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A Texas House report issues blame for failures in Uvalde. Steve Bannon goes on trial Monday for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 panel. Ukraine's president fires two top officials.
Rachel Martin is a host of Morning Edition, and a founding host of NPR's award-winning morning news podcast Up First. Martin's interviews take listeners behind the headlines to understand the people at the center of those stories.
Steve Inskeep
Steve Inskeep is a host of NPR's Morning Edition, as well as NPR's morning news podcast Up First. | 2022-07-18T10:02:12+00:00 | kpcc.org | https://www.kpcc.org/2022-07-18/morning-news-brief |
Life on the road as a famous country star may sound glamorous, but Old Dominion is here to set the record straight.
Before hopping onstage recently, the band took to Instagram to share the hilarious reality of life backstage while on tour, with a video of bass player Geoff Sprung casually clipping his nails.
“It’s the little things, it’s the small details — people don’t see them, but they can feel them,” Geoff remarks outside the tour bus as patrons can be seen streaming into the stadium in the background. “Earlier I did my toes. You can tell a show when I’ve done my toes. A little more spry, a little more fluid,” he adds jokingly.
“It’s a glamorous lifestyle. This is how the stars do it it, right?” OD quips in the caption.
The CMA Award-winning band has been keeping fans updated on all the adventures they’ve had while on the road as part of Kenny Chesney‘s stadium-sized Here and Now Tour, taking place through the end of the summer.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. | 2022-07-13T20:23:45+00:00 | klll.com | https://www.klll.com/old-dominion-backstage-video-shows-the-not-so-glamorous-side-of-tour-life/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has upheld Josh Donaldson’s one-game suspension, a penalty that was assessed after the New York Yankees third baseman made a remark to White Sox star Tim Anderson about Jackie Robinson that Chicago manager Tony La Russa called racist.
MLB special adviser John McHale upheld the penalty after hearing Donaldson’s appeal on Thursday, a person familiar with the discipline told The Associated Press. The person spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because McHale’s decision was not announced.
Donaldson’s fine was cut in half by McHale to $5,000, the person said. Donaldson will serve the penalty during the Yankees' series opener against Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.
Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations, announced the original penalty on May 23, two days after Donaldson made multiple references to Robinson while talking to Anderson during a game.
Robinson broke the MLB color barrier in 1947 and every team in the big leagues has retired his No. 42 in his honor.
A three-time All-Star and the 2015 AL MVP with Toronto, Donaldson said he was referring to a 2019 Sports Illustrated article in which Anderson, who is Black, was quoted as saying: “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson ... because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point to where I need to change the game.”
Anderson said he agreed with La Russa, and several Yankees said Donaldson was wrong. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: “This is just my opinion — (that’s) somewhere he should not be going.” New York star Aaron Judge said: “I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do there."
Donaldson, who is white, said he had “joked around” with Anderson in the past using the reference. Donaldson made a public apology to the Robinson family.
“I think everybody wanted to have a say. But they don’t know my heart,” Donaldson said on June 1. “I do feel bad that the Robinson family — I never wanted them to feel their name should ever be regarded in a bad light. That was why I issued the apology.”
In his first season with the Yankees, the 37-year-old Donaldson is batting .235 with five homers and 18 RBIs.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-06-13T21:28:42+00:00 | seattlepi.com | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Donaldson-s-1-game-ban-upheld-by-MLB-fine-cut-to-17238879.php |
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Back to Top | 2022-09-22T13:33:01+00:00 | daytondailynews.com | https://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/dayton-football-interview-drew-robertson-sept-21-2022/b4ef3337-02de-457d-b5e8-7cc6a6674678/ |
WELLINGTON, Fla., June 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Polo Association is pleased to announce that it has purchased the core assets of the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, Florida ("IPC"). The USPA has acquired 161 acres from WEP Polo LLC and WEP Polo Operations LLC, including Fields 1 through 5, the IPC grandstand, the Pavilion, the Mallet Grille, the Seventh Chukker, the USPA Clubhouse shop, the Outback Field, the Outback facility, and the IPC social club and its facilities, including a swimming pool, gym, and tennis courts.
The IPC property will be called "The USPA National Polo Center – Wellington" ("NPC").
The purchase brings to life the USPA Board of Governors' vision of a USPA-owned "Sunday Field" that will serve as the permanent center of polo in America and set the standard for excellence in polo. That vision was first articulated by USPA Chairman Stewart Armstrong in an essay called The Sunday Field that appeared in the Spring 2020 issue of Hurlingham Polo Magazine.
Mark Bellissimo, managing partner of Wellington Equestrian Partners ("WEP"), and Wellington's largest private landowner, commented, "The sale of IPC to the USPA is part of our 'Wellington 3.0' strategy which is focused on strengthening both the equestrian venues and the core lifestyle elements that are critical for Wellington's long-term success. We chose the USPA over competing offers and real estate development strategies to ensure that this fundamental pillar of the Wellington equestrian domain will be here for the next 100 years. I was inspired by Stewart Armstrong's vision and believe the USPA has the commitment and resources to take this venue and the sport of polo to the next level which is a win for all involved."
The USPA will continue to host the Gauntlet of Polo® at NPC, but it will also use the facility to support polo played at the medium- and low-goal levels. The USPA intends to keep substantially all the current IPC staff in place. Tim Gannon, co-founder of Outback Steakhouse and three-time winner of the U.S. Open Polo Championship®, will serve as Chairman of the Board of a newly formed USPA subsidiary created to revitalize the social club and hospitality facilities.
With its ownership of the National Polo Center, the USPA has secured a perpetual home for polo in America that will serve the same function as the AAP-controlled Palermo fields and AAP-owned Pilar fields do in Argentina. In short, the facility will enable the USPA to showcase its tournaments, develop American players, and sustain an environment that will retain and attract new players and sponsors at every level. It will also secure the future of winter and spring polo in South Florida, which many of the sport's key participants from throughout the country rely on as a major source of the annual income that allows them to participate in polo at their summer and fall club locations.
Through its use of NPC, the USPA aims to promote excellence as the goal for all who play polo in America. The USPA is confident that continuing to strive for excellence will lead to even greater demand for polo. Excellence means many things – among them are first-rate facilities to present the sport in the best light, intelligent rules, fair handicapping, quality umpiring, and a level playing field for all. It inspires both amateurs and professionals to be their best and play with the best and it results in an engaging experience for players and spectators. Excellence requires commitment – it doesn't happen on its own.
The USPA will continue to invest in the sport of polo at its member clubs across the United States. All its current programs will continue to be funded and operated on their pre-purchase trajectories. These include the Arena Tournament Initiative, Bridge to High Goal (B2HG), Interscholastic/Intercollegiate (I/I), Legacy Polo Series, National Arena Amateur Cup, Military Incentive Program, National Youth Tournament Series (NYTS), Polo Development Initiative (PDI), Prize Money Matching (PMMP), Tournament Support Program (TSP), Trophy Reimbursement, the Professional and Certified Umpires programs, USPA Livestreaming, and the Women's Tournament Incentive Program.
Beginning this year with the FIP World Championship, which will be hosted by the USPA at Valiente Polo Farm and NPC from October 26 through November 6, 2022, the USPA plans to open the annual Wellington polo season in October. This expansion of play dates will allow USPA member clubs in and beyond Florida to play their tournament semifinals and finals at the National Polo Center when it is not being used for the Gauntlet®.
"The investment in a high-profile Sunday Field will enable the sport and brand to control our destiny for future generations," said J. Michael Prince, President and CEO of USPA Global Licensing, which manages the global, multi-billion-dollar U.S. Polo Assn. brand. "With a global footprint across 190 countries, we view the Sunday Field as a unique opportunity to highlight U.S. Polo Assn.'s authentic connection to the sport and build additional global brand awareness. Additionally, this opportunity will create an epicenter of polo to promote not only high-goal events such as the Gauntlet of Polo®, but also other best-in-class opportunities at all levels supporting key polo competitions and demographics, such as international, low-goal, medium-goal, women's, intercollegiate, interscholastic, youth and many others."
Wellington Village Manager Jim Barnes is enthusiastic about the USPA expanding its footprint in the Village. "Wellington welcomes the USPA's purchase of the former IPC facility and the establishment of the National Polo Center, which will ensure polo's permanent and important presence in the Village for the mutual benefit of the polo community and Village residents."
Widely regarded as the winter hub of world-class equestrian competition, Wellington has played a critical role in the development of the sport of polo in the United States and abroad since the 1970s. Every January through April, the Florida high-goal season attracts the world's top polo organizations, highest-rated professionals, and top horses. South Florida is the home of the USPA and USPA Global Licensing, as well as the Museum of Polo & Hall of Fame and the Polo Training Foundation.
The United States Polo Association® ("USPA") is organized and exists for the purposes of promoting the game of polo; coordinating the activities of its member clubs and registered player members; arranging and supervising polo tournaments, competitions, and games; and providing rules, handicaps and tournament conditions for those events. Its overarching goals are improving the sport and promoting the safety and welfare of its human and equine participants. Founded in 1890, the USPA is the largest voluntary sports organization in North America for the sport of polo. The USPA is currently made up of more than 200 member clubs and approximately 5,000 registered player members. It annually awards and oversees roughly 50 national tournaments hosted by its member clubs. For more information, please visit uspolo.org.
U.S. Polo Assn. is the official brand of the USPA. With a multi-billion-dollar global footprint and worldwide distribution through some 1,200 U.S. Polo Assn. retail stores, department stores, sporting goods channels, independent retailers and e-commerce, U.S. Polo Assn. offers apparel for men, women, and children, as well as accessories and footwear in 190 countries worldwide. Ranked the fifth largest sports licensor in License Global magazine's 2020 list of "Top 150 Global Licensors," U.S. Polo Assn. is named alongside such iconic sports brands as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Visit uspoloassnglobal.com.
Wellington Equestrian Partners, LLC ("WEP") is a Wellington based partnership whose primary mission is to enhance and preserve Wellington's equestrian economy. Until recently, WEP owned more than 1,000 acres in Wellington and has been the key driver of Wellington's emergence as the premiere equestrian lifestyle destination in the world. WEP owned both the venues and the operating companies of the three primary pillars of the Wellington Equestrian scene: show jumping, dressage, and polo, which represented over 90% of the Wellington equestrian economy. Wellington's equestrian festivals host over ten thousand participants and 250,000 spectators from 50 states and 43 countries. Its events contribute close to $200 million of annual economic impact for Palm Beach County. Mark Bellissimo is the managing partner and WEP's largest shareholder.
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SOURCE United States Polo Association | 2022-06-09T19:55:18+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/06/09/uspa-secures-permanent-home-polo-south-florida-with-agreement-purchase-international-polo-club-palm-beach-wellington-equestrian-partners/ |
Jurors on Monday found Fabian Gonzales guilty of child abuse resulting in death and other charges he was facing in connection with the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens in 2016.
In tears, Victoria Martens’ grandparents embraced the case’s lead investigator just after the verdict was read.
The trial against Gonzales, 37, began July 13 in 2nd Judicial District Court, where Judge Cindy Leos is presiding.
The jury deliberated for less than four hours to sift through more than two weeks of testimony.
Gonzales, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week in the final stages of his trial, returned to court Monday as the verdict was read.
He had attended the last two days of his trial virtually.
Prosecutors argued that although Gonzales didn’t kill Victoria, he set in motion a series of events that created a dangerous environment which ultimately led to her death. Gonzales was dating Michelle Martens, Victoria’s mother, and had recently moved into their Northwest Albuquerque apartment.
“The defendant set the stage for her death to occur. And he turned her home into a dangerous place,” Deputy District Attorney Greer Staley said during her closing argument. “Her world was changing as soon as he set foot in her apartment.”
Stephen Aarons, Gonzales’ attorney, in his closing argument asked the jury not to become overcome with emotions over Victoria’s horrific death.
The young girl was killed in her apartment on her 10th birthday, and then her body was mutilated and dismembered in an effort to conceal the crime, prosecutors argued.
Gonzales had allowed his cousin, Jessica Kelley, to stay at the Martens’ apartment shortly after Kelley was released from prison. Police during the course of the years-long investigation determined that Martens and Gonzales were not at the home when Victoria was killed, but they arrived later that night.
“I would tell you, this is not a complicated case, it’s actually fairly easy to solve. But emotion can overwhelm that,” Aarons said during his closing argument. “There is an urge to flush anyone and everyone remotely connected down the toilet.”
Originally charged with murder and rape in the case, Gonzales stood trial on a child abuse charge as well as seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
Prosecutors said that Victoria was killed by either an unknown man, possibly because the man had a vendetta against Gonzales, or Kelley, who was using methamphetamine and acting paranoid before Gonzales and Martens left Victoria alone with Kelley.
A man identified as John Doe has been indicted on charges connected with Victoria’s death based on his DNA profile.
“Your job here today is to determine if that defendant set this whole thing in motion,” Staley said in her closing. “If he created this transformation of Victoria’s world into this place where something terrible was going to happen, and it was obvious something’s going to happen.”
Kelley pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to 44 years in prison, though she will be eligible for parole in half that time. Martens pleaded guilty to a child abuse charge in an agreement that calls for her be sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing hasn’t been scheduled. | 2022-08-01T19:16:15+00:00 | abqjournal.com | https://www.abqjournal.com/2521055/jury-convicts-fabian-gonzales-on-all-counts.html |
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A prosecutor charged a Wisconsin Department of Justice agent Thursday with reckless endangerment in the nonfatal shooting of an unarmed man during a traffic stop in February.
Dane County District Attorney Ishmael Ozanne charged DOJ Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Mark Wagner with second-degree reckless endangerment using a dangerous weapon, according to online court records.
Wagner would face up to 10-and-a-half years in prison if convicted. His attorney, listed in online court records as Michael Steinle, didn't immediately reply to a phone message seeking comment that was left at his office.
The charge stems from the shooting of Quadren Wilson in Madison on Feb. 3.
Wilson, 38, was released on extended supervision in February 2020 after serving a little more than a year in prison for second-degree reckless endangerment. The state Department of Corrections issued a warrant for Wilson on the morning he was shot for violating the conditions of his release. He was wanted for allegedly dealing fentanyl to a man found dead in a restaurant bathroom in Blooming Grove in April 2021.
Wilson was driving on the outskirts of Madison when officers from multiple jurisdictions slammed their vehicles into his car and opened fire on him as he sat behind the wheel, according to the sheriff's office and Wilson's family.
Wilson's brother, Mane Morris, said authorities shot his brother five times in the back as his brother was raising his hands and offering no resistance. Authorities contend that he was resisting arrest.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, whose agency led the investigation into the shooting, said two weeks after the incident that investigators hadn't found any evidence suggesting Wilson was armed.
Two state Justice Department agents, Wagner and Nathan Peskie, fired their weapons during the arrest, according to Barrett. He didn't say whether either agent's rounds struck Wilson, however. Online court records did not show any charges against Peskie as of Thursday morning.
Wilson pleaded guilty in May, about three months after he was shot, to manufacturing narcotics with intent to deliver and cocaine possession. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Attorney General Josh Kaul, who oversees the Justice Department, declined to comment, saying he didn't want to impact the case as it works its way through the judicial system. He did say the agency was “evaluating this matter internally,” but he didn't elaborate. | 2022-09-22T16:30:24+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Wisconsin-agent-charged-in-nonfatal-shooting-of-17459616.php |
Former President Trump’s lawyers were spotted meeting with federal prosecutors Monday to discuss the Justice Department’s probe into his handling of White House documents after leaving office, according to multiple reports from Washington.
Trump attorneys John Rowley, James Trusty and Lindsey Halligan were first spotted at the D.C. federal courthouse Monday morning by CBS News. Prosecutors appear to be nearing a charging decision in the case.
The former president’s legal team late last month had requested a meeting with prosecutors, arguing that he is being “baselessly investigated in such an outrageous and unlawful fashion.”
“We request a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors,” Rowley and Trusty wrote in a letter May 23.
Special counsel Jack Smith has been probing whether Trump mishandled the materials after leaving the White House, and whether government requests to turn over records to the National Archives were obstructed.
Prosecutors have interviewed various witnesses in Trump’s orbit, and CNN reported late last month that prosecutors possess an audio recording in which Trump suggests that he shouldn’t show a classified document to two authors because they didn’t have security clearances. The former president has claimed he declassified materials in his possession, and he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Smith is also probing Trump’s actions following the 2020 election and in the lead up to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. | 2023-06-05T19:37:38+00:00 | texomashomepage.com | https://www.texomashomepage.com/hill-politics/trump-lawyers-meet-with-doj-officials-as-classified-documents-probe-appears-to-near-conclusion/ |
BAY COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT) - The moment a train derailed in Kawkawlin on Friday afternoon was caught on camera.
The good news is that nobody was hurt, and no hazardous chemicals were spilled.
The man who captured the derailment on video is a train enthusiast who just happened to be on Russell Road getting video of the train passing by and he also had his drone in the air.
We also learned the train may have gotten off the tracks earlier, before the train cars derailed.
The video was captured by Todd Feldpausch of St. Johns who has videotaped a number of moving trains in his life, but he never saw anything like that.
The northbound Lake State Railway train derailed, with seven of the cars going off the tracks.
The derailment happened on Russell Road just off of M-13. But it appears the rail cars may have started going off the tracks shortly before the cars derailed.
"We heard the train go by, it sounded extra louder than it normally would," says Monica Zanotti, co-owner of the Country House Lounge.
She heard that louder than normal train at around one Friday afternoon.
"And I happened to look out the window and the white car carrying the wood, you could see it coming off the track," she says.
There is evidence that the train was coming off the tracks near the lounge, as railroad ties are damaged, and the roadway pavement looks to have been gouged by a part of the train.
The rail car carrying the lumber can be seen in drone video captured by Feldpausch, going over a bridge over the Kawkawlin River.
The train derailed a short time later. Zanotti says she has never worried about a derailment in the area.
"Not until now," she says.
"Every time one of these trains is moving, that's commerce, that's money, that's jobs," says Mark Graham.
Graham and his wife live nearby and stopped by to drop off some drinks for crews as they continue to work on removing the rail cars from the area.
"I know what it's like to sweat your rear end off, and not have anything to show for it," he says.
He believes Lake States Railway has improved train safety in the area and the tracks have been getting upgrades.
"They have gone above and beyond," Graham says.
Lake State Railway is hoping to have the train cars removed from the area by Thursday and the any repairs needed for the tracks to have cars running completed, again on Thursday as well. | 2023-07-25T02:03:54+00:00 | abc12.com | https://www.abc12.com/news/video-shows-moment-train-derailed-in-kawkawlin-on-friday/article_c214576a-2a61-11ee-bfb6-f77fd45c2670.html |
MULBERRY, Ark. (AP) — Three Arkansas law enforcement officers have been suspended and a state police investigation launched after a video posted on social media showed a suspect being held down on the ground and beaten by police.
Arkansas State Police said Sunday night that it would investigate the use of force by the officers earlier in the day outside a convenience store in Mulberry, about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock.
Two Crawford County sheriff’s deputies and one Mulberry police officer were suspended Sunday, city and county authorities said. The officers were responding to a report of a man making threats outside the convenience store, authorities said.
State police identified the man as Randall Worcester, 27, of Goose Creek, South Carolina. The video posted online shows one officer punching Worcester with a clenched fist, while another can be seen kneeing him, and a third is holding him down.
Worcester was taken to a hospital for treatment Sunday then released and booked in the Van Buren County jail on multiple charges, including second-degree battery, resisting arrest and terroristic threatening, state police said.
Authorities have not released the names of the three officers who were seen on the video. Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said Sunday that the two deputies were suspended pending an investigation.
“I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,” Damante said.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory said the city officer involved in the incident is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
“The city of Mulberry and the Mulberry police department takes these investigations very seriously,” Gregory said.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Sunday night on Twitter that the “incident in Crawford County will be investigated pursuant to the video evidence and the request of the prosecuting attorney.” | 2022-08-22T12:11:31+00:00 | seattletimes.com | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/3-arkansas-officers-suspended-after-video-captures-beating/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Defending champion Scottie Scheffler took the lead into the weekend in the WM Phoenix Open, with local favorite Jon Rahm right behind at TPC Scottsdale.
The second-ranked Scheffler played 25 holes Friday, completing a 3-under 68 in the first round and shooting a bogey-free 64 in the second to get to 10 under. He had a two-stroke lead over Rahm and Adam Hadwin when play was suspended because of darkness.
Rahm, the former Arizona State star ranked No. 3, also returned early to finish the first round. He shot 68-66 to possibly set up a Super Bowl weekend showdown with Scheffler for the No. 1 ranking.
“That would be a lot of fun,” Scheffler said. “It looks like right now we’re 1 and 2, but we’ll see how things shake out. A lot of guys still have a lot of golf out there to play. Should be a fun weekend.”
Hadwin had eight holes left when play was suspended. None of the afternoon starters were able to finish the round.
Last year, Scheffler beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff for his first PGA Tour title. Scheffler added victories in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Match Play and Masters and was the PGA Tour’s player of the year.
The Texan has hit 20 of 28 fairways and 27 of 36 greens in regulation.
“Around this place when you’re hitting fairways and you’re hitting it well the golf course can kind of open up for you,” Scheffler said. “But the opposite can happen in a hurry because there’s trouble lurking on basically every hole.”
After a frost delay and gusting wind Thursday, the players faced a lighter breeze that shifted frequently.
“The wind was really moving around,” Scheffler said. “It could be difficult to judge at times. But it was nice and warm, so it was good.”
Rahm opened the year with consecutive victories in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. He had his best finish at TPC Scottsdale in 2015, when he tied for fifth as an amateur.
Rahm played a four-hole stretch in 4 under on his first nine in the second round. He birdied the par-5 13th, holed out of a greenside bunker for eagle on the par-5 15th and made a 7-footer for birdie on the par-3 16th.
“I hit a lot of great tee shots today,” Rahm said. “A lot of good iron shots that … didn’t end up in great spots.”
His mother and 87-year-old grandmother, visiting from Spain, watched him on No. 16.
“Unexpected. Very unexpected,” Rahm said. “I’m glad I didn’t know until I hit the shot, honestly, because otherwise I think I would have tried too hard for my grandma to hit a good shot.”
While Scheffler and Rahm topped the leaderboard, top-ranked Rory McIlroy had to rally after an opening 73 in the toughest conditions Thursday. He had four birdies in a five-hole stretch and was 3 under overall when play was suspended.
McIlroy is trying to make it three wins in a row on the PGA Tour after taking the Tour Championship in August and The CJ Cup in October. He also won two weeks ago in Dubai on the European tour in his first start of the year.
Wyndham Clark was 7 under after rounds of 68 and 67. Sungjae Im also was 7 under with six holes left.
Jason Day was 6 under, finishing off a 65 to take the first-round lead and adding a 71.
“I’m glad I’m in the house,” Day said. “I’m just going to go rest up.”
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2023-02-11T13:31:18+00:00 | ktalnews.com | https://www.ktalnews.com/sports/ap-defending-champion-scottie-scheffler-leads-wm-phoenix-open/ |
Nashville-based Lender Increases Semi-Annual Dividend 25%
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- InsCorp, parent company to INSBANK (OTCQX:IBTN) today reported first quarter earnings of $3,204,000, or $1.12 per share, an increase of 149% over the prior year same quarter. At the bank level, net interest income was $5,078,000, representing a 15% increase over the prior year. Pre-tax income from operations was $1,973,000, an increase of $489,000 over Q1 2021. In addition to income from operations, realized and unrealized gains on interest rate caps of $1,887,000, net of tax, were a driver of earnings, which was a record for the company in a single quarter.
"During the pandemic we executed hedging strategies to protect margin from further volatility during 2021 as we re-priced maturing deposits," said Jim Rieniets, President and CEO of INSBANK. "Fortunately those liabilities re-priced before recent volatility witnessed during the first quarter of this year, which resulted in an opportunity to enhance our capital base with gains on those interest rate caps," Rieniets continued.
Core deposits grew by $27,000,000 during the quarter to $511,000,000, while core loans (excluding Paycheck Protection Program loans) grew $4,500,000. Total new loan commitments closed during the quarter were roughly $40,000,000, while funding under those commitments was approximately $25,000,000. Net loan growth was impacted by payoffs primarily from clients selling commercial real estate and other assets. "While net loan growth was ultimately lighter than expected, our loan pipeline both extended and grew during the quarter," said Rieniets. "Activity in our market remains very vibrant and our team is busy managing the pipeline of opportunities before us, both in our core commercial banking unit as well as our Medquity healthcare silos," Rieniets continued.
The board of directors also recently approved the payment of a semi-annual dividend. InsCorp shareholders of record as of May 20, 2022, will receive a $0.15 dividend payable on June 10, 2022. This is an increase of 25% over the company's most recent semi-annual dividends. "With the trajectory of earnings our team has established, we're pleased to be able to further enhance our shareholders' total return with an increase in the dividend," said Michael Qualls, Chairman of InsCorp.
Highlights of the quarter and year-over-year include
- Total assets grew $88 million or 13.9% as of March 31, 2022 compared to March, 31 2021.
- Non-interest bearing deposits grew $11.3 million or 15.6% during the 12 months ended March 31, 2022.
- Deferred loan fees related to the PPP loans is approximately $185,000 on March 31, 2022.
- Non-Interest Expense to Total Average Assets was 1.79% for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, slightly higher than 1.70% for the same period in 2021 and compared favorably to the bank's FDIC peer group average of 2.32%.
- Cost of all interest-bearing funding was 0.69% for the three months ended March 31, 2022 decreasing from 1.33% for the same period in 2021.
- Assets per employee remained strong at $15.05 million, compared to the FDIC peer group of $6.91 million.
- The bank's tier 1 capital ratio was 12.27%, while total risk-based capital was 13.52%.
- The allowance for loan and lease losses was 1.50% exclusive of PPP loan balances.
- Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2022 was $1.12.
- Tangible book value increased to $19.89 on March 31, 2022 from $17.69 at March 31, 2021.
- The percentage of loans past due and non-accrual to gross loans was 0.47% comparing favorably to peer of 0.76%.
- There were $23,000 in net recoveries for the quarter ended March 31, 2022.
- Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) reflected a loss on the securities portfolio offset by gains on interest rate swaps held by the bank for interest rate risk purposes, resulting in a 0.9% decrease in AOCI for the three months ended March 31, 2022.
About INSBANK
Since 2000, INSBANK has offered its clients highly personalized service provided by experienced relationship managers, while positioning itself as an innovator, utilizing technologies to deliver those services efficiently and conveniently. In addition to its commercial focused operation, INSBANK operates three divisions, Medquity, TMA Medical Banking and INSBANK Online. Medquity offers healthcare banking solutions to individuals nationwide, whether they are still in residency, practicing or entering retirement, while TMA Medical Banking provides banking services specifically to members of the Tennessee Medical Association. INSBANK Online offers nationally available virtual private client services for interest bearing deposits. INSBANK is owned by InsCorp, Inc., a Tennessee bank holding company. The bank is headquartered in Nashville at 2106 Crestmoor Road, and has an office in Brentwood at 5614 Franklin Pike Circle. For more information, please visit www.insbank.com
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SOURCE INSBANK | 2022-05-04T08:29:35+00:00 | kalb.com | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/05/04/inscorp-quarterly-profits-reflect-benefits-balance-sheet-strategies/ |
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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge in California ruled Tuesday that three golfers who joined Saudi-backed LIV Golf will not be able to compete in the PGA Tour’s postseason.
U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman made her decision in San Jose after attorneys for the sides each spoke for about an hour. Freeman said she didn’t consider the golfers faced irreparable harm because of the big money they were guaranteed by joining LIV, a key issue in the case.
“There simply is no irreparable harm in this case,” PGA Tour attorney Elliot Peters said.
The three suspended golfers were seeking a temporary restraining order, which Freeman denied. Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford claimed they should be able to play where they want to, each saying in letters last month to the PGA Tour, “I am a free agent and independent contractor.” They are among 10 players who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last week — including Phil Mickelson.
Robert Walters, an antitrust litigator representing the golfers, noted this would be their opportunity on a big playoff stage, “effectively the Super Bowl of golf” because of its “significant income opportunities.” Freeman responded that the LIV Tour earnings potential was also great and asked whether players might have been able to wait until the conclusion of the PGA Tour season to depart for the new tour.
Walters argued there were only 48 spots and they would have filled up according to LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, to which Freeman said she agreed with that stance but that the golfers stood to gain far more financially joining LIV than the money they might have earned on the PGA Tour.
“This is an extraordinarily attractive financial opportunity but it’s much more than that,” Walters said, saying the harm done is that “players lose intangible benefits” such as qualifications for the major tournaments as well as other marquee invitationals.
“This is the holy grail because everybody wants to compete in and prevail in major championships, but it’s not just the majors,” Walters said. He noted that the PGA Tour inferred these golfers would put a “taint” or “stench” on the tour’s image by playing, perhaps even wearing LIV Tour gear in PGA Tour tournaments.
“We’re disappointed that Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones won’t be allowed to play golf. No one gains by banning golfers from playing,” LIV Golf said in a statement.
The first of three FedEx Cup playoff events begin Thursday. Two tournaments offer $15 million prize funds, and the player who wins the FedEx Cup at East Lake in Atlanta gets $18 million — thus the urgency for Freeman to rule. This case could go to trial next year, with the possibility of an injunction hearing in late September or early October, according to Peters.
Peters said lifting the suspensions of the golfers and allowing them to play would “change the status quo” for the PGA Tour and “give them a fabulous platform” to promote the LIV tour while competing in a PGA event.
“I think it’s a huge problem,” he said. “… The Commissioner needs the ability to protect the Tour. This is a very dire situation for the Tour.”
Gooch (No. 20), Jones (No. 65) and Swafford (No. 67) are among nine players who have joined LIV Golf and finished the regular season among the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings. The other six who joined LIV Golf are not asking to play in the tour’s postseason.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan issued a memo to members that included: “With today’s news, our players, fans and partners can now focus on what really matters over the next three weeks: the best players in the world competing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, capping off an incredibly compelling season with the crowning of the FedEx Cup champion at the Tour Championship.”
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AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this report.
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More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-08-10T07:02:00+00:00 | wdtn.com | https://www.wdtn.com/sports/ap-sports/federal-judge-denies-liv-golfers-bid-for-pga-tour-postseason/ |
Megalodon, the giant shark that lived more than 23 million years ago and was inspiration for the movie "The Meg," was almost four times bigger than the great white shark that cruises our oceans today.
However, the two shark species, which once coexisted, likely hunted some of the same prey. This competition could potentially have been one reason why the 65-foot-long (20-meter-long) megalodon went extinct, a new study has suggested.
To arrive at this finding, the researchers involved in the study used a new technique. They analyzed dietary signatures contained in the teeth of 13 extinct shark species and 20 modern sharks to understand where they fit in the food chain -- also known as their trophic level.
"Megalodon is typically portrayed as a super-sized, monstrous shark in novels and films, but the reality is that we still know very little about the extinct shark," said study author Kenshu Shimada, a professor of paleobiology at DePaul University in Chicago and research associate at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Kansas.
"Our new study shows that the dietary range of the early Pliocene great white shark is very similar to that of megalodon, indicating that our data do not contradict the competition hypothesis," he said via email.
The researchers were able glean this information by looking at the presence of different isotopes, or variants, of the chemical element zinc preserved in the sharks' tooth enamel.
Zinc is essential for living organisms and plays a crucial role in bone development. The ratio of heavy and light zinc isotopes in the teeth preserves a record of the kind of animal matter that the sharks ate.
"Zinc isotopes can be used as ecological indicators because of the ratio of these two different isotopes changes as you move up the food chain," said coauthor Michael Griffiths, a geochemist and professor in the department of environmental science at William Paterson University in New Jersey.
For example, if megalodon ate great white sharks, its higher position in the food chain would be reflected in the isotopic record. But the study found the two species had some overlap, suggesting they shared similar prey items. However, the authors cautioned that they cannot rule out megalodon preying on great whites, given that its isotope values, and especially a close relative of megalodon, called Chubutensis megalodon, had values lower than any modern and fossil marine vertebrate measured.
Feeding at the same trophic level does not necessarily imply direct competition between megalodon and great white sharks for the same prey, as both species could have specialized in different prey. However, at least some overlap in food items between both species was likely, the study said.
"Like great whites today, they likely fed on large fish. The smaller sized great whites likely did not require as much food as megalodon did, so they would have had the competitive advantage if they were feeding on similar prey items," Griffiths said via email.
The research was published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday.
This study was the first time that zinc isotopes related to diet have been proven to preserve in fossilized shark teeth.
A similar technique, using nitrogen isotopes to study the dietary signatures for other groups of animals, is well established, the study said. However, nitrogen in teeth dentine doesn't preserve well enough to study animals that went extinct millions of years ago.
The technique using zinc isotopes could be applied to other extinct animals to understand their diet and ecology.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-31T18:08:20+00:00 | albanyherald.com | https://www.albanyherald.com/news/great-whites-may-have-doomed-the-biggest-shark-that-ever-lived-fossil-teeth-reveal/article_7720eccf-c9da-5b93-9192-3f842fa4865d.html |
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
QC-JS-8C-4H-2S
(QC, JS, 8C, 4H, 2S)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Poker Lotto" game were:
QC-JS-8C-4H-2S
(QC, JS, 8C, 4H, 2S) | 2022-11-08T01:29:59+00:00 | lmtonline.com | https://www.lmtonline.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Poker-Lotto-game-17565879.php |
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids has more than a dozen parks projects in the works for 2023.
City parks staff recently outlined roughly 19 parks projects set for construction in 2023, and 17 more that were completed in 2022.
The city used $3.5 million in funds from the city’s permanent parks millage and an additional $6.7 million from organizations and grants to complete the 2022 projects.
“I think back to when I was elected back in ‘05 for the first time and we had pools that were closed and parks that were falling apart, swing sets that were broken and slides that were dangerous,” Mayor Rosalynn Bliss told her colleagues on the city commission last month. “And looking at all of the investments and improvements that we’ve made to parks and the accessibility and the additional parkspace that has been added over the last 15 years -- there’s a lot for all of us to be proud of.
“Again, it wouldn’t have happened without the support of people who call Grand Rapids home and who voted ‘yes’ twice (on the parks millage) to give us the resources we needed to invest in these spaces.”
Here’s a list of projects slated for construction in 2023 and a brief description provided by the city.
The list doesn’t include other projects happening in 2023, such as park entry signage improvements, a citywide dog park study, sports courts improvements at Cherry and Garfield parks and improvements to the playground and parking area at Richmond Park.
- Ah-Nab-Awen Park (220 Front Ave. NW) – Improvements will include restored Indian mounds in partnership with the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians and the Downtown Development Authority, as well as new restroom facilities.
- Ball Perkins Park (1675 Perkins Ave. NE) – Improvements will include bike and pedestrian trail improvements and a new south parking lot off Plymouth Avenue NE. Bike trail improvements in partnership with the West Michigan Mountain Bike Alliance.
- Camelot Park (2230 Rowland Ave. SE) – Improvements will include a new splash pad, restroom building, picnic shelter, drinking fountain, park sign and accessible pathways in partnership with the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.
- Canal Park (941 Monroe Ave. NW) – Improvements will include playground renovations, trail improvements, new seating and additional site amenities.
- Grand River Edges Trail (Leonard Street to Ann Street) – Improvements will include a new multi-use trail along the east side of the river, connecting Leonard Street and Canal Park to Ann Street and Riverside Park. Project partnership include the State of Michigan, West Michigan Trails and Greenways Coalition, Downtown Development Authority and other private partners.
- Highland Park (700 College Ave. NE) – Improvements will include renovations to the parking lot and new multi-sport court facility.
- Lyon Square (296 Lyon St NW) – Proposed improvements include flexible community gathering and event spaces, an improved river overlook, improved lighting and accessibility and additional landscaping/garden space in partnership with the Downtown Development Authority and other private funders.
- Midtown Green (747 Fountain St. NE) – Improvements will include a new plaza space, drinking fountain, nature play and landscaping.
- Martin Luther King Park Lodge (1200 Martin Luther King Jr St. SE) – Improvements will include a new lodge and pool locker rooms, updated parking lot, playground and fitness loop.
- Ottawa Hills Park (2060 Oakfield Ave. SE) – Improvements will include a new restroom building and resurfaced parking lot in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
- Plaster Creek Trail – Trail improvements and additional seating along the trail.
- Plaza Roosevelt (650 Cesar E Chavez Ave. SW) – New park space in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood near Southwest Middle High in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
- Riverwalk (Blue Bridge to JW Marriott) - Proposed improvements include a new river trail and water access in partnership with the Downtown Development Authority.
- Sullivan Field (650 Valley Ave. NW) – Improvements will include upgrades to the baseball field, grandstands and supporting amenities in partnership with Fans of Valley Field.
- Veterans Park Building (22 Sheldon Ave. NE) – Restoration of the historic building to be used for the [HAS HEART] Coffee Shop, which will provide a space for veterans to have therapeutic, creative outlets by working with local artists. Work will be in partnership with [HAS HEART], the Downtown Development Authority and other private funders.
The city also outlined parks projects completed in 2022. A brief description of each project was provided by the city:
- Belknap Park (30 Coldbrook St. NE) – Improvements include six new pickleball courts, an expanded spectator area and professional stadium lighting in partnership with the Grand Rapids Pickleball Club.
- Briggs Park (350 Knapp St. NE) – Improvements include a new butterfly garden with native plantings and a hammock grove/public art installation in partnership with Lions and Rabbits and Creston Neighborhood Association.
- Ecliptic at Rosa Parks Circle (135 Monroe Center St. NW) – Improvements, made possible in partnership with the Ecliptic at Rosa Parks Circle Conservancy, include upgrades to the existing stage, replacement of the concrete rings with granite, replacement of the lighting and waste receptacles, renovations to the restroom building, new granite and wood benches, interpretive signage, upgraded trail surfacing, additional shade trees and a three-dimensional bronze plaque and sitemap.
- Fourth Street Woods (651 Valley Ave. NW) – Improvements include nature-based play features using recycled fallen trees, a new swing set, fencing and landscaping improvements, picnic areas, bike loops and accessible entryways.
- Garfield Park (250 Burton St. SE) – Improvements include gym restroom renovations and a universally accessible splash pad with multiple spray features, shade sails and a custom entryway that doubles as public art and picnic areas. The project is near completion, with finishing touches in spring 2023. Project partners include the Garfield Park Neighborhood Association, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and Meijer.
- Heartside Park (301 Ionia Ave. SW) – Improvements include a resurfaced basketball court with mural, all-season restroom facility (open spring 2023), new drinking fountain, sidewalk improvements and power pedestal for community events.
- Highland Park (700 College Ave. NE) – Improvements include a new temporary outdoor boulder wall created in partnership with Grand Rapids Boulder Project.
- Hillcrest Park (1309 Lyon St. NE) – Improvements include an expanded dog entryway and fenced off-leash area, wooded nature path, nature play for humans and dogs, bench seating, drinking fountain with dog bowl, accessible pathways, rain garden bike loops, and a new sign (installation spring 2023).
- Mulick Park (1632 Sylvan Ave. SE) – Improvements include a community-built playground expansion in partnership with the Junior League of Grand Rapids, GameTime and Sinclair Recreation.
- Nagold Park (1001 Fourth St. NW) – Improvements include an accessible pathway connecting Fourth Street to Nagold Street, new benches, picnic tables, replaced fencing, a pollinator garden and a new park entry sign (installation spring 2023).
- Ottawa Hills Park (2060 Oakfield Ave. SE) – Improvements include an outdoor Fitness Court with seven different workout stations for multiple exercise combinations. The project was supported with funding by Priority Health, the National Fitness Campaign and Meijer.
- Paris Park (942 S Ottillia St. SE) – Improvements include bench seating, accessible pathways, ornamental trees, and a park sign/landscape bed (installation spring 2023).
- Plaster Creek Trail (Kroc Center path) – Improvements include new trail connections to the larger network in partnership with the city of Wyoming and the Michigan Department of Transportation.
- Pekich Park (2 Cherry St. SW) – Improvements include new seating, shade trees, drinking fountain with bottle filler and power pedestal for community events.
- Riverside Park (2001 Monroe Ave. NW) – Improvements include a new accessible kayak launch in the lagoon, new solar powered picnic shelter and refurbished restrooms, bike loops and a drinking fountain with dog bowl in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
- Seymour Park (943 N Ottillia St. SE) – Improvements include a native plant bed, public art piece (future installation) and a park sign/landscape bed (installation spring 2023).
- Sweet Street Park (459 Sweet St. NW) – Improvements include a bench for sunset viewing, a new swing set, new and reconfigured playground areas, picnic tables, accessible pathways, landscaping improvements, bike loops and a new waste receptacle. The tennis and basketball courts were also improved in partnership with Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Read more:
These 4 notable Grand Rapids, MDOT road projects hit targeted completion goals in 2022
What are Michigan Senate Dems’ priorities as new majority in 2023?
New public safety chief has spent 27 years with Kalamazoo department, graduated from WMU | 2023-01-03T14:52:52+00:00 | mlive.com | https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2023/01/more-than-a-dozen-grand-rapids-parks-projects-planned-in-2023.html |
Storms arrive Sunday evening
GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Big warm-up next week with unsettled weather.
First Alert Headlines
- Chance for rain/storms late Sunday
- Temperatures warm up next week
- Rain chances continue into next week
Download the First Alert Weather app for custom alerts.
Sunday starts off dry, with clouds moving out throughout the day. Although, another shower and storm chance is possible during the late-afternoon and evening in the mountains moving into the Upstate by Sunday night as a line of storms drops south.
The storms have the potential to bring damaging straight-line winds. The threat is highest in the mountains and northern Upstate between 4 PM and 8 PM.
Our temperatures will finally begin to rise next week, reaching above average numbers for the month of May.
Highs will top the low to mid 70s, and will keep inching up toward the upper 70s and low 80s through Tuesday. If you’re ready for the warm stuff, next week will be your week! This heat will set us up for some increased storm activity in the afternoon, so we’ve put a 30% chance for rain Sunday-Wednesday.
Copyright 2023 WHNS. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-06T23:31:29+00:00 | foxcarolina.com | https://www.foxcarolina.com/2023/05/06/storms-arrive-sunday-evening/ |
WICHITA, Kan., June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than a year after its product hit the market, PLOT Communications, Inc. (www.getplot.com), a SaaS management platform for construction jobsites, has announced just over $2M in fresh funding to continue its mission to enhance Jobsite Coordination. With this investment, PLOT will add to its product/engineering team and begin building out sales & customer success teams.
The round was led by GroundBreak Ventures based in Toronto, with significant involvement from KCRise Fund, GROWKS Equity Fund, Iron Prairie Ventures, and Suffolk Technologies. The fundraising round also included a follow-on investment from Koch Industries, Inc., who initially funded the company in late 2021. This brings the total amount PLOT has raised to just over $3M.
With rising input costs driven primarily by labor shortages, materials cost escalation, and supply chain disruptions, builders are increasingly turning to technology to optimize jobsite performance and reduce errors, rework, and unnecessary project costs. PLOT's platform cuts through the arduous tasks of jobsite management by providing better options for coordination and communications among all relevant stakeholders. "PLOT has assisted in expediting smooth, uninterrupted movement of material deliveries on the jobsite," says Ben Sparks, Sr. Project Engineer at Walbridge.
"We are ecstatic to reach this milestone and look forward to working alongside our new partners to bring common-sense, easy-to-use software to the Construction industry," says Chris Callen, Founder/CEO of PLOT and former concrete contractor. "From data centers and vehicle manufacturing facilities, to 10-unit housing developers, we have found that PLOT dramatically improves jobsite communication, no matter the project size." PLOT has already been used by over 400 general contractors, trade contractors, and owners across the country. "With its visual site plan, scheduling intelligence, and transparency towards the project team, PLOT makes getting materials to the jobsite effortless," says Ben Stocker, Construction Technologist at Skender.
Scott Kaplanis led the investment on behalf of GroundBreak Ventures, a leading early-stage proptech fund with considerable construction technology and logistics expertise. "We see PLOT emerging as the go-to operating system for site logistics and coordination. By debottlenecking scheduling, delivery and material management, PLOT vastly improves site efficiency and can help unlock considerable working capital for all stakeholders. Imagine finally realizing the benefits of Just-In-Time (JIT) best practices at every construction site."
Announced today in tandem with the new financing, PLOT will be launching a new Lead Time module targeting construction material ordering and shipment. "Delivery to the jobsite is only a small part of the coordination puzzle. PLOT's new Lead Time tool gives jobsite teams tools to track materials through approval, ordering, shipping, and it fits hand-in-glove with PLOT's delivery management module," says Callen.
Contractor and Media inquiries can be sent to info@getplot.com.
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SOURCE PLOT | 2023-06-05T16:48:07+00:00 | ksla.com | https://www.ksla.com/prnewswire/2023/06/05/plot-raises-2m-help-coordinate-jobsites/ |
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a "big mistake” by suspending his country's participation in the the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. The U.S. president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the U.S. will remain by their sides amid the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In his first comments since Putin's announcement Tuesday, Biden condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New START. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support following Moscow’s cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.
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“It’s a big mistake," Biden said.
The president's comments came as he was wrapping up a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries’ anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Putin could move to take military action against them next if he’s successful in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
“You’re the frontlines of our collective defense,” Biden said Wednesday of the group. “And you know, better than anyone, what’s at stake in this conflict? Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world.”
He pledged that NATO's mutual-defense pact is “sacred” and that “we will defend literally every inch of NATO."
A day earlier at the foot of Warsaw’s Royal Castle to mark the somber milestone of the year-old Russian invasion, Biden warned that Russian aggression, if unchecked, wouldn't stop at Ukraine's borders. “Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased,” he said. “They must be opposed.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the right-wing populist leader who argued last week that the European Union is partly to blame for prolonging Russia’s war in Ukraine, has balked at sanctions on Moscow and arming Kyiv. Orban was skipping the meeting with Biden, and President Katalin Novák was attending in his stead.
Still, Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, insisted that “The B9 is stronger than ever."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who was attending the meeting, said, “We don’t know when the war will end, but when it does, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself."
Pointing to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine, he added, “We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression.”
Biden met Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her country’s government using external saboteurs.
Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europe’s poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has had historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Biden in his remarks endorsed Moldova's bid to join the EU.
“I’m proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova,” Biden said of Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, has sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.
Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot “to overthrow the constitutional order.” She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. Those claims were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials.
Biden's speech on the Ukraine war came one day after he made a surprise visit to Kyiv, a grand gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. The address was part affirmation of Europe's role in helping Ukraine repel Russia's ongoing invasion and part sharply worded warning to Putin that the U.S. won't abide Moscow defeating Ukraine.
The White House has praised several eastern flank countries, including Lithuania, Poland and Romania, over the last year for stepping up efforts to back Ukraine with weapons and economic aid and taking in refugees.
Biden has given particular attention to Poland's efforts. The country is hosting about 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees and has committed $3.8 billion in military and economic assistance to Kyiv.
"The truth of the matter is: The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as NATO needs the United States," Biden said during talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-02-22T17:01:42+00:00 | wcfcourier.com | https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/biden-putins-suspension-of-us-arms-treaty-big-mistake/article_720c043a-668d-5ac7-9532-3e5f22b4ec48.html |
Fear rattled Wall Street Friday, and stocks tumbled on worries about what’s next to break under the weight of rising interest rates following the biggest U.S. bank failure in nearly 15 years.
The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, capping its worst week since September. That’s despite a highly anticipated report showing pay raises are slowing and other signals markets want to see of cooling pressure on inflation.
Some of the biggest drops were in the financial sector, which fell sharply for a second day. Regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank amid a cash crunch, and worries rose about what other banks could be in trouble. Treasury yields plunged.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 fell 56.73 points, or 1.4%, to 3,861.59.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 345.22 points, or 1.1%, to 31,909.64.
The Nasdaq composite fell 199.47 points, or 1.8%, to 11,138.89.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 53.88 points, or 2.9%, to 1,772.70
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 184.05 points, or 4.5%.
The Dow is down 1,481.33 points, or 4.4%.
The Nasdaq is down 550.12 points, or 4.7%.
The Russell 2000 is down 155.56 points, or 8.1%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 22.09 points, or 0.6%.
The Dow is down 1,237.61 points, or 3.7%.
The Nasdaq is up 672.41 points, or 6.4%.
The Russell 2000 is up 11.46 points, or 0.7% | 2023-03-10T22:24:37+00:00 | expressnews.com | https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/how-major-us-stock-indexes-fared-friday-3-10-2023-17832570.php |
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)The Carolina Panthers have requested permission to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and New England Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, according to a person familiar with the situation. That brings the number of known candidates for the team’s head coaching vacancy to 10.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the team does not make its coaching search public.
The Panthers already have interviewed interim coach Steve Wilks, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich and former Detroit Lions and Colts head coach Jim Caldwell for the position.
In addition, the Panthers have requested interviews with five current NFL offensive coordinators – Philadelphia’s Shane Steichen, Buffalo’s Ken Dorsey, Dallas’ Kellen Moore, Detroit’s Ben Johnson and the New York Giants’ Mike Kafka, a person familiar with the situation previously told the AP.
Ryans led the NFL’s top-ranked defense this season, with the 49ers allowing a league-best 300.6 yards and 16.3 points per game. Ryans, an All-Pro linebacker in 2007, has spent the last six seasons with the 49ers, including the last two as defensive coordinator.
Mayo coaches Matthew Judon, one of the game’s top linebackers, who has 28 sacks over the past two seasons for the league’s eighth-ranked defense.
The Panthers finished 7-10 this season and have missed the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
—
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL | 2023-01-13T12:18:32+00:00 | valleycentral.com | https://www.valleycentral.com/nfl/nfl-dallas/ap-source-panthers-add-ryans-mayo-to-coach-candidate-list/ |
AP source: Giuliani interviewed for hours by 1/6 committee
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rudy Giuliani, who as a lawyer for then-President Donald Trump pushed bogus legal challenges to the 2020 election, met for hours with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a person familiar with the interview said Saturday.
The interview with Giuliani took place virtually and lasted for much of the day on Friday, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.
Giuliani had been scheduled to meet with the committee earlier this month, but a spokesperson for the panel said that meeting was rescheduled.
The former New York mayor is seen as a critical aide for the committee, which has interviewed nearly 1,000 witnesses, including family members of Trump and advisers in his inner circle. The panel plans a series of hearings in June.
In January, the committee subpoenaed Giuliani and other members of the Trump legal team who sought to overturn election results in battleground states through lawsuits that made unsupported claims of vast election fraud. Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, has said there were no widespread irregularities that could have affected the outcome of the race won by President Joe Biden, and judges across the country have dismissed the allegations.
At the time of the subpoena, the committee said it was seeking records and an interview with Giuliani, and that it wanted information about Giuliani’s reported encouragement of Trump to direct the seizure of voting machines and his efforts to persuade state legislators to take steps to overturn the election results.
Giuliani also spoke at the rally in front of the White House that preceded the Jan. 6 insurrection.
CNN first reported Friday’s interview with Giuliani.
____
Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-22T08:04:08+00:00 | wcjb.com | https://www.wcjb.com/2022/05/22/ap-source-giuliani-interviewed-hours-by-16-committee/ |
Justin Long is celebrating his lady love on her special day. The Barbarian star penned a heartfelt tribute to his girlfriend, Kate Bosworth, in recognition of her 40th birthday.
Long, 44, took to Instagram on Monday to share a lengthy tribute to the birthday girl, alongside a slideshow of sweet snapshots of Bothworth, and of the two of them hanging out together and having fun.
"She is 40!" Long wrote. "She is also the best part of my day, everyday - even when we’re not together.
Long's epic ode to his ladylove went on to list all the things that he finds so endearing about her, and the aspects of her personality he finds so magnetic.
"She laughs with abandon. She makes me laugh the same - all the time. She sees beauty everywhere and in everyone. She thanks everyone - even when she’s suffering, she’s kind. She was grateful to the nurses while she was in true pain. She is deeply compassionate and can’t hurt anyone but she can be a rascal. She loves to tease. She has the best softest lips I’ve ever kissed," Long wrote. "She loves beer and football more than I do (and I love beer and football). She is the strongest person I’ve ever known."
"She’s fiercely committed to the truth. She’s so fun to work with. She’s the most fun to do everything with. She is genuinely curious about people and the world. She makes everything in my life better - all my favorite songs and movies, vacations and sunsets and Chinese food," Long's post continued. "She strives to be better but she’s the best person I know. She will do anything for her friends. She is so generous she makes my parents slightly uncomfortable around the holidays (she also makes the best cookies). She is the most beautiful human being I’ve ever seen. She is purely good. She will stand up to anyone who isn’t. She has true integrity and grit. She has, by far, my favorite smile."
"She is sitting next to me writing her own Instagram post that I know will be eloquent and funny and deeply honest - because she is all those things," he concluded. "She is going to write such a great inspiring book one day. She is my joy. She is my best friend. Happy Birthday."
Long and Bosworth -- who have been rumored to have been dating since 2020 -- first put their love on display last April, when they were spotted sharing a kiss in Hawaii. The pair then went Instagram official in May with a cute photo of them drinking from the same pint of Guinness while in Ireland.
RELATED CONTENT: | 2023-01-03T13:03:41+00:00 | 9news.com | https://www.9news.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-tonight/justin-long-pens-epic-40th-birthday-tribute-to-girlfriend-kate-bosworth/603-b4478624-0b50-46ab-96f5-2347a6515c8c |
(The Hill) – Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) launched a challenge to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R) reelection bid in 2024 on Wednesday, slamming Cruz as only caring about himself.
Allred said in a video posted on his Twitter account that he was prepared to “take on anyone who came through” during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, while the video points to a comment that a rioter made saying he believed Cruz “would want us to do this.”
The congressman notes then that Cruz hid in a supply closet during the attack.
He also mentioned Cruz’s family trip to Cancun, Mexico, in February 2021 during extreme winter weather conditions in Texas that knocked out power for millions in the state, leaving them “freezing in the dark.”
“He’ll do anything to get on Fox News but can’t be bothered to help keep rural Texas hospitals open,” Allred said in the footage, adding that Cruz “spends months trying to whip up phony culture wars but not a minute trying to raise wages or lower drug prices.
“The struggles of regular Texas just don’t interest him,” he continued. “Well, they matter to me because those struggles are the story of my life.”
The video explains how Allred was formerly a linebacker in the National Football League before being elected to Congress. He also claimed in the video that he has worked with Republicans to support veterans, pass a new trade deal with Mexico and bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
“We deserve a senator whose team is Texas, but Ted Cruz only cares about himself,” he said. “You know that.”
A Democrat has not served as a senator representing Texas in 30 years, but the race will likely be one of the few potential pickup opportunities for Democrats with a 2024 map that does not give many others.
Cruz defeated former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) for reelection to his second term by about 2.5 points in 2018, making it one of the closest races of the year.
Allred acknowledged that “some people say a Democrat can’t win in Texas” but argued that “someone like me was never supposed to get this far” and he has “taken down a lot tougher guys than Ted Cruz.”
The Hill has reached out to Cruz for comment. | 2023-05-03T18:24:37+00:00 | kdvr.com | https://kdvr.com/news/nationalworld-news/colin-allred-launches-democratic-challenge-to-ted-cruz/ |
How to Watch the Lakers vs. Grizzlies: Streaming & TV Channel Info for NBA Playoffs Game 3
Published: Apr. 22, 2023 at 4:32 PM EDT|Updated: 51 minutes ago
The NBA Playoffs will see the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies face off in the opening round, with Game 3 coming up.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about this matchup between the Lakers and Grizzlies, including how to catch the action live with a free trial to Fubo.
Watch live sports and TV without cable on all your devices with a seven-day free trial to Fubo!
Lakers vs. Grizzlies Game Info
- When: Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 10:00 PM ET
- Where: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
- TV: ESPN
- Watch Lakers vs. Grizzlies with Fubo
Watch the NBA and tons of other live sports without cable! Use our link to get a free trial with Fubo.
Lakers Stats Insights
- The Lakers are shooting 48.2% from the field this season, 2.9 percentage points higher than the 45.3% the Grizzlies allow to opponents.
- Los Angeles is 38-20 when it shoots higher than 45.3% from the field.
- The Lakers are the sixth best rebounding team in the league, the Grizzlies rank second.
- The Lakers put up 117.2 points per game, only 4.2 more points than the 113 the Grizzlies allow.
- Los Angeles is 34-16 when scoring more than 113 points.
Grizzlies Stats Insights
- The Grizzlies have shot at a 47.5% clip from the field this season, 0.6 percentage points greater than the 46.9% shooting opponents of the Lakers have averaged.
- Memphis has put together a 35-10 straight-up record in games it shoots better than 46.9% from the field.
- The Lakers are the 18th best rebounding team in the league, the Grizzlies rank fourth.
- The Grizzlies score only 0.3 more points per game (116.9) than the Lakers give up (116.6).
- Memphis has put together a 34-7 record in games it scores more than 116.6 points.
Lakers Home & Away Comparison
- Offensively the Lakers have played worse at home this year, posting 117 points per game, compared to 117.3 per game when playing on the road.
- At home, Los Angeles is giving up 5.6 fewer points per game (113.8) than in away games (119.4).
- The Lakers are sinking 11.2 treys per game with a 35.4% shooting percentage from beyond the arc in home games, which is 0.9 more threes and 1.6% points better than they're averaging in away games (10.3 threes per game, 33.8% three-point percentage).
Grizzlies Home & Away Comparison
- The Grizzlies score more points per game at home (119.8) than away (114), and also give up fewer points at home (109.2) than on the road (116.8).
- At home, Memphis allows 109.2 points per game. Away, it gives up 116.8.
- The Grizzlies collect 1.1 more assists per game at home (26.6) than away (25.5).
Lakers Injuries
Grizzlies Injuries
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-04-22T21:23:35+00:00 | mysuncoast.com | https://www.mysuncoast.com/sports/betting/2023/04/22/lakers-vs-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-game-3-live-stream-tv/ |
Report: 200 environmental activists killed globally in 2021
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Some 200 environmental and land defense activists were killed around the world in 2021, including some 54 in Mexico, which assumed the position of the deadliest country in the annual report by nongovernmental organization Global Witness.
More than three-quarters of the killings took place in Latin America, where Colombia, Brazil and Nicaragua also logged double-digit death tolls.
It was the third consecutive year of increases for Mexico and a jump from 30 such activists killed in 2020.
“Most of these crimes happen in places that are far away from power and are inflicted on those with, in many ways, the least amount of power,” the report said.
Global Witness considers its report a baseline, noting “Our data on killings is likely to be an underestimate, given that many murders go unreported, particularly in rural areas and in particular countries.”
The victims died fighting resource exploitation and in land disputes. Conflicts over mining were tied to 27 deaths worldwide, the most for any sector.
Fifteen of those mining-related killings were in Mexico.
In the western Mexico state of Jalisco, José Santos Isaac Chávez was killed in April 2021. He was running for local office and had made opposition to a long-running mine a central part of his campaign. Days before the election, he was found dead in his car, which had been driven off a cliff and his body showed evidence of torture. Armed men had dragged him out of his home and driven him away in his own vehicle.
In April 2021, Sandra Liliana Peña Chocué, an Indigenous governor in southwest Colombia, who had fought for the eradication of coca crops in Caldono, Cauca was killed near her home by armed men. Her murder was condemned by the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations and foreign governments.
Overall, killings of environmental activists in Colombia dropped in 2021 to 33 from 65 the year before. The Philippines saw fewer such killings in 2021 too, 19 compared to 30 in 2020.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, all eight recorded victims were killed inside Virunga National Park.
In November, conservation park ranger Chief Brigadier Etienne Mutazimiza Kanyaruchinya, 48, was killed when 100 heavily armed men, presumed to be former members of the M23 rebel group, attacked a patrol post near the village of Bukima in Congo’s North Kivu Province.
Virunga Park is home to some of the world’s last mountain gorillas, but armed groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, known by its French acronym FDLR, the Mai-Mai and the M23 regularly vie for control of eastern Congo’s natural resources.
Global Witness called on governments to enforce laws that protect activists and require informed consent from Indigenous groups, while also requiring companies to be accountable throughout their global operations and have zero tolerance for attacks on land defenders.
“Activists and communities play a crucial role as a first line of defense against ecological collapse, as well as being frontrunners in the campaign to prevent it,” Global Witness CEO Mike Davis said in the report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2022-09-29T12:11:24+00:00 | kob.com | https://www.kob.com/news/us-and-world-news/report-200-environmental-activists-killed-globally-in-2021/ |
NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Attention Polished.com Inc. f/k/a 1847 Goedeker Inc. ("Polished") (NYSE: POL) shareholders:
The Law Offices of Vincent Wong announce that a class action lawsuit has commenced on behalf of investors. This lawsuit is on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded Polished securities: (1) pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus issued in connection with the Company's 2020 initial public offering; and/or (2) between July 27, 2020 and August 25, 2022, inclusive.
If you suffered a loss on your investment in Polished, contact us about potential recovery by using the link below. There is no cost or obligation to you.
ABOUT THE ACTION: The class action against Polished includes allegations that the Company made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company would restate certain financials; (2) the Company's internal controls were inadequate; (3) the Company downplayed and obfuscated its internal controls issues; (4) as a result, the Company would engage in an independent investigation; (5) as a result of the investigation, the Company would, among other things, retain independent counsel and consultants, and delay its quarterly filings in violation of NYSE requirements of listing; (6) following the commencement of the investigation, the Company's CEO and CFO would leave the Company; and (7) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times.
DEADLINE: December 30, 2022
Aggrieved Polished investors only have until December 30, 2022 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. You are not required to act as a lead plaintiff in order to share in any recovery.
Vincent Wong, Esq. is an experienced attorney who has represented investors in securities litigations involving financial fraud and violations of shareholder rights. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
Vincent Wong, Esq.
39 East Broadway
Suite 304
New York, NY 10002
Tel. 212.425.1140
E-Mail: vw@wongesq.com
View original content:
SOURCE The Law Offices of Vincent Wong | 2022-11-07T11:28:08+00:00 | witn.com | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/11/07/class-action-alert-law-offices-vincent-wong-remind-polished-investors-lead-plaintiff-deadline-december-30-2022/ |
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s chancellor said Wednesday that he was “disgusted by the outrageous remarks” made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin, accusing Israel of committing “50 Holocausts” against Palestinians over the years.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s statement on Twitter came a day after Abbas refused to condemn a deadly attack by Palestinian militants on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Instead, Abbas countered by saying he could point to “50 Holocausts” by Israel.
“I am disgusted by the outrageous remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,” Scholz said. “For us Germans in particular, any relativization of the singularity of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable. I condemn any attempt to deny the crimes of the Holocaust.”
Scholz was criticized both in Germany and Israel for not rejecting Abbas’ comments immediately at the press conference he held with him on Tuesday night at the Chancellery.
A spokesman for Scholz told reporters that his office had summoned the head of the Palestinian mission in Berlin on Wednesday.
The chancellor’s foreign and security policy advisor conveyed that Scholz expects the Palestinian president “to acknowledge the singularity of the Holocaust without any qualification,” Steffen Hebestreit said.
“His gaffe yesterday casts a dark shadow over Germany’s relations with the Palestinian Authority,” Hebestreit said, referring to Abbas’ comments. He added that Scholz has arranged a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Lapid for Thursday in order to be able to speak directly with him about this incident as well.
Standing next to Scholz at Tuesday’s press conference, Abbas explicitly used the word “Holocausts” in his reply, drawing a grimace from the German chancellor. Germany has long argued the term should only be used to describe the Nazis’ singular crime of killing 6 million Jews before and during World War II.
While Scholz had earlier rejected the Palestinian leader’s description of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as “apartheid,” he did not immediately rebuke Abbas for using the term “Holocaust.”
Abbas said that “from 1947 until today, Israel has committed 50 massacres in 50 Palestinian villages.”
“Fifty slaughters. Fifty Holocausts,” he added.
During the Third Reich, the Germans and their henchmen murdered 6 million Jews across Europe.
On Wednesday, Abbas appeared to walk back his comments.
In a written statement, his office said that “President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirms that the Holocaust is the most heinous crime in modern human history.”
The statement stressed that “his answer was not intended to deny the singularity of the Holocaust that occurred in the last century, and condemning it in the strongest terms.”
Abbas’s remarks drew strong condemnation by leaders across Israel’s political spectrum. Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid called the comments, “not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie.”
Dani Dayan, chairman of the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, had called Abbas’s remarks about the Holocaust “appalling” and urged the German government to respond to the “inexcusable behavior done inside the Federal Chancellery.”
The remarks came a few weeks before the planned commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Munich attack, in which Palestinian militants killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. Relatives of the slain Israeli athletes said they plan to boycott the ceremony after failing to reach an agreement on bigger compensation from the German government.
Germany’s leading Jewish group also sharply criticized the comment and expressed shock that Scholz did not repudiate Abbas’ comment immediately.
Abbas “tramples on the memory of six million murdered Jews and damages the memory of all victims of the Holocaust,” said Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. “Such statements cannot be left uncommented. That a relativization of the Holocaust, especially in Germany, at a press conference in the Federal Chancellery, goes unchallenged, I consider scandalous.”
___
Ben Zion reported from Jerusalem. | 2022-08-18T07:26:23+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/news/ap-international-news/german-leader-condemns-abbas-50-holocausts-remark/ |
NUEVA YORK (AP) — Jueza aplaza juicio entre Elon Musk y Twitter, dando al empresario más tiempo para cerrar acuerdo de compra.
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BEIJING, Feb. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the economic globalization advances, numerous enterprises, breaking the blockade of overseas giants to seize overseas market share, have taken the lead in bringing Chinese products and services to the world. As early as its establishment, Oriental Yuhong, with sights set on overseas markets, established the ideal of "Oriental Yuhong around the World". Having got through struggles over the past 28 years, Oriental Yuhong has always been on the road.
In recent years, driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, Oriental Yuhong has sped up its efforts to expand its global footprint and gradually fostered the "localization" strategy overseas, striving to become the "most valuable enterprise in the global construction materials industry". Its products have been sold in more than 100 countries around the world. In the past two years, with the speed of "going global" accelerating, new breakthroughs have been constantly made in the branch of Oriental Yuhong in Malaysia.
As an average annual rainfall of 2,000mm in Malaysia leads to rapid aging of building materials and water leaking, there is a high demand for waterproofing products in Malaysia, which attracts many overseas waterproofing and building materials enterprises rushing into the Malaysian market. Homogeneous competition is inevitable, sometimes leading to low product quality and price wars, during the seizing of market share. Nevertheless, Oriental Yuhong is committed to its mission of "creating sustainable and safe environment for human society", and believes a price war will severely damage the sound development of the building materials industry. Since it explored the global market in 2005, Oriental Yuhong has long pursued "long-termism" and remained committed to serving customers with quality and efficient products. After nearly 20 years of hard work, it has won trust and recognition from various building materials markets and customers with its quality products and sincere services, and successively participated in well-known projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project and maintenance of the Blue Mosque in Malaysia.
As big brands enter the Malaysian market, the competition for market share becomes increasingly fierce. To take the top spot in the competition, the building of sales channels is critical, apart from good brand reputation brought by quality products and services. Driven by field visits, market research and sales channels building, Oriental Yuhong immediately recruited local talents to form a team to vigorously build the local sales channels. So far, 70 franchises and over 1,000 distribution outlets have been set up in Malaysia, delivering benefits to Malaysia's construction materials market through its powerful sales channels as well as quality products and services.
Over the past 10 years of "going global", opportunities have gone hand in hand with challenges. Only by finding the right positioning and giving full play to strengths can one keep its presence in overseas markets. The branch of Oriental Yuhong in Malaysia integrates resources to tap the potential of local market, continuously seeking new growth while enhancing its reputation with quality products and services.
As a pioneer of "going global" in construction materials industry, Oriental Yuhong has long been focusing on R&D innovation, product quality, excellent services and supply chains as its core competencies, and constantly building up itself to expand its global footprint, moving toward a more ambitious goal.
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SOURCE BEIJING ORIENTAL YUHONG WATERPROOF TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. | 2023-02-10T06:08:58+00:00 | live5news.com | https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2023/02/10/oriental-yuhong-accelerates-its-going-global-speed-continuously-seeking-growth-malaysia/ |
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Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: Verdict reached after weeks-long trial
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - A verdict has been reached in Johnny Depp’s $50-million libel suit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
The jury also has reached a verdict regarding a $100 million counterclaim Heard filed against Depp. Court officials in Virginia said the verdict will be read at 3 p.m. ET. The verdict reading will be streamed live, which you can watch in the video player above.
Throughout the six-week-long trial, jurors heard from both Depp and Heard extensively. Each was on the stand initially for four days, undergoing grueling cross-examinations, with Depp taking the stand one final time as a rebuttal witness.
Their testimony provided an ugly glimpse into the couple's seemingly toxic relationship and captivated the internet with daily livestreams that garnered millions of views. Some fans even camped out, spending tens of thousands of dollars for a chance to witness the court proceedings in person.
The seven-person civil jury deliberated for about 12 hours over three days before reaching their verdict.
At the center of the trial is whether Heard defamed Depp in a 2018 newspaper op-ed. Heard is also countersuing Depp. Each has accused the other of physical assault and destroying their career.
Below is a summary of what happened and some key moments throughout the trial:
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case summary
Depp, 58, is suing Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018. The piece was headlined: "I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change." In the piece, she referenced herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."
Heard never mentioned Depp by name, but Depp’s lawyers argue her writing was a clear reference to abuse accusations Heard made when she sought a 2016 restraining order against him.
Depp has denied he ever struck Heard and says she was the abuser in the relationship. Heard has testified about more than a dozen separate instances of physical abuse she says she suffered at Depp’s hands.
Depp said his movie career suffered after the op-ed was published and that the accusations and the article made him a Hollywood outcast and cost him his role in the lucrative "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie franchise.
Heard’s lawyers have argued that Heard’s opinion piece was accurate and didn't defame him. They've said Depp’s career downfall and ruined reputation was due to his own bad behavior and have argued that The Walt Disney Co. had already decided to ax Depp from "Pirates of the Caribbean" months before the article’s publication.
Additionally, Heard filed the $100 million counterclaim against Depp after his former lawyer, Adam Waldman, called her claims of abuse a hoax. Heard's lawyers have said Waldman made those statements in league with Depp, something Depp denies.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s relationship timeline
The two met in 2009 while filming "The Rum Diary." Despite their 22-year age difference, Heard testified there was an instant connection when Depp met with her as he considered her for a role in the film.
"I was a no-name actor. I was 22. He was twice my age. He’s this world-famous actor and here we are getting along about obscure books, old blues" music, testified Heard, who’s now 36.
While they had chemistry during the filming of the movie, she said they didn’t begin dating until doing a press tour for the film’s release in 2011. At the outset, they kept their relationship a secret.
Heard testified that the first act of physical abuse against her by Depp happened in 2013.
The two married in February of 2015 reportedly at their Los Angeles home, but the nuptials didn’t last long. In May 2016, Heard filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp. Their divorce was finalized in early 2017, with Heard saying she was going to donate her $7 million settlement to charity.
Heard’s op-ed was published in The Washington Post in 2018. In 2019, Depp filed a $50-million defamation lawsuit against her. Heard countersued Depp for $100 million.
The trial began on April 12, 2022.
Depp’s alcohol and drug use
Depp and Heard painted very different portraits of Depp’s drug and alcohol use.
Heard said drugs and alcohol — along with paranoid jealousy — is what turned him from the man she loved into the "monster" who made her fear for her life. She said he hid his drug and alcohol use from her and from his family but his behavior made it clear he was high or drunk, often to the point of incoherence.
"Johnny on speed is very different from Johnny on opiates. Johnny on opiates is very different from Adderall and cocaine Johnny, which is very different from Quaaludes Johnny, but I had to get good at paying attention to the different versions of him," Heard testified.
Heard said Depp’s denials of physical abuse lack credibility in part because he would black out and forget what he’d done.
Depp, for his part, admitted that he’d become addicted at one point to oxycodone and underwent a detox process in 2014, which was before the two were married. But he said the allegations of uncontrolled drug and alcohol use are grossly embellished.
"I’ve always had a pretty big tolerance for alcohol," he testified. "I’ve never had a physical addiction to alcohol."
Testimony of one example of his drug and alcohol use focused on a 2014 flight from Boston to Los Angeles while Depp was filming "Black Mass."
Heard has said Depp assaulted her on the flight while he was blackout drunk.
Depp testified he took two oxycodone pills — an opiate to which he admits he was addicted at the time — and locked himself in the plane bathroom and fell asleep to avoid her badgering.
He told the court that he drank only a glass of Champagne while boarding the flight. But texts he sent to the actor Paul Bettany at the time referenced drinking half a bottle of whiskey, "a thousand Red Bull vodkas" and two bottles of Champagne before the flight.
Later in the trial, a psychiatrist testified that Depp's behavior fits the pattern of a person whose drug and alcohol abuse contributes to domestic violence.
Abuse claims
In order to rule on Depp’s libel claim, the jury must decide whether the facts in the case prove Depp, in fact, abused Heard. Depp said he never physically abused her, while Heard said she was assaulted on more than a dozen occasions. Depp also alleged he was the victim of abuse inflicted by her.
Heard testified the first act of physical violence against her happened in 2013. She said it happened when the two were talking about one of Depp’s tattoos, and she said she made the mistake of laughing at it.
She said Depp responded by slapping her. Thinking the slap must be a joke, she laughed more. Depp responded by slapping her twice more, with the third slap knocking Heard off balance.
Depp, while he was on the stand, flatly denied it occurred.
The tattoo in question was one that used to say "Winona Forever," which Depp got when he was dating actor Winona Ryder. He had it altered to "Wino Forever" when they broke up.
Depp and Heard both agreed the worst violence occurred in March 2015 in Australia while Depp was shooting the fifth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, but that’s where their agreement of the account ends.
Heard said Depp sexually assaulted her with a bottle of Maker’s Mark bourbon as part of an alcohol-fueled rage that included accusing her of infidelity with a co-star.
Depp said he was the victim of violence because Heard was irate over a pending post-nuptial agreement and his struggles with sobriety.
Depp testified Heard threw a liquor bottle at him twice, and that one smashed against his hand while it rested on a counter and severed the tip of his middle finger.
Photos of the aftermath showed Depp wrote vulgar messages to his wife in blood on the walls of the house. Jurors also saw contemporaneous text messages Depp sent to others in which he said he cut off his own finger. Depp said he made up that story to protect Heard and avoid police involvement.
A hand surgeon later testified that Depp could not have lost the tip of his middle finger the way he told jurors it happened.
Kate Moss staircase testimony
On one of the last days of the trial, supermodel Kate Moss was called to testify as a rebuttal witness. Her brief testimony only lasted about three minutes. She appeared via live video link from Gloucestershire, England.
Moss addressed the infamous staircase rumor that claimed Depp pushed her down a flight of stairs during an incident while the two were dating. Moss, 48, said that while the two were on a vacation at the GoldenEye resort in Jamaica she slipped and fell while leaving her hotel room following a rainstorm.
Moss said Depp rushed to her aid, carried her back to her room and brought her medical attention after she fell.
"No. He never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs," Moss answered when asked if Depp was responsible for the incident.
Moss said that she and Depp were involved in a romantic relationship from 1994 to 1998. She was dragged into the case earlier in the trial when Heard blurted out her name during testimony.
Amber Heard bruise kit
On cross-examination, Depp lawyer Camille Vasquez questioned Heard about multiple photos of her that appeared not to show bruises even though they were taken within days of alleged abuse incidents. Heard said she used makeup to cover bruises and ice to reduce swelling.
Heard then discussed her makeup routine, using a color correction wheel that she called her "bruise kit" to cover up marks on her face. She said she learned over the years to use green shades in the first day of a bruise to cover up redness, and switch more to orange shades as the bruise turned blue and purple.
"I’m not going to walk around L.A. with bruises on my face," she said.
Histrionic personality disorder
Heard’s mental health has also been on trial, so to speak, for the past several weeks.
A forensic psychologist hired by Depp’s legal team testified that she suffered from borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder, which Cleveland Clinic defines as "a mental health condition marked by intense, unstable emotions and a distorted self-image.
The psychologist also testified that Heard does not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder from her relationship with Depp, as Heard has claimed.
But weeks later, the first witness to take the stand on Heard’s behalf testified Heard does suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and disputed that she suffered from any personality disorder.
Why did the Depp-Heard trial happen in Virginia?
The trial took place in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Fairfax, Virginia.
Heard’s lawyers had sought to have the case tried in California, where the actors reside. But a judge ruled that Depp was within his rights to bring the case in Virginia because The Washington Post’s computer servers for its online edition are located in the county.
Depp’s lawyers said they brought the case in Virginia in part because the laws there are more favorable to their case.
Where is Johnny Depp for the verdict?
Depp hasn't been waiting in Virginia for the decision. He's spent the last few days on stage, singing and playing guitar with Jeff Beck in the United Kingdom.
A source close to Depp told FOX News that he would remain in the U.K. for the verdict due to previously scheduled work commitments made prior to the trial. A source also said Heard would be present for the verdict.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report. | 2022-06-01T18:49:13+00:00 | fox6now.com | https://www.fox6now.com/news/johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial-verdict |
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Half of Puerto Rico is without power more than five days after Hurricane Fiona struck — including an entire town where not a single work crew has arrived.
Many on the U.S. territory are angry and incredulous, and calls are growing for the ouster of the island’s private electricity transmission and distribution company.
Fuel disruptions are worsening the situation, forcing grocery stores, gas stations and other businesses to close and leaving apartment buildings in the dark because there is no diesel for generators.
Many are questioning why it is taking so long to restore power since Fiona was a Category 1 storm that did not affect the entire island, and whose rain — not wind — inflicted the greatest damage.
“It’s not normal,” said Marcel Castro-Sitiriche, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. “They have not given a convincing explanation of what the problem is.”
He noted that Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority and Luma, a private company that took over the island’s power transmission and distribution last year, also have not released basic information such as details of the damage to the electricity grid.
“We don’t know the extent of the damage yet,” Castro said, adding that he was concerned and surprised that Luma had not brought in additional crews to boost extra manpower already on the island.
Luma has said Fiona’s floods left several substations underwater and inaccessible, and it has insisted it doesn’t need more personnel.
“We have all the resources we believe we need,” said Luma engineer Daniel Hernández.
The lack of power has prompted at least two mayors to activate own repair teams, and several other town leaders are calling for answers on why Luma crews have not reconnected homes and key infrastructure.
“They haven’t even arrived here,” said Yasmín Allende, municipal administrator for Hormigueros, a town in western Puerto Rico that is home to more than 15,600 people, many of them elderly.
She said town officials have provided a list of downed transformers and power lines as well as the exact location of dozens of damaged electric posts. They have even cleared openings around damaged spots to ensure that electricity could be restored as soon as possible, she said.
“Everything is ready for them so they can come and do their job,” Allende said. “All they have to do is show up.”
Elizabeth González, who lives in Hormigueros, said she was forced to throw out two bags of meat Friday and is struggling to buy more gasoline for her generator, even as her husband, who has cancer, depends on it.
González said she is fed up with Puerto Rico’s power grid.
“It’s useless, as simple as that,” she said. “If a hurricane comes, if rain comes, or a little gust of wind, the power quickly goes out.”
The island’s power grid was already crumbling due to austerity measures, aging infrastructure and lack of maintenance when a powerful Hurricane Maria razed the system in 2017. Reconstruction of the grid had barely started when Hurricane Fiona hit last Sunday.
In the first days following Fiona, Luma officials and Gov. Pedro Pierluisi promised that the vast majority of customers would soon have their electricity back. But as of late Friday, more than 40% of 1.47 million customers were still in the dark.
In addition, 27% of 1.3 million water and sewer customers did not have water in part because pumps rely on electricity and not all had backup generators.
Neither Luma nor Puerto Rico’s power generating utility have said when electricity will be restored to the most affected areas. They have said only that hospitals and other critical infrastructure are their priority.
The situation has outraged many Puerto Ricans, including local government officials.
“I am not going to accept excuses,” said Alexander Burgos, mayor in the central mountain town of Ciales. “Our power lines are up, there are no electrical posts on the ground, and we are ready to be connected.”
Edward O’Neill, mayor of the northern town of Guaynabo, tweeted that Luma’s “bad performance” was “unacceptable.”
O’Neill, who worked for both the Puerto Rico’s power company and Luma, said his municipality has collected all necessary information to help crews restore power but has not seen any results.
In the northern town of Bayamon, Mayor Ramón Luis Rivera got tired of waiting and contracted independent repair crews that began work Friday afternoon, although they were not handling live wires. Aguadilla Mayor Julio Roldán announced he was doing the same in his northwest coastal town, saying, “We’re depending on other people to stay alive. We’ve had it.”
The mayor of the central mountain town of Utuado said no one in his municipality of 28,000 people had power and accused Luma of making residents unnecessarily suffer. The mayor of the western town of Moca echoed those sentiments, saying “Luma has not wanted to assume its responsibilities.”
Cathy Kunkel, a Puerto Rico-based energy and finance analyst, said she was surprised power had not yet returned to areas barely affected by Fiona, including the capital of San Juan.
She also questioned why Luma has not employed hundreds of experienced linesmen that worked with Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority before the private company took over transmission and distribution in June 2021.
“We have this absurdly frustrating situation,” she said. “The old system is held together in substandard ways. You actually want the people who know how to work on that particular system.”
The lack of power has been linked to several deaths. Authorities say a 70-year-old man burned to death when he tried to fill his running generator with gasoline and a 78-year-old man died from inhaling toxic gases from his generator. On Friday, police said a 72-year-old man and a 93-year-old woman died after their house caught on fire because they were relying on candles for light.
Castro-Sitiriche, the electrical engineering professor, said Puerto Rico’s government, Luma and the Electric Power Authority are all to blame.
“It’s a shared disaster,” he said, adding that Fiona was a wake-up call and that more people need to be connected to solar power. “It is a shame that the government has not done that to save lives.” | 2022-09-24T22:06:40+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/top-stories/ap-top-headlines/ap-puerto-ricans-seething-over-lack-of-power-days-after-fiona/ |
WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — A civil rights activist, a business owner, a lawyer, an engineer and the founder of a winery and his family were on the floatplane that crashed in the waters of Washington state’s Puget Sound, killing 10.
The U.S. Coast Guard released the names of the victims early Tuesday. The body of one of the dead was recovered after Sunday afternoon’s crash, but the other nine remain missing despite an extensive search.
The Northwest Seaplanes flight was on its way from Friday Harbor, a popular tourist destination in the San Juan Islands, to a Seattle suburb when it went down without sending out a distress call. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year issued a safety directive for the type of aircraft involved.
The dead include pilot Jason Winters, activist Sandy Williams, winemaker Ross Andrew Mickel, his pregnant wife Lauren Hilty and their child Remy Mickel. Also killed were passengers Joanne Mera, Patricia Hicks, Luke Ludwig, Rebecca Ludwig and Gabrielle Hanna. The Coast Guard did not provide hometowns.
Williams, from Spokane, Washington, was a lecturer, filmmaker, founder of the Carl Maxey Center and editor of The Black Lens, an African American-focused newspaper.
“Sandy was a voice for the voiceless, a tireless advocate for marginalized people in Spokane, a journalist unafraid to speak truth to power, a builder of hope in her vision for the Carl Maxey Center, and a beloved friend to countless members of our community,” The Spokane County Human Rights Task Force said on Facebook.
Thayne McCulloh, president of Gonzaga University, said the community lost a leader, teacher, activist and powerful voice.
Also from Spokane, Hicks was a retired teacher.
Mickel was the founder of the Ross Andrew Winery in Woodinville, Washington.
“We are deeply saddened and beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved Ross Mickel, Lauren Hilty, Remy and their unborn baby boy, Luca,” the Mickel and Hilty families said in a statement. “Our collective grief is unimaginable. They were a bright and shining light in the lives of everyone who knew them.”
The Washington State Wine Commission said in an email that Ross had “an incredible impact on the Washington wine community” and will be greatly missed.
Mera was a business owner from San Diego, The Seattle Times reported. Her niece, Sami Sullivan, said she was visiting family in Seattle. She leaves behind three children and a husband of more than 30 years, Sullivan said.
“Joanne Mera was someone everyone gravitated towards,” Sullivan said in a statement. “She was the life of any party and the soul of our family. She was the best mom, wife, sister and friend.”
The Ludwigs, a couple from Minnesota, also perished in the crash. Luke Ludwig was an engineering leader with Arizona-based HomeLight Home Loans.
“The entire HomeLight team extends our deepest sympathies to both Luke and Becca’s families, friends, and loved ones,” the company said in an email. “Luke was a deeply devoted father, husband, outdoorsman, and coach for his kids’ sports teams, known for his remarkable kindness and generous spirit.”
Seattle lawyer Gabby Hanna was returning from a friend’s wedding when the plane went down, The Seattle Times reported.
“She was a fierce, fierce young woman, in the best of ways,” her father, Dave von Beck, said in an interview Tuesday. “There are no words to describe the pain. Her family loved her very much.”
The Coast Guard ended the search for survivors Monday afternoon. The plane went down in Mutiny Bay off Whidbey Island, about halfway between Friday Harbor and its destination in Renton.
The owner of the seaplane company was aboard one of two flights that took off on Sunday, Scott Giard, director of the U.S. Coast Guard’s search and rescue for the Pacific Northwest, said at a news conference.
The owner told authorities he saw the other plane divert slightly off course and he tried to make radio contact but was unable to.
“Shortly after that, he noticed on his flight tracker that the flight had stopped tracking and notified authorities,” Giard said.
Officials received reports that “the aircraft dropped suddenly at a fair amount of speed and hit the water,” Giard said. “We don’t have any video or pictures of the incident as of this moment.”
There was no distress call or distress beacon from the crashing plane, he said. The aircraft has an electronic locating transmitter onboard, but they have not received any transmission.
A team from the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of the DHC-3 Otter, but had not released any information by Tuesday afternoon.
Steven Wallace, former director of FAA Office Accident Investigations, said the NTSB will look at all other accidents with this type of aircraft, any safety directives and the company’s maintenance records as it tries to learn why the plane hit the water.
“Early in the investigation every possibility is on the table,” Wallace said.
One accident that will be of interest is the 2019 crash of the same model of floatplane in Manitoba, Canada, he said. A DHC-3 Otter with a pilot and two passengers was headed to Family Lake when the plane’s right wing came off. The aircraft took a nosedive into the lake, killing everyone onboard, according to the accident report.
Following the lead of Canadian authorities, the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive for these planes in March that required inspections of lugs, bolts and plates to ensure the wing strut is secure, according to the agency’s order.
“Failure of a wing strut could result in a catastrophic in-flight breakup of the wing,” the report said.
Coast Guard searchers found “minimal debris,” Giard said. By Monday afternoon, they had only found three to four long and narrow pieces of aluminum, very few personal items, a seat and some small pieces of foam.
Without a clear picture of the actual crash, and not knowing whether it exploded on impact or immediately sank to the sea floor, 150 to 200 feet (45-60 meters) below, it’s difficult to know what happened to the plane, he said.
Northwest Seaplanes is a family owned business founded by Clyde Carlson, according to the company’s website. The company posted a message on Facebook late Monday saying they are heartbroken.
“We don’t know any details yet regarding the cause of the accident,” the post said. “We are working with the FAA, NTSB and Coastguard. We have been in communication with the families. We are praying for the families involved, including our pilot and his family.”
___
Bellisle reported from Renton, Washington. | 2022-09-06T23:41:21+00:00 | ourquadcities.com | https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/national-news/ap-search-ends-for-9-missing-in-northwest-floatplane-crash/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says he’s not making much money from his social media network but estimates it is worth between $5 million and $25 million, according to his personal financial disclosure form filed Friday.
He owns about 90% of his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, but said he made less than $201 from it.
He also reported he made between $100,000 and $1 million for a series of digital trading cards he released in December that portrayed a photoshopped Trump in a series of cartoon-like images, including an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero.
The report filed with the Federal Election Commission is the first glimpse into Trump’s finances since he left the White House and launched several new business ventures.
The real estate mogul and reality TV star launched the platform Truth Social in 2022, a year after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Although Trump has since been allowed back on those social media networks, he has relied on Truth Social as a primary method of sharing messages with his supporters, especially as he has launched his 2024 presidential campaign.
The disclosure provides limited information because it only reports income in broad ranges. That makes it difficult to tell how many of Trump’s biggest properties and businesses are faring since his departure from office because the disclosures he was required to file when he was president included specific income figures instead of ranges.
In the latest disclosure, for instance, Trump reports his Washington, D.C., golf club took in more than $5 million. In 2020, he had put a finer point on it: $14.2 million.
CIC Digital LLC, the company that owned the digital trading card NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, was valued at somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million, according to the report.
Trump also reported he made more than $5 million in speaking fees.
All federal candidates are required to file the disclosures after announcing their candidacies. Trump, a Republican, had been granted an extension and risked a fine if he delayed further.
___
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Bernard Condon contributed to this report. | 2023-04-15T17:00:10+00:00 | kxnet.com | https://www.kxnet.com/news/business-beat/ap-business/trump-reports-little-income-from-truth-social-1m-from-nfts/ |
(NewsNation) — A manhunt is underway in Pennsylvania for Michael Burham, an escaped prisoner who police describe as a “survivalist” with military training, prepared to withstand the elements and conceal himself.
Police have located some small campsites they believe are associated with Burham, Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police said at a press conference.
The jail from which Burham escaped is in northern Pennsylvania, about 18 miles from Jamestown, New York, and just outside the Allegheny National Forest.
Officials have scoured the homes and wooded areas inside the search radius of the manhunt.
“Burnham is a self-taught survivalist with military experience and could be potentially holed up in a wooded area near the city,” Bivens said. “We are considering him armed and dangerous, and we are cautioning residents if they see him or believe that he may be anywhere near them that they should not attempt to approach him.”
Burham is believed to have prepared to conceal himself in the woods, and small campsites and stockpiles were located in the forest near the prison, Bivens said. They have no reason to believe he has left the general area.
Burham, 34, escaped from a jail in Warren, Pennsylvania, by climbing up on exercise equipment and using tied-up bedsheets to escape from a window.
He was being held on a $1 million bond on kidnapping, burglary and arson charges, as well as being the prime suspect in the murder of 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin.
Burham is also associated with the carjacking and kidnapping of a local couple while trying to escape capture.
Authorities say they cannot stress enough how dangerous Burham is and are urging local residents to be aware when they are out and about.
More than a dozen federal, state and local authorities are involved in the search for Burham. They are using drones, helicopters and dogs to search a remote area not far from the prison.
However, a majority of the search is happening on foot due to the rough terrain.
The Pennsylvania State Police has assumed control as the search expands through the county and into the state of New York.
The U.S. Marshal is offering up to $7,500 for information leading to Burham’s arrest. Warren County Crime Stoppers is offering up to a $2,000 reward. | 2023-07-10T20:04:14+00:00 | pahomepage.com | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/state-news/campsites-found-in-pennsylvania-manhunt-for-escaped-survivalist-prisoner/ |
LONDON (AP) — A marketing campaign by oil major Shell has been banned by the U.K.’s advertising watchdog Wednesday for implying a big proportion of its business was in low carbon energy even though fossil fuels make up the “vast majority” of its operations.
A television commercial, a YouTube video and a poster campaign in Bristol, England, variously described providing large numbers of British homes with 100% renewable energy, installing electric vehicle charging points and driving the energy transition.
In its written ruling the Advertising Standards Authority found consumers would interpret the marketing materials as making a “broader claim about Shell as a whole providing cleaner energy.”
Although Shell does have a clean energy business, the company estimates its operations released almost 1.4 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in 2021.
In a statement, Shell spokesperson Tara Lemay said the company “strongly” disagrees with the ASA’s decision, “which could slow the U.K.’s drive toward renewable energy.”
Campaign group Adfree Cities had filed a complaint to the ASA about the commercials, arguing they left out significant information about Shell’s overall environmental impact. It also argued the claim that 78,000 homes in the southwest of England and 1.4 million homes across the U.K. use 100% clean energy from Shell was misleading.
The ASA’s ruling said the campaign gave the impression that “low-carbon energy products comprised a significant proportion of the energy products Shell invested in and sold in the UK in 2022, or were likely to do so in the near future.”
It also found Shell had proven its claims to provide 100% renewable power to many British homes, and that part of the complaint was not upheld.
The watchdog ordered Shell not to run the campaign again in its current form.
Adfree Cities campaigner Veronica Wignall, who led the complaint, said the ruling “marks the end of the line for fossil fuel greenwashing in the U.K.,” but added that the ruling “doesn’t go far enough.”
She called for robust legislation to stop fossil fuel advertising.
But Shell’s Lemay argued that “people are already well aware that Shell produces the oil and gas they depend on today.”
Lemay cited a survey of 1,700 British adults that found 83% associated the company with gas stations.
“What many people don’t know is we’re also investing heavily in low and zero-carbon energy,” she said. “That is what our adverts set out to show, and that is why we’re concerned by this short-sighted decision.”
Shell previously faced claims of greenwashing in promotional materials. In 2021, the Dutch advertising watchdog told the company to stop running a campaign saying its fuel was carbon neutral, a claim based on its offset program.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | 2023-06-07T18:49:53+00:00 | localsyr.com | https://www.localsyr.com/news/international/shells-clean-energy-campaign-is-misleading-uk-advertising-watchdog-says/ |
After Phoenix and San Francisco, Los Angeles will be the next destination for the Waymo One robotaxi service.
In an announcement last week, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, Waymo, said its robotaxis will start driving across several L.A. districts over the coming months ahead of the start of the ride service. Waymo didn’t say when the service will be open to the public but did say the service will operate around-the-clock.
Waymo has been testing self-driving cars on L.A. streets for years, including when the company was still known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project. In 2019, the company first started mapping L.A. streets for the Waymo One service.
Waymo hasn’t provided a map of the areas Waymo One will cover, though the company mentioned popular L.A. spots like Downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, Santa Monica, Westwood, West Hollywood, and Dodger Stadium.
L.A.’s streets will be the most challenging routes faced by the company yet, as Phoenix and San Francisco don’t have the complex road structures and huge traffic volumes experienced in L.A. Specific challenges mentioned by Waymo include criss-crossing freeway ramps, narrow streets, blinding sunsets, and distracted drivers.
There’s a lot to gain as the city has approximately 13 million residents and is the third largest location in the country for ride-hailing services, according to Waymo.
Waymo’s self-driving system, known as the Waymo Driver, is rated at Level 4 on the SAE scale of self-driving capability, which means it can fully function on its own, though only within set conditions. Typically, Level 4 self-driving cars are limited to areas with sufficient map data, known as geo-fencing. The end goal is a Level 5 self-driving car, which will be able to function in all conditions expected of a human driver.
Unlike some rival self-driving systems, either in the works or already commercially available, robotaxis controlled by the Waymo Driver don’t require NDAs, remote operators, or pre-defined pick-ups, according to Waymo.
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- Hummer goes smaller, Mercedes goes for zero crashes: Car News Headlines | 2022-10-25T06:28:41+00:00 | everythinglubbock.com | https://www.everythinglubbock.com/automotive/internet-brands/next-stop-for-waymo-one-robotaxi-service-will-be-la/ |
Club Members Offered Complimentary Headspace Subscription to Encourage Mental Health
And A More Holistic Approach To Wellness
CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fitness industry leader 24 Hour Fitness has teamed up with Headspace Health, the provider of the world's most accessible and comprehensive digital mental health platform, in a partnership to offer complimentary three-month Headspace subscriptions to new and existing 24 Hour Fitness club members on a first come first serve basis, while supplies last. Headspace offers a range of tools to help people stress less, sleep better, get moving, and to find more focus and joy. The partnership launches its complimentary offer on Monday, October 10, World Mental Health Day, and is an important part of 24 Hour Fitness's holistic strategy to offer dynamic fitness and wellness experiences to club members. For more information, visit https://www.24hourfitness.com/headspace.
"I've always been proud of our company's mission to create a healthier, happier world," said Karl Sanft, President and CEO, 24 Hour Fitness. "Now more than ever, this mission extends beyond physical fitness to include the importance of mental health and well-being. That's why our partnership with Headspace Health is so timely. The science-based mindfulness and meditation app will offer a new level of wellbeing to both our team members and club members -- because we want everyone to develop a healthy mind and body—the best combination to tackle whatever your day brings."
It's all about the synergy between the two brands. 24 Hour Fitness has listened to its club members and what they want from their fitness experience including a fitness space that supports both mind and body health and is a refuge to help reset their next 24 hours. 64% of the 24 Hour Fitness audience rate emotional well-being as more important now compared to 51% pre-pandemic. Additionally, members highly regard the importance of being active for life and work out to feel good (more so than losing weight), while leveraging mobile apps to keep track of their fitness habits both inside and outside of the club environment.
Headspace offers more than 1,000 hours of premium mindfulness content from guided meditations, eyes-open exercises like mindful walks and runs, breathing and wind-down exercises, focus music, sleep content and more to help people live happier lives. Headspace is a leading player in the meditation and mindfulness category that is committed to advancing the field of mindfulness and meditation through clinically-validated research. In fact, research shows that 30 days of Headspace resulted in 32% decrease in stress, and 4 weeks of Headspace improved focus by 14% -- making Headspace the perfect complement to a 24 Hour Fitness membership.
"Decades of research show that physical and mental health are deeply intertwined," said Katie DiPerna, Senior Vice President, Partnerships, Headspace Health. "With this partnership, we're thrilled to bring awareness of the power of meditation and mindfulness to the 24 Hour Fitness community, and to provide their members and employees with a new tool to improve their overall health and wellbeing."
With the goal of helping club members develop a holistic wellness plan – inside as well as outside the club –24 Hour Fitness offers complimentary Headspace subscriptions to club members (with a similar offer extended to the company's team members). Participants will receive a three-month complimentary subscription to the Headspace app and can choose short meditations to stay on track throughout the day, or longer sessions to deepen their practice. Most recently, Headspace has revealed new content collections that celebrate and empower women, provide education on stress management, and support parents and students of all ages during the back to school season. Also included are tools to help members get a good night's rest—sleep meditations, sleep music, wind downs and specially-designed sleepcasts.
24 Hour Fitness has built a series of partnerships that offer club members and guests a variety of fitness and wellness experiences that can help support overall health. Recently launched popular partnership programs include Nutrishop and recovery program iCRYO. The company has also entered the boutique fitness space with a new HIIT offering P.A.S.E. Factor, among other partnerships.
Celebrating nearly 40 years as an industry leader, 24 Hour Fitness helps change lives every day through fitness. Operating a network of approximately 300 clubs in 11 states, the company offers clean and spacious clubs furnished with a variety of strength, cardio and functional training equipment in a comfortable environment that conveys the feeling of community and inclusivity for more than 2 million club members. Membership options offer club amenities including functional training equipment, GX24 group exercise studio and cycle classes where members can reserve a spot for their favorite instructor-led live class within a club community that supports and inspires every member to lead a healthier, happier life. Friendly and knowledgeable fitness professionals also stand ready to deliver dynamic personal and group training programs. The company's 24GO® app provides touch-free club check-in as well as a variety of on-demand workouts to support fitness at home, in the club or on the go. This diverse combination of fitness options is designed to engage and motivate every 24 Hour Fitness member to explore and enjoy a lifelong relationship with mind and body health and wellness. For further information and to find a club near you, visit www.24hourfitness.com.
Headspace was created with one mission in mind: to improve the health and happiness of the world. As one of the first meditation apps on the market, Headspace remains a leader in mindfulness and mental training. For more information, please visit us at www.headspace.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Headspace Health is a leading provider of mental health and wellbeing solutions, touching the lives of over 100 million people in 190 countries. Through our flagship Headspace brand, we provide mindfulness tools for everyday life, including meditations, sleepcasts, mindful movement, and focus exercises. Our enterprise brands, Headspace for Work and Ginger, are distributed through over 3,700 enterprises, including Starbucks, Adobe, Delta Air Lines, and ViacomCBS; and through health plans such as Cigna. Our members and enterprise partners' employees have access to mindfulness and meditation tools, CBT, coaching, therapy, and psychiatry, ultimately helping them to be healthier and more productive. To learn more about Headspace Health and our family of brands, visit www.headspacehealth.com.
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SOURCE 24 Hour Fitness | 2022-10-03T15:16:16+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2022/10/03/24-hour-fitness-headspace-health-launch-partnership-world-mental-health-day/ |
New integration gives LinkedIn customers even more options and flexibility to more accurately reach RollWorks-created, account-based audiences on LinkedIn
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Account-based marketing platform RollWorks, a division of NextRoll, today announced the launch of RollWorks Audience Syncing for LinkedIn, a new integration with LinkedIn Marketing Solutions that allows customers to push RollWorks-created Account Lists into LinkedIn ad accounts. With this new feature, organizations of any size can leverage RollWorks' proprietary segmentation capabilities to identify high ROI accounts and ensure their ads are delivered to extremely targeted and relevant audiences on LinkedIn.
With this news, RollWorks builds upon its current integration for LinkedIn that allows customers to run their single image Sponsored Content ads through the RollWorks platform via their RollWorks account. The new integration allows customers to connect their own LinkedIn Campaign Managers account, which provides the flexibility to push RollWorks-created Audience Lists to their LinkedIn Campaign Manager account and leverage all LinkedIn ad formats and targeting capabilities.
"RollWorks focuses on the most relevant, high-quality prospects, and gives organizations a simple way to engage those targets," said Mike Stocker, SVP of Partnerships at RollWorks. "Audience Syncing is a powerful new integration that strengthens our ongoing collaboration with LinkedIn and gives our customers more flexibility to use RollWorks and LinkedIn together in the way that works best for them."
- Get even more targeted with LinkedIn audiences using RollWorks' segmentation capabilities: a huge value-add to account-based marketers using both platforms RollWorks segmentation creates hyper-specific targeting using specific attributes like intent, engagement, and G2 searches. Customers can then layer on native LinkedIn facets like Job Title, Member Skills, and Company Growth Rate.
- Use all available LinkedIn ads: building off of the current RollWorks integration with LinkedIn Ads, which offers single image sponsored content ads, customers can now use all LinkedIn ads, such as Video, Event, Lead Gen Forms, Conversation Ads.
- Connect multiple LinkedIn Campaign Manager accounts to RollWorks
Learn more about how to easily sync your RollWorks Audiences to your LinkedIn ad accounts.
If you're at HubSpot INBOUND® 22 in Boston this week, stop by the ABM For Small Teams session with Randi Barshack, CMO of RollWorks, and Kaitlin Bellay, Head of Partner Marketing at LinkedIn, today, Thursday, September 8, at 2:20 pm ET in the LinkedIn Lounge. And check out the complete list of RollWorks events at HubSpot INBOUND activities here.
RollWorks, a division of NextRoll, offers ambitious B2B companies an account-based platform to align their marketing and sales teams and confidently grow revenue. Powered by proprietary data and machine learning, RollWorks' solutions address the needs of organizations large and small — from those with best-in-class ABM programs to those just beginning their exploration. By empowering teams to identify their target accounts and key buyers, reach those accounts across multiple channels, and measure program effectiveness in their system-of-record, RollWorks is an indispensable platform for marketers and sellers who believe that an account-based approach is just good business. To learn more visit www.rollworks.com.
Media Contact:
Melissa Rossiter
press@rollworks.com
480.749.4324
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SOURCE RollWorks | 2022-09-08T14:28:57+00:00 | wlbt.com | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/rollworks-expands-its-segmentation-capabilities-through-linkedin-audience-syncing/ |
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "I wanted to create a modification for pickup trucks to greatly simplify the loading and unloading process," said an inventor, from Farmington Hills, Mich., "so I invented the ELLIS TRUCK BED SYSTEM. My design would save time and effort and it could help to avoid painful back strains, overloads and related damage."
The invention offers improved truck bed access and use for pickup truck owners. In doing so, it eliminates the struggle of loading/unloading over the lowered tailgate. It also prevents the accidental overloading of the truck bed and it helps to prevent the load from striking the back window. The invention features a reliable design that is easy to use so it is ideal for the owners and manufacturers of pickup trucks. Additionally, it is producible in design variations.
The original design was submitted to the Bingham Farms sales office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 20-BGF-2490, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com.
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SOURCE InventHelp | 2022-08-02T20:04:12+00:00 | waff.com | https://www.waff.com/prnewswire/2022/08/02/inventhelp-inventor-develops-modified-feature-pickup-trucks-bgf-2490/ |
Tropical Storm Fiona intensified into a hurricane on Sunday as it battered Puerto Rico. A hurricane warning was in effect Sunday for the entire U.S. territory, including Vieques and Culebra, and has been expanded to include the eastern Dominican Republic as well. | 2022-09-18T18:40:12+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/09/18/hurricane-fiona-tracker-map/ |
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Donald Trump is fighting the media and, not for the first time, it's conservative media. The historically conservative union leader of New Hampshire denounced Trump. An editorial says Trump's presidential campaign, quote, "insults New Hampshire voters' intelligence." The publisher went on to call to Trump a crude blowhard with no clear political philosophy. Trump's reply was clear enough. He says the paper is failing and that the publisher is a loser. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | 2022-06-08T00:41:59+00:00 | upr.org | https://www.upr.org/2015-12-29/trump-goes-off-on-n-h-newspaper-after-it-denounces-him |
This story is excerpted from Capitolized, a twice-weekly newsletter that keeps an eye on the representatives you voted for (or against) with expert reporting, analysis and insight from the editors and reporters of Montana Free Press. Want to see Capitolized in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday? Sign up here.
The Montana Legislature — really, American state and federal legislative bodies in general — operates according to a series of rules and traditions.
Among these is that a center aisle bifurcates legislative chambers according to the country’s two major political parties. In theory, Republicans sit on one side of the chamber and Democrats sit on the other. In Montana, the size of the Republican supermajority and the limits of physical space mean this isn’t quite true — in the House, for example, Republicans sit on one side of the aisle and occupy about half of the seats on the other side of the aisle, while Democrats populate the remaining seats.
But the basic principle of furniture tribalism still applies. Republicans sit with Republicans, Democrats sit with Democrats.
It’s a principle that one lawmaker this session, backed by a variety of figures from deep in the annals of Montana’s political history, hopes to undo.
House Bill 271, sponsored by Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, would seat lawmakers in the state House and Senate alphabetically by last name, replacing the seating arrangements currently defined by party segregation and hashed out by legislative leadership with statutory direction. Tuss told the House Legislative Administration Committee last week that he believes breaking the partisan seating divide could help lawmakers broker more effective relationships with one another — and pass more effective legislation — regardless of whether “R” or “D” follows their name.
“Though perhaps a little different than the other legislation we’re used to considering this session, I firmly believe this bill will make all other legislation in future legislative sessions better by making our deliberations less partisan,” Tuss testified. “Overwhelmingly, Montana residents want us as legislators to heed their call to legislate in a bipartisan manner.”
The idea garnered support from members of Montana’s political old guard who participated in — or at least, remember — the state’s 1972 Constitutional Convention, where delegates were seated by surname.
“Montana’s Constitutional Convention sat alphabetically as it attempted to deal with each issue on its merits,” delegate Arlyne Reichert testified in writing. “Although there were heated debates, after lengthy discussions, we were able to come together and complete the task. All 100 delegates, Republicans, Democrats and Independents signed the Constitution at the end of the Convention. Unlikely friendships bloomed, and the seeds of mutual respect were planted.”
It’s time, she wrote, for the Legislature to go back to its “ABCs.”
The current arrangement of the body encourages animosity and opposition, others testified.
“Have you ever noticed that when two people sit at a table, they often choose chairs on opposite sides? This is automatically adversarial in terms of territory — the kind of seating arrangement that divorce attorneys and their clients typically adopt,” said Mick Ringsak, a longtime Butte Republican politico who served as a regional appointee under President George W. Bush.
He cited his long-standing friendship with Democrat Evan Barrett — Butte’s political “odd couple” — as evidence that reframing the terms of interpersonal legislative engagement can be effective.
“It is unfortunate that we have reached a point in politics that people of opposing views getting along and working together warrants a front-page story,” he said.
The bill’s co-sponsors are mostly Democrats, though some Republicans, including longtime lobbyist-turned-lawmaker Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, have signed on.
And of course acrimony between the parties is not for nothing. Lawmakers this session are debating morally weighty questions of LGBTQ rights and access to abortion, among other things.
Members of the committee seemed to engage positively with Tuss’ idea, though they identified a few current seating traditions they might like to keep. Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, suggested an amendment that would allow the parties to designate exceptions to alphabetical ordering for legislative leaders, who tend to sit on the aisles. Additionally, he encouraged Tuss to consider that the back row or two of the chamber is usually reserved for people with mobility issues.
Lastly, he noted that one element of the bill could cause more pressing issues if passed. Its current langage calls for an immediate effective date, meaning lawmakers would have to reseat themselves in the middle of the current session. Stafman encouraged a language change that would have the bill take effect at the beginning of next session.
“I’ve gotten attached to my desk,” he said.
latest stories
Montana Republicans show support for medical conscience bill
State lawmakers in the House of Representatives gave broad approval Monday to a bill that would allow medical providers, health care facilities and insurers to deny services based on “ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles,” signaling the bill’s likely advancement to the Senate this week.
Montana remains one of two states without distracted driving laws
In Montana, Republicans such as state Sen. Jeremy Trebas not only don’t support a statewide ban, but they also want to overrule Missoula and the 14 other Montana cities, towns, and tribal governments that have enacted bans on hand-held cellphone use while driving.
The Session: The judiciary, tax rebates and the budget surplus
Changes to the judicial branch, the budget surplus and tax proposals. | 2023-02-07T06:07:55+00:00 | montanafreepress.org | https://montanafreepress.org/2023/02/06/the-montana-legislatures-seating-chart/ |
WFO MIDLAND/ODESSA Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Thursday, October 27, 2022
_____
HIGH WIND WATCH
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Midland/Odessa TX
211 PM CDT Wed Oct 26 2022
...HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON
THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING...
* WHAT...West winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph
possible.
* WHERE...Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains.
* WHEN...From Thursday afternoon through Thursday evening.
* IMPACTS...Travel could be difficult, especially for high
profile vehicles.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Monitor the latest forecasts and warnings for updates on this
situation. Fasten loose objects or shelter objects in a safe
location prior to the onset of winds.
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Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | 2022-10-26T19:55:33+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/weather/article/TX-WFO-MIDLAND-ODESSA-Warnings-Watches-and-17536423.php |
NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucas Bols N.V., a leading global cocktail and spirits player ("Lucas Bols"), today announces the acquisition of 100% of Fluère, a leading non-alcoholic spirit's brand, effective 1 January 2023. Fluère's high-quality products are currently sold in over 20 countries, including many European countries and a limited number of US states. The purchase price consists of a fixed component of approximately € 1 million and potential earn-out payments related to ambitious net revenue and EBITDA targets over a three-year period.
Fluère was created in 2018 by two Dutch entrepreneurs, Leon Meijers and Alfred Sendee. The premium products are highly regarded by both industry and consumers, as evidenced by top-notch reviews and the many medals and awards won. The high quality is guaranteed by superior production methods and using the best ingredients, including the finest botanicals. Fluère's range comprises four products: Original, Spiced Cane, Raspberry, and Smoked Agave. The range will be extended with a Bitter, an important addition to complement the flavor palette and expand cocktail possibilities. The Bitter will be launched in February 2023.
The no-/low-alcohol market is a rapidly growing category. According to IWSR forecasts the category will record a volume compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of +8% between 2021 and 2025. Health consciousness and mindful drinking continue to be on the rise and social occasions become increasingly diverse, further driving consumer demand for no-/low-alcohol drinks and cocktails. As the market becomes more mature there is room for independent no-/low-alcohol brands offering high-quality products. The acquisition of Fluère allows the Lucas Bols Company to take advantage of this momentum.
The acquisition of Fluère is strategically important to the Lucas Bols Company: it offers a great opportunity to broaden the portfolio to leverage these changing consumer trends. Focus will be on raising Fluère's profile among the bartender community and increasing the brands on-trade presence whilst strengthening its position in the retail. The Fluère brand offers important synergies with our cocktail brands, expanding the wide range of cocktail propositions the Lucas Bols Company has to offer.
Fluère benefits from the Lucas Bols Company's strong route-to-market and bartender preference and loyalty. In the US the brand will be added onto the Lucas Bols USA platform, opening an increasing number of states for distribution.
The premium positioning of the Fluère brand translates into gross margins above the Lucas Bols group's average.
The founders have committed to remain fully involved with the further development of the brand for at least two years.
Huub van Doorne, CEO of the Lucas Bols Company: 'We are delighted to welcome Fluère to our portfolio of brands. At the Lucas Bols Company, we believe in the strong potential of the no-/low-alcohol market. With its outstanding taste and beautiful packaging, the award-winning Fluère brand is in the sweet spot of mindful drinking without having to compromise on a great cocktail experience. We therefore believe that Fluère is set to ploy o leading role in the growth of this exciting market. By leveraging our strong distribution platform and on-trade expertise we can accelerate Fluère's scale up. We look forward to working with Leon and Alfred to explore all synergies between Fluère and our other cocktail brands. Fluère will truly contribute to our mission; to create great cocktail experiences around the world."
Leon Meijers, CEO and founder of Fluère: "Creating Fluère has been a fantastic journey and now we are entering the next exciting phase: scaling up the brand. We are convinced that the Lucas Bols Company will offer the best environment for Fluère to grow and achieve its full potential. We have great respect for their capabilities in brand building and strong route-to-market and are therefore thrilled that Fluère will become part of the Lucas Bols Company portfolio. The truly entrepreneurial culture at the Lucas Bols Company very much fits our values and ways-of-working. We cannot wait to create a variety of great-taste no-/low- alcohol cocktails and on-trade propositions together by leveraging our collective wealth of flavors and exploring best-in-class mixology skills."
Further information
www.lucasbols.com
For press inquiries, please contact lucasbols@tractenberg.com.
The Lucas Bols Company is a leading global cocktail and spirits player in the worldwide cocktail market and one of the oldest Dutch companies still active. Our mission is to create great cocktail experiences around the globe. The Lucas Bols Company is active in over 110 countries worldwide with a portfolio of more than 20 premium and super-premium brands. Bols The World's First Cocktail Brand includes the number-one liqueur range globally (not including the US). We are also the world's largest player in the genever segment, and our portfolio of brands includes Passoa, the number-one passion fruit liqueur, and the ultra-premium Tequila Partida brand.
Through the House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience and the Bols Bartending Academy, the company provides inspiration and education to both bartenders and consumers.
With almost 450 years of experience in the art of distilling and blending spirits and cocktails combined with the creative spirit of Amsterdam, we truly are 'Masters of Taste'.
The Lucas Bols Company has been listed on Euronext Amsterdam (BOLS) since 4 February 2015.
The Fluère brand was created in 2018 by Leon Meijers and Alfred Sendee, two Dutch entrepreneurs. Fluère is one of the leading non-alcoholic spirits brands, offering a range of five products: Original, Spiced Cane, Raspberry, Smoked Agave and newly created Bitter. Fluère is sold in more than 20 countries, including the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, UK, Germany and recently the US.
Fluère is the perfect base for a non-alcoholic long drink and because of its unique and subtle taste it is also a very versatile mixer for various no- and low-alcohol cocktails. Fluère lives by four brand values: Mindful, Cosmopolitan, Intriguing and Adventurous.
This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
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SOURCE Lucas Bols | 2023-01-06T15:49:07+00:00 | wymt.com | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/01/06/lucas-bols-acquires-non-alcoholic-spirit-brand-flure/ |
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Julia closed in on Nicaragua’s central Caribbean coast late Saturday after lashing Colombia’s San Andres island in a near pass soon after strengthening from a tropical storm in the afternoon.
After gaining power throughout the day, Julia’s maximum sustained winds had stabilized around 75 mph (120 kph) late Saturday, just over the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was centered about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east-northeast of Bluefields, Nicaragua, and was moving west at 16 mph (26 kph), with landfall on the Nicaraguan coast forecast for overnight.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro had declared a “maximum alert” on San Andres as well as Providencia islands to the north and asked hotels to prepare space to shelter the vulnerable population. Officials on San Andres imposed a curfew for residents at 6 a.m. Saturday to limit people in the streets. Air operations to the islands were suspended.
There were no early reports on what effects the storm had in San Andres.
In Nicaragua, authorities issued an alert for all types of vessels to seek safe harbor as the hurricane followed a general path toward the area of Bluefields and Laguna de Perlas.
Guillermo González, director of Nicaragua’s Disaster Response System, told official media that people at high risk had been evacuated from coastal areas by noon Saturday. The army said it delivered humanitarian supplies to Bluefields and Laguna de Perlas for distribution to 118 temporary shelters.
In Bluefields, however, life appeared little changed Saturday night, and people expressed reluctance to leave their homes.
Forecasters said a greater threat than Julia’s winds were rains of 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) — up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas — that the storm was expected to dump across Central America.
“This rainfall may cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides through this weekend,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The storm’s remnants were forecast to sweep across Nicaragua and then skirt by the Pacific coasts of El Salvador and Guatemala, a region already saturated by weeks of heavy rains.
In Guatemala, officials said Julia could drench 10 departments in the east, center and west of the country — an area that has been most affected by this rainy season and where the poorest people are concentrated.
From May to September, storms have caused 49 confirmed deaths and six people are missing. Roads and hundreds of homes have been damaged, Guatemalan officials say.
In El Salvador, where 19 people have died this rainy season, the worst rainfall is expected Monday and Tuesday, said Fernando López, the minister of environmenta and natural resources. Officials said they had opened 61 shelters with the capacity to house more than 3,000 people. | 2022-10-09T13:51:25+00:00 | cbs4indy.com | https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-tropical-storm-julia-strengthens-as-it-heads-for-nicaragua/ |
It’s been a long haul on securing a hoped-for grant as part of the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Challenge but last week, it happened: Buffalo was announced as one of 21 winners from a field that began with more than 500 applicants.
With it, the region has an opportunity to achieve two important goals: growing a high-paying sector of the regional economy and bolstering the economic trajectory of East Buffalo. Importantly, it could also leverage additional federal funding.
The bill is part of the pandemic-related American Rescue Plan. With it, Buffalo will be in a stronger position to compete for a separate tech-hub grant under the recently passed Chips and Science Act of 2022. That legislation is meant to promote the urgent need to construct microprocessor manufacturing plants in the United States.
The goal of the American Rescue Plan’s competition is to help the winning communities rebuild their post-pandemic economies to be more resilient when future disruptions occur. It divides $1 billion among the 21 winners. Buffalo’s grant is $25 million. Other awards ranged as high as $100 million.
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The potential benefits of this grant could help the region develop its lagging high tech sector. Advanced manufacturing represents 10% of the regional economy today, a related summary reported. It employs 61,360 workers across nearly 1,600 companies and it paid an average of about $85,500 in 2020. But its jobs are difficult to fill because of an aging workforce and lack of training. They also reflect poor racial diversity.
The plan, if implemented thoughtfully, could lead to improvements in all those aspects. Not only will it help the entire region train more than 1,600 workers in manufacturing and tech, it will do so by further developing the Northland Corridor in East Buffalo.
The proposal is to renovate two industrial buildings, creating a clean energy microgrid that will serve the campus and support manufacturing training programs, Schumer said. That, in turn will help to produce a more diverse workforce, with a particular focus on the underserved residents East Buffalo.
That, at least, is the plan and, of course, plans don’t always work out. This one appears to hold real promise, given its focus, the need to fill crucial jobs and the existence of the Northland campus, a product of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion project. It’s essential to the city and region that this program succeeds, not only for its own benefits but for the real prospect of a securing additional even more money from the Chips and Science bill.
That measure, originally knows as the Endless Frontier Act, targets an essential national need while holding out prospects of additional economic development funding for areas that haven’t seen the high-tech success of places such as California’s Silicon Valley or Austin, Texas.
Approved in July, that bill includes a measure to create a $10 billion fund to seed tech hubs in 20 regions around the country. Schumer, who was also a driving force on this bill, believes region’s Build Back Better grant bolsters its already strong chances of securing those additional funds.
Plainly, there are no guarantees. But between the efforts of Schumer and Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, the region has a golden opportunity to grow in new areas.
• • •
What’s your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. | 2022-09-05T21:24:00+00:00 | buffalonews.com | https://buffalonews.com/opinion/editorial/the-editorial-board-grant-will-help-grow-buffalo-s-economy-open-the-way-to-additional/article_3de08efc-2ae2-11ed-8bc1-83c5b0a6ab26.html |
Michigan cop charged with murder in Lyoya’s death is fired
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan police officer charged with murder after shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head has been fired, officials said Wednesday.
Christopher Schurr, a Grand Rapids officer for seven years, waived his right to a hearing and was dismissed, effective last Friday, said City Manager Mark Washington.
Schurr’s dismissal was recommended by police Chief Eric Winstrom after a second-degree murder charge was filed Thursday.
Washington declined further comment, noting the criminal case and a likely lawsuit over Lyoya’s death.
Schurr’s attorney, Matt Borgula, said he wasn’t representing the officer in the labor matter and had no comment.
Lyoya, a Black man, was killed at the end of a traffic stop on April 4. He ran and physically resisted Schurr after failing to produce a driver’s license.
Schurr, who is white, claimed Lyoya had control of his Taser when he shot him. Defense lawyers said the officer feared for his safety.
The confrontation and shooting were recorded on video.
Schurr, 31, had been on leave while state police investigated the shooting and prosecutor Chris Becker decided whether to pursue charges.
Schurr’s personnel file showed no complaints of excessive force but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs.
He spent a night in jail before being released on $100,000 bond Friday.
Grand Rapids, population about 200,000, is 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Detroit.
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Find the AP’s full coverage of the fatal police shooting of Patrick Lyoya: https://apnews.com/hub/patrick-lyoya
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | 2022-06-15T19:38:47+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/2022/06/15/michigan-cop-charged-with-murder-lyoyas-death-is-fired/ |
New Guest Experience Innovation Expected by the 2023/24 North American Season
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Sept. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vail Resorts today announced its plan to introduce a new technology that will allow guests to store their pass or lift ticket directly on their phone – eliminating the need to carry a plastic card, visit the ticket window, or wait to receive a pass or lift ticket in the mail. With the new innovation, guests will be able to buy their pass or lift ticket online, activate it on their phone, put their phone in their pocket, and get scanned, hands free, using Bluetooth® Low Energy technology.
"As a company focused on investing in the future of skiing and riding, we believe that digital innovation, more than ever, will be key for delivering a great guest experience on-mountain," said Tim April, chief information officer of Vail Resorts. "We are excited for the more seamless arrival experience this technology will provide for our guests and look forward to unveiling it across our resorts."
The new feature will be tested during the 2022/23 North American winter season, with roll-out to guests expected for the 2023/24 season.
Once launched, guests will no longer need to wait in a line at the ticket window if they need to purchase, pick up, or reprint their pass or lift ticket. In addition to the significant enhancement in the guest experience, this technology will also reduce waste from printing plastic cards and RFID chips – supporting Vail Resorts' Commitment to Zero sustainability promise.
Even after the feature is launched, Vail Resorts will continue to make plastic cards available to any guests who cannot or do not want to use their phone as their pass or lift ticket.
As a leader in the ski industry, Vail Resorts has a long track record of investing in technological innovations to improve the guest experience, including its EpicMix app, Express Lift Ticket pick-up, and transparent lift line wait time reporting.
More details about the new technology will be shared closer to the guest-facing launch ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Vail Resorts is a network of the best destination and close-to-home ski resorts in the world including Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Park City Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb, Stowe, and 32 additional resorts across North America; Andermatt-Sedrun in Switzerland; and Perisher, Hotham, and Falls Creek in Australia. We are passionate about providing an Experience of a Lifetime to our team members and guests, and our EpicPromise is to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030, support our employees and communities, and broaden engagement in our sport. Our company owns and/or manages a collection of elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, a portfolio of vacation rentals, condominiums and branded hotels located in close proximity to our mountain destinations, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Retail operates more than 250 retail and rental locations across North America. Learn more about our company at www.VailResorts.com, or discover our resorts and pass options at www.EpicPass.com.
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SOURCE Vail Resorts, Inc. | 2022-09-28T21:45:46+00:00 | wagmtv.com | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/28/your-phone-is-your-ticket-slopes-vail-resorts-plans-hands-free-digital-access-its-north-american-resorts/ |
RADNOR, Pa., Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Rent the Runway, Inc. ("Rent the Runway") (NASDAQ: RENT). The action charges Rent the Runway with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Rent the Runways' materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Rent the Runway's investors have suffered significant losses.
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR RENT THE RUNWAY LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/rent-the-runway-inc?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=rent&mktm=r
TO VIEW OUR VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: JANUARY 13, 2023
CLASS PERIOD: OCTOBER 27, 2021 THROUGH NOVEMBER 14, 2022
CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:
Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at info@ktmc.com
Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.
RENT THE RUNWAY'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
On October 27, 2021, Rent the Runway conducted its IPO, selling 17 million shares at $21.00 per share. In the months leading up to the IPO, Rent the Runway claimed that it was experiencing a business resurgence as concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic lessened, lockdown orders ceased, and its customers engaged in more social outings.
Then, just one month after the IPO, on December 8, 2021, Rent the Runway revealed that for the quarter that ended on October 31, 2021 - just days after the IPO – the company reported nearly double its loss of the prior year quarter. The company also shocked the market when it revealed that its fulfillment expenses and marketing expenses had substantially increased and that it had a sharp deceleration in active subscriber growth.
On an earnings call held with investors that same day, Rent the Runway's CFO admitted that the company was suffering "transportation headwinds" and "labor wage rate increases" during the quarter. Although Rent the Runway failed to disclose these headwinds, the CFO stated not only that they predated the IPO but also that they were "anticipated." Following this news, the price of Rent the Runway shares declined by $1.31 per share, or approximately 10.23%, from $12.81 per share to close at $11.50 on December 8, 2021.
By November 14, 2022, the day the lawsuit was filed, the price of Rent the Runway Class A common stock had fallen to $1.58 per share, 92.48% below the price at which Rent the Runway common stock had been sold to the investing public in the IPO.
WHAT CAN I DO?
Rent the Runway investors may, no later than January 13, 2023, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Rent the Runway investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE
WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?
A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com.
CONTACT:
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
Jonathan Naji, Esq.
(484) 270-1453
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
info@ktmc.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP | 2023-01-11T18:56:02+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2023/01/11/rent-runway-deadline-kessler-topaz-meltzer-amp-check-llp-reminds-investors-rent-runway-inc-deadline-securities-fraud-class-action-lawsuit/ |
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s prime minister says that her country cannot share with Russia details from its probe into last month’s underwater explosions that ruptured two key gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, citing confidentiality surrounding the investigation.
“In Sweden there is secrecy around preliminary investigation and that also applies in this case,” Magdalena Andersson said of the blast and ruptures that happened in international waters off Sweden’s Baltic coastline but within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which until Russia cut off supplies at the end of August was its main gas supply route to Germany. They also damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which never entered service as Germany suspended its certification process shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The damaged pipelines discharged huge amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the air.
Russia formally asked Sweden’s government to be part of the Swedish investigation in a letter dated Oct. 6.
“We’re still working on how we exactly formulate the answer,” Andersson said Monday at a naval base in southern Sweden.
In its preliminary investigation, Sweden’s domestic security agency said last week that its probe “has strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage” as the cause of the blasts. Sweden’s prosecutor in charge of the investigation said evidence at the site has been seized.
The Swedish Security Service said the probe confirmed that “detonations” caused extensive damage to the pipelines. Authorities had said when the four leaks off Sweden and Denmark first surfaced that explosions were recorded in the area.
In a separate statement, Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said “seizures have been made at the crime scene and these will now be investigated.” Ljungqvist, who led the preliminary investigation, did not identify the seized evidence.
In Denmark, authorities remained tight-lipped about its investigation. Denmark broadcaster TV2 reported from the site that ships with the Danish and German navy ships were in the area.
German federal prosecutors, who investigate national security cases, also have opened an investigation against persons unknown on suspicion of deliberately causing an explosion and anti-constitutional sabotage.
The German investigation comes on top of the Danish and Swedish probes but are carried out with the European Union framework.
German federal prosecutors said the reason for them getting involved as well is that an attack on energy supplies could affect Germany’s external and domestic security. On Sunday, authorities said that two German boats had set off for the area where the leaks occurred to look into what happened.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of attacking the pipelines, which the United States and its allies vehemently denied. | 2022-10-11T11:25:36+00:00 | wnct.com | https://www.wnct.com/news/international/ap-swedes-refuse-russian-request-for-pipeline-probe-info/ |
A leading New York Republican says accusations that GOP Congressman-elect George Santos (R-NY) faked much of his biography are "serious."
"I believe that George Santos deserves an opportunity to address the claims detailed in the article," said Joseph Cairo Jr., the influential chairman of Nassau County's Republican committee.
He referred to a story in the New York Times that appears to show key details of Santos' official campaign bio were fabricated.
"Every person deserves an opportunity to 'clear' his/her name in the face of accusations," Cairo added, saying he looks forward to hearing Santos' response.
In his official biography, Santos claims to have graduated from Baruch College with "a bachelor's degree in economics and finance."
That appears to be untrue.
In a statement sent to NPR, Baruch College said it had checked its records for "a George Santos, born on July 22, 1988, with a graduation year of 2010, and could not find a match."
NPR left messages for Santos but has not yet heard back.
During his campaign, Santos frequently pointed to his business career and his success outside politics as an example of the American dream.
"I'm a private sector guy who was born and raised in abject poverty," Santos said during an appearance on CBS Channel 2 in New York.
"Only in this country does somebody who comes from a basement apartment in Jackson Heights like I did, is able to rise to become a successful businessperson, to then run for United States Congress."
The Times also reported that Santos appears to have fabricated key details of his business career.
Citigroup and Goldman Sachs told the newspaper they had no record of Santos working for their firms, as the candidate claimed in his bio.
In a statement to NPR, a Citi spokesperson said they were "unable to confirm Mr. Santos' employment with Citi."
A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs also told NPR "we have no record of his employment."
Santos, who is gay, also claimed in an interview with WNYC public radio last month that his employees died in 2016 when a gunman opened fire at the Pulse, a gay night club in Orlando, Florida.
"I happened to, at the time, have people that worked for me in the club," Santos said. "My company at the time, we lost four employees that were at Pulse."
Santos added that he has "tragic memories" of that deadly mass shooting.
But the New York Times investigation could find no link between any of the 49 victims and companies or firms linked to Santos.
"He's most likely just a fabulist - a fake"
Some journalists raised questions about Santos before the election.
In an editorial before the election, the North Shore Leader newspaper endorsed Santos' Democratic opponent, Robert Zimmerman, and voiced skepticism about Santos' credibility.
"[H]e's most likely just a fabulist - a fake," the newspaper said.
It is unclear how these accusations might affect Santos and his ability to take office.
His surprising win came as part of a Republican red wave in New York that helped give the GOP a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.
Santos has yet to address the controversy on his social media feeds but on Twitter he did say he plans to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to serve as House Speaker.
"We have the opportunity of a lifetime to deliver real results for the American people. We MUST give the gavel to [McCarthy]," Santos wrote.
We have the opportunity of a lifetime to deliver real results for the American people. We MUST give the gavel to @kevinomccarthy to ensure we stop the disastrous policies the Dems have pushed for the last 2 years.
— George Santos (@Santos4Congress) December 19, 2022
I encourage my colleagues to join me! Our country depends on it.
McCarthy, who is still struggling to secure enough votes to secure the Speakership, has not yet commented publicly on the controversy surrounding Santos' biography.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | 2022-12-19T20:58:40+00:00 | knkx.org | https://www.knkx.org/2022-12-19/new-york-gop-leader-calls-accusation-of-faked-bio-for-new-gop-house-member-serious |
LOS ANGELES (StudyFinds.org) – More dollars will lead to less divorce, according to a new study. A collaboration between UCLA psychologists and RAND economists claims to have uncovered a new, effective way to cut down on the number of divorces among low-income Americans: Raise the minimum wage.
This is the first project ever to examine the impact of a state’s minimum wage increases on local marriage and divorce rates among low-income earners.
“When policymakers think about ways of helping disadvantaged families, there has been a general tendency to try teaching them things like better communication or coping skills,” says lead study author and UCLA psychology professor Benjamin Karney in a university release. “The assumption that the consequences of income inequality can be managed this way has been proven wrong again and again.”
“Luckily, there are other, more direct avenues to improving the lives of disadvantaged families, and one is to pursue policies that improve their lives in concrete ways.”
The federal government has devoted nearly $1 billion to helping low-income families stay together in recent years, and the Republican subcommittee of the Senate Joint Economic Committee just recently published a report expressing their commitment to combating the issue. Thus far most of those expensive efforts, which largely focused on teaching better relationship communication skills, have produced middling results at best.
Story continues below
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$1 can save your marriage?
This latest work, however, discovered that a when a state raises their minimum wage by just $1 per hour, divorce rates decline by seven to 15 percent over the following two years among low-income men and women.
Additionally, an increase in a state’s minimum wage by $1 also appears to foster a different effect — new marriage rates decline by three to six percent. Study co-author Thomas Bradbury, a UCLA psychology professor, explains that when young low-earners start making more money, they tend to delay marriage as opposed to avoiding marriage entirely.
“Raising the minimum wage appears to bring the marital timing of low-wage earners more in line with the timing of more affluent people, who tend to marry at older ages,” Prof. Bradbury says, noting that these marriages are usually less likely to end in divorce.
What do lower divorce rates and later marriages have in common?
In the majority of cases, they strengthen low-income families’ overall situations. Moreover, these benefits take hold more consistently and in a faster fashion in comparison to federal programs focusing on communication or coping skills.
“When the lives of poorer families get easier — that is, when they can be less poor — relationships within the family get easier as well, without anyone needing to be taught anything,” Prof. Karney adds. “Any policies that address income inequality are likely to have measurable benefits for family stability.”
Researchers analyzed two datasets collected between 2004 and 2015 for this project. The first was provided by the Current Population Survey, a mostly telephone-based poll featuring roughly 60,000 households in various populous areas. The other dataset came via the American Community Survey, a primarily mail-based survey of about 300,000 households. Only people between the ages of 18 and 35 participated in this research, as those age groups constitute the majority of low-income earners.
Study authors made it a point to mention that between 2002 and 2015 seven U.S. states never raised their minimum wages unless federally mandated to do so. Those states were Wyoming, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.
“Financial considerations play a substantial role in whether couples consider their relationships worth maintaining,” Prof. Karney concludes. “Economic stress and financial strain predict less satisfying and less stable marriages, and higher levels of poverty and consumer debt predict a greater risk of divorce.”
For this work, study authors considered anyone making $20 per hour or less a low-income worker. They clarify, however, that the results would have been largely the same even if they had lowered that threshold to $16 per hour.
The study is published in the Journal of Marriage and Family. | 2022-05-01T23:39:11+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/news/national/get-a-raise-save-your-marriage-study-finds-a-higher-minimum-wage-can-lower-divorce-rates/ |
Max Domi Player Prop Bets: Stars vs. Kraken - NHL Playoffs Second Round Game 5
Max Domi will be on the ice when the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken meet in Game 5 of the NHL Playoffs Second Round, at 9:30 PM ET on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Prop bets for Domi are available, and we have information to help you make good decisions.
Catch over 1,000 out of market NHL games, plus original programming, with ESPN+ or the Disney Bundle. Click here to sign up!
Max Domi vs. Kraken Game Info & Odds
- When: Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 9:30 PM ET
- TV Channel: TNT, SportsNet, and TVAS
- Points Prop: 0.5 points (Over odds: +100)
- Assists Prop: 0.5 assists (Over odds: +165)
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on player props with DraftKings Sportsbook.
Stars vs Kraken Game Info
Domi Season Stats Insights
- In 80 games this season, Domi has averaged 17:46 on the ice, while putting up a plus-minus rating of -15.
- Domi has a goal in 17 games this season out of 80 games played, including multiple goals three times.
- Domi has a point in 39 of 80 games this year, with multiple points in 12 of them.
- Domi has an assist in 30 of 80 games played this season, including multiple assists five times.
- Domi has an implied probability of 50% to go over his point total based on the odds.
- Domi has an implied probability of 37.7% of going over his assist prop bet, based on the odds.
Put together your best lineup of players and you could win cash prizes! Sign up for FanDuel Fantasy using our link for the best first-time player offer.
Domi Stats vs. the Kraken
- On defense, the Kraken are conceding 252 total goals (3.1 per game) which ranks 14th in the NHL.
- The team has the NHL's 10th-best goal differential at +37.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-11T20:42:40+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/sports/betting/2023/05/11/max-domi-nhl-playoffs-second-round-game-5-player-prop-bets/ |
Rossen Reports: Get paid every time you holiday shop
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Updated: 3:23 PM EST Dec 8, 2022
Yeah let's get right to the rundown. First parents are feeling powerless again. I've experienced this Children's pain relief medicine. It's hard to find on store shelves right now. We've got the key tips from experts on how to find the medication your child needs. Then earn cash while you holiday shop for anything from gifts to groceries. I'm gonna show you how and finally you're spending *** lot of money this holiday season. But there are *** ton of deals and freebies you can get right now. We've just compiled the list and we're going to show it to you first. The surgeon flu cases RsV and Covid causing problems for all of us. Parents. So many of you have taken to social media saying you're having trouble finding Children's pain medications like Tylenol and Motrin. So is there *** nationwide shortage? The FDA is not calling it *** shortage. Just *** lot of demand. So what can you do first? Your kids may prefer to take the liquid versions of the medicine but if you see other options at the store taken for kids two years and up, try substituting chewable for liquid for older kids and younger teens. You can substitute for tablets. *** big tip skip the major retailers and look at smaller local pharmacies shortages usually don't affect them. It's hard. Also call your pediatrician, they may be able to give you some samples that they have around the office or direct you to stores, they've heard her stocked up and last tip don't just reach for the adult meds. The doses are too high for kids but you can call your pediatrician and discuss it with them. They're going to look at your child's weight and age because maybe you can take *** lower version of that. But only do that. If your doctor says okay next up while you're spending money, why not make some money to before you start your online shopping. Get this internet browser extension, it's called racket in. All you have to do is sign up for *** free account and then you scroll through the website to see some of the cash back deals the site is offering through different stores like right here 8% cash back at Adidas and Nike I think that's good. How about This 10% cash back at Macy's and Walmart. All you have to do is click on the store and start shopping that money will then be sent to you through paypal or *** check. And if you're shopping in person you can also use the racket in app. Finally, there are some major deals and freebies happening right now. First up shake shack offering free delivery now through the end of the year. It makes me smile. Just use the code. Get shock at Subway for every $25 gift card you buy, you'll score *** free six inch sandwich. Now no one's ever given me like *** sandwich gift card that would be like Jeff, you eat *** lot of sandwiches but you can also buy it for yourself. Right? If you go to Subway all the time by the $25 gift card for yourself and use that and get the freeze up next on the Mcdonald's app each week, it's gonna offer holiday discounts and freebies like this, one by *** Big Mac and get one free or get *** happy meal with *** combo meal purchase. Finally, Doordash just launched *** new holiday hub right here, you're gonna find major discounts on Items from stores near you and even 50% off shipping for major food brands. Now through December 12, just look for that holiday circle icon at the top of the app. I'm gonna post all of this information on my website right now at Rawson reports back to you.
Advertisement
Rossen Reports: Get paid every time you holiday shop
You can earn cash back while you holiday shop for anything from gifts to groceries with the internet browser extension Rakuten. Just sign up for a free account and then start your online shopping. While on the Rakuten website, you’ll see retailers on the homepage. Underneath, you’ll see how much percentage cashback you’ll get. Click on that retailer and start shopping on their website like you normally would. Once you check out, Rakuten will collect that cashback and send you money through PayPal or with a check every three months. Stores pay Rakuten for sending shoppers their way. The website also has "hot deals", which are coupons for popular products you might want to buy as gifts. Rakuten also has an option for in-store cashback deals . This is helpful when paired with the free app when shopping in person.
You can earn cash back while you holiday shop for anything from gifts to groceries with the internet browser extension Rakuten.
Just sign up for a free account and then start your online shopping.
Advertisement
While on the Rakuten website, you’ll see retailers on the homepage. Underneath, you’ll see how much percentage cashback you’ll get. Click on that retailer and start shopping on their website like you normally would. Once you check out, Rakuten will collect that cashback and send you money through PayPal or with a check every three months.
Stores pay Rakuten for sending shoppers their way. The website also has "hot deals", which are coupons for popular products you might want to buy as gifts.
Rakuten also has an option for in-store cashback deals . This is helpful when paired with the free app when shopping in person. | 2022-12-08T20:49:54+00:00 | wyff4.com | https://www.wyff4.com/article/holiday-shop-get-paid/42191120 |
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Enrollment | 2023-05-05T00:46:53+00:00 | kff.org | https://www.kff.org/medicare/state-indicator/enrollees-with-esrd/ |
Rafael Nadal will attempt to win his third grand slam of the year.
The Spanish tennis star said Friday he intends to play at Wimbledon despite a lingering foot injury.
Nadal said he had to receive injections during the French Open, which numbed his foot. He still went on to claim the title.
A holder of 22 grand slam titles, Nadal said he had a medical procedure in Barcelona after winning his 14th French Open.
"[The medical treatment] done in Barcelona is not a 100% immediate thing, but changes are noticeable," Nadal said, according to ESPN. "I have noticed them, strange sensations, my joint pain has decreased."
Nadal is attempting to do what Novak Djokovic did last year. He won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. He failed to capture the Grand Slam after losing in the finals of the U.S. Open.
Wimbledon begins June 27. | 2022-06-17T19:01:47+00:00 | abc15.com | https://www.abc15.com/news/national/nadal-plans-to-play-wimbledon-despite-injured-foot |
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus’ Orthodox Church on Saturday elected Paphos Bishop Georgios as its new leader following the death last month of Archbishop Chrysostomos II.
The Holy Synod’s decision followed a Dec. 18 lay vote from among all Orthodox Christians on the east Mediterranean island nation in which Athanasios topped the poll, followed by Georgios and Tamasos Bishop Isaias.
According to the Church’s constitution, a lay vote is held to select the top three bishops and then the Holy Synod holds its own secret ballot to elect the new archbishop.
Georgios had been pegged as the favorite to win the synod’s approval despite Athanasios’ lay vote victory because of what numerous media reports suggested was the network of allegiances and dynamics within the synod.
In remarks before the synod’s vote, Athanasios said the will of the people should be respected, but that he would accept any result “with peace and love,” urging supporters to demonstrate “respect.”
Shouts of “truly worthy” from gathered supporters greeted the announcement of Georgios’ election inside the 16th-century Cathedral of St. John on Archbishopric grounds in the capital Nicosia.
“I first of all thank God who permitted today’s election, the synod members who selected me with their vote and the people who chose me to be among the tripartite, Georgios said after his election. “I will try not to appear lesser than my predecessors.”
Among the first to congratulate Georgios was Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades who posted on Twitter that new archbishop would carry on the “great spiritual work of the Church of Cyprus for the benefit of its flock.”
Georgios is considered a steady hand as having held the post of Synod secretary, echoing the positions of his predecessor regarding the island’s ethnic division as well as the church’s support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s independence from the Moscow Patriarch, in line with the position of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.
Georgios studied chemistry and theology in Greece and later the the U.K. before rising in the ranks within the church to be elected Paphos bishop in 2006.
According to his biography, he won a European Court of Human Rights ruling against Turkey for violating his human rights after his arrest and maltreatment by Turkish authorities during a 1989 protest against the island’s division. | 2022-12-24T10:28:14+00:00 | washingtonpost.com | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/paphos-bishop-elected-as-new-leader-of-cyprus-church/2022/12/24/c27494c8-8371-11ed-8738-ed7217de2775_story.html |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A private aviation broker in Florida estimated the cost at nearly $500,000 for the two private flights that transported 48 migrants from Texas, through Florida and then to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet said why the jets landed in Florida but he implied at a Friday news conference that no one boarded or got off at Crestview Airport on Wednesday.
From Florida, the migrants were flown to Spartanburg, South Carolina, and then to Martha’s Vineyard in what added up to a nearly 1,800-mile journey.
Ben Hague of Ben Hague Aviation in Estero estimated a “ballpark” cost for each flight at $230,000, though he acknowledged the cost could have been even higher since the pilots would have been over their hour limits, requiring them to stay overnight where they landed.
A document on Transparency Florida indicated Vertol Systems Inc. received $615,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation for the “relocation program of unauthorized aliens.” It is not known if that money was used for the Martha’s Vineyard flights.
Gov. DeSantis’ office has not responded to questions about the cost, nor which, if any, Florida state personnel were involved in the transportation process in Texas.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement spokesperson said that agency was not involved. Florida National Guard and Highway Patrol have not responded to questions about whether they were involved.
As far as why Florida taxpayer money was used to transport people out of Texas, DeSantis said Florida officials sent to the border have collected data indicating 40% of border-crossers want to come to Florida. He said Florida law enforcement have found migrants crossing the state border in cars, but he claimed — in his opinion — that it made more sense to go to Texas to find larger groups of people.
“So, they’ve been in Texas identifying people that are trying to come to Florida and then offering them free transportation to sanctuary jurisdictions,” DeSantis said. “And there’s likely to be buses and more planes but I’ll tell you this — the legislature gave me $12 million and I’m going to spend every penny.”
A week ago, DeSantis offered a hint about the flights to Massachusetts, The Washington Post reported, when he told donors at a fundraiser that he intended to use the money to “go to Texas and help.”
“Maybe we’ll send (some) to Chicago, Hollywood, Martha’s Vineyard. Who knows?” DeSantis said, according to the article. | 2022-09-17T15:59:17+00:00 | wearegreenbay.com | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/marthas-vineyard-flights-cost-florida-around-500k-expert-estimates/ |
Authorities: TV reporter, girl fatally shot in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference Wednesday evening that they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.
Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girl’s mother were wounded during the second shooting. The were in critical condition at a local hospital.
“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mina told a room full of reporters. “I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community — not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals — should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”
Mina said they don’t immediately have a motive for any of the shootings.
Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot.
According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire and then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter.
Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. Moses’ criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said.
Spectrum News 13 is not yet identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV station’s website. | 2023-02-23T03:06:38+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national/2023/02/22/authorities-tv-reporter-girl-fatally-shot-in-florida/ |
CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — Wilson Garcia hadn’t even asked his neighbor to stop shooting his gun.
People in their rural town north of Houston are used to people firing their weapons to blow off steam, but it was late Friday night, and Garcia had a month-old son who was crying.
So, Garcia said, he and two other people went to his neighbor’s house to “respectfully” ask that he shoot farther away from their home.
“He told us he was on his property, and he could do what he wanted,” Garcia said Sunday after a vigil in Cleveland, Texas, for his 9-year-old son who was killed in the attack that soon followed.
The suspect, 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remained at large late Sunday despite a search involving more than 200 police from multiple jurisdictions.
Garcia called the police after Oropeza rejected his request. The man shot some more, and now it sounded louder. In the neighborhood of homes on 1-acre lots, Garcia could see the man on his front porch but couldn’t tell what he was doing.
His family continued to called police — five calls in all, Garcia said. Five times the dispatcher assured that help was coming.
And then, 10 to 20 minutes after Garcia had walked back from Oropeza’s house, the man started running toward him, and reloading.
“I told my wife, ‘Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,” Garcia said. “My wife told me to go inside because ‘he won’t fire at me, I’m a woman.’”
The gunman walked up to the home and began firing. Garcia’s wife, Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25, was at the front door, and the first to die.
The house held 15 people in all, several of them friends who had been there to join Garcia’s wife on a church retreat. The gunman seemed intent on killing everyone, Garcia said.
Also among the dead were Garcia’s son, Daniel Enrique Laso, and two women who died while shielding Garcia’s baby and 2-year-old daughter. Garcia said one of the women had told him to jump out a window “because my children were without a mother and one of their parents had to stay alive to take care of them.”
“I am trying to be strong for my children,” Garcia said, crying. “My daughter sort of understands. It is very difficult when she begins to ask for mama and for her (older) brother.”
Police went door to door Sunday in hopes of finding any clues that would lead them to the suspect. Gov. Greg Abbott put up $50,000 in reward money and local officials and the FBI also chipped in, bringing the total to $80,000 for any information about Oropeza’s whereabouts.
“I can tell you right now, we have zero leads,” James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while again asking the public for tips in the rural town north of Houston where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.
Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home, but said he should be considered armed and dangerous.
He likely fled the area on foot. During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said.
Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspect’s wife multiple times.
Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information, and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word. Garcia, his slain wife and son and the other three victims — Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18 — were from Honduras.
“We’re looking for closure for this family,” Capers said.
Asked about response time, Capers said officers got there as fast as they could and that he had only three covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometers).
By Sunday, police crime scene tape was removed from around Garcia’s home, where some people stopped by to leave flowers.
In the neighborhood, an FBI agent, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other officers were seen going door to door. One trooper stopped a red truck and asked to look inside a travel trailer the truck was pulling before letting the driver continue on his way.
Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspect’s home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.
“It is kind of scary,” she said. “You never know where he can be.”
Pineda said she didn’t know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there about five or six years and that neighbors have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.
Garcia also did not know Oropeza well, though their wives sometimes talked. Once, he said, the man helped him cut down a tree.
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Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh in Norwich, Connecticut, contributed to this report. | 2023-05-01T05:12:27+00:00 | wivb.com | https://www.wivb.com/news/u-s-headlines/man-who-lost-wife-son-in-texas-mass-shooting-tells-story/ |
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Pima County Elections Department has shared that it has completed the automatic recount of two statewide races, Attorney General and Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The two races were separated by 0.5% or less of the vote, which triggered the automatic recount according to Arizona law.
Also required by state law, county political parties conduct a 2% hand count audit of the ballots cast in that contest. The county schedule says that should be complete by Saturday, Dec. 17.
Additional procedural activities will take place before before the county transmits the certified results of the recount to the Secretary of State, scheduled to happen Monday, Dec. 19.
All Arizona counties are currently recounting the two statewide races. Maricopa County is also recounting the race for State Representative in Legislative District 13. Recount progress can be tracked at the Secretary of State website.
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Anne Simmons is a digital content producer for KGUN 9. Anne got her start in television while still a student at the University of Arizona. Before joining KGUN, she managed multiple public access television stations in the Bay Area and has worked as a video producer in the non-profit sector. Share your story ideas and important issues with Anne by emailing anne.simmons@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. | 2022-12-09T19:19:48+00:00 | kgun9.com | https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/pima-county-completes-automatic-recount |
Family sees discrimination in school’s demand that boy cut his long hair
By Gilbert Baez
Click here for updates on this story
WHITEVILLE, North Carolina (WRAL) — Administrators at a charter school in Columbus County are demanding a first-grade boy get his hair cut before students return from spring break.
Mia Chavis, the mother of 7-year-old Edward Chavis, told WRAL News her son’s long hair is part of their Lumbee Tribe and Native American heritage, and she refuses to cut it.
Edward attends Classical Charter Schools of America in Whiteville, North Carolina. The tuition-free charter school is one of four Classical Charter Schools of America in N.C. The other locations are in Leland, Southport and Wilmington. Edward’s mother has filed a grievance with the school’s board of education, but the grievance won’t be heard until the board meets in April.
Mia Chavis said Edward’s hair, which runs down his back, is part of his cultural and religious heritage as a Lumbee Indian.
Last year, Edward was able to wear his long hair in a braided pony tail or in a bun on top of his head. His mother said that compromise has changed, and dozens of other families are also being impacted.
“According to their rules … it’s still in compliance,” Mia Chavis said, noting that Edward’s braid and bun keep his hair off his collar and above his ears – the rules the school has set.
Chavis said she and other parents have been told the ponytail or bun is “faddish.”
Edward’s grandmother, Tami Jump said, “We normally braid our children’s hair when it grows longer because we believe that the braid shows strength, it shows character.”
Chavis said she’s talked to African-American parents who have also been asked to change their sons’ hairstyles.
WRAL News reached out to the Roger Bacon Academy, a Leland company that operates the Classical Charter Schools, for comment, but did not receive a response.
The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday released a written statement against the policy, suggesting that as a public charter school which receives federal funding, Classical Charter Schools of America appears to be violating the U.S. Constitution.
In the letter, the ACLU said Edward isn’t the first boy with Native American heritage to have this problem. Ashley Lomboy, a member of the Waccamaw Sioian Tribe, was told by the Classical Charter Schools of America in Leland that her son Logan must cut his hair.
“Logan’s hair is an extension of who he is,” said Lomboy. “Without his hair, he will lose part of himself and a critical aspect of his heritage. Native Americans have been wearing their hair long since time immemorial.” The ACLU claims the rule is discriminatory.
“At this point, it’s not even a Native thing,” Chavis said. “It’s a human rights thing.
“They have a pledge that they say every morning, and it’s even on the back of his shirt that he has to wear for PE every Thursday. The first line of that pledge is ‘I pledge to keep myself healthy in body, mind, and spirit.’ If I had to force him to cut his hair, it would be detrimental to his body, his mind and his spirit.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform. | 2023-03-22T17:43:55+00:00 | localnews8.com | https://localnews8.com/news/2023/03/22/family-sees-discrimination-in-schools-demand-that-boy-cut-his-long-hair/ |
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Jury deliberations for the trial of three men accused of murdering rising rap star XXXTentacion during a 2018 robbery will resume Monday after the panel finished a seventh day of deliberations Thursday without reaching a verdict.
The seven women and five men had asked Circuit Judge Michael Usan if they could have Friday off to take care of personal appointments, and the judge granted the request. Earlier Thursday, jurors had asked to view the defendants’ social media accounts, as well as GPS data or maps to calculate distance between points mentioned in the case. The judge denied those requests, saying the verdict must be based on evidence presented during the trial.
Michael Boatwright, 28 and the accused shooter; Dedrick Williams, 26 and the accused ringleader and getaway driver; and Trayvon Newsome, 24 and the alleged second gunman, are charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery. They face mandatory life sentences if convicted. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
During the monthlong trial, prosecutors tried to link the men to the shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos they took of them flashing $100 bills. Prosecutors also had the testimony of a fourth man, Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who said he participated in the robbery. He pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder and awaits sentencing.
Defense attorneys have accused Allen of being a liar trying to avoid a life sentence. They also said prosecutors and detectives did a poor investigation that didn’t look at other possible suspects, including the Canadian rap star Drake — he and XXXTentacion had an online feud.
XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, was a platinum-selling rising star who tackled issues including prejudice and depression in his songs. He also drew criticism over bad behavior and multiple arrests, including charges that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend. | 2023-03-17T00:54:24+00:00 | ksn.com | https://www.ksn.com/entertainment/ap-entertainment/jury-deliberations-to-resume-monday-in-xxxtentacion-killing/ |
No telling how much more snow coming for Sierra Nevada
By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. (AP) — No one really knows how much snow fell on the infamous Donner Party when the pioneers were trapped atop the Sierra Nevada for months and dozens died near Lake Tahoe in the winter of 1846-47.
But this season has now etched its way into the history books as the second snowiest in the 77 years of record-keeping at the Central Sierra Snow Lab — more than 56.4 feet (677 inches, 17.2 meters) with no end in sight.
And there’s still a chance it could surpass the record of 67.7 feet (812 inches, 20.6 meters) set in 1951-52 when more than 200 passengers on a San Francisco-bound luxury train from Chicago were stranded for three days near Donner Pass west of Truckee, California.
Over the weekend, the “winter that just doesn’t want to end” as the National Weather Service in Reno put it, topped the previous No. 2 record of 55.9 feet (651 inches, 17 meters) set in 1982-83. That was the second of back-to-back blizzard buster seasons remembered most for an avalanche that killed seven at a Tahoe ski resort on March 31, 1982.
Since December, a parade of atmospheric storms have dumped so much snow on the Sierra that Tahoe ski resorts have been forced to shut down multiple times.
The final day of the Nevada high school state skiing championships was canceled. Roofs collapsed under the weight of snow and schools shuttered for days. Interstate 80 closed several times between Reno and Sacramento.
“It started early and it seems to just keep going,” said Eric Sage, 45, of Sparks, who shoveled his way through many big winters growing up in Truckee but doesn’t remember one like this. “Stacked up, big storm after big storm after big storm — wham, wham, wham.”
The official record book keeper is UC-Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Lab, founded in 1946 in Soda Springs, California, northwest of Lake Tahoe.
“We’ve seen bigger storms in other years and years with higher snow water equivalent totals … but the relentlessness of this season is likely what makes it most unique,” said Andrew Schwartz, the lab’s manager and lead scientist.
More snow is forecast over the next 10 days, but nobody knows what the spring will bring.
“Historically, some of our big seasons have continued to be active right on through the end of spring,” said Tim Bardsley, the senior hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Reno.
The official winter season coincides with the water year, beginning Oct. 1 and ending the following Sept. 30. Sometimes snow continues falling in the Sierra well into June.
For this winter to overtake the record in 1951-52, another 145 inches (368 cm) would have to fall — unlikely, but not out of the question.
“There’s basically nothing that would indicate just because we’ve been this active, we would then transition the other direction,” Bardsley said. “I’d almost say the opposite is more likely to be true.”
Several of the snowiest winters logged at least one-fourth of their season total after March 15. What’s now the fourth-snowiest winter in 2010-11 received 225 inches (572 cm) of its 643 total inches (1,635 cm) — or 35% — post-March 15.
The snow lab has records dating to 1880 based on measurements taken by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Those unofficial measurements taken near where the train was stranded in 1952 suggest more snow could have fallen in 1938, and nearly that much in 1880 and 1890.
The lab doesn’t formally recognize those numbers because they were from slightly different locations using a different methodology.
Mark McLaughlin, a Tahoe-area author of several books on Sierra history and weather, accepts the railroad numbers and believes snow that fell on the Donner Party in 1846-47 is similar to what fell in 1951-52.
Ten major storms dumped rain and snow on the mountains the first two weeks of November 1846. The monument at Donner Memorial State Park indicates the snow depth reached 22.5 feet (6.9 meters) before some of the stranded resorted to cannibalism.
The now-third-ranked 1982-83 winter came on the heels of the season when Tahoe’s deadliest avalanche struck at Alpine Valley south of Truckee. Some 90 inches (228 centimeters) of snow fell in four days leading up to the disaster.
The 1960 Winter Olympics, the first televised, put Lake Tahoe on the map after the world got a look at the snow-covered mountains surrounding the alpine lake with the turquoise waters. But the winter itself got off to a slow start and Olympic officials were in a panic in the weeks leading up to the games.
“There was no real snow by New Year’s Day and the Olympics were coming in the third week of February,” McLaughlin said. “Then the storm door opened and it snowed and snowed and snowed. There was so much snow no one could practice ski runs on the mountain.”
Author Peggy Townsend and her husband, parents of pro skier Cody Townsend, said they were overwhelmed by the piles of snow when they arrived at their Olympic Valley-area cabin near the base of a Tahoe ski resort last month. They had to park down the road and dig their way in through 10 feet (3 meters) of snow.
“We would have to dig out like three, or four times a day, just so we could get to the woodpile,” Peggy Townsend said. After four days, they’d had enough.
“When there was a break in the snow,” she recalled, “We just said ‘we’re going to get the hell out of there.’”
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Associated Press Writer Jake Bleiberg in Dallas contributed to this report. | 2023-03-21T01:12:22+00:00 | keyt.com | https://keyt.com/news/2023/03/20/no-telling-how-much-more-snow-coming-for-sierra-nevada/ |
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The widows of four Nigerian activists executed in 1995 have withdrawn their appeal in a Dutch civil case in which they alleged that oil giant Shell was complicit in the men’s deaths, ending a yearslong legal battle for compensation and an apology.
The four widows, Esther Kiobel, Victoria Bera, Blessing Eawo and Charity Levula, launched the case in 2017. It was rejected in a final ruling by The Hague District Court in March, following an interim decision in 2019 dismissing parts of their claim.
Their husbands were among nine activists from the Ogoni tribe, led by writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who were hanged in 1995 for the murder of four political rivals. Supporters say they were really targeted because of their involvement in protests against environmental damage by Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary.
Lawyer Channa Samkalden confirmed the end of the case in a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The decision to withdraw the appeal was first reported by Reuters.
“This has been a lengthy and demanding procedure, which makes them relive horrible events, while the outcome is most uncertain,” Samkalden said, adding that the women have never received any form of compensation or other support.
“While two of them found refuge in the U.S. and Canada, two others are still in Nigeria in very poor conditions. Rather than focusing on the appeal, initiatives are now being developed aimed at providing these women with some basic financial assistance,” the statement added.
Shell has always denied the allegations of complicity in the activists’ executions.
The company said that the end of the civil case “does not in any way diminish the tragic nature of the events of 1995. These events shocked us deeply. The Shell Group, alongside other organizations and individuals, appealed for clemency to the military government in power in Nigeria at that time, but to our deep regret those appeals went unheard.”
Shell discovered and started exploiting Nigeria’s vast oil reserves in the late 1950s and has faced heavy criticism from activists and local communities over spills and for the company’s close ties to government security forces.
The Dutch case was not the first time relatives of Ogoni activists had taken Shell to court.
In 2009, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to a $15.5 million settlement to end a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in New York alleging that the oil giant was complicit in the nine executions. Shell said it agreed to settle the lawsuit in hopes of aiding the “process of reconciliation.” But the company acknowledged no wrongdoing. | 2022-11-08T22:35:22+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-widows-of-executed-nigerian-activists-end-case-against-shell/ |
Killeen, Tx (FOX44) – Killeen Mayor Debbie Nash-King will officially mark Bob Gray Day at the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport on Tuesday morning.
A ceremony will be taking place at 10 a.m., which will honor the Killeen High School graduate. Gray was among the Dolittle Raiders participating in the historic bombing of Tokyo in the early days of World War II.
An official proclamation will be presented to a descendant family member of Gray during the ceremony.
Captain Robert “Bob” Gray was a native of Killeen who was chosen by Lt. Col. Jimmie Doolittle to fly in the famous Doolittle Raid over Tokyo which took place on April 18, 1942. He was selected along with 80 other pilots and was successful in the mission – but died six months later in the China-Burma Campaign. Gray received his wings in 1941 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, and quickly became a top B-25 pilot.
The City says that Gray’s legacy continues to be honored with Gray Street in downtown Killeen, the Robert Gray Army Airfield on Fort Hood and a historic display and bronze statue at the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport.
Gray was portrayed by Robert Mitchum in the motion picture “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” | 2023-04-17T16:22:47+00:00 | fox44news.com | https://www.fox44news.com/news/local-news/bell-county/bob-gray-day-to-be-marked-tomorrow-in-killeen/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19’s origins remain hazy. Three years after the start of the pandemic, it’s still unclear whether the coronavirus that causes the disease leaked from a lab or spread to humans from an animal.
This much is known: When it comes to COVID-19 misinformation, any new report on the virus’ origin quickly triggers a relapse and a return of misleading claims about the virus, vaccines and masks that have reverberated since the pandemic began.
It happened again this week after the Energy Department confirmed that a classified report determined, with low confidence, that the virus escaped from a lab. Within hours, online mentions of conspiracy theories involving COVID-19 began to rise, with many commenters saying the classified report was proof they were right all along.
Far from definitive, the Energy Department’s report is the latest of many attempts by scientists and officials to identify the origin of the virus, which has now killed nearly 7 million people after being first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
The report has not been made public, and officials in Washington stressed that a variety of U.S. agencies are not in agreement on the origin.
Many scientists believe the likeliest explanation is that the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 jumped from animals to humans, possibly at Wuhan’s Huanan market, a scenario backed up by multiple studies and reports. The World Health Organization has said that while an animal origin remains most likely, the possibility of a lab leak must be investigated further before it can be ruled out.
People should be open-minded about the evidence used in the Energy Department’s assessment, according to virologist Angela Rasmussen. But she said that without evaluating the evidence contained in the classified report, there’s no reason to challenge the conclusion that the virus spread naturally.
“We can and do know what the scientific evidence shows,” Rasmussen tweeted Tuesday. “The available evidence still shows zoonotic emergence at Huanan market.”
Many of those citing the report as proof, however, seemed uninterested in the evidence. They seized on the report and said it suggests the experts were wrong when it came to masks and vaccines, too.
“School closures were a failed & catastrophic policy. Masks are ineffective. And harmful,” said a tweet that’s been read nearly 300,000 times since Sunday. “COVID came from a lab. Everything we skeptics said was true.”
Overall mentions of COVID-19 began to rise after The Wall Street Journal published a story about the Energy Department report on Sunday. Since then, mentions of various COVID-related conspiracy theories have soared, according to an analysis conducted by Zignal Labs, a San Francisco-based media intelligence firm, and shared with The Associated Press.
While the lab leak theory has bounced around the internet since the pandemic began, references to it soared 100,000% in the 48 hours after the Energy Department report was revealed, according to Zignal’s analysis, which combed through social media, blogs and other sites.
Many of the conspiracy theories contradict each other and the findings in the Energy Department report. In a tweet on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, called COVID-19 a “man made bioweapon from China.” A follower quickly challenged her: “It was made in Ukraine,” he responded.
With so many questions remaining about a world event that has claimed so many lives and upended even more, it’s not at all surprising that COVID-19 is still capable of generating so much anger and misinformation, according to Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a Washington-based organization that has tracked government propaganda about COVID-19.
“The pandemic was so incredibly disruptive to everyone. The intensity of feelings about COVID, I don’t think that’s going to go away,” Schafer said. “And any time something new comes along, it breathes new life into these grievances and frustrations, real or imagined.”
Chinese government officials have in the past used their social media accounts to amplify anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, including some that suggested the U.S. created the COVID-19 virus and framed its release on China.
So far, they’ve taken a quieter approach to the Energy Department report. In their official response, China’s government dismissed the agency’s assessment as an effort to politicize the pandemic. Online, Beijing’s sprawling propaganda and disinformation network was largely silent, with just a few posts criticizing or mocking the report.
“BREAKING,” a pro-China YouTuber wrote on Twitter. “I can now announce, with ‘low confidence,’ that the COVID pandemic began as a leak from Hunter Biden’s laptop.”
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Follow the AP’s coverage of misinformation at https://apnews.com/hub/misinformation. | 2023-03-01T12:40:09+00:00 | qcnews.com | https://www.qcnews.com/health-care/ap-covid-19-conjecture-soars-after-latest-report-on-origins/ |
'My sister was always a peacemaker'
A man accused of killing a 33-year-old Gastonia woman will be held in jail without bond.
Shiquan Eleek Ratchford, 22, is charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and assault by pointing a gun in the death of Megan Michelle Tate.
Ratchford is accused of shooting Tate at a home on Spring Valley Drive, near Shannon Bradley Road, on Friday night.
Gastonia Police were called to the home at 9:36 p.m. Tate was pronounced dead at the scene. Police arrested Ratchford on the 3100 block of Crescent Lane.
In a brief interview, Tate's sister, Jessica Tate, described Megan Tate as a "peacemaker."
"My sister was always a peacemaker. She loved everybody. She loved the whole family," she said.
The shooting was Gastonia's ninth homicide of 2022.
Ratchford was convicted in 2018 of two felony charges of making a false report about a mass shooting on educational property. Ratchford, who was 17 at the time he was charged, wrote on Facebook on Jan. 3, 2018, that he would be "shooting up" Hunter Huss and Stuart Cramer High Schools.
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. | 2022-12-06T01:14:28+00:00 | gastongazette.com | https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/crime/2022/12/05/gastonia-woman-described-as-peacemaker-murder-suspect-threated-school/69702390007/ |
HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS ANNOUNCES 2022 GRANT AWARD WINNERS
Published: Sep. 27, 2022 at 11:00 AM CDT|Updated: 30 minutes ago
During National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Hyundai Hope On Wheels to Present 75 Research and Programmatic Grants Totaling $15 Million
This Year's $15 million in Research and Programmatic Grants Brings the Organization's Lifetime Donation Total to $200 Million
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by Hyundai Motor America and its more than 820 U.S. dealers, today announced the 2022 winners of its annual research and programmatic grants totaling $15 million. This year, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will present a total of 75 grants to institutions across the United States that are focused on improving outcomes and treatments for children diagnosed with cancer, including 25 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grants at $300,000 each, 25 Hyundai Young Investigator Grants at $200,000 each, and 25 Hyundai Impact Grants at $100,000 each.
"We are honored to present this year's grant winners with funds to perform their lifesaving work and continue to bring hope to the brave pediatric cancer fighters and their families across the nation," said John Guastaferro, executive director, Hyundai Hope On Wheels. "This year's theme is 'Powered by Hope,' paying homage to the children battling cancer who inspire our organization's mission and to the doctors and researchers dedicated to finding a cure for the disease. Congratulations to this year's grant award winners and we thank you for sharing in the commitment to ensure that every child battling cancer has a fighting chance."
Since its inception in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than 1,100 research grants funding critical research to help save young lives. This year marks Hyundai's 24th consecutive year in the fight against childhood cancer, making it one of the longest-running corporate social responsibility efforts in the automotive industry and a leading funder of pediatric cancer research in the country.
The Hyundai Scholar Hope Grants and the Hyundai Young Investigator Grants are awarded to eligible Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions through a competitive peer-reviewed process. Applications are reviewed by the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Medical Advisory Committee, which is comprised of leading pediatric oncologists from children's hospitals and research institutions nationwide. The Hyundai Impact Grants provide funding to children's hospitals for either childhood cancer research projects or programmatic initiatives such as clinical care.
This year, select grants will be officially presented during a Hyundai Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremony, the nonprofit's signature event in which children impacted by cancer dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a Hyundai vehicle, symbolizing their fight against pediatric cancer and hope for a cure.
Hyundai Young Investigator Grant Winners($200,000)
Hyundai Impact Grant Winners ($100,000)
Hyundai Hope On Wheels Hyundai Hope On Wheels® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing critical research aimed at improving treatments and saving lives. Hyundai Hope On Wheels is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country. Primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 820 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has pledged $200 million in support of more than 1,100 childhood cancer research grants.
The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc. | 2022-09-27T16:30:53+00:00 | kwtx.com | https://www.kwtx.com/prnewswire/2022/09/27/hyundai-hope-wheels-announces-2022-grant-award-winners/ |
Teens trying to dine and dash drive off with employee on car hood, police say
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio (WEWS) - Police in Ohio say a dangerous chase ensued after a group of teenagers allegedly ran out on their bill at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Kayla Sherman was working at Buffalo Wild Wings about 9:30 p.m. Sunday in Willoughby, Ohio. Police say that’s when three teenagers came in, asked for a table and ordered food to go. When the food came, the teens allegedly left without paying the $115 bill.
Sherman says the manager ran out the front door after the teens in an attempt to get their license plate information for police. She followed him.
“The manager tried to get the registration off the back of the vehicle. The rear passenger removed the temporary tag from the rear window,” said Willoughby Police Detective Lt. John Begovic.
Sherman and another employee were near the suspects’ car when police say the 16-year-old female driver started driving, knocking Sherman onto the hood of the white BMW. She took off, with Sherman trying to hang on.
“They’re yelling at me, saying, ‘I have a gun in the vehicle.’ They had a sunroof… and they were throwing things out of the sunroof at me,” Sherman said.
Another employee was hanging onto the door of the car, and Sherman says he got dragged. He let go of the car in the shopping plaza’s parking lot.
In police dash cam video, Sherman can be seen hanging on to the car in the parking lot, but the situation got worse when police say the driver turned onto the street by a busy intersection and started driving at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.
“It was just absolutely one of the most terrifying moments of my life,” Sherman said. “At one point, they said, ‘We’ll just take you on the highway’ and laughed about it, knowing that my body would completely not be able to hold on going that speed.”
Police say the officer first tried to stop the teen driver, but she kept going. He realized it was too dangerous and turned his lights off in hopes the driver would slow down.
When the driver turned onto a side street, Sherman was able to get off the car. The dash cam video shows her walking up to the officer, who helps her into a warm patrol car.
Police say as officers with Wickliffe Police arrived on scene, the driver tried eluding them, as well, but got stuck in a snow mound.
The 16-year-old driver and her two 17-year-old friends were arrested. All three face charges, the driver’s a felony charge.
“Nothing surprises me anymore. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something else comes up,” Begovic said.
He says police are grateful no one was seriously injured during the incident.
Copyright 2022 WEWS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | 2022-11-23T09:29:06+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/2022/11/23/teens-trying-dine-dash-drive-off-with-employee-car-hood-police-say/ |
Which exercise bike to lose weight is best?
Exercise bikes can help you reach all of your exercise and fitness goals, while saving time, money and energy. There are several different types of exercise bikes, including upright bikes, recumbent bikes and spinning bikes. If you are hunting for an exercise bike to lose weight, the NordicTrack S22i Studio Cycle Exercise Bike is a top-notch choice.
What to know before you buy an exercise bike
Types
The most common types of exercise bikes to lose weight include recumbent exercise bikes, upright exercise bikes and spinning exercise bikes. Recumbent exercise bikes have reclined seats and backs, so they are more comfortable than other kinds of exercise bikes, especially for people with lower back pain or for longer workouts.
Upright exercise bikes are standard stationary bikes, where the cyclists sit in an upright position rather than crouched forward. Spinning bikes give you a similar experience to riding a traditional road bike, where you crouch forward.
Heart-rate monitor
Almost all exercise bikes come with heart-rate monitors, since you need to watch your heart rate during your cardiovascular workout to make sure you’re elevating it. If you have a detailed workout plan, you might also know the specific heart rate you want to reach during your workout to achieve your fitness goals.
Display
Most exercise bikes to lose weight have LCD displays. These displays show measurements, like the amount of time you’ve been pedaling, the distance you’ve traveled, your speed and your heart rate. You should find a bike with a clear and intuitive display that’s simple to use.
What to look for in a quality exercise bike to lose weight
Resistance
Look at the number of resistance levels your exercise bike has. Some basic models only have a few resistance levels, while gym-quality exercise bikes have about 20 resistance levels on average.
Programs
High-end exercise bikes feature pre-set workout programs to help you reach your fitness goals.
Height adjustability
Most exercise bikes have adjustable seats, but these bikes also have a suggested height range, typically for those between 5 feet 3 inches tall and 6 feet 3 inches tall.
How much you can expect to spend on an exercise bike to lose weight
The price of your exercise bike to lose weight depends on the type of bike and the quality. For example, basic recumbent exercise bikes cost about $130-$150, while high-end recumbent exercise bikes go for more than $500. Spinning bikes go for $120-$150 for basic models and $350-$400 for high-end models. Upright exercise bikes cost about $70-$120 for basic models and $350-$400 for high-end models.
Exercise bike to lose weight FAQ
Which type of exercise bike is best if you’re recovering from an injury?
A. You should speak to your physician before starting a workout routine following an injury. Recumbent exercise bikes are the most comfortable and require cyclists to use fewer muscles, so they are usually the best exercise bike to ride during the recovery process.
Can you use a separate heart-rate monitor when using an exercise bike to lose weight?
A. If your exercise bike either has a low-quality heart-rate monitor or no heart-rate monitor, you can use a separate heart-rate monitor to get an accurate heart-rate reading during your exercise routine. Keep in mind that your heart rate will not show up on the LCD display of your exercise bike.
Can cycling be your only kind of exercise to lose weight?
A. Cycling is a type of cardiovascular exercise, which is important for both weight loss and your overall health. But you can also add some strength training to your workout routine to keep your body healthy. Strength training exercises include pilates and yoga. You can also consider using dumbbells while you ride your bike.
What’s the best exercise bike to lose weight to buy?
Top exercise bike to lose weight
NordicTrack S22i Studio Cycle Exercise Bike
What you need to know: This exercise bike to lose weight from NordicTrack is perfect for experts with a smart touchscreen and iFit technology. It also features Bluetooth connectivity.
What you’ll love: This stellar NordicTrack exercise bike features a CoolAire fan to keep you cool and comfortable and an automatic trainer control that adjusts the resistance as you ride for a more realistic and dynamic cycling experience.
What you should consider: The studio classes that come with this exercise bike are as high-quality as Peloton classes.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top exercise bike to lose weight for the money
What you need to know: This inexpensive exercise bike is perfect for beginners with a clear-cut design.
What you’ll love: This Marcy exercise bike has eight levels of resistance and a built-in screen that shows simple-to-read data, including calories burned, distance, speed and time. The seat also adjusts to various heights.
What you should consider: The seat on this exercise bike can move, but it’s hard to adjust regularly.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
Schwinn 270 Recumbent Exercise Bike
What you need to know: This gym-quality exercise bike from Schwinn comes with effective workout routines and amazing features.
What you’ll love: This Schwinn exercise bike offers a gym-quality experience and a twin LCD display with over 29 advanced settings for tracking your health metrics and monitoring your workouts.
What you should consider: This exercise bike weighs more than 100 pounds, so you won’t want to move the bike very often.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | 2022-05-28T19:07:58+00:00 | ourquadcities.com | https://www.ourquadcities.com/reviews/br/sports-fitness-br/fitness-equipment-br/best-exercise-bike-to-lose-weight/ |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian troops used American-supplied precision rocket launchers to knock out a strategic bridge used by Russia to supply its forces in southern Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region, officials said Wednesday.
Ukraine also claimed to have destroyed an enemy ammunition depot, artillery pieces and other military equipment in the region, killing 51 members of the Russian army. There was no immediate confirmation from the Russian side.
The Antonivskyi Bridge over the Dnieper River was attacked late Tuesday, according to Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Moscow-appointed administration for the Kherson region. The bridge was left standing, but holes in its deck prevented vehicles from crossing the 1.4-kilometer (0.9-mile) span, he said.
After previous Ukrainian attacks damaged the bridge last week, it was closed to trucks, but it had remained open for passenger vehicles until the latest strike.
Russian forces in recent days have intensified their shelling of cities and villages in eastern Ukraine while also stepping up airstrikes in the south. At the same time, the Kremlin’s troops are facing mounting counterattacks from the Ukrainians in the Kherson region, which was captured by Moscow early in the war.
Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to target the bridge, Stremousov said. A Ukrainian military spokesperson, Nataliya Gumenyuk, told Ukrainian TV that “surgical strikes” were carried out on the bridge.
The HIMARS has greater range, much more precision and a faster rate of fire than the Soviet-designed Smerch, Uragan and Tornado rocket launchers used by both Russia and Ukraine. The weapons were among the billions of dollars in Western military aid that has helped Ukraine fight off the Russians since the Feb. 24 invasion.
In other developments:
— Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Russia has lost nearly 40,000 soldiers in the war and that tens of thousands more were wounded. His claim could not be independently verified. The Russian military last reported its losses in March, when it said 1,351 troops had been killed.
— Turkey’s defense minister said preparations were underway for the resumption of grain shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. Russia and Ukraine signed agreements last week to free up millions of tons of grain trapped by the fighting, potentially easing the global food crisis.
— At least two civilians were killed and three wounded when Russian forces shelled a hotel in the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian emergency authorities said. Bakhmut has been a focus of the Russian offensive in the region.
While halting traffic across the Dnieper River bridge makes only a slight dent in the overall Russian military operation, the attack was a morale-boosting victory for the Ukrainians.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that the “occupiers should learn how to swim across” the Dnieper or “leave Kherson while it is still possible.” “There may not be a third warning,” he tweeted.
The bridge is the main crossing over the Dnieper in the Kherson region. The only other option is a dam at a hydroelectric plant in Kakhovka, which also came under Ukrainian fire last week but has remained open.
Knocking the crossings out would make it hard for the Russian military to keep supplying its forces in the region.
“We are doing all we can so that the occupiers have no logistical capabilities remaining on our land.” Ukraine’s president said during his nightly video address, noting the attack on the Antonivskiy bridge and other crossings in the region.
“Of course, they will all be rebuilt, but it will be us rebuilding them,” Zelenskyy added.
The accurate targeting of the bridge contrasted with Russia’s indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas since the invasion five months ago.
The governor of Dnipropetrovsk, in the east-central part of the country, said Wednesday that Russian forces struck two regions with artillery. Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said a woman was wounded in the town of Marhanets and several apartment buildings, a hospital and a school were damaged by the shelling.
“Chaotic shelling has no other goal but to sow panic and fear among the civilian population,” he said.
The bulk of the Russian forces are fighting in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas, where they have made slow gains in the face of ferocious Ukrainian resistance.
They have taken some ground northeast of Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank. But it said Russian forces are unlikely to occupy significant additional territory in Ukraine before early autumn.
___
Follow the AP’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | 2022-07-27T23:08:38+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ukraine-forces-strike-key-bridge-in-russian-occupied-south/ |
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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill prescribing jail terms of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African country’s LGBTQ community.
The bill was passed late Tuesday inside a packed parliamentary chamber, and after a roll call ordered by the House speaker, who had repeatedly warned it was necessary to identify those who might oppose the bill. It was supported by nearly all of the 389 legislators present.
“Congratulations,” said Speaker Anita Among. “Whatever we are doing, we are doing it for the people of Uganda.”
An earlier version of the bill enacted in 2014 later was nullified by a court on procedural grounds. Human Rights Watch has described the legislation as “a more egregious version” of the 2014 law, which drew widespread international concern and was struck down amid pressure from Uganda’s development partners.
The bill now will go to President Yoweri Museveni, who can veto or sign it into law. He suggested in a recent speech that he supports the bill, accusing unnamed Western nations of “trying to impose their practices on other people.”
The bill was introduced last month by an opposition lawmaker who said his goal was to punish “promotion, recruitment and funding” related to LGBTQ activities. His bill creates the offense of “aggravated homosexuality,” which applies in cases of sex relations involving those infected with HIV as well as minors and other categories of vulnerable people. It was not immediately clear what the punishment is for that offense following last-minute amendments in a protracted plenary session in the capital, Kampala.
The bill also creates the offense of “attempted homosexuality,” punishable with up to 10 years in jail.
Same-sex activity is already punishable with life imprisonment under a colonial-era law targeting “carnal knowledge against the order of nature,” partly the basis of a report by dissenters on the parliamentary committee that vetted the bill before Tuesday’s vote.
The bill is “ill-conceived” and unconstitutional because it “criminalizes individuals instead of conduct,” said lawmaker Fox Odoi, representing the dissenters.
The bill, if signed into law, “would violate multiple fundamental rights, including rights to freedom of expression and association, privacy, equality, and non-discrimination, according to Human Rights Watch.
“One of the most extreme features of this new bill is that it criminalizes people simply for being who they are as well as further infringing on the rights to privacy, and freedoms of expression and association that are already compromised in Uganda,” the group’s Oryem Nyeko said in a statement earlier this month. “Ugandan politicians should focus on passing laws that protect vulnerable minorities and affirm fundamental rights and stop targeting LGBT people for political capital.”
Anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has grown in recent weeks amid alleged reports of sodomy in boarding schools, including a prestigious one for boys where a parent accused a teacher of abusing her son. Authorities are investigating that case.
Uganda’s LGBTQ community in recent years has faced pressure from civilian authorities who wanted a tough new law punishing same-sex activity.
The Ugandan agency overseeing the work of NGOs last year stopped the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda, the most prominent LGBTQ organization in the country, accusing it of failing to register legally. But the group’s leader stated that his organization had been rejected by the registrar of companies as undesirable.
The recent decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples also has inflamed many, including some who see homosexuality as imported from abroad.
“The Church of England has departed from the Anglican faith and are now false teachers,” Ugandan Archbishop Stephen Kaziimba said in a statement last month that described “a crisis at hand.”
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries. | 2023-03-21T19:08:59+00:00 | ourmidland.com | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/world/article/uganda-s-legislature-passes-harsh-new-anti-lgbt-17852157.php |
Phoenix Suns' Deandre Ayton trade speculation, rumors intensify after Bradley Beal deal
The Phoenix Suns have made the first huge splash of the NBA offseason by landing guard Bradley Beal in a huge trade with the Washington Wizards.
Could they soon make another huge splash by trading center Deandre Ayton?
NBA trade speculation is swirling around the Suns big man after Phoenix's trade for Beal, with many NBA insiders speculating about the former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick's future in Arizona.
Could Phoenix trade Ayton for roster depth behind Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant?
NBA trade speculation surrounds Deandre Ayton in the aftermath of the Bradley Beal trade for the Phoenix Suns:
The Big Lead: Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks potential trade destination for Deandre Ayton
Liam McKeone writes: "Phoenix, however, still has one asset they can trade to bring back rotation players to build out the roster: Deandre Ayton. He averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds last season while improving his rim protection a bit. Nobody thinks Ayton is worth the $30ish million annually he's making but he's also still only 24 years-old and the physical potential is very obvious. Somebody in the NBA thinks they can turn Ayton into a dominant big man with a change of scenery, one that both sides would probably welcome given how chilly things have been over the last two years."
Bradley Beal trade grades:NBA title or bust for Phoenix Suns with Washington Wizards deal
For the Win: 7 potential Deandre Ayton trades after Bradley Beal deal
Charles Curtis has the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets among the potential landing spots for Ayton.
One of them has Phoenix getting Royce O'Neal from the Nets Brooklyn Nets and John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks in a wild 4-team trade.
Heavy.com: Suns 'confident' in dealing Deandre Ayton after Bradley Beal trade
An NBA GM told Sean Deveney: “There are teams that will come calling for him. The Suns know that. He is on the backburner but they’re ready to move him as soon as the right thing comes along. And at this point, if they can get a couple of really solid role players, that will be the right thing for them. That might not happen until we get into Summer League, though.”
One NBA executive told him: “They (the Suns) are confident they can get something done. Not everybody is going to get just what they want in the next two weeks in the draft and trades and free agency, and if Deandre is not already gone, he is going to look very good to a team like Portland or Charlotte or Dallas.”
More:Bradley Beal trade gives Phoenix Suns the superteam that Devin Booker predicted in 2018
Clutch Points: Are Boston Celtics an option for Deandre Ayton?
Paolo Songco writes: "Ayton is under contract with the Suns for the next three years, where he is going to pocket over $100 million. This is a number that the Celtics seem uncomfortable with, so it appears that Boston will be looking elsewhere to fill their frontcourt needs. The 6-foot-11 center would have been a good addition for Boston, but as it turns out, not at that price."
SB Nation: Math doesn't work for Suns to keep Deandre Ayton
Dave King writes: "I’m sure they would love to keep Ayton, but the math just doesn’t work with the salary cap limitations. The Suns have to trade him for quantity in the form for 2-3 quality rotation players and hopefully a first round pick or two. That seems paltry for a former No. 1 overall pick with career averages of 16 points and 10 rebounds per game who set a new league record for most double-doubles in a playoffs at age 22 or younger. But Ayton and the Suns have had a strained relationship for years that culminated poorly for the team in the last two playoff runs."
Commentary:Bradley Beal is a great player, but he doesn't fit in Phoenix
NBA trade speculation swirled around Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns on NBA Twitter:
Reaction:Suns fans, social media react to Chris Paul in trade package for Wizards star Bradley Beal
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today. | 2023-06-19T17:54:07+00:00 | azcentral.com | https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2023/06/19/phoenix-suns-deandre-ayton-trade-rumors-swirl-bradley-beal-deal/70335513007/ |
ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Connecticut Lottery's "Play4 Night" game were:
9-1-5-5, WB: 3
(nine, one, five, five; WB: three)
ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing of the Connecticut Lottery's "Play4 Night" game were:
9-1-5-5, WB: 3
(nine, one, five, five; WB: three) | 2022-12-07T05:25:11+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Play4-Night-game-17636510.php |
Gaps in Medicare Advantage Data Limit Transparency in Plan Performance for Policymakers and Beneficiaries
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has increased steadily since 2010, and is poised to become the dominant form of Medicare coverage. Despite this shift in how Medicare beneficiaries receive their Medicare benefits, and the associated change in the distribution of federal spending, substantial data gaps limit the ability of policymakers and researchers to conduct oversight and assess the program’s performance, including evaluating the value provided and implications for equity. Additionally, the gaps in data prevent policymakers and other stakeholders from understanding how options to address the fiscal pressures facing the Medicare program, including extending the solvency of the Part A Hospital Insurance Trust, could impact beneficiaries.
In this brief we identify specific gaps in Medicare Advantage data and discuss the implications for program oversight and beneficiary decision making. We provide illustrative questions that cannot be answered because of the lack of data. In some instances, the information is not available because it is not collected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In other instances, the information is collected by CMS but not released to the public (Table 1). In general, the data gaps described below apply to all types of Medicare Advantage plans, including those available for individual enrollment, special needs plans (SNPs), and group plans sponsored by employers and unions.
Data not Reported to CMS
Medicare Advantage insurers do not report data on use and spending of supplemental benefits, such as dental, vision, and hearing, overall or by enrollee characteristics.
The vast majority of Medicare Advantage enrollees are in plans that offer some coverage of dental, vision and hearing services, as well as other supplemental benefits that are not otherwise covered under traditional Medicare. While our prior work documented substantial variation in the scope and generosity of supplemental benefits offered, no information is available to describe how many enrollees actually use these benefits, the specific items or services they receive, or associated out-of-pocket spending. Further, there is no information available to assess whether use and spending varies across subgroups of beneficiaries.
In recent years, per enrollee Medicare payments to Medicare Advantage insurers that pay for these benefits have increased rapidly, raising questions about how these dollars are being used. In the last five years, these payments, also referred to as rebates, have more than doubled, rising from $1,140 per enrollee in 2018 to $2,350 per enrollee in 2023. In total, that is over $70 billion in one year alone. CMS recently reinstated detailed medical loss ratio reporting requirements and will also require spending data for specific categories of supplemental benefits to be reported, beginning with the 2023 plan year. This additional information will be useful in assessing the value of supplemental benefits offered by Medicare Advantage plans, but gaps will still remain.
Without descriptive information about use and enrollee out-of-pocket spending on supplemental benefits, it is not possible to assess the extent to which these benefits are being used by Medicare Advantage enrollees, and whether use of supplemental benefits varies by beneficiary characteristics (e.g., race/ethnicity or health status), plan type (e.g., SNPs, group plans or individually sold plans), or region. It is also not possible to assess whether use of these benefits has a positive effect on health outcomes and affordability. Basic descriptive data could also be used to assess whether supplemental benefits are helping to address health disparities by filling specific social or medical needs, such as transportation, and whether the benefits are being targeted to those with the greatest needs.
Questions about Supplemental Benefits that cannot be answered Because Data Are Not reported
- What share of Medicare Advantage enrollees use supplemental benefits offered by their plan?
- What level of supplemental benefits do Medicare Advantage enrollees use? For example, among enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans with an annual dollar limit on dental coverage, what share use the full amount available?
- How does the use of supplemental benefits vary by enrollee characteristics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, income, residence in underserved areas)?
- Does use of supplemental benefits vary by Medicare Advantage insurer?
- How much do Medicare Advantage enrollees spend out-of-pocket on cost sharing for supplemental benefits when covered by their plan?
- Does the availability of supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage help mitigate health disparities?
- Do supplemental benefits, such as coverage of dental services, lead to fewer adverse events and better health outcomes?
- Do enrollees in SNPs or group plans use supplemental benefits more or less extensively than enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans available for individual purchase?
Medicare Advantage insurers do not report prior authorization requests, denials, and appeals by type of service, enrollee characteristics, or for specific plans within a contract.
Health insurers use prior authorization to both contain spending and prevent enrollees from receiving unnecessary or low-value services. Virtually all Medicare Advantage enrollees are in a plan that requires prior authorization for some services. Generally, higher cost services, such as Part B drugs (e.g., chemotherapy) and inpatient hospital stays, are more likely than lower cost services to be subject to prior authorization. Even supplemental benefits, such as hearing tests and transportation, are often subject to prior authorization requirements.
A prior KFF analysis found that over 35 million prior authorization requests were submitted to Medicare Advantage insurers in 2021, with over 2 million of those requests fully or partially denied. Just 11% of denials were appealed, though 82% of those appeals were at least in part successful.
Publicly available data from CMS includes the aggregate number of prior authorization and payment requests, including whether the request was approved or denied (in full or in part). The data also include information about the number of denied claims that were appealed and the outcome of that process.
However, there are no data to document the number of prior authorization requests, denials, and appeals by type of service. It is therefore not possible to assess whether prior authorization requests for certain types of services are denied more often by some plans than others, or whether prior authorization requests tend to be denied more for some types of services than others.
The lack of data about the services for which prior authorization is requested and the decisions made by plans also make it difficult to assess whether Medicare Advantage insurers are complying with CMS requirements to cover all Medicare Part A and Part B services. The Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) requested detailed information for a sample of denials from Medicare Advantage insurers, and found that the insurers may be using prior authorization to deny requests for services covered under traditional Medicare. While CMS recently clarified this requirement through rulemaking, without plan-level data, by type of service, it will not be possible to determine whether plans are complying.
In addition, plans are not required to report prior authorization data by demographic characteristics of Medicare Advantage enrollees, such as race/ethnicity, sex, age, or diagnosed health conditions. Without such data, it is not possible to assess whether prior authorization requirements have a disproportionate impact on certain subpopulations of enrollees, which could affect access to care, out-of-pocket costs, and health outcomes.
Further, plans do not report the extent to which providers in their network may be exempt from prior authorization requirements, for example as part of “gold-carding” programs that waive requirements for providers with a history of complying with the insurer’s prior authorization policies. Medicare beneficiaries might find it helpful to consider how broadly prior authorization requirements apply across providers when choosing among plans.
Additionally, the aggregate-level data reported by Medicare Advantage insurers to CMS and made available in a public use file are only available at the contract, rather than plan level. Contracts can include multiple types of Medicare Advantage plans, sometimes combining those available for individual purchase with SNPs and employer sponsored plans, and most contracts include at least three plans. By aggregating data in this way, it is not possible to assess variations in prior authorization practices across plans within a contract, including across plans that serve different populations. For example, if CMS required Medicare Advantage insurers to report prior authorization requests and denials at the plan level, beneficiaries could compare across the plan options of the same type (e.g., plans available for individual purchase) in their county.
questions about the impact of Prior Authorization decisions that CANNOT be answered because data are not reported
- For what services are prior authorization requests made most often?
- What services have the highest prior authorization denial rates?
- Are people with certain health conditions subject to more prior authorization requirements and how do denials vary by diagnoses?
- How do prior authorization request denials vary by demographic characteristics of Medicare Advantage enrollees?
- Which insurers receive the most prior authorization requests and how do denials and appeals vary across insurers and plans?
- What share of providers are exempt from prior authorization requirements, what services do they provide, and what are the characteristics of their patients?
- Are some groups of Medicare Advantage enrollees more likely to appeal prior authorization denials than others?
Medicare Advantage insurers do not report the reasons for prior authorization denials.
While Medicare Advantage insurers are required to provide enrollees with an explanation when denying a prior authorization request, CMS does not collect this information. Requests may be denied because a provider did not submit the necessary documentation, because the plan has determined the service is not medically necessary, or because the plan imposes other requirements for coverage (such as trying a more basic service first). This information would be helpful in understanding the potential effect of proposals to improve the prior authorization process. For example, if most denials of prior authorization requests are because the service was not deemed medically necessary, efforts to increase transparency of the coverage criteria, such as those recently included in a final rule published by CMS, may be more likely to have an impact.
questions about the reasons for prior authorization denials that cannot be answered because data are not reported
- What share of prior authorization denials are attributed to medical necessity compared to other reasons, such as insufficient documentation or requiring a more basic service first?
- What types of services are more likely to have prior authorization requests denied due to medical necessity?
- Do certain insurers attribute denials of prior authorization requests to medical necessity more often than others?
- Are Black Medicare Advantage enrollees more likely to have a prior authorization request denied because of medical necessity than White Medicare Advantage enrollees?
- Are Medicare Advantage enrollees with certain health conditions more likely to have a prior authorization request denied because of medical necessity than other Medicare Advantage enrollees?
Medicare Advantage insurers do not report how long prior authorization decisions take.
Medicare Advantage insurers are required to respond to prior authorization requests as “expeditiously as the enrollee’s health condition requires,” but no more than 14 days after receiving the request. Under certain circumstances, the plan can extend the timeframe by another 14 days. CMS has proposed to shorten this time limit to 7 days for non-urgent requests, and no more than 72 hours for urgent requests.
Under current law, Medicare Advantage insurers are not required to report data on the timeliness of initial decisions to CMS. This information would be useful in enforcing the current requirement that a decision is made as quickly as the person’s health condition requires. It would also be helpful in understanding variation in the average response time across types of services, for people with specific conditions, and across insurers. For example, people with diabetes might be interested in not just knowing whether they will need annual approval of their diabetes supplies, but also how long they can expect that authorization to take.
questions about the timeliness of prior authorization determinations that cannot be answered because data are not reported
- How timely are initial prior authorization determination and appeal decisions?
- How does the response rate vary for prior authorization requests for urgent versus non-urgent services?
- Do certain insurers respond to prior authorization requests more quickly?
Medicare Advantage insurers do not report complete data on denied claims for services that have already been delivered.
The Medicare Advantage encounter data do not have a field to definitively identify claims for which payment was denied. This contrasts with claims data for traditional Medicare. In a recent study, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the lack of this information makes it challenging or impossible to conduct oversight, including fraud investigations.
Medicare Advantage insurers also submit contract-level data on the number of payment requests by certain providers and whether those requests were approved or denied. These data currently exclude most requests for payment for services delivered by contract providers and do not include a reason for the denial, information about the type of service delivered, or the characteristics of the enrollees affected. Without this information it is not possible to determine how often Medicare Advantage insurers deny claims for services that have already been delivered, or to assess how denials vary across different dimensions.
Enhancing the Medicare Advantage encounter data and other information on payment requests submitted by Medicare Advantage insurers could help CMS and other policymakers conduct oversight. Additionally, this information may be helpful to beneficiaries who wish to assess the potential burden associated with ensuring services are paid for when choosing between plans.
questions on payment denials that cannot be answered because data are not reported
- How often do Medicare Advantage insurers deny payments for Medicare-covered services?
- Which types of services are most often denied after they have been delivered?
- What are the main reasons payments are denied and does that vary across plans and insurers?
- Which insurers deny claims after services have been delivered most often?
- How do denial rates vary across demographic characteristics of Medicare Advantage enrollees?
- Are payment denials more common among Medicare Advantage enrollees with certain health conditions than others?
Medicare Advantage insurers do not report benefit and cost sharing information for employer/union sponsored plans.
More than five million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in a group Medicare Advantage plan through a former employer or union. For group plans, the employer or union contracts with a Medicare Advantage insurer and Medicare pays a fixed, risk-adjusted payment per enrollee each month. The plan must cover all services covered under Part A and Part B of Medicare and may also provide supplemental benefits.
CMS requires Medicare Advantage insurers to submit information related to benefits, including cost sharing and the value of supplemental benefits, as well as anticipated gains/losses, as part of the annual bidding process for most plans they intend to offer in an upcoming plan year. However, because employer and union sponsored group plans are exempt from bidding, CMS does not collect this information. Thus, it is not possible to assess how benefits and cost sharing compare for those enrolled in a group plan versus those enrolled in a plan that is generally available for individual purchase or a special needs plan. Additionally, analyses of margins by plan type, such as those published annually by MedPAC, cannot separately consider employer and union sponsored plans.
Medicare pays more for enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans, including group plans sponsored by employers and unions, than for traditional Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, employer plans have their payments increased more on average under the quality bonus program (QBP) than other types of plans, with total spending for group plans under the QBP totaling at least $2 billion in 2022. Additional data are necessary to assess the value this higher spending provides to enrollees in these plans.
questions about employer and union retiree plan benefits that cannot be answered because data are not reported
- What supplemental benefits are offered by employer and union sponsored plans?
- How do benefit and cost sharing requirements vary across employer and union sponsored plans?
- How does the value of common supplemental benefits, such as dental, vision, and hearing, compare between employer and union sponsored plans versus individually available or special needs plans?
- Are margins for employer and union sponsored plans similar to margins for other types of Medicare Advantage plans?
Data That are Collected by CMS, but not Made Publicly Available
CMS does not publish out-of-pocket liability and other payment information for Medicare Advantage plans.
Medicare beneficiaries may be drawn to Medicare Advantage because of the potential for lower out-of-pocket spending, particularly compared to traditional Medicare without a supplemental insurance policy. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission estimates that 39% of rebate dollars paid to Medicare Advantage insurers, or an average of $76 per enrollee per month, go toward reducing cost sharing. Additionally, unlike traditional Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans are required to have an annual out-of-pocket limit. However, little is known about actual out-of-pocket spending by Medicare Advantage enrollees.
CMS requires Medicare Advantage insurers to submit detailed encounter data that includes information about the services enrollees use and their diagnosed health conditions, as well as payment information. Based on a review of data submission requirements, it is unclear what information is reported, the level of detail of the payment information, or the extent to which reported data are accurate and complete. For example, it is not possible to determine how often Medicare Advantage insurers submit information about out-of-pocket liability. In addition, since providers in capitated arrangements or staff models do not receive a payment per service, information about payments to these providers for specific services is unlikely to be included in encounter data.
There is little transparency about both payments to providers and out-of-pocket liability because publicly available Medicare Advantage encounter data do not include information on either. Current regulations state that CMS may release data “subject to the aggregation of dollar amounts reported for the associated encounter to protect commercially sensitive data.” While this regulation may limit the level of detailed information CMS can release on payments to providers at the service level, it does not prohibit publishing any payment information, Further, it is not clear to what extent plans are required to report, or why CMS does not publish information on out-of-pocket liability. Plan-specific information about enrollee liability, which typically reflects out-of-pocket spending, and Medicaid spending for people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, would help beneficiaries compare actual out-of-pocket liability both across plans and compared to traditional Medicare. It could additionally illuminate how cost-burdens vary across subgroups of Medicare Advantage enrollees, including those with particular health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.
Medicare Advantage plans vary substantially in their cost-sharing structures. For many types of services, it is difficult to determine what enrollees are required to pay out of pocket, because cost sharing takes the form of coinsurance and the prices paid to providers are not reported. While current regulations may prevent CMS from publishing the prices Medicare Advantage insurers pay providers, CMS could provide information on the actual amounts for which enrollees were liable. This would be useful in examining the implications of the variation in cost-sharing structures.
Making available more detailed information about provider payments would inform our understanding of how Medicare Advantage insurers allocate resources across types of health care services, and how that compares to traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage offers the promise of coordinated care that focuses on delivering high-value interventions before serious health care conditions develop. However, it is difficult to assess the extent to which plans incur expenditures, for example, for care coordination or preventive care, or whether they are more oriented toward reducing unnecessary and duplicative services. Such information would be useful in assessing how Medicare Advantage insurers are able to reduce their estimates of spending on Medicare-covered services relative to traditional Medicare for similar beneficiaries for these same services.
questions about out-of-pocket liability and other medicare advantage spending that cannot be answerED because data are not published
- How much spending are Medicare Advantage enrollees liable for across specific services, such as skilled nursing facility stays, MRIs, or chemotherapy?
- Does average out-of-pocket liability vary across plans or insurers?
- Do dual-eligible beneficiaries in special needs plans (SNPs) have higher or lower out-of-pocket liability than dual-eligible beneficiaries in non-SNPs? How does this vary across states and what might be the impact on state Medicaid spending?
- What share of Medicare Advantage enrollees reach their annual out-of-pocket limit each year?
- Do Medicare Advantage plans typically pay more, less or about the same as traditional Medicare for various services?
- How does spending by Medicare Advantage insurers on preventive services compare to traditional Medicare spending on these same services?
CMS does not publish the names of employers/unions that receive Medicare payments to provide Medicare Advantage group plans to retirees.
Employers are increasingly turning to Medicare Advantage to provide retiree health coverage. Often, retirees have no choice but to receive their retiree health benefits through a Medicare Advantage plan. If they are unhappy with the plan, they could opt for different coverage, but would have to give up their benefits, the value of which was arguably part of their compensation while working.
CMS collects the name and address of the employers who provide retiree coverage through Medicare Advantage plans, but does not publish it because it considers this information to be proprietary. Combined with the lack of information about plan benefits and cost sharing, not having information on which employers are offering retiree benefits through a Medicare Advantage plan makes it difficult to assess the implications for affected beneficiaries.
questions about sponsors of employer and union retiree plans that cannot be answered because data are not published
- What industries use Medicare Advantage to provide retiree health coverage most often?
- How do rebates, which fund supplemental benefits, vary across types of employers, including state and local governments?
- How is spending under the quality bonus program distributed across different types of employers?
CMS does not include characteristics of people who disenrolled from Medicare Advantage in published disenrollment data.
A relatively small share of beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage disenroll from their Medicare Advantage plan and switch to traditional Medicare, though the rates are higher for some groups, including people dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and those in their last year of life. While there is a contract-level composite measures for reasons for disenrollment, the data do not include characteristics of people who disenrolled. Adding information about the race/ethnicity, age, dual status, and long-term care facility residence could help promote health equity by providing the information to assess whether disenrollment is higher for certain groups, and whether the reason for disenrollment varies.
questions about disenrollment from Medicare advantage that cannot be answered because data are not published
- Do Black Medicare Advantage enrollees disenroll for different reasons than White Medicare Advantage enrollees?
- Are dual eligible beneficiaries more or less likely to disenroll from Medicare Advantage because of problems with coverage of doctors and hospitals?
- Do Medicare Advantage enrollees in poorer health disenroll more often because of problems getting the plan to provide and pay for needed care?
Discussion
Payments to Medicare Advantage insurers are both higher and growing faster than spending in traditional Medicare. In 2023, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission estimates that the Medicare program will spend 6% more per Medicare Advantage enrollee than for similar beneficiaries in traditional Medicare. Despite the higher payments, researchers have found few differences between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare in beneficiary experience, affordability, service utilization, and quality.. However, gaps in Medicare Advantage data limit the extent to which comparisons can be made, as well as the ability to evaluate whether higher spending is leading to better value, improved outcomes, or reduced disparities.
Gaps in Medicare Advantage data also leave beneficiaries without important information to consider when choosing between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, or between Medicare Advantage plans. Providing beneficiaries with the option of receiving their Medicare benefits through a private plan is meant to leverage competition to improve coverage and lower costs. To achieve those goals, beneficiaries need to be able and willing to differentiate and compare their options. Few beneficiaries compare their coverage options or change plans during the annual Medicare open enrollment period. One reason for this relatively limited engagement may be that beneficiaries do not have sufficient and easily understood information to compare plans.
CMS has the authority to require the additional data elements we discuss in this brief, though collecting some of this information will be easier than others. In some cases, filling these gaps would require substantial resources and time to be dedicated by CMS, and in others, Medicare Advantage insures would face a greater burden. However, increasing transparency in information about Medicare Advantage plans could improve program oversight and beneficiary decision making.
This work was supported in part by Arnold Ventures. KFF maintains full editorial control over all of its policy analysis, polling, and journalism activities. | 2023-04-26T16:24:19+00:00 | kff.org | https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/gaps-in-medicare-advantage-data-limit-transparency-in-plan-performance-for-policymakers-and-beneficiaries/ |
Thursday, June 1st 2023, 6:26 am
Over 20 ESPN cameras, 13,000 fans and 8 teams await the beginning of the 2023 NCAA Women's College World Series.
With preparations starting almost a month before the games begin, many of the staff at Hall of Fame Stadium are putting on the finishing touches. This year’s new addition: three new video boards.
USA Softball executive director Craig Cress said now that the preparation is over, it’s time to see their hard work pay off.
“It’s to see all the fans that are excited about coming in here," Cress said. "Young ladies that are coming in to see their heroes of the day play the game, and hoping that sometime [in the future] they’ll be on this field as well.”
Gates to the stadium open at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, but Cress said fans are expected to start showing up as early as 6 a.m.
The Oklahoma Sooners face off against Stanford at 1:30 p.m., while Oklahoma State prepares to take on Florida State at 6 p.m.
June 28th, 2023
June 28th, 2023
June 28th, 2023
June 28th, 2023 | 2023-06-29T03:22:45+00:00 | news9.com | https://www.news9.com/story/64788331c351797e50807162/fans-trickle-into-hall-of-fame-stadium-as-womens-college-world-series-kicks-off |
MLB Probable Starting Pitchers Tonight: Friday, May 26
Who are the probable pitchers lined up to take the mound on Friday? Below, we list every starting pitching matchup for the day, which includes Mitch Keller toeing the rubber for the Pirates, and George Kirby getting the nod for the Mariners.
Read on to find the expected starters for every game on the docket for May 26.
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Today's Probable Starting Pitchers
Reds at Cubs Probable Pitchers
The Cincinnati Reds will send Hunter Greene (0-4) to the mound as they take on the Cubs, who will give the start to Justin Steele (6-1) for the matchup between the teams Friday.
Vegas Odds for Reds at Cubs
- CHC Odds to Win: -175
- CIN Odds to Win: +145
- Total: 7 runs
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Live Stream Reds at Cubs
- Game Time: 2:20 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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White Sox at Tigers Probable Pitchers
The Chicago White Sox will send Lance Lynn (3-5) to the hill as they face the Tigers, who will hand the ball to Joey Wentz (1-4) when the clubs face off on Friday.
Vegas Odds for White Sox at Tigers
- CHW Odds to Win: -140
- DET Odds to Win: +115
- Total: 8.5 runs
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- Game Time: 6:40 PM ET
- Streaming: Apple TV+ (regional restrictions may apply)
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Dodgers at Rays Probable Pitchers
The Los Angeles Dodgers will send Noah Syndergaard (1-3) to the mound as they face the Rays, who will give the start to Jalen Beeks (1-2) for the matchup between the teams Friday.
Vegas Odds for Dodgers at Rays
- TB Odds to Win: -120
- LAD Odds to Win: +100
- Total: 9.5 runs
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Live Stream Dodgers at Rays
- Game Time: 6:40 PM ET
- Streaming: BSSUN (regional restrictions may apply)
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Padres at Yankees Probable Pitchers
The San Diego Padres will send Joe Musgrove (1-2) to the bump as they play the Yankees, who will hand the ball to Randy Vasquez (0-0) when the teams meet on Friday.
Vegas Odds for Padres at Yankees
- SD Odds to Win: -115
- NYY Odds to Win: -105
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Padres at Yankees
- Game Time: 7:05 PM ET
- Streaming: Apple TV+ (regional restrictions may apply)
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Rangers at Orioles Probable Pitchers
The Texas Rangers will send Jon Gray (4-1) to the hill as they play the Orioles, who will hand the ball to Grayson Rodriguez (2-1) for the game between the teams Friday.
Vegas Odds for Rangers at Orioles
- BAL Odds to Win: -140
- TEX Odds to Win: +115
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Rangers at Orioles
- Game Time: 7:05 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Cardinals at Guardians Probable Pitchers
The St. Louis Cardinals will send Matthew Liberatore (1-0) to the hill as they play the Guardians, who will counter with Shane Bieber (3-3) for the matchup between the clubs Friday.
Vegas Odds for Cardinals at Guardians
- CLE Odds to Win: -115
- STL Odds to Win: -105
- Total: 8 runs
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Live Stream Cardinals at Guardians
- Game Time: 7:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSGL (regional restrictions may apply)
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Phillies at Braves Probable Pitchers
The Philadelphia Phillies will send Taijuan Walker (3-2) to the mound as they take on the Braves, who will look to Jared Shuster (1-2) when the clubs face off on Friday.
Vegas Odds for Phillies at Braves
- ATL Odds to Win: -150
- PHI Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 9.5 runs
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Live Stream Phillies at Braves
- Game Time: 7:20 PM ET
- Streaming: MLB Network (regional restrictions may apply)
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Giants at Brewers Probable Pitchers
The San Francisco Giants will send Alex Wood (0-0) to the mound as they take on the Brewers, who will hand the ball to Freddy Peralta (5-3) when the clubs play on Friday.
Vegas Odds for Giants at Brewers
- MIL Odds to Win: -140
- SF Odds to Win: +115
- Total: 8 runs
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Live Stream Giants at Brewers
- Game Time: 8:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSWI (regional restrictions may apply)
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Blue Jays at Twins Probable Pitchers
The Toronto Blue Jays will send Kevin Gausman (2-3) to the mound as they play the Twins, who will hand the ball to Louie Varland (2-0) when the teams meet on Friday.
Vegas Odds for Blue Jays at Twins
- TOR Odds to Win: -155
- MIN Odds to Win: +130
- Total: 8 runs
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Live Stream Blue Jays at Twins
- Game Time: 8:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSN (regional restrictions may apply)
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Nationals at Royals Probable Pitchers
The Washington Nationals will send Patrick Corbin (3-5) to the bump as they face the Royals, who will look to Jordan Lyles (0-8) for the game between the teams Friday.
Vegas Odds for Nationals at Royals
- KC Odds to Win: -125
- WSH Odds to Win: +105
- Total: 9 runs
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Live Stream Nationals at Royals
- Game Time: 8:10 PM ET
- Streaming: BSKC (regional restrictions may apply)
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Mets at Rockies Probable Pitchers
The New York Mets will send Max Scherzer (3-2) to the mound as they face the Rockies, who will counter with Connor Seabold (1-1) when the clubs meet Friday.
Vegas Odds for Mets at Rockies
- NYM Odds to Win: -225
- COL Odds to Win: +180
- Total: 11 runs
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Live Stream Mets at Rockies
- Game Time: 8:40 PM ET
- Streaming: SportsNet RM (regional restrictions may apply)
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Marlins at Angels Probable Pitchers
The Miami Marlins will send Jesus Luzardo (3-3) to the mound as they play the Angels, who will give the start to Reid Detmers (0-3) for the matchup between the clubs Friday.
Vegas Odds for Marlins at Angels
- LAA Odds to Win: -145
- MIA Odds to Win: +120
- Total: 8 runs
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Live Stream Marlins at Angels
- Game Time: 9:38 PM ET
- Streaming: BSW (regional restrictions may apply)
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Astros at Athletics Probable Pitchers
The Houston Astros will send Hunter Brown (4-1) to the hill as they face the Athletics, who will give the start to James Kaprielian (0-4) when the teams meet on Friday.
Vegas Odds for Astros at Athletics
- HOU Odds to Win: -275
- OAK Odds to Win: +220
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Astros at Athletics
- Game Time: 9:40 PM ET
- Streaming: NBCS-CA (regional restrictions may apply)
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Red Sox at Diamondbacks Probable Pitchers
The Boston Red Sox will send Chris Sale (4-2) to the bump as they face the Diamondbacks, who will hand the ball to Brandon Pfaadt (0-1) for the game between the teams Friday.
Vegas Odds for Red Sox at Diamondbacks
- BOS Odds to Win: -150
- ARI Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 8.5 runs
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Live Stream Red Sox at Diamondbacks
- Game Time: 9:40 PM ET
- Streaming: BSAZ (regional restrictions may apply)
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Pirates at Mariners Probable Pitchers
The Pittsburgh Pirates will send Keller (5-1) to the mound as they face the Mariners, who will give the start to Kirby (5-3) for the game between the teams on Friday.
Vegas Odds for Pirates at Mariners
- SEA Odds to Win: -150
- PIT Odds to Win: +125
- Total: 7 runs
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Live Stream Pirates at Mariners
- Game Time: 10:10 PM ET
- Streaming: ROOT Sports NW (regional restrictions may apply)
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-26T14:16:00+00:00 | foxcarolina.com | https://www.foxcarolina.com/sports/betting/2023/05/26/mlb-probable-starting-pitchers/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eugenio Suárez smacked a three-run homer, Chris Flexen pitched six solid innings to win his fourth straight start and the Seattle Mariners got their ninth straight win by beating the Washington Nationals 6-4 on Wednesday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Jesse Winker, Adam Frazier and Cal Raleigh hit solo home runs for Seattle, which last won nine in a row in 2003 (May 27 through June 5). The surging Mariners also have won 17 of 20 for the first time since April 2-23, 2002.
“We’re winning games a lot of different ways and I think that’s the mark of a really good team,” said Winker, who returned after a six-game suspension for his role in a fight with the Los Angeles Angels on June 26.
Juan Soto, who was caught in a rundown between third and home on Nelson Cruz’s double to end the seventh, tried to help the Nationals in the ninth inning with a three-run homer off Penn Murfee with two outs to make it 6-4. But Paul Sewald retired Cruz for his 11th save.
“At the end of the day, it feels more terrible when I hit the ball. Because the things that happened on the bases and everything, you can see how close the game (would) be,” said Soto, who now has 18 home runs and a 14-game hitting streak.
Flexen (6-8) had a 3-0 lead before he threw a pitch and proceeded to give up one run on six hits, while walking two and striking out one. He has a 2.88 ERA over his past seven starts.
“To get an early lead like that forces you to want to step on the gas even more and stay in the zone,” Flexen said. “I just tried to attack and compete and put us in a situation to win.”
The Nationals, who have lost five straight and 11 of 12, also saw production from Keibert Ruiz, who had a double and a single.
Washington starter Josiah Gray (7-6) allowed five runs on six hits, three of them home runs, in five innings. He walked three and struck out seven.
Gray struggled with his control early, walking two of the first three batters in the first inning before Suárez homered to left on an 0-1 fastball.
“He had trouble settling in,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Gray. “Oftentimes the most vulnerable starting pitchers are is in that first inning. He really didn’t have a feel for the strike zone and we took advantage.”
Winker’s and Frazier’s solo shots came in the fourth.
Washington loaded the bases against Flexen with no outs in the fifth, but settled for Luis Garcia’s sacrifice fly to make it 5-1 before Flexen retired Josh Bell and Cruz around a walk to Soto.
The second game is a makeup of the game rained out Tuesday.
ROSTER MOVE
The Nationals announced after the game they had called up RHP Tyler Clippard and placed RHP Tanner Rainey on the 60-day injured list with a right UCL sprain. Clippard, 37, was 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA and one save at Triple-A Rochester. He previously spent seven years with Washington (2008-14) and was 34-24 with a 2.68 ERA and 34 saves. Rainey, 29, went 1–3 with 12 saves and a 3.30 ERA in 29 games this season.
BRAWL SUSPENSIONS DONE
Mariners’ All-Star center fielder Julio Rodríguez served a one-game suspension stemming from his involvement in the brawl with the Angels. All of the sanctioned Mariners have now served their suspensions.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals: LHP Josh Rogers (left shoulder impingement) pitched 5 1/3 innings in a rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg Tuesday night. He allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts. … RHP Hunter Harvey (right pronator strain) made his first major league appearance since April 20 and pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
UP NEXT
Mariners RHP Erik Swanson (0-0, 0.79 ERA) will serve as the opener in Game 2 of the twinbill and LHP Tommy Milone, previously announced as the opener, will follow. The Nationals will start RHP Erick Fedde (5-6, 5.01 ERA), who has never faced the Mariners.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-07-13T23:22:46+00:00 | kron4.com | https://www.kron4.com/sports/ap-sports/mariners-win-9th-straight-behind-suarezs-3-run-home-run/ |
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP)Bills defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Tim Settle missed their third consecutive practice on Saturday, leaving Buffalo potentially thin in the middle against running back Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans on Monday night.
Coach Sean McDermott didn’t rule out either of the players: ”We’ll see how it goes with those two.”
Oliver has been sidelined since hurting his ankle in a season-opening 31-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 8 in which he started and played 17 snaps. Settle hasn’t practiced this week due to a calf injury. He played 28 snaps against the Rams.
Buffalo only has four defensive tackles on its active roster and could be forced to promote Brandin Bryan and C.J. Brewer from its practice squad. The Bills retooled defensive front limited the Rams to 52 yards rushing.
Last season, Henry had 143 yards rushing and scored three times in a 34-31 win over Buffalo. Overall, he’s combined for 334 yards rushing and six TDs in four career games against the Bills.
On the bright side for Buffalo, starting cornerback Dane Jackson practiced after missing the past two sessions with a knee injury sustained in practice Tuesday.
—
More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL | 2022-09-17T21:48:38+00:00 | krqe.com | https://www.krqe.com/sports/nfl-football/bills-potentially-thin-at-defensive-tackle-against-titans/ |
DALLAS (KTVI) — An Oklahoma City couple on a quest to get married in Las Vegas ended up getting married on a commercial flight on their way there.
Pam Patterson and Jeremy Salda joked on April 19 that “they should hop on a plane to get married in Vegas,” according to a Southwest Airlines Facebook post. The couple then realized neither one of them was joking. So they booked a flight for Sunday with a Southwest Airlines competitor. Their Vegas wedding chapel appointment was booked for Sunday at 9 p.m.
When the lovebirds arrived at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) from the Will Rogers World Airport (OKC), they found out their connection to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) was canceled after several delays. A passenger and ordained minister by the name of Chris, who was also traveling from DFW to LAS, overheard the couple’s predicament and “offered to marry the couple himself!” according to the post.
So Patterson, Salda, and the minister purchased the last three seats to Las Vegas on a Southwest flight and took an Uber across town to get to Dallas Love Field Airport from DFW.
The couple was traveling in their wedding attire all day Sunday. So, when they “boarded the flight, their Pilot, Captain Gil, noticed Patterson’s wedding dress and asked her about it,” the Facebook post said. Then they joked with the captain that they should just tie the knot on the flight.
“For the second time that week, Pam was surprised to hear the words, ‘Let’s do it!'” according to the post.
The whole flight crew helped the couple. There were toilet paper streamers, a snack mix sash for the minister, and an old notebook was passed around the cabin for passengers to sign as a makeshift guest book. A flight attendant named Julie stood in as Patterson’s maid of honor. There was also a professional photographer on the flight who took out her camera to take official wedding photos.
“Congrats to the newlyweds on a memorable inflight wedding neither our Employees nor Passengers are likely to forget! We can’t wait to welcome you back onboard the love airline,” Southwest said. | 2022-04-29T19:42:23+00:00 | wate.com | https://www.wate.com/news/couple-gets-married-on-flight-instead-of-in-las-vegas/ |
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Afterschool programs are being expanded in Berkshire County with the help of funding provided by the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership and Mass Cultural Council’s YouthReach.
The organization, Flying Cloud Institute, will expand its afterschool girls science clubs from four to eight in Pittsfield Public Schools as well as continue the education in Lee, Berkshire Hills, and Southern Berkshire School Districts. Flying Cloud Institute offers programs in the arts and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to those aged 9 to 19 years old.
“Flying Cloud Institute is grateful for the support of MAP and YouthReach. We are confident our partnership with Berkshire County schools will help to reach needed communities while closing the gender gap in STEM fields,” says Maria Rundle, Executive Director of Flying Cloud Institute. | 2022-09-26T16:32:27+00:00 | wwlp.com | https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/berkshire-county/afterschool-programs-expand-in-berkshire-county/ |
KEWANEE, Ill, Dec. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Murray Wise Associates (MWA) last week completed a farmland auction that is believed to have generated the highest sales price ever in Henry County, Illinois, at $21,100/acre.
"This is the first time I've seen farmland prices exceed $21,000/acre in Henry County. The bidders at this sale understood the long-term value of quality farmland and the importance of acquiring the land when it is available," said Liz Strom, Vice President of Murray Wise Associates, and auction manager for this sale.
The auction was of 47 acres that was offered in two tracts with the 38-acre tract selling for $21,100/acre a nine-acre tract selling for $18,100/acre.
"We had a good mix of farmers and investors. Farmers were a major factor in this auction because it makes sense to purchase this and integrate it into their existing operations," said Strom.
"This also illustrates the point I've been making that the auction process is ideal for smaller farms, because it creates the interest and competition that ensure a competitive, current market price."
The same day as the Henry County auction, Murray Wise Associates also sold a 78-acre farm in Grundy County, Illinois for $16,200/acre; also, a top-of-market price for the area the farm is located in.
"That we were able to have two sales of such success in different locations and dissimilar farms just goes to show how strong the market is holding up in the face of higher interest rates. We had 25 and 32 bidders registered for each auction respectively and of those we had 12 bidders place bids during the auctions with farmers and investors alike participating," said Eric Sarff, President of Murray Wise Associates.
The Henry County farm was located right by Kewanee, Illinois and had very high quality soils for the area, while the Grundy County farm had average quality soils for the area and included income from a wind lease.
Murray Wise Associates LLC, headquartered in Champaign, Ill., is a leading national agricultural real estate marketing, management, and investment firm with additional offices in Naples, Florida and Clarion, Iowa.
View original content:
SOURCE Murray Wise Associates LLC | 2022-12-27T19:34:18+00:00 | kswo.com | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/12/27/henry-county-farm-sets-new-sales-record-murray-wise-auction/ |
CINCINNATI, Ohio — The freshly minted Louisville Sluggers made for an odd sight in the Bengals’ team meeting room at Paycor Stadium.
There were bats laid out around the room — one for every player — ahead of coach Zac Taylor’s pre-game meeting in preparation for a pivotal game against the San Francisco 49ers last December.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Bengals safety Mike Hilton, told Cleveland.com on Thursday.
That’s part of the fun for Bengals players the night before a game when the 39-year-old delivers his final pre-game remarks. The speeches are usually five to 10 minutes and used to set up a highlight video if they won the previous week.
He varies his approach to keep players on their toes like he did last year when he sent Bengals strength and conditioning coach Joey Boese down to Kentucky after a Friday practice to pick up a special order of Louisville Sluggers bats straight from the official store.
Taylor explained the bats by showing a famous scene from “A Bronx Tale.”
The film is about the relationship between a local gangster (played by Chazz Palminteri) mentoring a teenager in the 1960′s. Palminteri’s character Sonny and his crew facing down a biker gang causing trouble at a local bar in the clip.
“That wasn’t very nice, now yous got to leave,” Sonny says, after the bikers spray a bartender with alcohol.
Sonny saunters over to the front door and locks it when they decline his offer.
“Now yous can’t leave,” he deadpans and a melee ensues.
Sonny and his associates put a few of Louisville Sluggers to use clearing the premises.
“It was about being physical and attacking,” Hilton said. “We got the message, everyone understood.”
San Francisco got the win that weekend, but Taylor got his point across.
The Bengals’ toughness was on display as they erased a 20-6 deficit in the final 10 minutes to force overtime while the defense held the 49ers to 100 rushing yards (well below their season average), forced two fumbles and had five sacks.
Cincinnati settled down in the weeks that followed and rattled off three straight wins to clinch the AFC North.
Taylor’s pre-game messaging has been in the spotlight to a greater degree this season.
It’s where the Bengals’ “they gotta play us” mantra originated prior to a win over Tennessee — the motto spawned all sorts of social media chatter and numerous t-shirts — but in recent weeks those meetings have helped guide the team through one of the most challenging stretches of Taylor’s tenure.
“He’s really been masterful I think in terms of his ability to hit the right buttons at the right times,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said.
Taylor described coming up with ideas for those pre-game meetings as a very informal process.
The only real constant is that Taylor waits until the end of the week to formulate how to deliver that message.
“Some weeks, I’ve got the notes app in my phone, I’ve probably got a list of things that I’ve thought about over the week,” Taylor said. “Sometimes it just hits you and you put it in there and a day later, you don’t like it anymore.”
He doesn’t often pick clips from movies, but he circled back to the idea heading into the regular season finale against the Ravens when he sensed Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest and the NFL’s decision to adjust the postseason rules had an emotional toll on the locker room.
Taylor came up with a unique way to lift their spirits by tasking Bengals video coordinator Brooks Santanello and coaching video assistant Tanner McDole to take a fight scene from the film “Gladiator” and superimpose the faces of Bengals coaches and players onto the footage.
Karras was one of the many players that had a moment as Russell Crowe’s Maximus.
“I was winning in my shot,” Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader said.
Much of the coaching staff — Callahan, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons — were faces in the crowd alongside veterans including Michael Thomas. The Bengals co-captain first crossed paths with Taylor and Anarumo when they were then assistant coaches for the Dolphins.
“I think that’s better for Uncle Mike,” Thomas said, on Thursday.
It was only a few minutes long, but it lifted the cloud hanging over Paycor Stadium.
The moment was in stark contrast to what Karras was accustomed to during his time in New England under Bill Belichick. While Karras praised his former coach’s attention to detail and coaching acumen, his pre-game speeches were the polar opposite of Taylor’s.
“We had highlight films, but it was mostly technical stuff going over certain plays, just very technical stuff and they could go on for up to 30 minutes,” Karras said.
That wouldn’t have resonated the same way for the Bengals during the stressful times they’ve faced recently.
“It was a situation we had no control of,” Thomas said. “The playoffs, the Monday night game against the Bills, we had no control over any of it. It (the clip) was fitting for what our mindset needed to be going forward.”
Taylor can go in any direction, but mostly keeps his focus on the Bengals during those pre-game meetings.
“He just pours confidence into the guys, some coaches can definitely go overboard,” Reader said. “He keeps it really short, light-hearted and makes it all about us.”
He will make exceptions though when the moment calls for it and one of those came last weekend at the team hotel in Buffalo.
Taylor began his speech highlighting the Bills’ 13-1 playoff record at home with a .929 winning percentage that leads all NFL teams. Their only home loss came in the 1996 wild card game against Jacksonville.
“I wanted to show that to the team because I knew what that would do to them, and it wouldn’t put fear in them,” Taylor said, after the game.
Bengals rookie corner Cam Taylor-Britt said it lit a fire under the defense that forced a pair of three-and-outs to open the game and held an offense that ranked No. 3 in scoring (27.7 points per game) to 10 points.
Callahan, who jokingly said he spends most of his waking hours working alongside Taylor, sees those meetings as an extension of the strong bond the coach has built with his players that goes back to some lean years when he first took over.
“I think it can be difficult if you don’t have a great rapport with your team, you don’t know what they feel and need,” Callahan said. “It’s a constant process. Our guys do a great job of communicating to him and he does a great job of communicating with them…it’s those things that lead into the bigger moments where he’s got such a great understanding of where the team is and what the messaging needs to be in the moment.”
One consistent refrain from players is that Taylor knows when to ramp up intensity at practice and dial it back. The attention he pays to how players are feeling has gone a long way with players particularly the veterans on the team.
Thomas echoed those thoughts.
“He’s got a great feel for the men in this locker room,” Thomas said. “I think he’s hand-selected, if not every single person, the majority of us including myself. He has a personal relationship with all of us.”
That gives Taylor’s words added weight.
“They come from the heart,” Thomas said.
Michael Niziolek covers the Bengals for cleveland.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelniziolek, click here for more coverage.
Ohio bettors can wager now at FanDuel in Ohio and other sportsbooks in the state, including Barstool Sportsbook, Caesars and DraftKings.
If you or a loved one has questions and needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966 or the National Council on Program Gambling Helpline (NCPG) at 1-800-522-4700 or visit 1800gambler.net for more information. 21+ and present in Ohio. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. | 2023-01-26T11:04:00+00:00 | cleveland.com | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2023/01/louisville-slugger-bats-gladiator-and-a-personal-touch-how-zac-taylor-mastered-the-pre-game-meeting.html |
By Claudia Dominguez and Raja Razek, CNN
Dinosaur tracks from around 113 million years ago have been revealed at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas due to severe drought conditions that dried up a river, the park said Monday in a statement.
“Most tracks that have recently been uncovered and discovered at different parts of the river in the park belong to Acrocanthosaurus. This was a dinosaur that would stand, as an adult, about 15 feet tall and (weigh) close to seven tons,” park spokesperson Stephanie Salinas Garcia told CNN in an email.
The other species that left tracks behind at the park in Glen Rose, Texas, was Sauroposeidon, which would be about 60 feet tall and weigh about 44 tons as an adult, Garcia added.
This summer’s excessive drought has caused a river in the park to dry out completely in most spots, revealing the tracks — the latest long-hidden secret recently exposed as bodies of water have dried up due to drought conditions across the globe.
More than 60% of Texas was experiencing drought last week in two of the most intense categories, according to the US Drought Monitor. The state also recently has experienced heat waves that pushed temperatures into the triple digits, leaving millions under excessive heat alerts.
The human-caused climate crisis, too, has increased the potential for more frequent dramatic swings in periods of drought and high precipitation, such as flash flooding this week in the Dallas area.
Under normal weather conditions, the dinosaur tracks found in the riverbed are under the water and filled with sediment, which makes them less visible, Garcia explained.
“Being able to find these discoveries and experience new dinosaur tracks is always an exciting time at the park!” Garcia added.
Meanwhile, the tracks are expected to be buried again as rain is forecast, said Garcia, who added the process helps protect the tracks from natural weathering and erosion.
“While these newer dinosaur tracks were visible for a brief amount of time, it brought about the wonder and excitement about finding new dinosaur tracks at the park,” Garcia said. “Dinosaur Valley State Park will continue to protect these 113-million year-old tracks not only for present, but future generations.”
The tracks are just the latest discovery uncovered by falling water levels due to drought, both in the US and abroad: Several sets of human remains have been discovered at Lake Mead in Utah in recent months as the reservoir has dropped to about 27% of its full capacity.
In Eastern Serbia, dozens of German warships still laden with explosives were exposed in the drying Danube River. A prehistoric stone circle dubbed the Spanish Stonehenge was revealed in the diminishing Valdecanas reservoir in rural Spain. And Buddhist statues believed to be 600 years old were found in the depleted Yangtze River.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | 2022-08-24T04:00:43+00:00 | kyma.com | https://kyma.com/cnn-style/2022/08/23/853766/ |
WAUCONDA, Ill. (AP) — The race to be Illinois’ next governor is also a battle among billionaires, including two whose names won’t appear on Tuesday’s primary ballot.
Republican candidates Darren Bailey, who as a state lawmaker fought pandemic measures such as mask mandates, and former prosecutor Richard Irvin, the first Black mayor of Chicago’s largest suburb, each has a benefactor who has pushed a different vision for the GOP and put their money behind it.
Billionaire businessmen Ken Griffin and Richard Uihlein — among the country’s biggest Republican donors — have combined to pour more than $60 million into the race. Griffin backs Irvin and Uihlein supports Bailey.
Billionaire Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, meanwhile, along with the Democratic Governors Association, has spent millions trying to ensure Irvin, an Army veteran and Aurora mayor, isn’t the GOP nominee.
The money has funded a monthslong barrage of ads that have attacked Irvin and propped up Bailey, the opponent Pritzker would rather face in November. The ads note Bailey’s strident far-right positions, including being “100% pro-life,” and his allegiance to former President Donald Trump — qualities that may help Bailey in a Republican primary but would be a liability for a general election in a state Trump twice lost by double digits. Trump endorsed him at a rally Saturday night in Mendon.
Although rich men in politics certainly aren’t rare, there may never have been a battle of the billions to match this one in a state election, particularly in a primary. It’s left Irvin, once considered the front-runner, scrambling to convince GOP primary voters that he’s the only one who can beat Pritzker.
“J.B. Pritzker is telling you that every time he takes out an ad. He’s telling you that ‘This is the guy I’m the most most afraid of,’” Irvin said during a stop at an Illinois manufacturing plant.
Irvin’s downfall may be a record that is considerably more moderate than that of his GOP rivals. Unlike Bailey and the four other men in the race, Irvin avoids saying if he voted for Trump or talking much about issues such as abortion, focusing instead on steps he would take to reduce crime and taxes. He has been criticized for saying “Black Lives Matter” during protests over police brutality that turned destructive in his hometown, then filming a TV ad where he said “All Lives Matter.”
Bailey has built a reputation during three years in the Legislature as an uncompromising conservative unafraid to take people on.
“People say J.B. Pritzker wants me to win this primary because he believes that I’m the easiest opponent to beat,” Bailey said during a campaign stop at a restaurant. “Well, I’ve got news for J.B. Pritzker: Be careful what you wish for because it’s coming. Friends, we’re going to win on Nov. 8.”
Bailey, a farmer from rural Xenia, jumped onto the statewide scene in summer 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he filed a lawsuit against Pritzker over a stay-at-home order the governor issued to slow transmission of the virus. Bailey was seen by supporters as a maverick when he was escorted from the floor of the Legislature for refusing to wear a mask in defiance of Democratic leaders. His backers like that he speaks often of his faith. Bailey, who speaks with a prairie twang, ends his nearly daily online video messages with prayer.
“He’s a godly man. He isn’t afraid to put his faith out there,” said supporter Ruth Bast, 63, of Springfield.
The three billionaires — Pritzker, Griffin and Uihlein — have a long history of clashing politically in Illinois and elsewhere.
Griffin, the founder and CEO of hedge fund company Citadel, has been a vocal critic of Pritzker’s administration, particularly over the issue of crime in Chicago. In addition to the $50 million he gave Irvin this cycle, he also spent millions to help get former Gov. Bruce Rauner elected in 2014 and on Rauner’s loss to Pritzker in 2018. He bankrolled a successful campaign to block Pritzker and other Democrats from changing Illinois’ tax structure to levy more on the highest earners.
In 2020, Griffin gave $37 million to the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, making him the PAC’s second-largest individual donor, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending.
Asked at a forum last year if he would support Trump should he run for president in 2024, Griffin replied, “I think it’s time for America to move on,” adding that Trump had been “pointlessly divisive.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, Griffin criticized Pritzker for “interfering” in the GOP primary, saying “spending tens of millions of dollars in cahoots with his cronies attacking the most successful Black political leader in Illinois is despicable.” Pritzker has defended his actions, saying an ad attacking Irvin is “telling the truth.”
Uihlein, a founder of the office supply company Uline Inc., is a major Trump supporter who has a long record of donating to far-right candidates and groups. That includes PACs and people strongly opposed to abortion, and the House Freedom Fund, which backs the most conservative candidates and strongest Trump backers.
The other candidates seeking the GOP nomination are businessman Gary Rabine, venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf and attorney Max Solomon. Pritzker’s only rival in the Democratic primary is Beverly Miles.
___
O’Connor reported from Athens, Illinois.
___
Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections
and on Twitter, https://twitter.com/ap_politics | 2022-06-27T14:38:41+00:00 | fox59.com | https://fox59.com/news/ap-top-headlines/illinois-governors-race-is-also-battle-among-billionaires/ |
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH
399 IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING
AREAS
IN ARKANSAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES 3 COUNTIES
IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
CRAWFORD
IN WEST CENTRAL ARKANSAS
FRANKLIN SEBASTIAN
IN OKLAHOMA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 14 COUNTIES
IN EAST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
CHEROKEE MUSKOGEE OKFUSKEE
SEQUOYAH
IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA
ADAIR CREEK OKMULGEE
TULSA WAGONER
IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA
HASKELL LATIMER LE FLORE
MCINTOSH PITTSBURG
THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF CHARLESTON, EUFAULA, FORT SMITH,
MCALESTER, MUSKOGEE, OKEMAH, OKMULGEE, OZARK, POTEAU, SALLISAW,
SAPULPA, STIGLER, STILWELL, TAHLEQUAH, TULSA, VAN BUREN, WAGONER,
AND WILBURTON.
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1000 AM CDT
FOR CENTRAL CREEK...NORTHWESTERN MCINTOSH...OKMULGEE...SOUTHERN TULSA
AND OKFUSKEE COUNTIES...
At 933 AM CDT, severe thunderstorms were located along a line
extending from Sapulpa to 2 miles southwest of Preston to 3 miles
northeast of Wetumka, moving east at 45 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.
Locations in or near the path include...
Tulsa... Broken Arrow...
Okmulgee... Bristow...
Okemah... Bixby...
Sapulpa... Jenks...
Okfuskee... Glenpool...
Henryetta... Kiefer...
Morris... Beggs...
Mounds... Kellyville...
Weleetka... Dewar...
Schulter... Grayson...
This includes the following highways,
Interstate 40 in Oklahoma between mile markers 212 and 246.
Interstate 44 between mile markers 190 and 216.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
To report severe weather contact your nearest law enforcement agency.
They will send your report to the National Weather Service office in
Tulsa.
&&
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED;
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN;
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED;
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM CDT THIS
EVENING...
* WHAT...Heat index values 104 to 109 degrees expected.
* WHERE...In Arkansas, Crawford and Sebastian Counties. In
Oklahoma, Tulsa, Creek, Okmulgee, Wagoner, Muskogee and
Sequoyah Counties.
* WHEN...From noon to 9 PM CDT Tuesday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to
create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are
possible.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear light weight and loose fitting clothing when
possible and drink plenty of water. To reduce risk during outdoor
work the occupational safety and health administration recommends
scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned
environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool
and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency, call 911.
&& | 2023-06-27T14:53:18+00:00 | fox23.com | https://www.fox23.com/news/local/pregnant-woman-killed-in-osage-county-car-crash/article_8c3e6694-14e5-11ee-a55e-d73fbe312e0a.html |
Baseball's back: Red Raiders set to open season at home
When Tim Tadlock sits down to make out a lineup card this weekend, the Texas Tech baseball coach won't be able to write in "Jung" for the first time in seven years.
"I thought about doing it anyway," Tadlock said. "I was telling their mom that the other day at our banquet.
"Yeah, going to miss those guys. Those guys did a lot for our program and are great examples for our guys. They're up here working every day they're here. It's a great visual for anybody to see, the amount of diligence it takes to be great at something."
Tech had Josh Jung from 2017-19 and Jace Jung from 2020-22, both being all-American infielders and Major League Baseball first-round draft choices.
When the Red Raiders open the season with four home games Friday through Monday against Gonzaga, the Jung name won't be the only familiar one missing.
Tadlock and company have to rebuild the much of the lineup, including the entire infield outside of catcher. The only returning regulars from a 39-22 regional-final team are catcher Hudson White (.260, six home runs, 40 runs batted in), center fielder Dillon Carter (.199-3-21), right fielder Owen Washburn (.277-7-48) and designated hitter Ty Coleman (.318-8-59).
Gone are infielders Cole Stilwell, Kurt Wilson and Parker Kelly and left fielder Easton Murrell.
Of the four pitchers who started at least nine games last season, the only returnee is sophomore lefthander Mason Molina, who went 2-5 with a 3.90 earned-run average. Andrew Morris, Brandon Birdsell and Chase Hampton, drafted in rounds four, five and six, all signed pro contracts.
The Red Raiders' revamped infield figures to have University of Texas transfer Gavin Kash at first base, Weatherford College transfer Austin Green at second base, true freshmen Will Burns or Tracer Lopez at shortstop and redshirt freshman Kevin Bazzell at third base.
Tadlock said the depth chart also has Dylan Maxcey at catcher, Damian Bravo and Ryan Brome (.286-0-5) at first base, Cade McGarrh at second and returning utilityman Zac Vooletich (.279-1-18) at third and in the outfield. Maxcey, Bravo and McGarrh are freshmen.
Drew Woodcox and Nolen Hester are battling for left field. Woodcox transferred back to Tech, where he started his career in 2021, from Rice, where he hit .202 with a homer and 12 RBI last season. Hester, from Rockwall-Heath, started 115 games the past four seasons at Wofford and batted .321 with two homers and 42 RBI last season. There's platoon possibilities, Woodcox being a right-handed hitter and Hester being left-handed.
Tadlock said Carter, Hester and freshmen Gage Harrelson and Jeric Curtis all can play center field — or any outfield position, for that matter. Harrelson, from Warner Robins, Georgia, and Curtis, from Tomball Memorial, impressed pro scouts with their speed.
Kash was considered the state's top first baseman coming out of Beaumont Kelly, but last year as a Texas freshman was stuck behind unanimous national player of the year Ivan Melendez.
"He's a big lefthanded power guy," Tadlock said, "and he's going to keep getting better. He's gotten better, both sides (offensively and defensively). But he's a big, physical body and what you're looking for."
Shortstop will be an interesting competition to watch between Burns, a first-semester freshman from Mission Viejo, California, and Lopez, a freshman from Cameron Yoe.
"Burns is more your Carlos Correa-looking guy, Derek Jeter," Tadlock said. "Big arm, has some power, can really run. Tracer's a smaller guy, left-handed hitter, Fernando Vina (comparison), very strong. He's one of the few kids in the country that played through the spring and summer 2020. They played Georgia during that whole (pandemic). He played in Houston. He's played a lot of baseball."
Last February, Tadlock said Tech could have "the two best catchers in the league" in 2023 with White and Bazzell. White made Big 12 freshman of the year and a couple of freshman all-America team. Bazzell transferred to Tech in January 2022 from Dallas Baptist and redshirted. Now Bazzell will leave catching to White and Maxcey and take over Kelly's old spot.
"He might be the best one (catcher) out of the three," Tadlock said, "but he's willing to play third and just go hit —and he's been plenty good at third. Athletic and good arm and going to hit in the middle of the order."
In Tech's first three games of the season, its starting pitchers will be Kyle Robinson (1-0, 4.63 last season in 12 relief appearances), Molina and Bo Blessie (0-0, 8.22 in seven relief appearances). Tadlock said the Red Raiders have six pitchers capable of starting, the others being Brendan Girton (3-0, 4.08), Trendan Parish (2-2, 8.26, six saves) and freshman lefthander Taber Fast from Centralia, Washington.
Girton and Parish are coming back from injuries that prematurely ended their 2022 seasons. Tadlock said all six will pitch this weekend.
Tadlock had high expectations last year for Robinson, and now the 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore is showing signs of development.
"He's been our most consistent guy from fall to now," Tadlock said.
Blessie is a 6-3, 190-pound senior righthander from Midland Lee who dazzled over the fall and winter with his stuff. This is his second year at Tech after two at Nebraska and one at Midland College.
"Blessie's probably made the biggest jump of anybody we had," Tadlock said. "The stuff is as good as anybody we've had. Like 100 (miles per hour). Up to 99. Now, will he be this week? I have no idea. He might be 92. I don't care, as long as he's hitting the target. But it's the kind of arm, you go, 'Man, you've got to take a shot at it.' " | 2023-02-16T04:10:11+00:00 | lubbockonline.com | https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/sports/college/red-raiders/2023/02/15/baseballs-back-red-raiders-set-to-open-season-at-home/69905005007/ |
How close would you dare to get to a great white shark? Most of us wouldn’t even dip a toe in the water if we knew a great white was lurking in the shadows, but some daring people actually desire this experience.
Euan Rannachan is a California-based photographer who has spent much of his career seeking out the great white shark, getting as close as possible to the powerful creatures in order to capture their beauty on film.
“I’ve always been super-fascinated by apex predators, particularly sharks,” the wildlife photographer said to Newsweek. “Growing up we had movies like ‘Jaws’ and the rest, but I had never really seen any kind of fine art photo of a great white shark.”
He regularly posts his art on his Facebook and Instagram pages under the name Euanart. Here’s one face-to-face image:
Rannachan decided to combine his passion for photography and sharks by creating the Be A Shark excursion company with fellow photographer Nikki Brant Sevy. On the Be A Shark tours, daring customers get on a boat that takes them to Guadalupe Island, located 120 miles off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. A shark wrangler on the boat uses a rope that is baited with yellowfin tuna to attract the sharks, and then those who are brave enough get into a cage that is suspended in the water near the boat.
“Hollywood portrays sharks as dangerous and terrifying because that sells tickets,” Rannachan wrote on his photography website. “It’s my goal to show the other side of these apex predators through my photos and videos. A lot of people’s reaction is fear, but also intrigue. I hope my images convey just how beautiful white sharks can be.”
Despite being so close to these legendary hunters, Rannachan says he has never been afraid for his life. However, he does worry about whether his customers will freak out once they are face-to-face with a “Jaws”-like shark.
Wouldn’t you react if this came at you? He posted this image to Facebook.
“I’ve never been worried that the shark was going to do anything,” Rannachan says. “I have been worried about people in the cage, just because it’s a massive rush, like an out-of-body experience. There are moments when you just have to make sure everybody is OK in the cage, make sure they’re still breathing.”
Unfortunately for great white aficionados, Guadalupe Island is currently closed to tourist excursions like the Be A Shark great white expeditions and other shark diving companies.
Divers are hoping that Guadalupe Island will open up again sometime in 2023, but the closure could continue indefinitely. Shark fans can still take other trips with the Be A Shark company, including swimming with pelagic sharks in Cabo San Lucas.
And you can always safely enjoy Rannachan’s breathtaking photography of these vulnerable great whites via social media, like this close-up view!
Would you swim with great white sharks?
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories. | 2023-01-05T18:04:41+00:00 | wkbw.com | https://www.wkbw.com/photographer-takes-pictures-great-white-sharks |
A new study published in an international forestry journal finds that better forest management could significantly grow New England's carbon storage, improve wildlife habitat and provide a reliable timber supply.
Published in the journal Forests, the study finds that improved forest practices including increased stocking of trees could bolster carbon storage by an estimated 488 million metric tons. The authors say that's nearly a quarter of the emissions reductions New England needs to reach net-zero by 2050.
Robert Perschel of the New England Forestry Foundation, which led the research, says a recent $30 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will compensate landowners willing to implement climate-smart forest practices as part of a pilot project. But he says more investment will be needed.
"To really make this happen on a broader scale, we would need larger and continuing funding, but the numbers and the investment required per acre is comparing really favorably to other types of climate mitigation investments," Perschel says.
The study, based on forest growth and yield models, only takes into account carbon stored in the forest and not carbon stored in long-lived wood products. | 2022-12-21T21:50:00+00:00 | mainepublic.org | https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2022-12-21/study-improved-forestry-could-boost-carbon-storage-in-new-england-by-nearly-half-a-billion-tons |
NEW YORK (AP) — R&B star R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for using his superstardom to subject young fans — some just children — to systematic sexual abuse.
The singer and songwriter, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking last year at a trial that gave voice to accusers who had once wondered if their stories were being ignored because they were Black women.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly imposed the sentence after hearing from several survivors who attested to how Kelly’s exploitation reverberated across their lives.
“You made me do things that broke my spirit. I literally wished I would die because of how low you made me feel,” said one unnamed survivor, directly addressing a Kelly who kept his hands folded and his eyes downcast. “Do you remember that?”
Kelly did not address the court.
The sentence caps a slow-motion fall for Kelly, who was adored by legions of fans and sold millions of albums even after allegations about his abuse of young girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s.
Widespread outrage over Kelly’s sexual misconduct didn’t come until the #MeToo reckoning, reaching a crescendo after the release of the docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly.”
Kelly’s lawyers had argued he should get no more than 10 years in prison because he had a traumatic childhood “involving severe, prolonged childhood sexual abuse, poverty, and violence.”
As an adult with “literacy deficiencies,” the star was “repeatedly defrauded and financially abused, often by the people he paid to protect him,” his lawyers said.
The hitmaker is known for work including the 1996 hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and the cult classic “Trapped in the Closet,” a multi-part tale of sexual betrayal and intrigue.
Allegations that Kelly abused young girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s. He was sued in 1997 by a woman who alleged sexual battery and sexual harassment while she was a minor, and he later faced criminal child pornography charges related to a different girl in Chicago. A jury there acquitted him in 2008, and he settled the lawsuit.
All the while, Kelly continued to sell millions of albums.
The Brooklyn federal court jury convicted him after hearing that he used his entourage of managers and aides to meet girls and keep them obedient, an operation that prosecutors said amounted to a criminal enterprise.
Kelly, born Robert Sylvester Kelly, used his “fame, money and popularity” to systematically “prey upon children and young women for his own sexual gratification,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing earlier this month.
Several accusers testified that Kelly subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage.
The accusers alleged they were ordered to sign nondisclosure forms and were subjected to threats and punishments such as violent spankings if they broke what one referred to as “Rob’s rules.”
Some said they believed the videotapes he shot of them having sex would be used against them if they exposed what was happening.
According to testimony, Kelly gave several accusers herpes without disclosing he had an STD, coerced a teenage boy to join him for sex with a naked girl who emerged from underneath a boxing ring in his garage, and shot a shaming video that showed one victim smearing feces on her face as punishment for breaking his rules.
Kelly has denied any wrongdoing. He didn’t testify at his trial, but his then-lawyers portrayed his accusers as girlfriends and groupies who weren’t forced to do anything against their will and stayed with him because they enjoyed the perks of his lifestyle.
Evidence also was presented about a fraudulent marriage scheme hatched to protect Kelly after he feared he had impregnated R&B phenom Aaliyah in 1994 when she was just 15. Witnesses said they were married in matching jogging suits using a license falsely listing her age as 18; he was 27 at the time.
Aaliyah worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.
An earlier defense memo suggested prosecutors’ arguments for a higher sentence overreached by falsely claiming Kelly participated in the paying of a bribe to a government official in order to facilitate the illegal marriage.
The Associated Press does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused, unless they come forward publicly. The women who spoke at Kelly’s sentencing were identified only by first names or pseudonyms.
Kelly has been jailed without bail since in 2019. He’s still facing child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 15. | 2022-06-29T20:22:57+00:00 | pahomepage.com | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/r-kelly-sentenced-to-30-years-in-sex-trafficking-case-2/ |
CLEVELAND, March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kevin Clayton, Senior Vice President, Head of Social Impact and Equity for the Rock Entertainment Group, which includes the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse has been selected as Board Chair of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland (ULGC).
Clayton said he is both honored and humbled to be elected as the Chair of the Urban League. "I recognize that I have an important responsibility to carry the torch of dedicated, servant leadership from the men and women who came before me," said Clayton.
Clayton added that his approach to diversity, equity & inclusion is grounded in a belief that everyone is part of the DEI landscape. ULGC President & CEO Marsha A. Mockabee couldn't agree more. She is thrilled to see Clayton utilize his leadership and in-depth experience to take the Urban League even further.
"Kevin has been such a major contributor since joining the ULGC Board," added Mockabee. "We have seen him up close as he has used his wealth of knowledge, sphere of influence, and relentless commitment to fight for equity, diversity, and inclusion both locally, and nationally."
As Senior VP for the Rock Entertainment Group, Clayton's duties also include overseeing the Cavalier's philanthropic efforts and working with the Cleveland Charge G League, and the Cleveland Monsters Hockey Team.
In addition to serving as the League's Board Chair, Clayton is currently an active board member at Creating Healthier Communities, United Way of Greater Cleveland, Black Sports Professionals, and the City Club of Cleveland. Clayton also serves on the advisory boards for the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the Sports Business Journal.
"I am excited about the future of the Urban League, as we are well-positioned to continue impactful work and service for the Northeast Ohio communities that need our support and voice," said Clayton.
Contact: Betty J. Halliburton/ Marketing Manager
Phone: 440-822-8949 or Email: bhalliburton@ulcleveland.org
View original content:
SOURCE Urban League of Greater Cleveland | 2023-03-29T00:23:20+00:00 | kxii.com | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2023/03/28/urban-league-greater-cleveland-announces-kevin-clayton-new-board-chair/ |
TORONTO (AP) — Serena Williams hadn’t won in so long, she said she couldn’t even remember the feeling.
She picked up her first victory since the 2021 French Open on Monday, beating Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3, 6-4 at the women’s National Bank Open.
“I’m just happy to get a win. It’s been a very long time, I forgot what that felt like,” Williams said.
It’s just the second tournament of the season for the 40-year-old Williams, who returned to competition at Wimbledon just over a month ago. The 23-time Grand Slam champion fell in the first round to Harmony Tan in three sets at the All England Club.
Before then, she last competed at the 2021 Wimbledon tournament, where she retired in the middle of her first match due to a torn hamstring suffered after slipping on the grass surface.
Williams, who will turn 41 at the end of September, will next face either 12th-ranked Belinda Bencic or Tereza Martincova.
Williams has won this tournament three times and reached the final in her last appearance at the hardcourt event in 2019, losing to Bianca Andreescu when she was forced to stop because of injury.
But Williams has played little since and knows she needs time on the court.
“I feel good, I felt like I competed well today. I think that’s what I needed to do, is just compete,” she said. “Mentally, I’m getting there. I’m not where I normally am (or) where I want to be. Any match I play, whether I win or lose, helps me.
“I haven’t played a lot in the last year, (even) two years. I think that helps me physically. I feel much better in practice, it’s just getting that to the court. Literally, I’m the kind of person (where) it takes one or two things and then it clicks.”
Williams started out strong, taking the first two games with relative ease.
Parrizas-Diaz tied it 2-2, but despite Williams’ struggles at certain points, the 31-year-old Spaniard couldn’t find enough of a consistent flow to get ahead. Williams found her rhythm, mixing solid touch with her signature power and putting shot after shot out of Parrizas-Diaz’s reach.
Williams’ effort had the fans on their feet roaring and some even bowing.
Williams won the final three games to take the first set, then surged ahead in the second after the 57th-ranked Parrizas-Diaz took a 4-3 lead. She endured a nine-deuce game to hold serve and even the set, then broke in the next game before serving out the victory.
While Williams says the end of her remarkable career is in sight, she’s enjoying her time and staying in the moment.
“I’m getting closer to the light. Lately, that’s been it, I can’t wait to get to that light,” she said, adding the light represents “freedom.”
“I love playing though, it’s amazing,” she added. “I can’t do this forever, so sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can.”
In other opening-round action, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez made her return to the court with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 win over Australian Storm Sanders.
Fernandez was back in action for the first time since suffering a stress fracture in her foot during a quarterfinal loss to Martina Trevisan on May 31. The 13th-ranked Fernandez will next play Brazil’s Beatriz Maia on Wednesday.
Also, Sloane Stephens defeated Sofia Kenan in three sets, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5, in a three-hour match that was interrupted twice by rain.
___
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | 2022-08-09T05:12:51+00:00 | nwahomepage.com | https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/national-sports/serena-williams-earns-first-win-of-season-in-toronto/ |
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Doug Brumfield accounted for four touchdowns, Aidan Robbins rushed for 227 yards and three scores and UNLV defeated North Texas 58-27 on Saturday.
Brumfield was 21-of-27 passing for 211 yards and two scores and he rushed for 100 yards including two more scores for UNLV (2-1).
Robbins a graduate transfer from Louisville, has seven touchdowns — six rushing — through three games. His 227 yards Saturday ranks eighth in UNLV single-game history. The Rebels had 365 yards rushing and outgained the Mean Green 576-467.
UNLV led 23-20 at halftime. Brumfield ran 8 yards for a touchdown that gave the Rebels a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter before UNLV secured the win in the final quarter with Robbins' third touchdown, Brumfield's 9-yard pass to Ricky White that completed a 99-yard drive and Cameron Oliver's 20-yard pick-6.
Austin Aune was 17-of-29 passing for 305 yards, two scores and two interceptions for the Mean Green (2-2). Kaylon Horton had a 99-yard kickoff return for North Texas' first points.
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2 | 2022-09-17T23:10:46+00:00 | sfgate.com | https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Brumfield-Robbins-lead-UNLV-over-North-Texas-17449076.php |
LONDON — (AP) — A man who met Kevin Spacey in a pub says that at one point when they were alone during a night of heavy drinking with others, the actor kissed his neck twice and grabbed his crotch.
The two-time Oscar winner looked panicked after he was pushed away and was told, “I am sorry, man, I don’t bat for that team,” the witness said.
The man's interview with police was played Tuesday for jurors in Spacey's sexual assault trial in a London courtroom.
Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen charges that could send him to prison if he is convicted. His lawyer said Spacey denies all allegations of nonconsensual acts and suggested the accusers are looking for payouts from a wealthy star.
Allegations by four men from 2001 to 2013 while the American actor worked at the Old Vic Theatre include seven counts of sexual assault, three counts of indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The witness, who can't be named under British court rules, said Spacey had invited him and others back to a house where the actor was staying in the Cotswolds to “carry on the party” after the pub closed. Spacey offered booze and marijuana, he said.
According to the witness, Spacey had been friendly as he drank double Jack Daniel's whiskey and colas at the pub with the man and his group of friends. As the drinks flowed, the group began calling the Hollywood star “K-Dawg,” the witness said.
The man said he hadn't thought much of Spacey's touchy-feely behavior at the bar when he had put his hands on the backs and legs of the man and his friends.
But he said he was shaken by what occurred later after he accidently let Spacey's dog out of the house while returning from smoking on the veranda. He testified that he managed to catch the little pooch and apologized to Spacey, who said not to worry and approached him in a “huggy” posture.
“We did an awkward man hug as I call it," the witness said. “He hugged me, I did a sort of pat on the back type of thing.”
Spacey then kissed his neck and grabbed his crotch and said, “Be cool, be cool,” the man testified.
He said that when he pushed Spacey away, the actor's eyes widened and he got an “immediate panicked look on his face.”
The witness said he left the house and called his father and told him about the unwanted touching on the drive home.
When Spacey was questioned by police about the allegation, he said that he did not recall kissing anyone's neck or grabbing a crotch and that he would not have done such a thing without an indication of consent, according to the prosecutor's opening statement.
Spacey said it was “entirely possible and indeed likely” he made a “clumsy pass” that he had forgotten and might have touched someone's crotch in the process, the prosecution said.
The prosecution said the actor indicated that he vaguely recognized a photo of the man and that he might have been among a group the actor was drinking with at the time.
The witness will be cross-examined Wednesday before a jury of nine men and three women in Southwark Crown Court.
Spacey, who has homes in the U.S. and London, is free on bail.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | 2023-07-04T18:00:54+00:00 | wsbtv.com | https://www.wsbtv.com/entertainment/accuser-says-he-told/6ZNO3XC56TA37GKBHD766SR7S4/ |
‘Huge will to survive’: Dog stabbed 50 times recovering at animal shelter, officials say
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - Officials at an animal shelter in Tennessee said a dog who was stabbed 50 times in an attack is receiving care at the shelter.
The Young-Williams Animal Center announced Monday that they are closely following Selah’s progress.
“Recently we found out that Selah needs more care than anticipated, and Young-Williams was able to pick her up thanks to the Loudon County Animal Shelter,” the center said in a statement.
The animal center said it has received several offers of adoption, but that it is prioritizing Selah’s safety and continued recovery and is not yet available.
“For those asking how they can help, thank you for all of the messages, prayers and offers of support for Selah,” the center said.
According to police, Selah was injured and left for dead on May 2.
Authorities said 24-year-old Darian Farley stabbed the pit bull mix before barricading himself in his family’s basement.
WVLT spoke with Amanda Lovin, Selah’s former owner, a week after the attack.
“She looked like she was carved, and I just don’t understand how, but she’s got one huge will to survive,” Lovin said.
Lovin said Selah was blind in both eyes when she adopted her, and that the dog provided a comforting presence for the family as they welcomed her into their home.
Lovin said that it was assumed Selah was dead when they saw her blood throughout the house as Farley was barricaded in the basement.
Left for dead, Selah survived for more than four hours as investigators tried to get Farley out of the home.
After she was found, Selah received emergency medical care before she was taken back home. She now has significant scarring on her back and neck.
“She behaves like it didn’t happen to her,” Lovin said.
After learning Selah was taken back to the animal shelter, WVLT said it reached back out to Lovin but did not yet hear back.
Farley faces a felony charge for threatening to kill his father and another charge for animal abuse, according to officials.
Lovin said Farley will not be welcomed back into the home.
Donations to support Selah’s recovery can be made via the Young-Williams Animal Center’s Animal Compassion Fund.
Copyright 2023 WVLT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | 2023-05-16T21:52:17+00:00 | ktiv.com | https://www.ktiv.com/2023/05/16/huge-will-survive-dog-stabbed-50-times-recovering-animal-shelter-officials-say/ |
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Gwen Forehand, 88 years old, has been found and reunited with her family.
She was reported missing in Tucson at 9 AM Saturday morning.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Gwen Forehand, 88 years old, has been found and reunited with her family.
She was reported missing in Tucson at 9 AM Saturday morning. | 2023-06-10T21:50:05+00:00 | kgun9.com | https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/missing-person-found-gwen-is-now-reunited-with-her-family |
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