lying ahead of us, is there any novel that better captures the spirit of that same decade, exactly a century ago, than 'The Great Gatsby'?
It's a snapshot of a society on the skite. Of the boom before the bust. It's a picture of greed and glamour. And of a generation in thrall to the false god of filthy lucre, living only for the moment and for themselves. "Careless people," as Nick Carraway, the book's narrator, describes his cousin, Daisy, and her oaf of a husband, the loud, rich, bacchanalian Tom Buchanan.
We've been there too, of course. Back in the noughties, when we had our own 'The Great Gatsby' years right here in Ireland.
Just ponder this scene for a moment… "The cars are parked five deep in the drive, and the bar is in full swing. Floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, with introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other's names."
Where are we? At an indulgent hooley on a hot summer's night at a garden party in Dublin 4? At a bash in the west to mark a spectacular fleecing in a property deal? Or at a pre-wedding party, perhaps, before the bride and groom to be jet off to tie the knot on the Amalfi coast or some other such ritzy destination, in the company of dozens of their 'best friends'?
No. None of those. Welcome, rather, in the scene depicted above, to New York in the summer of 1922. Welcome, indeed, in the words of F Scott Fitzgerald, to Long Island Sound and to the home of Jay Gatsby.
And if ever there was a lesson to be learned about the emptiness that results from desiring money for money's sake, then that lesson is writ large in the story of Gatsby himself.
What makes 'The Great Gatsby' 'great' for me, however - apart from the beautiful writing and its spot-on exploration of the destructiveness of excess and the fugitive nature of joy - is that while Jay Gatsby is essentially a fraud, he is, nonetheless, a fraud who genuinely believes in loyalty and love.
And also in something else of great value - hope. Right to the end he retains it, what Fitzgerald describes as Gatsby's "extraordinary gift for hope".
And what better a gift than that? For hope, as described by no less than Aristotle, is "a waking dream".
So as we head this week into our own not-so-roaring twenties, at a time when, despite the so-called 'lift' in our economy, so many problems still loom large for so many people, let's dare then, like Jay Gatsby, to hope. And to dream. For better times for all.
Irish Independent | 1 |
Car repair: Motorists ditch plans to keep their vehicle on the road
Halfords have dubbed tomorrow as “Flat battery Thursday” as road users wake up to malfunctioning cars after they find vital tools have frozen.
According to the RAC, cold weather, frost and rain will affect chemical processes inside the battery which will reduce how much charge it can hold.
Winter weather will drastically reduce battery performance across older vehicles and these cars can go flat quickly without proper maintenance.
A recent Halfords study revealed almost one-third of motorists have never checked their car battery at all.
READ MORE: Car garages could be charging motorists extra for repairs | The weather pattern is about to shift at the end of the first day of 2020 and into tomorrow. Most of the day will be sunny, mild, and windy. But, rain tracks in overnight, bringing us scattered showers for Thursday.
Temperatures in Northwest Arkansas will climb out of the 30s and highs will be in the mid 50s.
River Valley temperatures will also be above the seasonable average with highs in the upper 50s.
Most of the day will be sunny, but cloud cover increases throughout the day. Rain pushes in from the south overnight, leaving us with a soggy start to Thursday. The heaviest rain will stay to our east.
-Sabrina | 1.666667 |
Authorities call on athletes to elevate Cuba in Tokyo-2020 Games Authorities call on athletes to elevate Cuba in Tokyo-2020 Games Authorities call on athletes to elevate Cuba in Tokyo-2020 Games
Authorities call on athletes to elevate Cuba in Tokyo-2020 Games
Havana, Dec 31 (Prensa Latina) Roberto Leon Richards, president of the Cuban Olympic Committee, and Osvaldo Vento, president of the National Sports Institute (INDER), congratulated the Cuban athletes, who are focusing their work on the Tokyo-2020 Olympics, for the new year.
On his Twitter account, Richards congratulated the athletes, coaches and the Cuban sports movement, to whom he sent a big hug, convinced that the Olympic event in Tokyo, Japan, will be another scenario of victories for them.
For his part, the INDER president recalled a statement by the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of that heoric deed.
'Let's remember Fidel as a permanent motivation for the commitments to come. He insisted that sports encourage the people, entertain the people, excite the people and make the people happy. Congratulations,' Vento twitted.
To date, Cuba has 26 qualified athletes for the Tokyo-2020 Olympic Games in boating (4), cycling (1), artistic gymnastics (2), wrestling (2), modern pentathlon (2), shooting (5) and track and field (10).
According to the Cuban Sports Institute, the number of athletes for the Olympic Games must exceed 100 and Cuban athletes are expected to attend qualifying events from January 5 and May 24, 2020.
jg/iff/jcm/rws | New Years-fresh starts, clean slates and new resolutions. Every first of January, people set New Year’s Resolutions in the hopes of improving themselves or their lives; but how best to make them stick?
The following are a few tips to help with keeping what we resolve to do-or not do in the new year, according to experts:
1. Set intentions. An intention is a guiding principle for how you want to be, live, show up in the world and is the starting point to every goal.
2. Ask yourself why the intention or goal you set matters to you-and if it is realistic. Expectations that are too high can cause you to be too overwhelmed to start or maintain your goals.
3. Talk to people about your resolutions. This creates a support system as well as can hold you accountable.
4. Make a list of plans. Big goals can seem daunting, break your plan up into little things you can do each day to help achieve your ultimate goal.
5. Take the first step. Don’t procrastinate. You don’t need to wait until everything is just right. Get started now and make adjustments as you go along.
6. Ditch deprivation. Try not to approach your New Year’s resolutions from a place of deprivation, restriction or punishment.
7. Try not to focus on the end result. When you commit to the process of the goal, rather than the result, it’s easier to make it an enjoyable experience.
8. Take breaks. A goal should not consume your every thought and life, after all, is meant to be lived.
9. Plan for success. Instead of thinking about failing and what could go wrong, think of succeeding; put those positive thoughts out to the world. Worrying about failure is pointless and destructive.
10. Reward yourself. Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small; you deserve it! | 1 |
WASHINGTON The Trump administration is facing a dilemma in Iraq. A day after the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was stormed by pro-Iranian demonstrators, the White House needs to decide how to respond to the attack... | As the new civil year begins, an isolated event in northern Iraq threatens to snowball into an avalanche that will put America’s entire Middle East strategy to the test. The death of an American citizen in a rocket attack on an Iraqi base by an Iran-backed Shi’ite militia this weekend led to a large-scale retaliatory U.S. airstrike in which at least 25 militiamen were killed in Iraq and Syria.
On Tuesday, the Iranians and their allies responded with a violent demonstration staged by militia members outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, culminating with protesters breaking into the secured compound and American diplomats hastily evacuated from it.
The Iranian action caught U.S. President Donald Trump at a difficult moment. The next presidential election is less than a year away. Facing an unexciting array of Democratic candidates, Trump’s situation appears rather reasonable, especially if the economy continues on the relatively positive path he inherited from his predecessor, Barack Obama.
But the public and humiliating attack on an American symbol in the Middle East doesn’t look good. And if U.S. countermeasures lead to casualties, that would look even worse.
Trump, as has been said many times, has for years opposed military adventures in faraway countries in which he sees, at most, a limited American interest. In contrast, he seems to be infatuated with the policy of applying maximum pressure on Iran, under which Washington has gradually intensified its sanctions on the country. Even now, the administration is considering additional sanctions.
>> Read more: Trump, Israel and the Middle East: Mayhem, betrayal and 'America First'
The damage these sanctions have caused Iran’s economy is indeed great, but so far, they haven’t had much diplomatic impact. Tehran hasn’t agreed to make the terms of its nuclear deal with world powers (from which America withdrew in May 2018) more stringent, and so far, it has even rejected the idea of a summit between the two countries’ leaders.
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Since May, the main result of the sanctions was Iran’s decision to respond with assaults on oil facilities and tankers belonging to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and this weekend, also with an attack on a military base where Americans were stationed.
The death of an American national obligated Trump to respond, since Iran and its proxies had blatantly crossed a red line drawn by the president himself, along with other senior administration officials. But the mob storming the embassy in Baghdad caught him off guard. Trump’s tweets in recent days have been devoted to his usual spats with the Democrats and criticism of the media, yet once again, he had no choice but to respond.
skip - tweet
To those many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom and who don’t want to be dominated and controlled by Iran, this is your time! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
On Tuesday the president explicitly held Iran responsible for both the rocket fire and the storming of the embassy. He once again threatened a painful response and, in a tweet, urged the “many millions of people in Iraq who want freedom” to liberate themselves from Iranian influence.
Protesters and militia fighters attack a reception room of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019. KHALID AL-MOUSILY/REUTERS
In the background hovers America’s unforgotten national trauma from the 1979 hostage crisis at its embassy in Tehran. In 2012, the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked, an incident that Republicans exploited for an emotional assault (with little factual basis) on the Obama administration, and especially then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The violent attack on the embassy in Baghdad thus hit a nerve with the American public, and that’s something of which the Iranians are surely well aware. The sight of the demonstrators beating on the doors of the embassy compound and throwing burning objects over the wall surrounding it brought those old painful memories back.
Beyond the drama, which was broadcast live, the Iranians succeeded in turning the tables on Tuesday. For months, mass demonstrations against the Iraqi government have also been aimed at Tehran’s involvement on the country and its influence over the Iraqi leadership. In several cases, Iranian diplomatic offices in Iraq were even attacked. But now, the discussion has been diverted from Iran to focus on the last remnants of America’s military presence in Iraq.
Prior to the American airstrike on Sunday, which was widely denounced by Iraqi parties, a proposal was raised last summer in Iraq’s parliament to expel American soldiers from the country over airstrikes attributed to Israel in western Iraq (to which Iraqis suspected that Washington had given a green light). This proposal may now gain renewed support.
This is the moment of truth for U.S. strategy in the region. It’s impossible to know to what extent the Iranians planned this outcome in advance, but it’s clear they have gradually and calculatedly raised the risk level in a way that has now backed America into a corner and forced it to respond.
Some American analysts say Iran is in a panic, and this led to ill-considered steps by Tehran. But the opposite appears to be the case. Over the past year, it is Iran that has conducted a well-planned effort aimed at eventually easing American sanctions on it.
Israel is watching this crisis from the sidelines. Unfortunately, however, its political and military leadership have been spouting somewhat fatalistic statements in recent weeks about an impending clash between Israel and Iran on the northern front. Therefore, we must hope Jerusalem isn’t toying with the idea of indirectly adding fuel to the fire in Baghdad, in the hopes that this would lead to the formation of a new international coalition against Iran.
Protesters burn property in front of the U.S. Embassy compound, in Baghdad, Iraq, December 31, 2019. Khalid Mohammed/AP
The events of the past week have significantly raised the level of tension between the United States and Iran. Israel would do better to avoid being accused of deliberately inflaming the atmosphere between the two countries. | 4 |
Bloomberg opinion:
It's pretty much never a good idea to call out someone else's incorrect forecast in hindsight, especially if you're also in the business of prognosticating (or writing opinion columns). The reason: You'll almost surely be on the receiving end of ridicule yourself in the not-too-distant future.
This past year in fixed income, though, defies that rule of thumb. Since nearly everyone got at least something wrong, the entire bond-market community can look back and laugh at just how little they thought they knew about the stage of the credit cycle and the willingness of global central banks to abruptly change course and ease policy aggressively.
READ MORE:
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In 2019, every key US bond market posted positive returns, according to Bloomberg Barclays index data. A sample: High-grade corporate debt, 14.5 per cent; high yield, 14.3 per cent; Treasuries, 6.9 per cent; securitised products, 6.3 per cent; mortgage-backed securities, 6.2 per cent. Buying long-dated bonds in the aggregate index netted a profit of 20 per cent. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell to as low as 1.43 per cent, from 2.68 per cent, as the Federal Reserve embarked on back-to-back-to-back quarter-point interest-rate cuts in the second half of the year. Credit spreads are near the tightest they've been this economic cycle and the cost to protect against default is the lowest of the post-crisis era.
- Bank of America: "We forecast the Fed will hike rates four times in 2019, reaching a terminal funds rate of 3.25-3.50 per cent by year-end."
- Morgan Stanley: "We believe the credit bear market, which likely began when IG spreads hit cycle tights in Feb. 2018, will continue in 2019, with HY and then eventually loans underperforming."
- Deutsche Bank AG: "Increasingly tight policy will push bond yields higher and lead to wider credit spreads after a near-term relief rally."
- Nomura: "We expect 2019 to conclude the hiking cycle with up to two more hikes. … IG is still in focus (especially the BBB story) but it's HY that could come under pressure as growth slows."
- Citigroup: "Both equities and bonds have the potential to see positive returns in 2019. However overall return levels are likely to remain subdued."
- BlackRock: "We see equities and bonds eking out positive returns in 2019. ... We take an up-in-quality stance in credit, and overall see limited upside and asymmetric downside as the economy enters into a late-cycle phase."
- Pacific Investment Management: "Cautious on generic corporate credit, but see relative value in financials and mortgages, modestly underweight duration."
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- Fidelity Investments: "These are fertile conditions for complacency, and there is a real risk of inflation spiralling if central banks pull back from further monetary tightening."
Bloomberg News's Mark Cudmore also admitted that he and the Markets Live team missed the great year for bonds: "We never saw it coming." He chalked up the miss to underappreciating what an intensified US-China trade war would mean for the global economic outlook and being caught off guard by the Fed's quick and nimble shift from raising interest rates to lowering them.
I agree with both of those culprits. Looking back, I was too convinced that Fed Chair Jerome Powell would hold policy steady through trade tensions to avoid the appearance of backstopping President Donald Trump's standoff with China. In late April, I wrote that bond traders went overboard on their rate-cut bets. In May, I still thought the Fed was committing to an aggressive pause, and in June I wrote that the market was seeing dovish signs that weren't necessarily there. Of course, the Fed dropped its lending benchmark by a quarter-point in July and did so again in September and October.
But aside from parsing Fedspeak, it's the following takeaway from Cudmore's retrospective that might be the most important of all, and why 2020 could most likely be another year of ever-shifting expectations:
"Perhaps the broader lesson from all our asset forecasts was a lack of ambition. We fell into the common trap of anchoring our predictions in today's ranges, and not realizing how far things could run once a move started."
Across Wall Street, strategists are doing the exact same thing for 2020. Consider the 10-year Treasury yield for example, which is set to end 2019 around 1.9 per cent. Aside from outliers at Citigroup and Societe Generale, analysts at other primary dealers see the yield in a tight window of 1.5 per cent to 2.25 per cent in 12 months' time.
As for high-yield debt, analysts are forecasting a total return between 1 per cent and 7.5 per cent, which equates to fairly benign price swings given the securities' large interest payments. The median annual return on the Bloomberg Barclays high-yield index since 1984 is 7.5 per cent.
I wrote earlier this month about the bold call for 10-year yields from John Dunham. He sees inflation rapidly picking up in the first half of 2020, freaking out the Fed and forcing policymakers to raise interest rates again. Then, toward the end of the year, he sees the US tumbling into a recession. That's how the benchmark Treasury yield rises past 3% come September and drops to a record low 1.3 per cent by mid-2021.
Is that precise sequence of events - and ensuing wide price swings - likely to play out? I'm not so sure. It certainly stands in stark contrast to BlackRock's three overarching ideas for 2020: "modestly positive on risk assets," "neutral on global duration and cash" and "cautious cyclical rotation." Don't get me wrong: Strategists at the world's biggest money manager have sound reasoning for those views. But they risk falling into the same trap that snared Wall Street in 2019.
One idea BlackRock and Dunham agree on: The risk of accelerating inflation is underappreciated in markets. That might be the one thing that could most quickly reverse 2019's bond boom. The median forecast of 61 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg calls for the 10-year US yield to end 2020 at 1.94 per cent, just about where it is today. If longer-term yields were forced to move higher in a hurry, that would cause a lot of pain across fixed-income assets.
The future, it turns out, is often quite difficult to predict. As the 2020s begin, perhaps it's best to borrow a page from the Fed's 2019 playbook: Take your best shot at forecasting the road ahead, but don't hesitate to react to important new information.
- Bloomberg | U.S. government debt prices moved lower on Tuesday, the last trading day of the year.
At 3:50 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to around 1.9034%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at 2.3574%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Investors have been taking on more risk on the back of optimism over U.S.-China trade relations. The world's two largest economies agreed earlier this month to a so-called "phase one" trade deal.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the country's top trade negotiator, is set to visit Washington later this week to sign the agreement.
In terms of economic data, investors will be looking out for consumer confidence figures for December due to be released at 10 a.m. ET. | 2.666667 |
By: Akshta MishraLUCKNOW: Prices of tomato, onion and potato – staple vegetables in every Indian kitchen – are going out of reach of the common man.After a spike in onion prices in past few months, the cost of tomato and potato is witnessing a sharp rise in the past week, reveals a quick survey carried out by TOI in four major retail vegetable markets of the city – Narhi (Hazratganj), Dandaiya (Aliganj), Bhootnath (Indiranagar) and Mithaiwala crossing (Gomtinagar).Citizens are clueless as prices of these vegetables, used in almost all the preparations, are drilling a deep hole in common man’s pockets.Restaurants and food joints have also increased prices of various dishes accordingly. “Just a week ago, tomato was priced at Rs 20-30 but now it is being sold at Rs 40-60 per kg depending on quality,” said Sameer, a vendor at vegetable market in Dandaiya.Sheela, a homemaker, said: “Grocery prices have gone up. Our food budget has increased by 30-40% a month.”Potato prices have also gone up by 20-100%. Potatoes, which were available at Rs 20 till last week, now cost Rs 25-40 per kg.Suresh, a wholesaler at Dubbaga Mandi, said the prices of tomato and potato had gone up due to reduction in supply following damages to the crop due to extremely cold weather prevailing for about a month in different parts of the country. Onion price continues to hover around Rs 100 per kg. Raju from Naveen Galla Mandi at Sitapur Road said no relief was in sight in near future. Sale of these basic vegetables have gone down by almost 50% collectively as it is significantly hampering household budget. | New Delhi: In a shock to millions of passengers across the country, Indian Railways on Tuesday hiked passenger fares for sleeper class by 2 paise per kilometre and for 3AC, 2AC and AC first class by four paise per kilometre.
According to a commercial circular issued on Tuesday, the new fares will come into effect from January 1, 2020.
In the circular, the national transporter stated that passenger fares for sleeper class in mail and express trains have been revised by 2 paise per kilometre, while for 3AC, 2AC and AC frist class, fares have been hiked by 4 paise per kilometre.
The Railways also increased fares for passenger trains by 1 paisa per kilometre.
It also said that the fares of premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Humsafar, Vande Bharat, Duranto, Rajya Rani, Mahanama, Gatimaan, Garibrath, Jan Shatabdi, Yuva and Suvidha Express will also be revised to the extent of the above proposed increase in class-wise fares as per the notified fare table.
The circular also stated that there will be no change in reservation fees, superfast surcharge etc.
It also said the difference of fares on tickets booked before January 1, 2020 will not be collected from the passengers.
The increase in passenger fares in sleeper class from New Delhi to Patna for a distance of 997 km means that passengers will now have to shell out approximately Rs 20 more per ticket. For AC coaches, passengers will have to pay Rs 40 more for the same distance. | 2.333333 |
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