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Relentless rain floods roads in Northeast, leads to evacuations, rescues
NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy rain washed out roads and forced evacuations in the Northeast on Monday as more downpours were forecast throughout the day. One person in New York drowned as she was trying to leave her home.
The slow-moving storm reached New England in the morning after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut. Heavy downpours with possible flash flooding were forecast in parts of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.
One of the worst hit places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where rescuers found the body of a woman in her 30s whose home was surrounded by water. The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press. Two other people escaped.
“She was trying to get through (the flooding) with her dog,” Neuhaus said, “and she was overwhelmed by tidal-wave type waves.”
He said many roads and bridges were washed out. Officials believed everyone was accounted for, but they were trying to reach people to make sure they were OK.
Officials say the storm has already wrought tens of millions of dollars in damage. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency Sunday for Orange County. That included the town of Cornwall, near the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, where many roads were flooded and closed off.
The storm also interrupted air and rail travel. As of early Monday, there were hundreds of flight cancellations at Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports and more than 200 canceled at Boston’s Logan Airport in the last 24 hours, according to the FlightAware website. Amtrak temporarily suspended service between Albany and New York.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott declared a state of emergency on Sunday, in advance of Monday’s rain. Some campers and people caught in their homes have been rescued in central and southern Vermont, and more reports have been coming in, said Mark Bosma, spokesperson for the state emergency management office.
By the morning, some towns reported 2 1/2 to 4 inches (6.35 centimeters to 10.16 centimeters) of rain since midnight, and similar totals were expected during the day, said Robert Haynes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Burlington, Vermont.
“We still look like we’re on track for that potentially significant, locally catastrophic flooding,” Haynes said.
Vermont had some of its worst weather during Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, when it got 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain in 24 hours.
“The impacts might not be quite as widespread, but there will probably be a number of locations in central Vermont that reach that threshold,” Haynes said.
Irene killed six in the state, washed homes off their foundations and damaged or destroyed more than 200 bridges and 500 miles (805 kilometers) of highway.
___
Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, Karen Matthews in New York, and Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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2023-07-10T13:49:31+00:00
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mysuncoast.com
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https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/10/relentless-rain-floods-roads-northeast-leads-evacuations-rescues/
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Viral license plate deemed inappropriate recalled by state DMV
RENO, Nev. (KOLO/Gray News) – A Nevada license plate saying “GOBK2CA” - go back to California - went viral on Facebook but has since been recalled by the state DMV.
Adam Steelmon had the license plate for two decades with no issues until last month.
“Local law enforcement have pulled me over to tell me they liked my license plate. Texas has pulled me over. In 20 years, I’ve had one person say well I don’t think your license plates are very appropriate,” Steelmon said.
Steelmon said he got a letter from the DMV about a week after the Facebook post saying the license plate is inappropriate and it would be recalled.
The DMV in Nevada says that it only takes one complaint for a license plate to be reviewed by their special license committee.
“All it takes is for one person to issue or file a complaint. If it goes against the statute, we have a duty to execute on that and recall it,” said Eli Rohl, public information officer for the Nevada DMV in Carson City.
The statute states the following may not be put on a Nevada license plate:
- Upside down numbers
- More than seven numbers
- Phrases of contempt, ridicule or superiority of race, ethnic heritage or gender
- Phrases sexual in nature, derogatory or obscene
- A direct or indirect reference to drugs, paraphernalia or gang
The special committee meets every Monday to discuss reported license plates to decide which license plates violate the statute or not.
Those with a recalled plate can appeal the committee’s decision by taking the case to a judge that is distinctly separate from the DMV but still on their payroll.
Steelmon is appealing the recall and will have the hearing July 12.
Copyright 2023 KOLO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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2023-07-07T15:38:56+00:00
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foxcarolina.com
|
https://www.foxcarolina.com/2023/07/07/viral-license-plate-deemed-inappropriate-recalled-by-state-dmv/
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One of the auto industry’s worst kept secrets is finally being revealed. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the M performance division, BMW M has created first and only standalone M model since the M1. Oddly, it’s a high-performance plug-in hybrid crossover SUV.
On Tuesday after multiple leaks, the 2023 BMW XM became official with 644 hp, 30 miles of electric driving range, a new V-8 engine, and the automaker’s latest design language. The flagship will cost $159,995 when it arrives in the first fourth quarter of 2023. With its performance and pricing, the XM is aimed squarely at high-performance hybrid versions of the Porsche Cayenne.
New plug-in hybrid powertrain
The XM is powered by a new plug-in hybrid drivetrain producing a combined output of 644 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. A new twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 produces 483 hp, while an electric motor integrated into the 8-speed automatic transmission adds 194 hp. The XM will sprint from 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds and has an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph, according to BMW. An optional M Driver’s Package will increase top speed to 168 mph, and in pure electric mode the XM can hit up to 87 mph.
All-wheel drive is standard, but it has a rear power bias via a multi-plate clutch distribution system. The system has 4WD, 4WD Sport, and 4WD Sand modes, with 4WD as the default. The 4WD Sport mode sends even more power to the rear wheels to heighten the rear-wheel bias. The 4WD Sand mode, which can only be turned on with stability control deactivated, engages a traction-optimization program that locks the differential for low-traction situations. The electronically locking rear differential can vary power from side to side to help push the XM around a corner and help curb understeer.
The electrified powertrain was created for real-world motorsports use as the same concept is employed by the automaker’s M Hybrid LMDh race car. The XM will have 30 miles of electric range based on preliminary testing using the EPA test cycle. Official EPA ratings have not been submitted yet. The 25.7-kwh (usable energy) battery pack can be recharged from 0% to 100% in 3.3 hours on a 240-volt outlet via a 7.4-kw onboard charging system.
Drivers will choose from Hybrid, Electric, and eControl driving modes. Hybrid mode, which is the default, will provide full system power and mix the electric motor and gas engine as needed. Electric mode will keep the powertrain running on electricity until the juice runs out, but the gas-powered engine will fire when the transmission is flipped into manual mode or the driver plants the accelerator pedal. The eControl mode will lock out the battery and maintain its state of charge so it can be used for pure-electric driving in urban areas or for later when called upon.
BMW XM: Red Label, but no air suspension
BMW said an XM Red Label model will be the first in a series of limited-edition Red Label models for the XM. Power output increases to 735 hp and 735 lb-ft of torque. Each of the XM Red Label models will feature model-specific paint, wheels, upholstery, and trim. The first will cost $185,995 when production begins in the summer of 2023.
The XM will employ steel springs and adaptive dampers instead of an air suspension. Aluminum components for the double-wishbone front axle and five-link rear axle will help save weight. BMW noted the XM has near-perfect 50/50 weight distribution and high degrees of front and rear wheel camber to aid with handling. However, that is likely offset by the massive 6,062-lb curb weight.
An electromechanical anti-roll bar system is standard. Powered by a 48-volt electric motor and supercapacitors, the system can decouple the fixed connection between each axle’s wheels while driving in a straight line. Around corners the active system can couple to suppress body lean and counteract the forces from the road.
The XM marks the first time an M-badged model features a rear-axle-steering system. The rear wheels turn in either the same or the opposite direction as the fronts depending on road speed. BMW hasn’t detailed the speeds or degrees at which the wheels can turn.
BMWXM: American-made, on sale in late 2023
The XM solidifies BMW’s design direction with the split front lighting design that first debuted on the 2023 7-Series and recently the refreshed 2023 X7. Looking nearly identical to the XM Concept, the XM features massive kidney grilles lit with LED lipstick. Active safety sensors are integrated into the lower front bumper.
Large 23-inch wheels fill the wells, and the rear features a quad exhaust. A depression in the top middle of the tailgate and etched BMW logos at the top of the rear glass pay homage to the M1.
The XM’s cabin will be familiar to anyone who has spent time in a recent BMW. The spartan dashboard features a curved wall of screens and the latest iDrive infotainment system controller on the center console. The two-row XM features seating for five with generous amounts of room for rear seat passengers, according to BMW. Vintage Merino leather trim can be ordered.
The XM will be built the automaker’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
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|
2022-09-28T11:56:03+00:00
|
everythinglubbock.com
|
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/automotive/internet-brands/bmw-pays-homage-to-m1-with-uh-ok-644-hp-159995-xm-phev-suv/
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Today is the 364th day of 2022 and the 10th day of winter.
TODAY’S HISTORY:
Today is the 364th day of 2022 and the 10th day of winter.
TODAY’S HISTORY:
— In 1853, the United States completed the Gadsden Purchase, establishing the border with Mexico.
— In 1916, a group of Russian aristocrats carried out the murder of Rasputin, private adviser to the ruling Romanov family.
— In 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was officially established.
— In 2006, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), writer; Bo Diddley (1928-2008), singer-songwriter; Sandy Koufax (1935-), baseball player; Davy Jones (1945-2012), singer; Patti Smith (1946-) singer-songwriter; Meredith Vieira (1953-), TV journalist; Tracey Ullman (1959-), actress/comedian; Sean Hannity (1961-), TV host; Tiger Woods (1975-), golfer; Laila Ali (1977-), boxer; Tyrese Gibson (1978-), singer/actor; Eliza Dushku (1980-), actress; LeBron James (1984-), basketball player; Ellie Goulding (1986-), singer/songwriter.
TODAY’S FACT: Though historically known as “The Mad Monk,” infamous Russian mystic Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin had left Verkhoture Monastery and returned to his home village by age 19, well before completing his training.
TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1908, a special commission tasked with discovering the origins of baseball ruled that Abner Doubleday had invented the sport in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1839. The finding has since been debunked.
TODAY’S QUOTE: “I opened the door for a lot of people, and they just ran through and left me holding the knob.” — Bo Diddley
TODAY’S NUMBER: 31 — record-setting number of tropical and subtropical storms in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.
TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Dec. 29) and full moon (Jan.6).
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2022-12-30T00:06:59+00:00
|
albanyherald.com
|
https://www.albanyherald.com/entertainment/saturday-history/article_dc75698e-87c1-11ed-8c9c-e34dc8350af4.html
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CERRO GORDO, Ill. (WCIA)– Bluey the Parakeet flew his coop in Naperville and ended up in a person’s backyard in Cerro Gordo.
Brandon Walker lives right outside of the village limits of Cerro Gordo on a small farm with horses and his dogs. That Tuesday morning, he went to do his morning routine of letting the dogs out and feeding his horses, but this morning would end up anything but routine.
His German Shepard, Lyla, stopped and noticed the little bird. “I went to feed the horses, and my German Shepard noticed it and didn’t bother it.” So he went to investigate. “I just reached down and picked him up, and he just set on my finger. I had to go work and ready to leave and everything, so I put him in garage and posted on Facebook.”
Then community members used social media, to help reunite the owners of the parakeet. David Stukins saw the post and found a post on another page about a missing parakeet. He had gone missing on August 4 and somehow flew 148 miles to Cerro Gordo.
Walker ended up chatting with the owner, Sathya Anbu, from Naperville and he says they were so happy. They were at his home Wednesday at 6:45 a.m. to get their bird.
While the bird was in Walker’s care, he made sure he had food and put him in a cat carrier cage to keep him safe. Walker said his son, Lucas, took a liking to the birdie as he would put him on his chest and shoulder.
Lucas Walker and Bluey photo provided by Brandon Walker Lucas Walker Bluey photo provided by Brandon Walker
Walker said the experience was so positive. This bird was missing since August 4 and somehow made it safely to his yard by the luck of his dog Lyla discovered the bird. Then, by a social media miracle, the bird was reunited. “The news is always bad news, and this is good news and has a happy ending,” said Brandon Walker.
|
2022-08-24T18:51:03+00:00
|
wcia.com
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https://www.wcia.com/news/bluey-the-parakeet-flew-the-coop-but-reunited/
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NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Twitter, Inc. ("Twitter" or the "Company") (NYSE: TWTR). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.
The investigation concerns whether Twitter and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
On August 23, 2022, the Washington Post published an article reporting that Twitter's former head of security Peiter Zatko had filed a complaint with U.S. regulators, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Trade Comission, regarding "egregious deficiencies" in the Company's defenses against hackers. In his complaint, Zatko said that he had warned colleagues that some of Twitter's servers were running out-of-date software and that executives had withheld information about breaches and lack of protections for user data. The complaint further alleged that Twitter prioritized growth over reducing the number of spam accounts, offering executives cash bonuses of as much as $10 million tied to increasing the number of daily users. On this news, Twitter's stock price fell sharply during intraday trading on August 23, 2022.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
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2022-10-11T00:00:34+00:00
|
kxii.com
|
https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/10/10/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-behalf-investors-twitter-inc-twtr/
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — On Monday, May 22, the Syracuse Police were sent to the 400 block of Union Place around 10:40 p.m. for a shooting with injuries.
When police arrived, they found an 18-year-old in front of the Union Place Market. Police say that he had been “shot at least once” in his lower leg.
The victim was taken by ambulance to University Hospital and was treated for his injuries. He is expected to survive.
The investigation is active and ongoing, and anyone with information is strongly encouraged to call the Syracuse Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (315) 442-5222.
|
2023-05-23T16:59:04+00:00
|
localsyr.com
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https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/syracuse-police-victim-shot-at-least-once/
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NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Levi & Korsinsky, LLP notifies investors in Vintage Wine Estates, Inc. ("Vintage Wine" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: VWE) of a class action securities lawsuit.
CLASS DEFINITION: The lawsuit seeks to recover losses on behalf of Vintage Wine investors who were adversely affected by alleged securities fraud between October 13, 2021 and September 13, 2022. Follow the link below to get more information and be contacted by a member of our team:
VWE investors may also contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. via email
at jlevi@levikorsinsky.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500.
CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that defendants made false statements and/or concealed that: (1) due to a material weakness related to its inventory controls and procedures, the Company lacked a reasonable basis to report inventory metrics; (2) the Company understated its overhead burden in certain quarters, thereby overstating its adjusted EBITDA; (3) as a result of the foregoing, Vintage Wine was reasonably likely to incur significant charges to restate prior reporting; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
WHAT'S NEXT? If you suffered a loss in Vintage Wine during the relevant time frame, you have until January 13, 2023 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you are a class member, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket costs or fees. There is no cost or obligation to participate.
WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, the team at Levi & Korsinsky has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. Our firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States.
CONTACT:
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Joseph E. Levi, Esq.
Ed Korsinsky, Esq.
55 Broadway, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10006
jlevi@levikorsinsky.com
Tel: (212) 363-7500
Fax: (212) 363-7171
www.zlk.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
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2022-12-29T12:38:12+00:00
|
kcbd.com
|
https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2022/12/29/vwe-lawsuit-alert-levi-amp-korsinsky-notifies-vintage-wine-estates-inc-investors-class-action-lawsuit-upcoming-deadline/
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Louisiana governor vetoes anti-LGBTQ+ legislation including a gender-affirming care ban
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards blocked a package of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation from becoming law Friday, including the state’s version of what critics call Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and a ban on gender-affirming medical care for young transgender people.
The effort by Republicans to enact the legislation into Louisiana law is likely far from over. Multiple GOP state lawmakers say they anticipate convening for a veto session mid-July in an attempt to override the governor’s decision.
Louisiana’s culture divide over LGBTQ+-related legislation echoes what has been seen in GOP-led statehouses across the country. Bills targeting transgender people have topped conservative agendas, and LGBTQ+ advocates say a dangerous and blatant attack is happening on their community. This year alone, more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in 41 states, according to data collected by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization.
During the waning days of Louisiana’s legislative session, lawmakers passed a series of controversial bills: a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors that includes puberty-blockers, hormone treatment and surgery; a “Don’t Say Gay” bill that broadly bars teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in public school classrooms; and a measure requiring public school teachers to use the pronouns and names that align with what students were assigned at birth. Edwards vetoed all three bills.
Edwards — who is in his final six months of office, unable to seek reelection this year due to consecutive term limits — has repeatedly described the bills as wrong, divisive and targeting a vulnerable group of people.
State lawmakers will soon decide by majority vote whether they will return to the Capitol for a veto session, which would begin July 18. Although Louisiana has only held two such sessions since 1974, it seems increasingly realistic that one will occur this year. Multiple GOP lawmakers from both chambers have said they anticipate the gathering.
Once in special session, a two-thirds approval from both the House and Senate is needed to override the governor’s decision. Republicans currently hold a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Additionally, during the regular session, all three bills passed with more than a two-thirds vote — largely along party lines.
Marked by misinformation, religious arguments and hours of emotional testimony from the LGBTQ+ community, one of the most discussed bills was the ban on gender-affirming care — something that has been available in the United States for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations. At one point, the bill was presumed dead after a veteran Republican lawmaker cast a tie-breaking vote to kill the bill. However, amid mounting pressure from Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who is a GOP gubernatorial frontrunner, and the Republican Party of Louisiana, the bill was resurrected and passed.
At least 20 states, including all three bordering Louisiana, have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Most of those states face lawsuits.
A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ ban as unconstitutional, and federal judges have temporarily blocked bans in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Oklahoma has agreed to not enforce its ban while opponents seek a temporary court order blocking it. A federal judge has blocked Florida from enforcing its ban on three children who have challenged the law.
The Louisiana legislature also passed a bill broadly banning K-12 public school employees in Louisiana from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom. It is similar to a law enacted in Florida last year that critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” So far, three other states — Alabama, Arkansas and Iowa — have enacted similar laws, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Additionally, lawmakers passed legislation requiring Louisiana public school teachers to use the pronouns and name that align what students were assigned at birth. Under the bill, a parent can give written consent for pronouns not consistent with the student’s sex assigned at birth to be used. A teacher can override the parent’s request “if doing so would violate the employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Republicans maintain that they are trying to protect children with these bills. Opponents argue it would do the opposite, leading to heightened risks of stress, depression and suicidal thoughts among an already vulnerable group.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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2023-07-01T02:25:35+00:00
|
wlox.com
|
https://www.wlox.com/2023/07/01/louisiana-governor-vetoes-anti-lgbtq-legislation-including-gender-affirming-care-ban/
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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Insulin to treat diabetes should soon cost less at the drugstore. Eli Lilly, the giant company headquartered in my home state of Indiana, says it is cutting the price and expanding a program that would limit out-of-pocket costs to $35 per month. Some people have been paying a lot more than that. Stacie Dusetzina is a professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and has been following this development. Good morning.
STACIE DUSETZINA: Good morning.
INSKEEP: OK. So somebody gave me this figure that won't surprise you, but it makes my eyes pop out of my head - 7 million Americans rely on insulin. How desperately do they need it? How much has it been costing them?
DUSETZINA: Well, as you probably have heard, if you've paid any attention to drug pricing hearings that have happened in Congress over the years, there's always someone who has been affected by the price of insulin, including things like having family members ration insulin and dying as a result of that activity. So it is a very serious problem for people to not be able to access insulin and to ration insulin, not use it as prescribed. So this is a pretty big deal for people who have struggled to afford to pay for insulin and take it as they need.
INSKEEP: Yeah, and we should be clear, this is, for many people, something that is a lifetime - you have to take it for the rest of your life. It's not a one-time thing.
DUSETZINA: Absolutely.
INSKEEP: Which makes it really significant that over the past 20 years, manufacturers have boosted insulin prices by more than 600%. Was there some real reason that they needed to do that?
DUSETZINA: So I think this gets to a complication between what type of price we think about when we think about the price of insulin. So the price that has gone up is the list price, and that's the price that Lilly has just announced that they're cutting. When we think about what our health plans and our pharmacy benefits managers pay, they negotiate that price down. So the price hasn't gone up as much for health plans. The problem is - a key problem is that a lot of patients pay based on that list price. So if you're uninsured, you pay that high price. And if you have to pay deductibles or a percentage of your drug's price, you'll pay based on that high list price. So changing the list price is really key here in why this announcement is something that people have really focused on the last...
INSKEEP: OK, this is really helpful. So this is not maybe 7 million people who are suddenly going to pay a lower price. People who had a good health plan were probably not paying all that much to begin with. But people who have lesser insurance coverage or no insurance coverage are the people who can really benefit here.
DUSETZINA: That's absolutely right. Many people with commercial health plans have insurance that covers insulin more generously than what's being proposed. So they pay less than $35 a month for their insulin. But uninsured people absolutely will benefit from this once these lower list prices are available for products in pharmacies.
INSKEEP: It's easy to say that Eli Lilly then is doing the right thing. But tell me, then, were they doing the wrong thing over the past 20 years as they let the price go up and up and up for the most vulnerable people?
DUSETZINA: I think that that's probably fair. You know, this is a move that they're making, lowering the list price of older insulin products. And it's - these are really products where, because of fierce price negotiation between products and with biosimilar options available, they're really not losing much to be able to change the prices now for these products. So while I think they deserve some credit for making this change, I think that they're really gaining a lot from a reputation standpoint, and they're not losing a lot from a revenue standpoint to make the change now.
INSKEEP: Oh, because - I understand. I understand. But very briefly, could this lead to the reduction in price for other drugs?
DUSETZINA: It's possible. And in fact, for some of the other insulin products, I have seen that there are calls from senators to lower those prices as well. But I don't think I would assume this would lead to lower prices for other brand-name drugs that aren't older products and aren't in this same competitive situation.
INSKEEP: Stacie Dusetzina with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, thanks for this clarity, appreciate it.
DUSETZINA: Thank you so much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
|
2023-03-08T15:09:59+00:00
|
publicradioeast.org
|
https://www.publicradioeast.org/2023-03-02/eli-lilly-announces-price-cuts-for-some-insulins-later-this-year
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Set on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, along a bend in the river about 150 miles south of Albuquerque, the city of Truth or Consequences is home to some 6,000 people. Neighborhoods of single-story houses and mobile homes fan out from a historic downtown district with galleries and restaurants, a local pharmacy and a grocery, and the visitor center for Spaceport America.
Since at least the late 19th century, the area has been known for its natural hot springs, and T or C still promotes itself as a low-key thermal resort town. “Most people who come here are on a magical getaway of some kind,” said John Masterson, co-owner of Truth or Consequences Brewing Co.
Far less magical is what’s happening beneath the ground. About half of T or C’s water supply lines are more than 50 years old; some date to the 1930s, according to a 2021 engineering report. Many are “beyond their expected useful life,” the report notes.
The result: leaks, and lots of them.
In 2022, over 200 million gallons — a staggering 43% of the water in the system — was lost to leakage, according to T or C’s city manager, Bruce Swingle. Three years earlier, losses were at 28 percent. Not only does this show how quickly the system has been deteriorating, but “it’s a sign of things to come,” Swingle said during an interview at his office.
Line breaks in the fragile system are a near-daily event, with over 400 repairs made last year. As soon as one section is fixed, Swingle said, “the water finds the next most vulnerable spot” and bursts through it, like an endless game of waterline whack-a-mole. “We’ve had cars drive into sinkholes” after subsurface seepages destabilized the ground, he added.
While some residents accept the leaks and related water outages with patience, believing the city is doing the best it can, a certain amount of frustration is unavoidable. “Unless there’s a geyser coming out of the ground, it’s not a priority to the city,” local artist June Jewell wrote in an email. Last year there was a leak in front of her house for four months, she elaborated, adding that since September there’s also been “a steady flow of water 24/7” from another leak down the block.
Robin McBroom, who has lived in T or C for less than a year, is “worried that the whole system is going to go down.” There are leaks all the time, she said, which can “make a little lake in the middle of the street.” Still, she’s happy about her move. “This is where I’ve always wanted to retire. I’d buy a 500-gallon water tank and hook it up if I had to.”
From its six wells, the city annually pumps 475 million gallons of water, which is also piped to the adjacent village of Williamsburg and its 500 residents. Utility crews are constantly performing triage, applying one Band-Aid after another to a water system that needs major surgery.
Two areas of town — the east side and the so-called metal streets, with names like Nickel and Tin — are in “critical condition,” Swingle said. “We have to replace those lines as soon as possible. It’s literally a crisis, and it’s only going to get worse in the next few months.” If nothing is done, the city faces systemwide failure.
Replacing those lines will cost an estimated $20 million, engineers have concluded. All the improvements the system needs have a price tag closer to $150 million. T or C cannot afford either option. And it is not alone.
Widespread problem, few solutions
In drought-ridden New Mexico, concerns about water supply are paramount, yet hundreds of water utilities have urgent infrastructure needs and almost no way to pay for them. Smaller systems are affected disproportionately, and two-thirds of the state’s water systems serve 500 people or fewer.
Revenue from user rates in these small communities is dwarfed by the costs of the needed upgrades. And the process for obtaining grants and loans is prohibitively baroque for smaller systems to pursue.
“The state’s water finance system is fragmented and lacks a consistent strategy or goal,” the Legislative Finance Committee reported in 2021, casting the problem in dire terms. New Mexico’s water infrastructure (including wastewater systems) likely needs more than $2.8 billion in repairs, the LFC concluded.
Additionally, the LFC found funding is too often provided piecemeal, which increases the risk that work will flounder or stall indefinitely because the money runs out. In the village of Maxwell, south of Raton, for example, a $1 million well project was stymied by a budget shortfall of about $30,000, the LFC found.
Problems like this also plague water systems around the country, according to a 2021 “report card” issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers. “There is a water main break every two minutes and an estimated 6 billion gallons of treated water are lost each day in the United States,” the group found.
Financial drains
How was the water system in T or C allowed to deteriorate to such a degree of disrepair? “I think it’s a case of out of sight, out of mind,” said T or C’s fire chief, Paul Tooley, who joined the volunteer department 40 years ago and has led it since 2009. As long as water continued to flow, small problems buried underground could be overlooked while the city’s budget was channeled toward other priorities.
But the situation in which T or C now finds itself is also a result of past budgetary decisions.
Water utilities are intended to function as “enterprise systems,” according to the LFC, meaning revenue from customers should cover the costs of operations and maintenance. Any money unspent at the end of a fiscal year, it adds, should be set aside for future projects.
T or C, however, has habitually moved income earned by its water utility into its general fund, to be spent on other things, depleting its reserves, budget documents show. Using ratepayer money for anything other than its intended purpose is generally discouraged; in some parts of the country, it’s even been outlawed. The practice can “conceal poor budgeting, ineffective planning, and other mismanagement that could spell disaster for the city and/or its utilities in the long term,” according to the city of Elkins, W.Va., which is about the same size as T or C, and where such transfers are illegal.
Swingle, who has been in his position for less than two years, said he has raised this issue with city commissioners. “It’s going to be corrected,” he said. But he said he is more interested in focusing on what comes next than in reviewing past decisions. “Let’s not point fingers, let’s solve the problem.”
That won’t be easy. Though Swingle isn’t daunted by the scope of the work, finding enough money to move forward poses a major challenge.
Currently, waterlines in the downtown district are being replaced with the help of a $3.9 million rural development grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with a $5.4 million loan that the city obtained from the local Bank of the Southwest, Swingle said. None of that work will touch the two neighborhoods that are in critical condition, and it will barely make a dent in the city’s overall needs.
In the past couple of years, T or C has raised water prices by more than 30 percent to increase revenue for operations and improvements. Voters approved a bond measure last November to provide $1 million for water infrastructure. And the city has asked U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich for $54 million in federal appropriations to address the problems. But thus far Heinrich has only been able to provide $1.6 million to “get the ball moving,” according to his office.
Though water utilities in New Mexico can apply for funding from several state agencies, T or C has exhausted those avenues, said Swingle, and it cannot take on any more debt. With its options dwindling and its water system rapidly degrading, it needs what amounts to a bailout by the state legislature or the federal government.
Wanted: Pools of money
T or C’s last best hope to avoid disaster is an infusion of cash drawn from the pools of discretionary monies that the governor and state legislators can use to fund high-priority projects. On February 10, Swingle and state Sen. Crystal Diamond, R-Elephant Butte, said they met with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to ask for $19 million, to which Diamond pledged to add $1 million — about one-third of the total capital outlay that the senator guesses she will be able to distribute this year, which she needs to spread among constituents in four counties. (The governor could not immediately be reached for comment.)
“We can’t kick the can down the road on this anymore,” Diamond said during an interview at the Roundhouse. “This is time-sensitive; it’s a basic need for our community.” Noting that the state expects a budget surplus in the range of $3.5 billion to $4 billion, she said that the best way to spend the windfall is on infrastructure.
State Rep. Gail Armstrong, a Republican whose district includes T or C, agrees that spending on infrastructure should be the top priority. But her optimism is muted. “There’s all this money now and everyone wants it. There’s a priority list and a waiting list and other communities that also have critical infrastructure needs. Hopefully, the situation in T or C doesn’t become a crazy emergency.”
For Swingle, patience is not an option. “We don’t have years to deal with this,” he said. “There are fewer problems in winter. In a few months, that’s when you’ll see catastrophic failure.”
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2023-02-18T05:10:27+00:00
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santafenewmexican.com
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https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/half-of-truth-or-consequences-water-lost-to-leaky-pipes/article_348190b4-af0c-11ed-b17c-cb5f09649e62.html
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COTABATO, Philippines (AP) — Flash floods and landslides set off by torrential rains swamped a southern Philippine province, killing at least 42 people, leaving 16 others missing and trapping some residents on their roofs, officials said Friday.
Most of the victims were swept away by rampaging floodwaters and drowned or were hit by debris-filled mudslides in three towns in hard-hit Maguindanao province, said Naguib Sinarimbo, the interior minister for a five-province Muslim autonomous region run by former guerrillas.
The unusually intense rains were triggered by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which was expected to slam into the country’s eastern coast from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, forecasters said.
The stormy weather prompted the coast guard to prohibit sea travel in dangerously rough seas as millions of Filipinos planned to travel over a long weekend to visit the tombs of relatives and for family reunions on All Saints’ Day in the largely Roman Catholic nation.
“The amount of rainwater that came down overnight was unusually (heavy) and flowed down mountainsides and swelled rivers,” Sinarimbo told The Associated Press by telephone.
“I hope the casualty numbers won’t rise further but there are still a few communities we haven’t reached,” Sinarimbo said, adding the rains had eased since Friday morning, causing floods to start to recede in several towns.
Sinarimbo said based on reports from mayors, governors and disaster-response officials, 27 died mostly by drowning and landslides in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, 10 in Datu Blah Sinsuat town and five others in Upi town, all in Maguindanao.
Six people were missing in Datu Blah Sinsuat and 10 others in Upi, Sinarimbo said.
A rescue team reported that the bodies of at least 11 villagers were recovered in Kusiong, a tribal village at the foot of a mountain in Datu Odin Sinsuat, where floods and landslides also hit houses in the community, Sinarimbo said.
“They were able to rescue some earlier but now they’re only trying to dig up bodies there,” he said, adding it was uncertain how many were missing in Kusiong because of confusion after the tragedy struck the community.
Army officials also reported at least 42 storm deaths in Maguindanao and said in a statement that their forces were “continuing to rescue those trapped in the flood in collaboration with local disaster teams” and take the displaced in army trucks to evacuation camps.
The unusually heavy rains flooded several towns in Maguindanao and outlying provinces in a mountainous region with marshy plains. Floodwaters rapidly rose in many low-lying villages, forcing some residents to climb onto their roofs, where they were rescued by army troops, police and volunteers, Sinarimbo said.
Many of the swamped areas had not been flooded for years, including Cotabato city where Sinarimbo said his house was inundated.
“In one area in Upi only the attic of a school can be seen above the floodwater,” disaster-response officer Nasrullah Imam said, referring to a flood-engulfed town in Maguindanao.
The wide rain bands of Nalgae, the 16th storm to hit the Philippine archipelago this year, enabled it to dump rainfall in the country’s south although the storm was blowing farther north, government forecaster Sam Duran said.
Late Friday afternoon, the storm was about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Catarman town in Northern Samar province with sustained winds of up to 85 kilometers (53 miles) per hour and was moving northwestward.
Dozens of provinces and cities were under storm alerts including the capital, Manila. Fishing and cargo boats and inter-island ferries were barred from venturing out to sea, stranding thousands of passengers, the coast guard said.
About 5,000 people were protectively evacuated away from the path of the storm, which was not expected to strengthen into a typhoon as it approached land, government forecasters and other officials said.
About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippine archipelago each year. It is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the nation one of the world’s most disaster-prone.
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2022-10-28T15:12:16+00:00
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ourquadcities.com
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https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/international/ap-at-least-31-dead-in-floods-landslides-in-south-philippines/
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The 17th Annual Operation Restoration event is underway in Pismo Beach.
AmpSurf partnered with the wounded warrior project to put on this event.
Operation Restoration aims to help disabled veterans experience the healing power of the ocean through surfing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and archery.
Organizers say many of these participants are veterans who lost limbs, were burned, have a traumatic brain injury or have PTSD from serving in operations overseas.
"I wouldn't've even had the confidence to attempt it on my own, and to have this staff here that's purely here to just help and teach us is a testament to the organization, the sponsors, who they are," said Aaron Smith, a Marine Corps veteran.
Sunday's events included surf instruction in the morning along with a luau sponsored by Oceano Elks Lodge in the evening.
The five-day event started on Thursday and will end on Monday Oct. 24, 2022.
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2022-10-24T02:23:19+00:00
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ksby.com
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https://www.ksby.com/news/local-news/veterans-find-healing-through-the-ocean-at-the-17th-annual-operation-restoration-event
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NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of The Gap, Inc. (NYSE: GPS) between November 24, 2021 and July 11, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important February 3, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Gap securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Gap class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6662 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 3, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.
WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.
DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) there were execution missteps in size and assortment at Old Navy related to BODEQUALITY which were adversely impacting Old Navy's margins and financial results; (2) contrary to the Company's statements, there were inventory risks relating to BODEQUALITY that were actually existing that were adversely affecting the Company's operations; and as a result (3) the Company's statements during the Class Period about the historical financial and operational metrics and purported market opportunities did not accurately reflect the actual business, operations, and financial results and trajectory of the Company, and were materially false and misleading, and lacked a factual basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
To join the Gap class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=6662 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.
No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact Information:
Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
lrosen@rosenlegal.com
pkim@rosenlegal.com
cases@rosenlegal.com
www.rosenlegal.com
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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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2022-12-22T01:40:07+00:00
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newschannel10.com
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https://www.newschannel10.com/prnewswire/2022/12/22/rosen-ranked-leading-firm-encourages-gap-inc-investors-with-losses-secure-counsel-before-important-deadline-first-filed-securities-class-action-initiated-by-firm-gps/
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Thousands of mourners on Friday attended the mass funeral of seven minority Shiite teachers who were shot and killed at a school in northwestern Pakistan, drawing nationwide condemnation, officials said.
The mourners also rallied against Thursday’s killings. The teachers were gunned down by unidentified assailants who stormed a school in Kurram, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The slain teachers were members of Pakistan’s minority Shiite community, which extremist Sunni militant groups frequently target. The attack happened when the teachers were supervising exams at the school, and just hours after a separate attack killed another teacher — a Sunni Muslim — from the same school.
It was unclear who was behind the killings and no one has claimed responsibility.
On Friday, Inayat Hussain Toori, a senior Shiite leader, condemned the killings.
“We want justice and we don’t know who is behind it,” Toori said, adding that about 10,000 Shiites rallied in Parachinar, a main in the Kurram district against the killings of teachers from their community.
“We request the government to do justice with us,” he said.
His comment came a day after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif denounced the killings and ordered a probe to determine who was behind the twin attacks on teachers.
Earlier, the slain Sunni teacher was also buried at a graveyard in Kurram.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence since the Pakistani Taliban — who are known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP — ended a ceasefire with the government last year. TTP is a separate group but it is allied with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistani Taliban have been emboldened since the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
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2023-05-05T16:28:51+00:00
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wdtn.com
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https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/ap-international/mourners-attend-funerals-of-7-shiite-teachers-in-nw-pakistan/
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday afternoon's drawing of the Indiana Lottery's "Quick Draw Midday" game were:
02-03-06-17-25-26-30-31-32-33-38-45-47-48-51-65-69-73-75-80, BE: 80
(two, three, six, seventeen, twenty-five, twenty-six, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-eight, forty-five, forty-seven, forty-eight, fifty-one, sixty-five, sixty-nine, seventy-three, seventy-five, eighty; BE: eighty)
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2022-06-23T19:32:13+00:00
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sfgate.com
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https://www.sfgate.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Quick-Draw-Midday-game-17261175.php
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JONESBORO, Ark. — Caleb Fields had 14 points in Arkansas State’s 68-61 win over Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday night.
Adam Larson led the way for the Redhawks (5-6) with 19 points. Southeast Missouri State also got 13 points from Phillip Russell. In addition, Chris Harris had 10 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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2022-12-15T06:33:17+00:00
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washingtonpost.com
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/fields-14-help-arkansas-st-take-down-se-missouri-st-68-61/2022/12/15/3c854358-7c37-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html
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Exclusive 'Vapes for Good' Pen Collection Will Be Sold in Arkansas and Missouri
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., July 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Good Day Farm ("Good Day Farm" or the "Company"), a leading medical cannabis brand with operations across the southern U.S., today announced a collaboration with 40 Tons, a social impact brand that provides second chances to those with past cannabis convictions. This collaboration includes the launch of two limited-edition vape pens in Arkansas and Missouri, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting 40 Tons.
"We are so proud to continue our support for restorative justice with the release of the Good Day Farm x 40 Tons vape collection. Every purchase from the Good Day Farm x 40 Tons vape collection helps to break the chains of injustice by supporting non-violent cannabis prisoners on their journey to freedom and to a full, equitable life once they return home to their loved ones," said Laurie Gregory, Chief Marketing Officer at Good Day Farm. "We are fortunate to be a part of this amazing legal cannabis community and industry – always advocating for those who are suffering the consequences of unjust incarceration."
"Good Day Farm's decision to partner with 40 Tons shows that bigger companies can come together with small businesses to create meaningful change. This first-of-its-kind collaboration between Good Day Farm and 40 Tons is an exciting opportunity to grow our mission and make a true impact. We are excited to be spreading the 40 Tons name to the southern states," said Loriel Alegrete, Chief Executive Officer at 40 Tons.
The two specialty Good Day Farm x 40 Tons premium rechargeable .5 vapes include:
- The Advocate: 20 TON - An uplifting, energizing blend that is citrus, floral, and diesel flavored, known to inspire creativity and provide energy, perfect for going out and advocating for the powerful message behind the product.
- The Legacy: 40 TON - A special blend created with the legacy of the mission in mind. This calming vape has berry and diesel flavors and aromas that are known to help with rest, which makes it great for centering yourself to continue to fight for restorative justice.
For more information or to locate a dispensary, visit www.gooddayfarmdispensary.com.
About Good Day Farm
Founded in 2020, Good Day Farm is the largest licensed medical cannabis producer in the South, supplying the region with an abundant selection of premium cannabis products in a diverse range of formats, including high-quality flower, edibles, vapes, concentrates, syringes, wellness tinctures and topical creams. With state-of-the-art grow operations and cutting-edge R&D facilities across Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri, Good Day Farm prides itself on being an ambassador of this healing plant in the South, where every day the Company is on a relentless quest to grow, nurture and share really good cannabis. From high-touch and high-tech growing practices to expert extraction methods, everything Good Day Farm does is rooted in a desire to cultivate goodness – good people, good cannabis and good days. Good Day Farm is a proud partner of the Last Prisoner Project and continues to be a strong advocate for the plants over pills movement. For more information or to locate a dispensary, visit www.gooddayfarm.com.
About 40 Tons
40 Tons is a Black, woman-owned social impact cannabis, clothing, and accessory brand from Los Angeles, California. 40 Tons was launched in 2020 as an homage to Corvain Cooper and the other 40,000+ prisoners that are currently in prison for unjust cannabis sentences. They fight for restorative justice, reduced sentencing, cannabis legalization, and rehabilitation to uplift former prisoners as they rejoin society and build full, happy lives. For more information, visit www.40tons.co.
40 Tons Media Contact
Anthony Alegrete
anthony@40tons.co
Good Day Farm Media Contact:
Alice Moon
goodday@trailblaze.co
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SOURCE Good Day Farm
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2022-07-07T14:04:26+00:00
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wlox.com
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https://www.wlox.com/prnewswire/2022/07/07/good-day-farm-40-tons-announce-first-ever-cannabis-vape-collaboration-benefit-individuals-with-cannabis-related-offenses/
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BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — A 30-year-old woman who abused a Bellingham toddler to death will spend several decades in prison.
After a two-hour hearing Tuesday, Whatcom County Superior Court Judge David Freeman sentenced Kamee Nicole Dixon to 34 years in prison, with three years probation, the Bellingham Herald reported.
A jury found Dixon guilty June 30 of homicide by abuse for the 2019 death of 3-year-old Hazel Journey Homan. Dixon was also charged with second-degree murder, but a mistrial was declared because the jury was deadlocked and couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.
The murder charge was dismissed without prejudice at Dixon’s sentencing hearing.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the child's death a homicide.
Dixon was not the child's biological mother, but was her primary caregiver and in a relationship with her biological father, Brandon Homan.
Dixon’s lawyers argued that Hazel’s death was a “tragic accident” that occurred after she choked on a breakfast sandwich and the lack of oxygen to her brain resulted in her death.
But prosecutors argued that Dixon hit Hazel until the child suffered a traumatic brain injury that resulted in her death. During the trial, Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Erik Sigmar said the child suffered repeated abuse at the hands of Dixon over the last five months of her life.
Dixon is the first person to be charged, tried and convicted for homicide by abuse, which has been a criminal charge since 1987, by the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office.
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2022-08-03T13:52:29+00:00
|
sfgate.com
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Woman-sentenced-to-34-years-in-prison-after-17347905.php
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Utah Wood Preserving complements the Companies' existing operations
SANTA ROSA, Calif., Jan. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mendocino Companies completed purchasing the assets of Utah Wood Preserving (UWP) and portions of its affiliates on January 16, 2023. The acquisition complements existing operations throughout the U.S. West, covering the fastest growing regions, in a strong market for building materials. The acquisition improves service and product offerings for customers of all sizes.
UWP's manufacturing facility in Woods Cross, Utah, is a well-maintained, highly efficient preservative treating plant on a large, fully paved site with dry kilns and rail service. The facility will continue to operate as it has successfully for decades. A distribution yard, operating as ABS in Denver, Colorado was included in the asset purchase.
Robert Moore, UWP principal architect and partner, has agreed to join many great UWP employees working for Mendocino's Allweather Wood business. Robert, bringing valuable expertise, has a 40+ year career as a pioneer in the forest products industry.
"We welcome UWP employees as colleagues and look forward to working together on initiatives creating opportunities for everyone," states Mendocino Companies CEO, Bob Mertz.
The Mendocino Family of Companies include Allweather Wood, Humboldt Redwood Company, Humboldt Sawmill Company, Mendocino Forest Products, Mendocino Redwood Company.
In aggregate Mendocino Companies owns 440,000 acres of Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC® C013133) certificated timberland, constitutes the largest waterborne wood treater in the Western USA, and is the largest producer of redwood lumber in the world. Collectively providing 900 employees and their families with excellent wages and benefits in rural communities of the Western USA. Additionally, Mendocino Companies owns and operates a 25-megaWatt biomass Cogen plant and largest wood pellet plant in California.
For more information, please visit www.MendoCo.com.
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SOURCE Allweather Wood, LLC; Mendocino Forest Products Co., LLC
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2023-01-13T17:26:32+00:00
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wymt.com
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https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/01/13/mendocino-companies-complete-acquisition-utah/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the fourth straight game, hitting No. 55 of the year in Wednesday’s doubleheader opener against Minnesota to set the New York Yankees’ season record for right-handed hitters.
Louie Varland, a 24-year-old right-hander making his big league debut, allowed just one hit before Judge lined a 2-1 changeup 374 feet into the left-field seats in the fourth inning.
Judge surpassed the 54 homers hit by Alex Rodriguez in 2007. The Yankees’ season record of 61 was set by Roger Maris in 1961, one more than Babe Ruth’s season high of 60 in 1927.
Judge is one short of his career best of five straight games with home runs, set from July 29 to Aug. 2. He leads the major leagues in home runs and with 118 RBIs.
He has six homers in his last eight games and seven in his last 11.
Judge’s home run was his 114th at new Yankee Stadium, one more than Mark Teixeira’s previous record for the ballpark, which opened in 2009.
Only two players have hit more homers through a team’s first 136 games: the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa had 58 in 1999 and San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit 57 in 2001.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—
Join the Conversation
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2022-09-08T02:26:31+00:00
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denverpost.com
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https://www.denverpost.com/2022/09/07/judge-hits-55th-homer-yanks-mark-for-right-handed-hitters/
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OAK CREEK, Wis. — After living in her home for two years, a local woman got an energy bill for thousands, despite paying her bill monthly. We Energies said they made a mistake, but it wasn't the money owed. The I-Team found out energy companies across the state can back bill you even if they charged you incorrectly.
"I have a bill for $3,400," Jeanellyn Cincotta said.
Last month, Cincotta, an Oak Creek mother, received a postcard from We Energies.
"I got a correspondence saying that their records are stating that our property is vacant but they detect energy use and that I needed to call and set up services to avoid disruption," Cincotta explained.
"That's when I called them, and I said 'I don't know what this is, was it meant for us because we've been here for two years,' and they said 'yes you haven't been billed for electric services for the last two years'," she said.
Cincotta said she was in complete shock. She said when they moved into the home two years ago, she called We Energies to set up her energy account. She said she assumed both gas and electric would be set up during that phone call.
We went to We Energies to find out how this mistake happened.
"For whatever reason when this one was set up, it wasn't set up properly on our end, full stop," We Energies Communications Director, Brendan Conway, said.
Conway said this doesn't happen often, but in Cincotta's case, she hadn't been charged for electric services for nearly two years. Now, the company went back on meter readings and added up the cost of energy Cincotta used over the last two years.
"Can you explain to customers why they're responsible for that energy usage despite it being a We Energies mistake?" Consumer Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae asked.
"It's actually against the law. We can't favor anyone, and I think that's probably the reasoning behind it. If you use energy in this state, and in most states it's like this, you're required to pay for that," Conway responded.
State law states all services supplied by a public utility must be billed within two years of such service. Meaning We Energies is required to back bill customers for up to two years for all energy used.
"We are responsible for paying for that whatever service we use, and that's totally fine with me. It's the fact that they're dumping this bill and then not being able to give me certain proof about if it's truly ours," Cincotta said.
So how can you avoid this from happening? Check your bill every month, even if it's on auto-pay. Make sure you're being charged for the energy you're using. That means knowing if your house uses both gas and electric.
When you look at your bill, gas and electric should be broken down separately on your bill. If you have questions about reading your bill or if something seems off, check with We Energies right away.
If you do end up getting back billed, know that there are options.
"We will work with customers. It's not like they get a back bill and they're expected or required to pay that, you know, all up front or right away. We will work with customers on extended payment plans," Conway explained.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
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2023-04-20T10:43:51+00:00
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tmj4.com
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https://www.tmj4.com/news/i-team/mother-surprised-with-thousands-of-dollars-in-energy-bills-after-we-energies-failed-to-charge-her-for-two-years
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Extraterrestrial ‘technical supremacy’ is a top concern, Pentagon UFO investigator says
Posted/updated on: July 20, 2023 at 6:14 am(WASHINGTON) -- The scientist and military intelligence officer leading the Pentagon's task force for unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) -- which the public calls UFOs -- says being caught off guard by "intelligent or extraterrestrial technical supremacy" remains a top concern as investigators analyze more than 800 cases of mysterious sightings reported by U.S. military personnel dating back decades.
"Data and science has to guide where you go, and we will follow the data," Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick said last month, in an exclusive first interview after his appointment to the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or AARO.
Congress established the office last year to coordinate efforts across federal agencies to "detect, identify and attribute" mysterious objects of interest in the air, in outer space and underwater, with special focus on mitigating potential threats to military operations and national security.
"The most common misconception is that [the possible phenomena] are all the same thing and they're all extraterrestrial, and neither of those are true," Kirkpatrick said.
"We have to go through the rigor of taking each one, matching it against our known objects and catalogs and then reviewing that -- peer reviewing that -- and making sure that everybody's in agreement," he said of the process, which has included establishing a government-wide data collection initiative.
The AARO has looked into some high-profile UAP sightings, highlighted in congressional hearings, including a 2019 video recording taken by Navy sailors of glowing triangles floating above them.
The vast majority of cases reviewed since the office was established are "readily explainable," Kirkpatrick said, noting that final, evidence-based determinations remain slow and ongoing.
Many reported phenomena are later attributed as likely balloons, drones, debris or animals, such as large birds, he said.
That 2019 video was later determined to be ordinary drones distorted by night-vision goggles.
"I have a full range of hypotheses: On one end of the spectrum, it's advanced technology that's coming from an adversary. Right in the middle, I have all my known objects -- balloons and drones and birds and whatnot. And then on the far end of the spectrum, we have extraterrestrials," said Kirkpatrick.
A small number of the reports -- roughly 2-5% of cases -- are unexplained anomalies, including the so called 2004 "Tic Tac" incident.
"It's really hard to guess on this, and I don't like to guess," Kirkpatrick said of the case. "The more things that I see that resemble a Tic Tac, then I can get more and more information about what that is."
Sixty-five percent of Americans believe intelligent life exists beyond earth, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey. A majority -- 51% -- also said then that UAPs under investigation by the government are likely proof of contact.
"I can't rule it out, but I don't have any evidence," Kirkpatrick said.
The House Oversight Committee announced earlier this week that it will hold a hearing on the phenomena on Wednesday as Republican lawmakers pursue unproven whistleblower allegations that the government is secretly in possession of "intact and partially intact" alien spacecraft, which the Pentagon has said is unsubstantiated.
Two former government intelligence analysts came forward last month alleging that details of the alleged craft are being illegally withheld from Congress and the American people. Neither has publicly provided any evidence to substantiate their claims.
"We've interviewed almost 30 individuals who have come in to provide their testimony. And out of all of those, none of it has yet led to any verifiable information that substantiates the claim that the U.S. government has those ships or has a reverse engineering program either in the past or currently," Kirkpatrick said when asked about the allegations.
He downplayed the possible existence of a secret program that he is not privy to, saying, "Nothing has been denied us."
"A number of these [whistleblowers] believe and have stated -- and we believe them now -- that they have seen something. And we are investigating," he said.
The proliferation of conspiracy theories spawned by the UAPs has inspired a sense of bipartisan urgency on Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, backed by other top Democrats and Republicans, this month called for greater transparency by the government. Legislation he proposed would force the National Archives to collect and publicly release records related to UAP reports within 25 years of when they were created unless there is a compelling national security concern.
"There is something there -- measurable light, multiple instruments -- and yet it seems to move in directions inconsistent with what we know of physics or science more broadly. And that, to me, poses questions of tremendous interest, as well as potential national security significance," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on UAPs in 2022.
Multiple congressional committees have also explored concerns that the mysterious sightings could be evidence of surveillance by other countries.
"My priority is that we understand the full range of threats posed by our adversaries in all domains," Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said during an Armed Services Committee hearing on UAPs in April.
For his part, Kirkpatrick is focused on the gathering of facts and evidence.
"A lot of these stories, a lot of these allegations, crop up again and again over history," he said. "I'm not going to jump ahead to conclusions until we have more data."
Asked whether he believes intelligent extraterrestrial life exists, Kirkpatrick said: "I think it's statistically unrealistic to think it isn't" and that finding it would be "probably the best outcome of this job."
WATCH: Inside the Pentagon's probe of unidentified anomalous phenomena -- an ABC News Live PRIME exclusive. Stream Thursday night 7 p.m./9 p.m. ET on Hulu or anywhere you can find the ABC News app.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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2023-07-20T12:39:37+00:00
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ktbb.com
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https://ktbb.com/post/?p=1244976
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NEW YORK (AP) — When it comes to packing lunch for their kids, moms and dads have reliable favorites like PB&Js, bananas or maybe a bagel. Jenny Mollen has an unusual go-to — candy eyes.
The writer and actor has learned that a pair of edible eyeballs attached to anything she sends will do wonders, making her children snigger as they swallow goofy slices of bell peppers, kiwis or dates.
"Honestly, first of all, just buy yourself some candy googly eyes. They’re tried-and-true," she said. "You lose something nutritionally having to give them the candy eyes, but you gain so much because they’re going to actually eat more because it’s entertaining.”
Mollen's tricks — at the intersection of food and craft — are contained in her new cookbook, “Dictator Lunches,” from the HarperCollins imprint Harvest. She offers 40 recipes from breakfasts to dinner, with a special emphasis on what to pack for school lunch.
She uses the term “dictator” in loving respect to Sid and Lazlo, her sons with actor-husband Jason Biggs, who have been known to object to some foods on occasion. But cucumber penguins and Babybel Pokémon delight even the most picky eaters.
There is an edible insect made from a pitted date filled with sunflower seed butter and legs made from pretzels and, of course, candy eyes. There’s also Rice Pandas, with cooked white rice from last night's Chinese food delivery put in a mold and decorated with eyes, mouth, ears and paws cut out from sheets of dried seaweed.
“I also love piping yogurt into fruit, whether it’s strawberries or raspberries,” she says. “If I pipe some yogurt in, they suddenly look like parfaits. And if I sprinkle a little granola on top, it’s so easy for me — takes 2 seconds — but for them, they think they won the lottery.”
The adorable edible art isn't as hard to pull of as it might seem. Mollen says you need a few tools — a vegetable peeler, various molds and cookie cutters, a pumpkin carving knife, a repurposed syringe used to administer Benadryl — and then use leftovers in the fridge or items in your pantry.
“It’s really a way for me to sublimate my guilt because I’m a working mom and not the mom doing pick up and drop off. I’m not with them at the park after school every day. I’m usually working. So this feels like a way for me to instill them with a sense of constancy, even when I’m not there, because it’s still so infused with my tone," she says.
Sarah Pelz, her editor and also a working mom with two school-age picky eaters, says the book is a game-changer, making lunch planning less of a chore, especially the yogurt-into-fruit trick.
“I used to dread packing their lunches, but now I actually enjoy it. I love that Jenny has this kind of philosophy that packing these lunches is an act of love, but it’s also an opportunity to encourage kids to try food or different combinations of foods in a way that they might be resistant to at home,” she says.
Mollen's humor is everywhere in the fun and sometimes profane book that doesn't take itself too seriously. “I like my lunches how I like my Korean dictators: full-bodied, eccentric and just a little sneaky,” she writes.
A columnist for Parents magazine, Mollen has meals that include a fruit, a vegetable, a main dish, a snack and a bribe. And while they may be whimsical, she insists they also be nutritious. She recently lobbied to get rid of chocolate milk from her kids' cafeteria.
“I don’t know if you notice with your kids, it’s like at every turn somebody is trying to give your kid sugar. So a lot of the recipes are low sugar, grain free,” she said.
She hopes that by inspiring kids to eat their vegetables early, they’ll grow up to appreciate healthy foods later. Same thing for international flavors. And if they need to be tricked sometimes, so be it.
“A lot of it is just trying to cram as many vegetables in them as possible and hope for the best because at some point, I’m going to have zero control, right? This ends with a giant insurrection. So that’s how I have to fight the good fight and hope something lands.”
Other recipes include a Green Breakfast Muffin, made from bananas, cinnamon, spinach, almond milk, eggs, oats and maple syrup, and one for Roasted Shiitake Chips, which are cooked to avoid their slimy texture. She likes using sunflower seed butter as glue for her creations.
It may come as no surprise that Mollen grew up loving glue guns and decorated her own headbands. She also made art with varnish: “I was an out-of-work actress for many years, so I’ve done a lot of crafting,” she says, laughing. She says she's a classic Gemini. “I'm all over the place.”
She started tinkering with school lunches as a way to keep herself entertained. One early stab was using a gingerbread-man cookie cutter on toasted waffles to form a waffle family that almost looked composed of chain-link fencing, her subtle protest at the Trump administration's border policy.
“It’s really just like, ‘What is lying around?’ ‘What do I want to say today?’ And ‘What’s the season?’ And then just build the story from there,” she said.
“I wanted people to understand that you can sort of go that extra mile without really having the skill set. You just have to have the willingness to show up and just take a stab at it.”
___
Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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2022-09-12T16:30:36+00:00
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seattlepi.com
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https://www.seattlepi.com/living/article/For-school-lunch-why-not-a-date-insect-or-17435811.php
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Friday that it has distributed 30 charging affidavits to prosecutors as part of its investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests but, so far, no charges have been filed.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt released the KBI's report concluding an investigation of the state’s four Roman Catholic dioceses in Wichita, Salina, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kansas.
The bureau said it would continue to investigate clergy associated with the Society of Saint Pius X, a breakaway Catholic group with a large branch in St. Marys.
A summary of the report said a six-member task force had interviewed 137 victims of abuse, initiated 125 criminal cases and distributed 30 affidavits to prosecutors for charging consideration.
Investigators identified 188 clergy members suspected of committing various criminal acts from records that stretched to the 1950s.
Michael McDonnell, a spokesperson for the international Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said that while the numbers of alleged abuses before 1990 are not surprising, the numbers after that are “still questionable” because many victims likely have not come forward.
“The Catholic Church will consistently say this is a thing of the past. We always say it’s a thing very much of the present and very much a thing of the future,” McDonnell said.
As of Friday, no prosecutor had filed charges, primarily because of laws that limit how long authorities have to pursue certain cases, the KBI said.
McDonnell said it's “the Catholic Church playbook” to run out the clock on potential criminal charges and then be cooperative.
“Well, what we want to know is who was complicit?” McDonnell said, adding that abusers were allowed “to continue their careers in transfer upon transfer upon transfer only to go on to abuse more children?”
The executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference said each of the four Kansas dioceses was reviewing the report. Schmidt directed the KBI to begin the investigation at the request of Kansas City Archdiocese Archbishop Joseph Naumann.
The investigators found several cases that lacked probable cause to present to prosecutors. In nearly all the cases where affidavits were filed, the statute of limitations had expired or the priest was dead, according to the report.
That prompted SNAP to call on Kansas legislators to both eliminate the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits over alleged abuse and to add clergy to the list of people required by law to report suspected child abuse to authorities. Lawmakers convene Monday for their annual session.
“This report is yet another signal flare that legislative change is needed in order to support survivors and protect children,” the group said in a statement.
In a letter accompanying the report, KBI Director Kirk Thompson praised the victims who came forward to report their abuse to investigators.
“It is our deepest and most sincere hope these victims find a way to continue to survive and heal,” Thompson wrote. “And for those victims who are still traumatized who did not report, it is our hope they find the strength to seek help.”
The report was released on the final full day in office for Schmidt, who unsuccessfully ran for Kansas governor last year. Thompson plans to retire from the KBI on Tuesday.
___
Stafford reported from Liberty, Mo.
___
Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
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2023-01-07T01:50:05+00:00
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sfgate.com
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kansas-Catholic-priest-sex-abuse-report-leads-to-17700636.php
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BEIJING, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The feature is contributed by Jamie Leigh Wright who is a columnist for China Focus. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the staycation phenomenon has become a growing trend worldwide. With so much uncertainty surrounding international travel, travelers are increasingly choosing to stay closer to home and discover the wonders of their own lands. In terms of expectations around what staycationers are looking to experience, interest in visiting cultural or historical sites has become increasingly popular. In China, cultural tourism surpassed beach and resort trips to become the second-most-popular reason for travel in 2021, behind only outdoor-scenic destinations.
This rise in domestic cultural tourism is certainly something to be celebrated. For one, it points to a growing desire of citizens to learn, discover and experience the intangible heritage of their own country. It is also a great boon for the economy as the arrival of more people leads to new jobs and business opportunities as well as generating higher tax revenues.
Such a sudden influx in visitors, however, particularly to cultural sites, presents challenges around environmental degradation and commercialization. The issue is that if not properly managed, cultural tourism runs the risk of eroding the very essence of the attraction which drew visitors in the first place.
Faced with this dilemma, authorities across China have experimented with various methods for accelerating tourism while also striving to preserve the charm and character of its ancient heritage.
Wuyuan County, located in east China's Jiangxi Province, notably stands out for its approach to sustainable tourism-based development. With its timeless mountainous landscape filled with sweeping forests and some of the best-preserved Huizhou-style architecture (built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 1368-1911), Wuyuan is known as the "most beautiful countryside in China."
Its journey toward simultaneously embracing and guarding against the 21st century change began in 2008 when the County was named as one of China's first national-level cultural and ecological protection experimental zones. Accordingly, the local government was tasked with preserving the landscape and historical architecture as well as the local people's values, traditions and distinct characteristics.
A few years later, as part of President Xi Jinping's nationwide poverty alleviation campaign, Wuyuan was ordered to provide greater opportunities to its poorest villagers. Mindful of their ecological and cultural preservation responsibilities, local authorities developed a tourism-based poverty reduction campaign.
The Huangling Village in Wuyuan, with a history stretching back over 500 years, has emerged as a model example of sustainable development and tourism-based poverty reduction. Its per capita annual income increased by more than ten-fold, from 3,500 yuan ($488.95) before tourism development to 40,000 yuan ($5,588). Meanwhile, the average annual income of households increased from 15,000 yuan ($2,095.5) to 130,000 yuan ($18,162).
Attracting some 1.45 million tourists a year, the village has also played a significant role in driving the development of surrounding villages. As a result, it has been recognized as a successful case in tourism-based poverty reduction by the World Tourism Alliance and crowned by China as "The Demonstration Village of China's Poverty-relief Rural Tourism."
Wu Xiangyang, head of Huangling Village, revealed to China Focus the secrets behind the village's success.
First, he said, authorities launched an ambitious relocation program. Such programs, whereby rural residents living in remote regions are relocated to a more accessible location, had already proven successful across many parts of China. In the remote highlands of Tibet, for example, relocation programs had proven to provide residents with better access to public services and also greater commercial opportunities.
As part of Wuyuan's relocation program, authorities were determined to preserve the Huizhou-style architecture, Wu said. To this end, more than 100 ancient buildings were transported brick-by-brick from across the region and rebuilt using traditional methods in Huangling Village.
To support the development of the tourism industry, authorities invested heavily in the region's transport infrastructure. Now, all of the county's villages are reachable within an hour by car from the airports of Huangshan, Jingdezhen and Sanqingshan. The north and south are well connected by the Beijing-Fuzhou high-speed railway, and the east and west are well connected by the Jiujiang-Jingdezhen-Fuzhou high-speed railway. Meanwhile, cable cars and suspension bridges provide easy access to the most remote mountainous villages.
With the ancient houses successfully relocated and the necessary transport infrastructure complete, authorities moved to introduce legislation to preserve the local culture and heritage. Folk customs, including Anhui Opera, Nuo Dance, She Inkstone Making, and the Three Carvings construction method are protected as intangible cultural heritage.
Finally, to protect against over-commercialization, authorities restricted the use of buildings for commercial purposes, allowing only one shop per street to sell the same items. Measures to support the development of the bed and breakfast (B&B) industry were also introduced.
Selina Liao and her husband Edward Gawne purchased an old mansion in Wuyuan in 2015, and after two years of renovations, opened a Chinese-English-style homestay. 'Skywells,' inspired by the signature feature of Huizhou-style house, combines Huizhou architecture and traditional English countryside décor.
After sharing pictures of their beautiful homestay on social media, it immediately became a hit with foreign visitors. "We posted information about the house on Facebook, and many of our friends said they wanted to come to China as a group," said Edward.
Prior to the pandemic, over 90 percent of guests arrived from overseas. Now, almost all visitors are Chinese staycationers looking to experience Wuyuan's unique landscape and culture. Edward and Selina said they are proud that people from all over the world can learn more about the traditions and folk customs of Wuyuan and admire the Chinese countryside.
"Most of our guests, especially those from overseas, had never heard of Jiangxi Province before. However, thanks to Skywells, now more and more people know a place called Wuyuan and then get to know more about Jiangxi," said Selina. "We are so proud of that."
Contact:
Bai Shi
Tel: 008610-68996995
Email: baishi@cnfocus.com
Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1922680/China_Focus_Logo.jpg
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SOURCE China Focus
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2022-11-10T19:05:18+00:00
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kalb.com
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https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/11/10/china-focus-releases-new-feature-chinas-answer-cultural-tourism-dilemma/
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A Texas man who went missing as a teen in 2015 has been found alive, his family and police say
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man who went missing as a teenager in 2015 after last being seen walking his dogs in Houston has been found alive, his family and police said Monday.
Police and firefighters found Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV around 10 p.m. Thursday after getting a call of a person being down in front of a church in southeast Houston, police spokesman John Cannon said.
It was not immediately known where Farias had been the last eight years, Cannon said. Police investigators had not yet spoken with Farias, 25, who remained hospitalized.
“What we do know is at the time of his recovery, a good Samaritan located him unresponsive and immediately called police and 911. My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time, he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us,” Janie Santana, Farias’ mother, said in a statement.
In a tweet Monday afternoon, Houston police said it planned on speaking with Farias and his family on Wednesday.
The news that Farias had been found was first reported in a tweet on Saturday by the Texas Center for the Missing, which was handling public communications on behalf of Farias’ family.
“We do know when a loved one goes missing this is the day all families hope for and dream of – REUNIFICATION. We are thankful that Rudy has been found and receiving the care he needs,” the center said in a statement Monday.
Farias was 17 years old when he was reported missing on March 6, 2015, after taking his two dogs for a walk near his family’s home in northeast Houston. The dogs were later found.
Houston police, along with Texas Equusearch, a civilian search and recovery team, looked for Farias but found no signs of him.
When Farias first went missing, Texas Equusearch reported that he suffered from depression and anxiety, and he might have been disoriented because he wasn’t taking his medication. Farias also had asthma and walked with a slight limp because of an injured right leg.
“According to his mother he is very wary around strangers,” Texas Equusearch said in 2015.
Cannon said Farias’ family did report to police investigators that they had seen him in September 2018, staying behind the home of a relative.
Police investigators followed up on the 2018 sighting and went to the relative’s home. But “they could not observe him. They could not locate him,” Cannon said.
Since police were not able to find Farias after the 2018 sighting, the investigation remained open as a missing person case, Cannon said.
Santana and other family members were not available for comment Monday.
“We are asking for privacy during this difficult time but will share more details as Rudy continues to heal,” Santana said in her statement.
___
Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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2023-07-03T22:03:41+00:00
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kaaltv.com
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https://www.kaaltv.com/news/us-world-news/a-texas-man-who-went-missing-as-a-teen-in-2015-has-been-found-alive-his-family-and-police-say/
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BALTIMORE (AP) — Decades after losing her older brother to gun violence, Michelle Hines tried everything to keep her teenage son safe: checking in regularly with his teachers, coordinating extracurricular activities, and most importantly, trying to prevent him from growing up too fast.
Despite those efforts, Izaiah Carter was fatally shot earlier this month in a park adjacent to his Baltimore high school. He had recently turned 16.
His death added to an alarming trend: more children and teens getting shot, even as gun violence overall trends downward in Baltimore. After several recent shootings of Baltimore high schoolers, including three teens killed within blocks of their schools, local leaders are ramping up efforts to reduce youth violence and increase student safety.
Last week, officials announced an arrest in Izaiah’s case. Police provided few details about how they solved the killing, saying a motive hasn’t been identified.
Hines said the arrest brings her some relief, but she wants to know more about how the shooting unfolded.
“This has been one of my biggest fears. That’s why I put so many parameters in place to protect him,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday, the day after her son’s funeral. “It’s so messed up because I never thought I would be one of these stories on the news.”
Hines said she was in close touch with many of Izaiah’s teachers at Patterson High School in east Baltimore. On March 6, the day he was killed, a teacher texted her saying he missed last period. A short time later, Hines received a call from the principal who told her about the shooting.
“We talk about the prevalence of guns in our community and the ease of access. We talk about the willingness to use those guns — and now, yet again, we’re talking about young people using guns against other young people,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said at the scene. “It has to stop.”
The suspected shooter, Roger Alexander Alvarado-Mendoza, 23, was arrested in Texas while trying to flee the country, according to police. Officials said he was not a student at Patterson.
During Izaiah’s funeral service, several friends and loved ones — including fellow cadets in his Junior ROTC class — spoke about their loss. They described his quirky smile, goofy personality and caring demeanor. At the downtown restaurant where he recently started working, Izaiah was known for drinking Shirley Temples and keeping his coworkers laughing.
Hines takes comfort in hearing how her son had a positive influence on other people’s lives.
“But as I’m going through these stages of grief and my feelings are fluctuating, I keep getting stuck in the anger,” she said.
She’s angry about the lack of gun control in a country where shootings frequently claim the lives of young Black men. She’s angry at local elected officials for allowing massive systemic inequities to persist for generations in Baltimore, a deeply segregated city where violence remains heavily concentrated in majority-Black neighborhoods. And she’s angry that her family is suffering because of forces beyond her control.
“There has to be real change,” she said.
She also wonders whether Baltimore schools officials could have done more to protect Izaiah and other students. Hines said she’s considering moving to the suburbs, hoping to remove Izaiah’s younger brother and sister from the dangers of growing up in Baltimore.
A school district spokesperson didn’t respond to a recent request for comment, but Baltimore schools CEO Sonja Santelises previously said Patterson High has effective security protocols in place.
“This shooting did not occur inside of the school building,” she told reporters at the homicide scene. “When young people want to find a way out, we cannot have our eyes everywhere at the same time.”
City leaders say change is happening, but not overnight.
During a news conference Monday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the city is working hard to address youth violence. He often touts Baltimore’s “dual approach” to public safety, which combines law enforcement action with social programs and other resources aimed at steering people toward alternatives to crime.
“We did not wait until now to do that deep work,” Scott said, describing ongoing efforts to bolster violence intervention resources within Baltimore public schools. He said officials have also discussed creating “safe passages” for students going to and from school.
Other cities have seen similar increases in youth violence since the pandemic began as shootings and homicides soared nationwide.
Scott said it’s disturbing to see more young people solving conflicts with gunfire — even as Baltimore shootings and homicides have each decreased about 25% overall compared to this time last year, according to police.
Since the start of 2023, five children under 18 have been fatally shot and another 21 injured in gunfire, according to Baltimore police. Three were killed within blocks of their public high schools.
The year began with a Jan. 4 shooting that unfolded around lunchtime outside a Popeyes restaurant across the street from Edmondson-Westside High School in west Baltimore. One student died and four others were wounded. A child’s backpack was visible at the scene, surrounded by shell casings and evidence markers, with schoolwork peeking out from its unzipped pocket.
Police made an arrest last month in that case — a teen whose name hasn’t been released because he’s underage.
Hines said Izaiah was killed during a pivotal time in his life: caught between childhood and adulthood, his future still an open book.
After getting pregnant in high school, Hines pushed herself to graduate, finish college and launch a career in mental health — accomplishments she was proud to share with Izaiah and his two younger siblings. She hoped Izaiah would pursue military service after high school.
“I kept telling him, ‘You are not going to become a statistic. You are not just another Black boy in Baltimore city,’” she said. “But the gun violence, it’s so pervasive.”
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2023-03-28T23:17:41+00:00
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upmatters.com
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https://www.upmatters.com/news/ap-us-news/stolen-futures-baltimore-faces-uptick-in-youth-violence/
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LONDON (AP) — Chelsea ran out of patience with Graham Potter on Sunday, firing the English manager with the club languishing in the middle of the Premier League standings despite a spending spree on new players totaling $630 million across the last two transfer windows.
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The team announced Potter's departure a day after a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, which left Chelsea in 11th place, and nearly seven months after taking a gamble on him as the replacement for the fired Thomas Tuchel.
“We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person,” Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said. “He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.”
The American ownership's first managerial appointment ultimately backfired. Potter was brought in on a five-year deal despite his lack of experience coaching at soccer’s biggest clubs — in a somewhat obscure coaching past, the only trophy he'd won was the Swedish Cup in 2017 — and he failed to get the best out of an expensively assembled squad.
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Chelsea won just seven of its 22 Premier League games under Potter and is 12 points off the top four, meaning the team is unlikely to qualify for next season's Champions League. Chelsea lost to Manchester City in both domestic cup competitions but has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League, where it was drawn against titleholder Real Madrid with the first leg on April 12.
Bruno Saltor, a member of Potter's coaching staff, will take charge of Chelsea on an interim basis.
“Graham has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition,” Chelsea said.
Chelsea's next game is against Liverpool on Tuesday.
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___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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2023-04-02T20:48:03+00:00
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seattlepi.com
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https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/potter-fired-by-chelsea-after-6-months-in-charge-17874446.php
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s police chiefs promised a “cultural change” on Tuesday as they apologized to families of the victims in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, the U.K.’s worst sports disaster which saw 97 people killed during a crush of soccer fans at an overcrowded stadium.
“For what happened, as a senior policing leader, I profoundly apologize. Policing got it badly wrong,” said Chief Constable Andy Marsh, the College of Policing’s chief executive officer, said as the body published a response to a 2017 report into the experiences of victims’ families.
A crush in the lower tier of Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, a city in northern England, at an FA Cup semifinal match led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool supporters on April 15, 1989. Many victims were smashed against metal fences, trampled on or suffocated in the crush.
Authorities spent years blaming fans for the disaster, and an initial inquest ruled the deaths an accident. But a campaign by survivors and victims’ families succeeded in getting the verdicts overturned in 2012, after a far-reaching investigation that examined previously secret documents and found wrongdoing and mistakes by authorities.
A second inquest concluded in 2016 that the victims were unlawfully killed as a result of failings by police, the ambulance service and the Sheffield Wednesday soccer team, which plays at Hillsborough Stadium. The report found that the behavior of fans didn’t contribute to the deaths.
Several former police officers and a lawyer were charged years after the disaster with attempting to pervert the course of justice, but none has been convicted.
The National Police Chiefs Council and College of Policing said Tuesday that the code of ethics used by police forces will be reviewed. They also said there will be a new code of practice on police information and records management to prevent the problems faced after the Hillsborough disaster, when records were lost or destroyed.
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2023-01-31T18:49:11+00:00
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valleycentral.com
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https://www.valleycentral.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-uk-police-chiefs-apologize-to-hillsborough-disaster-families/
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January 13th, 2023
January 15th, 2023
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2023-01-16T03:09:13+00:00
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newson6.com
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https://www.newson6.com/story/63c1fd9fdf29ca0728172d03/news-on-6-at-5-pm-newscast-jan-13
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If one of your favorite things is to hear a classic musical performed by a 55-member orchestra, you’ll want to make sure you see Dayton Playhouse and Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of “The Sound of Music” July 21-23 at the Arbogast Performing Arts Center in Troy.
Originally produced in 1959 and the final collaboration between legendary composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, “The Sound of Music” brings hope, optimism and joy to one of the darkest times in history. Based on the memoir of Maria Augusta Trapp, the plot follows Maria Rainer, a bubbly postulate dispatched from her Austrian convent to serve as governess to the seven children of the strict Captain von Trapp. Maria transforms the von Trapp home from a place of rules, whistles and grief to a household filled with music, love and forgiveness as she wins over the hearts of the children and the prickly Captain. On the eve of World War II, the family decides to leave Austria and flee across the mountains to Switzerland.
“The Sound of Music” marks the fourth fully-staged concert collaboration between the Playhouse and MVSO. After a successful mounting of “Les Misérables” in 2014 at Dayton Masonic Center, the organizations returned with “Fiddler on the Roof” in 2016 and “An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein” in 2018.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
“I have a love of doing live theater with a live orchestra,” says director Brian Sharp, who has been associated with Dayton Playhouse for 50 years. “The musicals I have directed at the Playhouse have always had live music, which is important to me. And MVSO – because it is based on the premise, kind of like community theater, that local people are doing what they do for the love of the craft rather than doing (it) to be paid – was a perfect match.”
Sharp says the selection of “The Sound of Music” simply stemmed from the desire to go big: big chorus, big voices, big sound.
“You have to have a lot of voices to offset 55 people in the orchestra,” he explains. “This show afforded us to have a nice big men’s chorus and a nice mix of voices overall. Some of the actors are not foreign to the stage locally and some are not often seen on stage locally. The Arbogast has been beautifully accommodating as well. And in a community like Troy which doesn’t have a regular Broadway Series, this is an exciting opportunity to bring to the stage.”
He is equally eager to fill the space with digital projections. Designed by Rick Frendt, the projections are intended to allow the grandeur of the story and evocative European locale to elevate visually.
“The entire back wall is set up as digital screens which affords us the opportunity to do less with set and more with voices,” says Sharp. “The visuals are spectacular.”
Inside the music
The 52-member cast will be led by principals Sarah Viola as Maria, Chris Nelson as Georg von Trapp, Paula Dunn Powell as Mother Abbess, Rebekah Skaroupka as Sister Berthe, Cynthia Schindler as Sister Margaretta, Patricia DiPasquale Krul as Sister Sophia, Kelsey Huff as Liesl von Trapp, Alex Glen as Friedrich von Trapp, Remy Conwell as Louisa von Trapp, Colton Morefield as Kurt von Trapp, Cecilia Glen as Brigitta von Trapp, Elizabeth Rowland as Marta von Trapp, Lila Rogers as Gretl von Trapp, Isaac Casbeer as Rolf Gruber, Courtney Cummings as Baroness Elsa Schraeder, Robert Rhodes as Max Detwiler, Mark Sharp as Franz, Janet Wasson as Frau Schmidt, Stacey Brewer as Ursula, Jeff Powell as Herr Zeller, and Karla Strawser as Frau Zeller.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
In addition, renown conductor-pianist Awadagin Pratt will make his debut as the new principal conductor of the MVSO. He is a Professor of Piano at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
“I have had a very short but warm relationship with MVSO,” says Pratt. “I enjoyed working with the orchestra and also enjoyed the support and enthusiasm of the audience there. I’m looking forward to working with them more closely in the coming year for terrific musical experiences.”
MVSO is pleased to have Pratt aboard and appreciates his passion.
“Awadagin Pratt is a fine conductor, a very gracious individual, and we are so pleased to have someone of his stature wanting to work with a community orchestra to help deliver audiences a product I think they very much will enjoy,” says MVSO President John Root. “He’s a perfect fit for us. He brings a lot of energy and passion to his music-making equally in his conducting as he does on the piano.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
As for the score, which contains iconic songs such as “Do-Re-Mi,” “Climb Every Mountain,” “Edelweiss” and the title tune, the production will not contain any songs specifically written for the 1965 Academy Award-winning film. Sharp considers himself a purist, so audiences will hear the lesser-known romantic gem “An Ordinary Couple” in Act 2 rather than “Something Good.”
“‘An Ordinary Couple,’ which (addresses) the love between Maria and the Captain and the family, I think people are starved for that kind of (sentiment) today,” he says. “But in true purist style, there are a lot of people that will forget that ‘An Ordinary Couple’ was part of the original production. I love the song. I love the words and I love the melody. This production is not about making big dance numbers. It’s about the music and telling the story.”
Leading lady
Sarah Viola’s expert musical theater artistry was memorably displayed at the Dayton Playhouse with outstanding, vocally sublime portrayals of Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” and Aldonza in “Man of La Mancha.” Her stunning rendition of “I Could Have Danced All Night,” in which she went up an octave on the final note, would have made Julie Andrews, the original Eliza, very proud. But that was no surprise considering she’s been trying to emulate Andrews since she was 12.
“I became a bit obsessed with Julie Andrews,” says Viola, who has fond memories of watching “The Sound of Music” with her mother as a child. “I always admired Maria for her pluckiness and eternal optimism. I do so enjoy playing a strong-willed, free-spirited woman.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
The California native’s professional credits include performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center as a member of both the New York Choral Artists and Concert Chorale of New York. She has also performed with such opera companies as Opera Santa Barbara, New York Lyric Opera and Eugene Opera. She also originated the role of Giulietta in a new production of “Romeo e Giulietta” in Italy.
In the summer of 2020, Viola and her husband, David, moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where David works in public affairs at the United States Africa Command. She continues to perform in Stuttgart and teaches voice lessons from her home studio.
“It has done my heart so much good to come back to the community of Dayton to share this piece,” she says. “I moved to Ohio from New York City several years ago and had somewhat of a tough time adjusting socially. However, through the local theater, I found myself welcomed to the community with open arms. I made such great friendships and working relationships during my time here, and I am honored to share the stage with my colleagues.”
Credit: ART FABIAN
Credit: ART FABIAN
She hopes the production will be a heartwarming testament to the enduring power of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s legacy.
“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s work endures (due to) the combination of gorgeous music – simple on the exterior but possessing depth of feeling, very singable and familiar-sounding tunes – all mixed with superb lyrics and great storytelling. (‘The Sound of Music’) really is a great show for the whole family.”
HOW TO GO
What: “The Sound of Music”
Where: Arbogast Performing Arts Center, 500 S. Dorset Rd., Troy
When: July 21-23; 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $15-$40
Tickets: Call 937-418-8392 or visit www.arbogastpac.com
About the Author
|
2023-07-17T14:38:52+00:00
|
daytondailynews.com
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https://www.daytondailynews.com/what-to-do/events/collaborative-sound-of-music-at-arbogast-center-in-troy/HSJ76RQVH5AABP73RDSDHTLC3A/
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Honolulu police have closed the Kahuku-bound lane of Kamehameha Highway in Hauula after a portion of the road reportedly collapsed.
Crews from the Hawaii Department of Transportation are responding.
The affected lane is on the highway after Pokiwai Place, according to DOT spokesman Jai Cunningham.
Traffic is being contraflowed in the area.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated when additional information becomes available.
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2023-02-07T23:22:14+00:00
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staradvertiser.com
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https://www.staradvertiser.com/2023/02/07/breaking-news/kahuku-bound-lane-of-kamehameha-highway-in-hauula-closed-after-road-collapse/
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NY Burlington VT Zone Forecast for Saturday, July 30, 2022
_____
287 FPUS51 KBTV 310713
ZFPBTV
Zone Forecast Product for Vermont
National Weather Service Burlington VT
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
NYZ028-312000-
Eastern Clinton-
Including the cities of Champlain and Plattsburgh
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Light and variable
winds, becoming southwest around 10 mph this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. Light and
variable winds.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds around
10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in
the mid 60s. South winds around 10 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
Chance of rain 40 percent.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Humid with
highs in the upper 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain
50 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows around 60.
Highs in the mid 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the upper 80s. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the lower 60s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Not as warm with highs in the upper 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
Highs in the lower 80s.
$$
NYZ031-312000-
Western Clinton-
Including the cities of Dannemora and Ellenburg
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. West winds around
10 mph.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy until midnight, then clearing. Lows in
the lower 60s. Southwest winds around 10 mph until midnight,
becoming light and variable.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Light and
variable winds, becoming southwest around 10 mph in the
afternoon.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. South winds
around 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Highs in the
mid 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the lower 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the mid 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 80s. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 50s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.
Highs in the upper 70s.
$$
NYZ026-312000-
Northern St. Lawrence-
Including the cities of Massena and Norfolk
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph until midnight, becoming light and variable.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and
thunderstorms. Humid with lows in the mid 60s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Highs in the
upper 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the mid 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 80s. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows around 60.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
Highs in the lower 80s.
$$
NYZ087-312000-
Southwestern St. Lawrence-
Including the cities of Ogdensburg, Potsdam, and Gouverneur
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs around 80. Southwest winds around
10 mph.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy until midnight, then clearing. Lows in
the lower 60s. Southwest winds around 10 mph until midnight,
becoming light and variable.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and
thunderstorms. Humid with lows in the upper 60s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Highs in the
mid 70s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the lower 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 80s. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the lower 60s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
Highs in the lower 80s.
$$
NYZ029-312000-
Southeastern St. Lawrence-
Including the cities of South Colton and Star Lake
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy until midnight, then clearing. Lows
around 60. Southwest winds around 10 mph until midnight, becoming
light and variable.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in
the lower 60s. Southwest winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain
50 percent.
.TUESDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 70s. West winds
around 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
.WEDNESDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 80s. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 50s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
.SATURDAY...Partly sunny. Highs around 80.
$$
NYZ027-312000-
Northern Franklin-
Including the cities of Fort Covington and Malone
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs around 80. Southwest winds around
10 mph.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and
thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s. Southwest winds around
10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Not as warm
with highs in the mid 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up
to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the mid 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows around 70.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 80s. Chance of
rain 70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the lower 60s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
Highs in the lower 80s.
$$
NYZ030-312000-
Southern Franklin-
Including the cities of Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph until midnight, becoming light and variable.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows in
the lower 60s. Southwest winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain
50 percent.
.TUESDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the lower 70s. West winds
around 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.
.WEDNESDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the mid 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs around 80. Chance of rain
70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the upper 50s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.
.SATURDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.
$$
NYZ035-312000-
Eastern Essex-
Including the cities of Port Henry and Ticonderoga
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Light and variable
winds.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy until midnight, then clearing. Lows in
the lower 60s. Light and variable winds.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 10 to
15 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds
10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Humid with
highs in the lower 80s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain
30 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the lower
60s. Highs in the mid 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Hot with highs around 90. Chance of
rain 60 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of
showers. Lows in the lower 60s.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers. Not
as warm with highs in the upper 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...Mostly clear. Lows around 60. Highs
in the lower 80s.
$$
NYZ034-312000-
Western Essex-
Including the cities of Lake Placid and Newcomb
310 AM EDT Sun Jul 31 2022
.TODAY...Patchy dense fog this morning. Partly sunny. Highs in
the upper 70s. Light and variable winds, becoming southwest
around 10 mph this afternoon.
.TONIGHT...Partly cloudy until midnight, then clearing. Lows in
the upper 50s. Light and variable winds.
.MONDAY...Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds
around 10 mph.
.MONDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s. South winds
around 10 mph.
.TUESDAY...Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Highs in the
upper 70s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper
50s. Highs in the lower 80s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT...Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s.
.THURSDAY...Showers likely. Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain
70 percent.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of
showers. Lows around 60.
.FRIDAY...Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers. Not
as warm with highs in the mid 70s.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.
.SATURDAY...Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.
$$
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather
|
2022-07-31T08:29:25+00:00
|
seattlepi.com
|
https://www.seattlepi.com/weather/article/NY-Burlington-VT-Zone-Forecast-17341031.php
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2022-07-13T15:56:05+00:00
|
tj.news
|
https://tj.news/the-tribune/101918088
|
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox Corp. swung to a third quarter loss, weighed down by Fox News’ nearly $800 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
In April Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election.
Dominion had sued Fox for $1.6 billion, arguing that the top-rated news outlet damaged the company’s reputation by peddling phony conspiracy theories that claimed its equipment switched votes from former President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden.
“We made the business decision to resolve this dispute and avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial and a multiyear appeal process, a decision clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders,” said Lachlan Murdoch, Chair and CEO of Fox Corp.
For the three months ended March 31, Fox Corp. lost $54 million, or 10 cents per share. A year ago it earned $283 million, or 50 cents per share.
The New York City company said Tuesday that the difference in its performance was mostly due to charges related to legal settlement costs at Fox News Media. The company did get a boost from televising Super Bowl LVII.
Excluding certain items, earnings were 94 cents per share. That beat the 88 cents per share analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were calling for.
Revenue climbed to $4.08 billion from $3.46 billion, bolstered by a 43% increase in advertising revenue related to Super Bowl LVII, more NFL games at Fox Sports and ongoing growth at ad supported streaming service Tubi.
The results topped Wall Street’s estimate of $4.05 billion.
Shares slipped 1% Tuesday.
|
2023-05-09T22:13:21+00:00
|
wwlp.com
|
https://www.wwlp.com/business/ap-business/fox-corp-dinged-by-dominion-settlement-in-third-quarter/
|
DENVER — Rep. Hugh McKean’s longtime partner, Amy Parks, was sworn in on Monday to fill the remainder of his term this year.
McKean, R-Loveland, passed away unexpectedly on October 30 from a heart attack.
“The only reason I did this is because I lost my best friend, and he wasn't able to finish out his term. So, I came here to be sworn in and came to finish his work,” Parks said.
The couple had met while working on political campaigns. She had even worked on his campaigns throughout the years.
Parks described the moment as bittersweet, saying she sees this as a way to honor McKean, make sure his constituents are taken care of and honor his legacy.
She will serve for 43 days before the new legislature is sworn. There will not be any votes for Parks to cast or any committee seats for her to fill over the next month, so the vacancy selection is mostly symbolic.
“I absolutely feel a responsibility to fulfill that and make sure these people are represented, even if it's a short time,” she said.
During this time, Parks said she is taking the opportunity to advocate for people to get early health screenings, hoping to prevent more unexpected deaths like McKean’s.
In the days before his death, McKean did check himself into the emergency room after experiencing a pain in his back. He was screened and released. While Parks said she trusts health care professionals, she said there is no harm in asking more questions if someone is concerned about their health.
“He went in and he got checked. And unfortunately for him, it was something that was missed,” Parks said. “Just be the advocate for yourself. If you still don't feel like something's right, you know, dig deeper, ask for more tests.”
Since then, someone else Parks went to get it checked after experiencing back pain, and a blockage was found. She hopes spending this time focusing on a message of preventative care will save even more lives.
Because McKean ran unopposed for his House seat in District 51, a vacancy committee determined who should fill McKean’s role for the 74th general assembly. Ron Weinberg was elected to represent the district for the next two years.
When the legislature does reconvene, Parks said she’d like to see focus put on lowering health care costs, something that was dear to McKean’s heart.
“I know a lot of times cost is a hurdle for people, and maybe that's an area we can continue working or we need to continue working,” she said.
As for the lawmakers themselves, she hopes whether they are Republicans or Democrats, they will foster some of McKean’s legacy this upcoming session and try to build relationships with one another to move beyond partisan politics for the benefit of the state.
“Build relationships, get to know people for who they are, not for what their policies say they are. Know their families,” Parks said. “There's so much to learn from the way he lived and the way he cared for people. There's so much we can all take from that.”
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2022-11-29T05:00:00+00:00
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koaa.com
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https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/rep-hugh-mckeans-longtime-partner-sworn-in-to-fill-his-house-seat-for-remainder-of-term
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The Company Made Gains in Usability and Functionality Compared to Closest Competitors
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sixty-three percent of human resource (HR) leaders plan to switch their human capital management (HCM) platform this year according to isolved's third-annual survey of HR leaders. Touting service issues as the top-reason why – followed by product issues – people professionals clearly want more from their HR tech vendors. Today, Nucleus Research published its annual HCM Value Matrix evaluation in which isolved is positioned as a "Facilitator" for the second year in a row.
isolved, with an industry-leading net-promotor score (NPS) of 52 and independent analyst recognition from firms like Nucleus Research, is well-positioned to far exceed the expectations of companies seeking more value from their HR software and service provider.
"People want value, and they should absolutely receive it," said Lina Tonk, Chief Marketing Officer at isolved. "We truly want to make a difference in our customers' daily lives. We're passionate about the value they receive to grow their companies and their careers through the education and enablement that make the most sense for them. isolved's prominent placement in Nucleus Research's latest HCM Value Matrix serves as further proof that the value isolved People Heroes are receiving is making a difference to them."
The recognition in the Nucleus Research HCM Value Matrix comes at a time when isolved is making over 50 stops cross-country to meet customers where they are as part of the isolved Customer Roadshow series. These in-person events, complemented by 50-plus digital events, the People Heroes Community, the People Heroes University and isolved Connect (the company's annual customer and partner conference October 17-19, 2023), drive further value from customer investments and help customers map out next steps for positive business outcomes.
"isolved has been recognized in the Nucleus Research Value Matrix as a Facilitator for its ability to enable customers to implement the features that they need when they need it, which avoids the cost and complexity of capabilities that do not fit customers' current requirements," said Evelyn McMullen, Research Manager at Nucleus Research. "A focus area for us in the report is our recommendation for HR professionals to reconsider one-size-fits-all approaches and prioritize vendor partnership and ease of adoption as criteria when selecting an HCM provider."
The aforementioned survey of over 500 HR leaders demonstrates the need for a scalable HCM platform. When asked what their top expectation for an HCM provider is, respondents said that "the technology is a full end-to-end platform", followed by that "our company can grow with the platform". The ability to adopt new features as a company grows in size and/or sophistication is a strength of isolved as noted within the HCM Value Matrix.
Download the Nucleus Research 2023 HCM Value Matrix complimentary, here.
About isolved
isolved is an employee experience leader, providing intuitive, people-first HCM technology. Our solutions are delivered directly or through our HRO partner network to more than five million employees and 145,000 employers across all 50 States — who use them every day to boost performance, increase productivity, and accelerate results while reducing risk. Our HCM platform, isolved People Cloud, intelligently connects and manages the employee journey across talent acquisition, HR, payroll & benefits, workforce management and talent management functions. No matter the industry, we help high-growth organizations employ, enable and empower their workforce by transforming employee experience for a better today and a better tomorrow.
Media Contact
Amberly Dressler, Sr. Director of Brand & Content Strategy
adressler@isolvedhcm.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE isolved
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2023-03-14T14:39:54+00:00
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kwch.com
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https://www.kwch.com/prnewswire/2023/03/14/isolved-named-facilitator-second-consecutive-year-nucleus-research-hcm-value-matrix/
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NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. (KTXL) — The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office has confirmed Friday that an apartment fire was started by a man who was holding a baby hostage, allegedly with a knife to its throat.
Deputies responded to a domestic violence call at an apartment in the North Highlands section of the city early on Friday morning. Upon arrival, deputies say the man started a fire in the apartment.
Metro Fire arrived on scene, but said the man was no longer holding the knife. Crew members rescued the baby, an older child, a woman and the suspect from the fire.
All four were alive, and transported to a local hospital for treatment, according to deputies.
The father has been placed in custody, officials said.
Metro Fire did confirm, however, that two dogs died in the fire.
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2022-06-25T20:26:22+00:00
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wdtn.com
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https://www.wdtn.com/news/man-holding-baby-hostage-lights-apartment-on-fire-in-california/
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PARIS (AP) — Tony Parker surely knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the San Antonio Spurs. And, no surprise, the four-time NBA champion told The Associated Press on Friday he sees a bright future at his former team for fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama.
Parker, who is now retired, played 17 seasons for the Spurs. He won NBA titles with the team in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, so knows the franchise inside out. He told the AP in a phone interview it will be the “perfect place” for the 19-year-old French wonder, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
“I know he wanted to go to San Antonio, and so it feels like it was destiny, with the French connection we built over the years,” Parker said. “And he is going to keep the legacy going. It’s pretty cool.”
As expected, the Spurs opted for Wembanyama, who has been creating huge expectations in the French league. Listed at 7-foot-4, he dominated in his final season with Metropolitans 92, leading all players in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.
In spite of his huge frame, he can shoot 3-pointers with ease and his technical skills are stunning.
“He is unique,” Parker said. “His set of skills is unique. You know, we never saw a guy, a 7-5 (player), shooting like that, and having the dribbling skills that he has, and the way that he plays the game, it is just different. I can’t wait to see him play with the Spurs.”
Parker, the majority owner of French club Villeurbanne, has a good relationship with Wembanyama, who played a season for that team.
“So when the Spurs got the lottery pick, we talked, exchanged texts, and it was the same last night,” Parker said. “I’m very happy for him and I will definitely try to support him.”
Asked what kind of advice he would give to Wembanyama for a quick adaptation to the Spurs and the NBA, Parker said the kid just needs to be himself.
“And he is already like that,” Parker said. “He does not care about the pressure and expectation, and I think the Spurs is the perfect place for him. He is in very good hands.”
After matching a league record of 22 straight playoff appearances, San Antonio has not made the postseason the last four seasons, the longest drought in the franchise’s 50-year history. Parker believes that Wembanyama’s arrival will help rebuild a competitive team.
“That’s a good first piece,” he said. “Now he is going to need some help, to win a championship in the NBA is the hardest thing your are going to have to do. So with the Spurs, we’ve got a lot of work to do now to try to bring pieces around him that are going to fit, for us to be able to contend for a championship.”
A former member of the French national team, Parker was the FIBA Europe Player of the year in 2013 and 2014 and the league’s top scorer in 2011 and 2013.
Wembanyama’s rise to the top will also benefit France, Parker said.
“It’s great for basketball, it’s great for French basketball,” Parker said. “Obviously, the future years look bright for us with the national team.”
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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2023-06-23T21:37:20+00:00
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fox59.com
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https://fox59.com/sports/ap-sports/4-time-nba-champion-tony-parker-says-the-spurs-is-the-perfect-place-for-victor-wembanyama/
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LONDON (AP) — British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson said Monday he is “horrified to have caused so much hurt” with a scathing column about Prince Harry's wife, Meghan, that attracted a flood of complaints.
Clarkson, who hosts motoring show “The Grand Tour” on Amazon, wrote in tabloid newspaper The Sun that he hated the former Meghan Markle “on a cellular level” and dreamed of her being paraded naked through British towns “while the crowds chant ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
The press regulator said it had received more than 6,000 complaints about the column – almost half as many as the total number of complaints it received last year.
Clarkson, who made his name as the combative host of the BBC car show “Top Gear,” said the public shaming image was “a clumsy reference” to a scene in “Game of Thrones.”
“I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future,” he wrote on Twitter.
Clarkson’s column followed the release of a six-part Netflix documentary about Harry and Meghan’s acrimonious split from the British royal family. The couple quit royal duties and moved to California in 2020, citing a lack of support from the palace and racist press treatment of Meghan, who is biracial.
Clarkson’s column was condemned by public figures including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who called it “deeply misogynist and just downright awful and horrible.”
Clarkson’s daughter Emily Clarkson posted on Instagram that “I stand against everything that my dad wrote about Meghan Markle and I remain standing in support of those that are targeted with online hatred.”
Asked about the article, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that “for everyone in public life, language matters.” He added that “I absolutely don’t believe that Britain is a racist country.”
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2022-12-19T16:34:49+00:00
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ourmidland.com
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https://www.ourmidland.com/entertainment/article/Jeremy-Clarkson-column-about-Meghan-sparks-tide-17663929.php
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DALLAS (AP) _ Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) on Tuesday reported third-quarter net income of $2.3 billion.
The Dallas-based company said it had profit of $2.47 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $2.45 per share.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.37 per share.
The chipmaker posted revenue of $5.24 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.1 billion.
For the current quarter ending in December, Texas Instruments said it expects revenue in the range of $4.4 billion to $4.8 billion. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had expected revenue of $4.82 billion.
_____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TXN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TXN
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2022-10-25T21:45:18+00:00
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seattlepi.com
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https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Texas-Instruments-Q3-Earnings-Snapshot-17533855.php
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(The Conversation) – Intensive livestock farming is a huge global industry that serves up millions of tons of beef, pork and poultry every year. When I asked one producer recently to name something his industry thinks about that consumers don’t, he replied, “Beaks and butts.” This was his shorthand for animal parts that consumers – especially in wealthy nations – don’t choose to eat.
On Thanksgiving, turkeys will adorn close to 90 percent of U.S. dinner tables. But one part of the bird never makes it to the groaning board, or even to the giblet bag: the tail. The fate of this fatty chunk of meat shows us the bizarre inner workings of our global food system, where eating more of one food produces less-desirable cuts and parts. This then creates demand elsewhere – so successfully in some instances that the foreign part becomes, over time, a national delicacy.
Spare parts
Industrial-scale livestock production evolved after World War II, supported by scientific advances such as antibiotics, growth hormones and, in the case of the turkey, artificial insemination. (The bigger the tom, the harder it is for him to do what he’s supposed to do: procreate.)
U.S. commercial turkey production increased from 16 million pounds in January 1960 to 500 million pounds in January 2017.
That includes a quarter-billion turkey tails, also known as the parson’s nose, pope’s nose or sultan’s nose. The tail is actually a gland that attaches the turkey’s feathers to its body. It is filled with oil that the bird uses to preen itself, so about 75 percent of its calories come from fat.
It’s not clear why turkeys arrive at U.S. stores tailless. Industry insiders have suggested to me that it may simply have been an economic decision. Turkey consumption was a novelty for most consumers before World War II, so few developed a taste for the tail, although the curious can find recipes online. Turkeys have become larger, averaging around 30 pounds today compared to 13 pounds in the 1930s. We’ve also been breeding for breast size, due to the American love affair with white meat: One prized early big-breasted variety was called Bronze Mae West. Yet the tail remains.
Savored in Samoa
Rather than letting turkey tails go to waste, the poultry industry saw a business opportunity. The target: Pacific Island communities, where animal protein was scarce. In the 1950s U.S. poultry firms began dumping turkey tails, along with chicken backs, into markets in Samoa. (Not to be outdone, New Zealand and Australia exported “mutton flaps,” also known as sheep bellies, to the Pacific Islands.) With this strategy, the turkey industry turned waste into gold.
By 2007 the average Samoan was consuming more than 44 pounds of turkey tails every year – a food that had been unknown there less than a century earlier. That’s nearly triple Americans’ annual per capita turkey consumption.
When I interviewed Samoans for my book “No One Eats Alone: Food as a Social Enterprise,” it was immediately clear that some considered this once-foreign food part of their island’s national cuisine. When I asked them to list popular “Samoan foods,” multiple people mentioned turkey tails – frequently washed down with a cold Budweiser.
How did imported turkey tails become a favorite among Samoa’s working class? Here lies a lesson for health educators: The tastes of iconic foods cannot be separated from the environments in which they are eaten. The more convivial the atmosphere, the more likely people will be to have positive associations with the food.
Food companies have known this for generations. It’s why Coca-Cola has been ubiquitous in baseball parks for more than a century, and why many McDonald’s have PlayPlaces. It also explains our attachment to turkey and other classics at Thanksgiving. The holidays can be stressful, but they also are a lot of fun.
As Julia, a 20-something Samoan, explained to me, “You have to understand that we eat turkey tails at home with family. It’s a social food, not something you’ll eat when you’re alone.”
Turkey tails also come up in discussions of the health epidemic gripping these islands. American Samoa has an obesity rate of 75 percent. Samoan officials grew so concerned that they banned turkey tail imports in 2007.
But asking Samoans to abandon this cherished food overlooked its deep social attachments. Moreover, under World Trade Organization rules, countries and territories generally cannot unilaterally ban the import of commodities unless there are proven public health reasons for doing so. Samoa was forced to lift its ban in 2013 as a condition of joining the WTO, notwithstanding its health worries.Author Michael Carolan cooks turkey tails for the first time.
Embracing the whole animal
If Americans were more interested in eating turkey tails, some of our supply might stay at home. Can we bring back so called nose-to-tail animal consumption? This trend has gaining some ground in the United States, but mainly in a narrow foodie niche.
Beyond Americans’ general squeamishness toward offal and tails, we have a knowledge problem. Who even knows how to carve a turkey anymore? Challenging diners to select, prepare and eat whole animals is a pretty big ask.
Google’s digitization of old cookbooks shows us that it wasn’t always so. “The American Home Cook Book,” published in 1864, instructs readers when choosing lamb to “observe the neck vein in the fore quarter, which should be of an azure-blue to denote quality and sweetness.” Or when selecting venison, “pass a knife along the bones of the haunches of the shoulders; if it smell [sic] sweet, the meat is new and good; if tainted, the fleshy parts of the side will look discolored, and the darker in proportion to its staleness.” Clearly, our ancestors knew food very differently than we do today.
It is not that we don’t know how to judge quality anymore. But the yardstick we use is calibrated – intentionally, as I’ve learned – against a different standard. The modern industrial food system has trained consumers to prioritize quantity and convenience, and to judge freshness based on sell-by-date stickers. Food that is processed and sold in convenient portions takes a lot of the thinking process out of eating.
If this picture is bothersome, think about taking steps to recalibrate that yardstick. Maybe add a few heirloom ingredients to beloved holiday dishes and talk about what makes them special, perhaps while showing the kids how to judge a fruit or vegetable’s ripeness. Or even roast some turkey tails.
This article was originally published by The Conversation on November 12, 2017.
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2022-11-21T01:25:02+00:00
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wnct.com
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https://www.wnct.com/news/national/the-strange-story-of-turkey-tails-2/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller was given a match penalty and ejected after spitting at Kings defenseman Drew Doughty late in the first period of Sunday’s game.
Miller’s absence left the Rangers with just five defensemen the remainder of the game — the second time in two days they’ve had to finish a game a player short at the position.
Ryan Lindgren left New York’s game at Washington on Saturday with an apparent left shoulder injury after a hit into the boards from T.J. Oshie in the first period.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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2023-02-27T05:55:56+00:00
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wivb.com
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https://www.wivb.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-rangers-miller-ejected-for-spitting-at-kings-doughty/
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With Chinese leaders expected to further loosen the country's notoriously strict COVID policies, how could a rise in cases affect Chinese citizens and the global economy?
Copyright 2022 NPR
With Chinese leaders expected to further loosen the country's notoriously strict COVID policies, how could a rise in cases affect Chinese citizens and the global economy?
Copyright 2022 NPR
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2022-12-07T13:42:27+00:00
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kgou.org
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https://www.kgou.org/health/health/2022-12-07/how-chinas-covid-policy-rollbacks-will-affect-the-country-and-the-world
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CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mintel, the experts in what consumers want and why, has today announced five trends set to impact global consumer markets in 2023, over the next five years and beyond. Centred around seven core drivers of consumer behaviour—Identity, Rights, Surroundings, Experiences, Technology, Wellbeing and Value—the trends are:
- Me Mentality: Consumers will be eager to re-focus on themselves and brands can help them take centre stage.
- Power to the People: Brands have to make room for a new 'c' in their c-suite as, consumers are investing, co-creating and voting for change alongside brands.
- Hyper Fatigue: Consumers will try to cut through the noise and connect with what matters to them.
- International Localism: Buying local will be a way consumers can protect themselves financially, environmentally and psychologically, and feel that they are giving back.
- Intentional Spending: Factors like flexibility, durability and sustainability will play increasingly important roles in consumers' value equation.
Simon Moriarty, Director of Mintel Trends, EMEA, comments on how the trends will impact markets, brands, and consumers in 2023 and beyond:
"In recent years, consumers have had a community mindset, putting their own needs on the back burner to prioritise public health and safety. People are now emerging from the pandemic eager to re-focus on themselves."
"As consumers look to build up new parts of their identity, brands can help fill in the gaps with offerings that help them grow their skills and gain mastery in new areas. Brands should know that demand for mental health and wellness-focused products will grow as consumers look to understand their blind spots. Looking further down the road, consumers will use the metaverse to develop unique identities that match their digital surroundings. This will result in fragmented identities online. With this, there will be a stronger movement toward data privacy and consumer protection as consumers' digital footprint becomes more robust and layered."
"Brands have to make room for a new 'c' in their c-suite: consumers. Consumers are shaping brands with their dollars and their voices. Beyond conceding that 'the customer is always right', this will be an evolution where consumers are investing, co-creating and voting for change alongside brands. Responding to this demand requires brands to listen and react while keeping market innovation a priority."
"NFTs and Web3 communities are opening up new channels for consumers to invest, giving them a way to own a piece of a brand and directly connect with a brand's overall success and growth. In the future, brands will increasingly cater to the niche identities of loyal consumer investors, fragmenting large, legacy brands into smaller, more targeted business units."
"Moving from crisis to crisis, consumers are being stretched in many directions while being bombarded with media stories and digital content. The pandemic, rising cost of living, energy crisis, geopolitical unrest, and climate crisis are taking their toll, leaving consumers feeling overwhelmed."
Simon continued. "Consumers will find meaning and solace in reconnecting with their surroundings, their communities and themselves. Charitable and community initiatives born out of inspiring brand collaborations will play an intrinsic part in countering fatigue levels, empowering people to take control, and helping them build a positive outlook amid financial adversity. In the next five years, expect brands to establish boundaries to bring order to the influx of information and initiatives to enable consumers to form healthy connections with resources in the technology, wellness and leisure spaces."
"With so much global uncertainty there will be a greater movement to protect local resources and boost local business. This is a hangover from the pandemic, but also a reflection of consumers' changing attitudes towards what's important to them—a reconnection with 'local' is also a way for consumers to protect themselves financially, environmentally and psychologically, and feel that they are giving back in some way."
"Consumers will respond instinctively to home-grown innovators and brands that stamp their authenticity on the items they produce and sell. 'Localism' will come to mean supporting communities where the product is manufactured rather than where the consumer is located. Over the next few years, consumers will demand the traceability of raw materials and more transparency around how brands are conserving local resources."
"Consumers are refocusing on what value means to them and spending more intentionally as a result. In a tough economic environment, consumers want to make smart financial choices without sacrificing their quality of life."
"Expect a stronger focus on durability, flexibility and timelessness as consumers seek to buy less and own products that last longer and serve multiple purposes. As the market becomes further saturated with added-value claims, consumers will grow more sceptical and discerning. In the next five years, expect to see purpose-driven brands emerge with innovations that address long-term challenges faced by the industries, nations, and communities in which they are a part". Concluded Simon.
Interviews with the Mintel Trends global analyst team are available on request from the Mintel Press Office. Mintel's 2023 Global Consumer Trends are available for free download here.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Mintel Group, Ltd.
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2022-11-01T12:50:16+00:00
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wlbt.com
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https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2022/11/01/mintel-announces-global-consumer-trends-2023/
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Election-denying former Colorado clerk guilty of obstruction
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A former Colorado clerk who has become a hero to election conspiracy theorists was convicted Friday of a misdemeanor obstruction charge for refusing to turn over an iPad she allegedly used to videotape a court hearing.
The case is separate from Tina Peters’ alleged involvement in a security breach of voting machines.
Jurors found Peters guilty of obstructing government operations but acquitted her of obstructing a peace officer, The Daily Sentinel reported.
She was charged last year after allegedly recording a court hearing involving a subordinate who was also charged in the alleged voting machine breach.
Testimony during the two-day trial included that Peters repeatedly told investigators that the iPad did not belong to her and that she could not provide the password because it belonged to someone else named Tammy Bailey. Peters’ lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, said that was an alias used by Peters, suggesting it was created for security reasons.
Peters, who is running to become the leader of Colorado’s Republican Party, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10. The obstruction charge carries a sentence of up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. The charge Peters was acquitted of would have carried a sentence of up to a year in jail.
Peters has pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges related to her role in allegedly accessing confidential voting machine data in 2021 while she was clerk. That trial is scheduled for August.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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2023-03-03T21:18:38+00:00
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ksla.com
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https://www.ksla.com/2023/03/03/election-denying-former-colorado-clerk-guilty-obstruction/
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We're a quarter of the way through the 2022 MLB season and as baseball fans, we've started to settle into our viewing habits for the year: the teams we turn to first when we put on MLB.TV, the hitters whose highlights we seek out and the pitchers whose nasty stuff we have to see to believe.
In case you're looking to mix up your routine -- or gain an even deeper appreciation for the stars you are already watching -- we asked MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, Joon Lee, Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield to give us the rundown on who has our full attention whenever they take the field and what makes them worth your time.
The teams we can't get enough of right now
Los Angeles Angels
If you love superstars
Mike Trout's 12th HR extends the Angels' lead in the 7th
Mike Trout launches a solo shot to left field to give the Angels a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Passan: Mike Trout. Shohei Ohtani. Isn't that enough? No? Fine. Well, Taylor Ward has turned from afterthought into star. Patrick Sandoval might be the most underappreciated pitcher in baseball, with a monster changeup and slider. The rest of the Angels' six-man rotation, led by Ohtani, is plenty formidable. And they've caught the ball surprisingly well for a team expected to lag behind defensively.
Trout might be the best player you'll ever see, the epitome of what baseball should look like, and Ohtani is the most unique player any of us have ever seen, a two-way talent whose across-the-board excellence is singular in the game's 150-year-plus history. Baseball is not like the NBA, where stars single-handedly carry teams to wins, or the NFL, where success is almost always contingent on a quarterback. But for pure enjoyment, plain viewing pleasure, individual talent does play, and the two most enjoyable players in the game being on the same team makes this a no-brainer.
Toronto Blue Jays
If you love the young and brash
Gonzalez: They're young, they're fun, and they're undeniably good. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (23) is already one of the world's best hitters. Bo Bichette (24) is on a path to stardom. Alek Manoah (24) is flat-out dominant. The Blue Jays boast an exhilarating young core surrounded by an impressive cast of veterans in their prime, a list that includes George Springer, Matt Chapman, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Jordan Romano and a host of others. They haven't hit full stride yet, but they will. And when they do, it'll be a blast.
The Blue Jays are the model team for a sport desperate to appeal to a younger audience -- young, likable, loose, explosive and diverse, as is perfectly illustrated on their illustrious home run jacket. At their best, they can score at will, shut down any opponent and dazzle with defense. Their enclosed ballpark, Rogers Centre, can be one of the loudest venues in the majors at full capacity.
Los Angeles Dodgers
If you love stars at every position
Freddie Freeman's single extends the Dodgers lead to 10
Freddie Freeman jacks a single to right field and drives in two runs to give the Dodgers a 10-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning.
Lee: One of the most star-studded roster in all of baseball added Freddie Freeman, who not only produces from the two-hole in the lineup but also provides strong defense. After a slow start, Mookie Betts is also mashing the ball, leading the team with 10 home runs, while shortstop Trea Turner is one of the sport's most dynamic players. Combine that with strong seasons from catcher Will Smith and Gavin Lux, and you have arguably one of MLB's most dynamic lineups.
On the mound, Clayton Kershaw was putting together a strong season before hitting the injured list, and Walker Buehler and Julio Urias are known quantities in the rotation. But keep an eye on Tony Gonsolin, who has been the team's best pitcher with a 1.62 ERA and 1.5 bWAR so far this season.
Minnesota Twins
If you love seeing an experiment in action
Doolittle: This year's Twins are a wonderful baseball experiment. It begins with their decision not to dive into a full rebuild after a last-place finish in 2021. Instead, Minnesota went big, signing the winter's top free agent in Carlos Correa. Of course, Correa might be a Twin for only one season and if Minnesota falters, his tenure could be shorter than that. Still, Correa is just one of several fascinating players on the Twins' roster. That list is topped by Byron Buxton, who might play only 110-120 games this year -- but every time he is in the lineup, he is likely to show why he might be the most scintillating player in baseball. The ground he covers in center field is better measured by acres rather than feet, and at the plate he's a 450-foot home run waiting to happen and because he leads off, he gets you to the edge of your seat as soon as the Twins come to bat.
Then there is Luis Arraez, who doesn't necessarily look like a professional athlete but has such a penchant for contact and bat control that he has been called a poor man's Rod Carew. Maybe that's laying it on a bit thick, but the guy does strike out only once about every five games. The Twins' pitching staff is also worth tuning in for. In Joe Ryan, Minnesota has stumbled upon one of the game's most unorthodox aces, and rookie Jhoan Duran, well, you'll read more about him shortly.
New York Mets
If you love a team that won't fool us again ... right?
Schoenfield: The Mets are always interesting, but this season they're actually good. Yes, we've been fooled by them before in recent seasons -- such as last year, when they were in first place before collapsing in the final two months -- but 2022 feels different. They had the season's most exciting win when they scored seven runs in the top of the ninth to beat the Phillies 8-7, they beat the Cardinals in April with five runs in the ninth, and they're 3-0 in extra-inning games. They have must-watch stars in Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte and the currently injured Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom, but also underappreciated players, including on-base machine Brandon Nimmo and Chris Bassitt, who turns every start into a master class on pitching.
One thing seems clear: Buck Showalter has made this team more ... I'll use the word "professional." Better fundamentals, better on the bases (they take the extra base 44% of the time compared to 37% last year), better defensively and less reliant on the home run (11th in the NL in homers, but fourth in runs scored). It's hard to believe Showalter went three seasons without a managing gig. He's known for his attention to details, and that has meant something to a franchise that has too often been stuck in the muck of Mets nonsense. So far, there is none of that, and they've opened up a big lead in the NL East -- with the returns of Scherzer and deGrom coming down the road.
Cleveland Guardians
If you love expecting the unexpected
Rogers: The Guardians' offense is best described as one with a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vibe. They've scored 10 or more runs in five games this year but have also been held to one or no runs in 10 games. That makes for some unpredictability, but when they're on, they're fun to watch. No player more so than All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez -- though Josh Naylor gave him a run for his money one memorable night in Chicago. Naylor hit home runs in the ninth and 11th innings to complete an incredible come-from-behind win. Some days are ugly in Cleveland, some are enjoyable -- but they're all exciting.
While you know some of the names in the lineup, like Ramirez and Franmil Reyes, youngsters Owen Miller and Steve Kwan make consistent contact at the plate in an era when that is a rarity.
On the mound, Shane Bieber is slowly but surely returning to form, and the Guardians are among the best in the sport at developing starting pitching, so you never know when a new star -- such as Cal Quantrill and Triston McKenzie -- will emerge.
The hitters whose at-bats we plan our snack breaks around
Juan Soto
If you love Ted Williams ... with 2022 celebrations
Gonzalez: It has never been harder to hit, and yet somehow Juan Soto makes it look so easy. Pitchers continually cycle through major league mounds throwing upper-90s fastballs and knee-buckling sliders and gravity-defying changeups, and yet Juan Soto expertly does what we were all taught to do as kids: lay off pitches when they're balls, crush them when they're strikes. It sounds simple, but to do that so well, so consistently -- in this era, at that age -- is a marvel.
Imagine Ted Williams as a wrestling persona. That's Soto. He is an expert craftsman who boisterously lets you know it. Nobody swaggers within a batter's box like Soto. The exaggerated lunge, the occasional crotch grab, the unruly tongue, the poignant stare down -- all in an effort to intimidate opposing pitchers, as if his otherworldly bat-to-ball skills weren't enough. Soto is as close to Barry Bonds as we've seen with regard to strike-zone recognition and the ability to take full advantage of the few mistake pitches he'll see -- except he does it with more grace, more style, more fun.
Aaron Judge
If you love power. Epic power
Judge clobbers homers No. 16 and 17 of the season
Aaron Judge accounts for three RBIs on two home runs for the Yankees against the Orioles.
Schoenfield: The baseball world is always a better place with a healthy, dominant Aaron Judge -- he is, after all, still the face of the sport's most visible franchise. He's dominating like never before, not even in his out-of-this-world rookie season in 2017 when he hit 52 home runs. He's hitting .325/.398/.715 and leads the majors with 17 home runs, giving him an OPS+ of 222, well above his 171 figure of 2017. It's not just the numbers. With his size and strength, he has always been a hitter for whom you don't turn the channel or run to get a hot dog when he's at the plate. (And, no, he doesn't have 15 home runs because of Yankee Stadium; he has eight home runs -- in fewer games -- on the road.)
This has come after Judge turned down a contract extension before the season -- while the Yankees are off to one of their best starts in franchise history. With the way Judge and Trout are playing right now, this has the makings of an epic, historic MVP race. After losing to Jose Altuve in 2017, you know Judge would love to head into free agency as the reigning MVP -- after perhaps leading the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009.
Luis Robert
If you love explosive action -- and don't want to wait for it
Doolittle: First: It's not just raw ability with Robert. It's production, too. Because of injuries and pandemics, he only recently reached the 155-game mark for his career, or roughly a full season for an everyday player. Over those games, he posted an MVP-like 6.8 bWAR. At the plate, Robert reminds me of Vladimir Guerrero Sr. in a couple of respects. For one thing, he's so aggressive that you better pay attention when he's up because something is going to happen and it's going to happen soon. And while Robert doesn't have Vlad Sr.'s preternatural ability to get the bat on the ball wherever it's pitched, they are similar in that when contact is made, the ball explodes off the bat virtually every time.
Robert is built like an NFL safety but has eye-catching speed and is already a dynamic force on the basepaths. So he is just as interesting to watch after a single or a walk as he is when he clubs one into the bullpen. Then, in the field, Robert runs everything down, from side to side and in going back to the wall, especially at Guaranteed Rate Field, which is a great park in which to rob homers. He gets plenty of defensive opportunities with the White Sox, as well, because he often plays in between two natural first basemen. You just can't take your eyes off the guy.
Tim Anderson
If you love hits -- lots and lots of hits
Rogers: Any everyday player who has a .393 on-base percentage with just six walks on the season is automatically exciting in my book. In other words, Anderson goes up there to hit -- and boy does he ever. He can turn on a fastball for a homer to left but often goes the opposite way -- either with power or simply by dumping an off-speed pitch on the outside corner into right field for a single. On defense, he has had a tough start to the season on some routine plays, which only make his spectacular ones stand out even more.
At the plate, he never looks like he's guessing and hardly ever looks fooled by a pitch. Anderson's hands are always inside the ball, which allows him to go to right field on just about anything he gets. But there is also sneaky power, so don't be surprised if the White Sox are up 1-0 before you've taken your seat. Anderson is hitting over .400 in the first inning this season.
Manny Machado
If you love watching a surefire Hall of Famer
Lee: Machado is off to one of the hottest starts of his career, as he leads all hitters in batting average, on-base percentage, hits and wins above replacement. Machado has also grown into a leadership role in the Padres' clubhouse as the team tries to bounce back from a disappointing 2021 campaign, and with Fernando Tatis on the injured list, Machado is the bat the Padres lean on to set the tone for their offense.
And that's before we talk about his defensive impact. Machado isn't the same defender he was early in his career, when he often flashed shades of the legendary Brooks Robinson as a Baltimore Oriole, but his ability to man the hot corner makes Machado one of the most dynamic players in the sport and someone who will be on the track to Cooperstown one day if he stays healthy and maintains this level of consistent offensive output.
Wander Franco
If you love true five-tool talent
Passan: With Franco, the Tampa Bay Rays' 21-year-old shortstop, you get the cornucopia of skills: power, speed, glove, arm, smarts and, best of all, contact. And it's worth focusing on Franco's bat-to-ball skills, because they're just about unmatched: In a league that strikes out in 22.5% of plate appearances, Franco is one of just four hitters out of 170 currently qualified for the batting title who punches out in less than 10%. For a game that is too often starved of action, Franco brings it nightly.
Though his triple-slash line is admittedly pedestrian this year, and his allergy to walking might keep him from the MVP conversation in his first full season, Franco's excellence is seen in the little things. One minuscule part of his all-around game deeply appeals to my baseball nerdery: In his 31 left-handed at-bats during which he has hit the ball to the left side this year, Franco is batting .387. It's a small sample, sure, but the pureness of a lefty lashing the ball to the left side is one of baseball's underappreciated joys.
The pitchers we drop everything to see on the mound
Shohei Ohtani
If you love ... well, you know why
Gonzalez: How often do you get to see a unicorn pitcher? Ohtani could have made this list as one of the most prodigious power hitters and one of the fastest base runners in the world, and some would argue that it's his pitching that really sets him apart. His fastball often sits casually in the upper 90s, and he is noticeably getting better and better at commanding it. He pairs it with a devastating splitter and a nasty breaking ball. And when he's on, he can be just as dominant on the mound as he is in the batter's box and on the bases.
So, about that -- what we're watching here is truly unprecedented. Babe Ruth was the last man to serve as a two-way player more than 100 years ago, but his exploits on the mound were short-lived -- and he didn't steal bases like Ohtani. Ohtani is basically the best player on your local Little League team, except he does all the things that kid does at baseball's highest level, emitting just as much joy while doing so. He'll hit a double into the left-center-field gap, score from second on a single, then come back out to the mound -- with his pants caked in dirt and his back pocket undone -- and strike out the side. His every move demands attention.
Michael Kopech
If you love good old-fashioned heat
Lee: Acquired in the Chris Sale trade, Kopech took some time to establish himself in the major leagues following Tommy John surgery, but the flamethrower has arrived. The White Sox tapped the righty to replace Carlos Rodon in the rotation, and Kopech has come through. On May 15, Kopech retired the last 13 batters of the game against the Yankees before opening his next start, also against the Yankees, by retiring 14 straight batters to start the game. 27 up, 27 down across two starts against one of the best offenses in baseball.
Through eight starts, Kopech ranks among the best pitchers in baseball, trailing just Justin Verlander in ERA so far this season. Eight starts is just eight starts, but given Kopech's pedigree as a former top pitching prospect, his top-tier stuff and his unusual level of dominance so far this season, it wouldn't be surprising to look back at the 2022 season as the beginning of Kopech's ascent toward becoming a top of the rotation starter.
Jhoan Duran
If you love learning about a pitch you've never heard of before
Passan: The single hardest pitch thrown this season registered at 103.3 mph and was taken for a ball by Franmil Reyes. Eventually, Jhoan Duran struck him out, because that is what quite often happens when a guy has thrown 134 fastballs this season and 116 of them have registered at 100 mph or higher on the stadium gun. It's still early in the season, but Duran's 100.7 mph average fastball velocity is the second-highest mark ever for a pitcher, behind Jordan Hicks' 101.2 in 2019. And the funny part is, the heater isn't even Duran's best pitch.
About 25% of the time, Duran throws a never-before-seen pitch called the splinker, a portmanteau of splitter and sinker. It is a pitch that could be concocted only in the Circles of Hell, simultaneously treacherous and violent and heretical and gluttonous -- one after which every other pitcher lusts. Its average velocity is 96.1 mph, four ticks quicker than any other splitter on record thrown more than 10% of the time, and the combination of speed and movement is so distinctive, so special, it turns the eighth and ninth innings in which Duran now pitches into true events.
Nestor Cortes
If you love a throwback vibe
Rogers: First off, his look and demeanor alone make him exciting. With a 1970s-style mustache and his soft-tossing style on the mound, he looks like a pitcher from a different era. Add his ability to change arm angles and throw an assortment of pitches from any of them, Cortes has become must-watch TV for Yankees fans. His 1.80 ERA speaks for itself: His unique style is working.
Start by watching the arm angles. You don't need to be a pitching coach to see what Cortes is trying to do: simply fool hitters. On any given pitch, he'll come from over the top with a nasty off-speed offering, while the next one could be a sidearm fireball. And it doesn't matter if the hitter is a right or lefty, the unique and fun style works both ways.
Zack Greinke
If you love watching a master craftsman
Doolittle: Greinke is the antidote to all those who bemoan the three-true outcome age and the evolution of pitching from an art form into an industrial process. He's at the bottom of the barrel these days in things like strikeout rate, whiff rate and fastball velocity. Yet his ERA is still well better than the league average and he still works in the strike zone. Greinke has always been fun to watch but these days, watching him set up hitters and sometimes make them look foolish with absurdly low-velocity offerings is a joy.
While the Royals are pretty terrible overall, they do play solid defense, and Greinke benefits from that because he allows so many balls in play. That means every game he pitches, the action moves briskly and there is always plenty happening. He keeps the Royals close. It's hard to say how many pitchers like this current version of Greinke we'll see in the future because they might be weeded out long before they can evolve to become what he has. So enjoy him while you can. If you don't dig watching the Royals' offense or bullpen, which is understandable, you can always change to a different game when Greinke departs.
Shane McClanahan
If you love discovering the Next Great Thing
Schoenfield: I was going to go with Justin Verlander here, as he has been terrific in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, but let's be honest: We love watching the Next Great Thing, and Shane McClanahan is the Next Great Thing among starting pitchers. We saw glimpses of stardom during his rookie season in 2021, when he went 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA, but he has gone next level in 2022. He has 65 K's in 46⅓ innings but is also efficient enough that the ultra-conservative Rays have started let him go deeper into games as he can go seven innings and still be under 100 pitches.
It starts with one of the most explosive southpaw fastballs in the game, as he averages 96.9 mph. All three of his other pitches are also plus offerings: His curveball, his slider and a changeup he throws exclusively to righties. That changeup has been a big asset in 2022. Batters hit .393 against it last year but are 1-for-31 this year -- and he's throwing it twice as often. It doesn't seem fair. It's hard to believe McClanahan fell all the way to the 31st pick in the 2018 draft after being a projected-top-10 pick entering the draft.
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2022-05-24T12:12:32+00:00
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espn.com
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/33971336/who-mlb-see-tv-right-now-season-most-watchable-teams-players
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Jayson Tatum NBA Playoffs Player Prop Bets: Celtics vs. Heat - May 17
Jayson Tatum be on the court for the Boston Celtics at 8:30 PM on Wednesday versus the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Let's break down Tatum's prop bets, and some stats and trends to help you select good wagers.
Jayson Tatum Prop Bets vs. the Heat
Looking to bet on one or more of Jayson Tatum's player prop bets? Sign up at DraftKings with our link to get a first deposit bonus today!
Celtics vs Heat Additional Info
Jayson Tatum Insights vs. the Heat
- This season, he's put up 21.4% of the Celtics' attempted field goals, as he's averaging 21.1 per contest.
- Tatum is averaging 9.3 three-point field goal attempts per game this season, which is 19.7% of his team's tries from beyond the arc.
- Tatum's opponents, the Heat, have one of the NBA's slowest tempos with 99.2 possessions per game, while his Celtics rank 16th in possessions per game with 101.9.
- The Heat give up 109.8 points per contest, second-ranked in the league.
- On the glass, the Heat are ranked sixth in the NBA, conceding 41.9 rebounds per game.
- In terms of assists, the Heat are 14th in the NBA, giving up 25.6 per game.
- The Heat give up 13.1 made 3-pointers per game, 28th-ranked in the NBA.
Jayson Tatum vs. the Heat
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved.
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2023-05-17T20:51:16+00:00
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foxcarolina.com
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https://www.foxcarolina.com/sports/betting/2023/05/17/jayson-tatum-nba-playoffs-player-prop-bets-celtics-vs-heat/
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Diamond Johnson and Saniya Rivers each scored 22 points to help No. 12 North Carolina State overcome a 45-point effort from Caitlin Clark and beat No. 10 Iowa 94-81 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game on Thursday night.
Johnson and Rivers led a balanced scoring night for the Wolfpack (7-1), who had five players score in double figures.
“Forty-five, that’s insane,” Rivers said of Clark’s night. “I’m glad we came together as a team. I think we had five in double figures. You can’t win it alone. So I’m glad we were the better team tonight.”
Clark, who came into the game tied for second in the nation in scoring at 26.7 points per game, scored the Hawkeyes’ first nine points of the game, and had the first 11 points of the fourth quarter as Iowa tried to rally from a 13-point deficit.
The preseason All-American was 16 of 28 from the field, 5 of 13 in 3-pointers. She finished one point off her career high.
“I haven’t seen much like that,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “Some of those shots, I couldn’t believe them.”
But Clark had little offensive help, as McKenna Warnock was the only other Hawkeye to score in double figures with 15 points. Kate Martin and Hannah Stuelke each had seven points.
“I think any time I score 40 points, we lose,” said Clark, who had her career high of 46 points in a loss at Michigan last season. “We scored points, but we didn’t get stops.”
N.C. State had a balanced offense with Jakia Brown-Turner adding 17 points. Jada Boyd had 12 points and Camille Hobby had 10. The Wolfpack shot 57.1% from the field for the game, including 61.1% in the fourth quarter to hold off the Hawkeyes (5-3).
N.C. State outscored Iowa 31-28 in the fourth quarter, answering every threat from the Hawkeyes.
“I’ll be honest, we needed to see that,” Moore said of how his team responded in the fourth quarter. “I kept waiting. They would make a run, (Clark) would make an unbelievable shot, the crowd’s into it, and I was like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ Then one of our kids would make a shot.”
Johnson and Rivers combined to shoot 17 of 29 from the field, including 5 of 7 in 3-pointers.
Rivers, who hadn’t made a 3-pointer in six attempts this season, was 3 of 4 from behind the arc in this game on her way to a career high in scoring.
“I think this game was a big confidence boost for me,” said Rivers, a transfer from South Carolina.
The Wolfpack had 46 points inside, a number that bothered Iowa coach Lisa Bluder.
“I was very disappointed with our defensive effort,” Bluder said. “We usually own the paint. We were never in help position, and we paid the price for it.”
“We didn’t have a sense of urgency,” Warnock said. “There was just a weird dullness on defense.”
N.C. State also had 31 points off the bench, compared to nine for the Hawkeyes.
BIG PICTURE
The two teams are going to be passing each other in the rankings next week — the Wolfpack on the way up, the Hawkeyes on the way down after starting the season in the top five.
N.C. State: The Wolfpack showed balance and patience on offense. Rivers was 9 of 11 from the field, while Johnson was 8 of 12. The Wolfpack got enough defensive stops — they held the Hawkeyes to 44.8% shooting.
Iowa: Clark was Iowa’s only scoring threat during the game — center Monika Czinano, who led the nation in field-goal percentage last season, got only one shot in the first half and finished with five points on just 2 of 4 shooting. “I don’t know why we couldn’t get her the ball tonight,” Bluder said. “It was maddening.”
UP NEXT
NC State: At Georgia on Monday.
Iowa: At Wisconsin on Sunday.
For more Hawkeyes coverage, follow @HawkeyeHQ on Twitter and Facebook.
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2022-12-02T16:38:24+00:00
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ourquadcities.com
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https://www.ourquadcities.com/sports/hawkeye-headquarters/despite-caitlin-clarks-45-points-nc-state-tops-no-10-iowa/
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A roundup of the week's most newsworthy technology industry press releases from PR Newswire, including AI developments in web design, home security, and Teams meetings.
NEW YORK, July 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the business technology industry stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.
The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.
- Wix Unveils Groundbreaking AI Site Generator Alongside Suite of AI-Powered Features Set to Revolutionize Web Creation
Avishai Abrahami, Co-Founder and CEO of Wix, said, "We're on the edge of something truly amazing, and we will keep advancing our offerings as AI technology progresses to enable users to grow their businesses and have success with more efficiency and creativity than ever before." - New NASA Artemis Instruments to Study Volcanic Terrain on the Moon
The DIMPLE instrument suite will investigate the Ina Irregular Mare Patch, discovered in 1971 by Apollo 15 orbital images. Learning more about this mound will address outstanding questions about the evolution of the Moon, which in turn can provide clues to the history of the entire solar system. - Johnson Controls to expand OpenBlue digital buildings capabilities through acquisition of workplace management software leader FM:Systems
"FM:Systems' powerful, predictive workplace management platform will build on our best-in-class building automation services, OpenBlue, to offer a one-stop solution that helps customers accelerate their digital transformation journey, improve building efficiency and reduce operational costs," said Johnson Controls Chairman and CEO George Oliver. - Common Sense Media Announces New Ratings and Reviews System for AI Products
In response to high demand from parents and educators, Common Sense Media will build a new AI ratings and reviews system to help families and policymakers make informed decisions about artificial intelligence tools and programs. - Futureverse Raises $54 Million Series A to Scale Metaverse Infrastructure and Introduce AI to the Metaverse
The company's technology platform includes a robust suite of proprietary AI content generation tools designed to enhance the music, objects, characters and animations that make up the metaverse. By rolling up 11 metaverse infrastructure and content companies into one collaborative ecosystem, Futureverse delivers the essential components for constructing any metaverse application. - DroneShield Awarded Record $33 Million U.S. Government Contract
DroneShield provides Artificial Intelligence based platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems. DroneShield's current order backlog (committed orders in the process of fulfilment) stands at a record $62 million, with a current pipeline of over $200 million across more than 80 opportunities. - SAP Advances Vision of Business AI with Investments in Aleph Alpha, Anthropic and Cohere to Complement $1+ Billion AI Commitment from Sapphire Ventures
"We are at a watershed moment, with generative AI poised to fundamentally change how businesses run," said Sebastian Steinhaeuser, Chief Strategy Officer, SAP SE. - OtterBox Has Back to School Covered
Technology is an essential part of the classroom at all levels of education, and OtterBox knows protecting your tech keeps the year running smoothly. - Ready-in-a-Click: The First Ever Virtual Makeup on Microsoft Teams
The Maybelline Beauty App in Microsoft Teams allows users to adjust their personal style quickly and easily from directly within a Teams meeting. The virtual makeup looks provide a low-barrier way to try out different styles with the goal of democratizing makeup and empowering people with self-confidence, especially at work. - Forward-looking CIOs are moving decisively to generative AI, says new MIT Technology Review Insights global research report
Powered by the potential of newly emerging use cases, AI is finally moving from pilot projects and "islands of excellence" to a generalized capability integrated into the fabric of organizational workflows. Technology teams no longer have to "sell" AI to business units; there is now significant "demand pull" from the enterprise. - EnGenius Launches the World's First Cloud Wi-Fi 7 Access Points for Enterprises
Roger Liu, EVP at EnGenius Technologies, said, "This breakthrough solution, in combination with our EnGenius Cloud, empowers organizations to leverage the full potential of their networks, delivering unparalleled speed, capacity, and scalability. The ECW536 marks the beginning of our Wi-Fi 7 endeavors." - Deloitte, AT&T and Salesforce to Simplify ESG Data Collection and Sustainability Management Through Connectivity-based Approach
"With a holistic understanding of specific varying regulations, we can help our clients establish a purpose-driven, outcomes-focused approach and enable transparency to their stakeholders on progress against their sustainability-focused goals," said Luis Galito, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and Sustainability 360 offering leader. - Ready, Set…AI Not Yet: Majority of HR Professionals Want More Training, Education, and Laws for AI in The Workplace
The large majority of HR professionals (84%) believe that there should be more education and training in the workplace regarding AI tools. A further 62% believe that there should be more laws specifically governing AI tools to prevent bias in the recruitment process. - Ubiety Technologies Unveils Eckleburg: A Groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence Platform Creating World First Insights from High Velocity Radio Frequency Data
In each unique deployment, Eckleburg is able to learn and establish known devices and what represents 'normal' activity patterns in order to identify anomalies and generate alerts based on the traffic it observes. For example, if parents are out for the evening and expect their two children to remain home, but Eckleburg recognizes there are 6 additional phones present, Eckleburg alerts the homeowner.
Read more of the latest business technology releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNtech on Twitter.
Can't-Miss Earnings
In addition to these popular releases, several must-read earnings reports crossed the wire this week, including the quarterly results for IBM, Spectra7, and Infosys.
Catch up on all the latest earnings reports here.
Helping Journalists Stay Up to Date on Industry News
These are just a few of the recent press releases that consumers and the media should know about. To be notified of releases relevant to their coverage area, journalists can set up a custom newsfeed with PR Newswire for Journalists.
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SOURCE PR Newswire
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2023-07-21T10:35:06+00:00
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wymt.com
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https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/21/this-week-tech-news-14-stories-you-need-see/
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By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina county where Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper started building and then abandoned a new practice facility has reached a settlement over $21 million in sales tax money given to the NFL team.
Tepper will pay back the money, and York County agreed its dispute was totally resolved with both Tepper and his real estate company that handled the failed $800 million project, according to a statement Wednesday night from the county.
The settlement came a week after the York County Sheriff’s Office and local prosecutor announced that Tepper and his company were under criminal investigation if the public money was misused.
Sheriff Kevin Tolson and Solicitor Kevin Brackett had no additional comment on whether the settlement changed the status of the investigation. But the statement from York County officials left little doubt they felt the matter was resolved.
The county withdraws any suggestions Tepper and his GT Real Estate company violated the rules on spending the sales tax money, the settlement “is a full and satisfactory resolution of the county’s disputes,” and Tepper and his company “have acted in good faith,” the statement said.
“The county considers all matters related to the county payment closed and believes that no action of any kind with respect to the county payment is warranted,” the statement said.
GT Real Estate officials had no comment on the settlement Thursday, which must be approved by a federal judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy case resulting from the abandoned practice facility project.
The sheriff and prosecutor last week were careful to say that the investigation does not mean that any crime happened.
“An investigation is simply an inquiry and should not create any inference that wrongdoing has been committed by any party,” their statement said.
Tepper, a hedge fund manager who is one of the NFL’s wealthiest owners, and the Panthers announced plans for an $800 million practice facility, team offices, sports medicine complex, hotels and entertainment near Rock Hill in 2019.
Both local and South Carolina leaders cheered the investment, offering incentives and relishing getting a piece of the NFL team away from North Carolina and Charlotte, where the team plays its games about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away.
But after less than two years, Tepper’s company abruptly stopped work on the facility before its steel superstructure was finished, and declared bankruptcy. Work continues on an interstate interchange promised by the state, and Tepper’s company is trying to sell the land in the busy, growing region.
Tepper’s company blamed Rock Hill for failing to issue bonds and said the city and other governments failed to come through with funding and other promises.
Rock Hill, York County and contractors and other suppliers are all working on deals with Tepper’s company in federal bankruptcy court.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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2022-12-08T05:42:27+00:00
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wtmj.com
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https://wtmj.com/national/2022/12/07/panthers-owner-settles-tax-fight-over-failed-practice-space-2/
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Filming locations from the best crime movies shot in NYC
Canva
Filming locations from the best crime movies shot in NYC
A busy New York City street
The New York City people imagine—whether they are lifelong New Yorkers or have yet to visit—is now mostly the stuff of fiction, an image dreamed up on the big screen. In recent years, some might say the city has been Disneyfied, stripped of its grit and grime in favor of coffee shop chains and gentrified boroughs. But if there’s anything that immediately transports us back to the gaudy and gorgeously anti-glamorous streets we’ve come to associate with the City that Never Sleeps, it’s the innumerable crime films that were shot there.
There’s just something utterly timeless and irresistible about this dark and seedy side of NYC and, luckily for cinephiles, some of the most memorable monuments from such crime classics as “The Godfather” and “Taxi Driver” still remain. This means you can still go and visit some relics from the New York of yesteryear itself.
To help get your cinematic pilgrimage off to a start, Giggster looked at noteworthy shooting locations you can visit from the best crime movies shot in New York City. To qualify as one of the best, the film had to have at least a 7.5 user rating on IMDb.
John Penney // Shutterstock
Don Corleone’s resting place in ‘The Godfather’
Calvary Cemetery in Queens
– Location: Calvary Cemetery, Greenpoint Avenue, Queens
Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery that stretches across 365 acres, making it one of the largest—as well as one of the oldest—cemeteries in the United States. The grounds are home to a few centuries worth of notable politicians and performers, as well as real-life mobsters like Stefano Ferrigno, deeming it an appropriate setting for one of the most emotionally charged scenes in “The Godfather.”
It was in a section of the cemetery known as “First Calvary Cemetery” where Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) was laid to rest after suffering a heart attack while playing in the garden with his grandson. The funeral scene required 150 extras, 20 hearses, limousines, and thousands of dollars worth of flowers. As a spectacular site of historical preservation, the cemetery looks largely unchanged from how it was depicted in the movie—save for the warm, grainy camera filter.
Ernst Haas // Getty Images
The bank exterior in ‘Inside Man’
20 Exchange Place
– Location: 20 Exchange Place, Manhattan
20 Exchange Place, formerly known as the City Bank-Farmers Trust Building, is a skyscraper located in the financial district of lower Manhattan, which boasts a facade bejeweled with high-end stones. In 2006, it appeared in Spike Lee’s heist film “Inside Man” as a fictional bank branch named Manhattan Trust Bank.
Once a relic of New York’s wave of art deco architecture in the 1920s, it has since been modernized. Though in the film, it was restored to its former glory and made to look like a financial institution from a former time. The building is basically a location scout’s paradise, not least because of the ease of the city’s Made in NY marketing incentives program, but also because, according to film location scout Nick Carr, who’d previously scouted the building for “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” filmmakers tend to get their run of the place here.
Chie Inoue // Shutterstock
The last pickup location in ‘Taxi Driver’
St. Regis Hotel
– Location: St. Regis Hotel, 2 E. 55th St., Manhattan
Martin Scorcese’s “Taxi Driver” is an expressionistic vision of NYC in the 1970s, before the city’s so-called Disneyfication. The film is a lonely and claustrophobic journey through the psyche of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), but there’s some light relief when he gives Cybill Shepherd’s character, Betsy, a free ride to the St. Regis Hotel on Fifth Avenue. While the city has undergone an extensive transformation since then, the St. Regis Hotel—known throughout the city for its glamour and prestige—has mostly gone untouched. The building itself is still largely the same, though the outside awning has been jazzed up a little with lights and black accents.
Education Images // Getty Images
The fountain Howie is thrown into in ‘Uncut Gems’
Radio City seen over the fountain on Sixth Street
– Location: 1245 6th Ave., Manhattan
As lifelong residents of New York City, the Safdie brothers have been committed to depicting the city at its sleaziest and best. In “Uncut Gems,” their best-known film, Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, an on-edge jeweler attempting to barter his way through midtown Manhattan’s diamond district. It’s a location in perfect proximity to some of New York’s most iconic sights—Fifth Avenue, Trump Tower, as well as 30 Rock, where Sandler got his start on “Saturday Night Live”—and now the film has made an icon of a water fountain on Sixth Avenue in the district.
In one memorable scene, after being punched in the face by two goons, Howard gets thrown into the fountain. While filming, Sandler was spotted bloodied and drenched in the fountain by passersby; the Safdies generally like to plant their cameras across the block, making the scenes as realistic as possible.
Leonard Zhukovsky // Shutterstock
Where the famous car chase starts in ‘The French Connection’
Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn
– Location: 2415 Stillwell Ave., Brooklyn
See it once and it will be burned into your brain forever. In one of the most famous car chase scenes in cinema history, Detective Jimmy Doyle (Gene Hackman) races through packed New York City streets in an attempt to arrest a man who commandeered a subway train. Doyle’s wicked temper is in full force as tires screech across the pavements of Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn.
Director William Friedkin has famously said that the scene wasn’t entirely scripted but rather conceptualized on location—and off the cuff. Apparently, one reason for this is that the district only permitted the filmmaker to use one particular Brooklyn line: the West End stretch from Coney Island into Manhattan, the West End line. Since filming, the Avenue has expanded with apartment buildings, shops, and larger roads, but it still bears a remarkable resemblance to the area in the film.
This story originally appeared on Giggster and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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2022-08-20T08:32:41+00:00
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keyt.com
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https://keyt.com/stacker-entertainment/2022/08/19/filming-locations-from-the-best-crime-movies-shot-in-nyc/
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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 60 bodies were discovered in several villages in eastern Congo's North Kivu province, authorities said Wednesday.
Residents from Kashali and Kazaroho villages in Rutshuru territory were killed over several days by rebels from the M23 group, said Isaac Kibira, a deputy to the governor of the Bwito area.
“We are sorry to see how the population is being massacred by M23 ... more than 60 bodies (were found) tied up with mosquito nets. Others were tied with bags," Kibira told local media.
The M23 rebel group, largely made up of Congolese ethnic Tutsis, rose to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city on the border with Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal, which it accuses the Congo government of not implementing. The rebel group was dormant for nearly a decade before resurfacing more than a year ago.
M23 fighters are accused by civilians and rights groups of killing civilians and abducting people. Earlier this month, the group withdrew from much of the territory that it had captured, as part of a cease-fire agreement. But residents say they're still present.
Conflict has been simmering in eastern Congo for decades where more than 120 armed groups are fighting in the region, mostly for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while some groups are trying to protect their communities.
In addition to increasing M23 violence, CODECO rebels in neighboring Ituri province have also been intensifying attacks.
On Tuesday, 19 people were killed by CODECO in Irumu terriroty, said Gili Gotabo, the president of the Irumu civil society group.
Fighting between CODECO, a loose association of various ethnic Lendu militia groups, and Zaire, a mainly ethnic Hema self-defense group, has been ongoing since 2017 but has worsened recently. In February, at least 32 civilians were killed by the group. In December, the United Nations said the insurgent group was expanding its areas of control, attacking civilians and Congo’s military, and taxing communities in the areas that it holds.
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2023-04-26T17:57:11+00:00
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expressnews.com
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https://www.expressnews.com/news/politics/article/at-least-60-bodies-found-in-eastern-congo-17920200.php
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The Energy Department recently updated efficiency rules for manufactured homes. Energy efficiency advocates wanted higher standards — while the industry warns the rules will raise home prices.
Copyright 2022 NPR
The Energy Department recently updated efficiency rules for manufactured homes. Energy efficiency advocates wanted higher standards — while the industry warns the rules will raise home prices.
Copyright 2022 NPR
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2022-06-16T09:39:09+00:00
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kgou.org
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https://www.kgou.org/2022-06-16/new-federal-standards-aim-to-make-manufactured-homes-more-efficient
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Most families of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims call for the death penalty By Oliver Morrison Published June 26, 2023 at 4:07 PM CDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 3:59 A Pittsburgh jury is considering whether the man who killed eleven worshippers at a local synagogue should be put to death. Copyright 2023 NPR
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2023-06-26T22:33:19+00:00
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kgou.org
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https://www.kgou.org/2023-06-26/most-families-of-the-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting-victims-call-for-the-death-penalty
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HIGH SCHOOL
Sweating it out: River Forest edges Washington Township
Indy Star Sports
Indianapolis Star
Wednesday's outing turned into an endurance test that River Forest passed in a 50-48 victory at Washington Township's expense in Indiana boys basketball on Feb. 22.
Recently on Feb. 7, River Forest squared off with Hammond Academy of Science and Tech in a basketball game. For a full recap, click here.
You're reading a news brief powered by ScoreStream, the world leader in fan-driven sports results and conversation. To see more game results from your favorite team, download the ScoreStream app and join over 10 million users nationwide who share the scores of their favorite teams with one another in real-time.
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2023-02-23T05:26:24+00:00
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indystar.com
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https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/02/22/sweating-it-out-river-forest-edges-washington-township/69934563007/
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How Supreme Court decisions will help determine if House flips blue in 2024
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Just five months after winning the House, Republicans are already looking to defend their majority in 2024.
A Supreme Court decision requiring Alabama to add an additional majority-minority district will likely lead to an additional Democratic pickup there, and in Louisiana, which had similar Congressional map issues.
Amy Walter with The Cook Political Report says
“This puts a number of Republican incumbents in very tough situation, and is likely going to mean another Democrat in Alabama, another Democrat in Louisiana,” said Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter.
Walter said there is a problem for the left. The Congressional map making game is played by the GOP as well, and will shake out in states like North Carolina.
“They were hoping to put at least two or three Democratic incumbents in much more Republican leaning districts,” Walter said.
Add it all up, and The Cook Political Report has the House race rated as a toss-up in the competition to gain 218 seats and control of the chamber
Walter said the race will be so tight, individual situations like re-electing the embattled George Santos could come into play.
“It absolutely matters,” Walter said. “I mean the district, in-and-of itself is very, very competitive.”
Walter says the big group to watch is a contingent of 18 Republicans who need to win re-election in districts president Joe Biden carried.
“How can you convince voters who don’t like Donald Trump to come and vote for Biden, and then come back down and vote for you,” Walter said. “That is a very big challenge.”
The House elections will coincide with the presidential election next November.
Copyright 2023 Gray DC. All rights reserved.
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2023-07-06T21:21:21+00:00
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mysuncoast.com
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https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/06/how-supreme-court-decisions-will-help-determine-if-house-flips-blue-2024/
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After a multiyear investigation into Hunter Biden, prosecutors could be close to sharing any possible results with the public and whether the president’s son will face any criminal charges.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that people familiar with the matter said prosecutors are close to a decision on whether to charge Biden with possible tax-related and gun-related legal violations.
The news came after his legal team reportedly met with the Justice Department (DOJ) to discuss possible charges that Biden might be facing.
Biden first announced in December 2020 that the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware was investigating his tax affairs after being a regular target of attacks from former President Trump during the 2020 presidential election campaign.
Trump primarily targeted the now-president’s son over his membership on a board for a Ukrainian energy company while Joe Biden was serving as vice president during the Obama administration.
Hunter Biden has acknowledged that he had “poor judgment” in taking the role because it put his father in a position to be attacked, but he emphasized that he did not commit any wrongdoing.
Trump and his allies have called for Hunter Biden to face charges and accused the president of being involved in his son’s business affairs but have not presented evidence of that.
Trump’s push for the older and younger Biden to face charges led him to make a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019, in which he threatened to cut off aid if Ukrainian authorities did not launch an investigation. Trump was impeached by the House over the call but acquitted by the Senate.
Multiple reports indicate that Biden has been under investigation for his foreign business dealings, specifically income he received from the Ukrainian company and operations in China.
The Post reported in October that prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to charge Biden with tax crimes. They also reportedly had evidence of him falsifying paperwork for a gun purchase that he made in 2018.
David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware and a Trump appointee, would ultimately make the decision about whether to file charges.
President Biden said in response to the reports that enough evidence existed for Hunter to face charges that he has “great confidence in my son.”
“I love him, and he’s on the straight and narrow, and he has been for a couple years now. And I’m just so proud of him,” he said.
Biden has vowed to allow the DOJ to conduct its investigation without any outside interference, and the White House has repeatedly referred questions about the investigation to the DOJ.
But the Biden administration was accused of mishandling the investigation in recent weeks. An attorney for a possible whistleblower who is a supervisor for the Internal Revenue Service sent Congress a letter late last month that they have evidence contradicting sworn statements that a top appointee gave to Congress.
It alleges that the administration has allowed clear conflicts of interest to affect the investigation and notes instances of politics impacting decisions in the case.
The White House reiterated in response that the investigation would be handled independently by the DOJ and noted that Weiss was appointed by Trump.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed the FBI on Wednesday for a document that he says details an unspecified “alleged criminal scheme” involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who jointly sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, do not directly accuse Biden of participating in the scheme and describe it only in broad terms.
The White House rejected the idea, saying that congressional Republicans have for five years “been lobbing unfounded, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the President and his family without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests.”
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2023-05-04T18:31:38+00:00
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localsyr.com
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https://www.localsyr.com/hill-politics/the-hunter-biden-case-what-you-need-to-know/
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WASHINGTON — More evidence is emerging in the House’s Jan. 6 investigation that lends support to recent testimony that President Donald Trump wanted to join an angry mob that marched to the Capitol where they rioted, a committee member said Sunday.
“There will be way more information and stay tuned,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.
The committee has been intensifying its yearlong investigation into the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the committee’s vice chair, is making clear that criminal referrals to the Justice Department, including against Trump, could follow.
At least two more hearings are scheduled this month that aim to show how Trump illegally directed a violent mob toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, and then failed to take quick action to stop the attack once it began.
The committee also has been reviewing new documentary film footage of Trump’s final months in office, including interviews with Trump and members of his family.
Kinzinger, in a television interview, declined to disclose the new information he referred to and did not say who had provided it. He said many more details emerged after last week’s testimony from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and that nothing had changed the committee’s confidence in her credibility.
“There’s information I can’t say yet,” he said. “We certainly would say that Cassidy Hutchinson has testified under oath, we find her credible, and anybody that wants to cast disparagements on that, who were firsthand present, should also testify under oath and not through anonymous sources.”
In a separate interview, another committee member, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said: “We are following additional leads. I think those leads will lead to new testimony.”
In Hutchinson’s appearance before the committee last week, Hutchinson painted a picture of Trump as an angry, defiant president who was trying to let armed supporters avoid security screenings at a rally on the morning of Jan. 6 to protest his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
Legal experts have said Cassidy’s testimony is potentially problematic for Trump as federal prosecutors investigate potential criminal wrongdoing.
“There could be more than one criminal referral,” said Cheney in an interview that aired Sunday. She said the committee will decide later in the process whether to proceed.
Cassidy also recounted a conversation with Tony Ornato, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for operations, who, she testified, said Trump later grabbed at the steering wheel of the presidential SUV when the Secret Service refused to let him go to the Capitol after the rally.
That account was quickly disputed, however. Bobby Engel, the Secret Service agent who was driving Trump, and Ornato are willing to testify under oath that no agent was assaulted and Trump never lunged for the steering wheel, a person familiar with the matter said. The person would not discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In recent days, the committee has subpoenaed former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and has been seeking more information from Ornato and Engel, who were previously interviewed by investigators.
Committee members hope Cipollone will come forward.
“He clearly has information about concerns about criminal violations, concerns about the president going to the Capitol that day, concerns about the chief of staff having blood on his hands if they didn’t do more to stop that violent attack on the Capitol,” Schiff said. “It’s hard to imagine someone more at the center of things.”
The committee has also been working on setting up an interview with Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She was asked to speak to the committee after disclosures of her communications with Trump’s team in the run-up and day of the insurrection at the Capitol.
Kinzinger appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Schiff was on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and Cheney appeared on ABC’s “This Week.”
___
For full coverage of the Jan. 6 hearings, go to https://www.apnews.com/capitol-siege
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2022-07-04T01:33:09+00:00
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abqjournal.com
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https://www.abqjournal.com/2513623/stay-tuned-for-new-evidence-against-trump-in-july-hearings.html
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BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Paul Casey has withdrawn from the U.S. Open, the third straight major he has missed this year because of a back injury.
Casey last competed at the WGC-Match Play in March, playing two holes of his opening match when he conceded because of back spasms. He didn't play his next two matches, and he subsequently withdrew from the Masters and PGA Championship.
The U.S. Open starts June 16 at The Country Club.
Casey was replaced by Adam Hadwin, the first alternate from the Dallas qualifier last month.
A spokesman for Casey said he is hopeful his back will improve in time for him to play the British Open at St. Andrews next month.
___
More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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2022-06-09T01:42:11+00:00
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ourmidland.com
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https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/Paul-Casey-withdraws-from-US-Open-as-back-injury-17228893.php
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MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may need some help from the state Legislature if he proceeds with a highly anticipated bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
A “resign to run” law requires state officeholders to commit to leave their positions if they run for federal office. The measure, which has been on and off the books over the past several decades, was reinstated in 2018. But Republican leaders in the GOP-dominated Legislature have expressed openness to changing or rescinding the law when they gather again in March.
Florida House Speaker Paul Renner recently told reporters that it was a “great idea” to review the law. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo similarly said that changes to the resignation requirement would be a “good idea.”
“If an individual who is a Florida governor is running for president, I think he should be allowed to do it,” she said.
DeSantis is emerging as an early favorite of some Republican donors and activists who are seeking a conservative leader without the baggage associated with former President Donald Trump, who has already announced his 2024 White House bid. In an underwhelming year for Republicans in much of the U.S., many in the party are taking notice of DeSantis’ commanding reelection victory, including his strong performance in longtime Democratic strongholds around Miami.
The governor has dodged questions about his presidential aspirations, telling reporters last month to “chill out” about the subject. But during a debate before the November election, he pointedly declined to answer questions about whether he would serve out his full term. And he’s gained notice for his travel around the country on behalf of other GOP candidates and will release an autobiography next year.
Florida constitutional experts said there’s little ambiguity in the law, likely requiring some type of action by the Legislature.
“There is no ambiguity, no debate, no dispute,” said Bob Jarvis, a professor at Nova Southeastern University’s law school. “Under current law, DeSantis cannot run for president before first resigning as a governor.”
But given the Republican majorities in the Legislature, the law isn’t expected to pose a significant hurdle. The governor didn’t respond to a request for comment about whether he’s calling for a change.
There is precedent for changes to the Florida law to help clear a path for potential candidates for higher office. In 2007, the Republican-controlled Legislature changed the law to prevent problems for then-Gov. Charlie Crist, who was being considered as a possible running mate for Republican John McCain in 2008. Crist later became a Democrat and challenged DeSantis for reelection this year.
“You can make the argument that there is no reason to have this law. The voters all knew that there was a chance that (DeSantis) would not complete his term as governor and that he was at the very least considering a presidential run,” Jarvis said. “No voter could say I was duped into voting for someone.”
Only a handful of states have similar resign-to-run laws. Some say that while the law is clear about politicians having to resign if they seek federal office, it is vague about when they would need to do so. It states the resignation must be submitted at least 10 days before the first day of qualifying for the office.
“There is too much ambiguity,” said Jon McGowan, an attorney that specializes in business and state government law, adding that it is not clear if a candidate would be qualified when he runs for the Republican nomination or for the general election. McGowan says the motivation behind the law “is really about not having endless elections.”
“What we’ll see is they will create a new section so that candidates for president or vice president do not have to resign to run, and just if they win.”
A revision to the law is likely just one piece of a legislative agenda DeSantis would like to oversee next year as a launching pad to a presidential campaign. DeSantis calls his administration and election results a “blueprint” for Republican success.
Education and abortion bills are likely to be filed. Incoming Republican state legislative leaders have referred to a new law limiting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grade school that DeSantis championed, hinting that additional similar legislation could follow.
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2022-12-03T04:42:33+00:00
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pahomepage.com
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https://www.pahomepage.com/news/politics/ap-desantis-2024-prospects-prompt-fla-lawmakers-to-review-law/
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ATLANTA (AP) — A dinosaur exhibition linked to the Jurassic Park movie franchise has temporarily closed its Atlanta location after police say people broke in and caused more than $250,000 in damage.
Atlanta police say they responded Monday to a burglary call at the exhibition, which had just opened Friday at Pullman Yards, an event space east of downtown Atlanta.
The general manager told police that four people broke in around 9:30 p.m. Surveillance footage showed one person sitting atop of one of the animatronic dinosaurs while “ripping off the skin covering,” according to an incident report obtained by local news outlets.
A suspect also stole four custom-made dinosaur shirts valued at $6,000 each, the report said.
A security guard took a picture of an intruder at 6:30 a.m. Monday at a restaurant on the property. Atlanta police later identified and arrested 19-year-old Acauan Carvalho Van Deusen, charging him with second-degree burglary. It’s unclear if Van Deusen has a lawyer who could speak for him.
None of the other suspects have been publicly identified.
The publicist for the exhibition said organizers hope to reopen June 7, saying people who had bought tickets have been sent emails on how to rebook.
“We are excited to host everyone once the exhibition has reopened,” organizers said in a statement.
Everette Wadley told WANF-TV that the damage ruined a special occasion for her child.
“It was a little disappointing because it was supposed to be a surprise, but we are going to make the best of it,” Wadley said. “Can you imagine trying to tell an 8-year-old we’re not going to be able to see that today?”
Promoters earlier told WAGA-TV that Animax Designs of Nashville, Tennessee, took 18 months to design and build the animatronic dinosaurs included in exhibition, which draws on six Jurassic Park movies and an animated Netflix series.
Two other similar exhibitions are currently running near Toronto and in Cologne, Germany, part of a group that has been touring world cities since 2016.
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2023-05-31T10:15:05+00:00
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upmatters.com
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https://www.upmatters.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-dinosaur-exhibition-temporarily-closes-in-atlanta-after-intruders-cause-expensive-damage/
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NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros.’ “Black Adam” opened with an estimated $67 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing Dwayne Johnson his biggest box-office weekend as a leading man and launching the D.C. Comics character he spent a decade to bring to the big screen.
“Black Adam” was a $200-million bid to upset the power balance in a DC Extended Universe dominated by the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. The $67 million debut fell well shy of that stratosphere, even with the considerable draw of Johnson acting in his first superhero movie. Still, “Black Adam” managed the highest opening weekend since “Thor: Love and Thunder” debuted with $143 million in July.
“Black Adam,” which stars Johnson as an ancient Egyptian summoned to the modern day, was notably hobbled by poor reviews (40% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Moviegoers were kinder, giving the film a B+ CinemaScore. It collected $73 million internationally for a $140 million global haul.
“Black Adam” took a circuitous route to reach theaters. The character had originally been planned to launch as a villain in 2019’s “Shazam!” before executives pivoted to give Black Adam a standalone feature. The goofier “Shazam!,” which cost closer to $100 million to make, opened with $53.5 million in ticket sales and wound up an over-achieving success with $366 million worldwide.
The stakes were higher for “Black Adam,” though. While promoting the film, Johnson hasn’t been shy about his desire to follow up “Black Adam” with a showdown with Superman. But whether the receipts for “Black Adam” are enough to warrant that remains unclear. Under new leadership, Warner Bros. is overhauling its approach to DC Comics adaptations.
Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., celebrated the results as a personal best for Johnson outside of the “Fast & Furious” films, and a PG-13 film with broad-based appeal that audiences responded to better than critics. Still, it’s a time of transition for Warner Bros.’ reorganizing DC unit as the studio seeks more Marvel-sized successes. Next on tap is “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” in March.
“It’s all about making good movies. It’s all about finding the right scripts,” said Goldstein. “Our studio is definitely going through a major revamping of our production leadership and style and approach. I think that we’ll be able to crack this nut. We’re definitely focused in on doing that.”
“Ticket to Paradise,” the Bali-set romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, proved smart counterprogramming. The Universal Pictures release debuted with $16.3 million, well above recent sales for rom-coms, which have struggled in recent years at the box office. The film is already a hit abroad, where it’s been in release for the last month, accruing $80.2 million in ticket sales.
Earlier this month, Universal’s R-rated “Bros,” an LGBTQ milestone in the genre, debuted with a disappointing $4.8 million. “Ticket to Paradise” had a notable advantage in its two stars, and appealed particularly to older audiences; 64% of ticket buyers were 35 and up, the studio said.
“It became an event film for all audiences this weekend but especially for older audiences that can be difficult to get into theaters,” said Jim Orr, head of distribution for Universal. “We all know this is a demographic group that doesn’t exactly run out to see films opening weekend. That gives us great encouragement for the weeks and months ahead.”
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, noted it was the first weekend with a $65 million opener and more than $100 million in overall domestic ticket sales since July. That was owed largely to star power, he said, in the appeal of both “Ticket to Paradise” and “Black Adam” with Johnson.
“He was the engine that really drove this box office despite some headwinds in terms of the DC brand and this not being as known a character,” said Dergarabedian. “This is a very strong starting point for Dwayne Johnson in the mix of DC Comics. He’s like a box-office supercharger. Forty-percent Rotten Tomatoes, but people just want to see Dwayne Johnson on the big screen because he is bigger than life.”
Last week’s top film, “Halloween Ends,” dropped massively in its second weekend. The Universal horror sequel, which was simultaneously released on Peacock, declined 80% with $8 million. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures’ “Smile,” continued to defy the typical declines for horror releases. With $8.4 million in its fourth week of release, “Smile” came in third and boosted its overall domestic sales to $84.3 million.
As more acclaimed awards contenders land in theaters, Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin” started its run with one of the best per-theater averages of the year. The Martin McDonagh drama, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, opened with $181,000 in four theaters for a per-theater average of $45,250. For A24, Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio as a father and daughter on vacation, also debuted solidly in four theaters, with a $16,589 per-theater average.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Black Adam,” $67 million.
2. “Ticket to Paradise,” $16.3 million.
3. “Smile,” $8.4 million
4. “Halloween Ends,” $8 million.
5. “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” $4.2 million.
6. “The Woman King,” $1.9 million.
7. “Terrifier 2,” $1.9 million.
8. “Don’t Worry Darling,” $880,000.
9. “Amsterdam,” $811,000.
10. “Triangle of Sadness,” $600,000.
___
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
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2022-10-23T19:28:23+00:00
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kxnet.com
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https://www.kxnet.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-black-adam-with-dwayne-johnson-debuts-with-67m/
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NEW YORK (AP) — A New York grand jury investigating Donald Trump over a hush money payment to a porn star appears poised to complete its work soon as law enforcement officials make preparations for possible unrest in the event of an indictment.
Trump over the weekend claimed without any evidence that he would be arrested on Tuesday, with his representatives later saying he was citing media reports and leaks. There was no indication that prediction would come true, though the grand jury appeared to take an important step forward by hearing Monday from a witness favorable to Trump, presumably so prosecutors could ensure the panel had a chance to consider any testimony that could be remotely seen as exculpatory.
The next steps in a grand jury process shrouded in secrecy remained unclear, and it was uncertain if additional witnesses might be summoned. But a city mindful of the riot by Trump loyalists at the U.S. Capitol more than two years ago took steps to gird itself from any violence that could accompany the unprecedented prosecution of a former president, while fellow Republicans eyeing the 2024 presidential nomination sized up how an indictment might upend the race.
The testimony from Robert Costello, a lawyer with close ties to numerous key Trump aides, appeared to be a final opportunity for allies of the former president to steer the grand jury away from an indictment. He was invited by prosecutors to appear after saying that he had information to undercut the credibility of Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Trump who later turned against him and then became a key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation.
Costello had provided Cohen legal services several years ago after Cohen himself became entangled in the federal investigation into the hush money payments. In a news conference after his grand jury appearance, Costello told reporters that he had come forward because he did not believe Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes and served time in prison, could be trusted.
“If they want to go after Donald Trump and they have solid evidence, then so be it,” Costello said. “But Michael Cohen is far from solid evidence.”
Responding to Costello’s claims on MSNBC later Monday, Cohen said that Costello was never his lawyer and “he lacks any sense of veracity.”
There were no clear signs that Costello’s testimony had affected the course of the investigation. Cohen had been available for over two hours in case prosecutors wanted him to rebut Costello’s testimony but was told he was not needed, his attorney said Monday.
The testimony came two days after Trump said he expected to face criminal charges and urged supporters to protest his possible arrest. In a series of social media posts through the weekend, the Republican former president criticized the New York investigation, directing particularly hostile rhetoric toward Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat.
New York officials have been monitoring online chatter of threats of varying specificity, and even as portable metal barricades were dropped off to safeguard streets and sidewalks, there were no immediate signs that Trump’s calls for protests were being heeded.
Costello briefly acted as a legal adviser to Cohen after the FBI raided Cohen’s home and apartment in 2018. At the time, Cohen was being investigated for both tax evasion and for payments he helped orchestrate in 2016 to buy the silence of two women who claimed to have had sexual encounters with Trump.
For several months, it was unclear whether Cohen, a longtime lawyer and fixer for the Trump Organization who once boasted that he would “take a bullet” for his boss, would remain loyal to the president.
Cohen ultimately decided to plead guilty in connection with the payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal, which he said were directed by Trump. Since then, he has been a vociferous Trump critic, testifying before Congress and then to the Manhattan grand jury.
Trump, who has denied having sex with either woman, has branded Cohen a liar. Costello broke with Cohen before he pleaded guilty, after it became clear he was no longer in Trump’s camp.
In the years since, Costello, a veteran New York attorney, has represented Trump allies including his former political strategist Steve Bannon and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Even as the New York investigation pushes toward conclusion, Trump faces criminal probes in Atlanta and Washington that, taken together, pose significant legal peril and carry the prospect of upending a Republican presidential race in which Trump remains a leading contender. Some of his likely opponents have tried to strike a balance between condemning a potential prosecution as politically motivated while avoiding condoning the conduct at issue.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an expected GOP presidential candidate, criticized the investigation but also threw one of his first jabs at the former president in a move likely to intensify their simmering political rivalry.
“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some kind of alleged affair,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City. “I can’t speak to that.”
But, he added, “what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office. And I think that’s fundamentally wrong.”
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2023-03-21T12:56:44+00:00
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pix11.com
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https://pix11.com/news/us-world-news/ny-grand-jury-appears-near-end-of-its-work-in-trump-case/
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CUPERTINO, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Glider AI, a Skill Intelligence Platform, closed a total of $10M in Series A funding from Primera Capital and other industry leaders. Recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) as the most innovative HR technology, the company will use the funds to continue its expansion in contingent programs and permanent hiring, furthering the development of proprietary technology, and growing its global team.
Glider AI serves a customer base of global enterprises and leading staffing firms, supporting their transformation from outdated credentials-first recruiting into remote-centric, skills-based hiring. Founded in 2020 by Satish Kumar, previous COO and co-founder of Edulastic (acquired by Sumeru Equity Partners), Kumar started Glider AI to make hiring fair and opportunity accessible. Notably, diversity hiring (DE&I) and supporting candidates with accommodation needs are central to the platform.
Arun Sarin, former CEO of Vodafone and Glider AI advisor and investor, shares, "We always say people are your competitive advantage; Glider AI makes it a reality by evaluating talent skill at scale without bias, ensuring employees you have are the best and most deserving of the opportunity."
Hiring skilled talent remains competitive despite economic uncertainty and is a top priority for Glider AI customers. Underscoring this customer notion and the latest BLS data, Ori Sasson, General Partner of Primera Capital, shares, "Demand for quality talent remains high, and I don't think this will ever change. Talent quality is a dynamic that makes Glider AI critical whether the economy is slow or growing. Unequivocally, Glider is the best solution available for companies to build their dream team. It removes the clutter in hiring decisions, and top candidates win, always!"
Glider AI customers benefit from the industry's most comprehensive recruiting solution, bringing skill intelligence across multiple modalities and channels, from screening to live interviews, over the web or phone, through WhatsApp or SMS. Beyond skill validation, sophisticated AI-proctoring confirms candidate identity across all hiring stages while still delivering an exceptional candidate experience. Additionally, customers can configure Glider AI to meet their quality benchmark requirements, customize assessments to match their technology stack or functional roles, and throttle the level of AI-proctoring and anti-plagiarism controls.
Boasting over 250,000 questions, 35+ interactive question types, and 500+ competencies for technology and non-tech functional roles, the Glider AI solution extends beyond hiring with the ability to identify employee skill gaps, supporting reskilling and upskilling initiatives. The most common use case of Glider AI is skill evaluation with hands-on tasks that replicate real-world scenarios allowing candidates to showcase their skills at a deeper level.
Kumar shares, "Companies realize employee skills are central to their business strategy, not just hiring. The need to validate candidate skill and integrity is more critical than ever in a remote-friendly and hybrid world. Glider AI's Skill Intelligence Platform serves the market need to confirm job readiness and employee potential. I'm grateful to our customers and investors for believing in Glider AI's mission."
About Glider AI
Glider AI, a Skill Intelligence Platform, provides hiring solutions, including screening, assessments, coding/video interviews, and upskilling software to scale hiring quality talent for the Enterprise, Staffing Firms, and MSPs.
Global brands like Intuit, PwC, Applied Materials, Carmax, and FINRA trust Glider to validate candidate quality and fit across any role in any industry. On average, customers see a 3x placement rate, a 50% reduction in time-to-fill, and a 67% improved candidate pipeline quality.
For more information, visit Glider AI.
CONTACT: Joseph Cole, joseph.cole@glider.ai
View original content:
SOURCE Glider
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2023-03-07T16:15:41+00:00
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wagmtv.com
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https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2023/03/07/glider-ai-secures-10m-series-funding-help-enterprises-shift-skills-based-hiring-guarantee-candidate-fit/
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Mtima wanu usavutike ngati nthawi yakutherani, Indomie Instant Noodles ndiye yankho lanu! #IndomieNoodles #Noodles #InstantNoodles #Nthawi #Hadam …
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2022-07-28T23:05:19+00:00
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mw
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https://www.mw/h-adam-malawis-largest-online-directory-national-search-engine-4/
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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Health officials say the federal government is doing what it can to control the spread of monkeypox throughout the U.S.
U.S health officials told Senators, Wednesday, the U.S seems to be containing the world’s largest monkeypox outbreak.
“Over 22,000 cases and one confirmed death in the United States,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
Walensky says officials are still responding aggressively to the spread of the disease.
“[We will] use our entire toolkit, including vaccination, testing and education about risk to informed behavior change,” Walensky said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says globally, monkeypox is still mostly affecting men who have sex with men.
“However, anyone exposed to the circulating virus can get infected with monkeypox regardless of their age, gender identity, or sexual orientation,” Fauci said.
Both Democrats and Republicans say they want to make sure the federal government is doing everything to help those at risk.
“How are you working with state and local partners to make sure we reach everyone who’s at risk for infection?” Sen. Bob Casey (D/PA) asked.
“We need to do more and more outreach. We learned that we need trusted messengers, we need community-based organizations,” Walensky said.
However, Sen. Richard Burr (R/N.C.) says he’s disappointed that the administration has held back vaccines, in case of a smallpox outbreak.
“We know that we have 13 to 15 million gay men in this country,” Burr said. “You’ve got a population that’s a little bit questioning whether you’re doing everything to help them.”
CDC officials say they will continue outreach to communities at risk and educate medical professionals on monkeypox, to spread awareness.
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2022-09-14T23:15:14+00:00
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upmatters.com
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https://www.upmatters.com/news/washington-dc/health-officials-give-update-on-federal-response-to-monkeypox/
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Workforce special report examines impacts of evolving work dynamics on employers, employees and physical workplaces in the middle market
CHICAGO, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Three years after the start of the pandemic, remote work is becoming a permanent fixture among American middle market businesses, according to the RSM US Middle Market Business Index (MMBI) Workforce Special Report, released today by RSM US LLP ("RSM") in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The report shares findings from a special set of questions about the workplace and hiring that were included in RSM's quarterly MMBI survey, and the results reflect a dramatic shift in the way midsize businesses operate, affecting everything from operations to recruitment and culture.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, 33% of middle market executives reported having employees working remotely as a result of COVID-19 who were not doing so before the pandemic. This figure is only slightly below the 36% who responded similarly to the same question a year earlier, when COVID-19 infections were higher. Of those businesses that have employees working remotely, nearly three quarters (74%) allow for hybrid work, while more than half (54%) provide an option to work off site all the time.
"American workers experienced profound shocks during the pandemic, and that altered their preferences and behavior," said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist with RSM US LLP. "As a result, firms are choosing to accommodate employees in order to retain their workers and recruit new ones. It's clear that if middle market firms want to remain competitive, they will have to make concessions and adjustments that only five years ago would have been hard to imagine."
Firms Adapting to Remote Work Opportunities and Challenges Amid Competitive Labor Market
In a tight labor market with job openings near all-time highs, employers are having to accommodate workers' demands for flexibility, which the survey found has not been particularly damaging to firms. In fact, when asked about the impact that remote or hybrid work is having on their business's culture, 39% of executives said that it had a positive impact. That view was especially pronounced among larger middle market firms ($50 million to $1 billion in annual revenue), with 55% of executives citing a positive outcome on the firm's culture. Smaller firms ($10 million to $50 million in annual revenue), by contrast, have a dimmer view with only 28% reporting remote work had a positive impact on culture.
The survey also found that larger middle market companies have been able to better handle the transition to remote and hybrid work, from both a technological and human resources standpoint. In one example, nearly half (48%) of the respondents said they were hosting remote networking events or considering it. When segmented by firm size, this figure rose to 53% for larger companies and declined to 46% for smaller middle market businesses. Additionally, when asked if their companies have the technology and tools for online mentoring, 66% percent of larger firms said they did, compared to 41% of smaller middle market firms.
Remote work trends are evolving as hiring, even with the prospect of a possible recession, remains robust. Just more than half of the executives surveyed (51%) said their hiring needs over the next year would be significantly to moderately higher. While that figure has moderated compared to a year earlier, it remains high.
More than half (52%) of the survey respondents said they are sourcing talent for work that can be done remotely from a broader geographical area than before COVID-19. This is up from the 49% of executives who responded similarly to the same question a year earlier.
"In a labor market with millions of open jobs, we have seen middle market businesses ramping up incentives to attract and retain talent including flexibility in work hours, remote work options, education and training, childcare benefits, and more," said Jenna Shrove, Senior Director of Strategic Advocacy and Advisor to the Chief Policy Officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "There are many innovative options businesses can consider to keep up with changing workforce patterns and remain competitive."
The survey also revealed challenges that firms are facing as they adapt to changing workforce dynamics. More than two-thirds (69%) of middle market firms that currently have employees working outside the office said that remote and hybrid work had impeded employee training and development, up from 64% a year ago. Additionally, 66% of middle market firms that currently have employees working remotely said that remote work has created challenges for onboarding or orienting new employees.
Impact of Remote Work on Middle Market Employees
To gain the perspective of employees, RSM conducted an online survey in the fall of 2022 of more than 4,000 workers in the United States and Canada, split between middle market and large organizations. The survey—which is separate from the MMBI poll of senior executives—found that U.S. middle market employees are significantly more likely than those working at larger organizations to desire more flexibility to set their own hours and schedule (62% vs. 56%).
"A candidate's decision to work at a firm is about much more than just money. Pay and equity are important, of course, but so are having a good mentor, fulfilling career goals, and having the flexibility to maintain a balance with life outside of work," said Anne Bushman, partner and head of the Washington national tax compensation and benefits group at RSM US. "Employees care a lot about flexibility, and firms should consider how they communicate its value as part of the compensation package."
In the MMBI survey, when asked if remote work has had a negative impact on their employees' mental health, 64% of executives said that it was anywhere from a minor to a major issue, up from 55% a year ago. The impact was more pronounced in the smaller end of the middle market, with 65% now reporting that mental health was an issue, compared to 42% a year ago.
A related challenge was a feeling of isolation among workers. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of middle market executives reported that workers were feeling isolated in the MMBI survey, up from 68% a year ago.
Firms Still Addressing How to Best Use Physical Workplaces
Just one quarter of middle market firms in the MMBI survey said they were planning to expand their physical footprint, either significantly or somewhat, over the next two years. Larger, more well-resourced companies at the upper end of the middle market took the lead, with 35% planning to increase their physical offices significantly or somewhat for employees, compared to just 17% of smaller middle market companies.
Smaller firms have become increasingly aware of the challenges of their physical space when accommodating their workers. When asked if their physical work location will pose challenges to staffing plans over the next year, 71% said they have some level of concern, compared to the 46% who gave a similar response a year earlier. For the middle market as a whole, the figure stood at 78%, up from 63% a year ago. In the larger end of the middle market, the challenge of physical space remains high, with 88% of firms citing some degree of challenge compared to 84% a year earlier.
The survey data that informs the RSM US Middle Market Business Index was gathered from 408 respondents between October 3 and October 21, 2022.
About the RSM US Middle Market Business Index
RSM US LLP and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have partnered to present the RSM US Middle Market Business Index (MMBI). It is based on research of middle market firms conducted by Harris Poll, which began in the first quarter of 2015. The survey is conducted four times a year, in the first month of each quarter: January, April, July and October. The survey panel consists of approximately 1,500 middle market executives and is designed to accurately reflect conditions in the middle market.
Built in collaboration with Moody's Analytics, the MMBI is borne out of the subset of questions in the survey that asks respondents to report the change in a variety of indicators. Respondents are asked a total of 20 questions patterned after those in other qualitative business surveys, such as those from the Institute of Supply Management and National Federation of Independent Businesses.
The 20 questions relate to changes in various measures of their business, such as revenues, profits, capital expenditures, hiring, employee compensation, prices paid, prices received and inventories. There are also questions that pertain to the economy and outlook, as well as to credit availability and borrowing. For 10 of the questions, respondents are asked to report the change from the previous quarter; for the other 10 they are asked to state the likely direction of these same indicators six months ahead.
The responses to each question are reported as diffusion indexes. The MMBI is a composite index computed as an equal weighted sum of the diffusion indexes for 10 survey questions plus 100 to keep the MMBI from becoming negative. A reading above 100 for the MMBI indicates that the middle market is generally expanding; below 100 indicates that it is generally contracting. The distance from 100 is indicative of the strength of the expansion or contraction.
About The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business organization representing companies of all sizes across every sector of the economy. Members range from the small businesses and local chambers of commerce that line the Main Streets of America to leading industry associations and large corporations.
They all share one thing: They count on the U.S. Chamber to be their voice in Washington, across the country, and around the world. For more than 100 years, we have advocated for pro-business policies that help businesses create jobs and grow our economy.
About RSM US LLP
RSM is the leading provider of professional services to the middle market. The clients we serve are the engine of global commerce and economic growth, and we are focused on developing leading professionals and services to meet their evolving needs in today's ever-changing business landscape. Our purpose is to instill confidence in a world of change, empowering our clients and people to realize their full potential.
RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent assurance, tax and consulting firms with 57,000 people across 120 countries. For more information, visit rsmus.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and/or connect with us on LinkedIn.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE RSM US LLP
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2023-01-30T16:20:47+00:00
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live5news.com
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https://www.live5news.com/prnewswire/2023/01/30/rsm-survey-reveals-pandemic-driven-work-changes-are-becoming-permanent-competition-talent-continues/
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President Biden to talk crime, gun control in swing state Pennsylvania
President Joe Biden is ready to talk up his crime prevention plans during a visit to Pennsylvania, where Democrats and Republicans are looking for ways to gain leverage on the issue ahead of November's midterm elections.
The White House said Biden will use his Tuesday visit to call out Republicans for opposing his proposal to restore a ban on assault-style weapons.
Both parties worked together in a rare effort to pass bipartisan gun safety legislation earlier this year after massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, but Biden has repeatedly said more needs to be done.
As a U.S. senator, Biden played a leading role in temporarily banning assault-style weapons, including firearms similar to the AR-15 that have exploded in popularity in recent years, and he wants to put the law back into place.
“A majority of Americans support this ... the NRA opposes it," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. "So we're going to hear from the president about the importance of making sure we protect our communities.”
Biden's speech at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre comes as Democrats try to blunt Republican efforts to use concern about crime to their advantage in the midterms.
It's a particularly fraught issue in Pennsylvania, a key swing state where a U.S. Senate seat and the governor's office are up for grabs.
The Republican candidate for governor, Doug Mastriano, accuses Democrat Josh Shapiro of being soft on crime as the state’s twice-elected attorney general, saying at one recent event that crime has gone up on his opponent's watch and that Shapiro “stands aside” as homicides rise across Pennsylvania.
Homicides have been increasing in Pennsylvania, but overall crime seems to have fallen over the last year, according to state statistics.
As attorney general since 2017, Shapiro has toured the state discussing the need to crack down on gun trafficking and ghost guns, and to recruit more police officers. Last December, he said that state agents and Philadelphia police officers working together had reduced the number of shootings in areas that were confronting gun violence related to drug trafficking.
Shapiro plans to attend Tuesday's event with Biden.
The Republican U.S. Senate nominee, heart surgeon turned television celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, has tried to portray the Democratic candidate, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, as extreme and reckless on crime policy.
Fetterman has endorsed recommendations that more geriatric and rehabilitated prisoners can be released from state prisons without harming public safety. Oz and Republicans have distorted that into the claim that Fetterman wants to release “dangerous criminals” from prisons or that he’s in favor of “emptying prisons.”
Fetterman does not plan to be in Wilkes-Barre with Biden, but he's expected to march in Pittsburgh's Labor Day parade when the president visits Monday. Biden also will be in Pennsylvania on Thursday for a prime-time speech that the White House said will address “the continued battle for the soul of the nation” and defending democracy.
It's unclear whether crime will end up as a pivotal issue in November.
Only 11% of U.S. adults named crime or violence as one of the top five issues they consider most important for the government to work on in the next year, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted in June. That's unchanged since December, and it's well below the percentage naming many of the other top issues for Americans.
Biden has tried to balance his approach to crime by acknowledging voters' fears and praising law enforcement, but also urging more accountability for officers.
He's rejected the activist slogan “defund the police," which Republicans have used as a cudgel against Democrats in general, by calling for more money for cops.
Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden will speak in Wilkes-Barre about the “simple basic notion that when it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer isn’t to defund the police, but to fund the police.”
Biden also plans to talk about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the role that law enforcement played in defending Congress. He previously focused on that issue in a virtual address to the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives on July 25.
“The police were heroes that day," he said. "Donald Trump lacked the courage to act. The brave women and men in blue all across this nation should never forget that. You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-cop.”
Biden's trip to Wilkes-Barre was originally scheduled for July 21 but was cancelled when the president contracted COVID-19 and went into isolation while he was contagious.
Biden has laid out a $37 billion plan for addressing crime and boosting law enforcement resources. He wants Congress to spend $13 billion to help communities hire and train 100,000 police officers over five years. Another $3 billion would go to clearing court backlogs and resolving cases involving murders and guns, and $5 billion more would go to support programs that could help stop violence before it occurs.
In addition, Biden is looking for $15 billion to provide grants to initiatives for preventing violent crime or creating public health responses to nonviolent incidents.
___
Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pa. Associated Press writer Emily Swanson contributed to this report.
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2022-08-30T14:24:50+00:00
|
wisn.com
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https://www.wisn.com/article/president-biden-in-pennsylvania-on-crime-gun-control/41024756
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AL KHOR, Qatar (AP) — As captain, Aliou Cisse led Senegal to victory over the defending World Cup champions and all the way to the quarterfinals, matching Africa's best run in its first appearance at the tournament.
As coach, Cisse is finding the World Cup much, much tougher.
The current African champions lost to England 3-0 on Sunday in a surprisingly lopsided result and were knocked out in the last 16.
Senegal had arrived with high hopes of at least matching that quarterfinal run of two decades ago, even without injured forward Sadio Mane, but was stopped by a ruthless performance from England.
“We just weren’t as good as we should have been,” Cisse said. “But I am not trying to make excuses. We have worked for years to be the best African side but now we were playing a team in the top five in the world and I think you saw the difference.”
Cisse has been a pivotal figure for Senegal at every one of the nation's three appearances at the World Cup — captain in 2002, coach in 2018 and this year.
That team in 2002 beat defending champion France in the tournament's opening game in a result still seen as one of the World Cup's biggest upsets. Senegal went on to become only the second African team after Cameroon in 1990 to make the last eight.
But Cisse's return as coach of Senegal resulted in his first bitter experience of the World Cup in 2018, when the team was eliminated in the group stage on a fair play rule because it had picked up more yellow cards than Japan.
In Qatar, there was a pre-tournament belief that Africa’s top-ranked team would be a dangerous opponent for anyone considering the depth of the squad, and because it finally fulfilled its promise by winning its first African Cup of Nations title in February.
The incident that might have had the most impact on Senegal’s hopes came two weeks before the World Cup started, when Mane slipped to the ground in a German league game with an injury to his right leg. It ruled Senegal’s all-time leading scorer and the driving force behind its recent success out of the World Cup, forcing Cisse to change much of his game plan with hardly any time.
Clearly hampered by the absence of Mane’s attacking threat up front, and also without key midfielders Idrissa Gueye (suspended) and Cheikhou Kouyate (injured), Senegal’s challenge faded away against England.
Senegal missed Mane “greatly,” Cisse said, but he also admitted his defense struggled badly against England and gave an honest assessment of how far his team still had to go to compete with the best in the world.
“I wasn’t expecting to let in three goals,” he said. “We’re at the World Cup here so you face the best teams in the world. One of the big five at world level.
"You pay for any mistake you make and any mistake we made tonight we paid for. Senegal has to keep working.”
Senegal may also have to finally face up to going to a World Cup without Cisse. It's never happened before.
But while Cisse has extended his coaching contract to 2024, when Senegal will defend its African Cup title, he hasn’t committed to the 2026 World Cup. He said Sunday he wasn't sure how long he'd stay now.
“We’ve just lost a game and been knocked out the tournament," Cisse said, "and I need to draw the lessons and then we’ll see.”
___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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2022-12-05T01:30:01+00:00
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ourmidland.com
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https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/For-Cisse-World-Cup-as-coach-much-harder-than-as-17631054.php
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LONDON (AP) — A man who says Kevin Spacey subjected him to a torrent of verbal abuse and grabbed his crotch denied claims by the Hollywood star’s lawyer on Thursday that he had concocted the assault allegations, saying he’d kept the “horrific” incident bottled up for years.
The man is one of four who say the two-time Academy Award winner assaulted them in Britain between 2001 and 2013. For much of that time, Spacey was artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre in London.
Spacey, 63, is standing trial in a London court on 12 charges, which include sexual assault, indecent assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. He denies all the allegations, and his lawyer has suggested the accusers are looking for payouts from Spacey.
The third alleged victim to testify said that Spacey, smelling strongly of alcohol, peppered him with a “machine-gun” torrent of crude verbal abuse before grabbing him by the crotch “ like a cobra ” backstage at a London theater during a charity event in the early 2000s.
During cross-examination, Spacey’s attorney, Patrick Gibbs, alleged that many parts of the accuser’s story were “completely untrue.”
“With the greatest respect, you weren’t there and I was,” replied the man, who can’t be identified under British law and gave evidence out of sight of members of the public. “It was horrific. And I have never had anyone speak to me in that way, ever.”
He said the incident left him feeling “degraded” and “like I was worthless.”
The man denied the lawyer’s suggestion that he had sought to “monetize” his meeting with Spacey.
Pressed on why he didn’t speak out at the time, the accuser said that “Mr. Spacey was a shining light of the West End” and he feared that “if I say anything, I will be the problem.”
“It was such a horrible thing. I stored it away in a box in my mind and tried not to think about it,” he said.
The alleged victim is the third man to say Spacey aggressively grabbed his crotch, and prosecutors have described the actor as a predatory “sexual bully.”
The jury of nine men and three women is scheduled to hear from a fourth accuser next week. The trial began last week at London’s Southwark Crown Court and is expected to last for almost a month.
Spacey, who is free on unconditional bail, could face a prison sentence if he’s convicted.
One of Hollywood’s biggest names until sexual misconduct allegations derailed his career, Spacey won a best supporting actor Academy Award for the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie “American Beauty.” He ran London’s Old Vic between 2004 and 2015.
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2023-07-07T10:37:53+00:00
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valleycentral.com
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https://www.valleycentral.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/ap-kevin-spaceys-accuser-denies-the-defense-claim-that-he-made-up-sex-assault-says-it-was-horrific/
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EPA proposal takes on health risks near US chemical plants
By MICHAEL PHILLIS
Associated Press
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed new rules for monitoring and limiting harmful emissions from chemical plants. The agency said it would significantly reduce cancer risk for residents who live near these facilities. The proposal would affect about 200 chemical plants that would have to monitor emissions at their fence line and make fixes if their emissions are too high. EPA Administrator Michael Regan made the announcement in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, in a majority-Black community that is home to a synthetic rubber plant that emits chloroprene, one of the compounds targeted in the proposal.
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2023-04-06T21:00:15+00:00
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localnews8.com
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https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national/2023/04/06/epa-proposes-limiting-chemical-plant-pollution/
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Family finds bear hibernating under deck
PLAINVILLE, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) - We know this is the time of year that bears hibernate, but imagine finding one camping out right in your own backyard.
A family in Plainville, Connecticut, discovered a black bear taking refuge under their deck.
The bear has been there for several weeks. The family is following guidance from state environmental officials, and he’s welcome to stay for a while.
It was a walk outside that turned into a crazy encounter about two weeks ago.
“My dog started growling,” Vincent Dashukewich said. “That’s when my girlfriend got scared and ran to the house, and I turned my head and saw the bear, and we were staring right at each other. It’s pretty crazy.”
Dashukewich said the bear hadn’t done much but lounge around so far.
“He’s massive, yeah, but he’s super chill,” he said.
His family contacted the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
“They said to just leave him alone, let him be as long as he’s not creating a disturbance or bothering anybody,” Dashukewich said.
Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist with DEEP, said that finding a bear on your property is a common occurrence in Connecticut.
“We get about 15 to 20 calls a year about bears denning under decks and porches,” he said.
Hawley said there are measures you can take in this situation.
“The most important thing is to just leave it alone, so not go over and continuously be looking underneath, stay out of the area, and keep your dogs and kids away from the area,” Hawley said. “We encourage people to call us if they spot a bear underneath their deck. It could be a bear we’re looking for.”
Meanwhile, Dashukewich said it’s barely been an issue, and they’ve named the bear Marty.
“The reach has been crazy,” Dashukewich said. “The first TikTok videos blew up. That’s when I created the socials for Marty.”
The family has made Marty his own account on TikTok and Instagram under the username “marty.the.bear.”
They want to make his stay as comfortable as possible.
“They’re essentially sleeping, so you can think of it as a five-month-long nap,” said Dashukewich. “My parents are a little worried. They don’t want any problems happening, especially with the dog, so we’re just going to let him be and keep to himself.”
DEEP officials said Marty could be there until early March or longer.
Copyright 2023 WFSB via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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2023-01-10T02:36:07+00:00
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wafb.com
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https://www.wafb.com/2023/01/10/family-finds-bear-hibernating-under-deck/
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts zipped his passes. Lane Johnson jumped in for light drills. The Eagles are getting healthy for the postseason — and filling the All-Pro team — just at the right time.
There’s no need to rush any of the banged-up Birds back at full speed, because Philadelphia earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC and an opening-weekend bye. So they were eased into practice: Hurts tested his sprained right shoulder Friday after he skipped throwing drills a day earlier, and Johnson practiced for the first time since he suffered a torn adductor in a Dec. 24 loss at Dallas.
All the Eagles (14-3) can do this weekend is watch and wait to see who they’ll play at Lincoln Financial Field the weekend of Jan. 21-22 against the lowest remaining seed out of Tampa Bay, Dallas, New York or Seattle .
But even with a week off, the Eagles can celebrate. Center Jason Kelce earned first-team All-Pro honors for the fifth time in his career and Johnson joined him on the squad. Hurts, wide receiver A.J. Brown, edge rusher Haason Reddick and cornerback James Bradberry earned All-Pro second team honors.
Reddick, who signed a free-agent deal in March, was also named to the Pro Bowl team and won NFC defensive player of the month honors for December. A New Jersey native and Temple standout, Reddick had 16 sacks to lead an Eagles defensive that had 70 overall.
“So many negative narratives put out my first couple of years,” Reddick said. “All I’ve been doing is working hard trying to change that, change my path and be the best NFL player I can be. Seeing things like this, I’m just taking these victories as they come and I’m going to continue to do my best to build on these things.”
The only starter who might miss a playoff game is cornerback Avonte Maddox (toe), who has not played since he was hurt Dec. 24 against Dallas.
Johnson’s return would be a major boost for an offensive line that has a greater need to protect Hurts. The second-time All-Pro said the rest helped and that he’d try for an “intense” practice next Thursday before the playoff game.
“Going out there and not feeling a lot of pain was good,” Johnson said. “It’s encouraging for me. It gives me a lot more confidence going into next week.”
The Eagles also were encouraged by Hurts resuming throwing. The 24-year-old, who is 17-1 in his last 18 regular-season starts, finished with 3,701 yards passing and 22 touchdowns along with 760 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in his second season as a starter.
The Eagles started Hurts in the finale after losing two straight games without him; a third loss could have cost them the NFC East title, the top seed in the conference and the bye.
“I think the whole world knows I’m dealing with something,” Hurts said. “I think the whole point of that game was coming back and getting done what we need to get done and obviously having that time to rest. So here it is.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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2023-01-13T21:45:30+00:00
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pix11.com
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https://pix11.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-hurts-resumes-throwing-johnson-returns-for-banged-up-eagles/
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CHICAGO (AP) — Doug Knight's family has owned Springfield amusement park Knight's Action Park since 1930, himself for 43 of those years.
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The pandemic was a bear — Knight fought to keep his doors open, and when they closed for COVID-19, he pushed to reopen as soon as possible. Inflation, too, has been an obstacle. From inflatable inner tubes to chlorine for the pools, prices have risen for “everything we buy," and now a new Illinois law represents “another bump on the road” for business owners, he says.
On Monday, Illinois became one of three U.S. states to mandate paid time off “for any reason,” up to 40 hours per year for full-time employees. Small business owners in Illinois say they know the importance of taking care of their workers, but some view the paid leave requirement as a government-imposed burden.
“When you hit the big bump and go off the cliff, what does that do for ya?” Knight said.
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The legislation takes effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Employees will accrue one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to 40 hours total, and can start using the time once they've worked for 90 days.
Knight and his brother, a co-owner, mainly employ seasonal employees not covered by the measure, but they will have to provide paid leave for 10 year-round workers. The veteran business owner said he isn’t worried and will juggle whatever comes next, though consumers will ultimately pay the difference.
But proponents argue the policy supports both business owners and workers, and that guaranteeing paid leave will foster a healthier, more productive workforce.
“When folks have the kind of paid time off they need, they’re able to stay home when they’re sick,” said Molly Weston Williamson, who tracks paid leave policy at the research and advocacy group Center for American Progress.
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For business owners concerned that the law will cause added strain amid difficult economic conditions, Williamson pointed out that Chicago and Cook County have had similar ordinances in place since 2017, and fears of devastating economic consequences never panned out.
In fact, “our economy can’t afford not to provide these benefits,” Williamson said. “We can’t afford to pay for folks who are losing their job. We can’t afford to pay for folks who are getting sicker because they’re not getting the care they need. We can’t afford the impacts on our health care system."
Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said at Monday's bill signing that the law in particular will help low-wage workers, who are those less likely to have paid time off and who are disproportionately Black, Latino, and women.
“Thanks to this measure, workers have the peace of mind that they can take care of themselves today without worrying about the consequences tomorrow,” Gordon-Booth said.
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Christell Frausto, a co-owner of TequilaRia Wine and Spirits in Peoria, said she sees paid leave as “an investment" and hopes other business owners will too.
Frausto, 38, said she already accommodates employees needing flexibility for emergencies, illness or personal events. She opened the boutique-style store focused on specialty products including women-owned brands and organic, gluten-free or low-calorie options two years ago.
The pandemic was a clear sign that prioritizing workers is a necessary strategy for business owners, said Frausto, who hopes the lead-up to the law taking effect will give them time to budget and prepare.
“They’re part of my team,” she said of her employees. “My interest is to take care of them just as much as my customers. I have to make sure they have a balance in life and work.”
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For Sandy and Dave Schoenborn, a couple who own the Lincoln Theatre in Belleville, Illinois, the state mandate is a major concern. “I'm pretty worried,” Sandy Schoeborn said. “Unless business gets better, it's gonna be a strain.”
Paid leave is something employees should earn, not be entitled to, she said. “I can’t say no. If if I have a big event coming up and everybody decides to take off, I’m in a world of hurt.”
Knight, the Springfield amusement park owner, said he does his best to take care of his employees. “If they have a reason, they can take off a day" without pay, he said.
“Car broke down, mom's sick, gotta take the dog to the vet... they're all important to the staff. But you can't close your business because everybody wants to take off cause there's a concert,” he said.
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The pandemic, inflation, utility prices — “it just all seems to be piling up," and mandatory paid leave is now another hurdle for business owners.
“It just drives the cost up, drives the prices up, and the consumer pays the bill,” Knight said. ____
Savage is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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2023-03-14T23:28:19+00:00
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seattlepi.com
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https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/mandatory-paid-time-off-a-strain-for-illinois-17839605.php
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US settles with Mexican man arrested despite DACA status
SEATTLE (AP) — A Mexican man who was arrested by U.S. immigration agents in 2017 despite his participation in a program designed to protect those brought to the U.S. illegally as children will be allowed to remain in the country for at least the next four years under a settlement with the Justice Department.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle announced the agreement Wednesday with Daniel Ramirez Medina, 29. It did not grant him any money — he was seeking $450,000 for false arrest and false imprisonment — but it allows him a chance to obtain lawful status in the U.S.
Immigration agents arrested Ramirez on Feb. 10, 2017, at a suburban Seattle apartment complex where they had gone to arrest his father, a previously deported felon. His 46-day detention raised questions about the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in the early days of former President Donald Trump’s administration, a period highlighted by Trump’s travel ban targeted at primarily Muslim nations.
“This settlement essentially gives Mr. Ramirez Medina a clean slate as he works to obtain legal status in the United States,” Seattle U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said in a news release. “I am pleased that this settlement involves no monetary payment and yet goes to the core of what Mr. Ramirez Medina wants: a fair chance to obtain legal status in the U.S.”
Luis Cortes Romero, an attorney for Ramirez, said his client was “thrilled and relieved that he can stay in the U.S. after the government fought so hard to deport him.”
Ramirez has been living in Des Moines, a south Seattle suburb, with his 8-year-old son, and he recently married a U.S. citizen. He has been working nights as a street-sweeper for parking lots to allow him to spend time with his boy during the days, Cortes said.
The future of the DACA program remains in doubt. It was created by then-President Barack Obama’s administration in 2012 as a way to allow young, law-abiding immigrants to stay and work in the only country they had ever really known.
Trump tried to end the program. But in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that he did so improperly by failing to follow federal procedures, allowing it to stay in place.
Since then, a federal judge in Texas has ruled it illegal, President Joe Biden’s administration has revised it in hopes of helping it pass legal muster, and in October, a federal appeals court sent it back to the Texas judge for another look. It’s widely expected to land in the Supreme Court again.
The program remains intact for the approximately 600,000 people already enrolled, but new applications are barred.
Texas and eight other Republican-leaning states have led the legal fight against DACA, saying they incur hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally. They also argued that the White House overstepped its authority by granting immigration benefits that are for Congress to decide.
Ramirez came to the U.S. at age 7. Immigration agents claimed that when they went to arrest his father, Ramirez acknowledged affiliating with gangs — which they cited as grounds to revoke his participation in DACA and to deport him.
Ramirez adamantly denied any gang ties or making any such admission. Ramirez has no criminal record and twice passed background checks to participate in the program.
Further, his lawyers said, agents misrepresented a tattoo Ramirez has as a “gang tattoo.” The tattoo, which says “La Paz BCS,” pays homage to the city of La Paz in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, where he was born, they said.
Under the settlement agreement, Ramirez will be granted a four-year stay of deportation, during which time he will be allowed to work and may apply for other forms of relief to avoid deportation, such as lawful permanent resident status. The stay can be renewed, but it also can be revoked if he breaks any U.S. laws, the agreement says.
The settlement bars U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using any purported statement made before May 2018 suggesting that he has gang ties as a reason to revoke his DACA status.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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2023-01-05T03:05:43+00:00
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kob.com
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https://www.kob.com/news/us-and-world-news/us-settles-with-mexican-man-arrested-despite-daca-status/
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MIAMI, June 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Brand Institute is proud to announce having worked with Myovant Sciences in developing the brand name ORGOVYX® (relugolix), for an oral medication used to treat adult patients with advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.
ORGOVYX® was developed by Myovant Sciences and is the first and only oral androgen deprivation therapy available in Europe for the treatment of advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. The European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization for ORGOVYX® in all member states of the European Union, Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Norway. ORGOVYX® received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of adult patients with advanced prostate cancer in December 2020.
"The entire Brand Institute and Drug Safety Institute team congratulates Myovant Sciences on the EC approval for ORGOVYX," said Brand Institute's Chairman and C.E.O., James L. Dettore.
Brand Institute is the global leader in pharmaceutical and healthcare-related name development, with a portfolio of over 3,800 marketed healthcare brand names, 1,200 USAN/INN nonproprietary names for 1,100 clients. The company partners on over 75% of pharmaceutical brand and nonproprietary name approvals globally every year with healthcare manufacturers. Drug Safety Institute is composed of former naming regulatory officials from global government health agencies, including Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), Health Canada (HC), American Medical Association (AMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). These regulatory experts co-authored the name review guidelines while with their respective agencies, with many responsible for ultimately approving (or rejecting) brand name applications. Now working for a private company, these professionals provide Brand Institute's clients with industry-leading guidance pertaining to drug name safety (i.e., preventing medication errors), packaging, and labeling.
Contact:
James Dettore
Chairman & C.E.O.
jdettore@brandinstitute.com
www.brandinstitute.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Brand Institute, Inc.
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2022-06-17T13:36:25+00:00
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kcbd.com
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https://www.kcbd.com/prnewswire/2022/06/17/brand-institute-partners-brand-name-development-european-commission-approved-treatment-advanced-hormone-sensitive-prostate-cancer/
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WeWork Inc. has predicted that it will not perform well in its fourth-quarter.
Leadership said they decided to leave 40 locations in the United States following the below expected forecasts.
The company provides workspaces for those who don't go to a traditional office.
WeWork has to deal with high expenses and a strong U.S. dollar, contributing to the predicted loss in profits, Reuters reported.
The company does not own its buildings, but instead leases office space, partitioning it out to clients, the New York Times reported.
The closures are expected to reduce revenue while also reducing overhead costs.
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2022-11-10T22:45:42+00:00
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fox17online.com
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https://www.fox17online.com/news/national/wework-leaves-40-us-locations-after-low-revenue-predictions
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Sight & Sound Films to bring true stories of historical figures to movie theaters nationwide beginning December 2022
LANCASTER, Pa., June 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following five decades of bringing stories from the Bible to life on stage in two locations for more than 30 million people, Sight & Sound announces the newest expansion to its ministry, Sight & Sound Films.
Known for creating spectacular family-friendly entertainment experiences, Sight & Sound is taking its craft from the big stage to the big screen. With a long-standing team of talented writers, actors, engineers, builders and even animal trainers, the addition of film production is the next step in reaching the world with inspirational true stories.
"This multi-generational, family-run ministry began as a traveling multimedia show, so in many ways, making motion pictures feels like we're returning to our roots," shared Josh Enck, President and Chief Story Officer of Sight & Sound. "Not only are we excited to be expanding into this new medium, we are thrilled to be venturing into new stories from the pages of the past that are waiting to be told."
Sight & Sound Films will focus on true stories of historical figures who made a significant impact on history because of their faith.
"We're humbled that God has given us this opportunity to expand our passion for sharing stories of faith beyond the stage," shared Matt Neff, Chief Executive Officer of Sight & Sound. "We want these films to ring out above the noise of culture and bring hope, truth, and inspiration to the silver screen."
Sight & Sound Films' first feature cinema, "I Heard the Bells," will release in December 2022. The film will share the inspiring true story behind the famous Christmas carol and the life of its author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
I Heard the Bells Synopsis
Known as America's Poet, Henry leads an idyllic life – until the day his world is shattered by tragedy. With a nation divided by Civil War and his family torn apart, Henry puts down his pen, silenced by grief. But it's the sound of Christmas morning that reignites the poet's lost voice as he discovers the resounding hope of rekindled faith.
About Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound® is a ministry on a mission to create spectacular entertainment experiences for the whole family. Since its beginning as a traveling multimedia show in 1976, Sight & Sound has inspired over 30 million people with stories of faith. Today, Sight & Sound owns and operates two live theater locations, immersing audiences in state-of-the-art original productions. Sight & Sound TV launched in 2020, and this online streaming platform has since welcomed a global virtual audience from over 175 countries around the world. Most recently, expansion into feature films was announced, with a first-ever theatrical release set for cinemas nationwide December 2022. For more information, visit www.sight-sound.com
For interviews, contact:
Heidi McDow, A. Larry Ross Communications
214-679-3409
heidi@alarryross.com
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Sight & Sound
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2022-06-20T16:50:13+00:00
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kfyrtv.com
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https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/06/20/sight-amp-sound-announces-launch-feature-films/
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Building Team USA’s best potential World Baseball Classic lineup originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Team USA’s roster construction for the 2023 World Baseball Classic is off to an impeccable start.
Three-time MVP Mike Trout has signed up to captain Team USA in next year’s World Baseball Classic as the Americans look to defend their title. The Angels outfielder wasn’t part of the 2017 championship team, but Team USA will be hoping he’s just one of several stars making their WBC debut in the fifth iteration of the tournament, which was postponed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now that the Americans can slot the world’s best baseball player into one of their outfield spots, how should they go about building the rest of their starting lineup?
Here’s the lineup that Team USA general manager Tony Reagins should be trying to assemble (stats through July 24 and via FanGraphs):
Catcher: Will Smith
Local
2017 championship game starter: Jonathan Lucroy
Other top contenders for 2023: J.T. Realmuto, Sean Murphy
J.T. Realmuto had a run as the game’s best American catcher, but that title now belongs to Will Smith. Since the start of last season, the 27-year-old Dodgers catcher has posted better offensive numbers almost across the board than the three-time All-Star Phillies catcher. It wouldn’t be surprising if Team USA preferred the more experienced, defensive option in Realmuto, but Smith gets the edge here as the player on an upward trend.
First base: Paul Goldschmidt
2017 championship game starter: Eric Hosmer
Other top contenders for 2023: Pete Alonso, Matt Olson
Freddie Freeman representing Canada makes this decision much easier. After Eric Hosmer mostly played ahead of Paul Goldschmidt at first in the 2017 WBC, the starting job is clearly Goldy’s this time around. The seven-time All-Star is in the midst of a career year and is the current favorite to take home his first MVP award. Goldschmidt leads the National League in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, wRC+ and fWAR.
Second base: Trea Turner
2017 championship game starter: Ian Kinsler
Other top contenders for 2023: Gavin Lux, Marcus Semien
While Trea Turner has spent the majority of his career at shortstop, sliding him over to second base allows Team USA to capitalize on the glut of high-end shortstop talent it has (more on that in a bit). Turner would be the top choice at both middle infield spots – that’s how good he is. Over the last three seasons, the two-time All-Star paces all middle infielders in fWAR and is second in wRC+, trailing only Fernando Tatis Jr.
Third base: Nolan Arenado
2017 championship game starter: Nolan Arenado
Other top contenders for 2023: Austin Riley, Kris Bryant
Nolan Arenado retains his starting spot from the 2017 tournament – the only American to do so. Just like his Cardinals teammate Goldschmidt, Arenado is having one of the best seasons of his outstanding career. The seven-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glover has the third-best fWAR in the majors, behind just Aaron Judge and Goldschmidt, and is tied for 11th in wRC+. Despite, Austin Riley’s impressive offensive surge, the all-around stud in Arenado deserves to keep his spot at the hot corner.
Shortstop: Dansby Swanson
2017 championship game starter: Brandon Crawford
Other top contenders for 2023: Corey Seager, Tim Anderson
Even with Turner out of the mix, the toughest choice of any position comes at shortstop. All three of Tim Anderson, Corey Seager and Dansby Swanson have a strong case to start. Anderson and Seager have more of a proven track record of success at the plate, with the former being a hit machine and the latter being one of the top slugging middle infielders. Ultimately, Swanson’s elite defense at a premium position is too hard to pass up, especially as the former No. 1 overall pick has broken through as a hitter. In addition to playing Gold Glove-caliber defense, Swanson is fourth among all shortstops in wRC+ this season behind Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Carlos Correa. That combination is why the first-time All-Star shortstop is tied for the sixth-best fWAR in the majors.
Outfield: Aaron Judge (LF), Mike Trout (CF), Mookie Betts (RF), Bryce Harper (DH)
2017 championship game starters: Christian Yelich (LF), Adam Jones (CF), Andrew McCutchen (RF), Giancarlo Stanton (DH)
Other top contenders for 2023: Byron Buxton, George Springer, Giancarlo Stanton
Thankfully a designated hitter exists in the WBC because there were essentially three outfield spots for four players in Trout, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper. Judge could become just the sixth player to ever record a 60-home run season, Harper was having yet another MVP-caliber season before suffering a broken thumb and Betts is one of baseball's best all-around players. Not really anything to debate here.
Pitcher: Jacob deGrom
2017 championship game starter: Marcus Stroman
Other top contenders for 2023: Justin Verlander, Corbin Burnes
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jacob deGrom on a major league mound, so in case you need a reminder: Over his last 581 innings pitched (since the start of the 2018 season), deGrom has MLB's No. 1 ERA (1.94) and No. 2 WHIP (0.88) to go along with 774 strikeouts. Suffice to say, there’s no more dominant pitcher out there right now than the Mets' two-time Cy Young winner. The Americans have a bevy of starting pitching options to choose from, but deGrom should be Reagins’ first call.
To recap, here’s a look at the best potential lineup Team USA could roll out for its opening game at Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, in March:
1. Mookie Betts, RF
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Mike Trout, CF
4. Bryce Harper, DH
5. Aaron Judge, LF
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Trea Turner, 2B
8. Will Smith, C
9. Dansby Swanson, SS
Pitcher: Jacob deGrom
That certainly has the looks of a team capable of pulling off a repeat.
The biggest question, though, is how many of these aforementioned stars actually want to join Team USA in its pursuit of a second straight WBC championship. The U.S. struggled to attract big names in 2017 as some players prioritized getting ready for the MLB season. The 29 American players who made an appearance for the 2017 championship team had a combined 43 All-Star appearances at the time. For context, just the 10 players listed above have 48 All-Star nods between them.
But maybe with someone like Trout joining the 2023 team first, other stars will follow his lead.
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2022-07-25T18:02:51+00:00
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nbcchicago.com
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https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/building-team-usas-best-potential-2023-world-baseball-classic-lineup/2897358/
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Rare: Aquarium sees first pregnant male seadragon
LA JOLLA, Calif. (Gray News) – A female seadragon at the Birch Aquarium made an extremely rare successful transfer of eggs to a male seadragon, according to the University of California San Diego.
This is the first time a seadragon has laid eggs on the public side of the aquarium.
“We’re elated to be able to witness this at the aquarium. It’s extremely rare for seadragons to breed in captivity so this is a monumental milestone for all of our staff,” Senior Director of Animal Care Jenn Nero Moffatt said.
Moffatt explained the staff has been working with seadragons since 1996 and have learned a lot over the years, while investing a lot into the breeding program.
“From the lighting to the rockwork; everything has been strategically designed with breeding seadragons in mind,” Moffatt said in a press release.
Like seahorses, male seadragons are responsible for carrying eggs. The transfer only happens after the seadragons participate in an elaborate courtship dance, according to the university.
The male seadragon at Birch Aquarium will carry the eggs on his tail for four to six weeks until they are ready to hatch.
The university explained only a small percentage of the eggs will develop.
The Seadragons & Seahorses exhibit at Birch Aquarium features one of the largest seadragon habitats in the world.
It was designed to create an ideal environment to breed seadragons. The display is 18 feet wide, 9 feet tall and holds 5,375 gallons of water.
Copyright 2023 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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2023-01-13T15:46:28+00:00
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waff.com
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https://www.waff.com/2023/01/13/rare-aquarium-sees-first-pregnant-male-seadragon/
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JERUSALEM, Israel — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday discussed Iran's rapidly progressing nuclear program, with the Israeli leader vowing afterward that “there will be no nuclear Iran.”
The U.S. president, who is set to travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday, said he also stressed to Lapid the importance of Israel becoming “totally integrated” in the region.
Their one-on-one talks are the centerpiece of a 48-hour visit by Biden aimed at strengthening already tight relations between the U.S and Israel. The leaders are expected to sign a joint declaration later Thursday emphasizing military cooperation and a commitment to preventing Iran, which Israel considers an enemy, from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“We discussed the Iranian threat,” Lapid told reporters afterward. “There will be no nuclear Iran.”
Israeli officials have sought to use Biden's first visit to the Middle East as president to underscore that Iran's nuclear program has progressed too far and encourage the Biden administration to scuttle efforts to revive a 2015 agreement with Iran to limit its development.
Resurrecting the Iran nuclear deal brokered by Barack Obama's administration and abandoned by Donald Trump in 2018 was a key priority for Biden as he entered office. But administration officials have become increasingly pessimistic about the chances of getting Tehran back into compliance.
Biden, in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 that aired Wednesday, offered strong assurances of his determination to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power, saying he’d be willing to use force as a “last resort” if necessary.
Iran announced last week that it has enriched uranium to 60% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade quality.
The joint declaration being announced Thursday could hold important symbolic importance for Biden’s meeting this weekend with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia as he seeks to strengthen a regionwide alliance against Iran.
“I talked about how important it was … for Israel to be totally integrated in the region,” Biden said after the one-on-one meeting with Lapid.
Thursday's meeting could also provide a boost to Lapid, who is serving as interim prime minister until elections in November, Israel’s fifth in less than four years. Lapid’s main opponent is the former prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the joint appearance with Biden could help burnish his credentials as a statesman and leader.
Biden and Lapid are also scheduled to hold a joint news conference Thursday and participate in a virtual summit with India and the United Arab Emirates, a collection of countries called the I2U2. The United Arab Emirates will help finance a $2 billion project supporting agriculture in India.
Lapid, 58, is a former journalist and television anchor who entered politics only a decade ago. He served as finance minister under Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, before becoming leader of the opposition and cobbling together a diverse, eight-party coalition ending Netanyahu's government.
Naftali Bennett became prime minister, with Lapid as his foreign minister. But the coalition collapsed after months of infighting, and Bennett agreed to step aside for Lapid until the election.
Lapid worked hard to solidify his credentials as a statesman while foreign minister. His aides believe the private face time, public appearances and demonstrations of friendship with Biden — who, at 79, is making his 10th trip to Israel — will strengthen that image and get the electorate more comfortable with the idea of Lapid as their leader.
However, Netanyahu is running for prime minister again, and opinion polls have projected that his conservative Likud party will win the most seats in the next election, well ahead of Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid party.
Neither party is poised to singlehandedly capture the majority of seats needed to form a government, and it is unclear whether either man could cobble together a ruling coalition with smaller parties.
Biden played down the political uncertainty in an interview with Israel's Channel 12 that aired Wednesday.
“We’re committed to the state, not an individual leader," he said.
Biden didn’t mention the election during the public portion of Thursday's meeting with Lapid, but told reporters “we had a good beginning of a long, God willing, relationship.”
Biden is expected to meet only briefly with Netanyahu, with whom who he's had a rocky relationship in the past.
Much like Lapid, Biden also faces a political threat from his predecessor. Trump, an ally of Netanyahu who still enjoys strong support from Republican voters despite his attempt to overturn the last election, may run for another term.
Asked by Channel 12 if he expected a rematch, Biden replied, "I’m not predicting, but I would not be disappointed.”
Given the U.S.'s status as Israel’s closest and most important ally, Biden is at the center of the country’s attention during his visit.
Israel staged an elaborate welcoming ceremony for him at the Tel Aviv airport, including a red carpet and a band that played the national anthem of both countries. Major television channels set up special live coverage of Biden’s arrival, and even broadcast a nonstop loop of his motorcade traveling on the highway to Jerusalem.
Israel opposed the original nuclear deal, reached under President Obama in 2015, because its limitations on Iran’s nuclear enrichment would expire and the agreement didn’t address Iran's ballistic missile program or military activities in the region.
Instead of the U.S. reentering the deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018, Israel would prefer strict sanctions in hopes of leading to a more sweeping accord.
Biden also will receive Israel's top civilian honor, the presidential medal of honor, from President Isaac Herzog on Thursday.
He's also scheduled to meet with U.S. athletes participating in the Maccabiah Games. Also known as the “Jewish Olympics,” it’s the country’s largest sporting event and held every four years for Israeli and Jewish athletes from all over world.
___
Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Jerusalem and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
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2022-07-14T13:47:07+00:00
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newscentermaine.com
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https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/nation-world/biden-israeli-pm-lapid-discuss-iran-integrating-israel-in-middle-east/507-052c1dda-9527-4b10-b169-75f474bce473
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who bilked investors in a Southern California hotel and condominium project out of at least $26 million was sentenced Monday to 20 years in federal prison.
Ruixue “Serena” Shi, 38, of Arcadia was sentenced after a judge refused to allow her to withdraw her plea last year to wire fraud.
“There has been no acceptance of responsibility; there has been a denial of responsibility,” U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner said, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prosecutors said that from late 2015 to mid-2018, Shi was the general manager of a real estate company based in China that had a Los Angeles office. She solicited investments, mainly from Chinese investors, in a 207-unit luxury complex to be built in the city of Coachella, in the desert southeast of Los Angeles.
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In reality, Shi spent much of the money on luxury cars, travel, clothing, dining and shopping, prosecutors said. That included $800,000 at a “full-service styling agency" in Beverly Hills, prosecutors said.
“While her victims suffered financial ruin and psychological torment, (Shi) was living large off their investments,” prosecutors said in a sentencing document.
In court statements, more than two dozen victims submitted statements.
“Several discussed their reliance on Shi’s false promises that their investments would assist them in securing visas to immigrate to the United States. One victim even wrote that, after losing his retirement savings to Shi’s scheme, he ‘even contemplated suicide,' the Department of Justice statement said.
In addition to prison time, Shi was ordered to pay $35.8 million in restitution.
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2022-11-22T00:45:17+00:00
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wcfcourier.com
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https://wcfcourier.com/news/national/woman-gets-20-years-for-bilking-chinese-in-26m-hotel-fraud/article_0579aeb3-3325-50d6-b042-955a7787afd6.html
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"Get out of the water!"
Hearing those words at the beach usually means there’s one thing nearby you don’t want to meet.
Just this past week, five people were possibly bitten by sharks across beaches in New York.
"All we know for a fact is that we've had what we refer to as a spate of attacks in a very short period of time," said Ralph Collier, President of the Shark Research Committee.
Luckily, everything has been minor," said Scott Curatolo-Wagemann, Investigator at Global Shark Attack File.
Collier and Curatolo-Wagemann research shark encounters, and now they’re working to pinpoint the species of shark responsible for biting surfers and swimmers this holiday week.
"The two that were confirmed for the 4th of July look like they were bitten on the right knee and on the hand," said Curatolo-Wagemann.
Both Collier and Curatolo-Wagemann say these bites were small puncture wounds and non-life-threatening—most likely, they say, the sharks mistook humans for fish — which is becoming more common with sharks coming closer to shore to hunt.
"One of the reasons they think that you're seeing more interactions is because the water here is cleaner. So, you're getting more. Not just sharks, but other species," said Curatolo-Wagemann. "It’s very surreal. Never in my life would I have ever thought that I would’ve had this close encounter."
But the bites in New York aren’t the only encounters; just last weekend in Florida, paddleboarder Malea Tribble felt a shark tap her paddleboard. It circled her before swimming away.
"If that shark wanted to knock me in the water, it could have, and it didn’t. So, I kind of look at that like it wasn’t there to harm me; it was really trying to figure out what I was. I’m in their territory," said Tribble.
SEE MORE: Shark attacks in New York, sightings in Florida put swimmers on alert
Because of moments like that, cities and counties are taking extra steps to keep people safe using technology.
George Gorman works with the New York State Parks, and his team is deploying drones over beaches to monitor shark activity.
"This is our new normal," says Gorman. "Before swimmers are in the water, we scan the waters frequently during the day. We're scanning the waters so that we can keep every swimmer as safe as we possibly can."
Now, they’re making a program to teach other cities how to do the same.
"I think we will be doing it for many years to keep the swimming public safe," says Gorman.
But even if you’re at a beach where drones are on patrol, here’s what you can do to stay shark-safe:
- First, swim in groups.
"The survival instinct in them is very strong, and they are not going to challenge a group of objects that are unfamiliar to them," said Collier.
- Next, avoid wearing jewelry or bright-colored bathing suits—those can mimic fish scales.
- Don’t swim near people fishing.
- If you see a group of fish near you, move away.
- Avoid swimming at dusk and dawn when shadows are most present—it’s easier for sharks to hide and easier for them to mistake you for prey.
In the end, the experts say don’t let these encounters stop your summer fun.
"You're more likely to get injured walking into the water on the beach or driving to the beach than you are to be bitten in the water by a fish. I would go to the beach. Have a good time. I do," said Collier.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com
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2023-07-09T01:15:21+00:00
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fox17online.com
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https://www.fox17online.com/tech-becoming-vital-in-ensuring-safety-amidst-rising-shark-encounters
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(The Hill) – Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced on Thursday that the state government is working with police to investigate a possible illegal selling of a voter assist terminal.
“We are actively working with law enforcement to investigate allegations of an illegal attempt to sell a voter assist terminal acquired in Michigan,” Benson wrote in a statement.
Benson explained that a voter assist terminal is normally used to assist voters, often those with disabilities, who require help in marking their ballots.
“While our elections remain secure and safe, we take seriously all violations of election law and will be working with relevant authorities to ensure there are consequences for those who break the law.”
The Hill has reached out to Benson for further comment on the situation.
Michigan election law prevents citizens from withholding, breaking or destroying voting equipment, as well as obtaining “undue possession” of a voting machine.
Benson cited an article written by Michigan’s Cadillac News explaining that the voting machine was sold through Goodwill’s online auction site as well as listed on the popular auction site, eBay.
The machine disappeared from the Colfax Township in Wexford County, Mich.
“It was a touchscreen VAT machine,” Wexford County Clerk Alaina Nyman told Cadillac News of the sold voting equipment, referring to a Voter Assist Terminal.
“No election data was on it and you can’t get into the machine without the program cards and those were all accounted for.”
Nyman added that the investigation is attempting to discover how the voting machine was acquired by its seller and when it went missing.
“We are going to do things differently and will sign things in and out,” Colfax Township Clerk Becky Stoddard told Cadillac News, discussing future responses to the disappearance of the VAT machine.
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2022-09-02T15:45:47+00:00
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ksn.com
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https://www.ksn.com/news/national-world/michigan-police-investigating-voting-machine-sold-on-ebay/
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A suspect was arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting of a hot dog stand owner in Lehigh Acres.
Deputies arrested 25-year-old James William Gonzalez after they say he shot Kelvis Maiguel, a beloved hot dog stand worker at Ceberiano’s Hot Dogs & More.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy patrolling the area near 600 Homestead Road South hears several shots and saw Gonzalez running away from the victim.
The deputy tried to arrest Gonzalez, but Gonzalez fled into the woods.
Deputies stopped to help Maiguel and transported him to the hospital as a trauma alert. LCSO’s K-9 unit, aviation unit and multiple patrol units searched the area.
Gonzalez was found in the area of Dauphine Avenue South, deputies said.
According to LCSO, Gonzalez resisted arrest but was caught by a K-9.
Gonzalez was taken to the hospital and later transported to the Lee County Jail after medical clearance.
He faces charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and resisting without violence. A judge set his bond at $80,000 during a first appearance hearing on Wednesday.
The case remains under investigation.
See LCSO video of Gonzalez’s capture below or click here:
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2022-06-01T20:18:47+00:00
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winknews.com
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https://www.winknews.com/2022/06/01/suspect-arrested-in-shooting-of-lehigh-acres-hot-dog-stand-owner/
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Federal Judge: Former President Trump Knew Vote Fraud Claims In Legal Docs Were False
October 19, 2022 7:25PM CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge says former President Donald Trump signed legal documents after the 2020 election that included voter fraud claims he knew were inaccurate.
U.S. District Court Judge David Carter writes in an 18-page opinion issued Wednesday that emails between Trump and attorney John Eastman show efforts to submit false claims in federal court for the purpose of delaying the counting of the electoral vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
The judge ordered the release of additional emails between Trump and Eastman to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
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2022-10-20T06:18:43+00:00
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wlip.com
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https://www.wlip.com/federal-judge-former-president-trump-knew-vote-fraud-claims-in-legal-docs-were-false/
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SHARONVILLE, Ohio -- Police in Ohio on Wednesday released cruiser and body cam video of the arrest of Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Adolphus Washington on a weapons charge.
The Cincinnati native and former Ohio State standout is accused of improperly carrying a concealed weapon outside a water park in Sharonville. A police report says officers were breaking up a crowd at the park Sunday night when Washington "reached for and displayed a gun while sitting inside his vehicle, just feet away from officers."
The video shows Washington in his vehicle, with officers surrounding him and shouting at him to "put the gun down."
Washington is later seen in a cruiser with an officer asking him: "Why in the hell would you have that gun in your hands?"
He replied that he was "putting it away."
Washington was processed at the Sharonville Police Department and released that night. Court records do not list an attorney for him.
The Buffalo Bills released a statement Monday night saying they were aware of the situation and had been in contact with Washington.
The Bills have been off on break since mid-June before players begin reporting for training camp, which opens July 27.
Washington is due in court in Hamilton County on July 24th.
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2022-05-23T06:08:48+00:00
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cleveland.com
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https://www.cleveland.com/osu/2017/07/police_release_arrest_video_of.html
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By early 2017, the pay of Massachusetts’ top elected officials was, by some accounts, dragging woefully behind. A state commission had called several state salaries “outdated and inadequate.” Legislative stipends hadn’t been raised for decades.
The circumstances set the stage for a hasty, and controversial, push in the Legislature, which muscled through a law hiking the pay of a slew of elected officials, including many of their own, over a gubernatorial veto.
Six years later, however, the pendulum has swung in the other direction, according to a Globe review. Fueled by a provision in that 2017 law, the salaries for statewide constitutional officers and legislative leaders have grown every two years since, making many Massachusetts officials now among the highest paid in the country.
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Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg’s annual salary of $238,794 is nearly $19,000 more than that of any other elected treasurer in the nation, according to a Globe review of available salary data. The pay for Attorney General Andrea Campbell, at $222,639, and Auditor Diana DiZoglio, at $229,377, also top all their elected peers, while the salaries of Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and Secretary of State William F. Galvin rank second among those elected to those positions.
Officials have turned down pay raises at times, meaning not all of their salaries have increased simultaneously. But if every hike allowed under the statute had gone into effect, the pay of all six statewide constitutional officials, Governor Maura Healey included, would rank number one among elected officials at their positions nationwide, according to a Globe analysis.
In the Massachusetts Legislature, the salaries of current House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen E. Spilka have swelled by 30 percent since early 2017 to reach $182,818, not including the $20,000-plus they can claim for expenses.
Among the country’s 10 full-time Legislatures, only New York’s Senate and Assembly leaders can earn more in a year — about $682 more than Mariano and Spilka — before their per diems.
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The Globe reviewed the most recent publicly available salary data in all 50 states in a bid to compare the pay of Massachusetts’ top officials to their counterparts nationally. In ranking where they stood, the Globe analyzed the current salaries for similar elected statewide positions across the country, in some cases relying on public databases, reviewing recently passed laws, or filing public records requests to determine how much statewide officials make.
In some instances, positions that are typically elected by voters here are appointed by the governor or the Legislature elsewhere, impacting the salary scale. For example, Tennessee’s secretary of state, treasurer, and comptroller — who has similar duties to an auditor — are all appointed and statutorily make the same amount, which currently is $245,004 a year.
How states determine their elected officials’ pay varies drastically: Some entrust a separate committee to recommend whether elected officials deserve a raise; others leave it to the political will of the current Legislature. In Maine, where the governor’s pay has sat at $70,000 for nearly four decades and a former first lady once waited tables to pay off a car, a gubernatorial raise has long been a fruitless pursuit.
The 2017 Massachusetts law specifically barred many officials from actively earning outside income, while creating a specific measure to automatically adjust their pay: Raises, or decreases, happen every two years based upon quarterly changes in statewide salaries and wages, as determined by data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It’s similar to a mechanism built into the state Constitution that automatically adjusts legislators’ base pay every other year.
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That salaries for Massachusetts top elected officials have climbed to such heights is, in one respect, by design. A 2014 advisory commission recommended the state adopt the automatic trigger, arguing that statewide officials’ pay was too low particularly compared with the high cost of living here. Nearly a decade later, Massachusetts has only become more expensive — Hawaii was the only state with a higher cost of living last year — and, some argue, the demands of the job are even greater in a fractured political environment.
“We were quite upfront that this would result in salaries that would be at or near the top. So I’m not uncomfortable with that outcome,” said Michael Widmer, a former president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and a member of that 2014 commission. “There’s an underappreciation for how difficult these jobs are and how important they are.”
While technically tied to economic fluctuations, the automatic adjustments have, in practice, continually increased the pay of the six constitutional officers and top legislators by tens of thousands of dollars — sometimes in a single swoop. This year, officials scored a 20 percent raise, with many salaries hiked by nearly $40,000.
Such a system also effectively saves lawmakers from taking politically fraught votes to raise their or others’ pay, said Peter Ubertaccio, a political scientist at Stonehill College. That, he said, can create “obvious tension” among voters whose pay isn’t automatically adjusted to meet the economic moment.
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“They should be taking those votes every time. They clearly did it on purpose because it comes with a big political risk,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman for the conservative-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “It becomes harder for the public to hold them accountable.”
It hasn’t removed political decision-making entirely, however. Healey, for example, has the country’s fifth-highest gubernatorial salary at $222,185 a year, but just the fourth-highest among the state’s six constitutional officers.
Her pay is depressed comparatively because her predecessor, Charlie Baker — a Republican who ran on bringing fiscal constraint to state government — repeatedly turned down pay increases, keeping his base pay at $185,000.
If he had accepted raises in 2019 and 2021, the 20 percent increase afforded to officials this year would have pushed the governor’s annual salary to more than $252,000, according to a Globe analysis. That would be the highest in the country, slightly topping New York Governor Kathy Hochul‘s $250,000 salary, which currently leads governors nationwide.
The same goes for other top officials. Driscoll’s salary would be $225,107 — topping New York’s lieutenant governor’s $220,000 as the most nationwide — if her predecessor, Karyn Polito, hadn’t turned down raises.
Galvin said in February he wasn’t taking this year’s 20 percent pay hike “at this time,” but left the door open to taking it later. Should he, his salary would jump to $225,107, which would top all other elected secretaries of state. (Currently, Connecticut’s makes the most at $189,483.)
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Healey and others either declined to directly address questions about their salaries, noting their pay is set by statute, or didn’t respond to Globe inquiries.
Mariano defended the system, arguing that it “effectively depoliticizes the process” and ensures salaries don’t languish. Before 2017, for example, legislative stipends — the extra pay attached to leadership positions — hadn’t changed in 33 years.
Lawmakers tied those to the biennial adjustments, too, meaning Mariano’s stipend continues to grow. He and Spilka now get $109,163 for holding each chamber’s top spot in addition to a $73,655 base salary. Add in expenses, and both Democrats make more than $203,000, nearly double what their predecessors made before the 2017 bill was passed.
Mariano said higher pay also can attract a wider range of people seeking office. “The current system . . . ensures that a diverse group of candidates of all economic backgrounds can pursue leadership positions in government,” he said.
Research studies have found that raising the pay for elected officials can help reshape how state government operates. Better-compensated legislators tend to introduce more bills and miss fewer votes, one study found. With higher pay and benefits, elected officials tend to pass policies that more often favor voters than special interest groups, another found.
But whether higher pay actually means those with less money run for office is unclear. One 2016 study found that in states that pay politicians more, working-class people didn’t appear to be more likely to run, to win, or to run again for office.
“The big barriers for regular people [holding office] isn’t the prize you win, it’s the cost of the race,” said Nicholas Carnes, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and one of the study’s coauthors. “That’s just a really, really high wall.”
Samantha J. Gross of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattpstout.
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2023-02-28T23:09:11+00:00
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bostonglobe.com
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https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/28/metro/six-years-after-pay-raise-law-many-top-mass-officials-rank-highest-paid-country/
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‘Powder keg’ for 9/11: 1993 trade center bombing remembered
NEW YORK (AP) - Lolita Jackson was at her 72nd-floor desk in the World Trade Center, feeling like she worked at the top of the world. Then came the boom, and smoke started curling in from an elevator shaft.
Unsure what was happening, she joined thousands of other office workers on a harrowing trek down dark, smoky stairs, emerging into the scene of a terror attack.
It wasn’t Sept. 11, 2001. This was Feb. 26, 1993, when a deadly bombing killed six people, one of them pregnant, and injured more than 1,000 — becoming a harbinger of terror at the twin towers.
Jackson hopes that Sunday’s 30th anniversary serves as a reminder that even though decades have passed since the seismic acts of terrorism in the United States’ most populous city, no one, anywhere, can say the threat of mass violence is over.
She knows that more personally than most: On 9/11, she had to flee the trade center’s south tower again.
“I’m a living testament that it can happen to you, and it can happen to you twice.”
Victims’ relatives, survivors, dignitaries and others are set to gather at the trade center Sunday for a ceremony that will include the reading of the names of the six people killed in the 1993 bombing, one of whom was pregnant. Anniversary observances also include a Mass Sunday at a church near the trade center and a panel discussion Monday at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
The noontime explosion, set off in a rented van parked in an underground garage, served notice that Islamic extremists yearned to destroy the trade center’s twin towers. But the public memory of the attack was largely subsumed after 9/11. Even the fountain that memorialized the bombing was crushed on Sept. 11.
But for some survivors and victims’ relatives, the ‘93 attack still echoes as a warning that was unheeded, a loss that feels overlooked and a lesson that still needs learning.
“The ‘93 World Trade Center bombing was the powder keg for the 9/11 attacks,” said Andrew Colabella, a cousin of bombing victim John DiGiovanni. Colabella feels the earlier attack is largely remembered as “a blip,” rather than a siren, in the history of international terror.
“These two historical events that have taken place should be instilled in our hearts and minds, to think united and to be united,” Colabella said. Now a town council member in Westport, Connecticut, he regularly attends ground zero anniversary ceremonies for both the bombing and 9/11, to honor the cousin he lost as a small child but can still picture.
DiGiovanni was at the trade center as a visiting salesperson. His fellow victims all worked in the complex. They were Robert Kirkpatrick, Stephen A. Knapp, William Macko, Wilfredo Mercado and Monica Rodriguez Smith, who was due to start maternity leave the next day.
All six victims’ names are now inscribed on one of the Sept. 11 memorial pools, and the 9/11 museum has their photos and a room devoted to discussing the ‘93 explosion.
“Every part of our effort has considered the ‘93 bombing as a part of the story that we are telling,” Museum Director Clifford Chanin said.
The explosive was planted by Muslim extremists who sought to punish the U.S. for its Middle East policies, particularly Washington’s support for Israel, according to federal prosecutors.
Six people were convicted and imprisoned, including accused ringleader Ramzi Yousef. A seventh suspect in the bombing remains on the FBI’s most wanted list.
Yousef hoped the bomb would fell the twin towers by making one collapse into the other, according to the FBI. The idea of razing the skyscrapers endured: A message found on another convicted conspirator’s laptop warned that “next time it will be very precise, and the World Trade Center will continue to be one of our targets.”
Yousef’s uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would later become the self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, when hijacked planes were used as missiles to strike the buildings.
Although the towers endured the ‘93 bombing, it knocked out power, backup generators and the public address system. Tens of thousands of people picked their way down the stairs; others were rescued from stalled elevators and the wrecked garage. Some workers kicked out windows for air, a group of 120 kindergarteners were stranded for a time on an observation deck and police helicopters flew to rooftops to pick up two dozen people.
The governmental agency that runs the trade center apologized to the victims’ relatives on the 25th anniversary, saying the complex and the country weren’t prepared for the attack.
After the bombing, the trade center forbade underground parking and installed security cameras and vehicle barriers. Stairwells got battery-powered lights and reflective tape. Office tenants stepped up fire drills and the complex issued worker ID cards for entry.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson was again in her office, by then on the 70th floor. When flames started shooting out of the tower next door, her company ordered an immediate evacuation.
Now she wonders whether what she experienced — twice — seems “like folklore” to people born after both attacks. She warns against complacency.
“You’re just at work getting a cup of coffee,” she said, “and you might have to run for your life.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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2023-02-26T11:43:21+00:00
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newschannel6now.com
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https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/02/26/powder-keg-911-1993-trade-center-bombing-remembered/
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump White House official Peter Navarro will stand trial in September on contempt of Congress charges filed after he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta set a Sept. 5 trial date during a court appearance on Tuesday in Washington.
Navarro was charged last year with one contempt count for failing to appear for a deposition before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack and a second charge for failing to produce documents the committee requested. He has pleaded not guilty.
His attorneys declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing.
A former economics professor, Navarro served as a White House staffer under former President Donald Trump and later promoted his baseless claims of mass voter fraud. Navarro has argued that Trump invoked executive privilege, barring him from cooperating with the committee.
Navarro was the second Trump aide to face criminal charges after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. He was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months behind bars, though Bannon has been free pending appeal.
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2023-05-30T22:56:47+00:00
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pahomepage.com
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https://www.pahomepage.com/news/politics/ap-ex-trump-white-house-official-peter-navarro-to-go-on-trial-in-september-in-jan-6-contempt-case/
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Two Evansville parents were arrested after police say their newborn died in bed with the mother inside a home with no running water.
The Evansville Police Department was called to a home just before 7 a.m. Wednesday on W. Oregon Street. The caller told them a 1-week-old newborn was not breathing.
First responders were not able to revive the baby.
Police say what appeared to be narcotics and paraphernalia were in plain view inside the home.
When the mother, identified as Taylor Smith, was interviewed, she told police she went to sleep with the newborn around 2 a.m. and woke up later with the baby “underneath her body,” according to police.
The father, Timothy Wilson, was also on scene.
He told investigators Smith had been ordered to not be around the newborn due to a Department of Child Services investigation. Wilson said they disregarded the order so the three could be “a family.”
Police say the home had no running water, and “conditions were not favorable.” Officers confirmed evidence of narcotics use was found after getting a search warrant.
Smith and Wilson were arrested on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
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2022-06-09T11:43:16+00:00
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cbs4indy.com
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https://cbs4indy.com/indiana-news/parents-arrested-after-newborn-dies-in-evansville-home-with-no-running-water/
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Austin Riley Player Prop Bets: Braves vs. Diamondbacks - July 19
Published: Jul. 19, 2023 at 3:24 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago
The Atlanta Braves, including Austin Riley (hitting .233 in his past 10 games, with a double, three home runs, three walks and nine RBI), battle starting pitcher Ryne Nelson and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Truist Park, Wednesday at 7:20 PM ET.
He hit two homers in his most recent appearance (going 3-for-5) in his most recent game against the Diamondbacks.
Austin Riley Game Info & Props vs. the Diamondbacks
- Game Day: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
- Game Time: 7:20 PM ET
- Stadium: Truist Park
- Live Stream: Watch this game on Fubo!
- Diamondbacks Starter: Ryne Nelson
- TV Channel: BSSO
- Hits Prop: Over/under 1.5 hits (Over odds: +190)
- Home Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 home runs (Over odds: +275)
- RBI Prop: Over/under 0.5 RBI (Over odds: +110)
- Runs Prop: Over/under 0.5 runs (Over odds: -143)
Looking to place a prop bet on Austin Riley? Check out what's available at BetMGM and use bonus code "GNPLAY" when you sign up with this link!
Discover More About This Game
Austin Riley At The Plate
- Riley is batting .268 with 18 doubles, 18 home runs and 34 walks.
- He ranks 53rd in batting average, 74th in on base percentage, and 50th in slugging among the qualified hitters in baseball.
- Riley has had a hit in 63 of 93 games this season (67.7%), including multiple hits 29 times (31.2%).
- In 16 games this season, he has hit a home run (17.2%, and 4.4% of his trips to the plate).
- Riley has driven home a run in 34 games this season (36.6%), including more than one RBI in 14.0% of his games and producing three or more of his team's runs on three occasions..
- He has scored at least once 47 times this season (50.5%), including 13 games with multiple runs (14.0%).
Ready to play FanDuel Daily Fantasy? Get in the game using our link.
Austin Riley Home/Away Batting Splits
Diamondbacks Pitching Rankings
- The Diamondbacks pitching staff ranks 20th in the league with a collective 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The Diamondbacks have a 4.53 team ERA that ranks 23rd across all league pitching staffs.
- Diamondbacks pitchers combine to surrender 109 total home runs at a rate of 1.1 per game (to rank 15th in the league).
- Nelson (5-5 with a 4.98 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Diamondbacks, his 20th of the season.
- The righty's last time out was on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays, when he went 5 2/3 innings, surrendering one earned run while allowing nine hits.
- This season, the 25-year-old ranks 63rd in ERA (4.98), 58th in WHIP (1.440), and 62nd in K/9 (6.2) among pitchers who qualify.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved.
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2023-07-19T09:34:19+00:00
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wlox.com
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https://www.wlox.com/sports/betting/2023/07/19/austin-riley-mlb-player-prop-bets/
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Turns out, bats and death metal singers have more in common than you'd think — and no, it's not just a love of the dark.
Bats have a soaring vocal range — from super-high-pitched clicks outside the realm of human hearing, to lower grunts our ears can perceive. And a new study in the journal PLOS Biology found that for some of the lower frequency sounds, they appear to use the same technique singers use for death metal growling or Tuvan throat singing.
"We were interested in: how can bats make all these different sounds? They make low-frequency calls and make echolocation calls, and they span together, like, seven octaves. And that's really crazy," says Coen Elemans, the lead researcher on this study. "Most mammals do three to four octaves — like the best singers in terms of vocal ranges do like five or six ... And it turns out every bat can do seven."
Elemans and his colleagues at the University of Southern Denmark used ultra high-speed video, filming up to a quarter million frames per second, to study what's going on in bats' vocal tracts.
"We basically found that bats make echolocation calls using very thin membranes that are basically extending from the vocal folds," says Elemans. "We noted that there's another set of folds just above those, and we could get those to vibrate very easily, but they were vibrating at very low frequencies."
Elemans says humans also have these folds, which are called false vocal folds because they have no function in normal speech. This area hasn't been studied a lot, but there's some evidence that these folds are recruited in extreme singing.
"So the false vocal folds get lowered a little bit towards the vocal folds, and then together they get much heavier and looser and they make a lot of lower frequency sounds. But also their vibrations become very irregular. And that's what's giving the rough quality of death metal singing."
NPR couldn't ask the bats what it's like to make sounds at this low frequency — so we asked some human practitioners instead.
"I mean, it's from your abdomen to your chest to your legs to obviously a lot of your throat. But it is a full-body thing for me in order to do what I do."
John Tardy is the lead singer of the death metal band Obituary, speaking from the back of his tour bus in Pittsburgh. Tardy says the death metal growl can take a toll.
"It can be, you know, strenuous because we usually play most nights, if not six nights a week. So it can be a lot. But I can tell you at the end of every night, I sleep like an absolute baby."
For Chase Mason, the lead singer of the group Gatecreeper, pain is just part of the process.
"In a [masochistic] sort of way ... I think that when I can feel that my vocal cords are getting kind of shredded or beat up, that it sounds better. You know, like, if there's a little taste of blood in the back of my throat, I think that I'm doing a good job."
Mason wouldn't necessarily have considered any similarity between the kinds of sounds that bats make and the sounds he makes.
"You know, a lot of people will compare you to sounding like a bear or something like that, like an animal growling or roaring even ... I think it's cool," he says. "It's very dark and gothic. The imagery of a bat is always associated with the darker sort of things, like vampires and stuff. So it definitely makes sense."
John Tardy had similar feelings, in fewer words.
"Bats are awesome."
Edited by Mallory Yu
Audio story edited by Christopher Intagliata
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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2022-12-05T16:50:53+00:00
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klcc.org
|
https://www.klcc.org/npr-music-news/npr-music-news/2022-12-04/death-metal-singers-have-a-vocal-counterpart-in-bats
|
Let’s be honest, smartphones are a necessity in today’s world, but it can be difficult (and expensive) to keep up with the latest iPhone or Samsung model. Have you seen the prices on those lately? Sheesh! To score one of the best deals on a 5G smartphone, head over to Amazon and order a Motorola Moto G 5G for only $199.99 while it’s 50% off. That’s $200 off the regular price!
Motorola Moto G 5G Unlocked Smartphone - $199.99 ($200.00 off; originally $399.99)
The Moto G 5G is one of Motorola’s top-shelf models that can help complete your daily tasks. Download apps, connect with friends, listen to your favorite music, use GPS to get to your destinations, and more. This 2022 unit from Amazon is unlocked, meaning you can easily add it to just about any service plan from most U.S. carriers.
As is the case with most Android phones, the Moto G has an incredible camera system so you can take life-like photos and videos without pulling out the old DSLR camera. The 50 megapixel rear-facing camera produces crisp images that jump off the screen. Also of note, the phone boasts an impressive two-day battery and 256 GB of storage.
So if you want to get a new smartphone for way less than the latest iPhone or Samsung, you can pick up the Motorola Moto G 5G for just $199.99 while it’s 50% off.
|
2023-01-17T21:12:27+00:00
|
sfgate.com
|
https://www.sfgate.com/shopping/article/moto-g-5g-deal-17723063.php
|
Amnesty Int’l slams Spain, Morocco over migrant deaths
By RAQUEL REDONDO
Associated Press
MADRID (AP) — Amnesty International says a failure by Morocco and Spain to properly investigate the deaths of more than 20 migrants at the border of Spanish enclave city of Melilla in North Africa in June “smacks of a cover-up.” The rights organization said Tuesday that there is evidence of multiple human rights violations, including the unlawful death and ill-treatment of refugees and migrants. The deaths occurred when some 2,000 migrants stormed the Melilla border fence from the Moroccan side on June 24. At least 23 died although rights groups say the number is higher. Spain denies its police agents used inappropriate force and says there were no deaths on Spanish spoil. Morocco has been mostly silent on the issue.
|
2022-12-13T12:37:38+00:00
|
localnews8.com
|
https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national/2022/12/13/amnesty-intl-slams-spain-morocco-over-migrant-deaths/
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A new museum in Tremonton, Utah honors the meticulous work of a Laramie craftsman.
The museum honors the late Jim Wear, a harness maker who brought a high level of art and skill to his work, according to his longtime friend, Cheyenne resident Tom Harrower.
“He was such a good craftsman, he just made things that were exactly correct to use and the workmanship the quality was just wonderful,” Harrower said. Wear’s work, he said, was “done right.”
In April, the museum, on the grounds of Eli Anderson’s Wagon Land Adventure in Tremonton, was opened as the Carriage Association of America held an annual education and showcase weekend.
The museum is designed to resemble a harness shop. It was built on site among displays of horse-drawn carriages and other artifacts of the past.
Wear, who died on April 19, 2020 at the age of 68, was known for his Chicago-style harnesses and for the quality of every harness he made. This style, Anderson said, is what might be seen on horses pulling big wagons, such as the Budweiser Clydesdales.
One of those harnesses is on display on a life-size Shire draft horse sculpture in the museum. The museum also displays Wear’s harness-making tools, books, historical photos and samples of his work.
Wear, Harrower said, was self-taught and self-made. He developed his craft by talking to drivers of the teams pulling carriages.
He also studied under leather workers whose traditions went back hundreds of years.
“During the time, he was interested he got acquainted with a collar maker in England. This collar maker was an older gentleman, and, of course, he was associated with the Queen’s harness makers. Don’t know how many trips Jim made to England to study under the supervision of this collar maker,” Harrower said. “It perfected his work.”
Harrower said preserving the craft of harness making is a reminder of the impact that carriages and drivers had on U.S. history.
“The methods they used, the experiences they had, leather trade, been going on for years and years, important to the development of our country,” Harrower said. “He put all these things to use. This was an essential part of developing America and doing business in America, and other countries.”
Harrower commissioned the horse sculpture for the museum. The other items were donated by Wear’s widow, Silvya. After her husband’s death, she had approached the carriage association to take the items, but they didn’t have space to display them.
The organization accepted some books for its library, but recommended Wagon Land Adventure for the tools and harnesses.
Wagon Land Adventure is a nonprofit site that houses and displays more than 350 horse-drawn vehicles and other reminders of pioneer life. Anderson, the owner, knew Wear and Harrower and launched the museum project two years ago.
The museum started with a few “seed money” donations, then grew as local builders and businesses helped to find building materials, which were hard to locate at that time.
And more often than not, Anderson said, the contractors left without leaving a bill.
“I wanted knotty pine wood in the inside so we could hang stuff in that tongue and groove. I remembered I had a friend from Iowa who moved to Gillette, Wyoming, and he was building log houses. He was an Amish fellow, and I got ahold of him. He was the only one that had some,” Anderson said. “After five months, when we were ready for it, the material had gone from $1,000 to $2,900. He said, ‘I’m donating this,’ and he attended the dedication in April.”
An insulation contractor donated materials for the roof and wall.
Anderson said the plywood flooring that had been installed was functional, but didn’t match the beauty of the walls, so he sought a local flooring dealer to purchase some carpeting.
“Let’s not let the miracle end here,” the local rug dealer said, and the flooring was a donation as well.
The horse statue from California arrived two days before the 900 carriage association members arrived. It did prove to be life size — the door frame had to be removed to get the sculpture into the building.
|
2023-06-10T11:09:42+00:00
|
wyomingnews.com
|
https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/legacy-in-leatherwork-jim-wear-honored-with-new-museum/article_7e24b320-0715-11ee-ae4b-8716d4c72728.html
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ARLINGTON, Va. (WKBN) – Some Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough has been recalled, according to a recall notice issued by Nestlé USA.
The notice, shared by the Food and Drug Administration, initiated a voluntary recall Thursday of ready-to-bake refrigerated Nestle Toll House Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough with Fudge Filling products due to the potential presence of white plastic pieces.
The FDA said that the cookie dough was produced between June 2022 and September 2022. The dough was distributed in the continental United States and Puerto Rico. No illnesses or injuries have been reported.
Customers who purchased the cookie dough should not eat it, Nestlé USA said, but rather return it for a replacement or refund. No other Nestlé Toll House products are impacted by the recall.
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|
2022-10-18T13:57:04+00:00
|
ksn.com
|
https://www.ksn.com/news/business/recalls/nestle-toll-house-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-recalled/
|
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts has declined a request from the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at a hearing next week on ethical standards at the court, instead providing the panel with a statement of ethics reaffirmed by the court’s nine justices.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., invited Roberts’ testimony last week, saying that there had been a “steady stream of revelations” regarding Supreme Court justices “falling short of ethical standards expected of other federal judges.”
The invitation came after news reports that detailed a close relationship between Justice Clarence Thomas and a conservative donor from Texas. The donor, Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow, had purchased three properties belonging to Thomas and his family in a transaction worth more than $100,000 that Thomas never reported, according to the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica.
In a letter to Durbin on Tuesday, Roberts said he would “respectfully decline” the committee’s request.
“Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”
Accompanying the letter to Durbin was a “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices” signed by all nine justices describing the ethical rules they follow about travel, gifts and outside income. While the rules are not new, the statement said that the undersigned justices “today reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe in carrying out their responsibilities as Members of the Supreme Court of the United States.”
The statement details standards for justices’ activities outside the court and describes the recusal process, which is generally up to each individual justice. It does not require any justice to say why they are recusing from a case.
Nothing about Roberts’ letter or the statement attributed to all nine justices suggests that they feel chastened in any way by recent reports. But it is the first time the current membership has spoken on ethics issues as a group.
Durbin said in a statement that he was surprised because the response from the court “suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious.”
“The actions of one Justice, including trips on yachts and private jets, were not reported to the public,” Durbin said. “That same Justice failed to disclose the sale of properties he partly owned to a party with interests before the Supreme Court.”
Durbin said he would proceed with the hearing, which will “review common sense proposals” to hold Supreme Court justices more accountable to ethics guidelines.
Gabe Roth, executive director of the court transparency group Fix the Court, said the justices’ statements rehashed inadequate ethical standards.
“Make no mistake: Roberts’ statement is nowhere near an appropriate response to the ethical failures of the current Court,” Roth said in a statement.
ProPublica also revealed that Crow gifted Thomas and his wife Ginni with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of annual vacations and trips over several decades — including international cruises on his mega-yacht, private jet flights and stays at Crow’s invitation-only resort in the Adirondacks. But the 2014 real estate deal is the first public evidence of a direct financial transaction between the pair.
Ethics experts have offered conflicting views about whether Thomas was required to disclose the luxury trips funded by Crow. Thomas said in a statement that he was advised by colleagues that “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”
Thomas did not name the other justices or those in the judiciary with whom he had consulted.
Last month, the federal judiciary bolstered disclosure requirements for all judges, including the high court justices, although overnight stays at personal vacation homes owned by friends remain exempt from disclosure.
The ethics statement sent to Durbin notes that the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Financial Disclosure had “provided clarification on the scope of the ‘personal hospitality’ exemption to the disclosure rules.”
The original letter from Durbin had asked Roberts or another justice to appear before the committee on May 2. He told Roberts that the scope of his testimony would be limited to the ethics rules governing justices of the Supreme Court and potential changes to those rules.
Roberts’ refusal to testify is the latest hitch for Democrats on the Judiciary panel. With Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California absent indefinitely, the committee has a tied number of Democrats and Republicans and can’t move certain judges to the floor – or presumably subpoena Roberts, if Democrats wanted to.
In declining to testify, Roberts ignored Durbin’s invitation to have another justice appear instead. The last time justices met with the Senate Judiciary Committee was in October 2011, when Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer testified.
___
Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
|
2023-04-26T18:28:04+00:00
|
upmatters.com
|
https://www.upmatters.com/politics/ap-politics/roberts-declines-senate-request-to-testify-on-court-ethics/
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